Author's Notes: Okay, you got to admit October to February is not the biggest hiatus I've been on when it comes to this story. But it is rather long considering I thought I knew how this chapter was going to play out. But it kind of started changing late in December and really hit it's climax a few days ago while I was trying to write a paper for another class and was watching the music video for the song used in this chapter. Anyway thanks to Isis2010, usagifan, nickybluejess, CharmedSerenity3, mangamania, CaseClosed621, stephumz, moonie4ever, kireisnowtenshi, SMF, and Jenbunny for reviewing the last chapter. As always, they mean the world to me and help me write the next one! Hope you guys are prepared for this chapter, and I know it's a little bit spotty but that's the way it was supposed to be. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon and I don't own the song "Better Than I Know Myself" by Adam Lambert. I do, however, own the music video for this song, which helps me cope. Most days.

On the Road

By: afallenblackrose

Days 29-35:

Breaking Point

Serena woke up the next morning, in a somewhat better mood than the day before. She was still angry, there was no doubt about that, but she now knew that it didn't matter. Her whole world wasn't going to be determined by some guy. She had tried to live that way before and it hadn't gone exactly as she planned. In fact, she was still recovering from that particular blow, even if it was two years ago.

But starting today she was going to live her life the way she wanted to, and to do that she was going to need to go shopping. With a smile on her face, she swept back the covers and began to head towards the bathroom when she heard a knock on her door. She frowned. Who could that possibly be so early in the morning? Serena changed course and opened the door to find a bellhop whose face was obscured by a vase of red roses.

"Serena?" The bellhop asked.

"That's me," she replied. "Um…just put them on the table over there." She left the door open and watched as he came in and somehow managed to put the roses on the table she had pointed out. He smiled at her before leaving. She shook her head and closed the door before going to the roses to search for a card. She found it and opened the envelope.

I'm sorry about last night and everything else.

Truce?

Love,

Darien

Her eyes narrowed at his signature and just at the whole card in general. How dare he try to win her over with her favorite flower! Hadn't he taken the hint last night? She wasn't ready to forgive him, and she definitely wasn't open to any of his flirtatious attempts to try and win her back. In a haze of anger, she lifted the roses directly out of the vase and threw them into the garbage can in the kitchen. She tore the card to pieces and added it to the mix.

Her anger was so intense that she didn't even remember taking her shower. She blinked as she blow-dried her hair as quickly as she possibly could. This anger at Darien scared her a little bit. She hadn't really been this angry before. Not even at her parents when they were calling her a slut a few weeks ago. What was it about him that brought this kind of emotion out of her? She turned off the hair dryer and looked at herself in the mirror.

"Things are about to change again, Serena," she told herself. "And this time nothing is going to get in our way. We are going to do what we want, no matter the consequences." She smiled and walked out of the bathroom ready to take on the world.

It turned out that by leaving the hotel, Serena got her wish. She got to take on the world…or at least, the paparazzi. They were swarming the front of the hotel as Lita, Mina, Raye, and her walked out to go on their shopping spree. They started screaming once they saw them, and it was mostly about what had happened the night before. Serena didn't say anything and just pulled up her hood and continued to the limo. As soon as all the girls were inside, they started hounding her about what had happened last night as well. Only she couldn't avoid them, nor did she want to.

"I'm just really pissed off at him right now," she said honestly. "And then hearing him try to win me back by singing one of my songs? That just sent me over the edge. He doesn't get to do that, not after what he's done." She looked away from them and out the window as the scenery passed by. This signaled to them that she didn't want to continue talking about it anymore. The rest of the ride passed in silence.

At their first stop though, the girls raised their eyebrows. It was a hair salon. Now, just what were they doing here? Serena climbed out of the limo first and made her way into the building. The person at the desk stared at her for a second before smiling.

"Serena from Beautiful Angels Go to Hell, what can I help you with today?" The girls who followed the blonde in were curious about this as well.

