Hey guys! I know it's been quite a while since I updated this story.
Unfortunately, I had things going on in my life as far as school and work
(upon other things), and I just totally forgot about this fic. I just
rediscovered it yesterday however, and decided that it's about time to
continue it. I hope you enjoy this chapter, and I should have more coming
soon. Also, as always, please R&R!
The man at the door watched Serena nervously. To everybody in the room, it appeared that she would fall over any second. Soon, however, it seemed that Serena was okay again. The man smiled and held out his hand. Serena looked down at it, then up at the man's face. Slowly, she reached out her hand with caution. Her friends watched anxiously.
The man took Serena's hand into his. Serena swallowed. His hand was strong, yet gentle at the same time. She felt warmth spread through her whole body at his touch. Serena swallowed and she looked up into his smiling eyes. He brought her hand to his face and kissed it tenderly. Serena shuddered. The man smiled and lowered her hand.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, miss Tsukino," the man said, just above a whisper. Serena nodded, blushing furiously. She opened her mouth to speak, but she could not find her voice. Therefore, she simply nodded. The man smiled again and walked past her and into the house. Once he was gone, Serena felt herself getting dizzy again. She could not believe what had just happened.
The man then walked up to Serena's friends, whom were all staring at him, hearts in their eyes, except Amy, of course. The man looked at all of them individually and smiled charmingly. Mina clasped her hands together and sighed openly.
"Good evening, ladies," the man said, being a gentleman. Now it was time for all the others to sigh. The man grinned inwardly. He knew that to women, he was irresistible. That being true, why was he still single? The man smiled again and turned to Serena's mother and father.
"Mrs. Tsukino," the man said, taking her hand and bringing it to his face, kissing it, "It's a pleasure to be in your warm home." She smiled and nodded.
"The pleasure's all mine, Darien," she said. "And you don't have to call me Mrs. Tsukino. Elaine is fine." Darien nodded and turned his attention to Serena's father. They shook hands, looking in each other's eyes.
"Long time no see, Mr. Tsukino," Darien said. Serena's father nodded in return. They had met a few times in the past, and had grown fond of each other. He knew that Darien was a good man, and would love to see him together with his daughter. As a matter-of-fact, he was also the one who invited Darien. He grinned at his own cunningness.
When Serena was a teenager, he never liked the idea of her dating boys. Not that it was a problem however, seeing that she could never keep a boyfriend in the first place. Now that she was a grown, mature woman, he only wanted to see her happy. He only hoped that his plan wouldn't backfire. If that happened, it could devastate Serena. That was a chance he was willing to take, however.
Serena continued staring ahead, her eyes wide, trying her best to figure out what just happened. Right then, she felt a tug on her arm drag her outside. Shaking the thoughts out of her head, Serena saw that all her friends were outside with her. They were all giving her disbelieving looks. Jill, on the other hand, was grinning slyly. She found this whole incident to be hilarious.
"You are soooooo lucky," said Mina, smiling brightly. "First day back, and you already snag yourself a hot guy. Way to go!" She gave Serena thumbs up. Serena blushed and was about to retort when Raye cut in.
"You should have seen the look in his eyes. He has the hots for you!" Raye said, being a master when it came to romance. She didn't have a boyfriend of her own though, ironically. Serena blushed even more. She was about to yell at Raye when Lita decided to cut in.
"And he's charming, too," Lita sighed, a far-away look in her eyes. "He's the type of man who could just sweep you off your feet." All the other girls, besides Serena, sighed romantically. "Plus," Lita said, holding up her finger to make a point, "he drives a Corvette!" Everybody turned their attention to the black corvette parked out in the street.
"He seems to have a lot of money too," Amy said, everybody turning their attention away from the car. Serena sighed. Even shy Amy was against her. She opened her mouth to speak again, but was once again cut off.
"It's like a dream," the girls all sighed in unison, clasping their hands together, dreamy looks in their eyes. Serena felt herself fidgeting. She was about to explode any second. Seeing this, her friends got knocked out of their dreamy state and gulped. They had seen Serena explode in the past. It wasn't a very good experience.
"Umm, how about we go inside?" Jill recommended, her voice uneasy. She was as worried as the others about Serena losing it. Plus, if she did lose it, she would definitely make a scene. She wants Darien to like her, not be afraid of her. "Dinner should be ready soon," Jill continued, hoping that mentioning food would calm Serena down somewhat.
As hoped, Serena's anger left her. The other girls all sighed in relief. They had to remember to thank Jill later. They looked back up to where Serena was standing to see she wasn't there anymore.
"Hurry up, guys," they heard Serena's voice say from behind them. "We don't have all day, you know." All the girls turned around to see Serena standing at the front door. They all wondered how she managed to get around them to the door in a second without them seeing her. Shrugging off the thought, they all nodded and followed her in to the house.
