Hi everyone! Happy New Years!

So sorry this chapter took forever, but thank you all for your reviews, following my story and adding it to your favorites!

All in Serena's point of view so enjoy! :D

*The Next Day*

"Another day." I sighed. I just finished changing into my uniform for school and now I had to work on my hair. Last night I slept with it loose and looking at it now, it never hit me how long my hair is. My hair is so long that it's way past my butt. To be honest, I'm not even sure why I grew it so long. It never bothered me before, but now I'm thinking "Maybe I should change my hair style. Maybe…maybe even cut it."

As I worked on my hair, I continued thinking about what I would look like if I cut my hair. Or really thinking what it would look like if I had the guts to cut it. I didn't want my hair as short as Amy's but maybe medium length.

I smiled liking the idea. I thought "Yeah! It would probably feel much lighter. I could try wearing it down for once. I've never done that before! I've always had it up and then when I transform…" Then another thought occurred to me. "Would my hair still put itself into meatballs?" Just the thought of it made me think I'd probably look stupid. Sailor Moon with shorter hair and still in meatballs?! People would probably think I was trying be a little kid.

I pushed my lips together "Maybe I shouldn't cut it after all." I didn't mind my meatball look that much but at the same time, I really did want to change my appearance. Something to symbolize I have changed. I'm not the same person I was about two months ago. I still miss the person I used to be but it's time I grow up and take responsibility in my life.

Right when I was finishing up my hair, I thought "Well… if I got rid of this look, will Darien notice me? He'll be shocked that's for sure." I realized what I was thinking and shook my head "Stop! Darien doesn't care about me or my stupid hair. I need to get on with my life and…go eat breakfast."

I should know better by now not to be thinking of him. I should be concentrating on moving forward. Just concentrating on school, fighting bad guys and making time for my friends. But then, at the same time, I couldn't help myself. I didn't want to admit it out loud but I still loved him. I wanted to be in his arms again. I want to feel his lips touch mine. I want to smile again when I see him and not feel like I have to hate him.

"Why am I still holding on hope?"

My stomach growled, reminding me I had more important things to deal with, like eating a good breakfast. Besides, chances are, I'll be thinking about this stupid drama later on anyway.

Sammy and Rini were already eating when I got to the table. I sat across from Sammy and none of them said anything when I sat down. They were both too busy stuffing rice in their mouths.

Mom brought in my meal and sat it down in front of me. I just grabbed my soup bowl when she said "Serena,"

"Uh, oh, this can't be good." I looked up. "Yes?"

"I'm going to need you to babysit on Sunday."

I nearly dropped my bowl "What?!"

Sammy started laughing and I glared at him. He didn't stop so I kicked him from underneath the table. "Ow! Hey that hurt!"

"Good."

"Kids! Serena, your dad and I got invited over to a friend's house on Saturday but it turns out they aren't available that day after all, so we rescheduled it to Sunday. We'll be gone most of the day so could you please watch Rini and Sammy?"

Sammy stopped rubbing his leg "What? Why do I have to be babysat?!"

"Mom, I can't watch them! I have plans with Jason on Sunday. Can't Sammy just watch Rini? They'll be fine, it's not like anything will happen to them anyway."

"Yeah, can't Sammy watch me, please? Serena will probably starve me to death." Pleaded Rini.

I was about to argue with the little demon when I realized that this could be my only ticket out of babysitting. "She's right, mom. I'd be a terrible babysitter to these two sweet little angels."

Rini blinked at me. I know she wasn't expecting me to agree with her since we never agree on anything. Why would we? We are two different people. She is a spawn from Satan and I'm, well I'm me.

Mom didn't buy it "You know it isn't true. Serena, you're a good babysitter. Sammy, you're still a little too young to be taking care of Rini by yourself. I'm sorry, Serena, but if you're going to have to watch Sammy and Rini. If you like, Jason could come over and help you out."

I crossed my arms over my chest "I don't think he would want the kids to come with us."

"Nonsense! Jason liked Sammy." My mom waved her hand dismissively.

"Mom, when Jason was last here, Sammy was barely starting to talk and couldn't do anything! Now he's a real pain. I don't think Jason would like him now." I replied.

"I am not!... Who's Jason?" asked Sammy.

