It was two more days until her sixteenth birthday. She was sooo excited. All her friends were going to be at her birthday party. Her mom said she could plan the whole thing herself. At first she didn't know what to do but after she spoke to her very best friend, she had the best idea.

"I'm telling you this would be so wicked, a masquerade. Everybody had to come dressed up and everything it would so cool."

She was right. It would be wicked. She decided to go with it. Saturday, 7pm in the park, the invitations said. She was excited and nervous at the same time.

"I am so excited guys," Serena said as they walked down the street the Friday afternoon before the party. "Molly's party is going to be way cool, our own Masquerade."

"Jeez Meatball head," Rei said not as enthused as her hyper active friend, "could you take it down a notch. You're blowing my eardrums out."

"I can't believe you're not excited Rei," Lita said with a smile, "it's the first time anybody has done something so different."

"They do it in America Lita."

"But not here. As a matter of fact, I forgot to say this before but Serena I am so proud of you."

"So am I," Mina and Ami chimed in.

"What for?" Rei said with a smart smirk on her face. "Because she hasn't fallen yet?"

"You can be such a... never mind," Serena said coming out of her momentary funk, "I'm not going to let you get to me today Rei. I am in the best mood. Just wait till you guys see my costume tomorrow, you're gonna die."

"Will somebody please tell me why we are so proud of Serena?"

"Never mind," they all said in unison as they kept walking. Serena, as usual, with her bubbly self bumped into someone by not paying attention. They crashed into each other and fell right on to the ground.

"Serena, are you okay," Lita said getting her up off the floor.

"It's not me I'm worried about. Are you..." she started shaking her head and looking to the ground at the person she knocked over. 'Oh no' she said to herself as she noticed who she bumped into.

"Jeez Meatball Head, watch where ya going," Darien said getting up and rubbing his head, "you could knock a guy unconscious even without speed."

"Sorry Darien," she said merrily.

He was in the least to say, slight shock. No yelling, no screaming, and consequential to their fall, no mind shattering bawling. This was not the real Serena. He was beginning to believe the NegaVerse may have kidnapped her and replaced her with some kind of double. She hadn't said anything. Nothing about him calling her Meatball Head or anything.

"Hey Meatball Head, how was school today? Fail any tests?"

"Darien!" Ami and Lita said in shock. They couldn't believe he was purposely being mean to her.

"It's okay guys," she said still in the greatest mood, "He's just trying to get a rise out me. Aren't you Darien?" she said with a knowing smile. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you liked me." She cocked her head to the side and looked up at him, giving him her brightest smile. She noticed that he blushed a little.

"Come on you guys, Ami still needs to get her costume. Bye Darien," she said merrily skipping away with her friends.

'It's worse than I thought,' he said to himself, 'it's like those American movies where people get replaced by pod people'. He started to walk in the direction in which he was headed when he ran into her. He couldn't believe what she had said though. Did she know that he secretly did but just didn't know how to say what he felt? "Nah," he said out loud, "she hasn't been that transformed." He did turn around quickly and saw her two meatballs bouncing away happily into the horizon.

He was still rubbing his head when he entered the Arcade and sat at the stool in front.

"Hey Drew."

"Hey Dare," he answered his friend not looking up from his position under the counter. When he finally stood up two minutes later he saw him still rubbing his head.

"Let me guess," he said chuckling at his friend placing a soda in front of him. "Hurricane Serena."

"That girl should have come with a warning sign."

"She probably did," Andrew said laughing, "she probably leaves it at home in hopes of running into you."

"Not funny."

"It is to me," he said unable to stop himself from laughing. "Although," he said becoming serious, "she is awful cute and I would give anything to know what that creamy skin of hers feels like."

Darien looked at his friend. He was shocked but he made his face devoid of any emotion. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Because if it was right, Andrew had a crush on Serena! This was not happening. He could barely be within a three-mile radius of her without feeling the need to do something to get her to pay attention to him. She had been right though, he did only want to get a rise out of her. He wanted to pay her back in some small way for her affect on him. And looking at the smile on Andrew's face was not making him any more confident in his plight to get this girl.

"You and Rita only broke up three days ago."

"You always bump into her," Andrew said holding the rag in one hand and leaning on the counter, "is her skin really as soft as it looks?"

"I never really paid attention," he lied. God yes, he wanted to scream out. He wanted to tell his friend that her skin felt like she bathed in milk. And she smelled like vanilla. Everything about her was intoxicating. He wanted to tell him everything, including that fact that he thought that he was falling in love with the blonde angel. It seemed as if he must have been thinking along the same lines.

"You mean to tell me that you are that close to heaven and you don't try, not even by accident."

"Andrew, she's sixteen."

"And?"

"And," Darien said trying to remain calm while pointing out the facts and not showing his true feelings, "you're nineteen."

"And single," Andrew said now whistling out loud.

Darien could see that he was no longer any help. His best friend had just become his enemy. He shook his head internally and then thought about something.

