Play With Me

AN: Yay! My entry to the very first contest that I've joined. Unfortunately, while writing this I caught a very bad case of writer's block. I apologize for the way it is structured. I was trying to catch up before the deadline. Later when I get the time, I would edit it.

"Truth or dare,"

"Dare! I'll always pick dare. You know it, Daddy!"

A chuckle.

"Okay. I dare you to spit in Gohan's soup tonight at dinner,"

A joyous and mischievous laughter.

After hearing this line, I decided that I better cut in their little game that had been spanning for over an hour already.

"Hey," I called out from the living room. I was pretty sure that they could hear me from where they were in the kitchen. My mother wanted me to watch over Goten a while ago, but now it seemed as if he wanted to spend more time with Dad.

I couldn't blame him though. I did too, but Mom had ordered me to clean some of the things here in the living room, while Goten could have his little play time. Ah… sometimes I think there's a little bit of unfairness in the way Mom treated me and my little brother. Sometimes, I get a little jealous of all the time that he got to do whatever he wanted, when at his age, she would have made me open up a three-hundred paged textbook to learn about the wonders of the world. But just as usual, the jealous side of me wasn't enough to voice out my opinions, my side, and I wouldn't let it get in between us. Goten deserved what he got, and even I wouldn't trade that over something that I had experienced once when I was that young.

"Leave me out of your game!" I called out.

I heard the young seven-year-old laugh openly, Dad along with him.

"Alright, son! As you wish."

"I'm coming in there. And I'm joining your game… so don't do anything too cruel to me, or you just might regret it," I joked.

Today was a wonderful day, I decided. The morning was fresh, and clear, not a single cloud in sight. Well, maybe a little, but they were as white as what snow would look like in winter, so I knew that a storm was far fetched. I could feel that something was going to happen tonight. It was just a feeling, but a rather strong one, considering how bright the day seemed to be.

Strange huh?

But I've had these feelings ever since… well, pretty much after the whole Buu fiasco. I couldn't figure out why I had them, but I knew that they would eventually lead to something important. These feelings of mine had always been good; it was as if I was able to predict when something nice would happen. And usually, there would be!

Maybe, it was because Dad was back, and everything was perfect.

I rounded off the corner to enter the kitchen, and saw that the two look-alikes were munching on some junk food. I grabbed a chip from the bag.

"Okay, Gohan! Truth or dare," Goten chimed.

"Uhm… I don't want to do something stupid, so I might have to say truth."

Just then the phone rang loudly, interrupting what my little brother would have asked me. I was a bit thankful for it, for Goten could be a little unpredictable sometimes. What he could have questioned me about, who knows? I probably wouldn't know the answer to it either.

My Mom rushed to the side of the phone and picked up the receiver from the cradle. I could hear her pleased voice as she found out that it was Bulma. Hm… an invitation, possibly? I knew something interesting would happen tonight.

After conversing with her for a few minutes, Mom hung back the receiver and came into the kitchen. I thought we all knew what she was going to say, and she only confirmed it by doing so.

"Another invitation," she replied. "That's the third time this year. But I'm happy to get out of this mountain once in a while."

Goten, of course, was very happy as he would be able to play with Trunks once again. Mom always liked talking with Bulma, and I was sure that Dad would like to mingle with the other men of the gang.

It was odd; just months ago when we had similar gatherings, I didn't like them very much. Just like I said, my little brother would go off and play, Grandpa and Mom would go talk with the adults. Whereas, I had no place in the gang. When we gather together after a fight, I would usually talk with Piccolo, since nobody else would bother to get too close to him. However, for formal and barbecue invitations? Nah, I wouldn't count on seeing him there.

Things have change a little bit, though. Parties we came to after defeating Buu were a little different.

"Gohan, go call up Videl," my Mom suggested.

And I was just waiting for her to.

