Hey all! Sorry it's taken me so long to update, but I've been dealing with a broken heart and I haven't had much desire to write about romance. However, I'm finally out of my funk, and hopefully I'll have some more for you all to read soon! Enjoy, and thank you all so much for sticking with me:)

My heart was pounding loud in my chest by the time we finally reached the dean's office fifteen minutes later. It skipped a beat, however, when I reached for the door handle and it turned before I could touch it. I managed to jump out of the way just as Darien exited the door, followed closely by Jarod, Lucas, and a tall older gentleman with dark hair that I failed to recognize. By the angry expression on his face and the disgusted glance he threw me, I quickly discerned that it was Diamond's father. Diamond refused to meet my eyes, and instead marched haughtily away without so much as a glance backward. I tore my eyes from him only to see Darien edge past too, his face pale and drawn. Jarod managed to pat my shoulder gently and offer me a sympathetic smile before Haruna nudged me into the dimly lit room.

Dr. William Quincy Thomas, Madison's dean, sat at his desk, writing furiously into a series of large packets that lay in order before him. He was a short, plump man, with a rosy face that usually wore a very genial expression. His eyes were warm and brown, while his mouth was wide with a full set of gleaming, even teeth that flashed brilliantly with he smiled. Madison had done a wonderful job in appointing him. He could make anyone feel comfortable in an instant, and trusting his earnest face was second nature to most. A lot of this was a façade, however. Behind his warm exterior was a cool and calculating man. This was his school, and his responsibility. There was no way he was going to bear the brunt of bad publicity for one little girl, and this became very evident when he looked up and motioned me to take the empty seat in front of him.

"Please take a seat, Ms…?" He motioned for me to sit down, but quirked an eyebrow, obviously wanting me to finish.

"Johnson," I replied softly. "Serena Johnson."

He frowned. "I see. Not much of a change to your surname then?" He asked.

"I didn't think it was necessary," I answered, before I could stop myself. His frown deepened, and I shifted position uncomfortably in my seat.

"What about your parents?" He asked. "I have a number here for a Mr. Kenneth Johnson, but I'm assuming it's a fake."

"It's not," I interjected, and he raised his eyebrows with surprise. "I left all my personal information alone. The only thing that changed was my name and my sex."

He took in the information silently, and then sighed. He leaned back and raised his pudgy hands to his temples and began to rub slowly.

"I don't think I need to explain the severity of this situation to you, Serena," He said softly without looking up.
"You've committed several acts of fraud, you've put yourself in incredible and unnecessary danger, and you've compromised the good name and reputation of this institution." He paused and allowed his words to sink in before raising his eyes. "I could phone the police this very moment to arrest you, and they would probably even be able to attach "indecent exposure" to your long list of debaucheries. What do you have to say for yourself, Ms. Johnson?"

Tears pricked at the back of my lids, but I blinked them back fiercely. "I have no defense," I answered bravely. "I made a terrible mistake, endangered myself and others, and all I want now is to go home."

"Oh, you'll definitely be going home," Dr. Thomas notified me brusquely. "As soon as you leave this room, I'll be phoning your father to inform him of your situation, and I'll request an immediate retrieval. You will not spend another night under Madison's roof, and I suggest you leave saying as little to anyone as possible."

"But--" I interjected, but he cut me off.

"I am well aware that Mr. Bellmont knows of your condition, so obviously I cannot forbid you from saying your goodbyes. However," his voice lowered dangerously, "no one else is to know of what happened here tonight save those that witnessed it. The boys have already signed a contract that swears them to secrecy. I'm going to ask you to sign it now."

"What?" I wasn't sure I had heard him right.

"Madison must protect itself. We are not responsible for your little stunt, and I will not allow the defamation that will ensue if your story gets out. In exchange for your silence, we will not press fraudulent charges. You'll go home, and we'll forget you ever arrived."

"Are you serious?" I asked incredulously. "What will happen to Lucas?"

He sighed, as if the question bored him. "He has been formally asked to leave. We will not be pressing charges, but in order to ensure that he doesn't talk, his expulsion will remain off the record."

"So that's it?" I cried, my voice starting to rise. "He nearly rapes me, and you're just going to let him get away with it?"

"If it means that the school's name remains clean, then, yes," Dr. Thomas replied quietly.

"I don't believe you!" I nearly shouted, and he winced.

"You forget, Ms. Johnson, that by all legal rights, I could have you both arrested. He isn't the only one getting off scott-free. You are too."

His words sunk in fast, and suddenly, all the fight went out of me. Ms. Haruna was right. They were going to cover it all up. I'd be sent home, Lucas would be transferred, and Darien and Jarod would never be allowed to talk about what had happened. The dean had managed to cover Madison's tail better than I could have ever imagined, and had even succeeded in making me believe I had brought this all on myself.

"Where do I sign?" I asked softly.

