Sunset at Paradise Cove

Chapter 45

Author's Note: Hi everyone thanks for all the great support that I have received for the last chapter, really glad to see that everyone has been enjoying the story so far, and I know I had mentioned that this would be the last chapter, but found that it was getting to be a bit longer then I expected so I instead decided to break the last chapter up into two chapters and as I had left undecided before, now there will be an epilogue also, so for certain now there will be two more chapters left of this story and I will try to get the next chapter out quickly as I already have most of it written already. Thank you for all your support in my writing and please continue to send your thoughts and reviews. Thanks Mars Light

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon never did, never will thank you!

The sun came shining in through the bedroom window far too brightly for it to be morning already as she placed her hand up to her forehead with an elongated ugh, feeling the immense throbbing pain from the night before, she pulled the blanket up higher to cover over her eyes and let out a loud moan as a reminder for herself to never drink so much ever again.

She turned to her side throwing her arm across her head trying to block away the morning sun from shining in too brightly, which was difficult enough in the well-lit room as she let out a deep breath feeling every muscle in her body aching, while trying to remember why she had thought it would be a good idea to have a drink when she got back to the cottage last night, which ended up being followed by a second and then a third.

She closed her eyes again to try for a few more hours of sleep and took a deep breath in then relaxed back on the bed, until she was startled awake by what sounded like a parade going by with loud cheering going on right outside her bedroom door as she pulled the covers down slowly from her face expecting she would get no further sleep today and started to sit up while feeling a bit of dizziness and nausea in doing so.

She was unsure what could be making all this commotion early in the morning and looked around the room for her dressing robe, but couldn't recall where she had placed it last and tried to think back to the events of what happened here last evening, she remembered being at the party and then coming back here after letting the words of some jerk and his advances affect her as much as they did, she knew her nerves were shot and back here to wait for Darien to return home, but then after that everything else was mostly a blur.

She sat down on the bed frustrated with the blanks and tried to fill in her memory of what she did remember happening from last night and why she chose the path she did as she retraced her steps, she had come home and sat down on the couch, then received a call from Mina as she went on telling her how great everything in her life was going, and all about the new place she had found for herself and her new roommates, which she had so much in common with and how they shared everything, and found herself becoming a bit jealous of her friend and her new roommates.

She let out a long sigh thinking about how she had found a half-full bottle of rum in the fridge after hearing Mina tell her all about the newest Mr. Perfect Guy that she went out with and then took the bottle in hand, when she heard Mina ask the word's she had been trying to avoid in the conversation asking her 'so how is everything going with you? How are things between you and that guy of yours are things still problematic'

She let out a long deep breath knowing that problematic was one way to put it awkward and confusing at times was another and found herself reaching for the bottle and took a drink followed by another, but couldn't remember much that happened after that or how she got herself to bed last night as she looked around the room for any signs of what did happen here to see on the small bedside table next to the lamp laid two aspirins and a cup of water with a small note that read 'Good morning, think you might need these'

She let out a small smirk pleased with her salvation to see the two small ovals that were left for her to find as she took both aspirins and swallowed them down, followed by a quick drink of water as she let out a deep breath hoping they would help dull down the increasing throbbing in her head as she laid her head back down on the pillow of the bed and closed her eyes to relax, then let out a small smirk thinking of the man whom Mina considered to be the one this week, and then opened her eyes up wide as she sat back up quickly with a new revelation.

She looked over to the bedside table once more questioning how the aspirin had come to be in here, or rather when he had brought them in for her as she looked down at herself and couldn't remember ever changing into her night clothes or actually getting herself to bed.

She let out a deep breath trying to recall when he had returned last night and then looked back over to the bedside table seeing the small note that he had left behind for her to find, as she took another deep breath in and looked down taking notice for the first time what she was wearing, one of his oversize t-shirts and began questioning what if anything did happen between them last night.

She began to feel the twisting in her stomach start up again, knowing she would not have chosen this, one of his shirts to dress herself in as she let out a deep gulp with the possibility or rather the probability, which was looking more and more obvious of what her actions had led too.

She looked over to the closed door forgetting for a time about the throbbing in her head as she felt her heartrate speed up, expecting he would be there on the other side of that door and she would have to say something to him about what or if they did anything in this room as she shook her head trying to jog something loose, but only came up blank.