Serena walked into the dining room, and instantly noticed Darien only feet away from her, his back turned to her. He was talking with her father. Upon seeing him, Serena turned around and walked out of the kitchen. Serena walked into the living room and sat down on a couch, sighing. She didn't know how she could encounter him.
Serena just wanted to run away right then. If Darien had been any other guy, it may have been more bearable to be around him. She sighed again. Her friends looked at her from across the room, worried. Serena then gasped when she noticed Jill's eyes. They were almost demanding. Serena sighed once again. She knew that there was no way out of this.
Serena stood up and walked back into the dining room. Her friends and Jill watched anxiously from a safe distance. They couldn't believe that Serena was actually approaching Darien. Serena stepped directly behind Darien and stood still. She felt her hands begin to tremble, so she clasped them together nervously.
"Umm, M-mister shields?" Serena asked. Darien ceased talking with her father and turned around. His eyes met with Serena's eyes, and they both fell silent. 'What's this feeling?' Serena asked herself as she stared into his ocean blue eyes. She felt a shiver run down the length of her body. She opened her mouth and struggled to speak. "Well, umm, I'm uhh, I'm sorry for being r-rude. M-my name is S-Serena." She forced a smile, still blushing.
'She's so cute,' Darien thought as he watched the girl, a smile across his face. Personally, he liked girls who were still shy and innocent. Girls like that were hard to find these days. "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Serena," Darien said. "My name's Darien. I heard a lot about you." Serena's eyes narrowed. She turned her attention to her father. He just shrugged and walked away. Darien looked down at Serena and his smiling face became one of confusion.
"Have I met you before?" Darien asked. Serena gasped and turned her attention back to Darien. He was staring at her quizzically. She was positive she had never met him before, unless.
'Oh no, maybe he just remembered me from the mall?' Serena asked herself. She had hoped that he didn't remember. She decided that he should definitely not find out, if he didn't know already. She laughed, placing her hand behind her head. "Wh-why would you think that?" Serena asked, laughing. Darien looked unsure, but he decided to forget about it.
'Still,' Darien thought, 'this girl looks familiar.' He smiled warmly, and Serena tried to hold back her blush. She had never felt this way with any man before. When she saw his smile, she felt like putty. She knew then that it would be really hard keeping her composure this night. Darien was not much different. He had been with many women in his life, but never had any one girl's smile had such an effect on him.
'Whoa,' Darien thought to himself. 'I can't lose it over here.' He took a deep breath. When Serena smiled, he felt his heart stop, and his hands got all sweaty. He wanted to just kiss her right then and there. Thank God Darien had a remarkable amount of self-control. Otherwise, he would have been slapped in the face right then.
"Well, uhhh, I just wanna, umm, thank you for j-joining us for dinner t- tonight," Serena continued, cursing her stuttering. Darien, noticing this, only smiled. He found her shyness to be amazingly cute.
"Dinner's ready," called Serena's mother from the dining room. Serena sighed in relief. She had to sit down. She felt that if she were to stand any longer, her knees would give way and she would collapse to the ground. Darien held his arm out, and Serena looked at it, confused. Darien, noticing her confusion smiled gently. He had never met a girl her age who was so innocent before.
"May I?" Darien asked, hoping that now Serena would get the message. She most definitely did. She swallowed and looked up at his smiling face, then back down to his extended arm. Slowly, she wrapped her bare arm around his sleeved one. Darien pulled her closer to him, and Serena swallowed and looked back up at his face. She felt so warm and protected. Darien looked straight back into her eyes. He was in a trance, unable to move even if he wanted to.
'What the hell is this girl doing to me?' Darien asked himself. He could only look into her eyes. Serena was no different, however. In his eyes, she saw a warmth and gentleness, yet strength that she had never seen before. She tried to swallow, but her mouth was dry.
"Move it already, meatball head," said a voice from behind them. "You two lovebirds are blocking the way." Serena and Darien got knocked out of their trance, and gasped when they noticed they were staring into the other's eyes. Serena quickly turned to the voice. Raye stood behind them, a sly grin across her face. Serena nodded and broke her hold with Darien, allowing her friends and Jill to pass by them and into the dining room. Serena noticed all her friends giving her strange looks, and she blushed. She wondered how long she had been drooling over Darien for.
Once everybody was in the dining room, Serena looked up at Darien again. He smiled warmly, and beckoned for her to enter the kitchen first. Serena smiled gratefully and entered the dining room. Once inside, she saw that everybody was already seated at the table. She also noticed that there were only two empty seats, and they were directly next to each other.
Serena's eyes narrowed. This was definitely the work of her mother. She turned her attention to her mother, who only winked at her. Serena felt herself steaming. Her mother could be as bad as Jill at times. Serena walked into the dining room slowly. Everybody at the table had their eyes glued to her. It took all of her strength to not just turn around and run away right then and there.