"Well, I'm here to get my hair cut and some highlights done," she replied with a smile of her own. "What about you girls?" She turned to the stunned Mina, Raye, and Lita. Lita, who'd known Serena for a while, knew that her wanting highlights was not a good sign. She was going back to her rebellious ways, back to ways where she was almost self-destructive. The stunned look lasted only momentarily for Mina and Raye who were never ones to pass an opportunity to get pampered.

"Highlights and a trim," they both said in unison and were led to chairs in the back of the building.

Day 30

Darien stared as Serena, Raye, and Mina made their way into the dining room for breakfast the following morning. He couldn't help but let his eyes wander over her body. He had seen her briefly the day before, but that girl and this one were two different people. The Serena from yesterday had hair that barely touched her shoulders. Now her hair was cut sharply to her ears, and was streaked with neon pink strands. She had also been taking lessons from Mina and Raye when it came to her clothing. Instead of wearing jeans and a t-shirt, like she normally did, she was wearing destroyed jean capiris and a burned out off the shoulder black t-shirt with some sort of silver foil on the front.

His eyes drank her in, and he wanted desperately to go over to where she was sitting and kiss her deeply. But he had messed up. Messed up majorly. Something that he was trying to fix, but apparently, according to the maid who cleaned her room the night before, she wasn't going for it just yet. He sighed and got up from the table to leave the room. He had some writing to do, and another gift to pick out.

Darien met her eyes as she quickly glanced at him and then looked away. That one look made his heart freeze in his chest. He had seen her anger in that look, and knew that he had a long way to go if he wanted to win her back.

Serena sighed as she watched Darien leave. Her anger that had been fueling her for the last few days was starting to fade. Instead of being mad about what had happened she was feeling depressed, and she was starting to wonder if she had pushed things too far. She had wished that he had stared at her a little bit longer, because if he had he would have seen his latest gift of apology hanging around her neck.

Just like the previous morning, a bellboy had appeared at her door with something for her from Darien. This time it was a small black box with a purple ribbon. She opened it and had almost dropped it in surprise. A silver chain with a pink and purple guitar pick pendent lay on velvet inside the box. But it was what was engraved on the pick that made her tear up a little bit.

I knew I loved you before I met you

It was almost enough to make her go to his room and fall into his arms. Almost, but not quite. She wished she could tell him that the way to her heart wasn't through these expensive gifts, but to a public declaration of love. So she would wait, to see if he would do just that. She sighed and tuned back into the conversation that her two new friends were having.

That night, at the end of the concert, Darien did just what Serena wanted him to do. He made his public declaration of love through a song. It was his last song of the night, and the crowd was clapping and cheering with everything in them. But they noticed the look on his face and began to quiet down.

"I know that a lot has been going on in the press these last few days about Serena and I," he began. "So I wanted to set the record straight. The day the interview aired, I was still annoyed with Serena for rejecting me so I didn't watch it. Right after it aired, I ran into her in the hall of the hotel we were staying at. We got into a fight and I told her that she was ruining my life, not aware of what she had said in that interview. I eventually did watch it, but by the time that I did it was too late to make it up to her. But I'm trying anyway."

The crowd applauded.

"So, I'm hoping that Serena is listening somewhere backstage, because I mean every word," he said, and motioned for the music to start.

Maybe it's intuition, but some things you just don't question
Like in your eyes, I see my future in an instant
And there it goes I think I found my best friend
I know it might sound like more than a little crazy
But I believe
I knew I loved you before I met you
I think I dreamed you into life
I knew I loved you before I met you
I have been waiting all my life
There's just no rhyme or reason
Only the sense of completion
And in your eyes, I see the missing pieces
I'm searching for, I think I found my way home
I know that it might sound more than a little crazy
But I believe
I knew I loved you before I met you
I think I dreamed you into life
I knew I loved you before I met you
I have been waiting all my life
A thousand angels dance around you
I am complete now that I found you

The females in the crowd were crying, and the rest held up their cell phones and swayed back and forth to the music. It was a touching dedication to Serena, and they hoped that she would forgive the pop star. Who wouldn't after a song like that?

