KEEPING YOU IN SIGHT
Chapter: 1
By Reminjia
E-Mail: mrskusanagi@hotmail.com
Rating: PG-13 (very mild language... really I'm sorry)
Author's Note: Thanks for reading my story once again! I'm going to
keep it brief so you can go ahead and read the story. I apologize
for the mistake I made earlier, the name "Jason" appeared, and it was
suppose to be Mark, I have made that change in this revision. What
can I say, I'm a perfectionist. Jason was my original name for the
character, and I missed that. All right, if you're reading this
chapter, that means I did an okay job on the previous one, so I thank
you for giving this a chance. Keep in mind that the scouts are all
freshman in high school, and Darien, Andrew, and Rita are all
Juniors. Another note, I combined chapters 1 and 2, because I felt
that my chapters weren't long enough, and not enough had happened in
the first two chapters. There are a few minor changes to the parts,
but they're not huge, just things I like a bit better.
Disclaimer: Once again... I don't own Sailor Moon, I do have a car
now, but trust me, you don't want it!
*Chapter 1*
** One Month Later **
Serena managed to slide into the seat of her 7th hour class just
as the bell's shrill ring sounded. Allowing herself a moment to catch
her breath she pulled out her journal while Ms. Haruna took attendance.
Serena flipped back several pages and read an entry from a few weeks
before, to get into her writing:
"I swear I'm done with guys... all guys, for the moment.
Officially, I dislike boys ranging from the ages of 10 to
20 years of age. I am so sick of boys as my ex and his
lowlife pals have started referring to me as "his bitch."
Okay, not only are we no longer dating, but if w were I
would dump his sorry... you get the picture... It might
seem like a dumb reason for getting upset, but I will
never be anyone's "bitch," its just not me. Also, his
whole group thinks that I am "in love" with Greg... GREG!
I am definitely not. I like him only as a friend. Why
are some people such... jerks? Am I asking for too much
when all I want is respect and a place where I can be
complete? I've tried to get Cal back on my good side, but
nothing is working."
"Serena, Earth to Serena. SERENA!"
Instantly Serena was pulled out of her own little world and she
was brought back to reality only to be met by the stares of everyone
in the classroom. Most noticeably was the annoyed look she was
receiving from her teacher.
"Umm... present," was the phrase Serena managed to get out of
her clogged throat. This sent ripples of small laughter throughout
the room and Serena felt her cheeks burning red.
"That's wonderful Serena," Ms. Haruna said preparing to
continue with the role call. "I'm glad you've chosen to grace us
all with your physical presence if not your mental. We'll just have
to work on accomplishing both in one day, won't we?"
"Yes Ms. Haruna," Serena blushed. With no other place to look,
and trying to avoid the many stares she was still receiving, she
focused on the journal in front of her once again. She wasn't quite
that bitter about boys anymore, but she had kept up her original goal.
She was "just friends" with many guys, and her scout friends often
gave her a headache in return. This was most common when she had made
friends with a guy one of them had feelings for. It was a rare
occurrence for Serena to make a friend and not hear from at least one
of her friends that they were in love him and he was their soul mate.
Each never lasted too long.
Amy was on the other side of the classroom trying to get her
attention. When she got it, Amy narrowed her eyes and shook her head
at Serena.
"Pay attention, Serena," Amy mouthed. Then she smiled relieving
Serena. Amy was such a great friend, and Serena hated to have her mad
at her ever. Looking back down at the journal, Serena flipped a few
pages farther:
"I was in a bad mood all day. For some reason, I'm not
quite sure why, though. Nothing bad happened today. I
made it to school on time, there were no attacks and my
homework was light. My mind was just occupied and
feeling strange. That must be why I called Cal... the
ex. I just had to clear some stuff up with him. I let
him know the truth... that I didn't lie when I broke up
with him. I told him the rumors were just that rumors.
I wasn't in love with Greg.
I don't know if I should have done it or not, but I just
don't want anyone to hate or dislike me. I despise
rumors. Everyone seems to think that I'm in love with
Greg. And that I "want" him. Eww... no offense meant to
Greg, but he's like my brother. Being more than friends
with him would be like, I don't know, like making out
with Sammy. Gross, I mean, that's just not something I
want to do. Greg is like a brother to me, but not
completely.
I think I'm more attracted to older guys. I always have
been. Maybe it's because I'm longing for more maturity.
I want someone who is (even if just a little bit) mature,
reliable and good to be with. So I guess I won't be dating
anyone for a while. It's not proper-I think-for me to be
dating anyone older that me till I'm older. I'll wait till
next year, and then I'll get myself one of this year's
finest juniors. I love senior guys, and this year's
juniors will seniors next year though. I knew it, there
most be something seriously wrong with me. I've got a
certain swim team boy, who shall remain nameless, on my
mind already."
'I'm really pathetic,' Serena thought. 'I always have something to
worry about and I don't think boys should really be something I cry
over.'
By now, role had been taken and Ms. Haruna was busy scolding Serena's
friend Chad for not completing the homework from the night before. He
caught her looking at him and started making faces at Ms. Haruna and
rolling his eyes in her direction. It was too much to keep Serena
from laughing and she was happy that she had him as a friend. Sure it
had won him dirty looks from Ms. H and an extra class detention, but
Serena could always use the extra company.
She hadn't been sentenced to afternoon imprisonment-or rather,
Detention yet, but it was still very early in the class. Sacrificing
your own dignity to give a few cheap laughs to your friend has to be
the best gift anyone could ever give. Serena cherished Chad's gift.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her friend Lita waving her hand
in order to get her attention. Once Lita saw that she had Serena's
attention she threw a piece of paper at her. 'Probably a note devoted
to the color of the eyes of the new foreign exchange student Chris.'
It was typical, actually to get a note from Lita at the beginning of
class telling Serena of her latest crush. It would've thrown their
schedule off not to begin class like that.
Unfolding the paper, Serena's eyes scanned over it with mild curiosity
but were glued the moment a word caught her eye. Not her word, but a
name.
"Serena,
Hey, loved your rendition of, 'Present, Ms. H.'
Really it was quite, umm... looking for the word, hilarious.
J/K. Did you hear the latest news? Remember that swim team
hottie Matt? You know the one you had a brief crush on that
was 16 drove you around in his car and in your mind? Rumor
has it he was planning on asking you to Winter Formal, but
instead asked that Jesse girl! I'm sorry to have to be the
one to tell you that, but I didn't want you to find out from
someone who isn't a friend. Then again, it might not mean
much to you since you're on your anti-boys crusade. Won't you
please let me set you up with Ken for Winter Formal? You know
you want it. Well, I've g2g, but TTYL.
Lita"
'Yeah, just another typical day in the life of me,' Serena thought
gloomily. The nerve of Matt! He had lead her on for months and now
he was ditching her for some bimbo. She glanced at the journal entry
she had written about him and felt anger boil up inside of her. On
second thought, she remembered she hated guys and he was just another
perfect example of why she no longer fraternized with them in a more
than friend manner. She felt her anger fade down into mild
irratation.
In reply, Serena quickly scribble "Thanks, but no thanks Lita. You
know I'm not interested right now, but thanks. Maybe you should set
yourself up with him," on a piece of paper. She signed her name and
while Ms. Haruna was writing on the board, she chucked the paper at
Lita, causing Amy to give a disapproving look.
"All right class, I would like you all to take out your journals and
begin writing, or you may take out a book and begin reading." Ms.
Haruna announced to the class. Patting her hair she added, "I'm
expecting a call so I will only leave the room for a short while. We
will start today's Literature lesson when I get back. Oh, and NO
TALKING! I have the door open and I will be able to hear EVERYTHING!"
With that much said, she haughtily walked out of the room and into the
teacher's plan area.
Their teacher's attitude brought smiles to their faces. The boy who
sat next to her, Mark, turned to her unleashing the full power of his
dazzling smile. His smile was perfect. He was perfect. Serena and
her friends had often described him as and Abercrombie boy. He
dressed like the models, had their bodies and hair, and most
importantly, he had the picture perfect smile.