Serena made it to a chair and was about to pull it out when Darien quickly cut in and did it for her. She gasped and looked up at him again. He smiled and nodded. Serena blushed, smiling slightly. She sat down in her chair, and suddenly, her eyes opened wide when she noticed all the food on the table. Jill grinned slyly. She knew that the sight of the massive amount of food would calm the girl down.
Across the table lied turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffed cabbages, lasagna, cranberry sauce, and much, much more. Serena was literally drooling as she stared at the food. Darien smiled as he looked at the girl. She had an almost childlike innocence, along with the most gorgeous body he had ever seen. He didn't know whether he should be attracted to her, or love her like a little sister.
"Well, dig in, guys," Serena's mother said. Serena took absolutely no time whatsoever to pile her plate as high as she possibly could. Her friends stared at her in disbelief. They had forgotten how much the girl could eat. Darien didn't look much better. In his entire life, he could not remember a person who could eat so much, let alone remain so good-looking.
Darien placed a few items of food onto his plate. He began eating slowly, never losing his smile. Mr. Tsukino was right. Serena was amazingly cute. He turned his attention back to his food, trying, for at least a little while, to get his mind off the girl sitting next to her. It was impossible, however. Every time he turned his thoughts towards something else, they always lingered back to Serena.
By the time Darien finished with one item of food, Serena was finished with her first plate. Almost instantly, she began piling food onto it again, still starving. Darien stared at her in disbelief once again. Serena was just about to dig into her food when her eyes wandered to Darien. Seeing the look on his face, she blushed, quickly looking away. Darien did the same thing.
'Damn,' Darien thought, 'I can't let her catch me staring at her.' He swallowed, his hands fumbling as he returned to his food. 'Why am I so nervous?' he asked himself as he picked up some turkey with his fork. 'How the hell is she doing this to me?' At the same time, Serena was cursing herself for eating so much.
'He probably thinks I'm such a pig,' Serena thought, staring at her new plate of food. She just wanted to run away out of embarrassment, but she knew she couldn't do that. She had to stay the whole night, and had no idea how she would possibly pull it off. She began eating again, this time slowly.
Serena's parents looked at each other and giggled. They had been paying attention to Serena's actions the entire time. Never before had they seen her so nervous. Sure, she was always nervous around guys, but never before had they seen a guy that was able to make her control her eating habits. Meanwhile, Darien's parents noticed the same with their son.
Darien was always cool and collected. Even in school, he was never once shy, and always had girlfriends. To see him so nervous was something totally new for them. They laughed to themselves as they watched him sneaking looks at Serena, and her doing the same. They wondered if at last he met somebody special.
All of Darien's previous relationships never lasted. Often he would have a girlfriend for a month or so before they broke up (although Darien was often the one who broke it off). He always said that the girl ended up not being his type. They knew however, that it was more than that. They knew that he was still looking for "her". Darien's mother smiled warmly.
'You found her,' his mother thought to herself, smiling. She decided that she felt a bit bad for him in his current state, so decided to start some conversation to lighten the mood.
"Darien's looking for a good apartment to stay at for a little while," his mother said. Darien swallowed his food and looked up. Serena, upon hearing his name, looked up as well.
"Have you had any luck yet?" Elaine asked, taking a bite from her turkey. Darien shook his head, finishing the last of his plate.
"I actually didn't really start looking yet," Darien said, wiping his mouth with a napkin. "I just got back to the island today." Elaine nodded, looking over at his husband. Whispering something into his ear, he dragged him out of the kitchen.
'Oh no,' Serena thought nervously, 'what is she planning?' She knew that her mother had something up her sleeve. She only hoped it wouldn't be anything 'that' embarrassing. While her parents were gone, everyone began getting into their own conversations, except for Serena and Darien, who just stared at the table silently, occasionally stealing looks at each other.
"Ummm," Darien said, trying to break the uncomfortable silence, "so I heard that you're a writer for my father's company?" Serena nodded, still looking away from him. "He always talks about you," Darien continued. This caught Serena's attention. She looked up at him, her eyes wide in shock.
"What does he say?" Serena asked. Deep down inside, she knew it was probably bad things. She knew very well that she was far from the best writer at her job. As a matter of fact, she was one of the worst. She only hoped that her boss had at least some good things to say about her, but she knew that it was only wishful thinking.
"Well," began Darien, "he said that out of all his writers, you have the most heart." Serena gasped. She could not believe what Darien had just told her. "Also," Darien continued, "he says that he knows that you can easily be the best writer he has. He says that there's always something holding you back, however." Serena swallowed, feeling tears forming in her eyes.
"Did.did he really say all that?" Serena asked, still unbelieving. Daring smiled warmly and smiled. Right then, Serena's eyes wandered towards his again, until they met in a fixing gaze. Raye, noticing this, quickly nudged Mina in the arm.