But Serena never heard any of it. Oh, sure, she should have, because she had been backstage for most of Darien's set. But before his second to last song, she had been whisked away and into her dressing room. She didn't understand what was going on and seeing the grim faces of Nick, Paul, and Lita only made her more confused.

"Guys, what's going on?" She asked trying to read the expressions on their faces.

"Serena," Lita replied in a calm tone. "It's about Alan." That shocked her. She hadn't heard his name since she had left Royal Oak when the news had done a brief story about the trial the day after her interview with Diane Sawyer aired. What had that idiot done now?

"What about Alan?" She asked with a shaky voice.

"Remember what you said back in Royal Oak when you first saw Alan?"

"Not really," Serena replied. "Royal Oak was sort of a blur of events."

"Well, you said something about how he was out early," Paul aided. "And you were right. Alan did get out early, because of good behavior and because he hired a lawyer to take another look at the case."

"And why would he do that?"

"Because he thinks he was wrongly imprisoned." Serena's jaw dropped open and she was quickly informed about what had been going on while she was performing and watching Darien's performance. While they informed her, they left the theater and went back to the hotel to watch the news. The lead story was that Alan had filed a wrongful imprisonment suit and was suing Serena for damages. She didn't know what to think about all of this, and just sat there dumbfounded. Wrongful imprisonment? Was he on drugs? The guy had raped her for crying out loud. He had forced himself on her at a party two years ago. She hadn't imagined that.

Serena finally stood up from the couch and stalked out of the room. She couldn't stand being there anymore, couldn't stand being in that room watching as a man who had violated her lied on national TV. It was just too much to take, and she needed something to take the edge off. She blindly made her way downstairs to the bar and took a seat. The bartender looked at her and put a glass on the counter.

"What's your poison?" She asked.

That caught her by surprise too. Serena looked up and into the comforting eyes of a woman with green eyes. "You do realize I'm underage, right? That you could possibly get in trouble for serving me alcohol?"

"Honey, I know that, but you look like you're in desperate need of a drink. Besides, you're here in the hotel, it's not like you're going to go make a spectacle of yourself. So again, what's your poison?"

"Vodka," she said, going back to her old drug of choice. The bartender poured her a shot and she swung it back before motioning for another one. And that one became another, and another….

Day 31

Serena was the kind of girl who could always hold her liquor, a fact that she learned early on during her party days in high school. However, just because she could hold her alcohol didn't mean that she was immune to the hangover the next day. Her head was pounding when she woke up that morning, and she was thankful that it was overcast and cloudy, or else she would have been squinting at the brightness of the sun. She shuffled into the kitchen and grabbed a water bottle from the fridge, and then to the bathroom for an aspirin. Once she did that she thought back on what happened last night, and realized that she didn't want to remember. Alan wasn't done causing her trouble, and she didn't know what to do.

Darien was sitting in the back of the bus, waiting for Serena to board. He was surprised he hadn't heard from her sooner after what had happened last night. After his performance, he had gone backstage to find that she had already left for the hotel. That didn't bring about good feelings, and when she didn't come to see him this morning those bad feelings intensified. What if she hadn't seen the performance? And if she hadn't then what was the reason? She couldn't have still been mad at him. She was wearing the necklace he gave her. His mind fell deeper into what–ifs.

She finally boarded the bus, but she did not look happy. In fact, she looked almost sick. What was going on? He got up to find out, when a hand was placed over his own. He turned his head, and found Raye shaking her head.

"Leave her alone today, Darien," she whispered. "She went through a lot last night."

"What do you mean?"

"Before your last performance, her band ushered her back to her dressing room and then shortly after they left to go back to the hotel. Apparently, they found out why Alan was in Royal Oak."

Darien hissed at the name. "Why was he there?"