"Oh you were too little to remember him but he was Serena's first best friend. He used to come over to Tokyo during his summer vacation from America. He and Serena would always play together. You should invite him over to dinner, Serena. It's been too long."

"I'll run it by him, Mom. But do I really have to watch Sammy and Rini? I haven't seen Jason in a long time and I don't know how long he'll be here." I pleaded.

She gave me a stern look "Yes you do. We'll be gone most of the day but we'll be home for dinner. So talk to Jason and tell him you'll have to change your plans."

I groaned "Great. Now I have to watch the kids. This is so stupid. Jason wouldn't want to hang out with me now. Well it looks like I have to go to the arcade and tell Jason about the change of plans." Then I realized something. If I had to go back to the arcade, that means I might run into…. "Oh crap!"

*After school*

School was school. I was just glad I had something to distract me for a while instead of thinking about the fact that I might bump into Darien. Again. There was probably no might to that. The chances of him being there are very high. Does he really have nowhere else to hang out?

I hated feeling this way. I hated it that every time I thought about it, my heart just kept pounding and pounding. I shouldn't be so scared to go the arcade. It's not like he claimed it or anything but he is just ALWAYS there!

To help me get over seeing Darien, I started thinking about what I would say to Jason. I was completely ignoring what Lita, Amy, Mina were talking about as we walked outside of school.

"It feels like it's been a while since we all went over to Raye's." I heard Lita say.

"I agree," said Amy. "We have to go over some of those math problems that'll be on the test next Friday."

Mina rolled her eyes "Yes, Amy, I think we are fully aware of that."

"Well then, we better get a move on." Amy said.

I snapped out of my train of thought. I didn't realize we were going to Raye's after school. I had been so wrapped up in my own problems I hadn't been listening to the girls talking. To be honest, I don't know if they even mentioned anything at lunch.

As much as I wanted to pretend I forgot all about going to the arcade but I knew I had to tell Jason about me babysitting. I said "You guys go on ahead. I have to stop by the arcade first."

"Serena, we have no time to play games. Once we pass our test, then we can play those games at the arcade." Amy said.

"I'm not going there to play the games, Amy." I frowned. Even though I really wanted to but she didn't need to know that.

"Are you're picking up Rini there again?" asked Lita.

I shook my head "No, I'm not picking up Rini. I have to tell my friend Jason that our plans have cha-why are you all looking at me like that?"

The girls' widened their eyes. While Amy stayed where she was, Mina and Lita moved closer to me. All three of them asked at the same time "Who's Jason?"

"An old friend of mine. He is Andrew's cousin from America. Jason and I were always playing together when he'd come over in the summer. He had been gone for a long time, but now he's back for a while. We had made plans to hang out on Sunday but now I have to cancel them because I have to babysit the kids. My mom said he can come over if he wants to, but I don't think he'll want to."

"Andrew has a cousin from America?"

"Didn't they hear me the first time?" I nodded my head "Yeah,"

"So you haven't seen him since you were kids? Why is he back?" asked Lita.

I almost opened my mouth to tell them the reason but I didn't know if I should. Jason looked pretty embarrassed when he told me about having to come here because of school. I don't blame him.

"…Well… he-"

"Is he cute?" Mina blurted out.

Lita raised her eyebrows and neither of them could help but smile. They looked at me waiting for me to answer. I glanced at Amy and she looked at me curiously. I knew she wanted to know too but she is less nosey than the others. Amy didn't like to pry too much.

"Are boys all they ever think about?" I thought to myself. I knew I shouldn't be talking. I used to be the exact same way. Hell, I'd probably be that way again when I'm over this heart break. If I ever get over it.

For some weird reason, I remembered Jason smiling at me from last night. Just thinking of that, made me smile a little. It reminded me of how much fun I had with him last night. How me made me laugh, and how patient he was helping me out with my homework. To be honest, it felt nice.

I knew where they were going with this so I had to tell them. "I guess-but guys he's my friend. JUST my friend."

"With the way you're smiling, he's gotta be cute." Mina giggled "I want to meet him!"

"Me too!" beamed Lita.

My mouth fell open "What does me smiling have to do with anything? I told you, he's just a friend and I don't even know if he has a girlfriend back home. Besides, what about going over to Raye's?"

