Hi, this is the newly edited version of shooting stars *sigh* Its all
thanks to the great, talented Lady of light. She is a fantastic editor! If
you ask me, I would recommend her as one of the best editor available on
the net (All right...I am sucking up to her so she would keep on editing).
Author: free_soul Lady of light
Rating: PG13+ (Some language)
*************************** SHOOTING STARS *************************** CHAPTER ONE
A furious Serena kicked her old motorbike in frustration and looked around for help.
"Great! I am stuck in the middle of nowhere on the way to that stupid school!" she shook her head as she dragged the motorbike with her along the way. Serena attended M.A.R.S. University, the most well known school for nobles owned by The Four Noble Familes of Mason, Anderson, Rochester and Smith. Because she wasn't a noble, Serena was looked down upon and avoided by her snobby, rich classmates. She hated the school and the snobby people in it, but her mother swore to send her to the dungeon if she quit.
The extreme heat and heavy motorbike was definitely not helping Serena in her walk. Suddenly, a flashy blue BMW raced past her, slowing and finally stopping a few steps in front of her. Serena walked up to the car, planning to pass it without so much as a glance at whoever was inside. However, the owner obviously did not intend to let her pass as the tinted back window opened and Serena saw Jane Reed, the spoiled daughter of a multimillionaire, combing her shiny, thick brown hair.
Oh, look what we have here. Poor little girl. Want a ride?" Jane smirked, flashing her fashionable, expensive pair of sunglasses at Serena. Serena blinked, temporarily blinded by the light reflecting off of Jane's Italian-style earrings, before sarcastically answering, No thanks, I'd prefer walking, since it's such a beautiful day." Pausing to take a breath, Serena added, with a snide tone, and I don't want the blame for your straw hair falling off your big head." Jane's eyes narrowed. Well, I do not want you in my car anyway. You'd dirty it with your rags." She sat back in the car and closed the window while waving her driver to contine. The wheels rose piles of dust, effectively choking Serena as she continued her trek.
---------
Serena slowly entered the school. The day had barely started and already she felt as though a truck had run her over. Of course, that was nothing new - nearly everyday at M.A.R.S. felt like hell. Collasping on a bench in the hall, she relaxed her muscles; dragging a sixty kilogram motorbike for nearly a kilometer was tiring work, especially when heading towards the last place on earth she wanted to be.
Sitting up, Serena happened to glance down the hall, where she noticed a small crowd had gathered and was apparently watching something-interesting take place. Deciding she wasn' t *that* tired, Serena got up and headed towards the congregation. She pushed her way to the center, and saw a young man picking up his scattered books. She leaned down to help him, all the while looking at him in curiosity, but a hand forcefully stopped her. Turning around, Serena saw her best friend, Raye, who had entered the school with an academic scholarship.
Serena, do not," Raye whispered. He offended the Four L," she continued, staring at him in sympathy. The Four L, sons of the four families after whom the school was named, were notorious for their snobbishness and richness. Whoever dared to offend one of them never lasted long in the school.
"Shame on them! They're bullying others again!" Serena grunted under her breath.
"Shush Serena!" Raye looked around nervously, "You don't want to end up like him! "
Serena sighed sadly; Raye was right, she was incapable of doing anything helpful. She looked at the boy one more time and was turning to go when she saw ther English teacher, Mr. Ash, arrive.
Michael! I heard about what you did." He gave the boy a sympathetic pat on the back. I advise you to stop hanging around those kinds of people, and after you drop out of this school, do something productive, instead of offending the rich," he whispered softly.
Serena felt her heart turn to ice. Even the teacher!
----------
"I can't believe this!" Serena wrinkled her nose. She was holding a huge garbage can along with Raye, it was their turn to clean the hall today.
"You should have gotten used to it by now, " Raye sighed sadly.
"They are such pigs, I wish I never have to see them again!" Serena cried. At that moment, four tall, dignified figures appeared, effectively silencing the entire hallway. Mr. Ash accidentally crashed into the leader of the four, spilling his coke as he fell. He glanced up, frightened at who he saw.
"I..I am so...so....so....sorry!" he stammered on tiptoe, handkerchief in hand, cleaning up the tall young man's face.
"That's Darien Mason!" Raye whispered.
Darien looked at Mr. Ash sideways, than coldly said "If sorry was acceptable, what's the point of having policemen?" Then he actually pushed Mr. Ash aside and walked away, kicking the garbage can that Serena and Raye were holding. It landed a meter away and all the garbage tipped out of it.
Serena looked at it in astonishment; as much as she had heard about the 4L, she never thought they were so ferocious. Darien walked off followed by the other three, but the last one stopped in front of the garbage can, and gracefully, he bent down and picked it up. Then with a charming smile at Serena and Ray he walked away too.
"Who was that?" Serena whispered, impressed with his attitude.
Raye smiled, "That was Seiya Smith!"
----------
That night the 4L were in their usual hangout spot - a classy bar downtown known for not carding. Darien fell down onto the sofa, his handsome features wincing a little when he saw Taiki holding a strange girl in his arms.
"You change your girlfriends too often!" Darien complained as he held the cup of wine up and sipped from it.
Taiki smiled at Darien' s comment, "You forget, I never keep a girl more then one week."
The girl's beautiful face wrenched, but she immediately got in control of her feelings and forced her smile back.
"Don't get mad," Taiki kissed her cheeks tenderly "Did I tell you that you are the best out of all of those girls?"
Eyes rolled among the group.
A group of people walked slowly towards the 4L, all of them looking slightly drunk, "Do you know who that girl is!?" the leader of the group questioned.
Taiki raised his head slowly, his eyes stared coldly at the man. "*She* is my *girfriend*," he spelled out.
"Traitor!" the man cried and his fist headed straight towards Taiki. Darien, holding a half-broken wine bottle, stopped it. Yaten and Seiya stood up too, and joined in the fight. The group was easily defeated and about three minutes later, the 4Ls patted their shirt clean and walked away briskly, unhurt. Behind them, six moaning bodies lay on the ground, beaten black and blue.
"They were too easy," Yaten said sarcastically.
Seiya stopped in front of the counter and dropped off some bank notes. "Here is twenty thousand dollars, it's to compensate for the furniture," he left, leaving the astonished owners starring at the huge amount of cash.
----------
At the same time, Serena was working for a living on a part-time job.
"So, are you saying that they are absolutely mean, bad, stupid, spoiled and ugly?" Lita asked. Serena and Lita, good friends from high school, now worked in the same cake shop.
"Well the first four are true for sure, but.... I wouldn't say they're ugly..." Serena said slowly.
Lita glanced at Serena and mocked "Are you saying...they are good looking?!"
"Well, you know...their family is pretty...rich, why in the world would they marry someone...ugly, so it...turns...out kinda...cute..." stammered a blushing Serena.
"Uh huh, I see," Lita sneered. "So is every single one of them spoiled and mean?"
Serena was just going to answer of course, when the memory of the previous meeting with Seiya rushed past her thoughts, which changed her mind. "Well, one of them, is quite different I guess, but he doesn't talk much, so I can't be sure." she answered in a tiny voice.
"Really..." Lita looked down and opened her mouth but immediately closed it again.
"Were you going to say something?" Serena asked.
"Well, I am kinda disappointed in you Serena...you use to be so brave in high school..." Lita said softly, trying not to hurt Serena' s feelings.
"Me too..."
--------
"Are you sure you don't want my help, Raye?" Serena asked, staring concerned at the box in Raye's hands. They were walking down the stairs, both holding stacks of boxes.
"Nah, it's OK." Raye answered.
"Are you sure? It looks really heavy!"
"Don't worry! It's just some dust I've cleaned out of my locker!" Raye smiled, "Its weightless!" She barely finished her sentence when a few people appeared on the corner of the stairs. She jerked to a stop, trying to not crash into the person directly in front of her, but only succeeded in loosing her grasp on the box of dust, which landed on top of the person's head.
Raye stared in horror as the victim stared back; it just had to be the big mean rich Darien Mason.
"I...I am so sorry!" her eyes widened as he reached out a hand and grabbed her shoulders, his eyes filled with frustration.
He spat out the dust in his mouth, and patted his shirt clean. "Why are so many people apologizing to me this days?" he questioned "I have said this billions of times, but I think I have to repeat a little for the deaf ones, huh?" he snarled. "If sorry was acceptable, what's the point of having policemen!" then with a hard push, he sent Raye tumbling into the air and landing on the hard floor with a loud bang.