"He got out early for good behavior, and now he's suing the state of Michigan for wrongful imprisonment and Serena for damages."

Oh, my God, he thought. No wonder she had left so early and looked like she was about to be sick. The drama between Alan and her wasn't over yet, and she didn't look like she could take much more. He stayed back and decided that even though he had bared his heart to her last night, that it wasn't time to hound her about it just yet.

Serena had conference calls with her lawyers for the rest of the afternoon. They told her not to be worried about the lawsuit that was being brought against her. Any rightful judge would throw out the case, since they had DNA evidence and knew that the only reason he was suing her was because of her recent fame. Even though it was meant to reassure her, she still felt uneasy about the whole thing. What if a judge found cause to try the case, because of her fame? Because of the song that she did where she was basically soliciting for sex? Serena leaned back and regretted doing that music video for "For Your Entertainment." Her parents were right, she had been selling herself as a cheap whore.

But how was she supposed to know that it might come back and bite her in the ass? She picked up a glass and threw it at the mirror in anger. It shattered into many pieces, something she found great satisfaction in. She was just done with everything. It seemed that no matter how much she tried to put her past behind her and start anew, something would stop her and remind her of who she used to be. The party girl who knew how to ruin everything. She scoffed.

Fine, if that's how everyone was going to see her now, then that was just exactly who she was going to be.

Days 32-34

BEAUTIFUL ANGEL NOT AS ANGELIC AS SHE APPEARS TO BE!

SERENA SHOWS HER TRUE COLORS!

WITH BEHAVIOR LIKE THIS, MAYBE SHE DIDN'T GET RAPED AT ALL!

The tabloids' front pages told the story of what happened over the next two days. Serena had indeed gone back to being the party girl that she was in high school. She drank and partied every night after the shows and danced scandalously with random strangers. All of which the paparazzi caught on film and the media, being the sharks that they are, had a field day with the new coverage. What caused the 'goody two shoes Angel' to go off the deep end? Little did they know it was the media's coverage that was doing this to her.

The first day, when the tabloids came out no one in the groups paid it much mind. She was just letting off some steam, it had been a rough couple of days for her and she needed to cool off. Besides she hadn't done anything too damaging…yet. The second day was much different. Along with her drinking and dancing, she had destroyed hotel property by having another fit of rage in her room. The media caught wind of it and splashed it across the headlines.

Sapphire came to talk to her then.

She woke up that morning on the couch to her head pounding. Another hangover, her third in as many days, but the pounding continued and seemed more intense than her previous hangovers had been. That's when she realized that the pounding in her head, wasn't really in her head at all. It was actually someone knocking on her door. She peered at the clock. It was eleven in the morning. No wonder someone was pounding on her door. She was running behind schedule. She got off the couch and avoided the feathers and glass that was strewn across the floor. When she opened the door it was to a very pissed off Sapphire.

"Serena," he said sternly and came in without an invitation.

"Oh, sure, just come on in," she said sarcastically. She closed the door and turned to face him, her arms crossed in front of her chest. "What can I do for you, Sapphire?"

He looked around the room, "So, it's true then. The hotel is really billing us over five thousand dollars because of damages you caused to the room."

"Five thousand dollars? Hm…I didn't think it was quite that extravagant," she walked over and picked her jeans off the floor before she shimmied into them. He watched all of this with a look of disdain. When she looked up he was standing directly in front of her. "Whoa…back up a little bit there, Sapphire. You're a little too close for comfort."

"I don't mind paying the five thousand dollars in damages," he said sternly. "And I don't mind you partying so out of control, because you've been through a lot. But there's only so much my patience will allow. If you pull another stunt like this, Serena, I am kicking you off the tour. And believe me when I say this, you don't want me as an enemy." He backed up a little bit and smiled at her. "Now, that that's out of the way, don't you have a practice to attend?" He turned and opened the door to find a confused Darien walking down the hall.