"We can walk with you. Come on, we still have time. Besides we're always late. Raye knows that." Replied Mina.

"Yeah, come Serena, I want to meet this guy." Said Lita. Before Amy could say anything, Lita turned to her "And Amy, yes we do have time. It takes Raye a while to get home and she likes to get everything ready for us."

I wasn't ready for the girls to meet Jason. I am afraid what they'd do to him. I knew they would corner, pester him and make him feel uncomfortable. Then they'd scare him off. What if Jason didn't want to hang out with me after meeting them?

"I'll let you guys meet him another time. He's probably really busy. Andrew keeps him on a very short leash so I won't be able to talk to him that long."

"Maybe we should wait for Raye. She'll be mad if we all saw him and she didn't." Amy pointed out.

"Thank you, Amy!" I thought happily.

Lita groaned but then Mina got an idea "Hey, I got an idea!" She pulled out her communicator "Hey Raye!"

"What's up, Mina? Is everything ok?" asked Raye.

"Yeah, everything is ok. Just meet us at the arcade ok?" replied Mina.

"Why? What's going on?"

"We are meeting someone new," Mina smiled at me "And you have to come! Trust me."

We could all hear Raye scowl "Just tell me who it is, Mina! Seriously, I have homework and some sweeping to do at the Temple. Grandpa will be mad."

Lita jumped in "Come on Raye, it'll be worth it."

I was slightingly praying that Raye will say no. She is very practical and doesn't like doing something unless there's a good reason. If Raye didn't go then maybe the girls wouldn't go either.

"Fine," Raye grumbled "BUT it better be worth it!"

Mina turned off the communicator looked at me and frowned a little "What's wrong, Serena?"

I didn't want to hurt their feelings. I was afraid to tell them how they could be overwhelming when it comes to meeting people. I know I shouldn't really talk because I could be the same way. But still, I didn't want them scaring Jason off.

"I'm….just a little nervous about you guys meeting Jason." I confessed as I started walking to the direction of the arcade.

"Why is he bad?" asked Lita catching up with me.

"Oh no! He's far from it. He's so nice, sweet, funny and…awesome I guess." I smiled thinking of how he made me laugh with chopsticks last night. He really shouldn't have done that, though. Playing with chopsticks like that is not the norm in Japan. But it was still funny, well to me.

Mina started skipping as she walked beside me, swinging her school bag back and forth. "So why are you nervous then?"

I pushed my lips together. How could I word it right? I didn't have to worry about Amy. She was the one who stayed calm but she was extremely shy when meeting someone new. "Just please, when you meet him, be calm ok?"

"What do you mean? We are always calm."

I laughed a little "Not when it comes to meeting boys. You guys know how insane we get and I don't want to scare him off. I haven't seen Jason in years and this is the first time in a long time he's been back. I don't want him to leave again and never come back."

Lita put a hand to my shoulder "Don't worry Serena, we are here for you girl."

Mina smiled "Yeah! We are here for you."

"Um, Serena?" Amy spoke up.

I glanced at Amy "Yes?"

"Won't Darien be there too?"

"Yeah, he probably will," I rolled my eyes "Unfortunately, I don't have a choice because I don't have Andrew's phone number. Otherwise, I'd call Jason."

"You'd think Darien would have somewhere else to hang out besides the arcade. It's pretty sad." Said Mina.

"We'll be there to back you up if he starts acting like an asshole to you." Said Lita.

I snorted "I doubt he'll do anything. He usually ignores me most of the time we bump into each other. It's only when we are forced to talk to each other, that's when he acts like a jerk."

"That's pathetic if you ask me." Lita replied.

"Oh yeah," I agreed. I can never tell what goes on in his head. He acts like a prick when we talk in public but when we are fighting a bad guy, he is a little different. He's almost like his old self when we were a couple. He protects me and makes sure I'm alright but then in the end he goes back to being a prick.

"What does he think of your friend Jason?" asked Mina.

"I'm not too sure but…I think he's jealous."

Amy's, Mina's and Lita's eyes widened. Even they couldn't believe it. Darien really isn't the jealous type. He's always been sure of himself and never let his emotions get the best of him. I've never seen him like that but what if I'm wrong? What if he isn't jealous?

"I'm not sure if he is though. You've seen him, he's not that kind of guy who gets jealous. I'm probably wrong." I said.