Honestly, if I called her on my own accord it would seem that I was too eager. In reality, I was. I spent the majority of my time with my high school friend during these get-togethers. We got teased a lot, I admit that. I wished that they would stop; it really made things awkward between Videl and I. Usually after the teasing stopped, Videl wouldn't be in the mood to talk. She wouldn't snap at me, or be angry like I expected her to, but instead she fell into a shy silence.

Other than that, I've asked the young female fighter if she enjoyed her time with us, and she always said yes. I loved spending time with her too. That's why I didn't want her to feel uncomfortable around us.

-o-

My family and I reached Capsule Corps. at around seven o'clock that night. Videl was already there, and I couldn't wait until Goten would rush off to Trunks and my parents to be absorbed in some deep conversation with the other adults. Truthfully, I haven't had seen Videl after the dinner and dance party at graduation night. It's been about three weeks into vacation, and I heard that her father had dragged her off with some of his business trips. I called her everyday, or she called me. However, that wasn't the same as talking with her face to face.

And I missed her.

The object of my affections was already there, helping to cook the barbecue on the grill. I waved at her, and she waved back, smile on her eyes. I hoped that she wanted to see me as much as I wanted to see her.

"Goten, look there's Trunks over there! Go play with him," I said. I picked up my little brother and walked over swiftly to the other half-Saiyan in the group. The lavender-haired boy waved to us frantically, a wide grin on his face. I smiled back at him.

"Trunks, here's Goten. Why don't you two go play together… somewhere out there in the garden."

"Aw, Gohan you don't want to play with us?" the grandson of the most world famous scientist asked.

"I'll catch up to you later," I replied, hoping that my eagerness to get over to my best friend wouldn't be so obvious.

That last response seemed to satisfy them and off they went, already in the middle of a game of tag. I walked back to the area of the backyard that we had come from. I couldn't be any more relieved when I saw my parents already leading a chat about what's happened so far from when we last met.

I rushed over to the barbecue, and thanked Dende to see that Videl was now alone. I noticed that Yamucha had been giving her a hand earlier, but I think he went off to try the booze later for tonight.

"Hey you," Videl replied.

Oh Dende, I missed her voice.

The receiver of my phone never was a good one, and she always sounded a bit flat and nasally than she really was. Everybody did.

But tonight, I got to hear her real voice once again. Clear like the day had been earlier.

"Hello," I stated back. "I missed you."

"I didn't," she chuckled.

"So… what's up?"

"Well, here I am. And here you are. What else should there be?"

No, nothing. Everything was absolutely perfect. Perfect because you're back and I really want to tell you something, Videl.

"Are you here because you want the first bite of the night?" she asked me.

"If I did, would you give me one?" I answered back with a question.

She smiled, and took one of the well-cooked meat with the skewer. She handed it to me.

"What do I get in return?"

I took the meat from her fingers, noticing that a slight scorched marked had blackened her skin.

"How about…"

I was interrupted when I heard Krillin call across the yard. He, as well as everybody else, were sitting around the last table arranged for this party. There were only about three others, but they had left quite a bit of gap between us. That was why I was grateful that Videl was cooking; I half hoped that nobody would be able to listen to anything we said.

"I see now why you had rushed off Goten with Trunks, huh?" he joked, wiggling his eyebrows a bit.

I could feel the familiar sense of embarrassment wash over me. Oh no, it's happening again. The blood rushed to my cheeks and ears, tainting the skin on my face a deep shade of crimson.

"What are you talking about?" I mumbled, although I made sure that it was loud enough for all of them to hear. "I'm just hear to try a bit of dinner. What else should I be doing?"

Playing innocent was never my thing, just ask Videl.

Krillin snickered further. "Well, I don't know about everyone else, but it looked like to me that you guys were about to start making out in that little corner of yours there."

"Shut up Krillin," I retorted. "I have no intention of making out with anyone anywhere. Please don't accuse me of something you do."

Everyone laughed.

Except for Videl.

