Coffee 13B
(The real author's notes are at the bottom. Just to let you know, I've taken pity on you all and decided to write the next chapter. I really want to wrap this story and focus on other things and. damn. I'm getting ahead of myself again. You may want to download Alicia Keys' "Goodbye" for this. One last thing: DON'T HATE ME!!!)
***This chapter is dedicated to Tay, my former beta/editor. Tay, you are more than welcome to hang with us whenever you get the time, even if it's just to pop in and say hello. We will miss you dearly and know that our thoughts and prayers are with you, girlfriend. Hang in there, chica. We love you.***
*
It would be nice to write some sappy line about how the sun filtered in from the windows and hit our heroine's face in such a gentle move that caused her to awaken from her slumber. It would be nice. But it wouldn't be true.
The suite they were in had thick, velvet blackout drapes. No sun was allowed in when it wasn't welcome. And since last night - after his shower, before the party - Darien had closed the drapes early because something about seeing the moon out so early was making him jumpy. That, and he was seriously dreading the jet lag that was undoubtedly going to attack him in two days time.
But I digress. The only reason the blonde and her handsome raven-haired lover awoke this lovely Saturday morning was because Darien had requested wake-up calls at promptly 5:30 AM for the week. So at 5:29 and counting, the phone rang quite loudly, effectively startling the two lovers out of their happy slumber.
Eyes closed, Darien automatically reached over for the phone. "Hello?"
"This is your 5:30 wake-up call, Mr. Shields. Have a nice day."
Before he could say goodbye, the receptionist had hung up. He shook his head and tried to hand the phone up. It banged around on the rich cherry nightstand a few times before a smaller hand landed on top of his and correctly guided it over to the cradle.
"Who was that?" Serena asked, stretching languidly as she rested atop him.
"My wake up call," he replied, shifting her over so his back was to the offending object and drew her closer to him.
"Oh." She settled in the crook of his arm. "What time is it?"
He yawned, careful to turn away from her, lest he overpower her with his morning-breath. "Who cares. We don't have to be awake right now anyway."
She seemed to accept this answer and her breathing slowly deepened until he was pretty certain she'd gone back to sleep. By now, though, he was all but doomed to stay awake for the rest of the morning. It wasn't that he wasn't tired, because if there had even been a cause for sleep, it was last night and the stress of the past week. It was just that when he had a wake-up call, he couldn't fall back asleep. It was a severe character flaw, one that he needed to have removed or amended immediately.
He sighed, carefully disentangling himself from her grasp and stumbled into the bathroom to wash up. As he moved on autopilot in his usual morning routine, thoughts flitted around in the distracted way they do when you've just woken up. Obviously, the situation needed to be attended to. Serena, posing as Mina still, was in his bed. She'd slept with him last night and there was no telling how many people had seen them in the elevator together and entering his room. It wasn't as if they had been quiet or anything.
Darien reached for the Advil he kept in his toiletry bag and swallowed two dry. His head was pounding and the whole job of trying to keep the situation under wraps wasn't helping. He turned the shower on and waited for the water to get warm. If it had been Serena, and people had known that, the problem would simply not exist.
He ducked under the hot spray and continued his thought process. But since it was supposedly *Mina*, his best friend's girl, that wasn't something they could just gloss over. He was pretty sure the rest of Rei's little crew knew that it wasn't Mina. And somewhere, in the back of his mind, he dimly realized that last night would have never happened if they didn't give their blessing. He also realized that it was the sort of thing that should have been able to happen without anyone's blessing.
What he and Serena had shared had been beautiful. It seemed almost plausible to imagine waking up next to her every morning and seeing her face as the last thing before he went to sleep. But mushy frou frou thoughts didn't help the situation any and he wasn't going to start losing his head over some feelings for a woman he needed to get to know all over again.
If there was thing he'd learned, it was that she'd changed from the sweet girl he'd known in Tokyo. Oh, there was still a degree of sweetness to her, and she looked about the same, but there was a tired and lost gleam in her eye hadn't been there before that worried him a bit. When they got back to America, she was moving in with him. And he was going to see to it that she got all the care she needed.
* * *
When the water started to run, Serena idly wondered why it was such a great hotel if the walls were so thin. Then she remembered last night and hoped that they were a bit thicker *between* rooms than they were in the room. She rolled over and would have gasped at the clock's display of 10 to six were she not so tired.
Resigning herself to the inevitable, she rose from the bed and staggered over to Darien's closet. She needed coffee, but she couldn't go downstairs in a robe. Luckily, he still had her outfit from the first show and she threw that on, grabbing one of Darien's dress shirts that looked like it would fit her. It came together as a black, shirt and raw silk blue skirt. She opened the top two buttons and smiled grimly. If anyone asked. she'd glare at them.
Coffee was her mission and she jotted down a note for Darien and left it on the bed before leaving the room to get into the elevator. Hopefully no one was up this early anyway. She wouldn't have been, if it hadn't been for that damn phone call.
