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Chapter 10

Darien was in his apartment going over what Andrew had told him. So many thoughts were racing in Darien's mind, that nothing made sense anymore. The image of Serena kissing some guy kept appearing in his head. No matter how hard he tired, he couldn't push it away. In the end, he welcomed it. In a way, he figured, he deserved to suffer since it was his fault all this had happened.

Frustrated that his thoughts were getting him nowhere, he decided he needed some coffee. He went into his kitchen and turned on the coffeemaker. He needed to relax and calm his thoughts. He needed a plan. He needed to talk to her.

Meanwhile

The girls were walking towards the arcade. Serena had almost forgotten that she had to talk to Andrew. It was nice talking to Mina, Ami, and Lita. She had missed them so much. Yet she knew this was only the beginning. She still had to talk to Rei and Darien. For now though, she wouldn't concern herself with that. She would deal with them later.

They walked into the arcade and sat in a booth.

"I'll be right back" said Serena.

She walked over to the counter where Andrew was waiting for her.

"So you guys made up?"

"Yeah. I figured none of this was their fault you know?" she replied as she glanced at her friends.

"Well that's good. Have you talked to anybody else?"

Serena knew who he meant, yet she took a moment before replying.

"No. Not yet anyways. I can't ignore them forever, I know. I just don't to deal with it just yet."

"I understand. So, what will it be?"

"One chocolate milkshake, two cokes, and one water please."

"Coming right up."

As Andrew was getting the drinks, Serena told him about Jason and everything that happened on her trip.

"Well, I still think I should punch him or something" said Andrew as he handed her the drinks.

"Andrew!"

"What?"

"You are not going to harm him in any way."

"I was only joking."

"Righttt, you were 'joking.'"

Serena grabbed the drinks and walked back to their booth.

"Here we go. Cokes for Lita and Mina, and water for Ami" said Serena as she handed each their drinks.

"Thanks" they replied simultaneously.

"No problem" she said as she sat down.

"I'm so jealous of you Serena. I want to meet a cute guy like Jason. So not fair. You are so lucky" said Mina.

"What are you talking about Mina? Guys practically throw themselves at you."

"I guess but still…I want someone who actually cares about me."

"Don't worry Mina, I'm sure you will meet him soon" said Lita.

"And when you least expect it" added Ami.

"Exactly" said Serena.

"You guys are right. Thanks. So Serena, tell us more about this Jason fellow" said Mina.

"Do you think you will see him again?" asked Lita.

"I don't know. He said that we would see each other again but I don't see how. I don't know where nor when we would see each other. All I know is that he promised me that we would and I believe him."

"That it so romantic," said Mina, "You're like Romeo and Juliet."

"How are they at all like Romeo and Juliet Mina?" asked Lita.

"Don't you see? It's obvious they want to be together but they can't. They were torn apart before they could declare their love to one another. Now all these obstacles stand in their way of true love. Both are aching to be in each other's arms again. However, that idea seems unlikely as time goes by and so Serena begins to doubt his promise. And just when everything seems lost, Jason is going to arrive and sweep Serena off her feet. He is going to take her in his arms and kiss her passionately. He'll tell her how much he missed her and how he never wants to be apart. Serena will have tears of joy and they will confess their love for one another and they will live happily ever after" Mina said with a content sigh.

She was staring dreamly at the picture she had created while Ami, Serena, and Lita were just staring at her. Mina snapped out of her daydream and focused back on the present. She realized that the girls were just staring at her.

"What? It could happen" she said.

Serena, Ami, and Lita started to laugh; soon after Mina joined them. They had tears in their eyes before they were able to stop.

"You watch way too many movies Mina" stated Lita as the laughter died down.

"I can't help it. I love romantic movies."

"That's nothing new" said Serena.

"Well?" said Mina.

"Well what?" asked a confused Serena.

"Do you love him?"

Ami had been quiet this whole time. She had listening to her friends and simply enjoying their company. She was glad they were talking again. Yet, at the same time, she couldn't help but think of Rei and Darien. She knew what they had done was pretty much unforgivable but still…it didn't feel quite right without Rei. When Mina asked Serena if she loved Jason, she again thought of Darien. Without even thinking, Ami said, "What about Darien?"

Silence.

Ami lifted her eyes from the table ad looked at Serena. Realizing what she had said, she began to blush.

"I'm sorry. I didn't– I mean I shouldn't have said that. I wasn't thinking. I'm sorry Serena."

Serena smiled at her and said, "It's ok Ami. Really. It's fine that you asked because I don't know what I'm going to do about him."

"Are you going to talk to him?" Lita asked softly.

"I have to. I just don't know what I'm going to say when I do. Ridiculous as it sounds, I don't want to hurt him. I still care about him. I'm pathetic aren't I?"

"No, you most definitely are not pathetic. It's Darien. You loved him. Of course you still care about him. You probably always will" said Mina.

"I wish there was something we could do" Ami said.

Serena sighed. Why did things have to be so hard?

"I think I just need to think. I'll see you guys later ok?"

She got out of the booth and was starting to walk away, when Ami's voice stopped her.

"Wait Serena. I almost forgot. Now that you're here, umm do you want Luna back?"

"Luna of course. I've missed her. Is she ok?"

"Yes, she's fine."

"You think she'll forgive me?"

"Of course she will."

"I'll pick her up later then, is that ok?"

Ami nodded her agreement.

"Thanks Ami, for taking care of her. I'll see you later. Bye."

"Bye."

"Bye you guys."

She waved good-bye to Andrew and left. Once outside she didn't know where to go. So, she turned right and began walking.

