Chapter Seven
Trunks' ki shot through the roof. Turning around coolly, Pan faced him, not prepared for the onslaught of emotion that choked her throat. Eyes blazing, and hair standing on end, Trunks had transformed into a Super Saiya-jin. He looked so good that it hurt.
In a flash, he was at her side. Ignoring the amazed young man, Trunks grabbed her arm and flew into the air. At first, Pan was too surprised to do anything, then she yanked hard against his grip to try to free herself. She might as well have been pushing against a stone wall-well, a Saiya-jin proof stone wall. He didn't even budge. She started to power up, preparing to blast him off her.
"Don't even try it," he said between clenched teeth.
Without question, she powered down. There was something in his voice that told her that she would end up a stain on the nice green grass if she tried anything.
"Would have been to difficult to ask me to come with you instead of hauling me around like a piece of luggage?" she questioned stiffly.
Trunks didn't answer in words, but in his eyes she could see the flaming anger. It only made her angrier.
"Trunks! Answer me dammit!"
He turned his head towards her, his countenance sending a chill down her spine. "Why should I? It's not as if you had the decency to tell any of us where you've been for the past 2 days."
"For your information," she spat, "I just called my family. They know where I am now, so you can leave."
His hand tightened on her arm. She winced. There was going to be a bruise there. If she had been a full-blooded human, her arm would have snapped in half.
"Not yet," he replied. "Is your boyfriend going to be alright by himself?"
Pan's eyes shot to his face. Boyfriend? Oh, that guy... Well, what he doesn't know won't hurt him, she reflected. Let him stew.
"He'll be fine," she replied out loud.
"So, where have you been staying?" he asked, his tone polite. "We need to talk."
"I don't need to talk.?"
"Fine, then we're going because I need to talk," he answered softly, avoiding her gaze.
"Just land at that cove," she said, pointing. "There's no one there."
Trunks dropped down gently and released her. He powered down to his regular form and his blue eyes watched her intently.
"What did you want to talk about?" she inquired.
"Why did you run away, Pan?" he asked.
"Smooth tactic," she snorted. "Answering a question with a question."
His face tightened briefly, before going blank again. "Why did you run away?" he repeated as if she hadn't said anything.
"Because I did," she answered tartly. "Is that it?"
His lips thinned and before she knew what was happening, he grabbed her arms and forced her to look at him. "Dammit, Pan!" he swore savagely. "Why did you leave? Tell me!"
Her eyes widened and realization set in. He knew! He knew she loved him!
She forced herself not to cry, and instead glared at him. "Why do you want to know? Why do you care so much? Did my father send you here?" Oh, Dad. I didn't know you could be so cruel.
"No, he didn't," Trunks replied, letting her go. "I came myself."
He turned away from her and faced the incoming surf. He walked towards the waves, letting them lap at his boots. He crossed his arms Vegeta-style and stared out at the setting sun.
"Why did you come?" she asked.
"Because I care about you. I was worried."
Like he would be if Bura ran away, because that's all I am to you, right Trunks? I'm just like a little sister.
"Well, I'm fine," she said, her tone more gentle. "So, you can go home and get some sleep."
He nodded. "You want to get rid of me quickly." It was a statement, not a question. "I guess your boyfriend is expecting you."
Pan was surprised at the jealous note in his voice. It was faint, but it was there. Hope flickered like a light inside her.
"Do you want to meet him?" she asked innocently.
Yeah, so I can beat him senseless. "I don't think so," Trunks replied.
"Why not? I thought as your role as big brother, you would want to check out any prospects."
She felt his ki rise slightly, but his body didn't so much as twitch. She had definitely hit a mark with that one.
"I'm not your big brother," he said, his voice low, but fierce.
She made her way to his side and touched his arm. "Why do you find the idea so unappealing? Am I that terrible?"
He stared at the sunset as if it was the most fascinating thing in the universe. She would have believed it if his eyes had not gone strangely flat. "No," he answered warily. "Why the questions, Pan? You can go."
He wanted her to go. He couldn't take it anymore. He knew the moment that he saw her kissing that boy that he loved her. He felt positively murderous when he saw her arms around the boy. Arms that should have been around him. He'd gone to her, thinking that her heart was breaking because of him, but it was more because he needed to see her and make sure she was okay.