* * *
Madison had had very little sleep last night. First of all, she was nursing a massive hangover. Second, she'd stayed up late to scan and email certain pictures to a certain source. Her meter had gone from bitchy to look-at-me- the-wrong-way-and-I'll-shove-it-up-your-nose-and-pull-it-out-of-your-ear bitchy. She was a woman with a mission. And she was going to get her just rewards this morning because she hadn't been playing stakeout all night for nothing.
A familiar flash of blonde caught her eye and she sat up taller. "Perfect."
She rose from her seat to go to the front of the hotel and purchased the Times and latest tabloids. Those tucked carefully under her arm, she made sure to get a coffee and a latte to go. Then she sat down in a cushy lounger outside the telephone stalls where Serena was and waited.
* * *
She'd gotten the answering machine. Of course. "Mina? Mina, if you're there, pick up?" She sighed. "Okay. Well, you're not there, so I'll just tell you. Last night. was *amazing*. Can I just say that I'm in danger of falling in love with Darien Shields? Because I am. I really, really am. Maybe he really didn't hate me all along. maybe he was just shy or something." 'Or not,' she snorted, as certain things flew into her mind from the previous several hours that cemented the fact that Darien was in no way, shape, or form, shy. About anything. "Anyway, I have to go. My flight leaves late tonight, early tomorrow, so I'll see you soon. Say hi to Andrew for me. Bye!"
Serena hung up the phone and looked around to make sure no one had been listening. Good. It looked pretty deserted. She pushed open the hinged door and closed it carefully behind her, trying to avoid attention as much as possible. Just because her outfit wasn't *all* Darien's didn't mean it was inconspicuous. Hopefully people would just assume that she'd gotten drunk off her ass last night and felt the need to get into her old dress.
She finally looked up from her study of the floor tiles to make sure she was headed in the right direction and noticed Madison sitting directly in her path. As if sensing her gaze, the other blonde looked up with a smile so sugary, you could have made maple syrup candy and had some to spare. Immediately, her senses kicked into red alert. She watched as the other model folded the newspaper she was reading under her arm and started heading her way.
"Great," Serena mumbled, "Just what I need."
The heavy clickity-clack of her shoes only served to make her headache worse and drew the attention of several early-morning patrons. "Good morning, Mina."
Inwardly, she breathed a sigh of relief. Good. No one had noticed anything off last night. "'Morning Madison. Have you been up a while?"
"You have *no* idea," she murmured under her breath, smirking. "Here. I took the initiative and got you and Mr. Shields coffee. I know you must have tons of paperwork and things to go over now that the show's over." She handed off the tray with the steaming caffeine. "Oh, and here's some light reading material you might find interesting."
Serena was puzzled, but never one to turn a gift of caffeine away. "Okay. Well, um, *thanks*, Madison. I really appreciate it."
Madison smiled sweetly. "Oh, it was nothing. Enjoy." She started to walk away and then thought better of it, turning around to get close to Serena so no one else could hear what she was about to say. "And you should know. You were never really a choice for the company. Darien just picked you because you were on his mind. A prime example of an expensive mistake so he could get you in bed. You're the equivalent of a rent-a-date or a cheap escort. You mean *nothing to him and you never will*."
She fought to keep from gaping and blinked several times to dispel her tears. "I-I don't know what you're talking about."
Her opponent's eyebrow rose derisively. "The jig's up, sweetie." The twisted smirk reformed to a sickly smile. She tapped the papers, "You really should keep up with current events. You know what they say: A picture's worth a thousand words. Who knows what could be done with more than one? Ciao." And with that cryptic statement, she waltzed out of the doors and into the grime of early morning Milan.
Serena, however, had to piece herself together enough to make her way to the elevator. Once inside, she leaned her head against the back of the wall and started to cry.
* * *
When the door opened half an hour later, Darien was hard at work on a new melody on the baby grand in the center of the room. When the show was over, he usually tooled around with a piano - one was requested to always be in his room - and worked out what was in his head. Right now, it was all a jumbled mess, but that might have had something do with the fact that he and Serena needed to talk. Hopefully her going to get coffee wasn't the earliest form of avoidance. Last night had been. beyond words. They needed to talk.
"Hey." She said, closing the door behind her carefully. A tray was perched precariously on her free hand and he smiled, remembering her job at Starbucks. It was funny, he mused, what you picked up from former professions. He all but cringed, remembering when catwalks and leather pants were a way of life. He was glad for where he was today, but he wouldn't do it again if offered a billion dollars.
Serena came over and set a venti traditional on the piano's lid. She walked away before he could say anything and busied herself around the room, gathering up her clothes and accessories from last night. "You'll never guess who I ran into downstairs."
He eyed the coffee warily before returning his gaze to her moving form. "Who?"
"Madison." She turned a classically blank smile on him, the expression in her eyes eerily indefinable. "And you'll never guess what we talked about."
Now he was getting worried. Serena and Madison hated each other. Of that, there was no mistake. "What's that?"
