Chapter 8
She hated him. She wanted him to fall off a cliff and float down a river for days and days until someone finds his body. She should put a restraining order on him. It also helped that her father was in the military. And she knew that his rank was pretty high. She smirked. Maybe she can get her father to draft him. Could they do that nowadays?
She looked into the back mirror to see him looking right back at her. That stupid ass! How the hell could he do this to me? The school probably thought she was some kind of slut or something. A slut who pretended like she hated him but when actually she wanted to shove her tongue down his throat. Oh yeah, Serena could just see it now. She could just see herself walking through the hallways tomorrow and hearing, "That's Serena! The school slut!"
Serena narrowed her eyes at Darien's face in the back mirror. It was all his fault. Why the hell did he look so hot? Serena quickly looked ahead at the road as her eyes widened. She didn't like him. His ego was brainwashing her. She wanted to walk up to him and slap him like there was no tomorrow. Serena sighed. If he were at least ugly, then it would be so much easier.
Parking her car in the garage, Serena stepped out of her car and slammed the door.
"Hey, sweet car," said Darien when he got out of his sports car.
That bastard, he's trying to make amends! "Whatever," she retorted.
"Sere, look, I'm sorry for whatever I did-"
She stopped him in mid sentence and glared at him, "Can we just forget about what happened today and just concentrate on what's really important?" When he gave her a confused look, she rolled her eyes and said, annoyed, "The project?"
"Oh," said Darien while frowning, "right, the project." He felt that same pang in his heart again as he heard her telling him to forget about the kiss. "Can you at least tell me what I did wrong?"
Serena snorted and looked up at the sky, "Unbelievable." She gave a short laugh, "Absolutely unbelievable. You know what, Darien? Why don't you go home after the meeting, lie down on your bed, close your eyes, and think? Can you at least do that?"
Darien narrowed his eyes. She was mocking him! "Anything for you, Sere, anything for you."
"Dude! Are you guys just gonna stand there having a staring contest or are you gonna actually come in?" Andrew shouted from the balcony of Serena's room.
Both of their faces shot up to where Andrew's voice was coming from.
Darien smiled and waved, "Be right up, Drew!"
"By the way, Serena, is that your car?" Andrew questioned, ogling at her Porsche as if it was a pot of gold.
"Yeah," Serena carelessly replied.
"SWEET! Dudette! You gotta let me test drive it sometime!"
Serena smiled, amused, "Sure, Andy, anything for you, right?"
Darien clenched his jaw and raised an eyebrow. "Andy"? What kind of nickname was that? It sounded like some little kid who lives on a farm and raises pigs for life. Since when was Andrew "Andy" to Serena? And what did she mean by "anything for you"? When did she become his best friend's slave? Just because he commented on her car…he said "sweet", too. I guess I didn't say it with enough gusto, he bitterly thought.
"Hey, man, are you there?"
Darien snapped out of his jealousy to see Andrew leaning half way over the railing. Now if he just leaned over a bit more…Oh God! What the fuck was wrong with him?!
"Uh…yeah…I'm still here," Darien managed to stutter out, "SO…let's get started!" He rubbed his hands together and walked to the door.
"O true apothecary, thy drugs are quick!"
"CUT!"
Darien sighed, exasperated, and dragged his hand through his hair, "What now, Drew?"
"Darien, my man, Darien," Andrew slowly said as he shook his head from side to side, "What are we going to do with you? You're not getting into it, Dare! Say it with more feeling, more passion, uh, what's the word…more, uh…gusto!"
Darien rolled his eyes inwardly. "Fine, I'll try harder, happy?"
"Oh! I know!" Andrew exclaimed, "you can act like you swallowed some bad tasting stuff that's like, really poisonous!"
Darien snickered while Serena raised her head from her laying position to give Andrew a weird look. It was Serena who spoke up first, "Sorry to tell you Andy, but that's what actually happens."
Andrew laughed, "I knew there was an answer for why that was in the back of my head."
