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CHAPTER 14

My thumb clicks down on the dino cap's button, and poof! The last of my belongings is sealed away inside the tiny capsule, leaving my room completely empty.

"Is Papa going to turn my bedroom into his new study, or will you make it your exercise room?" I ask Mama, keeping my voice light so she knows that I don't really care what happens to my old room. I'm officially an adult now. No matter how hard it will be living on my own, once I move out, I know I won't be moving back.

Mama walks to the center of the room, her hand lightly clasped over her chest. Her shining blue eyes slowly roam over the white walls, the ceiling, and the dusty hard floor under her feet. She looks like she wants to cry. Thankfully, she doesn't.

"I'm so proud of you, Pan." She says, smiling.

I give her a hug. She squeezes her arms around me so tightly that I know she isn't ready to let me go. I'm her only child, but she'd never really been an affectionate parent. Her affection now surprises me, and I awkwardly pat her back. "I'll….visit you on the weekends. Flying is super easy for me. I can fly home from anywhere in the world in under a minute. Don't be sad, okay? You still have Papa to keep you company."

Papa clears his throat and lightly taps on the wall before entering the room. "Bulla has come to take Pan dress shopping for the party," he announces, stepping to the side so I can see her. Her chin is pointed towards the floor and she's holding her small designer purse in front of her body, making her look uncharacteristically meek. I still haven't told her what happened on my date with Trunks.

Mama slowly releases me. Papa wraps a supportive arm around her waist and she leans into him. They both have glowing, proud faces that I imagine most parents have when their only child is preparing to leave for college.

"Save a dance for your old man," Papa says with a wink.

He begins to lead Mama out of the room, but Mama stops to growl," There will be NO DRINKING at the party tonight! I don't care how many times Bulma says you can, I say you can't!"

"Okayyyyyy," Bulla and I say in unison, using our fake angelic voices. We keep our wide smiles in place until my bedroom door closes.

"Please tell me your parents are just as sappy as mine," I groan in embarrassment.

Bulla shakes her head." Sorry. My Mom moved out on her own when she was sixteen and searching for the dragonballs. She's excited that I'm finally moving out and starting my own adventure. My Dad on the other hand…well, I think he might follow us to our apartment and stick around for a week to scare away a bunch of guys on campus. Just pretend not to notice him."

Instead of prattling on about her life or which dress stores we're going to hit first, Bulla stays quiet.

I know she feels guilty for pushing Trunks and me together. If it wasn't for her, I never would've gone out with him. I doubt Trunks shared any information with her about his love life, but it's plain to see that our date wasn't as spectacular as she'd hoped. If anything, it probably wedged Trunks and me further apart.

"We should get going before all the good dresses are taken," I laugh, breaking the silence between us. After I say this, I know that I'm not exaggerating. When it comes to parties, Bulma is the best at throwing them. She'd been planning mine and Bulla's going away party for months, inviting all the teachers and students at our high school, sending invitations to celebrities, young entrepreneurs, the Kais, the God of Destruction himself, and the list goes on.

With the party only hours away, we'll be lucky to find a dress in West City.

Bulla smirks as she heads for my window. "We're not wearing an ugly dress. I'll drag you to every dress shop in the world if I have to. Just because a store sells it on a rack doesn't mean we should wear it. Ugh, you would not believe how many ugly outfits I've found at the mall! You'd think they'd have a person specifically hired to say, 'No, we can't sell this. Send it back to the factory, idiots.' "

I open my window and Bulla flies out first, still going on about ugly dresses. I take one last look at my empty bedroom, remembering every good dream, every nightmare, every phone call, every sleepless night before a test, and every sleepover I've ever had in this room.

"What new memories will I be making in my apartment?" I wonder, involuntarily remembering every time Trunks was on top of me, my fingertips skimming over the soft skin of his broad shoulders, his heated breath, our feral moans…and the pleasure we both felt together.

"No, that's not our future anymore," I remind myself, shaking those thoughts away. I quickly fly out the window and join Bulla in the sky.

.+.+.+.+.

"Come out, I want to see how the dress looks," Bulla orders from the comfy chair outside the dressing room.

"Here's your lemonade miss," I hear one of the workers say, a slight tremble in her voice. The ice cubes clash together as Bulla takes a quick sip. The female worker lets out a frantic yelp soon after.

