A Rose amongst the Thorns
Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon or any of the characters that belong to the anime.
A girl sat at her desk staring down at her messy notebook and sighed softly. Serena Tsukino hated her life. She didn't have many friends and dreaded each day as it was always filled with taunting from the senior girls at her high school. Her four best friends were absolutely stunning, being the centre of attention at school. Above all else, they were popular. Something she was not. They had all tried their best to "fix" her up, but she had been considered an outcast for too long to be able to change from that mould. Sometimes she believed the only reason they were still friends was because they had known each other since kindergarten. Serena scratched her head as she attempted to solve the math problem sitting in front of her. Jumping slightly, she breathed a sigh of relief as she realized it was only her telephone ringing.
Picking up the phone, she answered politely, "Tsukino residence, Serena speaking, whom are you looking for?"
"Hey Sere! It's Mina. Have you heard about the party that's being held at that spunk Andrew's house on Friday!" asked the excited girl on the other end of the phone.
"Uhh…No…Not really," replied Serena with a dull voice, knowing full well that she wasn't going to be on the invitation list.
"Well, it's a masquerade ball! Oh my God, doesn't that sound like so much fun? Us girls so have to go together and have matching costumes!"
"Mina, we already know that I'M not going to be invited so I don't understand why you're bothering telling me about this stupid party," responded the slightly frustrated blonde with a huff.
"Well, this is the best bit…EVERYONE from school is invited! Doesn't Andrew sound like such a sweet guy? I'm going to order our costumes tomorrow, you better come! Night Sere!"
Serena heard the click of the phone, her mouth hanging open. Mina had hung up on her. Again. Why did Mina always feel the need to have the last word in a conversation? Rubbing her tired eyes, she looked over at her clock and realized it was almost midnight. Maths would just have to wait until tomorrow to be finished. She climbed into bed and slowly drifted off to sleep, forgetting to turn on her alarm yet again.
A hysterical girl sprinted along the street, her long blonde hair flowing behind her in the wind. To new-comers to the town, she could easily have been mistaken for a marathon-runner. However, for people who had lived there for quite some time, this was just another daily occurrence.
Stupid alarm clock, I really have to get that thing fixed, Serena thought to herself as she rushed onto the school grounds.
Rounding a corner, she charged through the doors of her school building and climbed the many tedious steps to the level on which her classroom was situated. Pushing open the door to her home room, she thanked her lucky stars that her teacher was late as well and quickly strode over to her seat. She sat down next to two of her four best friends. Amy had a serene appearance about her, her short blue hair framing her face and creating the look of a graceful young lady. She held enormous wisdom behind her tranquil blue eyes, which would sparkle profusely when anything regarding school was mentioned. She was the genius in their pack. Lita, on the other hand, was the tallest out of their group of friends, her chocolate brown hair usually tied up in a swinging pony-tail. Her athletic body was the envy of most girls and her emerald eyes caused boys to fall to their knees by just looking into them. She was the strongest out of their group. Serena smiled at her two friends. If only she could be as beautiful as them…
"Good morning Serena, how are you going today?" asked Amy, politely.
"Ugh, absolutely horrible. I swear my alarm clock is broken, it never seems to work for some reason!" cried the golden-haired girl, her cheeks still red from all her running.
"Well, you're just lucky Ms. Sasaki is even later than you," teased Lita, her green eyes twinkling to life.
Serena stuck her tongue out at Lita, making both of her friends laugh at her childishness. A slender middle-aged woman walked into the classroom, her glossy black hair tied up tightly into a bun.
"Good morning, class," the teacher addressed her pupils.
"Good morning, Ms. Sasaki," the students chorused in reply, ready for another day of learning.
Serena stretched lazily as she waited for the rest of her friends to arrive. The cafeteria was crowded as usual, it being lunchtime. Everyone was sitting around eating their lunch, while at the same time catching up with friends. She beamed as she saw two familiar faces walking towards them. Mina had her usual hair-style; her sun-kissed blonde hair tied half up with an orange silk ribbon. Her sky-blue eyes seemed to smile back at her friends, her bubbly personality shining through everything she did. Mina was the optimistic one out of her friends. Raye was a complete contrast to Mina, having long raven black hair down to her waist and violet eyes that would glare cynically at anyone who dared get in her way. She was known as the bitch of their group. Although she was a very loyal and amazing friend, outsiders should be prepared to feel the wrath of her fiery personality if they do anything to annoy her. Serena watched as all the guys in the canteen stared after the two beauties and she sighed, jealousy stirring up inside her.
"Hey guys! How was English? Hope it wasn't as boring as our Geography class," Mina asked, sitting down next to Lita.
"I thought it was very interesting, we're studying Romeo and Juliet this year," Amy replied with a smile.
"Well, I've got fantastic news. I've ordered the costumes for Andrew's party, you guys will just love them! The theme we're going as are the princesses of different planets, isn't that cute?"
"Mina, I'm still not very sure about this party…"
"Oh, come on, Serena. You've really got to loosen up a bit, otherwise you'll never fit in," Raye interrupted, harshly.
Amy bit her lip in anticipation of what was to come, while Lita and Mina frowned at Raye, disapproving of her insensitive words.
Serena's eyes began to water up, the tears threatening to spill over as dejection consumed her. She knew she didn't fit it, especially not up to her friends' standards, but she never thought her friends cared so much.
"Oh sweety, you know Raye didn't really mean what she said. She just opens her big mouth before thinking about what she says," Mina soothed the upset girl.
"Yes, but you know you mean what you say when you just blurt it out!" wailed the girl, her baby-blue eyes flooded with tears as they ran gently down her face.
A tall figure loomed over their table as she sat there crying, her friends horrified to see who it was.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't the cry-baby. What's the matter now, dork?" chuckled a familiar voice that belonged only to the person she loathed.
Looking up with drying eyes, Serena shot Beryl a look of pure hatred.
Author's Note: Hey all! I hope you enjoyed my first fanfic:) Please Read & Review! Constructive criticism is always welcome by me, anything to help my writing