Serena stared at him blankly, her eyes dodging back and forth at the fallen form of Raye, and the living monster Darien Mason. She was knocked aside by Darien when her brain screamed for her to defend her friend. Serena felt her temper raising unwittingly as her mouth got out of control.
"STOP RIGHT THERE!" she heard her voice scream.
Darien was so surprised by the strong hatred in her voice that he almost tripped over the steps. He turned around and looked at the tiny blonde with the weird hairstyle.
"What do you want?"
"WHO the hell do YOU think YOU ARE treating everyone like animals! Just because YOUR PARENTS are rich doesn't means YOU have the right to act like a bloated egomaniac! I bet that you have never earned a cent for yourself; you are just some STUPID idiot who lives off your parent's money! YOU ARE A BASTARD, AND I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOU!" the last few words were screamed out, as Serena' s face turned bright red with anger. She breathed heavily, as she stared at Darien' s astonished face.
It took Darien a few minutes to absorb all that criticisms, never before in his life had anybody talked to him in such a way. He felt his mouth going dry, and for once in his entire life, he was at a lost of words.
"Right," answered Darien softly, but dangerously, then with several blinks, he opened his mouth. "You are so dead," he whispered in a low voice, then with a snap of his fingers the 4L walked away. Seiya looked at Serena, gave her a little pat on the shoulder, and walked away too.
Raye stood up slowly, she rubbed her shoulders and said worriedly, "I am so sorry, Serena it's all my fault."
"No," Serena coolly said, "This was to happen sooner or later."
--------
Serena rode on her motorcycle slowly on her way home she wasn't looking forward to getting home and facing her mother. 'The last thing I wanted was to have some amazing adventure like this...' she thought, sighing. 'I can't go back to that school, unless I want to end up like Michael, which I certainly do not!'
Unfortunately, she had to get home sooner or later. When she did, she got off her motorbike and stumbled in through the door. Her mother, Irene, greeted her there.
"Hello Sere!" She said cheerfully, "You look tired, oh I see, you have been working hard to get those rich boys, huh?! Good grief, you don't have to work that hard!"
"Mom, I am very, very, very tired..." Serena said weakly as she throw her bag onto the sofa.
"All right, all right, I get the message," Her mom nodded and walked off. "Ken! You are sneaking snacks again? How many times do I have to tell you? That food's for your daughter! You know how poor we are, and your daughter is still attending that expensive school!"
Irene's voice slowly faded as Serena closed the door, and as she leaned against it and sighed, "How am I going to tell her about this..."
--------------------
(Dinner time)
"Mom..."
"Yes darling?"
"Can I talk to you about this thing?" asked a nervous Serena.
"Of course, what is it?"
"Well... what would happen if I quit school!?"
"..."
"Mom?"
"..."
"Are you OK?"
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! YOU can't do this to me! Do you know HOW MUCH we payed for your school fees!(breath in) Irene cried hoarsely, taking in a shallow breath before continuing. We've sacrificed so much so that you can get a better schooling and a better life, and THIS is how you repay me?" She stopped to take quick, shallow gasps for air, as Ken tried to calm her.
Serena stared, frightened, at her mom "Calm down...I said, what if..."She soothed
Irene immediately stood up and asked, "So you are not quitting for real?" "I guess I'm not..."
"Good, good," Irene laughed. " Then you should go get some beauty sleep. You?l need it to catch those rich boys, you know," she said with a wink. ---------
CHALLENGE ONE
Serena walked into the school hall cautiously; and as she looked around, her heart was singing 'Death is in the air.'
" Something's not right." she whispered to herself.
She walked to her locker and breathed in. "OK, this is it, they always stick the note in lockers!" Serena opened her locker. There, hanging from the hook on the side of her locker, was the blood red note, with two white symbols - 4L - printed in the center. It simply read, You shall die!" Serena tore the note from her locker and stuffed it in her back pocket before heading off to class.
Her classmates avoided her as usual. Serena sat at her desk and immediately felt something wet on the seat. Trying to stand to see what it was, she found - to her abject horror - that she couldn't as she was now superglued to her chair. Stupid.*brats*," Serena cursed as her classmates tried to keep straight faces.
CHALLENGE TWO
It would take Serena all of first period to pry herself free of the seat, completely ruining her jeans in the process. During the whole time, she tried to ignore the death glares coming from her classmates. She knew the battle was far from over, and that the superglue was not the last or the most intelligent weapon her enemies would use.
There was a test scheduled for that day. The atmosphere of the room was suspiciously full of whispers, obviously planning the next attack. I wonder what's going to happen next,' Serena thought, anything but eager to find out.
Mr. Clark, the math teacher, entered the classroom with the test papers carefully tucked under his arm. After giving the ususal spiel about cheating, calculator usage, etc., he finally passed out the papers. Serena quickly scanned the test when she received it, her mouth curving up into a smile. "This is so easy!" she thought, completely forgetting that she was still the victim of a war going on.
Serena was concentrating on a problem when someone tapped her shoulder. She ignored the tap, knowing Mr. Clark's hawk-like eyes would catch her turning around. A crumpled piece of paper suddenly landed on her desk. She was just about to open it when Mr. Clark appeared in front of her. He snatched the paper from her hands and opened it. Serena stared at him in fright as his expression changed from suspicious to red-hot anger.
"Young lady! How dare you cheat on my test!" He huffed.
"But I..didn't it's them!" Serena pointed at the innocent looking faces behind her.
Don? give me any of that bull! You will be given a zero on this test. Now get out!"
With a loud bang, the class door closed right in Serena' s nose. Serena sighed, and picked up her school bag.
"Fine then, don't listen to me! ,"she muttered, heading towards her favorite place in the school. She adored the varanda, because spoiled rich snobs like Darien never went there. Today, however, was a different case. When Serena arrived, she saw Seiya Smith leaning against the fence, staring down into the gardens below. Her breath caught in her throat when his silkly black bangs fell over his eyes. Slowly, Serena caught a hold of herself. 'What am I thinking!? I don't even know him - he's probably just as spoiled as the rest of them.'
Seiya shook himself out of his daydream when he heard footsteps on the veranda behind him. Turning, he saw the tiny blonde with pigtails standing behind him, and smiled gently.
"Hi!" He said. "Hi."
He patted a spot beside him. "Why are you here?" Serena jumped onto the fence with Seiya' s help and shifted to make herself comfortable. "Oh, nothing much just a bad day!" She smiled weakly,
'Tell him you idiot, it's all the 4L's fault!' 'You tell him! It's not like he did anything wrong!' 'Well, you....hey wait a minute, why am I arguing with myself?'
"Are you all right?" Seiya asked waving a hand in front of Serena.
"Oh yeah! Sure I'm fine..." Serena shrugged.
"So, do you come here a lot?" Serena asked
"Yeah."
No more words were spoken as the two just sat, quietly gazing at the breathtaking view.
CHALLENGE THREE
Serena looked around the girl's toilet curiously, 'I wonder how come no one is in this toilet' after the morning's incidents, she had grown wary. 'Oh well' she shrugged 'I am busting!' she walked inside a toilet and closed the door, and then she heard some noises. Outside, two boys laughed loudly as they stuck a stick between the door handles, effectively trapping her inside. Serena screamed and banged furiously on the locked door.
CHALLENGE FOUR
A boy cautiously looked around to make sure no one was watching as he covered a school telephone in super glue. Serena stomped in frustration as she headed for the very telephone. 'I am going to call the principal!' (Yes, the school had a telephone to the office, because it was too big to walk around) she thought and grabbed onto the telephone handle. Again, she felt weird and tried to move her hand but it was stuck there.
"Great!" Serena looked at the telephone attached to her fingers. "Now you can finish my English half yearly with me!"
CHALLENGE FIVE
Serena stuffed some books in her locker. Upon closing it, she saw Raye standing next to her locker. She missed two periods taking the telephone of her hand with the school nurse.
"Hi Raye!" Serena said with a fake cheerfulness, she was glad to see her, but Raye just turned and said nothing. Serena stared at her in confusion. "What's wrong?" She asked. Raye turned back as she glanced at Serena sadly, and walked away.
"What's the point of having friends like that?" Darien Mason's voice sounded from behind her. "You get into so much trouble because of her, and now, she's not even talking to you!" Darien smirked.
Serena just stood there, her heart raced furiously as she spoke loud and clear with the entire hall of people listening "*BASTARD*!" "I've had enough of this!" Serena screamed, it was only 10:00 a.m. and she had already gone to the school nurse six times. She dragged her bag tiredly into the cafeteria and fell down onto a chair. "Oh no, not again!" Serena moaned as she found herself sitting on something wet.
