Chapter 1

Walking down the street, a girl of 18 was lost in thought. For the last 6 months her boyfriend, Darien of five years had been spending less and less time with her and more time with one of her best friends Raye. The last time they had a date was almost two months ago when he was once again called away by Raye because she was upset over another fight she had had that day with her boyfriend Jadeite. Darien, felt the need every time she called to rush over to her temple and console her thus leaving the girl to go home alone and feeling sorry for herself. She stopped going on dates with him two months ago because he would either cancel or leave before they got to dinner because of something to do with Raye. The only time she saw Darien now was during a battle or at arcade. She tried talking to her other best friends but they all said that she was just feeling jealous and the she should not expect Darien to spend every moment of his time with her. She still went to the study groups with the girls but when they opted to study with Darien she would decline stating that she had something else to do. The saddest thing is that Darien didn't even seem to care that she was making excuses not to spend time with him. As Serena was lost in thought she didn't notice Darien and Raye walking towards her with the girls behind them. All of a sudden she heard giggling and looked up only to be saddened at what she saw. Just then Raye looked ahead of her and noticed Serena.

"Hi, Serena", Raye said.

The rest of the group stopped and looked ahead as well.

"Hi, Raye" Serena said.

Silence followed only to be broken by Mina.

"We were just on our way to the arcade. Would you like to join us? It feels like forever since we all hanged out."

Feeling panicked Serena racked her brain for an excuse when she remembered she had a history paper do soon, "I am sorry minna but I was just on my way to the library to finish writing my history report."

"Since when do you care about school" Raye said snickering.

Serena planted a fake smile on her face and faced Raye stating, "I am trying to do better and get my grades up. My mom has been on my case a lot lately and I am trying to get her off my back." Serena told them knowing that she was lying because her grades were fine. It took her awhile but she was finally able to get her grades up to A's and B's.

The look on the senshi's faces was priceless. They went ranged from shocked to suspicious. Mina, Lita and Amy all having the shocked faces and Raye having the suspicious face. Darien who had been silent the entire time only had a searching look on his face as if he was expecting to find something. Serena knew that she was completely ignoring him but she didn't really care at the moment. All she knew was that she didn't want to spend time with him and Raye.

"Well, I think that it is great that you are finally taking an interest in school but Serena, the history paper isn't due for another month. Surely you can work on it tomorrow and come with us to the arcade" Amy stated.

"Amy's right Serena, I feel like I haven't seen you in forever. I'll even buy you anything you want to eat" Darien said.

Serena couldn't help the wince and anger that suddenly rose up.

"And whose fault is that Darien? As I recall, you are the one who either cancelled or left early from every date we have had in the last 6 months" Serena told him and then instantly regretted it when she saw all the looks she was getting.

Darien was too shocked to say anything as Serena had never spoken to him like this. But Raye wasn't.

"You selfish, little brat. Apologize to Darien right now. It's not his fault that you are too clingy and can't except that he has a life outside of your relationship" Raye stated instantly coming to his defense.

Serena just looked at Raye with all the anger she was feeling at the moment, knowing that it was Rayes fault she and Darien hadn't been spending time together. She gave Raye the evilest glare she could muster.

Serena just laughed bitterly. "You know what? You're right Raye. I am too clingy and selfish. It is selfish of me to want to have just one date with my boyfriend where you don't call with some sob story about you and Jadeite causing Darien to want to run to your rescue. I'm sorry if the fact that my boyfriend spends more time with someone who is suppose to be my best friend upsets me."

Silence followed for the next few moments while everyone just stared at Serena wondering where all this was coming from.

"Serena, are you feeling okay? You are not acting like yourself" Lita asked worried for her friend who she thought was going a little insane.

"You know what, just forget I said anything. You are right Lita, I am not feeling very well so it is probably a good idea that I just go home and get some rest. I will see you all later."

As I walked away from the group, I felt even more depressed that even my friends couldn't see how much I was hurting. I felt all their eyes on me probably wondering if I was in fact going crazy.

"Serena wait, let me walk you home and make sure you get there okay" Darien said.

"I would rather be alone. Besides, I believe you all have plans at the arcade. Don't change your plans for me." I tried to put on a smile but even I could feel how fake it felt.

"I don't mind. I can meet up with the girls after I make sure you get home okay" Darien said.

"Come on Darien, you heard her. She wants to be alone and I think that she needs time to think about everything that she just said. When she is ready to apologize for her behavior then she can come find us" said Raye.

I didn't bother to stick around for whatever it is that Darien was going to say. I just walked faster and farther away. I came to a conclusion just then, I was not going to wait for Darien anymore. As I think about it, I realized that I have been the only to fight for our relationship. Darien has never had to go through the heartbreak I have. Oh, I know that he was upset that he had to break up with me because of the nightmares but that was his fault. He didn't trust me enough to handle the truth which also tells me that our relationship is lacking in certain categories.