Author's Notes: Yay!! Writing this after Oops is done...I'm actually quite
fond of writing that story and I will miss it terribly. But, I can always
go back and read it again! Yes, I'm one of those strange authors that read
their own work and improve upon everytime! Anywho, I should be writing this
story instead of jabbering on and on, hehe!!
Title: Something to Talk About Author: C'est Moi! Your worst nightmare E-mail: Alexandra_Miyoko@yahoo.com (----you SHOULD notice the difference!!) Rating: PG -13 (for this chapter cause of the blood and stuff)
Chapter 6: A World of Roses
Serena continued to stuff her clothes into the suitcases as she hummed along to her own melody. It was the night after the dance party. Ben had been such a gentleman, so unlike what he was in high school which was a stuck up *ahem*. But, unfortunately, Serena had to break the meeting early because she *did* actually come with Darien and it was rude of her to leave him by himself.
But, she didn't have to worry about Darien anymore. Tonight was the last night that they had put up with the charade because both of them were going home tomorrow. Serena couldn't wait to bury herself in paperwork again! And not mention that she would be in control of her cellphone again. Her mother had taken it as soon as she got there as a way to keep her from working. Little did her mother know that that was what she had been doing late into the night every night she had been here. What her mother didn't know wouldn't hurt her.
Serena twirled about to her own melody that she was humming to nonexistant music. Everything was just so great and.....perfect. She felt as if nothing could go wrong. But, alas, Darien was not feeling the same happy-go-lucky attitude that Serena was for being off the hook of this "charade". Serena was a great girl and they would be living much too far away for them to even consider being friends. He was going to miss her, no matter *what* he told himself.
Darien sighed and ran a hand through his ebony hair as he sat down on the bed next to his closed suitcase. 'I guess I have no choice in the matter,' Darien thought, leaning back into the soft bed. "I'll never see her again," he said to the empty room as he closed his eyes for relaxation. He ended up falling into an restless dream.
Music blared loudly next to her ear. Serena reached all around the general vicinity of where it was coming from to discover that the alarm clock had been strategically placed on the other side of the room so she wouldn't turn it off and drift back to sleep. Good idea! The blonde hopped out of bed and turned the alarm off before dressing herself happily. Nothing could ruin her day. Boy, was she wrong.
Serena and Darien both left down the stairs together. Neither said anything to the other until they reached the airport.
Ken and Ilene had shown Darien and Serena off from the house. Ilene had wiped her eyes as she gave her daughter a hug. Ken just wished her luck as usual. Ilene gave Darien a hug afterwards wishing him all the best and Ken just shook his hand.
Mina and Andrew drove Darien and Serena to the airport only to drop them off and fend for themselves. They said their goodbyes in the car. Mina promised to call Serena later on to check on the "status". She had said that with a wink of course.
So, there they stood, staring back at each other with nothing to say. Serena had tried once to say something, but she just shut her mouth again and looked to the floor in thought. Darien looked away from her awkwardly as he heard his flight being called.
"Um, Serena?" he asked, finally breaking the silence that had been thrown down upon them.
"Yes, Darien?" Serena replied, looking up at him eagerly.
"That was my flight number being called. I have to leave," Darien said, trying to smile happily, but failing miserably.
"Oh," was all she could think to say. Later on she would feel like a moron for not saying what she meant. Serena laughed nervously. "Well, it was great while it lasted. I'll miss you and have a safe trip."
"Yeah, same to you," Darien responded, smiling slightly as he looked to the floor. "Bye."
As Darien turned to leave, Serena grabbed his arm and whirled him back around. "Don't forget! We break up in a couple of days after we realize that the relationship won't work because of the distance."
"I won't, Serena," Darien answered, laughing. She was so absentminded. He turned to leave again, offering a wave over his shoulder, but yet again Serena pulled him back.
"And don't be a stranger," Serena said, throwing herself into his arms. She couldn't help it. Even if she had only known the man for a week, it was though she had known him her entire life. After a few seconds of initial shock, Darien wrapped his arms around her, completing the hug. "If you're ever in Philadelphia, please stop by and wait there! 'Cause sometimes I'm not home."
