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Title: The Prom

Chapter: 1

Author: Moonlight Maiden

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Disclaimer: As much as I wish, Darien isn't mine....oh, and of course the Scouts.

(damn!)

Hey thanx for the reviews! Love ya all!! Here's my next chapter. Sorry, I

forgot to put author's notes and a disclaimer on the prologue before I posted it,

hehe! Anyway,hope you'll enjoy it! Just a note that no, this fic won't have the

actual Scouts in it, just their civilian selves...but not to fear! I have loads

of excellent fic featuring our beloved Scouts coming up...and I'll get to them

after I've finished this one...whenever that'll be, hehe!

NOTE: If there aren't any character POV's mentioned at the start of a different

scene (eg. ~Serena~...~Darien~...~Andrew~ etc), then it is in my POV.

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~Serena~ ~~The next morning~~

I woke up to a beautiful morning and basked in the warm rays of sunlight

shining on my face. Suddenly, my world came crashing down.

"Wake up Serena!" Luna screeched into my ear, causing me to jump three

feet into the air.

"Oww..." I moaned as I found myself hitting the floor nose first. "Luna!

You didn't have to yell!" I whined.

I ignored Luna's lecture on 'tardiness equals lazyness' or whatever and

got ready for school. Finishing putting up my last 'meatball', I took a quick

glance at my alarm clock. I stood there for a few seconds, wide eyed before

zooming down the stairs and out the front door.

"Oh no! I'm late! Why didn't you wake meeeee!!"

Both Mum and Luna stood in the doorway and sighed, watching as I roared

down the street.

"I did." They both mumbled.

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~~Juuban High...5 minutes later~~

"Where is she?" Lita asked for the umteenth time that morning. She and

Amy were already seated in their first class of the day, mathematics. (AN: yuck!)

"I don't know, maybe she was doing some last minute cramming for our

test." Amy said, glancing at the empty seat beside her.

"Amy, this is Serena we're talking about, she doesn't cram for tests,

heck, she doesn't even do her homework! She probably just slept in later than

usual." Mina smiled at her blue-haired friend as she sat down in front of

Lita.

"She'd better hurry up, though. I've heard rumors about this teacher.

They say that he locks any late students out of the class room and makes them

stand out there til the end of class." Lita whispered, her gaze moving between

the substitute teacher marking the roll, and the door, hoping that their missing

friend would turn up in time.

They all watched as the teacher put down the roll and walked towards the

door, keys jingling as they hung from his fingers. Gulping they looked on as the

door began sliding closed in slow motion.

Suddenly they heard a scream from out in the corridor and a high, loud

voice crying out.

"Wait!! Don't lock me out!! I'm here! I'm here!"

All eyes were fixed on the red-faced girl standing in the doorway,

huffing and puffing after her effort to get there on time. The teacher scowled at

her for a moment before speaking.

"I'm assuming that you are Serena Tsukino?" He said it more as a

statement than a question.

"Y-Yes sir. Sorry I'm late but I kinda slept in this morning."

"I can see why you get lots of detentions from Miss Haruna." His voice

sounded a lot softer as he spoke.

Upon hearing the change in his voice, Serena smiled and took a step into

the classroom, opening her mouth to say 'thanks for understanding' when suddenly

she got shoved back outside. Looking up at the teacher, she saw an evil look on

his face not unlike what Ms Haruna would have if she were there.

"And I totally agree with her! You're to stay out here til the end of

class, I'll have a word with you then." With that, he slammed the door shut and

locked it.

Sighing, she wiped the few tears from her eyes as she sat down against

wall. Taking a sketch book out of her bag, she began drawing.

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~Serena~ ~~Lunch Time~~

My hair dragged along the ground as I met the others at our usual eating

place under the Sakura tree at the far end of the playground. Sighing, I plopped

myself down next to Lita.

"Hey guys." Everyone looked up at me with sad smiles on their faces.

"Hey Serena. How did it go with Mr Kilmany?" Amy said, putting down her

Physics book and turning her attention to her friend.

"Is that is name? Huh, it should be Mr Kill Me Now. Which I'll be most

happy to oblige the next time I see him."

"That bad, huh?" Lita asked, offering me some of her delicious food. I

shoved a few mouthfuls down my throught before giving them a brief summary of

what happened in the classroom.

"The big oaf gave me a BIG lecture about being late, which sounded like

the one Luna tried to give me this morning, and then he gave me detention for the

WHOLE MONTH!!"

"But I thought he was only taking Ms Haruna's classes for this week. He

can't do that, can he?" Mina piped up, taking a bite out of an apple.

"He said ' I will inform her about your incompetence'," I said this

in the most stuck-up, guy's voice I could muster, "then he threatened that if I

don't turn up early tomorrow, he'll ban me from the prom!" I was satisfied when I

heard the others gasp at this bit of info.

"Don't worry, Serena, we'll make sure you get to the prom as planned."

Mina smiled, patting me on the back. "Anyway, what would Mark Thomas say if you

suddenly couldn't come?"

"She can ask him now, cos here he comes." Lita whispered frantically

before he could get close enough to hear.

"Hey there girls." The 'Hottest Guy In Jumior High' gave us all his most

famous chick-melting grin.

I heard my friends sighing behind me and was about to glare at them when

I realised that I was sighing too.

