I was watching "10 Thing I Hate About You" the other night, and I decided that I wanted to do a Bulma/Vegeta story along those lines. I haven't done a B/V highschool fic in awhile, so I figured I'd give it a shot.

Chapter 1: Prologue

He fumed, nostrils flaring, as he watched her walk down the hall, laughing with her friends. Only yesterday had they broken up and already—already—she was perfectly fine. Not even a hint of sadness or remorse at their failed relationship.

How could he mean nothing to her after fouryears? Was he the only one that had been invested in them? And what gave her the right to humiliate him, and then mock him with her so sudden happiness? After all that time he reasoned that he deserved at least a few tears, some backward glances in the halls or class, something to tell him that he had been more than a space-filler and virginity-taker.

She turned the corner, her aqua-blue locks trailing behind her. He had always loved her hair best of all—so silky and unique. She was unlike any other girl he had ever known or would ever know. And, at the drop of a hat, she was gone.

No, he thought bitterly, his shoulders tensing. He was not going to stand for it. He didn't deserve to be treated this way. He trusted her with his heart and she ripped it out!

And she was going to pay for it.

Flashback:

"You're starting to scare me, hun," he said a little jokingly as he watched her pace the length of her room. Twenty minutes ago she'd called him and asked him to come over; she needed to "talk". He was hesitant to say the least. No boyfriend ever liked serious talks with their girlfriend. They were destined to lose. "What's going on?"

She halted mid-stride and turned to him, an envelope clutched to her chest.

"I was accepted at Claremont (fictional)," she said, then winced as if he'd struck her.

"That's great babe!" he exclaimed, jumping off the bed to pull her into a warm hug. "Where was that one again?" It wasn't that he didn't pay attention, but she'd applied to so many colleges over the past few months that it was hard to keep track.

"England," she whispered, bowing her head.

His face suddenly went blank and he lowered himself back down on the bed.

"How—"

"That's why I wanted to talk," she sighed, and stepped back. He did not like her tone in the least. "Yamcha—"

"Are you breaking up with me?" he whispered, too shocked to say it any louder.

"Yamcha, we can't maintain a relationship when I'm hundreds of miles away! In another country for Kami's sake! It's impossible and I won't put you through that…That, and…" She glanced at him quickly, then back at the floor, suddenly at a loss for words. Why was this so hard? She knew what she wanted to say, but the moment she found the courage her tongue seemed to swell and prevent her from saying a thing.

"What?" he hit harshly. His fists were clenched so hard he thought for sure his skin would tear apart.

"I received this acceptance letter a week ago," she said, holding up the earth-shattering envelope. "Since then I've been doing a lot of thinking…and I…I realized that this is what I want more than anything and that's why we have to break up, Yamcha. I have to go here, it's been my dream since I was a girl. It's the best science school in the world…I'm sorry, but I can't keep letting us live a lie. Yamcha, I don't—"

"Don't say it." He rose to his feet again, this time heading for the door. The sadness was beginning to set in and he wondered, Is this what it feels like to have your heart broken? He felt like he couldn't breathe, and he needed desperately to get away from her right then. But how was he supposed to live without her? She had been such a huge part of his life and now what? Graduation was six months away. How could he endure that long with her around, unable to touch or kiss her?

"I know it's impossible," she said, catching his attention, "but I'd still like to be your friend. You know, the way we were in junior high. I miss that."

He looked up, and for a moment she believed that he would say yes and that everything would be alright.

"Screw you, Bulma," he said quietly, but with all the force of a blow, then slammed the door behind him.

End Flashback:

It was only the next day and already he wanted to crawl into a hole and die. He wasn't going to be able to get through this unless he knew she suffered the same as he did. And if their break-up wasn't going to make that happen, then he was going to have to take matters into his own hands.

He made to continue walking to class, when a sudden force pummeled him into his locker.

"Watch where you're going, fuckhead!" hissed a familiar voice. He was about to retort, when an idea suddenly hit him. He grabbed the much shorter boy by the elbow, turning him around. Normally they wouldn't associate, Yamcha being a high-class son of a banker and him being, well, orphaned and barely able to hold his part-time job and pay rent for his junkyard apartment. Not to mention his foul attitude and the fact that he hated everyone. "What the hell do you think you're doing, pretty boy? Let go of me."

Yamcha didn't answer, but reached into his pocket and pull out his wallet. From the folio, he extracted three crisp $100 bills and offered them to him.

"Fuck you," he spat, wrenching his arm free.

"I have a proposition for you."

"I said, fuck you."

"How about five hundred?"

He stopped in his tracks. Five hundred was enough to pay rent for his apartment and still have some for food.

"What do you want?" he groaned, turning back. He was sure he was going to kick himself for this later.

"Not much," he said, handing him the promised money. "How well do you know Bulma Briefs, Vegeta?"

Well that's all for now, seeing as this is only a prologue. More to come soon. I don't like Vegeta being poor either, but I needed him to be for the story. I'll elaborate on it further as I go on.

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P.S. Claremont is just a college I made up, because there were none that fit my description in England.