As formerly assumed, I didn't get too much sleep that night. My stomach was churning. What was I going to say? What would Bra want me to say? Maybe this lunch thing was a bad idea after all. I hadn't formulated any sort of plan yet!
Around two in the morning, I decided that I'd just act normal. After all, it wasn't automatically pronounced a date just because he wanted to talk to me, right? And I was a grown woman; I didn't need to call my best friend, in tears, wondering what to say. I was perfectly capable of handling this myself.
For once, I hardly ate any breakfast. I also managed to wake up an hour early because of nervousness. I couldn't help but laugh at myself... All my life, I'd been waiting for anything that remotely resembled a date with Trunks, and now that I got it I was scared out of my mind. What did that say about the kind of person I was?
It said I was a nervous wreck. I spent my entire extra hour trying to look perfect. No one I knew would screw up a date with Trunks. I couldn't bring myself to do it. This time, it would be perfect. Then, after I got a chance to talk to Bra, I'd start my side of his little game. If there was a game at all.
As I drove to work that morning, I spent the whole time praying it wasn't true. I genuinely hoped that he wasn't using me and that he really did like me. I'd never know unless I asked, but not today. If I was going to ask him at all, it would be at Goten's house.
That would be the master plan, in the end. Getting me to Goten's house. Once I ended up there without bringing it up myself, I'd know it was all just a big set up. I'd hate him for a long time after that. But if Dende could hear my prayer, then it wouldn't end that way at all. That is, if Dende could possibly change it.
Work went...slowly. I spent the whole morning filing papers and making what seemed like thousands of copies of the same worthless document over and over. But I didn't dare argue for fear they'd make me work lunch hour. If I had any bitching to do, it could be done when I got back. I couldn't risk it just yet.
I literally watched the clock count down the minutes. Eleven fifty-three...eleven fifty-four...another gap that seemed way too long before eleven fifty-five...
"Ms. Son!"
I jumped in shock. "What?"
"Phone call, extension one-one-two."
"Thank you," I breathed, picking up the phone and punching the appropriate numbers. "Hello?"
"Pan! Isn't this the exact way I said it would happen!?"
I sighed in relief. "Thank Dende. I thought you'd be Trunks."
Bra's tone didn't waver. She sounded annoyed and angered, yet excited at the same time. "I told you he'd get you today."
"He called yesterday," I said, trying to prove it wasn't real.
"But the plans were for today. He's planning something. Do you have a comeback strategy yet?"
"No," I said, choosing to be honest. "I figured I'd let everything be normal today, then if he actually starts getting interested in me I'd formulate something."
"I guess that would work," she said, sounding somewhat disappointed. "Anyway, he's done nothing but talk about you all day. He even got someone to come work in his place while he's out with you."
I didn't know how to react to that. My mind kept telling me that this was just a friend thing, and nothing else, but my heart screamed the opposite. My heart wanted to believe that he loved me, or at least potentially would. Maybe calling Marron would be the right thing to do.
"Whoa, I gotta go," she whispered suddenly. "I think he's coming here. Later."
"Bye." I hung up the phone, still in an emotional war with myself. There was no point in arguing about it now, but it seemed to make the time pass more quickly. Actually, in glancing at the clock, I found it was only two minutes since I last eyed it. Groaning in frustration, I got up to do some actual work.
* * * * *
To work, or not to work? That was my question. I stared down at an application form of Z TV's, wondering if I should fill it out. I like my job, it's just that I'd like to gain some experience in the world. Plus, working here meant an obligation to plug Capsule every chance I got.
Filling out the application didn't tie me there, right? It just meant I was considering this as an option. Furthermore, I hadn't looked anywhere else yet. Turning in this form only guaranteed that I'd have a job. The people here liked me, for the most part. There was no logical reason that they'd turn me down. I did all my work, and I did it quickly. I was efficient. What reason did they have not to accept me?
More and more people kept pouring into the entertainment world. I'd done fairly well in the realm of the newbies, staying on my boss's good side and making a lot of friends. We sometimes went out after work and had fun, and I was always included in the group. That meant the management liked me, or at least didn't mind me. So they'd almost definitely hire me here. If only I'd fill out the stupid form...
"Pan?" one of my co-workers, Janet, called over to me. I glanced up, obviously distracted. She smiled to see that I wasn't stressed or anything like that. "Are you coming to lunch with us today or not?"
