Here's the next chapter. Sorry it took me so long. I'm really trying to finish this as fast as I can before I get swamped in school work. I really don't want to keep you guys waiting long for an update.

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon

Chapter 12

Darien was getting ready to go out. He had planned to go to the arcade and was hoping to see Serena there. Maybe he could convince her to go for some ice cream or something. He was feeling hopeful. Serena hadn't necessarily forgiven him but after their last encounter, he was feeling pretty good. She still cared about him. He knew it. That kiss, it was…indescribable. That confirmed what he had begun to doubt: her feelings for him. He was not going to give up. No matter what.

Satisfied with how he looked, he grabbed his jacket and walked out while thinking, 'Today will be a good day.'

"Jason?!" shouted Lita.

"Shh!" said Serena, trying to lower her friend's voice.

"Whoa" said Mina.

"Oh dear" said Ami.

"What am I going to do?" said a still whispering Serena.

"Serena you didn't do him justice. He's gorgeous" stated Mina.

At that exact moment, Jason turned and saw her.

"Serena!" he exclaimed happily.

"Jason. Hi" she replied.

Serena walked over to him as he too walked towards her. In the center they met. He put his arm around her waist and kissed her.

As fate would have it, Darien walked in at that precise moment.

His cheery disposition quickly plummeted. He stood frozen on the exact spot where Serena had been a mere seconds ago. The world receded and all he could see was Serena and some other guy. Kissing. His heart stopped. It was being ripped out and stepped on. He couldn't express what he was feeling. He couldn't put it into words. He thought of what Serena had said to him.

"You have to know how much seeing you kiss Rei hurt me. It hurt so much. I couldn't bear it…"

So this is what she meant. He understood now. He understood it all too well.

Jason pulled his lips only centimeters away from hers and whispered, "Hi."

He gave her one last, quick kiss and let her go.

"After you left," he began, "I realized I didn't want to be away from you. I went home, arranged some things and flew out to see you. I'm sorry for not answering your calls or emails, but I got caught up in the arrangements. Also, I wanted to surprise you."

"I don't know what to say. Consider me surprised. I mean…I…umm…" she looked towards her friends for help and saw him.

This could not be happening. Why did things keep getting so complicated? Things were being set into motion and she had no control over them anymore.

"Darien…umm…how…how long have you been standing there?" Serena asked.

Maybe, just maybe, he hadn't seen anything hoped Serena.

"Not that long…"

"Oh. So, umm…did you see…" trailed off Serena.

He didn't say anything, but she could see pain in his eyes. He was trying to hide it, but she could see it.

This was not how she wanted him to find out. She felt has if their roles had been reversed. The pain she had felt when she had seen him with Rei was now being felt by Darien. Rei had said that she had inflected her pain onto Serena, and she had done the same to Darien. Serena had never wanted to do that to him.

Andrew, Lita, Mina, and Ami didn't know what to say or do. The whole situation was complicated. They could see Serena's confused expression, trying to sort things out. On the one hand was Jason, and on the other Darien, while Serena was stuck in the middle.

"So…" began Darien.

"Umm…Darien meet Jason. He's my…uhh..we met while I was away…"

Darien just stared. This was the guy she had kissed. He remembered now. Andrew had said something like that when she had first arrived.

"Umm…Jason this is Darien. He's my…umm…well we've known each other for awhile."

Neither Darien nor Jason said anything. A small nod was all either of them did to acknowledge the other.

"Serena, can we talk to you for a second?" asked Mina.

"Yes" she hastily replied.

She began walking towards Mina but stopped. She turned, looked at Andrew and said, "Andrew, think you can keep things under control for awhile?"

"No problem."

"Thanks. I'll be back in a bit."

With that, Serena and the girls left the arcade.

Throughout this exchange, Jason and Darien hadn't uttered a word. They remained exactly where they were, staring at one another.

"Well…" began Andrew, "This is…interesting no?"

"So you're Darien. Hmm figures" said Jason, as if Andrew hadn't said anything.

"What's that suppose to mean?" Darien replied coldly.

