"Darien, damn it, that better not be your hand." Serena warned, while Darien was blindly carrying her around through the dark. They have been randomly walking for what seemed like hours, trying to find a bathroom, or a room with a bathroom.
Darien grinned and feigned innocence, "That's not my hand." Serena narrowed her eyes into little slits. If he thought that he could use her injury as a chance to feel her up, he was definitely wrong. She reached down and pinched his hand, hard.
"AH! DAMN!" Darien screamed, almost dropping Serena.
"You pervert! That IS your hand!" Serena yelled into his ear.
"Do you realize that I could have dropped you on the floor?" He started to rub his hand on her leg. She widened her eyes.
"WHAT THE HELL!" Squirming to get out of his arms, Serena kicked her legs back and forth.
Darien held her even tighter, "Stop moving! You'll hurt yourself even more!"
"I knew you were some sort of sick pervert from the start! LET ME GO!" Serena started pinching his arms to make him let go. She knew that he was being too good to be true. There was an ulterior motive underneath it all from the beginning. She knew she should have never trusted him. For all she knew, he could have lured other girls and introduced them to the world of the pervert…And there was no one in the house to help her! Even if she screamed, Mina or Andrew would not hear her! So this was the turn that her life would take. She would be molested by an unbelievably gorgeous jock and no would be able to stop him.
"Serena, stop freaking out! Jeez! I was only trying to make the pain go away! I know you think I'm a handsome, buff and smart guy, but hey, I'm not that strong enough to hold you with one arm."
Oh sure,
that was the best he could do? How incredibly lame.
What, he couldn't hold her with one arm? What a bunch of crap. Serena huffed.
"Couldn't you rub yourself?"
Darien smirked, "Well, I'll do that sometime later if you want to watch m—"
Serena's hands flew to her ears. "UGH! Don't even finish!"
After her hands came back down, Darien started, "If I rubbed myself, I would have had to let you go, and like I told you before, I'm not going to let you go. So just relax."
Serena rolled her eyes and stopped fidgeting. Who wants him to not let go anyway? What a stupid, arrogant pig, always assuming things…Well, they say that people that assume make an ass of—
"I think I found a bathroom." Darien grabbed the doorknob, while still holding on to her, and swung the door open.
"I can't see anything. Are you sure this is a bathroom?" Squinting, she tried in vain to make out the objects in the room.
Darien laughed, "Well, why don't you tell me, I don't live here." Serena pinched him, again.
"OW! What's with you and pinching?"
Serena teased him, "Aw, don't tell me the captain of the big, bad football team can't take a little pinch!"
"A LITTLE pinch? You call that a LITTLE pinch?!"
She laughed before she realized that they were indeed in the bathroom. She could recognize the scent of her bath salts. Suddenly, she realized that she usually lit candles while taking nice, long baths. She tapped Darien on the shoulder.
"Darien, I got an idea!"
Darien came out of his pain long enough to murmur, "What?"
"Walk to your left until I tell you to stop." He slowly turned to his left and started walking. Serena raised her hand and waited until she felt the cool marble sink underneath her fingertips.
"Stop." Darien did as she told him to.
"Okay, now get down on the floor."
"This really isn't the time to make out, but if you really want to, I guess I can grant you a favor," Darien smirked. He really did enjoy teasing her. Besides, it gave him an excuse to talk to her. The way she smiled and pretended to not like what he said. He didn't really get why she wouldn't just give in and pronounce her true feelings. Everyone knew that she had feelings for him. If she wanted to play hard to get, it was fine by him. He grinned.
"Jeez, just do it already!" Darien kneeled down while Serena opened the cabinet and searched for the candles that she would always use. When she felt the waxy material, she grabbed it, along with another candle behind it and packet of matches beside it.
"Okay, now stand up."
"I kind of like this bossy attitude. It's definitely sexy." He stood up.
"Put me down," she continued when she heard him starting to refuse, "It's okay. I can stand on my other foot." He reluctantly let go of her gently and she stood up shakily with his arms supporting her around her waist. She put the candle down on the sink and tore a match from the packet.
