Well here's the next chapter for you guys. I first want to say thank you to all of you who reviewed and/or are following this story. As I promised, things are going to begin to get interesting. I hope you all enjoy this chapter, and as always, please review/follow if you like it.
Chapter Three
The Promise
The doors of the Crown Arcade burst open, causing the old-fashioned bell over the doors ring brilliantly, signaling the coming of a new patron. Every person in the arcade turned their heads instinctively towards the doors, as they did every time the bells rang. Directly across from the main entrance was a long bar counter, a line of stools in front of it, longing to be sat on.
Behind the counter there were soda and coffee machines, as well as a flat-top grill. Next to the grill was a blender which was used to make Crown's "World Famous" milkshakes. To the right were the arcade games. They were mostly classic games from the 80's and 90's, though a few modern ones were in there as well. There was also an old pinball machine, an "Out of Order" sign taped to the front. On the opposite side were a few booths and high-top tables.
Standing behind the counter was a tall boy with dirty-blonde hair. He was wearing a white button-down shirt, over it a white apron with an image of a crown on it. He smiled when he saw Serena enter through the doors. She placed her hands on her knees and took a moment to catch her breath.
"Hey Serena! What's up?" the boy asked. Serena took a final deep breath and stood up. She felt like she had run a marathon.
"Hi Andrew," Serena replied. The doors closed slowly behind her, the change in pressure causing her short white skirt to flutter slightly. Tucked into the skirt was a pink blouse. It was the perfect outfit for a warm spring day.
"They're over there," Andrew said, pointing to the area with the tables. Serena looked over it and saw her friends sitting in one of the booths which sat next to a large window. Amy noticed Serena and waved to get her attention
"Thanks Andrew," Serena said with a sigh. She knew that Raye was going to scold her for being late again. She walked over to the booth and the four girls looked up at her. All of them were smiling except for Raye, who was shooting daggers with her eyes. Serena winced.
"About time you showed up, Meatball Brains," Raye said sarcastically. It was exactly as Serena had imagined. "Maybe I'm wrong, but wasn't it your idea to meet at 5:00? Yet here you come waltzing in thirty minutes late." Serena was wrong; it was worse.
Mina shoved her hand in front of Raye's face, "Don't mind her. She's just mad that nobody asked her to the prom." Raye shoved Mina's hand away from her face.
"And who are you going with?" Raye asked. Mina's eyed grew wide and she laughed nervously.
"Well…it's complicated." The girls all broke out into laughter. Amy moved further into the booth to allow Serena to sit down. The two of them sat across from the other three.
"What about you, Lita?" Mina asked. Lita choked on her soda. Serena laughed and picked up her chocolate milk the other girls had already ordered for her.
"I don't care about those things," Lita said. The table grew silent as the girls stared at her suspiciously. "Wh-what?" Lita asked nervously.
"You know who did get asked?" Serena said, smiling mischievously. "Amy!" Lita, Raye and Mina choked on their drinks in unison. Mina slapped both her palms on the table and stood up.
"Who is it? Tell me!" Mina demanded. Amy blushed furiously and looked down at her drink, fiddling her thumbs.
"Melvin," Amy muttered, barely above a whisper.
"Who?" the other girls asked in unison.
"Melvin asked me," Amy said, now red as a beet. Melvin had a crush on Amy since they had first met in the seventh grade. At that time, he was widely-known as "the nerd". He was short, wore thick "coke-bottle" glasses and had a face full of acne. Now a senior in high school, he had grown tall and handsome. His once chubby face slimmed and he wore contacts in lieu of glasses, revealing his deep blue eyes. Time had surely been kind to him.
"And you said yes, right? Right?" Mina asked. Amy shook her head, causing the other girls to stand in unison.
"WHAT?" they all asked, causing Amy to cringe and Andrew to look over. Amy swallowed and looked at the girls nervously.
