Finding your path in life can be a daunting thing; it can leave you raw, exposed, and feeling altogether too inadequate or incompetent- yet we all go through it at one point in our lives. This story is not about that at all. In fact, anyone who knew Serena knew that she was the epitome of put-together, of having it all figured out. At the young age of 26, she had it all: the career, the confidence, the looks, the friends, the family- some might argue that she was lacking in love, but even they will be quick to tell you that it was not for lack of prospects. If you were to ask Serena herself, however, the story would look completely different: she was young, insecure and lonely, hated her job, and most of all- had no idea where she wanted to go in life. To anyone who "knew" Serena, this story couldn't possibly be about path-finding or such gibberish; Serena was definitely not in need of such rubbish…then again, did anyone really know Serena?

Disclaimer: Sailor Moon and its characters are the work of Naoko Takeuchi no copyright infringement is intended by this fanfiction and all credit for the Sailor Moon Universe goes to its original owners. The story, plot, and any original characters are my original work, copyright SAEDS, 2015.

She was your typical, optimistic bundle of sunshine; or at least that's how her friends would describe her. In her early years she was considered as a bit of a ditz and somewhat scatter-brained, but she had worked hard to remove any remnants of that image; all to prove him wrong.

Darien was your typical high-schooler back then: just a tad smart, just a tad handsome, and all-too-eager to tease poor Serena endlessly. She had only known him for a few short weeks before she had to move away, but during that time she made the resolve that she would prove him wrong; she would teach him that she could in fact walk two blocks without falling down and if she tried hard enough, she could at least pass most of her classes. Well, prove him wrong she did: moving away, she managed to re-create herself; she tried harder than anyone and focused on everything that she did, trying her hardest to never leave any room for criticism. Too bad there was no Darien around to rub in all of her accomplishments; it had been twelve years since she moved away, and twelve years since she'd last seen him.

'Then why am I all of a sudden thinking of the jerk?'

With a sigh, Serena cleared her mind of her musings and turned her attention to weaving through the many bodies that rushed through the busy sidewalk, careful to hide her crowd anxiety as well as any clumsiness that might slip out; she had an image to uphold, after all.

Suddenly, she bumped into something- or someone- and quickly picked up the briefcase she had dropped while she started to apologize. "I'm terribly sorry, this crowd-"

"Why don't you learn to walk and breathe at the same time instead of daydreaming? You'll get trampled by these zombies."

She looked up to place a face to that irritatingly deep, familiar voice, but only looked up with enough time to see a tall, lean back walking away and quickly disappearing in the crowd.

'That seemed oddly familiar…' she thought, but brushed it off, knowing that it was unlikely that she would run into that person again, yet feeling for all her life as if she desperately wanted to.

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A/N: Hi all! It has been a good long while since I sat down and tried to write a story, but something keeps bugging me to get back to writing. This is only my second story, so please be kind, but I welcome positive feedback as well as constructive criticism; anything to help my writing improve.

I really hope that you enjoy, and I will try my best to post regularly. This is an AU fic, but I tried to draw most of my inspiration from the manga. Read and enjoy.

I LOVE reviews, they are what keep me going and push me to write more!