As the weeks went by, Serena grew closer to Seiya and Rei. She slowly stopped taking her anger out on them, and found their company cheering her up. She still never told them why she disliked her dad so much. That part was something she never had the guts to tell them. Same with her cutting. Surprisingly, neither of them gave any hint of suspecting anything. For them, she tried to pull herself out of her depression, but failed every time. She found this even more depressing. She found herself going to Reis temple a few times a week. Once, after a huge fight with her father, she found herelf walking to her temple in the middle of the night. Once she got there, she cried for awhile and walked back. She told nobody about this.
As Serena lay down on her bed stroking Luna, her cell phone rang. She picked up her phone.
"Odango!" Seiyas voice rang out. Serena felt a little flutter in her stomach. Something thats been happening more as she hung out with Seiya.
"Hey dude," she said quietly.
"Why are you so quiet?" he asked. "Is your dad there?"
"Unfortunatly. But my door is locked,"
"Oh okay...I was wondering if maybe you wanted to hang out?" he asked.
"Where? Will Rei be there?"
"Anywhere. I kind of wanted it to be just you and me...I want to talk to you,"
"I don't know Seiya I need to get out of the house anyways...maybe I'll get Mina to come with me to the mall or something...let me ask her," She set the phone down and went into Minas room.
"Mina do you want to come to the mall? Seiya wants me to meet him there," Mina looked up from her laptop.
"I dont want you to get in trouble," she said.
"I really don't care Mina. Do you want to go or not?" Mina narrowed her eyes.
"I don't want you to get in trouble. Why do you insist on doing things Dad says not to do? Maybe then you wouldn't be getting in trouble all the time,"
"I have no respect for him and I don't care. Whatever. I'm going. I need hair dye anyways. My roots are getting too long,"
"I'll go. Maybe I can cover your ass too while I'm at it," she said, getting up off her bed. "Tell Seiya to bring Yaten," Serena went back into her room.
"Mina says to bring Yaten," she told Seiya.
"Hes comming anyways. See you there in thirty minutes," he said. Serena quckly got ready and put on her makeup. After making sure her necklace was securely fastened, she went into Minas room.
"Are you ready?" She asked. Mina nodded. "Lets sneak out so we don't have to put up with Dads bull," she said. Mina nodded. They crept downstairs and fond their dad in the back patio, smoking a cigarrete. They snuck out the door and walked towards the bus stop.
"We missed the bus," Mina said. "Maybe they can pick us up," She called Yaten, and he agreed to come pick them up from the bus stop. After picking them, they headed towads the mall. Serena sat in the back of the van, and Mina sat up front with Yaten. Seiya had moved to the back of the van to sit with Serena.
"How have you been this weekend?" he asked.
"I've been okay. How have you been?" she asked.
"Fine as you are my lady," he said, propping his feet against the seat in front of him and throwing an arm around her. He felt her tense up. "Comon Odango relax....Its just harmless flirting," he said. Serena scooted uncomfortably against the side of the van. Seiya had recently started flirting with her and she was afraid of it. She liked it, but she was afraid of it. Seiya looked at her expressions of discomfort and he took his arm off of her.
"Serena do you need anything from the mall?" Mina asked.
"Just hair dye and jackets," she said.
"You're not dying your hair black," Yaten said, looking at her through the review mirror.
"Shut the fuck up Yaten. Yes I am," she said.
"No you're not. You need a new look," he said.
"Fuck you. No I don't" she said. Yaten looked at Mina.
"We're fixing her look. Don't let her leave when we get there," he said quietly. She nodded. When they got to the mall, they all got out of the van. Serena zipped up her jacket and put her hood over her head. They walked in. Serena grabbed Seiyas arm and pulled him into the hair store. Yaten and Mina followed. Serena grabbed a box of black hair dye and walked to the counter. Yaten walked up to her and pulled the box of hair dye from her hand.
"You are not getting this. Either you don't dye your hair or you get different highlights. You can't be using this black shit anymore. It washes you out. Pick another color," She glared at him.
"Sere aren't you tired of nothing but all black? Come on. Let dress you up in something different. You need a change," Mina said, looking at her with hopeful eyes.
"Fine," she muttered. Seiya walked behind a rack and pulled out a small box He tossed it to her.
"You'll look good with this," he said. He tossed Yaten the box. He looked at it.
"Yaten will make you look great...you already do but yeah...." he said, smiling at her.
"What color is it?" she asked.
"Its a surprise. Lets shop," Mina said. They bought the hair dye and went walking. After they seperated, Seiya and Serena walked into Tilly's (A surprisingly large one) where she picked out a few bright colored tank tops and jeans. She walked into the dressing room and Seiya tossed her some clothes over the door. She put on a hot pink tank top and blue skinny jeans and looked in the mirror. She was surprised at what she saw. Her color had brightened up to a healthy creamy color, and she had gained weight (thanks to Seiya and Rei forcing her to eat). Her hair had gotten softer and her skin had begun to glow. Her body had changed a lot, except for her arms. She sat on the little bench and lookd at them. Her arms were slashed with old scars and new. Fresh from the morning before and old from a year ago. For a reason she couldn't understand, she threw open the curtain and pulled Seiya inside.
"Serena you cant jusss-" his voice trailed off as she held out her arms to him. She watched as the color drained from his face. He grabbed her arm and rubbed his hand accross it. She flinched and pulled her arm back and stared. She looked up at him again and wrapped her arms around his waist. She leaned her head on his chest.
"Don't tell anyone please," she said in a pleading voice. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head.
"I won't. Don't worry," he whispered, squeezing her tighter. "Don't do that...please," he said. "I don't want to see that again," he said. She nodded slightly. "Put your clothes on so we can buy you the new stuff. We can talk about it later," He stood outside the dressing room and grabbed the clothes she threw out. He walked silently and absentmindedly bought the clothes for her. He walked to the enterence and slammed his head against the door frame. Serena walked hesitantly towards him.
"I'm.....I..look dude I'm sorry," she said. Seiya didn't move. She lightly grasped his chin and pulled his face so he was looking at her. "Hey man...its just some stupid shit I do to help relieve stress. Don't worry about anything. I'm fine. I always take care of myelf," she said.
"Does Mina know about that?" he asked darkly.
"No," she said. "Don't tell her. I don't want anyone to know," she said.
"Well then why did you show me?" he asked.
"Well...I kinda trust you," she said. He sighed
"I don't want to see you hurt yourself again Odango," he said. "But we'll talk about it later...when I clear my mind," hesaid. "I'm sorry I couldn't stop it," he said.
"Dude don't worry about it. I wouldn't listen anyways," she said.
"Lets just go get lunch," Seiya said.
"My treat," Serena said. "You'll be there for me right?" she asked. He gave her a small smile.
"Of course," he said.