Darien met Ami at a casual restaurant. When they sat down to order food, Darien immediately knew he was getting his favorite.

"What are you getting?" He asked Ami.

"I don't know. Do you want to order for me again?" Ami asked unsure. Even after knowing him for a year, she still felt nervous and fanatic around Darien. He's not only extremely smart and hardworking but SO handsome at the same time, a very deadly combination. It was extremely hard for Ami, who never bothered with men, to make eye contact with him. "Um…I don't know what to get." She uttered.

"Do you like any the specials?" Darien asked not feeling right about ordering for her all the time. "What do you think of the specials?" She asked back nervously. Unable to decide she thought the date would go better if Darien to get another dish that he liked, as usual.

The waitress came by to take their order. "Are you guys ready?"

"Maybe just a few more m..."

"Darien, why don't you order for me?" Ami interrupted. "Get something else that you like."

The waitress was looking at them both, not sure if she should give them more time.

"Please." Ami insisted.

Darien wondered what was so hard about ordering one's own food, but he didn't want to push it. He was hungry and decided to order for them both since Ami asked.

After the waitress took their order, there was a little bit of awkward silence so Darien tried to make conversation.

"So how have you been?" He asked. Ami couldn't think of anything more interesting to talk about other than her work and spoke about it for most of dinner. Darien tried his best to listen but after a long week of working hard himself, it was his least favorite topic at the moment. However, it seemed that Ami needed to talk about it so he tried to listen. Finally realizing that Darien had quiet, she continued to talk about a subject as long as possible, thinking she was helping the silence. Ami usually did most of the talking whenever they went out.

"I haven't been sleeping much," she lamented. "I spent the last 2 weeks trying to work out the problems I'm experiencing with this project. We're running computer clusters to solve these complex computation problems, but the assistant is having problems performing conducting scalable performance monitoring to check that all data gathered matches current research for the project and we're both not sure how to go about it."

Darien thought it was rather impressive that for her young age, she skipped several grades (4 exactly) and go straight to college studying computer science. Growing up, Ami was so determined and busy studying that she didn't really have too many friends. Work was her life, and she spent considerably more time with machines than with people.

The evening was mainly talk about her research and as it got later, Darien really tried his best not to yawn.

...

Meanwhile, Andrew pulled into Serena's driveway and rang the doorbell. Her roommate Molly answered the door. "Hi!"

"Oh hi." Andrew had a secret crush on Molly. "Is Serena home?"

"She's actually in my room. Why don't you come in and join us." A chance in Molly's room? Oh boy. He followed Molly, enjoying what he was seeing from her back. He gulped and tried keep focus on why he was there.

Serena was sitting in Molly's bed with a tissue box next to her. Clearly she had been crying.

"Hey sport," Andrew greeted her. "What's going on? Are you okay?"

Serena began to cry again and wiped her tears with tissue.

"Basically," Molly helped fill in for Andrew. "Her report card came and Diamond found it in her purse and was really not happy about it."

Andrew took a look at her report card. Yikes. He knew Serena was struggling but he didn't think she'd fail 2 of her classes.

"Diamond was furious and kept lecturing Serena. He gave a whole speech about how she needed to finish school soon and how disappointed he was that she has to postpone graduation for another 6 months."

Andrew sighed. Math and science were not Serena's strong subjects and since things have been rocky with Diamond her grades took a turn for the worst. He couldn't help her now that he was so busy with his own studies.

"Serena felt ever since the beginning of the school year, she and Diamond had gotten into some dramatic arguments which distracted her from her studies. Instead of supporting her, he only made demands of her. She's been feeling very overwhelmed and after tonight, she realized that Diamond was right, she needed to focus on school. So she told Diamond how she felt and thought it might have been best if they took a break so she could concentrate. But he was very upset at the idea, so he said they should just break up instead."

"Well, he was probably just angry. He'll come around soon enough, Ser..."

"It's for the best." Serena finally said something. "I think it's been stifling for the both of us in the relationship and I just want to study without anymore fighting."

