Chapter 3

When Vegeta entered his apartment, he found Kakkorrot with a table full of burgers, pizza and other forms of fast food. The T.V was on but no-one was watching it.

“Hi, Vegeta.” Kakkorrot said with his mouth full of pizza.

“Are you eating again?!” Vegeta cried as he walked in the door.

“So sue me, I’m still hungry.”

“So am I.” Vegeta sat down with a grin. “Feel like sharing?”

“No, but haven’t got a choice, have I?” He scowled at his cousin who flashed him a smirk and reached for a ‘zinger tower burger™’.

“I’ll buy you a big lunch tomorrow.” He winked at him and turned towards the television.

“This is Summer Heat, the best way to get in the mood for Summer...”

Said a breathy, female voice.

“Jesus, Kakkorrot!” Vegeta glared at him. “I don’t believe you watch this porn!”

“Hey! I didn’t know!” Kakkorrot protested. “I just turned the set on for some noise, I don’t like quiet.”

“It’s only 11:30!” Vegeta grimaced with disgust. “Why have they got porn on TV at this time?”

“Beats me.” Kakkorrot took the remote and switched the channel. They eventually found some palatably gory Animai and sat back to eat their food.

~*~

“Did you guys watch ‘Summer heat’ last night?” Yamcha asked on of his long haired guy-friends fervently.

“Ooh yeah!” The tallest one answered. “Babes in bikinis? Hah! That show was full of babes without bikinis! That was way cooler.”

“All it lacked was a little bit of a certain blued haired goddess we all know and lust after.” Yamcha drooled.

“Hey, man.” The blonde guy nudged him. “When are you gonna screw Bulma, anyways?”

“Soon, my man, soon.” He boasted. “She is putty in my hands.”

“You go ahead and think that.” A disgusted Vegeta stalked past the perverted teenagers with Chi-chi walking beside him.

“She’d rather date this arrogant baka of a prince than get anywhere near you.” Chi-chi steamed furiously. “Perverts.”

“Hey! You were eavesdropping!” One of the greasy haired cronies moaned.

“No duh.” Vegeta muttered. He tripped one of them up with his foot on the way past and turned to enter the form room.

~*~

Vegeta and Bulma walked towards their next class. Graphics: Manga.

“Really!” Vegeta cried out loud. “I’m no artist.”

“Well your father thinks otherwise. You must have some little talent, I suppose.”

Vegeta expressed his feelings with a grunt and slammed the door open. A short, elderly Japanese man greeted him from the front.

“Hello, hello!” He had a vague accent which Vegeta placed easily.

“Yeah, hi.” He muttered.

“Good, good. Mr Kensuki is me!” He said happily.

“Vegeta.” He replied.

“Okies!” He gestured towards the other students. “Take a seat, any one.”

“K.” Vegeta was breif. He groaned as Bulma sat down next to a blonde girl. He had to sit next to one of the freaks sat in the further back rows. Then he saw a lad at the back.

He wasn’t strikingly handsome but cute in his own way. He had fair brown hair, blues eyes and a forbidding expression. He was drawing something on a piece of paper. His clothes were pretty average - blue shirt covered in manga prints, baggy pants, the normal.

“You.” Vegeta called out. The boy looked up. He seemed about 17 or 18.

“What?”

Vegeta walked up to him. The boys expression did not change.

“What’s your name?” He demanded.

“None of your damn business.” He snapped.

“Name.”

“Why should I tell you?” He eyed him cautiously.

“Fine, don’t.” Vegeta decided he wanted a seat closer to the aisle. “Move up one.”

“No.”

“Move.”

“No.”

“Move.”

“No.”

“Move.”

“Ney!”

“What does that mean?!” Vegeta cried, startled by the change.

“It’s summin we say in Manchester.” The boy went back to his drawing (surprise surprise, manga) and ignored Vegeta. “It’s sorta like ‘don’t bother me you freak’.”

Bulma was watching the argument with interest while the teacher gathered his timetable and plans up while reading the file on Vegeta and his past behaviour.

“You know what?” Vegeta began menacingly.

“No, but you’re gonna tell me anyway.”

Vegeta moved around him and sat in the seat he’d intended the guy to move to. “I like you already.”

“Thanks.” The boy smiled for the first time. “I like you too. The name’s Matthew, by the way.”

Mr Kensuki stood up straight and started his lesson.

“Okies! You have come at good time, very good time.” He wrote something down on his seating plan and rubbed the back of his neck. “I assume you draw manga, hai?”

“Hai.”

“Good, good. Now, how good are you?”

“Fair.” Vegeta’s answers were breif and cold.

“Ah, is modest!” He lifted up a piece of paper. “Your father has sent some lovely drawings of yours, they good, very good.”

Matthew sat up in his chair to look at Vegeta’s picture.

“Ha!” He said to Vegeta. “Infantile! Not nearly as good as me.”