"She must have had another date last night," Mark whispered glancing
towards the door to the plan area and quickly pulling his eyes back
to Serena's. "For our sake, let's hope that he calls her back and
asks her out for tonight."
She smiled back, his Abercrombie smile was entirely too contagious.
"Yeah," She agreed, "it could save me from getting another detention."
Serena and Mark both on the verge of laughing had to turn away from
each other to contain themselves. Their behavior had succeeded in
them earning them strange looks from the rest of the class. This was
once again a fairly normal occurrence for Serena. Her day would've
been incomplete if she hadn't managed to get at least half a dozen
strange looks from fellow classmates.
Mark wasn't a particularly good friend of Serena's. They sat next to
each other all year in Literature, but that was about the extent of
their relationship. Occasionally they would talk to each other and
might see the other at a party. Earlier that year, Mark and Serena's
friend Mina had "dated." Neither of them had really wanted to be more
than friends, but peer pressure and common high school gossip had
turned them into an item. She had been their biggest advocate when
the two of them wanted to go their own ways. Serena of all people
knew what it was like to have society label two people as a couple
and how it could sometimes only hurt what was going on.
After Mark and Mina finally threw in the towel and called it quits,
Serena saw very little of him outside of class. Still, he was a
Very nice guy and he was great to have as a friend. She couldn't
understand why all the girls fell over themselves to get a chance at
him. Serena had to give him snaps for being a great dresser and good
looking, but couldn't people see he just wanted to have friends right
now. Once again, she was able to relate to what he was feeling.
He and Chad were friends, and so whenever Chad had a party, Serena and
Mark were both invited. Other than that, their lives never really
overlapped.
Pulling out her pen, Serena thought for a moment. Her lips were
pursed and the pen was held up to them thoughtfully. She had no idea
what to write about today. Nothing really had happened. Nothing
worth writing about anyway. So Serena did the next best thing, she
started babbling in her journal:
" I am being forced to write when I don't know what about
what. Forced to write never goes down to well with me.
The Winter Formal is coming up. I have no date. I'm
pretty sure the girls and I will be going together stag.
I'm not even sure if Mina and Amy will be going. Mina has
a volleyball tournament all day and all of the following
day. Then Amy, she is so hard to tear away from her books,
and she just never seems to want to go to this sort of thing.
I'm a chairperson for the decorating committee. It's a
school fundraiser that will help the extracurricular clubs,
and we can use all the money we can get. Mom wants me to
clean my room tonight. It's not that bad and probably should
do it, but it seems so dull and pointless. I'm only going to
mess it up again. What's the point of doing it? Mom is
making my dress for the dance, which is next Saturday night.
It's going to be gorgeous. It is silver and navy blue. It
has an underskirt that will be navy blue. The overskirt will
be silver. There will be an opening at the front of the dress
that will let the blue show through. The bodice is also navy
blue. The skirt is so full and pretty and I love it so much.
Who cares if I have a date? As long as I have an amazing
dress it doesn't matter what my dating status is. I'm
rambling so I'll end with that.
Ms. Haruna walked back into the classroom and she was all smiles.
Her date had obviously called and asked her out again.
"All right class," she said smiling, "that's enough journaling for
one day. Let's get on with today's lesson because I need to be out
of her right after school and there's only one class left after this.
Today's detentions have been canceled." Several sounds of people
saying "yes" and other praises could be heard throughout the room.
"Take out your books and let's begin our Literature lesson for today
on page 271 in your text book.
Serena had tried to collect her thoughts, but she was thinking of
what a drag it was that it was Monday. She wished it was Friday and
that she could be decorating for the dance that would take place on
the following day. No, she knew she shouldn't wish her life away,
but time goes by so slowly when you're waiting for something to
happen. She was brought back to attention and pulled out of her daze
when Mark poked her in the arm with his pencil and gave her a 'don't
try your luck' look. She set aside her thoughts for the moment.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Hey Serena wait up," Mina called out to her. "I'll walk to class
with you."
Serena stopped to wait for Mina and waved goodbye to Lita and Amy who
had class elsewhere.
"So are you ready for this History test?" Mina asked. During the
past year, Serena and Mina had both applied themselves to their schoolwork. With a little help from their friends and a lot of strong will on their part, they had managed to keep their grades up. Just
the night before, the two of them had studied for their History test. They were fairly sure they had it down and were confident they would not only pass, but also do well on it.
"I think I'm as ready as I'll ever be," Serena smiled in encouragement
to Mina. "Don't worry, you'll do fine. We'll both do a great job. I
know it. We spent hours perfecting everything. Plus if we bomb the
essay questions, our bold faced terms will keep our averages up."
"I know you'll do well, Serena," Mina said to her. "You've been
understanding this class so well this year. As a matter of fact,
you've taught me a lot of what I've needed to know for this class."
Mina paused for a moment, looking at Serena in amazement. She still
couldn't believe Serena's acquired dedication. "You've applied
yourself so well this year and you've worked so hard to keep your
grades up it makes me wonder how come none of us ever saw this in you
before."
This was a talk Serena had had several times in the past few months
with her friends. It was true. In many ways, she was a very
different person then the one she had been at the beginning of the
year. Other than her grades and developing more maturity, Serena was
still the fun, loving, compassionate person she had always been.
The scouts had even noticed a change in the way she handled being
Sailor Moon. She appeared to love being the Champion of Justice.
The education and dedication Serena had gained was paying off. Her
powers were greater and stronger and when she fought, nothing could
beat her. She was always there on time and Raye could no longer get
down on her for being irresponsible. Though she was aware of her
change, it still embarrassed her when it was mentioned. She eagerly
switched topics.
Serena and Mina started dishing out the latest gossip and both were
laughing as they got to their History class. Mina continued laughing
even after Serena's suddenly stopped. It wasn't until after Mina
finally realized that Serena was no longer laughing that she opened
her eyes and looked ahead to see what was causing Serena's sudden
hostile posture.
Calvert James was standing in front of the door.
Serena softened the harsh look on her face and gave it a slightly
calmer expression. She forced a smile that could have passes as
sincere if one didn't know better. Unfortunately, Cal had once known
her well, and wasn't fooled.
"Hey Cal," Serena said in an attempt to sound cheerful.
"Hello Rena," Cal said coolly stepping away from the door and closer
to her. His hungry gaze swept over her figure taking her feminine
form and managing to violate her without any physical contact. He
paused a few feet away. "Long time no see. You look good... real
good."
"Yeah," Serena replied hesitantly, "but wasn't that part of the deal,
you know, us breaking up?"
Cal laughed lightly and stood right in front of her. "No, you said we
could still be friends, you never said we couldn't talk to each other.
So come on, let's begin this friendship."
Serena slightly cringed, wishing she had never used the tacky but
commonly used 'Let's just be friends' line when she broke it off with
him. She had never thought that he would seriously go along with it
and live by those standards. That's not the way it worked for the
most part. You told the other person you wanted to be friends just
to get them off of your back. Then the two of you went your separate
ways and never spoke to one another again. No, life didn't work that
way all the time, did it?
"Well are you going to answer me, babes?" Cal asked giving her his
insincere smile. For many girls, they thought that the smile was made
just for them, making their hearts skip a beat. That was, until you
got to know him. Serena had once thought that his smile was a gift
he gave to her to make her life better. In the end, it had been
something he used to confuse her and hurt her. She'd never known a
smile could do that. His rugged good looks had once been able to
charm her. Now that too became a tally against him.
Eventually Serena figured out why she was getting a weird look from
him. He had been talking to her and she had been lost in her own
little world considering her feeling toward Cal.
Shaking her head to clear her thoughts Serena said, "I'm sorry Cal,
I've been kind of spacey all day. I'd really love to talk with you,
but Mina and I have this huge test we're about to take, and I promised
her we would review some of the material."
Mina had already caught on to what Serena was trying to do, "Of course
Serena. I'm sorry Cal, but she's right, we do need to study. After
all, we're both complete ditzes, remember?" Neither of them really
needed to do any studying, they had spent enough time doing just that
the night before.
Cal looked back and forth between Serena and Mina as though trying to
look for a hint of either of them lying. Being unable to find a trace
of anything, he just nodded his head cast a sideways look at Serena
and walked to his class across the hall.
