Hey guys! so today is my BIRTHDAY! YAY! lol I turn 19 today! lol but here is an update! two chapters for you guys! ten is on its way!


Long distance relationships are never that simple or easy to maintain, but for Serena, she made it appear as if they were easier than basic math. She had faith in her relationship with Darien Shields despite the distance and his music career.

Their relationship in the media had remained on the down low, much to the blonde deejay's delight. There was still a lot of speculation since his last visit to Lake Martin, but Darien controlled it well, neither confirming nor denying the rumors. Her identity had yet to be revealed to the world and that is the way the couple wanted to keep it for now.


Darien's album Peace of Mind had finally been released and record storeowners could not keep it from flying off the shelves. It was certain to debut at number one on the charts as many fans (mainly teenaged and young women) ran to buy their copies. Of course, the rocker was busy promoting it, leaving very little time for him to visit his love, something that he regretted constantly. The two had been dating for almost six and a half months but had seen little of each other. Somehow, the relationship had managed to work and he was still surprised. Past girlfriends had given up due to the distance or took advantage of his celebrity status but not Serena. The blonde deejay was definitely something more than special.


"All right, Amy!" screamed Serena as Raye and Lita clapped for their friend as she ran to the group of women with her medical school diploma in hand. Minako, who had surprised the crowd by her attendance at the graduation, quickly grabbed her in a bear hug.

"Congrats, Ames! I'm so proud of you!" she squealed.

"Mina, you're cutting off the circulation to my body," chuckled the woman. Minako quickly said an apology before Amy returned the hug. "Thanks so much for coming!"

"I wouldn't miss it for the world," she responded.

"So are you ready for your post grad party or what?" asked Lita.

"Lita, you knew I didn't want one."

"And you knew that you were going to have one regardless of what you said. Now let's get going!" answered Raye as she gently pushed the woman towards the exit. Lita quickly followed the two women, leaving Serena and Minako behind for a minute.

"Can you believe it? She's hit another life milestone."

"So have you, Miss Rockstar," said Serena as she poked her best friend in the side.

"And so will you someday," the longhaired blonde snickered. Serena blushed.

"What are you talking about?" she laughed in response.

"Well, the rumor around Tinsel town is that Darien is supposedly meeting his mysterious woman somewhere in North Carolina to spend the holidays," Minako said in a low tone. Serena took her friend's hand as a few eager fans walked up to the women.

"Minako, may we have an autograph?" asked a small girl as she pushed forward a notepad with a pen. The star quickly wrote her signature. "Thank you!" the young girl squealed. More people began begging for an autograph and Minako continued to sign them. Serena stepped off to the side and watched the events unfold.

Serena turned around as she felt a tap on her shoulder. "Yes?" She faced a woman dressed in a lady's charcoal gray business suit.

"You look familiar. Have I seen you before?" the woman asked.

Serena gulped and quickly answered, "I don't believe so." She nervously shifted her feet and glanced towards Minako who was trying to sign the last few autographs.

The woman continued the interrogation, "Yes. Yes I have. I recognize that hair anyway. You were, I believe, on some magazine cover." Serena immediately tensed up.

'Crap! I thought that incident was long over with!' she thought as she recalled that first dinner date with Darien and how a picture of his polite kiss on her hand made the cover of the People magazine the following week. 'Oh God, I can't deal with this!'

"Ma'am, are you all right? You look a little flushed," inquired the woman who had been speaking with the blonde deejay. Serena brought a hand to her head in response.

"I'm fine. I need a little bit of fresh air," Serena spat out gently as she rushed towards Raye's car in the parking lot. Minako noticed how her friend ran out of the auditorium and quickly followed her.

"Sorry, everyone! Um, Happy Holidays!" she quickly shouted as she followed Serena.


"Okay, Serena. You need to stop breathing so heavily. What happened?" asked Lita as the blonde tripped and fell into her arms.

"I need to get out of here fast!" Lita immediately signaled to Raye to start the car as Minako and Amy opened doors to jump inside.

"What happened?" said Minako frantically as she grabbed one of the magazines in the backseat of Raye's car and fanned Serena.

"I think...I think that...someone knows!" she managed to say.

"Amy, this may be the perfect time to apply your med school knowledge," said Raye as she drove out of the parking lot.

"I'm going to have to move, change my name, quit my job!"

"Serena, you need to stop hyperventilating or you'll give yourself a panic attack. Take a slow deep breath," Amy commanded. Serena immediately followed her friend's orders. "Okay, you're doing well. Now, calmly, tell us what happened."

