Author:
Title: Happy Birthday, Sweet Sixteen
Genre: Romance!
Happy Birthday, Sweet Sixteen
Suggested music to listen to while reading: "Happy Birthday, Sweet Sixteen", "Love is All Around" (Notting Hill), "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" (The Lion King), "Natural" (SClub7),
Plot Summary: Rei's sixteenth birthday, and she and Darien realise their feelings for each other. Not much demon butt-kicking, but this is a romance fic. Please, please, please r/r this fic! I enjoyed writing it, and I'll write some more if I get enough reviews. Here's the story:
Rei walked back from school through the April rain. Despite the less-than-perfect day, she walked with a spring in her step, and a smile on her stunningly beautiful face. Tomorrow was her birthday, and she was having a suprise party. Well, 'suprise' probably wasn't the right word. For the past few weeks, her best friends, Ami Mizuno, Mina Aino, Serena Tskino and Lita Kino had been poring over notepads and whispering excitedly among themselves whenever they thought she wasn't looking. Whenever they saw her, however, they did anything, short of actually whistling innocently, to conceal what they were doing, although the charade was more of a game now. For the last few years, everyone, now including Darien, Serena's extremely good-looking boyfriend, had been given the same treatment: 'suprise' party the night before the birthday, shopping on the big day itself, and a sleepover inbetween. Now however, only Serena, and perhaps Mina, thought that it was completely unexpected to the birthday girl or boy.
So, Rei was in a very good mood. She had stayed at her school library for half an hour, and was now looking forward to a good party. She fully expected these celebrations to be especially lavish, since she was turning sixteen.
Soon, she rounded a corner, and Cherry Hill Temple came slowly into view. Treating Chad, a rockstar hopeful who often worked at the temple, to a rare smile, she walked up the steps and approached the small group of buildings that made up her living quarters. She opened the door, and walked quietly along the corridor. Then came an unofficial tradition. One of the doors opened ever so slightly, and Rei just caught sight of a bright blue eye, and blonde hair. Now she knew where the party was. She walked up to the door, waited just long enough to make them slightly worried, took a deep breath, and stepped inside.
"Suprise!"
Sure enough, inside were her best friends, Serena, Ami, Mina and Lita, and, she was slightly suprised, but delighted, to see that Darien was also there, looking even more handsome than usual in black trousers and a black rollneck. He smiled at her, and Rei felt her insides turn over. Serena came up to Rei, nearly trembling in excitement.
"Happy Birthday Rei! What do think of the decorations? And how do you like the cake?" The room had been hung with anything red or orange that they could find - tinsel, material and what looked suspiciously like the tablemat Rei had given Serena for Christmas - and on the cherrywood table was a magnificent chocolate cake with the words "Hapy Bithday" written on in a slightly wobbly way with white icing. No doubt Lita had been unable to keep Mina away from the prospect of writing with sugar on the cake that had presumably been cooked by the tall brunette.
Despite herself, Rei felt tears rising in her eyes. "Oh . . . It's wonderful . . ."
"And you haven't even heard what else is happening!" Even normally calm Ami looked excited!
Rei raised an eyebrow. "What, party, sleepover, shopping?"
Serena looked up from her paper plate. "Party, *makeovers*, sleepover, shopping!" she said in as much of a injured tone as she could muster through a mouthful of cake.
"No, this year's even better!" Mina said, and then adopted a business-like tone. "Your schedule for today: Now until late morning tomorrow - party, makeover, sleepover. Late morning till mid-afternoon - shopping. Mid afternoon till early evening - watching a movie at Lita's house. Mid-evening to late evening - duh duh duh!"
"What she means," Darien said, speaked for the first time that afternoon, "is that what's happening tomorrow evening is *really* a suprise, but if you start opening your presents, you might be able to guess."
He handed her a largish red box tied with a yellow ribbon. As she took it from him, their hands touched, and for a moment their eyes met, shivers running up and down Rei's spine. The spell was broken when Lita cried, "Go on, Rei, open it!"
