"Perfect Strangers" by MoonPrincess568

Author's Notes: Hello, it's been awhile everyone! I apologize for the lack of updates. But I have good news, I have recently graduated college and I am currently unemployed as the moment, which means I have free time on my hands and time to write this story again. Here is the next installment of 'Perfect Strangers' and I am determined to finish this story this time around! In the previous chapter, I mentioned that Darien did not remember what happened at the after party, but I decided to scrap that idea and have Darien remember. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this new chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon. All rights reserved to wonderful Ms. Naoko Takeuchi.

Chapter 12: It's All Coming Back to Me

I sat there looking aimlessly at the shiny, black granite counter as I recalled all the events from last night. I could not believe what happened and what I did. Chrissy's harsh words echoed in my head, 'Darien, I hope you don't regret this', and an image of Tessa crying and down on her knees flashed before me. The shame showered over me. It was like a dark, gray cloud that hovered above me, and all I could do is shake my head in embarrassment and regret.

"Shit, shit, shit," I muttered to myself quietly. Then I mentally kicked myself in the ass and thought, 'Darien… What the hell were you thinking?!' as I smacked my palm to my forehead. I almost slept with Nathan's sister. And on top of that… I almost kissed Serena! What was that even supposed to mean? Was I attracted to her?

"Looks like everything just came back to you, huh?" teased Andrew with a wicked smile as he walked towards me. He sat down a breakfast platter in front of me and said, "It's on the house. Looks like you really need it."

"Thanks," I gave him a small smile and then replied, "I fucked up."

"So… did you and Nate's sister really hook up?" Drew curiously asked.

Before answering, I took a big gulp of my spiked coffee and I winced as the alcohol burned down my throat. I replied with much regret, "Yeah, but we didn't sleep together."

"Damn…" he stated as he placed his arms on the counter top and leaned forward. Then a grin emerged from his face and he said, "But you know what, Dare? At least you got some action last night." He winked at me, trying to lightening the mood.

I frowned, "Not helping, Drew."

He let out a nervous laugh as he massaged the back of his neck with his left hand and said, "But for real though. On the bright side, at least nothing more happened."

"Yeah… But Tessa thinks otherwise and I was such an asshole to her," I said as I picked up a fork and began playing around the cubed, roasted herb potatoes, "That was the last thing I wanted to do to her… I can't believe I did what I did last night. That's not like me." Then I placed my index finger and thumb on the bridge of my nose and began massaging it in an up and down motion.

"Yeah, Dare. Sure, you were an asshole and you weren't acting like yourself. But like you said last night, you needed to get away from it all and have fun for once in your life. Sure, you may have gone a little too far with your new found freedom. But I know you, dude. And I understand that you let yourself bite more than you can chew and everything just consumes you. It was something you needed. Just take it as a lesson learned," he said as he picked up a coffee pot and poured more into my cup. Then he reached into his apron, and he emerged with a personal bottle of rum and added into my drink.

I gave him a nod to thank him for my refill and he continued, "And yeah, Tessa is probably hurting a lot right now and I would feel guilty too. But if I were you, I would stay away from her for a while. When everything eventually simmers down, you can apologize." Suddenly, his tone of voice changed as the doors chimed, "Good morning, Serena!"

I turned and saw her walking our way. I found myself staring at the petite blonde, and our blue eyes met each other. Serena looked uncomfortable and quickly looked away from me. I continued to watch her, but I tried not to make it obvious. I knew very well that she was trying to avoid me, since we… well, I almost kissed her last night.

"Morning, Andy!" she greeted with a big smile as she sat down a seat away from me to leave a space in between us. She replied softly, "Good morning, Darien."

I gave her a quick nod and picked up my fork to dig in.

"What are you doing this early?" Drew asked as he leaned toward Serena.

"The girls and I decided to have breakfast this morning and play some video games," she stated and picked up a menu in between the ketchup and mustard bottles. Then she ordered, "I'll have the Brady Brunch special. And… a peppermint hot chocolate, please."

"Coming right up!" Drew stated and disappeared into the kitchen.

"I'm surprised you're up early, Darien," she said as she reached out and nudged my shoulder. Again, a familiar feeling radiated through my shoulder. There was that electrical shock again. Was I the only one feeling this? Or did she feel it too?

"Yeah, me too," I stated and stuffed some food into my mouth. I didn't want to continue our conversation any further, because it will only lead to what almost happened last night.

"Are you okay? You're not your usual self," Serena joked. I looked at her and she had sincerity in her eyes.

I let out a nervous laugh and answered, "Don't worry, Meatball Head, I'm still me. I'm just bit hungover from last night."

"Oh I see," Serena stated and became quiet. Suddenly, she asked, "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes. I'll live, Meatball Head," I replied and ate some more of my breakfast.

