7Tough Chick
A Pan and Trunks story.
Chapter One:
Invisible Force
"You can do this, Pan. You can do this," I repeat to my worried reflection, even going as far as pointing my fingertip to the glass. The girl fixing her eyelashes in the mirror beside me takes one step over, so there's more space and a sink between us. Huh, she must be new. The girl's bathroom is crowded, but no one moves in to fill the empty space next to me. In fact, no one dares to look in my direction. The bathroom is buzzing with their voices, but I tune them out. Someone will fill the new girl in about the 'Why We Never Get Too Close Pan' rule, or maybe she already figured that out for herself.
I stare back at my anxiety-ridden expression. It's hard to believe that an ordinary human boy could be the cause of my suffering. I run my shaky hands under the water faucet. Cold water fills my palms. I praise myself for being one of those rare teenagers who don't wear makeup as I splash the cold water over my face. Some of the water soothingly drips down my neck and down my red half-top.
"You can do this," I repeat one final time.
The girls in the restroom jump out of the way and flatten themselves against the bathroom walls as I turn to leave. Someone even shouts out into the hall, "Pan's coming!"
'Big' isn't a word I'd use to describe myself, but I certainly feel like the massive elephant in the room sometimes. No one at my school has forgotten what happened to Debbie Shane when she accidentally ran into me as I was leaving math class. She broke her arm, three teeth, and poor Debbie Shsne's nose has looked crooked ever since. I guess that's the price I pay for having a body that's 100% toned muscle. Don't get me wrong, I'm not shredded like my dad or Uncle Goten, but I don't have toothpicks for arms either.
My heart suddenly starts to beat faster as I round a corner, sensing the cause of my suffering before I actually see him. I hate having crushes. Usually I only have crushes on celebrities. This is the first time I've ever had a crush on someone I know, so it must be love, right?
A wistful sigh escapes me once my eyes settle on my crush. He's standing next to his locker, laughing with a group of his friends, oblivious to my presence and feelings. Seeing him and hearing his beautiful laugh used to be enough for me. Hell, it's the only thing that's gotten me this far through high school, and that used to be enough for me….
But I want more.
"You can do this," I whisper to myself, slowing my pace as I inch my way closer to my crush. " Just ask him out to a movie and offer to pay, easy." There's no way a guy would say no to a free movie and snacks.
His friends notice me one second before he does, and their expression changes. Joy is replaced with alarm and a hint of fear in their eyes. I can almost hear what they're thinking: What could the scary granddaughter of the two strongest fighters in the world possibly want with them?
My crush looks at me, and his bright blue eyes widen with surprise. That's not the expression I was hoping for, and it's enough to send me into a panic.
"No, you can't do this! Abort mission!" my heart screams at me. I stop walking and my courage melts away, but it's too late. I'm already in front of them. It would be weird to just walk away without saying anything now. I don't have the nerve to ask out my crush anymore, and my mind is drawing a blank as to what to talk about. For a while, I stare at my crush, and my crush and his three friends stare back. The tension and fear between his friends grows stronger, and I know they'll take off screaming in fear any second if I don't say something soon.
"Hi. Did you need something?" My crush asks, his gentle voice somehow soothing my nerves.
He's talking to me. Wow. My crush is actually talking to me!
My face brightens and I can't suppress my overwhelmingly wide smile. Right away, I know that his friends know that I like him. It's only obvious.
"We should go," One of his taller friends says, signaling for the others to give us a little privacy.
Only, my crush doesn't get it. When they said 'We,' he thought that meant him, too.
He quickly takes out his backpack and slams his locker shut " Sorry, I've gotta go."
"But…"
My crush runs to catch up. His friends spare me a sympathetic glance and the taller one forces my crush to turn around and face me, even giving him a little push. Confusion overshadows my crush's face.
"I just wanted to borrow your science notes but it can wait until Monday, okay, bye have a good weekend," I blurt out, averting my gaze to the floor to hide my red face as I race past them. To his taller friend I mutter out a quick," Thanks for trying."
My first attempt at asking out a boy has failed.
:(
Papa is sitting in his favorite chair, surrounded by books and drinking coffee when I come home.
"Hey, sweetheart," He greets, setting his coffee on the small end table beside his chair. " How was your—" I toss my backpack across the room with a loud grunt, then fall onto the couch like a freshly chopped Christmas tree." –Day? That bad, huh?"
I scream into the couch cushion, letting out most of my frustration. This wasn't how I pictured my Friday evening turning out.
"Want to talk about it? I'm here for you."
"Not really," I grunt, sit up, and smooth out my shoulder length hair. Normally, I could talk to Papa about anything, but this is the first time I've ever been interested in a boy before. Yes, there was that one time I went out with a boy when I was ten, but duty called, and I had to postpone our date to stop a bank robbery. Papa didn't know about that boy and I don't think Grandpa Goku ever mentioned him. Besides, I'm not ten years old anymore. I'm sixteen! And sixteen year old boys are what dads of teen girls are most worried about. No, Papa is better off not knowing about my boy troubles for now.
"What's for dinner?" I ask. If anything can cheer me up it's food.
Papa thinks for a moment. " I'm not sure, but your mother wants you to go to the store with her. She's in the kitchen writing a list."
"Okay, fine. Tell her I need to put my stuff away first, then we can go. "I walk across the room and pick up my backpack, which is mostly empty except for two notebooks and a pencil case. I start up the stairs then stop halfway up." Is there anything you need from the store? New ties, or hazelnut coffee creamer maybe? You know Mama only drinks black coffee, so she'll forget to add it to the list."