"Er...hi M-Mark." I blushed at my stammering. How could he possibly have

asked a stuttering klutz like me I'll never know.

"Hi Serena. Looking forward to going with me to the prom, I hope?" At my

nod he continued, "Make sure you're the hottest chick there." He gave another

winning smile and then walked away.

"Wow, Serena. You are the luckiest girl in the whole school." Mina

sighed wistfully.

"Hey! Stop thinking about Mark! You've got Andrew!" I said, hands on my

hips. Turning to face all of them, I glared. "And I believe that you two have

your own respectful guys too!"

"Oh, yeah! Hehe. So we do!" Lita laughed nervously. We all looked at each

other for a few seconds before bursting out laughing.

After having eaten all of Lita's food (mostly engulfed by me), the bell

rang for the end of lunch and we headed back inside and to our next class.

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~Darien~ ~~That afternoon~~

I frowned at my feet as I walked into the arcade. I didn't have my usual

run in with Meatball head this morning and it upset me more than I thought it

would. 'She was probably early for once' A little voice inside my head reasoned.

'Nah, she wouldn't do something so abnormal. She most likely slept in later than

usual this time.' Another voice argued. Suddenly another, more vivid voice

pierced through my thoughts.

"Hey bud, what's got you so down?"

"Huh?" I looked up at Andrew as if he had two heads.

"I said: what's got you down?"

I looked back down to find a hot coffee nestled between my hands. Andrew

must have put it there while I was off in La-la land. I mumbled incoherently as I

took a sip of the rich brew. (AN: *Yeeach!*)

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

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~Andrew~

I smirked down at my friend. I had heard him alright...I just wanted the

satisfaction of hearing him admit it. As he glared at his coffee I heard the

jingle of the doors and looked up as none other than the she-devil herself

skipped inside. She opened her mouth to give her usual greeting but stopped when

I placed a finger to my lips. I turned back to my dark-haired friend.

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

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~Serena~

I was about to speak when Andrew signalled for me to stay quiet and we

turned our attention to Darien.

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

"I miss Meatball head!" An exasperated voice emerged from my enemy/crush.

'What?' I stood wide-eyed as he continued.

"I didn't run into her this morning and my day's been miserable ever

since!"

'WHAT?!' I thought.

Suddenly, two pairs of eyes were looking at me; one pair glinting with

amusement and the other wide-eyed in surprise and fear.

"I said that out loud, didn't I?" At the nod of Andrew's grinning head, I

slumped into the stool next to Darien's.

"Meatball head!!" I found myself wrapped tightly in Darien's arms. My

body stiffened in his grasp, face red from his closeness and the lack of air.

"Ah...Darien, I can't breath!" I choked. Finally free, I looked up to see

him smiling sheepishly down at me. Leaning forward I placed a small hand on his

forehead.

"Are you feeling alright, Darien?"

"I am now!! Well, I gotta go now. See ya Andrew, Serena!" He drained his

coffee, threw some cash on the counter and left.

I stared after him for a while before turning back to Andrew.

"What's wrong with him? Have you been spiking his coffee or something?"

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~Andrew~

I waited patiently for the blonde girl in front of me to stop staring

blankly at the doors long enough to make some sort of comment about my best

friend, which she never seems to run out of.

"What's wrong with him? Have you been spiking his coffee or something?"

"Let's just say that you cured him from a bad case of the disease I like

to call MHWS."

"What? Made High With Sugar? Oh no, wait. That's me! He he!"

"It stands for Meatball Head Withdrawal Syndrome. It means that he's so

used to running into you everday that when he misses you once, it's like as if

he's missed something important in his daily schedule. He's addicted to you."

"Oh, come on, Andrew! How could you get addicted to someone you hate so

much. He should be happy that he didn't run into me this morning."

"The same way you did, of course." At the feigned confusion on her face,

I explained. "You are addicted to him just as he's addicted to you. You enjoy it

when he calls you Meatball head. You smile and stare at him when he's not looking

just as he does. You love him." I leaned back, arms crossed as I waited for this

new revelation to sink into her brain.

"I-I..." She sighed, finally giving in. "I do love him, Andrew. But he'll

never love me back. He just sees me as the little klutz of a girl who's a good

target for his teasing."

"You'll be surprised at his feelings towards you."

"Yeah, well. If he really likes me the way I like him, then I'm the Moon

Princess." I watched as the suddenly downcast girl trudged out of the arcade,

heading home.

"Wait for the prom, Serena," I whispered quietly, "you'll get swept off

your feet sooner than you think."

THE END.....for now!!

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Thanx for all the reviews!! Nothing much happened in this chapter besides

Serena confessing her feelings and the diagnosis of Darien's heart disease! lol!

Anyway, I'm glad that you guys liked the prologue and I hope you all liked the

first chapter too, dispite the lack of a plot! Any suggestions for a title for

this chapter would be eagerly welcomed and considered. Next chapter should be up

within a fortnight if I don't get writer's block!

Blessed Be,

Moonlight Maiden

PS. Well, I finally updated this chapter by throwing something in the

middle somewhere...I dare you to find it! I know that it's been months since when

I originally posted this chapter but I've finally updated it and I PROMISE that

the next chapter REALLY will be up soon.....just as soon as I can think of what

should happen in it, hehe!^-^!

Ja ne!