"No, really," she said and placed a gentle hand onto my shoulder. And there was that electrical shock again. I wish that could stop happening.

I looked at her and said with a smirk, "Looks like you've been concerned about me ever since last night. I'm starting to believe you have a crush on me."

"Oh really now, Darien? Are you sure about that? I'm pretty sure you were the one who ALMOST kissed me last night," she shot back with a glare.

"Oh. My. Gosh… You guys kissed at the party?!" exclaimed Mina from behind us, "Sere! Why did you not tell me?"

"No, we did not!" Serena and I exclaimed in unison. We looked at each other after we realized that we said the same thing at the same time. Then we quickly looked away from each other. I grabbed my coffee mug and sipped it to keep myself occupied.

"Denial, denial," Mina chimed and gave us both a wink, "I always knew you guys liked each other."

"Oh, shut up, Mina! We did not kiss!" said an annoyed Serena.

"Wait, who kissed each other?" asked a curious Drew as he returned with Serena's breakfast and set it down in front of her.

"No one," answered a flustered Serena and grabbed her fork to begin eating.

"Apparently... Serena and Darien kissed last night at Nate's after party," Mina declared in a matter-of-fact tone.

"No, we did not!" we said in unison again.

"Dare, you didn't tell me this!" Drew exclaimed.

"Nothing happened, dude. Meatball Head had a klutz attack and I just happen to be there when she falls," I explained with a hint of irritation.

Drew laughed and responded, "If you say so!" I rolled my eyes and drank more of my coffee.

"Anyways! Good morning, Andrew!" she greeted and diverted her eyes to Serena's breakfast plate, "Oooh! What's that? It looks amazing!"

"Oh, just something special I made just for Serena," he replied, winking at Meatball Head.

"What? No way!" she stated and pouted, "Why does she get a special and not me?"

Drew laughed and stated, "I was just kidding. Would you like to order one too?"

"Yes, please!" Mina beamed. Then she turned to me, "So, how's your morning going, Darien?" she asked as she seated herself between Serena and me.

"It's going," I simply stated.

"Looks like someone is hungover," she giggled. I ignored her and continued eating. Then she said, "So Darien, would you consider going on a snow trip with some friends?"

"I don't know, maybe. Why?" I replied as I cut into the eggs to let the yolk seep out. I grabbed a piece of toast and dipped into the yolk.

"Well, you are invited!" she said as she grabbed a handful of envelopes out of her red, leather purse. She placed the pale yellow envelope beside my plate. I wiped my hands with my napkin and I picked it up to open it. It read:

You are invited to Snow Trip '08!

What? Enjoy the snow and spend time with friends into the New Year!

When? December 30, 2008 to January 1, 2009

Where? Lake Tahoe

Cost? $50 per person

R.S.V.P and Pay by December 1

Contact: Mina Anderson (987) 654-8687

SEE YOU THERE! :)

"Hmm… tempting," I responded. The price didn't seem too bad, and it would be nice to spend time with friends during the holidays instead of being alone or working. I chuckled to myself. 'What work?' I almost forgot I quit both my retail and restaurant job last week.

"So… are you coming?" Mina insisted with a big smile and nudging her shoulder with mine.

"Hmmm… It depends. Is Meatball Head going?" I asked with a smirk, hoping that I can annoy Serena. In the corner of my eyes, I saw the surprise and curiosity on her face.

"Why do you ask?" Mina playfully responded with a huge grin, "Is it because you can spend some time alone with Serena, here? And maybe kiss again."

I heard Serena huff and watched her playfully shove her friend.

"Haha. No, I was just wondering," I laughed and I looked at her with a teasing smirk. I heard Serena groan and let out another laugh. "I'll get back to you, Mina."

"Great! You have until after Thanksgiving Break. I hope you can make it through!" Mina cheerfully said, "Hey Serena, let's go find a booth? The girls will be here any moment."

"Okie dokie," she responded, "You go ahead though! I'll be right there. I need to use the restroom real quick." Mina nodded and headed to the booth area near the windows. Serena walked towards the restroom, and a few minutes later she returned and began to pick up her food and drink.

There was an awkward silence between us. I purposely cleared my throat and said, "By the way…"

"Yes?" she said, looking curiously up at me.

"About last night, I'm sorry," I admitted, "I really didn't know why I did that."

"Yeah, let's pretend that never happened," she said, looking away from me.

"Glad we can agree on at least one thing," I stated. Then she walked away and I watched her join her friends.

I let out a sigh and said to myself, "Let's pretend everything last night didn't happen at all."