"Old tricks..." Serena shook her head and try to lift the chair up, but surprisingly, it was attached to the ground. "What now?" She thought as a boy walked closer to her, smirking. He held something behind him and slowly he pulled a long red object out. Serena arched an eyebrow in confusion at first, but as he got closer, she realized what it was. It was a firecracker, in fact, a HUGE firecracker. He tossed it onto the desk and lit it.
BANG BUNG HONG BANG
"THIS IS WAY TOO exaggerated!" Serena screamed covering her ears, feeling as though her eardrums were going to break.
------------
After several more jokes, (chased by snakes, humans, guinea pigs, and spiders) Serena tumbled tiredly into the courtyard of the school, and looked around to ensure that no one would be able to see her. As Serena leaned her back against the wall, she examined herself and found that her clothes were torn, her hair had fallen out of its buns, and her face was covered in dirt and mud, She was a mess. "Phew," she breathed...Serena just sat there for several minutes, waiting for her heartbeat to go back to normal.
"Serena?" She looked up, Raye was standing in front of her. Serena jumped up immediately and said, "Why are you here Raye? You'll just get into trouble with them too," and pushed Raye away.
Raye nibbled her bottom lips, "Taking a tiny teddy bear out of her pocket and stuffing it into Serena' s hand. Then, she ran away.
Serena looked at the teddy bear, it was tied in a pink ribbon, it's face held a sad expression. On the back of the teddy bear was a tiny white button. Serena pressed it and a sound came out of the little bear.
"I am sorry Serena," 'said' the bear.
"That's Raye's voice..." Serena whispered, her eyes filled with tears. Serena sniffed, and pressed the button once more
"I am sorry Serena." Serena smiled, and placed the bear safely into her pocket. Then she stood up, and she felt her energy coming back to her.
"ANYONE WHO WANTS TO PLAY TRICKS ON ME! Get out here right NOW!" She screamed, waving her arms in the air. Suddenly from the upstairs window, someone poured a whole bucket of dirty water down onto Serena.
-----------
Serena walked out of the school slowly after changing some old clothes she had in her locker and brushing her hair. She walked to her motorbike and grabbed the handle. But to her horror, the motorbike roamed and roared, and then with a crashing sound it fell into pieces. She clasped a hand over her eyes, 'I am going to die if this continues!' she thought.
Serena dropped off her motorbike at the Dick Smith shops, and decided to walk home, since there is no other way. She kicked some rocks on the street knowing tomorrow could be even worse. She sighed and screamed YOU STUPID IDIOT!!" to the empty street. BAKA DARIEN!!" She breathed heavily as a car stopped beside her. Serena turned to see the car window opening to reveal none other than Darien Mason. Serena groaned.
"I've got good news and bad news for you Serena!" Darien smirked. "So which one do you want to hear first?!" Serena said nothing, just stared. "Well, I guess the good news? 'The good news is, you have suffered enough to gain my respect! And the bad news is, I will try even harder tomorrow! " With a sarcastic laugh the red sport car drove away.
--------------- That night at home,
Serena dug the spoon wildly into the bowl of mashed potatoes, " I 'ave to 'repare for the cha'enges tomo'ow!" Serena spoke through a mouthful of mashed potatoes. Ken looked at his daughter with wide eyes. He has never seen her eating so fast and so...MUCH!
Serena finished her fourth serving of mashed potatoes, excused herself and ran to her room. Ken stood up and asked the stunned Irene, "Is she pregnant?!"
Serena threw herself on her bed. Staring up at her ceiling, she thought over the day's events. The only high point of the day was meeting Seiya on the veranda. He's so quiet,' she thought. Digging in her pocket, she brought the teddy bear in front of her face. The black, plastic eyes stared back at her. Pressing the white button, Serena listened to the words she heard countless times that day. The tiny toy gave her courage to continue. She placed it on her night table and took a piece of red paper from her desk drawer. Using white-out, she wrote PIG" in huge letters. With colored gel pens, she wrote, you will die before me."
-----------NEXT DAY-----------
Serena glared suspiciously at her gossiping classmates as she walked into her first class. Strange, no one is striking,' she thought warily.
Before sitting down, Serena checked her chair. No glue. Elizabeth and Lucy, two of her classmates, walked towards her.
"I feel so sorry for you," Elizabeth said, flashing her a sad smile.
Lucy added, yeah, me too. Everyone is avoiding you, even though it's not your fault."
Serena looked up in surprise she had never liked those two, always comparing their richness. 'Well, maybe I was wrong!' she thought.
"But...why are you two...talking to me? You might get yourself into danger you know!" Serena arched an eyebrow.
Lucy twitched a strand of brown hair in between her fingers and whispered, "I stand for justice! Those stupid 4Ls are too mean!"
-----------
Serena walked around the cafeteria and suddenly, she spotted a group of four sitting in the corner of the cafeteria. She took out the red paper and breathed in deeply. Then she straightened her back and walked confidently towards them, stopping about two meters away to shout, "Darien-baka!" Darien turned around. She then walked in front of him and stuck the red paper on his face with a loud 'pa'
-----------
"Serena!" Serena turned around to see two strange boys running her way, "Mr Ash wants to see you!" they screamed.
"Why? Where is he?" Serena followed them.
They kept on walking, until they got to an isolated part of the school. Serena glanced at the boys suspiciously, "Hey, are you sure this is the way?"
The two boys looked around, and turned back to Serena, both with wicked smiles on their faces.
"What do you want!" Serena frowned, suddenly conscious of her vulnerable situation. The boys snickered and one suddenly jumped towards her. Serena screamed and struggled, as she felt the boy's lips pressing against her face while the other one tore her clothes.
"NO! Please! Stop it!" Serena' s pleading slowly turned into screams as they pulled, dragged and manhandled her body. Serena felt herself losing consciousness as they bruised her roughly.
"Stop that!" Serena heard, semiconscious, before feeling the boys getting off her trembling body. She peeked open her eyes, and saw Seiya standing in front of the boys.
"Get out of my face now," he breathed icily, as the boys edged past him and ran.
Seiya looked at Serena lying prone on the ground, her eyes pleading him for comfort. He looked at her for a few more seconds before turning and walking away.
Slowly, Serena sat up, and as everything grew clear, she suddenly felt an urge to cry. She tried biting it back, but a sob escaped her lips anyway. Seiya stopped upon hearing it, turned and slowly walked back to her. Serena looked up through red, puffy eyes to see Seiya doing a handstand against the wall.
"What...*sob*....are you doing?" Serena asked, looking strangely at him, tears forgotten.
Seiya looked up at the sky, and with a far away look in his eyes, said, a friend once told me to do a handstand whenever I felt like crying, because then the tears that were going to come out would go back it. He flipped over and laid on his stomache besides Serena.
Serena sat up, hugged her knees to her chest and whispered a light thank you.
"No need, I helped you only because I don't like this sort of thing happening to girls, it's not because of you."
That afternoon, while Serena was walking home when Lucy and Elisabethwalked up next to her.
"Serena!" They called. Serena turned around.
"Do you want to come to a party?" Lucy asked while Elizabeth nudged her.
"No, I...don't have those kind of clothes." Serena said, embarrassed.
Lucy paused and looked devilish for a second, but then smiled warmly and said, "Don't worry! It's just a normal party! You can wear anything you want, even jeans!"
"Really?" Serena asked shocked and suspicious - after all, no one in M.A.R.S. had ever invited her to a party before. "Well then, where is it?"
Lucy wrote down the address for Serena and said, "It's Saturday, tomorrow, and oh yeah! Don't forget to wear a red scarf!" She said as she giggled.
"Red scarf?" Serena raised an eyebrow
"Oh that's just the symbol of this party!" Elisabeth smiled.
----------SATURDAY----------
Serena paced in the elevator, feeling very nervous. This was the first time she had ever attended a party held by rich people. She checked her reflection in the mirror. She was wearing black jeans with a button-up white shirt and a black jacket. The red silk scarf she had found in her mother's closet encircled her neck. That a silly idea, using a red scarf for a symbol!'
As the elevator dinged, Serena smoothed out her shirt and headed for the door directly opposited the elevator. Pushing the doors open, she was immediately encompassed by a loud party environment. Looking around the well-dressed room, she noticed people staring back at her. how could I have been so stupid? Of course this wouldn't be a casual party!' She blushed in embarrassment, and was turning to go when the gown bedecked Lucy and Elisabeth reached her. They laughed.
