Try me - part 3
By Henra
HenraM@tuxedomask.com
PG rated
Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon or any of the characters in the show.
I just use them for my own fics. No crime in that, right?
*************
Serena placed her letter to Mina in an envelope while she
was walking downstairs toward the front door, to mail it. Before reaching
the door, though, she took a look at the envelope and groaned. She forgot
to put the stupid stamp. Sighing, Serena put the envelope down on the sofa,
and marched upstairs again.
She should've mailed the letter two days ago. But she had
spent the time mostly with Raye, buying new outfits for the upcoming fall
semester, chatting about all kinds of sophomore year stuff. She and Raye
had suddenly become very good friends.
She raced into her room, and pulled open her drawer. She took
out a whole sheet of stamps, and pulled one off, placing her index finger
on a corner of it. She took a step toward her bedroom door.
The phone rang. Serena grunted, and lifted the receiver with
her left hand. "Hello?"
"Hello, this is the Cansas Collection of Arts gallery's
manager speaking. Is this the Caseley slash Duncan slash Kansie household?"
Serena almost laughed. The name sounded so ridiculous, yet
so pleasing. "Um, yes."
"Well, the CCA gallery is having a bunch of beautiful paintings
for sale next Wednesday night from seven to nine in the evening…and…are you
interested in arts?" The woman asked.
"No, actually. I'm not very interested, I'm afraid, sorry,"
Serena said politely.
"Well." There was a pause. "Do you know if anyone in your
household is interested, then?"
She thought about Chad. Definitely a no-no. Raye? Didn't
seem like an art-lover to her. Darien…ha! She would keel over with laughter
if she found out that Darien was actually interested in something as serious
as arts. "Um, well…not exactly. But," Serena added, trying to be as polite
as she could, "would you like to leave me a phone number or something, in
case one of them IS interested?"
The voice was full of delight. "Of course! Do you have a
paper and a pen?"
"Yeah," she answered, not moving.
When she 'took' the phone number, the woman gladly hanged
up the phone. Serena scribbled the numbers on a post-it note, and took the
piece of paper in her right hand while the stamp was sticking on to one of
her left hand's fingers down the stairs.
She would hang the number up on the fridge or something,
and if someone asked (unlikely), she would tell them about it. But,
something made her stop cold when she reached the living room. Looking at
the empty spot where her letter used to be on the sofa, and Darien, sitting
on the sofa, holding and reading a paper with writing on it, an opened
envelope in his left hand, Serena felt her blood boil. "What the hell
are you doing?" she shouted, moving as fast as she could and snatched the
letter from him. The post-it note had fallen to the floor because of the
sudden rush of air, but she didn't bother to bend and pick it up.
Darien stood up. "I didn't mean to read your letter, Serena,
let me--"
"I don't want to HEAR IT!" Serena screamed, losing control of
herself, "What did you THINK you were doing, reading my PRIVATE letter to
my friend, huh?! Do you have no respect for people's privacy AT ALL?!"
Darien took a step toward her. Serena backed off, holding up a
hand, which from what he saw, had a stamp stuck on it. "Listen, Chad told
me that the rent he had for this month was placed in an envelope, and he
had put it in the kitchen, and there wasn't any envelope in the kitchen,
so I--"
"--Saw the envelope on the sofa, picked it up, realized that there
wasn't any money in it, only a paper that began with 'Dear Mina', knew that
it was a letter, but still read it anyway?" Serena exclaimed incredulously,
her eyes flashing angrily.
"I didn't mean to do it! My eyes just scanned the first few lines
and I realized that I played a part…so…"
She stared at him. She took a deep breath. "How far have you read
up to?"
"The part…about Raye and Chad being cute together," he answered.
Serena's eyes widened. Oh, the horror! That meant he already read
the part about her thinking that he was gorgeous…more gorgeous than Daniel…
As if on cue, he asked casually, "So, um…who's Daniel, anyway?"
Serena glared at him. "As if you don't know much about my private
life already!"
He smirked, and she wanted to strangle him. "An old boyfriend
of yours?"
"That's none of your damn business," she replied crossly. She
placed the stamp she had stuck on her finger to the right top corner of
the envelope, and folded the letter in its original creases, then put it
in the envelope.
"So…you think I'm drop-dead gorgeous, huh?" He grinned, flashing
his perfect white teeth.
Despite herself, Serena felt her heart miss a beat seeing him
smile like that. It was rare, she decided. She always saw him with either
a blank expression, an angry face, or a careless smirk. She gave him a glare
that could freeze hell. "And I despise you." But on the inside, she knew
that she had never been more embarrassed her whole life. Now his ego is
going to be even bigger…
"Still…" His eyes twinkled.
"Stay out of my way, all right?" Serena started toward the door.
"Where are you going?"
She stopped and turned around. "The mailbox. Do you need something
you want me to do?" she asked bitingly.
He widened his eyes for an innocent look, and shook his head.
"Bye." Her hand went to the front door knob. She pulled it open,
and stepped out.
"Wait."
His voice sounded different now. More serious, somehow.
She stepped back in, and turned to look at him. "What?"
"About what you said in the letter…"
Oh god. She felt like groaning out loud. What other mocking
comments was he going to throw at her?
"Me making sarcastic remarks and insults at you…don't necessarily
mean that I automatically hate you…" Darien spoke quietly.
Her stomach did a flip-flop. "Oh, really?" She managed her voice to
sound extremely doubtful. Oh my god…what's he saying?
"Come on--you have to admit, you didn't make a good first impression
on me…and I do dislike you…but I don't hate you."
Her eyes locked with his. She didn't know what to say. His eyes…the
midnight blue shade was such a mystery to her…one minute all derisive, the
next minute all sincere…Why, oh why was he doing this again? Like what he
did last time when he asked her if she was going to like living here…he
became so completely serious and into what he was saying, she felt as if…
as if--
Suddenly, something in his eyes flickered, and they became mocking
again. "Not yet, anyway."
She caught the words 'Not yet what' before they flew out of her
mouth. He meant he didn't hate her…yet. Serena cleared her throat, focusing
again. Be careful, Serena. "Really. Geez, thanks. You've just made my
day," she said in a flat voice. She saw Darien smirk and she knew that
she didn't really lose herself.
"Have a fun trip to the mailbox, Serena," he said, climbing the
flight of stairs.
Serena stared at his back. "What are you going upstairs for?"
She saw him freeze. He turned around. Then frowned. "Geez, why AM
I going upstairs? My bedroom is downstairs." He mumbled something that she
couldn't hear, and then he went back down the steps, into his bedroom,
slamming the door after him.
Serena sighed. "Whatever."
Later that night, Serena came downstairs sleepily, wearing her
night jersey, wanting something to eat. She had just woke up from her
sleep, and couldn't go back to sleep again. She sighed, and felt her feet
landed down the last steps. She walked toward the kitchen, and then heard
a small noise coming from the sofa. She froze, and her heart almost
stopped. She walked quietly to where she thought the light switch was on
the wall by the door. She flipped it on, and her eyes were blinded by the
light for a moment.
Blinking rapidly, she looked toward the sofa, and she almost
hyperventilated.
Darien was lying there, shirtless. He wasn't asleep, and he sat
straight up when the light came on. His eyes fixed on Serena.
Neither spoke, probably from the shock of seeing each other at two
in the morning.
"Why are you sleeping here instead of your bedroom?" Serena asked
finally, adjusted to the light.
"It was too hot in my room."
"Why couldn't you open the door and the window?"
"I did, and it was still hot."
Serena raised an eyebrow. "And it's cooler here?"
"Not much, but enough," he answered, a lopsided grin on his face.
"What's your reason?"
"I couldn't go back to sleep after I suddenly woke up. So, I
thought I would go to the kitchen and get something to eat."
"Oh."
She caught him giving her an once-over. Suddenly she was very
much aware of her jersey that usually became twisted around her when she
got out of bed. She looked down, and immediately she flushed in embarrassment.
She turned the jersey back around, not daring to see if Darien was watching
her.
He made a sound that seemed like a cough.
