{{{ Chapter Four }}}
"Well, I guess it's like this… about six years ago, they met. At first they hated each other, or acted like they did. Darien was really popular at his university, mainly because he was so good looking, but he only had a few real friends, his best friend was Andrew, my big brother. Serena was also really popluar, though she was always to modest to admit it, if you asked her she would say she wasn't that popular. But everyone at school would say she was the most popluar girl. She was pretty, funny, really kind, and always happy, and she wasn't 'that' bad at school."
"She could have been brilliant if she had tried a little and done her homework. But she always thought it was better to go outside and have some fun," interupted Amy as she came through the door of the meeting room. "Sorry for barging in, the people outside said you were in here."
"Hey Amy," chorused Mina and Raye.
"Amy, wow, I havn't seen you in ages," said Lizzy as she jumped up to give her friend a hug.
"Well I guess that just leaves me who is unintroduced," mentioned Setsuna with a smile. "I'm Setsuna, and you are Amy right?"
"Yes, hello, I've heard a lot of good things about you Setsuna. I live in the same appartment block as Serena and Lita, and I've known them both for years. Lita called me up and told me to come down here if I could. She's sorry she rushed out like she did. She told me what happened so I thought I'd come down." Smiling she looked over at Lizzy, I didn't expect to see Lizzy here though."
"Well Amy, we're glad to have you here then."
"Thanks. I think I'll let Lizzy continue with the story, I'll jump in with anything she leaves out."
"That would be great," said Setsuna with a smile.
"Sure," Lizzy said as she began again. "As I was saying, she was very popluar, though I actually don't think she realised it. She had three best friends, a girl called Molly, Lita and Amy. The four were basically inseperable, as you can see by the fact that three of them now live in the same apartment block." With a smile over at Amy, she continued, "Molly unfortunatley moved, her father took a promotion and they moved away, I'm not sure where. Anyway, about six years ago, Darien and Serena met. My parents owned an arcade and Andrew worked there. Darien would visit almost every day and the girls all came to play video games, excpet Amy that is."
With a little laugh Amy interpreted, "I always went along, but my nose was in a book instead of playing games."
"So, after their first meeting, they used to see each other almost every day. For some reason they didn't get along. I don't know about Serena, so I'll start with Darien and then Amy can tell you about Serena. You might think this is kind of beside the point and unimportant, but the background is very important."
"Because my brother was always at the arcade, so was I, it was better than staying at home after school. I got to know Darien well, he was like a second brother to me. Some of his friends at university used to call him the Ice Man…
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"So there you have it, Darien's background." Finished Lizzy.
"The Ice Man hey…" mummbled Mina. "Ya know, don't take this the wrong way, but he didn't seem that cold to me."
"You mean he was hot…" smiled Lizzy. "Well he changed. That's where Serena comes in."
Smiling at everyone Amy began. "Well Serena… lets see. As Lizzy said, she was popular. She had an innocent love of the world and everything in it which drew people to her. She loved everyone, and there was barely a person that she disliked and not a soul that she hated. One day she met Darien. At the time she acted like she hated him, which really surprised us all. They started to see each other every couple of days at the arcade. For some, at the time unknown, reason Darien would tease her. All the time, just little things, but not a meeting would go by in which he wouldn't get a few jabs at her. Not to be outdone, or to be a pushover, Serena would tease back. So started a tradition. Darien would be at the arcade, we would finish school, we would go to the arcade. Darien would see Serena, Serena would see Darien. They would get into a heated argument. Then one of them would say something scathing, and they other would stalk out of the arcade, or Andrew would come and separate them. Serena would come with us to the games and Darien would go back to his seat at the counter."
"Why?" asked Raye. "I mean why did they argue, did either of them give a reason?"
"Serena used to say that Darien started it." answered Amy.
"And," added Lizzy, "Darien would say that she was just so easy to tease. Which was surprising in itself, he rarely noticed people and bothered with them. And he was never mean."
Looking around at everyone else in the room Raye said, "I guess that explains the 'Darien Chiba is Serena's worst enemy ever' part that Lita said."
"But it doesn't explain the 'and probably her greatest and only true love' statement," mentioned Mina.
"That's why they fought. Neither had ever been in love, or even close to it when they met. Later, they both admitted to it. The first time they met, something moved in them. A feeling they didn't know, and were therefore scared of. Darien wouldn't admit that he liked the girl, let alone loved her, he didn't even admit to himself what his true feelings were. Serena simply didn't understand the feeling, she was only 13 after all, and was not expecting to fall in love. Some time later, Darien told me, that one day him and Andrew were talking and Andrew asked him why he was so harsh to Serena. And he answered that he didn't know. He said that she did something to him. That she just seemed to get him all worked up over nothing. That was as much as he would admit to Andrew and to himself. Perhaps part of his problem though was that she was so young, he wanted to just see her as a little girl. Serena on the other hand, she admited to us that he did something to her." Smiling Amy continued, "I remember, she said, 'he makes me feel all hot when he's near and if I don't see him for a few days then I feel kind of lost' and then she shrugged. I remember that conversation so clearly."