Relieved they quickly walked into their History class and set their
backpacks down on the floor next to their desks. Serena didn't know
how to feel and Mina had sensed this and chose not to bring it up.
In most ways, that was the best and safest response. No one wanted
to be the one who induced Serena's waterworks. It left them feeling
guilty for the remainder of the day. As much as Serena wanted to
discuss it, she just didn't feel right doing it with her friends.
Serena couldn't understand why, they were all so close to her, and
she felt like they were her sisters, but she didn't feel it was fair
to burden them with her problems, when they too had their own.
After sitting for a couple of minutes with neither of them speaking,
Mina decided to face the inevitable. Serena obviously had been able
to see what Mina was about to bring up and started fidgeting nervously.
Just as Mina was about to ask her, what she had just witnessed, and the
bell rang and the teacher called the class to order. Sighing, Serena
loosened up and pulled out her No. 2 pencil so she could begin taking
her test.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The final bell rang granting nearly 2,000 students their freedom from
the purgatory otherwise known as high school. Serena and Mina raced
out of History to head to their lockers before attending their after
school activities.
"How do you think you did on the test?" Mina asked Serena, who was
grabbing what she needed from her locker.
"I know I aced the terms, but I'm just never sure about those stupid
essay questions," Serena paused from her gathering to inquire the
same of Mina. "How did you feel it went?"
Mina wasn't nearly as optimistic about her own test. She felt
confident that Serena had done better than she was letting on, though
Mina didn't share this view with Serena, hoping to spare her some of
the embarrassment she was sure Serena would feel.
As they walked towards the main commons area, very little was said,
since both had much on their minds. Mina was thinking about the
dramatic changes Serena had made in the past year, more specifically
in the last few months. They were all very proud of the
responsibility she had been taking, but Mina couldn't help but notice
that the sparkle in Serena's life had begun to fade. That's who she
was, and without it, Serena wasn't the same person. Ever since things
had ended between Serena and Cal, things had been different, and Mina
wondered what had gone unsaid by Serena that could make the whole
situation cleared up. Mina had begun to think she should bring this
up with the scouts if there was a moment that Serena wasn't around.
The thoughts running through Serena's mind were quite different. She
couldn't comprehend why Cal still harbored so much anger and
resentment against her. They had been apart for nearly three months.
Even at the time of the break up, Cal hadn't been so angry.
**FLASHBACK**
Serena was pulling books out of her locker when Cal startled her by
placing his arms around her waist. Upon turning around Serena
realized who it was, apologizing for jumping, she explained she hadn't
known who it was. The sight of Cal had reminded her that she had been
putting off speaking to him for a few weeks now, and now was as good
as ever to have her thoughts be known.
"Cal, I need to talk to you-we need to talk."
Even as Serena said this, Cal knew what was coming. Anyone who heard
those words had to know it.
Noting the change of expression on Cal's face, Serena explained her
perspective on where their relationship stood. Cal nodded as she
made each point. By the time she was finished, he had agreed that
they never talked, rarely saw one another, and the chemistry they had
once possessed in spades had faded into nonexistence. He even voiced
that he had noticed her recent lack of contentment.
Feeling better having shared her thoughts with Cal, Serena asked, "So
what now? Where do you we go from this point?"
Considering the options, Cal answered, "I think we should go to
Crown's so we can get a milk shake before heading to-"
"No, No!" Serena interrupted. "We haven't even fixed this!"
"What issue," Cal asked somewhat sarcastically. "The fact that you
aren't really trying to work things out? The fact that you don't
feel up to committing to a relationship that last longer than a couple
of weeks? Or how about your pathetic excuses for continually ditching
me from time to time? I don't care that you haven't done it in a
while, but it still hurts that you did it a lot in the past!"
"How can you even say that to me?" Serena asked looking appalled by
his sarcastic comments. "I think I've figured out what we should do.
I think it's time we put am end to this so-called relationship. It's
been a charade since the beginning, and I'm tired of trying to fix it
by myself."
Cal's eyes changed from angry to sad in the beat of a heart. "Do you
really want to do that Serena? I mean, we're just so good together,
everyone thinks we're such a great couple. Can't we give it one more
try? I promise, I'll do more to work it out. Don't give up on me!"
Serena had to turn her head to prevent Cal from seeing the tears in
her eyes. Clearing her throat in an attempt to rid herself of the
tight, closed feeling, she stood her ground and simply shook her head.
He closed his eyes, and bowed his head.
"Cal it just isn't going to work. I'm sorry," There was a pause and
the sounds of the people around them faded as fewer and fewer people
remained. "Can we still be friends?"
Looking into her eyes for the first time in minutes, he said, "Of
course, Serena. Always."
They embraced one another for the last time, holding still while the
hall emptied.
** End of FLASHBACK **
In the end, Cal had seemed more hurt than angry. Serena had hurt
too-- Serena's thoughts were interrupted by the comment he had made
in reference to her scout business. When had the last battle been
fought? It seemed like such a long time ago.
"Mina, when was our last battle?" Serena whispered so as not to be
heard.
Thinking back, Mina answered in a voice equally hushed, "I don't know.
It's been several months, hasn't it? I believe it was a good two
months before you and Cal..." Mina trailed off, not wanting to bring up
Serena's past with Cal.
"That's what I'm thinking," Serena said not even being fazed by the
mention of Cal. Her forehead creased, Serena felt a strange feeling
in the bottom of her stomach, "We should be prepared. Something is
going to happen soon." She hadn't had this feeling since the last
enemy had first arrived.
"Oh Serena," Mina laughed nervously, "relax, and enjoy this freedom
while we still have it!"
"I can't," Serena said, a fierce look in her eyes. "Something is
going to happen, I can feel it. A new enemy is going to strike by
the end of this weekend."
Unable to respond to Serena, and thrown off by the look Serena's eyes
held. Mina immediately dropped the topic. She'd never seen Serena
so confident in any belief she'd had before. Somehow Mina knew Serena
must be right, but she didn't want to believe it just yet.
Nothing was said until they parted ways, and then it was only a
confirmation of meeting one another at Crown's after their practices.
Mina was to have a vigorous volleyball practice due to the approaching
tournament. Likewise Serena would be heading home to have a practice
with Raye. Their schools would be putting on a joint end of the year
performance of 'Les Miserables.' Both Serena and Raye were members
of their schools' choirs, and wanted more than anything to get into
it.
Since Serena's house had a piano, it was an ideal place to practice.
Raye would be trying for the part of 'Fantane' and Serena hoped to be
'Young Cortsette.' It was always unlikely that more than one freshman
would receive a part other than 'Chorus,' but Raye was a phenomenal
singer and everyone knew that she could land the part. Though she
had grown as a singer, she wasn't up to competition level yet. They
had most of a week left, and a lot of time to practice.
As she walked out of the building, a fellow choir member, Rita, ran
up to her calling out for her to wait.
"Hey, Rita," Serena said smiling, and giving her a hug. "What's up?"
"Everything is good, good, Serena," Rita rushed so she could get on
to the main point of her stopping her. "So, you don't have a date to
the Winter Formal yet, do you?"
"No," Serena said eyeing her suspiciously, "and I'm not interested."
"Before you say no," Rita said talking a mile a minute, "I was just
wondering if you would save a couple of dances for one of Andrew's
friends. He's a little squeamish about going to dances, especially
stag, so I told him I'd be sure to find someone to dance with him.
Please, Serena, I'd really appreciate it."
Feeling slightly relieved that she hadn't been trying to completely
hook her up with someone, Serena willingly consented. "Just make sure
this isn't one of your and Andrew's schemes to find me a date. Each
time I tell you it's a waist of time, but you never believe me, and
the guys end up not interested too."
"Yay!" Rita said excitedly, "Really, he's a great guy, he's an editor
for the newspaper, and he'll definitely be 'Editor-in-Chief' next
year. He's covering the musical from beginning to end. Serena,
you're trying out for the musical, right?"
"Yeah, are you?"
"Of course," Rita said smiling, "I'm hoping to get the part of
'Cortsette.' You're trying for 'Young Cortsette'?"
