Author's Notes: So, this is very rare. Usually when I start writing a chapter I can usually finish it and get it out that same day or at least by the following day. This chapter took three (painful, seriously my Twitter feed was a record of the pain I was going through) days to write. Why? Well, if you got the chapter alert you'll notice this one is over 13,000 words. I don't usually write 13,000 word chapters. But I had a feeling this one was going to be long when I started writing it, because of the length of days that are covered. In my original plan the time period covered here wasn't going to be covered. At all. I was going to do Day 55 and then do Day 73 and just have this huge gap, but I just didn't think it was going to work. So this long chapter was born. And originally this was going to go to day 76, but as I was writing I was like, no. If I add four more days the fans are going to be like this is way too long! Besides I can save what happened for those four days for the next chapter. See it all works out.
Big thanks to:
mi-makoto-chan – Your review made me smile, because that's EXACTLY how he's going to find out. However, I'm not going to have it happen for a few more chapters. Thanks for your review!
Mzmiami
Sailor Rallison
nickybluejess – the person who gets their revenge on Sapphire is quite appropriate. But you won't find out who that is for several more chapters. Thanks for your review!
SailorMoon489 – Yes, I know. Darien was such an ass in the last chapter. When I was writing his dialogue I was surprised by how hateful and spurnful he was. He's got a lot to make up for…eventually. Thanks for your review!
inufan155687 – two of these wishes come true in this chapter. Thanks for your review!
TropicalRemix – *smile* maybe that will happen. Maybe… Thanks for your review!
Guest
LoveInTheBattleField
stephumz – Darien needs to learn to listen to his gut and not to his brain and his manager. The plot lines are fun when they change. Haha. Thanks for your review!
mangamania – Darien didn't see that Serena was trying to push Sapphire away because her attempts were hidden by Sapphire himself. Sapphire won't win…hopefully… Thanks for your review!
For reviewing the last chapter. As always, your reviews power me through when writing (especially this one)! Keep them coming, please! I'm always interested to see what you guys have to say and what you think is going to happen!
Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon. I don't own the songs "Nothing" by Darren Hayes, "Picking Up the Pieces" by Paloma Faith, "Not Afraid" by Eminem, and "Love the Way You Lie" by Eminem featuring Rihanna. They are amazing songs, but alas… speaking of can you guys help me out? I'm trying to think of a music artist that would fit Beryl and I don't know whom to pick. Send me your suggestions! Also, there is very severe language in the songs and throughout the chapter.
On the Road
By: afallenblackrose
Days 55 – 73:
Letters Home
After another sleepless night, Serena left in the cover of the predawn light. She had to get to the other side of the state, even though she had almost forgotten her court date due to everything that had happened over the last twenty-four hours. Things that she was still trying to figure a way out of. But due to lack of sleep, her brain wasn't at a hundred percent. That's why she had called her mother.
That and she needed a place to go, a place where she could stay away from the media spotlight. She knew Sapphire was going to use the drama from last night. She just didn't know how, although she could hazard a guess. She also didn't know when he was going to use it. That's why she had left the letters, or at least, that was what she told herself. In reality, she had left a letter for her friends because she owed them that much. Then she left a letter for Darien's band because she needed all eyes open. As for the letter she left for Darien…well, there was motive for that. A lot of motive.
Sapphire had seriously underestimated his opponent, and she had made sure that he was going to realize that.
Lita tapped the edge of a white envelope on the coffee table in the band's suite. She had found the envelope on that table when she had gotten up to get some coffee. She recognized the handwriting, and knew instantly that it was Serena's. Which could only mean one thing…
Their friend was gone.
Nick opened the door to one of the rooms in the suite and walked out into the main room. He was on his way to the kitchen when he saw sitting on the couch with the envelope in her hands. His eyebrow rose in wonder, and he switched his destination.
"Hey, hon," he said sitting down next to her. "What's that?"
"It's an envelope from Serena to all of us," she replied. "You know what this means?"
"It means she's already left." Nick stared at the envelope in her hands and sat with his elbows on his knees and his hands brought together. Something was going on that Serena hadn't told them about, which was odd. She usually told them everything. Had she done it to protect them? Well, it hadn't really worked, because they were off the tour and back at square one. Although, they had a record deal and fans, the media was going to question this leave of absence and the reason behind it. And the media wasn't the only ones questioning it. Her band mates were questioning it too. And yes, he was using the term band mates instead of friends, because if they had really been friends she would have told them what was going on.
"Hey, guys," Paul said coming out of his room. He looked more put together than he usually did in the mornings. But the usual glimmer of laughter in his eyes was missing. Just because he looked put together didn't mean he was put together. He still remembered the events of last night and there impact on their lives. The mopey expressions on his friends' faces only seemed to reiterate that fact. His eyes zeroed in on the envelope in Lita's hands. "From Serena?"
"Yes," she answered. "Okay, now that everyone is up, I guess it's time to see what her final words were to us before she left." She flipped the envelope over and ran her finger under the flap. She took out the piece of paper and started to read out loud.
Dear Lita, Nick and Paul,
If you're reading this, it means that I've already left for the second court date for the trial. And considering everything that's happened, you're probably really confused as to why that is. Alan and his lawyer have entered into the court record that the DNA sample that was taken from me that night was tampered with. And as crazy as this sounds, I'm not worried about it anymore. Shocking, I know, but I have a feeling that the evidence won't matter when I get to court today.
Don't ask how I can be so sure of this, because there is an answer, one that I can't give you right now. I'm still asking you to trust me and when I'm ready, I'll tell you guys everything. But I'm not ready and I need some time.
Until I'm ready, wait for me in Los Angeles.
Love you,
Serena
When she finished reading, she folded the paper back up and put it into the envelope. She looked up at the other two guys, who looked back at her with questioning and alarmed expressions on their faces.
"DNA sample was tampered with?" Paul whispered.
"No wonder she was so freaked out yesterday," Nick replied. "But that still doesn't explain why Darien was so pissed off at her."
"You don't think, he thought that because of the tampered with DNA that what Serena told him about Alan raping her was a lie?"
"He wouldn't," Lita replied adamant. "He saw how emotional she got in Royal Oak. Why would she get so emotional over a lie? No, something else happened while she was on the other side of the state…"
"Hey, remember that morning? Darien was asking if we had seen Sapphire, and you did, but he looked all dressed up?" Paul asked.
"Yes, we never did find out why he was looking for Sapphire or where Sapphire went."
"Do you think the reason Sapphire was all dressed up was because he went to the other side of the state, to Serena's court date?"
"But why would he…" Nick said and stopped. "Wait. Remember after the concert in Royal Oak, backstage when Alan confronted Serena? I took a glance at Sapphire and he looked pleased by the reaction, almost as if…"
"He orchestrated the whole thing. But that would mean he's been going after Serena this whole time. Why though?"
"You don't think it was because he has feelings for her?" Paul asked.
"No, that can't be it…unless…he wanted us to think that he had feelings for her…" Nick trailed off in thought.
"Not us," Lita said following up with a brainstorm of her own. "But Darien, think about it. After her birthday, Serena's antics with the back up dancers made him think that she was trying to solidify herself on this tour. Making it impossible for her to leave, which is why he was looking for Sapphire two days ago. Who else would know whether she was going to get kicked off the tour? But because I told him that I saw Sapphire leaving, he went to Serena to find out how the trial went."