"Have you thought about working with a tutor?" Andrew asked. "I might know someone who's really good at the subjects, but he's my roommate so if you're okay coming over every once in awhile then I'll see what I can do."

...

After dinner, Darien thought twice about inviting Ami into his apartment. As much as he tried to sympathize with her thesis problem, she had spent the entire evening ranting about it and he was utterly stunned she couldn't see how one-sided the conversation had been. Ami already realizing that Darien had not invited her to his apartment yet, asked. "So what are we doing for the rest of the night?"

"I don't know, I'm actually feeling kind of tired," He spoke honestly.

"Oh."

"Sorry, it's been a long week. Can I just drive you home and look over your thesis later this weekend? You have my email."

Ami was bummed she couldn't spend more time with Darien.

"Sure." They hugged briefly. "See you next time," and closed the car door.

Not sure why he felt relieved, Darien sped off towards his apartment.

Right at the moment he finished parking, his phone alerted him of a text. "Hey do you still tutor on the weekends? My friend could use your help. -Andrew."

Darien thought about his schedule. He already spends 5 long days on campus, 1 day of research on the weekends, did he really want to spend more time working?

He texted Andrew back. "Not at the moment, but maybe when research isn't so hectic. I'll be finishing up in about a month."

"Thanks dude. I'll give you her contact so you can coordinate with her." The bottom of the text included her full name and phone number.

Serena Tsukino. Darien looked her up on facebook. Everything was private except a picture of her and her boyfriend. Add.

...

An hour later, Serena looked at Darien Chiba's facebook and raised an eyebrow. The first thing she noticed was that he was really good looking, and the second thing was that there a lot of girls on his wall, all over it in fact. There were also flirty comments on his pictures. One she had noticed was a picture of him and Andrew at a mountain. His caption was, "Andrew's looking for the meteor shower, do you know what I'm looking for?" Beryl commented, "You're looking for me!" As Serena scrolled up and down she noticed a pattern, these two girls named Ami and Beryl writing consistently, but Beryl writing a lot more. Sometimes it looked like they were competing with each other to own his page.

Womanizer, she shook her head.

Serena changed her profile picture. Diamond had already deleted their relationship status.

Within 5 minutes, a message popped up from Darien.

"Hi."

Well that was fast.

"Hello." She responded.

Darien noticed she deleted her previous picture and uploaded a picture of her cat instead. She had a few pictures of nature and a few others of her cat, but none of her. Other than that blurry image with her boyfriend, he didn't really know what she looked like.

"So Andrew tells me you need tutoring?"

"Yes, I need help with calculus and chemistry."

"Perfect, I am great at both subjects. I'll let you know when I'm available, should be in about a month."

"Great thanks, I really appreciate it."

"Np. Have a great day." He signed off.

Have a great day too, Serena said to herself.

A month had passed and to Serena's surprise, Molly and Andrew had started dating. Molly disappeared every weekend to go over to his place, which made Serena feel a little lonely but she tried to occupy herself with her family, lots of movies, and recently with her classmate, Seiya. She and Diamond haven't made any contact since their breakup. Sometimes she was sad, but she tried to be cheerful and looked forward to seeing Seiya in class instead. Serena had asked if Seiya wanted to study together, but he was always busy and didn't have time. She was glad she at least got to spend time with Molly during the week, sometimes going to lunch and to the library afterwards together. She got her second calculus and chemistry quizzes back. D+ and C-, which were a huge improvement from her previous grades. However, it seemed that no matter how hard she studied, she only kept getting D's and C's. Serena was starting to think she was destined to be stupid.

A text alert interrupted Serena's depressing thoughts. "Hi Serena. Are you with Molly right now?" Of course it was Andrew.

Serena was in fact with Molly. They were together at the library.

She rolled her eyes. They were so lovey dovey they can't stop texting each other every minute. "Your boyfriend is looking for you, Miss Molly." Serena handed her phone to let Molly see.