Her hands fumbling slightly, she untied the ribbon and opened the box. She gasped, and took a beautiful ball-gown of flame-coloured silk out of it. It was the very same one that she had been admiring in a shop in Tokyo mall. It was strapless with a tight upper half to keep it from falling down, and the skirt blossomed out from it in a haze of floaty, iridecsent red, orange and gold. She held it against herself, momentarily speechless.
"I . . . I don't know what to say . . ." she managed finally.
"How about 'thanks'?" suggested Serena. "We all put some money towards it - Me, Ami, Mina, Lita, Darien, Chad, your Grandpa. It's for tomorrow night."
"Why, what's happening tomorrow night?"
"It's a suprise," Mina told her in a satisfied tone. All we ask is that you wear it tomorrow evening. We're all going to hire dresses tomorow,, and we're going someplace."
"But where - began Rei, but she was interrupted by Lita.
"Never mind that! Lets get on with the party!"
Ami pressed a button on a CD player - someone must have brought it, she certainly didn't have one - and 'Always Come Back to Your Love' boomed out. They all began dancing, their moves ranging from Mina and Serena doing the correct ones - Serena clumsily - to Lita's spirited version of the hand jive. In extremely high spirits, Rei joined in.
It was certainly the best party Rei had ever had. Halfway through, Chad came in, and, in what Rei thought of as a quaint but incredibley sweet way, asked if she would dance with him. She could hardly refuse, even if one of the girls (she suspected a certain blonde meatball-head) had changed the track to Britney Spears' 'Sometimes'. As they danced, Rei caught Serena's eye, and she and Mina made the 'V' sign with their fingers.
When the song finished, she made her way through the room (it had quickly become crowded, what with the dancing teenagers and the packaging from the newly unwrapped presents) to Darien, who was standing in a corner with a glass of Coke. She felt an unacustomed eagerness to speak to him, and felt very strange indeed when he smiled at her.
"Hey, Rei," he said. "How's the party?"
"Great! You staying for the sleepover?"
Darien laughed. "No, I'm escaping long before you start on the make overs."
Rei put on a mock-disappointed tone and expression. "Aw, why? You'd look nice with blonde hair." She reached up to ruffle it, and their eyes met again. They both stopped moving - Rei almost stopped breathing. Strange thoughts came to Rei, along with a feeling that she couldn't explain. *We're close enough to kiss* *Why did he stay at my party so long?* *His eyes . . .*
This time it was Ami who interrupted him. Rei was glad: it could have been worse - it could have been Serena. "Hi you two! Rei, the others have been choosing all the music so far, so I thought it kight be a good idea if you chose the next one. It's your party, anyhow."
Rei answered the blue hared girl rather distractedly. "Oh - no, I don't mind. You choose." Blushing slightly, the now-sixteen-year-old hurried away.
Half an hour later, Darien approached her, and again she felt that strange feeling in her heart. "Hi," he said.
"Hi."
"I heard Serena saying that their starting makeovers soon, so I'm bailing out."
Rei smiled. "Sure?"
"Yeah, I'm sure. Good night, Rei."
Darien bent down, and, to Rei's suprise, gave her a kiss on the cheek. Still breathing rather fast, Rei watched him disappear, fingering her cheek.
***
Rei remembered little of the following night, or the following morning. The only thing she remembered about the trip to the mall was her and her friends' visit to the dress hire shop. All the girls chose gowns in the same style as Rei, Ami's in aqua-blue, Mina's in a slightly more demue shade of orange than Rei's, Lita's in forest green, and Serena's in bright pink. In almost no time at all, they had watched the movie - what was it? Rei couldn't remember - and Rei had returned to Cherry Hill (they had separated after the shopping trip), and was putting on her make up. She had set her hair in a beautiful style - her ebony locks swept back into a high bun-cum-ponytail, and curled so that they snaked around the bun, and concealed it. Two strands of her hair, one on each side of her face, and been curled more tightly, and they framed her face, setting off the cream of her skin.
Rei picked up her handbag, made of a material that exactly matched her gown, and walked outside. The girls had instructed her to be ready at the steps of the temple at seven-thirty, and she was enjoyably nervous, wondering what the suprise would be. She had barely waited ten minutes when she heard a car draw up - a stretch limo! The chauffer came out and opened the door. Rei's jaw dropped. Sitting in the tan leather seats were Serena, Ami, Mina, Lita, and, again, Darien. They beckoned her over, and she climbed in. Lita, Serena and Darien were on one side, Ami and Mina on the other. She sat opposite Darien (who was wearing a suit), blushing slightly when their eyes met. Rei, for the second time in two days, was speechless at her friend's extravagance.