"Only, if Sapphire followed Serena to the other side of the state…" Nick trailed off again. "You don't think he did anything, do you?"
"I think he did, which is where the problem lies. Somehow those two got closed in a room together, he did something and Darien might have walked in on that…" Lita said trying to put together the pieces of what could have happened.
"He might have gotten angry and that's why she looked so distraught when she came back yesterday. He said something to her and she needed to fix things to make him listen to her. But something must have happened when she got upstairs…" Paul started pacing. Nick drummed his fingers on the coffee table.
"So the question remains though," he said. "Why did Sapphire go after Serena if he doesn't have feelings for her? What does he have to gain from getting her kicked off the tour?"
"I wish I knew," Lita said. "But you know who might know?"
"Raye, Mina, Mark and Jason?" Paul countered.
"Exactly. Let's go see what they know before we leave for LA."
Mark, Raye and Jason were also sitting in the main room of their suite that morning with an envelope sitting on the table between them. They were waiting for Mina to wake up before they opened it. But they were exchanging looks of question. They didn't recognize the handwriting, but they had a feeling that they knew who had written whatever was in the envelope. The question was what could she possibly have to say to them? Was it answers to the questions that remained after Darien had called Serena a two bit lying whore? They didn't know, but they were curious to find out.
"I could always dump a bucket of ice water on her," Raye suggested.
"The only thing that will do is make her angry," said blonde said as she floated into the room. "But I'm awake now, although I don't know why all of you are waiting on me? You know, I'm a late sleeper."
"We're waiting on you, because of this," Mark said holding up the envelope. Mina took a look at it and frowned.
"From Serena?"
"We think so," Jason said.
"Well, then, now that I'm up let's open it and see what she has to say," the blonde said and sat on Mark's lap. He opened the envelope and took out the piece of paper inside it.
Dear Mark, Mina, Raye, and Jason,
By now, you've probably already noticed that Darien and I are having a fight…and it's even bigger than you realize. I'm not sure what Darien has told you about what happened but please, trust me when I say that none of it is true. What Darien has been seeing is a master plan being executed by someone he trusts most.
I wish I could say more, but if I do I'll set off a lot of dominos that I'm trying to figure a way out of. While I'm doing that, please look after him.
I don't want him to do something he'll regret, just because of what's happened.
Thank you and I'm sorry,
Serena
Mark finished reading the letter and put it back in the envelope. He looked at everyone in the room. They were staring at each other.
"What do you think she means?" Jason asked. "A master plan being executed by someone he trusts most? Who does Darien trust the most?"
"Is it possible that she means Sapphire?" Mark asked as someone knocked on their door. Jason got up from the couch to answer it and was surprised to find Lita, Paul and Nick on the other side. In their hands was an envelope.
"We need to talk to you," Lita said and came in with the other two guys.
Everyone was silent as Lita, Paul, and Nick finished what they had figured out from the letter. Mark was the first one to break the silence.
"So that means, Sapphire is the person that Darien trusts the most."
"The person that Darien trusts the most?" Lita asked curiously.
"Serena left us a letter of her own," Raye explained. "In it she said that what Darien has been telling us is all a lie, and what he has seen was part of a master plot by the person he trusted the most."
"Based on what you're saying, that person seems to be Sapphire," Jason said.
"That means we're right," Nick said. "Which means that whatever Darien saw that made him hate Serena was orchestrated by Sapphire and wasn't real. The only question is what does Sapphire have against Serena?"
"It's a good question," Mina replied. "But Sapphire has always been controlling of Darien. With Serena, Darien stopped doing what he commanded him to do. And it started with picking Serena and your group on the first day of auditions instead of going through another day of…" Her forehead creased as she trailed off.
"What is it Mina?" Mark asked.
"There was another day of auditions that Darien was supposed to sit through, but he found Serena. But Sapphire was real adamant about Darien sitting through the next day of auditions before he chose her, but he didn't listen. I wonder…do you think there was someone in that second group that he wanted him to see?"
"Maybe," Raye answered. "It would explain a lot…but who could it have been?"
"We'll probably find out soon enough," Jason said. "Now that Serena is off the tour, Darien is going to need a new opening act, and since his last pick went so well and he's really emotional, I have a feeling Sapphire is going to chose whoever it was that he wanted Darien to pick the first time."
"Hopefully, then his plan will become clearer to us," Mark said.
"Keep us informed about what's going on," Lita replied. "That way when Serena comes back from wherever she is we can inform her too. By then, hopefully, she'll have a way to get around whatever stipulations that Sapphire has probably put her on."
"Of course, we will," Mina said. "Serena was the best thing that has ever happened to Darien. They are meant to be together, and we're not going to let some scummy ass hole stand in the way of that."
Dear Darien,
I know you hate me, right now and you probably won't even read this, but I had to at least try.
I am so sorry for everything. I wish I could explain, but I'm not sure if you would even believe me and I'm so bound by stipulations…
All that matters is that I can't tell you. Even though I'm working desperately to find a way. The only thing I can tell you is that everything isn't always as it seems.
Again, I'm so sorry.
Love always,
Serena
Sapphire laughed as he finished reading Serena's foolish attempt to try and tell Darien everything without telling him everything. He crumpled up the letter and threw it in the trash. She was good, but he was better. She should have known that he would have sources everywhere and that this letter wouldn't get to Darien. So why did she ever bother writing it? He shook his head and was about to crumple up the envelope the letter came in when he found another piece of paper in it. He opened the piece of paper and stopped laughing immediately.
Sapphire,
Congratulations! You found the decoy letter that I left for Darien, in a place that I knew that you would look. The real letter is already in his possession – and if I'm lucky – he's already read it. But – more than likely – he's already thrown it in the trash like you already did. Anyway, I was being one hundred percent honest, I will find a way to destroy your plan and expose you. I mean what I sang last night – this is far from over.
You haven't seen the last of me.
Serena
Sapphire shook his head in wonder. Maybe Serena was better at this game than he originally planned for. But it didn't matter because she was gone, she had held up her end of the deal. It was time he held up his. He pulled out his cell phone to make a call.
Darien woke up with a pounding headache. That's what he got for drinking a lot of whisky the night before. But he had a lot on his mind and it was the only way he could think of that would help him forget his troubles. However, as with everything, the alcohol could only let him forget for so long. Now, with each throb of his head, he remembered everything that had happened over the last forty-eight hours. Which also included the pain that he was trying to cover up. Serena had really hurt him, and he thought that what he had seen in that hotel room was all a lie. That Sapphire was the one who he needed to get rid of.
But then that scene in the hallway had him rethinking everything. How dare she? He had given her the thing that every girl wanted but none could truly have – his heart. And what did she do? She threw it back in his face, acting as if he wasn't enough for her. It still didn't make sense why she would do that, but…did a lying manipulative bitch ever make sense? It also didn't make sense why he had been so nice about her leaving to the fans last night. After what she did, he should have told them the truth. But…he wanted to save face.
Besides it would probably come out in the press over the next few days. In this business, it was bound to. He shook himself out of his stupor and continued grabbing his stuff from around the room. The faster he got out of Michigan the better. There were too many memories of her here that he would rather forget. He opened his suitcase and was about to throw his clothes in when he saw an envelope at the bottom of the case. His name was written on the front in handwriting that he recognized.
