Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Orange Star High School ❯ A Mad World ( Chapter 13 )

There is no excuse for the lateness of this… except for writers block, since my writing wanted to focus on anything but this story. But I've got a full-length chapter for you people, and dun dun dun dun! Another CONTEST!

First one who can name the title of the 2001 movie in which the song and the chapter title came from, as well as the original artist, you get a sneak peak into the future of this story through cookies. You'll like, trust me.

Chapter Thirteen: A Mad World

He was living the twilight zone. He had to be. Somehow he'd gone too deep while he was swimming in the pool and ended up in a different world, although this was hardly paradise.

The doctors told him little of what was happening to Chichi. He sat with Chichi's aunt who was sobbing loudly, and her uncle who was doing his level best to try and comfort her. He occasionally to Goku with suspicion, but he had no explanation for why Chichi would do something so stupid…

He re-opened his letter, trying to take his mind off of Chichi's uncertain condition. He bit his lip, and started to read it again:

`Dear Little Bro,

Hopefully Robin has given you this. I don't doubt he will; he was always trustworthy. If you are reading this, then I have killed myself. I'm sorry, although I doubt it makes you feel any better.

You've probably wondered for the last year why, exactly, I committed suicide. I can't believe I have either. I suppose I did it because I was dying anyway. With two choices in my hands, I chose the shorter route of the two. Between drawn out agony, and quick oblivion, I chose suicide over suffering.

There is something I have not told you, or anyone in our family except Toma and our father. I'm gay. I'm a fucking queer. All those times that I told you and everyone I had been out clubbing with my teammates? Partial lies. I was out clubbing, but with a new set of friends, who just so happened to be gay also.

You do crazy things when your eighteen, horny, and feel like you're carrying the biggest secret in the world; and sometimes those mad actions come back to haunt you. It's a bad sign that I don't know who gave me this disease.

Mum told me that you broke off your friendship with Vegeta. She didn't understand, but I think I do. Another thing I must apologize for. That night, Vegeta did not kiss me. I kissed him. Although it's probably too late now to salvage your friendship, I hope you can at least bury the issue Vegeta and take it up with the one who really is to blame: me. If I weren't such coward, I'd apologize to Vegeta for loosing him his friend.

I hope you can find it within yourself to forgive me, even though I don't deserve it.

Your Brother,

Radditz'

The world was going crazy. His head was starting to throb with all the confusion… he just wanted to hide.

"Bulma," He croaked. "Can you give me a lift? I don't think I can be here right now."

The blue-eyed girl looked at him with concern, but nodded. "Sure,"

They headed out into the parking lot and Goku was glad that Bulma had curbed her inquisitive instincts and had not asked what was wrong. He didn't think he could handle discussing this yet.

He could not go home, at least not yet, and so he gave directions to a friend's house.

"Goku?" She said as they pulled into the cramped parking lot. "Are you sure you want to stay **here**?" Her nose crinkled. "This neighborhood looks tough."

"Yeah." He said as he opened the door and stepped out. "Thanks for the ride, Bulma."

"Anytime, Goku." She said nervously.

He watched her as she quickly sped away from the tenement building. Shaking his head he entered the building, and quickly checked the directory. Yes, exactly where he'd been four years previous.

He smacked the up button, and got into the lift. It reeked of urine and cheap stale booze, and the elevator seemed so achingly slow as his ascended ten stories.

Finally the doors released, and he dashed out, breathing in the stale air of the corridor.

He headed down the hall, dread building and sitting on his chest. He stood in front of the door for a moment before knocking.

He heard the locks clatter as they came undone and the bolt slide back. He held his breath in nervous anticipation. A shiny head appeared, and he recognized the man peering through the crack vaguely as Vegeta's stepfather. He'd never seen the man this close, and Vegeta certainly hadn't been very open about him. Goku swallowed a ball of nervous energy, and prepared himself to speak.

"Is Vegeta here?" He asked.

