Disclaimer: Okay, as you know, DB, DBZ, and DBGT do not belong to me... as much as I wish it did, I can't be so lucky.  However, the song "How Do You Feel" does belong to me... Yep! That’s right!  I wrote it ALL BY MYSELF!  I did not use the entire song because of the threat of piracy.  Therefore, if you have the urge to steal the lyrics for yourself, I will personally hunt you down and have my hacker friends trash your PC!

Anywho, on with the show!!!

 * * * * *  

           The phone rang audibly throughout the house.  Upset that her sleep had been disturbed, Pan groaned and rolled over on her side.

            "Pan!  It's for you!" her mother shouted from downstairs.

            Pan groaned again, louder this time.  She wanted to blast whoever had the nerve to wake her up so early.  She fumbled with the phone on her dresser until she held the receiver correctly.

            "Hello?" she answered groggily.

            "Hey sleepyhead, wake up!" a male voice said on the other end.

            Pan immediately recognized whom she was talking to.

            "Trunks?  Why the hell are you up so early on a Saturday and why have you decided to wake me up?" she asked sounding 'slightly' annoyed.

            "Whoa, take it easy!  I was sleeping peacefully too about 10 Minutes ago until Goten called me." he replied.

            “What does Uncle Goten calling you have anything to do with why you woke me up?” she maintained her tone.

            “Well, since you and Bra are on summer vacation, he figured we could take you two to the beach and make a day of it.” Trunks explained.

            Shaking the last bits of sleepiness off, Pan let the weight of Trunks’ message sink in.  A day at the beach?  With Trunks?  Never mind that Bra and Goten were going to be there, she was going to spend the day with Trunks.  In his swimwear!  This was more than she was ready to handle, but she wasn’t about to back out of it.

            “That sounds good, what time do I have to be ready?” she asked, trying to repress the excitement in her voice.

            “Umm… about an hour?” he replied.

            “Great Dende, you guys really love this last minute stuff don’t you?” she said as she sighed.  Trunks laughed sheepishly.

            “Fine, an hour.  Bye.” she said.

            “I’ll be the one picking you up.  Bye.” he said before hanging up.

            Pan stared at the phone in her hand and then dropped it in its cradle as if it were burning her.  As she sighed deeply, a brunette head popped up from a sleeping bag on the floor and a pair of green eyes looked inquisitively at Pan.

            “What was that all about?” the brunette asked.

            Pan almost jumped out of her skin until she remembered that she had her friend, Aikori, sleepover the night before.

            “Aiko, I almost forgot you were there.” she said, a bit startled.

            “Mind filling me in?” Aikori asked.

            “Uncle Goten and Trunks are planning a day at the beach with Bra and me.”

            “Are you allowed to bring a friend along?” Aikori inquired.

            Pan looked thoughtful for a second and then replied.

            “Trunks didn’t say anything about that, but I think you should go with me anyway to help me maintain my sanity.”

            Aikori raised an eyebrow and smiled mischievously at her friend.  She knew exactly what Pan meant by what she said.

            “Intimidated by the idea of seeing your crush in his trunks (hee hee, I made a pun!)?” she asked, still smiling.

            “A little.” Pan admitted.

            “I’m glad you didn’t decline.”  Aikori said excitedly.  “You would have to be a complete baka to not want to feast on some eye candy today.”

            A smile played on Pan’s lips and soon disappeared when she took one look at the clock on her dresser.

            “Oh Dende, we gotta get ready!  He’ll be here in less than an hour!”  she exclaimed as she shoved her friend into the bathroom.

            With Aikori dressing in the next room, Pan began looking through her drawers for something to wear.  She saw her favorite red top and went to reach for it when her eyes fell upon the lavender sundress in the back of her drawer that Bulma had bought for her last year.  She had hid it in her drawer because she hates dresses.  She was about to make a grab for her top and a pair of shorts, but she took one more look at the dress.

            ‘Lavender, just like Trunks’ hair.’ she mused.

            She had never tried it on. So, after putting on her black, two-piece swimsuit, she slipped the little dress over her head.  Just then, Aikori, who had been idly singing, came into Pan’s bedroom and stopped abruptly before what she saw, the last words of the song hanging in midair.

            “You sing so well, you should really perform again sometime.” Pan said absentmindedly to her friend as she looked at her reflection in the mirror.

            Aikori gaped at Pan.  The sundress, with its spaghetti straps, fit Pan so well.  It clung to her curves and flared ever so slightly from the hips.  Ending a few inches above her knees, it showed off her well-toned legs.

            “Pan, that dress, it’s…” she broke off.

            “Kinda girly isn’t it?” Pan attempted to finish her friend’s sentence while still looking at herself in the mirror.

            “No!  I-It’s absolutely PERFECT!” Aikori squealed.  “Trunks won’t be able to take his eyes off you.”