"Damn!" Serena swore when she couldn't get the match to light up.
"Need any help?"
Serena tore off another match, giving up on the first one. "No thanks." After three matches later, she was finally able to light the two candles. The room instantly lit up with a dim glow. Serena looked up and caught Darien's dark blue eyes through the mirror. As much as she tried to break away, she found out that she just couldn't will herself to do it. Darien was the first to break eye contact.
"So, where's that medicine kit?" Jeez, Shockcor! What the hell was that?!
Serena blinked. "Huh?"
Amused, Darien gave a slight smile. "You know, for your ankle?"
Serena blankly nodded and murmured, "Oh, um, It's over there." She said, pointing toward a tiny cabinet on the other side of the bathroom.
Walking over to the cabinet in long strides, Darien took out a white, metal box with a red cross on the cover. He quickly walked back to Serena and opened the box hurriedly. Serena's eyes watched him the entire time.
"Here," said Darien, pulling the toilet cover down, "sit and put your leg out." Serena did as she was told and continued to watch. He slipped her sandal off of her foot and put some kind of ointment on her ankle that felt very cool and kind of uncomfortable.
Her mind began to wonder why he was doing this. A part of her was skeptical and decided that he was only doing this so that she would get into bed with him. But, a different part of her knew that he wasn't just doing this to add another notch in his belt. And that same part of her wanted so badly for him to think of her as different from any other girl he had met in his life. Even though her ankle was the size of an orange, she was content with this moment. She had wished to be happy for just one moment in her life and then everything would be set. This had to be too good to be true.
"Okay, all done." At his voice, Serena was brought back to reality from her thoughts. She looked down at her ankle to see it wrapped in bandages. Turning to Darien, she smiled.
Darien sat on the floor, awestruck by her blinding smile. Has she ever smiled like that to him before?
"Thank you."
Darien was caught off guard and he stuttered out a response. "N-nah, don't worry about it. It was nothing." Serena still kept the smile on her face as she looked at him losing his cool.
"What do you think Rena and Darien are doing?" Mina twirled a strand of her hair with her finger while her other hand was clutching her eyes to her chest. She shivered a little because of the cold.
Andrew grinned, "I could think of some things they might be doing right now."
Serena and Darien were millimeters from each other's faces. Closing her eyes, she felt Darien's breath as he leaned in. She wished she could capture this moment and freeze time so they could be like this forever. Darien's thoughts were not far off from Serena's. When their lips touched, Darien was in heaven. They slowly broke apart and opened their eyes. After staring into each other's eyes, Serena broke the silence.
Nervously giggling, she said, "I bet Mina's an icicle right about now."
"Right, the blankets," said Darien, absentmindedly.
Serena got in his arms again and they started for the door, Serena clutching two lit candles in her hands. As soon as they got out, Darien tried to lighten the atmosphere.
"So, recognize where we are now?" He asked, jokingly.
"Shut up," Serena glared at him, while still keeping a smile on her face. Now that the tension between them had dissipated, they started a light conversation.
"So, Darien, have you always been the king of your school?"
Darien gloated, puffing out his chest a bit. "Of course, ever since I was born."
Serena laughed lightly, "I can imagine you trying to feel up a two-year-old girl in diapers while playing in a play-pen."
"Hey, how'd you know that?" At Serena's surprised look, he quickly said, "Just kidding" and started laughing.
"But seriously though," Darien started as his laughter subsided, "it's hard being me." At the sight of Serena rolling her eyes, Darien pouted and tried his best to defend himself.
"I'm dead serious!"
"Sure, Dare, sure. It must be very hard to have girls hanging all over you all the time."
"Contrary to your belief, that's not all there is to being king. I have certain pressures." Darien put on a serious face.
"Right…And would those pressures be deciding on which girl to hit on next?" Serena asked sarcastically.
"No," said Darien, gloatingly, "that comes naturally."
