Hey guys!

I HAVEN'T ABANDONED THIS STORY!

But I do have some sad news... There is only one more chapter left of this story after this chapter... :(

Thank you all to everyone who has loved and supported this story since the beginning! You guys are so amazing and I love you all so very much!

I decided that Chapter 35 is going to be in two parts because of how long it is and I wanna kind of keep this story going for a little bit longer lol. So after this chapter it will be Chapter 35 Part2 and then the last chapter will be Chapter 36. Yes guys we are at the end of this story that has taken me almost exactly 4 years to write out!

Most of it is just fillers and that was why it has taken me so long to post this... I suck at writing fillers and I almost always get terrible writer's block from fillers not really knowing what to do with it and how I really want it to go.

Please enjoy this chapter!

The Tutor

Summary:

Serena Tsukino miserably fails a test and her parents become concerned and decide to get her a tutor. They hire her older brother's best friend, offering him a price he cannot refuse. The two don't get along but when the tutoring is over they can't seem to stay away from each other.

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Chapter

Thirty Five

Part One
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Two weeks

It had been two weeks since her conversation with Darien, calling him out and screaming at him how much she hated him. She didn't regret it, nope not one bit at all. She took everyone by surprise, she was still acting like her bubbly self and her hair was back up in its meatball style. When they asked if it was styled like that because of Darien, Serena quickly said that her hair was getting too long for other styles and she didn't have the heart to cut it short again. They knew she was putting on an act, to show everyone how strong she was but really Serena was just done. She didn't feel like she was putting on an act, no, she honestly felt like she had moved on.

She knew she wasn't hurt anymore but she was annoyed that Andrew was still friends with him. A few days ago, they were having a video chat and Serena could hear them talking from her room as if they were in the same room as her, and her door was shut. So, she walked out of her room and walked into Andrew's room to see him in the middle of a video chat with Darien on the computer. Darien saw her, smiled a heartbreakingly gorgeous smile and said, "Hey Buns". Serena pulled Andrew, who was sitting in his desk chair with wheels, to the side and then went back to the computer, smiled at Darien then gave him the middle finger and ended the call.

"Rena what the hell was that for?!" Andrew yelled at her, he wasn't mad at her but he was very worried.

"Fuck him" was all she had to say, "And next time you're gonna video chat use headphones so I can't hear you" and then she left to go back to her room. When Andrew knew that she was gone and out of earshot he quickly called Darien back.

"What the hell was that for?" Darien said when he answered the call.

"Dude she's still mad, and I can't blame her. You did to her what Beryl had done to you. Now I understand why you wanted to break up with her in the first place, but seriously I don't think you'll be able to come back home for the holidays. She'll most likely kill you and use you as the turkey for thanksgiving dinner." They both shuddered at the thought but knew that it was true. Darien was planning on coming back during holiday break but if Serena was this mad at him… well he might as well make other arrangements.

"I really didn't mean for it to end up this way. I've just been so busy and when I did remember to call her it was too late. I don't want her to hate me forever… I don't want her to hate me at all." Darien said in defeat.

"Do you still love her?"

Darien let out a long sigh, "Yes I do… and she'll probably be the only woman I'll ever love. Drew, I'm an idiot"

"Yeah you are, I'm still trying to figure out how someone like you got into Harvard" Andrew said jokingly and Darien just glared at him.

"She can't hate me forever, right?" Darien was trying hard not to get his hopes up.

"This is Serena we're talking about, just give her a few months and I'm more than sure she'll stop saying 'fuck you' to you. She can be forgiving but that girl can hold a grudge."

"So, in other words she'll never forgive me"

"You're gonna have a lot of ass kissing to do for her to really forgive you. But on a lighter note, I stole her phone and unblocked you and I also hacked into her facebook and added you back to her friend's list so you can keep an eye on her and I also made it so anything you post won't show up on her newsfeed... I'm pretty sure she didn't notice."

"Thanks Drew, I owe you one" Darien said with a soft smile. It was one step down on his plan to get her to not hate him anymore. He had already unblocked her from facebook and tried sending her a friend request but she denied it so Andrew was his last resort.