"Yeah, thanks sweetie," Papa says, returning to his book." Oh, I just remembered I ran out of staples today. Could you pick up a box of staples while you're at the store?"
"Sure, no problem."
.+.+.+.+.
Mama parks the car far away from the store entrance, next to the shopping kart return corral and a green van.
"What about the baby?" I blurt out, my gaze instantly zooming in on Mama's round stomach, which was almost pressing against the steering wheel. We found out the sex of the baby last week. My little brother won't be born for a few more months, but I specifically heard the doctor tell Mama to take it easy and get plenty of rest. Hiking through the grocery store parking lot didn't seem like a good start.
"The baby is fine," Mama laughs, rubbing her stomach. "Honestly, you worry as much as Gohan. Walking is good for us. I was always on my feet when I was pregnant with you, and you came out alright."
"I guess," I relent, stepping out of the car. "If anyone knows what's best for Little Piccolo, it's you."
Mama frowns at the nickname I came up with for the baby.
I innocently shrug." You said Papa could name the baby, so you better get used to it. He'll want to name the baby something to honor his dead mentor. Little Piccolo sounds cuter than just plain Piccolo, right?"
"I hate to admit it, but you're right," mama sighs.
Piccolo had sacrificed himself when the Earth blew up. It was the only way to permanently get rid of the dangerous black star dragonballs. We used the Namekian dragonballs to restore the Earth, but Piccolo remained in Otherworld. If Papa wanted to name the baby after Piccolo, then Mama wouldn't mind too much.
….
Mama sets her purse in her shopping kart and tears off half the shopping list while I grab a kart.
"I'll focus on the vegetables and meats," Mama says, handing me half of the shopping list, the half that has canned goods, pastas, and rice on it." You're better at sensing ki, so come find me if you finish your list first. Try to remember not to crush the eggs and bread this time, Pan."
"That wasn't my fault!" I cry out, my face heating with anger at the memory. "It was the bagger who put the eggs and bread at the bottom of the bag that time." I don't mention that the bagger was probably a girl I go to high school with. My school mates snag any chance they get to bully me.
The kart shakes a little as I march through the aisles. I'm in such a bad mood that I don't think twice about the stuff I'm throwing into the kart. I just want to get home as quickly as possible, eat dinner, and start my boring weekend of playing video games already.
"EXCUSE ME!" I shout at a group of women blocking me from reaching the chips. They don't stop gossiping, but they do inch over far enough for me to grab what I need. I roll my eyes, grab the chips, and continue darkly muttering to myself as I move on to the next aisle.
Thud!
A dumb little kid running down the aisle hadn't expected my kart to suddenly appear, and he runs right into it. The impact would've been enough to knock my kart over, but I held firmly onto the handlebar, keeping it in place. The kid bounces off the kart and lands on his butt. His shocked brown eyes look up at me. I can tell by his expression that he thinks I ran into him on purpose.
"Watch where you're going," I snap. He's so lucky he ran into my kart and not some disabled, elderly person.
The dumb kid's lip quivers, and he let's out a low, pained noise, like he's too scared of me to fully cry.
"Jeri!"
Shoes squeak against the shiny grocery floor in the distance. My heart beats excitedly at the sight of my crush running down the aisle, eyes full of concern for the boy. Oh, no. I hope he didn't hear me get angry and snap at the kid earlier.
"Paru!" The kid- Jeri- wails. He scrambles to his feet and runs to meet Paru. He's fully crying now." I-I was running and *hic* That woman! *hic* She-she ran me over." Snot is fully running down the kid's nose as he turns to point at me, finishing with," She yelled at me! She's so mean!"
"I would never yell at you," I say in a soft motherly tone that surprises me more than the kid. I'm panicking on the inside, but somehow manage to stay calm as I approach the boy and kneel down to his eye level." Are you hurt? You know you really shouldn't run in any store. It's dangerous."
Paru laughs. The sound is so beautiful and warm, I can't help but melt a little. Jeri stares at me as if I'd grown two heads, but at least he's stopped crying. Now seems like the perfect chance to ask Paru out. Maybe I could treat him and his little brother out to ice cream after I finish shopping with Mama. I stand up. Paru begins to apologize for his brother, but his words barely reach me. It feels like I'm about to faint, but I know better. That thing is happening again. My only chance of asking out Paru is about to fly out the window soon if I don't act fast.
"Whoa!" Paru swiftly reaches out and steadies me by the shoulders as my body sways to one side, saving me from an embarrassing crash into the pickle jars." That was a close one. Are you feeling okay? You look like you're going to faint."
My skin feels tingly all over, as if some invisible force is trying it's hardest to whisk me away from my body ( which is exactly what's happening.) I've got to ask him out now!
"Paru." My hands wrap tightly around his arms, which are still steadying me. He's the only reason why I haven't fallen into the nearest shelf and passed out. I fight the urge to squeal or think about how this is the most physical contact we've ever had together.
"Do you want to get ice cream with me later?" I want to ask, but don't get the chance to. Paru isn't strong enough to keep me in my body, and I'm not strong enough to fight the invisible force that pulls me out. Like a movie being played at 25X the speed, scenery and images of West City blur by me, and I'm only able to make out the first and last scene I see. First: I see the rooftop of the grocery store where I was just at. Last: I see the pointed tip of Capsule Corporation. Once I reach Capsule Corporation, the invisible force stops guiding me. Then, as if saying," This is far enough," it lets go.
I fall straight into Trunks' body, and Trunks falls into mine.
I'm a slut for cheating on my other stories with this one. It literally took me 6 months to write this chapter.