"If you're ever in Seattle.....," Darien trailed off, releasing her from the embrace. "I'll miss you. Bye Serena!"
Darien did actually get to leave this time. As Serena watched Darien board his plane, she had to stop her eyes from glazing over with a small layer of tears. She had no idea why though.
The alarm clock beeped furiously, telling the ebony haired man it was time to get his lazy doctor butt in gear. Darien knocked the alarm clock off of the nightstand as he put it back to sleep. He then rolled groggily out of bed and put on his slippers.
As Darien trodded off to the bathroom for his morning shower, he reminded himself *never* to take another vacation *ever* again. First days back to work were always the worst.
The young man emerged from his shower feeling refreshed, well mostly. His mind still dwelled upon the small blonde many miles away. But, he couldn't change that, or so he thought until later in the day.
Darien wandered into his office and walked up to the nurses' station. "Hey Jamie," Darien greeted, leaning on the counter.
"Doctor Shields!" Jamie nearly yelled, looking up from her paperwork. "When did you get back?"
"Um, yesterday at about 4 PM. There was a horrible layover at Chicago," Darien stated, smiling.
"You had to go all the way out to Chicago? Where did you go for this vacation of yours?!" Jamie asked, completely interested. 'Is it just me or does something seem a little different with the doctor today?' Jamie pondered as she smiled at Darien.
"I went to Maine to visit my best friend. He got married and moved to Maine to live with his wife," Darien replied. "So, did you guys miss me much around here?"
"Oh, please, Darien, go back on vacation!" came a jeering voice from behind him. Darien whilred around to discover a really good friend of his standing there, Greg Urawa. "You ready to get back to work, Dare?"
"Of course I am. You know you couldn't keep me from working unless you ran me over with a bulldozer," Darien joked, walking away from the nurses' station with a wave to Jamie.
Eight patients later, all of which noticed a change in the good doctor, Darien sat down next to Greg in the faculty office with a sigh. Greg was reading a book before he noticed Darien walk in the room. He was ready to ask Darien what had happened on his vacation in order for this drastic change to take place.
"So, Darien, what happened on this vacation of yours?" Greg asked, placing the bookmark in his book so he could set it on the table in front of him.
"I went to visit Andrew and his wife, Mina. They were staying at Mina's aunt's house in Maine. I stayed there a week and came back home," Darien stated simply, of course leaving out the part of Serena and their 'hook-up'.
"Why do I sense that the whole story isn't coming out?" Greg questioned, crossing his arms impatiently.
"Well...," Darien muttered, unable to put his thoughts to words.
"Come on, Dare. We're best friends. Let me help you," Greg replied, causing Darien to look up from the interesting floor to Greg.
"Fine. I met someone... well, I was supposed to be set up with her, but we compensated for that by pretending that we were dating," Darien explained, looking back to the floor.
"So, let me get this straight. You pretended to be dating to get out of dating?" Greg asked, confused.
"Well, usually, Andrew and Mina put me in a romantic situation with the girl they choose for me and it's really uncomfortable. So-"
"So in order to avoid it you pretended to date. I get it now. Continue," Greg urged, leaning back into the couch.
"Well, I found myself actually liking her. You know how I am normally around the female population. I'm not one to fawn over beauty and attractiveness. I always look for something else that's much harder to find. But, the more time I spent with her the more I began to like her. And the other day on the plane, I realized that I'm... in love with her. Or at least I think so," Darien replied, flinching when he admitted what he felt.
"Darien, can you live without her?" Greg asked, completely serious. Darien had to look up at him to clarify this.
"I don't think so," Darien stated, still quite confused as to what this had to do with anything.
"You either can or can't. It's a yes or no question," Greg said, his eyes never faultering.
"No, I don't believe I can," Darien mumbled, closing his eyes as he sighed.
"Then that's your answer," Greg replied, standing up and walking to the door of the employee lounge. "Go after her if you must. I'll look after things here."
Serena had just stepped onto the crime scene of a house robbery. A man had been killed in the process, so she had been assigned to find out who it was, by herself. Unfortunately, the head CSI was feeling generous today and assigned it to just her. She sighed as she rubbed her temples, rubbing away the migraine that was sure to come later.
