Sometimes
by Phantasy Star
--------------------
Chapter Three
"She's... sort of klutzy. And, doesn't do well at school. She gets
mad really easily too..."
Andrew smiled as he listened to his friend.
"Well," he said as he wiped the counter, "That's a whole lot of
reasons not to like someone."
"I know," Darien said, "Which is why, I thought I didn't..."
"Uh-huh," Andrew said, "And...?"
"And I do," he sighed, "And I don't know why... Well, maybe because,
she's beautiful... and caring... and always so cheerful..."
"So..." Andrew said, "You're going to go for her then, right?"
"I can't..." Darien said quietly, "She... I just found out something
about her."
"What?"
Darien paused.
"A disease?" Andrew asked worriedly.
"No, no..." Darien said, "She... She's just even better than I thought
she was. She... She's helps people... in ways you can't even
imagine."
"Volunteering?"
Darien frowned and took a sip of his black coffee, "Well... Something
like that..."
Andrew walked over the counter to pick up a bill from the customer.
"Anyway," Darien said when he returned, "She's way too good for me."
"Too good for the great Darien, huh?" Andrew said, amused.
Darien didn't answer. He just stared into his drink, swirling dark
colours mixing together.
"So, what exactly does Serena do so secretly that makes her too good
for you?"
Darien's eyes widened as he looked up at his best friend.
"How... How did you know it was her?" he sputtered.
Andrew laughed.
"Are you kidding?" he asked, "You've been in love with Serena the
first day you met her - you just didn't know it."
"What?" Darien demanded, "What are you talking about?"
"I've had my share of relationships to know something like that..."
Andrew said proudly, "The way you keep staring at her... How you act
so differently around her..."
"Huh..." Darien said thoughtfully.
It wasn't that obvious he liked her, was it?
"Maybe I should tell Rita about your 'many relationships'..." Darien
said.
"Hey, pal," Andrew said, his eyes flaring dangerously, "If you do,
I promise you that you will never, ever get free coffee here again..."
* * *
Darien walked down the street with his brows furrowed.
A couple of days ago, he thought that Serena had a ridiculous crush
on him that he needed to get rid of. Now he wanted her so badly, but
he knew he could never have her.
'I wish I was some sort of superhero too,' he thought, 'Then maybe I'd
have a chance...'
He imagined himself standing on a rooftop, with some sort of black
cape and a white mask. What would he wear?
He chuckled. Maybe a tuxedo. That would be interesting. Carrying
a red rose. He could hardly picture himself dressed so ridiculously.
He sighed, 'Like Sailor Moon would go for someone like me...'
Oh, to hold her... To stare into her eyes...
"Hey Darien!"
He stopped and turned around, "Huh?"
His breathing slowed as a meatball-headed blonde skipped up towards
him.
'She looks like an angel...' he thought, then slapped himself mentally
for being so ridiculously mushy.
"How's it going?" she asked, smacking him at the back, then cried out.
"Ow!" she said, holding her hand, "You wear shoulder pads under there
or something!?"
"Ser..." Darien said, awkwardly, "I mean... I mean Meatball...
Head..."
Serena looked at him curiously, "What's wrong with *you*?"
"Nothing," Darien said weakly, "Nothing, Serena."
"Anyway," she said, giving him a weird look, "I'm going over to Ann and
Alan's place. I heard they're sick..."
"Alan, huh?" Darien said, trying to suppress his jealousy.
The thought of him holding her close to him, even *that* could make
his blood boil.
"You want to come?" Serena asked, "You know... for Ann..."
She gave him a playful smile, but Darien didn't return it.
"I'm not into Ann, Serena," he said quietly, "Sorry..."
Serena looked embarrassed.
"No... *I'm* sorry, Darien," she said, "I just... I get carried away
sometimes."
She gasped when Darien took hold of her wrist.
His mind screamed at him to stop, 'What do you think you're doing!?'
"Serena..." he whispered.
She didn't answer for a second, frozen.
"What?" she said softly back, looking into his eyes.
"Let's be friends, okay?" he asked.
Serena blinked.
"I thought we were!" she said, "You're acting weird today, Darien."
She quickly broke away from his strong grip.
"Sorry," he said with a weak smile, "I just thought... I've always
teased you, and..."
"Oh, I know you don't mean anything by that..." Serena said with a
wave of her hand.