"Oh nothing. I just don't understand what Serena saw in you."

"Listen Jake-"

"It's Jason actually."

"Whatever. I don't know who the hell you think you are, but I love Serena. You know nothing about me and her. I will get her back. No matter what, so back off."

"Actually, I know enough. I know that you broke her heart and basically lost her. I, on the other hand, don't plan on losing her. So no, I won't back off."

"I won't go down without a fight. I made a mistake. I'm going to do whatever I can to rectify that. I won't lose her."

"I don't think you get it. You lost her already. The moment you kissed Rei and broke her heart. She doesn't trust you. I don't think she ever will."

"I'll take my chances."

"Suit yourself but I'll tell you this, she doesn't need you anymore. She has me now and I won't make your 'mistake.'"

Darien's body was tense. His eyes were cold and hard. They appeared to be holding back a storm. After what Jason said, he snapped. He wanted nothing more than to punch him senseless.

Andrew had been watching Darien intently. He knew Darien would snap and do something irrational. He saw the moment it happened. Darien had begun to walk towards Jason, when Andrew intervened.

"Dare, no. You don't want to do this. You're not thinking clearly. You need to relax and calm down."

He kept watching Darien's eyes. Waiting. Soon, there it was. They slowly gentled, like the calm after a fierce hurricane.

"You're right Drew. Thanks."

"No problem."

Meanwhile

Unaware to what was going inside, the girl's were having a discussion of their own.

"Wow. I did not see that coming. Who knew?" said Lita.

"What an interesting twist" added Mina.

"I don't find it interesting at all. What am I going to do?" said Serena.

"Whatever you want Serena. Do what you think is best" Ami said.

"I'm back to square one. This sucks."

"Not necessarily. I mean, I know we said that you should try to work things out with Darien, but maybe we were out of place. Perhaps we were too hasty before. I don't know, maybe you should give Jason a chance. You care about him and Jason is here. For you" said Mina.

"Mina's right. Jason seems like a nice guy. He obviously cares about you because he came all this way to see you" Ami said.

"Plus he's hot" added Lita.

All four of them laughed at that.

As the laughter died down, Serena said, "You guys are right. I really need to stop freaking out. Whoever I chose will come to me eventually right? I shouldn't panic or freak out. Whatever happens will happen."

"But just between us, you're picking Jason right?" asked Lita.

"Lita!" said Mina.

"What?"

"She's obviously going to pick Darien."

Serena laughed. She knew they were joking around so she couldn't help but laugh.

"You guys are ridiculous but I love you anyways" said Serena.

As they walked into the arcade again, everything seemed eerily calm and silent. Darien was sitting on one side of the counter while Jason sat on the other. Andrew was standing in the middle, cleaning his spotless counter.

"Oh Serena, I didn't hear you come in. Everything okay?" asked Andrew.

"Yes. Is everything okay here?" she asked hesitantly.

"Uhh…yeah" he answered while glancing at both men.

"That's good then."

"Yup."

"Serena, we are going to go grab a booth" said Ami.

"Oh okay. I'll join you guys in a sec."

"That's fine."

The three of them sauntered off to go sit at their favorite booth. Meanwhile, Serena stood there pondering who to approach first. There was Jason, who had come to visit her. She obviously had to go talk to him first. Yet there was Darien, who she had a history with. She had to explain things to him. Whoever she talked to first, it was as if she slapped the other on the face. She felt like whoever she talked to first signified who she cared about most therefore making her choice to the million dollar question: Jason or Darien.

Jason stood up and walked over to Serena, making the decision for her. She didn't know whether to be relieved or not.

"It's getting late and I have to go."

"So soon?"

"Yeah, I need to get settled in."

It occurred to Serena that she had no idea where he was staying. Was he staying at a hotel? If so, then he couldn't afford to stay long.

"Where are you staying?"

"I have an aunt living here. I hadn't visited her in awhile so apart from seeing you, I thought it would be good to come visit her."

"Oh. You never mentioned you hadn't an aunt here."

"All part of the surprise."

"Oh."

