Ghost From the Past

First Date Part 1

Chapter 11

Trunks has a stupid grin on his face when he arrives to pick me up.

"Ready for our date?" he asks, holding out his hand while my parents literally shove me out the front door. I told them I'd rather go on a date with the smelly old guy upstairs than go out with Trunks. To that, my father cheerfully replied," The smelly old guy upstairs didn't save your life, honey. Trunks did." I took a breath, ready to argue, but Papa already had his strong hands on my shoulders." Videl, get the door! Hurry!"

Trunks smoothly catches me by the hand like a prince out of a fairytale. Had he known I wasn't going to leave my apartment without putting up a fight? I get the feeling that he came prepared to carry me if that's what it took.

"You kids have fun!" Mama rushes, slamming the door and turning every lock so I can't get back in.

Trunks' smile reaches his baby blue eyes. I don't want to go on a date with him. How can he be so happy about it?

"You should wear dresses more often. You look beautiful."

I look down at my red dress. It's very simple compared to the other small revealing outfits Bulla had me try on. It doesn't have sleeves, it covers my chest, and the end of the dress reaches my knees. It's the type of dress that will fly up if there's a big rush of wind, so I have to be careful. Oh, and there's a silky black belt embedded into the dress that screams," This is where her waist is!"

"I didn't dress up for you! Bulla made me wear this!" I want to scream.

Instead, my face goes hot and all I can do is smile at the floor as I say," Thanks. You look good, too."

What?! What is wrong with me? Did I really just say that? Nooooooo!

"Instead of seeing a movie I thought we could check out the new aquarium that just opened up. Sound good?"

"Okay," I mumble.

.+.+.+.+.

When we arrive at the aquarium, Trunks purchases a light blue hat and sweater from the gift shop. He puts on the hat, then ties the sweater around his hips.

"How do I look?" he asks.

" You look like a dork," I reply, my brows rising in concern. I wasn't lying earlier, Trunks did look good. Probably with Bulla's help, he managed to pull off a sexy-casual type of look with his soft, grey V-neck shirt, denim jeans, and the subtle smell of after shave. . . a big change from his usual nerdy business suits and good boy vests. "Why are you trying to look like a tourist? If Bulla were here, she'd point out you don't go with my outfit."

Trunks stares down at me, his smile still in place. Still, I can tell he's slightly annoyed.

"Did you forget who I am? The people will eat me alive if they see that the richest, handsomest guy in the world is here. I also have to think about protecting your privacy." Trunks adjusts his hat so the brim hides at least half of his face." Don't worry, I'll take this stuff off when we go out for dinner. If it really embarrasses you, I can walk a few feet behind you if you want."

Wow, did I hit a nerve when I called him a dork? Who knew he could be so sensitive about his looks.

"Be honest. You're embarrassed to be seen with me in public."

"No, Pan, that's not—"

I playfully stick out my tongue." Ha, just kidding! Wear whatever you want. I don't care about clothes."

"I'm glad you feel that way," Trunks rummages through his plastic bag and pulls out a big pair of glasses shaped like a fish, and a blue hat that matches his. To my surprise, he gives them to me. "Here, put these on so everyone knows we're a couple."

. +.+.+.+.

We explore the aquarium in silence. There are other people visiting the aquarium, but they pay no attention to us. Still, any one of them could be a gossip journalist in disguise, tailing Trunks and waiting for the perfect moment to capture a photo of us on our date.

We stop in front of the tank containing live sharks.

I frown. Did the media in the future know about Fable and me? Or were we just Trunks' secret family, hidden away on top of a mountain far from Capsule Corporation?

Trunks lightly squeezes my hand, turning my attention away from the shark.

"Did you know that a great white shark has about 300 teeth?"

It's hard trying to hate this Trunks, the one that I'm sharing my first date with, the one that hasn't done anything wrong. . .yet.

"No, I didn't know that," I smile. "That's really cool. Do you like sharks, Trunks?"

Trunks shrugs." They're okay. I learned about them back in elementary school."

As he leads me through the aquarium, I get the feeling that Trunks may have stayed up late last night studying fun facts about fish. He lists off their scientific names, where they live in the ocean, what they eat, their lifespan, etc.

"Some jellyfish can clone themselves," he mentions as we pass a painting of a jellyfish on the wall. I pretend to be interested, but I'm painfully aware that Trunks refuses to let go of my hand for longer than a minute.

Somehow, I pry my hand from his grip and rub my palms on my dress, pretending to dry them from sweat.

"Oh, what's that thing called?" I shout, pointing with one finger and racing ahead of him before he can hold my hand again. Trunks is usually so sarcastic and cold to me. Why is he suddenly acting like he can't stand to be away from me?

"That's a rock, Pan."

I lean forward and link my fingers behind my back – a pose I've seen many of the cute girls at my high school use – and laugh." Oh, you're right. It is a rock. You're, like, super smart. I can totally see why Bulma wants you to be CEO someday."

"Right. " Trunks studies me for a second, his smile gone. " We should leave now if we want to make it to our dinner reservation. The limo is waiting for us out front." He swiftly walks ahead, not looking back to see if I'm following him. For a second, I get the awful idea to run away from this date.

This could be my only chance to change our future together if I run out of his life right now....

With a heavy sigh, I follow Trunks, walking as fast as my new heels will allow.