"Lunch!?" I cried, staring at my watch. "Oh, Dende, it's lunchtime! Sorry, Janet, I can't. I have what you might call a date this afternoon."
She grinned. "Who's the lucky guy?"
"I don't know if you've heard of him. Trunks Briefs, president of Capsule Corp."
Her jaw dropped. Just the reaction I'd been waiting all my life to get out of someone. "You are going out with the president of Capsule Corporation!?"
"Yeah," I said happily. "This afternoon, anyway. Maybe I'll see him tonight, too."
"Girl, you have got connections!" she exclaimed, drawing attention from nearly the entire second floor with her outburst. "Why didn't you tell me about this before?"
"Well, I haven't seen him for years now..."
"You went out with him before!?"
"No, he's just a friend."
By this time, I'd drawn a crowd of ecstatic females congratulating me at my seemingly enormous luck. All of them went on about how they'd always dreamed of seeing Trunks in person, let alone talking to him or going out to lunch with him. Going anywhere with him, for that matter. I was being showered with compliments and congratulations. I was beginning to get very late.
"Um, I have to go..."
"I can't believe I know someone who knows Trunks!"
"Really, I'm a little late..."
"Excuse me."
All (what seemed like) thirty girls turned around and gasped in shock. I gave him a thank-you-saving-me look.
Trunks made his way through the crowd of amazed and motionless people to pluck me out of it. "Thank you," I hissed, in case he didn't get the message before.
"No problem. I heard someone downstairs talking about 'Ms. Son and Mr. Briefs' and figured you were being mobbed."
Janet gave me a nudge and a wink before shooing everyone away from me. I thanked her, too. Then Trunks and I left.
"Where to?" he asked as we exited the building. Like the polite guy he was, he waved at the crowd of women in the lobby before we left. A huge cheer arose when he did so.
"I don't know," I replied. I felt a blush creep onto my face when he slid his arm around my waist. No, don't fall into this yet! We're not even a couple right now! "Somewhere cheap. I don't want to spend a million dollars just for lunch."
"You won't," he assured me. "I'm paying for you."
My lips formed a slight frown. "I'm afraid I can't let you do that," I said tersely.
"What? Why not?"
"I don't think you quite remember who you're dealing with," I mumbled, not sure if I wanted to be heard. "I'm not some air-headed girl from your neurotic fan club, I'm Pan. I eat way too much and I'm not afraid to eat it in front of you."
His worried expression turned to laughter when I finished my sentence. "I'm not afraid to eat a lot in front of you, either. Let's just say we have a little contest, for old time's sake."
My eyes widened as we walked. Apparently he'd flown here and didn't want to make me drive. "A contest? You're suggesting we find out who can eat more than who?"
"Sure. Why not?"
"No reason I can think of. Just that it will be a little costly and maybe not the best idea in the world for our first real 'reunion' lunch."
Trunks frowned, brow furrowed in disappointment. "You're right. Plus, we only have an hour before we have to go back to work."
"Less," I reminded him. "That Z TV-branch of the fan club held me up for at least ten minutes."
"There's a food place," he said, pointing to a random restaurant. It happened to be one of my favorite Italian restaurants in town. "Eat there?"
"Yes," I said instantly, dragging him across the road. We were nearly hit by several speeding vehicles, but I didn't care. Neither did Trunks, really.
It was a few minutes before we got settled and seated. I browsed through my menu, even though I already knew what I wanted. Trunks chose, too, then we started to talk.
"So, what's horribly new in your life?" he asked me, seemingly interested.
I didn't care if he was interested or not, he was still getting the full story. He'd asked for it. "Well, I'm kind of indecisive about my job," I said. "My internship's almost up, and I was really considering finding somewhere else to work. But the deadline's coming up and I haven't even started looking somewhere else."
"Z TV's a nice place," he pointed out. "You could just work there for a while."
"Yeah, that's what I thought, too. But I'd also like to get some experience in my life, like with jobs and everything. Then again, Z TV could eventually land me a spot on the air. I'd like to host something, maybe."
"Then that's what you should do."
I lifted an eyebrow. "Just like that?"
"Yeah. If you want to be on TV, then stay with the station. You have the looks and the personality. They'd be missing a lot if they didn't let you on air."
I smiled faintly. "You certainly haven't lost your subtle charm with women."
"Eh, not so subtle anymore, huh?" he laughed as the waiter came over to take our orders.
