A.N: Thank you for the encouraging comments! I've decided that no matter how bad some comments might be, I'm going to keep writing. I've emailed the author of If You'll Be My Bodyguard, and she has also given me encouragement so there should be no problems anymore. : )

I know some of you are wondering why I'm updating this story faster then Getting to Know You, but it's because I'm finishing up that story right now. I'm trying to make it just right so there'd be no let downs so that's why the last chapter is taking a little longer then expected, but don't worry, it'll be posted up shortly.

Thank you! I hope you enjoy the next chapter!

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Chapter 2: Game Plan

As Darien gaped at the President's disappearing form, he started to panic. What am I going to do? he asked himself, looking at Serena's open door. He'd trained with the CIA's Secret Services before, but he hadn't expected to be working right now, at this very second. What was the correct working attire? What about his luggage and belongings? A million questions entered his mind, but he had to walk into the room before he got fired for leaving Serena unattended.

Darien's eyes grew wide when he entered Serena Bryant's room. It was huge! Almost as big as his entire apartment! The room had a Victorian feel to it, but it was decorated with modern furnishings. He saw pink objects everywhere; pink bedspread, pink couch, pink curtains, pink everything. Right beside the door was a built in bookshelf which displayed some of her childhood trophies, along with her most cherished presents. The first top two shelves were covered with books, but the rest was filled with trinkets and objects to fill in space. Though it looked cluttered, it was actually very organized and clean. To the right of her room was her king sized, fluffy bed. Her bed had four posts, to which a pink, see-through canopy hung above her bed, looking very princess-like. She had a desk with a MAC computer and her stereo system which was softly blaring some kind of music through it. Then there was a door, which Darien figured led into her large bathroom and walk-in closet. The ceiling was amazing. It was black with actual twinkling lights that made it look like stars. As Darien stared upwards, he saw one of the lights shoot across, exactly like how an actual shooting star would. The only thing that didn't seem real was the big chandelier fixture hanging down from the ceiling in the middle of the room. His eyes roamed around her room until it finally fell on her. She was sprawled out on the bed, her legs in the air as she lay on her stomach, reading a book and subconsciously twirling a strand of hair.

Darien just stepped aside and stood near the door, not knowing what else to do. This is what I am supposed to do… isn't it? He thought as he stood still. Be invisible, he told himself

Serena moved her feet around above her, swinging it as she turned the page. She was so used to having someone watch her by now; she sometimes forgot there was someone with her. It had only been almost a year since she lived in this historical White House. As she read on, she giggled at something in the book and flopped over on her back, continuing the reading.

Darien watched her as she raised the book above her face and turned the page again. She didn't seem that bad. He watched as the charm bracelet slowly slid down her wrist a little. Then he made a game out of trying to figure out what her charms actually were; There was a horse shoe, a clover, an 'S', the White House, a teddy bear, a crescent, a pink fairy, a key, and a castle. It took Darien about fifteen minutes to figure all of them out. Within those fifteen minutes, Serena still hadn't noticed his presence. Darien glanced at her alarm clock sitting on her night stand. It blinked 9:30 a.m. The day had just begun.

Serena suddenly shut her book and jumped out of bed. As she did so, she finally noticed Darien. She stood and looked at him with a blank expression for awhile before going into her bathroom and closing the door behind her.

Darien was wondering if he was supposed to follow her. The President told him to follow her into the restroom, didn't he? But that only counted in public, right? He began to panic again, walking towards the bathroom. When he got to the door and reached for the doorknob, Serena opened it, and screamed in surprise.

"Oh, shit!" she yelled afterwards, placing a hand on her beating heart as if to guard it. "You scared me," she said menacingly, walking around him to go grab a brush she had misplaced on her desk.

"I'm sorry," Darien apologized. She had frightened him also. He hadn't expected her to pull open the door so abruptly.

She grabbed the comb and started for her bathroom again. "You don't follow me into the bathroom here. Only in public places," she informed him, disappearing into the bathroom again.

Darien gave an exasperated sigh and took his place next to the entrance door again. I need a damn rule book, he thought angrily.

Inside the bathroom, Serena was getting dressed for the day. Her bathroom looked like it belonged to some Hollywood actress. Her mirror was lined with bright round bulbs. Her make-up covered her sink counter, even though she didn't use much make-up. She had a lounge chair in the middle of her bathroom. Off to the side was a large glass shower, and right next to it was an enormous tub where Serena spent a lot of her time. Her walk-in closet was a long distance away from her shower, and it was huge. She had so many clothes, she often thought about donating it somewhere.