She stood up from the bed slowly and took a deep breath in, trying to be logical about this knowing just because she woke up wearing his shirt it didn't mean anything, there could be another reasonable explanation as she looked around the room for any other signs that there had been something else that happened here between them, anything, and then saw her clothes from yesterday discarded on the floor, alongside a pair of Darien's shorts.

She let out a deep breath feeling a turning in her stomach knowing that was about all the proof she needed to find as she covered her mouth feeling a bit of nausea rising up again as she fought it down and looked towards the bed where they had supposedly, but she couldn't remember any of it happening.

She let out a deep breath not knowing why or how they had come to do that, but knew whatever they did do had been a mistake that she was obviously not in her rightful thoughts and she had to say something to him about all of this, that it shouldn't have happened at all and now would obviously change their cohabit, non-commitment existence they had been sharing, or would it?

She suddenly had an over whelming feeling of self-consciousness as she reached down to pick up her shirt from yesterday off the floor and held it up close to her chest thinking he probably didn't think much of any of this, other than just seeing her as any other girl, who had gotten herself overly drunk last night, that she would agree to such a thing, which he used her for a one-night stand.

She lifted her head up high expecting that he would not think much of it and that would be how she would have to treat it, the same as he would as though nothing had changed between them as she looked over to the note he had left on the nightstand and let out a long sigh questioning whether or if she could, just keep on pretending to herself and to him that there was nothing left there between them, that the feelings she had for him weren't still very much alive.

She took a deep breath in knowing over the past few days living with him everything felt so easy and right, which made it that much harder trying to hold back inside her real feelings, not willing herself to go down this path again with him, knowing it would lead to nothing more than added tears to shed, that he would go and break her heart all over again if she let him do so and wasn't sure if she could take that kind of pain again, when he had made it clear to her that the only thing in this world he would ever truly care about was what went on outside these walls, where the sun was always shining, the wind blowing through his hair, while he rode each wave that hit.

She let out a deep breath and wiped away a tear from her eyes knowing the real reason why she had reached in and took the bottle out from the fridge and ended up opening it for a drink followed by another, that everything was becoming far clearer, but also more confusing, after speaking with Mina about what she wanted, but didn't have, all the fantasies she had visioned for herself which were washed away, she knew what she must do now.

She couldn't stay here with him any longer, acting as though they were only roommates, that being here to watch him go out and be with other women wouldn't affect her when she knew it would, especially now after what they had done and knew what next steps she needed to take, to put some needed distance between them, but before she did any of that she owed him at least an apology, for her otherwise foolish behavior.

She gathered up her courage and walked to the closed door as she silently went through her head with what she would say to him, where she could possibly begin and then took a deep breath in and went inside expecting to find him standing in the kitchen with a cup of coffee in hand as she found him most mornings, as she called out "Darien there is something that I" and then stopped as she looked around the small cottage, seeing the empty mug left on the counter, but there was no sight of him anywhere.

She walked towards the living room and called out his name once more, but knew within her sight he was nowhere around to answer, then looked over by the door and saw that his board was gone also. She let out a small smirk knowing exactly where he would be, a true surfer boy always is, where she could always find him as she walked towards the kitchen to make herself, her morning cup of coffee expecting he would probably be a few hours longer, but then stopped halfway as she paused and remembered hearing the cheering outside the window this morning and what it meant as she turned around to face the door, knowing this was not just some practice he was doing, that the competition was today.

She remembered all the times he had mentioned it to her and how his face took on such a serious tone that this was the major event, that he took very seriously and all his practicing, which all led up to this one competition.

She let out a small smirk thinking back to when she had first laid eyes on him out there on the water and the massive skills which he possessed then, which she would just begin to understand was only a small peak of his amazing talent as the curve of her lip raised up into a smile.

She knew from the large crowd that was there last night, which he played out joyously to their enjoyment what this had all meant to him, as she thought back to earlier in the day, before she had left to go job hunting and what a complete disaster that had turned out to be, but before she had left, he had made her promise that she would be there to cheer him on alongside his many other fans.

