Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ A Change of Heart ❯ Plans For a Double Date ( Chapter 12 )

After much practice and planning-which took place in Entourage Records, a popular record store on the second floor-they strutted over to Shichanni's, the Italian restaurant. Trunks stayed outside, sitting on a bench with a box of Japanese food from Tenutsu's. Dave walked in and took the seat, and soon the girl in question-Rebekah-came to take his order. Trunks leaned back, waiting for the show to end.

A little while later, Dave came out with a triumphant grin. Trunks stood up and threw his box in the trash, falling into step with his friend.

"So?" Trunks prodded, folding his arms, and eyeing Dave, who still-unfortunately-had that stupid grin on his face.

"I've got a date with her!" He nearly shouted, and Trunks sushed him. Dave gave a funny, nerdy-incoherently spazzy-giggle, and shoved his hands in his pockets, stepping onto the `down' escalator. "Tonight we're going to Tin'aco's to play some pool, catch some grub. All that stuff." Trunks shot him an interested look. "And, I've got you to thank for it, friend." Trunks allowed himself a smirk; Dave had no idea.

Pan shook her bookbag, letting its contents slide into a secure position. The bell had just rung, and she slung the bag over one shoulder. She stepped out into the hall, and a guy with somewhat long for a guy, straight, messy hair walked over to her.

"Pan?" He asked, and she turned to him. "How are you?" He said, and she gave him a smile. It was Larkin Scott, one of the most respected guys in school. Not to mention one huge babe magnet. He was always quiet, but not shy. More reserved, he did martial arts a lot, and everyone knew he was good.

"Hey, Larkin. Nothing much. "She laughed. "Glad that test's over. What's up?" He shrugged, a laptop under one arm, and started walking with her.

"Nothing really. Actually, I was wondering if you could help me out." He folded his arms with his laptop across his chest and looked at her.

"Sure, what with?" They stepped out into the crisp, clear fall day, where some Cheerleaders were practicing their flips and dances. They heard the echo of, "Halestone Hurricanes, go, go, Halestone Hurricanes, GO `CANES!" as they walked across the lawn.

"The computer class is killing me, so I was hoping we could go over some stuff tonight?" She smiled and stopped, turning around to him.

"Yeah, that's fine. You wanna' come over tonight?" She tilted her head to the side, and the sun cast a shine over her hair. He nodded with a smile, and she shifted her weight. "Ok, I'll see you later. Is about seven-thirty all right?"

"That's great." He flashed a stark-white smile. "I'll see you then." He gave a wave, and disappeared near the student parking lot

Pan smiled to her self before trotting over to Bura's car to wait for her. Soon her blue-haired friend appeared with several football players tagging along, the cheerleaders forgotten. Bura smiled and waved as she saw her friend at her car, and pulled out her keys, clicking the button and unlocking the doors.

"Hey there, chica." She said warmly, and she pointed to the guys behind her. "This is Ron, Davey, Mark, and Chris." She opened her door, and Pan slid the set forward for the guys to hop in the back. "Hey, Pan-o, do you mind sharing a seat with Ron?" Pan looked at Ron, who had dark red hair and a good build.

"Not at all." Ron sat down, and Pan eased herself onto his lap. Bura turned the radio up, and the six of them drove away from the place known as school. Ron turned out to be real neat Pan soon found out, and they talked the whole way to one of the guys' house.

She soon found out he liked football-of course-and skateboarding, he liked to swim, and was a lifeguard in the summer, and he had moto-bikes and a track in his back yard.

They pulled into a driveway of an upper-class suburb, and all the guys piled out. Bura waved goodbye to them all, and so did Pan-although she didn't blow kisses or wink-and they made their way back into town.

"Hey, is it ok if we drop off somewhere real quick?" Bura asked, pulling a strand of hair out of her sunglasses. Pan nodded, and Bura handed her her cellphone. "Call your `rents and tell them what's up then. So they don't think you're dead somewhere." She smiled, and Pan started dialing the number. Her mom soon answered, and she explained Bura needed to head somewhere. She hung up just as Bura pulled into Calamity Dr.

She pulled into a sort of warehouse, and she stepped out of the car. Pan followed her timidly, and when she walked in the door she saw lights flashing and people walking hurriedly about. Pan looked at Bura curiously, but she only motioned for Pan to follow in reply. Soon they were in the center of the action, and Pan saw Donny sitting on a couch while camera's flashed away. She smiled, and Bura returned it. Soon the music and the lights stopped, and Donny walked over to them.

He gave Bura a hug and a kiss on the cheek, and he waved at Pan. Bura seemed to instantly be giggly, and he walked them over to where a long table with food sat. He picked up a plate and handed it to Bura, then one to Pan, and then got one for himself and started dishing some stuff onto it. Bura followed, but Pan only put a couple carrots and some dip on her own.

"I'm glad you could come." He said to her, and Pan fell away from them a bit. "I was hoping you'd make it."

