Title: Winter Snow
Author: Crystal Saturn
Rated: G-PG 13+
Chapter: 8- Sleepover
Last time on "Winter Snow"…
"I… think I… love you, Darien Chiba" She said seriously. Nervousness mingling with the crisp coldness of the air, making her voice quiver. Her gaze fell as she looked away from Darien, unwilling to see his reaction to her confession of her childish feelings.
"I love you too, Serena, I love you." Darien stepped in closer and tilted Serena's chin up so she was looking into his eyes. He caressed her cheek before leaning over. Serena stood up on the tips of her toes and as their lips met, the front door swung open. The pair quickly pulled apart slightly and turned their heads to see who it was. Serena could only gasp.
"Oh no…" She whispered.
The door swung open to reveal who it was.
"SAMMY YOU LITTLE RUNT! HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I TOLD YOU NOT TO SPY ON ME?!" Serena jolted away from Darien.
"Dad's not gonna be very happy" Sammy smirked.
"Oh no! Don't tell dad…" Serena pleaded
"Hmm, ok, but you're gonna have to make it up to me." Sammy smiled at Darien who smiled back.
"Ok ok!" Serena moved to hug Sammy in agreement but when she did the door opened wider and a very girlish squeal was heard behind the door.
"Hey watch where you're putting your elbow Raye!" The first voice sounded a lot like Mina.
"It would help if Lita moved over a bit and put down her lunch bag!" Raye retorted
"Anyone want a snack?" A voice similar to Lita's whispered.
"Studies conducted at Harvard medical school have proved that if you consume too many carbohydrates during the night then you gain more weight." This voice was obviously Amy.
"Shh you guys!" Mina hushed
"Yeah, do you want to know who Tuxedo Mask is or what?" This voice sounded a lot like Crystal. Serena swung open the door causing all 5 girls to tumble on the floor in embarrassment.
"DARIEN!!!" Lita, Raye and Amy gasped when they saw Serena's date while Mina and Crystal just grinned broadly.
"What are you guys doing here?" Serena put her hands on her hips and frowned.
"Sleepover" Lita smiled sheepishly
"Remember?" Raye asked a little annoyed.
"Yeah, I remember now, but what are you doing spying on me?" Serena asked the guilty looking teens.
"We were… uh…going to the store to get more food while we were waiting for you to get home" Crystal flashed an innocent smile.
"Crystal? I thought you said that you were going to bed." Darien scolded.
"Yes… I did, but, I meant I was going to sleep… over here. Oh, and I also told you yesterday about the sleepover… Remember?" Crystal frowned.
"Yes ok I remember." He figured that a night without Crystal wouldn't be a bad idea, and besides, he knew she would be safe. He turned to Serena "I guess I'll be heading home now." Darien whispered into Serena's left ear, which made her shiver again.
"Uh, we'll leave you two to it." Crystal and Mina shoved everyone back in to the house and closed the door to give the pair some privacy.
"So, where were we up to before that door opened?" Darien leaned forward, slowly. One of his arms slipped behind Serena's waist to bring her closer to him, whilst the other reached for her hand. He entwined his fingers with hers. Their lips barely brushed up against each other. Serena's breath caught at the back of her throat as her eyes fluttered shut in anticipation.
"Oh my gosh! Look they're about to kiss!" Mina whispered to the other girls who were now in Serena's room. They all ran to the balcony to see.
"Stop pushing!" Raye wailed a little too loudly. Startled, Serena looked up to where the girls were pushing and shoving to get a better view.
"Will you guys go away," Serena pleaded, blushing profusely. "Please?"
"Sorry!" Crystal yelled back
"I think I better go now," Darien shot Serena a smile that melted her heart. "We'll definitely finish this sometime soon."
"Goodnight." Serena nodded.
"Goodnight, my princess" Darien leaned over to kiss the back of Serena's hand. Sighs could be heard from the upstairs balcony. Darien looked up to the balcony to see the 5 girls still there, watching. "Goodnight ladies" He saluted "I'll see you all tomorrow" He concluded as he turned around and headed home. Serena watched his retreating figure until she couldn't see him any more before turning around and heading inside.