Lita grinned. She and the others were watching Rei's reaction with satisfaction. "Well?"
"It's - amazing! Where are we going?"
"Well . . ." Serena looked like she had been dying to tell her this for a long time. "You know how some old university doctor's giving a party to celebrate his twentieth aniversary or something?"
Rei went white. "No!"
Mina beamed. "Yes! *And*, not only did we get tickets, we got the limo free 'cause my dad works there!" The blonde duo sat back in their seats, smiling hapilly.
The journey didn't last very long, and soon they arrived at the hall where the ball was. The car stopped, the chauffer got out, and opened the door. The girls and Darien stepped out, relishing in the attention they were receiving - a crowd, attracted by the limo, was gathering - and Darien offered Rei his arm. "You don't mind, do you, Serena?" he said. She shook her head blithley, and Rei rested her hand lightly on her elbow, again experiencing that strange feeling. Mooving smoothly and elegantly, the six entered the hall.
It was filled with men and women of varying ages, from elderly couples to an eerily beautiful girl of about sixteen, who had midnight purple hair and eyes. They had seen her in the paper, and they guessed that she must be the doctor's daughter. Mina and Lita spotted a couple of good looking young men and hurried off to flirt, while Serena and Ami headed for the buffet, Serena nearly falling into the arms of a middle-aged man in her haste to reach the cake, Ami more demurely. Rei and Darien were left alone. For a long moment they just stood there, looking at each other, until the music began.
The music was varied, ranging from pop, through jazz to classical. Two of the classical musicisians were extremely talanted, a beautiful young violinist with sea-green hair and a handsome sandy-blonde pianist. The duet started off with a slow waltz, the รณ base line played on the piano, and the melody by the violinist. Darien took Rei's had, and they waltzed off, many people watching them with admaration, because of the elegant couple they made. And as they whirled across the floor, Rei *felt* as if they were a couple - but that couldn't be right, could it? Serena was Darien's girlfriend, not her, Rei. But she couldn't help fantasising as they danced, gazing into each others eyes.
The party was highly enjoyable. Darien, as the only male in their party, danced with them all in turn. Mina had, in Rei's opinion, been allowed to get at too much sugar, because she was seemingly unable to stop giggling. Lita also seemed to be rather hyperactive, and even Ami was finding it hard not smiling continually. And Rei didn't even want to think what would have happened if Serena had been banned from the buffet after her sixth slice of cake. The party was over all too soon, and as the crowd slowly dwindled, Darien remarked that they should be getting back. They departed and returned to the limo - Rei still couldn't believe it! - and, as their chauffer drove them away, chatted exitedly about the party. Rei thanked her friends over and over again, for the first party, for the dress, for the limo, for the second party. She still felt inexplicably grateful to Darien for coming to so much of her sixteenth birthday celebrations, and her pulse still quicked when their eyes met. Unsure of what this meant, or rather, unwilling to admit it, Rei was anxious not to let her feelings show, least of all to Serena. This was especially hard at that moment, since she was sitting next to both Serena and Darien, and could feel her body tingling at Darien's warmth at her side.
First to be dropped of was Mina, then Ami, then Serena, then Lita, until finally only Darien and the newly sixteen-year-old were left in the car. Still unsure of whether this was the right thing to do, she plucked up her courage and said, "Um, Darien?"
"Mm-hm?"
"Um . . . would you like to come back to the temple with me - you know, for a cup of tea or something?
"What, that jasmine tea that you make?"
Rei swallowed. "If you want!"
The eighteen-year old turned round, and their faces were suddenly very close. "I do," Darien whispered, and they looked into each other's eyes for a few seconds, until Darien cleared his throat, and they both became intensley interested in their fingers.