She was certain by the loud cheering she heard this morning most were probably already there to watch, and began to turn back around to the kitchen knowing with the crowd of people, she wouldn't be able to get anywhere close enough to see and he probably would not even notice if she was there or not, with the large crowd that would undoubtable be surrounding him by now, when she noticed the doll that he had given back to her sitting out alone on the couch, and made up her mind as she quickly hurried back inside to get herself dressed.

She grabbed one of her simple dresses that tied around the waist from the closet placing it on as she tied the ribbon around her waist and did a quick peak at herself in the mirror wearing the blue dress that was the color of the ocean, which she remembered him insisting that she buy it, stating that it would match her eye color and then slipped on a pair of sandals, as she grabbed the last finishing touch her shell necklace from the dresser and placed it around her neck, then ran out at a hurried pace from the cottage.

She closed the door behind her and did a quick look down the beach, unsure which direction to head in for the competition until she heard the cheering off in the distance and looked down further seeing that her first impression had been right and could see from here that there was already a large crowd that had formed to catch a glimpse of the competition and she was not sure if she could even get up close enough to see the water, or if she had already been too late to make it on time.

She turned back to the cottage with a long sigh, knowing she had messed up yet again and placed her hand on the doorknob as she heard the loud cheering going on in the distance, and then heard a small voice in her head asking "will mommy and daddy be coming today?"

She stopped and removed her hand from the doorknob remembering back to a far distant past of every dance recital that her parents had missed out on because of an unexpected business trip, or every tennis match they were unable to attend or every piano concert that she performed in where her parents were either missing or too focused on making new business contacts to actually listen or every other important moment that happened in her life, that they were not there to give her the love and support that she needed.

She placed her hand up to the shell necklace she wore and remembered a question he had asked her when it was just them alone riding in the car, which she had not given him an answer to at that time when he asked her what it was that she wanted that had been missing from her life, and she knew what the answer was and knew whether she could see him surfing today or not what was most important was just being there and she would be there cheering out loudly for him as she quickly slipped her feet out of her sandals, picked them up in hand and ran as fast as she could bare foot through the sand towards the energized crowd.

Darien turned around looking out through the large crowd once again for a familiar face, as he let out a long sigh expecting she was still sleeping off the effects from too much drink last night to come today and expected they would find some time to celebrate later on after the win.

He looked out at the other surfers his competition, as he felt Andy pat him on the back telling him joyously "alright well you got through the first two rounds with no problem, you're doing great out there, just keep this up and nobody can match up with you, the only other person out here who has half your ability is Peterson and he is only so-so, you will win this whole thing again no problem"

Darien nodded his head expecting Andy's words were true enough as he looked over to see Peterson his only other real competition, he was good there was no doubt, but no others knew these waters the way he did as he told him back proudly "no problem" and then turned around as he heard his name called out and saw a familiar person walking his way as a small grin crossed his face and he patted Andy on the shoulder telling him with a little gleam to his eyes "wait here a moment"

Andy turned to look at him surprised unsure what could possibly grab Darien's attention away now minutes before he was about to go out and surf the final round of the biggest competition of the year, when he saw who was walking up towards them and knew that he couldn't get in the way of what he had to do as he patted him on the back stating "don't be long"

Darien nodded his head, but kept his focus in front of him as he walked up to the unexpected newcomer while Nicholas placed out his hand in front of him greeting him with a gleeful smile stating "ah Darien, well I must say you are looking well out there. keep up the good work" and then was quickly knocked sideways by a right-handed fist to his face as Darien reached down grabbing the man up by his shirt collar stating forcefully "I better never hear of you laying one finger on my wife again, is that clear?"

Nicholas regained his balance as he looked to him in shock and rubbed his bruised cheek, then shook his head as though he hadn't already known who she was before approaching her while stuttering out "I, I didn't know she was your wife"

Darien nodded his head making sure once and for all that everyone now would know who she was and that she belonged with him as he let go of the man's collar and stood up proudly as he replied sternly "it's complicated between us, but I will tell you what is not, if I ever find out you laid one hand on her ever again. I will crush you, and if you continue to make any kind of threats against her, well let's just say I will find out" as he let out a small chuckle as Nicholas looked to him unsure of what he was going towards as he let out a nervous chuckle of his own, while Darien placed one arm around the man's shoulder, keeping his enemy closer.