"No," Goku's heart fell, "He's next door." A finger pointed to the previous door.

"Thanks." Goku stuttered out and headed to the other door.

His arm felt lead as he knocked upon the door. He could hear the gentle chatter of the television and the soft hum of an electric guitar. Radditz used to play an electric guitar, he remembered. It always fed back an annoying screech; he used to complain ---

He braced himself as the door opened and a familiar eye peered at him.

"Who is it?" Another friendly voice called from within.

"A friend of mine, nothing important." Vegeta said quickly, opening the door wider and sliding out. "I'll be gone a minute,"

"Fine!" Replied the voice. If he'd said more, Goku didn't know, as Vegeta firmly shut the door behind him.

One look at the shorter man's face and he wanted to throttle Radditz as the source of the cause of that tense and pale face. What had his family done to this man? What sort of person would Vegeta have been had it not been for the interference of himself and his brother?

He probably would have taken over Radditz's role of captain on the soccer team. They'd probably still take karate lessons together. They'd probably still be friends. Vegeta might even date girls. He probably wouldn't scowl half so much either. Oh gods what had they done.

"What do you want?" Vegeta said sharply, eyes narrowed in suspicion. The guilt he felt for all the indifference he'd treated the other boy for the last two years, and the contempt for the last six months heaped upon him.

"I-I-I--" The words were stuck in his throat, and he found himself instead thrusting the letter gripped in his clammy hands towards Vegeta.

Vegeta took it gently, and read the one page of stationary carefully, his face blank. He proceeded then to carefully fold it back and handed it to Goku.

"What happened that night?" Goku found himself asking, to shocking himself.

"You really want to know?" Vegeta asked flatly.

"I think it's time that I listened."

***(-I-)**(-I-)***

He spat the last of the minty residue into the sink and rinsed it down. He readjusted the too large t-shirt as it again slid from his shoulder. He really ought to get rid of it; it had a large rip in the collar from when his stepfather had tried to bar his escape into his room. Still the faded navy shirt with the acronym for the downtown police department brought forth a feeling of comfort.

He winced at the loud burst of drunken laughter down the hall of the rest of his teammates. It reminded him --- he gritted his teeth and forced the memory to stop.

He turned to open the door and return to Goku's room, only to find Radditz entering. They stared at each other silently for a moment, and Vegeta noted the drunken haze that had taken possession of Radditz's normally sharper hawk-like eyes. He could feel the hairs on his spine rise in a defensive mode.

Radditz smiled at him, flashing his brilliant white teeth that most the girls at OSHS found hypnotizing. He stumbled over to the large bathtub, ran the faucet for a moment, before sticking his head under the rushing water. As soon as the cool liquid had drenched his head, he stood and rubbed a towel over his mane of hair, currently curtailed from making a violent mess by a rubber band.

He didn't know why he hadn't left yet, for some reason his legs felt like they were weighted with sandbags. He should leave…

He turned to do so, only to be turned about clumsily by Radditz, who had an idiotic grin on his face. The stench of alcohol was prominent on his breath, given to him and his friends under the promise that they would not drive home until they were sober, keys taken as a defense against such an action.

He wrenched his arm free, only to feel fingers along his jaw line, holding tightly, but not painfully. His stomach turned as his spine hunched in apprehension.

"You did real well t'day."

"Thanks." He said, reaching with his other hand to brace himself against the side of the sink.

Unexpectedly, Radditz pressed his face closer, and sooner still were Radditz's lips pressed against his. He felt frozen in the moment as a moist and insisting tongue pressed against his lips. His stomach threatened to revolt and bring up the celebratory pizza, and he tried to turn away, but hands had locked around his hips, and he felt something warm that was far too thin to be Radditz's leg press against his thigh.

Hot breath bore down upon him, bitter with the scent of alcohol. The bile rose up higher in his throat, threatening to spill through his teeth, it was so much like ---- Would he force ----?