"W-well I need to study," Amy explained. She was answered with groans from around the table. "Also," she continued, "I don't like these kinds of things." More groans.
"But every girl wants to go to the prom," Lita said. The other girls – even Amy – turned to face her, their eyes like daggers. Lita blushed and promptly sat down. Amy sighed in relief. Thankfully, Lita's statement took the attention away from her.
"I wish somebody would ask me," Mina said with a sigh, sitting down herself.
"Me too," Serena said. She and Raye also sat down.
"Me three," Lita sighed. The girls all looked at her again.
"Whatever happened to 'I don't care about these things'?" Serena asked, Mimicking Lita's statement from earlier. She didn't respond; she only took a sip of her soda.
"Well I'm not waiting for a guy to ask me," Raye said. She leaned forward, raised her hand and made a clasping motion. "I'm going to catch the guy myself." She laughed maniacally. The girls sighed.
"Oh and what guy are you catching?" Serena asked. Raye looked – dreamily – off in the distance.
"I'm going to ask Darien," Raye said, followed by a sigh. Serena burst into laughter, causing the chocolate milk that was in her mouth to spray out. Her hands immediately stood up, her hands remaining on the table.
"What's so funny, meatballs-for-brains?" Raye shouted. Serena stood up as well.
"Darien is a cool, sophisticated college student," Serena said. "He doesn't have time for some girl off her rocker." She pressed her point by sticking her tongue out. Raye's eyes burned with fire.
"Oh? And he'd prefer some girl with meatballs on her head?" Raye stuck her tongue out as well.
"As if!" Serena said with a look of disgust. "I don't have any of those thoughts about Darien."
"What thoughts?" asked a boy from behind her. Raye blushed a brilliant red and quickly sat down. Serena turned down to see Darien. He was wearing a button-down white dress shirt which was tucked into a pair of blue jeans.
"Oh, it's you," Serena said. "And to what do I owe the pleasure?" Darien laughed in response.
"Don't get ahead of yourself, Meatball Head. I'm just here to pick up Andrew for our study group." He looked down at the rest of the table, "Hey girls."
"Hi Darien," the girls said, Raye's voice only a faint squeak.
"Yo, Darien! We gotta get going," Andrew called from the entrance.
"I'm off. Nice to see you girls. Later, Meatball Head." Darien walked off towards Andrew. Serena huffed and plopped herself down onto her seat.
"I take it back," Serena said. "You two are perfect for each other." The girls all laughed. Lita folded her arms on the table and leaned forward.
"I can't believe we're all graduating," she said.
"I know," Mina said. "Doesn't it feel like just yesterday that we all met here for the first time?"
"Serena broke the pinball machine," Amy added with a laugh.
"It was all Raye's fault," Serena defended herself.
"That's strange," Raye said, "because I remember you kicking it."
"After you got the quarter stuck in it," Serena spit back. The five of them broke into laughter.
"Those were the good days," Lita sighed. "Now we're all about to go out into the world. It's a little scary." The table fell silent.
"Yeah," Mina said. "Like what's next? We know Amy's going to get into med school."
"Well I've wanted to be a doctor since I was a child," Amy said. "You're going to college, Right?"
Mina nodded, "Yeah, I guess. I think that I could try going for nursing or something. I dunno, but I think I'll be good at it. What about you, Lita? You should do something with baking."
"Yeah, that's what I was thinking," Lita said. "Like maybe I could own my own bakery one day. I'd call it 'Lita's Sweet Treats'." She laughed with excitement.
"Well I want to teach children," Raye added. "Maybe an English teacher."
"Just like Miss H.," Mina chimed in. The girls all burst into laughter, except for Raye.
"Who's Miss H.?" Raye asked.
"Our seventh grade English teacher," Serena answered. "She was really scary, just like you." The girls laughed again.
"Well what are you doing?" Raye asked Serena. Serena's laughter suddenly stopped.
"I don't know," Serena responded. The girls all looked at her confused.
"What do you mean?" Mina asked.