Nicholas let out a loud gulp in the uncomfortable embrace as Darien patted his shoulder roughly, to all others view they looked like they could be old buddies, but looks could be deceiving as Darien spoke quietly so only they could hear "if you don't do as I ask, then I will be forced to break every bone in your body and grind those tiny balls of yours into sausage, so take my word for it and from this moment on you will have nothing, but the upmost kindest and wonderful things to say about Serena, actually you know what would be even better, if you just stay far, far away from her"

Nicholas looked to him with a slight nod of his head feeling jittery, having no doubt that the man before him took his threat very seriously and would follow through with his words as he took a step back while stating nervously "yes of course, fine girl she is too"

Darien could see in the alarmed look in the man before him, and expected that he would be of no further problems to her, but did not want him to be anywhere near where Serena could possibly be either as he gave him a little pat on his shoulder to be sure he got the message loud and clear stating pleasantly "well I am glad that is now settled, and I believe you were just leaving, now weren't you?"

Nicholas looked to him with his eyes wide open knowing that it was not a question, but a direct order to leave, only he had a lot of money riding on the outcome of this competition today as he shook his head telling him back "no I was planning on" but then received a death glare from Darien before he finished speaking, expecting that if he did not do as was requested and leave on his own that he would be shown away roughly as he nodded his head telling him quickly "on second thought I do have some business to take care of back at my office"

Darien nodded his head taking nothing less, as he reached out and fixed the man's neck tie, tightening it extra tightly as he spoke up saying with a grin "I thought so, nice chatting with you, now get the hell out of here" and then abruptly turned around to leave to go back to join where Andy stood by with his other friends who were laughing while watching the pale look that came over Nicholas's face as Andy spoke up stating "by the look on Nicholas's face I take it that your conversation went well"

Darien nodded his head in agreement as he continued walking forward in thought, knowing that Serena had been left very upset by this man and he should have not had to wait this long to deal with the problem, that he should have found out about all of that happened sooner than he did from Serena herself and handled Nicholas then and there yesterday evening, but couldn't understand why she hadn't come to him directly and said something to him about what happened.

Eva took notice that Darien had shown up here by himself and seemed somewhat distracted today, as she hoped that her little talk with Serena yesterday had somehow did the trick, and she was currently packing her bags to leave and would no longer be getting in their way as she took her opportunity. She quickly walked up to him, and grabbed him possessively by the arm while telling him passionately "Darien that was so manly the way you just handled that man"

Darien quickly turned to look at her growing tired of these games she played as he reached over and removed Eva's hand from his arm and turned towards her, ready to end things here for good, as he put both of his hands up on her shoulders, while he looked her straight in the eyes stating abruptly "well I will do so every time someone makes any kind of threat against Serena, I won't take well to it and I don't care who they are who is making that threat or makes her feel uncomfortable, she is to be welcomed here understood, Serena is important to me, she alone"

Eva looked up to him surprised to hear that her initial thoughts were wrong and that seeing by the serious look he had in his eyes while he spoke of her, that she was planning on staying after all as she shook her head telling him absurdly "you can't mean that" as she looked ahead to see a familiar face in the crowd as an alluring smile passed her face as she went to put her arms around his neck, but he quickly grabbed both of her arms and pinned them behind her back stating fully "enough with this, Serena is my wife and she is who I want to be with, not you understand, there is nothing between us and there never will be"

Eva looked to see the intensity in the face of the girl that stood behind them watching and knew she had gotten the message clearly of what she wanted her to see and hoped that she would finally take the hint and leave so she could have Darien all for herself as she looked to him with a smile stating "of course I only want you to be happy is all" as she reached up to give him a quick kiss on the cheek stating "it's for luck"

Darien removed his hands away from her arms, as he wiped the kiss off his cheek hoping that Eva would finally take the hint that there was nothing going on between them and there never would be as he turned away from her, no longer interested in wasting any of his time with Eva, when he had other things to be focusing upon

Andy stood by surprised after hearing for himself the drastic change that had come over his friend, after hearing him speak of only one girl and knew his focus had changed these past few weeks, for the better and had a strong feeling it was due to the one girl that had a new profound effect on him as he turned around to see that very same girl in the crowd and let out a strong laugh stating "yes well, while you were having your chat over there with Nicholas, looks like who you have been waiting for has finally arrived, a bit tardy I might add" as Darien quickly turned around to see her standing there and made a quick attempt to lessen the distance between them.