"Bye the way," he said off-handedly, "Do YOU know why she's so giddy?"

"Tomorrow is Molly's birthday party. She's having this big party. It's going to be like the thing the Americans do...what did they call it...let me think now...Masquerade, that's it. You have to come dressed up with a mask that covers your face. You unveil at midnight and you kiss the person you are with or something like that."

"How did you know?" Darien asked curiously.

"They were in here working on the invitations a week ago."

"And let me guess, you're invited."

Andrew's face brightened up. "How'd you guess?"

"I'm psychic," he said sarcastically.

"Don't be mad Darien, and maybe I'll let you come along with me."

"Oh Andrew, would you really," Darien said making his voice high pitched, "I would do anything to go with you." The look he got from him alone was enough. For the first time today he let out a real heart-felt laugh.

"See if I'm ever nice to you again," he grumbled as he went to clean off tables. Darien finished off his soda and headed for the door. "Hey Andrew!"

"What?"

"Where's the party?"

"In the park. Her new stepfather 'rented' the park for the day. It's starting at 7. I'll meet you there."

"Well, well, well," Darien said walking out the door, "this is going to be some party."

To his surprise, he didn't run into Serena all the way...

"Watch where you're going for a change Meatball Head," he said to the person on top of him. He opened his eyes to see none other than Rei right there in front of him and not Serena.

"Oh, hi Rei," he said concealing his disappointment.

"Was it really that bad?"

"What?"

"You thought I was that pain in the temple's rear end."

"Huh?"

"Serena."

"Oh," he said getting her gist. "She's the only person that seems to barrel into me at a moment's notice without even an excuse me." He smiled inwardly. He did actually enjoy their little 'meetings'. It was time he spent with her, even if he ended up paying for it later. It was worth it, he thought unconsciously rubbing the spot on his forehead where they bumped heads.

"God no."

"I thought you guys were friends?" he questioned her really paying attention to her features for a while. Her dark hair hung down to her butt. She had very nice features, dark eyes, dark skin and a killer body but she wasn't Serena. She was too hot-tempered and mean, especially to Serena. Secretly, he always hated it. He would give the world and a half to have her just throw her arms around him at a moment's notice. With this raven-haired beauty, she appeared disgusted by it.

"Oh she is my friend. She just drives me crazy. She whines too much and is forever letting out that god-awful noise she calls crying. And besides, now everyone's taken to defending her all the time and getting on my back. I mean really."

"But Rei," he said with a joking spirit, "she's just like that. As her friend I thought you would have just accepted it. Besides, despite her faults, she has a good heart."

"Don't you think I know that, Duh. She's just such a klutz and a baby. It's embarrassing."

"Well Rei," he said fighting the urge to argue with her, "I'll be seein' ya."

He walked off and left her alone looking after him.

"There's another one on her side."

Rei walked to the temple by herself. They had deserted her for picking on Serena too many times that day. They even said that they would meet her at the party tomorrow. That really hurt her feelings. They always went over to Mina's to get ready. She always did their hair and make-up. Serena wasn't going to be there, she wanted to surprise everybody at the party. They still uninvited her from the before-party party, she was really hurt.

She really didn't understand why she did. Serena was always the easiest person to poke fun at. She was klutzy, and a real ditz. 'Could that girl be any stupider,' she thought to herself. And that bloody noise. She wasn't sure yet why she hadn't gone deaf yet. But Darien was right; she had a heart of gold. For as lazy as she was, she would come to the temple and really help sometimes. When she needed someone to talk to she was always there to just listen.

'Shoot,' she said inwardly, 'now I feel guilty.'

She took the long way back to the temple and no sooner was she in did her Grandfather call after her.

"Rei!"

"Yes Grandpa!"

"Your friends called here for you. All of them, twice."

"Thanks Grandpa," she said running to the refuge of her room. She felt tears coming on and she didn't want anyone to see her cry. Chad would try to be nice and Grandpa would just be Grandpa. It was too much. As soon as she closed the door to her room, she felt the tears start to run down her cheeks. She really was sorry she just couldn't say it. Serena just made her so mad. She got to be leader and she was a ditz. She hated to fight and she cried like a baby. Okay, yeah so in the end she saved the day but they always had to save her butt. Every guy from Serena's school was in love with her, and so were the ones in her school. The school's prize photographer was itching to do stills of her. A painter has immortalized her and the only guy she's liked in a long time appears to have the biggest crush on her.

Everybody knew Rei liked Darien. They'd even been out a few times but he seemed to not even notice she was in a room when Serena was around. Today was even worse than a regular day. Everybody seemed to know more about everything else that was going on with Molly's party than she did. She understood Serena knowing because other than her fellow scouts, Molly was her best friend. Everybody was Serena's friend. Everybody loved Serena. She even felt left out with the scouts. Lita and Mina had this bond. Serena and Lita had this bond. Mina and Serena had this bond. Ami and Serena had this bond. Her bond was with herself. She wrapped her arms around herself and lay in bed crying herself to sleep.