It was Serena's. Darien picked up the envelope and twirled it in his hands, deciding what to do. He should throw it out – like she had thrown out his card so many weeks ago. But…he hesitated. Something she had said last night made him consider reading whatever was inside the envelope.
"If I gave you one, would you believe me?" She asked.
"Probably not," he replied.
"Then why should I even bother?" She shook her head.
Maybe she had changed her mind and had decided to give him a reason, some sort of explanation as to why she did what she did. He sighed and with gusto opened the envelope and brought out the letter.
Dear Darien,
I know you hate me, right now and you probably won't even read this, but I had to at least try.
I am so sorry for everything. I wish I could explain, but I'm not sure if you would even believe me and I'm so bound by stipulations…
All that matters is that I can't tell you. Even though I'm working desperately to find a way. The only thing I can tell you is that everything isn't always as it seems.
Again, I'm so sorry.
Love always,
Serena
He read it again. And again. Hoping to find some sort of reason between the lines, but all he saw were more questions. What stipulations was she bound by? And what wasn't what it seemed to be?
"Confusing even until the end, Serena," he muttered and crumpled up the letter.
Serena made it to the courthouse with five minutes remaining until the court session was to start. She ran a hand through her hair quickly before she walked into the courtroom, when the door opened and she almost ran right into Diamond Chambers. She stopped suddenly in her tracks and looked up in surprise.
"What -"
"Ms. London," he smiled at her. "It's such a pleasure to see you again, but I'm afraid I have places to be and cases that are actually going to give me a paycheck. However, if you should ever have need of my services," he fetched into his coat pocket and handed her his card. "Don't be afraid to call." He smiled at her again and was on his way, as she watched him leave. What was that about? She turned to walk into the courtroom when Jane and James came walking out.
"Serena," James and Jane greeted her with a smile. "We have good news. Diamond retracted the evidence that was put into the court record, saying that it was a misunderstanding. The case was dismissed."
"Really?" She asked trying to show shock on her face. She knew that this would happen now that she was off the tour. But still she needed to act surprised.
"Yes, really," Jane smiled. "The case is over, and you get to continue on with your life."
"What's left of it," she sighed and gave her thanks before leaving the courthouse. When she got into the car, the driver asked her where to. She gave him the address to her home before pulling out her phone.
serenaangelx – Lesson of the day: The truth will always win out. It may take time but eventually the truth always reveals itself.
She smiled as she hit send and watched as the familiar landscape of her former hometown rushed by. She didn't know how long she was going to stay at her old home, but she knew that she couldn't go back until she figured out how to get out of this mess or at least, pulled herself back together.
Twenty minutes later, the car pulled into her driveway and she got out of the car. The chauffeur grabbed her bags from the trunk and took them up to the porch.
"Would that be all, miss?" He asked.
"Yes, thank you," she replied and watched as the chauffeur went back to the car and drove off before she rang the doorbell. A few minutes later, her father answered the door.
"Hi dad," she said as he opened the door for her.
"It's good to have you home, Sere," he said and enveloped her in a hug. "I'm sorry for what I said the last time you were here. You did do what you set out to do, and I shouldn't have called you a whore."
She smiled into his chest as tears began to fall down her cheeks. "Oh, daddy, I think I've messed up." She let him take her into the house and sit her down at the kitchen table where her mom was already waiting for her with a bowl of ice cream. She gratefully accepted it, and gave her mother a quick hug.
"Okay, honey, now what happened?" Her mother asked as she sat across from her daughter. Serena took a spoonful of ice cream into her mouth and let it melt fully before she opened her mouth and told her parents everything that had happened.
Day 56
Serena woke up in the bed that she used to sleep in when she was still in high school. Her eyes fixated on the poster that was almost directly above her bed. It was a picture of Johnny Depp, she knew that, but all she could picture was Darien. The dark hair reminded her of Darien, his eyes…she closed hers and turned on her side to stop looking at the poster. As much as the sexy almost fifty-year-old pirate was – she couldn't stop seeing her pop star. She couldn't stop thinking about him either, but it wasn't going to help her come up with a plan to get back to him.
She had told her parents everything last night and they agreed that she could stay as long as she needed to. But her father was still insisting that it was only temporary. He didn't raise a girl who gave up easily. And she didn't want to give up easily, but…
How do you outman the master of plotting when he held your career and Darien's career in the balance? She groaned again and pulled the blanket over her head. She couldn't think. It was too early. She turned back to find the clock and saw that it was two in the afternoon. Shit. Did she say too early? She threw the covers off herself and got out of bed.
As much as she wanted to stay in there, she wasn't the type who took to her bed when the going got rough. She walked into the kitchen to find that her parents had left her a note on the counter.
Serena,
Dad went to run errands and I have lunch with some ladies from work.
Hope you're feeling better.
Mom
So she had the house to herself. Well, if she had known that she probably would have stayed in bed. She shook her head and brewed herself an iced coffee before making her way into the family room where she turned on the TV to an entertainment news program.
Her hand hesitated on the remote, but she figured she might as well find out what they were saying about her.
"The music world was sent into shock last night when Darien Shields announced that Serena London and her band were leaving the summer tour due to some personal issues that the singer would not elaborate on. After the shocking news that the court case that Serena was involved with is going forward, we can't help but think that that is the personal issue that she had to deal with. However, news reports have come in saying that the case was dismissed. So what personal issues is Serena having that has caused her to leave the tour?"
A commercial came on after the report. Serena sighed. Well, that hadn't been too bad. The one tomorrow was probably going to be worse. There was no way that the media would just settle for the personal issues story. They would exploit every angle they could. She sighed and gasped when she heard a buzzing sound from the kitchen table.
She got up from her seat and wandered over to see what the source of the noise was. It was her cell phone. She didn't even remember putting it on the table last night. Hell, she didn't even remember bringing it into the house. She could have sworn she might have left it in the car. She shook her head and pressed a few buttons to find out why it had buzzed.
She had new text messages; one from Lita, one from Mina, one from Raye, one from Mark, and one from Sapphire. She read each one and smiled at her friends' texts. They had figured out what she had said in her letters and they were telling her that they were keeping an eye on Darien and trying to figure out a way to expose Sapphire for whom he really was. She was glad to know that she wasn't alone in this. She just wished Darien had figured out her letter too.
Speaking of…she clicked on Sapphire's message and braced herself. She should have known that her tricks weren't going to go unnoticed.
Serena,
Nice trick with the letter to Darien. You almost had me fooled.
But I kept my end of the bargain. Make sure you keep yours.
Next time I won't be so lenient.
Love,
Sapphire
So lenient? Who was he trying to kid? He called kicking her off the tour lenient? Letting Darien think she was a whore was lenient? Fucking asshole! She let out a scream of rage. Her fingers hovered over the keyboard, ready to reply, but she came up short. Did she really want to push him? Hell yes, she did.
I have more tricks where that came from. Don't push me.
She hit send and prayed that she hadn't just unleashed some hounds that she wasn't prepared for.
Sapphire's phone went off as they landed in the next city for the tour. Darien looked over at him.
"That has to be a new record," he said with a smile on his face. "We've barely been on the ground for five seconds and you're already receiving texts?"
"Apparently," Sapphire commented and read the new text message. He laughed out loud when he saw it.
"That can't be someone from the record company," Darien commented.