"Good afternoon," he said dryly. "I'm Tony, I'll be your waiter. I'm sure you know the rest. Now, whaddya want to eat?"
"Pasta," I said instantly. "Lots of it."
"Ah, Panny!" he said in recognition. I beamed a smile. "Long time, no see. How's life treatin' ya?"
"Good, thanks," I said happily. Tony was my favorite waiter there. He and I even went out, once. Just as friends.
"I see you've already got a new man in your life," he teased.
I blushed, looking down at the already closed menu. "Not really. Trunks is just a friend. I haven't seen him for around eight years."
"Ah, so you're the legendary owner of the Capsule Corporation?"
"Yeah," Trunks said, looking tense. I quickly realized that talking to Tony wasn't his idea of fun right now.
I think Tony caught that, too, because he just took poor Trunks' order and hurried away, but not before sending me a casual wink.
"You, um, know him?" Trunks said through clenched teeth. His ki was starting to elevate. I didn't like that at all.
"Yes, I've been to this place before. Tony's my usual waiter," I explained, also raising my ki a bit. Just as a signal that I knew he was edgy and to cool it a little. "If you don't care for me associating with men other than Goten and yourself, I suggest you go back to work right now."
"I never said anything like that!" he said, heated.
"Sorry. My mistake." I cleared my throat, intentionally to piss him off. "Anyway, how are you doing? We don't talk about you at all. Just me."
"Oh, I'm fine," he said nonchalantly. "Just got a new girlfriend..."
I glanced up from my drink. Now it was on. He wanted to start little digs, that was fine with me. "That's a strange coincidence," I said, also acting calm and smooth. "This guy, Mike, called me up last night and we're going to a club tomorrow. To get drunk," I added as an afterthought.
Yes, Trunks was much better at this that I was. At keeping cool when he spoke, that is. His reactions to what I say were painfully obvious. He nearly choked on whatever he was drinking. He recovered quickly, though. "That's nice. Sorry I had to leave your house when I did, though. I had to meet some girl I promised I'd sleep with..."
That one was pathetic. It took everything I had not to bust out laughing. "Wow, that's weird, too. I asked Bra to leave for the same reason, only involving a guy." He looked up at me, startled. But I wasn't done yet. "That was kind of rude of you to sleep with some girl right after you got a new girlfriend. At least I was single."
"Oh..." He was visibly nervous. "Well, that's one of the advantages of owning Capsule Corp. Women don't mind that sort of thing. They consider themselves lucky to have me at all."
"That explains it," I said, in mock realization. "Not that it matters much to me, anyway. I'm just using you to buy me lunch."
"And I'm using you for sex."
"Even though I'm not giving you any."
"Pretty much."
At this point, we both started to laugh. We used to do that sort of thing all the time when I was younger. "Thanks for being too stubborn to change," I laughed.
"No problem."
"Your food," Tony said cheerfully, bringing the dishes to our table. He was more willing to serve us now that we were both smiling. "Enjoy your meal."
"Thanks," I called after him. Then I turned back to Trunks. "I win, by the way."
"Win what?"
"The game. I had the last destructive comment. I won."
"Oh." His face fell. "Well, it's not over yet. I still have later."
"Later?" I repeated.
"Yeah, I was wondering if maybe you'd like to come back home tonight. I told Mom about seeing you yesterday and she really got anxious to visit. I thought you probably wouldn't mind talking to her, much, but if you don't want to come you could always-"
"I'm coming," I said instantly. "No doubt about it. I'd love to see Bulma and Vegeta again."
"Umm...I don't know if my father is all to enthused to see you..."
I waved him off. "Of course he is. I'll just have to dress more typically and maybe offer to spar with him. He'll be fine about it."
"Good," Trunks breathed. "He heard about your 'new look' and thought you'd turned into 'another soft human weakling.' He'd be happy to spar with you."
"Or at least not disappointed," I put in.
"Yeah."
Silence covered us as we ate. I, for one, was starving. All the anxiousness that had built up in my stomach was gone, now that we were talking about normal things and acting normally around each other. Bra must have been wrong about him. I'd have a chance to talk to her at their house, later in the evening.
She was wrong. He wasn't using me at all. If he was, he wouldn't have mentioned the words 'using you' in the game. Else he was just trying to divert my attention from the subject in an attempt to seem inconspicuous.
Damn. He wasn't cleared of all doubt just yet.