"So, let me get this straight. He liked her but wouldn't admit it, not even to himself, and she liked him but didn't realise that that was what she felt," asked Setsuna. "Kami-sama, how long did this go on?"
"Well, lets see", said Amy. "They met when Serena was 13, Dare was 20. They started going out when she was 15. So, about two full years."
"You're kidding me," asked Raye incrediously.
"Nope, what Amy said is right," answered Lizzy. "Then they went out for 2 years, then they broke up, and they havn't spoken each other since. Until yesterday."
"Yesterday, all Darien said to Serena directly was 'Serena', and all she said to him was 'Darien'. Today she ignored him."
"Hey, while we're in the story mood," said Lizzy. "What happened yesterday?"
After relaying their meeting to the others, Setsuna sighed. "So they argued heaps, and were each others worst enemy for two years, then what happened. Why did they start going out, and why did they stop?"
Looking at each other, Lizzy and Amy sighed. Continuing, Amy said, "Its so sad. Firstly, one day, Serena and Darien ran into each other in the park. Literatually", she added with a smile. "She was in his arms for a few seconds while she caught her balance. Then she asked him why they always fought. Apparently he groaned, then answered by kissing her. They talked together heaps over the next few days, explaining their actions to each other. After that they were almost inseperable."
"The odd time they had a fight," added Lizzy. "You could always tell."
"It would be like they were dead," continued Amy. "Everyone who knew them would do their best to stay away and not get involved. They always worked it out by themselves, and fairly quickly at that. The longest that a fight ever lasted was six days. Until the last fight."
Sighing Amy mentally prepared herself for the peak of the story. "They had a fight, which in itself wasn't too unusual, but it seemed like a really bad one. I don't know what it was about but they still wern't talking after a week. On what was the seventh day after their fight, Darien went out and got drunk."
"He said something to Andrew about Serena being the light of his life, and if he didn't even get along with his girlfriend then he shouldn't be living." Continued Lizzy, "Then he left the arcade without so much as saying goodbye." Looking over at Amy, she silently motioned for her to continue the narrative.
"Well, the short of it is… he went out, got thourouly drunk and then slept with someone. An absoulte bitch of a woman who had been after him for ages, she took advantage of him when he was drunk." At seeing then protests about to spew forth from everyone listening, she hurridly continued, "I'm not saying that's an excuse. It most deffinetly is not. I just want you to realise that he would never intensiously hurt Serena and that the slut was more to blame than Darien was."
Into the stunned silence Lizzy muttered, "everyone who knew them knew that that slut, that kiniving little bitch Beryl was the one who was most to blame. But like Amy says, that could never excuse Darien's behaviour."
"BERYL?!??" screamed Setsuna completely loosing her calm control. "I'll kill her, then hurt Darien. I can't believe though that…. By Kami-sama she… she works here. For years she has worked for me, I knew she was sly and seemed to have something against Serena but I could never fault anything she did. I don't think Serena knows she works here though, she always stayed out of her way." Pausing she mumebed quielty but loud enough for the others to hear her, "how could anyone do something to hurt Serena? I just don't understand that."
"I know," mummbled Mina.
For once, Raye was to stunned to say anything.
"SHE works HERE??? I am going to kill her," promised Lita as she made her presence at the door known. "I dropped Serena home, she was rather tired." Shrugging Lita continued, "Darien never ever spoke to Beryl again but he tried his best to fix things up with Serena, he immedietly had to admit what happened that night, he wouldn't have lived with himself if he didn't. Beryl was *unhappy* that he still went after Serena, even after he had experienced her worth, she apparently vowed to get back at her, even if it took her years to." Growling deep in her throut she added, "I wasn't joking about killing her though!"
"There will be no need for that," answered Setsuna. Getting up she went quickly to the door, flinging it open, she yelled to the closest person, "FIND ME BERYL AND FIND HER NOW."
"What makes it all so much worse," Lita was saying, "is that whatever the fight was about it was bad. At a guess I have a feeling that though the fight wasn't directly around her age, it was a major factor. She was always insecure, especially about her age with Darien. She wasn't ready for 'certain things' and although he would never push her into it, I think things sometimes got very… I'm not sure… tensioned filled perhaps, when the issue of her age was raised."
"She always manages to not be around when you want her to be," growled Setsuna. "And I bet that Beryl knew all that right," she said in answer to Lita's statement. Ignoring the looks of surprise from all the other staff in the office she added to the secutary, "set up a meeting for first thing in the morning. I want Serena and Darien, Mina and Raye there first thing, and Beryl… 15 minutes later." Turning to Mina and Raye she said, "make sure you're there and Amy, Lizzy, Lita, you are all welcome as well. You'll no doubt enjoy the meeting."
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