The Right Time

AN: Well, this is a little one-shot that I thought up of. After reading 'Wings of Destiny' by Sweet Ruby Moon, I was inspired to do something that is in second person. I never really succeeded in doing one-shots; two of my attempts turned out to be three-shots. Anyway, I'm sorry if it is a little boring. But tell me what you think about it, okay? It's Gohan trying to tell Videl that he loves her.

A part of the sky is tainted blue; the color fades lightly into purple and slowly turns into reddish orange, before finally becoming a golden sea in the horizon where it slowly swallows the big yellow sun. The trees that line the prospect are luscious green, none of which have been touched by the fingers of autumn. It is not coming until a couple of weeks later, but it is evident in the wind that blows past this place.

You sit on the flat top of a weathered mountain, feet dangling off the edge. Who will have guessed that your favorite place to relax in is the same one that you have been taken to years ago where your childhood ended abruptly? It does not hold a threat to you any longer, and you find the peacefulness and the serenity of the nature quite comforting as it brings back memories of your former trainer.

Tonight is not different from any other night, though there is one exception. Beside you sits a girl…a friend. You show her this place and wish that she finds it as special as you do. She has never seen the sunset before, unlike you who witness it almost every day of your life. She tells you she likes it and you smile.

You glance at her sitting only inches away. She is not out of your reach, and you can easily grab her and tell her how you feel openly. Tell her that you adore her, and that she should never feel guilty about being mean and pushy to you before… because she hasn't been. Tell her that her strong and proud attitude is a part of who she is and that you will never change her for anything. Tell her that she is the best friend you have and that you even might feel more for her than she thinks.

But you don't.

Instead, you wait for the right moment.

And then you become scared that it might never come.

You tell yourself that tonight will be the right time. She turns to you and starts talking.

"You're lucky that you can see this anytime you want," she replies, her eyes never leaving the view.

"Well, you can come by more often," you suggest, and deep inside you hope that she will. She can come by every day and you won't mind. You probably even won't mind if she moves in. You laugh silently at the thought.

"I never knew how relaxing it is to watch the sunset," she tells you. You nod in agreement, but what you really want to say is that how much of life you never knew until you met her. It's true. All eighteen years has been spent either reading about theories that you find fascinating but never get to experience; either that or trying to defeat an evil person who threatens the existence of this planet.

Your other friends find you special. They think that you know more since you've been exposed to such circumstances at a very young age.

But you find her special.

She is the one who shows you things you don't know you never knew before. She has shown you the real world; it is nothing like you expect. She finds wonders in simple things. You worry about tomorrow and things that should get done, but she teaches you how to appreciate the time you have right now. She's a whirlwind of different personalities wrap in one body, that sometimes you get jealous that you're just…you.

All those things you study about in school hold more meaning to you, now. Maybe there's more to oral communication when you can understand what she says even when she doesn't talk. Or maybe there's more to physics than Newton's theory when she flies high up, but you're always able to catch her when she falls. Maybe math doesn't just calculate numbers, but it tells you how long it is before you begin to worry for her when she doesn't come to meet you when she says she does. Or maybe those emotions that you hold don't relate to school at all. Maybe they're just there for you to experience.

So you wonder what really is so special about you that your friends admire, when everything wonderful lies in another being. You wonder if this is what it feels like to be a normal person. You curse the part of yourself that isn't human sometimes and you just wish more than anything that you can be like everybody else. Minutes later, you lighten up and tell yourself that it doesn't matter; as long as you have her, you can be.

"Gohan," she calls you and you turn to her. She glances at her watch for a moment. "I have to go now."

You're shock at the speed of time, but nod anyway. She got up from where she is sitting and took off slightly so that her feet are inches off the ground.

"Thank you for showing this place to me," she replies warmly.

"No problem," you respond back. She turns her back to you and begins her flight home when you call back to her.

"Videl, wait!"

She stops and turns around. She sends you a gentle smile. "Yeah?"

You tell yourself that this is the right time.

But then the familiar sense of fear returns and all you can think about is if you will scare her off; if she will reject you.

"Uh… be careful, okay?" you stammer.

She grins at you and says that she will be fine. You watch her retreating figure as she gets smaller and smaller in sight.

You sigh and turn for home.

Maybe this isn't the right moment after all.

And then you fear that it will never come.

AN: Okay, I know that this is short and might have been a waste of your time, but tell me what you think. This is also my first attempt to write something in present-tense. I'd really like your opinion about it. Tell me if it's boring. I know that the first few paragraphs might have been, but what about the details? Do you think I got the emotions right?

I always thought that Gohan probably had a hard time telling Videl how much he loves her (unless Videl said it first; we will never know). For a guy do be so secluded up in a mountain, it will really be tough for him to interact with people his own age, let alone tell someone that he cares for her more than just a friend.

So tell me what you think. If you absolutely don't have an opinion on this story, then answer this trick question instead: Can you jump higher than Mount Everest? Give me your guess, and I'll tell you if it's right or wrong.