"So you're coming for sure?" he repeated after several moments. "I don't want to get my mother's hopes up for nothing."
"Yes," I said. "I'm positive. I wouldn't miss this for anything." Except maybe a real second date with you, I added mentally. A smile graced my lips at the thought.
"Good. I doubt that you realized this, Panny, but our lunch hour is almost up."
I looked at my watch, disappointed. This had gone all too quickly. "You're right. I have to be back at work by two." And the current time was one forty-seven. Just enough time to finish eating and do not much else.
We ate in silence some more, leaving me wondering where all that time went. I guess I just got too caught up in the idea of being out with Trunks to pay attention to the time. It wasn't really like a date, either. More like a friendly conversation over lunch. Which is exactly what it was supposed to be, I realized sadly. He never intended it to be a date in the first place.
"Time to go?" he asked.
"Yeah," I mumbled, fumbling through my purse for some money. "I have to practically run back, too. I'll probably get flooded with questions the second I step in the door."
I successfully convinced Trunks that I should pay my half, plus I left Tony a nice tip. That's probably why he likes me so much. Anyway, he walked me back to work and that was it. We said our goodbyes and he went back to Capsule Corp.
Just as I expected, I was bombarded with questions upon my return. Janet did a nice job of organizing them, so all I had to do was fill out a "what was it like to go out with Trunks" sheet and have her make some copies of them. I spent the remainder of my afternoon thinking of what to wear to the Briefs' residence later that day.
* * * * *
I'd never wanted to resort to running to the mall when I thought I needed to look good for a guy. But after a lot of telling myself that this wasn't just a guy, that it was a guy and Vegeta, I finally convinced myself to go out and buy some new clothes.
I left straight from work to go to the mall. I was expected at the Briefs' place no later than six. It was four thirty now. So, unless I chose to encapsulate my car and fly there, I'd almost surely be late.
The mall was, as expected, filled with people. I think they conspired against me. They were going out of their way to fill up my favorite store. But that was fine. I'd go in anyway. I was much too stubborn not to.
I hunted through the normal Panny-style clothing. Nothing there looked even remotely appealing to me. I had to laugh at myself; a few years ago, I'd have gladly bought out the entire section. But I couldn't do that now because my style had changed too much. I found myself wondering what had happened to that little girl that loved to fight and would do absolutely anything to impress Trunks.
Well, the latter part of me was still there. It was just being held back for fear Bra would find out.
I wanted something that looked like it could have belonged to me when I was sixteen...yet was still appealing to the eye. Trunks may not have shown any interest in me at lunch, but it was entirely possible that I could fix that this evening. But I had to do it without looking weak at all, for Vegeta's sake.
"Pan!"
I silently groaned. Too many people had been calling me like that today. I turned around to see who it was, and my eyes lit up instantly. "Marron!"
"Hi," she greeted cheerfully. "Thank you so much for showing up!"
"What?" I asked, confused.
She rolled her eyes in a typical 'your stupid uncle' fashion. "Goten thought it would be a good idea for me to hang out here after your job ended. He figured Trunks probably said something to you today to make you feel the need to buy more clothing."
"How did he know that?"
Marron shrugged. "He said he knows Trunks. He told me all about what happened last night, and all I can say is I'm glad I'm not in your shoes."
I tried to hide the panic that welled up inside me at that comment. "What do you mean?" I chirped, in a much to high-pitched voice. That clearly displayed my sudden surge of fear.
"Well, Trunks is the master of manipulation," she explained, taking and holding my hand to try to ease my fear. "If he wants something from any woman, he's sure to get it."
"I always promised myself that wouldn't be me..."
"Let me assure you, you won't be able to stop it."
My face fell. Now what? I'd been riding on the hope that I was above all those other girls. The more people I talked to, the more I didn't want to talk to them. They all had a way of making Bra's assumption ring more truth. But no, he hadn't shown any romantic interest yet. There was no plan if he didn't get me to fall for him.
Which had already worked. Damn it! I was complete mush when I was around him! Why, oh why did I have to be so weak when it came to Trunks? Any prior crush or feelings I had for him had resurfaced all of a sudden. How? How did he do that?
"Well," Marron said, interrupting my personal guilt-trip, "I already picked out something for you to wear. I think you'll like it." She held up an exact replica of my old red shirt/baggy jeans combination, smiling triumphantly. "What do you say?"