"You're right, it's not. It's just someone who should know better than to mess with me." He smirked up at his pop star. "But it's not anything for you to worry about. I can handle this. Are you ready though to meet your new opening act?" He escorted them off the plane.
Darien looked up in shock. "New opening act? Already?"
"Yes, the record company sent her this morning. The show yesterday was good, but they think you need someone to open. So…Darien, I'd like you to meet Beryl."
Darien turned to the person that Sapphire had pointed to. Standing next to the black town car was a red headed woman who had sharp green eyes and the black dress she was wearing was skin tight and very very short. He could see why the record company sent her. They were hoping to distract him from his heartbreak over Serena. Well, he wasn't going to let them distract him that easily. Even though, later…who knows?
"Hi," she said in a sexy voice. "It's so nice to meet the famous Darien Shields."
"It's good to meet you too, Beryl," he said. "So shall we?" He opened the car door and followed her inside, not seeing Sapphire's smile as he typed on his phone.
Serena was writing in her song journal when her phone buzzed again. She knew who it was without even having to look. She opened the message anyway and almost gasped in frustration.
As enticing as that sounds, it's you who shouldn't test me. Example A: the lead story on Entertainment Tonight…
What had he done? She ran from her room to the family room where her dad was just finishing watching the seven o'clock news. He looked up at her.
"Is everything okay?" He asked.
"I'll let you know in a second," she replied and turned back to the television set. The intro to the show began to play and then cut to Mary Hart standing next to a picture of her and…Sapphire?!
"Breaking news from Entertainment Tonight, it turns out that the personal issues that Serena London the lead singer of the band Beautiful Angels Go to Hell had to deal with had nothing to do with her court case, but with the fact that she tried to cheat on Darien Shields with his manager Sapphire Thornton. According to reports, Serena tried to engage Sapphire in a relationship on many occasions, and it was only after Darien found out that she left the tour in shame. No comments from either Darien or Serena's camps on this story."
Serena collapsed onto the ground and almost screamed. Except that this wasn't anyone's fault but her own. She had provoked the bear. She should have known better… Her phone buzzed in her hand and she looked down before tears fell from her eyes.
Not only does Darien know that you are a whore, but the whole world too. Will your fans really stand by you now that this is out? I told you not to mess with me…
She closed her eyes in shame. This was horrible. She should have known better. Damn it all. Her father put a hand on her shoulder and she looked up at him.
"Hey, you'll find a way to get back at him. I know you, you won't let him get away with this."
"I wish I had the same confidence in myself as you do in me," she whispered. "But I don't know how to make this better…not yet…"
Day 57
Her Twitter account had exploded over night. She lost hundreds of followers. She got thousands of hate tweets calling her a whore and a no talent hack. The band message boards were just as bad. The followers who stayed offered their undying support, but as much as she wanted it to soften the blow, it didn't. It was crazy how easily her fans would believe that she had tried to cheat on Darien. She wanted to say something to them, but she just didn't know what would make them believe her that wouldn't fan the flames.
She upped the volume of her iPod, trying to block out the world. But her thoughts wouldn't be silenced. Not to mention she was pretty sure people were staring at her. Maybe it wasn't the best idea to go to the local coffee shop to do some song writing. True her hair was shorter than the last time she had been here, but it was still blonde and although she was wearing sunglasses, people were probably putting the pieces together. It was time for her to leave, before someone did figure it out.
She gathered her stuff and left the shop, but not before overhearing a conversation.
"That Sapphire guy is such a lying little tool! Like Serena would really cheat on Darien with a guy like that?"
"C'mon, she slept with Darien why wouldn't she try to sleep with Sapphire? That guy could probably get her places that Darien couldn't. Serena is only a fame-seeking whore."
"With vocal pipes like that? She doesn't need a man to get her places, she can do it all by herself. That Sapphire guy is lying and needs to be stopped."
Serena smiled as she walked away. It was nice to have someone to stand up for her. In fact, as she scrolled through her Twitter mentions, she realized that her fans that were standing up for her were starting to outnumber her haters.
serenaangelx – To my fans who are defending me: thank you. You don't know what your trust and allegiance mean to me.
serenaangelx – To my haters: before you tell yourself it's just a different scene, remember it's just different from what you've seen.
Darien had ignored the scandal since it broke the afternoon before. He ignored the paparazzi that shouted questions at him about the cheating. But, that morning, when his phone buzzed alerting him that Serena had tweeted something, he couldn't ignore it anymore. He was curious as to what she was going to say about the affair. When he read the tweets, he was still confused. Just as confused as he was when he read her letter. The difference between then and now was that he was sick and tired of her games. He was sick and tired of her. If she didn't want to admit to the affair, then that was her choice. But he wasn't going to stand by and watch anymore.
He pressed on the screen a few times, before putting it down and going back to song writing. He finally was inspired to write something new.
Day 58
Just when she was starting to feel better about things, and was getting ready to come up with a plan to reveal Sapphire as the scum that he was, something brought her back down.
It started with the news report on the regular news, because Serena refused to watch the entertainment news anymore. That's why she was shocked when they had an entertainment segment on the noon news.
"After allegations of a cheating scandal Serena took to Twitter to thank her fans who were supporting her and to reprimand the ones who weren't by telling them that what they were seeing wasn't all there was to see. Darien who had been silent since news of the scandal broke, finally broke his silence with an action of his own. Darien is no longer following Serena on Twitter…"
She stopped listening as soon as the words left the anchorwoman's lips. He had done what? She grabbed her phone from the side table by her chair and launched the Twitter app. She clicked on her followers and scrolled to the bottom of the page.
His name was gone.
Her hand began shaking instantly before she searched his name. Once she found him she saw his latest tweet and almost began to cry.
darienshields – What different scene? The only one I remember is the one where our love turned into nothing…
There was a link to a video and Serena didn't hesitate. She clicked the link and waited for it to load. The video was titled Darien Shields New Single Live. She waited until it automatically began to play and then she saw him for the first time since she had left. While she obsessed about his looks, he began to sing and she forgot everything else.
Come inside stop scratching at my door
Live inside me help me count the ways you once adored
Lovers need a place to lay their heads
As a broken promise returns too late
Another sunset meets an argument
Fade out of nowhere into nothing
Into nothing at all
How did my love turn into something
That you don't really want?
Nothing nothing nothing
Our loves turns into
Nothing nothing nothing
Our love turns into
When did your eyes get so icy blue?
When did you stop seeing me as a reflection of you?
Take me to the place of broken dreams
Where your hopes deserted or showed up late
And tore apart the love we might have made
Fade out of nowhere into nothing
Into nothing at all
How did my love turn into something
That you don't really want
And we both know what you're thinking
But we cut through the straight lines
Fade out of nowhere into nothing
Into nothing at all
Nothing, nothing, nothing
Our love turns into nothing, nothing, nothing
Our love turns into nothing, nothing, nothing
Our love turns into nothing, nothing, nothing
Our love turns into
No more excuses for turning away
You can't stop a heartache by running away
I can't sit back and watch love fade to gray
She turned off the video before the song finished, but she had a feeling that it was just a repeat of the chorus from that point on. Tears were running down her face and she couldn't believe that he had actually written and performed that song. Not to mention the tweet that corresponded with this video. He was calling her out as a liar. That stupid…
She rolled through her contacts and called Lita.
Lita picked up instantly, "Serena, are you okay?"
"Not really," she responded her voice hoarse from crying.
"What's wrong?"