Serena walked in the kitchen and turned on the light. And it was
after that she had got a carton of her juice out she was actually aware
that Darien was sitting on one of the high stools around the marble counter,
which was in the center of the kitchen. She looked at him, then looked
away, realizing that her eyes had, again, traveled down to his chest. She
focused them on opening her juice, and started drinking straight from
the carton.
"You just drink the juice like that? Without a cup or anything?"
His voice sounded amused.
Serena looked at him. "This is my juice…no one else touches it
in this household…" She made a point of glaring at him.
He held up his hands, a half-smile playing on his lips. "Hey,
don't look at me! I don't even LIKE apple juices."
"Uh-huh." Serena folded back the crease on the opening of the
carton, and put it back into the refrigerator. Ah. The cool juice felt
good down in her stomach.
He propped up his chin with his hand, sticking his elbow on the
cool marble. "You really don't trust me, do you, Serena?"
She turned around, and glared at him, silent.
"I'll take that as a no," he answered, looking at her.
She pointed her index finger in his direction. "Smart boy."
He smirked.
Serena started to walk out of the kitchen, toward the flight of
stairs.
"Gonna try to get some sleep?"
She answered without stopping, "Yeah. You?"
"Of course."
"Good." She walked up the stairs, the urge to drift back into
sleep growing. The juice must've did the trick. She thought as she walked
into her bedroom.
Darien went back to the sofa again. He lay down, using the
armrest as pillow. He couldn't get that image of her, the moment she
flipped the light on out of his mind. Her baby blue eyes wide with shock,
that jersey twisted around her…
She's pretty hot underneath all that ice.
She was having a dream.
In it, she was walking slowly down the block, her bag in her
right hand, swinging along the side of her. It was nighttime, and so it
was amazingly dark. Even the streetlights didn't seem to light up any part
of the empty block. The houses by either side all were rid of any light…
everyone was asleep during this hour.
She walked quietly, somehow feeling very happy. The night's cool
air brushed against her face, leaving her feeling very calm and relaxed.
Her eyes were set straight in front, targeting on a two-stories house far
ahead. She quickened her pace, feeling the urge to quickly go inside the
house.
Someone was sitting on the ground against the front door.
When she saw him, she slowed her walk automatically. Her
heart pounded. 'Hi.'
He stood up. She stopped walking when she was about five feet
away from him. 'Hey.' He replied, giving her a smile.
'What are you doing here?'
He took a step closer to her. She felt her heart skip a beat.
'Waiting for you to show up.'
She stared at him, into the eyes that she loved so much. 'Why?'
'Because.' His eyes twinkled. 'You know.'
She took several steps toward him, shortening their space
between each other. To her, something like that was bold. Especially when she
was facing him in a dark street where no one was in sight. 'No, actually.'
She looked teasingly at him. 'I don't know. Would you like to enlighten me?'
Somehow, he came to stand very close. 'Certainly.' Then he
took her in his arms and kissed her.
'Darien…'
Her eyes popped open.
For a moment, Serena stayed still, breathing heavily. Then she
twisted to her right and snapped on the light. She blinked, and flipped
open the sheets. She was actually sweating.
She had been dreaming about Darien.
Darien and her. Kissed.
Serena took a deep breath, and started to pace around in her
room. She grabbed her furry bathrobe and tied it around herself, pushing
open one side of the floor-to-ceiling window, and walking out to the balcony.
She needed to think.
And calm herself.
A dream doesn't mean anything, right? She heard something
from beneath the balcony. Serena leaned a little over railing and looked
down, squinting in the dark to see what it was.
And then immediately, her pulse quickened.
Darien was in the backyard, still shirtless, hair tousled,
and he paced around the yard, making little noises with his feet.
She ignored her racing heart for a moment, and fully
studied him, borrowing the dim light a street lamp from the block next to
theirs provided. Although in the dream, the guy's face was blurry, she
could still remember the dark hair, the eyes…although they were, too,
dark. And that last word she had spoken before she had opened her eyes.
That single one word that began with a letter 'D'.
She studied him, her eyes staring so burningly at him, she
was almost afraid that he would feel it.
Then, before she knew what was happening, Darien suddenly
looked up…
And stared straight into her eyes.
Serena almost forgot to breathe. Even though it was a
little pretty hard to see in the night, there was no mistaking how intense
his eyes were. And he seemed to jump back a little, and Serena wondered
which it was--seeing her standing right there where he had looked, or
also spotting the emotions her eyes betrayed.
And then, as soon as they made eye contact, they both
looked away simultaneously.
Serena wondered why he was out on the backyard, almost as
soon as she had reached the balcony…wondered why his eyes were so intense,
so deep…they almost mirrored her own. She wanted to look at him again, but
was too afraid.
Afraid of what? She didn't know. But she knew at least for
that night, she didn't want to stare into his eyes again. On that thought,
she threw a look inside her bedroom, and found the red digits on the
digital clock that stood on her nightstand say 4:46. Just a few more
hours, and Monday would be here.
Serena stepped back from where she stood on the balcony, and
shakily, walked inside again, closing the net of the window after her.
"Morning, Serena!" Raye greeted with a smile.
Serena raised an eyebrow as she got her cereal out of the cabinet.
"At least somebody's happy this morning."
Raye stared at her. "What's wrong?"
Serena poured some cereal into a bowl, and then went to get the
milk. "Nothing, really. I just--don't feel like 'good morning'."
Raye smiled. "Guess you're not a morning person. Aha! Something
new I learn about you."
She smiled back. She opened the refrigerator's door, and took her
carton of milk. She frowned when she got it out. It was almost too light.
Opening the carton, she somehow got a very bad feeling…
The carton was empty.
Serena felt like screaming. She turned around, and immediately,
she knew that Raye knew something was wrong.
"Are you okay?"
Serena held the carton out for Raye to see. "It's empty. Yesterday
morning when I drank it, it was still half-full. Now--it's empty. And I
never touched it until right now."
Raye rolled her eyes, and shook her head. "Must be Darien. Chad
doesn't drink milk."
"God, am I gonna give him a piece of my mind when he wakes up…"
she looked at her cereal. "And what about my breakfast?"
Raye stood from where she was eating a toast on a high stool
around the counter, and got out a bottle of milk from the open fridge.
"Here," she handed it to Serena, "have mine."
Serena flashed a grateful smile at her. "Thanks."
"No problem." Raye looked at her watch, and finished her toast
in one big swallow. "Almost time for that stupid listening session." She
walked out of the kitchen, while grabbing a napkin and wiping her mouth.
"What for?" Serena asked after her.
Raye stopped in the living room, and gave Serena a look through
the kitchen entrance. "You DON'T wanna know."
Serena laughed, and then went back to eating her cereal.
"Bye!"
Before she had a chance to reply, the front door slammed.
A few minutes later, she finished her cereal. Standing up from
the high stool, she took a step toward the single sink that was in the
center of the round counter. She turned on the faucet, and water filled
the bowl. She pushed it to a corner of the sink, deciding that she would
wash it later.
"Good morning." The voice was sleepy, unhappy, and male.
But it made Serena's heart jump momentarily. She turned around,
and saw Darien standing there, rubbing his eyes, a white sleeveless shirt
and wrinkled old jeans on his body.
She could almost smile. He definitely wasn't a morning person.
Serena cleared her throat. "Morning."
"Had a good night's sleep?" he asked without looking at her.
"Yeah." She paused. "You?"
He shrugged, opening the refrigerator. "More or less." He took out
a bag of dinner rolls.
She stared at it. "You are going to eat that for breakfast?"
He opened the bag, giving her a smirk meanwhile. "Yeah. You got a
problem?"
Suddenly, she remembered about the milk. Serena narrowed her eyes
at him. "You know…I had to drink Raye's milk this morning." She leaned back
against the sink, her palms pressed down on the edge.
He looked at her, not giving a sign that he understood what she was
getting at. "So?"
"My milk carton was empty."
A small smirk appeared on his face, then quickly disappeared, a
blank expression pasted on again. "Why are you informing me about that?"
God, could he make this any easier? She thought sarcastically.
"Oh, don't play dumb, Darien! If you had to drink milk, you could've asked,
you know! And just so you know, you didn't have to place it right back in the
fridge when it was EMPTY!"