She pulled the latex gloves that she had stowed in her pocket out and put them on. She glanced about the room and began stepping over broken objects, tossed about books, and broken pieces of table as she made her way to the scene of the crime, the kitchen. As she stepped onto the linoleum, she could see the blood splatter located between the sink and the stove on the wall and the pool of blood, which was on the countertop, located underneath the spot of splatter.
As she stepped around the island in the center of the kitchen, she found the blood had slid down off the counter onto the cabinets beneath it into the chalk outline of the twenty-six year old victim whose body had been removed before she had gotten here.
She pulled out a small pad of paper and a pencil as she began taking notes. 'Female appears to have caught herself on the counter after the gunshot wound passed through her temple region. Could cause of death be the head wound she sustained when her head hit the countertop? Blood splatter indicates that she was standing when shot and fell to hit her head on the right side,' she thought as she wrote.
She jumped when someones hand set upon her shoulder and she whirled around to face her co-worker, Edison, Eddie for short. She placed a hand over her racing heart and sighed of relief as Eddie smiled at her cautiously. "Are you okay, Sere? You're normally not that jumpy," Eddie said, giving her a curious look.
"Well, I thought I was working this case solo, so, you know, you could've been the robber coming back for kicks," she replied, sighing with relief, but her heart was still beating a mile a minute.
"I came to take care of the reporters for when they get wind of this case. Are you feeling alright, Sere? You look a little pale and tired," he responded, now giving her a concerned look. His green eyes were soft and comforting making Serena feel suddenly like she should be spilling her guts about the last few days. Sure, he was a good friend, but she had never been one to go about blabbing secrets of her life. Somehow, she knew he wouldn't say anything even if she did,
"Oh! I don't know," she muttered, stepping away from the bloody mess in the kitchen. She made her way out the back door, which was in the kitchen, and into the backyard, the only place that had not been visited by the burglar. She flopped herself down in a sun bathing chair and put her head in her hands with a groan.
Eddie sat down next to her and waited for her to start explaining. When she said nothing, he was sure he was going to have to suggest something. "I am here if you need someone to talk to," he said, smiling at her when she looked up at him through her fingers.
"Well, you know that vacation I went on?" she asked, and he nodded. "I visited my parents and everytime I get there, my mother has some cooked up plan that sets me up with a guy I don't know or just met. The guy this time was my cousin's husband, Andrew's, best friend from Seattle. I knew it was coming and so did he because apparently Mina, my cousin, has done it to him a million times. So, I devised a brilliant plan, which isn't so brilliant now, that made us date, well pretend to date. We just spent time together outside of the house on pretend dates, as friends."
"It sounds like you had a tiring vacation," Eddie responded, interrupting for just a minute before going back to listening raptly.
"I hadn't noticed until I left... I nearly cried when I saw him get on that plane. Some hole that I hadn't noticed was there, ached as I saw him walking away and I don't know why, but I miss him," she muttered, her eyes downcast. "All we did was go to movies, discovered that we liked the same drink, pretended to be in love, and I even had to teach him how to dance. I can't get him out of my head. All I can think about is him blushing, smiling at me, and trying to be a nice guy."
"Have you ever considered the fact that you like him Serena?" Eddie interrupted again. He gave her a small sad smile that said that he understood.
"No... not at all," she answered, shaking her head before looking up at him. "That would be stupid because then I would WANT to date him and I was pretending with him to get OUT of dating."
"I remember when I first met Laura," Eddie muttered, a small nostalgic smile crossing his face as he glanced up at the sky. "There was some connection I felt with her as soon as I saw her. It's as if I knew that we would meet again because we were destined or something." He blushed as he turned back to Serena. She smiled at Eddie as she gave him a love tap on the cheek with her hand before standing up.
"I'm sorry I went to pieces about Darien," she murmured, a small blush on her face. "I should probably get back to work. I mean... I should be able to stop thinking about him soon. It has been three days since I last saw him."
A knock was heard on the door and Eddie stood up as he rolled his eyes. "Probably the first of the reporters. I'll handle it while you get back to your notes."
