A Rainy Day Afternoon

Part 2

[All standard disclaimers apply.]



Luna pushed her head through the crack in Serena's door, using a back paw to close. "Serena," the cat called. "I was wanting to talk . . ."

Serena was sitting on her bed, nibbling on a cookie with a dreamy look in her eyes. Luna padded closer to the bed, but Serena never acknowledged her presence, her eyes still in a trance. Sniffing, Luna noticed a plate of cookies beside the girl.

"Serena!" the cat cried annoyed. Frustrated, Luna gave the girl a small bite on the arm.

"Ow!" the girl cried, rubbing her arm. "Luna, what was that for?!"

"I was wanting to talk to you about some Scout business!" Luna retorted, jumping off the bed.

"Oh, my gosh! I've gotta run, Luna! I want to be early for school," Serena said breathlessly, rushing to grab her coat and other essentials. "Can we talk about it some other time?

"Early for school?! Luna exclaimed.

Serena gave the cat an evil look before resuming her rushing. Luna sighed, watching the familiar display with a mixture of amusement and annoyance. "Why the rush?" She ate a chunk of cookie that Serena had allowed to drop on the floor. "These cookies are great! Is it Lita's new recipe?"

Serena halted in her tracks before rushing to bed. She snatched the plate of cookies and protectively recovered the plate with some plastic wrap.

"Greedy cat! These cookies are for me!" the girl cried vehemently. With an air of injured dignity, Serena placed the cookies of a top shelf of a relatively empty bookcase. Then, without looking at Luna, Serena picked up her coat and her bag and left the room.

Luna stared at the door in bewilderment. "What's so special about those cookies anyway?" she mumbled aloud. She made a mental note to ask Lita.

* * * * *

Serena strolled down the sidewalk, enjoying the afternoon sunshine. Since she had arrived early at school, surprising Miss Haruna and her classmates, she had left school at the usual time. She was now going to her few hours of free time at the arcade.

'Maybe I'll see Darien,' she thought happily, a slight blush creeping across her cheeks.

Last night in her dreams she had relived their kiss over and over in her mind. For the first time in a while, she had woken up, feeling like she could handle all her responsibilities.

Serena quickly found herself outside the entrance of the arcade. She walked through the automatic doors, shivering as the cooler air of the building hit her face. She headed directly over to the counter.

"Hey, Andrew."

The blonde arcade employee turned from his wiping and smiled at Serena. "Hey, Serena. Wow, you're not usually here before four o'clock," Andrew commented.

Serena smiled. "Well, I didn't have detention for once. I actually got to school early. I've had a great day."

"Well, you look happier than I have seen you in a while, Serena," Andrew said. "And such a good day deserves some celebration. How about a milkshake on me?"

Serena hesitated for a moment.

"Come on, Serena. My treat," Andrew continued.

"Okay, a chocolate one."

"Double chocolate," Andrew said, as Serena giggled.

* * * * *

"Come on. Come on," Serena chanted, desperate to maneuver Sailor V to the end of the level. Her good day was really paying off. She had never made to this level in the game before. "Just a little bit more," she coaxed.

"Hey, Meatball Head!"

"No!!" Serena wailed, as Sailor V bit the dust. She spun to face the interrupter. "Darien, you just made me lose the game, again!"

"Lower the decibels," Darien retorted, leaning casually against a counter. "Besides, I was probably doing you a favor. You'll go blind playing those video games."

Serena saw several shades of red, as she noticed the smirking grin on Darien's face. 'I was an idiot to believe he could change!' she thought, feeling her good day slipping away.

"I didn't ask for your help, not now and definitely not yesterday!" she yelled, her fists balled.

"Well, I can't stand to see someone drowning in the rain. And you were looked like a drowned rat yesterday, Meatball Head."

"A rat!!" she gasped, unconsciously narrowing the distance between them. "Next time leave me in the rain where you found me. I prefer the sidewalk to your apartment any day!"

Andrew walked to the yelling pair, standing on the other side of the counter, behind Darien. "Wow, Serena, you went to Darien's apartment yesterday?"

"It's not what you think, Andrew!" two voices cried simultaneously, neither looking away.

"Gee, I can take a hint," Andrew replied meekly but not without noticing the blushes on both Serena's and Darien's faces. 'What's up with these two now?' he wondered. Shrugging, he resumed his cleaning.

"Anyway, did you like the cookies?" Darien asked with an exaggerated casualness.

Serena was speechless for a moment, amazed at the complete 180 that Darien had just made. 'He's being nice to me now. I don't get him!' "Yes," she said quietly, not trusting herself to look at him. "They are delicious."

Darien's heart did flip-flops in his chest. 'She liked them!' "I'm glad," he replied with almost icy calmness.

Glancing at her watch without seeing the numbers, Serena stood up. "Gotta go," she mumbled. Without a further look, she turned to go.

"Serena, wait! Let me walk you home," Darien offered before he could get control of himself. 'Face it, man,' a voice said. 'You'd do anything to be with her.' He stubbornly brushed the thought aside.

Serena stared at him a moment with a look of pained confusion in her eyes. "That's okay," she said quietly. "I'd prefer to be alone." Without a further look or comment, she left the arcade.

Darien stood motionlessly, staring at the entrance and the quickly receding form. Andrew, noticing his friend's odd behavior, returned to the counter. Darien continued staring at the door.

"Hey, Darien, something wrong?" Andrew asked, still wiping a glass.

Turning around, Darien resumed his usual arrogant persona. "Nah, Andrew. You?"

"I'm great," Andrew replied, eying Darien suspiciously. "Want to talk about what happened yesterday afternoon in your apartment?"

Darien rolled his eyes and sat down on a stool. "Look, nothing happened yesterday. Period. Serena got caught in the rain and I took her to my place to dry off. Then I took her home. End of story."

"Okay. Can't blame a guy for being curious, though, Darien. It's not every day that a beautiful girl yells about being in your apartment in a public place."

Darien gave a bitter smile, noticing a few stares in his direction. "Yeah, not every day that a beautiful girl wishes that you would fall off the earth," he muttered.

"Repeat that."

"Never mind, Andrew," Darien said, shrugging. "I'd better go. I think I'll take a walk before heading home. See you later, okay?"

"Sure, man. No problem."

Darien stood up and headed toward the entrance of the arcade.

"Hey, Darien!"

Darien slowly turned around. "Yeah?"

"That little exchange earlier will be kept a secret," Andrew said with an evil grin.

Darien glared before walking off. As the automatic doors swished closed behind him, Andrew let out a whistle. More was going on between Darien and Serena than anyone knew about. Andrew was certain.