"You look like those waitresses! Hahaha..." Elizabeth choked.
Then a guy dressed in tuxedo came and stuffed a plate with a cup of wine in Serena's open hands. Serena stared at the wine, feeling humiliated.
Lucy patted her on the shoulder and turned to go when Serena shouted "Lucy!" She turned back just in time to see Serena holding up the cup of wine and felt her pouring it onto her hair.
----------
Darien closed his eyes, relaxing his muscles in his personal spa, which was around 60m across. He settled back, trying to take a nap, but somehow his thoughts always sprang back to that strange girl with meatballs. Darien frowned slightly. 'What's wrong with me?'
"Mr Mason, there are two gentlemen outside who wish to see you." A servant said, handing out a towel.
"All right, tell them to wait for a minute."
Darien got dressed and walked out of the bath. "So did you do it?"
"Not really..."
"What?!" Darien shouted.
"Well we were tearing her clothes when...." He didn't get to finish the sentence since Darien blew up again
"WHO told you to tear her clothes?! I just said, play around with her and scare her a LITTLE!!" Darien' s face turned dark red. 'Why do I even care?' Darien shook his head quietly, "Never mind, so tell me what happened!"
"Well, Seiya Smith came..."
Darien' s face lost all traces of color. "Seiya? What the hell..."
-----------
"REALLY?!? He is an absolute brat!" Screamed Lita.
"I know, if not for Seiya, I'd be in so much pain!" Serena arranged the cakes, then looked up at Lita, who had a weird expression on her face. "Lita?!" Serena waved a hand. "Earth to Lita!!" but Lita was starring at the opposite direction outside the door.
"There are two REALLY hot guys outside!" Lita muttered. Serena turned and looked at the 'hot' guys. 'Oh no!' she thought. 'Not after school!' The 'hot guys' were Yaten and Seiya.
They stepped inside the shop and looked around. Yaten' s eyes grow big when he saw Serena.
"What are YOU doing here?!"
"Part time job." Serena answered simply "What are YOU doing here anyway? I thought your parents owned a private cake shop!"
"He's the one that wanted to come in!" Yaten pointed at Seiya.
Lita looked back and forth and Serena and the guys "You know each other?"
Serena leaned closer to Lita and whispered "Yep, they just happens to be part of the infamous 4L!"
Lita's eyes grew wide "Cute AND RICH!"
Seiya looked at the cakes and pointed to one of them "Can I have that one?"
Yaten frowned, "Seiya! We just had two Italian pancakes and I thought you don't like sweet things!"
"It looks cute" answered Seiya sheepishly.
*Sweat drop*
Serena bent down, "Which one do you want?"
Seiya bent down too, he pointed at one of the cakes and looked at Serena through the glass windows.
Serena caught him staring, and blushed.
Yaten smirked, "Seiya always acts weird in front of the girls he likes." Serena blushed even more when she heard that, and quickly took the piece of cake and placed it onto the counter.
Seiya took the cake.
"BUT his unusual action is definitely NOT because of you!" Yaten winked. "Bye industrious virgin!" *wink*
"HEY!" Serena sighed and turned to Lita who was talking to herself. "If it's not because of Serena...then is it ME?"
----------
Serena stomped across the school hall, heading for the 4Ls. She felt her head filled with fury and her hands trembling for revenge. Darien just stared as she stopped in front of him and slapped him harshly across his face!
Serena ran and climbed the stairs to the veranda. She was sitting there looking down when Seiya came.
"You shouldn't have done that he chided.
"Well, I have never been so insulted in my whole life and I wasn't thinking." Serena sighed.
"Darien is dangerous..." Seiya turned to Serena.
In the corner of the veranda, Elisabeth and Lucy were sneaking around, and in Lucy's hands was a camera...
----------
"Hey! Peasant!" Serena felt a slap on her shoulder. She turned and saw Elisabeth holding a magazine.
"What do you want?" Serena demanded.
"Have a look at this!" Lucy pointed at one of the attractive models and starts to read "Michelle Richardson, 22 years old, and already one of the most successful supermodels of the world. She is studying in France right now and has already won the Global, model of the year award and three more academic awards!" Lucy flashed a smile.
Serena was puzzled "What does she have to do with me?"
"Well, she is Seiya' s girlfriend!" Elisabeth stated and smirked.
Serena felt her heart chilling 'Of course...he must have a girlfriend after all...why haven't I thought of this.'
"Do you think you can actually get him?!" Elizabeth and Lucy encircled her, while they flapped the magazine in front of her.
"I..."
"You are nothing but a piece of rubbish Serena! So wake up and stop bugging Seiya! Every girl dreams of the 4L, and I won't let you get them!" Lucy pushed Serena.
Serena felt dizzy, the news about Michelle was shocking enough and now they were pushing her around. She felt herself loosing balance, falling backwards, when suddenly someone from behind caught her.
Elizabeth and Lucy silenced, staring at the person in awe, while Serena turned to see who it was.
"What are you doing to her, I am telling you, SHE is MY girl!" said a furious Darien. He took one hand from Serena' s shoulder and pointed straightforward.
"Now, get out of here before I get people to take you out!!" Lucy and Elizabeth glanced at the puzzled Serena in surprise as they quickly bowed and tumbled away.
"Who ASKED YOU to SAVE ME?!" Serena screamed. She still hadn't got over the shock and was determined to blame everything on Darien Mason.
Darien stared wide-eyed. "I just SAVED your butt from those two, and you are still blaming me?!"
"WELL EVERYTHING STARTED BECAUSE OF YOU!!! You are pig headed with TINY PIG EYES! YOUR BRAIN IS SMALLER THAN A PIGEON'S GUTS AND YOU ARE ONE OF THOSE MOST HATED KINDS IN THE PSYCHOLOGICAL TEEEEEEEESSSSSTssss!!!!!!!!!!!!! Serena screamed, totally out of control.
Darien just stared at her, his jaws opened then closed up again. He felt his heart been ripped into pieces but he didn't know why.
----------
"Ok, question six, what sort of girl do you like? A, gentle and caring. B, cute and innocent. C. Strong and stubborn. "
Darien was sitting with a group of servants who were holding dozens of books labeled psychological tests.
Darien sat impatiently and hesitated "C..." He said.
The servants read on "Question seven, what would be your reaction if you caught your girlfriend walking closely with a boy on the street? A..."
"What?! MY girlfriend walking on the street with a boy?! What are you people doing then? I don't pay you to wash my underwear!" Darien demanded.
The servants tensed. "I am just reading from the book, Mr. Mason."
"All right, All right, keep reading!" Darien demanded with a wave of his hands.
"A, you go up to her and ask for an explanation. B, you try to get her attention but do not make matter worse. C, you ignore her first and you inquire her later on. D, you really care about it but you can't do anything because you don't want anybody to know that you actually care.
Darien stared at his feet for a while and stammered "D..."
"So...You really care about it but you can't do anything because you don't want anybody to know that you actually..." the servant's voice faded when he felt Darien' s angry glare on him.
The servant flipped to the next page. "OK you scored " He read the result silently and his face turned white.
"Um...Mr. Mason...I suggest you to read this yourself...."
Darien took a look at the servant and grabbed the book from him impatiently. "What a wimp, can't even read!" He scanned through the passages as his eyes widened.
"What!!" Darien grabbed the book and was going to tear it when the servant stopped him.
"Don't get angry Mr. Mason! There is advice on the next page. Darien blinked and stopped, him, take advice from a book? But he felt a sudden urge to change himself as long as he could please Serena. So he fell into the chair and sighed the servants to continue.
"You can start by changing your appearance."
"How the hell do I change my appearance?!"
"You start with wearing more intimate clothes!" -----------
Serena swung her handbags back and forth. She just left work and was walking down the street when she saw Seiya in front of her. Seiya was staring at a poster of a model in front of a shop.
He smiled warmly when he saw Serena, and Serena' s heartbeat increased. 'That was the brightest smile I've seen from him!' She thought.
"Hi Seiya!"
"Hi Serena! Can you believe this! She is coming back!" Seiya said excitedly. Then he leaned down and gave Serena a light peck on the cheeks. Serena' s eyes widened. She felt herself trembling as he kissed her lightly on the cheeks.
Seiya waved at Serena and walked away, leaving Serena standing there, stunned.