"Sapphire?" He asked and looked in. Serena was standing there, her hair a mess, her jeans not buttoned, and her tank top ruffled. What exactly had been going on in there?

"Hey Darien, just having a quick conversation with Serena," he said and shut the door behind him. "So are you ready for the show tomorrow?" They continued walking down the hall, even though Darien was throwing inquisitive glances back to Serena's door. What exactly had they been talking about? Was it about her partying? He had to admit that last night's events had been a little extreme and he hoped that it was going to stop soon. Yes, she had been through a lot, but there was only so much leeway that he wanted to give her. He was coming to the end really soon.

Serena had taken Sapphire's threat seriously, and had been practicing all day for tomorrow's show. Unlike with previous cities, this stage had a staircase leading up to an upper part of the stage. She wanted to use that somehow, and she had been talking with her band mates to figure out how it could be put into play. She was on her way back to the hotel when she heard someone on the street talk about her.

"That Serena chick is just like any girl out there," a guy in front of her said. "She puts on a good show, makes you want her, and then at the last second pulls away and changes her mind. She is the worst kind of tease. I feel so bad for that Alan guy. If I was him I'd be fighting those charges too. She was totally asking for it."

She fought back tears as she walked into the hotel and went directly to the bar. She was going to go back to her room and have a quiet night in, but after what she heard that guy say about her? She couldn't take it and she needed to let off some steam.

Later on that night, about six or seven drinks in, Serena was having a grand old time joking with a bunch of guys that had trickled in during the evening. They were obviously flirting with her, but she didn't mind. They could flirt all they wanted it didn't mean that she was going to take one of them to her room that night. Despite previous beliefs she wasn't that kind of girl.

After another few drinks, one of the guys she was talking with started to get a little handsy. She tried to tell him to back off, but he wouldn't listen. She slapped away his hands a few times, but he still wouldn't take the hint. She was about to scream bloody murder, when another set of hands pushed the guy back. He stumbled and looked up at the newcomer.

"What the hell, man? I was just trying to have a good time," he sputtered.

"Yeah, well, the lady isn't interested," a deep velvet voice replied. Serena looked up in shock, to find Darien staring down at her. The guy decided it wasn't worth it and stumbled out of the room.

"Thanks," she replied and got up to go back to her room. She had enough for the night. Just as she was about to leave the room, Darien pulled on her upper arm harshly. She whipped back and glared at him. "Darien, just what in the world do you think you are doing?" She hissed.

"No, the question is, just what the hell do you think you're doing, Serena? This isn't you! You don't drink your problems away!" He exclaimed.

Serena laughed darkly, "You don't know me, Darien. This is exactly how I used to be before I came to Los Angeles. I'm just giving the crowd and the media the show that they want to see." She tried to pull out of his grasp, but he wouldn't let her go. He kept staring at her, his azure blue eyes searching her own. What he saw must have shocked him because he let go of her arm.

"No," he whispered as he looked at her.

"What?"

"No," he said louder. "You don't get to be this way, Serena. I won't stand by and watch you destroy yourself. I know you have been unhappy and what I did to you was inexcusable. But I've been trying to make up for that for a week. Yet you've ignored them just so you could act out. If you don't feel the same about me anymore and are so unhappy being on this tour, then please, feel free to leave. No one is making you stay, and this behavior is so juvenile for someone who's been through what you have." And with that he walked away, leaving a stunned Serena in his wake.

She blinked when she realized the bar had quieted down for his speech and was now staring at her. She had felt like he had slapped her, but it was the wake up call that she needed. The way she had been acting the last few days was not the person she was anymore. She had moved passed all that drama, and Darien, had made her see reason. She walked out of the bar and went straight to her room where she stayed up the rest of the night to work on something that would make everything between the two of them right again.

Day 35

Lita, Nick and Paul were waiting at her door, the following morning. She smiled and let them into her room. They had a lot to discuss and somehow she knew just by looking at them that they knew about what had happened the night before.