"Sammy where's mom and dad?" Serena asked the half-asleep half-watching TV, little brother.
"They went to stay at that fancy lodge remember?" Sammy mumbled
"Right!" Serena headed towards her room. When she got in her room everyone except for Amy and Crystal was talking about Darien being the closest thing to "Prince Charming". Crystal was just sitting there thinking to herself. Serena sat down next to Crystal and started to talk to her.
"You don't agree?" Serena smiled warmly at the youngest scout.
"No actually, Darien's really nice but I never think of him as anything else but my big brother that falls out of bed every morning. His hair looks like a tornado ran through it before he takes a shower. He can never find his car keys and he enjoys annoying me!" Crystal said simply.
"Yes, he has a weird way or showing people that he cares about them doesn't he?" Serena giggled at the other comments.
The rest of the night was spent telling stories, listening to music, reading, laughing, telling jokes and basically just having fun. One by one all the scouts fell asleep. All except for Serena. She was still too excited. She sat by the window and thought about her kiss with Darien. She wondered if it would be long and lasting or short and sweet. She couldn't get to sleep so she took a seat on her balcony. The clock to her right read the numbers 4:37a.m. Serena leaned back in her chair and observed the stars above her head. A swirling Black and red Cape distracted her and she shot up in her seat.
"Darien!" She whispered excitedly. "What are you doing here?" She masked her excitement.
"I couldn't get to sleep. I couldn't think of anything but you, I got a feeling that something was wrong, so I decided to come and see how you were going." Darien said sincerely.
"I'm fine, I just couldn't get any sleep." Serena said, which was true. Tuxedo Mask lay down next to Serena. She smiled. Both of them lay next to each other silently. Neither had wanted to break the silence in fear that they might say the wrong thing, so they just lay there, watching the stars. Serena shifted, and moved her head on to Darien's chest and Darien automatically moved in closer. They looked into each other's eyes. At that split second, chemistry sparked and the couple kissed. Crystal who had woken up for a glass of water had spotted the two kissing and woke Mina up who had woken Lita and Amy up, in turn, stirring Lita and Raye from their slumber. They all saw Darien and Serena kissing, but neither spoke, they just silently watched until the kiss broke off, quietly stifling girlish giggles before falling back asleep. Darien shielded Serena from the cold with his cape. He wrapped it around the both of them and they lay comfortably warm, enjoying each other's company.
A dark blue hue paved the way for indigo and purple tinges that stained the horizon and signaled that the sun was about to rise. It did with the brightest, most beautiful shades of gold, vivid pinks and oranges, the brightest reds and the most luscious yellows, chasing away the darkness of the previous night.
"Isn't it beautiful?" Serena sighed.
"Not half as beautiful as you" Darien smiled cheekily. Serena blushed.
"Well aren't you just Prince Charming?" Serena cuddled Darien who smiled. The sun gradually rose into the sky, slowly taking over the night.
"I have to go now." Darien frowned.
"Oh, Really? Can't you stay just a little longer?" Serena pleaded.
"I don't know, Serena, I really have to get back before anyone sees that I was here tonight." Darien sighed.
"Please?" Serena pulled an adorable puppy dog face that no one could say 'no' to.
"Hmm alright, but only for a few minutes longer" Darien agreed. The few minutes were spent in simple silence. They just sat there, enjoying each other's company.
"Well I really have to go now." Darien whispered. He got no reply. "Serena? Serena?" He turned to look at her. "Hey, Meatball Head, did you hear me?" He asked but still got no reply. It was then that he realized that Serena was asleep, so he took his cape off and wrapped it around Serena, like a blanket, and headed back home, but not before kissing Serena lightly on her cheek.
"Sweet dreams my little Meatball Head." He smiled.
"Goodnight…my… jerk." Serena whispered almost inaudibly to herself. The next thing that Serena remembered was waking up to the sun being in her eyes.
"Well, well, well. Look who decided to grace us with her presence." Mina smiled warmly. All the girls had already woken up, and were talking about the usual 'Scout business, which usually led back to guys and shopping.
"Mina…what's time?" Serena grumbled, rubbing her eyes.