"I mean I don't know," Serena said, tears beginning to flow down her face. "I mean, I'm not good at anything. I'm not smart. I'm not—" She was cut off by a sudden, sharp pain against her cheek, which was preceded by an audible 'SMACK'.
"DON'T SAY THAT!" Raye yelled at the stunned girl. She was holding her stinging cheek with her trembling hand. Lita, Amy and Mina looked at Raye in disbelief.
"Don't you ever put yourself down like that again," Raye demanded, tears running down her face.
"Raye…" Serena stammered, tears streaming down her face as well. "I'm sorry."
Lita stood up, "Raye, you didn't—"
"Raye's right," Amy cut in. "Raye didn't have to do it like that, but she's right. You're not stupid! If it weren't for you, we wouldn't all be sitting here right now." Serena's eyes widened. Lita flashed Raye a stern look, but then her face softened and she sat back down. She reached over and placed her hand of Serena's shoulder.
"The only person here who thinks you're stupid is you," Lita said, smiling warmly.
"You're the best Serena," Mina added. "So who cares if you don't know what you're going to do? Do you think any of us really know what's going to happen? I might change my mind; Raye may hate being a teacher; Lita's bakery may burn down." Lita gave Mina a nasty look.
"What I mean," Mina continued, "is it doesn't matter." Serena wiped her eyes and smiled.
"Mina, Amy, Lita, Raye…thank you," Serena said.
"Serena," Raye said, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have…"
Serena shook her head, "It's okay. You're right! Starting now I won't feel sorry for myself anymore. That's a promise." The girls all wiped their eyes and nodded.
"We're pretty pathetic, huh?" Lita asked while wiping her tears. They all broke into laughter.
"Hey," Mina said, cutting the laughter short. "Let's make a promise." The other girls all turned to her, interested in what she had to say.
"Let's promise," Mina continued, "that no matter what happens, we'll never forget this."
"Forget what?" Lita asked.
"Let's never forget to do this; the four of us right here. No matter how crazy our lives get, we'll always come back here." The girls all stared at Mina with a look of shock on their faces.
"I promise," Serena was the first to reply, tears stinging her eyes.
"I promise too. Let's never stop coming here," Raye was the second. She placed her hand in the middle of the table, palm down. Serena and Mina placed their hands on top.
"Friends forever, right?" Lita said, adding her hand to the bunch. They all turned to Amy who was smiling widely.
"I would never wish for anything more," Amy said. She placed her hand on top of the others.
Mina looked over at all of her friends and smiled, "It's a promise."
Night came quick and before they knew it, the arcade was closing. The table that they were sitting at was full of empty drinks and red plastic baskets that at one point held burgers and fries; now only remnants and ketchup remained. The girls spent the evening laughing, crying, laughing and eating.
"We should get going," Amy said. The other girls appeared disappointed, but knew that it was time to leave. The final day of school had passed, and graduation was around the corner. None of them wanted to say it, but this night was most-likely going to be the last night they all sat at Crown together as high school students.
"I guess," Lita agreed, hesitating. "I wish we didn't." They were all silent. They stood quietly for what seemed like several minutes. Mina chuckled, causing the others to look at her strangely. Soon Raye followed, then all five of them were laughing hysterically.
"We really are pathetic," Lita said between laughed. They all nodded in agreement.
"I guess we'll talk over the phone," Mina said. The girls nodded again.
The five of them hugged and left the arcade together. Amy, Mina and Lita all lived in the same direction, so they went ahead, leaving Serena and Raye behind.
"Hey, Serena," Raye said to her. The night was cool and a breeze blew through their hair. Clouds filled the night sky, blocking the moon and stars from view. The weather had predicted storms that night, and it looked like it was going to be accurate.
"What's up Raye?" Serena asked. Raye looked down for a moment then looked up at Serena, her eyes fierce.
"When are you going to tell them?" Raye asked. Serena's eyes widened.