"I'll stop calling you Meatball Head if you'd like..." Darien
offered.
"I've never gotten seriously mad at you for calling me that," Serena
said, "Well, maybe a couple of times... Um... Darien, are you sure
you're okay? You're not... dying or anything, right? Cuz, you know,
that's what people do when they're dying. They apologize for all their
mistakes, and try to pull all their relationships back together."
He blinked, "Uh, no."
"Okay, good," she said, "So, do you want to come visit Ann and Alan with
me?"
Darien turned away, "No, maybe later."
"All right, Darien," Serena said, "I'm go find Amy and Lita to come
with me then. 'Bye!"
With a cheerful wave, she disappeared down the road, towards the
sunset.
* * *
"You shouldn't walk me home, Alan," Serena said scoldingly, "You're
sick, after all..."
"Don't worry about it," he said gently, "I could use the fresh air."
Serena sighed, "It *is* nice out here..."
"Yeah..." Alan said.
"Well, you'd better get back," Serena said, "Ann's probably waiting
for you."
"Mm-hmm..." Alan said.
"I'm going to go inside then. Thanks for walking with me!"
She turned to go in when she felt him grab her wrist, "Serena, wait,"
She looked up at him.
"What... what is it?"
Alan put his hands in his pockets and his eyes smiled at her.
"You know about that school dance this Friday? I was wondering if
you'd like to go with me."
Serena blushed, taken by surprise.
Then, she smiled up at him, "I... I'd love to go with you."
Alan's face broke into a smile.
"Great, Serena," he said softly, in that hushed, breathy voice of
his, "I'll pick you up at seven then..."
Serena's face grew redder as she nodded, still astonished. She
watched with a sigh as he disappeared down the road.
"Wow..." she said to herself, "I just got asked to the dance by the
most popular guy in school..."
* * *
"What am I going to do, Andrew?" Darien asked, "I don't know even know
how to start."
"I thought you said she's too good for you," Andrew commented.
"That was before I remembered that Alan's chasing after her," Darien
said, "And if she should be with anybody, it should be me. Not some
highschool kid..."
"Hmm..." Andrew said thoughtfully, "You ask her out, of course."
"Ask her out?" Darien repeated, "Ask Meatball Head out..."
Andrew nodded.
"What am I going to say?" Darien asked.
In his mind, he could hear his their awkward little conversation.
"Hey Serena... Sorry I keep calling you Meatball Head and always
making fun of your grades and everything else you do. How'd you
feel about dinner and a movie? Maybe seven-ish? By the way, I am
crazily in love with you, so how do you feel about getting married
in a couple of years?"
He winced.
"I can't, Andrew," he said.
"You've asked plenty of girls out before," Andrew commented.
"Yeah, but I've never felt this way about anyone..."
Just then, Andrew dropped his towel.
"I've got it!" he said, eyes sparkling.
"What?" Darien said.
"I'm going to Africa to visit Rita this coming weekend!"
Darien stared at him.
"Um..." he said, "O... kay... We can talk about that too."
"No, what I mean is, I need someone to look after the arcade for me. You
can take over my job, and Serena can be your assistant!"
Darien blinked.
Then he looked down at the counter thoughtfully, "That... may work..."
* * *
*Ding dong!*
"Coming!" Serena shouted.
She opened the door and froze in shock, her mouth dropping open.
'Oh wow...' she thought.
Alan was wearing a white shirt and dark pants, complete with a blue
sports jacket and a bouquet of flowers in his hand.
"I..." she whispered.
"You look great," he said with a smile.
Serena blushed as she took the flowers from him, "Thank... thank you."
"Oh, you must be Alan."
Serena turned around to see her mother smiling at them.
"Well, you kids have a nice time," she said, "And remember to be home
before eleven. Now get outta here before your dad comes downstairs."
"Thanks mom!" Serena said and gave her mother a quick kiss on the
cheek, "See you tonight!"
Serena let Alan hold her hand as he escorted her to his car. She felt
so safe and warm when he was with her...
"You look really amazing tonight," Alan said softly.
Serena giggled and stared at the road before them, "Really?"
Alan nodded, "I..."
He stopped walking, and Serena turned to look at him. She let out a
small gasp when she saw Alan's eyes burning into hers.
Then, he leaned over slowly, gradually closing the gap between them.
She froze.