"Thanks, Eddie," she replied, giving him a genuine smile.
"Anytime, young one," he responded, running a hand through his graying hair pre-madonna style before heading off to the front door.
Serena giggled as she wandered back into the house through the back door. She flipped open her notepad again as she started scrawling down some more notes. She glanced back when she saw Eddie appear in the doorway. He gave her a smile and a shrug as he pointed in the general direction of the front door. "Reporter says that he wants to speak to the woman in charge," he replied, rolling his eyes. "I thought you were going to get rid of them," she muttered, confused. She put a hand on her hips as she flipped the notebook closed again.
"I was, but then they showed me their authority badge and requested to speak to my boss. He's actually at the station, but he assigned me to help you which makes you my boss for the moment," Eddie responded, shrugging again.
"Oh," she said, rolling her eyes. As she walked past him she tossed her notebook and pencil at him, which he caught clumsily, before making her way to the door. She twisted the knob and hlaf-expected to see a microphone fly up to her mouth, but what she discovered was far more mouth dropping and confusing. Serena reached up and closed her mouth manually after a few moments. She slightly regained her composure before trying to speak. "How... did you... why... what're you... but, but... Eddie didn't... and you're supposed to... what?" she finished, her hands at her sides and her face quite confused.
"I wasn't expecting that exact reaction, but something close enough," Darien responded, giving a nervous laugh. He ran his hand through his hair as he stepped off the front steps of the house and into the front lawn. "I can tell by the tape around here that I'm not supposed to even be on the front lawn, but as a doctor I could get in. I said something about you calling me, presented my medical card, and got in."
"What are you doing here?" she murmured, astonished that her voice worked correctly for once.
"I came to see you," he answered, shrugging as if it was no big deal.
"No, no... what're you doing in Philadelphia?" she questioned, shaking her head as she closed the front door and stepped out onto the lawn after him.
"I came to see you," he repeated, looking nervous.
"But... it's only been three days...You can't... why did... I don't understand," she said, looking down to the lawn in thought as if it had answers.
"Look, let me just say this and then I'll feel better," he replied, pacing around as he started to talk. "I... I can't get you out of my head. You're al I think about....during the day, I segment everything between your likes and dislikes. If I don't know if you like it or not, I think for hours about what you would say. At night, I dream of you and I'm dancing in a field of red roses because they're your favorite flowers. I find myself drinking more hot chocolate than I ever did just because you like it too. I can't stop either. I know it sounds crazy and I know it sounds unrealistic, but I can't help but think that I've fallen in love with you."
He stopped abruptly to wage Serena's reaction, but she was still staring at the ground. It was the reaction he had expected. She didn't feel the same way, but that was alright because he had said what he needed to say and he had tried. No one could say that he hadn't.
"Well, I'm done... I guess I should be going now," Darien murmured, giving the girl a fake smile before turning and starting off toward the rental car he had driven from the airport.
"W-wait!" she called, looking up suddenly. It had taken a few moments to catch her breath again. Darien glanced back at her, a brow arched in interest. "Y-you can't leave me like this!"
"Huh?" he uttered, confused suddenly.
"Y-you can't..," she said, slightly breathless as she approached him. Tears were sitting in her eyes as she smiled up at him. Her hands gripped the front of his shirt gingerly as if to hold him there. "How dare you declare your love and walk away before you give me a chance. You didn't even give me a chance to answer you... you... you jerk!"
"Huh?" he questioned again, staring down at her really confused. She just smiled softly back before wrapping her arms around his waist, surprising him.
"Don't ever leave again, okay?" she murmured, as he wrapped his arms around her.
"Whatever you want Serena......whatever you want."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~
The End.....it's about damn time! ::smacks self:: GOD! I took forever in finishing this story. This chapter sat here doing nothing but sitting half complete.....::stabs self:: and it's like....what? eight months or something AFTER I finished Oops....man am I slow.
I was gonna be cruel and post this in two seperate chapters, but I was like... naw, they've been waiting forever and I really owe them....so here's the final installment and next time....feel free to death threat me if I don't post another chapter within four months....Well, Ja! BTW.....I should be starting a couple new stories while finishing Rabbit... ::pauses:: if I ever figure out how to continue that story... ah, well... ttfn!