Serena muttered an "ugh" and said, "I swear I could just pour this hot candle wax all over you right now." When Serena saw a familiar glint in his eyes, she quickly interrupted before he could mutter a word.
"Darien, don't even say anything, you pervert." Darien just chuckled and they continued to walk through her house in comfortable silence. Serena guided Darien to her room and they searched for her cell phone. Darien saw that her room didn't fit the image of her room that he had in his mind. He expected the room to be sweet and inviting and cozy. But he sensed sort of a cold vibe from the room. There were no pictures or posters hanging in the room. There were no cute stuffed animals or anything that remotely reflected her personality.
Serena sensed his puzzled state. "I didn't decorate this room. It was like this when I got here."
"Want to explain why there are no pictures hanging on the walls or anything like that?"
Darien felt Serena shift uncomfortably in his arms and heard her say evasively, "Don't want to get too attached, you know how it is…"
Darien didn't know how it was, but he decided not to push further. He didn't want to tick her off, especially since he was doing so well with her.
They emerged from her room minutes later with four blankets and a cell phone that had no batteries, to Serena's disappointment. Reaching the staircase, Darien began to descend those stairs with difficulty. He couldn't see over the pile of blankets and was trying his best not to tumble down the stairs or drop Serena.
Mina and Andrew were discussing the strategies of football when Mina suddenly sat straight up, saying "shhh!"
"Andrew, did you hear that?"
"Hear what?" Andrew asked, dumbfounded.
"That
noise…It sounds like footsteps…Oh my gosh! That must
be Sere and Darien!" Mina excitedly stood up and ran
blindly toward the sound. However, she unexpectedly bumped into some kind of
furniture and landed on her face with a loud smack.
Andrew winced and shook his head. "Jeez…"
Serena and Darien were startled by the sound.
"What was
that?" Darien asked Serena.
She looked up toward the ceiling and muttered, "Oh no."
"What?"
"That was probably Mina. Come on, hurry up, I need to see if she's alright."
Darien rolled his eyes and blew a couple strands of his jet black hair out of his eyes. "Well, sorry, princess, but it doesn't help much to have a pile of blankets obstructing my view of my feet."
"Well, it's not like I can help it either, so get a move on, slave," commanded Serena in a fake, haughty voice.
Darien brightened up, "Your sex slave?"
"No."
"Damn it."
They finally made it down the stairs and walked into the living room. Now, that the living room was dimly lit, Serena could see Mina sprawled on the floor with Andrew by her side. They both looked up as Serena and Darien walked toward them.
"Serena? Thank God, you're back, did you find your cellphone? Did you call anyone?" Mina asked hurriedly, trying to advert the embarrassing attention from herself. She stood up quickly, dusting herself off, not because there was actual lint but as a nervous habit.
Darien gently put Serena down on the couch beside Mina and sat down on Serena's other side. Serena put the candles down on the coffee table and laid the blankets by her feet before she looked at Mina sympathetically.
"I found the cellphone, but it didn't work; no batteries…" said Serena, while shaking her head. She picked two blankets from the pile and passed them to Mina and Andrew.
Mina looked crestfallen. Andrew was not off better.
"I'm really sorry, Mina, I knew you wanted to go to the dance." Serena gave her a half hug. Mina tried to look cheerful as she said, "Well, at least I'm stuck here with two hot guys and my girlfriend."
"So I'm not driving that Porsche tonight, right?' Darien turned to look at Andrew exasperatedly. He couldn't believe Drew could think of that now.
"No,
doesn't look like it, now, does it?" Darien snapped.
Andrew put his hands up in the air. "Alright! Don't get your granny panties in a bunch…"
"Look who's talking, Mr. I-buy-my-underwear-from-the-old-ladies-section," Darien taunted. Mina and Serena each raised an eyebrow at this comment. Serena interrupted, trying to stop a fight from erupting.
"Guys, stop it right now! Act your ages, alright?"
There was a silence, where everyone was trying to keep their tempers in check. Then, all of the sudden came an outburst from Andrew, who couldn't just not defend himself.