That's what you do when you love someone, he thought wearily. Now I know how she felt when she saw Marron kissing me. Then a thought occurred to him and his mood shifted. But obviously, her feelings weren't as strong as I thought they were since she's found somebody new.
Pan watched with interest as Trunks grew positively thunderous. She felt courage build up inside her.
He's jealous.
Feeling courageous, she flew up in the air and started gathering her energy. Trunks looked up, brow furrowed. Before he could react, she fired an energy blast at him. Sand flew in the air with the impact.
"What the hell are you doing?!?" he demanded, shooting up from the cloud.
"What does it look like?" she retorted.
Trunks felt all the frustration finally explode inside him. He gathered his own energy and fired it back at her. Pan dodged it easily.
"Is that the best you can do?" she taunted.
Gritting his teeth, he launched himself at her, kicking and punching. She blocked some, but more hit their target. Bruised and bleeding, Pan backed away. She wiped away the blood trickling from the lip with the back of her hand. The bottom hem of her black shirt was hanging by only a few threads and Trunks' tanktop was ripped across his left ribs.
"Are you alright?" he asked, breathing heavily.
"Just fine."
Trunks' guard was down and she took the opportunity to fire another blast at him. This time it hit him head on. He managed to stop himself from plunging into the water. He let out a yell and fired a succession of blasts at her. Pan flew further away, ducking and dodging.
"Running away again?" he said cruelly.
Pan gasped. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"You ran away a year ago, Pan," he said. "And then you ran away two days ago. Why don't you face your problems instead of turning your back to them?"
Pan glared at him. "You don't know anything about it."
"I would if you had told me instead of running away," he said. "I thought we were friends, Pan. You didn't even leave without saying good-bye."
"You were the problem, Trunks!" she screamed, enraged. "I couldn't tell you because you were the problem!"
Suddenly, an explosion of energy blasted from Pan. Trunks was blown back several meters before he could correct himself. To his amazement, Pan's hair was blonde, and her eyes were blue. She floated in the air, glowing.
"Holy shit," he swore.
Then, she powered down, her body sagging. She began to fall. Trunks caught her before she hit the water.
"Pan," he said, shaking her. "Pan!"
"Shut up," she said, punching him in the face before she passed out.
It was a little difficult to get a hotel room with an unconscious woman in you arms, but Trunks told the hotel management who he saw so that they wouldn't worry--the president of Capsule Corp. was well known--and also that the young lady was just suffering from heat exhaustion. He explained that they had been out exploring and had gotten lost, which was why they were a little worse for wear. With Pan still in his arms, he entered the hotel room and placed her gently onto the bed. He removed her shoes and socks before slipping her between the covers. She muttered something incoherent, but didn't wake up.
Trunks sat at the armchair near the bed.
I couldn't tell you because you were the problem!
Could Pan have been in love with him for this long? Trunks couldn't believe it. He watched her sleep. Her eyebrows were knit together and underneath her eyelids he could see her eyes shooting around. Even in sleep she didn't get any rest. Trunks leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes. Nearly two days of no sleep had taken their toll on him and he was exhausted.
Trunks didn't realize he was asleep until a noise jolted him awake. In the shadows of the room, he could see Pan making her way to the door, her tattered shoes in her hands. Leaping forward, he grabbed her arm.
"I hope you don't make this a habit," she joked weakly.
"What did you mean that I was the problem?" he asked.
A muscle jumped underneath her eye, and she remained stubbornly silent. Trunks was at his wits end and he scrambled for something to make her spill the beans.
"Please, Pan. Tell me," he said tightly, controlling the need to scream. "I don't think I can go without knowing."
"You're going to have to," she replied.
She started for the door.
"How did I hurt you, Pan?" he asked quietly.
She stopped. "Who says you did?"
"You did. Right before you turned Super Saiya-jin. You said that I was the problem. I was the reason why you ran away. What did I do to make you hurt like that?" he asked, almost more to himself than to her.
