This is the longest chapter in the whole story. It isn't very long. I'm sorry.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Love Potion #9"
Recorded by Ziska Ames
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter Two
Serena sat on the edge of her bed brushing her hair. "So many eyes," she
murmured to herself.
"What?" Luna asked as she blinked and looked up in surprise. She had
woken up after Serena?
"Huh? Oh nothing. Just my dream. I promised to meet the girls at the
arcade. Later, Luna." Serena finished with her hair and quickly disappeared from
the room. Luna glanced at the pretty pink cat clock and stilled in shock. Serena
was meeting her friends at ten o'clock on a Saturday... and she was going to be
on time...
"Maybe it was that pink goo... maybe it messed with her mind or
something."
Luna shook her head and jumped off the bed. Well, in any case it wasn't
safe to let Serena run around by herself. Using the nearest exit --the window--
Luna also headed towards the arcade.
Serena was having distinctive deja vu as she walked down the street. It
seemed as if everyone was watching her. Some guys had stopped and stared at her,
wives and girlfriends attempting to pull them down the street, while Serena
blushed and picked up her pace a little. Did she have something on her face?
She stopped suddenly and turned towards a window. Using her sketchy
reflection she did a thorough inspection of her face. Clean as a whistle.
"Hmm..." she glanced up, actually looking through the window, to find
the sales boy staring at her. "Well... something must be wrong..." she gave an
embarrassed little wave before turning quickly and hurrying away from the
watching boy.
With relief she spotted the sliding doors of the arcade and actually
started to sprint towards her sanctuary. As she ran, one guy actually turned
away from the girl he was with and sprinted after her yelling. "Miss! Excuse me,
miss!"
Raised a courteous person Serena sighed in aggravation and turned around.
The man came panting up to her and stopped, leaning against the wall to catch
his breath.
"Can I help you?" Serena asked, glancing over the man's shoulder at the
girl who was staring daggers at her.
"I was just wondering if you would like to go get some ice cream with me
or something," He smiled nervously and looked at her.
"What?" Serena yelped. "I don't even know you! Besides," she glanced at
his left hand, "You're married! And old! Gross." she turned quickly to run away
and smacked straight into someone else.
"Hey, Meatball Head, what's the matter?" Darien asked as he looked into
her scared face.
"Hey, buddy. I was talking to her first. Why don't you get a move on?"
the man growled from behind her. Serena yelped and dived behind Darien. She had
a hold of his arm and was looking at the man from behind him.
"Gross. I already told you I'm not interested."
"I don't know what your problem is, sir, but I think your wife would
appreciate your attention." Darien said calmly as the man's wife came up and
dragged him away by the ear. Once they were around the corner Darien turned to a
still disgusted Serena and smiled at her. "What was that all about?"
Serena made a fatal mistake of looking up. Darien protecting her was
certainly a new feeling. She swallowed and looked down. "I don't know. He just
came up and started talking to me."
"Talking? He was hitting on you. And in front of his wife." Darien
growled as he put an arm on Serena's shoulders. "Come on, let's go to the arcade.
I assume that's where you were headed?"
"Yeah..." Serena muttered before trailing off. What in the world was the
matter with Darien? He was being way too kind for her liking. It made her
nervous. She glanced around, certain he was about to walk her under a pail of
water and soak her or some similarly annoying gag.
But all she saw were the stares she had been receiving all morning.
Unconsciously, she shrank closer into Darien's embrace.
Suddenly, Serena's arm was being grabbed and she was dragged away from
Darien. Looking up bought her eye contact with a young man. He was leering down
at her, a suggestive smile on his face. "Hey, babe. What say you ditch him and
come have some fun with me?"
Serena stared, shocked. Luckily for her, Darien had been half expecting
something like this. He quickly slipped his arm around her waist and twisted her
behind him, out of the other guy's reach. "I don't think she's interested."
"Who the hell asked you?" the young man growled as he bunched his fists.