"It's perfect!" I cried, taking the clothes from her. "There's no way Vegeta will mistake me for soft if I wear this!"
She laughed at me. "Is that the prevailing thought in your mind all of a sudden?"
"Yep. Had me petrified for Dende knows how long." I looked back up at her, a suspicious gleam in my eyes. "How did you know I was-"
"Past experience," she explained, smiling. "I'll see you sometime soon. Bye."
"Bye," I mumbled as she left. I took my larger-sized Panny outfit to the cash register, prepared to pay any price for it. Luckily, it was one that I could afford.
Back in the parking lot, I spent forever looking at my watch. Nearing five o'clock. I could encapsulate my car and make a quick flight back home to pick up the most important part of my outfit: the bandana. That was what I'd have to do. Then maybe I could make it back to Capsule by five thirty.
Yes, that would be my plan. I punched a few buttons in my car and waited while it became my little auto-capsule. The precious possession was safely placed into my pocket before I started for some less populated area to take off in.
I was in the sky within minutes. Using all my speed, I got to my apartment before the moment was up. Now to find the bandana.
I hurriedly punched the button on my answering machine as I started the search. It should be in the bedroom somewhere...
"Panny, this is Dad."
"Hi, Dad," I said to the machine. "What's up?"
"I was wondering how everything went last night and if you'd made any plans to visit Bulma and family. I know you, and I think you have. But do me a favor and call before you go, okay? Thank you, buh-bye."
I stared at the machine for a few seconds. Was that suppressed rage in his voice? No, couldn't be...he didn't know anything about what happened, he'd said so himself. I lifted up the phone and dialed my old number, anxious to hear what my father had to say. He answered incredibly quickly. "Hi, Dad. It's Pan."
"Hello, Panny," he said lovingly. I sighed in relief. No tenseness in his voice at all. "I got a phone call today..."
Oh, no. There it was. The tense, 'pent-up rage' voice I'd heard over the machine. "Um, what about? Not from my credit card, I hope. I swear I made the payment-"
"No, from my brother."
More relief. I wasn't in a financial problem. "I guess he told you what's going on around here, huh?" I spoke much more at ease than I meant to. He instantly flared.
"If Trunks hurts you in any way, shape, or form, I'll personally make sure he doesn't live to see another pretty face ever again."
"Dad, don't worry," I laughed. "I have it under control. Goten told you that we're backfiring this thing on him, right?"
"Yes..."
"That's going to be my revenge. Dad, the only reason I'm taking any part in this at all is because he wants to hurt Uncle Goten."
He sighed, frustrated. I could almost feel his worry through the phone. "Just don't let him trick you into anything. I know Trunks, Panny, and he can bring down the most strong-minded woman in the world."
"I know, Dad. I've been getting warnings like that all day."
"Good. I think you'll need them."
I wanted to ask what he meant by that, but a glance at the clock stopped me. "I really have to go now. I'm going over Bulma's and I still have to change clothes!"
"Change clothes?" he repeated. "To what?"
"You should see it, Dad! It's an exact copy of what I used to wear when I was little! I'll wear it over to home sometime this or next week, okay?"
"Sure. I'd like to see that. You better go get ready now. Talk to you soon."
"Bye, Dad."
I hung up the phone and practically threw my clothes on. I managed to locate the bandana and took off from the balcony with not much time to spare.
My flight to the Briefs' place was a long one. It felt like forever. I kept reminding myself that I was little Panny, who loved to fight and didn't want to spend much time talking about work. I brought a bag, though, to model my new wardrobe for Bulma. I was sure she'd want me to.
I finally landed in the yard, checking myself over again. My bandana felt like it was at home. I missed it up there, I realized. Maybe dressing like this more often wouldn't be so bad.
The door swung open before I had a chance to knock on it. "PAN!" Bra screamed. "What are you wearing!?"
"My old outfit," I said, smiling. "I figured your father would appreciate it if I wasn't 'soft.'"
"Oh," she said after a moment of consideration. "You're right. So right, in fact, that I'm forced to think that Trunks had something to do with it."
"Yeah, him and Marron. His idea to not look soft, Marron's idea to wear this exact outfit."
"Aah. Well. Come on in. Mom's...cooking..." We both paused to shudder. "...and Dad's yelling at her. Big surprise there. Apparently the food doesn't smell perfect."
I laughed, much to my own surprise. I'd actually grown to miss Bulma's horrible cooking. "Mind if I maybe come in?"
