50Shoutout to Sunshine Spray, Kepan, Elianni0510, wintermoon7,Caitliiiiin, & Guest for reviewing last chapter! You're awesome! Happy New Year's! Happy St. Valentine's Day! Happy Easter!
It's been 3 months since my last update so here's a quick recap of what happened in the last chapter:
Pan woke up in bed with a college guy named Leo.
Leo was in the middle of escorting her to the women's showers,
but they encountered Trunks.
Ghost From the Past
Chapter 17: Rescue
Trunks is going to kill Leo. I can see it in his eyes. He'll never admit it to himself, but he's more like his dad than he thinks. It's not Leo's fault I got blackout drunk and went to bed with him. He doesn't deserve to die for this.
"Run," I hiss as Trunks gets closer.
Leo chuckles, finally noticing Trunks." Is that your boyfriend?" Leo stuffs his hands into his pockets with a smile on his face. He has no intention of fighting Trunks. I can't help but wonder how many women he's slept with whose boyfriends paid him a visit. Did he simply pay or talk his way out of getting beaten? Maybe he's used to it.
There's simply no time to reason with Leo, but I get it. How seriously can he take Trunks when he's still dressed as a prince from last night's party? By the time he realizes that Trunks is so much more than a pretty face it'll be too late.
"Trunks, stop," I growl, stepping in front of Leo, blocking him from Trunks.
Trunks doesn't take his eyes off Leo. I'm too short to block their view of each other.
I reach my hands out, and Trunks pauses as my hands make contact with his chest. He's not barbaric enough to push me out of the way, although it would be so easy for him to do.
Trunks heavily exhales through his nose." Did you fuck him?"
My face goes red." What?"
"Did. You. Fuck. Him?" Trunks slowly repeats, glowering down at me, forgetting all about Leo for a moment.
Under normal circumstances I would've blown up at Trunks. I mean, I never agreed to be his girlfriend! What right does he think he has to ask me such a personal question, and in front of a growing crowd? Yes, despite what's happening, I'm aware of all the college students paying attention us, their phones recording everything in case Trunks manages to get to Leo.
My anger dissipates as I catch the flicker of hurt behind Trunks' eyes. I'm the last person he ever expected this from. If I say no, he'll know I'm lying. If I say yes, he'll use that as an excuse to go after Leo.
"I'm sorry," I say, and I mean it. He had expectations from me and I let him down, just like I let myself down.
I step out from between Trunks and Leo, and the crowd that had gathered around us parts enough to let me through. Maybe it's the hangover talking, but if Trunks wants to beat Leo up to feel better, then fine. I can always wish him back to life with the dragonballs.
Two college girls are just leaving the shower building when I step inside.
The room is steamy. I walk to the far side of the room, choosing the last shower stall on the left. All the stalls have curtains for privacy, a small bench, and hooks to hang your clothes and towels.
I forgot to steal a towel before leaving Leo's room. Oops. I guess I'll have to air dry when I fly to meet Bulla. I discard my dress and underwear on one of the hooks, then walk around the half wall to the shower.
Hot water rains against the bare skin of my entire body, and steam soon rises from the stall. It feels so wonderful that I just simply stand beneath the shower head, eyes closed, mind clear of everything else except the soothing sensation of the water.
There's a soap dispenser hanging on the wall beneath the shower head. I pump out some of its purple gel, generously lathering the soap on my inner thighs and between my legs. It's a cheap brand of soap that will leave my skin feeling dry, but I'm in no position to be picky. I pump out more of the soap. Every inch of my hair and skin, except for the bottoms of my feet, gets covered in the soap's foam. Not a single trace of Leo's smell, touch, or anything else will be left behind on my body.
I'm in the process of washing off when I hear the shower curtain move.
A pervert! I don't make an attempt to cover my boobs or any other part of my body. My plan is to hit the pervert so hard that he won't remember seeing me naked.
Twenty seconds pass.
The pervert doesn't try to peek around the half wall.
A female voice uncertainly calls out to me. She doesn't sound familiar.
"Um, hi. The guy in the costume asked me to bring in your stuff. I'll leave it on the bench."
"Okay, thanks," I reply, having no clue what 'stuff' she's talking about. I listen intently as the college girl sets the stuff on the bench. She doesn't leave right away. A few seconds later, she asks." Is that guy your boyfriend?"
There goes my hopes for a peaceful shower.
"No. We're childhood friends."
"Oh, I see."
Is she smiling? I lean to the side, trying to get a good look of the girl in my stall. I catch a glimpse of her wavy blond hair, then the voice of another college girl, her friend, hisses," Gina! You're being nosy! Stop. Their fight has nothing to do with us."
Oh, so that's what they're worried about.
