Hey guys! Thanks for the reviews. I was so surprised! Sorry it took so long to get this out, I needed to get a chapter of KOTU out since I had somewhat neglected it. So here it is chapter 2. Enjoy!
Chapter 2- Curiosity
His large but soft hands caressed the skin, from the wrists they moved up her arms and rested on her cheeks. The skin underneath both smooth and flawless as his thumbs wiped away the tears that fell down her face. Her head was down and her eyes were closed, it seemed to him that she was avoiding his eyes on purpose.
Her hands moved up and gripped his wrists as she tried to calm herself; she was, at the moment, embarrassed, which was something that she had never experienced before. She wasn't one to let human emotions take over her train of thought; they were weaknesses and the one of the main problems in society.
She wanted no part of it and yet, this man in front of her knew what buttons to push; her feelings had betrayed her. She was so close to the edge and almost fell a couple of times, but every time she had managed to catch herself. She refused to fall, she couldn't afford to fall, is what she kept telling herself.
That was until she saw him with her. Out of all the women in the kingdom, he chose the one that kept her on her toes, her competition. He denied any contact with her except for the kiss she gave him, but just the thought of her touching him, made her boil with jealousy. Out of all the men, that jezebel had to choose him.
She could see her foot slip and her shoe fall into oblivion as she looked over that edge and into the black hole of her life. It was bad enough he was seeing her cry, but now he knew that she was crying over him, of all people, the tears were for him.
He put his hand underneath her chin and lifted her head so she could face him. Her eyes still remained closed, which aggravated him because he needed to see her sapphire eyes to know the truth. She sighed and made a silent vow before she opened her eyes to meet the silver ones of her lover.
She could see a new light in them; an emotion that they both promised wouldn't run their lives, especially since they lived in two different worlds. But she saw it and she could do nothing but relent. She fell and this time, she didn't try to reach for the ledge.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Serena woke with a panic. The dream was intense, too intense.
She could feel everything as if she was really there and that scene was actually taking place; it sent shivers up her spine, especially since she could still feel his hands on her skin, leaving that heated impression.
She rubbed her eyes with the palm of her hands and yawned. She looked over at her alarm clock, which read 2:35 am. Her eyes began to close slowly until they opened suddenly, as they looked around the room in complete confusion. "How did I….?" At that moment she realized that she had no memory of how she got home that night.
She remembered the arcade after school, Raye's jealous accusation and walking through the park, but after that, everything was a blur. Her legs fell over the side of the bed as she tried to recall the events that occurred after the park. She shook her head when nothing came up and walked into the hallway toward the bathroom.
She turned on the faucet and splashed water on her face and glanced at her reflection in the mirror. Flashes of the battle entered her mind, red glaring eyes and sharp fangs painted with drool and remnants of past victims. She gasped when they were replaced with cold silver eyes that soon changed to reveal an emotion that she had never experienced.
Serena jumped back and put her hand up to calm her beating chest; she was having a hard time catching her breath. "What's wrong with me?"
After her breaths became more labored she walked back to the mirror and just stared at her reflection. She wanted to see if the images would start again, she needed to know if she was beginning to hallucinate, but nothing happened. Before she turned to walk to her bedroom, something caught her attention.
She pulled her shirt collar down to see four, faint jagged scars that seemed to be healing. She touched them and winced as the soreness took over, she could feel it on her arms also. When she blinked the scars were gone.
She took a deep breath and shook her head. "I need sleep."
She closed her door behind her and climbed back into bed. She never noticed the presence across the room. He sat in her cushioned chair with his legs crossed and stared at the blonde with a desire that every girl wished they saw in the eyes of her love.
He gripped the armchairs to stop himself from reaching out and touching her. It was bad enough he had to bring her back home, she would had been discovered sooner or later if she had stayed in the nega-verse with him. Nothing would happen to him, of course, but she would be tortured and then killed.
He didn't want to lose her especially since he thought he would never see her again; he wanted time with her, if she would allow him to get close. It wasn't impossible; he could and most definitely would.
With one last glance, he blinked in and out of transparency and then was gone.