-----------
Darien entered the school grounds, pulling on his too-small shirt in embarrassment. It was a shiny, bright green, with a huge Mickey Mouse smiling cheekily on the front.
-----------
Author: free_soul Lady of light
Rating: PG13+ (Some language)
*************************** SHOOTING STARS *************************** CHAPTER ONE
A furious Serena kicked her old motorbike in frustration and looked around for help.
"Great! I am stuck in the middle of nowhere on the way to that stupid school!" she shook her head as she dragged the motorbike with her along the way. Serena attended M.A.R.S. University, the most well known school for nobles owned by The Four Noble Familes of Mason, Anderson, Rochester and Smith. Because she wasn't a noble, Serena was looked down upon and avoided by her snobby, rich classmates. She hated the school and the snobby people in it, but her mother swore to send her to the dungeon if she quit.
The extreme heat and heavy motorbike was definitely not helping Serena in her walk. Suddenly, a flashy blue BMW raced past her, slowing and finally stopping a few steps in front of her. Serena walked up to the car, planning to pass it without so much as a glance at whoever was inside. However, the owner obviously did not intend to let her pass as the tinted back window opened and Serena saw Jane Reed, the spoiled daughter of a multimillionaire, combing her shiny, thick brown hair.
Oh, look what we have here. Poor little girl. Want a ride?" Jane smirked, flashing her fashionable, expensive pair of sunglasses at Serena. Serena blinked, temporarily blinded by the light reflecting off of Jane's Italian-style earrings, before sarcastically answering, No thanks, I'd prefer walking, since it's such a beautiful day." Pausing to take a breath, Serena added, with a snide tone, and I don't want the blame for your straw hair falling off your big head." Jane's eyes narrowed. Well, I do not want you in my car anyway. You'd dirty it with your rags." She sat back in the car and closed the window while waving her driver to contine. The wheels rose piles of dust, effectively choking Serena as she continued her trek.
---------
Serena slowly entered the school. The day had barely started and already she felt as though a truck had run her over. Of course, that was nothing new - nearly everyday at M.A.R.S. felt like hell. Collasping on a bench in the hall, she relaxed her muscles; dragging a sixty kilogram motorbike for nearly a kilometer was tiring work, especially when heading towards the last place on earth she wanted to be.
Sitting up, Serena happened to glance down the hall, where she noticed a small crowd had gathered and was apparently watching something-interesting take place. Deciding she wasn' t *that* tired, Serena got up and headed towards the congregation. She pushed her way to the center, and saw a young man picking up his scattered books. She leaned down to help him, all the while looking at him in curiosity, but a hand forcefully stopped her. Turning around, Serena saw her best friend, Raye, who had entered the school with an academic scholarship.
Serena, do not," Raye whispered. He offended the Four L," she continued, staring at him in sympathy. The Four L, sons of the four families after whom the school was named, were notorious for their snobbishness and richness. Whoever dared to offend one of them never lasted long in the school.
"Shame on them! They're bullying others again!" Serena grunted under her breath.
"Shush Serena!" Raye looked around nervously, "You don't want to end up like him! "
Serena sighed sadly; Raye was right, she was incapable of doing anything helpful. She looked at the boy one more time and was turning to go when she saw ther English teacher, Mr. Ash, arrive.
Michael! I heard about what you did." He gave the boy a sympathetic pat on the back. I advise you to stop hanging around those kinds of people, and after you drop out of this school, do something productive, instead of offending the rich," he whispered softly.
Serena felt her heart turn to ice. Even the teacher!
----------
"I can't believe this!" Serena wrinkled her nose. She was holding a huge garbage can along with Raye, it was their turn to clean the hall today.
"You should have gotten used to it by now, " Raye sighed sadly.
"They are such pigs, I wish I never have to see them again!" Serena cried. At that moment, four tall, dignified figures appeared, effectively silencing the entire hallway. Mr. Ash accidentally crashed into the leader of the four, spilling his coke as he fell. He glanced up, frightened at who he saw.
"I..I am so...so....so....sorry!" he stammered on tiptoe, handkerchief in hand, cleaning up the tall young man's face.
"That's Darien Mason!" Raye whispered.
Darien looked at Mr. Ash sideways, than coldly said "If sorry was acceptable, what's the point of having policemen?" Then he actually pushed Mr. Ash aside and walked away, kicking the garbage can that Serena and Raye were holding. It landed a meter away and all the garbage tipped out of it.
Serena looked at it in astonishment; as much as she had heard about the 4L, she never thought they were so ferocious. Darien walked off followed by the other three, but the last one stopped in front of the garbage can, and gracefully, he bent down and picked it up. Then with a charming smile at Serena and Ray he walked away too.
"Who was that?" Serena whispered, impressed with his attitude.
Raye smiled, "That was Seiya Smith!"
----------
That night the 4L were in their usual hangout spot - a classy bar downtown known for not carding. Darien fell down onto the sofa, his handsome features wincing a little when he saw Taiki holding a strange girl in his arms.
"You change your girlfriends too often!" Darien complained as he held the cup of wine up and sipped from it.
Taiki smiled at Darien' s comment, "You forget, I never keep a girl more then one week."
The girl's beautiful face wrenched, but she immediately got in control of her feelings and forced her smile back.
"Don't get mad," Taiki kissed her cheeks tenderly "Did I tell you that you are the best out of all of those girls?"
Eyes rolled among the group.
A group of people walked slowly towards the 4L, all of them looking slightly drunk, "Do you know who that girl is!?" the leader of the group questioned.
Taiki raised his head slowly, his eyes stared coldly at the man. "*She* is my *girfriend*," he spelled out.
"Traitor!" the man cried and his fist headed straight towards Taiki. Darien, holding a half-broken wine bottle, stopped it. Yaten and Seiya stood up too, and joined in the fight. The group was easily defeated and about three minutes later, the 4Ls patted their shirt clean and walked away briskly, unhurt. Behind them, six moaning bodies lay on the ground, beaten black and blue.
"They were too easy," Yaten said sarcastically.
Seiya stopped in front of the counter and dropped off some bank notes. "Here is twenty thousand dollars, it's to compensate for the furniture," he left, leaving the astonished owners starring at the huge amount of cash.
----------
At the same time, Serena was working for a living on a part-time job.
"So, are you saying that they are absolutely mean, bad, stupid, spoiled and ugly?" Lita asked. Serena and Lita, good friends from high school, now worked in the same cake shop.
"Well the first four are true for sure, but.... I wouldn't say they're ugly..." Serena said slowly.
Lita glanced at Serena and mocked "Are you saying...they are good looking?!"
"Well, you know...their family is pretty...rich, why in the world would they marry someone...ugly, so it...turns...out kinda...cute..." stammered a blushing Serena.
"Uh huh, I see," Lita sneered. "So is every single one of them spoiled and mean?"
Serena was just going to answer of course, when the memory of the previous meeting with Seiya rushed past her thoughts, which changed her mind. "Well, one of them, is quite different I guess, but he doesn't talk much, so I can't be sure." she answered in a tiny voice.
"Really..." Lita looked down and opened her mouth but immediately closed it again.
"Were you going to say something?" Serena asked.
"Well, I am kinda disappointed in you Serena...you use to be so brave in high school..." Lita said softly, trying not to hurt Serena' s feelings.
"Me too..."
--------
"Are you sure you don't want my help, Raye?" Serena asked, staring concerned at the box in Raye's hands. They were walking down the stairs, both holding stacks of boxes.
"Nah, it's OK." Raye answered.
"Are you sure? It looks really heavy!"
"Don't worry! It's just some dust I've cleaned out of my locker!" Raye smiled, "Its weightless!" She barely finished her sentence when a few people appeared on the corner of the stairs. She jerked to a stop, trying to not crash into the person directly in front of her, but only succeeded in loosing her grasp on the box of dust, which landed on top of the person's head.
Raye stared in horror as the victim stared back; it just had to be the big mean rich Darien Mason.
"I...I am so sorry!" her eyes widened as he reached out a hand and grabbed her shoulders, his eyes filled with frustration.
He spat out the dust in his mouth, and patted his shirt clean. "Why are so many people apologizing to me this days?" he questioned "I have said this billions of times, but I think I have to repeat a little for the deaf ones, huh?" he snarled. "If sorry was acceptable, what's the point of having policemen!" then with a hard push, he sent Raye tumbling into the air and landing on the hard floor with a loud bang.