"Dude! That was only once!" Andrew shouted, trying to salvage his image in front of Mina, whose mouth had dropped.
"Whatever!" Serena shouted. "Everyone just stop and let's just go to sleep. Hopefully, my father will be able to rescue us in the morning."
Andrew finally let it go, but had to explain to Mina, since she was pleading him to. Darien looked over at the couple. They were in deep discussion about the granny underwear incident and were too preoccupied. He looked over at Serena. It looked as if she was in deep thought. Darien grinned. He moved a little closer to Serena. She didn't seem to notice. He grinned even further and slowly started to move his arm behind her neck.
"What are you doing?" Darien was caught off guard by her voice.
"What?"
"What's your arm doing behind me?" Serena said, smiling a little.
"Oh yeah, that." Darien ran his hand through his hair, "You know, it's kind of getting cold, so I was trying to get some, um…"
"Body heat?" Serena asked, amused.
Darien grinned, "Yeah! Yeah, body heat. So…" He scooted closer. They sat there for a long time, until he finally put his arms around her shoulder. Serena looked at his tanned face as his head leaned closer and closer to hers. His lips were about to touch hers when he was met with a fluffy blanket in his face, causing his head to hit the couch hard.
Serena stood up. "I'm going to get something to eat." She lifted one of the candles from the table.
Darien stood up as well. "Need any help?"
"No, it's only over there. I can make it by myself." She started to limp toward the kitchen.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, positive."
Okay, so maybe what she did was a little harsh, but still, could any girl blame her if she wanted to just talk once in a while? All they ever did was tease each other and kiss. Could they ever be anything more than just a kissing couple? It did seem like there was something more to Darien than what everyone believed. Maybe she should give him the benefit of the doubt. Serena shook her head. She didn't want to think about this right now. She was getting hungry and the food was probably rotting in the fridge. It was a wonder how people in the ancient times survived without electricity.
She pushed open one of the swinging doors to the kitchen and limped toward the refrigerator. She could have found the refrigerator without a candle since she hung around here more than her own bedroom. Just as she expected, everything was either withering, melting or smelling funky. Grabbing four containers of leftovers and four forks, she put them into an empty plastic bag which she put around her wrist.
After she returned, everyone immediately picked up a fork and ate the slightly warm leftovers. Andrew was about to complain about something hard that he bit when they all heard a banging noise.
"Did everyone hear that?" Serena questioned, her eyes darting around the house. The three of them nodded in response.
"Maybe it was an animal…" Mina suggested.
Then, the banging came again, except this time it was louder with a lot more force.
Serena abruptly stood up on one leg and limped toward the covered window. She pounded her fist against the window and screamed as loud as she could, "Is anybody there! Help! We're locked inside! Help!"
The rest got the idea and started pounding on the widows as well. When they received no response for five minutes they gave up and plopped down on the couch again.
Andrew sighed loudly. "I knew it was too good to be true…"
For a while they sat there in silence, wrapped up in blankets when all of the sudden the metal plates were removed from all of the windows. The lights flickered and lit the room. The four looked around, confused. The door was kicked open, causing both Serena and Mina to jump and also causing four pairs of eyes to focus on the doorway. A tall man with unruly black hair hurriedly walked in. Behind him were two bulky men in black suits, looking alert.
"What the…" Darien's remark caused the three men to look his way, giving Serena a full view of the black-haired man's face. A look of recognition crossed the young man's face.
Serena gasped and stood up. "Tasji?!"
"Serena!" He walked toward Serena in quick strides with long legs, taking a short amount of time to get to her. When he reached her, he hugged her and looked around her body for any cuts or bruises.
"Are you alright?" Darien clamped his jaws tightly and clenched his hands. Why was that guy touching her? Fine, so they knew each other. So what?
"What are you doing here?" Serena said, still gaping.
"I came here to take you back with me."
AN: Hey, everyone. Sorry about the late update, again. You all are probably pissed off at me right now. Unfortunately, my cousin passed away and I was too depressed to do anything. But since I'm better, you can expect me to finish this story.