Molly blushed. "Oh! Oops. I don't really have good reception at the library. Can I borrow your phone for a second?"

Serena didn't even know why she bothered asking since Molly just took it and giggled as she began speaking to Andrew and walked off.

After 15 minutes, Molly finally came back. Interrupting Serena's reading, Molly exclaimed some good news.

"Guess what! Andrew's friends are throwing him a birthday party this weekend. We should go!"

...

Molly and Serena arrived to the restaurant. "Sorry we're late! Parking here is crazy on a Friday night!" Molly explained.

Andrew got up and gave each of them a hug. "It's okay, just glad you two made it! I save you two seats."

Molly sat down next to Andrew while Serena sat next to Molly and a very familiar looking man. He had jet black hair, wore a green blazer and had a chiseled jaw line. Where had she seen this handsome man before? She was very perplexed because she's sure she's seen him from somewhere...

"Hi, I'm Darien," he introduced himself. He offered his hand to the lovely lady next to him. Since she walked into the room, he was mesmerized by her. She looked very sexy in her little black dress covered with a small cardigan. Her hair was pulled down in long blonde curls and accentuated her beauty even more.

"Oh you're Darien!" Serena was finally relieved to discover why he was so familiar looking.

Darien was puzzled by her reaction. "Sorry, have we met before?" He didn't think he would ever forget meeting someone like her.

Serena laughed. It was such a cute laugh to him.

"No, we haven't. I'm sorry, I'm Serena! You messaged me a month ago on facebook."

Darien was shocked. Andrew never told him that Serena was this gorgeous. How the heck did Andrew know pretty girls anyway?

"Ah, you're Serena. Finally tonight we meet."

"It's nice to meet you, Darien." She gave him her hand and as he took it to shake, he felt how soft it was, yet she gave a firm handshake indicating some confidence.

Serena and Darien began getting to know each other right away and they both found it surprisingly easy to open up. The more they talked, the more it felt like they had known each other for years. The connection was very comfortable. Serena opened to him about her issues with calculus and chemistry while Darien told her how he decided to go to medical school. He also gave her some tips of how to think about science while she studied. She told him she would try it.

Andrew and Molly noticed how lively they both were and smiled nervously towards each other. They seemed to get along really well. Molly could tell that Serena was impressed by Darien's intelligence, while Andrew noticed Darien's arm around her on her chair smitten by her humor and sweet smiles. What they both didn't know about each other was that other girls were also after Darien and Serena was very prone to rebounding. Well, maybe it wouldn't be such a bad combination afterall and so they decided not to worry about it.

After an hour later, the restaurant began to move tables to transform into a dance club.

"Want to dance with me?" Darien asked Serena.

Serena liked Darien's direct approach and danced with him all night. Darien tried hard to make sure his hands were put in the right places. She was so sexy that it was more challenging than usual. The upbeat music put them on a spin and it was as if it was just both of them in the room. Serena can't remember the last time she had so much fun.

At the end of the fun night, Serena asked Darien if he could drive her to Molly's car. She explained that she would drive it down while Andrew drove Molly a day later.

"Or maybe you both can stay over and drive down together." Darien suggested.

Serena looked at him to see if he was for real. Wow, he was. Serena was attracted, but she wasn't that type of girl, at least not right away. "Thanks for the offer Darien, but I should head back. I told my mom I would see her tomorrow for lunch."

"Oh that's too bad. Next time then."

Serena thanked him with a hug and drove off. For the first time a girl had said no to him. He was rather impressed.

...

For the next two weeks, Darien began tutoring Serena via online and phone. Even though he was busy, he genuinely wanted to help Serena and he found himself enjoying her company even through the computer. Serena got her third chemistry quiz back and it was a B-. She was shocked. She was actually improving.

She eagerly texted Darien the good news.

"Maybe we should celebrate. You should come over!" He texted back. He's been asking ever since that night at Andrew's birthday party.