He got a roll out, twisted the bag around, and put it back in the
fridge, then turned and faced her again. He took a bite. "And how do you
know it was me?"
"How do I know it wasn't you?" she replied, crossing her arms.
He smirked. "Fine. So maybe I did drink it. What's the big deal?"
"It wouldn't be a big deal if you had ASKED me first!"
"Look, there's no name tag or anything on the carton, so how did
I know it is yours?"
Serena glared at him. "That's a damn sorry excuse, you and I both
know it. Chad doesn't drink milk, and Raye's is a bottle. And how come you
drink mine when you could drink hers?" Then, before he could open his mouth
to reply, she went on again. "Just forget it. I don't care if you drink it,
as long as you tell--no, you ASK me first, and you don't FINISH the whole
thing."
There seemed to be a flash of something like surprise across his
face, but he quickly hid it. "All right, whatever." He finished the roll,
and started to walk out of the kitchen, feeling sort of strange.
Out of nowhere, a flash of her and Darien kissing in her dream
appeared in front of her. Serena swallowed, and stared at his back.
"Darien--"
He stopped. Turned around, an eyebrow raised.
"I--" She licked her lips, pausing. "…nothing."
He watched her, eyes burning into her. Finally, he turned around
again and went into his room.
After hearing the door slam, Serena inhaled and exhaled deeply.
Stop it. It was just a dream…a damn stupid dream.
Serena was lying on her stomach reading a book when she heard a
knock on her door. "It's not locked," she said without looking up.
"Your car's in the way."
She looked up, and wasn't surprised to find Darien there standing
by her door, an exasperated look on his face. She raised an eyebrow. "Excuse
me?"
"Your car's in the way. I can't get out," he repeated.
"Oh." Serena sat up, bounced once on the bed with her lower body to
get off. "Sorry about that."
He shrugged, and started downstairs.
Serena quickly grabbed her keys from her desk, and followed him out
the front door. There was his Mitsubishi, and her BMW, parked front-to-back.
She pointed the little control at the car, and it automatically unlocked. "Are
you in a real hurry?" she asked as she opened the door.
"I have to go work at the market."
She turned on the engine, and started to back out of the driveway
onto the empty street. She stopped the car when there was more than enough
space for Darien's car to get out.
He climbed in his car, and backed out of the driveway. He stopped his
car some distance from Serena's. She quickly swirled left with her steering
wheel and parked her car in the place where Darien's car had been. She got out,
and locked the car again with her control, hearing a little beep-beep noise.
She was about to go inside again when he called her. "Serena!"
She stopped. Then she turned around and walked to his car warily.
"What?"
He looked at her, and half-smiled. "Do you…always drink the nonfat
kind of milk?"
"Yeah." Then, she added, getting suspicious, "Why?"
He just smiled again, in an innocent kind of way. "No reason, really."
Then, he released the brake and sped away.
Serena stood there, barefoot, watching him, a frown on her face.
Finally, she shrugged and went back in the house, nudging the door close with
her foot. She didn't want to know what Darien was up to.
Serena got off her bed, tossing the third book that she was reading
today onto it, and walked out of her room toward the bathroom. She rubbed her
eyes, a little dizzy from reading for a long time. She glanced at Chad's room
as she passed by. The door was wide open.
She was already at the bathroom door when suddenly she froze. Her eyes
were wide as she quietly walked backwards to Chad's room again. She couldn't
just saw what she thought she had seen…right?
She looked in Chad's room again, carefully hiding her body behind the
opened door.
Raye and Chad were sitting on the floor, leaning against one side
of the bed.
And they were kissing.
Serena resisted the urge to gasp. She felt a slow smile spreading
across her face, and tiptoed to the bathroom again.
She closed the door, and smiled.
Damn…disliking each other the first day, then going out on a day
the next day, then kissing in a room with the door open after that? She
shook her head, but the smile widened on her face.
After Serena came out of the bathroom, she decided to go downstairs
to get some snack. The front door opened just as she was halfway down the
stairs.
Darien came in, a little grocery bag in his left hand.
Serena looked at her watch. Wow. I didn't know it's this late
already. She caught his eye as he looked up. "Hi." Then, she went into the
kitchen.
He came in a few seconds later, and dropped the brown-paper bag on
the kitchen counter. "What's with that look on your face?"
Her eyes widened. She looked at him, hand on the fridge's door
handle. "What look?"
He shrugged, sticking his hand into the small bag. "That goofy look."
She looked down at the floor. Was she STILL smiling about Raye
and Chad? She didn't feel as if she was, though. Serena smiled at Darien,
and wetted her lips. "I saw Raye and Chad making out in Chad's room."
He stopped, his hand still inside the bag. "What." It was a flat
tone, so it was more a statement than a question.
She nodded, and opened the refrigerator's door.
"Damn."
Serena got a small bucket of ice cream out, and put it down on the
middle counter. She then went fishing for a spoon in one of the cabinets.
"What does that 'damn' mean?"
"Oh, just, you know--damn. Damn, that Raye and Chad are making out
with each other."
She sat down on a stool, and started eating the ice cream right
out of the bucket. She watched as he crumpled the paper bag into a ball,
and tossed it in the small trashcan beside his feet on the floor. She glanced
up carelessly…and suddenly froze.
The place on the counter before Darien, sat a carton-sized milk.
And Serena could see clearly the words "nonfat" printed on the front of the
carton. She went to stare at her ice cream, a half-smile on her lips. No
WONDER he drank mine. He likes the same kind of milk I do.
"…kind right?"
Serena glanced up and was startled to find that Darien was right in
front of her, his face practically only two inches away, a question in his
eyes.
His eyes…so blue…so beautiful…
"Uh--um…what?" She felt her heart pound.
He smirked, and put some distance between them again, giving Serena
a chance to actually recollect herself. "I said, you drink the nonfat kind
of milk…right?"
"Uh-yeah. Yeah." She swallowed, and took a deep breath. "Um, why?"
Darien slid the carton of milk toward her. "Did I buy it right?"
She stared at the milk. She looked at him, not understanding. "You
bought what right?"
"The milk."
She went to stare at the milk again.
Darien was exasperated. He walked closer to her again, and picked up
the carton, showing it to her face. "This milk that I bought, is it the kind
that you drink?"
She looked at the milk. "Yeah." Then she looked up at him again.
"So?"
"Good." He placed the milk on place beside the ice cream, and
started to walk out of the kitchen. "Now I returned you the milk I've drank…
and more." He turned and smiled at her, then turned and walked to the
living room.
Serena stared after him.
Then, she smiled. Looks like there's more to you than meets the
eye.
But don't worry, she thought as she stood up and put the ice
cream back in the fridge, the spoon in the sink. I have patience. She
looked at the carton of milk, unsure what to do with it. Then, she rolled
her eyes, and shoved it in the fridge.
Serena walked in the living room, finding Darien sitting on the
sofa. She went to sit down next to him casually. "What are you watching?"
He shrugged, not looking at her. "Nothing. There's nothing good
these days. Summer's getting so boring." He leaned back, and stretched
his arms, then folded them beneath his head.
"The semester's about to start soon." Seemed like the only thing
she could say.
"Yeah. But I still have to wait three more weeks."
"Well." Serena propped her elbow under the right side of her head,
and placed the elbow on the armrest of the sofa. She tried to think of
something to say. Almost immediately, an image of Darien, wearing only
wrinkled slacks, staring straight into her eyes last night flashed before
her. She tensed.
He seemed to sense it. He looked at her, his blue eyes questioning.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing." She tried to be casual. "Nothing, really."
"Whatever." He focused on the TV screen again.
"So…what were you doing out in the backyard last night, anyway?"
She blurted out before the words registered in her mind.
"I…I think I hear talking," Raye said breathlessly to Chad.
He frowned, and threw a glance toward the door automatically. "So?"
Raye bit her lip, smiling slightly. "So…I think we should stop
and go down."
He looked at her. "It's only Darien and Serena."
"Yeah, but they don't know that--you know, we're together," Raye
informed him shyly.
Chad smiled, and pulled her closer, if that was even possible.
"Then we should tell them."
Raye's eyes widened. She looked up at him, gripping his arm.
"We should?"