I looked back at her, and she was in the state that I was most afraid of causing tonight. Eyes deeply locked on her work below, she was neither smiling, blushing or frowning.

"This is really good," I replied.

She just nodded.

I tried to peer into here eyes under her long bangs, but she wouldn't let me catch them.

Before the awkward silence became deeper, Bulma called for all of us to sit down on a table for dinner would start. I was hungry, but I wanted more to know the reason as to why Videl always had a change of mood every time this happened.

Dinner was filled with laughter and jokes. Occasionally, a serious subject would be brought upon the table, but nothing too solemn to cause any change in the lively atmosphere. I ate a lot. Well, I guess just as much as I always used to. All of the people who have at least one drop of Saiyan blood in them were inhaling most of the servings placed served on the table. But I could tell that even those who didn't, ate more than they regularly did.

Overall, it was a very pleasant gathering. When dinner ended, we were ushered inside the house by Bulma's parents. Most of the older ones rushed over to begin their drinking, but somehow, someone managed to suggest a little game of truth and dare. I didn't mind; truth and dare would be extremely interesting with such a great mix of people.

We arranged ourselves in a large circle. Those who didn't want to play went away somewhere, but that had only been Vegeta and Android 18. The rest of us carried on and started with the game. Master Roshi wanted to begin.

"Uh… Goku! Truth or dare," he exclaimed excitedly.

"I know you can be very cruel with this game, so I'll just have to settle with truth,"

"Tell us, Goku. Have you ever wanted to yell at your wife for yelling at you so much?"

Mom blushed in a corner, but didn't retort. I think she wanted to know that truth as much as the turtle master wanted to tease his former student.

Scratching the back of his neck, Dad stammered over his words. He probably didn't expect such a question, and didn't know how to answer one.

"Are you sure that isn't too personal?" he tried stalling.

"Rules said…" Roshi was about to list out the guidelines, but we knew that he'd only make up a few of them on the spot.

"Okay, okay. If you really want to know… and I'm truly being honest here. Chichi's yelling becomes a nuisance after a while, but truthfully I haven't thought about yelling at her."

A few snickers were heard from the crowd, obviously from disbelief. But I believed Dad. He didn't seem the type.

The old man laughed out loud heartily. "Well that's good," he replied. "Because why do I have a feeling that you might have a similar woman for a daughter in law?"

"Huh, no!" My voice seemed to have a life of its own as words spurted carelessly out of my mouth. I hadn't meant to be so loud, yet now everybody was staring at me. I tried to clear my throat awkwardly.

My Dad went on to pick someone else so that the game would continue. I saw Videl exit the room quietly, saying that she needed a drink. I became suspicious when she didn't come back a few minutes later. Then I noticed her walking away into the balcony.

It was Bulma's turn at the game, and apparently she had asked Yamucha to cross dress. A moment later he came out looking rather… beautiful. As amusing as the game was becoming, I wanted to talk with Videl and ask why she wasn't participating. Honestly, it looked as if she didn't even want to be here.

After a few minutes, I excused myself to go use the washroom, a stupid reason to leave as I had discovered while I was in school and trying to save the city at the same time. However, everyone was too entertained to notice.

I exited through the hallway leading to the bathroom, but rounded off the corner to sneak off into the balcony.

The night wasn't too warm, regardless of the weather this morning. A cool wind was blowing and the moon was brighter than it usually was. It created spooky silhouettes from the figures of the buildings, and few trees.

"Videl,"

She turned around to catch a brief glance at me, but didn't say anything. Her expression has changed slightly this time, although I wouldn't say that I was glad to see it. She seemed… lonely.

"Hey Vi," I soothed softly. "What's wrong?"

I walked up to her, and leaned against the railings where she was doing the same.

"Nothing," she replied.

"You know Vi? You may be a good actress, but you're just as bad as lying as I am. At least when you lie to me."

She looked away from me with a façade that I couldn't quite describe, but it was no longer sadness.