As she clicked on the light and looked around her closet for an outfit, her mind drifted to the new bodyguard. Darien Shields, she thought as she placed a finger on her chin. How long will he last? Surely it wouldn't be a mere five days like the last guy she thought as she smiled sneakily. She was an expert at firing bodyguards now. She had a way of playing it off innocently, like she wasn't the one at fault, but the bodyguard's. She'd manage to slip out of many bodyguards' view, getting them fired purposefully just so she could be without one for a couple of days until a new one would replace the last. She took pride in it. It had become somewhat of a game to her now. As she thought about a plan to get Darien fired, she remembered his gorgeous, sultry dark blue eyes. He was, by far, the youngest bodyguard she's ever had, not to mention the most handsome. He was muscular. It was easy to tell, even with all that layer of clothes he had on. And his hair, she thought as she pictured running her fingers through his thick black locks. Wait a minute… what was she thinking? He was her enemy! She could not be fantasizing about indecent things when she had to come up with a plan to rid of him!

As she frowned about the sudden image that flashed through her head, she put on a pair of Capri jeans, and a vintage Beatles shirt. It was Saturday and she was planning on hanging out with her friends, Mina, Lita, and Raye. This was one of the only days she wasn't booked with some sort of interview, photo shoot, or social Presidential event.

She came back out and sat on her bed as she tied on her black converses, looking at Darien from the corner of her eyes. He was definitely attractive.

As she tied on her shoe, there was a knock on the door beside Darien, and Sam popped his head in. "Morning, Sere," he said cheerfully, waltzing into her room with a grin on his face. He was bummed out this morning. Wearing pajama bottoms with some kind of old t-shirt.

"Morning, Sam," she greeted, smiling back. She loved her little brother and was actually very protective over him.

"Whatcha doin' today?" he asked as he plopped down next to her, making bed bounce. Sam was used to bodyguards also. Andrew Penn had been his bodyguard since day one, and they were actually friends. He got along with his bodyguard well, Serena, he knew, was a different story. Andrew was a very young bodyguard also, having luckily been chosen to intern for the CIA when he was around nineteen. Out of the madness of it all, he was selected by the President to bodyguard his son.

As Darien stood at the door, a blonde headed, blue-eyed male walked in and stood beside him, smiling at Darien with a mischievous grin. "Hey," he said as he stuck out his hand," I'm Andrew Penn, Sam's bodyguard."

Darien smiled back politely and shook Andrew's hand. "Hey. I'm Darien Shields, Serena's bodyguard."

Andrew nodded. "Yes, but how long?" Andrew asked.

"Until the President fires me," Darien shrugged as Andrew nodded again. Darien noticed that Andrew was dressed normally; jeans, a t-shirt and a blazer. "You're allowed to wear regular clothes?" Darien asked

Andrew smiled. "Yes. We try our hardest to 'blend in' and not try to direct attention to them," he said, gesturing a hand towards Serena and Sam who were deep in conversation right now.

Darien nodded. All right! Street clothes it'll be. If I know where all my stuff is.

"Why don't you go change? I'll watch them for awhile," Andrew offered.

Darien shook his head. "No, it's all right. I don't know where my stuff is. The President just hired me on the spot and I don't have any of my things."

"It's in your room. All of it," Andrew began," the President's already chosen you before you came. The whole 'interview' thing is an act to get to know you a little more is all."

Darien frowned, looking a little confused.

"Go ahead. You'll see when you get to your room. All your stuff, including the equipment, is in there, so hurry."

Darien was even more confused after the mention of equipments. "What equipment?"

"Were you trained?" Andrew asked, looking surprised. "You don't come with some form of protection and ear piece."

Darien nodded, pretending to understand now.

"Go, I'll watch them," he reassured.

Darien nodded and headed to his room.

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Darien's room was not as big and luxurious as Serena's was, but it was still amazingly beautiful. It was just like a suite.

His things were, indeed, all there. His luggage and bags were at the foot of his bed, and a plastic black suitcase lay on his bed. Equipment, Darien figured.

Darien quickly grabbed a plain white t-shirt, threw it on and put on a black blazer over it. He pulled on a pair of jeans, and opened up the equipment suitcase.

There was a bullet proof vest, a hand gun, ear piece, and small microphone pin. Darien took off his shirt and put the bullet proof vest on. It was just like wearing a shirt. It wasn't as uncomfortable as he thought it'd be. He put his clothes back on and stuck the ear piece in his ear, and pinned the microphone on his blazer The gun came with a belt holder, so he stuck that to the side of jeans, and covered it with his blazer jacket. Note to self: buy more jackets or blazers, he thought.