“I think it’s pretty good.” A girl in front of Matthew with dullish blonde-brown hair turned around and smiled. The smile was kind of quirky but her grey eyes were intelligent at the same time. Vegeta felt himself shrink back from this weird mixture. “I’m Jemma Matthews.” She looked Vegeta up and down. “So you’re his highness?”

Matthew sniggered. “Don’t mind Jemma, she ain’t all there if you know what I mean.”

“Hey!” She pouted and stuck her tongue out childishly.

“That is so immature.” Vegeta sneered.

“Yeah, for the top biology student in the school, you should be so much more adult than that!” Matthew added.

She blushed at the compliment. Technically it was true but the staff at Tachiharo College liked the students to consider themselves equal.

“Shut up Matt.” She smiled again and Vegeta looked at Bulma for moral support. This girl was weird.

“Besides, just because people expect me to be mature, doesn’t mean I have to be.” She sighed. “In fact, that gives me a perfect reason to be babyish really.”

“Your logic, not mine.” Matthew muttered.

She humphed and turned around, Mr Kensuki was starting to talk.

“Um, I don’t mean to pry but is something going on here?” Vegeta whispered to Matt.

“Where.” He was looking gloomy again.

“You know, you and that insane girl ...” Vegeta nudged with a smirk.

“One, she’s perfectly sane, it’s just that everyone else isn’t. Two, NO.” Matthew smirked back at him. “Not in a million years.”

“Why not?” Vegeta pressed.

“We’re just friends, have been since high school.” He grinned quirkily. “Besides, she has a boyfriend!”

Matthew leaned forward as he said it so that Jemma could hear him. She blushed furiously.

“No, I have a FIANCEE!” She snapped at him.

“Yeah, whathisname, Darcy.” He teased her.

Jemma had a dreamy look in her eyes. “His name is Colin Darcy and we are to married in Autumn at Pemberley house in Derbishire and will ride off in horse pulled carriage to our romantic handpicked honeymoon spot - oh, and the vicar is this really nice gay man who runs the church in the town I come from. Very pleasant guy.”

“Would you believe she’s still a virgin too?” Matthew blabbed sarcastically.

“I am not!” Jemma steamed.

“Fridge.” He muttered playfully.

She growled in frustration and turned to the front.

“What’s he like?” Vegeta asked, hoping to goad them into another argument.

“Bushy hair, tall, rich, clever - he’s a lawyer actually.” Matthew grinned - he had one hell of an overbite. “That’s why I don’t trust him. Can’t trust a lawyer. To be frank he’s a bloody geek and I can’t stand him.”

“You ain’t even MET him!” Jemma exploded.

“And I don’t want to either.”

“Is there a problem?” Mr Kensuki asked nervously.

“Ney.” Jemma and Matthew said together.

“I assume you’re both from the same part of Manchester?” Vegeta noticed their similarities in accent and language.

“Same street, almost. It’s amazing we’ve been able to stick to the same schools as each other.” Matthew stated. “Fate, maybe. We’re always supposed to be mates.”

“Mates? But I thought she was getting married?” Vegeta asked, puzzled.

“No! On Earth, a mate is a friend - dumb-ass.”

“Oh.”

“She’s a science major but she’s really good at the arts too.” He tried to tail off the conversation because he was, to be honest, bored.

“A bit like Bulma ...” Vegeta glanced at Jemma for a moment and then directed his gaze towards Bulma. She shone through the crowd (as did her brightly coloured hair) with beauty.

“Whatever.” Matthew got back to his picture.

~*~

Bulma turned to Eighteen. “Seems like he’s met Matthew then.” She whispered.

“So?” Eighteen pulled back her short hair so it was behind her ear. As usual, it fell back to her face.

“Well, it just proves that he’s capable of making friends.” Bulma stated.

“As well as piss people off?” Eighteen said sarcastically.

“Yeah, that too.” Bulma smiled and turned around. “Ah, I see he’s already upset Jemma. She looks ready to kill someone.”

“Nah, I was listening,” Eighteen informed her, “it was Matthew making fun of her fiancee.”

“Oh.” Bulma doodled in the corner of her page. She drew a little cartoon guy with black spiky hair and a frown. “Amazing how early that girl is getting married.” She commented.

“It won’t slow her down though.” Eighteen replied. “She’s almost as brainy as you.”

“She’s better, at biology at least.” Bulma corrected her friend.

“But no-one can level with you on physics.”

“True!” Bulma blushed and smirked at the same time. “I am the mechanical queen.”

“Speak for yourself, I’m the one with the bionic skeleton.” Eighteen muttered.

“Oh, sorry.” Bulma frowned. “I forgot about that.”

“Don’t apologise, it’s better than those damned weak-ass bones.” Eighteen grinned. “I’m much better off with titanium bones than a flimsy cartilage ones.”

“Well my bones work just fine, thank you very much.” Bulma turned around to look at Vegeta. She felt a shiver go up her spine as she caught his eye - just as he looked away.

She sighed and looked back at her teacher.