It continued like that until Andrew got a page from his mom about dinner. Serena inwardly thanked the gods when Andrew's pager beeped. That beep meant more to Serena than a shopping spree. It signaled the end of this stuffy session, which signaled the time for Mr. Cocky to leave. She definitely couldn't stay in the same room with him for more than 3 hours. It was uncomfortable enough for Serena to have him stare at her in a classroom full of people, but it was even more uncomfortable to have him stare at her in her bedroom while hovering over her head.
Andrew picked up his books to leave.
"I'll walk you downstairs," Serena offered, trying to get far away from Darien as possible.
"Wait up," Darien said.
Oh Great.
Serena waved a good-bye as Andrew drove away.
Oh Wonderful. Just peachy now that she was alone with Darien.
"Serena, I still want to talk to you about what happened in class today."
"Look," Serena started, "I told you to forget about that. Get over it, 'cause I already have."
Darien snagged her around the waist and pulled her closer. Serena sucked in a breath.
"Are you sure you've already forgotten it? That's an awfully big thing to forget for such a smart person," he said, his lips barely touching her ear. "Now, tell me, Sere, did you actually forget?"
"Y-yes," Serena blushed while managing to stutter a lame answer.
Darien smirked and started to chuckle. "Really, then I guess I'm going to have to give you an even better one," he whispered and smirked. Before she could even utter a word, his lips came crashing down on her mouth. Darien hadn't seen the fireworks until now. The only fireworks that he actually felt before were during his first kiss when he was actually nervous about kissing a girl. This was like his first kiss all over again, except this time he felt the tightness of his pants. When he had her practically melting in his arms, he broke the kiss and lowered his mouth onto her neck. Then he slowly moved to her ear and whispered, "I'll pick you up for the dance at 8." He pulled back before she could feel anything on her stomach.
Serena opened her cloudy eyes half way. Serena's mind was still hazy and couldn't comprehend what just had happened. "Huh?" By then Darien was already driving away.
Oh no…
Whoa, that was pretty close. I almost let her know of Little Darien down here. *Smirk* But I got her to agree to go to the dance with me… Better call Drew.
"Yeah?"
"I have to tell you something."
Andrew's voice became serious, "What's wrong? Is it anything serious?"
"Nah, nothing like that, Drew. Something happened in English class today. Between me and Sere."
"Ah…so that's why she looked kinda mad."
"I kissed her."
"You what?! Against her will? Dude, that's seriously wrong-"
Darien interrupted quickly, "NO! Not against her will. She kissed me back."
"Phew," Andrew sounded relieved. "But then, why was she mad at you today?"
"That's exactly what I want to know! I swear I didn't do anything, Drew! When we broke apart, she was mad at me!"
"Holy shit! Oh fuck!" There were sounds of tires screeching.
"I know! Can you believe her? Mad at me for no reas-"
"Dude," said Andrew, breathing quickly, "you gotta repeat that, I almost ran over something furry."
Darien rolled his eyes. "I said," he started slowly, talking like he would to a kindergartner, "that's exactly what I want to know, I didn't do anything, and when we broke apart she was mad. Can you believe her? She's mad at me for no reason!"
"Dare, Dare, Dare," said Andrew, shaking his head. "When are you ever going to master the complicated minds of women?"
Darien's eyebrow rose.
"Did you kiss her in front of the whole class?"
"Uh…I guess so."
"There's the problem! You embarrassed her, dumbass! In front of the whole class! So I suggest that you get her presents or something tomorrow before your chances with her becomes negative fifty."
Darien was too busy thinking about what to get her that he let his "dumbass" comment slide. "Thanks, Drew, you're a lifesaver."
"You should learn from the master, Dare. I know all. I've learned the ways from my years and year of practice. You see—hello? Darien? Hello? Are you there? Dude?"
*BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP*
Serena groggily woke up on Thursday morning. She got up and slammed the snooze button. She shuddered to think what would happen at class today because of that little accident the other day. She would take on any three-headed dog than face Darien's vicious fan club. Girls can be so evil sometimes. She would have to tell Darien that she wasn't going to the dance with him. I wonder if his fan club will love me for not going with him or kill me for "hurting" his feelings…
She dressed quickly into a jean skirt and white halter with a jean jacket over it. The school took way too much advantage of the air conditioners. She slipped into her Candies four-inch sandals.
"Morning, Dad," said Serena as she walked down the stairs.
"Morning," he called back, not letting his eyes stray from the newspaper.
"Bye, Dad," called out Serena just before she slammed the door.
Serena didn't know what to expect today. Especially since she was now the new school slut. Well, I suppose someone has to be one and that person is me, she mused. When she arrived at school, she took a deep breath and stepped out of her car.
Just as she expected, she received a lot of points and stares from her fellow students while walking through the dreaded halls of hell. She also heard many whispers about her as well. They were along the lines of "That's the Serena girl that made out with Darien during class!" or "Right in class! Can you believe it?" or even "I wonder if she's free?". Just then Raye stomped up to her looking quite angry about something.
"You. How dare you."
Serena started turning the dial of her locker. "Yeah. Me. How dare I what?" She was looking very uninterested and fought down a yawn.
"Do you actually think you have a chance with him?" Raye's eyes glinted dangerously under the florescent light of the hallways.
"With who?"
Raye scowled even further, "Don't play dumb with me, little girl. You know exactly who I'm talking about."
Serena only paused for a split second when turning the dial as she heard Raye call her, "little girl". She chose to ignore her and opened her locker. She impatiently shoved her books and binders into her backpack, not being able to wait to get to her next class where she would be away from this wannabe lover of that egotistical bastard.
"Stay away from him, Lovette. Besides, you don't think you have a chance with him do you?" Raye gave a shrill laugh, "'Cause that would be funny."
Serena rolled her eyes, "And you think YOU have a chance with him?"
"Of course I do," she smiled cockily, "why else would Darien ask me to the dance next Friday?"
Letting an exasperated sigh, she murmured, "You wish," before walking away. Serena already knew whom he asked to the dance because it was none other than herself. She started to walk away when she felt a hand grab her arm tightly.
"Did you say something?" Raye narrowed her eyes at Serena.
Serena has just about had it with this girl! Who did she think she was, just because she was the captain of some cheerleading squad!
Serena tried to calm herself down by taking a few deep breaths, but that plan flew out the window when Raye tightened her hold on her.
"Listen, you psycho-bitch, I don't care if you get together with Darien or not. Just. Stay. Away. From. Me." She yanked her arm back and stalked away. She had to admit the expression on Raye's face was priceless.
Serena's thoughts were interrupted by someone walking up to her side. Clapping was followed. "Nice performance."
Serena, knowing who it was, sped up her pace and muttered coldly, "What do you want, Shockcor?"
"Only for you to grace me with your presence." He had on his all-too-familiar cocky expression.
"Well, sorry to disappoint you, but I have to get to my next class."
Serena sped up her pace even more so that it as if she was in a power-walking contest. Darien jogged up beside her with a smirk. Before she could say anything, he pulled out from behind his back a bouquet of a dozen red roses. Serena stared at them, speechless. She accepted them and brought them up to her nose. There was a trace of a pink hue on her cheeks.
"Thank you," she said softly and looked away, blushing. She would have never thought that he was a guy who was considerate enough to give a girl a bouquet. She didn't even know that roses grew on Hawaii. They might have been imported, and if they were, then it would have been very expensive. Maybe she was wrong about Darien…
"You don't have to be shy around me just 'cause I'm your date, Sere." Then again, maybe not. He didn't even say, "you're welcome" or "I'm sorry"!
