A/N: Thanks for all the follows, favorites, and reviews so far! I'm not sure how long this story will be, but I'm excited to keep writing. Unfortunately I have a lot going on in real life so please be patient with me and I'll try to post when I can. Enjoy the next chapter!

A few weeks passed and every day was about the same. Darien would try to avoid Serena outside of class as much as possible and his friends made a point to make a joke about it at least once a day. Today was a different day and Darien wasn't in the mood to face anyone, but he forced himself to go to school anyway. In the cafeteria during lunch hour he was in a daze picking at his food hardly paying attention to what was going on around him. He couldn't get the dream from the night before out of his mind.


He was a little boy in the bed completely covered by race car bed sheets. "Darien," a woman's voice said sweetly as she tapped him on the shoulder. "Darien, honey it's time to get up."

"I don't wanna," young Darien said as he covered his head with a pillow.

The woman gently uncovered him. "I know it's an adjustment, but you have to get ready for school."

Darien sat up and crossed his arms. "But I don't wanna go to school. Can't I just stay home with you?"

She sighed as she cupped his tiny face with one of her hands. When he looked up at her it was almost like looking into a mirror because she had the same black hair and the same face including the cobalt eyes that were so unique to him. She was very beautiful and when he looked into her eyes he saw the same love and warmth she was caressing his face with. "I wish it were that easy, but you have to go. Don't you wanna learn to read and write and make friends so you can grow up nice and smart?"

"Like me?" a man said as he came into the bedroom trying to fix his tie. He was tall and had a similar build to Darien only he had brown hair and hazel eyes. "Why isn't my little man out of bed yet?"

The woman smiled and stood to greet the man with a kiss before proceeding to fix his tie. "Your little man would rather stay home with me instead of going to school."

After the woman finished with his tie, the man turned to face Darien with a stern look on his face. Darien was afraid he was in trouble, but his fears quickly diminished as the man lifted him up and made them bounce on the bed together. He laughed as the couple smiled at him. "You don't wanna stay home with your mother all day," the man said.

"Why not?"

"If boys like you stay home all day, then you'll just be a bump on the log." He ruffled Darien's hair. "You don't want that, do you?"

"No," Darien drew out. "I wanna grow up to be smart like you."

"And you will if you go to school instead of being a bump on a log. Besides if you stay home all day you'll get bored because your mother has work to do here too. Who will you play with? Who will make your food? It'll be a disaster."

"Ok, ok. I'll go to school."

"That's my boy! You ready to get dressed now, Darien? Darien? Darien?"


"Darien? Earth to Darien?" Chad said as he waved a hand in his face. "Is anyone home?"

"Huh? What did you say?"

"You would know if you didn't keep spacing out," Rae said with a huff.

"What's your problem?" Mina asked. "You haven't been listening to us all day."

"If you take a walk with me, I can make you listen," Beryl suggested.

Darien rolled his eyes and walked outside to the courtyard. He took a seat on the stone bench and it wasn't long before he felt someone else's presence with him. "Leave me alone," he said agitatedly as Andrew took a seat beside him.

"We're worried about you, man. I just wanna make sure you're all right."

"Does it look like I'm all right?" Darien asked as he turned away from him. He appreciated what his friend was trying to do for him, but he really wanted to be alone at the moment. "I just want the day to end."

"I understand…"

"No you don't! You can't possibly understand anything!" He saw the hurt look Andrew had on his face and sighed. "Sorry Drew, I just… I just need some time to myself, ok?"

Andrew knew how hard this day was for Darien and should have been used to his irritability by now and he hated that he wouldn't let him help. "Is there anything I can do for you?" Darien just remained silent. "Well, if you need me you know where to find me." He waited a moment longer before he sighed and left Darien to himself.

One more class Darien thought. As long as Meatball Head doesn't bother me I'll be fine. After a while the bell rang and Darien walked quietly to his Sociology class. He eventually felt Serena's presence beside him, but ignored her as he stared at his desk.

"Hi Darien," she said cheerfully as usual. "How are you today?"

"Fine," he said quietly without looking at her. He felt her eyes on him and looked up at her. "What are you staring at?"

"You aren't yourself today," she said with concern. "Is everything ok?"

Darien looked at her for a moment. Sometimes it was uncanny how perceptive she was, but he certainly didn't feel like telling her his life story. "Is being nosy one of the Ten Commandments or something? I said I'm fine." Serena just frowned and sighed as she took out her books.