"Look," Raye whispered to Mina. She followed Raye's gaze until she saw Serena and Darien. Mina gasped and quickly whispered to Lita to look, who then told Amy. They all watched the scene, grinning widely. Never had they seen anybody have such an effect on Serena. Jill, who was also watching the scene, smiled with satisfaction. As bratty as she acted, all she wanted was for Serena to be happy. Now, at last, maybe she was approaching the happiness Jill knew she wanted.
Darien found his face moving closer to Serena's. He knew that he shouldn't be doing this, but he was in some sort of trance. Serena's eyes hypnotized him, and made his body do things he knew he shouldn't do. Serena also found herself moving closer to him.
'Oh no,' Serena thought. 'He's going to.I'm going to.we're going to.' She swallowed nervously. As nervous as she was however, she knew she wanted it. Her mind kept telling her to back away, but her body wouldn't let her. She continued moving forward, painfully slow. She felt her body trembling. Her hands were sweating, and her breathing began getting shallow. Soon, their lips were only centimeters apart. The smallest movement would make their lips connect in a tender kiss.
"We're back," chimed a friendly voice as Elaine walked back into the room. Instantly, Serena and Darien gasped, quickly moving away from each other. Serena's friends and Jill sighed in defeat. The two were so close. If only Elaine hadn't come back they, they would have kissed.
Serena took a deep breath, placing a hand on her chest. Her heart was pounding so hard, she thought it was going to burst. Slowly, she calmed down, her hand still placed firmly on her chest, feeling as her heart rate slowed down little by little. Darien was no different. His heart was pounding harder than it ever did anytime during his life.
'What's happening with me?' Darien asked himself, sweat forming on his forehead. 'We almost kissed.' He swallowed and tried desperately to slow down his rapid heart rate. He swallowed again and took a deep breath, feeling his hart rate slowing down at last.
"Well, me and my husband made a decision," Elaine said, sitting down. She took a sip of her water and beckoned for her husband to sit down also. He nodded and sat down in the seat next to her. "Darien, we decided that we have plenty of space in our house," Elaine continued. "If you need a place to stay, you can stay here. We don't mind." Serena, who was taking a long drink of water to calm herself down, spit it out onto the table.
Blushing, Serena quickly took a napkin and wiped the mess clean. Jill giggled to herself, as well as the other girls. Elaine simply rolled her eyes. It was always like Serena to make a scene. If only the girl would realize that she was doing this for her, and nobody else.
"Sorry," Serena said, coughing, "I had to cough and just couldn't hold it in." Jill grinned, seeing right through her lie. Darien simply smiled warmly and helped her clean up. Once they were done, Darien turned back to Serena's parents.
"Thanks for the offer," Darien said, "but I don't want to intrude." Elaine shook her head. Serena wanted to say something right then, but the look from her mother made her shut her mouth.
"No, you won't be intruding at all," Elaine said. "In fact, we always enjoy having company, right Ken?" Ken was about to say otherwise. Sensing this, Elaine stepped on his foot, hard. Ken cringed, holding back his cry of pain. He simply nodded. "See?" Elaine asked. "It's no problem at all. We would love for you to stay." Darien nodded. By the look on his face, it was obvious that he was thinking the offer over.
On one hand, he would have a nice place to stay. He wouldn't have to worry about rent and noisy neighbors. Also, he would have an excuse to be around Serena much more. In the other hand however, he was afraid of what could happen if he were always so close to her. He was afraid of what he might do if he lost control again.
"I think it's a great idea," Darien's mother said, catching on to Elaine's plan. "Darien, I think that you should seriously consider her offer." Darien nodded. He was really thinking about whether or not it would be such a good idea. Obviously, Serena's parents had no problem with it, and his parents thought it was a good idea as well. Also, Serena didn't seem to give any objections.
"Okay," Darien said. "As long as you don't mind, I would love to stay here." Serena's friends all squealed in delight, but quickly caught a look from Serena's eyes that made them quickly shut up. Jill just grinned widely. She knew that it was going to be an interesting week. Elaine slapped herself on the back, smiling. Her master plan had just gone into effect.
"Please excuse me for a moment," Serena said, standing up. She quickly walked out of the dining room and through the living room to the front door. She opened the door and left the house. Once she was outside, she sighed and sat down on the front step. The night breeze blew softly across her face, making her hair sway gently along with it. She looked up at the sky and gasped.
There was not one cloud in the sky, and the stars shined brightly. She smiled as a song played through her head. It was the same song that her locket played when she opened it. She smiled, remembering the person who gave the locket to her.
'Darien,' she thought, 'why do you remind me so much of him?' She sighed, hugging her knees and placing her head on her shoulder. She didn't know how she would be able to survive with Darien living with her. She didn't know how she would be able to act with the hottest guy she ever saw living under the same roof. All she did know was this was going to be a long vacation.
