Here it is. The next chapter. Hope you guys like it!

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.

Chapter 4

As soon as Serena was sure she couldn't be seen by her so-called friends, she began to run as fast as she could. She could feel the tears that were threatening to fall. She had to hold them back just for a little while longer.

'No I can't cry yet, not now. Because if I do, I'm afraid I won't be able to stop.'

She willed herself to run faster and soon, her house came into view. She took out her key and opened the door. After making sure that the door was locked, she ran up the stairs and into her room. She then locked her door and lay down on her bed. Now that she was in the safety of her room, she let the tears fall. Harder and harder they fell, and soon she was crying uncontrollably. The sobs raked through her entire body and she didn't know when they would stop. She felt numb and empty, as if she had a vortex inside her and it was draining the very life out of her. She let the pain fill her body and soul and let go of her hold to the world around her.

"This didn't just happen…right? It was just some weird dream…that we all had simultaneously." Said Mina.

"Yeah, it was all just a weird dream. Serena isn't really mad at us and she never said all those things she said." Said Lita, having trouble believing what she had just witnessed.

"I don't think you two really believe this was a dream. You just don't want to believe thatit actually really happened." Ami commented.

"No, this just can't be happening. It wasn't real," said Mina, and then softly added, "It couldn't have been."

"Well, it did happen." Said Luna, she then turn to face Rei and Darien, "You two better start talking. NOW!"

At first neither wanted to say anything, but when they saw the deathly glare Luna was giving them, they began to retell the events of the fateful day that everything changed.

When they finished there wasa long, uncomfortable silence. After what seemed like hours, Lita broke the silence. "I can't believe you two," she began softly, however, her voice began to rise, "How could you be so STUPID! I thought you guys were the most logical people in the world, that is, aside form Ami of course. I mean, of ALL the stupid things you could have done, you chose to kiss to each other AND, not to mention, you kissed each other when Serena was coming to the park. You should at least waited until she was gone or kissed somewhere were she wouldn't be able to see. That way she wouldn't have found out and everything would be fine and we wouldn't be in this mess. Only you two would feel guilty, or maybe not, but at least Serena would be talking to us and not-"

"Alright, we get it." Said Rei, cutting Lita off.

"No Rei, I don't think you do. You guys really hurt her, and we didn't do so good either Lita. But still, we didn't do as bad as you guys and in time she might forgive us. However, what you two did…well, that's just unforgivable." Said Mina.

Both Darien and Rei were silent as the truth in Mina's word's sunk in.

"So, you're saying she will never forgive us?" asked Darien, afraid of what her response might be.

"Oh no, she might forgive you but will take a lot of work for that to happen." She retorted.

"Not to mention, you would have to earn her trust all over again." Ami added.

(A/N Just so you guys know everyone is on spring break. In a week they'll be back to school)

Several Days Later

It had been almost 3 days and neither the girls nor Darien had seen or heard from Serena. They doubted she was going to call them, but they should have at least seen her around.

All five of them were at the arcade and each one glanced to the door whenever they heard the bell jingle, hoping to catch Serena entering the arcade. When they came in, they asked Andrew if he had seen Serena. When he replied no, they began to worry more than before.

They sat in silence, each immersed in each other's thoughts. Soon Mina broke the silence. "You know, we could call her…just to make sure she's okay."

"Mina's right, we should call Serena." Lita said.

"I don't know. No matter how worried I am, it doesn't seem like a wise idea. It might anger her even more because we did not respect her wishes." Said Ami.

"That may be, but what Ami is saying makes sense." Added Luna.

"Well then, what do we do?" asked Rei.

After a long silence, Luna said, "We call her."

Serena could hear the phone ringing and knew who it must be. She thought they would have given up by now, but she was totally wrong. The first three times they called, her mom had answered and she told her to tell them that she was sick. That was over an hour ago and they still didn't get the hint. Her mom had gone to the grocery store, so she just let the phone ring.

'Why can't they just leave me alone and let me dwell in my misery!'

Mina sighed and said, "It's no use. She won't answer the phone."

"Well, try again." Said Lita. Mina was about to redial when Luna said, "No. That is enough. If she didn't pick up the last 20 times or so, she won't pick up at all."

And so, Mina put away her phone and once again each was lost in each other's thoughts.

Two Days Later

"Serena, honey, please open the door." Ilene pleaded softly as she knocked on her daughters door.

There was a rustling of things and soon the door opened to reveal a not so good looking Serena. She had red, puffy, swollen eyes from crying most of the time. Her hair was flying all over the place and small circles could be seen under her eyes from crying the night away. The room was absolutely dark with all lights off and the curtains drawn over the windows.