            Pan looked at her friend and let out a small giggle.  She turned back to the mirror and looked at her reflection again.  She did look good in the dress, but one dress wasn’t going to make a man 14 years her senior fall madly in love with her.  She opened her mouth to say something when the doorbell rang.

            “Pan!  Trunks is here to pick you up!” Videl yelled from the front door.

            “Coming!” Pan called back.

            Pan and Aikori grabbed their bags and ran downstairs.  Videl was the first to see Pan in the dress.

            “Well, it’s about time you broke down and wore that thing.” she said.  “Bulma would be pleased to know that her money wasn’t wasted.”

            Pan smiled meekly at her mother and made her way to the door with Aikori following closely behind her.

            “Aikori?” Videl interrupted.  “You’re going to the beach too?”

            Aikori nodded.  “Hai.  I told my mom I was spending today with Pan, so I don’t think she’ll mind.  Besides, Pan lent me a bathing suit.”

            Seeing the two dark-haired girls approaching him, Trunks took a while to realize that the one in the dress was Pan.  In a word, she looked gorgeous as she nonchalantly waved her mother away so that they could leave.  Noticing that Trunks was staring at her, she met his gaze and put her hand on her hip.

            “Are we going or not?” she asked impatiently.

            “Huh?” Trunks broke from his reverie.  “Oh yeah, let’s go.”

            “Oh, and Trunks, this is my friend, Aikori.  She’s coming with us.” Pan motioned towards her friend.

            Aikori stepped towards Trunks and held out her hand to him.  He shook it clumsily while staring at Pan the whole time.  Aikori saw this and giggled softly.  Trunks finally tore his eyes off of Pan and walked back to his car.  Aikori walked enough to Pan as they headed for the car to manage to nudge her with an elbow.

            “What did I tell you?” she whispered.  “You’d think you were a tasty meal from the way he was gawking at you.”

            “Don’t be silly, Aiko.” Pan whispered back, convinced that there was another reason for Trunks’ reaction.  “He’s never seen me in a dress before.  He probably didn’t know whether to laugh or to scream.”

            As if he had heard them talking, Trunks confirmed Pan’s suspicions as soon as the girls got into the car.

            “So Pan, you couldn’t find anything else clean to wear today?” he jeered.

            Pan, who had taken the passenger’s seat beside Trunks, glared at him angrily as he gave her a sideways glance and his patented smirk.  As his sapphire eyes met hers, she froze and her indignant look faded.  She almost drowned in his gaze.  They broke away simultaneously and Trunks started the car.  The ride to the beach was painfully silent.  Pan remained annoyed with Trunks for his snide remark and spent the whole trip sitting perfectly upright with her arms crossed.  Trunks, not wanting to provoke Pan further, gave his full attention to driving.  Aikori was enjoying the tension between the two.

            When they got to the beach, Bra and Goten had already arrived since they drove only themselves.  Once they agreed on a spot to settle on, Trunks pulled out a capsule and proceeded to open it.  From out of a puff of smoke, two large blankets and a cooler appeared on the sand.

            “Hey Aiko, I’m glad you came.” Bra said.  “At least this way we outnumber the guys.”

            Trunks and Goten exchanged glances and Goten decided to be the one to respond.

            “Careful Bra, you might just be able to intimidate us yet.” he cautioned.

            Bra stuck out her tongue and pulled down her lower eyelid in reply to Goten’s quip. 

            Everyone stripped down to their swimsuits and raced each other to the water’s edge.  While the guys took turns trying to drown each other, the girls grouped together and began talking.  Actually, only Aikori and Bra were participating in the conversation.  Pan was busy watching Trunks trying to dunk Goten’s head in the water.

            “So there’s this club having an open mic night next Friday.  You should go and sing, Aiko.” Bra was suggesting.

            “I don’t know.” Aikori said tentatively.  “What do you think, Pan?”

            Pan realized her name had been called and immediately snapped out of her dream state.

            “What?” she asked.

            “Hey Panny, you wanna stop staring at my brother like a lovesick puppy and pay attention to us for a minute?” Bra interjected.

            Pan blushed slightly at Bra’s remark and began to stammer.

            “W-Why would you say something like that, Bra?” she asked.

            Both Bra and Aikori rolled their eyes at Pan’s attempt to play dumb.

            “When will you stop denying that you’re strung out over my brother?” Bra demanded.

            “Is it that obvious?” Pan wondered as she blinked slowly.

            “I’m surprised that Trunks hasn’t figured you out yet.” Aikori chimed in.

            “That’s because my brother is a complete baka.” Bra stated matter-of-factly.

            Pan didn’t know how to respond.  In a daze, she slowly walked out of the water towards the shore where the blankets had been laid.  She sighed and flopped down on one of the blankets and draped her left arm over her eyes.  She tried to make her mind stop thinking about what Bra and Aikori had just said.  She would never bring herself to tell Trunks the way she feels about him.  There was no way he could feel the same about her.  Pan suddenly felt cold drops of water dripping on her.  She removed her arm from her eyes and squinted in the sunlight to see Trunks leaning over her with a huge grin on his face.