Serena stared at him blankly, her eyes dodging back and forth at the fallen form of Raye, and the living monster Darien Mason. She was knocked aside by Darien when her brain screamed for her to defend her friend. Serena felt her temper raising unwittingly as her mouth got out of control.
"STOP RIGHT THERE!" she heard her voice scream.
Darien was so surprised by the strong hatred in her voice that he almost tripped over the steps. He turned around and looked at the tiny blonde with the weird hairstyle.
"What do you want?"
"WHO the hell do YOU think YOU ARE treating everyone like animals! Just because YOUR PARENTS are rich doesn't means YOU have the right to act like a bloated egomaniac! I bet that you have never earned a cent for yourself; you are just some STUPID idiot who lives off your parent's money! YOU ARE A BASTARD, AND I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOU!" the last few words were screamed out, as Serena' s face turned bright red with anger. She breathed heavily, as she stared at Darien' s astonished face.
It took Darien a few minutes to absorb all that criticisms, never before in his life had anybody talked to him in such a way. He felt his mouth going dry, and for once in his entire life, he was at a lost of words.
"Right," answered Darien softly, but dangerously, then with several blinks, he opened his mouth. "You are so dead," he whispered in a low voice, then with a snap of his fingers the 4L walked away. Seiya looked at Serena, gave her a little pat on the shoulder, and walked away too.
Raye stood up slowly, she rubbed her shoulders and said worriedly, "I am so sorry, Serena it's all my fault."
"No," Serena coolly said, "This was to happen sooner or later."
--------
Serena rode on her motorcycle slowly on her way home she wasn't looking forward to getting home and facing her mother. 'The last thing I wanted was to have some amazing adventure like this...' she thought, sighing. 'I can't go back to that school, unless I want to end up like Michael, which I certainly do not!'
Unfortunately, she had to get home sooner or later. When she did, she got off her motorbike and stumbled in through the door. Her mother, Irene, greeted her there.
"Hello Sere!" She said cheerfully, "You look tired, oh I see, you have been working hard to get those rich boys, huh?! Good grief, you don't have to work that hard!"
"Mom, I am very, very, very tired..." Serena said weakly as she throw her bag onto the sofa.
"All right, all right, I get the message," Her mom nodded and walked off. "Ken! You are sneaking snacks again? How many times do I have to tell you? That food's for your daughter! You know how poor we are, and your daughter is still attending that expensive school!"
Irene's voice slowly faded as Serena closed the door, and as she leaned against it and sighed, "How am I going to tell her about this..."
--------------------
(Dinner time)
"Mom..."
"Yes darling?"
"Can I talk to you about this thing?" asked a nervous Serena.
"Of course, what is it?"
"Well... what would happen if I quit school!?"
"..."
"Mom?"
"..."
"Are you OK?"
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! YOU can't do this to me! Do you know HOW MUCH we payed for your school fees!(breath in) Irene cried hoarsely, taking in a shallow breath before continuing. We've sacrificed so much so that you can get a better schooling and a better life, and THIS is how you repay me?" She stopped to take quick, shallow gasps for air, as Ken tried to calm her.
Serena stared, frightened, at her mom "Calm down...I said, what if..."She soothed
Irene immediately stood up and asked, "So you are not quitting for real?" "I guess I'm not..."
"Good, good," Irene laughed. " Then you should go get some beauty sleep. You?l need it to catch those rich boys, you know," she said with a wink. ---------
CHALLENGE ONE
Serena walked into the school hall cautiously; and as she looked around, her heart was singing 'Death is in the air.'
" Something's not right." she whispered to herself.
She walked to her locker and breathed in. "OK, this is it, they always stick the note in lockers!" Serena opened her locker. There, hanging from the hook on the side of her locker, was the blood red note, with two white symbols - 4L - printed in the center. It simply read, You shall die!" Serena tore the note from her locker and stuffed it in her back pocket before heading off to class.
Her classmates avoided her as usual. Serena sat at her desk and immediately felt something wet on the seat. Trying to stand to see what it was, she found - to her abject horror - that she couldn't as she was now superglued to her chair. Stupid.*brats*," Serena cursed as her classmates tried to keep straight faces.
CHALLENGE TWO
It would take Serena all of first period to pry herself free of the seat, completely ruining her jeans in the process. During the whole time, she tried to ignore the death glares coming from her classmates. She knew the battle was far from over, and that the superglue was not the last or the most intelligent weapon her enemies would use.
There was a test scheduled for that day. The atmosphere of the room was suspiciously full of whispers, obviously planning the next attack. I wonder what's going to happen next,' Serena thought, anything but eager to find out.
Mr. Clark, the math teacher, entered the classroom with the test papers carefully tucked under his arm. After giving the ususal spiel about cheating, calculator usage, etc., he finally passed out the papers. Serena quickly scanned the test when she received it, her mouth curving up into a smile. "This is so easy!" she thought, completely forgetting that she was still the victim of a war going on.
Serena was concentrating on a problem when someone tapped her shoulder. She ignored the tap, knowing Mr. Clark's hawk-like eyes would catch her turning around. A crumpled piece of paper suddenly landed on her desk. She was just about to open it when Mr. Clark appeared in front of her. He snatched the paper from her hands and opened it. Serena stared at him in fright as his expression changed from suspicious to red-hot anger.
"Young lady! How dare you cheat on my test!" He huffed.
"But I..didn't it's them!" Serena pointed at the innocent looking faces behind her.
Don? give me any of that bull! You will be given a zero on this test. Now get out!"
With a loud bang, the class door closed right in Serena' s nose. Serena sighed, and picked up her school bag.
"Fine then, don't listen to me! ,"she muttered, heading towards her favorite place in the school. She adored the varanda, because spoiled rich snobs like Darien never went there. Today, however, was a different case. When Serena arrived, she saw Seiya Smith leaning against the fence, staring down into the gardens below. Her breath caught in her throat when his silkly black bangs fell over his eyes. Slowly, Serena caught a hold of herself. 'What am I thinking!? I don't even know him - he's probably just as spoiled as the rest of them.'
Seiya shook himself out of his daydream when he heard footsteps on the veranda behind him. Turning, he saw the tiny blonde with pigtails standing behind him, and smiled gently.
"Hi!" He said. "Hi."
He patted a spot beside him. "Why are you here?" Serena jumped onto the fence with Seiya' s help and shifted to make herself comfortable. "Oh, nothing much just a bad day!" She smiled weakly,
'Tell him you idiot, it's all the 4L's fault!' 'You tell him! It's not like he did anything wrong!' 'Well, you....hey wait a minute, why am I arguing with myself?'
"Are you all right?" Seiya asked waving a hand in front of Serena.
"Oh yeah! Sure I'm fine..." Serena shrugged.
"So, do you come here a lot?" Serena asked
"Yeah."
No more words were spoken as the two just sat, quietly gazing at the breathtaking view.
CHALLENGE THREE
Serena looked around the girl's toilet curiously, 'I wonder how come no one is in this toilet' after the morning's incidents, she had grown wary. 'Oh well' she shrugged 'I am busting!' she walked inside a toilet and closed the door, and then she heard some noises. Outside, two boys laughed loudly as they stuck a stick between the door handles, effectively trapping her inside. Serena screamed and banged furiously on the locked door.
CHALLENGE FOUR
A boy cautiously looked around to make sure no one was watching as he covered a school telephone in super glue. Serena stomped in frustration as she headed for the very telephone. 'I am going to call the principal!' (Yes, the school had a telephone to the office, because it was too big to walk around) she thought and grabbed onto the telephone handle. Again, she felt weird and tried to move her hand but it was stuck there.
"Great!" Serena looked at the telephone attached to her fingers. "Now you can finish my English half yearly with me!"
CHALLENGE FIVE
Serena stuffed some books in her locker. Upon closing it, she saw Raye standing next to her locker. She missed two periods taking the telephone of her hand with the school nurse.
"Hi Raye!" Serena said with a fake cheerfulness, she was glad to see her, but Raye just turned and said nothing. Serena stared at her in confusion. "What's wrong?" She asked. Raye turned back as she glanced at Serena sadly, and walked away.
"What's the point of having friends like that?" Darien Mason's voice sounded from behind her. "You get into so much trouble because of her, and now, she's not even talking to you!" Darien smirked.
Serena just stood there, her heart raced furiously as she spoke loud and clear with the entire hall of people listening "*BASTARD*!" "I've had enough of this!" Serena screamed, it was only 10:00 a.m. and she had already gone to the school nurse six times. She dragged her bag tiredly into the cafeteria and fell down onto a chair. "Oh no, not again!" Serena moaned as she found herself sitting on something wet.