"You did as soon as you touched her," Darien answered coldly. He was
almost a head taller than the boy, and appeared to be much stronger. Anyone with
sense would never suggest a street brawl with him, but this guy seemed
desperately lacking in that department. As if to prove his own stupidity, he
actually brandished a fist in Darien's face.
"I want the chick. You can let me have her, or you can take a beating."
Darien calmly brought up one hand and snatched the guy's fist out of his
face. "I suggest you keep that to yourself and leave us alone."
The guy spat on the ground. Darien looked down in disgust then returned
his gaze to the annoying person in front of him. "I assume that was a challenge?"
His voice was calm and collected but his eyes were narrowed almost to slits and
his mouth was set in a straight, hard line.
The guy swallowed, then sneered back. "And what if it was?"
Darien calmly lashed out, punching the guy in the chest. He gasped and
stumbled backwards, barely managing to stay upright. He growled unhappily at
Darien and charged recklessly. Darien turned quickly, picking Serena up and
moved them both out of the way. The idiot hurtled straight into a tall woman who
had been walking up behind the small group.
She yelped and backhanded the guy so hard he stumbled into a storefront.
"Pervert!"
The guy moaned and pushed himself off the wall. "God, keep her!" He
muttered as he stumbled away clutching his upper arm where it had slammed into
the wall. Serena smiled and waved from her protected position behind Darien.
"Hi, Lita!"
"What was that all about?" A scowl lit Lita's face as she crossed the
short distance that brought her into comfortable speaking range with Darien and
Serena.
"That guy was attempting to abduct Serena," Darien replied with a scowl.
"He wasn't. He was just being a jerk," Serena countered as she stepped
out from behind Darien and ignored Lita's raised eyebrow. "Now let's go before
anyone else shows up."
"What does that mean?" Lita inquired as they all turned back towards the
arcade which was mercifully only a block away.
"All morning I've had guys coming up and trying to ask me out. Even
married men! It's scary." Serena shuddered slightly.
"Really? That's weird..." Lita trailed off as she frowned in thought.
"And gross. Married guys!" Serena's tongue stuck out in a reflexive show
of disgust.
The doors to the arcade slid open quickly and Serena sighed as she
stepped into her sanctuary. She almost immediately spotted her friends at a
booth near the back. Grabbing Lita's hand she attempted to haul the stronger
girl along with her. She succeeded in knocking the frown of concentration from
her face as Lita was almost jerked off her feet. She laughed and followed her
diminutive friend to the back.
Darien watched them go, his own frown deepening as a tiny sense of loss
over came him. And immediately negative thoughts began to flow. Did I just
attack a guy who was hitting on Meatball Head? His hand seemed to throb
slightly in response.
Shaking his head he looked around and wondered why he came to the arcade
in the first place. A glance at the clock forced his frown even deeper. He had
an interview at eleven and if he didn't hurry up he would miss it. He hurried
out the door without a glance back.
"That's really strange." Amy's voice was quite with speculation as
Serena finished reciting the events of her interesting morning. "Maybe it has
something to do with that pink goo that splattered you yesterday. The youma did
say something about the 'pain of everlasting love' right? Maybe this is what it
meant."
"I think it's amazing. Imagine, guys dropping everything to speak to
Meatball Head." Raye shook her head in wonder as Serena smacked her arm.
"Do you have any of that goo left, Serena?" Amy asked distantly as she
stuck her hand beneath the table as if reaching for a bag and withdrew it
clutching her mini-computer.
"No way! I washed it all off."
"Then give me one of your hairs."
"But won't that hurt?"
"Not much," Raye replied as she reached up and casually yanked out one
of Serena's bangs.
"RAYE!" Serena yelped as she clutched her forehead.
"In the name of science!" was Raye's defense.
"Thank you." The hair was laid in a small compartment that extended from
the side of the computer as Amy opened an analysis program. "Oh good. There's
still traces left."
"What? You mean that stuff's still in my hair?" Serena pulled one of her
pigtails over her shoulder and began to carefully check it for leftover goo.
"Oh no. Nothing visible."