"Don't tell me you dumped lemonade on that poor woman," I growl, gathering the courage to finally step out of the dressing room. Bulla's foot bounces impatiently from over the chair's edge, and there's a mischievous glint in her eyes. Behind her, the female worker and her friend are dabbing quickly at the wet spot on her uniform with a dry cloth.

"Of course not. it was too cold. I told her to hold the glass for me, but she spilled some on herself, wasn't my fault at all." Bulla explains with a huff. She gets out of her chair and begins to inspect me, circling around me like a wolf. I self consciously cover my chest with my arms. Of all the dresses Bulla could've picked for me, why did she have to choose the one that shows a lot of leg and cleavage?

"I can't dance with my dad in this dress!" I exclaim, my face turning red, hoping that Bulla will understand and make me try on a different dress. One that will cover everything except my face.

"Gohan will get drunk, make a fool out of himself, and pass out on the grass like he does at every party. You don't have to worry about dancing with him."

"I'll just wear the same dress I wore on Trunks' date," I sigh.

Bulla bristles. " No! You can't wear that dress, it's cursed now! Burn it."

I arch my eyebrow at her. "Cursed?"

"Yeah," Bulla nods, as if that's enough reason to burn the dress. She reaches out and slowly glides her finger from my lower leg to my thigh, sending goosebumps and chills through my spine. " You need to shave your legs before the party. They feel prickly."

"Oh, okay."

She walks around me again. "This dress shows a lot of your back, and I can see the top part of your panties. I'll have my stylist add long hair extensions. I think that will look pretty." She comes to a stop in front of me. Before I have time to react, she quickly reaches out, grabs both of my breasts and pushes them up.

"I'll have the dress altered so It will push your boobs up and make them look fuller, which will give you more cleavage. Men won't be able to take their eyes off you."

"I don't want men to stare at me," I mumble.

The warmth from Bulma's hands leave my breasts and she takes a step back from me, finally asking the question that's been on her mind since last night. " What happened on your date with Trunks?"

Suddenly, I realized that my Uncle Goten and I had two important things in common: One, we were both betrayed by Trunks. Two, we'll forever be bossed around by Vegeta's kids.

How do I tell my best friend about my psychic experiences without confusing her, or that, for reasons unknown to me, Trunks decided to accidentally impregnate his best friend's girlfriend?

Once again, I cover my arms over my chest. "It's….complicated….with Trunks and me right now, okay?"

Bulla stares at me, reminding me so much of Trunks. This isn't a satisfying answer, but being my best friend, I know she can see how wounded I am right now. Pushing for answers will only make me feel worse.

"Alright. I won't bring it up again," She sighs. She snaps her fingers, and one of the workers fastens a glittering diamond choker around my neck. It looks so beautiful paired with the black dress that I can't bring myself to refuse the gift.

"Can I pick out your dress?" I ask.

Bulla smiles." My Mom had my dress personally made for me weeks ago. It's not my style, but my father approves of it, so I guess I have to wear it. They even bought me a gold tiara. You'll see when I make my grand entrance at the party tonight. "

.+.+.+.+.

The next few hours are filled with massages, manicures, pedicures, waxing, exfoliation, and ending with hair and makeup.

"See you tonight," Bulla says after her stylist finishes her makeup and mine is just starting to blend my real hair with the extensions using a hot iron.

. . .

By nightfall, large bus-like flying shuttles owned by Capsule Corp flood the streets of West City, picking up everyone with a party invitation.

I catch a glimpse of some of the girls I went to school with waiting in line for the one of the shuttles, and they're dressed in poofy, colorful dresses.

None of them have a plunge line as deep as mine! Most are wearing stylish gloves that cover their upper arm and are barely showing any skin at all!

What the heck?

Why am I the only one dressed like an expensive sex worker?!

"Your personal shuttle is this way, Miss Pan." A Capsule Corp employee says, hovering his white gloved hand just over my back as he leads me into the open backseat of a glistening white, flying shuttle.

"Umm, I think I should change…"

The employee secures the door, confining me into the backseat. He waves at the driver to go, and the little shuttle gently rises from the ground and flies at a fast speed to its destination: Bulma's personal island.