"Good afternoon class," Mr. Peterson said after the bell rang. "We have a lot to cover in a little time. Today we're talking about families. I found a recent article comparing the outcomes of children from biological families and children from adopted families. Before I read it, I want to hear your thoughts. How do you think family relationships impact sociological outcomes?" Darien rolled his eyes and tried to zone out of the discussion, but it wasn't working.

"What about the kids who get abandoned or the kids who don't ever get adopted?" a student eventually asked.

"They're screwed," a class clown said causing most of the class to laugh.

"That's not true," Serena said defensively. "Everyone has an equal chance to live a good life despite the circumstances surrounding them. You can't make generalizations based on statistics." If Darien didn't know better he would have thought she had personal experience. But then again she did say she spent time with orphans in South America this summer.

Either way Darien couldn't take anymore and needed to get out of there fast. He raised his hand and waited to be acknowledged. "Can I go to the restroom?" he asked.

Mr. Peterson nodded and continued the discussion as Darien rushed to the nearest restroom. He took a seat in a stall and took deep breaths while squeezing his eyes shut. He felt a headache coming on and started rubbing his temples to numb the pain and to block out the various flashbacks entering his mind.

Eight year old Darien was sitting in a hospital bed drawing a picture, but he could clearly hear his doctor talking to one of the nurses outside of his room. He knew he was talking about him from the way he was trying to whisper. "He's screwed," the doctor was saying. "I've never seen such a case in all my life. It'll be a miracle if he ever remembers anything, but I highly doubt it." He sighed. "That boy is going to be a piece of work."


Ten year old Darien ran into his room after a case worker finished her visit. He heard footsteps passing his room and the voices of his current foster parents. "I'm glad that's over," the woman said. "I'm sick of her breathing down our necks."

"I told you we shouldn't have taken him in," the man replied. "He's more trouble than he's worth."

"Well the lady said they finally have another placement source, but they'll probably throw him out too. He's a nightmare and I can't believe they won't give us extra money because of all the mental distress we've been under."

"Give it time and he'll be out of our hair for good."


One Christmas Darien was surrounded by older "brothers" in the group home who were known to bully him. "Give it back," Darien was saying to the kid who took his toy truck. He kept reaching for it, but the other boy was much taller and kept pulling it farther and farther from his reach. When Darien tried to jump to reach it he missed and fell on the ground. The other boys just laughed at him.

"You already got a truck like this for Christmas last year, remember?" the boy said. "Oh that's right, you have amnesia and can't remember anything." The boys continued to laugh at him as they ran off. "Freak."


Darien shook his head and focused on clearing his mind. He continued taking deep breaths to prevent himself from hyperventilating and after a few minutes he finally felt relaxed. He came out of the stall and sighed as he took a good look at himself in the mirror. His face was flushed and he looked as exhausted as he felt. He could have gone to the nurse's office and came up with an excuse to leave early, but then he would have to explain to the apartment supervisor why he was home early and risk an emergency session with another psychologist. There was only an hour left anyway so Darien willed himself to stick it out. He took a deep breath and finally headed back to class.


Serena was doing her best to pay attention to what was going on in class, but she couldn't concentrate because she was worried about Darien. She saw the way his body tensed when Mr. Peterson started the class discussion and he still hadn't returned from the restroom yet. She breathed a sigh of relief when Darien finally came back, but she immediately noticed that something was off. He looked worse than before and seemed defeated as he sat staring blankly at his desk. After an hour more of lecturing the final bell rang. Serena gathered her things as other students exited the classroom and noticed that Darien was still seated. "Darien," she said gently touching his arm. He jumped a bit before looking at her. "Didn't you hear the bell? School's over."

"Oh," Darien said quietly as he started to gather his things. "What's for homework? I missed it."

"We have to read the next chapter and then turn in a progress report about our project by the end of the week. Mr. Peterson wants us narrow down ideas for the creative piece."

"Oh ok. You can go ahead and pick what we do, Serena. I don't really care."

"Well we have until the end of the week to decide and I want your input too."

"I'll think about it," he said absently as he zipped his backpack.

Serena watched sadly as Darien stood up and left the classroom. She sighed and prayed silently. Lord, give me the words. She hurried to catch up with him. "Darien wait," she said as she grabbed his arm. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he said quickly. "I told you I'm fine."

"No you're not. It's written all over your face. Do you wanna talk about it?"

She waited for an answer until he finally shook his head. "Not really."