"I saw the video that Darien posted on Twitter," she replied.
"Oh."
"Yeah, oh," she blew her nose. "So, here's my idea. I'm coming back to LA."
"Okay."
"That's it."
"Serena, I hate to inform you, but that's really not much of a plan. In fact, considering the media hordes that are surrounding the record label right now, it's not a great one either."
"Then what do I do, Lita?" Serena asked, the tears forming in her eyes again. "I try to get my message out, Sapphire provokes me. I try to put him in his place, he releases the story about our supposed affair. I tell the world that the story they are hearing isn't what it appears to be, but Darien comes out and says that I broke his heart with a new single no less! What do I do?"
"You figure it out, Serena," Nick said. "Come on, I know you can be cunning. You just got to be cunning in a different way now."
"But it's hard," she said. "There isn't much cunning going on over here. It's mostly heartbreak."
"You'll heal," Paul piped in.
"How do you know?" She asked.
"Because you know the truth, and you'll figure something out."
"I hope you guys are right."
"We are, and we love you, Serena. When you are ready, come back to us and we can implement the plan that you come up with."
"I love you guys too," she said and hung up. Her fingers hesitated as she entered her Twitter app again. What could she possibly say that could rebuke what Darien had done? She had given up on adding more feeder to the fire, it was too late for that now. Everything she said now was going to cause the media to go into an uproar. Her only saving grace was what her friends had said. She wasn't in LA, so they couldn't hound her for more details. And until she was ready, this is where she would stay…
serenaangelx – When did *your* eyes turn so icy blue? When did you stop believing the truth?
Darien didn't hear about the tweet from Serena until one of his fans retweeted it and mentioned him. As he read her words, he couldn't help but feel some sort of joy. So she had listened to his song and it was causing her pain. Well, good! Now, at least, she knew how he felt. What her betrayal had done to him was worse than he could even put into song. But the new song, 'Nothing' was as close to what he was feeling as she was going to get from him.
darienshields – And what truth was there for me to believe? The only thing you did was deceive.
He sighed as he sent the tweet. It probably wasn't a good idea to start this war in the social media atmosphere, but he hadn't started it. She had with her cryptic words that confused him to no end. It wasn't his fault that he was trying to end it, trying to make it so that way there was no way she could rebuff what he was saying.
"Let it go, Serena," he whispered. "Let it go so we can move on."
"I am going to kill that blonde haired slut!" A feminine screech came from the other room. Sapphire winced and could only guess at what his sister was screaming about now. It had to be the Twitter war that Darien and Serena had gotten into. He sighed and went to see what it was that his sister wanted to kill Serena for this time.
"Beryl," he greeted as he came into the room. "Considering the rigorous tour schedule that you're on right now, is it really smart for you to strain your vocal chords?"
"No, of course not, but this bitch!" She shoved her tablet under his nose. "Is working on my last nerve. Sapphire, she's off the tour and should be cowering in a corner that you're going to ruin her career. But she's not. She's, god knows where, stirring up trouble! Why couldn't she leave with whatever dignity she had left?"
Sapphire read the tweets that Serena and Darien had sent and chuckled. They were getting quite ingenious with their no naming of specific names, but it was obvious whom the other was talking about. But his sister was right too. Considering how this war started, he would have thought that Serena would have let it go. Or did she not value her career? He sighed. This part of the plan was out of his hands.
"Well," he said. "You could shut all of this up. Or have you forgotten the next step of the plan?"
She scoffed. "Like I could? I'm the one who came up with it, but Darien isn't giving me the time of day. He's still too hung up on Serena. I think I'm going to need your help."
"Why didn't you say so before?" He asked with an evil grin. "Now that I have his ear again…it shouldn't be too much of a problem. Just leave it to me, little sister."
Darien took a swig from the glass the bartender put in front of him. He found himself doing this a lot more than he wanted to do since she had left him. But as Sapphire had so bluntly pointed out to him this afternoon, it wasn't good to dwell on what had happened. He needed to show the media that he was over everything that had to deal with her. And in reality, he really was. They both needed to move on. The media needed to move on. She was gone and she wasn't coming back on this tour. Yes, she was still going to have her career after all was said and done, but he doubted that they would ever cross paths again. Or at least, that was his plan…
But the question was whom did he move on to? Anne had left him because she didn't want to get involved with what was going on with him and her. Even now that that had run its course he doubted Anne would come back. The same went for his other 'play mates' that he had had. So whom did that leave?
"You know the new opening act, Beryl has been eyeing you since she showed up a few days ago," Sapphire had told him earlier that day. Darien was floored when he told him that. He hadn't even noticed the new girl. He had been so preoccupied with everything that was going on from the previous opening act that he hadn't even bothered to welcome her properly to the tour. In fact, he should really do something about that…he got up from his bar stool and was about to throw a few bills down when the bartender came by and placed another drink in front of him.
"I didn't - "
"Lady down the bar, bought it," he replied and walked away. Darien looked over and was shocked to see the new girl lifting a drink of her own, as if to say 'cheers.' He grabbed the drink and went to sit down next to her. It was time he gave her his thanks properly and a welcome to the tour.
"Hi," she purred as he took the bar stool next to her.
"Hi, thanks for the drink," he said as he took a sip from the glass.
"It's not a problem. I figured after the last couple of days, you could use one."
"Last couple of days? More like the last week," he sighed. "Sorry. I don't mean to be so cold with you. It's been a really bad week, and I still have unresolved feelings about what happened."
"I don't blame you," she replied placing her hand over his. "I don't know what I would do if the person I loved betrayed me like that. It must be hard."
"It is, but at least I'm getting some really good song writing out of this."
"Yeah, I heard the new song last night," Beryl said with a smile on her face. "It was so different from what you've done before. It was really raw emotion."
"Thanks, but what kind of music do you do?"
"Oh, well," Beryl started to look embarrassed. "I'm not really proud of the music I do. I'm not like you, and write my own stuff. I mean I tried but it just doesn't sound right."
"I know what you mean, the same thing happened to me when I first tried writing my own stuff. But eventually you just find a way to make it sound right. Although, you still have days where you're like this isn't going to work and you throw out a lot of pages…then you find your way again and everything just makes sense." Darien tried to reassure her. "I guess what I'm trying to say is, don't give up yet. Keep trying, you can even show me some of your lyrics if you aren't sure."
"Thanks Darien, that means a lot," she chuckled. "However, I'm pretty sure you're going to regret making that offer." She smiled.
Day 62
Serena was trying real hard to come up with a plan. Her brain kept thinking, and thinking, and thinking. But she couldn't come up with anything. It didn't help that her mind kept deviating to the tweet that Darien had sent three days ago. She hadn't responded to it, even though she desperately wanted to. She knew though that if she did, the war would continue, the media would keep jumping on it, and then both of them wouldn't be able to get what they wanted. Even though Serena didn't want Darien to move on, she knew that to deceive Sapphire she had to make it look like she didn't care anymore, that she was letting him go.
She figured that could be part A of her plan…she just needed to figure out what part B was, and would there be a part C… She sighed and stared up at the ceiling again. Part A is to make it look like I don't care anymore about Darien. I don't care what he does, or who if it comes to that. Part B is what? Make it look like I've moved on? How does that help anything? She thought to herself. What she should do instead of looking like she moved on was to release a new song, a teaser of what the album was going to be. And she could do that by collaborating with someone new, which would definitely show that she had 'moved on.' Or at least give the pretense… As for Part C…she needed to become Darien's friend again. They had been friends before, why couldn't they be again? Besides if they became friends, it would show everyone that everything between them was fine. Everything was forgiven.
