Ok, so here comes the next chapter. I'll try not to make it a cliff this time, but I'm basically writing of the top of my head, so things turn out as they will. Well, on with the fic!

1 Why Darien Likes Serena

1.1 The Start

Last time: Rei sets up Serena and Darien on a date, with a bet being the pretense.

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Serena sighed as she looked at her reflection in the mirror. She really didn't want to do this. At least, not with Darien. She really didn't know why she was going to set herself up for a night of torment. If it weren't for the fact she didn't want to do extra chores at the temple, she wouldn't be going through with this. She sighed again as she went to go get a nice looking outfit for tonight.

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Darien, on the other hand, had no idea why he was playing along with this. He wasn't any real part of this. He was just the crux of the bet. If he didn't go along with it, there would be no bet. Oh well, it was too late to renege without tarnishing his honor. His plans were to take her to Raymond's, the all-you-can-eat bar nearby. Then if all went well, and if she was amiable, he would take her to a movie of her choice. Afterwards, he had no idea what they would do. He just had this wild hope in his heart that she would come and have a good enough time to stay for afterwards, but he couldn't explain why.

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Serena, true to form, ran to the arcade about ten minutes late. What she saw there made her stop in her tracks.

Darien was leaning against the wall of the arcade. He wore a pair of khakis and a tight, dark blue shirt. The shirt accented how well built he was. Every muscle stood out from underneath his shirt. It took her awhile to tear her gaze away from his chest and to his face. His eyes were closed giving his face a calm, thoughtful look. His mahogany hair was slightly tousled, giving him a roguish look. She realized suddenly that she was melting at the mere sight of him. She shook her head to compose herself, but she knew it was impossible. Even though, he was the one who was always a jerk to her, who made her life a living nightmare at times, she couldn't help herself from starting to fall for him. She took a deep breath and walked toward her fate.

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Darien opened his eyes at the small "Hello". Like Serena, he was astonished at what he saw.

Serena stood in front of him with her hands clasped and her head down shyly. She was obviously new to the dating scene and embarrassed to be doing this. She had decorated her hair with gold streamers, which glittered in the sunlight a little bit brighter than her own golden blonde hair. She had put on a bit of makeup to accent her already lovely features. Now where did that come from he wondered, shaking his head slightly. His eyes wandered down to see what she was wearing.

She wore a V-neck pink shirt that was covered in glitter. Around her neck hung a heart necklace that sat right in the middle of the V. She wore a tight denim skirt that barely came to her knees. Darien felt his knees go weak at how beautiful and innocent she was. He almost felt like a big, bad wolf going after a small lamb, but he shook the feeling off. He then smiled down at her and offered her his arm. She looked up at him and, seeing the tender look he was giving her, shyly smiled. She accepted his arm, and they set off down the road. "So where are we going?" Serena asked, looking up at him and unconsciously leaning into him as they waded through the stream of people.

He met her gaze, liking the feel of her body against his. "Raymond's" was all he said, before tearing his eyes away from her gaze. He knew he'd end up doing something he and she would regret if he continued to stare into her eyes. She sighed, not knowing what he was thinking and believing that he didn't like her. He heard her and wondered why she was sighing. He didn't say anything, but he instinctively disengaged his arm from hers and promptly put it around her shoulder, pulling her closer. What he didn't see was the flash of joy in her eyes when he had placed his arm around her shoulder. If he had, he would have been glad to know he did something right around her. As it was, all he could do was wonder, but the fact that she was snuggling into his side was a good clue as to what she thought about it.









Please read AN. Very important question contained.

Miss Cliffie strikes again! Mwuhahahahahahahaha! Ok, this time I swear it's out of my system. Sorry it took me so long. Fanfic was down for a while and then my disk wasn't working, so I had to retype this. well, it's up now so no problem right? Got a question for all of you. How far do I stretch this? Do I go until their past is revealed, or do I go until they hit their little problem area with the dream thing? E-mail me or leave your comments in your reviews.