"Alan..."
by Phantasy Star
--------------------
Chapter Three
"She's... sort of klutzy. And, doesn't do well at school. She gets
mad really easily too..."
Andrew smiled as he listened to his friend.
"Well," he said as he wiped the counter, "That's a whole lot of
reasons not to like someone."
"I know," Darien said, "Which is why, I thought I didn't..."
"Uh-huh," Andrew said, "And...?"
"And I do," he sighed, "And I don't know why... Well, maybe because,
she's beautiful... and caring... and always so cheerful..."
"So..." Andrew said, "You're going to go for her then, right?"
"I can't..." Darien said quietly, "She... I just found out something
about her."
"What?"
Darien paused.
"A disease?" Andrew asked worriedly.
"No, no..." Darien said, "She... She's just even better than I thought
she was. She... She's helps people... in ways you can't even
imagine."
"Volunteering?"
Darien frowned and took a sip of his black coffee, "Well... Something
like that..."
Andrew walked over the counter to pick up a bill from the customer.
"Anyway," Darien said when he returned, "She's way too good for me."
"Too good for the great Darien, huh?" Andrew said, amused.
Darien didn't answer. He just stared into his drink, swirling dark
colours mixing together.
"So, what exactly does Serena do so secretly that makes her too good
for you?"
Darien's eyes widened as he looked up at his best friend.
"How... How did you know it was her?" he sputtered.
Andrew laughed.
"Are you kidding?" he asked, "You've been in love with Serena the
first day you met her - you just didn't know it."
"What?" Darien demanded, "What are you talking about?"
"I've had my share of relationships to know something like that..."
Andrew said proudly, "The way you keep staring at her... How you act
so differently around her..."
"Huh..." Darien said thoughtfully.
It wasn't that obvious he liked her, was it?
"Maybe I should tell Rita about your 'many relationships'..." Darien
said.
"Hey, pal," Andrew said, his eyes flaring dangerously, "If you do,
I promise you that you will never, ever get free coffee here again..."
* * *
Darien walked down the street with his brows furrowed.
A couple of days ago, he thought that Serena had a ridiculous crush
on him that he needed to get rid of. Now he wanted her so badly, but
he knew he could never have her.
'I wish I was some sort of superhero too,' he thought, 'Then maybe I'd
have a chance...'
He imagined himself standing on a rooftop, with some sort of black
cape and a white mask. What would he wear?
He chuckled. Maybe a tuxedo. That would be interesting. Carrying
a red rose. He could hardly picture himself dressed so ridiculously.
He sighed, 'Like Sailor Moon would go for someone like me...'
Oh, to hold her... To stare into her eyes...
"Hey Darien!"
He stopped and turned around, "Huh?"
His breathing slowed as a meatball-headed blonde skipped up towards
him.
'She looks like an angel...' he thought, then slapped himself mentally
for being so ridiculously mushy.
"How's it going?" she asked, smacking him at the back, then cried out.
"Ow!" she said, holding her hand, "You wear shoulder pads under there
or something!?"
"Ser..." Darien said, awkwardly, "I mean... I mean Meatball...
Head..."
Serena looked at him curiously, "What's wrong with *you*?"
"Nothing," Darien said weakly, "Nothing, Serena."
"Anyway," she said, giving him a weird look, "I'm going over to Ann and
Alan's place. I heard they're sick..."
"Alan, huh?" Darien said, trying to suppress his jealousy.
The thought of him holding her close to him, even *that* could make
his blood boil.
"You want to come?" Serena asked, "You know... for Ann..."
She gave him a playful smile, but Darien didn't return it.
"I'm not into Ann, Serena," he said quietly, "Sorry..."
Serena looked embarrassed.
"No... *I'm* sorry, Darien," she said, "I just... I get carried away
sometimes."
She gasped when Darien took hold of her wrist.
His mind screamed at him to stop, 'What do you think you're doing!?'
"Serena..." he whispered.
She didn't answer for a second, frozen.
"What?" she said softly back, looking into his eyes.
"Let's be friends, okay?" he asked.
Serena blinked.
"I thought we were!" she said, "You're acting weird today, Darien."
She quickly broke away from his strong grip.
"Sorry," he said with a weak smile, "I just thought... I've always
teased you, and..."
"Oh, I know you don't mean anything by that..." Serena said with a
wave of her hand.