He ran back to Serena's room. Andrew was still guarding as he promised. Serena was showing Sam a book now, looking very serious.

"That's better," Andrew nodded as he stepped aside to look Darien up and down. "The bullet proof vest is new. It's nice isn't it? So light weight, almost like it's just another layer of clothes. NASA engineered it," Andrew said, bragging at his knowledge.

"Yeah, it's nice," Darien replied, looking interested. "How does the ear piece and microphone work?"

"Oh," Andrew began to explain," the microphone is on by a simple touch," he showed Darien by pressing on a Flag pin, nicely disguised as the microphone. "Like that. Off and on. If anybody needs to contact you, you'll hear a quick beep, shortly after someone will be talking to you through the ear peice. If that happens, the microphone is automatically turned on. But if you need to contact headquarters, you press and talk. Simple."

Darien's microphone was also a flag. Technology these days, Darien thought, impressed. The ear piece was a nude color so it wouldn't be so obvious.

Sam finally got up and walked towards the door. "Hi," he greeted Darien quickly with a smile and a wave. He turned his head to look to see if Serena was watching. When he noticed she wasn't, he whispered," Best of luck to you," and walked out, Andrew following a few steps behind, smiling also as he vanished out the door.

Serena grabbed a messenger bag and started heading out the door. "All right, big shot," she addressed Darien," let's see how well you can keep up with me today."

Darien didn't say anything back, but just followed after her, keeping a ten pace distance between the two. She swerved around a corner and pressed a button to an elevator. They have elevators in the White House, Darien thought, smiling to himself.

Serena stepped in, and moved to the right side to make space for Darien. She pressed a button and turned to look at him, quirking up an eyebrow.

Darien pretended not to notice as he stared forward at the elevator door. He could see that she was still staring at him from the corner of his eye, so he asked," Do you have a staring problem?"

"How old are you?" Serena asked, as the elevator slowed to a stop.

Darien stepped out first and waited for her to walk ahead. "Old enough," he replied simply.

He can't be any older then twenty-five, she figured as she walked towards the White House's huge nook, joining her family for breakfast.

The nook was, of course, huge. The table was long, practically a dinette table. It could seat twelve people. To the side of the table were large windows that overlooked the back of the White House. The landscaping was absolutely breathtaking.

Darien saw the President seated at the end of the table, his wife to the right of him, and Sam to left of him. Serena walked over to her father and gave him a peck on the cheek, as well as her mother. She took a seat next to Sam.

Andrew was at the other end of the table, slathering butter on his toast, seated comfortably. There were three other people with Andrew, also seated. Darien guessed it was Irene and the President's bodyguards. Darien walked over and joined them for breakfast.

When Darien took a seat, the three unfamiliar faces looked at him, smiling knowingly. Darien didn't like people already thinking he'd fail before he even had a chance to prove himself.

Andrew put down his toast and started introducing everyone. "Darien," he said with a smile," This here is Joe Marsh, the President's bodyguard." Joe grinned and waved as he reached for a cup of orange juice. Joe was tall, and huge. He'd definitely be able to take a bullet. Joe seemed to be around his mid thirties. He had brown hair that seemed to be receding, and dark brown eyes. "This," Andrew continued, pointing his knife at a large man across from him," is Matt Lando, also bodyguard to the President." Matt grinned and rasped "hi" to Darien. He seemed also to be around thirty, almost forty. He had sandy blonde hair and green eyes. Intimidating, Darien thought as he smiled at the two large men. "And this," Andrew pointed to the last person," Is Jessica Biltman, the Fist lady's bodyguard." Jessica smiled sweetly and waved at Darien. She was a tall woman with a masculine build. She had strawberry blonde hair and hazel eyes. She looked to be in her early thirties. Darien also noticed that all the bodyguard's were married, accept for Andrew; he was the only one who didn't wear a ring. "Everybody, this is Darien Shields," Andrew announced," Serena's bodyguard."

"Hi… everyone," Darien said sheepishly.

"Well," Matt scuffled," dig in! You're going to need breakfast if you're gonna be Miss Serena's bodyguard," he said with a booming voice, grinning.

Darien nodded, and reached for a bagel.

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Serena Bryant rides in a limousine. A gorgeous white limousine. I should have expected as much, Darien thought smugly.

Darien sat in the front with the driver to give Serena privacy. When he got into the car, he heard a beep on his ear piece.

"Shields," said a male voice," Where is Liberty headed too?"

Liberty? "I'm sorry," Darien said aloud, not understanding. "Who's Liberty?"

The driver looked over at Darien, raising an eyebrow. Even he knew who Liberty was. "It's Miss Bryant," the driver informed.