Ryan turned around to see what had took Darien's complete attention away from the competition now when he was about to be up surfing in the next couple of minutes as he saw the girl which he was walking up towards and shook his head telling the others "He's really got it bad this time"

Eva stood with his arms crossed watching as Darien walked away from her, to go be with that girl of all people again, as she rolled her eyes back not seeing anything of what would make her so special asking the others coldly "what does she have?"

Ryan let out a deep laugh as he patted Eva on the shoulder, knowing she was continuously throwing herself at Darien with no reaction, expecting she would have gotten the hint by now as he looked to where or whom Darien had run off to be with as he shook his head and replied back telling her "Something in which you will never have, at least not with him"

Serena rushed her way through the large crowd of people and from the conversations of what she overheard from people talking, she had missed the first part of the competition so far, but the finalists were about to be coming up next, which Darien was apart of.

She tried looking around for any sign of him, but it was difficult to see much ahead with the sun beating down blazingly hot as she wiped the sweat from her forehead and continued to make her way through the tight crowd of people in front of her.

After not giving up she finally found his group of friends standing nearby the front of the crowd to cheer him on, but did not see Darien with them, as she let out a deep sigh thinking maybe she had been too late after all, until she stopped and caught sight of him, only he was not standing with the others and he was alone not alone, but what was more alarming was who he was standing with.

She carefully took a few steps through the crowd to try to take a closer look, but could not get close enough to hear what was actually being said between them as she stood watching unsure if it was the heat that was getting to her or if this was really happening as she felt a deep hurt in her chest seeing him standing there with his arm around the same man from yesterday's shoulder, who had asked her to do such horrible things and left her feeling weak and vulnerable, only now Darien was standing with him looking like they were old friends.

She stood there watching for a second, not taking a step closer, and being too far away to hear what they were saying to each other, but body language spoke loudly enough as she saw their close interaction and shook her head expecting this had to be some sort of mistake, but saw the way Darien seemed almost friendly with the man and began to question what kind of conversation he would have been having, if Darien would ever actually agree to be in cohorts with that kind of man.

Her thoughts were quickly changed to a panic as she saw them break apart and the man turned around to leave and was walking at a brisk pace up towards her, she knew she didn't want to have another interaction with him of all people and quickly ducked down behind a larger gentleman, hoping he wouldn't have spotted her.

She felt her breath get caught in her chest watching as he walked past her, he didn't turn or take any notice that she was hiding there, but she could tell when he walked past that he did not seem to have the same air of superior confidence that surrounded him yesterday, but expected he was just playing it cool to not give away any insider information which he found about as she turned around to face Darien, wanting to believe the best in him that the man she knew, he wouldn't swindle like that, only instead she got a perfect view of him standing up very close with Eva with his arms wrapped around her, after he had been with her just a few hours earlier.

She couldn't force her eyes to look away from him, from them, as she watched feeling humiliated as Eva reached up and kissed him, she turned her head away seeing enough of this ultimate deception from him, that he played her well to make her think for even a moment that he could care for her, or for anyone for that matter, only to be showing off in front of all of these people, that he couldn't be held down by only one girl, and then saw the way he turned around to focus his attention on her now.

She felt hurt and betrayed by him, that he could act so cavalier and be so wonderful and make her feel special one moment and then have another girl wrapped up in his arms the next and wanted to turn around and run to get as far away from here, from this place as quick as possible, so she wouldn't end up with her heart broken any further.

She took a deep breath in seeing him walk up closer to her with an alluring smile as though she hadn't just witnessed herself what he had been doing, after she expected what they had just done last night and placed her hand down feeling the hurt inside her chest, and felt instead the hard shell necklace he had given to her, knowing she had been crazy, that she let him do it to her again, fall into his lies and felt betrayed mostly by herself, for wanting to believe in him, believe he had changed, only she knew what kind of man he is, he had made it clear to her all along that he was no more hers, then she was to being just one of his many adoring fans, which he chose to play around with for his own amusement.

