Why Does it Have to Be Like This?

 

Again, don’t own songs mentioned or used in this chapter: “The Whistle Song”, DJ Aligator Project, “Uncle Fucker”, Terrance and Phillip.

 

Part 2
 

I woke up in the morning with “The Whistle Song” stuck in my head for some bizarre reason. I didn’t remember it playing at any of the clubs. But then, I also didn’t remember going home. It was then that I realised I wasn’t at home. And that the bed I was in seemed to contain another person. 

 

I sat up with a start. Goten grumbled something, as I disturbed his sleep. My eyes scanned the room. There seemed to be a trail of clothes leading out of the room…or, more correctly, into the room.

 

It all came rushing back. It was like when you hear people saying they see their life flash before their eyes when they have a near-death experience. The night flashed through my brain: Goten and I dancing at the forth club; Goten and I getting together at the forth club; Paresu and Juunanagou catching us; Goten and I leaving the forth club and going to his apartment; Goten and I shagging like rabbits when we got to his apartment. “The Whistle Song” is a really good screwing song.

 

I ran one hand through my hair. I had started to panic…but suddenly I stopped. Why was I caring? Juu-kun knew that I went home with Goten. He would have assumed that it was for more than just sleeping. I also assumed that Goten had told Paresu. If she had a problem…well it was her problem, not mine. 

 

Feeling much calmer, I settled back down next to Goten.

 

Both us woke about an hour later, had sex again, then finally emerged from the bedroom at around 11am. Goten leant me one of his shirts, so I didn’t have to put all of my going-out clothes back on. He pulled on a pair of pants.

 

“Want some breakfast, babe?” Goten asked.

 

“Um…yeah…sure…” I wasn’t used to being called cute pet names like “babe”. Juunanagou had always called me Bra.

 

Goten had started searching through his cupboards. Obviously, the search was not going as well as he had planned. “Um…I’m afraid I don’t really have much, B-chan. Nothing really breakfast-y anyway. Ooh, corn chips!” He displayed a half empty packet of Doritos. “How does nachos sound?”

 

“For breakfast?”

 

“Sure thing.” Goten set out making nachos, refusing to let me help him. It was ready five minutes later. I wished he had let me help him. I mean, it wasn’t that bad. I’m just not used to the cheese being crunchier than the corn chips.

 

The phone rang, and Goten answered it. “Hello? Oh, hey. Um, yeah she is. You wanna talk to her?” Goten handed the phone to me. “It’s Pan.” 

 

I took the phone from him. “Hey, Pan.”

 

“Holy shit! I didn’t believe Trunks when he told me!” Pan laughed. She called out to someone in the background, obviously Kale. “She is at his place!”

 

I heard Kale laugh and started singing something that sounded very much like “Uncle Fucker”. 

 

“Kale finds it amusing that you’re with my uncle now, after you dated Marron’s uncle for like a year,” Pan unnecessarily explained.

 

“No shit, Sherlock,” I mumbled. “So, that’s all you rang for? To find out if I was actually here?”

 

“Yeah, that’s all. I’ll…uh…leave you and Goten alone now. Have fun!” Pan hung up before I could think of some smart-arsed reply.

 

“She made fun of you, didn’t she?” Goten asked.

 

“Yep. That’s what friends are for, right?”

 

 

*   *   *   *   *   *

 

 

Everyone knew about Goten and I two days later. Personally, I blame Trunks. Unless it’s a secret about him, he can rarely keep his mouth shut.

 

Three days later, I got the phone call I had been dreading.

 

“Hi, Bra. It’s Juunanagou,” came a quiet voice.

 

“Oh, hey, Juu-kun! How you doin’?” I tried to sound cheery. Like nothing was wrong.

 

“Well, how do you think? I mean, considering what I’ve been hearing non-stop for the past couple of days.”

 

I sighed. “Look, Juunana, I’m sorry. But what happened has happened. Neither of us can change that.”

 

“Do you mind if I ask why?”

 

“You can ask, but I can’t answer. I honestly don’t know.”

 

“Well, you can understand that I’m upset by this. We broke up because you were moving away for college. We wouldn’t get to see each other very often. So you hook up with Goten? Forgive me if I’m wrong, but that sort of defeats the purpose of us breaking up, doesn’t it?”

 

I had to admit he had a point. Even though me moving for college wasn’t the only reason we’d broken up, it was the main one. But I had already spoken to Goten about that. He understood that we’d be living apart, and there was a chance that one or both of us could find someone else. Thus, we’d come to an agreement. We’d have a relationship on a casual basis. When I was home, and if both of us were single, we’d hook up. Simple as that.

 

“Well, Juu-kun, Goten and I aren’t actually dating,” I told my ex. “Did anyone tell you that?”

 

“No. I just heard that the two of you fucked, and I just assumed from there. Forgive my incompetence.”