"I'll let you know when the time comes if I need your help with anything, but hey I gotta go. I'm leaving in a few days to move into my dorm for the next 4 years at Uni and I still need to finish packing." They quickly said their goodbyes and Andrew went back to finishing up his packing.

o.o.o.o.o

"Andrew do you really have to go?" Sammy sadly asked his older brother as they loaded up the car.

"Yeah, but I'm only an hour away and I can come back whenever. And you can call me whenever you want" Andrew said as he hugged his baby brother.

It was moving day for Andrew and Ikuko was the prime definition of a water fountain. She had been crying since she woke up that morning, not wanting her baby to move out and take the next step into adulthood.

"Mom I'm only an hour away," Andrew said as he tried to calm his hysterical mother.

"My baby Motoki is all grown up," she said as she smushed his cheeks with her hands.

"Ma stop, I'm not a baby anymore" Andrew said as he escaped her hold but then went back for a hug. He too couldn't believe that he was moving out of his childhood home. The car was packed and Andrew was almost done saying goodbye to everyone… everyone but his little sister. "Where's Serena?"

"Meatball Head is still up in her room" Sammy said with his arms crossed over his chest.

Andrew quickly went inside and up to his sister's room and knocked on her slightly ajar door.

"Come in—oh hey Drew" Serena said when she looked up from the book she was reading for school and finishing up her book report that was due on the first day.

"Couldn't leave without saying goodbye"

"Oh, that's right, you're leaving today" Serena said as she placed her book down on her bed and got up to give her brother a hug goodbye. "I'm gonna miss you. School is going to be so weird without you and Lita there."

"Don't forget Darien too," Andrew tried to make a light-hearted joke but just received a glare from his sister.

"Not funny" Serena said as she turned around and went back to the spot she was sitting on her bed and picked up her book.

"Sere, he really didn't want it to end the way it did" Andrew tried to defend his best friend.

"Andrew, I really don't care anymore. He was a great first boyfriend but that's all he'll ever be to me. Just that guy that I dated in high school who broke my heart. I'm ready to move on and just focus on my senior year… I think I want to do art in college… maybe teaching as well."

"That's great Sere! You're already a step ahead of me! I still have no idea what I want to major in," Andrew said as he scratched the back of his neck.

"I thought you wanted to be a psych major? Didn't you say that all of the hot girls major in that?" Serena joked and Andrew laughed.

"I'll figure it out once I get there, it's only my first year"

"Just don't let the freshmen 15 get you, you already got enough going on there" Serena joked some more as she patted Andrew's gut. Since he graduated high school he wasn't keeping up with his workouts that he had to do for sports… and it was starting to show a bit. Serena started laughing more when Andrew swatted her hands away and then covered himself with one of her overly large pillows.

"I will if you stop eating all of those donuts!" Andrew said laughing as well. It was nice laughing with his sister again. "I'm really gonna miss not living down the hall from you Sere,"

"Well I am just a phone call away, so don't be a stranger bro. Oh and don't cheat on my best friend at one of those crazy keg parties that colleges do, okay?"

With that they said their goodbyes and Andrew left to start his new life at University.

o.o.o.o.o

The school year started the same almost like last year, but this time Mina was a depressed mess.

"I told you that this year was going to be the saddest year, it's our senior year of high school the last year we will have together at the same school" Mina rambled on in a tearful mess. The girls had gotten to school 10 minutes before the first bell rang for homeroom and Mina was already crying.

"Mina, this is our senior year. Next year we will be at schools that we actually want to be at and learning about stuff that we actually want to learn. I can't wait for this year to be over already" Serena said as she slumped over against the big oak tree that they always hang out at.

"Serena does have a point Mina. This is our last year here, let's make the best out of it." Amy said taking a break from her book then going right back to it.

"Hey Sere, who's that guy over there?" Mina whispered to Serena and when she turned around to look her heart almost stopped beating. Mina was pointing out the new transfer student that everyone was talking about and they were right… he was drop dead gorgeous. His platinum blonde hair almost looked white and it was long and tied back into a pony tail at the nape of his neck. He had broad shoulders and looked to be very well built and very muscular. His piercing blue eyes were what had caught her attention.

"Dibs!" the two blonde besties said in unison as they turned to look at each other after they got over their moment of drooling over the new student.