"I thought it was the most practical," Serena confirmed.
"Just don't sell yourself short," emphasized Rita, "you have a great
voice, and the potential to do well!"
Serena thanked her before hurrying off to meet Raye. She'd been
doing such a good job of being dependable, she didn't want to blow it
with Raye. Running quickly, Serena began making a mental list of all
of the things she had to accomplish throughout the course of the day.
While thinking about the paper she had to begin for Creative Writing,
Serena ran smack right into a wall, or at least what she thought was
a wall.
'THUD'
"Ouch, Crap!" A tall boy with ebony hair exclaimed, as he looked down
at his coffee covered shirt.
"OhmygoshI'msosorry!" Serena rushed out forgetting the pain she had in
her head, courtesy of his hard chest. "Is there anything I can do to
help you out?"
"Not unless you happen to have an extra shirt and something to help
me wash this stuff off with," he said with extreme irritation
tainting his deep blue eyes.
"Actually, my house is right up this street," Serena said in hopes of
making amends. "You could come inside to clean up if you wanted. I'm
sure my dad has an extra shirt you could borrow."
Desperately wanting to clean off, the young man nodded in agreement
and followed her in.
"Really, I'm so sorry. I just wasn't paying attention to where I was
going. I was busy thinking about other things, and I should have been
looking out better, I'm sorry," explained Serena said while opening
the front door. Then she urged, "Go ahead and take off your shoes,
and set your stuff down."
Serena led this stranger up to the bathroom, and left him to clean up.
As she was closing the door behind her, to go in search of a shirt,
she began to think that she recognized this boy from summer. She was
thinking that he was one of Andrew's good friends, Darien, if her
memory served her correctly. He was always hanging out at 'Crowns.'
Though she wasn't sure, Serena concluded that he must be a junior.
Feeling better that she remembered who he was, she returned to her
search to find her mom, so she could get Darien a clean shirt.
Upon hearing the door close, Darien turned around to face it. He had
only just realized who she was. Before he hadn't been paying much
attention as the coffee he'd had spilled on him was unbearably hot.
The girl was one of Andrew and Rita's friends. She and her friends
often met at the arcade. He'd seen her from time to time, but really
hadn't thought too much of her. She was pretty, he'd give her that,
but she seemed a bit scatter-brained, though he had to respect
someone who would not only apologize for their clumsiness, but go out
of their way to make it up to them. The only problem now was he
couldn't remember what her name was.
"Mom! Mom, where are you?" Serena called, feeling more and more
concerned by the moment, as her situation was becoming more serious.
How long would it take a guy to be done cleaning up? Two minutes?
Three minutes? Just as she was beginning to lose hope of ever
finding her mother, she turned the corner and bumped into her,
butting heads, causing Serena to have a second headache within five
minutes.
"Mom, I need your help, I've done something awful, and I can't work
this out without you. There's a boy upstairs and he needs clothes,"
Serena said frantically, making the situation sound worse then it
really was.
"Slow down, Serena, run this by me again," Ilene said taking a deep
breath, hoping Serena would see this, and do the same. "So you're
telling me that upstairs there is a boy without clothing. Would you
mind elaborating on this?"
"I was just walking along the street, not paying attention, and one
thing added to another, and the next thing I know he's upstairs in
my bathroom, without a shirt, because I ruined it!" Serena explained,
only making it sound ridiculous, and causing her to sink even lower
in the hole she had dug for herself. Nowhere in her explanation had
she even mentioned the fact that coffee had been poured on his shirt,
and he simply needed a change of clothes.
"I get that, Serena, but would you mind telling me WHY there is a boy
upstairs in your bathroom, lacking clothing?" Ilene asked one last
time trying to drill the message into her daughter's head.
"When I ran into him, he spilled his coffee all over his front, and
now he's without a shirt," Serena finally answered the question as
Ilene had intended for her to in the first place.
Feeling much more relieved knowing that her daughter's clumsiness was
to blame for the current situation, and not her hormones, Ilene set
about righting the wrong. She grabbed a shirt from her husband's
closet, knowing he wouldn't possibly miss it. Considering how badly
a burn could hurt, she also grabbed a cream that he could apply on
his chest, that would heal the burn, and soothe it. Once she had
these two supplies, Ilene relocated Serena, who had calmed down
considerably upon finding her mother willing to help, and Serena was
sent on her way to give the victim his compensation.
Uncertain as to whether or not she should knock, or just go in, she
settled on knocking on the door. Within a few seconds, it opened and
Darien's head poked through the small gap. Seeing Serena, he tried
to wipe the irritated look off of his face, as he could tell she was
really trying to help.
"Uhh... here's a shirt you can have," Serena handed him her dad's
shirt, and then, hesitating, she handed him the cream. "Here's a
lotion my mom said would help your burn heal, and not hurt so much."
She tried to smile, but she was so mortified, it was difficult to
find.
Also trying to return the smile, but feeling embarrassed as he was
standing in a perfect stranger's bathroom without a top on. "Thanks,
I really appreciate it. By the way I'm-"
"Darien," Serena interrupted. "You're Andrew's friend. I'm Serena."
"Well, thanks Serena," Darien said, glad to now know her name. "I
appreciate your getting me this shirt, and... lotion." He closed the
door behind his self so he could change into the shirt.
Serena. It was a pretty name. The name suited her. A pretty name,
for a beautiful girl.
Meanwhile, Serena was having trouble getting the image of Darien
without a shirt out of her mind. She had to admit that he was a very
good looking guy, but that was the problem. He was a boy. She had
to force it out of her mind, she had to. Boys were out of the
question, even cute ones.
By the time Darien had left, and arranged to return the shirt, Raye
was nearing the Tsukino house. Finding a flustered Serena, Raye
chose not to follow up on the topic, as her initial question had only
made Serena blush all the more.
"So are you ready to practice?" Raye asked.
"Yeah," composed and feeling confident, Serena joined Raye in scales
and exercizes.
At 'Crown Arcade', Andrew was talking to his girlfriend Rita. She
was very excited about having found someone for Darien to dance with,
when the person in question showed up. Besides looking a bit
disoriented, Darien looked rather pleased with himself. Rita gave
Andrew a look that clearly stated she thought he should question his
friend's current change in attitude. Excusing her self, Andrew wasted
no time in asking his friend.
Giving an expectant look to Darien, Andrew said, "Well...?"
After explaining the whole situation that had just happened between
his self and Serena, Darien grinned. He refused to admit to Andrew
that he thought Serena was cute, and might want to get to know her
sometime. Though he didn't say anything, his grin spoke a thousand
words, and Andrew knew that if Darien could only work up the courage
to express his feelings with her.
Barely able to wait a moment more, Rita came back and told Darien of
the girl she had found for him to meet at the dance. "She's pretty,
she's nice, she's not super smart, but she's trying hard. Plus, she
is an amazingly talented singer who is going to get into the musical.
I talked to her, and she agreed to save a few dances for you!"
Darien responded to this the way that he usually did, he laughed,
agreed with everything she had said, and then made an excuse to leave.
After bowing out, Darien headed home to work on his homework.
Finding the whole situation his girlfriend was trying to create
vastly amusing, he couldn't help but ask Rita who this girl was she
would be setting his best friend up with.
"They're so perfect for each other, it has to work," Rita gushed
proudly.
"Yes, but who is she?"
"Oh!" she exclaimed. "I she's one of our friends! It's Serena
Tsukino!"
Hardly able to contain his laughter, Andrew just nodded and turned
away, hiding his face. His blue eyes sparkled, as he knew how right
Rita was. Serena was just what Darien needed, and Serena needed to
be with a guy who wouldn't hurt her. Yes, this was going to be quite
enjoyable. The relationship between Darien and Serena had just
begun, and Andrew new he wouldn't miss it for the world.
*********************************************************************
So, questions? Comments? Anything? Send me an email at Reminjia
@hotmail.com, or leave a critique with your e-mail address and I'll
get back to you. Thanks for giving my story another chance, and I'll
try my best to keep up a consistent update schedule! I'm pretty
insecure about this whole story, so any comments would be extremely
welcome. Thanks!!