Something in his voice tugged at something inside of her. It's not his fault he doesn't love me, she reflected hopelessly. I have to get this off my chest. As his friend, I owe him this much..
"The night before I left, I flew to your room," she began, sitting on the bed and resting her elbows on her knees. "I had just gotten word that I got into the school I wanted to go to and I wanted to tell you."
Trunks frowned. "But you didn't come that night. I remember..." His eyes widened. "Oh, God. I was with..." He floundered.
"Casey," Pan filled in for him. "Don't worry. I didn't stay long enough. I always thought that the habit you had of leaving your curtains open was very convenient for me and all burglars everywhere."
"I'm so sorry, Pan."
"Anyway, I learned the value of calling before popping up somewhere and it was then did I learn that I loved you. I guess it just grew when we started spending more time together, but I didn't discover it until that night when I saw you with her and the truth hit me full in the face."
"So you left," he said.
"I left. I wanted to forget you, but I couldn't. I kept on wishing that you would follow me, but you never did. I was foolish."
"No. You were hurt. And I was confused. I thought I was your friend, Pan, and you left without even saying good-bye."
"I couldn't face you again. So, I just got dad to buy me a plane ticket and I left as soon as I could. I couldn't believe he just up and bought it, but he must have seen how distraught I was." She smiled. "He's a good father."
"And you left three days ago because you thought I was getting back together with Marron," he said, wanting to jump up and take her in his arms.
But, she stood before he could move, mentally preparing herself for a life without him. "That's right. Now that your curiosity is finally satisfied, can I go?"
"No."
She glared at him. She decided right then and there that the jealousy she believed she saw on his face earlier was nothing more than a figment of her imagination. He had listened to her story with clinical objectivity, his face not giving away any of his thoughts. She wanted to throw herself at his feet and beg him to love her, but she stood her ground.
"Look, Trunks, I just threw my heart at your feet. I don't think my pride can stand it any more if you want to stand there and ask me more questions about my feelings."
"I don't want to ask you any more questions," he said, stepping closer.
She eyed him warily, but didn't move away.
"I understand how you felt when you saw me with Casey, and with Marron. I felt the same way when you were with that guy."
Her eyes widened, joy erupting inside her. "Trunks, he's not my boyfriend," she said in a rush.
"So do you make it a habit to kiss strangers?" he questioned.
"Only when you pop up out of nowhere," she replied cheekily.
He blinked. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Before she could change her mind, she cupped his face in her hands and drew him towards her. Surprise must have shocked him out of his stiff stance for he moved easily at her tugging. Lightly, she kissed him. She felt his arms circle her waist cautiously. She pulled away and looked into his face. He smiled, blue eyes dancing. She threw her arms around his neck, as he lifted her off her feet to hold her closer.
"I feel better," she sighed, ruffling his hair with her breath.
"Me, too," he agreed, pressing a kiss to her neck, then the rest of her face, exploring every inch of it before returning to touch his lips to hers. The kiss deepened until it was out of their control.
"Pan," he gasped, managing to pull away. "We should stop."
"Why?"
"I don't want to rush you."
She stopped. "You're not rushing me. I've been waiting my whole life for this."
"You mean...you're a...a..." he stuttered, turning beet red.
She chuckled, a little embarrassed. "Yes, I'm a virgin." Then she turned indignant. "Why are you so surprised? What kind of girl do you think I am?"
He lowered his head, and rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. "It's just that you're so beautiful and you've always had guys hanging around you. I just assumed that...well...you know."
"I have never made love with anyone because I've never met anyone special enough. Something always held me back."
He smiled down at her. "And I'm happy about that."
"Oh yeah, well, it's not as if you're pure," she scoffed, an underlying note to her words.
He saw a shadow cross her eyes and felt like a cretin. "I won't lie and say I'm not, but I haven't been running around like a maniac since I hit puberty," he offered weakly, not knowing what else to say.
She laughed despite herself. "That's good enough for me."
He lifted her and set her down on the bed, resting on top of her. Gently, he kissed her, his hands caressing her. For a virgin, Pan seemed to know exactly what she was doing as she removed his tanktop and slid her hands all over his body. He held her closer, and kissed her deeper, his mind focusing on one task and one task only.