"Serena, everyone gets jealous at some point." Pointed out Lita.

"Yeah, I'll bet he is and doesn't want to admit it. He's very prideful." Said Mina

"We'll, we are about to find out." Said Amy

We stood by the arcade entrance. I suddenly felt petrified. My heart was pounding and I started to shake so bad that I could barely stand. My hands were starting to sweat as my grip tightened on my school bag. I didn't want to go in now. I didn't want to walk in and find Darien there. I didn't want to tell Jason that I couldn't hang out with him Sunday after all. I wanted to just run home, get under the covers and stay there forever!

"I sound like such a coward." I thought to myself.

"Serena?" asked Amy.

"Alright now why did I just have to come here instead of the Temple?" I heard Raye stomp over to us.

I didn't even look at her. I kept my gaze at the door. I kept trying to convince myself that I had to do this. I made it this far. It's not like Darien owns this place anyway. I have as much right to be here as he does. So we fight a little? Big deal! But the thing was, I'm getting so sick and tired of arguing with him.

"Maybe he's not here after all. Maybe he's at work or at school or somewhere else far from here." I convinced myself that for a few seconds before I thought "Yeah, right with my luck, he's already inside leaning on the counter and talking to Andrew."

I heard Mina say "We are meeting Serena's possibly cute friend Jason. She has plans with him Sunday. Or she did."

"Who's Jason?" asked Raye.

"Serena's childhood friend. He's Andrew's cousin and we wanted to meet him but we couldn't without you so-"

"Serena are you dating already?!" Raye asked loudly.

That got me to snap out of it. I turned to her "What? No! He's just a friend! Mina and Lita got all excited and just wanted to meet him and I knew Amy would be curious."

"What? We are just curious to see who he is! Besides, we also think Darien might be jealous of him." Mina crossed her arms over her chest.

Raye raised her eyebrows "Darien jealous? Now this I have to see."

"Well we were on our way but Serena got cold feet." Said Lita.

They all glanced at me curiously. What could I say to make them stop? I didn't want to deal with any of this. I wish I had just kept my big mouth shut and gone to see Jason on my way home or some other time.

"Serena, come on you have to tell him that your plans are canceled. The sooner the better." Said Amy.

"We're here for you, remember? Don't worry." Smiled Mina.

I took a deep breath and nodded my head "Ok, let's do this."

We walked into the arcade. I glanced around hoping that Jason was in the front mopping or something so that way I could talk to him quickly without having to worry about Darien.

"Do you see him?" whispered Mina.

"So what does he look like?" asked Lita.

"I don't see him anywhere." I said looking around. There were other kids here from other schools besides ours. They were all distracted and playing the different games. I wish I was one of them instead of dealing with this.

Just when I thought I was out of the woods of seeing Darien, I turned around the corner of one of the games and saw Darien talking to Andrew. My chest hardened, my heart pounded even harder and I could feel my face getting warm. "Why me? Why does he always have to be here?" I thought.

Darien's back was facing me. I was hoping there'd be enough time for me to smoothly turn around and go a different way. That way none of them would see me and I could avoid having to talk to them. But just as I started to turn, Andrew saw me. "Crap!"

Andrew smiled "Hey Serena! Hey Mina, Lita, Amy and Raye!"

I smiled a little, trying my best to ignore Darien "Hey Andrew,"

"Hi Andrew!" the girls said at once.

Darien glanced back at me with wide eyes but he turned his attention back to Andrew as if I wasn't there. I could see him leaning on the counter a little more as if he couldn't be believe his luck that I showed up. "Maybe now it'll be easier to talk to Andrew if I pretend Darien isn't there." But it didn't. While I looked at Andrew, I could still see Darien in my line of vision. My heart fluttered a bit.

The girls and I walked up to them. I tried to stand as far away from Darien as I could but still close enough to talk to Andrew.

Darien turned to the Amy, Mina, Raye and Lita when they stood next to him. He smiled at them a little "Hello, girls."

Except for Amy, the others glared at him "Hello, Darien."

Darien blinked. He seemed a little caught off guard with their hostility. "Good." I thought. It still served him right. Just seeing that made me feel a little bit better.

"What brings you guys in today?" Andrew asked.