Well that's it for chapter five. What will happen now that Darien is LIVING with Serena. Will she be able to survive these two weeks? Or will love prevail? Find out more in the next chapter.
The man at the door watched Serena nervously. To everybody in the room, it appeared that she would fall over any second. Soon, however, it seemed that Serena was okay again. The man smiled and held out his hand. Serena looked down at it, then up at the man's face. Slowly, she reached out her hand with caution. Her friends watched anxiously.
The man took Serena's hand into his. Serena swallowed. His hand was strong, yet gentle at the same time. She felt warmth spread through her whole body at his touch. Serena swallowed and she looked up into his smiling eyes. He brought her hand to his face and kissed it tenderly. Serena shuddered. The man smiled and lowered her hand.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, miss Tsukino," the man said, just above a whisper. Serena nodded, blushing furiously. She opened her mouth to speak, but she could not find her voice. Therefore, she simply nodded. The man smiled again and walked past her and into the house. Once he was gone, Serena felt herself getting dizzy again. She could not believe what had just happened.
The man then walked up to Serena's friends, whom were all staring at him, hearts in their eyes, except Amy, of course. The man looked at all of them individually and smiled charmingly. Mina clasped her hands together and sighed openly.
"Good evening, ladies," the man said, being a gentleman. Now it was time for all the others to sigh. The man grinned inwardly. He knew that to women, he was irresistible. That being true, why was he still single? The man smiled again and turned to Serena's mother and father.
"Mrs. Tsukino," the man said, taking her hand and bringing it to his face, kissing it, "It's a pleasure to be in your warm home." She smiled and nodded.
"The pleasure's all mine, Darien," she said. "And you don't have to call me Mrs. Tsukino. Elaine is fine." Darien nodded and turned his attention to Serena's father. They shook hands, looking in each other's eyes.
"Long time no see, Mr. Tsukino," Darien said. Serena's father nodded in return. They had met a few times in the past, and had grown fond of each other. He knew that Darien was a good man, and would love to see him together with his daughter. As a matter-of-fact, he was also the one who invited Darien. He grinned at his own cunningness.
When Serena was a teenager, he never liked the idea of her dating boys. Not that it was a problem however, seeing that she could never keep a boyfriend in the first place. Now that she was a grown, mature woman, he only wanted to see her happy. He only hoped that his plan wouldn't backfire. If that happened, it could devastate Serena. That was a chance he was willing to take, however.
Serena continued staring ahead, her eyes wide, trying her best to figure out what just happened. Right then, she felt a tug on her arm drag her outside. Shaking the thoughts out of her head, Serena saw that all her friends were outside with her. They were all giving her disbelieving looks. Jill, on the other hand, was grinning slyly. She found this whole incident to be hilarious.
"You are soooooo lucky," said Mina, smiling brightly. "First day back, and you already snag yourself a hot guy. Way to go!" She gave Serena thumbs up. Serena blushed and was about to retort when Raye cut in.
"You should have seen the look in his eyes. He has the hots for you!" Raye said, being a master when it came to romance. She didn't have a boyfriend of her own though, ironically. Serena blushed even more. She was about to yell at Raye when Lita decided to cut in.
"And he's charming, too," Lita sighed, a far-away look in her eyes. "He's the type of man who could just sweep you off your feet." All the other girls, besides Serena, sighed romantically. "Plus," Lita said, holding up her finger to make a point, "he drives a Corvette!" Everybody turned their attention to the black corvette parked out in the street.
"He seems to have a lot of money too," Amy said, everybody turning their attention away from the car. Serena sighed. Even shy Amy was against her. She opened her mouth to speak again, but was once again cut off.
"It's like a dream," the girls all sighed in unison, clasping their hands together, dreamy looks in their eyes. Serena felt herself fidgeting. She was about to explode any second. Seeing this, her friends got knocked out of their dreamy state and gulped. They had seen Serena explode in the past. It wasn't a very good experience.
"Umm, how about we go inside?" Jill recommended, her voice uneasy. She was as worried as the others about Serena losing it. Plus, if she did lose it, she would definitely make a scene. She wants Darien to like her, not be afraid of her. "Dinner should be ready soon," Jill continued, hoping that mentioning food would calm Serena down somewhat.
As hoped, Serena's anger left her. The other girls all sighed in relief. They had to remember to thank Jill later. They looked back up to where Serena was standing to see she wasn't there anymore.
"Hurry up, guys," they heard Serena's voice say from behind them. "We don't have all day, you know." All the girls turned around to see Serena standing at the front door. They all wondered how she managed to get around them to the door in a second without them seeing her. Shrugging off the thought, they all nodded and followed her in to the house.
Serena walked into the dining room, and instantly noticed Darien only feet away from her, his back turned to her. He was talking with her father. Upon seeing him, Serena turned around and walked out of the kitchen. Serena walked into the living room and sat down on a couch, sighing. She didn't know how she could encounter him.
