I know… I know… I'm soooo verrryyyy baaaddd! But I can't help it, honest I can't. I had to throw this out there before it burned a hole in my skull and it tried! Seriously! Oh well, Hey, I want to see some reviews on this. Don't' worry I promise you I will finish Web of Lies and the last part of the Twisted Webs trilogy, Spinning Threads. But for now. Read this, check it out and let me know what you think thus far!


Serena Tsukino is one tough teenager. When her father loses his job leaving the family without a source of income she finds herself a job working nights at a popular strip club. Embarrassed by her job she keeps it a secret. It's easy enough until one night. S/D

Dark Moon Night Club

"Kids… your mother and I need to tell you something." Ken Tsukino sighed and looked at his children. This was one of the most difficult things he'd ever done. "I lost my job today." He looked down at the table as Ilene Tsukino squeezed his hand tightly. "I don't know what we're going to do… your mother and I are going to try and find jobs but things are going to be tight for a while."

"I'll get a job." His eighteen-year-old daughter smiled sweetly. Her cerulean blue eyes glittered with excitement as she thought about it. Her father had never wanted her to get a job but it was looking like a good deal right now. "I mean, I'm old enough and Stuff."

"I can get one too!" Serena's younger brother Sammy smiled and looked at his sister with approval. "We'll both get jobs." Ken smiled then looked into his children's eyes. He didn't like them having to go and get jobs. "Come on dad. Let us help you while you find one."

"Fine, you can all job search but it's tough right now. The economy is going to hell and jobs are hard to come by. I hope I get a job before either of you do." He laughed half-heartedly. He meant it though. He didn't want his wife and children supporting him! Ilene had already found a job as a maid, which would bring in a bit of money but now enough for them to continue in the fashion they were accustomed to.

With large smiles the two siblings grabbed the paper and began to search through the classified section to look through the jobs. Unfortunately most were for people with advanced degrees and medical expertise. "This sucks!" Serena growled the n noticed a small ad that read:

Female Performer Needed

Must Sing and Dance

Part Time

Evening Hours

$20-$30 per hour plus tips

Call 622-3972

Serena squealed and showed her father who frowned. It was a simple add that send up so many red flags he could hardly breath. "No… absolutely not. Don't even think about it." He growled and grabbed the paper away. "No daughter of mine is going to work in some… some… gentleman's club." Serena looked at him blankly then bit her lip.

"But dad… look at the money I'd be getting! Come on… please? I can do it. I'm old enough… you can't stop me." She grabbed the paper away from him and rushed up to her room then locked her door. She took a deep breath and looked at the ad, wondering if she could do it. Could she parade around a bunch of horny men in little to no clothes while singing? She wasn't sure but she had to do something. The money she would bring in would be wonderful. "Okay…" She slowly dialed the number and waited as the phone rang. One… two… three… Oh God… no one's answering! Four… She was beginning to get discouraged when a male voice came over the phone.

"Dark Moon Night Club. How can I help you?" His voice was that of someone who sounded extremely relaxed.

"Umm… I saw your ad in the paper and… I… um…" She began to lose her words and hoped that the man on the phone would rescue her by saying something.

"What's your name?" He sounded amused as he spoke, his tenor voice easily read. "And give me a short physical description of yourself. You know, hair color, eyes, height, weight…"

"Ummm… my name's Serena… I'm blonde with blue eyes… I'm five foot five (165 cm)… I uh… I'm 120lbs (54.4 Kg)." As she described herself he couldn't help but laugh a little. Not only was her voice beautiful but she sounded beautiful. "If I got the job would I have to strip?"

He laughed whole-heartedly. "Serena my darling. My philosophy is and will always be, that in this line of work, if you want to keep the guys coming back, you need to leave a little bit of mystery. Entertain them, but don't give too much away. I'll give you an audition in an hour if you can make it down." Serena felt the air leave her lungs as she thought about it. What would an audition entail? "You know you want to. Now… just come on down and tell the bouncer you have an appointment with Sapphire and he'll let you in. When you get here, walk to the back of the club like you're going to the bathroom. Across the hall is my office. Come right in okay?" She could hear the smile in his voice.

"Okay… bye Sapphire." She hung up and stared at the phone for a while before biting her lip and opening her door to reveal two, very angry parents and one irate brother. "Um… I have somewhere to be in an hour… an interview. I won't take it if it's really bad dad. I promise." Ilene absently nodded and looked at her husband curiously. Ken seemed to be mulling it around in his head but finally he loosened and nodded his approval. "Okay… well… I have to go find this place…" She made her way past the group now gathered in the hall and slowly walked out of the house with her father close behind.

"Let me take you there. I want to know what they think they're going to have my little girl doing." He walked briskly to his car and waited for her to get in.


Serena stepped into the cold night air clutching her purse tightly. She could hardly believe it but she'd made one thousand dollars that night in tips! It was only her first night too!