"Old tricks..." Serena shook her head and try to lift the chair up, but surprisingly, it was attached to the ground. "What now?" She thought as a boy walked closer to her, smirking. He held something behind him and slowly he pulled a long red object out. Serena arched an eyebrow in confusion at first, but as he got closer, she realized what it was. It was a firecracker, in fact, a HUGE firecracker. He tossed it onto the desk and lit it.
BANG BUNG HONG BANG
"THIS IS WAY TOO exaggerated!" Serena screamed covering her ears, feeling as though her eardrums were going to break.
------------
After several more jokes, (chased by snakes, humans, guinea pigs, and spiders) Serena tumbled tiredly into the courtyard of the school, and looked around to ensure that no one would be able to see her. As Serena leaned her back against the wall, she examined herself and found that her clothes were torn, her hair had fallen out of its buns, and her face was covered in dirt and mud, She was a mess. "Phew," she breathed...Serena just sat there for several minutes, waiting for her heartbeat to go back to normal.
"Serena?" She looked up, Raye was standing in front of her. Serena jumped up immediately and said, "Why are you here Raye? You'll just get into trouble with them too," and pushed Raye away.
Raye nibbled her bottom lips, "Taking a tiny teddy bear out of her pocket and stuffing it into Serena' s hand. Then, she ran away.
Serena looked at the teddy bear, it was tied in a pink ribbon, it's face held a sad expression. On the back of the teddy bear was a tiny white button. Serena pressed it and a sound came out of the little bear.
"I am sorry Serena," 'said' the bear.
"That's Raye's voice..." Serena whispered, her eyes filled with tears. Serena sniffed, and pressed the button once more
"I am sorry Serena." Serena smiled, and placed the bear safely into her pocket. Then she stood up, and she felt her energy coming back to her.
"ANYONE WHO WANTS TO PLAY TRICKS ON ME! Get out here right NOW!" She screamed, waving her arms in the air. Suddenly from the upstairs window, someone poured a whole bucket of dirty water down onto Serena.
-----------
Serena walked out of the school slowly after changing some old clothes she had in her locker and brushing her hair. She walked to her motorbike and grabbed the handle. But to her horror, the motorbike roamed and roared, and then with a crashing sound it fell into pieces. She clasped a hand over her eyes, 'I am going to die if this continues!' she thought.
Serena dropped off her motorbike at the Dick Smith shops, and decided to walk home, since there is no other way. She kicked some rocks on the street knowing tomorrow could be even worse. She sighed and screamed YOU STUPID IDIOT!!" to the empty street. BAKA DARIEN!!" She breathed heavily as a car stopped beside her. Serena turned to see the car window opening to reveal none other than Darien Mason. Serena groaned.
"I've got good news and bad news for you Serena!" Darien smirked. "So which one do you want to hear first?!" Serena said nothing, just stared. "Well, I guess the good news? 'The good news is, you have suffered enough to gain my respect! And the bad news is, I will try even harder tomorrow! " With a sarcastic laugh the red sport car drove away.
--------------- That night at home,
Serena dug the spoon wildly into the bowl of mashed potatoes, " I 'ave to 'repare for the cha'enges tomo'ow!" Serena spoke through a mouthful of mashed potatoes. Ken looked at his daughter with wide eyes. He has never seen her eating so fast and so...MUCH!
Serena finished her fourth serving of mashed potatoes, excused herself and ran to her room. Ken stood up and asked the stunned Irene, "Is she pregnant?!"
Serena threw herself on her bed. Staring up at her ceiling, she thought over the day's events. The only high point of the day was meeting Seiya on the veranda. He's so quiet,' she thought. Digging in her pocket, she brought the teddy bear in front of her face. The black, plastic eyes stared back at her. Pressing the white button, Serena listened to the words she heard countless times that day. The tiny toy gave her courage to continue. She placed it on her night table and took a piece of red paper from her desk drawer. Using white-out, she wrote PIG" in huge letters. With colored gel pens, she wrote, you will die before me."
-----------NEXT DAY-----------
Serena glared suspiciously at her gossiping classmates as she walked into her first class. Strange, no one is striking,' she thought warily.
Before sitting down, Serena checked her chair. No glue. Elizabeth and Lucy, two of her classmates, walked towards her.
"I feel so sorry for you," Elizabeth said, flashing her a sad smile.
Lucy added, yeah, me too. Everyone is avoiding you, even though it's not your fault."
Serena looked up in surprise she had never liked those two, always comparing their richness. 'Well, maybe I was wrong!' she thought.
"But...why are you two...talking to me? You might get yourself into danger you know!" Serena arched an eyebrow.
Lucy twitched a strand of brown hair in between her fingers and whispered, "I stand for justice! Those stupid 4Ls are too mean!"
-----------
Serena walked around the cafeteria and suddenly, she spotted a group of four sitting in the corner of the cafeteria. She took out the red paper and breathed in deeply. Then she straightened her back and walked confidently towards them, stopping about two meters away to shout, "Darien-baka!" Darien turned around. She then walked in front of him and stuck the red paper on his face with a loud 'pa'
-----------
"Serena!" Serena turned around to see two strange boys running her way, "Mr Ash wants to see you!" they screamed.
"Why? Where is he?" Serena followed them.
They kept on walking, until they got to an isolated part of the school. Serena glanced at the boys suspiciously, "Hey, are you sure this is the way?"
The two boys looked around, and turned back to Serena, both with wicked smiles on their faces.
"What do you want!" Serena frowned, suddenly conscious of her vulnerable situation. The boys snickered and one suddenly jumped towards her. Serena screamed and struggled, as she felt the boy's lips pressing against her face while the other one tore her clothes.
"NO! Please! Stop it!" Serena' s pleading slowly turned into screams as they pulled, dragged and manhandled her body. Serena felt herself losing consciousness as they bruised her roughly.
"Stop that!" Serena heard, semiconscious, before feeling the boys getting off her trembling body. She peeked open her eyes, and saw Seiya standing in front of the boys.
"Get out of my face now," he breathed icily, as the boys edged past him and ran.
Seiya looked at Serena lying prone on the ground, her eyes pleading him for comfort. He looked at her for a few more seconds before turning and walking away.
Slowly, Serena sat up, and as everything grew clear, she suddenly felt an urge to cry. She tried biting it back, but a sob escaped her lips anyway. Seiya stopped upon hearing it, turned and slowly walked back to her. Serena looked up through red, puffy eyes to see Seiya doing a handstand against the wall.
"What...*sob*....are you doing?" Serena asked, looking strangely at him, tears forgotten.
Seiya looked up at the sky, and with a far away look in his eyes, said, a friend once told me to do a handstand whenever I felt like crying, because then the tears that were going to come out would go back it. He flipped over and laid on his stomache besides Serena.
Serena sat up, hugged her knees to her chest and whispered a light thank you.
"No need, I helped you only because I don't like this sort of thing happening to girls, it's not because of you."
That afternoon, while Serena was walking home when Lucy and Elisabethwalked up next to her.
"Serena!" They called. Serena turned around.
"Do you want to come to a party?" Lucy asked while Elizabeth nudged her.
"No, I...don't have those kind of clothes." Serena said, embarrassed.
Lucy paused and looked devilish for a second, but then smiled warmly and said, "Don't worry! It's just a normal party! You can wear anything you want, even jeans!"
"Really?" Serena asked shocked and suspicious - after all, no one in M.A.R.S. had ever invited her to a party before. "Well then, where is it?"
Lucy wrote down the address for Serena and said, "It's Saturday, tomorrow, and oh yeah! Don't forget to wear a red scarf!" She said as she giggled.
"Red scarf?" Serena raised an eyebrow
"Oh that's just the symbol of this party!" Elisabeth smiled.
----------SATURDAY----------
Serena paced in the elevator, feeling very nervous. This was the first time she had ever attended a party held by rich people. She checked her reflection in the mirror. She was wearing black jeans with a button-up white shirt and a black jacket. The red silk scarf she had found in her mother's closet encircled her neck. That a silly idea, using a red scarf for a symbol!'
As the elevator dinged, Serena smoothed out her shirt and headed for the door directly opposited the elevator. Pushing the doors open, she was immediately encompassed by a loud party environment. Looking around the well-dressed room, she noticed people staring back at her. how could I have been so stupid? Of course this wouldn't be a casual party!' She blushed in embarrassment, and was turning to go when the gown bedecked Lucy and Elisabeth reached her. They laughed.