In a few minutes, they arrived at Cherry Hill, and emerged from the limo, tipping the driver rather more generously that they had intended - their hands had touched in the process of giving the chauffer the money - and walked together up the steps of the temple. After fiddling with her handbag for a moment, Rei said, "I'll make the tea then," and turned to go, but Darien stopped her with a touch on her bare arm that made her breath quicken. "No it's alright, I'll do it. I know where you keep the tea." And he left.
Rei slowly walked over to where a ledge gave a spectacualar view of Tokyo. and stood at the balcony over looking nightime Tokyo, leaning on the metal rail. She inhaled deeply, savouring the taste of the fresh spring rain, and the way the wind played with strands of her ebony hair. A waning gibbous moon shone above her against a clear starry sky, and the glow from the city made the sky-line look almost as if the sun had decided to delay setting, to provide the perfect ending to her birthday.
She felt a presense behind her.
"Hey, birthday girl."
It was Darien, and he did not have any tea with him.
"Hey, Darien." Rei remembered the way Darien had been acting towards her since yesterday evening. She did not turn round.
"Is anything wrong?"
Rei thought for a while before answering. She was acutely aware of Darien standing behind her, but her thoughts were as clear as usual. "I'm not sure." She felt the silence stretch between them. She could faintly hear cars passing far away, but apart from that the only sound was the light breeze. She spoke, this time more cheerfully. "So, did Serena force you to come to the whole thing?"
Darien chuckled, a warm sound that made Rei's breath come quicker than usual. "No, I came here of my own free will, as it were." Then his voice changed. "And I think you know why."
Rei frowned. "What do you mean?"
Darien laid a hand on her arm, and this time she did turn round. "You know what I mean."
Rei met his eyes, and froze, looking into their dark brown depths. In them she could see warmth, and a passion she had never seen or felt before in anyone. There was also love in his liquid gaze, calling to her soul. He reached out his arms, and slowly drew her into them. As he held her close, their eyes still locked, she felt her heart pounding hard in her chest, Darien's doing the same. His left hand still around her waist, he raised his right, and caressed her cheek with it. His hand slowly travelled down, and lifted her chin.
"No, Darien!" she said.
His fingers still under her chin, he replied "What?"
"We can't do this! I want to, you've no idea how much I wan't to, but I can't betray Serena, and - neither can you . . ."
"Rei . . ."
She lowered her voice. "We went out once before, remember, and it didn't work."
"We were younger then. Now we're old enough to know what we want. And there's only one thing I want right now," he said softly. "And that's you." He started to lower his face to hers.
"But what about Serena?"
He stopped, his mouth only millimetres from hers. "I don't know," he whispered. "We'll worry about her in the morning."
He touched his warm lips to hers, and kissed her gently, and this time she did not resist, but accepted Darien's love as a cherry tree accepts the sun. His warmth flowed down through her body, making every part of her tingle, making her body tremble with passion. She had wanted his love for so long, and this was no longer a schoolgirl crush, but real adult love. Finally she was in his arms, finally they knew they were meant for each other. She felt so alive, and so did her senses: she could hear and feel their hearts beating together, smell his own special scent, feel his lips on hers, taste his kiss . . . Soon all thoughts of Serena were driven from her mind as she returned his kisses passionately, again and again, until he drew back. She shook her head and whispered "No," but he smiled the smile she now knew was meant for her, and her alone, and said softly, "No, Rei. One thing would lead to another, and this isn't the time or the place."
"It could be."
"No, Rei," he said again. "You're to young."
"I'm sixteen. It is legal."
He chuckled, and at that, Rei couldn't help but forget her almost-annoyance. "No. It would be to soon to rush into something like that. Goodnight, cherry-blossom."
With a last kiss, as soft as his first one, he released her, and walked of into the night.
Rei stood still for a long time after that, fingering her lips, and remembering Darien's kiss. Finally, she too turned away and back to her bedroom, her ears still hearing his words.
"Goodnight, cherry-blossom . . ."
Author's note: So, whaddya think? I've got an idea of a whole series of events that could happen, but I'll only write them if I get lots of reviews! I'd love advice about how I could make this better. If you want me to tell you what will happen if I continue this story, please say so in your review, and I'll email you with the furure plot. Also, please tell me if you want to help me improve this or any of my work that I may write in the future, and I'll email my ideas and drafts to you.