Serena frowned. She heard the sadness in his voice and it was enough to break her heart. She remembered the first day of class when he said he didn't have a family and realized that was probably the problem. "Well why don't you take a walk with me to clear your head for a bit?" she finally suggested. "I know a perfect thinking spot I can take you to. The fresh air and a change of scenery might help."

Darien struggled for an answer. The last thing he wanted to do was take a walk with Serena because she would probably end up talking his ear off and spew Bible verses at him. He was about to decline until he looked into her eyes and saw genuine concern. Suddenly taking a walk to clear his head sounded appealing and something in his heart told him it would be worth it. He finally nodded. "Ok."

"Good. I just need to let my brother know what I'm doing." One of the things that irked Darien about Serena was her ability to be so nice that it was annoying. He and his friends would pinpoint it and make fun of her for being "little miss perfect," but right now her kindness seemed to be the very thing he needed most. "He's walking home with a friend," Serena said stealing him from his thoughts. "Do you need anything from your locker?" Darien shook his head no. "Then I guess we can get going."

Darien nodded and walked out of the school with her. He appreciated she wasn't chattering aimlessly as he expected her to while they walked together. It gave him time to sort through everything that was running through his mind. After a while he realized Serena stopped walking and they were now standing in a rose garden. "Where are we?"

"We're in an alcove near the park," Serena said as she took a seat on a bench. "I found it on accident one day. Isn't it beautiful?" She motioned for him to sit beside her.

"It is," Darien replied as he sat next to her.

"I've kind of made this my unofficial prayer garden since no one else really comes here," Serena explained. "I invite people here so I can pray with them or sometimes I come here by myself to have some quiet time. It helps me relax and I hope it helps you. Is it ok if I pray for you before I leave?" Darien shrugged. If it prevented him from talking to her and made her go away then he was all for it. Serena bowed her head and closed her eyes after placing a hand on his back and he awkwardly bowed his head too.

"Dear God," she started to pray. "Thank you for such a beautiful day and thank you for Darien. Please take care of him for me. He seems to be having a hard time today and even though I don't know exactly what's bothering him I know that you know all of his needs. Please let him know that you are there for him and bring comfort and peace for whatever hurt or pain he's feeling. Cover him with extra love right now. Amen." Serena looked up and found Darien holding his head in his hands. She gently hugged him and patted his leg reassuringly. "Call me if you need someone to talk to," she said softly. She started to get up until she felt something wet fall on her hand. She heard a soft whimpering noise and realized he was crying. "Darien, it's ok." She started rubbing his back soothingly as he continued to cry. She didn't know what else to do so she just held him and continued her rubbing motions as she prayed silently for him.

It had been many years since Darien actually let himself cry. He spent so many years trying to be strong and worked hard to keep his emotions under control for the sake of never appearing weak. No one else seemed to care about him and he tried to act like he didn't care either, but deep down he couldn't deny the truth. Serena's prayer overwhelmed him and seemed to break down every wall he tried to build up inside. It had been a very long time since anyone showed him any compassion and having her there just holding him showing him the love he was lacking made him emotional as he let out all the stresses and hurts he bottled over the years. He finally wiped his eyes and looked up at her when he finished crying. "Why are you being so nice to me?" he asked.

"Everyone deserves love," Serena said gently.

"But I don't deserve it. There has to be a catch." He scoffed. "Is this your good deed of the day to get another notch in your Christian belt?"

"No," Serena said seriously. "I mean my faith is a part of it, but I really do care about you and I want to be a friend. I really do."

Darien thought about it. Even though the last place he wanted to be was with her, he had to give Serena credit for not giving up on him. If she didn't care then she wouldn't be wasting her time with him. "I guess I can accept that," he finally said. "Today just sucks."

"The family discussion in class probably didn't help, did it?"

"Not at all," he replied with a sigh. "My parents and I were involved in a car accident 9 years ago today. I was the only survivor."

Serena put two and two together as she took in the new piece of information and a solemn look graced her face. "Oh Darien," she said quietly.

"That's not even the worst part. I have permanent amnesia because of all the head injuries I sustained. I can't remember anything before the accident and I also have memory lapses from time to time."

"So you don't even remember your parents?" Serena asked sadly.

