Videl said I would make another girl very happy one day, but I don't want another girl; I want Videl. I love Videl and I want to spend the rest of my life with her, and now I wish I hadn't made that stupid mistake. I wish I hadn't fallen asleep while waiting for her to fall asleep. If I'd sneaked out before everyone came back as I'd planned, none of this would've happened. Videl and I would still have been together.

Mom was disappointed when she first found out about the incident. She had cautioned me a few times not to do "anything" with Videl until we were married and had trusted that I would do as she said. And I was, for the most part, very careful not to put myself in a position where "anything" could happen.

That day during our school trip, though, I succumbed because I felt sorry for her. I don't know why, but I know Videl doesn't get along very well with other people and she was feeling lonely that day. I did as she asked when she told me to hide until everyone left for a museum and followed where she led.

I didn't feel very comfortable about being in a girl's room, but since no one else was around and there were no unmentionables in sight I figured there was no problem. Videl and I talked for a while, she sitting on the bed while I was on a chair. Eventually she asked me to come to her so we could cuddle, and this was when I made the wrong move.

My instinct was to say no because I thought the bed was a bad place to be on alone with a girl, but she was pleading and I knew she wouldn't stop until I caved in, so I reluctantly sat with her and let her put her head on my shoulder. I admit I liked the feeling I was having, which could be why I stayed longer than I should've been. If only I'd had some self-control, I wouldn't have been in this predicament. Videl wouldn't have felt the need to say that we should just be friends.

After we returned to class from the soda shop we didn't really have a chance to talk to each other again. She started leaving the classroom when the lunch bell rang, and when I asked her where she was going she said she wanted to get something to eat because she forgot to bring her lunch.

I heard someone giggling after she was gone, and when I turned around to see who it was, another person called my name.

"What?" I asked. I recognized him as one of my classmates from last year.

"Congratulations on tapping that." And the class burst into laughter.

I didn't understand what he meant by that, but I knew that he was being disrespectful toward Videl. It made me angry, but since this was only the first day of school I decided it was a good opportunity to try and exercise some self-control. My aforementioned classmate didn't stop there, though.

"Is she better at being a missionary, or is she more of a dog person?" he said again, and again the class burst into laughter.

This time I couldn't contain my anger. I stood up and banged on the table and looked at him in disgust. "That's enough! Whatever it is you're talking about, Videl doesn't deserve that."

The class immediately grew silent, and I realized that everyone was afraid of me. It probably had something to do with how they finally realized I was the Golden Hair Warrior. I don't understand why they aren't as afraid of Videl. She's probably the strongest female human after Mom and she could easily beat them up.

No one said anything as I sat down and resumed eating my lunch, and aside from a few whispers the class remained quiet.

.

Mom has been expecting to hear from me about Videl. I'm not sure how to bring up that I in fact will not be marrying Videl. Mom grew up in a time things were a lot simpler. I heard Dad asked her to marry him and that was that. I, on the other hand, live in a time where dating is required and where, as I have personally experienced, a relationship may be terminated by one party at any time.

Besides, Mom had been keeping one eye on Mr. Satan's wealth that inevitably will be passed down. With Dad not being able to hold down a job and her getting older, she does need a level of security.

Mom finally brings it up after she excuses Dad and Goten from the table. She's careful about not letting Goten know about the school trip because she thinks this is too "mature" for him, but he must have noticed that Videl hasn't been coming over lately. He also seems to know I'm in some sort of trouble, but he's tact enough not to ask what sort. I wouldn't have known how to tell him a convincing lie in this case.

"Well?" Mom asks, "Did you see Videl today?"

"Yeah, we have the same class again," I say. "But we sat on the opposite side of the classroom, so I wasn't able to talk to her."

Mom raises an eyebrow. "You were in school for the whole day and you couldn't talk to her at all?"

"Well . . . " I can hear doubt in her voice, but I don't feel like telling her about what happened at thee soda shop. I scratch my head and avoid looking at her in the eye. "No, but maybe tomorrow. It was the first day of school after all. We were both still trying to adjust."

I know Mom is still staring at me as if she doesn't believe me, but she doesn't press on. It makes me feel even more guilty.

"Fine," she says with a sigh. "Tomorrow then, you talk to her and let me know how it went." Then she got up from the table, and as she passes me by she gently puts her hand on my shoulder as if to remind me that she cares about me.

.

As I lie in bed I start worrying about tomorrow. This is in contrast to how I'd spent most of my nights when I wasn't allowed to see or talk to Videl, when I would picture my reunion with Videl and think about how happy I would be. The weird thing is in my head that me that scene always had a happy ending, since it never occurred to me that she might not like me as much as I like her. We did spend over a year together, and if she didn't like me we wouldn't have made it that long. Right?

.

It's the morning of the second day and I'm waiting for Videl. I know she didn't come in until the last minute, so I'm not too worried when I still don't see her five minutes before the bell rings. But time passes by and she still hasn't showed up, and the day is halfway gone when I realize she isn't going to be here at all.

I wonder if she's sick. In all the times I've known her, she has never been sick, at least not enough to miss a whole schoolday. Even when she had the flu that one time she still made it to school, and she stayed home the next day only because she was coughing so much and our teacher was afraid she was contagious.

That means if she's not coming to school today, she must've had a good reason.

I start worrying, and I feel guilty because I'm not sure if I'm allowed to worry about her. In most of the times I've known her Videl was my special friend and I was supposed to pay a lot of attention to her, and I'm not sure what the appropriate measures to take are now that we're not together anymore. Can I call her? Can I visit her at her house? Should I wait until she's back to school to find out what has happened?

I don't know how long I was lost in my thoughts. I remember parts of the lectures I heard during class, but I know that for the most part I didn't learn much at school today.