"But it's still there!" Serena complained as she rubbed her hair
vigorously between her palms.
"Something wrong, Serena?" Andrew asked as he approached the table to
take the girls' orders.
"Do you have an mayonnaise?" Serena muttered absently.
"What?"
"Uh, she said, 'do you have any pancakes?'" Mina attempted to cover.
Lita and Raye groaned.
"No. We don't serve breakfast," Andrew replied in confusion. This group
of girls had been steady customers for months now and they didn't know that?
"Okay, then. We'll all just have cokes," Mina beamed happily.
"Sure."
"Mina!" Raye groaned.
"What?" Mina asked, innocence written all over her face.
"Aha!" Amy interrupted happily. "I've figured it out."
"Tell me!" Serena yelped as she leaned over the table and attempted to
grab the computer.
"Hey. Calm down," Lita muttered as she grabbed Serena and pulled her
back to a sitting position. "What have you discovered, Amy?" she restrained
Serena with one hand as she leaned forward with curiosity.
"Well, I was right. The goo is what caused Serena to attract those guys.
Apparently it was a type of... love potion, I suppose."
"A love potion?" Serena asked in confusion.
"Yes. From what I can discern, it causes all males within a certain
radius to become very attracted to you and abandon all logic."
"Andrew seemed fine," Mina said happily.
"Maybe that's because he already has a girl he loves," Amy replied
absently.
"What?!"
Amy continued hastily, "Luckily, I believe the effects will wear off
within three days. You didn't actual ingest any of it, it only came in contact
with your skin. Plus you washed it off quickly. It'll wear away soon."
"Oh good. It's creepy having people watch you all the time." Plus it
explained why Darien was so nice to her. It was a spell.
"I would suggest just making sure you don't go out alone, especially at
night. It's quite possible that someone would try to force you to do things that
you would find... uhh... unpleasant," Amy finished uncomfortably.
"Like what?" Mina asked.
"Well... like... uh... rape..." Amy blushed furiously as her voice
trailed off.
The table gasped in unison as they all exclaimed, "Amy!"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Love Potion #9"
Recorded by Ziska Ames
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter Two
Serena sat on the edge of her bed brushing her hair. "So many eyes," she
murmured to herself.
"What?" Luna asked as she blinked and looked up in surprise. She had
woken up after Serena?
"Huh? Oh nothing. Just my dream. I promised to meet the girls at the
arcade. Later, Luna." Serena finished with her hair and quickly disappeared from
the room. Luna glanced at the pretty pink cat clock and stilled in shock. Serena
was meeting her friends at ten o'clock on a Saturday... and she was going to be
on time...
"Maybe it was that pink goo... maybe it messed with her mind or
something."
Luna shook her head and jumped off the bed. Well, in any case it wasn't
safe to let Serena run around by herself. Using the nearest exit --the window--
Luna also headed towards the arcade.
Serena was having distinctive deja vu as she walked down the street. It
seemed as if everyone was watching her. Some guys had stopped and stared at her,
wives and girlfriends attempting to pull them down the street, while Serena
blushed and picked up her pace a little. Did she have something on her face?
She stopped suddenly and turned towards a window. Using her sketchy
reflection she did a thorough inspection of her face. Clean as a whistle.
"Hmm..." she glanced up, actually looking through the window, to find
the sales boy staring at her. "Well... something must be wrong..." she gave an
embarrassed little wave before turning quickly and hurrying away from the
watching boy.
With relief she spotted the sliding doors of the arcade and actually
started to sprint towards her sanctuary. As she ran, one guy actually turned
away from the girl he was with and sprinted after her yelling. "Miss! Excuse me,
miss!"
Raised a courteous person Serena sighed in aggravation and turned around.
The man came panting up to her and stopped, leaning against the wall to catch
his breath.
"Can I help you?" Serena asked, glancing over the man's shoulder at the
girl who was staring daggers at her.
"I was just wondering if you would like to go get some ice cream with me
or something," He smiled nervously and looked at her.