The look in her eyes changed. They were stormily dark blue as she threw the papers at him. "You shouldn't always believe what you read, Darien. unless it's true."
He caught them on his chest and looked at the headlines of the New York Times. 'Star Model or Star Actress?' There were four shots in succession, the first was of Serena touching her cheek after he'd kissed her gently at the banquet table, the second was them dancing very closely, the third was of their kiss on the lower balcony and the fourth was Ami, Lita, and Rei with their hands over their mouths as they looked down from the upper veranda, presumably to their kiss.
He cursed violently and looked at her to gauge her reaction. No wonder her eyes had looked puffy when she came in. Of course. She'd been crying. "I guess your secret's out, Serena. I'm sorry." He opened his arms and she willingly came into them, tilting her head up for a kiss.
No one was more surprised than she was when her hand suddenly flew up and slapped him hard on the face. His hands automatically went up to his face and without the barrier, she was able to step back from him.
She smiled bitterly and suddenly the churning in his stomach kicked into turbo. "I'm sorry, too. Tell me, Darien. When you hired me, was I the first on your list? Was I even on your list?" Her eyes grew to blue chips of ice. "Or was I *a mistake*?"
Darien paused in the process of rubbing his cheek gingerly as his eyes shot up to meet her steely gaze. "Who-what are you talking about? Of course not." The 'who' had been a slip of the tongue and desperately wanting to stall for time, he reached for his coffee, lifting it to his lips.
It spilled all over him, staining the white button-down shirt he'd put on after his shower, running straight down to discolor the light gray dress pants. This time he cursed louder, looking at her. "Serena, stop being such a child and grow up! This is not the time for one of your jokes!"
Serena's eyes glinted dangerously and he knew immediately that he'd said the wrong thing. "That's what I was to you, wasn't I? I was a joke. You didn't think I would be able to cut it as a model and it was your way of getting back at me for the coffee." She started shaking her head slowly. "You did all of this so you could get me in bed - that would be the ultimate joke; the final humiliation. You sure got the last laugh this time, Darien."
Now that was the last straw. "Don't give yourself that much credit! If I had wanted you in my bed, trust me, you would have been there a hell of a lot sooner."
Her eyes flashed. "Is that how it is? Well don't worry about seeing me again. Because as of this moment, I quit."
This was getting out of hand too fast, but he was never one to turn down a challenge and if she was going to up the stakes, he could top her out in seconds. Darien lifted his gaze to her, smirking triumphantly. "No, Serena. You signed a non-negotiable contract. You can't quit, and I can't fire you. As of this moment and for another six months, you, in essence, belong to me. And I say you're not leaving to go anywhere until we straighten this out."
"You can't hold me against my will! I'll fight this, tooth and nail! I want out, Darien, and you know it!"
And the power was back in his court. If he truly wanted to, he could set her free. The only clause in the contract was with his permission. He judged the calculating look in her eyes and said only, "Don't think of screwing up your catwalk runs or ruining your costumes. You're better than that and now everyone knows it."
She couldn't hold it back any longer and suddenly burst into tears. "I **HATE** YOU!" Her scream echoed off the walls and seemed to almost slam into him. He didn't watch her leave and waited until he heard the click of the door before turning around.
"I bet you do." He muttered softly, brushing the rose petals off the piano lid. Earlier, the maid had moved the vase and he found it odd that all the roses seemed to be wilting now. He had no idea why, and didn't care to analyze it. There was a private jet at his call and he wanted to sleep in his own bed tonight. But he was right about one thing.
Oh yes. She had most certainly changed.
* * *
She didn't stop to go back to her room for more than a few seconds, going into the safe to get her passport and two credit cards. If there was anything she'd wanted to bring back with her, the novelty had worn off; it didn't matter now. Everything in the room, from the still assembled glass tables to the various articles of clothing would only remind her of this trip, and the show and, eventually, Darien. And that was something she didn't want.
With her mind hazy, she stumbled into a pair of jeans and grabbed the most inconspicuous looking shirt she could find. There was Rei's red Coach hat resting jauntily on the couch and she snatched that too, automatically tucking her hair up inside of it.
With one last glance at the room, she bit back tears and left for the airport, fully intending to hop on the first flight back to the states. and *home*.
* * *
"We're not going to wake her up, you two. That's mean." Ami protested, tugging on her blue robe anxiously.
Rei's eyes were a fiery violet, sure sign that she was about to explode. "How do you want to explain *this*, then?" She threw the morning paper on the glass table.
They were in Serena's room, waiting for her to come back, unaware that they had only just missed her. You see, elevators are tricky like that. Even trickier when the person who's running takes the stairs to miss any incoming traffic and/or nosy best friends.
"I don't know," Ami hissed fiercely, "But there's got to be some way to protect her."
"Hey guys." Lita called from the entryway.
"Hold on," they shouted, continuing their fight.
The raven-haired woman rubbed a hand on her face. "Look, I know you want to protect her Ames, because for some crazy reason, I feel the same way. But we can't hold off telling her. She could get swamped as soon as she leaves his room-and that's the only other place she could be right now, because she sure as hell isn't here!"