Darien nodded a thanks. "Um…Liberty is headed to one of her friend's house," Darien spoke into the microphone.

"We're following suite behind the limousine. White van," the male spoke in his ear again. "If there is any problem, inform us. Over and out."

So he wasn't the only one who was going to watch her. There was going to be a van full of people. Nice, Darien thought as the driver turned a corner.

"You're new, aren't you?" the driver asked. He was around thirty and he had dark hair.

Darien glanced towards him and nodded. "Yeah. I trained for the Secret Services, but only briefly. It wasn't my major field in the CIA so I'm kind of learning as I go," Darien informed.

"Good luck with that. The bodyguards that have been in service for ten years couldn't last two weeks with Miss Bryant."

Darien looked out the window. "So I've heard," he replied dryly.

"I'm Kyle Hanley," he introduced himself to Darien after a moments silence.

Darien nodded," I'm Darien Shields."

When the limousine made a stop in front of an ordinary house, Darien stepped out to open the door for Serena. Before Serena even tried to get out of the car, a pretty girl with dark hair came prancing out of the house. She was dressed in a skirt and tank-top. Darien noticed that her eyes were a unique color of…. Violet. Her hair was long and thick.

"Hey," she said in a sweet voice. He is hot, Raye thought as she approached the car.

Darien just smiled and nodded, holding the door wide open for her. Once she crawled in, he closed the door. The car eventually took off to go pick up the next girl.

"Who was that gorgeous guy?" Raye asked, sitting next to Serena.

Serena rolled her eyes and shook her head. "He's not gorgeous, Raye. His name is Darien Shields, he's my new bodyguard."

"Oh," Raye said with a flirty smile. "I'd let him bodyguard me anytime!"

"Oh God," Serena said with a grin.

As the girls laughed and caught up, the window separating the back from the front came down. Darien poked his head through.

"Excuse me," Darien said politely, looking at Raye and Serena. "Where are we headed too next?"

Serena looked at Darien's flawless face and answered," We're picking up Mina, now."

Darien nodded and pushed the button for the window to roll back up again.

The girls were quiet for awhile until Raye said," Yeah. He is hot. You cannot deny that, Serena! There's no way you could possibly deny that."

"Hot or not," Serena began," He's not going to be around for long."

Raye clucked her tongue. "What a shame too. If I were you, I'd keep that one around just to stare at him."

Serena looked at Raye, shaking her head. "You and guys, Raye! Staring at him is going to do nothing for me. Besides, my dad needs to realize I don't need a babysitter."

"He doesn't look like a babysitter to me," Raye said with a grin. "And besides, he's not a babysitter he's your bodyguard! There are lots of weird people out there, Serena. Whether you want to admit it or not, you need a bodyguard."

Serena pouted at Raye's lecture. "I do not need a bodyguard! I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

"You think that, but you're not. We're under Red Alert, Serena! Anything could happen at anytime. What if someone shot you?"

"Well then I hope they miss," Serena answered slyly.

Raye just shook her head at Serena's answer. Mina's house was not that far away, so they arrived quickly.

Darien, once again, opened the door for the girls. Mina took a little longer to come out, but not long. She also, Darien noticed, was pretty. She had long blonde hair that was half tied up. Her eyes were a pretty blue. She reminded Darien somewhat of Serena. She was dressed in jeans and a spaghetti strap.

"New bodyguard?" Mina asked as she walked towards the car. Darien nodded. "You are cute," she complimented, making Darien smile.

The car took off again, now going to pick up Lita.

"I will kill you if you get rid of him," Mina said seriously, sitting leisurely on her own seat.

"You guys just want me to keep him because you think he's hot," Serena said disapprovingly.

Mina shrugged. "So? What's your point? Serena… seriously. Give up this whole 'getting rid of bodyguards' charade. You know your dad will just keep hiring them. Might as well stop trying now that you landed Agent Dreamy."

Deep down, Serena knew this was true. Her father would just keep hiring new bodyguards. It was inevitable.

"I don't care," Serena said stubbornly," how good looking he is. I have a boyfriend anyways, remember?"

Raye and Mina looked at each other, raising their eyebrows.

"You mean Ethan? The boyfriend who treats you like shit?" Raye retorted.

"He does not!" Serena yelled defensively, crossing her arms.

Mina shook her head. "When are you going to open your eyes and admit it? He's with you because your dad is the President. He's in it for the title, nothing else. He doesn't care about you, Serena! He's cheated on you, and you know it!"

"Shut up!" Serena yelled. This was supposed to be a good day! She hated fighting with her best friends.