"No, not at all. My mother will be happy to see you. Come, now," she said, taking my arm and dragging me into the house. I was dragged through to the kitchen and thrust in front of a fairly busy Bulma, who gladly took time out of her day to obsess over how much I'd grown and how adorable I looked.
She cast a confused glance to Bra. "But I heard you dressed...differently these days?"
"Normally I do," I explained, "but I didn't want to be so different so suddenly. Plus, I was hoping that Vegeta would take some time out his hectic, royal schedule to spar with the third-gen third class warrior."
Bulma chuckled softly as she removed some charred item from the oven. "I'm sure he will. He's always pretty anxious to fight anyone, and Trunks has sort of lost interest in that sort of thing."
This saddened me slightly. I was under the impression that Trunks was the same guy he was eight years ago, but if he didn't fight then he was as different as he could get. "That's okay. I'm looking forward to a little match."
"Why don't you go outside and see if he's willing to fight you right now?" Bulma suggested. Bra's eyes widened and she shook her head wildly as a signal not to do it.
I eyed her suspiciously. "No, I think I'll go talk to Bra for a while." With that, I was dragged away once more.
Bra shoved me into the first room we came to, which happened to be empty. "Look what I found," she said, thrusting a small piece of crumpled paper in front of my face.
I took it from her and read it aloud. "Going out with Pan. Reminder: Act normal...?"
"I took it from the ground in Trunks' room," she smirked triumphantly. "Is this or is this not proof?"
"It's not," I said simply. Her face fell, and I proceeded to explain my point. "There's every possibility that he just didn't want to seem weird around me. It doesn't have to have something to do with Goten."
"But what are the odds?" she countered.
Sighing, I realized there was nothing I could do to disprove her. Then again, she couldn't disprove me, either. "I'm going to spar with your dad. Tell everyone that's where they can find me, if they ask."
With that, I left the little room Bra had pulled me into. I traveled the short distance to the gravity room, where Vegeta was. Not wanting to blatantly disturb him, I increased my ki tremendously. That would be sure to get his attention.
Just as I expected, the door opened within seconds. "Brat," he greeted coldly.
"Spar?" I offered. I could've sworn his eyes lit up.
"Of course," he sneered, exiting the room altogether. Without another word, he attacked.
Completely taking me by surprise, Vegeta kicked me straight in the stomach, then while I was doubled over, he snapped my head back with an uppercut punch. It hurt more than I could imagine. I wasn't used to such intense pain anymore. I whirled around and used my sudden snap-back effect to kick him in the face, as well, sending him flying in the opposite direction.
"You've not trained for a while, brat," he said smugly.
"No, I guess not," I said apologetically. "But, you know, with work and all..."
"Excuses," he spat. "You have become weak."
My anger flared. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"You are no longer among the Saiyan elite, like myself."
"I was never there, anyway."
"No, but you could have been."
I looked away, doubt and guilt clouding my mind. I knew it was probably a dumb thing to do...that Vegeta would probably attack at the first chance he got, but he didn't. Instead he gave a disgusted snort and turned his back to me.
"We will continue when you are ready."
"I'm ready now," I shouted, flying forward. He turned and shot me back with a ki-blast. I cursed angrily to myself and attacked him again. Blow after blow, I failed miserably to so much as scratch him. He knocked me easily to the ground and stood over me with his arms crossed over his chest.
"Something is troubling you, brat," he sneered. "You cannot focus on fighting right now. We will continue this later."
The decision couldn't have come at a better time, because Bulma called us in to eat right then. To my complete shock, Vegeta actually waited for me to get up before he left. And he made sure I was following him. Something was probably up with him, but I didn't have the presence of mind to try to decipher was it was right then. I wanted to eat.
"I tried to cook," Bulma explained as we all got situated, "but it failed horribly. Trunks is out getting the pizza right now."
"All right!" Bra squealed. I laughed at her.
I was showered with compliments and questions right then, while we waited. That was expected; I mean, Bulma would swamp me with questions if I'd been on a two week vacation. This was an eight-year absence she was being filled in on. Fortunately, Trunks soon showed up with the food, saving me temporarily from any interrogation.
I paid attention, for the most part, to the pointless and typical dinner conversation that was going on. Anything that didn't involve me, I found myself staring at the lavender-haired half-Saiyan that was seated nearby and wondering what his motives were. I found it a little odd that suddenly he was back in my life just after his breakup with Marron. I found it more odd that he didn't bring her up at all at lunch.