Serena sat up and squinted into the darkness. She leaned over and turned on the lamp to get a better look, for some reason she felt like she was being watched, it sent chills up her spine, but strangely it wasn't from fear, more like excitement.
When she couldn't see anything she turned off the light and fell into a soundless sleep.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Hey Serena!" Serena turned away from the window a to see her friend come toward her. "Hey Molly."
The auburn-haired teen looked at her with concern, "hey girl, you feelin' all right?" she asked, her New York accent could be heard loud and clear. Serena nodded and sighed, "yea, why?" Molly shrugged, "Oh, I don't now, maybe it's the first time you're here on time. You sick?" She put her hand on Serena's forehead.
Serena slapped her hand away and Molly shrugged, "must be something you ate." Serena turned back to the window as if her friend wasn't there. She eventually snapped out of it and smiled, "So, how was it last night?"
Molly looked around making sure no one was close enough to listen. She leaned over and whispered her answer. "It happened."
Serena's eyes grew wide, "are you serious?" Molly nodded and giggled, covering her mouth with her hands, she was acting like such a schoolgirl. When Serena got over her shock she looked at her friend. "Wait, you and Melvin, actually……"
"Uh huh."
"You and Melvin?" she asked skeptically.
"What? You can't picture us doing something like that?" she said, slightly offended.
Serena shook her head, "first of all, I don't want to picture you two doing something like that. Second, I'm just surprised that's all. I mean you were the one who was going to wait for marriage. How do you just change your mind like that?"
Molly sighed, "well love can do that to you, Serena. But you've never been in love and probably never will be, so you don't know how it feels; there fore you can't judge me!" With that said Molly walked to her seat across the classroom and waited for the bell to ring.
Serena stared at her friend's back as she walked to her seat. She rolled her eyes and continued to stare out of the window. Did she just insult me? She honestly didn't see what the fuss was about, all she was trying to do was look out for her childhood friend and she gets her head bit off.
Were her panties twisted the wrong way or something? Maybe Melvin can untwist them for her
She smirked at the thought then shook her head, she just didn't see what the big deal was; did sex really change everything? Serena shrugged, the concept was becoming widespread in her school and she felt that she was the only one left basking in the glow of the sun on the Virgin Islands.
Love. Who needed it! All it did was cause jealousy, confusion and a whole new set of problems next to the ones that you already had, and Serena had enough. All she had to do was look at Raye and Darien, who hadn't yet reached that stage, but was already having relationship dilemmas, in which she kept getting caught in the middle.
"I wish I could just hide away in my own little world, away from everything, everyone and most importantly, away from my duties."
When the bell rang, Serena snapped out of her reverie. As she was about to turn and walk to her seat something caught her eye. She squinted through the window below to see a man standing in the middle of the courtyard; he seemed to be looking up at the building. At that moment, Serena realized that he was looking at her.
She stared back at him, he stood in his general's uniform, his white hair feel over his shoulders and his face was expressionless, almost stone, as he stared back at her. She gasped when their eyes clashed. Silver
There was only one place she had seen those eyes and it made her think back to the dream she had just that morning. Those orbs radiated an impression so familiar, yet out of her reach. His face might've been depleted of any feeling, but his eyes were like windows to his soul; she could see the passion.
Serena's breaths were now coming out in short quick gasps and her heart was pounding; she needed to talk to him, the reason wasn't yet established, but she knew she just had to talk to him.
"Serena, please take your seat, for attendance." The teacher called her name several times more and received no reply, only silence as the class gave questioning stares to the student's behavior. It wasn't a surprise since she was known for her school antics, but she was acting stranger than usual.
The teacher called for Serena once more and could only stare in shock as the blonde ran out of the classroom and down the hallway to the stairs.
Serena threw open the doors that led to the courtyard and could only give a disconcerted sigh when she realized no one was there. She twirled in circles trying to figure out which way he went, but the only thing she received was nausea.
"Ok, I know he was here." It was then that she realized a brick wall that was covered with vines of flowers, something that could prevent outside intrusion surrounded the whole courtyard. She shook her head and closed her eyes.
The warm feeling that had swept over her body was now gone and with that, her memory. "Who exactly am I looking for anyway? I didn't even know the guy." So why was I chasing after him?