"Yeah. Or…you just want to sneak around like this every time…" He
offered, smiling.
She smiled again, looking away. "Well, they already know that
we've been on a date."
"Not A date, two dates…remember?"
"Of course. But, Chad--do you think things would be awkward? I
mean, before--us four were fine. You know, everybody minded his or her own
business. And now--don't you think when Serena or Darien see us together,
they'll feel, I don't know--weird?"
He shifted in his position. "Probably. But that's not what we
should think about right now. Right now, we go downstairs and tell them,
officially--that we're with each other."
Raye stood up, and caught a reflection of herself in the mirror.
Her hair was a mess, and her red lipstick was all around her lips. She
looked at Chad. "Uh…I think we should look at ourselves in the mirror
first," she told him, eyeing his wrinkled clothes.
He smiled, sheepishly.
Oh, god. He so hated this. Why did she have to ask that? Darien
felt queasy in his spot on the sofa. Damn. Why were his hands sweating? He
glanced at Serena. She was looking at him, waiting for an answer,
completely oblivious to what was happening to him inside. He cleared his
throat, and tried to be cool. "Nothing, really."
"Nothing?"
What was that in her voice? He didn't want to know. He muted the TV,
and turned to face her. "What were YOU doing out on the balcony anyway?"
Her eyes widened a little. She wetted her lips, her eyes still
locked with his. "Why are you trying to dodge the question?" She asked.
He heard the little doubt in her voice. But he knew that her
question had hit home. He WAS trying to dodge the question. "I just…I had
a…a nightmare." Yeah, right, just the complete opposite of that.
"R-really? Well…what was it about?" She sounded interested.
Darien looked into her eyes, unblinking. "It was a nightmare,
Serena. What do you mean what it was about?"
"I was just curious, that's all." Serena looked away.
Darien pressed the mute button on the remote control again,
and the noise filled the quiet living room. You don't wanna know the
details, Serena. It'll freak you out, to say the least.
"I had a dream last night, you know." Her voice sounded urgent,
sounded as if she had been holding it in all day, and was waiting for the
moment to burst.
He looked at her, and this time he turned off the TV. Well,
she was in a talkative mood, wasn't she? He half-smiled. "Okay. What kind
of dream did you have?"
Serena panicked. That wasn't supposed to come out! What was she
thinking, blurting it out like that? She stared into his curious blue eyes,
and felt trapped. Uh-oh. What was she suppose to say now?
"Uh…you don't want to know, anyway," she said, hopeful.
"No, no, no. It seems like you want to talk. And that's fine
with me."
Damn, his voice sounded so cool, so in control. Serena glanced
around her helplessly, silently hoping that SOMETHING would happen, and
it would save her from this situation.
Wait.
She suddenly had a thought. She could tell him. But she doesn't
have to say who it was. She'll just say that it was a guy with dark eyes
and hair…she wouldn't say that it was him. Darien wouldn't know that if
she didn't tell him.
She felt satisfied with her quick thinking. She wetted her lips,
and smiled at him. "Well, fine, I'll tell you." She felt her heart pound.
You don't have to do this, you know. You can just make up some kind of
weird dream--any kind of dream. But, somehow, she felt like seeing his
reaction after she told it. Even more, she wanted to know what kind of
guy he would guess it was.
"It was at night, so it was very dark, all around me. I couldn't
really see anything. I was walking, toward a…a house two stories high. And
when I almost reached there…I saw this guy. I don't really remember, but
he had, um, dark hair and dark eyes. But maybe he had light hair, who
knows--it WAS dark." She felt like congratulating herself on the casual way
that she was telling it. "Then, when I was like, a few feet away from him,
he stood up, and I said 'Hi' to him, and--"
"He smiled and said hi back to you," Darien said quietly.
She looked at him, but he wasn't looking at her. "Right." She was
amazed that he could guess, but maybe that kind of response for 'Hi' was
common. "Anyway," Serena continued on, looking at the light blue carpet
floor, "I asked him 'What are you doing here' and the guy--well, I don't
know who he is--stepped closer to me, and he was smiling the whole time.
He replied 'Waiting for you', and I asked 'Why'. Then, he told me, 'Because…
you know.' And I stepped closer to him, and said--"
"'No actually, I don't know. Would you like to enlighten me?' And
he said, 'Certainly', and he took you in his arms and kissed you…And, then,
you murmured…"
"Darien," Serena whispered without thinking, as if in a trance.
They stared at each other. Serena felt her heart hammering against
her chest, and her whole body felt numb. She realized in an instant, that
the 'nightmare' Darien had been talking about, was actually the 'dream' she
had been talking about.
She didn't look away, and he didn't, either.
"It was you…"
Who said that? She didn't know. And it didn't matter. All that
mattered was the way he was looking at her, and the way she was looking
back at him…
"Hey, Darien, Serena. Raye and I have something to tell--" Chad
stopped talking in midsentence, freezing on his spot after he took a good
look at the two people before him.
Raye was still. She noticed that there was something different
in the air. She glanced at Chad, and knew that he sensed it, too. She looked
back at Serena and Darien again.
The way those two were staring at each other…she felt a thrill
going through her.
Raye swallowed. She didn't know whether to break this thing in the
air between the two or walk away from it. She gripped Chad's arm.
Apparently, he had already made a decision. "Yo, Darien, Serena!"
His voice sounded like thunder to the silence in the room. "What's up with
you two?"
In the back of his mind somewhere, Darien heard someone call his
name…and hers, too. Before he knew it, both him and Serena had cleared their
faces, and were now looking at each other in a new light. He didn't know
whether to hug the person who said their names or punch him for destroying
whatever it had hang between him and Serena.
"You were the one in my dream," he stated, surprised at how clear
his voice sounded.
"I thought you said it was a nightmare," Serena retorted, her eyes
focused on him, a bit of sadness in them.
"I…" He didn't know what to say. It wasn't a nightmare, he WANTED to
say, but he couldn't find his voice again after he muttered that one sentence.
"So…what happened?"
He turned to the voice the same time Serena did. He stood up from
the sofa, nearly tripping over his own feet. "H-hi, Raye, Chad," he choked
out.
Raye's eyes darted back and forth between Darien and Serena, a
smile on her lips. "Hi."
"What happened to you two? You look like you've found out the
biggest secret about each other," Chad said, a grin on his face. "What did
you find out, anyway?"
Darien glanced at Serena, and suddenly tensed, reality slapping
him right in the face. What just happened to me? To Serena? So what if we
had the same dream? What does that prove? I need time alone to think. He
waved a hand in the air, and willed himself to relax. "It was nothing, man.
I'm going out. Later, guys." He fought not to look at Serena again as he
walked to the door.
Only when he was outside standing before his car, did he allow
himself to glance at her through the open window. Her back was to him.
Darien climbed in the car, shaking his head, and drove out of the
driveway.
Where he was going…he didn't know.
He only knew that he had to get away.
"Serena?" Raye asked softly.
Serena was completely still, her eyes staring blankly at some
spot on the sofa, her hands trembling by her sides. Raye let go of Chad,
and went to put an arm around Serena. "Are you okay? What just happened
between you two? Did he insult you again?"
"No." Her voice was shaky, and so small Raye could barely hear it.
"No. We just…we…"
Raye glanced up at Chad. "Why don't you go out and buy me some ice
cream?" she asked, her eyes telling him that she would like to be left
alone with Serena.
Chad understood. He sprinted out the door immediately.
"Come on…let's sit down over there, and you'll tell me what
happened." Whatever happiness she had felt before was now completely gone.
Just by looking at Serena's face, she knew something major had happened.
"We…I had a dream, you know, last night," Serena said quietly,
"And, well--in a nutshell, I just found out that Darien had exactly the same
dream last night, too."
Raye nodded. "Okay. What was dream about?"
Serena didn't answer. She suddenly looked around her. "Where's
Darien gone?"
"Oh, he said he was just 'going out', whatever that means," Raye
replied, rolling her eyes.
"No surprise he left," Serena said bitterly. She stood up, and
started toward the stairs. "He had said that it was a NIGHTMARE for him."
She reached her room and walked in, slamming the door behind her.
Raye stared at Serena's bedroom door, having no idea what just
happened in the house.