Standing there alone she shifted her weight from side to side as the bouncer watched her carefully to make sure she was okay. He could tell by the way she wore her hair and looked about her that she was young. He hated it when young girls just barely eighteen ended up in jobs like this. Though, he'd admit of all the places he'd worked this was by far the best one. Sapphire wanted his girls to be happy and well taken care of. In fact, Sapphire had often thrown patrons out himself if he felt they were getting out of hand.

Ken's dark blue sedan stopped in front of her allowing the blonde haired bombshell to get in and shiver. "Hey… are you okay honey? Did anyone touch you? I swear…"

"No daddy." She said softly. It was a lie. The first time a man had touched her she'd yelped and moved away from him quickly until another girl reprimanded her for it. 'What the hell Angel, these men came for a show and all that goes with it. If you want good tips you give them personal lap dances and let them touch you a little. Of course… there is a line…' The woman had said sweetly and walked away, leaving Serena to try and lease the man in front of her. The lap dance had been terrible in her opinion but he'd smiled and given her a one hundred dollar tip with a large smile, his brown eyes glittering with some untold emotion. "I made a thousand in tips though." She whispered making her father look at her with surprise on his face. "Honest daddy."

"A thousand… how did you manage?" He trailed off as he realized why she might have made that much money. After she had auditioned for Sapphire the man had smiled and stood.

"Serena, you're exactly what I've been looking for. I need a girl of your caliber around here. I mean… you have it all! Talent, looks, brains… especially conviction. You're going to be very popular around here… I know it! It's that innocence that will draw people to you… yes… like a little angel. That's what your stage name will be. Angel!" Sapphire had shook Ken's hand enthusiastically. "Thank you for bringing your delightful daughter here I'll make sure she's well cared for. You don't have to worry about a thing." Ken had nodded and put his arm around his daughter's shoulder gently guiding her outside feeling pretty confident about Sapphire. He was a nice guy and promised that he'd never let her wear anything with less material as a normal one piece bathing suit. "She's just not that girl" He'd smiled.

"The point is, if I can keep this up we're going to be just fine." Serena smiled. "I'll be the only one who needs to work. Isn't that exciting Daddy?" He grunted. Despite the fact that she wasn't doing anything too terrible he didn't want her to continue for long. The idea of his innocent little girl working in that place bothered him. What sort of boys would be interested in her then?

"I don't want you working there too long honey. Your mother's on edge already and we just want you to be… safe." Ken sighed as he pulled the car into the driveway. Ilene rushed out to greet her daughter, hugging her tightly to her bosom.

"Mom! You're smothering me!" Serena gasp and tried to pull herself from her mother's vice grip. "Ma!" Ilene looksened her arms and held Serena from her to look at her closely.

"Are you okay? How was your first… um… evening? Never mind! I just want to know that my baby's okay, you're not hurt, no one grabbed you… the others were nice…." Serena looked at her mother with a slight smile. Ilene Tsukino was the overly protective mother one would see in a romantic comedy.

"I'm fine… now, I really need to go to bed. I have to meet the girls at the arcade tomorrow for our study date. Night." Serena hurried up to her room, readied for bed, and crawled under the covers. Luna, her black cat jumped onto the bed, purring as she cuddled next to her owner. "I love you too Luna… night." She closed her eyes and was soon in her own little dream world.

The sound of the phone woke the tired blonde the next day causing her to moan and glare at her clock. NOON! Oh my GOD! I'm soo late! She jumped out of bed, took a shower, then dressed and rushed out of the house to meet her friends.

"She's so late!" A raven-haired beauty growled and stared at the clock on the wall. "She's so lazy!" The other girls sitting at the table sighed and looked out the window hoping to see the girl come running down the road.

As if on cue a certain blonde haired beauty appeared on the horizon. Her still wet tails trailing behind her as she ran to make her meeting. Dodging a few skateboarders she smiled and ran to the sliding glass doors just in time to barrel into a tall, dark haired man about to enter. "AHHHH!" She squealed and braced herself for the inevitable punishment gravity dealt to those who weren't in its good graces. Impact never came however, instead, two strong hands held her just above the ground.

"Watch where you're going meatball head. One of these days you're going to wind up smashing all of your teeth out." The tall, dark haired Adonis with deep, ocean blue eyes smirked. The right corner of his lips ticking into his cheek. She growled and slapped him away from her as he stood her on her feet. "What, no thank you?"

"No! If you weren't in my way I would have been fine! Jerk." She added with a growl as he chuckled and flipped her wet hair into her face. "Don't touch me!" She stormed past him and into the arcade. She'd never admit it to anyone but she secretly wished he'd be nicer to her. She hated being enemies with him but, being his enemy was better than being ignored. "Hey guys!" She smiled and slipped into the booth where her friends had been waiting for her.