Someone barging saved him, unfortunately, it resulted in him being pushed to the floor much like a rag doll.

"Dirty little faggot, get the fuck off me!" Radditz snapped, wiping his hand across his mouth, and then spitting at him. "I'm not a fucking queer!" He shouted, loud enough that it shut up the partiers in the other room.

He couldn't even look at Goku as he stood, head bowed like a beat dog, as he dodged his way out of the bathroom, passing by all the stunned faces of his former teammates who were cheering him on not but four hours ago. He headed quickly down the staircase, snatching his satchel at the bottom of the staircase, and shoving his feet into the sneakers he'd left at the front door. He headed out of doors quickly, walking down the three blocks at a swift pace towards the bus stop.

`Dirty little faggot' kept repeating in his head, and as he sat shivering in the tiny enclosure awaiting the arrival of the ten-thirty bus. He wondered if perhaps Radditz wasn't right. He had to have done something, something to attract that sort of attention.

Was it possible that he was gay and didn't know it? It would certainly explain a lot, why he always found himself in these sorts of situations. Except if he was gay, shouldn't he feel, well, happy that Radditz had come on to him? Radditz certainly was good looking, as well as ---. If he was gay why did they make his skin crawl and make him ache for a long hot shower and steel wool?

He could think of no other explanation, however, as he heard the bus approach… He was gay…

***(-I-)**(-I-)***

"I'm sorry."

"Not to be cruel, but it really doesn't matter."

"If there's anything I can ---"

"There's nothing you can do right now, if you want I can call you a taxi home?"

"That's okay, I've got my cell phone."

"Watch out for yourself then."

Vegeta shut the door behind him; feeling as those cement bricks had been heaped upon his chest quite liberally. He couldn't face Piccolo in this state, he'd ask what was wrong, and Vegeta wasn't sure he wouldn't be able to stop himself from telling the whole gruesome story.

He thought he'd figured this out four years ago. He was here, he was queer, and he was in love with Piccolo. Why did Goku have to tell him now? He was happy.

His ordered universe was in chaos now, firmly held beliefs tossed out the window with a letter and an apology. The doubts he thought he'd freed himself of when he woke up content after a night in Piccolo's bed came back with sharpened teeth.

What if, what if, what if…

His head began to throb as he vaguely began to ponder over the truths he had held self-evident in his life, and question how `evident' they really were.

Desperately, after a moments reflection, he tried to focus on what Piccolo and Nail were singing, wanting to forget what he'd seen…

"And I find it kinda funny

I find it kinda sad

The dreams in which I'm dying

Are the best I've ever had

I find it hard to tell you

I find it hard to take

When people run it circles

It's a very very:

Mad world…."

It was a fucking mad world, and he felt he was in the center stage of it.

He went into the kitchen and fetched a couple of plastic grocery bags, before heading into his and Piccolo's shared bedroom. He threw all his clothes in quickly, as well as a few CDs that he'd burned recently.

"Hey, who was that?" Piccolo asked, as he poked his head in through the doorway. "And why are you packing up?" He continued with a frown that rent at Vegeta's heart.

"It was an old friend coming to make amends." Vegeta replied flatly, not trusting himself to look at Piccolo, instead paying far more attention than necessary in the tying of the plastic bags.

"And what does that have to do with you packing up your things?" Piccolo said sharply.

"He showed me a letter his brother Radditz had just sent him." Vegeta said, finding the courage to look Piccolo in the eye. "I need a few days to think over things… and it will be easier back in my own room."

Piccolo frowned harshly at that, but he was in no position to object.

"Are you sure that I can't help you?"

"This is something I need to do on my own…" Vegeta sighed, collecting up his bags. He walked over to Piccolo, and kissed him on the cheek. "I'll be back soon, I promise."

***(-I-)**(-I-)***

Next Chapter: Stalking Shadows

~ Vegeta is forced to clean out his closet. Chichi awakens. And a crime is committed ~