"No fair, you're still dating Andrew so I get dibs. Plus, you always said a new relationship helps get over the old."

"Ugh fine but can I be there with you when you meet him" Mina begged so Serena grabbed her friend's hand and pulled her with her to meet the new heartthrob of the school.

"Hi, I'm Serena and this is Mina. We noticed that we haven't seen you before and we just wanted to introduce ourselves." Serena said as she held out her hand and the guy gently shook it.

"Hi, I'm Malachi. It's nice to meet some friendly faces around here" his voice was deep and sent shivers down their spines.

"Your name is Malachi?" Mina said in an almost dream like state.

"Don't mind her, she's dating my brother" Serena said as she pushed Mina to the side and Malachi chuckled at the two goofy blondes, "Who do you have for homeroom?" Malachi handed Serena the paper that said where his homeroom was and her eyes grew with excitement. "We're in the same homeroom! I'll take you there! See you guys later!" Serena said to Mina and Amy as she walked away with Malachi to their homeroom class as the bell rang.

Amy placed a hand on Mina's shoulder, "Mina she's right you are still dating Andrew"

"Yeah but Malachi is literally everything that I dreamed about… no, no I have Andrew, you guys are right" and with that said they went to their homeroom classes.

o.o.o.o.o

The new school year was off to a good start… well as good as the first week of hell can get.

Serena had one class with Amy (gym), three classes with Mina (gym, math, and history) and she happily found out that she also had three classes with Malachi (studio art, English, and Earth Space Science).

The girls were happy that it was Friday and their last first week of hell was finally, almost, over.

"Sere are you coming to practice after school today?" Mina asked after Serena sat down next to her at their usual lunch spot under the big oak tree in the court yard.

"No… I think I'll pass this year. I really need to focus on my portfolio if I'm gonna get into an art school next year. I'm pretty sure I want to be an art major" Serena responded after she took a moment to think if she really wanted to do something that would remind her of Darien. It had been almost three weeks since she had last seen Darien, via video chat with Andrew, and she had done a pretty good job at forgetting about him almost like how he had forgotten about her. Her plans to really not think about him anymore were working since she was meeting up with Malachi this weekend to go to an art gallery that had just opened up downtown and they both had to go and write a paragraph about the artist for an assignment in their art class.

Serena had really gotten to know a bit more about Malachi this past week during some of the classes that they had together. She learned that he was a military brat and that this was the 4th school he been to in the past three years, his father wanted him to stay the full year so he could graduate without having to transfer halfway through the school year. Malachi hated sports, he liked keeping active but playing on a team wasn't really his thing. He was more into art and literature and his parents didn't care that he wasn't on a team, just as long as he did what made him happy. He wasn't very studious and barely held a C average. Malachi even opened up to her about the tattoos he had from traveling with his family, he has a tribal tattoo on his right shoulder that covered most of his upper arm, something written in Latin on his left rib cage and praying hands with a rosary on the back of his left shoulder. Malachi had also admitted that he didn't really have a type, just as long as he was happy in the relationship. Serena noticed they had a lot in common and he shared a lot of the same interests as her that none of her friends had shared. She thought he was perfect and would do anything to make him hers.

"But Serena we're supposed to be the captains this year! It really won't be the same without you" Mina's whining brought Serena back to Earth from her day dreaming.

"I'm sorry Mina, but this is the year we really need to focus on. This is our last year of high school and next year we'll be at a school to help us with our futures. I really can't have any distractions" Serena explained and then grabbed her things and went back inside the school and headed to the library leaving Mina and Amy to stare at her in surprise and confusion.

"Yup, this year is totally going to suck" Mina pouted as she crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back against the tree she was sitting in front of.

o.o.o.o.o

Serena had arrived about 10 minutes early to the spot she and Malachi had agreed to meet up at before they went into the museum. She was sitting on a bench in front of the gallery, doodling in her notebook as she waited for Malachi, though she didn't have to wait for him too long as he too showed up early. When she saw him, she noticed that he was that he wasn't walking alone.

"Hey Malachi, who's your friend?" Serena curiously asked as she walked up to the two boys.

