Alas! I have returned! But I don't wish to bore you with silly author's notes, so onward!
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, save Vanessa, but the plot is mine, ALL MINE! evil laughter
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Darien shoved the last of Serena's bags into the back seat of his car. He stepped out of the passenger side and held the door open for Serena. She looked at him strangely as she stepped forward and glanced at him again as she hopped into the car. Darien only smiled lightly, closed the door, rounded the car, and got in on the driver's side.
After starting the car they still had to wait on Andrew and Mina, so Darien pulled his CD case from under hi seat and placed it in Serena's lap. She looked at it, then at him, and he nudged his head, telling her to go on; she unzipped it and started flipping through it. She seemed uninterested at first, so Darien took to watching Andrew and Mina load up the car, but she suddenly gasped and stopped flipping. He looked over at the CD and chuckled.
"Believe it."
"I can't."
"Why not?"
"A twenty-one year old male who likes the Backstreet Boys?"
Darien smiled and Serena thought she'd become a puddle in his leather seat.
"My sister's a huge fan and it just sort of…rubbed off." He quirked an eyebrow. "How'd you know I'm twenty-one?"
"Um…Mina, she told me all about you two before the trip."
"Hm," Darien watched as Serena continued flipping through his CDs. Yellowcard, John Mayer, Nickleback, Dashboard…she stopped and looked up at him about to ask a question when their eyes met. The words got caught in her throat, as did her breath. They looked at each other in the eyes, searching deep.
The sound of a passing car pulled Darien back and he broke eye contact. He stared at the steering wheel while Serena nervously played with the hem of her skirt, and at that moment she saw something cross his expression. They sat that way, in silence, for what seemed like an eternity. Andrew finally honked, signaling it was time to pull out. Darien stared at the road and Serena had taken to the CDs again when she remembered the question she'd wanted to ask.
"Hey, Darien, what's Juanes?"
Darien smiled just the slightest bit, looking at her a moment. "Another one of my sister's favorites. She's fluent in Spanish, so she loves him. He's a Columbian pop rock singer. I can't understand him for the life of me, but I think he's a genius on the guitar."
Serena nodded, smiling as she continued looking through the case. She stopped a moment and looked at Darien curiously.
"You really love your sister, don't you?"
Darien smiled widely, with his teeth for once, and now Serena really thought she would melt. Serena could see the gleam in his eyes at the mention of his sister.
"You could say I'm attached. Andrew is too, but he's distracted with Mina. These next few months will not be easy without Vanessa."
"I know how you feel. I left a little brother at home, my annoying little Sammy."
Silence pervaded again, but this time it was comfortable. Serena took to the CDs again and finally chose one, putting it in the CD player. A guitar began to strum and yet again, Darien grinned.
"Secondhand Serenade," Darien said, not taking his eyes from the road, "great choice."
"I love him. He's great," Serena commented.
Darien nodded with a grin, then took out his phone and dialed someone.
"Hey…no, nothing's the matter. Yes. I'm just going to make a coffee stop. Yes. Okay. Drive-thru, yes…alright, bye."
Darien hung up and turned to Serena. "Um, it's just past 4 AM and I barely got any sleep, so I'm sure you understand a stop for some coffee.
Serena smiled. "I could use a frappuccino myself."
It was quiet awhile, just the sound of Maybe playing softly. Darien looked at Serena, then back at the road.
"Serena, I want to apologize for earlier, for calling you a ditz. I meant to tease you, not to insult you. I'm sorry."
Serena turned to him and something told her his apology was genuine. She looked at him for awhile without a word and he glanced at her from the corner of his eye, waiting. Finally, Serena placed a hand on his arm and gave it a squeeze, causing both of them to blush.
"Well, I AM only 5 feet tall. And I'm not exactly graceful, I admit."
Darien smiled whole-heartedly at Serena, a particular gleam in his eyes. And Serena knew that from that moment on, she wanted to be the only girl associated with that particular gleam.
He squeezed her hand, just a moment, "Thank you."
Suddenly, Serena saw something cross him. He grew serious, and a frown came over his face. She removed her hand, and he broke out of his trance. He glanced at his arm, then at her, then back at the road, all with a consistently cold expression.
