Uncertainty II
by Phantasy Star
--------------------

Part Two: Shock


CHAPTER SIX

"So... how have you been?"

Serena smiled, "Pretty good. But tired. 'Been all over the place."

"So you did get to travel around."

"I did... I went to Rome, Australia, even Paris."

The waitress came by with my coffee and Serena's hot chocolate.

"I'm glad you came to see me," I said with a grin.

"Of course I'd come visit my old roommate." she exclaimed, "So, how about you? I've been
reading about you a lot these days..."

I chuckled, "Nothing compared to making the headlines of Globe and Mail."

She blushed, "My agent Alan does all my publicity. He's great."

"Uh-huh..." I said, "Things have really changed these few years... You know, us, the city,
the world."

Serena nodded, "Yeah, I hardly recognize anything here anymore... Andrew's coffee shop is
probably the only surviving shop on the street."

"Yeah... nothing stays the same, I guess."

"Things change a little too fast sometimes, don't they?"

I sighed my agreement.

"Hey, it's almost one... You'd better get back to the office."

I nodded, "Right, before everyone begins to slack off."

She smiled, "I'm going to go see Andrew. Won't he be surprised to see me..."



CHAPTER SEVEN

"Hey, Darien..." Ann said to me one day at the photocopy room, "Would it be all right if you
gave me a ride to Amy's party this Thursday?"

"Amy's having a party?"

She looked surprised for a second, "Oh... um, no."

"But you just said..."

"Nope, I, uh, I was just kidding."

"Amy's throwing a party and she's not inviting me?" I exclaimed.

"Well, you know..." Ann began, "Amy and I are good friends, so it's pretty natural for her to
invite me and, well... not you."

"I guess so..." I said.

* * *

"Hey Darien," Serena said, "Are you going to Amy's party on Thursday?"

"She invited you!?"

"What...?" Serena asked, surprised, "What? Do you not want me to go or something?"

"No, that's not it. It's just that... well, I didn't get invited... It seems like everyone
at the office is going except for me... even you, who she just met once."

"Well, I really hit it off with her... She seemed really nice..."

"I don't get it. Does she have something against me?"

Serena shrugged, "Amy? No... Maybe... maybe she just doesn't invite guys..."

Just then, Andrew walked in.

"Hey, listen, I was thinking, on Thursday, maybe we can go play pool or something before
Amy's party... You in, Darien?"



CHAPTER EIGHT

"Okay, now!" Serena whispered.

"This is a bad idea..." I said whispered back sharply.

"Do you want to be one of those bosses in the movies who everyone hates and talk about behind
your back?"

"Amy," I said as I came out of my office.

"Yes, Mr. Shields?"

"I, uh, ahem. I need you to photocopy this document for me."

"How many copies?"

"Twenty," I said.

"Uh, Mr. Shields..." Amy said hesitantly, "The only words written on here are 'Buy new shirts'."

Oh.

"Er, well, I needed twenty copies, so I can remember to... buy new shirts... once a week.
For the next twenty weeks."

Amy stared at me for a second, "Um, okay, no problem."

She left for the copy room and Serena appeared by my side, "Smooth."

I glared at her.

"Now follow me," she said.

* * *

"Hi Amy," Serena said as she entered and I came in behind her.

"Oh, hi Serena," my secretary said cheerfully, "What are you doing back here?"

"Well, uh... the party! Yeah, about the party, I was wondering if I could bring a friend."

She glanced at me with a smile.

Okay, no need to make it obvious, Serena.

I walked to another copy machine and started it up.

"A friend...?" Amy began, "I don't know... Wait, is it a date?"

I glanced up from the photocopy machine I was pretending to be working with to see her reaction.

Serena blinked, "Um, no..."

"Well then," Amy said slowly, "I'm not sure... I mean, if..."

"Oh... Well, okay... I guess that's... that's too bad-"

I cleared my throat.

Probably a little too loudly, because both ladies turned to look at me.

"Mr. Shields..." Amy said, "Do you need a glass of water?"

I cleared my throat again, this time for real, "No, Amy."

"Okay," she said, turning back to Serena, "Anyway, you were saying...?"