Chapter: 1
By Reminjia
E-Mail: mrskusanagi@hotmail.com
Rating: PG-13 (very mild language... really I'm sorry)
Author's Note: Thanks for reading my story once again! I'm going to
keep it brief so you can go ahead and read the story. I apologize
for the mistake I made earlier, the name "Jason" appeared, and it was
suppose to be Mark, I have made that change in this revision. What
can I say, I'm a perfectionist. Jason was my original name for the
character, and I missed that. All right, if you're reading this
chapter, that means I did an okay job on the previous one, so I thank
you for giving this a chance. Keep in mind that the scouts are all
freshman in high school, and Darien, Andrew, and Rita are all
Juniors. Another note, I combined chapters 1 and 2, because I felt
that my chapters weren't long enough, and not enough had happened in
the first two chapters. There are a few minor changes to the parts,
but they're not huge, just things I like a bit better.
Disclaimer: Once again... I don't own Sailor Moon, I do have a car
now, but trust me, you don't want it!
*Chapter 1*
** One Month Later **
Serena managed to slide into the seat of her 7th hour class just
as the bell's shrill ring sounded. Allowing herself a moment to catch
her breath she pulled out her journal while Ms. Haruna took attendance.
Serena flipped back several pages and read an entry from a few weeks
before, to get into her writing:
"I swear I'm done with guys... all guys, for the moment.
Officially, I dislike boys ranging from the ages of 10 to
20 years of age. I am so sick of boys as my ex and his
lowlife pals have started referring to me as "his bitch."
Okay, not only are we no longer dating, but if w were I
would dump his sorry... you get the picture... It might
seem like a dumb reason for getting upset, but I will
never be anyone's "bitch," its just not me. Also, his
whole group thinks that I am "in love" with Greg... GREG!
I am definitely not. I like him only as a friend. Why
are some people such... jerks? Am I asking for too much
when all I want is respect and a place where I can be
complete? I've tried to get Cal back on my good side, but
nothing is working."
"Serena, Earth to Serena. SERENA!"
Instantly Serena was pulled out of her own little world and she
was brought back to reality only to be met by the stares of everyone
in the classroom. Most noticeably was the annoyed look she was
receiving from her teacher.
"Umm... present," was the phrase Serena managed to get out of
her clogged throat. This sent ripples of small laughter throughout
the room and Serena felt her cheeks burning red.
"That's wonderful Serena," Ms. Haruna said preparing to
continue with the role call. "I'm glad you've chosen to grace us
all with your physical presence if not your mental. We'll just have
to work on accomplishing both in one day, won't we?"
"Yes Ms. Haruna," Serena blushed. With no other place to look,
and trying to avoid the many stares she was still receiving, she
focused on the journal in front of her once again. She wasn't quite
that bitter about boys anymore, but she had kept up her original goal.
She was "just friends" with many guys, and her scout friends often
gave her a headache in return. This was most common when she had made
friends with a guy one of them had feelings for. It was a rare
occurrence for Serena to make a friend and not hear from at least one
of her friends that they were in love him and he was their soul mate.
Each never lasted too long.
Amy was on the other side of the classroom trying to get her
attention. When she got it, Amy narrowed her eyes and shook her head
at Serena.
"Pay attention, Serena," Amy mouthed. Then she smiled relieving
Serena. Amy was such a great friend, and Serena hated to have her mad
at her ever. Looking back down at the journal, Serena flipped a few
pages farther:
"I was in a bad mood all day. For some reason, I'm not
quite sure why, though. Nothing bad happened today. I
made it to school on time, there were no attacks and my
homework was light. My mind was just occupied and
feeling strange. That must be why I called Cal... the
ex. I just had to clear some stuff up with him. I let
him know the truth... that I didn't lie when I broke up
with him. I told him the rumors were just that rumors.
I wasn't in love with Greg.
I don't know if I should have done it or not, but I just
don't want anyone to hate or dislike me. I despise
rumors. Everyone seems to think that I'm in love with
Greg. And that I "want" him. Eww... no offense meant to
Greg, but he's like my brother. Being more than friends
with him would be like, I don't know, like making out
with Sammy. Gross, I mean, that's just not something I
want to do. Greg is like a brother to me, but not
completely.
I think I'm more attracted to older guys. I always have
been. Maybe it's because I'm longing for more maturity.
I want someone who is (even if just a little bit) mature,
reliable and good to be with. So I guess I won't be dating
anyone for a while. It's not proper-I think-for me to be
dating anyone older that me till I'm older. I'll wait till
next year, and then I'll get myself one of this year's
finest juniors. I love senior guys, and this year's
juniors will seniors next year though. I knew it, there
most be something seriously wrong with me. I've got a
certain swim team boy, who shall remain nameless, on my
mind already."
'I'm really pathetic,' Serena thought. 'I always have something to
worry about and I don't think boys should really be something I cry
over.'
By now, role had been taken and Ms. Haruna was busy scolding Serena's
friend Chad for not completing the homework from the night before. He
caught her looking at him and started making faces at Ms. Haruna and
rolling his eyes in her direction. It was too much to keep Serena
from laughing and she was happy that she had him as a friend. Sure it
had won him dirty looks from Ms. H and an extra class detention, but
Serena could always use the extra company.
She hadn't been sentenced to afternoon imprisonment-or rather,
Detention yet, but it was still very early in the class. Sacrificing
your own dignity to give a few cheap laughs to your friend has to be
the best gift anyone could ever give. Serena cherished Chad's gift.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her friend Lita waving her hand
in order to get her attention. Once Lita saw that she had Serena's
attention she threw a piece of paper at her. 'Probably a note devoted
to the color of the eyes of the new foreign exchange student Chris.'
It was typical, actually to get a note from Lita at the beginning of
class telling Serena of her latest crush. It would've thrown their
schedule off not to begin class like that.
Unfolding the paper, Serena's eyes scanned over it with mild curiosity
but were glued the moment a word caught her eye. Not her word, but a
name.
"Serena,
Hey, loved your rendition of, 'Present, Ms. H.'
Really it was quite, umm... looking for the word, hilarious.
J/K. Did you hear the latest news? Remember that swim team
hottie Matt? You know the one you had a brief crush on that
was 16 drove you around in his car and in your mind? Rumor
has it he was planning on asking you to Winter Formal, but
instead asked that Jesse girl! I'm sorry to have to be the
one to tell you that, but I didn't want you to find out from
someone who isn't a friend. Then again, it might not mean
much to you since you're on your anti-boys crusade. Won't you
please let me set you up with Ken for Winter Formal? You know
you want it. Well, I've g2g, but TTYL.
Lita"
'Yeah, just another typical day in the life of me,' Serena thought
gloomily. The nerve of Matt! He had lead her on for months and now
he was ditching her for some bimbo. She glanced at the journal entry
she had written about him and felt anger boil up inside of her. On
second thought, she remembered she hated guys and he was just another
perfect example of why she no longer fraternized with them in a more
than friend manner. She felt her anger fade down into mild
irratation.
In reply, Serena quickly scribble "Thanks, but no thanks Lita. You
know I'm not interested right now, but thanks. Maybe you should set
yourself up with him," on a piece of paper. She signed her name and
while Ms. Haruna was writing on the board, she chucked the paper at
Lita, causing Amy to give a disapproving look.
"All right class, I would like you all to take out your journals and
begin writing, or you may take out a book and begin reading." Ms.
Haruna announced to the class. Patting her hair she added, "I'm
expecting a call so I will only leave the room for a short while. We
will start today's Literature lesson when I get back. Oh, and NO
TALKING! I have the door open and I will be able to hear EVERYTHING!"
With that much said, she haughtily walked out of the room and into the
teacher's plan area.
Their teacher's attitude brought smiles to their faces. The boy who
sat next to her, Mark, turned to her unleashing the full power of his
dazzling smile. His smile was perfect. He was perfect. Serena and
her friends had often described him as and Abercrombie boy. He
dressed like the models, had their bodies and hair, and most
importantly, he had the picture perfect smile.