That part though was going to be tricky, considering how angry Darien was with her… Well, that's why it's going to be Part C. She thought to herself. So first things first…she needed a song that would be good for a collaboration and then she needed an artist for that collaboration. However, when it came to a song she had a problem. She hadn't really written anything since she had left the tour. Well, okay, that wasn't one hundred percent accurate. She had written three songs since she left the tour, but none that were good enough for a come back or a collaboration. Besides, the songs that she had written went against her plan. They were songs that showed that she did in fact still care. So she couldn't use those.
She needed to write a new song. She needed inspiration. Waking up her computer she went to YouTube and checked out the homepage. One of the top videos caught her attention. It was a live performance by some new artist named Beryl. Beryl, she frowned as she read the name. Why does that name sound so familiar? She shook her head and clicked on the video.
As the video was loading she read some of the comments and realized why the name sounded so familiar.
BAGTH4EVA – Beryl isn't as good as Serena for Darien's opening act. The song is also a low blow. C'mon Beryl be more original.
IKNEWILOVEU – Beryl is amazing and perfect to mend Darien's broken heart!
Beryl was Sapphire's sister, the one he planned on being on the tour in the first place instead of her. The one this whole mess of drama was about. She hesitated as the video began to play. Should she really be watching this? She sighed and sat back, letting the video continue on.
Do you think of her
When you're with me?
Repeat the memories you made together
Who's face do you see?
Do you wish I was bit more like her?
Am I too loud?
I play the clown
To cover up all these doubts
Perfect heart, she's flawless
She's the other woman
Shining in her splendor
You were lost
Now she's gone
And I'm picking up the pieces
I watch you cry
But you don't see
That I'm the one by your side
Cause she's gone
In her shadow is it me you see?
Cause all that's left is you and I
And I'm picking up the pieces
She's left behind
I found a photograph behind your TV
You look so happy, are you missing the way it used to be?
And I have changed this room more often lately
It's clear that me and these four walls
Still know it's hers and yours
Perfect heart, she's flawless
She's the other woman
Shining in her splendor
You were lost
Now she's gone
And I'm picking up the pieces
I watch you cry
But you don't see
That I'm the one by your side
Cause she's gone
In her shadow is it me you see?
Cause all that's left is you and I
And I'm picking up the pieces
She's left behind
Are we liars in denial?
Are we smoke without the fire?
Tell me please, is this worth it
I deserve it
Cause she's gone
And I'm picking up the pieces
I watch you cry
But you don't see that I'm the one by your side
Cause she's gone
In her shadow is it me you see?
Cause all that's left is you and I
And I'm picking up the pieces
She left behind
Serena felt the fury boiling in her veins before the bitch even hit the second verse. How could it possibly be that she was calling her out when they didn't even know each other? When everything that was happening was because of her and her brother's evil plot to make sure they were the new power couple? She was so furious she clicked off the page and drummed her fingers near the keyboard. She used to listen to rap when she was in high school when she was angry. It used to calm her down. But she hadn't listened in a while…
She typed rap into the search bar and the top search was some random artist named HT. His most popular video came up first and she clicked on it and waited…
I'm not afraid, I'm not afraid
To take a stand, to take a stand
(Yeah, it's been a ride)
Everybody, everybody
(I guess I had to)
Come take my hand, come take my hand
(Go to that place to get to this one)
We'll walk this world together through the storm
(Now some of you)
Whatever weather, cold or warm
(Might still be in that place)
Just lettin' you know that you're not alone
(If you're tryin' to get out)
Holla if you feel like you've been down the same road
(Just follow me, I'll get you there)
You can try and read my lyrics off of this paper before I lay'em
But you won't take the sting out these words before I say'em
'Cause ain't no way I'ma let you stop me from causing mayhem
When I say I'ma do something, I do it, I don't give a damn what you think
I'm doing this for me, so fuck the world
Feed it beans, it's gassed up if it thinks it's stopping me
I'ma be what I set out to be, without a doubt, undoubtedly
And all those who look down on me, I'm tearing down your balcony
No if, ands, or buts, don't try to ask him why or how he can he
From "infinite" down to that last "Relapse" album
He's still shittin' whether he's on salary, paid hourly
Until he bows out or he shits his bowels out of him
Whichever comes first, for better or worse
He's married to the game, like a fuck-you for Christmas
His gift is a curse, forget the earth, he's got
The urge to pull his dick from the dirt and fuck the whole universe
I'm not afraid, I'm not afraid
To take a stand, to take a stand
Everybody, everybody
Come take my hand, come take my hand
We'll walk this route together through the storm
Whatever weather, cold or warm
Just lettin' you know that you're not alone
Holla if you feel like you've been down the same road
Okay, quit playin' with the scissors and shit and cut the crap
I shouldn't have to rhyme these words in a rhythm for you to know it's a rap
You said you were the king, you lied through your teeth
For that fuck your fillings, instead of getting crowned you're getting capped
And to the fans, I'll never let you down again, I'm back
I promise to never go back on that promise, in fact
Let's be honest, that last "Relapse" CD, was "eh"
Perhaps I ran the max and since hit the ground
Relax, I ain't goin' back to that now
All I'm tryin' to say is get back, click clack, pow
'Cause I ain't playin' around, it's the game called circlin'
I don't know how, I'm way too rough to back down
But I think I'm still tryin' to figure this crap out
Thought I had it mapped out, but I guess I didn't
This fucking black cloud still follows me around
But it's time to exorcise these demons, these motherfuckers are doing jumping-jacks now
I'm not afraid, I'm not afraid
To take a stand, to take a stand
Everybody, everybody
Come take my hand, come take my hand
We'll walk this route together through the storm
Whatever weather, cold or warm
Just lettin' you know that you're not alone
Holla if you feel like you've been down the same road
And I just can't keep living this way
So starting today, I'm breaking out of this cage
I'm standing up, I'ma face my demons
I'm manning up, I'ma hold my ground
I've had enough, now I'm so fed up
Tryin' to put my life back together right now
It was my decision to get clean, I did it for me
Admittedly, I probably did is subliminally for you
So I could come back a brand new me, you helped see me through
And don't even realize what you did, believe me you
I've been through the ringer, but take it through little to the middle finger
I got a tear in my eye, I feel like the king of
My world, haters can make like bees with no stingers
And drop dead, no more beef fingers
No more drama, from now on I promise to only focus
On handlin' my responsibilities as a father
So I solemnly swear to always treat this roof like my daughters
And raise it, you couldn't lift a single shingle on it
'Cause the way I feel, I'm strong enough to go to the club
Or the corner pub and lift the whole liquor counter up
'Cause I'm raisin' the bar, I shoot for the moon
But I'm too busy gazin' at stars I feel amazin'
Serena's eyes had widened at the end of the song and she began to do her research to figure out who this HT guy was. When her eyes zeroed in on the record label he was signed to she smiled and brought out her cell phone.
"Serena?"
"Hey Amy," she replied. "So I have a weird request."
"Serena, I haven't heard from you since you left for the tour, and you're already asking me for a request? Shouldn't you tell me how the tour is going?"