"I was saying that... uh, that yes, it _is_ a date! So... can I bring him along?"

"Well..." Amy said, smiling, "Is he handsome?"

Pause.

_Long_ pause.

"Well..." Serena said, glancing at me, "I guess so... Er, sort of?"

I winced.

"All right," Amy said brightly, "You can bring him along."

"Okay," Serena said weakly, "Great..."



CHAPTER NINE

"I don't know why you're making such a big deal out of this," Serena said, "So what if she
doesn't think you're party material?"

"Because I _am_," I said emphatically.

It was two days later, one day before the party, and Serena had volunteered to take me to
Moores, where she claimed I'd be able to find some regular party clothes.

"Okay, try this shirt."

I looked at it.

"It's not a shirt."

"Yeah it is," she said.

"It's tee-shirt."

"Yeah, which is a shirt. Like the name says. It's a shirt, with 'tee'."

I blinked, confused, "I can't wear that."

"Darien," she said like she was speaking to a child, "You can't wear one of your suits to
a party, okay?"

"I know that," I said defensively... "I just thought... maybe I could wear a suit with... a
party tie, or something. What's wrong with that?"

"Listen to me, Darien. Wearing party ties tells people that you're not ready for a party."

I was getting annoyed.

"I don't know, Serena..." I said, "This tee-shirt's tacky and tasteless. It looks more like
something you'd wear."

"Okay, do you want my help or not?" she said, getting ready to leave.

"All right, all right, I"m sorry, I'll try it on."



CHAPTER TEN

"Mr. Shields!" Amy exclaimed, "I didn't realize that... um..."

She was staring at my bugs-bunny tee-shirt.

"Oh, I brought him," Serena said.

"Ohhhh..." Amy said, blushing, "So he's your date."

"Well, uh," Serena laughed weakly.

"Yeah," I said, liking the idea, "Just for tonight."

Serena stared at me, and I wondered if I had said the right thing.

"Hey guys!" Ann said cheerfully as she appeared at the doorway, then looked surprised to
see me and Serena (or the way I was dressed), "Er, here are your party hats. What colour do
you want, Darien?"

I chuckled, "No, Ann, I'm not going to wear a party hat."

"We'll take yellow," Serena said, as Ann handed her a pair.

"Saying no to party equipment means you're not ready for the party," Serena said to me
under her breath.

"Just give me the damn hats," I said.

Serena smiled, "Besides, it suits your shirt."

* * *

I groaned.

I couldn't do this.

There was a lot of loud, loud music and a lot of laughing.

It was really starting to bug me.

"Darien, want to dance?" Serena asked, "You _are_ my date for the night..."

"No thanks," I said with a weak smile.

Then I sighed, "I don't think I'm party material after all. Maybe I'm just not as much fun
as I'd like to be..."

"Oh come on," Serena said, taking a seat beside me, "That's not true... You do a lot of fun
things... Like... um... well, there's the, uh, the... Well, I'm sure you do a lot of fun things
that I don't know about."

"Oh, what have I become," I groaned, "I'm really sad, aren't I? The only thing I'm good at
is ordering people around..."

I could tell Serena was trying to think of ways to comfort me.

"Well..." she said slowly, "You _did_ boss me around quite a bit when I worked for you..."

I glared at her.

"But, um, see, look at Ann. You took her into the office because she's a friend. She didn't
even have to do a resumé! That is a totally inappropiate and is an unacceptable thing for you
to do as a person in power. It's corruption within the company!"

"I hope you're going somewhere with this," I said.

"I'm showing you that you're not just a strict, rule-following kind of guy!"

"Hey, you're right..." I said, "I _am_ unrightful and corrupted."

"Exactly what I'm saying," Serena said.



INTERLUDE

I fumbled for my keys to my hotel room.

Wow, it was earlier than I thought. Only ten...

Not the best party in the world, but better than one of those boring music conventions Alan
makes me attend every month.

To my surprise, the lights were on in the room. I opened the door to find Alan standing, arms
crossed, with an annoyed expression on his face.

"Alan!" I exclaimed, "What are you doing in my room?"

"Where the heck were you?" he said in a low tone.