Serena just wanted to run away right then. If Darien had been any other guy, it may have been more bearable to be around him. She sighed again. Her friends looked at her from across the room, worried. Serena then gasped when she noticed Jill's eyes. They were almost demanding. Serena sighed once again. She knew that there was no way out of this.
Serena stood up and walked back into the dining room. Her friends and Jill watched anxiously from a safe distance. They couldn't believe that Serena was actually approaching Darien. Serena stepped directly behind Darien and stood still. She felt her hands begin to tremble, so she clasped them together nervously.
"Umm, M-mister shields?" Serena asked. Darien ceased talking with her father and turned around. His eyes met with Serena's eyes, and they both fell silent. 'What's this feeling?' Serena asked herself as she stared into his ocean blue eyes. She felt a shiver run down the length of her body. She opened her mouth and struggled to speak. "Well, umm, I'm uhh, I'm sorry for being r-rude. M-my name is S-Serena." She forced a smile, still blushing.
'She's so cute,' Darien thought as he watched the girl, a smile across his face. Personally, he liked girls who were still shy and innocent. Girls like that were hard to find these days. "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Serena," Darien said. "My name's Darien. I heard a lot about you." Serena's eyes narrowed. She turned her attention to her father. He just shrugged and walked away. Darien looked down at Serena and his smiling face became one of confusion.
"Have I met you before?" Darien asked. Serena gasped and turned her attention back to Darien. He was staring at her quizzically. She was positive she had never met him before, unless.
'Oh no, maybe he just remembered me from the mall?' Serena asked herself. She had hoped that he didn't remember. She decided that he should definitely not find out, if he didn't know already. She laughed, placing her hand behind her head. "Wh-why would you think that?" Serena asked, laughing. Darien looked unsure, but he decided to forget about it.
'Still,' Darien thought, 'this girl looks familiar.' He smiled warmly, and Serena tried to hold back her blush. She had never felt this way with any man before. When she saw his smile, she felt like putty. She knew then that it would be really hard keeping her composure this night. Darien was not much different. He had been with many women in his life, but never had any one girl's smile had such an effect on him.
'Whoa,' Darien thought to himself. 'I can't lose it over here.' He took a deep breath. When Serena smiled, he felt his heart stop, and his hands got all sweaty. He wanted to just kiss her right then and there. Thank God Darien had a remarkable amount of self-control. Otherwise, he would have been slapped in the face right then.
"Well, uhhh, I just wanna, umm, thank you for j-joining us for dinner t- tonight," Serena continued, cursing her stuttering. Darien, noticing this, only smiled. He found her shyness to be amazingly cute.
"Dinner's ready," called Serena's mother from the dining room. Serena sighed in relief. She had to sit down. She felt that if she were to stand any longer, her knees would give way and she would collapse to the ground. Darien held his arm out, and Serena looked at it, confused. Darien, noticing her confusion smiled gently. He had never met a girl her age who was so innocent before.
"May I?" Darien asked, hoping that now Serena would get the message. She most definitely did. She swallowed and looked up at his smiling face, then back down to his extended arm. Slowly, she wrapped her bare arm around his sleeved one. Darien pulled her closer to him, and Serena swallowed and looked back up at his face. She felt so warm and protected. Darien looked straight back into her eyes. He was in a trance, unable to move even if he wanted to.
'What the hell is this girl doing to me?' Darien asked himself. He could only look into her eyes. Serena was no different, however. In his eyes, she saw a warmth and gentleness, yet strength that she had never seen before. She tried to swallow, but her mouth was dry.
"Move it already, meatball head," said a voice from behind them. "You two lovebirds are blocking the way." Serena and Darien got knocked out of their trance, and gasped when they noticed they were staring into the other's eyes. Serena quickly turned to the voice. Raye stood behind them, a sly grin across her face. Serena nodded and broke her hold with Darien, allowing her friends and Jill to pass by them and into the dining room. Serena noticed all her friends giving her strange looks, and she blushed. She wondered how long she had been drooling over Darien for.
Once everybody was in the dining room, Serena looked up at Darien again. He smiled warmly, and beckoned for her to enter the kitchen first. Serena smiled gratefully and entered the dining room. Once inside, she saw that everybody was already seated at the table. She also noticed that there were only two empty seats, and they were directly next to each other.
Serena's eyes narrowed. This was definitely the work of her mother. She turned her attention to her mother, who only winked at her. Serena felt herself steaming. Her mother could be as bad as Jill at times. Serena walked into the dining room slowly. Everybody at the table had their eyes glued to her. It took all of her strength to not just turn around and run away right then and there.