Bai bai! ~KaBunny
Title: Something to Talk About Author: C'est Moi! Your worst nightmare E-mail: Alexandra_Miyoko@yahoo.com (----you SHOULD notice the difference!!) Rating: PG -13 (for this chapter cause of the blood and stuff)
Chapter 6: A World of Roses
Serena continued to stuff her clothes into the suitcases as she hummed along to her own melody. It was the night after the dance party. Ben had been such a gentleman, so unlike what he was in high school which was a stuck up *ahem*. But, unfortunately, Serena had to break the meeting early because she *did* actually come with Darien and it was rude of her to leave him by himself.
But, she didn't have to worry about Darien anymore. Tonight was the last night that they had put up with the charade because both of them were going home tomorrow. Serena couldn't wait to bury herself in paperwork again! And not mention that she would be in control of her cellphone again. Her mother had taken it as soon as she got there as a way to keep her from working. Little did her mother know that that was what she had been doing late into the night every night she had been here. What her mother didn't know wouldn't hurt her.
Serena twirled about to her own melody that she was humming to nonexistant music. Everything was just so great and.....perfect. She felt as if nothing could go wrong. But, alas, Darien was not feeling the same happy-go-lucky attitude that Serena was for being off the hook of this "charade". Serena was a great girl and they would be living much too far away for them to even consider being friends. He was going to miss her, no matter *what* he told himself.
Darien sighed and ran a hand through his ebony hair as he sat down on the bed next to his closed suitcase. 'I guess I have no choice in the matter,' Darien thought, leaning back into the soft bed. "I'll never see her again," he said to the empty room as he closed his eyes for relaxation. He ended up falling into an restless dream.
Music blared loudly next to her ear. Serena reached all around the general vicinity of where it was coming from to discover that the alarm clock had been strategically placed on the other side of the room so she wouldn't turn it off and drift back to sleep. Good idea! The blonde hopped out of bed and turned the alarm off before dressing herself happily. Nothing could ruin her day. Boy, was she wrong.
Serena and Darien both left down the stairs together. Neither said anything to the other until they reached the airport.
Ken and Ilene had shown Darien and Serena off from the house. Ilene had wiped her eyes as she gave her daughter a hug. Ken just wished her luck as usual. Ilene gave Darien a hug afterwards wishing him all the best and Ken just shook his hand.
Mina and Andrew drove Darien and Serena to the airport only to drop them off and fend for themselves. They said their goodbyes in the car. Mina promised to call Serena later on to check on the "status". She had said that with a wink of course.
So, there they stood, staring back at each other with nothing to say. Serena had tried once to say something, but she just shut her mouth again and looked to the floor in thought. Darien looked away from her awkwardly as he heard his flight being called.
"Um, Serena?" he asked, finally breaking the silence that had been thrown down upon them.
"Yes, Darien?" Serena replied, looking up at him eagerly.
"That was my flight number being called. I have to leave," Darien said, trying to smile happily, but failing miserably.
"Oh," was all she could think to say. Later on she would feel like a moron for not saying what she meant. Serena laughed nervously. "Well, it was great while it lasted. I'll miss you and have a safe trip."
"Yeah, same to you," Darien responded, smiling slightly as he looked to the floor. "Bye."
As Darien turned to leave, Serena grabbed his arm and whirled him back around. "Don't forget! We break up in a couple of days after we realize that the relationship won't work because of the distance."
"I won't, Serena," Darien answered, laughing. She was so absentminded. He turned to leave again, offering a wave over his shoulder, but yet again Serena pulled him back.
"And don't be a stranger," Serena said, throwing herself into his arms. She couldn't help it. Even if she had only known the man for a week, it was though she had known him her entire life. After a few seconds of initial shock, Darien wrapped his arms around her, completing the hug. "If you're ever in Philadelphia, please stop by and wait there! 'Cause sometimes I'm not home."
"If you're ever in Seattle.....," Darien trailed off, releasing her from the embrace. "I'll miss you. Bye Serena!"