"What?" Serena yelped. "I don't even know you! Besides," she glanced at
his left hand, "You're married! And old! Gross." she turned quickly to run away
and smacked straight into someone else.
"Hey, Meatball Head, what's the matter?" Darien asked as he looked into
her scared face.
"Hey, buddy. I was talking to her first. Why don't you get a move on?"
the man growled from behind her. Serena yelped and dived behind Darien. She had
a hold of his arm and was looking at the man from behind him.
"Gross. I already told you I'm not interested."
"I don't know what your problem is, sir, but I think your wife would
appreciate your attention." Darien said calmly as the man's wife came up and
dragged him away by the ear. Once they were around the corner Darien turned to a
still disgusted Serena and smiled at her. "What was that all about?"
Serena made a fatal mistake of looking up. Darien protecting her was
certainly a new feeling. She swallowed and looked down. "I don't know. He just
came up and started talking to me."
"Talking? He was hitting on you. And in front of his wife." Darien
growled as he put an arm on Serena's shoulders. "Come on, let's go to the arcade.
I assume that's where you were headed?"
"Yeah..." Serena muttered before trailing off. What in the world was the
matter with Darien? He was being way too kind for her liking. It made her
nervous. She glanced around, certain he was about to walk her under a pail of
water and soak her or some similarly annoying gag.
But all she saw were the stares she had been receiving all morning.
Unconsciously, she shrank closer into Darien's embrace.
Suddenly, Serena's arm was being grabbed and she was dragged away from
Darien. Looking up bought her eye contact with a young man. He was leering down
at her, a suggestive smile on his face. "Hey, babe. What say you ditch him and
come have some fun with me?"
Serena stared, shocked. Luckily for her, Darien had been half expecting
something like this. He quickly slipped his arm around her waist and twisted her
behind him, out of the other guy's reach. "I don't think she's interested."
"Who the hell asked you?" the young man growled as he bunched his fists.
"You did as soon as you touched her," Darien answered coldly. He was
almost a head taller than the boy, and appeared to be much stronger. Anyone with
sense would never suggest a street brawl with him, but this guy seemed
desperately lacking in that department. As if to prove his own stupidity, he
actually brandished a fist in Darien's face.
"I want the chick. You can let me have her, or you can take a beating."
Darien calmly brought up one hand and snatched the guy's fist out of his
face. "I suggest you keep that to yourself and leave us alone."
The guy spat on the ground. Darien looked down in disgust then returned
his gaze to the annoying person in front of him. "I assume that was a challenge?"
His voice was calm and collected but his eyes were narrowed almost to slits and
his mouth was set in a straight, hard line.
The guy swallowed, then sneered back. "And what if it was?"
Darien calmly lashed out, punching the guy in the chest. He gasped and
stumbled backwards, barely managing to stay upright. He growled unhappily at
Darien and charged recklessly. Darien turned quickly, picking Serena up and
moved them both out of the way. The idiot hurtled straight into a tall woman who
had been walking up behind the small group.
She yelped and backhanded the guy so hard he stumbled into a storefront.
"Pervert!"
The guy moaned and pushed himself off the wall. "God, keep her!" He
muttered as he stumbled away clutching his upper arm where it had slammed into
the wall. Serena smiled and waved from her protected position behind Darien.
"Hi, Lita!"
"What was that all about?" A scowl lit Lita's face as she crossed the
short distance that brought her into comfortable speaking range with Darien and
Serena.
"That guy was attempting to abduct Serena," Darien replied with a scowl.
"He wasn't. He was just being a jerk," Serena countered as she stepped
out from behind Darien and ignored Lita's raised eyebrow. "Now let's go before
anyone else shows up."
"What does that mean?" Lita inquired as they all turned back towards the
arcade which was mercifully only a block away.
"All morning I've had guys coming up and trying to ask me out. Even
married men! It's scary." Serena shuddered slightly.
"Really? That's weird..." Lita trailed off as she frowned in thought.
"And gross. Married guys!" Serena's tongue stuck out in a reflexive show
of disgust.