She removed the necklace from around her neck, one of his many gestures and held it in her hand tightly ready to drop it down to the sand, leave what is left here behind her and turned around to disappear and never step foot on this island again, as she let out a deep sigh knowing that even when she was hurting and had tried desperately to act like there were no feelings left between them, she couldn't do it as she grasped the necklace tighter in her hand, not ready to let it loose.

She lowered her head down to the sand knowing she couldn't continue to stand by watching the man she loved flaunt around with all different women, feeling humiliated enough for one lifetime.

She wanted to scream out for every roadblock she came to, each one saying the same thing that she had no admittance and did not belong here, and now it was time for her to go, to find a new clearer pathway to hopefully her next journey and a happier life, only she wouldn't take the easy way out and just leave, not yet, not without saying something to him first as she let out a deep breath and looked to see him walking towards her as they made eye contact and she knew she would have to say something to him here and now as he closed the distance and came up close to where she stood.

She took a deep breath in and lifted her head up high ready to face him to wish him luck for his future endeavors, but nothing further that would keep her from hitting the same roadblocks again, as she looked out on the growing crowd all their to cheer on their favorite son, and expected that he did not really need her to be their today anyway, when he asked her to be here, he was just looking to show that he was loved among many others and not a one woman kind of a guy, as if it wasn't painfully obvious already, as he kept his personal choice of close friends nearby, with Eva being the closest one of all.

She let out a deep breath seeing the proud confident look from Eva on what had been directly in front of her all along, as she dropped the shell necklace from her hand, knowing that she did not belong, nor was she supposed to end up being here with him.

Darien walked up to where she stood his eyes focused on her alone, there had to be over two hundred people here today, but none of them grabbed his attention the way she did, he could tell she was tried with her eyes looking droopy from last evening, but still she had made it out here to watch and cheer him on, and no one else here mattered as much as she did, at this very moment with her hair shining brightly in the glow of the morning sun as he looked up to her asking with a slight smirk "had a rough night, did you?"

Serena looked to him with a slight roll of her eyes, knowing he knew perfectly well how there night went after they had, as she shook the thought from her head of what she couldn't remember them doing, and saw him standing there with his hair wet and slicked back, while wearing a confident little smirk, while he made light of the situation between them knowing she would have seen him with his arms around Eva a second ago as she shook her head questioning back "you should know, shouldn't you be getting on other more important matters to you, and doing this surfing competition or whatever it is you surfer boys like to do"

Darien let out a small grin hearing the way she spoke of the competition and knew she was outside of her usual element being here with him, but chose to stay anyway and he had found within himself a new eye opener this morning, when he went in to check on her before leaving and left the aspirin by the bed as he stood and watched her sleeping before he left this morning, after witnessing for himself she had experienced a rough night.

He had paused before leaving watching her sleep peacefully on his bed, never finding himself to be in this kind of position, just to be there to have to take care of someone else's needs, but found after last night with her, he didn't mind it so much, that he wouldn't mind sharing both the good and the bad with her, but expected she was probably embarrassed by her actions and did not want to keep eye contact with him, which was why she kept looking towards the sand as he crossed his arms while he stood next to her stating with a light chuckle "I have a few more minutes, but I am curious as to why you are choosing to stand all the way back here by yourself, when everyone is standing much closer, I promise you can get a better view from up ahead"

Serena looked up trying not to make eye contact with him to keep what she strength she could to get through this as she looked towards where he was pointing to where his group of friends stood, Eva included while they talked and laughed away about things she wouldn't understand, but mostly her attention was focused on Eva who stood by watching their every move and with a shake of her head she knew she had seen enough and replied back telling him "I think you have enough of a cheer squad around you, I would say that all of paradise cove came out here to cheer you on, All of your closest friends are here too, which is why you don't really need me to be here do you?"