I blinked, "The party. I told you about it, remember?"

"Then who was that guy that drove you home?" he demanded, "He sure didn't look like your
brother."

"He was just a friend!"

"A friend? He was your date, wasn't he?"

"Well..." I began hesitantly, "Technically, yes, but that's only because he didn't get invited
and he really wanted to come. So I told Amy - she's the host of the party - that I wanted to
bring a friend, but she didn't want too many people, so I had to tell her that, um... that..."

I trailed off.

Pause.

"It's a long story," I said, "I don't want to explain right now. I'm tired."

"I'm tired of waiting for you everyday, not knowing where you are," Alan said angrily.

"Why don't you just go to bed? What are you doing hanging around my room?" I shot back,
annoyed.

"You know, I've hardly seen you these few days," Alan said.

"This is where I grew up," I exclaimed, "Of course I have friends here that you wouldn't know.
What's wrong with me spending a little time with them?"

"Because I'm your boyfriend, and you've been ignoring me all week!"

I was exasperated, "What is wrong with you, Alan? When did you become so possessive?"

"I'm just concerned that my girlfriend has been hanging around some handsome millionaire
everyday, buying his clothes, going to parties with him, taking-"

"Alan," I interrupted him, silencing him, and spoke quietly, "Have you been spying on me?"

He looked at me.

"Of course not!" he yelled, "I just happened to pass by those places!"

Yeah right.

"You know what? If you're not ready to be a normal, trusting boyfriend, maybe you shouldn't
be one."

Alan looked at me, not knowing what to say.

Then he left the room and slammed the door behind him.

I sat on my bed and began to cry.



CHAPTER ELEVEN

I stretched my arms.

That party took a lot out of me.

Good thing Serena was there. Or I'd probably have left even earlier.

I guess people didn't usually socialize with their bosses outside of the office.

I sighed as I drove out of the hotel parking lot. Maybe I just wanted my employees to like
me and see me as a friend.

Oh well, at least they respected me.

Serena's coming back wasn't as big a problem as I had anticipated. The past few days with her
went by exactly like the times we've had before she left.

Before I had said anything to her about how I felt.

Having decided to finish off some paperwork, I parked my car at the office.

To my surprise, the door wasn't locked.

I walked in to find Ann typing at her computer.

"Hey, what are you still doing here?" I exclaimed.

"Oh, Darien, hi. I just wanted to finish off some stuff. The party ended pretty early, didn't
it?"

"It _seemed_ long," I said.

"So you got Amy to invite you to the party?"

"Well... sort of..."

"Actually, Darien, I've been meaning to talk to you about something..."

"What is it?" I asked, concerned at the seriousness of her tone.

"Well, I don't know how to say this..." she said hesitantly, "but I'm really, really grateful
for your help. I wouldn't know what to do without you."

I suddenly remembered how Serena had said a similar thing to me when she was about to move out
of the apartment.

"No problem, Ann," I said with a smile.

Then, taking me totally by surprise, she threw herself against me and gave me a hug.

Not knowing what to do or what to make of it, I decided to hug her back as a friendly gesture.

Things suddenly got ten times more complicated.



-------@

A blonde walked slowly out of a hotel building in the middle of town, face covered with tears.

She needed someone... Someone to tell her it was okay.

Darien... He would be all concerned about her. He would make sure everything was all right.

She wiped away a few tears that had forced their way down her cheek.

Should she?

What if... what if something happened?

No, Darien would never do anything at a time like this.

But she had to know. She had been thinking about him. What about him?

Had he been thinking about her too...?

She ran aimlessly down the street.

He had said he would finish off some work at the office...

As she continued down the block, she arrived at the front of a large gray building and pushed
the door open.

She was about to walk in when she suddenly stopped.

She opened her mouth slightly in surprise, frozen at the doorway.

Darien... and Ann?

Unnoticed, she backed away slowly.

Then the startled expression left her face as she bit her lip and put her hand over her mouth.

Blinking a few times as if trying to clear away the image, she turned around and headed the
opposite direction.

"Serena?"

She looked up.

"Alan..."

"I'm sorry, Serena," he said as he enveloped the small girl in his arms, "Forgive me?"