"Listen, I really got to go. Can I call you later tonight?"

"Sure, I'm going to be home soon enough."

"Okay, bye."

He kissed her and left the arcade.

She watched him leave and then turned her attention to Darien. He hadn't moved. He sat, hunched over his coffee. Now would be a good time to talk o him. But what would she say? How would she start?

Before walking over to him, she walked over to her friends.

"Hey guys" she said.

"What's up, Rena?" asked Lita.

"Umm…well I think I'm going to go talk to Darien. I should have told him about Jason before but I didn't and now I feel horrible. I should explain things to him."

"You really don't need to explain anything Serena" said Ami.

"I know but I want to."

"Well take your time. We'll wait for you" added Mina.

"No, you don't have to wait. I'll probably be tired and go home anyways. Besides, you guys probably have better things to do. I don't want to keep you waiting. I don't know how long this will take."

"Not really, but if you don't want us to wait…" said Lita.

"I'll feel guilty making you wait for me."

"You care too much about others Sere. You shouldn't feel guilty you know? We're your friends and we want to wait for you but if you want us to leave we will. Now go talk to Darien" said Mina.

"Thanks guys. I'll see you tomorrow."

She walked away and headed to the counter where Darien was sitting. She sat next to him.

From the corner of his eye Darien could see her walking towards to him. She sat next to him but didn't say anything. He wondered if she wanted him to speak first or if she was gathering her thoughts before she spoke. He figured the latter because soon enough, she began speaking.

"So…that was Jason."

"I gathered as much" he said kind of coldly.

"Right. Of course."

Darien glanced at her. She looked lost and confused. She was obviously trying to figure out what to say to him. He clearly wasn't making things easier for her. He sighed. He was being a jerk to her and he had no right to do so. He was jealous, that much was clear. However, he didn't mean he had to be a jerk to Serena. This was his own doing after all. So he tried again.

"Sorry, I shouldn't be acting like this. I just wasn't expecting that I guess…I had a whole different day pictured in my head and this was definitely not what I had pictured."

"I'm sorry Darien. You weren't supposed to find out this way. I should have told you before. I wanted to tell you the other night but before I told you, I wanted to figure things out between us and- and I just-"

"Serena, relax. It's okay. I understand. You don't have to explain."

They fell into a somewhat uncomfortable silence before Darien spoke again.

"So…you two got pretty close while you were over there?"

"I guess. I mean he was there you know. He was so nice and caring. He helped me so much. I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't met him."

With every word she said, Darien's heart sank a little deeper. She obviously cared for him, perhaps to a point where she could easily fall in love with him. Jason had been there to pick up the pieces he had left her in. That was something he could never take back. Although, he was grateful to Jason. He had protected Serena and made her happy.

"I'll have to thank Jason one of these days."

"I don't understand. Why?"

"Because he was there to fix you when I broke you. He made you whole again. That's something I'll always be grateful for. He made you happy when you were hurting. It makes me happy to know that someone was there for you, when I couldn't be. No matter what happens Serena, I'll always care about you. I'm glad to know that there will be someone to protect you, even if that someone isn't me."

He turned to look at her and gave her the gentlest smile. In his eyes, Serena saw nothing but sincerity. With a few small tears in her eyes, Serena hugged Darien. He put his arms around her waist and hugged her back.

"Thank you" he whispered in his ear.

She let go, but didn't necessarily pull away.

"I need to go Darien."

They booth turned towards the booth were Mina, Ami, and Lita were sitting, except it was empty.

"Guess they left already."

"They didn't wait for you? I figured they would."

"I told them not to. I didn't know how this was going to turn out nor how long it was going to take. I didn't want to keep them waiting."

He chuckled. "You're always looking after people Serena. You should let someone look after you for a change."

'I did once.'

"I'll keep that in mind. 'Till then, I really have to go home. It's getting late."

"I'll walk you."

"What? No, it's okay. It's not that far."

"It's far enough. And like you said, it's getting late."

"Fine. Let's go."

Darien grabbed his jacket and followed her lead.

"Bye Andrew!" yelled Serena.