Darien could hear it in the tone she used that there seemed to be some added tension building up behind her words which he couldn't find a reason as to why, she kept doing a quick look behind her, but expected this sudden change all had to do with the conversation she had with Nicholas yesterday as he let out a deep breath expecting that she was looking to be sure Nicholas was not in the crowd somewhere, which he had made certain that would not be the case and nodded his head as he looked around on the large crowd himself to be sure the man was nowhere to be seen, knowing the only person that he really was interested in being here today, he was talking to right now as he reached out to touch her arm and told her back sincerely "yes, the competition does tend to draw a large crowd it does every year, but why would you think that I wouldn't want you to be here with me, does this have something to do about what happened last night?"

Serena turned her head to look back at him feeling outraged to hear him bring that up now, after he was just caught flirting around with Eva as she shook her head telling him sternly "I think it would be best that we do not discuss what happened here" then took a deep breath in and changed the subject stating what she needed to before she lost all will to do so stating properly "I have seen the way everyone treats you around here, you really are quite the celebrity aren't you, which is why you don't need someone like me crowding around you any longer"

Darien looked to her unsure if he was hearing this right and began to wonder if this was to do with Nicholas or something else and with a shake of his head he questioned where this was all coming from, what kind of thoughts were put into her head and why, and was determined to get the answers he sought now asking back "someone like you? Crowding around any longer? What is that supposed to mean?"

Serena looked to him seeing what was clearly a look of confusion expressed on his face as she shook her head and let out a small grin thinking of her own foolish behavior, knowing he hadn't really changed at all and he never would, he still saw nothing wrong with his interaction with other women, to play around however he chose as she placed her hand up to his cheek saying with a loud sigh "I guess I owe you an apology, don't I"

Darien stood their shaking his head trying to understand where this was all coming from, why she suddenly was questioning what he knew and felt to be true between them, what never felt right before, but now it is as he shouted back frustrated "an apology for what?"

Serena looked down and focused her attention on the shell necklace now lying down in the sand and knew something that special couldn't be held in her grasp too tightly, otherwise it would just break and fall apart as she reached down and picked it up from the sand as she let out a deep breath and then placed it down in his hands as he shook his head unsure what this meant asking "Serena?"

She gave him a small smile wanting to hold on forever to the good times and memories they did share and would forever be grateful to him for the confidence he gave her to start her life over again stating back "please just let me say this while I can. It has been a difficult decision to make, but I realize now it was a mistake coming here and living with you. I wanted to make a new start for myself, but all I did was fall back into the same patterns again, I even let myself believe for a short time that this could be a real home between us, but I see now the way things really are and I had let myself want things that are not going to be at least not between us, but I am so grateful to you for all that you did give to me"

Darien looked to her with a shake of his head, hearing what sounded to be like a final good bye and was not sure where this was coming from, but had no intension of letting her just leave him, watching the best thing that ever happened to him walk away without questioning back "What is that supposed to mean? Why are you saying this? Serena your home is with me"

She took a deep breath in never expecting to hear this kind of refusal from him as she was left on the spot and stood up tall, repeating the words she heard so often from others telling him back "I don't fit in here Darien, I never did, all this was supposed to be was a nice summer vacation, not a place to settle down, so I have decided to get that part of my life back which I lost coming here and apply to some colleges on the west coast for the spring semester, and in the meantime Mina has offered a place for me to stay and I am going to go stay with her for a while, she has a small apartment off campus and she has an air mattress that I can sleep on"

Darien looked to her surprised to hear this plan of hers, that she had all set to be put into motion, to live possibly thousands of miles apart and sleep on someone's air mattress on the floor, only it didn't have one major thing included in it, him, and with a shake of his head he replied back telling her "Can we please discuss this further after the competition, I think there is more to be said, to work out here"

Serena shook her head expecting that he would want to discuss all the extra costs that she had put on him, while over staying her time, but already had a plan of her own in place to repay every cent back telling him with a shrug "sure I guess, but I do realize that I will need to pay you back for all of the clothes and everything that you had purchased for me and I will do so, once I get settled and find myself employment, I'll give you my new address, just send me a bill for everything and the new stove of course and I will pay you back for it every penny, I promise"

Darien stood there blinking his eyes unsure if he was listening to this right, how he could actually be standing here having this conversation right now as he shook his head stating forcefully "I don't want your money Serena, hell I don't want you to go at all" she looked up to him surprised by his spirited comment as she shook her head asking with what little hope she still had left that maybe he meant what he said questioning "you don't?"