There's a wall blocking the driver from me, so I can't tell him or her to stop at the nearest mall so I can change my dress. Unless I want to blast off the door, I'm stuck in this shuttle until it lets me off.

I kick the wall and groan. " This is going to be more embarrassing than being the only one who dresses up for a costume party! Why would Bulla do this to me? We're supposed to be best friends!"

The small TV screen in the center of the wall suddenly flickers on.

The Capsule Corp logo appears, along with a photo of Trunks in his business suit and glasses. It disappears after a few seconds, replaced by a cute 3D hologram modeled after Trunks and Bulla's Aunt, Gure.

"Please fasten your seat belt. We'll arrive at our destination in approximately one hour," Gure chirps.

A hologram seat belt appears, and she shows the correct way to put it on, twice, before it disappears altogether and she continues with her introduction.

" Snacks and drinks are available, just press the 'menu' button on the screen, and select what you want." - She wiggles one finger in the air -" Just don't spoil your appetite. There will be various delectable dishes to try on the island."

Pictures of these delectable dishes appear on the screen. Then a picture of my grandpa, Goku, appears. It's one of him eating at a buffet with stacks of empty dishes and angry people around him.

" Just hit the buffet before this guy arrives," Gure giggles.

Gure goes into detail where to find different TV shows and music videos to watch for entertainment. There are even 3D games I can play with Gure, like chess. If none of these interest me, then I could just watch a cute slideshow of family pictures of Bulla and me when we were kids, and our growth up to our high school graduation. In between these slideshows are commercials Trunks had starred in when he was a child and teenager.

Halfway into a game of cards, a robotic female voice speaks from the intercom above me.

"We will be arriving at our destination in ten minutes."

Ten minutes later, the shuttle stops, and the robot voice announces," We have safely arrived at Bulma's island."

The door opens.

I spot a white gloved hand offering to help me out of the backseat. It's difficult to maneuver on my own in this dress and heels, so I gratefully accept the help. The moment I step out of the shuttle though, I forget how to breathe.

It isn't a Capsule Corp employee helping me out of the shuttle, it's the man I didn't expect to run into so soon. The very man I was hoping to avoid at the party.

Trunks delicately lifts my hand and kisses it. His hair is slicked back, and he's wearing a formal uniform I've only ever seen princes wear on TV, complete with a gold sash and a slim belt around his waist. Behind him, I can see other men greeting their dates in the same manner, wearing similar prince outfits.

"Come, Princess, I'll be your escort this evening." His voice sounds so humorless and rehearsed, I can tell someone forced him to say that to me.

"What's going on?"

Trunks' frown deepens." Bulla didn't tell you? The party is princess themed. Every woman has to dress like a princess, every guy has to be a prince or a frog, and every mother has to be a wicked step mother or a witch." Despite his restraint, Trunks' gaze drops to my cleavage. He stares for a long time, entranced. I hastily cover my arms across my chest. He raises his brows and manages a smirk. "What princess are you supposed to be?"

" Princess of Death if you keep staring at my boobs!"

Trunks roughly takes me by the elbow and guides me through the crowd of people.

"Where are we going?"

Trunks doesn't answer.

I slap at his hand until he lets go and turns to face me.

"There's something I need to tell you," He says. His eyes are begging for me to give him a chance.

I shake my head." I want to forget about what happened on our last date and have fun tonight. Can we do that, please?"

Trunks thinks about it for a few seconds, then sighs." Okay. Let's have fun tonight." He's about to take me by my elbow again, but I jump back.

"No, I want to spend time with my friends. I don't think I can have fun with you. It's just…too awkward right now. You understand, right?"

Trunks stares at me, longing for the chance to explain his side of things, to tell me whatever he needs to tell me tonight. He doesn't try to lead me somewhere private or blurt out what he needs to say like I fear. Instead, Trunks abruptly straightens his back and bows like a royal prince, staying true to his character.

"Have fun at the party. I'll come for you at midnight, Princess." Without another word or even a glance, Trunks stands upright and swiftly walks past me, disappearing from my sight and into the crowd.

We are getting close to the end guys! I like angsty/sad endings more than happy endings...which ending will this story have, I wonder?

I'm letting this story write itself, so it'll be as much of a surprise to me as it will be to you.