Title: Happy Birthday, Sweet Sixteen
Genre: Romance!
Happy Birthday, Sweet Sixteen
Suggested music to listen to while reading: "Happy Birthday, Sweet Sixteen", "Love is All Around" (Notting Hill), "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" (The Lion King), "Natural" (SClub7),
Plot Summary: Rei's sixteenth birthday, and she and Darien realise their feelings for each other. Not much demon butt-kicking, but this is a romance fic. Please, please, please r/r this fic! I enjoyed writing it, and I'll write some more if I get enough reviews. Here's the story:
Rei walked back from school through the April rain. Despite the less-than-perfect day, she walked with a spring in her step, and a smile on her stunningly beautiful face. Tomorrow was her birthday, and she was having a suprise party. Well, 'suprise' probably wasn't the right word. For the past few weeks, her best friends, Ami Mizuno, Mina Aino, Serena Tskino and Lita Kino had been poring over notepads and whispering excitedly among themselves whenever they thought she wasn't looking. Whenever they saw her, however, they did anything, short of actually whistling innocently, to conceal what they were doing, although the charade was more of a game now. For the last few years, everyone, now including Darien, Serena's extremely good-looking boyfriend, had been given the same treatment: 'suprise' party the night before the birthday, shopping on the big day itself, and a sleepover inbetween. Now however, only Serena, and perhaps Mina, thought that it was completely unexpected to the birthday girl or boy.
So, Rei was in a very good mood. She had stayed at her school library for half an hour, and was now looking forward to a good party. She fully expected these celebrations to be especially lavish, since she was turning sixteen.
Soon, she rounded a corner, and Cherry Hill Temple came slowly into view. Treating Chad, a rockstar hopeful who often worked at the temple, to a rare smile, she walked up the steps and approached the small group of buildings that made up her living quarters. She opened the door, and walked quietly along the corridor. Then came an unofficial tradition. One of the doors opened ever so slightly, and Rei just caught sight of a bright blue eye, and blonde hair. Now she knew where the party was. She walked up to the door, waited just long enough to make them slightly worried, took a deep breath, and stepped inside.
"Suprise!"
Sure enough, inside were her best friends, Serena, Ami, Mina and Lita, and, she was slightly suprised, but delighted, to see that Darien was also there, looking even more handsome than usual in black trousers and a black rollneck. He smiled at her, and Rei felt her insides turn over. Serena came up to Rei, nearly trembling in excitement.
"Happy Birthday Rei! What do think of the decorations? And how do you like the cake?" The room had been hung with anything red or orange that they could find - tinsel, material and what looked suspiciously like the tablemat Rei had given Serena for Christmas - and on the cherrywood table was a magnificent chocolate cake with the words "Hapy Bithday" written on in a slightly wobbly way with white icing. No doubt Lita had been unable to keep Mina away from the prospect of writing with sugar on the cake that had presumably been cooked by the tall brunette.
Despite herself, Rei felt tears rising in her eyes. "Oh . . . It's wonderful . . ."
"And you haven't even heard what else is happening!" Even normally calm Ami looked excited!
Rei raised an eyebrow. "What, party, sleepover, shopping?"
Serena looked up from her paper plate. "Party, *makeovers*, sleepover, shopping!" she said in as much of a injured tone as she could muster through a mouthful of cake.
"No, this year's even better!" Mina said, and then adopted a business-like tone. "Your schedule for today: Now until late morning tomorrow - party, makeover, sleepover. Late morning till mid-afternoon - shopping. Mid afternoon till early evening - watching a movie at Lita's house. Mid-evening to late evening - duh duh duh!"
"What she means," Darien said, speaked for the first time that afternoon, "is that what's happening tomorrow evening is *really* a suprise, but if you start opening your presents, you might be able to guess."
He handed her a largish red box tied with a yellow ribbon. As she took it from him, their hands touched, and for a moment their eyes met, shivers running up and down Rei's spine. The spell was broken when Lita cried, "Go on, Rei, open it!"
