AN: Sorry this one took so long, I was away in New Hampshire snowboarding!!
Yay! Good times.
The sporty black Mustang, the one thing of value that Darien owned, sped down the back roads of Tokyo and to the upscale neighborhood on Cherry street. 252 Cherry St, that's what the phone book said.
Darien was nervous. He was doubting himself. He would feel like a fool if she stood him up. But what would he feel if she actually came?
The answer was given when he saw the amazing female specimen sitting pensively on the door-step of a quaint house he assumed was her home. She was dressed in a pink mini-skirt, beige knee high boots, a white tank-top and a suede jacket that hung lower then her skirt.
What he was feeling wasn't nerves. It was anticipation.
She rose and began to trot over to the car before turning and picking up a small purse she left on the step. She opened the car door and closed it, facing him. "What is this about?" She demanded.
She was cute when she was mad. Her lips extra-pouty, her perfectly shaped eyebrows narrow, her blue eyes, those hauntingly familiar eyes sparkling.
I wish I could tell you, he thought to himself. "Just thought you'd like to get out for a night. Get your mind off of that hard studying you indulge yourself in." He teased.
Serena looked at him before deciding he wasn't going to rape her. Or murder her. Or do something that would scar her for life, if not kill her. She trusted him for some reason, and felt uneasy about her ease towards him. She had found herself spending over an hour in front of the mirror, trying on all different combinations, black leather? Red? Silver? She knew it would be a party for college students, and wanted to blend in, yet wanted to be sexy for. for him. But she really didn't know sexy. Everything she put on was just not her. She did put on eye-liner, which she thought was very sexy. Or at least on Britney Spears it was.
"Where are we going?" She said. She had called Lita ("ITS AN EMERGENCY!!!" she had screamed into the phone), who called Mina who called Amy who called Raye, and found all the girls at her place and helped her pick out an outfit that fit her right. It was Mina's idea to take pink ribbon and lace it through her hair, and then it was Lita's idea to make the hair streaming from Serena's odango's into little braids with the ribbon. The look came out modern and unique. It was different, and Serena liked it. Mina and Lita had faught about her make-up, before Raye applied the smoky eyeliner to her lids' while they were arguing over how to highlight her cheekbones.
Serena smiled to herself, flushing slightly at what Darien would say if he had known how much effort she had put into this night.
Darien only smiled and drove down unfamiliar streets, ignoring Serena's question. "You look different, Serena," he said. "You look older."
Serena smiled. "Really? I was kind of uncertain about the boo-" She stopped. "Thanks." She said smoothly.
Darien laughed. He felt so relaxed all of the sudden, like something had come over him. Like how he felt on the phone.
"You like parties?" Darien said, glancing at her.
Serena bit the inside of her cheek before answering "All the time. I mean, yeah, I like them. I go all the time."
"Liar." Darien said. Before she could protest he took his hand off the wheel and raised a finger in the air. "Serena, it's a common habit of yours to bite the inside of your cheek when you are lying and or nervous. And you just bit the inside of your cheek, so there."
Serena had no idea her jaw was almost hitting the floor. She recovered. "No I don't!" She said indignantly.
"Yes you do."
"I think I would know!"
Darien would usually use this opporotunity to say something like "Serena, you don't even know that 5 x 200 is." Or "Then you don't know very much, Meatball head.", but he didn't feel like fighting. Time for a new approach.
"Alright, prove it." He said, smiling. "Go up to 5 people, lie to them, and then I'll ask if you bite your cheek. And we'll see what they say."
Serena took a moment to comprehend his words. "You mean. like a game?" She said.
Darien chuckled. "Yes, like a game."
Serena liked it when he chuckled. How the noise rose from deep in his throat. like thunder. She liked that comparison.
"I have a stuffed animal named Thunder," She said. "He's a dog."
Darien did a double take. "That's great Serena," he said. "Why did you name him Thunder?" He decided that casual conversation with Serena should be like a conversation with a 5 year old- very simple.
"Because he looks like Thunder," Serena said, as if he should know.
Darien raised an eye-brow. "Serena, you cant see thunder. It's a sound."
"I can see it in my head."
"What else do you see in your head, Serena?" He teased.
Serena got flustered. "Thunder. it's a sound, but its also an emotion, it's a feeling. And it's a dark feeling, and an almost exciting feeling too."
Darien considered this. "So, you have a dark, exciting stuffed dog?"
Serena laughed outloud.
The conversation went on like this for the next 5 or 10 minutes before they pulled onto the side of the road in front of a house in the most upscale neighbor-hood in Tokyo: Greenwood Estates.
"We're here." Darien said, a feeling of nervousness- no, apprehension coming over him.
Serena looked at the large, 3 story.house? It looked more like a Japanese palace, with columns and elaborately carves statues of dragons and lions. "Who lives here?" She said in awe.
Darien got out of the car and opened the door for her. "Just some friends."
Serena felt a little nervous. She wondered if this was supposed to be a classy party. She calmed down a bit as she felt Darien's somehow familiar presence next to her. She could feel a sound system shaking the ground. She could feel the music more then hear it. She wondered if that was normal.
Darien opened the door and felt Serena stop behind him, her eyes wide and looking at the alcohol and people smoking ciggerettes in the middle of a grand hallway, people sitting on the double staircase leading to the second and third floors. It was like something from movies.
Darien quickly ushered her into a larger room, the kitchen, which led onto a large patio with a pool and a large garden. There was a DJ, and a large pit of dancing people. Well, more like dry-humping people.
"Its like something from a American rap music video!" Serena said, cowering slightly into Darien.
"You want a beer?" Darien shouted over the music to her.
She shook her head quickly.
"Okay." Darien said. Of course she wouldn't drink, he thought. "Do you want to dance?"
