True Love Forever

(Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon, the Three Lights, the Sailor Starlights, all other Sailor Soldiers mentioned (unless otherwise stated) and Sailor Moon are created and copyrighted by Takeuchi Naoko and owned by Kodansha publishing and TOEI Animation, Inc. This is a fanfiction meant to entertain, not to make profit. This story is © 2003 written by me, Neptune-Princess20.

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Serena looked out the ice encrusted window, sighing pitifully. Oh, how bloody boring! For eight straight hours all she did was stay behind the stupid counter, counting money or doing odd, mindless jobs around the shop. No wonder she didn't have a life. All she did was work while her friends shopped and generally had the time of their life.
"Why the long face, Serena?" Molly, her co- worker, asked.
"Oh Molly, sometimes I feel like my whole entire existence is a sham. I mean, what sane person sits around an old, disgusting store, selling last season clothes on a beautiful winter afternoon?" Serena moaned.
"Well, me for one. And now you. You know, if you'd just apologize to your parents, you wouldn't be in this situation." Molly answered pointedly.
"No way. This time they were in the wrong and not me. They automatically assumed I slept with that guy! I mean, what kind of a slut do they take me for?!" she exclaimed angrily.
Suddenly, the door opened with a loud bang, causing the two girls to jump half out of their skins with fright.
A group of very pretty, but very noisy girls burst into the room, laughing and joking about their day.
A particularly tall, brown haired girl approached the service desk, and winked at Serena.
"How's it going, babe? Any luck selling this junk?" she teased good naturedly.
"Lita, I'm in no mood for jokes, alright? I've had a hard day, and here you all come running in, and add to my misery." Serena grumbled, pouting.
"Oh cheer up, meatball head. A few hours of hard work won't kill you." A tall, raven haired beauty snapped impatiently. She had no patience for Serena's whingeing.
"Shut up, Rei. Who asked for your opinion anyway?" The other girl retorted. She twisted her long, blond hair into a neat bun, then bent down and leaned her golden head on her arms.
"While you're all here, would you at least buy something? I mean, I might as well impress my boss with my skill as a sales assistant." Her large, blue eyed peered into Lita's emerald ones appealingly, beseeching her to buy something.
"I think I may purchase this purse. It would really suit my new blue blouse, don't you think Mina?" A sweet girl with short blue hair asked her gorgeous blond friend.
"It would, actually. How much is it?" Mina turned over the price tag, and gasped at the price.
"One hundred dollars? You've got to be kidding. I wouldn't pay twenty for this shit." She snorted sarcastically, and handed it back to the other girl.
"Oh. Well, it is a little bit out of my price range. I only have fifty dollars left. I'm sorry Serena, I would but it if I had the money." She shrugged apologetically, and put it back on the hook.
"Oh, Ami, not even you?" Serena complained pathetically.
For the next few minutes the girls browsed through the shop haphazardly, selecting items and laughing at how ugly they were. Serena ignored them, meanwhile filing her nails.
After a few more minutes of mindless conversation, the four girls got tired and bid Serena goodbye. The girl stared after them unhappily, aware she had many more hours to fill at the hell hole.
Three more hours later, Serena got ready to close the store. She was alone, since Molly had already left, ending her shift an hour before.
Just as she was locking the store, a man came running, and stopped in front of the door.
"Miss, can you please wait? I need to buy something from here. Please." He staggered out, still puffing madly.
"Um, OK." Serena responded stupidly, caught completely by surprise.
She reopened the store, and put on the lights. Suddenly she gasped in shock. That man, who seemed like a complete loser a second ago, was now looking much more appealing. Scrumptious, in fact. His jet black hair was tussled adorably, the white snowflakes falling to the ground randomly. As he gazed down at Serena, his dark blue eyes lighting up appreciatively at the beauty in front of him, but, Serena not knowing he was checking her out, merely admired their wonderful colour.
"As I was saying, I am in dire need of purchasing an object immediately. Could you please show me your jewellery?" he asked, his tone professional and dignified. Now that he had gotten his breath back, he had magically transformed from a loser to a distinguished gentleman.
"O.of course." Serena stuttered, and led the way to the jewellery counter. The man looked over the various jewels, finally selecting a beautiful, gold ring with a simple yet elegant ruby.
"That will be. three hundred dollars." Serena said hesitatingly, now also embarrassed at the ridiculously high prices of the store. The man merely took out his wallet, and passed her the money in cash. Serena's mouth dropped open. Who carried this sort of money in cash anyway?
"In case you're wondering why I have this much money in cash, it's because I knew that I would be buying this ring, so I took it out of the bank beforehand." The man said dryly.
Serena laughed nervously, and printed out a receipt. As she was handing it over, their hands touched, and she felt a jolt of electricity pass through her. She pulled back abruptly. She could feel his eyes on her, boring holes through her head.
"Thank you." He said slowly, still staring. Serena looked up, and started to sink into the deep, blue orbs above hers.
All of a sudden, she felt her leg give way and she crashed into the cabinet, hitting her nose on the glass. It sprouted blood instantly, splashing them both. The man moved back quickly, and wiped the few droplets with a monogrammed, cream handkerchief. Serena, although in a lot pain, did not miss his name; Darien Shields.
"Are you alright?" he asked worriedly.
"I'm fide thak you." She answered, mortified. She had grabbed tissues out of the box beside her so quickly that she had practically emptied the entire contents. A few seconds later the blood stopped flowing, and she was once again able to breathe.
Darien, now assured that she was going to be fine, walked back towards the door.
"Thank you and feel better." And he was gone.
Serena stared after him, the sheer humiliation of the situation sinking in. She quickly closed the store and set off home, eager to forget the whole embarrassing episode. Yet, strangely, that night she tossed and turned, thinking of Darien's deep, blue eyes and strong, masculine hands caressing her body and soul.