"Amy, I know you know, that I've been off the tour for almost a week."
"Yeah, but I want to know why."
Serena froze for a second. "Don't you already know though? Haven't you seen the news and what they're saying about me and why I really left?"
"I have," her music producer paused. "But I don't believe them."
"You don't?"
"No," she replied. "You forget I've been working with Sapphire for years. I know the kind of shit he can pull. And I have a feeling he did the same thing with you."
"I wish I could tell you everything, but I'm afraid I can't. At least not yet."
"Okay, I understand. So what is this request?"
"Can you get me a meeting with HT?"
"HT? As in the rap star whose signed with this record label?"
"The same."
"I'm not sure he'll want to meet with you…"
"Just try."
"Okay, I'll try and let you know how it goes."
"Thanks Amy, for everything."
"No problem, Serena."
Day 68
"The captain has turned off the seat belt sign and we want to thank you for flying United Airlines. Welcome to Los Angeles," the stewardess said and Serena took off her seatbelt. She hadn't planned on coming back for several more days, but when Amy called telling her that HT would meet with her if she came to LA on the next flight…well, she didn't really have a choice did she? She hadn't expected him to want to meet with her. That's why she was shocked when Amy had called with the good news.
But it made things difficult. The media had died down a little about the cheating scandal since she had gone silent on Twitter. But they were still speculating when she was going to return to, as some people were guessing, LA or when she was going to come out of hiding. She still wasn't ready for that, so she had to take certain measures to make sure that no one recognized her. She wore her hair in a ponytail and before she left Michigan, made sure that all the brunette had washed out of her hair. She wore a short-sleeved hooded shirt and made sure that the hood was up when she left the plane. Then there were her black aviator sunglasses, which covered the color of her eyes. As she made her way to the luggage carousel, she was pretty sure no one had recognized her. So far so good…
Now, the only question was how was she going to get to the record label? She could take a cab, but when she told the driver where she was going he could report it to the paparazzi. Same went for the bus, there would just be too many people on board who might recognize her. She sighed and started to wander over to the departure section of the airport.
It was just by chance that she saw a guy holding a sign with "S. London" on it. She approached the gentleman hesitantly. How was she to know who this guy was? For all she knew the paparazzi were staking out the airport… She sighed. She really needed to stop being so paranoid…
"Hi," Serena greeted the guy.
"Hello," he replied and looked around before lowering his voice to a whisper. "Are you Serena London?"
"Yes, that's me."
"Okay, the record label sent me to take you to your meeting. Please, follow me."
She walked into the recording booth and watched, as a guy with blonde hair, who she could only assume, was HT, finished recording a song. Amy looked up at her entrance and smiled at her.
"Good to see that you could make it," she said in greeting.
Serene nodded. "Is he done recording?"
"Yeah, he's done for the day, so you can go ahead and walk in."
"Thanks, Amy, for setting this up."
"Not a problem. Just remember, I set it up, you have to figure out a way to make him work with you."
Serena knew that. She'd been thinking about it since she first thought of collaborating with him. How was she going to sell this in such a way that he would want to work with her? She hadn't really come up with a plan. She was just going to wing it and see what happened. The fact that he was taking the meeting with her at all had to be a good start. Right?
She walked into the studio, and he looked up automatically at her entrance.
"Serena London," he said in greeting.
"HT," she replied.
"So I have to say, I was rather surprised when Amy told me you wanted to have a meeting with me," he leaned on the wall and stared at her with intimidating hazel eyes. "I did my research and you have been causing quite a stir this summer. I'm surprised someone who was dating Darien Shields wants to talk to me. We don't really roll in the same circles."
"I know, but I was watching your music video for 'Not Afraid' and I told myself that I needed to meet you."
He raised an eyebrow at that, "You saw the music video for 'Not Afraid?'"
"Yeah, I loved it."
"Really?"
"Yep, I found that I could really relate to it. Especially right now."
"How is that possible?" He asked surprised. "Unless you're dealing with a drug problem on top of the cheating scandal?"
"No, but the cheating scandal is mostly why I can relate to it."
"Mostly?"
"Let's just say that there was no cheating scandal, but certain people manipulated the facts to make it look like there was one."
"Damn," HT whistled. "I'm thinking you and I need to have a long conversation before you get to the reason why you're here." He sat down on the couch that was in the studio and offered her a seat next to him.
"Well, you see it went something like this…"
At the end of her story, HT stared at her. Really stared and Serena just sat there and let him. She knew it was going to take a while for what she said to sink in. It was a lot to process. Especially to someone who was new to everything that was going on like HT was. Eventually he stood up and went to the stand that was in front of the microphone. He shuffled some sheets before selecting the one he wanted and coming back to her. He handed her the sheet and she read through it.
It was lyrics for a new song.
She instantly fell in love.
"I love this," she said.
"I thought you would, although some of it doesn't really apply to your situation," he replied. "But I figured in a figurative sense it sort of worked for what you're going through."
"Why are you giving me this though?"
"Isn't that why you wanted to meet me? So we could do a collaboration?" He asked and smiled at her shocked expression. "Just to let you know, I wanted to do a collaboration with you before you told me about what happened on that tour. Now, I really want to even more. No one should take what Sapphire's doing lying down. I'll help you however you want."
"Thank you," she said smiling for the first time in days. "But I have an idea…"
Day 72
Darien saw the picture on Twitter, which didn't surprise him. He'd been spending a lot of time on the social networking site since Serena had dropped off the face of the earth. He thought that with the tweet he had last sent about how their relationship went up in flames, she would have responded with something just as cryptic as she usually did. But she sent nothing, and after stalking her for the last few days, she hadn't sent anything since her comment about their relationship. No one had heard from Serena since then…she hadn't even been seen in LA. Some people were thinking she wasn't even in the city and instead was hiding out somewhere. That's why when he saw the picture he breathed a sigh of relief to know that she was back, but frowned when he took a good look at the picture.
She was hanging out in an outdoor café in LA, but she wasn't alone and she wasn't with her band mates. She was hanging out with the rapper HT and they looked like they were having a good old time. The headline above the picture said: SERENA OUT OF HIDING AND MOVING ON! Darien didn't know why it bothered him so much. This is what he wanted after all. Besides wasn't he moving on too? At least, that's what he thought since he and Beryl had been hanging out a lot recently.
But still it irked him that Serena was hanging out with HT. He knew HT's history and he was concerned for her, which didn't make any sense considering how much she had hurt him. He shouldn't still care, but he did. Even though things had ended badly between them, he missed her and wanted the best. Maybe he should call her one of these days…
Serena was preparing to go into the studio when her friends came bursting in.
"SERENA!" They exclaimed and rushed to give her a hug. She smiled at their reaction and hugged them back just as hard. It felt great to see them again.
"I missed you guys," she said as they finally let her go.
"We missed you too," Nick said. "Why didn't you tell us sooner that you were back?"
"I meant to, but I was executing my plan and totally forgot to," she replied.
"So you did come up with one?" Lita asked.
"Yep, and right now I'm on part B."
"What was Part A?" Paul asked.
"Well, you lived part A," she explained. "I've been off Twitter and tried to stay low. It wasn't until yesterday that I came out for the paparazzi to see me."
"Okay…but what was the point?" Paul asked.
"By her silence it shows that Serena is moving on and doesn't care about the scandal anymore," Nick explained sensing her train of thought. "Quite brilliant. So Part B would be?"