I tried to not let my voice shake since I was still a little nervous with Darien being here. "I was wondering if I could talk to Jason for a bit." From the corner of my eye, I saw Darien tense when I said Jason's name. He balled his hands into a fist but still refused to look at me.

Andrew looked a bit surprised "Jason? He's in the back. I think he might be in the office goofing off as usual. I can go get him if you like."

Before I could say anything, Mina said "Oh yes! Serena would like that."

Andrew looked at her startled "Ok…I'll go get him then."

When Andrew went to go get Jason, it was quiet between me, Darien and the girls. I glanced around anything but him because I didn't want to look at him. I tried to make it seem like I interested in watching some other teenagers playing Pacman.

Then I heard Darien asked "So where's Rini today?"

I noticed he was talking to me and not the girls, which surprised me. The question didn't surprise me no, not by a long shot. It was just the fact that he was asking me of all people. I wondered why he would. No one is forcing him to talk to me. I wasn't even going to talk to him.

To stop myself from thinking anymore into this, I rolled my eyes thinking to myself "Of course he would ask about her. Is he capable of asking or talking about anything but her?" I doubt he would ever ask about me. The thought made me a little sad. I've been replaced. He would rather hang out with a little bratty kid? I guess so.

Without looking at him, I said "Swim lessons again."

It was quiet again and I refused to look at anyone. I just put my school bag on top of the counter and started taping the bag with my fingers. I hated that it was so awkward all of a sudden. I didn't really feel like talking to Darien because I knew we'd end up fighting. I also didn't want Jason to see me fighting with Darien over something stupid.

Luckily, I didn't have to worry about it any longer. Jason came walking out from the back with Andrew following behind him. Jason was wearing dark blue overalls with a white sleeveless t-shirt underneath. He had headphones around his neck and he was trying to jam his cd player into his pocket. When he looked in my direction, he smiled. I'm not sure why, but the way he smiled at me, made me smile back at him.

"Hey, Serena! Long time no see. How long has it been?"

I playfully shrugged "Oh, I don't know maybe 24 hours."

"What happened? Couldn't get enough of me in one week?" He asked leaning on the counter.

"I guess not." I laughed. Then I cleared my throat "Hey I have some bad-"

"So you're Jason!" Mina jumped in right next to me.

I jumped a little. I completely forgot where we were. I saw Mina leaning against the counter and resting her elbows on it. She stared at Jason with big googly eyes. "Oh yeah, she thinks he's cute." My stomach fell a bit because I realized that now the girls will be all over him.

"Hi! You must be Jason. Serena told us about you." Lita smiled leaning against the counter and resting her elbows on it like Mina.

Jason grinned at me "So, you've been talking about me, huh?"

I laughed a little "You could say that." I don't know why but I couldn't stop smiling. Just being here with him, made me feel at ease and I liked it. It made me forget those other feelings I had before he walked in.

"Look who's so popular. You think they'd never seen a boy before." I heard Darien mutter.

"Please, he's just mad that the girls aren't swooning over him." I thought to myself. Then I realized that it wasn't that long ago that I used to be that way to him. "If only-"

"So how long are you in Tokyo for?" Raye said happily. She looked just as goofy as Mina and Lita.

I just looked at my friends. "Wow is that what we really look like when we see a cute guy?" I thought to myself. I remembered I used to do the same thing to Andrew when I had a crush on him. Man, I must have looked pathetic and stupid.

Jason frowned a bit "Uhh… I don't know yet. I'm finishing up some homework assignments I slacked off on. Maybe till the end of the summer."

I couldn't help but smile. I hoped he would stay till summer. Well, really I wish he didn't have to leave but I know he misses his family back home. I don't blame him at all.

"What kind of assignments are you catching up?" asked Amy. She on the other hand was more composed compared to the other three girls but I could see a small color of pink on her cheeks.

"Japanese and whatever my other teachers send over. Chemistry, English, Algebra 2, World History and stuff like that." Jason shrugged.

Before Amy could get a hold of him in talking about homework, I quickly said "Jas, could I talk to you over here really quick?"

He smiled at me "Sure,"

We walked away from the others. I kept looking forward. I was afraid to look back behind me only because Darien was there. I didn't want him thinking that I only looked back because of him. A very small part of me wanted to turn back and see if he really was jealous of Jason.