Darien did actually get to leave this time. As Serena watched Darien board his plane, she had to stop her eyes from glazing over with a small layer of tears. She had no idea why though.
The alarm clock beeped furiously, telling the ebony haired man it was time to get his lazy doctor butt in gear. Darien knocked the alarm clock off of the nightstand as he put it back to sleep. He then rolled groggily out of bed and put on his slippers.
As Darien trodded off to the bathroom for his morning shower, he reminded himself *never* to take another vacation *ever* again. First days back to work were always the worst.
The young man emerged from his shower feeling refreshed, well mostly. His mind still dwelled upon the small blonde many miles away. But, he couldn't change that, or so he thought until later in the day.
Darien wandered into his office and walked up to the nurses' station. "Hey Jamie," Darien greeted, leaning on the counter.
"Doctor Shields!" Jamie nearly yelled, looking up from her paperwork. "When did you get back?"
"Um, yesterday at about 4 PM. There was a horrible layover at Chicago," Darien stated, smiling.
"You had to go all the way out to Chicago? Where did you go for this vacation of yours?!" Jamie asked, completely interested. 'Is it just me or does something seem a little different with the doctor today?' Jamie pondered as she smiled at Darien.
"I went to Maine to visit my best friend. He got married and moved to Maine to live with his wife," Darien replied. "So, did you guys miss me much around here?"
"Oh, please, Darien, go back on vacation!" came a jeering voice from behind him. Darien whilred around to discover a really good friend of his standing there, Greg Urawa. "You ready to get back to work, Dare?"
"Of course I am. You know you couldn't keep me from working unless you ran me over with a bulldozer," Darien joked, walking away from the nurses' station with a wave to Jamie.
Eight patients later, all of which noticed a change in the good doctor, Darien sat down next to Greg in the faculty office with a sigh. Greg was reading a book before he noticed Darien walk in the room. He was ready to ask Darien what had happened on his vacation in order for this drastic change to take place.
"So, Darien, what happened on this vacation of yours?" Greg asked, placing the bookmark in his book so he could set it on the table in front of him.
"I went to visit Andrew and his wife, Mina. They were staying at Mina's aunt's house in Maine. I stayed there a week and came back home," Darien stated simply, of course leaving out the part of Serena and their 'hook-up'.
"Why do I sense that the whole story isn't coming out?" Greg questioned, crossing his arms impatiently.
"Well...," Darien muttered, unable to put his thoughts to words.
"Come on, Dare. We're best friends. Let me help you," Greg replied, causing Darien to look up from the interesting floor to Greg.
"Fine. I met someone... well, I was supposed to be set up with her, but we compensated for that by pretending that we were dating," Darien explained, looking back to the floor.
"So, let me get this straight. You pretended to be dating to get out of dating?" Greg asked, confused.
"Well, usually, Andrew and Mina put me in a romantic situation with the girl they choose for me and it's really uncomfortable. So-"
"So in order to avoid it you pretended to date. I get it now. Continue," Greg urged, leaning back into the couch.
"Well, I found myself actually liking her. You know how I am normally around the female population. I'm not one to fawn over beauty and attractiveness. I always look for something else that's much harder to find. But, the more time I spent with her the more I began to like her. And the other day on the plane, I realized that I'm... in love with her. Or at least I think so," Darien replied, flinching when he admitted what he felt.
"Darien, can you live without her?" Greg asked, completely serious. Darien had to look up at him to clarify this.
"I don't think so," Darien stated, still quite confused as to what this had to do with anything.
"You either can or can't. It's a yes or no question," Greg said, his eyes never faultering.
"No, I don't believe I can," Darien mumbled, closing his eyes as he sighed.
"Then that's your answer," Greg replied, standing up and walking to the door of the employee lounge. "Go after her if you must. I'll look after things here."
Serena had just stepped onto the crime scene of a house robbery. A man had been killed in the process, so she had been assigned to find out who it was, by herself. Unfortunately, the head CSI was feeling generous today and assigned it to just her. She sighed as she rubbed her temples, rubbing away the migraine that was sure to come later.