The doors to the arcade slid open quickly and Serena sighed as she
stepped into her sanctuary. She almost immediately spotted her friends at a
booth near the back. Grabbing Lita's hand she attempted to haul the stronger
girl along with her. She succeeded in knocking the frown of concentration from
her face as Lita was almost jerked off her feet. She laughed and followed her
diminutive friend to the back.
Darien watched them go, his own frown deepening as a tiny sense of loss
over came him. And immediately negative thoughts began to flow. Did I just
attack a guy who was hitting on Meatball Head? His hand seemed to throb
slightly in response.
Shaking his head he looked around and wondered why he came to the arcade
in the first place. A glance at the clock forced his frown even deeper. He had
an interview at eleven and if he didn't hurry up he would miss it. He hurried
out the door without a glance back.
"That's really strange." Amy's voice was quite with speculation as
Serena finished reciting the events of her interesting morning. "Maybe it has
something to do with that pink goo that splattered you yesterday. The youma did
say something about the 'pain of everlasting love' right? Maybe this is what it
meant."
"I think it's amazing. Imagine, guys dropping everything to speak to
Meatball Head." Raye shook her head in wonder as Serena smacked her arm.
"Do you have any of that goo left, Serena?" Amy asked distantly as she
stuck her hand beneath the table as if reaching for a bag and withdrew it
clutching her mini-computer.
"No way! I washed it all off."
"Then give me one of your hairs."
"But won't that hurt?"
"Not much," Raye replied as she reached up and casually yanked out one
of Serena's bangs.
"RAYE!" Serena yelped as she clutched her forehead.
"In the name of science!" was Raye's defense.
"Thank you." The hair was laid in a small compartment that extended from
the side of the computer as Amy opened an analysis program. "Oh good. There's
still traces left."
"What? You mean that stuff's still in my hair?" Serena pulled one of her
pigtails over her shoulder and began to carefully check it for leftover goo.
"Oh no. Nothing visible."
"But it's still there!" Serena complained as she rubbed her hair
vigorously between her palms.
"Something wrong, Serena?" Andrew asked as he approached the table to
take the girls' orders.
"Do you have an mayonnaise?" Serena muttered absently.
"What?"
"Uh, she said, 'do you have any pancakes?'" Mina attempted to cover.
Lita and Raye groaned.
"No. We don't serve breakfast," Andrew replied in confusion. This group
of girls had been steady customers for months now and they didn't know that?
"Okay, then. We'll all just have cokes," Mina beamed happily.
"Sure."
"Mina!" Raye groaned.
"What?" Mina asked, innocence written all over her face.
"Aha!" Amy interrupted happily. "I've figured it out."
"Tell me!" Serena yelped as she leaned over the table and attempted to
grab the computer.
"Hey. Calm down," Lita muttered as she grabbed Serena and pulled her
back to a sitting position. "What have you discovered, Amy?" she restrained
Serena with one hand as she leaned forward with curiosity.
"Well, I was right. The goo is what caused Serena to attract those guys.
Apparently it was a type of... love potion, I suppose."
"A love potion?" Serena asked in confusion.
"Yes. From what I can discern, it causes all males within a certain
radius to become very attracted to you and abandon all logic."
"Andrew seemed fine," Mina said happily.
"Maybe that's because he already has a girl he loves," Amy replied
absently.
"What?!"
Amy continued hastily, "Luckily, I believe the effects will wear off
within three days. You didn't actual ingest any of it, it only came in contact
with your skin. Plus you washed it off quickly. It'll wear away soon."
"Oh good. It's creepy having people watch you all the time." Plus it
explained why Darien was so nice to her. It was a spell.
"I would suggest just making sure you don't go out alone, especially at
night. It's quite possible that someone would try to force you to do things that
you would find... uhh... unpleasant," Amy finished uncomfortably.
"Like what?" Mina asked.
"Well... like... uh... rape..." Amy blushed furiously as her voice
trailed off.
The table gasped in unison as they all exclaimed, "Amy!"