**************
By Henra
HenraM@tuxedomask.com
PG rated
Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon or any of the characters in the show.
I just use them for my own fics. No crime in that, right?
*************
Serena placed her letter to Mina in an envelope while she
was walking downstairs toward the front door, to mail it. Before reaching
the door, though, she took a look at the envelope and groaned. She forgot
to put the stupid stamp. Sighing, Serena put the envelope down on the sofa,
and marched upstairs again.
She should've mailed the letter two days ago. But she had
spent the time mostly with Raye, buying new outfits for the upcoming fall
semester, chatting about all kinds of sophomore year stuff. She and Raye
had suddenly become very good friends.
She raced into her room, and pulled open her drawer. She took
out a whole sheet of stamps, and pulled one off, placing her index finger
on a corner of it. She took a step toward her bedroom door.
The phone rang. Serena grunted, and lifted the receiver with
her left hand. "Hello?"
"Hello, this is the Cansas Collection of Arts gallery's
manager speaking. Is this the Caseley slash Duncan slash Kansie household?"
Serena almost laughed. The name sounded so ridiculous, yet
so pleasing. "Um, yes."
"Well, the CCA gallery is having a bunch of beautiful paintings
for sale next Wednesday night from seven to nine in the evening…and…are you
interested in arts?" The woman asked.
"No, actually. I'm not very interested, I'm afraid, sorry,"
Serena said politely.
"Well." There was a pause. "Do you know if anyone in your
household is interested, then?"
She thought about Chad. Definitely a no-no. Raye? Didn't
seem like an art-lover to her. Darien…ha! She would keel over with laughter
if she found out that Darien was actually interested in something as serious
as arts. "Um, well…not exactly. But," Serena added, trying to be as polite
as she could, "would you like to leave me a phone number or something, in
case one of them IS interested?"
The voice was full of delight. "Of course! Do you have a
paper and a pen?"
"Yeah," she answered, not moving.
When she 'took' the phone number, the woman gladly hanged
up the phone. Serena scribbled the numbers on a post-it note, and took the
piece of paper in her right hand while the stamp was sticking on to one of
her left hand's fingers down the stairs.
She would hang the number up on the fridge or something,
and if someone asked (unlikely), she would tell them about it. But,
something made her stop cold when she reached the living room. Looking at
the empty spot where her letter used to be on the sofa, and Darien, sitting
on the sofa, holding and reading a paper with writing on it, an opened
envelope in his left hand, Serena felt her blood boil. "What the hell
are you doing?" she shouted, moving as fast as she could and snatched the
letter from him. The post-it note had fallen to the floor because of the
sudden rush of air, but she didn't bother to bend and pick it up.
Darien stood up. "I didn't mean to read your letter, Serena,
let me--"
"I don't want to HEAR IT!" Serena screamed, losing control of
herself, "What did you THINK you were doing, reading my PRIVATE letter to
my friend, huh?! Do you have no respect for people's privacy AT ALL?!"
Darien took a step toward her. Serena backed off, holding up a
hand, which from what he saw, had a stamp stuck on it. "Listen, Chad told
me that the rent he had for this month was placed in an envelope, and he
had put it in the kitchen, and there wasn't any envelope in the kitchen,
so I--"
"--Saw the envelope on the sofa, picked it up, realized that there
wasn't any money in it, only a paper that began with 'Dear Mina', knew that
it was a letter, but still read it anyway?" Serena exclaimed incredulously,
her eyes flashing angrily.
"I didn't mean to do it! My eyes just scanned the first few lines
and I realized that I played a part…so…"
She stared at him. She took a deep breath. "How far have you read
up to?"
"The part…about Raye and Chad being cute together," he answered.
Serena's eyes widened. Oh, the horror! That meant he already read
the part about her thinking that he was gorgeous…more gorgeous than Daniel…
As if on cue, he asked casually, "So, um…who's Daniel, anyway?"
Serena glared at him. "As if you don't know much about my private
life already!"
He smirked, and she wanted to strangle him. "An old boyfriend
of yours?"
"That's none of your damn business," she replied crossly. She
placed the stamp she had stuck on her finger to the right top corner of
the envelope, and folded the letter in its original creases, then put it
in the envelope.
"So…you think I'm drop-dead gorgeous, huh?" He grinned, flashing
his perfect white teeth.
Despite herself, Serena felt her heart miss a beat seeing him
smile like that. It was rare, she decided. She always saw him with either
a blank expression, an angry face, or a careless smirk. She gave him a glare
that could freeze hell. "And I despise you." But on the inside, she knew
that she had never been more embarrassed her whole life. Now his ego is
going to be even bigger…
"Still…" His eyes twinkled.
"Stay out of my way, all right?" Serena started toward the door.
"Where are you going?"
She stopped and turned around. "The mailbox. Do you need something
you want me to do?" she asked bitingly.
He widened his eyes for an innocent look, and shook his head.
"Bye." Her hand went to the front door knob. She pulled it open,
and stepped out.
"Wait."
His voice sounded different now. More serious, somehow.
She stepped back in, and turned to look at him. "What?"
"About what you said in the letter…"
Oh god. She felt like groaning out loud. What other mocking
comments was he going to throw at her?
"Me making sarcastic remarks and insults at you…don't necessarily
mean that I automatically hate you…" Darien spoke quietly.
Her stomach did a flip-flop. "Oh, really?" She managed her voice to
sound extremely doubtful. Oh my god…what's he saying?
"Come on--you have to admit, you didn't make a good first impression
on me…and I do dislike you…but I don't hate you."
Her eyes locked with his. She didn't know what to say. His eyes…the
midnight blue shade was such a mystery to her…one minute all derisive, the
next minute all sincere…Why, oh why was he doing this again? Like what he
did last time when he asked her if she was going to like living here…he
became so completely serious and into what he was saying, she felt as if…
as if--
Suddenly, something in his eyes flickered, and they became mocking
again. "Not yet, anyway."
She caught the words 'Not yet what' before they flew out of her
mouth. He meant he didn't hate her…yet. Serena cleared her throat, focusing
again. Be careful, Serena. "Really. Geez, thanks. You've just made my
day," she said in a flat voice. She saw Darien smirk and she knew that
she didn't really lose herself.
"Have a fun trip to the mailbox, Serena," he said, climbing the
flight of stairs.
Serena stared at his back. "What are you going upstairs for?"
She saw him freeze. He turned around. Then frowned. "Geez, why AM
I going upstairs? My bedroom is downstairs." He mumbled something that she
couldn't hear, and then he went back down the steps, into his bedroom,
slamming the door after him.
Serena sighed. "Whatever."
Later that night, Serena came downstairs sleepily, wearing her
night jersey, wanting something to eat. She had just woke up from her
sleep, and couldn't go back to sleep again. She sighed, and felt her feet
landed down the last steps. She walked toward the kitchen, and then heard
a small noise coming from the sofa. She froze, and her heart almost
stopped. She walked quietly to where she thought the light switch was on
the wall by the door. She flipped it on, and her eyes were blinded by the
light for a moment.
Blinking rapidly, she looked toward the sofa, and she almost
hyperventilated.
Darien was lying there, shirtless. He wasn't asleep, and he sat
straight up when the light came on. His eyes fixed on Serena.
Neither spoke, probably from the shock of seeing each other at two
in the morning.
"Why are you sleeping here instead of your bedroom?" Serena asked
finally, adjusted to the light.
"It was too hot in my room."
"Why couldn't you open the door and the window?"
"I did, and it was still hot."
Serena raised an eyebrow. "And it's cooler here?"
"Not much, but enough," he answered, a lopsided grin on his face.
"What's your reason?"
"I couldn't go back to sleep after I suddenly woke up. So, I
thought I would go to the kitchen and get something to eat."
"Oh."
She caught him giving her an once-over. Suddenly she was very
much aware of her jersey that usually became twisted around her when she
got out of bed. She looked down, and immediately she flushed in embarrassment.
She turned the jersey back around, not daring to see if Darien was watching
her.
He made a sound that seemed like a cough.