Her hands fumbling slightly, she untied the ribbon and opened the box. She gasped, and took a beautiful ball-gown of flame-coloured silk out of it. It was the very same one that she had been admiring in a shop in Tokyo mall. It was strapless with a tight upper half to keep it from falling down, and the skirt blossomed out from it in a haze of floaty, iridecsent red, orange and gold. She held it against herself, momentarily speechless.
"I . . . I don't know what to say . . ." she managed finally.
"How about 'thanks'?" suggested Serena. "We all put some money towards it - Me, Ami, Mina, Lita, Darien, Chad, your Grandpa. It's for tomorrow night."
"Why, what's happening tomorrow night?"
"It's a suprise," Mina told her in a satisfied tone. All we ask is that you wear it tomorrow evening. We're all going to hire dresses tomorow,, and we're going someplace."
"But where - began Rei, but she was interrupted by Lita.
"Never mind that! Lets get on with the party!"
Ami pressed a button on a CD player - someone must have brought it, she certainly didn't have one - and 'Always Come Back to Your Love' boomed out. They all began dancing, their moves ranging from Mina and Serena doing the correct ones - Serena clumsily - to Lita's spirited version of the hand jive. In extremely high spirits, Rei joined in.
It was certainly the best party Rei had ever had. Halfway through, Chad came in, and, in what Rei thought of as a quaint but incredibley sweet way, asked if she would dance with him. She could hardly refuse, even if one of the girls (she suspected a certain blonde meatball-head) had changed the track to Britney Spears' 'Sometimes'. As they danced, Rei caught Serena's eye, and she and Mina made the 'V' sign with their fingers.
When the song finished, she made her way through the room (it had quickly become crowded, what with the dancing teenagers and the packaging from the newly unwrapped presents) to Darien, who was standing in a corner with a glass of Coke. She felt an unacustomed eagerness to speak to him, and felt very strange indeed when he smiled at her.
"Hey, Rei," he said. "How's the party?"
"Great! You staying for the sleepover?"
Darien laughed. "No, I'm escaping long before you start on the make overs."
Rei put on a mock-disappointed tone and expression. "Aw, why? You'd look nice with blonde hair." She reached up to ruffle it, and their eyes met again. They both stopped moving - Rei almost stopped breathing. Strange thoughts came to Rei, along with a feeling that she couldn't explain. *We're close enough to kiss* *Why did he stay at my party so long?* *His eyes . . .*
This time it was Ami who interrupted him. Rei was glad: it could have been worse - it could have been Serena. "Hi you two! Rei, the others have been choosing all the music so far, so I thought it kight be a good idea if you chose the next one. It's your party, anyhow."
Rei answered the blue hared girl rather distractedly. "Oh - no, I don't mind. You choose." Blushing slightly, the now-sixteen-year-old hurried away.
Half an hour later, Darien approached her, and again she felt that strange feeling in her heart. "Hi," he said.
"Hi."
"I heard Serena saying that their starting makeovers soon, so I'm bailing out."
Rei smiled. "Sure?"
"Yeah, I'm sure. Good night, Rei."
Darien bent down, and, to Rei's suprise, gave her a kiss on the cheek. Still breathing rather fast, Rei watched him disappear, fingering her cheek.
***
Rei remembered little of the following night, or the following morning. The only thing she remembered about the trip to the mall was her and her friends' visit to the dress hire shop. All the girls chose gowns in the same style as Rei, Ami's in aqua-blue, Mina's in a slightly more demue shade of orange than Rei's, Lita's in forest green, and Serena's in bright pink. In almost no time at all, they had watched the movie - what was it? Rei couldn't remember - and Rei had returned to Cherry Hill (they had separated after the shopping trip), and was putting on her make up. She had set her hair in a beautiful style - her ebony locks swept back into a high bun-cum-ponytail, and curled so that they snaked around the bun, and concealed it. Two strands of her hair, one on each side of her face, and been curled more tightly, and they framed her face, setting off the cream of her skin.
Rei picked up her handbag, made of a material that exactly matched her gown, and walked outside. The girls had instructed her to be ready at the steps of the temple at seven-thirty, and she was enjoyably nervous, wondering what the suprise would be. She had barely waited ten minutes when she heard a car draw up - a stretch limo! The chauffer came out and opened the door. Rei's jaw dropped. Sitting in the tan leather seats were Serena, Ami, Mina, Lita, and, again, Darien. They beckoned her over, and she climbed in. Lita, Serena and Darien were on one side, Ami and Mina on the other. She sat opposite Darien (who was wearing a suit), blushing slightly when their eyes met. Rei, for the second time in two days, was speechless at her friend's extravagance.