"You look like those waitresses! Hahaha..." Elizabeth choked.
Then a guy dressed in tuxedo came and stuffed a plate with a cup of wine in Serena's open hands. Serena stared at the wine, feeling humiliated.
Lucy patted her on the shoulder and turned to go when Serena shouted "Lucy!" She turned back just in time to see Serena holding up the cup of wine and felt her pouring it onto her hair.
----------
Darien closed his eyes, relaxing his muscles in his personal spa, which was around 60m across. He settled back, trying to take a nap, but somehow his thoughts always sprang back to that strange girl with meatballs. Darien frowned slightly. 'What's wrong with me?'
"Mr Mason, there are two gentlemen outside who wish to see you." A servant said, handing out a towel.
"All right, tell them to wait for a minute."
Darien got dressed and walked out of the bath. "So did you do it?"
"Not really..."
"What?!" Darien shouted.
"Well we were tearing her clothes when...." He didn't get to finish the sentence since Darien blew up again
"WHO told you to tear her clothes?! I just said, play around with her and scare her a LITTLE!!" Darien' s face turned dark red. 'Why do I even care?' Darien shook his head quietly, "Never mind, so tell me what happened!"
"Well, Seiya Smith came..."
Darien' s face lost all traces of color. "Seiya? What the hell..."
-----------
"REALLY?!? He is an absolute brat!" Screamed Lita.
"I know, if not for Seiya, I'd be in so much pain!" Serena arranged the cakes, then looked up at Lita, who had a weird expression on her face. "Lita?!" Serena waved a hand. "Earth to Lita!!" but Lita was starring at the opposite direction outside the door.
"There are two REALLY hot guys outside!" Lita muttered. Serena turned and looked at the 'hot' guys. 'Oh no!' she thought. 'Not after school!' The 'hot guys' were Yaten and Seiya.
They stepped inside the shop and looked around. Yaten' s eyes grow big when he saw Serena.
"What are YOU doing here?!"
"Part time job." Serena answered simply "What are YOU doing here anyway? I thought your parents owned a private cake shop!"
"He's the one that wanted to come in!" Yaten pointed at Seiya.
Lita looked back and forth and Serena and the guys "You know each other?"
Serena leaned closer to Lita and whispered "Yep, they just happens to be part of the infamous 4L!"
Lita's eyes grew wide "Cute AND RICH!"
Seiya looked at the cakes and pointed to one of them "Can I have that one?"
Yaten frowned, "Seiya! We just had two Italian pancakes and I thought you don't like sweet things!"
"It looks cute" answered Seiya sheepishly.
*Sweat drop*
Serena bent down, "Which one do you want?"
Seiya bent down too, he pointed at one of the cakes and looked at Serena through the glass windows.
Serena caught him staring, and blushed.
Yaten smirked, "Seiya always acts weird in front of the girls he likes." Serena blushed even more when she heard that, and quickly took the piece of cake and placed it onto the counter.
Seiya took the cake.
"BUT his unusual action is definitely NOT because of you!" Yaten winked. "Bye industrious virgin!" *wink*
"HEY!" Serena sighed and turned to Lita who was talking to herself. "If it's not because of Serena...then is it ME?"
----------
Serena stomped across the school hall, heading for the 4Ls. She felt her head filled with fury and her hands trembling for revenge. Darien just stared as she stopped in front of him and slapped him harshly across his face!
Serena ran and climbed the stairs to the veranda. She was sitting there looking down when Seiya came.
"You shouldn't have done that he chided.
"Well, I have never been so insulted in my whole life and I wasn't thinking." Serena sighed.
"Darien is dangerous..." Seiya turned to Serena.
In the corner of the veranda, Elisabeth and Lucy were sneaking around, and in Lucy's hands was a camera...
----------
"Hey! Peasant!" Serena felt a slap on her shoulder. She turned and saw Elisabeth holding a magazine.
"What do you want?" Serena demanded.
"Have a look at this!" Lucy pointed at one of the attractive models and starts to read "Michelle Richardson, 22 years old, and already one of the most successful supermodels of the world. She is studying in France right now and has already won the Global, model of the year award and three more academic awards!" Lucy flashed a smile.
Serena was puzzled "What does she have to do with me?"
"Well, she is Seiya' s girlfriend!" Elisabeth stated and smirked.
Serena felt her heart chilling 'Of course...he must have a girlfriend after all...why haven't I thought of this.'
"Do you think you can actually get him?!" Elizabeth and Lucy encircled her, while they flapped the magazine in front of her.
"I..."
"You are nothing but a piece of rubbish Serena! So wake up and stop bugging Seiya! Every girl dreams of the 4L, and I won't let you get them!" Lucy pushed Serena.
Serena felt dizzy, the news about Michelle was shocking enough and now they were pushing her around. She felt herself loosing balance, falling backwards, when suddenly someone from behind caught her.
Elizabeth and Lucy silenced, staring at the person in awe, while Serena turned to see who it was.
"What are you doing to her, I am telling you, SHE is MY girl!" said a furious Darien. He took one hand from Serena' s shoulder and pointed straightforward.
"Now, get out of here before I get people to take you out!!" Lucy and Elizabeth glanced at the puzzled Serena in surprise as they quickly bowed and tumbled away.
"Who ASKED YOU to SAVE ME?!" Serena screamed. She still hadn't got over the shock and was determined to blame everything on Darien Mason.
Darien stared wide-eyed. "I just SAVED your butt from those two, and you are still blaming me?!"
"WELL EVERYTHING STARTED BECAUSE OF YOU!!! You are pig headed with TINY PIG EYES! YOUR BRAIN IS SMALLER THAN A PIGEON'S GUTS AND YOU ARE ONE OF THOSE MOST HATED KINDS IN THE PSYCHOLOGICAL TEEEEEEEESSSSSTssss!!!!!!!!!!!!! Serena screamed, totally out of control.
Darien just stared at her, his jaws opened then closed up again. He felt his heart been ripped into pieces but he didn't know why.
----------
"Ok, question six, what sort of girl do you like? A, gentle and caring. B, cute and innocent. C. Strong and stubborn. "
Darien was sitting with a group of servants who were holding dozens of books labeled psychological tests.
Darien sat impatiently and hesitated "C..." He said.
The servants read on "Question seven, what would be your reaction if you caught your girlfriend walking closely with a boy on the street? A..."
"What?! MY girlfriend walking on the street with a boy?! What are you people doing then? I don't pay you to wash my underwear!" Darien demanded.
The servants tensed. "I am just reading from the book, Mr. Mason."
"All right, All right, keep reading!" Darien demanded with a wave of his hands.
"A, you go up to her and ask for an explanation. B, you try to get her attention but do not make matter worse. C, you ignore her first and you inquire her later on. D, you really care about it but you can't do anything because you don't want anybody to know that you actually care.
Darien stared at his feet for a while and stammered "D..."
"So...You really care about it but you can't do anything because you don't want anybody to know that you actually..." the servant's voice faded when he felt Darien' s angry glare on him.
The servant flipped to the next page. "OK you scored " He read the result silently and his face turned white.
"Um...Mr. Mason...I suggest you to read this yourself...."
Darien took a look at the servant and grabbed the book from him impatiently. "What a wimp, can't even read!" He scanned through the passages as his eyes widened.
"What!!" Darien grabbed the book and was going to tear it when the servant stopped him.
"Don't get angry Mr. Mason! There is advice on the next page. Darien blinked and stopped, him, take advice from a book? But he felt a sudden urge to change himself as long as he could please Serena. So he fell into the chair and sighed the servants to continue.
"You can start by changing your appearance."
"How the hell do I change my appearance?!"
"You start with wearing more intimate clothes!" -----------
Serena swung her handbags back and forth. She just left work and was walking down the street when she saw Seiya in front of her. Seiya was staring at a poster of a model in front of a shop.
He smiled warmly when he saw Serena, and Serena' s heartbeat increased. 'That was the brightest smile I've seen from him!' She thought.
"Hi Seiya!"
"Hi Serena! Can you believe this! She is coming back!" Seiya said excitedly. Then he leaned down and gave Serena a light peck on the cheeks. Serena' s eyes widened. She felt herself trembling as he kissed her lightly on the cheeks.
Seiya waved at Serena and walked away, leaving Serena standing there, stunned.
-----------
Darien entered the school grounds, pulling on his too-small shirt in embarrassment. It was a shiny, bright green, with a huge Mickey Mouse smiling cheekily on the front.
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