Search By Moonlight
Chapter Seven: The New Kid
Serena: You're evil…pure evil.
Starlily11: I know that, dear. Eat your vegetables.
Serena: (to audience) She's crazy.
Starlily11: I know that, too. Now shut up and let me write this.
Serena finally managed to drag herself out of bed and forced herself to go to school. It was time to face the general populace and do some rumor control. The blonde's mind was a blur. Was it possible that Seiya was in some kind of trouble and trying to protect her? What had happened to him? Why would he break her heart to protect her? Didn't he know that that would kill her? She sighed, and opened her locker, the one she shared with Seiya. This was going to be a really crappy day…she could already tell. The girl fished her books out, tried not to focus too long on Seiya's stuff, and closed the locker. She turned around to face Mina.
"Hey, girl!" Mina chirped.
"Hey," Serena managed.
Mina's eyes became concerned. "Are you all right….considering the circumstances…?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just hard. Anything happening today? The girls seem to be really excited today."
Mina's eyes lit up. "Ooo, you noticed!" she squealed. "That's a juicy one! There's a new guy in town, and he is gorgeous."
"Don't let Yaten hear you say that; you know how jealous he gets."
"I'm not married or dead; I can look!"
"But not around Yaten."
"You win there."
"Besides, no matter how gorgeous this guy might be, there's no way in the world he could compare to-…" Serena stopped short.
"Seiya," Mina finished sadly.
"Yeah. So, tell me…you're the expert on the new guy…is he nice, or is he a butthead?"
"My sources don't know yet; he seems cold and aloof…doesn't talk much."
"Sounds like Yaten when you first met him," Serena said with a sly smile, knowing what was coming next.
"Yaten was never cold and aloof!" Mina defended her boyfriend. "He just needed to loosen up!"
"And you did a fine job of that," Serena said soothingly.
Mina took a calm breath, moderately mollified. "So I've made my point? Because for a minute, I thought you were implying that my Yaten was an…oh, I don't know…an Ice Prince."
"I would never presume to do such a thing, oh mighty Aphrodite, defender of love."
Mina air-slapped Serena upside the head in mock indignation, laughing. "I'm glad your sense of humor's intact!"
"Of course it is."
A finger lightly tapped her shoulder, and Serena turned to face one of the most handsome guys she had ever seen.
"Yes?" she asked.
"Excuse me…I'm new here…I'm supposed to report to the main office. Would you mind helping me?"
"Of course not. And you are…?"
"Oh, excuse me. I'm Darien. And you're Serena."
Serena froze, and looked at Mina, whose mouth was gaping open like that of a fish. "How did you know my name?"
"I heard your friend call your name."
Okay…that made sense…it was still really weird. "Okay, um…the office is down this hall and to the left. Keep going straight, and you should see it. It's impossible to miss."
Darien smiled at her. The smile was dazzling…it was incredible. Serena had to blink a few times to clear her head. Darien was still standing there.
"Is there something else?" Serena asked, feeling uncomfortable.
"No," Darien answered quickly, looking down. He turned and left.
Serena turned to Mina. "What was with that guy?" she asked.
Mina gaped at her. "You mean you didn't notice?"
"I didn't notice what?"
"He was totally hitting on you!"
"And I'm not interested." Serena was thinking that Seiya's smile was much warmer, and gentler. Darien's smile was too hard and bright. Sure, they both had black hair and blue eyes, but Seiya's was so long and thick…silky, too. Seiya's eyes were a more beautiful shade of blue.
"You're nuts."
"Should I be worried about Yaten? It sounds like he might lose his girlfriend."
Mina sobered, and Serena felt as guilty as she was relieved. She felt bad for playing that card…she knew Mina loved Yaten more than anything. She'd just wanted her to quit talking about the new guy. It made her think of Seiya…and that was too painful.
"No…I just think he's cute," Mina said quietly.
"I know. I just don't want to talk about guys right now."
"I know…Yaten told me about what you said when you talked to Kakyuu."
"He did?"
"Yeah, he was pretty upset."
"I should've spoken up sooner…"
"No, he's not mad at you…he's pissed at Seiya. For leaving them hanging and for hurting you. You're like his little sister, you know."
"I know."
"Do you need a girl's night?"
"Yeah…it might help."
"Okay…you know the drill. Amy, Rae, Lita, and I will meet you outside the school when the last bell rings. Then, we will go shopping at all your favorite stores, and then we will pig out until we get sick on all the goodies Lita's made. She knew you'd be wanting comfort food."
"Thanks."
"No problem. If you don't want Darien, can Lita have him? She called dibs."
"He's all hers," Serena laughed, and the two girls made their way to the first class of the day; Physics.
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Sure enough, as Mina had promised, Serena was met by her friends as soon as the last bell rang, and they took off. The petite blonde was lost in thought; she'd felt Darien's eyes on her all day. Every time she looked at him, he was staring at her, with a look of almost hunger in his eyes. It gave her the creeps. Furthermore, somehow, he was in every class with her. Every freaking class. It scared her; couldn't he tell she wasn't interested? She didn't want to be unfaithful to Seiya. Something was going on with the man she loved, and she wasn't going to give up on him just because of something he'd said.
"What're you thinking about?" Mina asked.
"Seiya…and Darien."
"Whoa…are you interested in him after all?"
"No…he gives me the creeps. He's in every class I'm in, and he's always staring at me…it scares me."
Mina scratched her head; she hadn't noticed. "Really?"
"Yeah…he doesn't get the fact that I'm not interested."
"Uh-oh…"
"Yeah, no kidding!"
"It is somewhat worrisome," Amy stated. She'd noticed the way Darien looked at her friend, and she understood Serena's discomfort. "Serena, do you think we should tell someone, a counselor…?'
"No…maybe he'll stop. It's just his first day, and I don't want to cause trouble for him," Serena replied quickly.
"I hope you're right," Amy worried.
"Oh, it'll be fine!" Mina laughed, waving the problem away. "He'll realize that our friend here isn't interested, and he'll find someone else to stare at."
Rae wasn't so sure…she's seen the way Darien looked at Serena, too, and was unnerved by it. Something about him was off, and for some reason, he was interested in Serena. It couldn't mean anything good. She was glad that Serena could tell something was wrong; it would be easier to convince her to stay away from him if it became necessary. The new guy was not at all what he seemed.