Ami quieted, knowing her friend was right. She tapped her lips with her index finger, trying to sort out the details from last night's banquet and this morning's unavoidable news. "Something's off, Rei. There's something about this whole situation that's just not right."
"Oh, gu-ys," Lita sing-songed, her lilting voice echoing in the room.
They looked at each other and started walking towards her voice.
"What if we call Darien and just ask him if he knows where she is? Maybe they don't know yet," Rei bargained, glancing at Ami to see how her effort to be conciliatory was going over.
By the time they reached their Amazonesque friend, she was tapping her foot calmly, regarding them silently with a keen interest. No doubt, she had heard the whole argument from before - it wasn't like Rei had made an effort to hide her feelings on the matter - and she certainly must have wanted to add in her two cents.
Unfortunately, this made Rei all the more tense; being scrutinized was never her thing. "WHAT?!" She finally exploded, glaring at Lita.
The brunette shrugged unaffectedly and handed her a piece of paper. "Her passport and major credit cards are gone. The safe was open and this was in it."
'Hey guys, if you're reading this, then you've probably figured out that I'm not here anymore. I saw the Times and. I'm sorry. I had to get out. I'm going home.
--S
PS- Rei, I took your hat.'
"Oh my god," Rei whispered. "She really left. That means."
"She had a fight with Darien," Ami supplied mournfully, figuring out the situation as the last piece of the puzzle fell into place. "Because she wouldn't have left without him otherwise. Especially now, since her secret's out."
A single tear fell from Lita's eye as she summed up what they were all thinking. "Crap."
* * *
*Stares at chapter appraisingly* 7 pages. Not marginized, size 10 font. Not too bad, eh?
I'm sorry guys. I know, I know, I'm an awful person. Not only did you have to wait like, half a year for this chapter, but then they break up. What a horrible chapter to come back to, right? Well, to serve as fair warning, it's going to be tough going for a while for our favorite blonde and her handsome protector. There are some twists and turns that I even shocked my beloved beta with -- *waves to Fleur* -- and if she didn't see them coming, then that means I still have it.
*dodges rocks and anvils thrown her way*
For law purposes, these notes are going to be very long, so read or skim, but there's certain to be something in here for you personally. Take the time to go over it - it's not like I'm one of those author's who updates every two weeks. You may just find something important.
First of all, I need to thank people. Marni, for being a great editor, and helping when she could. I know you have your own life and a family, but I appreciate all your help. Also huge thanks for Fleur, the mainstay of my sanity and for helping me sort out my jumbled thoughts in this chapter. I know I had you way confused when I started explaining it on AIM the other day, but if it weren't for you, this thing would probably still be sitting on my work menu in MS Word, just waiting to be completed. Now you know what's coming up and I expect you to keep nagging me about it until this story's finished. Big congrats to the Fleur-ster for finishing her super- cool HP story about Ron and Hermione. It's got almost 500 reviews and is chock-full of the craziness that is her muse, so if you're a Harry Potter fan, I suggest you check it out in a major way. More thanks to Tay, for realizing that certain things had to be let go so she could keep her own sanity, how ever hard it may have been for her. And of course, thanks to the readers, for sticking with me and my demented sense of updating.
Now I suppose I owe you all huge, major apologies for making you wait so long. My life has been extremely hectic. The spring is always a rough time for me because the parentals do so much business. We're usually traveling a lot and being that I switched schools in January, that's only added to my problems. Plus, I was having block on this chapter for ages, so you have no idea how happy I am to have it done.
Fleur said I kinda jumped back into this and I guess I did, if for no other reason than that I want to finish it. The story, having it just sit there on my hard drive; knowing that people are waiting to read it. it takes a lot out of you. It's like a ticking time bomb. (What other types of time bombs are there? Non-ticking ones?)
As you can see, I'm going off on random things with is just my attempt to justify my guilt and hopefully distract you all from the real thing here, which is my lack of updates. I deserve to be severely punished for that.
Anyway, what this all comes down to is this: I love reviews. I am a review- whore. Pardon my French, but it's true. I will do anything for a review. We writers aren't kidding when we say we want them and that they inspire us to work harder. If people are reading our stuff, and liking it, that is the best sort of inspiration we could ever have. Because knowing that people like and read our stories makes us work harder to keep the chapters coming. So even if it's just to say that you liked the story, or what your favorite line was in it, PLEASE, PLEASE REVIEW.
You really don't want to make me beg - it's not so pretty.
And maybe, just maybe, if you're really good and boost those reviews, then I will try my hardest to get 14 out before I leave on Friday. The chapter is pretty much planned, it's just a matter of writing it now.
As always, the update list is here, waiting for more members:
And we have a new message board if you're so inclined: #
And if you email me at Serenity_Sea@yahoo.com, (to steal a direct line from Fleur - Remember chica, copying is the highest form of flattery!) a reply is guaranteed.
At almost a page of author's notes, that's it for now! Don't forget to review!