He reached for one of the packets on his desk and slid it towards me, pointing at the line with the tip of his pen. "Right here."

I did sign it, and felt incredibly cold afterwards. That was it. In a few hours, I'd be leaving Madison, and it appeared no one would be allowed to miss me.

The trek back to the dormitories went far quicker than I expected. By the time I reached my room, Jarod was already inside, waiting expectantly. To my surprise, however, Raye was with him, and as soon as I entered the door, her arms were wrapped tightly around my neck.

"Are you all right?" she breathed, and I nodded against her shoulder as tears once again threatened to fall from my lids. "I wanted to go after you the moment you left, but the idiot over there insisted you might need some time alone."

"Hey!" Jarod protested defensively. "That's not fair!"

"What do you mean?" Raye fired back. "If you had gone after her like I told you, none of this would have happened!"

"Don't even pin this on me!" he retorted, standing up. "It's not my fault your brother started to go off right after she left! What was I supposed to do? Let him throw punches?" He laughed derisively and turned away. "Besides, it was you who was pushing him over the edge!"

Raye looked ready to explode, but I stepped in. "Guys!" I nearly shouted, and instantly they fell silent. "Knock it off! It's nobody's fault but my own. I never should have come here in the first place." I turned towards Raye and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "It's not his fault," I assured her, and she turned away, but not before I saw the tears in her eyes. I sighed wearily and attempted to smile at my rescuer. "Thank you for saving me. If you hadn't come up when you did, I don't know what Diamond might have done."

Jarod shook his head dismissively. "I'm sorry I didn't get there sooner, but Darien took a few swings at us after you left. By the time we dragged him outside and sobered him up a bit, Diamond must have already followed you. When Darien realized you had split, he wanted to find you and apologize. I didn't wait for any explanation, I just tagged along."

He sighed and ran a hand through his blond hair before continuing on. "By the time we reached the dorms, we realized you were in the shower. Darien wanted to go in to talk to you, but I obviously wouldn't let him. Just as he was starting to get pissed at me, we heard you scream. The rest you know," he finished.

I nodded dumbly and sat down on the edge of my bed. My head was throbbing and my eyes wanted desperately to close, but I knew the night wasn't over yet.

"Did he say anything?" I asked.

"No, not a word," Jarod informed me. "He told his story in the dean's office and then went back to his room. He's been there ever since."

"What are you going to do now?" Raye wondered.

"What can I do?" I muttered tiredly. "In a few hours my dad will come blazing up that driveway completely confused and unbelievably pissed off. He'll take me home, probably will scream at me the whole way, and everyone here will try and forget I ever existed."

"Are you going to try to talk to my brother?" Raye asked, her tone gentle.

"I don't know," I answered honestly. "I'm not even sure how much time I have to get my things together, let alone try and explain myself to Darien." I laughed sardonically. "It'd probably take days."

A sharp rapping suddenly sounded from the door and the three of us jumped visibly. Immediately, Jarod and I motioned for Raye to hide, and after we had managed to stuff her into our closet as quietly as possible, we opened the door. Outside stood Mr. Wakefield, looking both exhausted and unhappy.

"The dean says you have one hour to gather your belongings. Afterwards you are to wait in main lobby until your father arrives. Don't be late," he warned.

I nodded in response, and after favoring Jarod and I with a stern gaze, he turned and headed back down the hallway. We closed the door behind him.

"One hour," he whispered softly.

"One hour," I repeated.

We actually managed to collect everything I owned in about fifteen minutes. Now that I could see all my things spread out neatly before me, I didn't want to leave. However, the sooner I did, the better it be for everyone I would leave behind. Still, there was one more thing I had to do before I left for good.

"I've got to take Raye back to her dormitory," Jarod suddenly spoke up from behind me. I turned and nodded, my heart warming as he offered me an apologetic smile.

Raye approached and enveloped me in another bone-crushing hug that I returned fiercely. "Call me," she whispered, and I nodded against her shoulder as tears fell from my lids. "I love you girl," she said softly, finally pulling away.

"I love you too," I replied, wiping my eyes and sniffling. I turned towards Jarod, who embraced me gently. "Thank you," I murmured. "For everything."

"Right back at you, kiddo," he retorted, and I smiled. "Call me when you get home."

"If I can," I promised.

I hugged both of them one more time before they left me alone with a smile and a wave. Once the door closed behind them, I took a moment to survey what had been my home for the last three months. It was then that I realized there was one more goodbye left, and although I doubted I had the strength to go through with it, now was the time.

And it was with these "happy" thoughts, that I finally headed off towards Darien's room.

With heavy feet I made my way to Darien's door. My heart was like a snare drum in my chest, and as I raised my fist to rap gently at the door, I winced every time my knuckles connected with the wood. A while passed, and no one answered, so I knocked again, trying to ignore the trembling that wanted desperately to overtake my limbs. A few minutes passed, and again no one answered. I was just about to walk away, when I heard his voice.