Ilene took one good look ather and said, "Honey, I don't know what happened to make you this depressed, but it has got to stop. You haven't gotten out of this room for five days. I don't even know if you have eaten these passed few days. Please honey, you have to get some fresh air."

Serena just looked at her mom. She couldn't believe what her mom was asking her to do. There was no way she was going outside, at least not until school started. She gave one last look at her mother, turned around, and got back into bed.

In a way, she was ashamed of herself. She couldn't believe that she had been crying all this time. She didn't want to imagine what she would do if she were to run into one of her friends.

"Honey," Ilene said as she walked into the room and placed her hand on her daughter's shoulder, "I don't want to see you like this anymore. It breaks my heart to see you like this. Please get up and get some fresh air. It might even help you clear your head for awhile."

Had it been someone else, Serena would have refused. However, she couldn't ignore her mother and the pain and concern in her voice. So, with great difficulty, she got up and headed to the bathroom. She took a shower, brushed her teeth, comber her hair, got dressed, and went downstairs. She had on a pair ofjeans and a black shirt that said 'Go Away!' in red, bold letters. She wasn't sure why or how she had gotten it, but it seemed to suit her just fine today.

As she neared the kitchen, she could see her mom making a huge breakfast. There was toast, pancakes, eggs, bacon, and sausages.

"Good morning sweetie. Grab a plate and help yourself."

"Thanks mom, but I'm really not that hungry. I'll just get some toast."Serena replied in a hoarse voice. 'I've been crying for too long and haven't said a word, yet I can't seem to stop crying.' She grabbed a piece of toast andheaded for the door.

"Bye mom."

Closing the door, she just stood there. She didn't know where she was going to go. Usually, she would go to the arcade or the shrine to hang out with her friends. However, today she didn't want to see any of them. Everywhere she went, something reminded her of her friends. Yet, she couldn't just stand there; her mom was expecting her to go somewhere. In the end she decided to go to the arcade, at least there she could talk to Andrew. With that in mind, she slowly made her way to the arcade.

Andrew was cleaning the counter when he heard someone come in. He looked up to find Serena come in. Only she wasn't her normal cheery and happy self. She walked slowly as if she was carrying a big load. She was quiet and kept her head down. However, when she looked up, Andrew was certain that her eyes had changed the most. They seemed to be dull. The certain glow that they usually had was gone. He smiled and waved at her and when she smiled and waved back, only, her smile didn't reach her eyes the way they did before. They remained dull and lifeless.

She reached the counter and sat down.

"Hey Serena, the usual." Said Andrew.

"No thank you Andrew. I'll just take a glass of water please." She replied quietly.

"You sure?" asked Andrew, a bit surprised.

"Yep."

"Okay, one glass of water coming up."

As Andrew turned to get Serena's glass of water, the door opened and in came Mina and Rei. Both were giggling and talking, but fell silent as their eyes landed on Serena. It had been five days since they had last seen her. Seeing her now made them nervous, so slowly they made their way towards her.

"Here you go Serena, your glass of water." Said Andrew.

"Thanks."

At this moment, Rei and Mina reached the counter.

"Hey Andrew." Both Mina and Rei said.

"Hello Girls." He replied.

"Hi Serena. How have you been? We were trying to call you a few days ago, but your mom said you were sick." Said Mina.

Serena just looked at her glass and ignored Mina and Rei. After a moments silence, Mina tried again. "So, how are you feeling?"

Serena kept her silence, as Mina, Rei, and Andrew waited for her response.

Finally Serena spoke up, "You know what Andrew, all of a sudden I'm not feeling so well. Maybe I'm still a bit sick. Besides, the perfume your two customers are wearing is making me nauseous, or perhaps it's just them. I think I'll just go home. Thanks for the water; I promise I'll pay you the next time I come over. See ya later." And with that she left the arcade.

All three of them just stared at the door. Andrew was surprised at what Serena had just said. He was also surprised she wanted to pay for her drink.

"What was that all about?" asked Andrew.

Rei kept quiet as Mina retold the events of what happened between them and Serena.

"Wow." Was all Andrew could say when Mina finished.

"Yeah well, we all feel bad but we don't know what to do to make it up to her." She said.

"From the looks of it, you should stay away." He said.

Serena had no idea were she was going. She just kept her head down and let her legs do the walking. Once again the tears were threatening to fall, but this time she refused to let them fall. She was so busy on trying to keep the tears from falling that she didn't notice where she was going and bumped into someone.

"Sorry, my bad. I wasn't looking were I was going." She said.

"No, it was my fault." A deep voice said.