"Gohan, I don't know what I'm supposed to do when I'm with you," she stated softly. Her gaze was locked on her hands which were clasped tightly in front of her. "When we're around your friends, I just feel like you don't even want me around ."

"Why?!" I was taken aback by what she just told me. Where had she gotten that idea? It was surprising and puzzling.

"Because, Gohan," she looked at me, gaze stern and strong. "Whenever I'm around you with your friends, all the things you say to them makes me feel like you're ashamed of me! Are you embarrassed?"

I was even more confused. What had I said? I didn't say anything that suggested such thing.

"When did you hear that?"

Her eyes became large with disbelief. She laughed falsely and said, "Every time they say those jokes! Those meaningless teasing that you make such a big deal out of! Every time they say something about 'Gohan-has-a-girlfriend', all you do is deny things!"

"Videl, I deny them because they aren't true!"

"Why not?"

I backed off slightly by that question. She did too; she seemed surprise with her own phrase.

In a small voice she started again, "What I meant was, I wish that you wouldn't pay attention to those banters, and just let things be the way they are. I feel like I make you uncomfortable and miserable around your friends… and that makes me sad."

"Videl… that's not it at all." However, deep down I knew that I had no better reason to contradict what everyone else were saying. It did make me uncomfortable at times, and sometimes it was more than embarrassing. But I thought that she was the one who was bothered by those things, and I thought that if I denied them, eventually everyone would stop teasing. And then she wouldn't feel so bad.

"Gohan, play with me," she whispered suddenly and looked up to meet my eyes again. Her blue ones were glossy with a slight coat of tears, but none fell down.

"Tell me… truth or dare," she continued.

A small smile tugged at my lips.

"Truth,"

She hesitated for a while, but followed through. "Okay. What do you really feel towards me?"

I love you, Videl. I loveyou so much. But I don't know how to say it.

"Vi, I… truth or dare," I felt that the best way to answer her question was to indirectly tell her.

Or better yet, show her.

I was pretty sure that she would pick dare, and I wished with all of my heart that she would.

"Dare,"

I chuckled softly inside my mind.

"Kiss me," I said. I hoped that would show exactly how I felt.

Her eyes widened slightly with surprise, but slowly a smile began appearing on her lips. The tears that were gathering on her eyes began to fall, one by one but I believed it was no longer for the same reason.

She stepped closer to me, and reached out for my hand. I gladly brought it to her. Slowly, she reached up her face to mine. My heart began to beat faster, and I closed my eyes tightly.

And then I felt it.

I felt her soft warm lips upon mine, and I melted. My hand grasped hers firmly to keep myself from slipping down. At first, her kiss was light, as if testing whether the water was tepid enough to dip in. Then it became deeper, and more passionate. Only a while into the kiss did I recover enough from the heavenly feeling to respond to her movements.

I cupped her cheeks, more confident that I could stand up by myself. Her arms encircled my waist, and we continued locked into each other like that for a while.

I never thought I could be happier that night.

When our air supply dwindled, we parted. I felt like it was a scene from a popular movie, with the moon shining down on us, and the shadows and dim lights accentuating our forms. It seemed surreal, almost dream-like.

"I'm sorry," I told her. "I really didn't mean to sound like I'm pushing you away."

"It's okay," she replied. She looked back inside to where everyone else was still rapt up in their little game.

"What do you say we continue our own sub-game of truth and dare," she suggesting, ending it with a small smirk.

I laughed out loud, excitedly.

…And caught everyone else's attention.

AN: Ah… That's the best that I could come up with. I can't believe that I've been hit with a very tough writer's block just when the deadline for this contest is coming up. I had such a hard time writing this. I know where I would take it and what the plot would be, but everything was just so choppy for me to write!

I'll try and do better next contest. I hope you guys still like it. If you don't, please send me a bottle of writer's block reliever pills. And I'm not paying for the shipping and handling. Have a great day.