Tear Pearls

By LadyPrin

Disclaimer Applies.

On the other two chapters previously, I forgot to thank all those who reviewed. Thanks to Katblue (Darien will come in at the very end of the next chapter, Tuxedo Mask on the other hand will enter sometime earlier in the next chapter), Richforce, DivaMercury, Markus777, & KagomeFire (I went back and unbolded the other two chapters. It's strange really, when I did my other stories and poems, it always stripped my story down to regular Ariel automatically whether I wanted it to or not, no matter what format I had it in to begin with. I'll have to be more careful.)!

Chapter Three (Learning About Him)

When Rei and Serena entered the Crown Arcade, it was quite crowded.

They stood quietly beside the door, as Rei looked around for someone.

"I have about three other friends, and we normally meet each other here, but it looks like they haven't arrived yet." Rei explained. "We normally sit in one of those booths, but since they're not here yet, let's sit by the counter."

Rei led Serena over to the stools that were placed by the counter, out of which only four out of the ten were occupied.

Serena watched as Rei agilely hopped onto the stool. She tried to imitate her, but nearly fell off. Rei had to reach over and pull her back onto the stool, and hold her there until she became steady.

Serena thanked her and held tightly onto the edge of the counter for support as she looked around the place.

She saw the many teenagers standing at the game machines, some were yelling in triumph of winning them, some were moaning in defeat at loosing to them. Serena was curious as to what those machines did, but she had just gotten onto the stool and she wasn't about to have to struggle to get back onto it again any time soon.

So she sat there and looked back to the counter.

A young man with short blond hair behind the counter walked by them, holding two almost overflowing drinks in his hands, and headed for the farthest end of the counter.

He did mutter to them as he passed by that he'd be with them in a moment.

Rei pointed up to the hanging menus on the wall across from the counter.

"See anything you like?" Rei asked her. "Be assured, whatever you pick will be food."

Serena smiled, and read the three menus signs.

She read the words, but they're meanings didn't make much sense.

"What's a chocolate milkshake?" Serena asked questioningly.

Rei giggled softly.

"It's a sweet treat that you drink." She answered with a smile. "Would you like one?"

Serena nodded enthusiastically.

"Okay ladies, what may I get you today?" The young man asked cheerfully as he came to stand in front of them, wiping his hands on his white apron.

Rei ordered two chocolate milkshakes, and two double cheese hamburgers.

"Coming right up." The man replied, and went through a door behind the counter to fix them.

"So, Serena, do you mind if I ask you a few questions?" Rei asked quietly.

She was very careful to keep her voice low so the other customers wouldn't hear them.

"Sure! Go ahead!" Serena replied just as quietly.

"How long do you have, as a human?" Was her first question.

"Three weeks." Serena replied. "I may decide to add three more weeks onto it, depending on how things go here."

"You can do that? Extend your time limit?" Rei asked.

"Yes." Serena answered.

"What made you decide to come here?" Rei asked, placing her elbow on the counter and leaning her chin into her hand.

Serena hesitated on answering that one. She wasn't sure if blurting out 'I'm in love with a human man named Darien' was the right thing to say or not.

"I'm looking for someone." Serena answered instead.

Rei grinned widely and was about to ask another question when the man in the apron came back to them with their food and drinks.

"Here you go!" He said cheerfully, as he carefully sat the plates and glasses down.

"Andrew?" She called.

He was walking away, but he turned and came back when he heard Rei call his name.

"Yes?" He asked politely.

"Have you seen Darien recently?" Rei asked worriedly.

Serena looked up from her food and listened hard when she heard the name.

Andrew looked down at the countertop, frowning slightly at it, and rubbed his hands on his apron.

"Well, no. I haven't." He replied. "And he's still not answering my calls."

"Okay, thanks." Rei said with a low note to her tone.

Andrew nodded and walked away.

"Darien?" Serena asked with polite interest, though she was burning inside to know if this was the Darien she was looking for.

"Darien Chiba." Rei explained as she stuck a straw into her milkshake and bent it. "He's eighteen, with looks to kill. Don't tell my grandfather this because he would freak if he knew, but Darien and I used to date a couple years back."

