Phillynz sent me a request (thank you it was a lot of fun) to write what happened at the Awards Dinner, the one that Serena asked Darien to in Love Poetry. Here it is.
Blueeyedevil06 thank you for being my beta and making this story even better.
I have her to thank for coming up with the name Richard. It really is perfect.
Awards Dinner
Darien thought about how, in all of his life, he had never hated anyone. He had been in the orphanage at such a young age and kids there could be terrible, yet he understood that they were just like him. They were angry too. He understood that intellectually. That didn't apply to Richard, Dick, Darien's brain supplied. He, of course, had introduced himself as Rich. Darien instantly hated him.
The night had started out so perfectly. He brought Serena and her mother flowers and was, of course, respectful to her parents. Even her father was impressed. Serena had been so worried over her very protective father's reaction. She hadn't needed to be.
She was stunning. Even modestly dressed to go to an event where her father would be honored, she took his breath away. He was so proud when he showed her his sports car and she gasped. He opened the door and noticed how good she looked in his car, not to mention in his life.
Once they pulled away from her house, she smiled at him and kissed his cheek. He told her he had been nervous meeting her father and she laughed. She told him how glad her father was that they were dating. Everyone her parents knew had the highest respect for Darien and he was happy that his daughter was dating someone with such a great character.
They met up with her parents at the Awards dinner, and her father even patted him on the back. He beamed. Having her father's approval meant she would have more leeway to date him. He was thrilled.
They were all shown to their table, and he made sure to pull out her chair for her. He internally chuckled when he watched her father copy him. She sat and when he did too, he noticed she was smiling and blushing. Under the table, she reached for his hand, and they intertwined their fingers. It started so well.
Darien almost didn't catch the name of her father's boss's, boss's, boss. Just as he was being introduced to him and his son, Darien noticed the son obviously checking out Serena. He wanted to punch him. What upset him the most about it, was that it made Serena uncomfortable.
Darien shook Mr. Watanabe's hand and reluctantly shook hands with his son Rich. Darien knew he would have to bite his tongue through a lot of this. This event was important for Serena's father. Since he had been emancipated and had his own apartment, he hadn't felt at a disadvantage. He hated having that feeling now. This guy was more successful than him, at the moment. And had power for the time being because of who his father was.
Dick barely acknowledged Darien. When Serena shook his hand, he pulled her a step towards him and kissed her knuckles. Still holding her hand, he looked into her eyes and told her that she looked lovely. Darien just barely heard him whisper to Serena that he would be ready for her when she wanted a "real man."
The silver lining on the dark cloud that was looming over him was Serena. When they all sat down, she gripped his hand even tighter. He reveled in the idea that she clung to him for comfort. It also annoyed him that she was forced to be in this situation. He didn't like Dick feeling like he could pursue her because of who his father was in relation to hers.
Another couple joined their table, and he was confused when Serena visibly relaxed. He looked over to her and she whispered, "He is VP of marketing for the paper, but his wife works for the school board." That didn't clear it up for him at all.
At least it didn't until they were introduced, and her eyes lit up with recognition.
She said, "The Darien Sheilds? The one who was ranked at number three in the nation for the seniors?"
Darien looked panicked, "Was? I thought that was my ranking."
She smiled conspiratorially and said, "The new rankings come out Monday. You scored the top on the latest standardized test. You are now ranked number two."
Serena's joy at learning that he was now the second ranked student made the news even better. He reflected that it was nice to have someone else you care for rooting for you too. He then noticed Dick's scowl, and he lifted Serena's hand and kissed her fingers. He loved his girl. She knew that Mrs. Tanaka would have heard of him.
"Thank you for telling me. I was going to be worried about that all weekend."
Serena beamed and said, "We will have to go out and celebrate tomorrow! Oh! Where do you want to go? This is huge. I am so proud of you, future Dr. Shields."
Serena's father coughed and gained their attention. Darien had noticed him fume over Dick's treatment of his daughter also. He said, "Surely you should come over and have dinner at our place."
Mrs. Tsukino nodded, "I would love to cook you your favorite meal. Then if you want, you can take Serena out for desserts somewhere."
Darien was grateful they were aligning with him in their support. He nodded and said, "That would be wonderful. Thank you."
Dick spoke up, "You aren't going to celebrate with your parents? Or do they have a problem with you dating Serena?"
Darien bristled at what he had asked, "Actually, they died when I was six. Thanks for bringing that up when I just got such great news."
"Yes, it is incredible to watch Darien since he doesn't have any parents to help him along in his career or pull any strings. He has to work so hard for everything and earn it all without help. I admire him so much for that." Serena looked so guileless and kind hearted that he wondered if she got away with insulting Dick to his face so openly.