She pulled the latex gloves that she had stowed in her pocket out and put them on. She glanced about the room and began stepping over broken objects, tossed about books, and broken pieces of table as she made her way to the scene of the crime, the kitchen. As she stepped onto the linoleum, she could see the blood splatter located between the sink and the stove on the wall and the pool of blood, which was on the countertop, located underneath the spot of splatter.
As she stepped around the island in the center of the kitchen, she found the blood had slid down off the counter onto the cabinets beneath it into the chalk outline of the twenty-six year old victim whose body had been removed before she had gotten here.
She pulled out a small pad of paper and a pencil as she began taking notes. 'Female appears to have caught herself on the counter after the gunshot wound passed through her temple region. Could cause of death be the head wound she sustained when her head hit the countertop? Blood splatter indicates that she was standing when shot and fell to hit her head on the right side,' she thought as she wrote.
She jumped when someones hand set upon her shoulder and she whirled around to face her co-worker, Edison, Eddie for short. She placed a hand over her racing heart and sighed of relief as Eddie smiled at her cautiously. "Are you okay, Sere? You're normally not that jumpy," Eddie said, giving her a curious look.
"Well, I thought I was working this case solo, so, you know, you could've been the robber coming back for kicks," she replied, sighing with relief, but her heart was still beating a mile a minute.
"I came to take care of the reporters for when they get wind of this case. Are you feeling alright, Sere? You look a little pale and tired," he responded, now giving her a concerned look. His green eyes were soft and comforting making Serena feel suddenly like she should be spilling her guts about the last few days. Sure, he was a good friend, but she had never been one to go about blabbing secrets of her life. Somehow, she knew he wouldn't say anything even if she did,
"Oh! I don't know," she muttered, stepping away from the bloody mess in the kitchen. She made her way out the back door, which was in the kitchen, and into the backyard, the only place that had not been visited by the burglar. She flopped herself down in a sun bathing chair and put her head in her hands with a groan.
Eddie sat down next to her and waited for her to start explaining. When she said nothing, he was sure he was going to have to suggest something. "I am here if you need someone to talk to," he said, smiling at her when she looked up at him through her fingers.
"Well, you know that vacation I went on?" she asked, and he nodded. "I visited my parents and everytime I get there, my mother has some cooked up plan that sets me up with a guy I don't know or just met. The guy this time was my cousin's husband, Andrew's, best friend from Seattle. I knew it was coming and so did he because apparently Mina, my cousin, has done it to him a million times. So, I devised a brilliant plan, which isn't so brilliant now, that made us date, well pretend to date. We just spent time together outside of the house on pretend dates, as friends."
"It sounds like you had a tiring vacation," Eddie responded, interrupting for just a minute before going back to listening raptly.
"I hadn't noticed until I left... I nearly cried when I saw him get on that plane. Some hole that I hadn't noticed was there, ached as I saw him walking away and I don't know why, but I miss him," she muttered, her eyes downcast. "All we did was go to movies, discovered that we liked the same drink, pretended to be in love, and I even had to teach him how to dance. I can't get him out of my head. All I can think about is him blushing, smiling at me, and trying to be a nice guy."
"Have you ever considered the fact that you like him Serena?" Eddie interrupted again. He gave her a small sad smile that said that he understood.
"No... not at all," she answered, shaking her head before looking up at him. "That would be stupid because then I would WANT to date him and I was pretending with him to get OUT of dating."
"I remember when I first met Laura," Eddie muttered, a small nostalgic smile crossing his face as he glanced up at the sky. "There was some connection I felt with her as soon as I saw her. It's as if I knew that we would meet again because we were destined or something." He blushed as he turned back to Serena. She smiled at Eddie as she gave him a love tap on the cheek with her hand before standing up.
"I'm sorry I went to pieces about Darien," she murmured, a small blush on her face. "I should probably get back to work. I mean... I should be able to stop thinking about him soon. It has been three days since I last saw him."
A knock was heard on the door and Eddie stood up as he rolled his eyes. "Probably the first of the reporters. I'll handle it while you get back to your notes."
"Thanks, Eddie," she replied, giving him a genuine smile.
"Anytime, young one," he responded, running a hand through his graying hair pre-madonna style before heading off to the front door.