Deep inside she knew what she wanted from him, her heart knew but her mind just couldn't comprehend.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Serena looks at the double doors in front of her and frowned. The scouts were having another scout meeting, probably to pick up on where they left off the day before. Her frown deepened, she really wasn't in the mood to deal with Raye, and Darien was probably sitting at the booth with them. Oh what fun
Before she walked through the doors, she wondered why they always chose the arcade to meet. They would all probably fall out of their chairs if they knew she was actually annoyed with the place, she might even be hit with a plate to knock some sense back into her. Hopefully, they'll hit me hard enough and knock me into a coma
She smiled at the thought and made her way to the booth where the four girls and one guy sat. Lita looks up and sees Serena heading their way. "Hey, where were you? You're like an hour late." Serena sits down and gives her a knowing look. Who ever said that there are no dumb questions must have been the first to ask one
Amy clears her throat; without looking up from her book, she answers. "She had detention." Raye groans, "well, there's no surprise in that! What did you do, Meatball Head? Fall asleep again?"
Serena gives her a sharp glare and raises a brow as she flips her blonde hair behind her shoulder, which was bound in a braid and reached the middle of her back, just slightly shorter than Mina's. Her gaze moves down to the table as she tries to keep herself from lunging across the table and ringing Raye's neck until her face turned blue. (AN: creates quite a picture huh? lol
"She ran out of the class in the middle of homeroom." Amy said. Serena could feel the questioning and amused gazes from her friends and shrugged, "I needed fresh air."
"Fresh air?" Lita asks in confusion. Mina throws a French fry in her mouth, "why didn't you just stick your head out of the window?" Serena shrugs again in reply, "I don't sit next to the window."
Darien stares at her suspiciously, their eyes meet and she could see the doubt in the cerulean debts. He knew that she wasn't exactly telling the truth, for some reason he could always tell when she was lying; she just couldn't lie to him.
The chatter eventually switches from her onto another subject, more like scout business.
She heard something about a wolf running loose last night and she became more interested. "Wolf?" Amy nods, "Yes, which is highly unlikely considering that they like the seclusion of the trees."
Mina licks her fingers, "I heard from this girl in class, you know the one who made out with her boyfriend on the teacher's desk? I still can't believe she did that, I was like…."
"Mina, get to the point please." Raye said.
"Oh, right. Well she said that the wolf was like 7 ft. tall with red eyes and sharp fangs."
Lita rolls her eyes, "like she even saw it." Mina takes a sip of her soda. "She said that she heard from a friend who knew someone who saw it." Amy looks at Mina from behind the book and shakes her head in disbelief, Mina could be such a ditz sometimes, but she was a great fighter, which persuaded them not to kick her in the head.
Darien looks over at Serena who had a glazed look in her eyes. Her breathing was fast and she had a hand on her resting on her chest right below the collarbone.
Serena clenched her school blouse, there was no way that flashback was real, there was no way the scars she saw were real, there was no way she could've fought a youma and almost died in the process. (AN: I know that I'm using the NA names, but I think the word 'youma' sounds better)
That was until that guy…..that general…those silver eyes
Her mind was jumbled with so many thoughts; she just couldn't get them straight. Darien could see the emotions playing on her face, confusion, realization, fear and he could have sworn he saw something akin to love, but he knew that couldn't be possible.
Serena licks her lips and looks around for Andrew; she really needed to get all of this off her mind and the best way to do that would be with a sundae smothered in chocolate syrup. Her gaze swept passed the entrance and paused, something caught her attention and she was praying that it wasn't what she thought it was.
She could feel the energy and it was most directly pointed at her; it heated her senses and she grew red from the invisible connection.
She eventually moved her eyes back to the glass doors where they clashed with a pair of cold silver ones. Her eyes grew wide and she almost choked when he smiled, a small smirk, really but she knew it was made to be genuine not to insult her.
He stood across the street on the sidewalk in civilian clothes instead of the uniform she saw him in earlier with his hands in his pockets as he stared at her position in the arcade. His hair was now pulled over one shoulder and his face emotionless.
When her eyes began to burn from the lack of moisture, she blinked and he was gone. She jumped out of the booth and headed to the doors without even realizing what she was doing; here she was chasing a man that she didn't even know.