"Who is it?"

I jumped, but swallowed hard. "It's me," I answered softly. "Can I come in?"

Silence greeted me for a few moments, and I almost turned away again, when the door suddenly creaked open, and Darien stepped aside to let me in. I entered gratefully without looking at him. In fact I didn't turn around until he had shut the door behind me, and when I did, my eyes remained somehow glued to the floor. I knew he was in front of me, and through my lashes I could discern that he was both angry and expectant from his stance. I let out a breath, and it sounded hollow in the quiet room.

"Darien… I--" I began, but he cut me off before I could finish.

"So when did you plan on telling me? Or were you ever going to tell me?" He interrupted coldly.

"It's not like that… I wanted to tell you, I was going to tell it all tonight, but everything just--"

"Oh cut the crap!" Darien broke in. "All you had to say was 'Darien, I'm a girl!' You had a million opportunities to tell me! We were with each other all the time!" I nodded in response, accepting his anger. "And what about Jarod? He sure as hell knew what was going on when we got to the bathroom! How long has he known?"

"A while," I admitted.

"A while?" Darien repeated, and laughed bitterly. "And he's your roommate… Jesus, I don't even want to think what you two did together!"

I raised my eyes in surprise, defenses immediately up. "He was a perfect gentleman!" I retorted angrily. "He's been protecting me all this time, doing what you would have done if you would have known!" I calmed myself, realizing my anger was pointless. Darien had every right to be upset. "I had to tell him," I said quietly. "Raye kissed me at Homecoming, Jarod saw and flew off the handle, and they both found out by--"

"Raye knew about this too?" Darien shouted, and I winced. "Jesus! Is everybody in on this? Is this some sort of sick joke?"

"No, it's not a joke!" I fired back. "If you'd stop ranting, I'll try to explain myself!"

Darien stopped pacing, and I could see from his tense shoulders he was struggling to maintain control. Wow, this was going splendidly.

"I'm sorry if I'm having a hard time digesting all of this calmly," he replied with mock sincerity, "but I've had a rough few weeks. My best friend is a stranger, my sort of girlfriend is my best friend, and for three weeks I've been questioning my sexuality because I enjoyed a kiss from someone who I thought was a boy!" He ran both hands through his coal black hair and tugged viciously. "I mean, who are you? I thought I knew… but it was all a lie," he stated finally, and my eyes filled with tears.

"You do know me Darien!" I insisted, stepping forward, but I retreated as he moved hastily away as if burned. "I know all this seems wrong," I continued, "but Ren is in here!" I placed my hand over my chest. "Ren and Serena are the same because I never hid myself from you…" I shook my head and lowered my gaze. I didn't want him to see me cry. "I wanted to tell you so many times… every minute the apologies wanted to come out… but I was afraid."

"Afraid of what?" he demanded, advancing towards me.

"Of this! Of exactly this!" I cried. "I didn't want to lose you. I refused to let you go three months ago without a fight, so I came here. Now I have to leave, and I want to lose you even less."

"You barely know me," he muttered dully, but I could see emotion clouding his eyes.

"I know you're kind and funny to everyone around you," I said bravely. "I know you go to the roof to think when things get to be too much for you. I know you're probably going to become a doctor after college when you want to be a photographer." I swallowed hard and continued. "I know you microwave cookies and top them off with ice cream when you're down… And I know you feel something for me. You felt something that day when we met each other at the diner, and you feel something now." I bit my lip to stop it from quivering, and struggled to blink back the tears. "I know you Darien, and I'm sorry for lying to you. I'm so sorry."

Darien sat down on his bed and was silent for a long time. For a moment, my heart filled with hope. Maybe he would forgive me. We could go to the roof, and I could spill the whole story from beginning to end. We could start over, and there would be no more pretending… just me and him.

These hopes were dashed however as he raised his head, and I caught sight of the coldness within his blue eyes.

"It's not enough," he stated simply, rising to his feet. "I don't know you, Serena, and you have given me no reason to trust you."

Hearing my name uttered from his lips with such venom sent a cold chill through my veins. "Darien," I whispered, my eyes overflowing. "Please don't do this."

As if deaf to my pleas, however, he continued on. "You have deceived both myself, and my friends. Everything you've said has all been a lie. I can't forgive you for that," he said finally, and inside I felt my heart break.

He got up slowly and went to the door, his movements almost mechanical. "I want you to leave."

He opened the door, but I remained there for a moment, hoping that he'd somehow reconsider… But then, against the protests of my aching heart, my legs began to move, and in moments I was outside his door. It wasn't until he shut it behind me, however, that my legs lost their newfound strength and I finally collapsed. It was over. I'd lost him, and I had no one to blame but myself.

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