"All right. Well, Minako got asked to sign a few autographs so I stepped off to the side and waited. Then this crazy woman said to me that she recognized my face from a magazine cover! Raye, do you think that she meant thatPeople magazine from earlier this year?!"

"That's the only one you've been on, but, Serena, you weren't named on that cover."
"True, I remember that," said Minako as she continued fanning her friend. Lita nodded in agreement.

"Oh God! Oh hell! I can't deal with this!" said the blonde before she burst into tears.

"Serena, look at us," said the brunette in the car as she lifted Serena's head. "We will make sure that no one messes with you or stalks you or what else people in the public eye have to deal with."

"Yeah, we're your buddies! Nothing will happen to you as long as we're around," responded Raye, keeping her eyes on the road.

"Besides, Darien won't allow anyone to upset you or hurt you in any way. Besides, you're going to see him in a few days to spend Christmas and New Years with him. Sounds like a romantic getaway to me," said the rock star blonde as she put down the makeshift fan. Serena laughed in response.

"That is true," she answered, feeling the warmth of his love fill her body from head to toe. At that moment, she could swear that she felt his strong arms wrap around her in comfort.

"Now are you ready to celebrate my graduation or what?" asked Amy.

"Wait, I thought that you said that you didn't want a party? Change of heart?" inquired Lita. Amy quickly nodded yes.

"Party time! Party time!" said Minako as she started to dance in the car.


"How was Amy's graduation party last Friday?"

"I think that some of us had a little too much to drink," Serena chuckled, warming her boyfriend's heart.

"I know how that feels."

"Darien, I wish you were there. I wish you were here."

"Me too, Sere. Me too." A short silence followed.

"Darien, I'm kind of scared about tomorrow."

"Don't be because I'll be right beside you the entire way. Forget the paparazzi because they should know not to mess with you with me there."

"For some reason, I can't. Just that incident from a week ago freaked me out quite a bit. I'm nervous. Will people accept me? Will they accept this relationship?" The blonde deejay could not help but feel nervous. She knew that when Darien would meet her at the airport that her existence would be immediately known to the world.

"All that matters is that I love you and if the public doesn't accept that, then that is their problem."

"I love you too," Serena whispered. She was really looking forward to spending the holidays with him.

"All packed because it is cold up here. I don't know that it will snow though. I know that you've mentioned about wanting a white Christmas."

"Yeah, I've never had one before."

"Pray for a miracle because they do happen."

"I will."

"So what did you get me for Christmas?" the rock star joked, pretending to act like a five-year-old on Christmas morning.

"You have to wait, mister," the blonde laughed. The question had reminded her about how she still didn't have a gift she felt was suitable for him. 'I mean he has all the money in the world to get what he wants at anytime.' She had to come up with something fast because she was meeting him tomorrow.

"Okay, I'll wait," he answered in mock defeat. Inside, he thought about the perfect gift he had in mind that he knew Serena would love and he couldn't wait to see the joy in her eyes when she saw it.


Serena was glad that going through the Lake Martin Airport security gates took less time than it had before. The plane's flight was also running smoothly and on time much to her delight since she never felt comfortable flying by herself. As the plane continued on its journey, the blonde managed to take a glance around at the other passengers. An older couple was quietly reading while a mother shook a small toy in front of her young toddler, getting the child to smile. The blonde deejay returned her attention back to the window and continued to watch the outside fly by.


"Are you off the plane yet?" asked Darien as he held his cell phone to his ear and adjusted his sunglasses. A few photographers were following behind him but Chad made sure they stayed at a safe distance. Darien was already feeling nervous about the whole situation and the photographers didn't help.

"We've just landed. I should be in the terminal in a minute."

The rock star waved towards the cameras and continued his phone conversation with Serena as a means of comfort for her. "How are you feeling about all of this?" He could hear Serena take a deep breath on the other line. "Sere, are you sure about this?"

"No matter how freaked out I am right now, I'm not turning back. I just want to see you so badly."

"Me too, baby. Me too."

"Darien! Who's that on the other line! The world wants to know!" shouted a middle-aged man holding a large camera. Darien ignored the man at first.

"Can I tell them?"

"Just don't say my name please. Not yet at least."

"I'm talking to my girlfriend," he responded, flashing a small smile towards the cameraman. The man quickly took advantage of the moment and started taking pictures.

"Darien, I'm at the gate," whispered Serena over the phone. Darien quickened his step, speaking to Chad briefly before turning his walk into a slow run. Chad then turned around and blocked the photographers from following their target, allowing his client a private reunion.