--Seren
(The real author's notes are at the bottom. Just to let you know, I've taken pity on you all and decided to write the next chapter. I really want to wrap this story and focus on other things and. damn. I'm getting ahead of myself again. You may want to download Alicia Keys' "Goodbye" for this. One last thing: DON'T HATE ME!!!)
***This chapter is dedicated to Tay, my former beta/editor. Tay, you are more than welcome to hang with us whenever you get the time, even if it's just to pop in and say hello. We will miss you dearly and know that our thoughts and prayers are with you, girlfriend. Hang in there, chica. We love you.***
*
It would be nice to write some sappy line about how the sun filtered in from the windows and hit our heroine's face in such a gentle move that caused her to awaken from her slumber. It would be nice. But it wouldn't be true.
The suite they were in had thick, velvet blackout drapes. No sun was allowed in when it wasn't welcome. And since last night - after his shower, before the party - Darien had closed the drapes early because something about seeing the moon out so early was making him jumpy. That, and he was seriously dreading the jet lag that was undoubtedly going to attack him in two days time.
But I digress. The only reason the blonde and her handsome raven-haired lover awoke this lovely Saturday morning was because Darien had requested wake-up calls at promptly 5:30 AM for the week. So at 5:29 and counting, the phone rang quite loudly, effectively startling the two lovers out of their happy slumber.
Eyes closed, Darien automatically reached over for the phone. "Hello?"
"This is your 5:30 wake-up call, Mr. Shields. Have a nice day."
Before he could say goodbye, the receptionist had hung up. He shook his head and tried to hand the phone up. It banged around on the rich cherry nightstand a few times before a smaller hand landed on top of his and correctly guided it over to the cradle.
"Who was that?" Serena asked, stretching languidly as she rested atop him.
"My wake up call," he replied, shifting her over so his back was to the offending object and drew her closer to him.
"Oh." She settled in the crook of his arm. "What time is it?"
He yawned, careful to turn away from her, lest he overpower her with his morning-breath. "Who cares. We don't have to be awake right now anyway."
She seemed to accept this answer and her breathing slowly deepened until he was pretty certain she'd gone back to sleep. By now, though, he was all but doomed to stay awake for the rest of the morning. It wasn't that he wasn't tired, because if there had even been a cause for sleep, it was last night and the stress of the past week. It was just that when he had a wake-up call, he couldn't fall back asleep. It was a severe character flaw, one that he needed to have removed or amended immediately.
He sighed, carefully disentangling himself from her grasp and stumbled into the bathroom to wash up. As he moved on autopilot in his usual morning routine, thoughts flitted around in the distracted way they do when you've just woken up. Obviously, the situation needed to be attended to. Serena, posing as Mina still, was in his bed. She'd slept with him last night and there was no telling how many people had seen them in the elevator together and entering his room. It wasn't as if they had been quiet or anything.
Darien reached for the Advil he kept in his toiletry bag and swallowed two dry. His head was pounding and the whole job of trying to keep the situation under wraps wasn't helping. He turned the shower on and waited for the water to get warm. If it had been Serena, and people had known that, the problem would simply not exist.
He ducked under the hot spray and continued his thought process. But since it was supposedly *Mina*, his best friend's girl, that wasn't something they could just gloss over. He was pretty sure the rest of Rei's little crew knew that it wasn't Mina. And somewhere, in the back of his mind, he dimly realized that last night would have never happened if they didn't give their blessing. He also realized that it was the sort of thing that should have been able to happen without anyone's blessing.
What he and Serena had shared had been beautiful. It seemed almost plausible to imagine waking up next to her every morning and seeing her face as the last thing before he went to sleep. But mushy frou frou thoughts didn't help the situation any and he wasn't going to start losing his head over some feelings for a woman he needed to get to know all over again.
If there was thing he'd learned, it was that she'd changed from the sweet girl he'd known in Tokyo. Oh, there was still a degree of sweetness to her, and she looked about the same, but there was a tired and lost gleam in her eye hadn't been there before that worried him a bit. When they got back to America, she was moving in with him. And he was going to see to it that she got all the care she needed.
* * *
When the water started to run, Serena idly wondered why it was such a great hotel if the walls were so thin. Then she remembered last night and hoped that they were a bit thicker *between* rooms than they were in the room. She rolled over and would have gasped at the clock's display of 10 to six were she not so tired.
Resigning herself to the inevitable, she rose from the bed and staggered over to Darien's closet. She needed coffee, but she couldn't go downstairs in a robe. Luckily, he still had her outfit from the first show and she threw that on, grabbing one of Darien's dress shirts that looked like it would fit her. It came together as a black, shirt and raw silk blue skirt. She opened the top two buttons and smiled grimly. If anyone asked. she'd glare at them.
Coffee was her mission and she jotted down a note for Darien and left it on the bed before leaving the room to get into the elevator. Hopefully no one was up this early anyway. She wouldn't have been, if it hadn't been for that damn phone call.