 

It was just like Juunanagou to say something like that. From the way he acted sometimes, you’d think the guy had never made a mistake in his life! Now, when I think back, I can’t believe that he could say things like that after all the things he had pulled and not told me about. Bastard, fucking bastard.

 

I tried to explain the casual concept to Juunana, but it was useless. He wouldn’t listen. He always so certain that he’s right, and that everyone else has done him wrong. 

 

He had succeeded in what he had obviously set out to do. I felt rotten. He had made me feel like I had cheated on him, which certainly wasn’t fair. And to top it all off, when I rang Goten (a total mess, yet again) he felt like the world’s biggest jerk. I tried to consol him, and only succeeded a little. I got the feeling Paresu was also giving him shit. That’d be just like her.

 

 

*   *   *   *   *   *

 

 

Three uncomfortable weeks later, it was time for us to leave for college – us, being Pan, Kale and myself. Oddly enough, Kale and I were headed for the same college. Apparently, Videl had asked Pan if she was worried about that. Pan explained that she trusted Kale…and besides, I’d always said I didn’t find Kale attractive in any way. Typical – she didn’t say anything about trusting me. Love you too, Pan!

 

Pan was going to a college not too far from ours, which meant that I saw a lot of her. On the advice of ChiChi, Gohan and Videl had enrolled her in some posh all-girls college. ChiChi had it picked out from the moment Pan was born, and when the end of high school neared, she’d started leaving brochures all over Gohan and Videl’s house. 

 

There were plenty of teary goodbyes on our last night at home. We all went out for dinner. Paresu looked pleased to see that I was leaving, but I got dagger eyes when I hugged Goten at the end of the night.

 

 

*   *   *   *   *   *

 

 

“You’re so lucky, Bra,” sighed Kale. I had invited him to my dorm for the afternoon. “I have to share my room with this total nerd.”

 

“Birds of a feather, flock together,” I said, smirking. He was right, however. Thanks to my wondrously generous mother, I had possibly the largest dorm room on the campus. I even had a double bed. Kale, on the other hand, was living mostly on scholarships. “Has Pan come round to visit yet?”

 

“Nah, not yet. I think she’s busy trying to settle into her college. She has to share her room too.”

 

“I don’t think you can get single rooms at that place.”

 

“Oh, I almost forgot. There’s a guy in the room across from me – he knows you and Pan. Well, he knows Pan, and he knows of you. Can’t remember his name. Big dark guy with a Mohawk. O…”

 

“Uub?” I offered.

 

“Yeah! That’s the guy.”

 

As it so happened, Uub was enrolled in my course. He saw me on our first day, and seemed to have some recognition. No doubt it was my hair that did it.

 

He sat next to me. “Bra, right? Trunks’ sister?”

 

“Yeah, that’s me. Howdy Uub,” I greeted. “Kale told me you lived in the same dorm as him.”

 

Uub nodded. “We were talking the other day. I saw a picture he had of Pan. So, can you confirm some rumours for me? Were you really dating Juunanagou?”

 

“Yep.”

 

“Wow! Total spinner.”

 

We were interrupted by the lecturer, who so rudely wished to start his class. But seeing as we were doing the same course, Uub and I saw plenty of each other. He told me how he’d ended up at college. Though he enjoyed fighting, it wasn’t exactly a stable form of income. With most of the money he’d won in fighting competitions, he’d gotten private tuition. It had taken him a little while to catch up, so, though he was a few years older than me, he too, was just starting college.

 

Uub and I became fast friends. We also made friends with several others enrolled in our course: a sweet girl, Arkya, Daruke, who was a friend of Arkya’s, and Liberty, probably the second richest person at the college. Kale also hung out with us a lot of the time, when his friends got annoying. 

 

One night, after we had spent hours at the bar and Liberty, being a perfect gentleman, had walked me back to my room, my phone started ringing. Assuming it was just my parents, as per usual, I made myself comfortable on my bed, and answered the phone.

 

“Hey, beautiful,” came Goten’s voice.

 

“Goten!” I squealed, happily. “How did you get my number?”

 

“I asked your parents for it, silly. Are you excited about coming home?”

 

My break was coming up in two weeks. “You know that’s a stupid question. Of course I’m excited!”

 

“Um…Bra…have you…uh…picked up?”

 

“Have I wha…? Ohhh. No, as a matter of fact, I haven’t. I haven’t been trying though. Have you?”

 

Goten’s voice seemed to be full of relief. “Nope, me neither. So…uh…does that mean we can do stuff together when you come back?”

 

“It certainly does. And Goten, you know you don’t have to be so hesitant about this sort of stuff.”

 

“I can’t help it – I’m shy!”

 

Goten and I talked for a couple of hours before I realised the huge phone bill he must have been ringing up. “Look, Goten, I’d better go. I’ll see you in a couple of week, okay?”

 

“Alright, then, babe. Miss you heaps!”

 

“You too! Ciao!” I hung up the phone, and drifted into an absolutely blissful sleep