"She must have had another date last night," Mark whispered glancing
towards the door to the plan area and quickly pulling his eyes back
to Serena's. "For our sake, let's hope that he calls her back and
asks her out for tonight."
She smiled back, his Abercrombie smile was entirely too contagious.
"Yeah," She agreed, "it could save me from getting another detention."
Serena and Mark both on the verge of laughing had to turn away from
each other to contain themselves. Their behavior had succeeded in
them earning them strange looks from the rest of the class. This was
once again a fairly normal occurrence for Serena. Her day would've
been incomplete if she hadn't managed to get at least half a dozen
strange looks from fellow classmates.
Mark wasn't a particularly good friend of Serena's. They sat next to
each other all year in Literature, but that was about the extent of
their relationship. Occasionally they would talk to each other and
might see the other at a party. Earlier that year, Mark and Serena's
friend Mina had "dated." Neither of them had really wanted to be more
than friends, but peer pressure and common high school gossip had
turned them into an item. She had been their biggest advocate when
the two of them wanted to go their own ways. Serena of all people
knew what it was like to have society label two people as a couple
and how it could sometimes only hurt what was going on.
After Mark and Mina finally threw in the towel and called it quits,
Serena saw very little of him outside of class. Still, he was a
Very nice guy and he was great to have as a friend. She couldn't
understand why all the girls fell over themselves to get a chance at
him. Serena had to give him snaps for being a great dresser and good
looking, but couldn't people see he just wanted to have friends right
now. Once again, she was able to relate to what he was feeling.
He and Chad were friends, and so whenever Chad had a party, Serena and
Mark were both invited. Other than that, their lives never really
overlapped.
Pulling out her pen, Serena thought for a moment. Her lips were
pursed and the pen was held up to them thoughtfully. She had no idea
what to write about today. Nothing really had happened. Nothing
worth writing about anyway. So Serena did the next best thing, she
started babbling in her journal:
" I am being forced to write when I don't know what about
what. Forced to write never goes down to well with me.
The Winter Formal is coming up. I have no date. I'm
pretty sure the girls and I will be going together stag.
I'm not even sure if Mina and Amy will be going. Mina has
a volleyball tournament all day and all of the following
day. Then Amy, she is so hard to tear away from her books,
and she just never seems to want to go to this sort of thing.
I'm a chairperson for the decorating committee. It's a
school fundraiser that will help the extracurricular clubs,
and we can use all the money we can get. Mom wants me to
clean my room tonight. It's not that bad and probably should
do it, but it seems so dull and pointless. I'm only going to
mess it up again. What's the point of doing it? Mom is
making my dress for the dance, which is next Saturday night.
It's going to be gorgeous. It is silver and navy blue. It
has an underskirt that will be navy blue. The overskirt will
be silver. There will be an opening at the front of the dress
that will let the blue show through. The bodice is also navy
blue. The skirt is so full and pretty and I love it so much.
Who cares if I have a date? As long as I have an amazing
dress it doesn't matter what my dating status is. I'm
rambling so I'll end with that.
Ms. Haruna walked back into the classroom and she was all smiles.
Her date had obviously called and asked her out again.
"All right class," she said smiling, "that's enough journaling for
one day. Let's get on with today's lesson because I need to be out
of her right after school and there's only one class left after this.
Today's detentions have been canceled." Several sounds of people
saying "yes" and other praises could be heard throughout the room.
"Take out your books and let's begin our Literature lesson for today
on page 271 in your text book.
Serena had tried to collect her thoughts, but she was thinking of
what a drag it was that it was Monday. She wished it was Friday and
that she could be decorating for the dance that would take place on
the following day. No, she knew she shouldn't wish her life away,
but time goes by so slowly when you're waiting for something to
happen. She was brought back to attention and pulled out of her daze
when Mark poked her in the arm with his pencil and gave her a 'don't
try your luck' look. She set aside her thoughts for the moment.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Hey Serena wait up," Mina called out to her. "I'll walk to class
with you."
Serena stopped to wait for Mina and waved goodbye to Lita and Amy who
had class elsewhere.
"So are you ready for this History test?" Mina asked. During the
past year, Serena and Mina had both applied themselves to their schoolwork. With a little help from their friends and a lot of strong will on their part, they had managed to keep their grades up. Just
the night before, the two of them had studied for their History test. They were fairly sure they had it down and were confident they would not only pass, but also do well on it.
"I think I'm as ready as I'll ever be," Serena smiled in encouragement
to Mina. "Don't worry, you'll do fine. We'll both do a great job. I
know it. We spent hours perfecting everything. Plus if we bomb the
essay questions, our bold faced terms will keep our averages up."
"I know you'll do well, Serena," Mina said to her. "You've been
understanding this class so well this year. As a matter of fact,
you've taught me a lot of what I've needed to know for this class."
Mina paused for a moment, looking at Serena in amazement. She still
couldn't believe Serena's acquired dedication. "You've applied
yourself so well this year and you've worked so hard to keep your
grades up it makes me wonder how come none of us ever saw this in you
before."
This was a talk Serena had had several times in the past few months
with her friends. It was true. In many ways, she was a very
different person then the one she had been at the beginning of the
year. Other than her grades and developing more maturity, Serena was
still the fun, loving, compassionate person she had always been.
The scouts had even noticed a change in the way she handled being
Sailor Moon. She appeared to love being the Champion of Justice.
The education and dedication Serena had gained was paying off. Her
powers were greater and stronger and when she fought, nothing could
beat her. She was always there on time and Raye could no longer get
down on her for being irresponsible. Though she was aware of her
change, it still embarrassed her when it was mentioned. She eagerly
switched topics.
Serena and Mina started dishing out the latest gossip and both were
laughing as they got to their History class. Mina continued laughing
even after Serena's suddenly stopped. It wasn't until after Mina
finally realized that Serena was no longer laughing that she opened
her eyes and looked ahead to see what was causing Serena's sudden
hostile posture.
Calvert James was standing in front of the door.
Serena softened the harsh look on her face and gave it a slightly
calmer expression. She forced a smile that could have passes as
sincere if one didn't know better. Unfortunately, Cal had once known
her well, and wasn't fooled.
"Hey Cal," Serena said in an attempt to sound cheerful.
"Hello Rena," Cal said coolly stepping away from the door and closer
to her. His hungry gaze swept over her figure taking her feminine
form and managing to violate her without any physical contact. He
paused a few feet away. "Long time no see. You look good... real
good."
"Yeah," Serena replied hesitantly, "but wasn't that part of the deal,
you know, us breaking up?"
Cal laughed lightly and stood right in front of her. "No, you said we
could still be friends, you never said we couldn't talk to each other.
So come on, let's begin this friendship."
Serena slightly cringed, wishing she had never used the tacky but
commonly used 'Let's just be friends' line when she broke it off with
him. She had never thought that he would seriously go along with it
and live by those standards. That's not the way it worked for the
most part. You told the other person you wanted to be friends just
to get them off of your back. Then the two of you went your separate
ways and never spoke to one another again. No, life didn't work that
way all the time, did it?
"Well are you going to answer me, babes?" Cal asked giving her his
insincere smile. For many girls, they thought that the smile was made
just for them, making their hearts skip a beat. That was, until you
got to know him. Serena had once thought that his smile was a gift
he gave to her to make her life better. In the end, it had been
something he used to confuse her and hurt her. She'd never known a
smile could do that. His rugged good looks had once been able to
charm her. Now that too became a tally against him.
Eventually Serena figured out why she was getting a weird look from
him. He had been talking to her and she had been lost in her own
little world considering her feeling toward Cal.
Shaking her head to clear her thoughts Serena said, "I'm sorry Cal,
I've been kind of spacey all day. I'd really love to talk with you,
but Mina and I have this huge test we're about to take, and I promised
her we would review some of the material."
Mina had already caught on to what Serena was trying to do, "Of course
Serena. I'm sorry Cal, but she's right, we do need to study. After
all, we're both complete ditzes, remember?" Neither of them really
needed to do any studying, they had spent enough time doing just that
the night before.
Cal looked back and forth between Serena and Mina as though trying to
look for a hint of either of them lying. Being unable to find a trace
of anything, he just nodded his head cast a sideways look at Serena
and walked to his class across the hall.