Monday Morning – Before 1st Period

I dreaded coming to school today, because I was afraid of running into Tessa… I don't know how to face her. I walked to my locker and placed my forest green sweater inside. I swung my backpack over my abdomen, and I placed a couple of my books and a binder into my backpack. I closed the locker door and started walking to my first period class. And there was Tessa, who was walking towards me. As she slowly approached me, I noticed her hair was different. Her hair was bluntly cut and straight that hit just above her shoulders with the front longer than the back. I think it's called an A-line? It was that Rihanna hairstyle that recently became popular, but Tessa's was a bit longer. Then her hair had some blonde highlights peeking under her dark hair. Even what she was wearing was different. She wore a black motorcycle jacket, a wine red V-neck, and light-washed, ripped jeans with black combat boots. It was definitely more edgy than her usual simple, beachy style. I read somewhere that girls usually get a drastic makeover after a bad breakup, and I'm guessing Tessa decided to get one… And it was all my fault…

I continued walking, but the tension between us intensified as we got closer to each other. And finally, we were just inches apart and it was like the world has stopped. I was expecting her to look at me, but nothing happened and we both carried on to our destinations.

I let out a sigh. 'It's going to be a very long day', I thought to myself.

Lunch

As I walked over to my usual table with my friends in the cafeteria, I saw Tessa walking my way once again. It sucked that we had a class together and that some of our classes were in close proximity of each other. Tessa looked at me for the first time today. Even though she was far away, I could see her emotions shine through her green eyes. She quickly turned the opposite way and I watched her find her friends. She whispered something to them and I found her friends looking straight at me. They noticed I was watching Tessa and they sent me a death glare. I let out a deep sigh and sat down next to Andrew. From the looks of it, Tessa and her friends weren't going anywhere near their usual table that was behind ours. I guess they decided to segregated themselves from me, so Tessa didn't have to be near me. I don't blame though and I honestly was a bit relieved. I really don't know how to face her either…

"Hello everyone!" Mina said cheerfully as she walked passed everyone at our table. She placed her tray to the table next to ours and spoke, "I have announcement to make!"

Everyone quieted down and turned to her attentively. Everyone knows by now to listen to Mina when she has some sort of announcement. She just knew how to command the room.

"What is it, Mina?" asked a very curious Nathan.

"Since I thought our homecoming group had such a great time over the weekend and my parents just so happens to have rented out a luxury cabin in Lake Tahoe during winter break and are unable to go under certain circumstances, I have decided that all of you guys are cordially invited to my snow trip!" Mina exclaimed and began passing out invitations. "And no worries, my parents will not show up. No parental supervision at all," She winked and continued, "It will be from December 30th to January 1st. Also, since it's the holidays, I decided we should do a Secret Santa! Please let me know after Thanksgiving break if you can make it! If you want to invite someone, then you have to ask me first, since space is limited. And that is all!"

Fuck… Our entire homecoming group is invited? That means Tessa would be invited too… Am I willing to go to this?


6th Period – Serena's POV

"Yay! It's finally 6th period," I cheered as I sat down in my seat.

"C'mon, Serena! Spill! Admit that you and Darien kissed at the party?" pestered my raven haired friend.

"I swear! Nothing happened!" I whined.

"You have to be lying, because you obviously seem affected by it!" Raye teased.

"For the last time, that jerk and I did not kiss!" I said angrily, "Nothing happened! He fell into the pool. I offered to help him, but the asshole dragged me in. When we got out of the pool, I missed a step and he caught me. I just said that we almost kissed to bother him!"

"Mmmhmm, riiight, Meatball Head," Raye apprehensively said.

"I bet after he caught you that is when you guys kissed!" Mina butted in, assuming she finished the story. And unfortunately, she was kind of right, but I did not want to admit that to them. Besides, Darien and I agreed to pretend it never happened. But that was all I could think about as of lately. I closed my eyes as that memory replayed in my mind. I couldn't believe that it almost happened. What if I didn't shove him away from me? Would I have let him kiss me? Oh gosh… That would have been terrible!

"Happy Monday, everyone!" exclaimed Mr. Daniels after the bell rang, "I hope you guys enjoyed your time at Homecoming this past weekend. Congrats to our football players for winning the game!" A few foot players whistled and cheered at his compliment. "Alright, alright. Settle down! Today's topic will revolve around Homecoming! Here are a few questions to help the conversation going. "

Mr. Daniels picked up a whiteboard marker and wrote:

1) How was Homecoming for you?

2) What did you do before and after Homecoming?

3) Do you think Homecoming is important?

"I hope this helps," Mr. Daniels said, "And remember, try your best not to reveal each other's identity such as your date was or who was in your Homecoming group. I know it's hard, but we would like to keep everything anonymous for as long as possible. Preferably until next semester."

I logged in and waited for the Pen Pal program to load. I clicked on Tuxedo Mask's username and began typing…

Moon Princess: Hey Mamoru!

TuxedoMask87: Hey! How was your day, Usagi?

Moon Princess: It was okay. I hate Mondays! How about yours?

TuxedoMask87: It's been a long day

Moon Princess: How so?