"I'll stop calling you Meatball Head if you'd like..." Darien
offered.
"I've never gotten seriously mad at you for calling me that," Serena
said, "Well, maybe a couple of times... Um... Darien, are you sure
you're okay? You're not... dying or anything, right? Cuz, you know,
that's what people do when they're dying. They apologize for all their
mistakes, and try to pull all their relationships back together."
He blinked, "Uh, no."
"Okay, good," she said, "So, do you want to come visit Ann and Alan with
me?"
Darien turned away, "No, maybe later."
"All right, Darien," Serena said, "I'm go find Amy and Lita to come
with me then. 'Bye!"
With a cheerful wave, she disappeared down the road, towards the
sunset.
* * *
"You shouldn't walk me home, Alan," Serena said scoldingly, "You're
sick, after all..."
"Don't worry about it," he said gently, "I could use the fresh air."
Serena sighed, "It *is* nice out here..."
"Yeah..." Alan said.
"Well, you'd better get back," Serena said, "Ann's probably waiting
for you."
"Mm-hmm..." Alan said.
"I'm going to go inside then. Thanks for walking with me!"
She turned to go in when she felt him grab her wrist, "Serena, wait,"
She looked up at him.
"What... what is it?"
Alan put his hands in his pockets and his eyes smiled at her.
"You know about that school dance this Friday? I was wondering if
you'd like to go with me."
Serena blushed, taken by surprise.
Then, she smiled up at him, "I... I'd love to go with you."
Alan's face broke into a smile.
"Great, Serena," he said softly, in that hushed, breathy voice of
his, "I'll pick you up at seven then..."
Serena's face grew redder as she nodded, still astonished. She
watched with a sigh as he disappeared down the road.
"Wow..." she said to herself, "I just got asked to the dance by the
most popular guy in school..."
* * *
"What am I going to do, Andrew?" Darien asked, "I don't know even know
how to start."
"I thought you said she's too good for you," Andrew commented.
"That was before I remembered that Alan's chasing after her," Darien
said, "And if she should be with anybody, it should be me. Not some
highschool kid..."
"Hmm..." Andrew said thoughtfully, "You ask her out, of course."
"Ask her out?" Darien repeated, "Ask Meatball Head out..."
Andrew nodded.
"What am I going to say?" Darien asked.
In his mind, he could hear his their awkward little conversation.
"Hey Serena... Sorry I keep calling you Meatball Head and always
making fun of your grades and everything else you do. How'd you
feel about dinner and a movie? Maybe seven-ish? By the way, I am
crazily in love with you, so how do you feel about getting married
in a couple of years?"
He winced.
"I can't, Andrew," he said.
"You've asked plenty of girls out before," Andrew commented.
"Yeah, but I've never felt this way about anyone..."
Just then, Andrew dropped his towel.
"I've got it!" he said, eyes sparkling.
"What?" Darien said.
"I'm going to Africa to visit Rita this coming weekend!"
Darien stared at him.
"Um..." he said, "O... kay... We can talk about that too."
"No, what I mean is, I need someone to look after the arcade for me. You
can take over my job, and Serena can be your assistant!"
Darien blinked.
Then he looked down at the counter thoughtfully, "That... may work..."
* * *
*Ding dong!*
"Coming!" Serena shouted.
She opened the door and froze in shock, her mouth dropping open.
'Oh wow...' she thought.
Alan was wearing a white shirt and dark pants, complete with a blue
sports jacket and a bouquet of flowers in his hand.
"I..." she whispered.
"You look great," he said with a smile.
Serena blushed as she took the flowers from him, "Thank... thank you."
"Oh, you must be Alan."
Serena turned around to see her mother smiling at them.
"Well, you kids have a nice time," she said, "And remember to be home
before eleven. Now get outta here before your dad comes downstairs."
"Thanks mom!" Serena said and gave her mother a quick kiss on the
cheek, "See you tonight!"
Serena let Alan hold her hand as he escorted her to his car. She felt
so safe and warm when he was with her...
"You look really amazing tonight," Alan said softly.
Serena giggled and stared at the road before them, "Really?"
Alan nodded, "I..."
He stopped walking, and Serena turned to look at him. She let out a
small gasp when she saw Alan's eyes burning into hers.
Then, he leaned over slowly, gradually closing the gap between them.
She froze.
"Alan..."