"Releasing a new song, and have it be a collaboration so that way it adds to Part A."
"And who are you - "
"Hey, Sere, are you ready to do this?" HT asked as he breezed in the room. He stopped short when he saw her surrounded by her band. "Oh, hey, you must be the band. It's great to meet you."
"You're working with HT?!" Lita and Nick exclaimed.
"Um…I'm guessing my reputation precedes me?" HT actually looked sheepish. Serena looked between her friends and HT, who was also her friend now. She had no idea what they were talking about…
"What reputation?"
"Well, other than the drugs…" he trailed off. "Let's just say things are complicated."
"Wait, does this have anything to do with your daughter?"
"Something like that," he said now looking sad.
"So, what's the song about?" Lita asked changing the subject. HT looked up and nodded his thanks.
"Well…"
Day 73
HT's new single featuring Serena came out at eleven am EST. By noon, the world fell in love and the fans she lost came back. But questions were soon brought up. During Serena's portion of the song, what was she singing about? A question that Darien himself was asking when he finally heard the song a few hours later…
Darien's hand hesitated on the 'follow' button that was next to Serena's name on Twitter. He'd been debating about this since yesterday afternoon and he still hadn't come up with an answer. Should he follow her again? Or should he just keep not following her? It was complicated he knew that. Yes, she hurt him. She hurt him bad by cheating on him, but did she really do it? The way that she had been acting after he 'found' her out wasn't the way she should have acted if she had really cheated on him. Besides, he missed her. A lot. His finger was frozen above the button when the page auto-reloaded. She had finally tweeted something new…
serenaangelx – New song with HT. Click the link below and let us know what you think!
Darien clicked on the link and turned the volume up on his phone. The music player loaded and the song began with Serena singing.
Just gonna stand there and watch me burn
Well that's all right because I like the way it hurts
Just gonna stand there and hear me cry
Well, that's all right because I love the way you lie
I love the way you lie
Darien's face was scrunched up as he tried to deceiver what Serena meant. He knew her. Her lyrics always had meaning. So what was she trying to say?
I can't tell you what it really is, I can only tell you what it feels like
And right now there's a steel knife in my windpipe
I can't breathe but I still fight while I can fight
As long as the wrong feels right it's like I'm in flight
High off of love, drunk from hate
It's like I'm huffin' paint and I love it, the more I suffer
I suffocate and right before I'm about to drown, she resuscitates me
She fuckin' hates me, and I love it
Wait, where you going? I'm leaving you, no, you ain't
Come back, we're running right back, here we go again
It's so insane, 'cause when it's going good, it's going great
I'm Superman with the wind at his back
She's Lois Lane but when it's bad, it's awful, I feel so ashamed
I snap, "Who's that dude?," I don't even know his name
I laid hands on her, I never stoop so low again
I guess I don't know my own strength
Just gonna stand there and watch me burn
Well that's all right because I like the way it hurts
Just gonna stand there and hear me cry
Well, that's all right because I love the way you lie
I love the way you lie
I love the way you lie
You ever love somebody so much, you could barely breathe when you with 'em?
You meet, and neither one of you even know it hit 'em
Got that warm fuzzy feeling, yeah, them chills, use to get 'em
Now you're getting' fuckin' sick of lookin' at 'em
You swore you'd never hit 'em, never do nothing to hurt 'em
Now you're in each other's face spewing venom in your words when you spit 'em
You push, pull each other's hair, scratch, claw, bit 'em
Throw'em down, pin 'em, so lost in the moments when you're in 'em
It's the race that took over, it controls you both
So they say you'd best to go your separate ways, guess that they don't know ya
'Cause today, that was yesterday, yesterday is over, it's a different day
Sound like broke records playing over
But you promised her, next time you'd show restraint
You don't get another chance, life is no Nintendo game
But you lied again, now you get to watch her leave out the window
Guess that's why they call it "window pane"
Just gonna stand there and watch me burn
Well that's all right because I like the way it hurts
Just gonna stand there and hear me cry
Well that's all right because I love the way you lie
I love the way you lie
I love the way you lie
Now I know we said things, did things that we didn't mean
And we fall back into the same patterns, same routine
But your temper's just as bad as mine is, you're the same as me
But when it comes to love, you're just as blinded
Baby, please come back, it's wasn't you, baby, it was me
Maybe our relationship isn't as crazy as it seems
Maybe that's what happens when a tornado meets a volcano
All I know is I love you too much to walk away though
Come inside, pick up your bags off the sidewalk
Don't you hear sincerity in my voice when I talk?
Told you this is my fault, look me in the eyeball
Next time I'm pissed, I'll aim my fist at the drywall
Next time? There won't be no next time
I apologize, even though I know it's lies
I'm tired of the games, I just want her back, I know I'm a liar
If she ever tries to fuckin' leave again, I'ma tie her to the bed
And set this house on fire
Just gonna stand there and watch me burn
Well that's all right because I like the way it hurts
Just gonna stand there and hear me cry
Well that's all right because I love the way you lie
I love the way you lie
I love the way you lie
Darien didn't know what to think about the song. He really didn't. It wasn't Serena's usual stuff. If anything, she sounded like she did back before they went to Royal Oak – really vulnerable and pissed off at the world for whatever it had done to her. He guessed she had reason to be if what the media and he had been saying wasn't true. But the question remained was it? And if it wasn't why didn't Serena try fighting harder to make him believe the truth?
serenaangelx – Stoked at the great response for the new song. Look for part 2 soon!
Darien sighed and pressed the follow button. It was time this feud be put to rest.
Beryl was having another fit. Sapphire could already hear it and he wasn't even in the room yet. He sighed. What was going on? Darien and her were getting closer by the day now that Serena had seemed to disappear off the face of the planet. And even when she did reappear she was spotted with the rapper HT. Meaning, for Sapphire, she was moving on and not letting the drama that had happened on the tour effect her. Which was fine with him, because that was what he wanted in the first place.
So why was Beryl causing damage to the hotel room?
He entered the room and saw pillows torn apart, vases broken, and her cell phone smashed to pieces against the wall. Oh shit…he couldn't help but think.
"That fucking bitch!" Beryl screamed as she walked into the room and spotted him. "You said that this plan was going to work. You said that if I flirted with him and because she disappeared he was going to get over her and fall for me and then everything was going to go like it was supposed to! Well it's not working! She shows up with that fucking rapper and all of sudden Darien's following her again on Twitter!"
"Why?"
"How am I supposed to know? As much as I want to, Darien is NOT letting me into his thoughts! That bitch is plotting something!"
"Beryl, calm down, he's just following her on Twitter, it's not like he declared that he still loves her or anything. Besides, he probably just wants the feud that the media has going on to end. He just wants to be her friend again and let bygones be bygones. Don't freak out. You're still on this tour, and you can still manipulate him."
"You think so?"
"Yes, now c'mon let's think of way's you can get closer to him…"
Serena's phone lit up with a new notification. It was from Twitter and she smiled.
"Part C started," she whispered and went back to her conversation with her friends.
Author's Notes: Note to self: Never. Ever. Write a 13000-word chapter ever again. I am now completely envious of those authors who can pull this off every update. I bow down to you. Anyway, what did you guys think of this chapter? Was it awesome? What did you like? What didn't you like? What are your guesses on to how the rest of the story is going to go? Please review!