"Hey Sere, this is Saph. He's an old friend of mine we grew up on the same block until my dad got transferred when I was 10. Saph, this is Serena the girl from school that I told you about," Serena couldn't help but blush when she heard Malachi say that he had talked about her. When Serena looked at Saph, she had to do a double take… he looked strikingly almost like Darien but his hair was more on the blue shade of black compared to Darien's jet black hair.

'So much for trying to forget about him' Serena thought bitterly but quickly buried it, "It's nice to meet you Saph, so are you joining us?" She really hoped that he wasn't.

"Nah, museums are a waste of time and I need to go meet up with my brother. It was nice meeting you too. Mal, don't forget about later" Saph said as he pointed at Malachi as he began to make his leave and Malachi just nodded his head confirming he wouldn't forget.

Malachi let out a deep sigh after Saph was gone and turned to Serena, "I'm really sorry about that, I tried to ditch him a couple of blocks back but he wouldn't leave. I know he seemed rude but that's just how he is—blunt and to the point." Malachi explained as he awkwardly scratched the back of his neck.

"He seemed fine to me" Serena said with a shrug.

"Well you're the first to think that" Malachi said, a little surprised she wasn't annoyed like him at how rude Saph was. Malachi turned to start walking up the stairs to enter into the museum until Serena stopped him.

'Its now or never' She thought as she mentally prepared herself.

"So I was wondering…" the curious look Malachi gave her made her nervous and she began to avoid eye contact, afraid of rejection, "umm… do you think we could… uh… call this a date? After getting to know you this week… I really like you" Serena took the risk of looking up at him and relaxed when she saw the smile on his face.

"Well this is a first, I've never been asked out by a girl before, but yes I'd love to"

Serena jerked her head to look up at him as joy filled her and she jumped into his arms more relieved that he hadn't rejected her.

Throughout the date they stayed close together, held hands, with little touches here and there since they were only a couple hours new into the relationship and Malachi guessed that she wanted to go slow by her body language. He kept his arm around her shoulders and every now and then would place a loving butterfly kiss on the top of her head. He didn't know if she had been in a relationship before, since she had never talked about it. Malachi, on the other hand, had had multiple relationships mainly with girls but he did try with a guy once and it didn't really work out the way he expected. Malachi didn't really consider himself bisexual but more just attracted to the personality of the person of his interest and Serena was a lot of things that he had liked. She was cute, petite, blonde, nice body and she had an extremely out going personality that made everyone around her immediately fall in love with her. She was almost perfect to him but in the back of his mind he kept feeling like something was missing… but he just pushed it aside and decided to deal with it later once he really got to know her in their new relationship. They took lots of pictures together and they both agreed to wait a week just so they could test the waters of this relationship to make sure it was what they both wanted.

Serena had the best time with Malachi at the museum and she had gotten sad when the museum had closed for the night and kicked them out. The couple decided to go to the arcade to finish the writing part of their assignment but sadly no work was done as the two were too busy playing the games and eating food at the arcade. It wasn't until Serena got a call from her mother, telling her she had to come home, she realized how late it had gotten. So she had to end her amazing date with her almost new boyfriend but was utterly surprised but very happy when he had asked if he could walk her home. They held hands and talked about everything and anything and after the longest time Serena felt happy and content. When they had arrived at the end of her driveway Serena decided that would be where she would say goodnight.

"Can't let you get too close to the house, my dad has a shotgun and I like you too much for you to be dead. So I guess I'll see you at school on Monday?" Serena had thought that was going to be her saying goodnight and she tried to walk away to go inside but stopped when she felt him not let go of her hand. Serena felt butterflies in her stomach as she looked into Malachi's eyes as he leaned in closer. Their lips touched gently, a long peck, and she wanted to enjoy the kiss… she really did but thoughts of Darien kept interrupting her moment. When Malachi pulled away she blushed madly with a beautiful smile and he had a big grin on his face.

"Goodnight Sere, I'll see you Monday" and with that said he began his walk home as Serena walked up the driveway and into her house. She leaned against the door and let out a deep sigh. She really wanted to enjoy that kiss but stupid memories of Darien wouldn't let her.

"Fuck him" she whispered to herself and then ran up the stairs and into her room to try to write that paper for her art class.