Darien shook his head no. "Sometimes I think I have lost memories that appear in my dreams, but there's no telling if they're real memories or something I imagined and I'll never know. All I have to go on is an old picture of the three of us together that was found in my hands on the day of the accident. No one could identify any relatives I could live with so after I recovered from my physical injuries, I bounced from home to home in foster care until I was finally sent to a group home when I was 12. No one wanted to adopt me and the only reason anyone ever took me in was to get the stipend money. I didn't do well in the group home either so I requested emancipation and moved out into transitional housing when I turned 16."

He paused for a moment. "Sometimes I wonder if the crash was my fault and if all the hell I've been through was payback for causing my parents' death. Sometimes I wonder why I just didn't die too. Most days I'm just lost trying to survive day by day." He sighed again. He didn't intend to tell her that much, but once he started he couldn't stop.

"You shouldn't ever think like that, Darien," Serena said after a while. "It's not your fault…"

"I know it's not my fault," he interrupted. "Do you know how many therapists and counselors and doctors have told me that already? I'm not in the mood to hear another lecture from you or to hear you tell me it was part of God's plan."

"I know that," Serena said calmly. "I do believe that God has a purpose for everything, but all I wanted to say is that you shouldn't carry that burden on your shoulders like that. Believe me, I understand."

"No you don't. Look, I know you're trying to help, but the worst thing you could do is say that you understand and pretend you know how I feel."

Serena sighed. "I do understand because my birth parents are dead too." Darien looked up at her seriously. "I was told three years ago when I was working on a big family tree project. The parents I live with are actually my aunt and uncle. The short version of the story is that I was conceived after a one night stand. Apparently she suffered from post partum depression really badly and got addicted to her medication so she left me with my aunt and uncle under the impression that it was going to be a temporary arrangement. She was supposed to get treatment for her drug addiction and make things right with my alleged father, but she never came back. They didn't hear from her until they got the word that she died from a drug overdose right before Sammy was born when I turned 3. That was when they officially adopted me."

"Wow," Darien said. "I never would have guessed."

Serena nodded sadly. "I remember the day they told me and all the emotions that came with it. I'm so grateful to have a family who loves me, but there are still times when I still feel rejected, sad, angry, confused, and a mix of other things I can't always put into words. Knowing that my mother basically abandoned me, knowing that my parents adopted me because it seemed like they had to, survivor's guilt… all of it made me so upset that it nearly destroyed me. I had some time to make my peace with it and I still have the love and support from my family and friends, but sometimes in the back of my mind I wonder. I wonder if my mother ever loved me. Even though they tell me otherwise, I wonder if my parents regret being forced to take me in. It's a constant struggle and it's hard for anyone else to really understand. I can't say I know exactly what you're going through, but I can relate."

Darien still couldn't believe what he was hearing. He thought she had the perfect life, but it turned out things weren't all they appeared. She completely understood him and hit the nail on the head with all the feelings he had throughout his life. "I'm sorry," he added awkwardly.

"Don't be," Serena said with a sad smile. "I mean I hate that it had to happen that way, but my point is to let you know that I do understand your pain and even though it's difficult there is hope. The past has left a lot of scars that can't be changed, but in the end you can be a much stronger person as long as you don't allow yourself to be defined by the hurts. You have a purpose in this life and I can see what a strong person you are. I definitely have a new respect for you, Darien."

Darien thought about what she just said. He had never heard anyone say anything like that to him before. Everyone else would dismiss his story trying to sweep it away telling him to get over it or would pity him as though he were completely hopeless, but Serena was kind and compassionate enough to show him how he could use his pain as a strength instead of a weakness. She was the only one he knew of who could identify with him and if she could have hope then maybe he could too. "You really believe all that?"

"Yes," she said without hesitation.

"Even after all the crap I've put you through?"

"It's not always easy, but I choose to believe the best about you anyway. We're all a work in progress and there's always room to grow."

Darien shook his head. He was still having a hard time believing that the one person he judged the most was the least judgmental of all and had the most in common with him. For now it was enough for him. "Thank you, Serena," he finally said.

Serena smiled at him. "I'm gonna get going and let you have some time to yourself. Are you gonna be ok?"

"I will be," he said honestly. "Really… thanks for everything."

She gave him another hug. "If you get lonely and need someone to talk to feel free to call me, ok?" Darien nodded. Serena stood up and waved at him before heading out of the rose garden. She sighed and said another prayer for him as she walked home. She didn't tell many people her adoption story because she didn't want to give anyone another reason to make fun of her, but she was glad she shared it with Darien. Something seemed to be changing in him and she hoped her influence gave him enough strength to move forward.

A/N: Hope you liked it. Stay tuned for chapter 4 and beyond.