Serena giggled as she wandered back into the house through the back door. She flipped open her notepad again as she started scrawling down some more notes. She glanced back when she saw Eddie appear in the doorway. He gave her a smile and a shrug as he pointed in the general direction of the front door. "Reporter says that he wants to speak to the woman in charge," he replied, rolling his eyes. "I thought you were going to get rid of them," she muttered, confused. She put a hand on her hips as she flipped the notebook closed again.
"I was, but then they showed me their authority badge and requested to speak to my boss. He's actually at the station, but he assigned me to help you which makes you my boss for the moment," Eddie responded, shrugging again.
"Oh," she said, rolling her eyes. As she walked past him she tossed her notebook and pencil at him, which he caught clumsily, before making her way to the door. She twisted the knob and hlaf-expected to see a microphone fly up to her mouth, but what she discovered was far more mouth dropping and confusing. Serena reached up and closed her mouth manually after a few moments. She slightly regained her composure before trying to speak. "How... did you... why... what're you... but, but... Eddie didn't... and you're supposed to... what?" she finished, her hands at her sides and her face quite confused.
"I wasn't expecting that exact reaction, but something close enough," Darien responded, giving a nervous laugh. He ran his hand through his hair as he stepped off the front steps of the house and into the front lawn. "I can tell by the tape around here that I'm not supposed to even be on the front lawn, but as a doctor I could get in. I said something about you calling me, presented my medical card, and got in."
"What are you doing here?" she murmured, astonished that her voice worked correctly for once.
"I came to see you," he answered, shrugging as if it was no big deal.
"No, no... what're you doing in Philadelphia?" she questioned, shaking her head as she closed the front door and stepped out onto the lawn after him.
"I came to see you," he repeated, looking nervous.
"But... it's only been three days...You can't... why did... I don't understand," she said, looking down to the lawn in thought as if it had answers.
"Look, let me just say this and then I'll feel better," he replied, pacing around as he started to talk. "I... I can't get you out of my head. You're al I think about....during the day, I segment everything between your likes and dislikes. If I don't know if you like it or not, I think for hours about what you would say. At night, I dream of you and I'm dancing in a field of red roses because they're your favorite flowers. I find myself drinking more hot chocolate than I ever did just because you like it too. I can't stop either. I know it sounds crazy and I know it sounds unrealistic, but I can't help but think that I've fallen in love with you."
He stopped abruptly to wage Serena's reaction, but she was still staring at the ground. It was the reaction he had expected. She didn't feel the same way, but that was alright because he had said what he needed to say and he had tried. No one could say that he hadn't.
"Well, I'm done... I guess I should be going now," Darien murmured, giving the girl a fake smile before turning and starting off toward the rental car he had driven from the airport.
"W-wait!" she called, looking up suddenly. It had taken a few moments to catch her breath again. Darien glanced back at her, a brow arched in interest. "Y-you can't leave me like this!"
"Huh?" he uttered, confused suddenly.
"Y-you can't..," she said, slightly breathless as she approached him. Tears were sitting in her eyes as she smiled up at him. Her hands gripped the front of his shirt gingerly as if to hold him there. "How dare you declare your love and walk away before you give me a chance. You didn't even give me a chance to answer you... you... you jerk!"
"Huh?" he questioned again, staring down at her really confused. She just smiled softly back before wrapping her arms around his waist, surprising him.
"Don't ever leave again, okay?" she murmured, as he wrapped his arms around her.
"Whatever you want Serena......whatever you want."
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The End.....it's about damn time! ::smacks self:: GOD! I took forever in finishing this story. This chapter sat here doing nothing but sitting half complete.....::stabs self:: and it's like....what? eight months or something AFTER I finished Oops....man am I slow.
I was gonna be cruel and post this in two seperate chapters, but I was like... naw, they've been waiting forever and I really owe them....so here's the final installment and next time....feel free to death threat me if I don't post another chapter within four months....Well, Ja! BTW.....I should be starting a couple new stories while finishing Rabbit... ::pauses:: if I ever figure out how to continue that story... ah, well... ttfn!
Bai bai! ~KaBunny