Serena abruptly stopped walking as the words sunk in. She turned around to find Darien already at the other end of the hallway. She forgot to tell him that she wasn't going to the dance with him. Darien had run the other direction after his comment. He didn't want her to ruin the beautiful day by telling him that she wasn't going with him. He knew she thought that now, but it was just a matter of time… He grinned and waved at her.
"Looking forward to that kiss, Juliet!" This shout got the attention of just about everyone in the halls.
Serena was reminded of the scene that they would have to rehearse in English class that was coming up soon. Serena's face flushed red, not only of embarrassment but also anger at him for shouting such a comment in front of their peers. Right now, Serena was certain that her status was dropping even lower. She sighed. She could tell already that this day would not be a very good day for her.
*Tick* *tock* *tick* *tock*
Damn you, why do you have to move so quickly? Serena mentally cursed at the hands of the clock. Her next class was the one she dreaded the most. English.
*Bell rings*
Serena turned her horrified eyes to the black speaker on the wall above the clock. She walked to the English class like a person walking to get beheaded.
Sitting down in her desk, she buried her head in her arms, trying to block out everything. The noise, the teacher, and Darien. Andrew and Darien wanted over to her, talking to each other. Andrew looked at Serena.
"Are you feeling okay, Sere?"
Serena had an extremely powerful urge to tell him, "no", but said, "yes", when she remembered that Andrew desperately need a good grade. Seeing as this was the last rehearsal, Serena tried to cheer herself up by reminding herself of when this would all be over.
"So, I've been thinking and I noticed that we haven't practiced the kissing scene," said Darien while smiling wickedly.
Serena felt absolutely terrified, but at the same time, eager. She decided to go with terrified.
"NO, NO, NO!" She fervently said. "Uh…what if the teacher doesn't like it?"
Andrew pondered the thought for a moment. "Come to think of it, Dare, she's right. And besides, why would you guys need to practice kissing? I'm sure we've all done it before. It's not like you guys are gonna french and who doesn't know how to peck a person on the lips? We've all done that since we were children and—FUCK!" Andrew's hands flew to his shin which was showing the signs of a bruise. He looked up at Darien questioningly to see him glaring at him. Then it finally clicked, "Oh… But then again, maybe you guys should practice it—"
"What! Why?!" Serena screeched.
"Because, er…because…he might miss or something! I mean, you don't want him to slobber all over your nose do you? Anyone's spit up your nose is just nast- HOT DAMN!" Andrew shouted as he gave a mean glare to Darien.
"MR. TAYLOR! WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE! This is English class for goodness sake! One more time and I am going to have to give you detention!"
"Sorry, ma'am," said Andrew sheepishly.
Darien snickered, "Hot damn?"
Thirty minutes later Serena found herself cursing at the clock again, but this time for being too slow. Come on, bell, ring bell, ring! She was lying down on five desks pushed up against each other in a row, eyes shut tight.
"And thus, with a kiss, I die." This was the vile sentence that cued the kiss. Ring damn it! Serena crossed her fingers. Darien was inches from Serena's face.
*BELL RINGS*
THANK YOU, GOD!
"NOT AGAIN! DAMN IT!" Serena opened her eyes to find Darien looking very frustrated and about to rip his hair out. She sat up and was about to get off when Darien grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her down back on the desk/bed.
"Oh no you don't," he muttered. Before Serena could protest, his lips came crashing down on hers. When Darien broke the kiss, Serena's eyes were wide as saucers. Serena sat up, gaping at Darien's form walking away.
The end of the day finally approached after what it seemed like a thousand years to Serena. She tiredly packed her bag and was about to stuff her roses in when she noticed a note that was attached. She plucked it from the bouquet and opened it. It was a simple message that made her smile while it still showed his cocky personality.
You're welcome. I'm sorry.
AU: hey, I was wondering, do you want this story to be a little long or medium or short? B/c I think I'm dawdling a little. I think this story will be too long if I keep doing this… I don't know what you guys want but I think I'm gonna go for 15 or 16 chapters or somewhere around there, unless anyone wants something else.