Darien let out a deep breath hoping this whole idea of hers of leaving was just that a crazy idea and would be now put to rest as he placed his hand up to her cheek and let out the breath, he held telling her "No, and I don't see why you felt the need to leave either when things have been going well between us. I enjoy having someone that I come home to and see every day and if you want to take some courses, well I am sure we can work something out"

Serena looked to him as she let out a deep sigh expecting to hear more from him, than to be thought of as just a puppy to be standing by the door waiting each day for his master to come home as she stood up straight with her shoulders back telling him with her mind made up firmly on her decision "no, I have made my choice, after all you're the one who is always telling me that you want me to live my own life and make my own choices, well I am doing just that, this is me doing that and right now I think this will be the best path for both of us. We can both go back to the way things were before, the way they were supposed to be before we ever met"

He looked to her with a shake of his head knowing things would never be the same and he didn't want them to either as she shook his head telling her "Serena what there is between you and I. I can't just put a name to it, but I know that I don't want to lose what we have"

She reached up to touch his cheek, wishing that it could be more, that she meant more to him and didn't have to share him with the rest of the island as she nodded her head telling him "You will be fine without me, it is rather obvious you are where you belong and now so will I and don't worry we'll always be friends right and have the good times we shared on this island, isn't that what you told me when I first returned to remember the good, and I will I'll think of you here the surfer boy, surrounded by all these people just chanting out your name, just listen to them it is pretty amazing. I know where your heart truly lies Darien, where it always has, with them and this island and it is time for me to let you go"

Darien looked to her shaking his head hearing what she thought of all that he held most dearest to him, but what she didn't say, what she didn't believe was what was most apart of him, and what he should have told her as soon as he realized it too, that he was completely in love with her, that she was what was in his heart as he let out a deep breath and told her "Serena, I think that there is something I should have told you by now" when he was distracted hearing the announcer speak up saying "number 17 the reigning champion and by the sound of it this crowds favorite to win is going to be surfing next" as the deafening cheer of the crowd grew louder making it harder to say what he needed too.

He took a deep breath in knowing he needed a few more minutes with her, but with the loud excitement of the crowd he couldn't finish this conversation here, but that it was far from over, merely for the time being placed on a brief hold and placed his hand down on her arm telling her back assertively "I am up now, but this conversation isn't over, we need to talk about this further"

Serena looked up to him, knowing she had said what she needed to and now it was time for her to fly solo and give him the space he favored, as she reached in and gave him a quick peck on the cheek with a tender smile, knowing that she was cutting him loose to do what he loved the most, without anything holding him back saying "I think enough words have been said between us both good and bad so let's leave it on a good note. I wish you the best of luck, even though I know that you don't really need it, you will do great out there, after all you have told me many times that surfing is your whole life. It's what you do best and is what is most important to you, so go on and do it, go show them how it is done"

He looked to her hearing the truth of her words of what he had told her before and let his whole life become about, a lonely life, up until now as he heard from behind him the crowd continue to cheer out his name as the announcer called out again "number 17"

He looked down at the number pinned to his chest 17 and took a deep breath in knowing it was his turn, to do as everyone expected of him, what he himself had built up in his own reputation, then reached out to cup her cheek as he told her regretfully on the outcome of his many mistakes "I guess I should go up there, their waiting on me, will you be here cheering with the rest of the crowd"

She smiled a tender smile knowing that it really made no difference whether she was here or not with the large crowd surrounding them all chanting out his name, how would one person be heard among the rest, especially one who had completely disrupted his life and turned it upside down. What would it matter all that much to him whether she was there or not? but nodded her head and told him confidently "of course I will, I'll be here cheering loudly for you with all the others, not that you'll need the extra confidence"

Darien nodded his head as he heard all of his choices being made up to this very moment, from his friends and neighbors all there waving their hands in the air while calling out for him to come over and do what he does best, as he reached down and took Serena's hand in his own and gave it an extra firm squeeze, before he let her go and turned to walk away, back down to where his friends all stood, but stopped halfway and turned around to face her standing there alone, stating with a small grin "your right it is time that we both make our own choices on what we want most of all" and then turned back around and continued to walk back to where his friends all stood waiting for him.