Hey, PrincessVamp again! I know I update sporadically, and I'm sorry (hangs head). But it's hard to get an idea that hasn't already been done...to my knowledge.

I no own anything. Clear?

Cool. Thanks for reading!

Review!

"I had no choice, but to hear you, you stated your case, time and again, I thought about it...

You treat me like, I'm a princess ...you've already won me over..." Alanis Morisette CD

Sophisticate this!

Serena rolled over in her bed, staring up at her spider-free ceiling. No, it wasn't morning, and no, she wasn't going to bed. She was wasting a perfectly good afternoon—not playing videogames, not reading that new Sailor V comic book, not shopping for some splenderifious outfit. She was...pondering.

Thinking.

Serena smiled wryly. If Raye heard me say I was thinking, she'd laugh for a month, she thought affectionately. Then she went back to the thought that was rolling around her in head, refusing to get out. She groaned and flung an arm over her face. It was no use. She couldn't get him out of her mind! Every time she closed her eyes his taunting, horrible, awful, piercing, beautiful ocean blue eyes were there, dancing behind her eyelids. His smile, the way his gorgeous, thick black hair was always just the tiniest bit messy—Serena sighed again.

I need to be committed, she thought desperately. There is no way I can be...in ...uh...with Darien! My worst enemy! She tried to ignore the fact that their heated arguments were the highlight of her day, and how every time he raised an eyebrow in that rakish way she just wanted to...attack him...

Serena whimpered. She just had to face it. She was...madly, passionately, unfortunately, in love with Darien Shields. Ugh.

And what was worse? Said man had no idea that she was really a woman. Thinking this, Serena puffed up like a proud frog, pushing out her chest and smirking. Then she deflated.

Face facts, Sere, she argued with herself. You're seventeen, had one measly boyfriend, skinny, a Champion of Justice, and a reincarnated princess. Who's gonna go for you?

Suddenly an idea struck and she bolted up in her bed. (Unfortunately her bed was very springy and this just made her bounce off and land on the floor.) "Ow!" she shrieked, before jumping to her feet and dashing to her closet. "I need to be beautiful...I need to be sexy...I need..." she paused, throwing many skirts, shirts, pants and dresses out of her closet. "I need new clothes! How can I be sophisticated and chic with these stupid, little kid clothes?!" she demanded of her closet.

"Beats me. Of course, you'll never be sophisticated, Serena!" her little brother bwahhed from her doorway, his arms crossed.

Serena's eyes grew wide and furious. "Sammy!" she sprinted at him, and Sammy, with the ease of long practice, stepped to the side. Serena crashed into the second story stairway railing and flipped over it, just barely catching onto the rail. She screamed. Sammy yelled.

She should have been terrified, but all Serena could think of was how once she'd fallen over a balcony railing and Tuxedo Mask had been with her...and when they'd fallen he had held onto her with such strong, warm arms...

Her grip loosened unconsciously as her memory drifted. Then she wondered how it would feel if Darien was holding onto her. She grinned to herself.

"SERENA!" Sammy screamed in her face. "WAKE UP, stupid! You're hanging over a freaking RAIL!"

Serena snapped out of it. "Ohmigod!" she shrieked, swinging her other hand up to hold onto the railing. She kicked her legs in the short skirt she was wearing, trying and failing to get a grip. "Sammy! Get help!"

"Mom and Dad aren't home!" Sammy told her, panicking.

"THEN GET SOMEONE ELSE TO HELP!" Serena demanded imperiously...or not, since it's hard to sound imperious when one is dangling improperly off of a high railing. But the point is, she tried.

So Sammy dashed off down the stairs and out into the street, bellowing at the top of his lungs.

Serena's arms were straining and her fingertips were going numb. "Hurry Sammy!" she whispered desperately. A few tears—not the usual Serena-style full-on blown-out-of-proportion wails—just a few crystalline tears slid down her face. I'm going to die, she thought, accepting it.

Her fingers started to slip, and, suddenly, irrationally, Serena wondered what she would like when she was dead. Pale, she decided: Very pale, with her golden hair all perfect and not wind-blown. When they found her she would be wearing her little blue skirt and her favorite spaghetti strap top—green with little blue flowers and bunnies embroidered on it. She grimaced despite herself. Not a very pretty picture for her parents to come home to. She could hear the lecture now: 'Serena, how dare you die in a revealing outfit! Come back down here and change!'

Serena giggled. I think I just might be hysterical, she decided. Then her fingers slipped more and she was holding on with just two fingers. "Oh!" she cried, panicking. Then her fingers slipped over the edge and she was falling. Serena closed her eyes and prepared to die. Can't be that bad—I've already die—what—twice? Three times?