* * *
Madison had had very little sleep last night. First of all, she was nursing a massive hangover. Second, she'd stayed up late to scan and email certain pictures to a certain source. Her meter had gone from bitchy to look-at-me- the-wrong-way-and-I'll-shove-it-up-your-nose-and-pull-it-out-of-your-ear bitchy. She was a woman with a mission. And she was going to get her just rewards this morning because she hadn't been playing stakeout all night for nothing.
A familiar flash of blonde caught her eye and she sat up taller. "Perfect."
She rose from her seat to go to the front of the hotel and purchased the Times and latest tabloids. Those tucked carefully under her arm, she made sure to get a coffee and a latte to go. Then she sat down in a cushy lounger outside the telephone stalls where Serena was and waited.
* * *
She'd gotten the answering machine. Of course. "Mina? Mina, if you're there, pick up?" She sighed. "Okay. Well, you're not there, so I'll just tell you. Last night. was *amazing*. Can I just say that I'm in danger of falling in love with Darien Shields? Because I am. I really, really am. Maybe he really didn't hate me all along. maybe he was just shy or something." 'Or not,' she snorted, as certain things flew into her mind from the previous several hours that cemented the fact that Darien was in no way, shape, or form, shy. About anything. "Anyway, I have to go. My flight leaves late tonight, early tomorrow, so I'll see you soon. Say hi to Andrew for me. Bye!"
Serena hung up the phone and looked around to make sure no one had been listening. Good. It looked pretty deserted. She pushed open the hinged door and closed it carefully behind her, trying to avoid attention as much as possible. Just because her outfit wasn't *all* Darien's didn't mean it was inconspicuous. Hopefully people would just assume that she'd gotten drunk off her ass last night and felt the need to get into her old dress.
She finally looked up from her study of the floor tiles to make sure she was headed in the right direction and noticed Madison sitting directly in her path. As if sensing her gaze, the other blonde looked up with a smile so sugary, you could have made maple syrup candy and had some to spare. Immediately, her senses kicked into red alert. She watched as the other model folded the newspaper she was reading under her arm and started heading her way.
"Great," Serena mumbled, "Just what I need."
The heavy clickity-clack of her shoes only served to make her headache worse and drew the attention of several early-morning patrons. "Good morning, Mina."
Inwardly, she breathed a sigh of relief. Good. No one had noticed anything off last night. "'Morning Madison. Have you been up a while?"
"You have *no* idea," she murmured under her breath, smirking. "Here. I took the initiative and got you and Mr. Shields coffee. I know you must have tons of paperwork and things to go over now that the show's over." She handed off the tray with the steaming caffeine. "Oh, and here's some light reading material you might find interesting."
Serena was puzzled, but never one to turn a gift of caffeine away. "Okay. Well, um, *thanks*, Madison. I really appreciate it."
Madison smiled sweetly. "Oh, it was nothing. Enjoy." She started to walk away and then thought better of it, turning around to get close to Serena so no one else could hear what she was about to say. "And you should know. You were never really a choice for the company. Darien just picked you because you were on his mind. A prime example of an expensive mistake so he could get you in bed. You're the equivalent of a rent-a-date or a cheap escort. You mean *nothing to him and you never will*."
She fought to keep from gaping and blinked several times to dispel her tears. "I-I don't know what you're talking about."
Her opponent's eyebrow rose derisively. "The jig's up, sweetie." The twisted smirk reformed to a sickly smile. She tapped the papers, "You really should keep up with current events. You know what they say: A picture's worth a thousand words. Who knows what could be done with more than one? Ciao." And with that cryptic statement, she waltzed out of the doors and into the grime of early morning Milan.
Serena, however, had to piece herself together enough to make her way to the elevator. Once inside, she leaned her head against the back of the wall and started to cry.
* * *
When the door opened half an hour later, Darien was hard at work on a new melody on the baby grand in the center of the room. When the show was over, he usually tooled around with a piano - one was requested to always be in his room - and worked out what was in his head. Right now, it was all a jumbled mess, but that might have had something do with the fact that he and Serena needed to talk. Hopefully her going to get coffee wasn't the earliest form of avoidance. Last night had been. beyond words. They needed to talk.
"Hey." She said, closing the door behind her carefully. A tray was perched precariously on her free hand and he smiled, remembering her job at Starbucks. It was funny, he mused, what you picked up from former professions. He all but cringed, remembering when catwalks and leather pants were a way of life. He was glad for where he was today, but he wouldn't do it again if offered a billion dollars.
Serena came over and set a venti traditional on the piano's lid. She walked away before he could say anything and busied herself around the room, gathering up her clothes and accessories from last night. "You'll never guess who I ran into downstairs."
He eyed the coffee warily before returning his gaze to her moving form. "Who?"
"Madison." She turned a classically blank smile on him, the expression in her eyes eerily indefinable. "And you'll never guess what we talked about."
Now he was getting worried. Serena and Madison hated each other. Of that, there was no mistake. "What's that?"
The look in her eyes changed. They were stormily dark blue as she threw the papers at him. "You shouldn't always believe what you read, Darien. unless it's true."