Mina and Raye fell silent, not looking at Serena anymore.

The limo came to a stop again. Lita soon climbed in with a smile, but her smile quickly vanished once she saw how heavy the air was inside the limousine.

"What's going on?" she asked, her green eyes full of question. She was also very pretty. She had light brown hair that she always tied up. She wore a brown t-shirt and jeans.

Serena looked at her and smiled. "Nothing. We're here to have fun."

The atmosphere began to change again. Mina and Raye decided to let it go… for now.

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They drove to the mall, where the President had arranged for it to be shut down for the day for his daughter to shop. He was mainly worried about the crowds that would eventually gather around Serena. His daughter was now such a celebrity, it was dangerous for her to be out in public without a lot of security guards everywhere. The only people permitted to be in the mall were her friends, and the workers.

"I can't believe your dad did this," Lita said when they entered the mall that was completely deserted. "It must have been a fortune."

Serena shrugged. "He's getting so paranoid now…."

Darien trialed behind the girls but didn't feel necessary to be too close because the place was completely void of anyone that could be a threat. He was close but far away enough not to hear what they were saying.

They stopped in a Vintage store. Darien stood beside the clerk, keeping an eye out on the girls.

"What's your name?" the girl clerk asked with batting eyelashes.

"Darien," he answered conversationally. He was used to being hit on by girls so it was nothing new to him. He didn't let it get to his head either.

Raye elbowed Serena gently, moving her head so Serena could follow her movement towards Darien. "We've been in here for less then five minutes and the guy's already being proposed too," Raye joked.

Serena laughed as she picked up a shirt. She went to another rack of clothes and watched the worker and Darien talk through the corner of her eye. She saw the petite brunette hit Darien playfully, giggling idiotically at something he'd said. He just smiled and looked at the girls again, making sure everyone was in view. When Serena saw that Darien's eyes stopped on her, she pretended to be very interested in a shirt. She grabbed something random and added it to the pile in her arms, going up to the worker and asking for a fitting room.

The girl obediently rushed Serena to a dressing room. It wasn't everyday that a person would get to meet someone famous.

Darien followed but stopped at the entrance of the fitting room area. Out of all her friends, Darien found Serena the most attractive.

Serena stepped out soon after in a tattered jean mini-skirt, and black tank top with some old logo on it. She walked out to ask all her friends if they liked it. When they all gave an approving nod, she walked back towards him and the dressing room.

When she got to Darien she turned to face him. "What do you think?" she asked, giving a little twirl in front of him.

He was a little surprised she was talking to him, but looked her up and down before answering. She was very beautiful, what with her long hair tied in that… weird way that suited her, in the black tank-top that formed nicely to all her curves, and the mini-skirt that showed off her gorgeous legs. Darien nodded, meeting her bright blue eyes. "It looks good…" he trailed off.

"But…"

"The skirt's too short," he finished, glancing away from her.

Serena thought he was blushing, but dismissed it. When he had looked in her eyes, she felt her knees give a little unexpectedly. "Too short?" she asked, looking down at it. "Don't guys usually like that?" she said with a flirty smile.

Darien shrugged, looking anywhere but at her. "Not all guys," he answered. She was a little too close and it made him nervous. He did not have any problems with being too close to women, but this was a different situation. This was the President's daughter!

Serena frowned and retreated back to her fitting room. Usually guys would have flirted back with her, but he didn't. He wouldn't even look at her. Well of course, dummy! He's working for your dad, he's not going to try anything on you, her conscious told her. She changed into her regular clothes and her and her friends went out the store to go look around some more.

Darien just tagged along, trudging behind them with his hands in his pockets. He was bored. Watching girls shop was little excitement. Darien stifled a yawn as the girls entered another outlet. He went and stood by the cashier again, keeping a lazy eye on all the girls.

Raye, Lita, Mina, and Serena all watched secretively as the cashier started hitting on Darien. It was rather an amusing thing to watch. Girls were attracted to him right away, not that that was a surprise.

"I'm telling you," Mina whispered," You should definitely keep him."

Serena just rolled her eyes and went to go look at a pair of jeans. For a minute, just a minute, she thought about it. Keeping Darien…. You're acting like he's some kind of prize to be won, her conscious scolded. And besides, he's not interested in you. Especially since he could have practically any girl he wanted. Suddenly, the thought popped in her mind. If she could somehow seduce Darien… he'd be automatically fired! Oh, it was just too simple. Getting a guy to kiss her was easy. She had a feeling Darien would be difficult, and that's what she liked.- -A challenge. She now had a game plan.

It was set… now all she had to do was play and win.