"Ha, very funny. I'll take you out to eat instead." Serena tried to play it off. She thought he was cute and definitely helpful and smart, but she ain't no womanizer's 999th woman. She was trying her best to be just friends.

Suddenly someone sat down next to Serena. "Your food's going to get cold if you keep ignoring it by texting."

"Seiya!"

Serena's dark haired classmate smiled at her. He had the smile that could melt a girl's heart.

Serena quickly put her phone away. "Um, I like my food slightly cold."

The phone buzzed but she ignored it.

"How did you do on the quiz?" Seiya asked.

"I did okay. How about you?"

"Aced it."

"No need to be modest, Seiya. No wonder you get such good grades, you're always off studying by yourself." Serena teased.

"Actually," Seiya corrected her. "My fiance already took the class before me so she tells me what to study for."

Serena had no idea Seiya was engaged. He never talked about his personal life and was always so friendly and engaging that she thought he was single. To her surprise, her heart plummeting. Not that she ever got close to Seiya, but she couldn't help feeling somewhat sad upon finally discovering that he was taken. Engaged, will-be-getting-married taken. Her heart sank lower with every passing second.

She faked a smile to hide her feelings. "You're lucky your fiance helps you out."

"I sure am. I just proposed to her last week."

"Really? Congratulations." Serena smiled again, feeling like her facial muscles turned plastic.

"Thanks! Well, her class is ending now. I should go see her. I'll see you in class!"

"See ya..."

Serena suddenly felt like not eating. Forgetting to text Darien back, she left to go home.

That night, she couldn't sleep. She tossed and turned. She didn't know why she felt this way. Did she really like Seiya that much? Sure he was cute, gentle-mannered, nice, and looked forward to seeing him in all of her classes, but it was just a little crush right? Why did it bother her so much? She realized that she must've liked him. She thought he was the perfect man. He was great in all aspects, friendly, funny, caring and that he would be a really great boyfriend. He's the type to be very faithful. His fiance must be a supermodel actress with the brains of Feynman and Einstein combined. Serena accepted that she couldn't sleep. She pulled out her phone.

"Food would be better if you cooked it." Darien last texted hours ago.

"Darien, can I come over?" Serena finally texted him back. It was midnight, and she doubts he'll respond but maybe he will...

Darien was still up studying and checked his phone after he finished typing the rest of his sentence. He read the text and was surprised Serena texted him that.

"Of course. When?"

"Now?" She responded within a second.

Darien looked around his room. It was so messy.

"How long is it going to take you?"

"An hour."

An hour. If he grabbed everything and put it in his closet then it should be okay.

"Alright. Start driving and let me know when you're here." He texted her back.

He excitedly got out his bed almost tripping over his books and jumped in the shower. Then he began grabbing his shirts and scrubs and put them all in the laundry hamper, except for one that he put on. Can't greet a girl naked, he smiled. He put his books back on the shelf, straightened his desk, and made his bed. DONE. He signed with relief.

Serena pulled her beret down hoping Andrew isn't around to see her. She arrived 20 minutes later than expected and stood before Darien's door. Not sure if she's doing the right thing, she inhaled a deep breath. She was about to knock but then put her hand down.

Thoughts began circling.

"Maybe this isn't such a good idea. I know I'm already here, but maybe this isn't the right way to kill time. Maybe I should just tell him that my car broke down..." She thought about it again. "But I'm a single woman now. And I drove all this way!"

Serena stood there for about 2 minutes unable to make up her mind. The neighbor's door suddenly opened and out came the neighbor with his barking dog and it gave Serena a fright.

"Sorry about that! He gets excited when he sees other people." The neighbor said. Serena half smiled with her hand on her chest trying to calm down. "Come on boy, let's go!"

Suddenly Darien's door opened and Serena jumped again. "Woah…hi!" Darien was surprised to see Serena. He was on his way of taking the trash out and then looked up to see a very beautiful friend standing.

"Hi..." Serena gave a little wave.

"Did you just get here?"