No other word was uttered the entire ride, save what was necessary to order the coffee.
Serena wondered what had caused him to snap into such a distant state. After about an hour of driving, they finally came to a gated community. Keeping his eyes on the road, Darien explained some things.
"About our living conditions, I run the house for the most part. Dad and mum are both very busy, business-savvy lawyers, co-owners of Shields and Douglas Corp. They travel on many business trip and spends endless hours at the office, and thus are rarely home during waking hours. Mina told you they're crazily over-protective, hands-on parents?"
At this, Serena nodded, and Darien continued.
"They were when Mina was here, and continued to be until I turned eighteen. Being as responsible as I was and still am, they left the house in my hands and have been devoting their full-time to the company since. Through her high school years, Andrew and I have been the ones keeping tight tabs on Vanessa, and we intend to do the same with you and Mina. The two of you will come out with us for the most part, and when you do make friends, we will chaperone you. We also keep social gatherings with friends to our house. These are the conditions you two will be under. Understood?"
"Does Mina know this?"
"Andrew is supposed to tell her."
"And we'll be under your supervision always?"
"One of the two of us certainly will be watching you girls."
Serena sighed and crossed her arms. Darien could tell she was upset about all the rules, but he wasn't about to be sympathetic. It was his house, and he ran it his way. He felt the need to express this to her, and not in a very nice fashion, either.
"You wanted change? I doubt your house is Tokyo is an estate, and I certainly doubt that it's run by a twenty-one year old."
Serena's eyes widened and she cold only stare. His cold, unnecessary remark left her bewildered. She was unbuckled, with a grip on the door handle before he had even parked in the driveway. She pushed the door open the second he'd stopped. The words to say came to her as she was about to step out of the car. With her legs already on the ground, she turned back to look at him.
"I don't know what I was thinking, but for about thirty minutes, you had me believing that we could actually get along."
With an icy glare, she stepped out of the car and slammed the door, shaking the car, and giving Darien a shake with it. He hadn't realized how rude he'd actually been until that moment.
He sprang out of the car and walked up to Serena, who was unloading her bags from the trunk, and got a hold of her arm. He turned her to face him. "Serena-"
"Look, don't apologize anymore. That'll be the third time you say sorry in less than two hours, and we both know that you don't mean it."
"I do, Serena, I do! I just don't exactly think things through-"
"…Before you say them. That's why you keep putting your foot in your mouth!"
"Serena, I didn't think what I said would upset you. Honestly, I didn't intend to! What good would it do me to make you angry?"
"Darien, all I know is that you should learn to keep your tongue in check. I don't think you realize how easy it is to hurt a person's feelings."
"Look, I'm just not use to all of this, alright? You're unlike anyone I've ever known and you're certainly not as I hoped you'd be!"
"Now what is the supposed to mean?! How can that possibly be interpreted nicely?!"
"No, no, no, I'm not trying to be offensive! Look, it's just, what with Mina always running around like a headless chicken, I hoped you'd be a bit…calmer. But you're just as explosive. Running a house with the two of you and you being a stranger and all, and keeping up with school and my job, I'm under a lot of pressure, not to mention all the stress I get from…" Again, something crossed him and his face fell. "I'm rambling… Look, please, just accept my apology. I tend to say things I don't mean when I'm cross, and I'm truly sorry."
Serena looked at him and her eyes softened at the sincerity in his voice and his eyes, but then she resumed a fierce look.
"If you have to apologize to me for some stupid action just one more time for the rest of this day, Darien Shields-"
"I will put myself in the dog house, with my tail between my legs and sadness in my eyes," he finished, taking her bags from her hands.
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And there's another installment of Exchange! Aren't you all pleased? I typed this up rather quickly, and as you read I'm already typing Chapter 7! I hope to have it up by tomorrow but I can't make any promises. I'm up to about Chapter 10 in my writings, and I'm seeing this story is going to be a long shot! But I doubt I'll lose interest as I did with Changes…after all, this is my baby, and it's based on my own desires of travel and foreign romance! Anywho, I hope to hear from you all in a review!
XOXO Rosie
PS If you don't already know some of the artists I mentioned earlier, you should totally check them out. Especially Juanes! He is my all time favorite. Ever. :)