"Of course, why would I miss?" She laughed, and he smiled, chomping into a celery stick. "You ready?" She asked, and he nodded, finishing off his plate and tossing both it and Bura's into the trash. Pan did also, and after Donny talked to someone they left the building. Pan hopped into the back and they drove off towards her house.

She listened to them talk, occasionally talking too, but it seemed like forever until they pulled into her own house on Flower Ln. She awkwardly got out and thanked Bura, then smiled at Donny and disappeared into her house, thankful to get away from small talk.

Her mother shouted a greeting from the basement as she scaled the stairs, and she could hear her dad watching a football game in the living room. She walked into her room and looked around; realizing it needed desperate cleaning before he came.

An hour or so later Pan shut her hamper lid and inspected the room. She went to the radio and turned it off, then decided on a shower before dinner. Grabbing a towel off the back of her door she went into the bathroom and turned on the shower, reaching into the bathroom drawer for her razor.

Minutes later she was out and in her room, brushing out her wet hair, her towel draped over her shoulders. Her mother had just called up saying dinner would be ready soon, and she opened her computer and started it, getting it ready for when he came.

She slipped on some tan corduroy pants and a cap-sleeve tee with dark and light brown polo stripes across it. She slipped on some clogs and pulled her hair up in a messy bun. She grabbed some tortoise-shell chopsticks out of a vase full of sand that she kept her hair sticks in-a useful present from Marron. The vase of sand, that is-and slid them into her bun, trying to make it look a little presentable.

She grabbed a pot of correction dust and dusted her face with it, and put some pale brown eyeshadow on with some neutral lipgloss. She sat them down and noticed the hemp necklace Bura bought her for Christmas the year prior-not yet worn-and slipped it on with some plain, bamboo looking hoops in her ears.

She trotted down the steps and went into the kitchen where her mother was sprinkling crunchy onions on top of a green-bean casserole. She picked some off the top, and opened the fridge to get some juice.

"Don't eat anything." Her mother warned. "Dinner's ready." Pan smiled and showed her mother the juice bottle. "No food though, Pan." She walked out of the room with the casserole in her arms and Pan drunk her drink in one gulp. She rinsed out the cup and replaced the carton, walking into the dining room, more like an extended kitchen breakfast nook.

Her mother called to Gohan, and he appeared instantly, almost out of thin air, and they sat down. Pan coughed into her hand, and Videl looked at Gohan suck in his food before clearing her throat.

"Pan has company tonight she tells me." She prompted, and looked at them both. Gohan looked up, and Pan smiled bashfully.

"It's nothing really," She began. "just a friend who's studying with me tonight. So don't worry, daddy. And please don't question him like an officer." Gohan smiled.

"All right, all right. But who is this guy-er, young man." Pan fiddled with her earring and picked up a stray onion with her fork.

"You actually have heard of him. In fact, I think you might have met him once. Larkin Scott. He's into martial arts, and his dad runs a bank-"

"Larkin Scott, eh? Black hair?" Pan nodded. "Oh, he's a good kid. Has some plans for his future at least. No one ever has any goal to their life these days." He shook his head, as if talking about it in his mind some more. "So, what class does he need help in? Or, he doesn't really need help. But what class is he asking you to help him with?"

"Computer Works and Management. It's an honor's class." Gohan looked thoughtful for a bit. "He's really good in it too. I thought maybe if you get the chance, you might actually have something to talk about." She smiled.

"Yeah, I'd guess so. So how old is he now?" He asked. "Seventeen?" Pan nodded, and Gohan drew one corner of his mouth up. "Did you offer?"

"No, he asked me when school got out. He's coming over at seven-thirty."

Pan jumped awake and looked at the TV. The program she had been watching was long over, and her eyes darted to the clock that read 7:28. She hopped off the couch and ran up to her room, pulling out all her notes and computer disks and CD's, running at a rapid pace. She realized she must've fallen asleep watching the TV after dinner, and she smacked herself internally.

She picked up a folder just as the doorbell rang, and quickly inspected herself in the mirror. She looked awful. Her hair was long gone, even with one of the chopsticks hanging to the point of nearly falling out, so she redid it quickly as her father answered the door. Slipping in the last one, she heard her father call her name, and she spread some lipgloss across her lips as she ran down the stairs.

She put on her brakes at the bottom, and took a deep breath, trying to slow her breathing, and walked casually into the living room. Her father and Larkin were talking on the couch, the TV on faintly in the background. Larkin stood up as she walked in, and they both greeted each other with casual "hello's", and "hey's."

"You wanna go grab some eats from the kitchen and get started?" She asked, and he followed her into the apple-themed setting of the kitchen with a "sure".

She grabbed some chips from a cupboard, along with some juice and cups, plus some snack-mix she found stowed away above the fridge.

Two hours later the chips were reduced to crumbs and the juice was empty and tossed into her wastebasket. They were now almost down with the snack-mix, and were sitting around both of their computers.

"I think it should work now." She said, and he bit his lip and shook his head. She looked at him curiously, as if to explain.