"Um…yeah." Darien extended his arm to hug her and pulled her close to his body. She put her arms around his waist, remembering the muscles she felt from dancing. He inhaled the girly fresh scent of her hair and thought she smelled so good.

Darien took her hand and led her through the apartment. "Shh...Andrew's asleep." Darien whispered.

When they finally entered his room, they talked like normal.

"You look pretty tonight. I haven't seen you in awhile." He said to her.

"Thanks. I've been … busy." She told the truth as best as she could.

"Yeah, me too. The second half of my research has been tiring me out so I'm really glad you came tonight." Darien looked into her eyes and down her perfect lips which curved into a slight smile, and then lower to her neck noticing some curves from his peripheral and up to her eyes again.

"I'm sorry for coming so late. I tried to rush here but I thought I should wear some makeup since I'm usually disheveled looking."

"You don't need makeup." Darien spoke honestly, admiring her natural beauty and he's glad she didn't wear too much. The more he looked at her, the more he realized how beautiful she was. The little graceful expressions she makes and the cute way she talks mysteriously attracted Darien like a magnet.

"Why, thank you Prince Charming. You flatter me." She teased, but not falling for his charms right away.

"Why, you're welcome Cinderella. Anytime you want to be flattered then just come to me."

Serena laughed at his goofiness. She hadn't laughed in awhile. Her spirits were lifting and she was feeling glad she drove to see him.

Darien chuckled and also found himself to enjoy her company. There was no awkwardness and he was grateful he could be himself.

They talked about his research, her exams, movies, music and before realizing how much time had passed, Serena tried to suppress a yawn.

She looked at the time. Wow, it was already 2:30am.

"It's getting late. Maybe I should drive back before I get really sleepy."

"Why don't you stay? It's late and you shouldn't drive."

Darien looked into Serena's eyes. He wasn't one to ask a girl to stay if she didn't want to, but he wanted her to and he was concerned about her safety.

Serena bit her lip. She didn't want to sleep alone. Molly's sister in town all week and they're staying at their parents not too far away.

"Would that be a bother?"

"Not at all."

Serena suddenly got up and hugged Darien. "Thanks..."

"Are you okay?"

"I just don't want to be alone tonight."

Darien cupped Serena's cheeks with his hands and looked into her sparkling eyes. He could get lost into them. She looked back into his with an innocent look.

Could he kiss her?

Serena put her hands over Darien's enjoying the warmth.

He slowly leaned over towards her face and pulled her into a kiss.

She felt his warm lips dancing around hers and she put her hand around his head feeling the texture of his hair. His masculine scent intoxicated her.

Darien held Serena as his hands ran through her back. Desire surged through his body like electricity. Was she here to stay overnight on the couch, or was she here to stay with him? He wanted her but unlike the other girls, he wanted to treat her like a lady, and more important than that, she was Andrew's friend. As Darien was trying to be a gentleman with just kisses, Serena took the bold move and brought him to her neck. She wasn't thinking. She was just letting the moment take her.

She didn't wear perfume that night but Darien thought she smelled like the spring wind over a meadow of wildflowers. He ran kisses up her neck and moved his hand downward her back. In his image of an ideal girl, her body was just perfect.

Even though Serena knew about the other girls, she wanted to feel she was the one tonight.

"I want to pretend I'm your only girl tonight, Darien." She held his face tenderly, kissing him.

He leaned her body over as her back fell on his bed. "I've been thinking only about you, lately."

She looked into his eyes seeking to see if he was telling the truth, and his gentle eyes did not betray her.

Just tonight… she wanted him to help her forget.

...

AN: Hi guys! I know. You hate me for ending there. I hope you all liked it. Sooo sorry I took forever to get this chapter out. School and life have been the main culprit but I'm trying to balance my schedule out so I can finish this. So Serena and Darien are a bit messed up right now, but I promise to reveal the better part of their characters in the next chapter. Serena falls fast for the wrong people easily and there is a reason why Darien is a player, which will all be revealed eventually. Please leave me comments and let me know what you all think. I love reading comments!