Lita grinned. She and the others were watching Rei's reaction with satisfaction. "Well?"
"It's - amazing! Where are we going?"
"Well . . ." Serena looked like she had been dying to tell her this for a long time. "You know how some old university doctor's giving a party to celebrate his twentieth aniversary or something?"
Rei went white. "No!"
Mina beamed. "Yes! *And*, not only did we get tickets, we got the limo free 'cause my dad works there!" The blonde duo sat back in their seats, smiling hapilly.
The journey didn't last very long, and soon they arrived at the hall where the ball was. The car stopped, the chauffer got out, and opened the door. The girls and Darien stepped out, relishing in the attention they were receiving - a crowd, attracted by the limo, was gathering - and Darien offered Rei his arm. "You don't mind, do you, Serena?" he said. She shook her head blithley, and Rei rested her hand lightly on her elbow, again experiencing that strange feeling. Mooving smoothly and elegantly, the six entered the hall.
It was filled with men and women of varying ages, from elderly couples to an eerily beautiful girl of about sixteen, who had midnight purple hair and eyes. They had seen her in the paper, and they guessed that she must be the doctor's daughter. Mina and Lita spotted a couple of good looking young men and hurried off to flirt, while Serena and Ami headed for the buffet, Serena nearly falling into the arms of a middle-aged man in her haste to reach the cake, Ami more demurely. Rei and Darien were left alone. For a long moment they just stood there, looking at each other, until the music began.
The music was varied, ranging from pop, through jazz to classical. Two of the classical musicisians were extremely talanted, a beautiful young violinist with sea-green hair and a handsome sandy-blonde pianist. The duet started off with a slow waltz, the รณ base line played on the piano, and the melody by the violinist. Darien took Rei's had, and they waltzed off, many people watching them with admaration, because of the elegant couple they made. And as they whirled across the floor, Rei *felt* as if they were a couple - but that couldn't be right, could it? Serena was Darien's girlfriend, not her, Rei. But she couldn't help fantasising as they danced, gazing into each others eyes.
The party was highly enjoyable. Darien, as the only male in their party, danced with them all in turn. Mina had, in Rei's opinion, been allowed to get at too much sugar, because she was seemingly unable to stop giggling. Lita also seemed to be rather hyperactive, and even Ami was finding it hard not smiling continually. And Rei didn't even want to think what would have happened if Serena had been banned from the buffet after her sixth slice of cake. The party was over all too soon, and as the crowd slowly dwindled, Darien remarked that they should be getting back. They departed and returned to the limo - Rei still couldn't believe it! - and, as their chauffer drove them away, chatted exitedly about the party. Rei thanked her friends over and over again, for the first party, for the dress, for the limo, for the second party. She still felt inexplicably grateful to Darien for coming to so much of her sixteenth birthday celebrations, and her pulse still quicked when their eyes met. Unsure of what this meant, or rather, unwilling to admit it, Rei was anxious not to let her feelings show, least of all to Serena. This was especially hard at that moment, since she was sitting next to both Serena and Darien, and could feel her body tingling at Darien's warmth at her side.
First to be dropped of was Mina, then Ami, then Serena, then Lita, until finally only Darien and the newly sixteen-year-old were left in the car. Still unsure of whether this was the right thing to do, she plucked up her courage and said, "Um, Darien?"
"Mm-hm?"
"Um . . . would you like to come back to the temple with me - you know, for a cup of tea or something?
"What, that jasmine tea that you make?"
Rei swallowed. "If you want!"
The eighteen-year old turned round, and their faces were suddenly very close. "I do," Darien whispered, and they looked into each other's eyes for a few seconds, until Darien cleared his throat, and they both became intensley interested in their fingers.