At the sound of that voice, Serena abruptly looked up. Her gaze fell on midnight blue eyes that showed some kind of emotion that she didn't get a chance to see. For as soon as she looked at those ever-so familiar midnight blue eyes, her gaze shifted to the rest of his face, afraid she would lose herself in his gaze.

He seemed tired. His hair was unkempt, his clothes were wrinkled and he looked like he hadn't slept in days. Overall, he looked horrible. Just as she felt.

"Darien." She said barely above a whisper.

She looked so different. She walked with her head down and her voice was so soft and low you had to strain yourself to hear what she was saying. But what stood out the most to Darien were her eyes. They had lost their certain glow and now were dull and lifeless. It pained him to see her like this.

"Serena, please let me explain. I need you to give me a chance to tell you what happened."

"No. No please just leave me alone." She pleaded. She had to get away. Confronting Mina and Rei hadn't been easy, but confronting Darien…she didn't think she had the strength to do it. She didn't think she could keep the tears from falling this time, and if she began to cry, she didn't know when she'll stop.

As she tried to move away from Darien, he stepped in front of her and said, "I won't let you go until you listen to me."

Panic seared through Serena's body. There was no way she would be able to get away. He was blocking her only means of escape and now she was stuck.

"I don't want to listen. I can't take anymore. Not now, not here, not yet." She said softly.

"Please."

He placed his hand on her shoulder and she quickly recoiled from his touch.

"Don't touch me. I just want you and everyone else to leave me alone. Please."

She hated the way her voice sounded so desperate and needy. She didn't want Darien to see how weak she was and how much it pained her to see him and her friends again.

"Serena please, I just want to talk."

She had to think fast. Darien had begun to talk, but she wasn't ready to hear his side of the story or anybody else's side for that matter. She had to get away and only one solution came to her mind. As much as it hurt her to do this, there wasn't anything else she could do. She gathered all her strength and kicked Darien's shin. She heard him groan in pain and saw him grab hold of his leg. Pushing him away, he staggered back and she seized her chance. Serena ran as fast as she could and only stopping to say, "Please, just leave me alone."

Serena stopped running when she was positive she had put enough distance between her and Darien. For the first time since shestarted running, she took a look at her surroundings. Unconsciously, she had made her way to the park.

A fresh new set of tears formed in Serena's eyes. The park had been hers and Darien's favorite place to go when they were together. She made her way to a bench and sat down. She pulled her legs toward her and rested her head on her knees. Slowly and quietly she let the tears she had held back fall. This whole place was filled with wonderful memories of her and Darien together. When she looked up again, her eyes landed on the fountain were she had seen Darien and Rei kiss. This time the tears fell harder and she began to cry uncontrollably as the pain of that day hit her full force.

Soon the sun was covered by dark clouds. It began to rain softly at first, but soon the rain fell harder and harder. It was as if the skies had sensed her sudden mood change and began to cry with her.

Serena was soaked, but she didn't care. This weather suited her mood just fine and she didn't want to leave. She felt like the skies were crying with her and they could understand her pain.

Sighing, Serena stood up and made her way home. She had been out long enough and didn't want to worry her mother any longer. As she neared her house she quickened her pace. She opened the door and let herself in.

"Oh my god honey, I was so worried about you. I called all your friends to ask if they had seen you and they all said no. I even called Darien and when he said no too, I began to panic," her mother said, "But at least you are alright now."

Feeling somewhat calmer now, Ilene noticed the state Serena was in. "Look at you, you're all wet. Why didn't you say something instead of letting me ramble on? Come now, go upstairs and change into some warm clothes."

"Oh mom, I am so sorry. I didn't mean to, really didn't mean to worry you so much." Softly she began to cry.

Failing to realize that her daughter was wet; Ilene hugged her and softly said, "There, there sweetie, I know you didn't mean it. You just lost track of time, that's all. It happens to all of us."

"I swear I tried my best, I really did. I just couldn't do it. I'm not strong enough. I thought I was, but I am not." With that said, she began to cry harder.

Knowing Serena was no longer talking about being late, Ilene tried her best to console her even though she had no idea what had Serena so upset.

After awhile Serena stopped crying and said, "Thanks mom, you're the only friend I have in this world."

She turned around and headed towards her room, leaving her mother with a concerned look on her face.

Sorry for taking so long to update, but school has been horrible. Anyway, I need some help with the story. What do guys think that Serena should do abouther friends and Darien.

Should she:

A) Forgive them

B) Forgive only Mina, Lita, Ami, and Luna and never speak to Darien and Rei

C) Forgive her friends and forget about Darien

D) Forget about all of them and move on

E) None of the above because you ahve something better

Tell me what you think should happen.

'Till next time!

Girl of Darkness