"T-tell them what?" Serena stumbled.
"My mom told me. When are you going?" Serena sighed and looked away towards the street. The street lights illuminated the barren streets brilliantly.
"I don't know if I even am going," Serena answered, still keeping her gaze towards the street. "I'm not gonna tell them. Not yet." She turned to Raye again. Raye continued looking at her sternly, but then her face softened.
"Just make sure you let them know, whatever you decide." Serena nodded. Raye looked away and blushed. "I wanted to ask you something too." Serena looked really confused. She had never seen Raye act that way towards her before.
"Raye, you okay?" Raye shrugged as she continued blushing.
"It's Darien," Raye said, much to Serena's surprise. Out of all the things she had expected Raye to say, this was on the bottom of her list.
"Okay?" Serena asked.
"You don't…like him, right?" Raye asked. Serena laughed, which finally made Raye turn and look at her.
"Wh-what?" Raye asked, her face now also red with frustration.
"Darien? No way! Not in a million, no, a TRILLIAN years!" Raye began laughing with Serena.
"Good," Raye said. "'Cause I'm gonna tell him how I feel." She continued laughing, albeit a little nervously. Serena felt slightly taken-back.
"O-okay," Serena said. Raye grinned and began walking away, towards her home.
"And you promise, right?" Raye asked to confirm. Serena nodded and laughed again.
"Of course!" Serena reassured her friend. Raye looked away again for a moment then back at Serena.
"Thanks Usagi," Raye said and laughed. Serena rolled her eyes but then laughed as well. "I'll call you tomorrow, okay?" Serena nodded and Raye walked away towards her home. Serena sighed and looked again at the street lights. She noticed some light rain beginning to fall through the lights. She didn't understand why, but she felt slightly saddened by what Raye had told her.
"Get yourself together, Serena," she told herself. "Like I care about him in that way." Even though she tried to convince herself, she still felt a strange feeling in her chest. It was a pressure that she couldn't describe, and she felt it slowly building more and more, threatening to burst. The rain began to fall harder, knocking her out of her thoughts.
Serena began walking towards her house, but as the rain fell even harder, she began to sprint. CRASH! A loud sound caused her sprint to turn to a full run. A flash illuminated all around her, the light nearly blinding. She yelped and began to run even faster, now in a panic. CRASH! The sound came again, now louder than before. Serena's felt her skin crawl and her hairs standing.
Another flash. Tears were streaming down her face, causing her vision to get blurry. She didn't even know where she was anymore. She didn't know where she was going. She just wanted to be in her bed, warm and out of the rain. CRASH! In fact, the sound was more of a boom. Just then, she felt her foot slip on the wet ground. Her ankle bent a way it wasn't supposed to, and there was a sharp pain.
CRASH! It wasn't the sound of thunder, but the sound of Serena falling onto the ground. She tried pushing herself on her hands and knees, but another flash of lightning came, this time with an immediate crash of thunder. Something was struck. The sound made her fall backwards onto her behind. The rain fell relentlessly, but she no longer cared. Serena brought her knees up to her chest and held them close, shivering and crying.
"Miss, are you okay?" She barely heard the man's voice. Shaking, she turned her head and her hips to look behind her. Darien was standing behind her on the sidewalk, an umbrella in one hand and books in the other. Upon noticing the girl was Serena, he looked stunned.
"Serena? What the hell happened?" Serena jumped to her feet and ran to him. Without a moment's hesitation, she wrapped her arms around him tight and sobbed. Darien stood shocked for a moment, but then dropped his books onto the wet ground and embraced her, making sure to keep the umbrella over her to protect her from the rain.
CRASH! The sound of thunder came again, but she did not jump. Her sobbing slowly began to subside into a light cry, but did not release her grip on Darien the slightest. She felt warm, she felt safe, and she never wanted to let go.
What do you guys think? Is Serena's view of Darien going to change? What about her promise with Raye? Please keep reading and you'll find out.