Relieved they quickly walked into their History class and set their
backpacks down on the floor next to their desks. Serena didn't know
how to feel and Mina had sensed this and chose not to bring it up.
In most ways, that was the best and safest response. No one wanted
to be the one who induced Serena's waterworks. It left them feeling
guilty for the remainder of the day. As much as Serena wanted to
discuss it, she just didn't feel right doing it with her friends.
Serena couldn't understand why, they were all so close to her, and
she felt like they were her sisters, but she didn't feel it was fair
to burden them with her problems, when they too had their own.
After sitting for a couple of minutes with neither of them speaking,
Mina decided to face the inevitable. Serena obviously had been able
to see what Mina was about to bring up and started fidgeting nervously.
Just as Mina was about to ask her, what she had just witnessed, and the
bell rang and the teacher called the class to order. Sighing, Serena
loosened up and pulled out her No. 2 pencil so she could begin taking
her test.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The final bell rang granting nearly 2,000 students their freedom from
the purgatory otherwise known as high school. Serena and Mina raced
out of History to head to their lockers before attending their after
school activities.
"How do you think you did on the test?" Mina asked Serena, who was
grabbing what she needed from her locker.
"I know I aced the terms, but I'm just never sure about those stupid
essay questions," Serena paused from her gathering to inquire the
same of Mina. "How did you feel it went?"
Mina wasn't nearly as optimistic about her own test. She felt
confident that Serena had done better than she was letting on, though
Mina didn't share this view with Serena, hoping to spare her some of
the embarrassment she was sure Serena would feel.
As they walked towards the main commons area, very little was said,
since both had much on their minds. Mina was thinking about the
dramatic changes Serena had made in the past year, more specifically
in the last few months. They were all very proud of the
responsibility she had been taking, but Mina couldn't help but notice
that the sparkle in Serena's life had begun to fade. That's who she
was, and without it, Serena wasn't the same person. Ever since things
had ended between Serena and Cal, things had been different, and Mina
wondered what had gone unsaid by Serena that could make the whole
situation cleared up. Mina had begun to think she should bring this
up with the scouts if there was a moment that Serena wasn't around.
The thoughts running through Serena's mind were quite different. She
couldn't comprehend why Cal still harbored so much anger and
resentment against her. They had been apart for nearly three months.
Even at the time of the break up, Cal hadn't been so angry.
**FLASHBACK**
Serena was pulling books out of her locker when Cal startled her by
placing his arms around her waist. Upon turning around Serena
realized who it was, apologizing for jumping, she explained she hadn't
known who it was. The sight of Cal had reminded her that she had been
putting off speaking to him for a few weeks now, and now was as good
as ever to have her thoughts be known.
"Cal, I need to talk to you-we need to talk."
Even as Serena said this, Cal knew what was coming. Anyone who heard
those words had to know it.
Noting the change of expression on Cal's face, Serena explained her
perspective on where their relationship stood. Cal nodded as she
made each point. By the time she was finished, he had agreed that
they never talked, rarely saw one another, and the chemistry they had
once possessed in spades had faded into nonexistence. He even voiced
that he had noticed her recent lack of contentment.
Feeling better having shared her thoughts with Cal, Serena asked, "So
what now? Where do you we go from this point?"
Considering the options, Cal answered, "I think we should go to
Crown's so we can get a milk shake before heading to-"
"No, No!" Serena interrupted. "We haven't even fixed this!"
"What issue," Cal asked somewhat sarcastically. "The fact that you
aren't really trying to work things out? The fact that you don't
feel up to committing to a relationship that last longer than a couple
of weeks? Or how about your pathetic excuses for continually ditching
me from time to time? I don't care that you haven't done it in a
while, but it still hurts that you did it a lot in the past!"
"How can you even say that to me?" Serena asked looking appalled by
his sarcastic comments. "I think I've figured out what we should do.
I think it's time we put am end to this so-called relationship. It's
been a charade since the beginning, and I'm tired of trying to fix it
by myself."
Cal's eyes changed from angry to sad in the beat of a heart. "Do you
really want to do that Serena? I mean, we're just so good together,
everyone thinks we're such a great couple. Can't we give it one more
try? I promise, I'll do more to work it out. Don't give up on me!"
Serena had to turn her head to prevent Cal from seeing the tears in
her eyes. Clearing her throat in an attempt to rid herself of the
tight, closed feeling, she stood her ground and simply shook her head.
He closed his eyes, and bowed his head.
"Cal it just isn't going to work. I'm sorry," There was a pause and
the sounds of the people around them faded as fewer and fewer people
remained. "Can we still be friends?"
Looking into her eyes for the first time in minutes, he said, "Of
course, Serena. Always."
They embraced one another for the last time, holding still while the
hall emptied.
** End of FLASHBACK **
In the end, Cal had seemed more hurt than angry. Serena had hurt
too-- Serena's thoughts were interrupted by the comment he had made
in reference to her scout business. When had the last battle been
fought? It seemed like such a long time ago.
"Mina, when was our last battle?" Serena whispered so as not to be
heard.
Thinking back, Mina answered in a voice equally hushed, "I don't know.
It's been several months, hasn't it? I believe it was a good two
months before you and Cal..." Mina trailed off, not wanting to bring up
Serena's past with Cal.
"That's what I'm thinking," Serena said not even being fazed by the
mention of Cal. Her forehead creased, Serena felt a strange feeling
in the bottom of her stomach, "We should be prepared. Something is
going to happen soon." She hadn't had this feeling since the last
enemy had first arrived.
"Oh Serena," Mina laughed nervously, "relax, and enjoy this freedom
while we still have it!"
"I can't," Serena said, a fierce look in her eyes. "Something is
going to happen, I can feel it. A new enemy is going to strike by
the end of this weekend."
Unable to respond to Serena, and thrown off by the look Serena's eyes
held. Mina immediately dropped the topic. She'd never seen Serena
so confident in any belief she'd had before. Somehow Mina knew Serena
must be right, but she didn't want to believe it just yet.
Nothing was said until they parted ways, and then it was only a
confirmation of meeting one another at Crown's after their practices.
Mina was to have a vigorous volleyball practice due to the approaching
tournament. Likewise Serena would be heading home to have a practice
with Raye. Their schools would be putting on a joint end of the year
performance of 'Les Miserables.' Both Serena and Raye were members
of their schools' choirs, and wanted more than anything to get into
it.
Since Serena's house had a piano, it was an ideal place to practice.
Raye would be trying for the part of 'Fantane' and Serena hoped to be
'Young Cortsette.' It was always unlikely that more than one freshman
would receive a part other than 'Chorus,' but Raye was a phenomenal
singer and everyone knew that she could land the part. Though she
had grown as a singer, she wasn't up to competition level yet. They
had most of a week left, and a lot of time to practice.
As she walked out of the building, a fellow choir member, Rita, ran
up to her calling out for her to wait.
"Hey, Rita," Serena said smiling, and giving her a hug. "What's up?"
"Everything is good, good, Serena," Rita rushed so she could get on
to the main point of her stopping her. "So, you don't have a date to
the Winter Formal yet, do you?"
"No," Serena said eyeing her suspiciously, "and I'm not interested."
"Before you say no," Rita said talking a mile a minute, "I was just
wondering if you would save a couple of dances for one of Andrew's
friends. He's a little squeamish about going to dances, especially
stag, so I told him I'd be sure to find someone to dance with him.
Please, Serena, I'd really appreciate it."
Feeling slightly relieved that she hadn't been trying to completely
hook her up with someone, Serena willingly consented. "Just make sure
this isn't one of your and Andrew's schemes to find me a date. Each
time I tell you it's a waist of time, but you never believe me, and
the guys end up not interested too."
"Yay!" Rita said excitedly, "Really, he's a great guy, he's an editor
for the newspaper, and he'll definitely be 'Editor-in-Chief' next
year. He's covering the musical from beginning to end. Serena,
you're trying out for the musical, right?"
"Yeah, are you?"
"Of course," Rita said smiling, "I'm hoping to get the part of
'Cortsette.' You're trying for 'Young Cortsette'?"
