Disclaimer-Sailor Moon and Beauty and the Beast do not belong to me. The song for the chapter title is Stormy Weather by The Kooks.

Chapter 4:

"There's a storm brewing, so we really must be going if there's nothing we can do to correct the situation at hand," Serena insisted. God, this guy was gorgeous. Even when he frowned at her, all she wanted to do was drool all over him. But Molly was not one to lie to Serena, unless she was blinded by charm of course. If her redheaded friend said that this guy was a first class jerk, she had to hate him, no matter how good looking he was.

"Serena, why don't I go fill the car with the gas you brought while you talk things out with Mr. Shields?" Molly suggested, her voice small and fearful as she tugged at her friend's arm to get her attention.

Serena was surprised. She had never, ever heard her friend speak like that. It only came to serve as further proof that she would just have to get over her basic instincts to jump this guy.

"May she?" Serena asked politely as she turned to look at the tall, dark haired man, her cerulean eyes wide as she implored him to take pity on them.

"She can go," Darien replied, his voice rumbling deep in his chest as he spoke.

Damn him to hell, Serena though as her heart began to beat just a little bit faster. She needed to remember he was a temperamental asshole. She needed to remember how badly he had scared her best friend. She needed to remember she couldn't get emotionally invested. Either that or he needed him to magically become a nice guy. But until then, she would have to calm down.

"I'll call you from the car," Molly squeaked out as she jumped up from her seat and practically ran out of the house.

"So, is there anything I can do to make up for the inconvenience my friend has posed upon you today?" Serena asked, rephrasing her original question. The sooner they got this over with, the sooner she would be able to escape the presence of this supposedly volatile man that she was so attracted to for no sensible reason.

"No," he mumbled as he dropped his head with a sigh. Serena furrowed her brow. After minutes of silence, he had come up with nothing? And why did he sound so dejected? Wasn't he supposed to be the big bad wolf or something like that?

"A-Are you okay?" Serena asked before she could help herself. Fuck me, she thought. Why can't I control this? The fascination with this Darien Shields was morphing from a curious incident to an irritating dilemma.

"Yes," he replied curtly, his tone sharp and final. "You best leave. Now."

There it was. It was what Molly had warned her about. Serena had to work hard to keep her eyes from rolling. Men and their egos made life so much more difficult than it needed to be. Of course, who was she to talk? She had butted into his life. Although, it wasn't as if she would ever let him know that she was wrong and he was right.

"Leave? I don't think that's a good idea for anyone. I hardly made it inside without getting blown away," a voice stated as a familiar someone walked into the lounge.

"Andrew?" Serena exclaimed in surprise.

"Serena? What are you doing here?" Andrew questioned as he turned to shoot Darien a curious look. "Darien, why is Serena here?"

"You know her?" Darien asked with a raised eyebrow, his confusion clear to everyone in the room.

"Serena comes into the arcade I work at in town at least three times a week, usually during lunch. Her usual is a veggie burger, fries and a milkshake, but on a bad day it's that plus a large sundae to top it off," Andrew replied as he shot Serena a teasing wink, causing her to blush. Of course he would detail her dietary secrets to a complete stranger who she happened to be inexplicably drawn to.

"But wait, what are you doing here?" Andrew continued, his original question still unanswered.

"My friend ran out of gas down the road and she came over here to find some help. Unfortunately, she stumbled onto Mr. Shields's property. Thankful, it was decided that the police didn't need to get involved and I rode over on my bike to bring gas so Molly and I could drive home," Serena explained, trying to sound as impartial as possible.

"Oh Darien," Andrew sighed as he rolled his eyes at his friend and pushed back the wet hair that was plastered against his forehead. "I don't know why you had to make Serena bike all the way out here, we could have just given her friend enough fuel to get back into the town."

"She was trespassing!" Darien protested, his temper visibly flaring as he clenched his fists at his side and gritted his teeth.

"Darien, please relax," Andrew said as he walked over to his friend and set a comforting hand on his shoulder. "It's okay, just take a deep breath and try not to lose it."

Serena watched the pair in awe as Darien did as Andrew told him and took three long, deep breaths. In the process, the taller man dropped his shoulders and relaxed his jaw.

"Wait, Andrew, what are you doing here?" Serena spluttered, her disbelief present in her voice even though neither man seemed to notice.

"I live here. Darien's the best friend I told you about," Andrew replied, his response more then just a surprise to Serena. How is it that this docile, kind, fair-haired man's best friend is this guy who was quickly, and scarily, living up to the expectations Molly had set for him?

"Oh, wow, I didn't know," Serena said, saying the first and only thing that came to mind.

"But you really should get going before you get stuck here because of the rain," Andrew insisted just as a loud crack or thunder cut through the silence followed by a bright flash of lightning that filled the room, blinding everyone for a few brief seconds. Of course, once the light subsided, Serena, unable to contain her fears, let out a loud yelp of fear and clutched her purse tightly to her chest.

"Okay, time to go," Serena said, her words rushed and pushed together in such a way that she barely made any sense, even to herself.

"Do you want me to walk you out?" Andrew asked, his voice laced with concern.

"No, it's fine," Serena mumbled as she shook her head, all the while wondering why Darien was so silent. Well, she could think of a bunch of reasons why, but she would have liked it if he said something. Preferable something nice, even though she knew that was just as unlikely as him saying anything at all. "It was nice to meet you, Mr. Shields. Andrew, I'll see you around."

"Bye Serena," Andrew replied cheerfully as Serena hurried to the door. She was just reaching for the doorknob when a hand reached out and grabbed her shoulder to stop her.