Serena made it to a chair and was about to pull it out when Darien quickly cut in and did it for her. She gasped and looked up at him again. He smiled and nodded. Serena blushed, smiling slightly. She sat down in her chair, and suddenly, her eyes opened wide when she noticed all the food on the table. Jill grinned slyly. She knew that the sight of the massive amount of food would calm the girl down.
Across the table lied turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffed cabbages, lasagna, cranberry sauce, and much, much more. Serena was literally drooling as she stared at the food. Darien smiled as he looked at the girl. She had an almost childlike innocence, along with the most gorgeous body he had ever seen. He didn't know whether he should be attracted to her, or love her like a little sister.
"Well, dig in, guys," Serena's mother said. Serena took absolutely no time whatsoever to pile her plate as high as she possibly could. Her friends stared at her in disbelief. They had forgotten how much the girl could eat. Darien didn't look much better. In his entire life, he could not remember a person who could eat so much, let alone remain so good-looking.
Darien placed a few items of food onto his plate. He began eating slowly, never losing his smile. Mr. Tsukino was right. Serena was amazingly cute. He turned his attention back to his food, trying, for at least a little while, to get his mind off the girl sitting next to her. It was impossible, however. Every time he turned his thoughts towards something else, they always lingered back to Serena.
By the time Darien finished with one item of food, Serena was finished with her first plate. Almost instantly, she began piling food onto it again, still starving. Darien stared at her in disbelief once again. Serena was just about to dig into her food when her eyes wandered to Darien. Seeing the look on his face, she blushed, quickly looking away. Darien did the same thing.
'Damn,' Darien thought, 'I can't let her catch me staring at her.' He swallowed, his hands fumbling as he returned to his food. 'Why am I so nervous?' he asked himself as he picked up some turkey with his fork. 'How the hell is she doing this to me?' At the same time, Serena was cursing herself for eating so much.
'He probably thinks I'm such a pig,' Serena thought, staring at her new plate of food. She just wanted to run away out of embarrassment, but she knew she couldn't do that. She had to stay the whole night, and had no idea how she would possibly pull it off. She began eating again, this time slowly.
Serena's parents looked at each other and giggled. They had been paying attention to Serena's actions the entire time. Never before had they seen her so nervous. Sure, she was always nervous around guys, but never before had they seen a guy that was able to make her control her eating habits. Meanwhile, Darien's parents noticed the same with their son.
Darien was always cool and collected. Even in school, he was never once shy, and always had girlfriends. To see him so nervous was something totally new for them. They laughed to themselves as they watched him sneaking looks at Serena, and her doing the same. They wondered if at last he met somebody special.
All of Darien's previous relationships never lasted. Often he would have a girlfriend for a month or so before they broke up (although Darien was often the one who broke it off). He always said that the girl ended up not being his type. They knew however, that it was more than that. They knew that he was still looking for "her". Darien's mother smiled warmly.
'You found her,' his mother thought to herself, smiling. She decided that she felt a bit bad for him in his current state, so decided to start some conversation to lighten the mood.
"Darien's looking for a good apartment to stay at for a little while," his mother said. Darien swallowed his food and looked up. Serena, upon hearing his name, looked up as well.
"Have you had any luck yet?" Elaine asked, taking a bite from her turkey. Darien shook his head, finishing the last of his plate.
"I actually didn't really start looking yet," Darien said, wiping his mouth with a napkin. "I just got back to the island today." Elaine nodded, looking over at his husband. Whispering something into his ear, he dragged him out of the kitchen.
'Oh no,' Serena thought nervously, 'what is she planning?' She knew that her mother had something up her sleeve. She only hoped it wouldn't be anything 'that' embarrassing. While her parents were gone, everyone began getting into their own conversations, except for Serena and Darien, who just stared at the table silently, occasionally stealing looks at each other.
"Ummm," Darien said, trying to break the uncomfortable silence, "so I heard that you're a writer for my father's company?" Serena nodded, still looking away from him. "He always talks about you," Darien continued. This caught Serena's attention. She looked up at him, her eyes wide in shock.
"What does he say?" Serena asked. Deep down inside, she knew it was probably bad things. She knew very well that she was far from the best writer at her job. As a matter of fact, she was one of the worst. She only hoped that her boss had at least some good things to say about her, but she knew that it was only wishful thinking.
"Well," began Darien, "he said that out of all his writers, you have the most heart." Serena gasped. She could not believe what Darien had just told her. "Also," Darien continued, "he says that he knows that you can easily be the best writer he has. He says that there's always something holding you back, however." Serena swallowed, feeling tears forming in her eyes.
"Did.did he really say all that?" Serena asked, still unbelieving. Daring smiled warmly and smiled. Right then, Serena's eyes wandered towards his again, until they met in a fixing gaze. Raye, noticing this, quickly nudged Mina in the arm.