"I thought it was the most practical," Serena confirmed.
"Just don't sell yourself short," emphasized Rita, "you have a great
voice, and the potential to do well!"
Serena thanked her before hurrying off to meet Raye. She'd been
doing such a good job of being dependable, she didn't want to blow it
with Raye. Running quickly, Serena began making a mental list of all
of the things she had to accomplish throughout the course of the day.
While thinking about the paper she had to begin for Creative Writing,
Serena ran smack right into a wall, or at least what she thought was
a wall.
'THUD'
"Ouch, Crap!" A tall boy with ebony hair exclaimed, as he looked down
at his coffee covered shirt.
"OhmygoshI'msosorry!" Serena rushed out forgetting the pain she had in
her head, courtesy of his hard chest. "Is there anything I can do to
help you out?"
"Not unless you happen to have an extra shirt and something to help
me wash this stuff off with," he said with extreme irritation
tainting his deep blue eyes.
"Actually, my house is right up this street," Serena said in hopes of
making amends. "You could come inside to clean up if you wanted. I'm
sure my dad has an extra shirt you could borrow."
Desperately wanting to clean off, the young man nodded in agreement
and followed her in.
"Really, I'm so sorry. I just wasn't paying attention to where I was
going. I was busy thinking about other things, and I should have been
looking out better, I'm sorry," explained Serena said while opening
the front door. Then she urged, "Go ahead and take off your shoes,
and set your stuff down."
Serena led this stranger up to the bathroom, and left him to clean up.
As she was closing the door behind her, to go in search of a shirt,
she began to think that she recognized this boy from summer. She was
thinking that he was one of Andrew's good friends, Darien, if her
memory served her correctly. He was always hanging out at 'Crowns.'
Though she wasn't sure, Serena concluded that he must be a junior.
Feeling better that she remembered who he was, she returned to her
search to find her mom, so she could get Darien a clean shirt.
Upon hearing the door close, Darien turned around to face it. He had
only just realized who she was. Before he hadn't been paying much
attention as the coffee he'd had spilled on him was unbearably hot.
The girl was one of Andrew and Rita's friends. She and her friends
often met at the arcade. He'd seen her from time to time, but really
hadn't thought too much of her. She was pretty, he'd give her that,
but she seemed a bit scatter-brained, though he had to respect
someone who would not only apologize for their clumsiness, but go out
of their way to make it up to them. The only problem now was he
couldn't remember what her name was.
"Mom! Mom, where are you?" Serena called, feeling more and more
concerned by the moment, as her situation was becoming more serious.
How long would it take a guy to be done cleaning up? Two minutes?
Three minutes? Just as she was beginning to lose hope of ever
finding her mother, she turned the corner and bumped into her,
butting heads, causing Serena to have a second headache within five
minutes.
"Mom, I need your help, I've done something awful, and I can't work
this out without you. There's a boy upstairs and he needs clothes,"
Serena said frantically, making the situation sound worse then it
really was.
"Slow down, Serena, run this by me again," Ilene said taking a deep
breath, hoping Serena would see this, and do the same. "So you're
telling me that upstairs there is a boy without clothing. Would you
mind elaborating on this?"
"I was just walking along the street, not paying attention, and one
thing added to another, and the next thing I know he's upstairs in
my bathroom, without a shirt, because I ruined it!" Serena explained,
only making it sound ridiculous, and causing her to sink even lower
in the hole she had dug for herself. Nowhere in her explanation had
she even mentioned the fact that coffee had been poured on his shirt,
and he simply needed a change of clothes.
"I get that, Serena, but would you mind telling me WHY there is a boy
upstairs in your bathroom, lacking clothing?" Ilene asked one last
time trying to drill the message into her daughter's head.
"When I ran into him, he spilled his coffee all over his front, and
now he's without a shirt," Serena finally answered the question as
Ilene had intended for her to in the first place.
Feeling much more relieved knowing that her daughter's clumsiness was
to blame for the current situation, and not her hormones, Ilene set
about righting the wrong. She grabbed a shirt from her husband's
closet, knowing he wouldn't possibly miss it. Considering how badly
a burn could hurt, she also grabbed a cream that he could apply on
his chest, that would heal the burn, and soothe it. Once she had
these two supplies, Ilene relocated Serena, who had calmed down
considerably upon finding her mother willing to help, and Serena was
sent on her way to give the victim his compensation.
Uncertain as to whether or not she should knock, or just go in, she
settled on knocking on the door. Within a few seconds, it opened and
Darien's head poked through the small gap. Seeing Serena, he tried
to wipe the irritated look off of his face, as he could tell she was
really trying to help.
"Uhh... here's a shirt you can have," Serena handed him her dad's
shirt, and then, hesitating, she handed him the cream. "Here's a
lotion my mom said would help your burn heal, and not hurt so much."
She tried to smile, but she was so mortified, it was difficult to
find.
Also trying to return the smile, but feeling embarrassed as he was
standing in a perfect stranger's bathroom without a top on. "Thanks,
I really appreciate it. By the way I'm-"
"Darien," Serena interrupted. "You're Andrew's friend. I'm Serena."
"Well, thanks Serena," Darien said, glad to now know her name. "I
appreciate your getting me this shirt, and... lotion." He closed the
door behind his self so he could change into the shirt.
Serena. It was a pretty name. The name suited her. A pretty name,
for a beautiful girl.
Meanwhile, Serena was having trouble getting the image of Darien
without a shirt out of her mind. She had to admit that he was a very
good looking guy, but that was the problem. He was a boy. She had
to force it out of her mind, she had to. Boys were out of the
question, even cute ones.
By the time Darien had left, and arranged to return the shirt, Raye
was nearing the Tsukino house. Finding a flustered Serena, Raye
chose not to follow up on the topic, as her initial question had only
made Serena blush all the more.
"So are you ready to practice?" Raye asked.
"Yeah," composed and feeling confident, Serena joined Raye in scales
and exercizes.
At 'Crown Arcade', Andrew was talking to his girlfriend Rita. She
was very excited about having found someone for Darien to dance with,
when the person in question showed up. Besides looking a bit
disoriented, Darien looked rather pleased with himself. Rita gave
Andrew a look that clearly stated she thought he should question his
friend's current change in attitude. Excusing her self, Andrew wasted
no time in asking his friend.
Giving an expectant look to Darien, Andrew said, "Well...?"
After explaining the whole situation that had just happened between
his self and Serena, Darien grinned. He refused to admit to Andrew
that he thought Serena was cute, and might want to get to know her
sometime. Though he didn't say anything, his grin spoke a thousand
words, and Andrew knew that if Darien could only work up the courage
to express his feelings with her.
Barely able to wait a moment more, Rita came back and told Darien of
the girl she had found for him to meet at the dance. "She's pretty,
she's nice, she's not super smart, but she's trying hard. Plus, she
is an amazingly talented singer who is going to get into the musical.
I talked to her, and she agreed to save a few dances for you!"
Darien responded to this the way that he usually did, he laughed,
agreed with everything she had said, and then made an excuse to leave.
After bowing out, Darien headed home to work on his homework.
Finding the whole situation his girlfriend was trying to create
vastly amusing, he couldn't help but ask Rita who this girl was she
would be setting his best friend up with.
"They're so perfect for each other, it has to work," Rita gushed
proudly.
"Yes, but who is she?"
"Oh!" she exclaimed. "I she's one of our friends! It's Serena
Tsukino!"
Hardly able to contain his laughter, Andrew just nodded and turned
away, hiding his face. His blue eyes sparkled, as he knew how right
Rita was. Serena was just what Darien needed, and Serena needed to
be with a guy who wouldn't hurt her. Yes, this was going to be quite
enjoyable. The relationship between Darien and Serena had just
begun, and Andrew new he wouldn't miss it for the world.
*********************************************************************
So, questions? Comments? Anything? Send me an email at Reminjia
@hotmail.com, or leave a critique with your e-mail address and I'll
get back to you. Thanks for giving my story another chance, and I'll
try my best to keep up a consistent update schedule! I'm pretty
insecure about this whole story, so any comments would be extremely
welcome. Thanks!!