            “Trying to catch up on the sleep you missed?” he asked mischievously.

            “No, I’m trying to work on my tan.” Pan replied in a sarcastic tone.

            “Well then, mind if I watch you burn?” he continued to grin.

            “Sure. Fine. Whatever. (perhaps some of you may remember that quote from Scully on X-Files… if you do… good for you!)” she said.

            Trunks sat down next to Pan on the blanket and looked out onto the water where Goten was desperately attempting to fend off the two girls who were splashing him mercilessly.  He looked down at Pan and marveled as the sun reflected off of her golden skin and her body which looked so unlike the tiny Pan he used to baby sit.

            ‘I never realized just how much she’s grown.’ he thought.

            “Well, this is a first.” Pan interrupted his thoughts.

            “What’s that?” he asked.

            “You’ve been sitting here for the past few minutes and you have yet to come up with another of your witty remarks.” she commented.  “Is the sun affecting your brain or have you used up your quota for the day?”

            “I don’t know.  I guess I just don’t have anything to say.” Trunks shrugged.

            Pan sat up and gave him a serious look.

            “Wow.  The girls must love you when you’re this articulate.” she said incredulously.

            Trunks looked at her and started to laugh uncontrollably.  When he finally managed to catch his breath, he laid back on the blanket and stared up at the sky.

            “To tell you the truth, I’ve kinda given up on girls for the time being.” He explained.  “Besides, Marron is dating someone else right now and she’s the only one I’ve ever really considered becoming serious with.”

            Pan suddenly was fighting a losing battle against the tears that threatened her eyes.  She had to get away from him before she burst out crying.  However, Trunks had already sensed a change in her expression.

            “Panny, what’s the matter?” he asked, looking concerned.

            She turned away from him to see Aikori walking towards her.  Aikori immediately saw the pained and desperate look on her friend’s face and knew  she had to get her friend away as quickly as she could.

            “Hey Pan, you wanna show me where I can wash the sand out of this bathing suit?” she asked, coming to Pan’s rescue.

            Pan cleared her throat.  “Sure, let’s go.”

            When they reached near the showers, Pan collapsed onto a bench and started to cry hysterically.  Aikori sat beside her and hugged her lightly so that she could cry freely on her shoulder.

            “I didn’t think it would hurt this much.” Pan said between sobs.

            “What did he say to you?” Aikori questioned.

            Pan recounted her conversation with Trunks to Aikori and managed to finish before a fresh batch of tears spilled from her eyes.

            “Look Pan-chan, I know he shouldn’t have mentioned that to you, but he wouldn’t have said it if he knew how you feel about him.” Aikori soothed.

            “I guess you’re right.” she sniffled.

            “Of course I am.” Aikori confirmed.  “Now lets wash off your face so no one can tell you’ve been crying.”

            After their trip to the bathroom, the girls returned to the others.  Pan tried to act normal, but refused to talk to Trunks for any long period of time and found various excuses to cut the conversations short.  She helped when they buried Goten in the sand and built a sand castle around his head.  She even managed to laugh and the ridiculous outcome.  However, when it was time for everyone to return home, Pan became uneasy.  There was no way she could survive the car ride home with Trunks without wanting to blast him into tiny pieces.  Luckily, Goten volunteered to carry her home since he had to see his brother about something anyway.  Bra declared that she’d drive Aikori home.  Trunks was left to travel alone.

            “So, what’s up with the mood swings, Panny?” Goten asked once they were in his car.

            “Nothing.” Pan replied in a monotone, staring out the window in an attempt to avoid her uncle’s concerned look.

            “I know that’s not true.” He reasoned.  “I saw how upset you looked after you were talking to Trunks.  Did he say something to upset you?”

            “Look,” Pan started with irritation rising in her voice. “just leave it alone.  That’s what I’m trying to do.”

            Goten didn’t want to force Pan, so he shrugged and gave up trying to question her.

            ‘She’s not a little kid anymore, she’s almost 18.’ He reminded himself.  ‘I guess she can handle her own problems now.’

            When they arrived at her house, Videl had just finished dinner and invited everyone to the table.  Goten, (being the oinker that he is ^_^) gladly accepted, while Pan said she wasn’t hungry and excused herself to go to her room.  Gohan and Videl gave Goten a questioning look and he just giggled nervously.

            “Teenagers.” He managed to say.

            Once she reached the solitude of her room, Pan removed her clothes to go in the shower.  No sooner had she turned on the water than the tears started afresh.  This time, she didn’t fight them.  She just let the hot water wash them away as they fell.

            ‘Damn you, Trunks.’ She thought. ‘Damn you for making me fall in love with you.’

<More to come… Pan attempts to move on with her life… Trunks finds out the truth about why Pan became upset… and a musical and happy ending!>