"I'm sorry for causing a scene earlier. We'll leave after I finish showering." Dare I ask what happened to Leo? No. If anything serious had happened, I'd have heard the wails of the ambulance sirens." Thanks for dropping off my stuff."
"Yeah," The girl, Gina, responds. She doesn't get the chance to ask me anymore questions about Trunks as her friend hauls her away. Once I'm sure they're gone, I step out from beneath the shower head to inspect the stuff that Trunks had her bring in.
"You're the best," I mumble, holding up a black t-shirt with the college's logo of a bumble bee in yellow, along with a pair of shorts, a bath towel, two containers of shampoo and conditioner, and a small backpack to put it all in.
It's hard not to love Trunks a little bit when he does sweet things like this.
. + . + . + . + .
After my shower, I find Trunks sitting alone on a bench outside the building. He's changed out of his costume and is wearing a blue T-shirt with the college's logo on it, with a pair of simple blue jeans to match. He must've encapsulated his prince costume or threw it away. There's no sign of Leo.
"You're still here," I say, lowering myself onto the bench. Trunks is staring straight ahead at the entrance to Leo's dorm building. He grunts out something that sounds like a "yeah."
My fingers tap uncertainly on the bench. Should we talk about last night or move on with our lives? I'd much rather forget that last night or this morning with Leo ever happened, but I know Trunks won't be able to let this go.
"I had a lot to drink last night…" I begin.
A part of me doesn't expect Trunks to say anything, but he does. " You're underage. You shouldn't have been drinking last night. Tell me who served you alcohol and I'll make sure he never sells alcohol to anyone ever again." He sounds so mad that I think he plans to do more than fire the guy.
"I don't remember his name. I don't think I could remember his face if I ever saw him again either. I was very, very drunk last night."
"Did that guy take advantage of you?"
"Trunks, come on. This is me we're talking about. Even if I was drunk, I would have had the strength to punch him across a football field if I thought he was a creep. I wanted to drink. I wanted to leave the party with Leo."
Trunks heavily sighs, disappointed that he doesn't have a reason to go after Leo.
"Wait, how did you know where to find me?" I ask.
Trunks pulls his cell phone out of his pocket and wiggles it in the air." When we were kids we would get separated a lot at festivals, so we downloaded that Find My Friend App. When I couldn't find you at the party at midnight, I got worried. I used the app to track you here, making it as far as the oak tree until I lost the signal. Your phone must've died."
I've never been more relieved that my phone had died when it did. What if Trunks had walked in on Leo and me? This school definitely would not have been left standing if he had!
"What was it you wanted to talk about last night?" I ask, referring to the Midnight meetup I missed with him last night.
Trunks steadies his gaze upon a large oak tree. He doesn't seem to want to answer the question.
There are students walking on the pathway leading from the dorms to the rest of the college campus. The girls can't help but flirtatiously smile at Trunks as they pass. I hear someone loudly whisper that he looks like the cute Capsule Corp CEO who appears in all those commercials. For some reason, all the attention they're giving him really pisses me off.
"Look, if this is about Valese, I already know that she's pregnant and you're the father," I huff.
It's almost comical watching Trunks' eyes widen in alarm. He's such a know-it-all that nothing really phases him anymore. For once I have the upper hand. It's hard not to feel smug about it.
"How did you know about Valese? I didn't even know she was pregnant until she told me a few days ago. I swear, Pan, if I had known earlier, I never would've asked you out on a date."
It's difficult keeping my voice under control, but I know that if I start yelling then a crowd will gather around us again. Unless I want to fly somewhere far away and secluded with Trunks to talk about this, which I don't, then I have no choice but to keep myself under control. That means I can't hit him, either. Lucky for Trunks.
"I had a feeling that something was going on between you guys. Goten spoke with me the night before the party and confirmed everything. He said that Valese was pregnant, and you were the father. How could you do this to him? I thought you were Goten's best friend! How could you betray him like this?"
Tears are streaming down my cheeks and I can't stop taking large gulps of air. It's difficult to breathe.
Poor Uncle Goten! His lifelong best friend and first love betrayed him. It's not surprising I never saw him in the future life I experienced with Fable and Trunks. Of course he wouldn't want to be Trunks friend anymore, of course he wasn't with Valese when she stopped by to pick up Fable that day…why would he stay with her and raise the lovechild of her affair?
I'm no better than Trunks. Instead of cutting Trunks out of my life I went ahead and married him, becoming Fable's stepmother. As much as I hate to admit it, I do love Trunks, and I could never condemn my niece to live alone with a dimwit like Valese, either. Now that my time travelling powers were gone, could I live peacefully in the future with Trunks and Fable without being haunted by the past? Did I even want to?