"So what's up, Ser?" he asked.

I stopped walking and sighed "I hate to say this, but I won't be able to hang out Sunday after all. I have to babysit my brother and my little cousin."

His face fell "That sucks."

"Tell me about it." I nodded and crossed my arms over my chest. Then I remembered again, that mom did say it was ok for him to come over. But would he? I don't think he'd be up for it. It doesn't seem like it would be his thing. It'd be too boring, I mean all I would be doing is making sure the kids had something to do. Well that and making sure they didn't get into trouble. Rini is a handful. Little brat! Maybe if she had been easy then maybe, just MAYBE I wouldn't mind watching her. "Hell no, she ruined my plans for Sunday. And Sammy did too."

Then I wondered "What if said yes to coming over? It doesn't hurt to ask." At the same time I was afraid he say no. If I couldn't hang out with him Sunday, then when would we see each other again? It's not like I came by every day. Hell, it took me a long time to come by and we ran into each other by luck. Plus, it took him years to come back here.

"You know, my mom did say it's ok for you to come over to the house and help me." He didn't say anything at first. He just kept looking at me so I added "That's if you want to. I wouldn't blame you if you didn't. I know it's not exactly fun and the kids are a handful-"

Jason chuckled "Serena, its ok. I got a little sister too, remember?"

I laughed a little "That's right, I forgot." I then hesitated a little when I asked "So…what do you say? Do you want to come over anyway on Sunday?"

"If it's ok with your mom, then yeah, I'll come over." He smiled.

"Great! Come over any time you want." I was just so happy that he said yes. I didn't think he would but I didn't care. He said yes!

"Ok," He glanced behind me, rolled his eyes and before I could turn around, Jason said "I better get back. After I'm done mopping up the floor in Andy's office, I got more homework to work on."

"I got homework to work on too. Sucks doesn't it?"

"Oh yeah it does. I rather mop. No not really, I really don't want to be doing anything."

I laughed "See you, Sunday?"

"Yeah," He hugged me.

I smiled and hugged him back. I wasn't used to getting hugs from a boy but it felt nice. I don't think even Darien hugged me. I was the one who did all the hugging. "…I wonder if he's seeing this."

When we pulled apart, we walked back to the others. The girls were still blushing and giggling at the sight of Jason. Andrew was talking to Darien and looked bored. I was a little afraid to look at Darien at first. I was afraid to be disappointed.

"What if he wasn't looking at us? What if he wasn't jealous and I was just imagining the whole thing? But then again if he was, then what? Would that change anything? I doubt it." In the back of my mind, I hoped it would. I wanted things to go back to the way they were between us.

I tried not to make it obvious but I quickly glanced at Darien. Darien was looking at Jason, giving him the same death glare he had given him before. He didn't even notice that Andrew was talking to him. I tried to play it cool when I thought to myself "Wow. So he is jealous."

Jason brought me out of my thoughts when turned to the girls "It was nice meeting you!"

The girls waved back happily as Jason put his headphones back on his ears and headed to the back. They were all giggly and swooning over him like they were his fan girls or something. I wanted to roll my eyes because I thought it was too over the top. But it was kind of funny watching them.

"So, I guess let's head to your place, Raye?" I suggested.

"Oh we don't have to go now, we can always hang around-"

"Jason works in the back and rarely comes out here." I explained. The girls all frowned. I couldn't help but laugh again. Was I really the only sane one here that wasn't that upset about Jason? I said "This won't be the last time you'll see him. He'll be around here for a while longer."

That made them all happy again. I glanced back at Darien and Andrew. Darien was now paying attention to Andrew talking. Just nodding his head along. I kind of wonder if he was listening at all or just pretending to listen to Andrew talk.

"Whatever, it wasn't my problem to deal with." I thought to myself.

"Alright, then we better get going with our homework." Suggested Amy.

"Yeah, I just hope Grandpa won't be too mad." Sighed Raye.

Mina turned to Andrew "Bye, Andrew!"

Andrew stopped talking to Darien, and turned to us "Bye, girls! See you guys next time."

We said goodbye to Andrew. Amy, Mina, Raye and Lita said a very short goodbye to Darien. I just went to go get my school bag I left on the counter. After that, I looked ahead, trying to look as strong and confident as I could. I wouldn't say anything to him. I just wanted to get the hell out of here.