Darien's Apartment

Darien was pacing. So far all his ideas had been horrible. He had discarded them all as useless. All he really had was his conviction that he needed to talk to Serena.

"Damn, damn, damn! What am I going to do?"

His pacing was interrupted by the sound of someone knocking. He went to his door and opened it.

Serena had been walking without really knowing where she was going. She took a look at her surroundings and realized she was heading towards Darien's apartment.

'I guess my subconscious knew what I wanted to know.'

She looked up at the building, imagining Darien in his apartment, most likely drinking coffee. She pictured herself pouting because he had gotten up from the couch to refill his cup and she was no longer in his embrace. He would be chuckling at her antics and- She stopped herself. She shook her head, trying to shake the image her mind had created out of her head. She looked away and continued walking.

Despite the fact that Serena had tried to walk as slowly as possible, she was in front of Darien's door far too quickly.

'I've come this far. Can't back out now.'

She lifted her hand and knocked. Waiting for him to open the door seemed to take an eternity, which made her even more nervous. It allowed for doubts and insecurities to sneak their way into her head. It also made her realize that she hadn't thought this true. What if he wasn't home? What if he was on a date and some girl opened the door? She would die if that were to happen.

She heard someone fumbling with the lock - her hear began to beat a little faster - saw the doorknob twisting - no other noise but her heartbeat could be heard - and the door was opened.

Heart stopped and there he was. Darien. Her Darien. Handsome as always. He looked even more handsome than she remembered. His dark, ebony hair had fallen on his face making her think of the times she would reach up to push it out of his face. An excuse just to touch his hair and get a better look at his eyes. Midnight blue eyes that made her lose herself every time she looked into them. Eyes that now were staring at her in surprise.

"Hi" she said.

"Serena" he said softly, afraid that if he said her name aloud she would disappear.

She looked so beautiful. He wanted nothing more than to put his arms around her and kiss her. Instead he moved aside and said, "Come in."

Serena hesitated for a second before walking in. Darien closed the door behind her and went into the living room. At the sight of the couch, Serena wanted to cry. The image from before come to her and this time it wouldn't go away.

"Want something to drink?"

"No, I'm fine thank you."

"Umm, do you want to sit down?" he said, gesturing towards the couch.

Not trusting her voice, Serena nodded. They sat in silence for awhile, neither of them sure what to say.

Trying to break the silence, Darien spoke first.

"Uhh, so how have you been?"

"Good. You?"

"Good."

"That's good."

"Yeah…how was your vacation?"

"It was okay."

"I'm glad."

"Yeah…"

Silence fell again.

'This is ridiculous. This is not what we should be talking about.'

Serena gathered her courage, looked at Darien, and said, "We have to talk. And not about my vacation or anything, but about us."

"I agree."

"Okay."

"Do you want to start? Or should I?"

"I'll start. I have to say this now before I back out."

Darien nodded and waited for her to start.

"Alright. This is so hard to say. Darien, oh Darien. You know how much you mean to me right? How much I love you? So you have to know how much seeing you kiss Rei hurt me. It hurt so much. There are no words to describe what I felt. I couldn't bear it and I don't think I could go through it again. How could I possibly trust you after that? How can I be sure you won't hurt me again? I don't think we can see each other anymore Darien."

As she was talking, some tears had escaped. Now, she wiped them away. She noticed that Darien seemed closer than before, but ignored it. She looked at Darien and waited for him to start.

"You don't know how many times I've pictured this conversation in my head. Yet, I still have no idea what to say. I wish I could go back in time and do things differently. But I can't. I now I've hurt you that I don't deserve your forgiveness, but you can't give up on us. I love you so much Serena. You are everything to me and without you I would be so lost. I will do whatever it takes to make you see how sorry I am and show you how much I love you. I don't care how long it takes. I love you and I always will. Don't you see that?"

Darien lifted his hand and wiped the tear from Serena's face. She hadn't realized he was so close.

'When did he get so close?! Why didn't I notice before? I need to move further away.'

Yet, Serena stayed where she was. She was rooted to that spot. She could feel Darien's warmth and was well aware of his hand that still rested on her cheek.

Slowly, Darien inched his face closer to Serena. As she realized this, she inhaled sharply and tensed. Before she knew it, Darien's lips were on hers. She had forgotten how soft his lips were. She began to melt and respond to him.

At first, Darien only intended to give her a peck on the lips and pull away. He hadn't expected her to respond at all. Now he could feel her lips move against his and his control was gone. She tested of strawberries. He couldn't get enough of her. He pressed her close to him as the kiss grew more urgent, more passionate. It had been too long since they last kissed.

Serena was running her hands up and down his back when she realized what she was doing. She put her hands on his chest and shoved while she pulled away.

While the shove didn't really budge Darien, it worked in breaking the spell. He let go of Serena and moved away.

Both were breathing heavily and had to regain their breath before either could speak.

"I should go" said Serena rather breathlessly.

Again, she made no move to get up. She felt weak. If she stood up, she had a feeling her knees would buckle. Darien stared at her and wondered what she was thinking.

"Stay" he whispered.

"I can't. I have to go."

She stood up and started walking, but Darien grabbed a hold of her hand. Without letting her go, he stood next to her and spoke.

"You don't have to go."

"I do. I have to-"

"No you don't."

He kissed her softly and gently once again. He lifted his head only inches from her, looked into her eyes, and once again said, "Stay."

"Oh Darien. I can't. I need to think. This is too confusing right now."

"How is it confusing? This is us. It feels right and you know it."

"I'm sorry Darien."

She pulled away and walked out the door.

Hope you guys liked it! Please review! Thanks you guys :)

-Girl of Darkness