Serena walked in the kitchen and turned on the light. And it was
after that she had got a carton of her juice out she was actually aware
that Darien was sitting on one of the high stools around the marble counter,
which was in the center of the kitchen. She looked at him, then looked
away, realizing that her eyes had, again, traveled down to his chest. She
focused them on opening her juice, and started drinking straight from
the carton.
"You just drink the juice like that? Without a cup or anything?"
His voice sounded amused.
Serena looked at him. "This is my juice…no one else touches it
in this household…" She made a point of glaring at him.
He held up his hands, a half-smile playing on his lips. "Hey,
don't look at me! I don't even LIKE apple juices."
"Uh-huh." Serena folded back the crease on the opening of the
carton, and put it back into the refrigerator. Ah. The cool juice felt
good down in her stomach.
He propped up his chin with his hand, sticking his elbow on the
cool marble. "You really don't trust me, do you, Serena?"
She turned around, and glared at him, silent.
"I'll take that as a no," he answered, looking at her.
She pointed her index finger in his direction. "Smart boy."
He smirked.
Serena started to walk out of the kitchen, toward the flight of
stairs.
"Gonna try to get some sleep?"
She answered without stopping, "Yeah. You?"
"Of course."
"Good." She walked up the stairs, the urge to drift back into
sleep growing. The juice must've did the trick. She thought as she walked
into her bedroom.
Darien went back to the sofa again. He lay down, using the
armrest as pillow. He couldn't get that image of her, the moment she
flipped the light on out of his mind. Her baby blue eyes wide with shock,
that jersey twisted around her…
She's pretty hot underneath all that ice.
She was having a dream.
In it, she was walking slowly down the block, her bag in her
right hand, swinging along the side of her. It was nighttime, and so it
was amazingly dark. Even the streetlights didn't seem to light up any part
of the empty block. The houses by either side all were rid of any light…
everyone was asleep during this hour.
She walked quietly, somehow feeling very happy. The night's cool
air brushed against her face, leaving her feeling very calm and relaxed.
Her eyes were set straight in front, targeting on a two-stories house far
ahead. She quickened her pace, feeling the urge to quickly go inside the
house.
Someone was sitting on the ground against the front door.
When she saw him, she slowed her walk automatically. Her
heart pounded. 'Hi.'
He stood up. She stopped walking when she was about five feet
away from him. 'Hey.' He replied, giving her a smile.
'What are you doing here?'
He took a step closer to her. She felt her heart skip a beat.
'Waiting for you to show up.'
She stared at him, into the eyes that she loved so much. 'Why?'
'Because.' His eyes twinkled. 'You know.'
She took several steps toward him, shortening their space
between each other. To her, something like that was bold. Especially when she
was facing him in a dark street where no one was in sight. 'No, actually.'
She looked teasingly at him. 'I don't know. Would you like to enlighten me?'
Somehow, he came to stand very close. 'Certainly.' Then he
took her in his arms and kissed her.
'Darien…'
Her eyes popped open.
For a moment, Serena stayed still, breathing heavily. Then she
twisted to her right and snapped on the light. She blinked, and flipped
open the sheets. She was actually sweating.
She had been dreaming about Darien.
Darien and her. Kissed.
Serena took a deep breath, and started to pace around in her
room. She grabbed her furry bathrobe and tied it around herself, pushing
open one side of the floor-to-ceiling window, and walking out to the balcony.
She needed to think.
And calm herself.
A dream doesn't mean anything, right? She heard something
from beneath the balcony. Serena leaned a little over railing and looked
down, squinting in the dark to see what it was.
And then immediately, her pulse quickened.
Darien was in the backyard, still shirtless, hair tousled,
and he paced around the yard, making little noises with his feet.
She ignored her racing heart for a moment, and fully
studied him, borrowing the dim light a street lamp from the block next to
theirs provided. Although in the dream, the guy's face was blurry, she
could still remember the dark hair, the eyes…although they were, too,
dark. And that last word she had spoken before she had opened her eyes.
That single one word that began with a letter 'D'.
She studied him, her eyes staring so burningly at him, she
was almost afraid that he would feel it.
Then, before she knew what was happening, Darien suddenly
looked up…
And stared straight into her eyes.
Serena almost forgot to breathe. Even though it was a
little pretty hard to see in the night, there was no mistaking how intense
his eyes were. And he seemed to jump back a little, and Serena wondered
which it was--seeing her standing right there where he had looked, or
also spotting the emotions her eyes betrayed.
And then, as soon as they made eye contact, they both
looked away simultaneously.
Serena wondered why he was out on the backyard, almost as
soon as she had reached the balcony…wondered why his eyes were so intense,
so deep…they almost mirrored her own. She wanted to look at him again, but
was too afraid.
Afraid of what? She didn't know. But she knew at least for
that night, she didn't want to stare into his eyes again. On that thought,
she threw a look inside her bedroom, and found the red digits on the
digital clock that stood on her nightstand say 4:46. Just a few more
hours, and Monday would be here.
Serena stepped back from where she stood on the balcony, and
shakily, walked inside again, closing the net of the window after her.
"Morning, Serena!" Raye greeted with a smile.
Serena raised an eyebrow as she got her cereal out of the cabinet.
"At least somebody's happy this morning."
Raye stared at her. "What's wrong?"
Serena poured some cereal into a bowl, and then went to get the
milk. "Nothing, really. I just--don't feel like 'good morning'."
Raye smiled. "Guess you're not a morning person. Aha! Something
new I learn about you."
She smiled back. She opened the refrigerator's door, and took her
carton of milk. She frowned when she got it out. It was almost too light.
Opening the carton, she somehow got a very bad feeling…
The carton was empty.
Serena felt like screaming. She turned around, and immediately,
she knew that Raye knew something was wrong.
"Are you okay?"
Serena held the carton out for Raye to see. "It's empty. Yesterday
morning when I drank it, it was still half-full. Now--it's empty. And I
never touched it until right now."
Raye rolled her eyes, and shook her head. "Must be Darien. Chad
doesn't drink milk."
"God, am I gonna give him a piece of my mind when he wakes up…"
she looked at her cereal. "And what about my breakfast?"
Raye stood from where she was eating a toast on a high stool
around the counter, and got out a bottle of milk from the open fridge.
"Here," she handed it to Serena, "have mine."
Serena flashed a grateful smile at her. "Thanks."
"No problem." Raye looked at her watch, and finished her toast
in one big swallow. "Almost time for that stupid listening session." She
walked out of the kitchen, while grabbing a napkin and wiping her mouth.
"What for?" Serena asked after her.
Raye stopped in the living room, and gave Serena a look through
the kitchen entrance. "You DON'T wanna know."
Serena laughed, and then went back to eating her cereal.
"Bye!"
Before she had a chance to reply, the front door slammed.
A few minutes later, she finished her cereal. Standing up from
the high stool, she took a step toward the single sink that was in the
center of the round counter. She turned on the faucet, and water filled
the bowl. She pushed it to a corner of the sink, deciding that she would
wash it later.
"Good morning." The voice was sleepy, unhappy, and male.
But it made Serena's heart jump momentarily. She turned around,
and saw Darien standing there, rubbing his eyes, a white sleeveless shirt
and wrinkled old jeans on his body.
She could almost smile. He definitely wasn't a morning person.
Serena cleared her throat. "Morning."
"Had a good night's sleep?" he asked without looking at her.
"Yeah." She paused. "You?"
He shrugged, opening the refrigerator. "More or less." He took out
a bag of dinner rolls.
She stared at it. "You are going to eat that for breakfast?"
He opened the bag, giving her a smirk meanwhile. "Yeah. You got a
problem?"
Suddenly, she remembered about the milk. Serena narrowed her eyes
at him. "You know…I had to drink Raye's milk this morning." She leaned back
against the sink, her palms pressed down on the edge.
He looked at her, not giving a sign that he understood what she was
getting at. "So?"
"My milk carton was empty."
A small smirk appeared on his face, then quickly disappeared, a
blank expression pasted on again. "Why are you informing me about that?"
God, could he make this any easier? She thought sarcastically.
"Oh, don't play dumb, Darien! If you had to drink milk, you could've asked,
you know! And just so you know, you didn't have to place it right back in the
fridge when it was EMPTY!"