"Ms. Mosser said it needed to be compatible with both Windows and Mac. We've only got it for windows." So, an hour later, they stumbled into the kitchen, both tired and glad it was over. Videl was doing some dishes, and she looked at the debilitated teenagers.

"Do you want some ice-cream?" She asked, putting a salad bowl up. Both nodded dumbly, and she got out the box of ice-cream from the freezer. She scooped them both a bowl, complete with chocolate syrup and crunchy candy bar sprinkles, and set them down on the table. Pan gave a weak smile, and she thought she heard Larkin mumble a "thank you." She shook her head. "That tough?" And they both nodded as if it was painful. She shook her head again and replaced the towel over the door of a cabinet.

"Pan!" Her father called from his library, and she turned her face towards his voice. "Phone's for you!" He called, and she stumbled to get it. Once in the living room she picked it up gingerly, and put it to her ear.

Ron's voice answered hers with a, "Hey, Pan. How are you?" She forced some vigor into her voice and answered with a, "I'm great, and you?"

Minutes later they hung up with an agreement to meet at the drive-in movie the next night for the seven showing. She walked into the kitchen more refreshed, and finished her ice-cream with Larkin.

Her mother was gone, she soon noticed, and she finished her last bite and picked up both their bowls, setting them in the sink. She shook her head, knowing her mother had just finished doing the dishes, and she turned on the sink to wash the bowls.

"In the mood for washing?" Larkin asked, stepping over to the sink with her. She smiled at him.

"Kind of. More in the mood for not making my mom do it." She pushed down the lever for soap, and started scrubbing out the sticky chocolate. He smiled and folded his arms after she turned down his offer to help.

"You know, Pan, you are the most thoughtful girl I know. Not one girl I've ever met or hung out with would ever think twice about that. They'd just sit it in the sink and walk away. I think that's so awesome." She smiled humbly, and shook the bowls and spoons out before sitting them on the rack to dry.

"It wasn't hard on my part. See, all done." She gave a cheesy smile, and he shook his head as she dried her hands.

"See, Pan," He took her hands and turned her to face him. "my whole life I've been surrounded by spoiled brats that had nothing better to do than curl their hair." He swallowed. "I've never known a girl different than that. At school, I mean, when I transferred to Halestone, I hadn't known many girls. I had been at a private, all boy school up north. The ones I did know where spoiled little girls in the neighboring girls' academy that we had dances with. Then, when I moved here, all the girls that were around were just the same I thought. I didn't know there were ones around that weren't." He shook his head. "I don't know, I'm not making any sense. But what I wanted to say, was that I'm glad I found you, and you don't know how good it feels to be around someone that isn't like that." Pan stood, staring at his dark eyes. So dark, so black that they seem to sparkle with crystalline white.

He slowly leant down and kissed her softly on the lips. It was too quick to realize until it was over, but it kept repeating itself in slow motion to her as he still kept her gaze. She found herself swooning, and their hands dropped.

"I better be going." He said, and picked up his coat from the kitchen chair. She walked him to the door, and he slung his coat on, stepping onto the porch. "Pan?" She raised a brow, showing him she was listening. "I'd like to see you again tomorrow night, is that ok." She smiled.

"Of course it is." He smiled again, and put his hands in his pockets, looking suddenly like a little boy.

"Tomorrow, can I pick you up to see a movie at the drive-in? I know it sounds dumb but I kind of like them." He smiled, and she looked at him quizzically. "Not for that reason." He said quickly. She smiled again, and he continued. "Pick you up about fifteen to seven?" She nodded excitedly, and he turned to leave, walking backwards on the walkway. "See you tomorrow then." He said, then jogged to his car.

She watched him get in, shut the door, start the engine, then turn the lights on and drive off. She watched his taillights as he pulled down the street, then something hit her: She had made two dates for the same place, same time. She groaned, and leaned against the window, then hurriedly ran to the hall phone.

She dialed Bura's number and Vegeta picked up. She jumped, not expecting his voice, and asked for Bura.

"Is this Pan?" He asked, and she said yes. "Just a second." She heard him set the phone down and call to Trunks. Her heart gave a faint flutter as she heard Trunks' voice answer, and then heard him call to Bura up the stairs. Footsteps hurried down them, and Bura picked up the phone, a bangle clacking against the mouthpiece.

"Pan?" She asked, and then the darker of the two spilled the whole story. Bura listened intently, and at the end she gave a loud, "Mmm, Hmm."

"Well, who do I cancel with? What do I do?" Pan was now sitting on the steps, frantic and not knowing how she would handle it. She heard Bura click her tongue in thought, then stop.

"Well, why do you even have to consult me? You break neither date, you simply keep them both."

"Wha-"

"Go with both of them, Pan. Both the same place, it's simple as cake. Just go between both cars. Make sure their parked close enough to each other, yet far enough away so the guys don't see each other. I'll help you. See, tomorrow we just-"

And so Bura started spilling the plan easily, leading Pan to believe that Bura had gone through it somehow before, and Pan wondered how the heck she would pull the whole thing off.