"Oh." Serena muttered, imitating Rei with her own straw.

"But a couple years ago, he dumped me." Rei continued. "Politely and gentlemanly, but still he dumped me for another girl. I had known for a while that our relationship wasn't working out, and I knew getting dumped was inevitable. Quite frankly, I wouldn't really care, so long as the girl he left me for was someone nice, someone who was worthy of him. But no, he had to go and get attracted to the worst possible creature on the planet Earth."

Rei had gotten a little angry over her commentary, and was scowling at her hamburger as she picked it up. Serena could have sworn that heat was emanating from her in little bursts.

"Her name is Beryl, and honestly I don't know what he saw in her to make him so devoted to her. Almost all the girls here know how she is. She's mean, evil, scheming, and doesn't care who she hurts so long as she gets what she wants." Rei was holding her burger so tightly the innards were being pushed out little by little. "I think the only reason she dated him was because he was smart, and it seemed he was moving up the ladder of success. In another few months he very possibly could've gotten a high-ranking well paying job in one of those big businesses around here, but he decided that what he really wanted to do in life was be a doctor. He decided he was going to go back to school and get a medical degree. They'd been dating for almost two years, and he had finally gotten up the courage to ask her to marry him, just a few weeks ago. Of course she said no. Why would she say yes? To her he was moving backwards, not forward. He was going to settle for something small, not go on to become rich and powerful. If he was going to do that, then Beryl would've said yes immediately, but since he wasn't she dumped him. Two days later, she started dating the next candidate for mayor. Darien was heartbroken."

Rei slapped her hamburger back onto the plate without taking a bite of it.

"He shut himself away in that apartment of his on the other side of town. He won't answer anybody's phone calls, he won't answer his door, and if he comes out at all nobody sees him. Andrew's his best friend and he even ignores him. He used to come here every day for a cup of coffee. I'm getting worried about him."

Rei finished ranting and was looking dolefully at her plate.

Then she realized what she was doing and looked back up at Serena with a small smile.

"I'm sorry for going off like this." She apologized. "Why don't you try the food?"

Serena, who had been staring at Rei with sympathy and wide eyes, looked down at her food and picked the hamburger up.

She took a big first bite and chewed it slowly.

She swallowed it and looked at Rei happily.

"It's great!" She exclaimed before taking another bite.

"I knew you'd like it!" Rei replied happily.

BEEP/BEEP/BEEP/BEEP

Serena and Rei jumped, then Serena watched as Rei pulled out a little red phone from a hidden pocket in her skirt.

She flipped it open and read the words that were scrolling fast up the screen.

She flipped it closed, and turned to Serena again.

"I'm sorry, I have to go somewhere. I'll be back in a few minutes, I promise!" Rei said hurriedly.

She hopped off the stool as Andrew came walking back behind the counter, wiping it off with a wet cloth.

"Andrew, please watch over my friend here until I get back! Thanks!" Then Rei was gone out the door, and down the street.

"She does that a lot, running out like that I mean." Andrew muttered, staring at the door. "Well, how do you like the food--?"

He had looked back down at Serena, and was stunned to see that the hamburger was gone, and she was taking the last sip of her milkshake.

"It was great! Thank you very much!" Serena replied happily.

Andrew had to smile.

"You're welcome." He replied slowly. "I've never seen anyone go through an entire hamburger and milkshake in that amount of time, it usually takes them longer."

He looked back at the door.

"Rei comes here a lot. Though we've never talked to each other enough to become friends I have noticed how many times she runs out of here. If her other friends are here, she runs out with them, sometimes never touching the food they ordered. If I've learned anything, she'll be gone for at least a half an hour." Andrew explained, and then he looked back at Serena with a smile. "I'm supposed to be watching you huh? All right then, how about another hamburger to keep you occupied? It's on the house."

Serena glanced at the ceiling and Andrew could tell she didn't understand his last statement.

"I mean it's free." He explained gently, though how she didn't know that expression was beyond him.

"OH, thanks! I'd love that!" Serena replied happily, beaming at him.

Andrew just couldn't help feeling happy himself; her sunshine smile was catching.