She just kept telling herself during the jog down the street that she was doing it for the sake of the scouts, he was the enemy, therefore, she was only trying to find information about the nega-verse and that was all. Of course it was more to her false excuse.
Back at the arcade the scouts and Darien look at the doors in complete confusion. "There she goes again." Amy says. Mina pushes her empty plate away from her and stands up, "I wonder what's wrong with her, I'm going to talk to her."
Before she could walk away from the table, Darien stands and grabs her wrist. "No, let me." Immediately Raye stands and leans on the table, "but what about the meeting!" she says trying to keep him from leaving.
He pushes the doors open and waves his hand absently, "I'll call you later." And then he was gone.
Raye sits down with a huff; "there he goes running after her again." The other three girls just looked at her and then gave each other knowing looks.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Serena ran three blocks before she stopped to catch her breath. He was always disappearing which was beginning to frustrate her and this time she knew he was there, she knew she wasn't hallucinating. Now all she had to do was find him to prove it.
She looked over the area one more time before she gave up and turned to go back to the arcade and give the scouts some weak excuse for her behavior. She turned to run into a chest, a very hard and familiar chest.
She frowns and looks at him, "Darien, how the hell do you always manage to do that?"
"Do what?"
"Find me." He lifted a brow, "Oh I don't know, maybe it has something to with the fact that I've been protecting you for over a year now and where you are is a necessity to know." Serena frowned at his sarcasm and rolled her eyes.
"Well I'm not in danger, so you can leave now."
"Not until I find out what's going on."
"What do you mean?"
He gave her a knowing look, "don't even try to lie, cuz' you can't lie to save your life." She sighed, "I had a dream last night, okay!" she almost screamed in annoyance knowing he wouldn't let it go.
He looked at her concerned, "a nightmare?"
She snorted, "far from it." His brows furrowed, "then what was it about?"
She licked her lips and, at first, said nothing. Darien was about to persuade her to tell but her voice stopped his advance. "There was this guy with this really intense gaze that was directed at me the whole time, it was filled with this warmth that was so familiar. I was crying and something tells me he was the cause for it.
For some reason I refused to look at him, but I did eventually. His eyes, they were the most beautiful color I had ever seen; they looked at me like I was the only person on the planet."
Serena closed her eyes to marvel at the memory. "It was so real, I felt like I was right there and felt everything; it just didn't seem like a dream, but more like a….."
"Memory?" Serena opened her eyes and looked at Darien, black locks fell into his face as his head leaned to the side trying to understand what she was saying. She nodded.
He shook his head, "it couldn't have been a memory, we got them back when we met Queen Selenity, I mean I do have to admit there are gaps but something like having another love is way beyond impossible."
"How do you know that? She could've left something out!" He shook his head, "why would she do that?" Serena shrugged and crossed her arms, "I don't know, ask her!"
Silence settled on the arguing couple as they both went over their conversation in their heads. Darien cleared his throat, "Ok, now that I think about it, there seemed to be something she was leaving out when she gave us back our memories, but she wouldn't leave something like THAT out."
She gave a little laugh and rubbed the side of her head, "you know, I would believe you, but I've seen some things that have convinced me not to."
"Like what?"
"You know that youma that the scouts were talking about? I saw it." Darien raised a brow that told her to continue.
"It was after I had left the arcade yesterday. All I know is that I woke up in my bed this morning with no recollection of what I did during that time. So I walked into the bathroom, you know, to try and wake myself up and I got these flashes of the battle.
Darien, I had the scars from that battle, I faced that youma; I almost died from that youma. And yet, here I am alive and well and no clue on how."
Darien shook his head in disbelief, "if you were in trouble, I would've felt it so it couldn't have happened."
"Well it did."
"Let me see the scars."
"They're not there anymore and don't ask me how because I don't know!" She said, she could see the question about to emerge from his mouth; she was just getting too frustrated with him because he didn't believe her.
His eyes wandered over the area trying to collect his thoughts, "I don't know what to say, Serena. It just seems too far fetched."
She rolled her eyes and started walking away from him, "where are you going?"