"It's 8:52 am on this lovely Saturday morning." Mina tried to sound like the lady on the radio.
"And I'm guessing you slept well…"Crystal smiled, referring to the black and red cape that was still loosely wrapped around Serena's shoulders.
"Oh, um… this thing…How did this get here?" Serena chuckled nervously, trying to hide the fact that Darien had been there the night before.
"Well who else could it be?" Lita smirked.
"Darien!" They all exclaimed, knowing about the late-night visit and the kiss.
"So, come on, fill us in, what happened?" Mina asked excitedly.
"Well…" Serena began to blush, remembering the kiss.
"Ooohh… come on, you HAVE to tell us, what happened?" Lita urged on.
"What makes you think that something happened?" Serena asked shyly.
"Well, you're blushing…" Crystal giggled.
"Yeah, and you've gone all quiet and shy." Raye added
"SOMETHING must've happened!" Amy ended
"Oh ok, ok. I'll start from the beginning." Serena explained. The girls nodded. "Well it was around 4:30 this morning, and I couldn't get any sleep. I admit! I was too excited about the date last night that I couldn't stop thinking about it. Anyway, I couldn't sleep so I decided to get some fresh air. I went out to the balcony and lay down on the daybed. I was staring up into the sky, when suddenly I saw a black and red cape, so I sat up and there stood Tuxedo Mask. I asked him what he was doing here and he said that he couldn't get to sleep and that he had a weird feeling that something was wrong, so he came to check on me." Serena paused.
"Aw, how sweet!" Mina said, listening contently. All the girls agreed.
"Continue…" Amy said simply, wanting to know what happened next.
"Ok Ames, well not a lot happened next but we just lay there, hugging one another. I don't really know what happened next, but I moved to lean my head on his chest and he moved in closer, our eyes met and…" Serena paused again, she was madly blushing.
"And…?" Amy asked.
"Come on!" Raye urged.
"And… and we kissed." Serena went an even brighter shade of red.
"Oh-my-gosh!!!" Lita exclaimed
"Your first kiss!" Mina said excitedly. Serena nodded
"Not only your first…" Crystal informed.
"What?! Darien has never been kissed?!" Everyone found it hard to believe. Crystal nodded
"Yep, never, until last night…" Crystal grinned.
"I found that quite hard to believe." Serena frowned. The girls gave her a questionable look. "Well, he's quite a good kisser." Serena said quietly, blushing. The girls giggled.
"Yeah, and you would know!" Mina said in-between giggles.
"Come on, let's get ready." Raye piped.
"Why? Where are we going?" Serena asked, relieved that the girls didn't tease her any further about the kiss.
"We're going shopping!" Crystal exclaimed. A few hours later, the girls had eaten breakfast and were ready to go to the local mall for some shopping.
"Come on guys! Let's go!!" Serena chirped, excitedly. She skipped light-heartedly a few steps in front of everyone.
"Someone's happy!" Raye said with a touch of sarcasm in her voice.
"Yep Raye, I'm on top of the…" *Thud!* Serena ran into something quite hard. "OUCH!" She managed to exclaim as she was falling to the ground. She waited for the impact of the floor to hit her, but it never happened. "Stupid pole," Serena rubbed her forehead. It was then that she realized that the pole was keeping her up and that the pole was holding her wrist so she didn't fall, and that the pole wasn't a pole at all, it was Darien. In one hand he was reading a small green book. He let go of Serena's wrist once she had stabilized herself.
"Watch where you're walking Meatball Head." Darien didn't shift his attention from his book, and continued walking.
"What was that all about?" Lita asked, quite confused.
"I…I don't know." Serena stuttered, dazed. "He didn't even say hello…" She continued her walk to the mall in silence, with her head hanging.
*What's going on Darien?* Crystal mentally asked, sternly
*Nothing* Darien replied, coldly
*Yeah right Darien, don't lie to me! What's going on?* Crystal asked again
*It's none of your business* Darien replied in a tone that he hadn't used with Crystal before, which scared her.
*Yes it is, it concerns the happiness of one of my best friends and my brother, so it concerns me. Tell me Dare. Come on* Crystal pleaded.
*Fine!* Darien started.
Crystal Saturn