In a few minutes, they arrived at Cherry Hill, and emerged from the limo, tipping the driver rather more generously that they had intended - their hands had touched in the process of giving the chauffer the money - and walked together up the steps of the temple. After fiddling with her handbag for a moment, Rei said, "I'll make the tea then," and turned to go, but Darien stopped her with a touch on her bare arm that made her breath quicken. "No it's alright, I'll do it. I know where you keep the tea." And he left.
Rei slowly walked over to where a ledge gave a spectacualar view of Tokyo. and stood at the balcony over looking nightime Tokyo, leaning on the metal rail. She inhaled deeply, savouring the taste of the fresh spring rain, and the way the wind played with strands of her ebony hair. A waning gibbous moon shone above her against a clear starry sky, and the glow from the city made the sky-line look almost as if the sun had decided to delay setting, to provide the perfect ending to her birthday.
She felt a presense behind her.
"Hey, birthday girl."
It was Darien, and he did not have any tea with him.
"Hey, Darien." Rei remembered the way Darien had been acting towards her since yesterday evening. She did not turn round.
"Is anything wrong?"
Rei thought for a while before answering. She was acutely aware of Darien standing behind her, but her thoughts were as clear as usual. "I'm not sure." She felt the silence stretch between them. She could faintly hear cars passing far away, but apart from that the only sound was the light breeze. She spoke, this time more cheerfully. "So, did Serena force you to come to the whole thing?"
Darien chuckled, a warm sound that made Rei's breath come quicker than usual. "No, I came here of my own free will, as it were." Then his voice changed. "And I think you know why."
Rei frowned. "What do you mean?"
Darien laid a hand on her arm, and this time she did turn round. "You know what I mean."
Rei met his eyes, and froze, looking into their dark brown depths. In them she could see warmth, and a passion she had never seen or felt before in anyone. There was also love in his liquid gaze, calling to her soul. He reached out his arms, and slowly drew her into them. As he held her close, their eyes still locked, she felt her heart pounding hard in her chest, Darien's doing the same. His left hand still around her waist, he raised his right, and caressed her cheek with it. His hand slowly travelled down, and lifted her chin.
"No, Darien!" she said.
His fingers still under her chin, he replied "What?"
"We can't do this! I want to, you've no idea how much I wan't to, but I can't betray Serena, and - neither can you . . ."
"Rei . . ."
She lowered her voice. "We went out once before, remember, and it didn't work."
"We were younger then. Now we're old enough to know what we want. And there's only one thing I want right now," he said softly. "And that's you." He started to lower his face to hers.
"But what about Serena?"
He stopped, his mouth only millimetres from hers. "I don't know," he whispered. "We'll worry about her in the morning."
He touched his warm lips to hers, and kissed her gently, and this time she did not resist, but accepted Darien's love as a cherry tree accepts the sun. His warmth flowed down through her body, making every part of her tingle, making her body tremble with passion. She had wanted his love for so long, and this was no longer a schoolgirl crush, but real adult love. Finally she was in his arms, finally they knew they were meant for each other. She felt so alive, and so did her senses: she could hear and feel their hearts beating together, smell his own special scent, feel his lips on hers, taste his kiss . . . Soon all thoughts of Serena were driven from her mind as she returned his kisses passionately, again and again, until he drew back. She shook her head and whispered "No," but he smiled the smile she now knew was meant for her, and her alone, and said softly, "No, Rei. One thing would lead to another, and this isn't the time or the place."
"It could be."
"No, Rei," he said again. "You're to young."
"I'm sixteen. It is legal."
He chuckled, and at that, Rei couldn't help but forget her almost-annoyance. "No. It would be to soon to rush into something like that. Goodnight, cherry-blossom."
With a last kiss, as soft as his first one, he released her, and walked of into the night.
Rei stood still for a long time after that, fingering her lips, and remembering Darien's kiss. Finally, she too turned away and back to her bedroom, her ears still hearing his words.
"Goodnight, cherry-blossom . . ."
Author's note: So, whaddya think? I've got an idea of a whole series of events that could happen, but I'll only write them if I get lots of reviews! I'd love advice about how I could make this better. If you want me to tell you what will happen if I continue this story, please say so in your review, and I'll email you with the furure plot. Also, please tell me if you want to help me improve this or any of my work that I may write in the future, and I'll email my ideas and drafts to you.