"When Dawn Comes"

By Kimra

Part XI

Fragments of dreams, that was how she was living her life as the days told on her. Bits and pieces of memory swimming back and forth in a taunt, unwilling to let her cling to them, unwilling to let her forget. None of them made sense all of them made her blush.

Her mind was dulled with lack of sleep, her body feeling queasy and empty. She had tried desperately, but her eyes would close and she would snuggle under the blankets and with all her might ignore everything around her, but sleep would not come. She had been forced to continue pretending, for Luna's sake.

School had been hell, absolutely mind boggling hell. Avoiding her friends was a task she hadn't contemplated as difficult before. They had proven themselves to be stubborn and interfering, traits she usually loved, but traits that where rarely set against her. Amy was keeping her distance, but her calculating eyes had never left Serena's form when they where in the same room.

And Justin? Who ever he was she still didn't know. She had assumed it would be easy to find someone in her year at her school, but then again with all the effort she had put into avoiding her friends there was little effort left in her body to hunt down people she didn't know.

At least most the bruises have gone. Serena rubbed her neck thoughtfully, that one spurt as Sailor Moon had done wonders for getting rid of the marks.

Distracted, and not entirely conscious Serena didn't see the danger she was in until she walked into someone's chest. Had she been running she would have fallen, had she even been walking at her usual pace she would have been on the pavement from the impact, but her dragging walk hardly had any momentum and she kept her ground perilously close to the other person.

She sighed in resignation knowing full well with the way fate had been dealing with her recently that there was little chance of it being anyone but the one person she was most desperate to avoid.

"Excuse me." Her voice was a monotone as she went to walk past him, her mind tumbling with self loathing. She knew inside she could have done a hundred things more to avoid him and she was suddenly wishing she had done all of them. He side stepped, stopped her retreat.

"Serena." It sounded like a greeting, nothing visibly out of synch in the way he said it, except that it was her name. Her body locked up at the use of her name on his tongue, it felt so wrong.

"Darien." She acknowledged refusing to look up at his face, and instead fixing her eyes to the left of him. The silence that followed was almost as awkward as the one she had experienced the night before with Tuxedo Mask.

"You've been avoiding me." He started.

"No I haven't." Serena snapped in response, searching for an escape. Three day's and she wasn't ready, she wondered if she ever would be.

"You've been going to school early." He added mockingly.

"How would you know?" She hissed in reply. It was easy to hate him, not for what had happened, she couldn't remember it to truly find hatred for the event, but for the mocking collage boy he usually was. He gave a little laugh that made her eyes snap up onto his face in fury.

"What?" He raised an eyebrow at her fierce expression. "You think a guy doesn't notice when his morning concussion's stop happening?" She was ready to explode in anger, she hadn't thought she was that angry with him, but she found it welling up inside her ready to burst.

Bitting into her check she pushed past him. "I think we're done." She growled trying to control rage that made her body shake.

"No we're not!" He growled grabbing her wrist and pulling her back to him. He barred her escape, his right hand gripping her waist.

She cried out in shock as his fingers dug into the tender flesh of her remaining bruise. Her head was dizzy and she felt herself slipping from the instant pain, her only support she didn't want to cling to but her hands acted without her permission gripping at his shirt with life threatening desperation. Her body curled into his away from his offending touch. Gasps escaped her lips as she fought the tears that where immediately streaming down her checks.

"Serena?" Darien demanded in surprise. His hands where being held away from her, like a thief being accosted by police, as if he realised it were those hands that had caused her pain. His expression was of shock and she realised her position.

Catching herself Serena jumped away from him only to find she was being barred from retreat again. This time one hand was wrapped tightly around her right upper arm, and the other her left. She struggled against the hold, she didn't want to do this, didn't want him to know she was in pain for whatever reason. His grip was like iron, and she wondered if he would bruise her again with that hold. If he bruised you in the first place. Serena you idiot. Your making a scene. Her own inner voice had her glancing around quickly to find several by-standers had stopped to watch the spectacle. No one was offering to help. And there goes my faith in humanity. She mocked a little hurt that they weren't interfering. Looking back at Darien though she could understand, his tall strong physique would probably scare of any potential saviours.

"Let me go." She gritted through her teeth. The instinct was to protect herself, and somehow keeping him from seeing the injury was an vital part of that protection. And keeping out of his hold was equally important.

"Hold still." He ordered. His grip was hardening as if he sensed her willingness to fight.

"Jerk, idiot, moron. Let me go right now!" She was demanding, her senses on over drive, as he pulled her into the circle of his left arm, pinning her to his chest. She thought to escape then, seemingly the most likely chance when cool fingers slipped beneath her school shirt hem. She gasped at the cool sensation on her bruise, insults dying in the depths of her throat. Her eyes threatened to close at the soft touch. Her fingers grasped at his shirt just above his belt on either side of his hip in an attempt to keep herself steady. Her breathing nearly stopped, then started again in tiny breaths she kept as quite as possible. And he ruined the sensations swimming through her by pressing those delicate fingers into her bruise once more.

She stifled another cry, digging her fingers into the tense muscles of his hip in retaliation, unable to think of anything better at that moment. She stared up into his eyes, willing to transfer all her anger in the expression and was immediately confused. The usually blank eyes where filled with shifting emotions again. And so surprised was she that when he spun her around and lifted the back of her shirt hem, enough to see the bruise, in one fluid motion she didn't think to react.

His sharp intake of breath had her jumping out of his grasp, her mind catching up with the moment. She was out of his arms reach and staring into his eyes once more. The fear she saw there grounded her and made tears threaten to break through her defences.

"My god." His breath was shaky as he stared at her eyes pleading but she didn't know what for. "Did I do that?" He asked it in a whisper that carried to her alone. She swallowed against the convulsive pain in her chest. "Serena." His voice usually bland voice was filled with pleading.

She didn't know what he was asking for still. Does he want me to answer? Or is he testing if I can remember? Or is it something else. Something I've forgotten. Her mind was in a panic. His eyes boring into her, begging for… something. She surrendered, tears cascading down her face.

"I." She broke eye contact, unable to face him. "I don't remember." It was a breeze of a whisper she managed before she was running again. Ignoring the pain her body feed her in protest. She wasn't ready, and that was all she knew.