TuxedoMask87: I just keep running into my ex today… I just feel so guilty

Moon Princess: Oh, when did you guys officially broke up?

TuxedoMask87: After the football game

Moon Princess: Oh wow… It just had to happen during homecoming =/

TuxedoMask87: Yeah, I didn't mean for it to happen like that

Moon Princess: Is that why you feel guilty?

TuxedoMask87: Yeah, and that's just half the story

Moon Princess: Oh, there's more?

TuxedoMask87: Let's just say I was an asshole and made things worse

Moon Princess: Don't say that! You're definitely not an asshole

TuxedoMask87: You don't even want to know what I did to make it worse… It was such an asshole move. I really regret it

Moon Princess: Awww, I'm sure you didn't mean it! And you seem like a good guy to me

TuxdeoMask87: Haha, are you sure about that? You don't even know who I really am. I could be your arch nemesis for all you know :P

Moon Princess: lol! From what I learned so far, you are a good person that has been through a lot. I just have this good feeling about you

TuxedoMask87: Thanks, I'll take that as a compliment. So what happens if I am really an asshole in real life and your arch nemesis? What would you do?

I stared at the computer screen and I really thought about it. What if the person behind the other computer screen was Darien? I know a lot about Mamoru and he knows a lot about me, since we talked a lot about our lives outside the assignments in class and we always stay up late at night just talking about the most random things. Well, with the exception of this weekend, since it was homecoming. In all honestly, I have a major crush on Mamoru. He just gets me and I get these butterflies every time I receive a message from him. I haven't felt this way about a guy in a very long time, and it sucks that our identities have to be shielded from each other until the end of the school year. But if Mamoru happened to be Darien, would I change my mind about him? Would my feelings change? Would what I learned about him from this Pen Pal class change the fact he is a jerk that lives to make fun of me every chance he gets? And on top that, this weekend just left me confused with our almost kiss. I shook my head in frustration and I was really overthinking this. I saw my computer notify me that Mamoru has messaged me. It read:

TuxedoMask87: Still thinking about it? Lol

Moon Princess: Yes! I'm really stumped! I really wouldn't know how I would react if you happen to be the person I hated most

TuxedoMask87: So there is actually a guy you hate that much?

Moon Princess: Yeah, he is sure know hows to get on my nerves!

TuxedoMask87: hahaha, are you sure he doesn't like you?

Moon Princess: I know for a fact he does not. He's just an asshole by nature

TuxedoMask87: lol, he sounds like me

Moon Princess: You're not an asshole, Mamoru. You're a really nice guy

TuxedoMask87: Haha I do have my moments

Moon Princess: lol! So now, what you do if I was your arch nemesis?

I waited for Mamoru's reply. It seemed like he was really think about it. Five or so minutes later, I typed:

Moon Princess: Stumped too?

TuxedoMask87: Yeah, I was really thinking of a girl who I consider my enemy

Moon Princess: Thought of one yet?

TuxedoMask87: Yeah, I did. I don't think I consider her my 'arch nemesis', but we do bump heads a lot

Moon Princess: So how would you react?

TuxedoMask87: It was a really difficult to picture how I would react, since you could say all these things on how you would come about it. But in a real life situation, those things you said goes straight out the window, you know?

Moon Princess: I totally agree! It's easier said than done type of thing

TuxedoMask87: Exactly. I really had to put into consideration of how we are through this online chat room and how we really gotten to know each other. Then I had to consider how me and that 'arch nemesis' act in person. I feel like it would really be a shock for us both and it would really change the dynamic of our relationship. Maybe we would be more understanding of each other and not bump heads anymore? But idk, I think that girl is kind of bipolar, so who knows how she'll react lol

Moon Princess: lol. But yeah, I kinda thought of all those possibilities too. I guess only time will tell. We have until next semester to find out who lies behind the computer screen

TuxedoMask87: Me too. I'm excited yet nervous

Moon Princess: Same here!

TuxedoMask87: How about we make a promise?

Moon Princess: Okie doke. Shoot

TuxedoMask87: When we do finally meet each other and if we happen to be each other's 'arch nemesis', acquaintance, or even complete strangers, I would like us to be friends and actually hang out together or at least stay in contact. We know a lot about each other and we seem to get along. I don't want the reveal of our true identity to ruin what we have right now

Moon Princess: I agree and I promise! :)

I smiled at the computer screen. I would very like Mamoru and me to be 'real' friends. Since I made this promise, if Mamoru happens to be Darien, then I guess I'll try to be friends with him. But then again, it really is easier said than done. I hope he isn't Darien though. I let out a sigh. I really wonder who you are, Mamoru.

Author's Note: And that was the end of Chapter 12! How did you like this new chapter? Please let me know in the reviews! Also, check out my profile for updates about this story! Until next time!