As I started to follow the girls, Darien turned to me and said "Hey, Serena, when you're hanging out with Jason, make sure he understands where you're going."

I stopped "Huh?"

Andrew cleared his throat and glared at Darien. I gave Andrew a funny look and when Andrew's eyes met mine, he shook his head.

"What's going on?" I thought to myself.

Darien ignored Andrew "I'm just saying when it comes to Jason and directions, make sure it's somewhere he knows how to find easily. You wouldn't want him to get lost."

"What are you talking about, Darien? Jason has been here before. This isn't his first time in Tokyo." I said. Was Darien making fun of Jason because he's American? I know Darien and Jason were never that close when we were kids but I swear, he sounded like he met Jason for the first time. Jason isn't stupid.

Darien rolled his eyes "I know that, Meatball head. I-"

"I told you to stop calling me that! Do I make fun of your hair?" I snapped.

"Oh, but you don't mind when Jason calls you Spaghetti Head? What kind of dumb nickname is that? Oh wait, I'm forgetting he calls you Ser. Another dumb nickname!" Darien scoffed.

"Well, what kind of dumb nickname is Meatball Head?" I crossed my arms over my chest.

"You didn't seem to mind it before." Darien gave me a smug smile.

"I've always hated that nickname but I didn't mind it when you called me that because I love you!" I blurted out.

My eyes widened, my face warmed up and I felt my mouth drop. I quickly looked at the ground, avoiding his eyes. I couldn't believe that I said that. What was I thinking? I shouldn't be saying this to him! This was one of those subjects you should never touch with your ex. I should have stopped when he said that I didn't mind him calling me that nickname before. Or really I shouldn't have said anything. But no, I got too caught too caught up in the argument. I couldn't help it. That smug look he gave me just made me so mad.

It would have been different if I had said 'loved' or something past tense to show that I had moved on. But I didn't. Now he knows I love him still! "Wait, I did say 'didn't' but would he read into that? It's not like I said I'm still in love with him. Or would he read more into the last part? Man, I'm so stupid!"

I wish I could say that I left, pretending like nothing happened, but no. I just stood there like an idiot, cringing inside again just waiting for some rude remark from Darien. I couldn't really explain why I couldn't leave. I guess I was still in shock from what I said.

When I was finally able to make some movement, I slowly raised my head meeting Darien's eyes. I saw that his eyes were wide like he didn't expect me to say that either. He seemed speechless like me and I don't blame him. But what I said was true, I hated that nickname since day one when other people would call me that. Darien wasn't the first person to call me that but when he started to, sure I was mad at first. Then when I started developing feelings for him, it changed. He was the only person I didn't mind calling me nickname when we went out.

"Maybe I should have said that. Nah that would have probably been just as bad." I thought.

"Serena, I think you better catch up with the others. You don't want to be up late doing your homework right?" Andrew said quickly.

"Oh, right. Yeah I better go. See you, Andrew!" I avoided looking at Darien as I quickly ran outside. I am so completely thankful for Andrew being there. I forgot he was there but I'm glad he got me out of there.

I sighed in relief when I got outside. I could feel my heart pounding hard and I was shaking. I saw the girls looking at me. I forgot they were here too.

"What happened, Serena?" asked Raye.

"Yeah, we saw you and Darien yelling about something. Is everything ok?" Mina asked.

"Well, I think things just got more awkward around Darien." I sighed walking away. "Like I need more of that in my life. Great, I can only imagine how fun it'll be when we cross paths again."

"What do you mean?" asked Lita catching up to me. I noticed the other girls followed.

"I'm not sure how but Darien and I started arguing about nicknames he and Jason have given me. And like an idiot, I accidently blurted out that I only tolerated him calling me Meatball Head because I love him." I explained.

"What?!" all four girls shouted at the same time.

"Great just what I need." I thought to myself.

"Are you crazy?!" asked Raye.

"You don't go telling your ex that!" hissed Mina.

"I know! I know! It's just, gah! He got me so mad because I tolerate Jason's nickname Spaghetti Head over his. I just blurted it out and like a dumbass I just stood there! I'm so stupid." I looked at the ground.

"No, you aren't stupid." Said Amy.

"Well… it didn't help that you said that though," Mina made a face.