By the time dinner was over, Darien was fuming. He had worked very hard to keep from verbally or physically assaulting Dick. He watched him keep looking at Serena and making her nervous. Why his father didn't stop him, he would never know. She was obviously uncomfortable.
He excused himself to the restroom since it was getting to be time for the awards presentations and he didn't want to miss them. He needed some time to cool down and curse out Dick in private, which he did the whole time he was gone.
When he returned, he noticed Serena and Dick were missing. He looked in panic at her father who returned his look. Darien went over to him. Her father instantly said. "Serena left to use the restroom and Rich just left now too. Please go look for her. Only step in if she needs help. She needs to be the one to tell Rich to leave her alone."
Darien nodded and told the table that he would go find her to escort her back. He hoped that seemed like a plausible excuse.
What he found when he located her made his skin crawl.
Dick had her literally cornered and was saying, "Don't be ridiculous. You aren't going to wait though all of that schooling of his to eventually become a Doctor's wife. That's if he sticks with you for that long. He just said he was a loner. What makes you think he would stay with you?"
His gut clenched as he heard Serena say, "This isn't about him. I don't know how he feels about me. We just started dating. I don't have to know if he will marry me. I do know that I don't want to marry you."
"That's ridiculous. You are meant for great things…"
Darien was reeling. She didn't know how he felt about her? Granted they had just started dating, but he was in love with her. How didn't she know that already? He thought back to all of the times he told her that he loved her. That brought him up short. He realized he hadn't said it once to her. He had been too worried about how she felt in return.
He listened back to the conversation and she was saying, "Yes, of course I am in love with him."
"And what happens when you realize that he doesn't love you?" Dick asked.
"Ha! It isn't like you love me either. You just want a trophy wife. At least I want to be with him." she said.
Darien couldn't believe he was lumped in the same group as Dick. Of course he was different from him. He loved her back.
"So my mistake was not making you fall for me? I could have lied to you too and made you fall in love. At least I was honest about what I want from you. You are going to end up brokenhearted when he is through with you."
She hissed, "How do you know? He could fall in love with me... eventually."
Dick laughed in her face, "He's hardly the type."
Darien wanted to rush over to her and punch him in the face. How dare he imply that Darien couldn't fall in love with her.
Serena said, "He likes me."
"So?" Dick countered. "I like you too."
Darien waited for her comeback. Waited for her to tell Dick that he was smart enough to fall in love with her. That he was in love with her, but just scared to tell her. Scared of rejection.
She said, "Then I end up brokenhearted. It isn't you or him for me. It just isn't you. Thank you for the warning though. I will try and be more careful with my heart."
Darien felt like he had been punched in the gut. She believed Dick when he told her that Darien wouldn't ever come to love her. He had protected himself by not telling her, but left her in doubt as to his feelings. What had he done? He was angry at Dick for making her doubt him and angry at himself for making it possible.
Then Dick made a move to press up against Serena and Darien was partially relieved. He could take out some of his anger on him.
Serena tried to push him away and said, "No, please get away."
Darien grabbed Dick's arm and yanked him around. He noticed that he was a lot stronger than Dick and that gave him a sense of satisfaction.
Dick took a swing at Darien immediately, Darien ducked and then shoved him up against the wall, holding him to it with his forearm, and leaning into it. He held his other hand in a fist in preparation. Just in case he needed to hit him. He hoped he could get a really good excuse to hit him.
"What the hell?" Dick asked.
Darien scowled and said, "The lady said 'No'. That means you don't try to touch her."
"Let me go!"
"No, not until you understand that 'no' means 'no'. Got that?" Darien released him, but stayed ready to act again if he needed to.
Dick nodded at Darien and looked to Serena, "I'll still be waiting for you."
"She doesn't want you." Darien said.
Dick just smirked at him and said, "When you break her heart, she will come running to me. I will take her in with open arms." He leaned towards Darien and whispered, "And, into my bed. I bet she is wild in the bedroom."
Darien pushed him back against the wall and said, "If you try to convince her again that I am not already in love with her, I will hit you. She has become everything to me already." He released him and shoved him away.
He looked to check on Serena and she looked stunned. He said, "Are you okay? Did he hurt you?"
She shook her head, still looking shocked. "You love me?"
"Serena, the only reason I haven't said that I was in love with you from the very first day was because I was scared that you wouldn't love me back." Darien admitted. "I haven't been loved since I was six."
She shook her head, "That's not true. I am in love with you now." She stepped into his embrace.
He held her and kissed the top of her head. "I won't be afraid to tell you anymore. I love you."
She looked up into his eyes and said, "I love you too."
He stepped back, ran his hand down her arm, and laced their fingers together. He gently tugged her to his side and led her towards the dining room. "Let's go back so we can see your father get his Award, my love."