"How?" Serena asked.

"YouTube," Paul answered pulling out his phone and showing her the video that someone had taken of the 'fight' Serena and Darien had had last night. She sighed and hit stop on the video. She was about to hand Paul back his phone when something caught her eye under the related videos.

"I didn't know Darien had a new song," she said and clicked on the video. She realized that it was from the concert a few nights back, and it was his last song of his performance. The one she had missed because of the whole Alan drama. She watched it and felt her hand drift subconsciously to the chain that she wore around her neck. He had done what she had wanted him to do and this was a few days ago.

"God, I really have been an idiot, haven't I?" She whispered and looked at her fellow band mates. "Well, the good news is that I'm going to fix it and I finally figured out how to use that staircase."

Darien had been avoiding Serena all day. The words he had said to her last night were still echoing in his ears. They had been harsh and he realized that if she really left the tour his heart would break, but it had to be said. He didn't want to see her be so miserable. As the hour of the concert drew nearer, he felt nervous, knowing that if Serena was going to leave she would probably say something about it at tonight's concert.

He walked out of his dressing room and watched as Serena took to the stage to start the show. He turned to the TV that was in the hall and watched with abated breath. The lights dimmed and the crowd began to cheer as a large screen came down on the stage.

"No, you don't get to be this way, Serena. I won't stand by and watch you destroy yourself. I know you have been unhappy and what I did to you was inexcusable. But I've been trying to make up for that for a week. Yet you've ignored them just so you could act out. If you don't feel the same about me anymore and are so unhappy being on this tour, then please, feel free to leave. No one is making you stay, and this behavior is so juvenile for someone who's been through what you have."

The lights came up and Serena was nowhere to be found as music started to play. Darien frowned, where was she? He saw her though appear at the top of the staircase.

Cold as ice
And more bitter than a December
Winter night
That's how I treated you
And I know that I
I sometimes tend to lose my temper
And I crossed the line
Yeah, and that's the truth

She was at the middle of the stairs and stopped as she looked at the crowd who were hanging on every lyric she sang.

I know it get's hard sometimes
But I could never
Leave your side
No matter what I say
'Cause if I wanted to go I would have gone by now
But I really need you near me
To keep my mind off the edge
If I wanted to leave I would have left by now
But you're the only one that knows me
Better than I know myself
All along
I tried to pretend that it didn't matter
If I was alone
But deep down I know
If you were gone
For even a day I wouldn't know
Which way to turn
'Cause I'm lost without you
I know it gets hard sometimes
But I could never
Leave your side
No matter what I say
'Cause if I wanted to go I would have gone by now
But I really need you near me
To keep my mind off the edge
If I wanted to leave I would have left by now
But you're the only one that knows me
Better than I know myself

She was sitting down now and looking very pensive. The screen behind her was flashing all of the tabloid covers from the last few days.

I get kind of dark
Let it go too far
I can be obnoxious at times
But try and see my heart
'Cause I need you now
So don't let me down

Serena peered up, as she began to stand.

You're the only thing in this world
I would die without

She jumped from the stairs to the stage below and when she landed she hit the highest note possible.

'Cause if I wanted to go
I would have gone by now
But I really need you near me
To keep my mind off the edge
If I wanted to leave I would have left by now
But you're the only one that knows me
Better than I know myself

The crowd erupted into cheers and she smiled as she wiped away a few tears. It had taken a lot out of her, but she had done it. She just hoped that…

The cheers got louder and she couldn't understand why until an arm wound around her waist and turned her to face someone. The face that she wanted to see the most right now, Darien's, was smiling at her.

"A little overdramatic, don't you think?" He asked her.

"Maybe," she replied with a smile of her own. "But did it work?"

"Oh, I think so," he said and leaned down to capture her lips with his own.

Author's Notes: And just when you thought things weren't going to work out…haha. Ten chapters in and they finally get together. Took them long enough. Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Don't forget to review!