Serena looked up at him. "I want to go home."
The sporty black Mustang, the one thing of value that Darien owned, sped down the back roads of Tokyo and to the upscale neighborhood on Cherry street. 252 Cherry St, that's what the phone book said.
Darien was nervous. He was doubting himself. He would feel like a fool if she stood him up. But what would he feel if she actually came?
The answer was given when he saw the amazing female specimen sitting pensively on the door-step of a quaint house he assumed was her home. She was dressed in a pink mini-skirt, beige knee high boots, a white tank-top and a suede jacket that hung lower then her skirt.
What he was feeling wasn't nerves. It was anticipation.
She rose and began to trot over to the car before turning and picking up a small purse she left on the step. She opened the car door and closed it, facing him. "What is this about?" She demanded.
She was cute when she was mad. Her lips extra-pouty, her perfectly shaped eyebrows narrow, her blue eyes, those hauntingly familiar eyes sparkling.
I wish I could tell you, he thought to himself. "Just thought you'd like to get out for a night. Get your mind off of that hard studying you indulge yourself in." He teased.
Serena looked at him before deciding he wasn't going to rape her. Or murder her. Or do something that would scar her for life, if not kill her. She trusted him for some reason, and felt uneasy about her ease towards him. She had found herself spending over an hour in front of the mirror, trying on all different combinations, black leather? Red? Silver? She knew it would be a party for college students, and wanted to blend in, yet wanted to be sexy for. for him. But she really didn't know sexy. Everything she put on was just not her. She did put on eye-liner, which she thought was very sexy. Or at least on Britney Spears it was.
"Where are we going?" She said. She had called Lita ("ITS AN EMERGENCY!!!" she had screamed into the phone), who called Mina who called Amy who called Raye, and found all the girls at her place and helped her pick out an outfit that fit her right. It was Mina's idea to take pink ribbon and lace it through her hair, and then it was Lita's idea to make the hair streaming from Serena's odango's into little braids with the ribbon. The look came out modern and unique. It was different, and Serena liked it. Mina and Lita had faught about her make-up, before Raye applied the smoky eyeliner to her lids' while they were arguing over how to highlight her cheekbones.
Serena smiled to herself, flushing slightly at what Darien would say if he had known how much effort she had put into this night.
Darien only smiled and drove down unfamiliar streets, ignoring Serena's question. "You look different, Serena," he said. "You look older."
Serena smiled. "Really? I was kind of uncertain about the boo-" She stopped. "Thanks." She said smoothly.
Darien laughed. He felt so relaxed all of the sudden, like something had come over him. Like how he felt on the phone.
"You like parties?" Darien said, glancing at her.
Serena bit the inside of her cheek before answering "All the time. I mean, yeah, I like them. I go all the time."
"Liar." Darien said. Before she could protest he took his hand off the wheel and raised a finger in the air. "Serena, it's a common habit of yours to bite the inside of your cheek when you are lying and or nervous. And you just bit the inside of your cheek, so there."
Serena had no idea her jaw was almost hitting the floor. She recovered. "No I don't!" She said indignantly.
"Yes you do."
"I think I would know!"
Darien would usually use this opporotunity to say something like "Serena, you don't even know that 5 x 200 is." Or "Then you don't know very much, Meatball head.", but he didn't feel like fighting. Time for a new approach.
"Alright, prove it." He said, smiling. "Go up to 5 people, lie to them, and then I'll ask if you bite your cheek. And we'll see what they say."
Serena took a moment to comprehend his words. "You mean. like a game?" She said.
Darien chuckled. "Yes, like a game."
Serena liked it when he chuckled. How the noise rose from deep in his throat. like thunder. She liked that comparison.
"I have a stuffed animal named Thunder," She said. "He's a dog."
Darien did a double take. "That's great Serena," he said. "Why did you name him Thunder?" He decided that casual conversation with Serena should be like a conversation with a 5 year old- very simple.
"Because he looks like Thunder," Serena said, as if he should know.
Darien raised an eye-brow. "Serena, you cant see thunder. It's a sound."
"I can see it in my head."
"What else do you see in your head, Serena?" He teased.
Serena got flustered. "Thunder. it's a sound, but its also an emotion, it's a feeling. And it's a dark feeling, and an almost exciting feeling too."
Darien considered this. "So, you have a dark, exciting stuffed dog?"
Serena laughed outloud.
The conversation went on like this for the next 5 or 10 minutes before they pulled onto the side of the road in front of a house in the most upscale neighbor-hood in Tokyo: Greenwood Estates.
"We're here." Darien said, a feeling of nervousness- no, apprehension coming over him.
Serena looked at the large, 3 story.house? It looked more like a Japanese palace, with columns and elaborately carves statues of dragons and lions. "Who lives here?" She said in awe.
Darien got out of the car and opened the door for her. "Just some friends."
Serena felt a little nervous. She wondered if this was supposed to be a classy party. She calmed down a bit as she felt Darien's somehow familiar presence next to her. She could feel a sound system shaking the ground. She could feel the music more then hear it. She wondered if that was normal.
Darien opened the door and felt Serena stop behind him, her eyes wide and looking at the alcohol and people smoking ciggerettes in the middle of a grand hallway, people sitting on the double staircase leading to the second and third floors. It was like something from movies.
Darien quickly ushered her into a larger room, the kitchen, which led onto a large patio with a pool and a large garden. There was a DJ, and a large pit of dancing people. Well, more like dry-humping people.
"Its like something from a American rap music video!" Serena said, cowering slightly into Darien.
"You want a beer?" Darien shouted over the music to her.
She shook her head quickly.
"Okay." Darien said. Of course she wouldn't drink, he thought. "Do you want to dance?"
Serena looked up at him. "I want to go home."