"You're late meatball head!" The raven-haired priestess named Raye growled. Her brown eyes fixing on her friend. "I can't believe you! You slept in… again!" Serena felt the other girls' eyes on her as she sunk into the booth.

"I'm sorry… I had a late night last night." She mumbled under her breath and looked at her hands which were currently folded in her lap. "My dad lost his job so I got a job working the night shift." She heard her friends suck air into their lungs as they felt guilty about reprimanding her.

"Oh… wow Serena… sorry. I didn't know that." Raye softened her voice and looked at the other girls in the booth. "So… what's the job?" Serena looked at her friend now alarmed. She couldn't tell them! She couldn't tell anyone! "Well?"

"I… I um… I work in this little place, sort of like a themed diner. I dress up in a costume and serve customers. No biggie. I have to sing and do these little dances." She shrugged making it seem like a regular waiting job at some restaurant that had an entertainment routine.

"That's cool." Lita smiled, her green eyes glittering. "I bet you're good at it. You've always been a good singer, and you have a natural grace to you when you dance." The other girls nodded. "They don't make you wear roller skates do they?"

"No, no roller skates." Serena laughed picturing her angel costume with roller skates. "I don't think my boss would be that stupid." The table erupted with laughter making the young man behind the counter smile.

"Those girls sure love to laugh." The blonde grinned at his black haired friend who was now sitting at the counter sipping a mug of black coffee. "You sure pissed her off when you were on your way in didn't you Dare…" He trailed off as Darien's deep blue eyes locked onto his green ones.

"So what Andrew? I always piss her off. It's tradition." Darien glanced towards the table and sighed. He didn't like making her angry all the time but it was the only reaction he ever got out of her. Then again, having her angry at him was better than being ignored. "Looks like she hurried here. Her hair's still wet." Andrew chuckled at the comment making Darien glare at him. "Make that into a dirty statement and I swear I'll knock your ass to the ground." Andrew's face went blank then gave was to a slight smirk.

"Oh Darien… if only you had the imagination I have." He chuckled and wiped the counter off with his favorite rag. "After all, she is eighteen now. Old enough to play a role in my fantasies." He then rushed around the side of the counter towards the girls' table. As he went he could feel Darien's furious glare. "Hey ladies! Can I get you anything?"

"Yeah! I want a hot fudge Sunday please." Her cerulean blue eyes sparkled under her long lashes. Her white teeth shone in the sun with her broad smile. "Extra fudge." He laughed and looked at the other girls who waved him off. "Love you too Andy!" He heard her call as he walked away.

"Try and contain your enthusiasm Dare." Andrew winked at his friend and began to make Serena's Sunday. "So… moving on… what are you going to do for your birthday?" Darien snorted and looked at the counter bitterly as he gulped his coffee. "Come on Dare. Something at least?"

"Nope. I have nothing planned. It's just another day." Andrew frowned at his attractive friend then leaned over the counter until his face was a few inches away. "Don't look at me like that Andrew. You know I don't really care when my birthday is. I don't have much to celebrate."

"Don't give me that Dare. You have me and the guys as friends, your almost all the way through med school. You're the best looking guy I know! You have it all!" Times like these Darien wondered what his friend was thinking. Andrew didn't know one thing if that's really what he thought. Darien hated his life. He didn't have a family, he didn't have many close friends, and he didn't have a girlfriend. He was lonely and miserable. "If you pulled your head out of your ass you could have Serena too."

"Shut up." Darien growled and stood as he dropped his money on the counter. "Serena's not a girl to be had. She's someone to be earned. So please, don't give me that shit." Darien turned and walked out of the arcade and began to stroll towards his apartment. He hated it when people talked about women as if they were trophies. It was wrong and he especially resented someone talking like Serena was something to own. She was a beautiful, smart, innocent girl who saw the beauty in everything. He hated to admit it but he'd fallen in love with her when he met her four years ago. It was one of those moments that defines a person's life. He'd been walking along, heard a squeal and felt a paper land on his head. Curious he'd unwrinkled the paper and saw the large "F" and, to his dismay, he'd laughed. She'd turned on him and in that moment he felt like someone had punched him in the stomach. Standing before him was the most beautiful woman in the world, and she looked hurt by his laughter.

"Oh how he'd fallen for her. He made a point to see her once every day, if only for a moment. He knew she hated to see him, in fact he could see her cringing when he approached her but he still had to see her, talk to her.

Sure, he'd noticed how other guys were starting to pay attention to her. Andrew had even contemplated dating her… briefly of course. Andrew had backed off the moment Darien had asked him to but that small fact was of little comfort. If Andrew had thought about it… who else had? Darien wasn't sure he really wanted to know but he'd paid attention to any conversation she'd had about boys. So far she didn't have any romantic interests and that comforted him immensely.