He caught them on his chest and looked at the headlines of the New York Times. 'Star Model or Star Actress?' There were four shots in succession, the first was of Serena touching her cheek after he'd kissed her gently at the banquet table, the second was them dancing very closely, the third was of their kiss on the lower balcony and the fourth was Ami, Lita, and Rei with their hands over their mouths as they looked down from the upper veranda, presumably to their kiss.
He cursed violently and looked at her to gauge her reaction. No wonder her eyes had looked puffy when she came in. Of course. She'd been crying. "I guess your secret's out, Serena. I'm sorry." He opened his arms and she willingly came into them, tilting her head up for a kiss.
No one was more surprised than she was when her hand suddenly flew up and slapped him hard on the face. His hands automatically went up to his face and without the barrier, she was able to step back from him.
She smiled bitterly and suddenly the churning in his stomach kicked into turbo. "I'm sorry, too. Tell me, Darien. When you hired me, was I the first on your list? Was I even on your list?" Her eyes grew to blue chips of ice. "Or was I *a mistake*?"
Darien paused in the process of rubbing his cheek gingerly as his eyes shot up to meet her steely gaze. "Who-what are you talking about? Of course not." The 'who' had been a slip of the tongue and desperately wanting to stall for time, he reached for his coffee, lifting it to his lips.
It spilled all over him, staining the white button-down shirt he'd put on after his shower, running straight down to discolor the light gray dress pants. This time he cursed louder, looking at her. "Serena, stop being such a child and grow up! This is not the time for one of your jokes!"
Serena's eyes glinted dangerously and he knew immediately that he'd said the wrong thing. "That's what I was to you, wasn't I? I was a joke. You didn't think I would be able to cut it as a model and it was your way of getting back at me for the coffee." She started shaking her head slowly. "You did all of this so you could get me in bed - that would be the ultimate joke; the final humiliation. You sure got the last laugh this time, Darien."
Now that was the last straw. "Don't give yourself that much credit! If I had wanted you in my bed, trust me, you would have been there a hell of a lot sooner."
Her eyes flashed. "Is that how it is? Well don't worry about seeing me again. Because as of this moment, I quit."
This was getting out of hand too fast, but he was never one to turn down a challenge and if she was going to up the stakes, he could top her out in seconds. Darien lifted his gaze to her, smirking triumphantly. "No, Serena. You signed a non-negotiable contract. You can't quit, and I can't fire you. As of this moment and for another six months, you, in essence, belong to me. And I say you're not leaving to go anywhere until we straighten this out."
"You can't hold me against my will! I'll fight this, tooth and nail! I want out, Darien, and you know it!"
And the power was back in his court. If he truly wanted to, he could set her free. The only clause in the contract was with his permission. He judged the calculating look in her eyes and said only, "Don't think of screwing up your catwalk runs or ruining your costumes. You're better than that and now everyone knows it."
She couldn't hold it back any longer and suddenly burst into tears. "I **HATE** YOU!" Her scream echoed off the walls and seemed to almost slam into him. He didn't watch her leave and waited until he heard the click of the door before turning around.
"I bet you do." He muttered softly, brushing the rose petals off the piano lid. Earlier, the maid had moved the vase and he found it odd that all the roses seemed to be wilting now. He had no idea why, and didn't care to analyze it. There was a private jet at his call and he wanted to sleep in his own bed tonight. But he was right about one thing.
Oh yes. She had most certainly changed.
* * *
She didn't stop to go back to her room for more than a few seconds, going into the safe to get her passport and two credit cards. If there was anything she'd wanted to bring back with her, the novelty had worn off; it didn't matter now. Everything in the room, from the still assembled glass tables to the various articles of clothing would only remind her of this trip, and the show and, eventually, Darien. And that was something she didn't want.
With her mind hazy, she stumbled into a pair of jeans and grabbed the most inconspicuous looking shirt she could find. There was Rei's red Coach hat resting jauntily on the couch and she snatched that too, automatically tucking her hair up inside of it.
With one last glance at the room, she bit back tears and left for the airport, fully intending to hop on the first flight back to the states. and *home*.
* * *
"We're not going to wake her up, you two. That's mean." Ami protested, tugging on her blue robe anxiously.
Rei's eyes were a fiery violet, sure sign that she was about to explode. "How do you want to explain *this*, then?" She threw the morning paper on the glass table.
They were in Serena's room, waiting for her to come back, unaware that they had only just missed her. You see, elevators are tricky like that. Even trickier when the person who's running takes the stairs to miss any incoming traffic and/or nosy best friends.
"I don't know," Ami hissed fiercely, "But there's got to be some way to protect her."
"Hey guys." Lita called from the entryway.
"Hold on," they shouted, continuing their fight.
The raven-haired woman rubbed a hand on her face. "Look, I know you want to protect her Ames, because for some crazy reason, I feel the same way. But we can't hold off telling her. She could get swamped as soon as she leaves his room-and that's the only other place she could be right now, because she sure as hell isn't here!"
