Chapter One
Trouble
Disclaimer: Standard Disclaimer applies. (In other words I have no rights to SM or the SS in any way, shape, or form.)
Warning: Profane language, violence, sexual content and blood, gore, vampires, werewolves and all the good stuff. M-rated.
Double Warning: Bad writing involved.
Serena stood on her balcony staring over the walls surrounding the crystal palace, at the snow covered houses and buildings of New Tokyo. The breeze swept at her, whipping her robe around her legs and arms, seemingly intent at making sure she understood how cold it was. But she didn't care. The cold helped her feel numb.
A pressure had settled over her shoulders since she had returned to New Tokyo and she was beginning to feel more and more restless. Her thoughts kept straying to the fact that she should leave again, before someone got killed because of her. Her restlessness had kept her awake the night before, even reading her most boring mangas didn't seem to help.
She had the feeling that another episode was coming. She would be put in danger again, she knew, but she wouldn't let any of her friends be involved. She didn't think she could live with herself if someone got killed this time. As it was, she couldn't help but feel that she had lost Darien.
She knew she couldn't be with him, with everything that had happened recently, and was most likely going to happen, hanging over her head. She couldn't involve anyone else in her problems with the monsters, if she did she would be selfish, and she knew it.
She pushed herself away from the balcony and strode back into her room, frustrated. What had running away gotten her, she wondered with a frown. She had ended up returning to save everyone, and instead of saving the people she had wanted to, she had dragged them into her war. What a grateful friend she was. She plopped onto her bed and stared at the window, wishing that she had never become involved in the mess.
Someone tapped on Serena's bedroom door, and she found herself saying, "Come in," before she could stop herself. The door creaked open and Andrew's head appeared around the edge. He looked quickly around room, as if worried, before he spotted Serena and entered the room, closing the door behind him.
"What's going on?" He asked. "The girls told me that you haven't been out of your room for almost three weeks."
"Nothing." Serena growled, pointedly looking toward the window without seeing it. It was true that no one had seen her since Darien had come home from the hospital. She had literally locked herself into her room, only going out when she knew the others were asleep or out. Serena should have realized that the girls would have told Andrew about her hiding when, after their various attempts to talk to her, had failed.
She stared at him for a moment, studying him with open curiosity. He had been a source of her very first crush, until she kept running into Darien, and then found out that Darien was Tuxedo Mask. He still looked good, with short wavy dirty-blond hair, piercing light blue eyes, and a white toothy smile. He was tall, and had been lanky, until he had changed, then he filled out. His face didn't hold the casual smile that she had crushed out on. At the moment, he wore a concerned expression.
"Something is bothering you, Serena," Andrew said, his voice sounding patient, "do you wanna talk about it?" Serena shook her head at him.
"No."
"Serena, don't play games. You can't stay locked up in here. Life goes on." Andrew stated sounding a little more flustered. "Darien isn't hurt or anything-."
"That isn't bothering me." Serena snapped, launching to her feet, her hands clenching into fists at her sides. "It has nothing to do with that."
"And he's already started talking to everyone again." Andrew finished as if Serena hadn't spoken. Serena shook her head.
"You don't get it, do you?" Serena snapped, her voice climbing in pitch as she spoke. "I don't care! I don't care at all! There is nothing bothering me! GET OUT!!" The final two words were a shriek. Andrew's eyes grew wide as she spoke. He opened his mouth like he was going to say something, then turned and fled.
Serena felt a cold twinge of satisfaction, which was immediately replaced with a strong sense of guilt and a cold wave of loneliness. Tears stung her eyes as she stared at the closed door.
Darien leaned lazily against the wall, listening to Andrew talk to Serena through the door. She started yelling and, a moment afterwards, Andrew erupted from the room looking half frightened. Darien sighed. "I told you it wouldn't work." He told his long time friend.
Andrew shook his head, "you two are the worst people to talk to when you are down on yourselves. I remember when I could just walk up to Serena pat her head and get a smile out of her."
"That was a long time ago." Darien sighed. "I think all of us have changed since then." He froze as sounds of muffled crying drifted through the closed door. "She's crying." He stated, hearing his own voice echo the depression he sensed seeping through the door. He shook his head, trying to rid himself of the emotion. "She just needs to be alone."
"Darien… I don't think that that is a good idea. I think she feels guilty. She might think what happened to you was, and is, her fault." Andrew said shakily, glancing at the door behind him. Darien felt a brief flare of jealousy, seeing the concern flick across his friend's face, but quickly dismissed it. He shoved off of the wall, and started walking toward his room without waiting for Andrew.
"I think that, for a while, its best if we leave her alone." Darien growled. He felt Andrew's slight jump of surprise at his comment.
"You're not worried that she's gonna take off again?" Andrew asked. Darien stopped, letting Andrew bump into him.
"I'm always worried about that." Darien said quietly.
"We can't watch her, Darien." Andrew stated bluntly. "The full-moon is in two days."
"You don't think I know that?" Darien growled, suddenly angry. "I can feel it, Andrew, just like you can."
Andrew flinched, but didn't back off. Darien sighed, hanging his head, trying to fight the flare of fury. "Sorry." He mumbled. Andrew nodded.
"We can ask the vamp-." Andrew started.
"No." Darien snapped, gritting his teeth. "I don't want them anywhere near her. Besides, I don't want her to feel trapped."
"I don't think you are being too smart where Serena is concerned." Andrew stated, as they resumed their walk toward Darien's room.
"I don't think you know her as well as you used to." Darien replied.
The moment they reached his room, Darien's phone began to ring. He strolled to the nightstand where the phone sat, almost hoping that the phone would stop ringing by the time he got to it, but no luck. "Yes?" he asked, barely able to keep the growl out of his tone.
"I need to talk to Andrew, Darien. Quickly!" A panicked woman's voice stated through the receiver. Darien, his curiosity peaked, silently handed the phone to Andrew. As soon as the woman on the phone, who, Darien suspected, was Rita, was sure that she was talking to Andrew, she launched into a fearful cluster of words that neither Darien, who could hear her as plain as if he was holding the phone himself, nor Andrew understood. The only things that they were able to get out of the whole anxious garble of words were "hunter" and "kill."
"Ok, Rita. Come on, sweetheart. Calm down. Take a breath, ok?" Andrew spoke reassuringly into the phone, looking even more worried than he had looked when they had been talking about Serena.
"The hunter. The one everyone was telling us about…. HE'S HERE." Rita panicked again, launching into a barely understood story about how she found out. Finally, Andrew managed to calm Rita down before hanging up the phone. He turned to Darien with a pale face.
"We have trouble." He stated with a shaky breath.
AN: Please read and review. Leave comments, questions, thoughts, ideas, etc if you wish. I will not respond to flamers. All I ask, if you do have something to say against my writing, is that you word it politely.