"Look," Raye whispered to Mina. She followed Raye's gaze until she saw Serena and Darien. Mina gasped and quickly whispered to Lita to look, who then told Amy. They all watched the scene, grinning widely. Never had they seen anybody have such an effect on Serena. Jill, who was also watching the scene, smiled with satisfaction. As bratty as she acted, all she wanted was for Serena to be happy. Now, at last, maybe she was approaching the happiness Jill knew she wanted.
Darien found his face moving closer to Serena's. He knew that he shouldn't be doing this, but he was in some sort of trance. Serena's eyes hypnotized him, and made his body do things he knew he shouldn't do. Serena also found herself moving closer to him.
'Oh no,' Serena thought. 'He's going to.I'm going to.we're going to.' She swallowed nervously. As nervous as she was however, she knew she wanted it. Her mind kept telling her to back away, but her body wouldn't let her. She continued moving forward, painfully slow. She felt her body trembling. Her hands were sweating, and her breathing began getting shallow. Soon, their lips were only centimeters apart. The smallest movement would make their lips connect in a tender kiss.
"We're back," chimed a friendly voice as Elaine walked back into the room. Instantly, Serena and Darien gasped, quickly moving away from each other. Serena's friends and Jill sighed in defeat. The two were so close. If only Elaine hadn't come back they, they would have kissed.
Serena took a deep breath, placing a hand on her chest. Her heart was pounding so hard, she thought it was going to burst. Slowly, she calmed down, her hand still placed firmly on her chest, feeling as her heart rate slowed down little by little. Darien was no different. His heart was pounding harder than it ever did anytime during his life.
'What's happening with me?' Darien asked himself, sweat forming on his forehead. 'We almost kissed.' He swallowed and tried desperately to slow down his rapid heart rate. He swallowed again and took a deep breath, feeling his hart rate slowing down at last.
"Well, me and my husband made a decision," Elaine said, sitting down. She took a sip of her water and beckoned for her husband to sit down also. He nodded and sat down in the seat next to her. "Darien, we decided that we have plenty of space in our house," Elaine continued. "If you need a place to stay, you can stay here. We don't mind." Serena, who was taking a long drink of water to calm herself down, spit it out onto the table.
Blushing, Serena quickly took a napkin and wiped the mess clean. Jill giggled to herself, as well as the other girls. Elaine simply rolled her eyes. It was always like Serena to make a scene. If only the girl would realize that she was doing this for her, and nobody else.
"Sorry," Serena said, coughing, "I had to cough and just couldn't hold it in." Jill grinned, seeing right through her lie. Darien simply smiled warmly and helped her clean up. Once they were done, Darien turned back to Serena's parents.
"Thanks for the offer," Darien said, "but I don't want to intrude." Elaine shook her head. Serena wanted to say something right then, but the look from her mother made her shut her mouth.
"No, you won't be intruding at all," Elaine said. "In fact, we always enjoy having company, right Ken?" Ken was about to say otherwise. Sensing this, Elaine stepped on his foot, hard. Ken cringed, holding back his cry of pain. He simply nodded. "See?" Elaine asked. "It's no problem at all. We would love for you to stay." Darien nodded. By the look on his face, it was obvious that he was thinking the offer over.
On one hand, he would have a nice place to stay. He wouldn't have to worry about rent and noisy neighbors. Also, he would have an excuse to be around Serena much more. In the other hand however, he was afraid of what could happen if he were always so close to her. He was afraid of what he might do if he lost control again.
"I think it's a great idea," Darien's mother said, catching on to Elaine's plan. "Darien, I think that you should seriously consider her offer." Darien nodded. He was really thinking about whether or not it would be such a good idea. Obviously, Serena's parents had no problem with it, and his parents thought it was a good idea as well. Also, Serena didn't seem to give any objections.
"Okay," Darien said. "As long as you don't mind, I would love to stay here." Serena's friends all squealed in delight, but quickly caught a look from Serena's eyes that made them quickly shut up. Jill just grinned widely. She knew that it was going to be an interesting week. Elaine slapped herself on the back, smiling. Her master plan had just gone into effect.
"Please excuse me for a moment," Serena said, standing up. She quickly walked out of the dining room and through the living room to the front door. She opened the door and left the house. Once she was outside, she sighed and sat down on the front step. The night breeze blew softly across her face, making her hair sway gently along with it. She looked up at the sky and gasped.
There was not one cloud in the sky, and the stars shined brightly. She smiled as a song played through her head. It was the same song that her locket played when she opened it. She smiled, remembering the person who gave the locket to her.
'Darien,' she thought, 'why do you remind me so much of him?' She sighed, hugging her knees and placing her head on her shoulder. She didn't know how she would be able to survive with Darien living with her. She didn't know how she would be able to act with the hottest guy she ever saw living under the same roof. All she did know was this was going to be a long vacation.
Well that's it for chapter five. What will happen now that Darien is LIVING with Serena. Will she be able to survive these two weeks? Or will love prevail? Find out more in the next chapter.