Ami quieted, knowing her friend was right. She tapped her lips with her index finger, trying to sort out the details from last night's banquet and this morning's unavoidable news. "Something's off, Rei. There's something about this whole situation that's just not right."
"Oh, gu-ys," Lita sing-songed, her lilting voice echoing in the room.
They looked at each other and started walking towards her voice.
"What if we call Darien and just ask him if he knows where she is? Maybe they don't know yet," Rei bargained, glancing at Ami to see how her effort to be conciliatory was going over.
By the time they reached their Amazonesque friend, she was tapping her foot calmly, regarding them silently with a keen interest. No doubt, she had heard the whole argument from before - it wasn't like Rei had made an effort to hide her feelings on the matter - and she certainly must have wanted to add in her two cents.
Unfortunately, this made Rei all the more tense; being scrutinized was never her thing. "WHAT?!" She finally exploded, glaring at Lita.
The brunette shrugged unaffectedly and handed her a piece of paper. "Her passport and major credit cards are gone. The safe was open and this was in it."
'Hey guys, if you're reading this, then you've probably figured out that I'm not here anymore. I saw the Times and. I'm sorry. I had to get out. I'm going home.
--S
PS- Rei, I took your hat.'
"Oh my god," Rei whispered. "She really left. That means."
"She had a fight with Darien," Ami supplied mournfully, figuring out the situation as the last piece of the puzzle fell into place. "Because she wouldn't have left without him otherwise. Especially now, since her secret's out."
A single tear fell from Lita's eye as she summed up what they were all thinking. "Crap."
* * *
*Stares at chapter appraisingly* 7 pages. Not marginized, size 10 font. Not too bad, eh?
I'm sorry guys. I know, I know, I'm an awful person. Not only did you have to wait like, half a year for this chapter, but then they break up. What a horrible chapter to come back to, right? Well, to serve as fair warning, it's going to be tough going for a while for our favorite blonde and her handsome protector. There are some twists and turns that I even shocked my beloved beta with -- *waves to Fleur* -- and if she didn't see them coming, then that means I still have it.
*dodges rocks and anvils thrown her way*
For law purposes, these notes are going to be very long, so read or skim, but there's certain to be something in here for you personally. Take the time to go over it - it's not like I'm one of those author's who updates every two weeks. You may just find something important.
First of all, I need to thank people. Marni, for being a great editor, and helping when she could. I know you have your own life and a family, but I appreciate all your help. Also huge thanks for Fleur, the mainstay of my sanity and for helping me sort out my jumbled thoughts in this chapter. I know I had you way confused when I started explaining it on AIM the other day, but if it weren't for you, this thing would probably still be sitting on my work menu in MS Word, just waiting to be completed. Now you know what's coming up and I expect you to keep nagging me about it until this story's finished. Big congrats to the Fleur-ster for finishing her super- cool HP story about Ron and Hermione. It's got almost 500 reviews and is chock-full of the craziness that is her muse, so if you're a Harry Potter fan, I suggest you check it out in a major way. More thanks to Tay, for realizing that certain things had to be let go so she could keep her own sanity, how ever hard it may have been for her. And of course, thanks to the readers, for sticking with me and my demented sense of updating.
Now I suppose I owe you all huge, major apologies for making you wait so long. My life has been extremely hectic. The spring is always a rough time for me because the parentals do so much business. We're usually traveling a lot and being that I switched schools in January, that's only added to my problems. Plus, I was having block on this chapter for ages, so you have no idea how happy I am to have it done.
Fleur said I kinda jumped back into this and I guess I did, if for no other reason than that I want to finish it. The story, having it just sit there on my hard drive; knowing that people are waiting to read it. it takes a lot out of you. It's like a ticking time bomb. (What other types of time bombs are there? Non-ticking ones?)
As you can see, I'm going off on random things with is just my attempt to justify my guilt and hopefully distract you all from the real thing here, which is my lack of updates. I deserve to be severely punished for that.
Anyway, what this all comes down to is this: I love reviews. I am a review- whore. Pardon my French, but it's true. I will do anything for a review. We writers aren't kidding when we say we want them and that they inspire us to work harder. If people are reading our stuff, and liking it, that is the best sort of inspiration we could ever have. Because knowing that people like and read our stories makes us work harder to keep the chapters coming. So even if it's just to say that you liked the story, or what your favorite line was in it, PLEASE, PLEASE REVIEW.
You really don't want to make me beg - it's not so pretty.
And maybe, just maybe, if you're really good and boost those reviews, then I will try my hardest to get 14 out before I leave on Friday. The chapter is pretty much planned, it's just a matter of writing it now.
As always, the update list is here, waiting for more members:
And we have a new message board if you're so inclined: #
And if you email me at Serenity_Sea@yahoo.com, (to steal a direct line from Fleur - Remember chica, copying is the highest form of flattery!) a reply is guaranteed.
At almost a page of author's notes, that's it for now! Don't forget to review!
--Seren