He got a roll out, twisted the bag around, and put it back in the
fridge, then turned and faced her again. He took a bite. "And how do you
know it was me?"
"How do I know it wasn't you?" she replied, crossing her arms.
He smirked. "Fine. So maybe I did drink it. What's the big deal?"
"It wouldn't be a big deal if you had ASKED me first!"
"Look, there's no name tag or anything on the carton, so how did
I know it is yours?"
Serena glared at him. "That's a damn sorry excuse, you and I both
know it. Chad doesn't drink milk, and Raye's is a bottle. And how come you
drink mine when you could drink hers?" Then, before he could open his mouth
to reply, she went on again. "Just forget it. I don't care if you drink it,
as long as you tell--no, you ASK me first, and you don't FINISH the whole
thing."
There seemed to be a flash of something like surprise across his
face, but he quickly hid it. "All right, whatever." He finished the roll,
and started to walk out of the kitchen, feeling sort of strange.
Out of nowhere, a flash of her and Darien kissing in her dream
appeared in front of her. Serena swallowed, and stared at his back.
"Darien--"
He stopped. Turned around, an eyebrow raised.
"I--" She licked her lips, pausing. "…nothing."
He watched her, eyes burning into her. Finally, he turned around
again and went into his room.
After hearing the door slam, Serena inhaled and exhaled deeply.
Stop it. It was just a dream…a damn stupid dream.
Serena was lying on her stomach reading a book when she heard a
knock on her door. "It's not locked," she said without looking up.
"Your car's in the way."
She looked up, and wasn't surprised to find Darien there standing
by her door, an exasperated look on his face. She raised an eyebrow. "Excuse
me?"
"Your car's in the way. I can't get out," he repeated.
"Oh." Serena sat up, bounced once on the bed with her lower body to
get off. "Sorry about that."
He shrugged, and started downstairs.
Serena quickly grabbed her keys from her desk, and followed him out
the front door. There was his Mitsubishi, and her BMW, parked front-to-back.
She pointed the little control at the car, and it automatically unlocked. "Are
you in a real hurry?" she asked as she opened the door.
"I have to go work at the market."
She turned on the engine, and started to back out of the driveway
onto the empty street. She stopped the car when there was more than enough
space for Darien's car to get out.
He climbed in his car, and backed out of the driveway. He stopped his
car some distance from Serena's. She quickly swirled left with her steering
wheel and parked her car in the place where Darien's car had been. She got out,
and locked the car again with her control, hearing a little beep-beep noise.
She was about to go inside again when he called her. "Serena!"
She stopped. Then she turned around and walked to his car warily.
"What?"
He looked at her, and half-smiled. "Do you…always drink the nonfat
kind of milk?"
"Yeah." Then, she added, getting suspicious, "Why?"
He just smiled again, in an innocent kind of way. "No reason, really."
Then, he released the brake and sped away.
Serena stood there, barefoot, watching him, a frown on her face.
Finally, she shrugged and went back in the house, nudging the door close with
her foot. She didn't want to know what Darien was up to.
Serena got off her bed, tossing the third book that she was reading
today onto it, and walked out of her room toward the bathroom. She rubbed her
eyes, a little dizzy from reading for a long time. She glanced at Chad's room
as she passed by. The door was wide open.
She was already at the bathroom door when suddenly she froze. Her eyes
were wide as she quietly walked backwards to Chad's room again. She couldn't
just saw what she thought she had seen…right?
She looked in Chad's room again, carefully hiding her body behind the
opened door.
Raye and Chad were sitting on the floor, leaning against one side
of the bed.
And they were kissing.
Serena resisted the urge to gasp. She felt a slow smile spreading
across her face, and tiptoed to the bathroom again.
She closed the door, and smiled.
Damn…disliking each other the first day, then going out on a day
the next day, then kissing in a room with the door open after that? She
shook her head, but the smile widened on her face.
After Serena came out of the bathroom, she decided to go downstairs
to get some snack. The front door opened just as she was halfway down the
stairs.
Darien came in, a little grocery bag in his left hand.
Serena looked at her watch. Wow. I didn't know it's this late
already. She caught his eye as he looked up. "Hi." Then, she went into the
kitchen.
He came in a few seconds later, and dropped the brown-paper bag on
the kitchen counter. "What's with that look on your face?"
Her eyes widened. She looked at him, hand on the fridge's door
handle. "What look?"
He shrugged, sticking his hand into the small bag. "That goofy look."
She looked down at the floor. Was she STILL smiling about Raye
and Chad? She didn't feel as if she was, though. Serena smiled at Darien,
and wetted her lips. "I saw Raye and Chad making out in Chad's room."
He stopped, his hand still inside the bag. "What." It was a flat
tone, so it was more a statement than a question.
She nodded, and opened the refrigerator's door.
"Damn."
Serena got a small bucket of ice cream out, and put it down on the
middle counter. She then went fishing for a spoon in one of the cabinets.
"What does that 'damn' mean?"
"Oh, just, you know--damn. Damn, that Raye and Chad are making out
with each other."
She sat down on a stool, and started eating the ice cream right
out of the bucket. She watched as he crumpled the paper bag into a ball,
and tossed it in the small trashcan beside his feet on the floor. She glanced
up carelessly…and suddenly froze.
The place on the counter before Darien, sat a carton-sized milk.
And Serena could see clearly the words "nonfat" printed on the front of the
carton. She went to stare at her ice cream, a half-smile on her lips. No
WONDER he drank mine. He likes the same kind of milk I do.
"…kind right?"
Serena glanced up and was startled to find that Darien was right in
front of her, his face practically only two inches away, a question in his
eyes.
His eyes…so blue…so beautiful…
"Uh--um…what?" She felt her heart pound.
He smirked, and put some distance between them again, giving Serena
a chance to actually recollect herself. "I said, you drink the nonfat kind
of milk…right?"
"Uh-yeah. Yeah." She swallowed, and took a deep breath. "Um, why?"
Darien slid the carton of milk toward her. "Did I buy it right?"
She stared at the milk. She looked at him, not understanding. "You
bought what right?"
"The milk."
She went to stare at the milk again.
Darien was exasperated. He walked closer to her again, and picked up
the carton, showing it to her face. "This milk that I bought, is it the kind
that you drink?"
She looked at the milk. "Yeah." Then she looked up at him again.
"So?"
"Good." He placed the milk on place beside the ice cream, and
started to walk out of the kitchen. "Now I returned you the milk I've drank…
and more." He turned and smiled at her, then turned and walked to the
living room.
Serena stared after him.
Then, she smiled. Looks like there's more to you than meets the
eye.
But don't worry, she thought as she stood up and put the ice
cream back in the fridge, the spoon in the sink. I have patience. She
looked at the carton of milk, unsure what to do with it. Then, she rolled
her eyes, and shoved it in the fridge.
Serena walked in the living room, finding Darien sitting on the
sofa. She went to sit down next to him casually. "What are you watching?"
He shrugged, not looking at her. "Nothing. There's nothing good
these days. Summer's getting so boring." He leaned back, and stretched
his arms, then folded them beneath his head.
"The semester's about to start soon." Seemed like the only thing
she could say.
"Yeah. But I still have to wait three more weeks."
"Well." Serena propped her elbow under the right side of her head,
and placed the elbow on the armrest of the sofa. She tried to think of
something to say. Almost immediately, an image of Darien, wearing only
wrinkled slacks, staring straight into her eyes last night flashed before
her. She tensed.
He seemed to sense it. He looked at her, his blue eyes questioning.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing." She tried to be casual. "Nothing, really."
"Whatever." He focused on the TV screen again.
"So…what were you doing out in the backyard last night, anyway?"
She blurted out before the words registered in her mind.
"I…I think I hear talking," Raye said breathlessly to Chad.
He frowned, and threw a glance toward the door automatically. "So?"
Raye bit her lip, smiling slightly. "So…I think we should stop
and go down."
He looked at her. "It's only Darien and Serena."
"Yeah, but they don't know that--you know, we're together," Raye
informed him shyly.
Chad smiled, and pulled her closer, if that was even possible.
"Then we should tell them."
Raye's eyes widened. She looked up at him, gripping his arm.
"We should?"
"Yeah. Or…you just want to sneak around like this every time…" He
offered, smiling.