There had to be a reason. As much as I didn't want to believe it, there must have been a hidden cause for all this. I couldn't just coincidentally run into him one day and have him there for the rest of my life. Maybe he set the whole thing up, after all. He could have spent a while seeking my ki and stalked me until there was an opportunity to 'accidentally' see me. But then again, he was so genuinely shocked to see me. How could I not believe him?
Simple explanation to that, too. All this was way too easy for me to figure out. Every dumb explanation had a dumb counterexample that made it nearly impossible for me to either confirm or dismiss. He hadn't mentioned Marron, yet I'd never asked. I didn't exactly mention any names that I'd recently broken up with. He suddenly seemed interested in me, but then he hadn't seen me for eight years. I guess it was easy to forget a person for that long only to realize you're obsessed with them when they resurface.
But I hadn't forgotten about him. I still wanted to see him every day, I just stopped myself from actually doing it. I guess somewhere in the back of my mind, I was praying for something like this to happen. For him to see me after a ridiculous amount of time and realize he was in love with me. Yeah, right. I scoffed quietly. That would never happen, no matter how much I tried to convince myself of it.
"Pan?"
I glanced up from my dinner. "What? Oh, I'm sorry..."
"Don't worry about it," Bra reassured. "I just asked you twice about your job."
"Oh. I wasn't paying attention. It's going well, and I told Trunks this afternoon, my internship's almost up. I don't know whether or not I should stay there, but I'm leaning toward it."
"That's good," Bulma sighed. "I don't want you unemployed. If anything happens, you can always come work at Capsule."
"Thanks," I said, choosing not to mention that it was my backup plan already.
Before long, the pizza was completely gone, Vegeta had lost interest in the conversation, and Bulma had grown tired. I decided it might be best of me to leave. Trunks and Bra quickly offered to walk with me some of the distance to home. Thanking Bulma for the dinner and promising Vegeta I'd be back to spar, I left with my two favorite people. The cool air of the evening instantly met us, and I welcomed it happily. We walked slowly toward the middle of the property. I could safely take off there, without being seen by anyone from the streets.
"You really are different, you know," Bra told me. "I expected you to be wearing one of your sassy new outfits."
I laughed. "Yeah, that would certainly raise your father's opinion of me," I said sarcastically. "I don't want to come back and still be a total outcast."
"Too late. You don't work and Capsule and you're a 'grand-brat' of Kakarot. It's too late for you now."
I laughed again, glad that I'd chosen to come. I was afraid I'd regret this, but now I was enjoying myself. "Thanks for having me over, guys. I should come more often."
"Yeah, you should," Trunks said softly. Bra and I both shot him a nervous glance. We looked at each other, her smiling slightly. She mouthed 'I told you so' and took off, making some excuse about cleaning up, which Trunks probably didn't buy. He kept his eyes focused on my face, inspecting my expression and probably seeing straight through my calm exterior.
I struggled to keep my ki down, keeping myself from panicking in the process. I could only ask myself over and over what the hell he was doing. "Um, maybe I'll call you or something?" I said nervously.
"I wouldn't mind," he said nonchalantly, breaking the gaze and looking back toward the house. "See you sometime soon."
My heart leapt, then sank. He wasn't making any sort of move! But then...he wasn't making any sort of move. I was both happy and saddened at the same simple action. Was I supposed to be happy? Probably. Bra would be disappointed. I began to wonder if I should take this into my own hands and make a move of my own. No, that would be stupid. It would just screw up your friendship. I only smiled warmly and took a breath. There wasn't much else I could do without breaking into tears.
Wait; yes, there was. I could do one thing...it was probably not a good idea, though. It would only make him feel obligated to say something more to me. It would make me feel plain weird. I decided against it and prepared to take to the sky.
"Pan..."
I froze, almost feeling my heart stop. "What?"
He smiled faintly and shook his head, signifying to just go. Was he trying to guilt-trip me? There was some hidden motive here, I could tell. But what was it? What did he want from me? This whole thing was just a trap! I shrugged and pretended I wasn't interested. He'd just have to try harder to grab my attention than that.
"I'll call you," he said simply as I rose through the air.
You can probably guess that, in my current state of mind, he did a pretty nice job of getting my attention with that one.
chapter 3
One Simple Little Wish
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