Serena easily picked her boyfriend out of the crowd of people waiting at the end of the gate. His memorizing blue eyes were the only ones she saw in the whole terminal. His gaze brought a smile to her face.

"Welcome to North Carolina, beautiful," he whispered in her ear as she wrapped her arms around him. The rocker eagerly returned the gesture. The small woman in his arms then gently took his face in her hands and placed a light kiss on his lips. "Mmm, that was good."

"I'm glad it was," she said and smiled as she slipped her hands back around him. Darien then felt her fingers grip the fabric of his coat.

"Don't be scared," he said as he brought her eyes to meet his. "They'll try to provoke you and the situation but don't listen to them. They're just after a prized photograph. I don't really agree with it but it is how they choose to earn their dollars. Besides, if they try to bother you."

"You'll pound them into the ground," she chuckled. Darien quickly nodded his head. "So barbaric though, but that is why I love you."

"Your attachment to my strange personality traits is one of the reasons why I love you," he said as he brushed a kiss on her lips. "Ready?" the rocker asked as he offered a hand.

"As I'll ever be," the blonde answered as she laced her fingers with his.


"Darien! Darien! Who's the girl!" shouted a female photographer as she raised her camera to take a picture of the couple walking hand in hand to the baggage claim.

"She's gorgeous! How did y'all meet?"

"She's my girlfriend!" he shouted back, drawing Serena closer to him. She tightened her grip on his hand and wrapped her free hand around his arm.

"What's her name? The whole world wants to know!"

"Where is she from?"

"Give her a kiss, Loverboy!"

As the paparazzi continued to shout questions and various statements, Darien looked down towards the woman at his side, asking her with his eyes, "How are you doing?"

"I can't wait to get out of here," her eyes spoke in terror. That worried him a great deal. Like her, he couldn't wait until this ordeal was over. He was looking forward to the warmth and comfort of his mountain cabin and to a nice holiday with the woman he loved.

"People, step back! You are making her uncomfortable!" commanded Chad as he pushed a few people back that had stepped too close to the couple. Serena was grateful for his intimidating presence. The crowd soon stepped back, giving her and the rocker some much needed space as they picked up her one piece of luggage from the baggage claim.

"How do you deal with this from day to day?" inquired Serena, her grasp on Darien's hand still tight.

"I think of the people in my life that make me happy," he responded to her with a wink, causing her to blush. "You're still so cute when you blush," he said as he flashed a smile to her. The paparazzi and fans that had gathered to see what all of the commotion was all about shot their cameras out and continued to take pictures of the rock star and the woman he had revealed to be his girlfriend. A rare moment was taking place in the entertainment world and the media was going to eat it up.


Serena awoke the next morning to smell of cinnamon. She rolled over and pushed the covers off from her legs and stretched. The room that Darien gave her to reside in during their time together was warm much to her surprise since mountain weather in December was typically cold. It was built with what she considered to be lovely framework and resembled a log cabin with modern amenities attached to it. Grabbing her bathrobe, she walked downstairs.


"You are quite the talented chef," said Serena as she finished the last bite of the omelet that Darien had prepared for breakfast.

"A talent that the world doesn't know of yet, but maybe someday," he responded, drinking a sip of his coffee.

"The world now knows who Darien Shields is dating as well." Serena cringed at the memories of yesterday as she and Darien made their way through the airport.

"And they also should know that she is beautiful," the rocker smiled as he started cleaning up the table.

"And they should also know how incredibly wonderful and handsome Darien Shields is," Serena said tenderly as she watched Darien. She laughed lightly as his glasses nearly fell into the sink.

"Hey, when did we start referring to myself in the third person?" he jokingly asked as he rinsed off a few dishes before putting them into the dishwasher. Serena got up from her seat and crossed the dining room into the kitchen.

"I'm not sure," she answered as she wrapped her arms around his midsection, feeling the firmness of his abs underneath them. "I like it when you wear your glasses. They make you look like an intellectual."

Darien turned around in her embrace. "Well I didn't graduate from college cum laude for nothing," he said as he lowered his head down. "You're short by the way," he teased.

Serena laughed in false disgust and poked him in the side, "Well maybe you're too tall!"

"I like my height of 6'2''," he said as he playfully kissed her nose. "Good morning to you."

"Good morning to you as well," Serena said softly before brushing a kiss across Darien's lips. "I think I am going to like the holidays for once."

"Me too, Sere. Me too."


Thanks for reading guys! and please do not forget to review!