She smiled again, looking away. "Well, they already know that
we've been on a date."
"Not A date, two dates…remember?"
"Of course. But, Chad--do you think things would be awkward? I
mean, before--us four were fine. You know, everybody minded his or her own
business. And now--don't you think when Serena or Darien see us together,
they'll feel, I don't know--weird?"
He shifted in his position. "Probably. But that's not what we
should think about right now. Right now, we go downstairs and tell them,
officially--that we're with each other."
Raye stood up, and caught a reflection of herself in the mirror.
Her hair was a mess, and her red lipstick was all around her lips. She
looked at Chad. "Uh…I think we should look at ourselves in the mirror
first," she told him, eyeing his wrinkled clothes.
He smiled, sheepishly.
Oh, god. He so hated this. Why did she have to ask that? Darien
felt queasy in his spot on the sofa. Damn. Why were his hands sweating? He
glanced at Serena. She was looking at him, waiting for an answer,
completely oblivious to what was happening to him inside. He cleared his
throat, and tried to be cool. "Nothing, really."
"Nothing?"
What was that in her voice? He didn't want to know. He muted the TV,
and turned to face her. "What were YOU doing out on the balcony anyway?"
Her eyes widened a little. She wetted her lips, her eyes still
locked with his. "Why are you trying to dodge the question?" She asked.
He heard the little doubt in her voice. But he knew that her
question had hit home. He WAS trying to dodge the question. "I just…I had
a…a nightmare." Yeah, right, just the complete opposite of that.
"R-really? Well…what was it about?" She sounded interested.
Darien looked into her eyes, unblinking. "It was a nightmare,
Serena. What do you mean what it was about?"
"I was just curious, that's all." Serena looked away.
Darien pressed the mute button on the remote control again,
and the noise filled the quiet living room. You don't wanna know the
details, Serena. It'll freak you out, to say the least.
"I had a dream last night, you know." Her voice sounded urgent,
sounded as if she had been holding it in all day, and was waiting for the
moment to burst.
He looked at her, and this time he turned off the TV. Well,
she was in a talkative mood, wasn't she? He half-smiled. "Okay. What kind
of dream did you have?"
Serena panicked. That wasn't supposed to come out! What was she
thinking, blurting it out like that? She stared into his curious blue eyes,
and felt trapped. Uh-oh. What was she suppose to say now?
"Uh…you don't want to know, anyway," she said, hopeful.
"No, no, no. It seems like you want to talk. And that's fine
with me."
Damn, his voice sounded so cool, so in control. Serena glanced
around her helplessly, silently hoping that SOMETHING would happen, and
it would save her from this situation.
Wait.
She suddenly had a thought. She could tell him. But she doesn't
have to say who it was. She'll just say that it was a guy with dark eyes
and hair…she wouldn't say that it was him. Darien wouldn't know that if
she didn't tell him.
She felt satisfied with her quick thinking. She wetted her lips,
and smiled at him. "Well, fine, I'll tell you." She felt her heart pound.
You don't have to do this, you know. You can just make up some kind of
weird dream--any kind of dream. But, somehow, she felt like seeing his
reaction after she told it. Even more, she wanted to know what kind of
guy he would guess it was.
"It was at night, so it was very dark, all around me. I couldn't
really see anything. I was walking, toward a…a house two stories high. And
when I almost reached there…I saw this guy. I don't really remember, but
he had, um, dark hair and dark eyes. But maybe he had light hair, who
knows--it WAS dark." She felt like congratulating herself on the casual way
that she was telling it. "Then, when I was like, a few feet away from him,
he stood up, and I said 'Hi' to him, and--"
"He smiled and said hi back to you," Darien said quietly.
She looked at him, but he wasn't looking at her. "Right." She was
amazed that he could guess, but maybe that kind of response for 'Hi' was
common. "Anyway," Serena continued on, looking at the light blue carpet
floor, "I asked him 'What are you doing here' and the guy--well, I don't
know who he is--stepped closer to me, and he was smiling the whole time.
He replied 'Waiting for you', and I asked 'Why'. Then, he told me, 'Because…
you know.' And I stepped closer to him, and said--"
"'No actually, I don't know. Would you like to enlighten me?' And
he said, 'Certainly', and he took you in his arms and kissed you…And, then,
you murmured…"
"Darien," Serena whispered without thinking, as if in a trance.
They stared at each other. Serena felt her heart hammering against
her chest, and her whole body felt numb. She realized in an instant, that
the 'nightmare' Darien had been talking about, was actually the 'dream' she
had been talking about.
She didn't look away, and he didn't, either.
"It was you…"
Who said that? She didn't know. And it didn't matter. All that
mattered was the way he was looking at her, and the way she was looking
back at him…
"Hey, Darien, Serena. Raye and I have something to tell--" Chad
stopped talking in midsentence, freezing on his spot after he took a good
look at the two people before him.
Raye was still. She noticed that there was something different
in the air. She glanced at Chad, and knew that he sensed it, too. She looked
back at Serena and Darien again.
The way those two were staring at each other…she felt a thrill
going through her.
Raye swallowed. She didn't know whether to break this thing in the
air between the two or walk away from it. She gripped Chad's arm.
Apparently, he had already made a decision. "Yo, Darien, Serena!"
His voice sounded like thunder to the silence in the room. "What's up with
you two?"
In the back of his mind somewhere, Darien heard someone call his
name…and hers, too. Before he knew it, both him and Serena had cleared their
faces, and were now looking at each other in a new light. He didn't know
whether to hug the person who said their names or punch him for destroying
whatever it had hang between him and Serena.
"You were the one in my dream," he stated, surprised at how clear
his voice sounded.
"I thought you said it was a nightmare," Serena retorted, her eyes
focused on him, a bit of sadness in them.
"I…" He didn't know what to say. It wasn't a nightmare, he WANTED to
say, but he couldn't find his voice again after he muttered that one sentence.
"So…what happened?"
He turned to the voice the same time Serena did. He stood up from
the sofa, nearly tripping over his own feet. "H-hi, Raye, Chad," he choked
out.
Raye's eyes darted back and forth between Darien and Serena, a
smile on her lips. "Hi."
"What happened to you two? You look like you've found out the
biggest secret about each other," Chad said, a grin on his face. "What did
you find out, anyway?"
Darien glanced at Serena, and suddenly tensed, reality slapping
him right in the face. What just happened to me? To Serena? So what if we
had the same dream? What does that prove? I need time alone to think. He
waved a hand in the air, and willed himself to relax. "It was nothing, man.
I'm going out. Later, guys." He fought not to look at Serena again as he
walked to the door.
Only when he was outside standing before his car, did he allow
himself to glance at her through the open window. Her back was to him.
Darien climbed in the car, shaking his head, and drove out of the
driveway.
Where he was going…he didn't know.
He only knew that he had to get away.
"Serena?" Raye asked softly.
Serena was completely still, her eyes staring blankly at some
spot on the sofa, her hands trembling by her sides. Raye let go of Chad,
and went to put an arm around Serena. "Are you okay? What just happened
between you two? Did he insult you again?"
"No." Her voice was shaky, and so small Raye could barely hear it.
"No. We just…we…"
Raye glanced up at Chad. "Why don't you go out and buy me some ice
cream?" she asked, her eyes telling him that she would like to be left
alone with Serena.
Chad understood. He sprinted out the door immediately.
"Come on…let's sit down over there, and you'll tell me what
happened." Whatever happiness she had felt before was now completely gone.
Just by looking at Serena's face, she knew something major had happened.
"We…I had a dream, you know, last night," Serena said quietly,
"And, well--in a nutshell, I just found out that Darien had exactly the same
dream last night, too."
Raye nodded. "Okay. What was dream about?"
Serena didn't answer. She suddenly looked around her. "Where's
Darien gone?"
"Oh, he said he was just 'going out', whatever that means," Raye
replied, rolling her eyes.
"No surprise he left," Serena said bitterly. She stood up, and
started toward the stairs. "He had said that it was a NIGHTMARE for him."
She reached her room and walked in, slamming the door behind her.
Raye stared at Serena's bedroom door, having no idea what just
happened in the house.
**************