"Oof!"

Of all the words to say, Serena had rated oof on the bad scale. She cracked open an eye. As far as she could tell, there was no blood splattered on the walls, her body was intact and unharmed, and her hair wasn't windblown! "It must be from the Princess side..." she murmured, thinking that Princess Serenity had passed some unable-to-die-from-falling power along to her.

"How STUPID ARE YOU, SERENA?!?!" Sammy yelled. "You ran RIGHT over that railing..."

Serena now opened both eyes. Sammy was white with fear, and she...she was cradled up against someone's warm body. She looked up and gasped. "Tux—er..."

"Are you all right?" Darien Shields' concerned, absolutely --(pick a verb from paragraph 3)-- eyes looked down at her.

"EEK!" Serena jumped—well, not that far. She more kind of twitched in his arms. "How'd you get in here?"

"I was driving by when I saw your little brother running around like a headless chicken in the middle of the street," Darien replied, his deep voice sending vibrations through his chest so that Serena felt them, and melted. "He told me you were dangling off a railing."

"Oh...er...um..."

"So what stupid thing got you hanging over a second story railing?" Darien arched an eyebrow and Serena cursed her traitor body as her heart sped up.

"None of your business!" she retorted, before realized belatedly she should pay more respect to a guy who just saved her life.

Darien just looked at her. Finally she gave in.

"Well...I...um...kind of ran at Sammy when he said...something." Serena mumbled.

"Said what?" Darien seemed amused.

Serena flushed and turned her red face into his dark blue shirt. It smells like spicy cologne, she noted, and filed the thought away for future reference. "Thaticoudnbsphtcted."

Sammy bounced. "I said she'd NEVER ever in MILLION years be ANYWHERE near sophisticated."

Serena turned to send a death glare at her brother. What good is it having superpowers if I can't barbecue stupid brothers with my eyes? She mused.

She braced herself for the flippant remark Darien would send her way...except he didn't.

"That's not a very nice thing to say to your older sister, Sammy," her rebuked him gently.

Sammy laughed. "Serena can't do nothin' to me. I've got SO much blackmail on her...besides, mom and dad'll yell at her if she tries anything. One of the perks of being the younger sibling," he held up a finger, "is that you NEVER get blamed for ANYTHING!"

Serena tensed in Darien's arms. "Brat," she muttered.

"She can too do stuff," Darien laughed. "All she has to do is mention something embarrassing that you did to a potential girlfriend of yours...maybe pull out a few baby pictures..."

Sammy paled. "Er...I..uh...bye!" he sped off up the stairs and slammed the door to his room. Serena grimaced when the walls rattled.

"WATCH HOW HARD YOU SLAM THE DOORS, SAMUEL!" she shouted up the stairs...and in the process spit a little on Darien's lower lip.

Slowly Serena passed from pale pink to a muted scarlet, to a dark crimson, do maroon. Why do I always screw up around him? She lamented in her head. Darien, a repulsed look on his handsome face, wiped his lip on Serena's shirt. Serena stopped breathing when his face nearly touched her breast. For a second, when he pulled back, their faces were inches a part, their eyes locked on the others. Blue met blue.

Serena's thought process died. Then Darien firmly set her on her feet and their eyes were shaken from each other.

"I...um..." they both started at the same time. Serena smiled and Darien chuckled a bit.

"Thank you," Serena murmured, bowing a little. "I owe you my life."

"No problem, Meat-ball Head," Darien smirked. She frowned at him. "Life...would be boring without you."

He turned and headed towards the door.

Serena reached desperately for something to say to him. "Wait! Do you—uh...want to stay and meet my dinner? I mean—parents for dinner?"

He gave her a weird look. "It's okay...I try not to meet a girl's parents unless we're dating. You sure you're okay?"

"...Yes. Thanks again....bye." Serena replied faintly.

He walked out and shut the door. Serena flopped down on her family's couch. Oh my god. How stupid could I get? 'do you want to meet my dinner?' How unsophisticated! How stupid! How immature of me! For god's sake, I'm not fourteen anymore! You'd think I could carry on a simple conversation with an incredibly hot guy, but nooo, not me.

She sat up, a determined look crossing her delicate face. "That's it. I'm tired of the clumsy me. Operation Sophistication begins!"

This will have more chapters...and I can get them out sooner if I get reviiiieeewwws!!! (coughs and holds hand to throat). Ow.

Catch ya'll next time!

Hugs,

PrincessVamp