Chapter 9- Misunderstanding
After the concert, everyone was totally happy. They all went out to dinner and drinks. Darien and Serena had had the most wonderful time together, laughing and joking all night. When it became late, Serena sneaked out after saying good night to Darien and caught a taxi back to the hotel.
Serena walked down the hall as she pulled out the Keycard that opened the door. As she approached, she noticed that her light was on. Shrugging, Serena opened her door. Inside stood a tall man with light brown hair in jeans and a white shirt.
"Hello Serena," came an oddly familiar voice.
"Hi. What are you doing in my room?" she asked suspiciously.
He turned around. He had blue eyes (probably contact lenses) and a very familiar face. She couldn't quite pin point exactly who it was, though.
"Why Serena! Don't you recognize me?" he said, looking mockingly hurt. "Well, I'll tell you later. Anyway, I'm moving to another country and I want to give you something that I wanted to give you for a long time."
Before Serena could object, the man swept her up in a long kiss. He was too strong, so Serena couldn't pull away. Unfortunately, someone saw them.
Darien.
He had forgotten to ask Serena to be his girlfriend and so he also caught a taxi to the hotel. On arrival of Serena's room, Darien found Serena being kissed by stranger. Sorely disappointed and extremely angry, Darien stormed to his room and slammed the door. He wasn't going to speak to Serena ever again. He promised himself.
In Serena's room…
When he finally released her, Serena stumbled away from him as quick as possible.
"What do you think you are doing?" Serena accused.
"Time to tell you who I am," he said to himself. He took a big breath and began to talk. "Serena. It's me. Melvin."
"MELVIN?!" Serena yelled, shocked.
"Yes. That's me. I'm moving and I wanted to say goodbye."
"Oh, Melvin," Serena sighed. She walked over to give him a strong farewell hug. "I'll miss you."
"One day," he replied, "we'll see each other again, someday."
With that, he kissed her on the cheek and left whistling.
"Bye Melvin!" she called out after him, slightly teary.
An hour later…
Serena climbed into bed, still sad about her high school friend leaving. She turned off the light and settled to sleep, unaware that Darien had just sworn not to talk to her ever again.
A few weeks later…
Over the next few weeks, things had gotten worse and worse. Darien never came out to eat or to talk to anyone. If he did go out, it was only in the dead of the night. His meals were ordered from room service and only one person had seen him.
Serena had gone to say hello, but he had confronted her and didn't give her a chance to explain. The atmosphere was as black as night. Serena was miserable, just like the rest of the bands. She spent most of her time alone. Everyone knew what was going on but didn't know what to believe.
Inside his room, Darien was also miserable. Unshaved and ragged. He hadn't slept well. All he could think about was Serena and how much he loved her.
'Loved her?' he thought, 'Am I in love with her? When did this happen? NO! This can't be! But wait! Love means happiness and respect and… forgiveness?"
Darien ran to the bathroom and began to shave.
Meanwhile, at the lake…
Serena mopped a fresh flood of tears with her handkerchief. She had cried under this tree so many times, when she was young, when she was mourning Molly's death and now. She tried to forget Darien but she couldn't forget about him or her love for him.
'Love?' Serena thought, mopping her cheeks, 'Am I in love? Is this why my heart is breaking and why I can't forget him?'
"X5 must go on," she suddenly realized, standing up quickly, "I know what I must do! There is only one way to get Darien out of his room!"