"Remind your friend to be more careful next time," Darien said, a harsh tone attached to his voice.

"Okay," Serena whispered as she pulled open the door and stepped outside only to be assaulted by the pelting rain and aggressive winds that accompanied the dreaded thunder and lightning. She was about to take another step forward when a particularly strong gust pushed her backwards into Darien, knocking both of them off of their feet and back into the house.

"Fuck," Darien groaned as Serena scrambled to her feet, mortified at having been pushed back by something as seemingly innocent as a thunderstorm.

"I'm so sorry, I don't know what happened," Serena said, stumbling over her words as another burst of air came through the open door, sweeping leaves into the house and causing her hair to fan out around her.

"The door! Close it!" Darien shouted over the storm as he pushed himself up onto his elbows. Serena nodded and turned to wrestle the door back into place. Once it was shut, she pressed her back up against it and let out a sigh of relief before realizing something very important.

"Shit! Molly!" Serena exclaimed before digging into her purse to find her phone. After fumbling for a few minutes, the blond was able to locate the device in question. With numb fingers she flipped the phone open and dialed her friend's number.

"Serena, are you okay?" Molly asked, her voice thick with worry. "Where are you? I don't think I can wait for you much longer if I want to get home."

"Can you even drive in this, Moll?" Serena replied. Now it was her turn to be worried.

"O'course I can, silly, but what about you? I put your bike on top of the car when I got out here, just as the rain was starting. How are you going to get home? I don't have enough gas to come get you once this thing dies down," Molly informed.

"I… I don't know," Serena said softly, her voice nervous. She couldn't very well go outside in this weather but she also couldn't bring herself to ask Darien for shelter until the storm passed. "Why don't you wait on me just two more minutes? I'm going to try and get to the car. But are you sure you can drive in this? I mean, really, Molly, that can't be safe."

"I've driven in worse, Rena," Molly said, stating the obvious. It was true. Serena could list at least five times when Molly had driven through blizzards and near-tornado like winds to get to her ex-boyfriend house due to the fact that he was too scared to ever drive a car, forget what the weather was like. And while the blond didn't agree, she understood why her friend did it. Of course, none of that really mattered now. Melvin was back home, probably safe and warm in his house. The couple had decided to not try the whole long distance drama and she couldn't blame them.

"I know," Serena mumbled as she glanced out the window next to the front door. "Let me call you back and let you know what's going on, okay?"

"Sounds good." And with that, Molly hung up.

"You're not going out in that," Darien said, his face unreadable, quite unlike his tone. It sounded like he was angry with her for even suggesting it. Was he always angry? Did his voice always sound so unpleasant and filled with malice? And if he was always in a mood, how could he stand it? Serena couldn't begin to imagine a life without laughter.

"I don't want to impose," Serena explained as she reflexively cringed at the sound of another clap of thunder ringing through the room.

"You're not," he insisted as his eyes narrowed. His voice did not leave room for argument as Andrew stepped into the front hall, this time accompanied by a tall girl with long blond hair similar to her own.

"So you're staying, huh?" Andrew asked as he draped his arm over the girl's shoulders.

"I guess I don't have much of a choice," Serena sighed as she took one more look out the window to double check. Yep, she was staying.

"Well then welcome to Shields Manor. I'm Mina Aino, Andrew's girlfriend and maid around here," the blond informed.

"It's nice to meet you, Mina, I'm Serena Tsukino," Serena replied, trying to control her surprise for not the first time that day. She would have never guessed that the young woman in front of her was a maid.

"Right, well, I'll be off to get the vacuum. This mess isn't going to clean itself up," Mina said with a shrug before detaching herself from Andrew to do her job.

"Luna!" Darien shouted over the din of the storm before anyone could say anything else.

"Yes Master Darien?" Luna asked as she soundlessly entered the room seconds later.

"Take Ms. Tsukino to one of the guest rooms and ask Raye to bring her something more presentable to wear," Darien demanded after taking in Serena's disheveled appearance. The blond had to agree. The previous scuffle with the elements as well as her tumble to the floor left her looking like she had gotten dressed in the dark that morning. Not to mention that her clothing was damp from the rain. She could already feel the cold seeping down into her bones.

"Thank you," Serena said softly before following the dark haired woman up a wide set of stairs. Did she have any idea what she was getting into? No. Did she care at this point? Not really. Anything to keep her warm and safe from the storm would do for the moment. Did she still want to kiss the angry, mysterious man who was potentially still standing in the hallway, questioning Andrew about the finer details of her life? Absolutely. Was she going to do anything about it? No freaking way.

I've avoided these types of men for my entire life and I'm not going to make that kind of mistake now, Serena reminded herself as Luna stopped in front of a large, heavy-looking oak door. She would probably have to make this her mantra for her stay in this house, but she couldn't let herself become like one of those girls who followed Diamond around town. She couldn't and wouldn't let herself fall for a man who was no good for her.

"Miss Raye will be along shortly," Luna said as she pushed open the door to the room Serena would temporarily inhabit.

"Thank you," Serena replied, minding her manners once again before walking into the guest room and letting out another involuntary gasp. And this time there was no thunder or lighting to provoke that type of reaction.

A/N: Well, it is a manor, isn't it? What did she expect? A cot, wardrobe and a bare light bulb?

Anyway, I would like to thank all of you for reading this chapter and, to those who commented on last chapter, I thank you for that as well. Please review and let me know what you think!

Love and Luck,

Gaby