"Bye. Be careful!"

Andrew wondered what would happen now. He decided to give them space so he had left them alone. Although he had seen that hug they had shared. He wondered as he watched them exit his arcade.

"Wow, it's colder than I thought" said Serena.

"Here."

Darien took off his jacket and wrapped it around her.

"Aren't you going to get cold?"

"I'm good. Don't worry."

They walked at a leisurely place. Darien had his hands on his pockets to keep them warm and began to talk. Serena hugged his jacket tighter around her. It smelled like him. His warmth was still there, faint, but there. Maybe, if she hugged it close enough, she could pretend she was in his arms again. She sneaked a glance at him. His hair had fallen across his face. As usual, it covered his eyes but he seemed unaware of it, like he was accustomed to it. It made him seem mysterious and sexy.

"Are you looking?"

"Wh-what?" she said nervously as she blushed.

"Are you looking? At the stars? They seem brighter tonight, don't you agree?"

"Oh, umm yeah."

He turned to look at her. "What's wrong? You're blushing."

"N-no I'm not."

"Yes you are," he said chuckling, "You're actually blushing even more now."

She responded by sticking out her tongue at him and mumbled, "Am not."

"It's alright Serena. i don't mind. I always thought you looked even more beautiful when you blushed."

This, of course, caused her to blush even more. She turned to say witty remark to him but stopped when she saw him shivering.

"Darien! You're shivering. Why didn't you say anything!" she said as she was shrugging out of his jacket.

Darien put his arms around her to prevent her from taking off his jacket. Meanwhile saying, "Don't be ridiculous Serena. You'll freeze if you take it off. I'm fine. There was a small breeze, that's all. No more shivering see?"

He took off his arms off her and continued walking.

"Hey, you coming?" he asked when he realized that she wasn't walking next to him.

He walked back to her and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Put your arms around me again" she whispered.

"What? I can't hear you."

She looked him in the eyes and once again said, "Put your arms around me."

Darien stared at her, not really sure how to react. Slowly, he put his arms around her. Serena felt his warmth spread through her like fire. She liked being in his arms again.

"Are you still cold?" she asked him.

"Not anymore."

She smiled. "I'm glad."

Arm in arm, they walked towards Serena's house.

"You know, the stars do seem brighter" commented Serena.

"I told you. So why were you blushing? You obviously weren't paying attention to what I was saying. What were you thinking about? I'm curious."

"N-nothing. I wasn't thinking about anything."

"You're blushing again. Now I'm really curious."

"Well I'm not telling you."

"Come on. Please?"

"No. It's embarrassing."

"I'm not going to laugh or anything."

Serena stood quietly. They were in front of her house already. Darien was looking at her, waiting for her response.

"You."

She gave him a soft kiss on the lips and walked into her house.

As soon as Serena walked in, her mom called her into the kitchen.

"Yes mom?"

"Jason called. He's called two times already."

"Oh my gosh, I totally forgot Jason was going to call me. Did he say when he was going to call me back?"

"Here. He gave me this number so you could call him back."

"Thanks mom. I'm going to go call him right now."

She went up to her room, picked up her phone, and dialed.

"Hello?"

"Jason?"

"Serena. Hey. I called you like two times but your mom said you weren't home yet."

"Yeah sorry. I just got in. I got caught up in something."

Silence.

"Should I just call you tomorrow then?"

"No! No. Let's talk. I'm not busy anymore. Are you settled in?"

"Pretty much. It didn't take that long."

"Was your aunt happy to see you?"

"She was very happy."

"I'm glad."

"Hey, umm are you busy tomorrow?"

"No. I usually have Saturdays free. Why?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to do something."

"Sure. Why don't we hang around the city? Even though you've been here before but it could still be fun."

"That sounds great. It's a date. Good night."

"Good night."

She hung up the phone and said aloud, "A date?"

So I'm still debating on whether if Serena should get back together with Darien or Jason. It seems you guys are split so I would really love more input from you guys, my readers. I would really appreciate it.

Don't forget to review!

-Girl of Darkness