"Away from you! Do me a favor and stay away this time!" He watched her jog around the side of the building. His hand swept through his midnight hair and scratched the back of his head, he just didn't understand what she was so mad about. "It's not like she'd believe me if I came up and told her a story like that."
He shook his head and started walking back to the arcade three blocks away. He made a note not to bring this up to the others.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Serena made her way into the park and to her favorite bench. Whenever she needed to think she always ended up there, at night and underneath the stars and most importantly, the moon. She sat down and lifted her head to the moonlight that shown on her body and closed her eyes.
She didn't tell Darien the whole story; she didn't mention the fact that she might have a stalker, who is a nega-verse general. All she wanted was to find the truth and she knew she wouldn't be able to if Darien knew what was going on, but she knew that the general had the answers. At least she got Darien off her back for awhile since he thinks she's only having dreams.
She breathed in deeply and without realizing it, spoke a name that hadn't left her lips in centuries. "Malachite."
The wind began to blow around her, picking up fallen leaves and loose strands of grass. All unnoticed by her until she felt a hand land on her shoulder. Her eyes opened but she didn't turn around to see who it was. "Darien, I told you to leave me alone."
"I don't know who this Darien is, but leaving you alone is something that I just can't do."
Serena jumped off the bench and swung around to face the owner of the unfamiliar voice. Her eyes widened as soon as they landed on the white-haired general with the silver eyes; the same one who had been following her all day. He was back in the general's uniform and he had a smirk on his face.
Her breathing became erratic as she felt that warmth invade her body again. She just couldn't think straight when he was around. "Why…." Her vice cracked and she cleared her throat to try again, this time with more force. "Why are you here!?"
"Because you called for me." She looked at him strangely, "No, I didn't."
"You did say, Malachite, did you not?" he said walking closer. She stepped backwards to avoid him. "I-I-I…" She didn't know how to respond, she remembered saying it, but it didn't register in her brain that it was an actual name, it just came form her lips. But how did I know his name?
He continued to step toward her as she moved backward. She frowned when her back hit the trunk of one of the trees. Both of his arms came out and touched the tree, trapping her within his hold. Even if she wanted to, she wouldn't have been able to run from him. His eyes were hypnotic and kept her planted in one spot.
"You haven't changed much, Serenity. You're younger, but you still hold that fire within your eyes." Serena snapped out of it, "I don't know what you're talking about, I have never met you." He smirked again.
"I see, you don't have all your memories back yet." He said more as a statement than a question. Serena gulped as his hand came up and touched her face; she closed her eyes at the feeling. She couldn't explain it, but it was something that she had felt before, she was sure of it now.
"I do have my memories back." For some reason that got his attention and he sent a glare at the bark behind her shoulder. "Even now, she still tries to keep us apart." Serena stared at his expression, it was that that had convinced her he knew all the answers and she wanted them.
"Who are you?" He turned his gaze back on her, "You know me very well, Serenity."
"So you do work for the nega-verse then?" He gave her an evil smile, the dark energy was coming back. "I do, but you're not afraid of me, are you?" She lifted her brows, he was right, she wasn't scared of him at all and yet, he was her enemy. All she could do was shake her head, "no."
He moved away from her and Serena began to panic, "wait! I want information, and I want it know!" he stopped suddenly, and in a flash he had her against the tree again, "you can have it, but only on my time."
She didn't like the way he said that, his whisper made it sound like something else, something intimate. She raised her head high and pointed up her nose in confidence, "then I don't want it."
He grinned and without warning, leaned in and kissed her. She stared at him with wide eyes, but eventually began to respond as she opened her mouth to give him full access. His tongue explored her mouth with expertise and she could only whimper in return. When he finally pulled back, she was out of breath and her lips were tingling.
He licked his lips and smirked, "oh, you will want it and you will ask, and when you do, I will be there to show rather than tell you."
He gave her a peck on her lips as his hand grazed her thigh before he was gone, fading in and out of transparency.
*************************************
I'm done with this chapter finally! So how was it? Review, review, review, I love them so keep them coming. Just incase anyone is wondering, I'm not a fan of sailor mars, but she won't be completed bashed in this fic, just messed with a little; she'll learn her lesson in the end. ^_~