Trunks cautiously stretches his arm out and places his warm hand on my outer shoulder. His touch is comforting, and my heavy breathing returns to normal. The fact that I haven't hit him or shrugged his hand off is a good sign, and he gently pulls me into him, leaving little distance between us on the bench. We sit next to each other in silence for a few minutes until Trunks is sure I'm calm enough for him to continue speaking. There's more he wants to tell me.
"A few months ago you were upset with me because I put ink on your microscope in Biology class. It was a few days before your graduation, and the ink ring around your eye couldn't be washed off with soap. You said you hated me and that you'd be happy if you never saw me again, remember?"
Did that really only happen a few months ago?
I nod in response. "Yeah. You were such an ass back then. Everyone thought I was crazy for blaming you."
Trunks chuckles a little." Sorry, but when I heard that there was a guy in your biology class who liked you…I sort of got mad at you for it. I was jealous. " He clears his throat." I didn't realize what I had done until after you told me you hated me. I thought I had gone too far that time."
Trunks tenses his arm at the memory, squeezing me closer to him on the bench so there's no space between us. I felt my cheeks redden. Was he planning to pull me onto his lap next?
"I didn't think you'd ever forgive me. I was so depressed I went straight to bed when I got home that day. Mom and Bulla were out shopping, and I think Dad was out training somewhere. Valese let herself into my house. She knocked on my bedroom door, asking if I'd recently seen Goten. I told her I hadn't. She could tell I was upset just by looking at my face. I told her I wanted to be left alone but she sat at the foot of the bed and I confessed my feelings about you. She shared with me the insecurities she felt by dating Goten. One thing led to another and before I knew it, I was kissing her, and she was kissing me back- -"
"Stop!" I shout, covering Trunks' mouth with my hand." Don't tell me anymore, please. I don't need to hear every freaky detail that happened between you and Valese in your bedroom. Okay?"
Trunks releases an irritated sigh through his nose, then nods. He was probably going to skip over those details in the first place, but I didn't want to risk being scarred for life. I also didn't need that mental image hanging around with me all day. Hesitantly, I pull my hand away from his mouth.
"Anyway, you can pretty much guess what happened after that. Valese is pregnant and I might be the father, but it doesn't matter anymore. Valese called yesterday and said she was getting an abortion. It was never Valese I wanted to talk with you about last night. What I really wanted to say was—"
My left hand curls around the edge of the wooden bench, and my other hand tightly digs into Trunks' muscular thigh. Valese is getting an abortion! She's going to kill Fable! This never happened in the future I experienced. What suddenly caused the future to change?
"Pan, are you okay?"
"No, I'm not. Are you making Valese get an abortion? What the hell is wrong with you!" I jump to my feet, and so does Trunks. He looks so confused. He probably thought that I would be relieved to hear that Valese wasn't keeping Fable and we could sweep this whole affair under the rug.
Well, maybe I would've been relieved about the abortion if I hadn't met Fable and came to love her as my own. My stomach turns to knots as I remember the cold words I had last spoken to her," You're not my daughter."
"I'm not making her do anything!" Trunks defensively responds." I don't even know if I'm the father! Valese is the one that's pregnant. If she wants to terminate the pregnancy, then she has every right to do so. I can't force her to give birth if she doesn't want to."
"When?" I ask. "When is Valese getting the abortion?"
Trunks studies my face for a second. He can tell that something is wrong.
My entire body is trembling. I'm so afraid! What if it's too late?
"Her appointment is today at six," Trunks replies." But I don't know where. There are hundreds of clinics in West City."
Out of habit I take out my phone, but the battery is dead." What time is it now?"
"It's half past 3. Are you planning to talk her out of it?"
"No, Goten is!" My shoes hit the paved pathway hard as I take off in a run, then leave the ground completely as I fly into the air at maximum speed, with Trunks not too far behind me. The future changed and I'm sure Goten must've had something to do with it. It sickens me to think that my kind uncle must've forced Valese to choose between him or the baby.
"I don't understand what's going on," Trunks yells so I can hear him over the wind. He's still pretty far behind me. I'm the fastest flyer in the world. It would be impossible for him to catch up. I roll my eyes, then reluctantly slow my speed to match Trunks' slower pace.
"What would you say if I told you I've been to the future? A future where we're married and raising Valese's sweet little daughter together? Oh, and we live in a cute little house outside of West City?"
I glance over at Trunk. The wind has pushed back his hair, exposing his forehead and determined expression. At first, I don't think he's heard me, then his lips curl into a small smile.
"I'd say that's pretty damn cool. We should definitely go on a date and talk about this over dinner later."
"Sure. Right after we rescue Fable!" I smile back.
Sorry, Bulla. It looks like you'll have to go to college without me. I've chosen a different future for myself.