"Not helping, Mina. But he is the one who brought up this subject." Said Lita.

"Yeah but it still didn't help me feel better. I still feel like an idiot." I thought to myself miserably.

"So what did he say when you blurted out what you said?" asked Raye.

"I don't think he knew what to say. We just stood there in silence." I sighed. "I was just glad Andrew was there to change the subject which gave me the excuse to leave. I ran out of there before Darien could say anything."

"Darien is a real idiot, if you ask me. He's just jealous." Said Lita.

"Yeah, you should have seen the look on his face when you were talking to Jason. I swear I thought he was going to explode. He was totally jealous." Smirked Mina.

"He was wasn't he?" I asked.

"Totally. When Jason came walking out from the back, Darien's knuckles turned completely white. He also couldn't stop watching you talk to Jason. Andrew was talking to Darien but after a while, he noticed Darien wasn't paying attention so he started talking gibberish to him. I don't even think Darien noticed. Oh! I even saw Darien smile when Jason frowned but it was only until you two started laughing. That's when he got all jealous again. It got worse when you and Jason hugged."

"How did you guys see that? You were all drooling over Jason." I laughed.

Mina smiled "Hey, Jason is cute! Besides, I took a quick look at Darien."

"Must have been more than a quick look if she noticed all that." I thought to myself. I then asked "But what about what I said? I mean what if-I don't know what if it gets worse between us? It's already awkward between us and I hate fighting with him."

"Well…" Mina thought out loud then she waved her hand dismissively "Ah, I wouldn't worry about Darien if I were you, Serena."

I just looked at her shocked. What did she mean not worry about it? Easy for her to say, she wasn't there and she wouldn't have to deal with Darien as much as I am force to.

Before I could asked her why, Amy spoke up "Even if it was a slip of the tongue, he's the one who pushed you into saying it."

"Darien is just can't stand the fact that Jason is friendly to you." Said Lita

"If anything, he just upset that you're not pining for him." Said Mina.

"I guess so," I shrugged. I felt a little bit better but wasn't too sure about the whole thing. I don't know I guess I'm still afraid of how it'll go the next time I run into Darien. For all I know, maybe he won't say anything. Maybe he'll just be his usual rude self.

"Believe me, Serena, you have nothing to worry about. Next time, you see him, just don't say anything. Knowing Darien, he'll be his usual charming self." Said Lita.

"On the plus side, you'll get to see Jason again, right?" smiled Mina.

I couldn't help but laugh "Yes, Mina. I'll see him on Sunday. He said he'll come over."

Mina gasped "You'll have to tell us everything! You should wear something nice!"

"Mina, we'll be just looking after the kids. It's not like it's a date or anything."

"You never know! You should still wear something that says casual but nice at the same time." Lita explained.

While Mina and Lita gushed over what outfit I should wear, I noticed that Raye and Amy were pretty quiet. I saw Amy had her nose buried in one of her textbooks. Not unusual for her but, she can multitask by hearing and reading at the same time.

Raye on the other hand just calmly kept walking forward. I realized this conversation that I was having with Lita and Mina might have been awkward for her. I forgot that she used to date Darien at one point. Maybe she didn't know what the right words to say? Did she go through these exact feelings that I am going through right now? Was she still? I wanted to ask but at the same time, I didn't know if I should. At least not here, maybe in private.

I didn't know what to say to Raye. I felt bad about how weird the situation might be for her. So I tried to think of the only unselfish thing to say to her. I didn't want to drive the attention back to me. I had enough of that today.

I asked "So…Raye."

"Yes?" Raye looked at me.

"How is choir going?"

"It's going pretty good. I'm hoping that I'll get a solo for the school festival coming up." Raye said.

I wrapped my arm around her while I held on to my school bag with my other hand. "You'll get it, I know you will. You have an amazing voice! Who wouldn't choose you?"

She smiled "Thanks, Serena."

I just smiled back at her. I knew it would cheer her up. We both just continued walking, ignoring the others as they continued to gush over outfits, hairstyles and of course how cute they thought Jason looked.

Well I hoped you liked it!

It will take me a while with posting the new chapter. I have an idea of what it'll be, but please be patient with me. My time at work is different than what I'm used to but I will be working on this story as much as I can.

Please review and let me know what you think! :)