"Oh, it's the end of our break," Darien said, then chuckled, "Sorry I
kept you talking and didn't leave you time for ice-cream."
Serena turned and gave him a smile that didn't meet her eyes, "That's
okay, Darien..."
She hastily reached out to grab the locket when the lid flew open.
The melody flowed out, each note floating gracefully around the two of
them.
Serena quickly put her hand on the lid to close it back up, but she
froze when she saw that Darien had closed his eyes and had fallen
into a trance-like state.
She gasped.
'Is... is he going to remember?'
Sometimes
by Phantasy Star
--------------------
Chapter Five
*FLASH*
Darien hurried down the street, hoping to get to work on time.
Suddenly, he felt something grab his arm.
"Hey, miss me, big guy?"
Darien almost had a heart attack. He sighed in relief when he saw
that it was only a girl. She had attached herself to him now, and was
leaning against his shoulder affectionately.
"Whoa, you scared me there!" Darien exclaimed.
"Oh, Darien," she said with a smile, "You don't have to be that way
around me..."
"How come you know my name and I don't know yours?" he asked,
confused.
Serena looked up at him in surprise, then closed her eyes, "Well, if
you want to be *that way* about it... My name is Serena, and you and I
are supposed to be together..."
Darien almost laughed, "What?"
*FLASH*
Serena stared up at him in shock. No, was he going to remember now?
Darien's brows furrowed. Just one more... one more step back, and
he'd know. He could feel it...
*FLASH*
"Destroy her, Prince Darien!"
"Yes, my queen..."
He jumped towards her and raised his sword.
"No, Darien!" the girl in front of him cried, "I'm not-"
*FLASH*
Darien's eyes shot open. The melody was gone. Serena had pushed the
lid shut abruptly.
"Ser... Serena..." Darien whispered.
She looked up at him, afraid.
"Open it, Serena," Darien said, in an almost commanding tone, "Let me
hear it again."
"No, Darien. It's the end of our break, remember?"
He shook his head, "Just let me hear it one more time. I... I..."
"I can't!" Serena said, "We... we don't have time! Maybe later..."
She shoved the locket back into her pocket and stood up quickly,
before running from the room.
"Wait, Serena!"
* * *
The rest of the day went by awkwardly. Serena refused to speak to
Darien if it wasn't about the customer's orders or their bills.
Serena was wiping a glass clean when she looked down at her soapy
hands and fell into a daze.
'What did I just do?'
She continued to wash the glass absentmindedly, her hands moving
by themselves.
'I thought I wanted Darien to remember... But if he did, I'd have to
explain everything to him... How would he feel? And... what would
that do to me and Alan?'
She bit her lip and frowned. She could fear tears welling up in her
eyes.
'I'm so confused...' she thought as she dried the glass and set it
down on the counter.
'What do I really want...?' she wondered as a single tear slid down
her cheek.
* * *
"Big day, huh?" Darien said.
Serena nodded, "Yeah..."
The two looked down at the ground, both uncomfortable. The sun was
beginning to set outside of the arcade, and all the customers had
left, leaving the two of them to clean up.
"Serena, about that locket..."
She looked up at him, and Darien could see the uneasiness so obvious
in her eyes.
"Serena," he said quietly, "I want to hear that melody again."
"I... I can't..." Serena said softly.
"Why not?" Darien asked, "Do you know something about it? Something
to do with me?"
"No..." she lied, "Darien, can we just drop this? I mean, it's just
a silly locket, right?"
"Then why won't you let me listen to it again?"
Serena looked down at the floor, trying to come up with an answer.
"Please, Serena..." Darien said, "It's important to me..."
"Hey guys!"
The two turned to look at the entrance of the empty arcade.
"Ann?" Serena said, "What... what are you doing here?"
"Nothing," the redhead said casually as she walked inside, "Just
wanted to use the washroom before you guys close down. Hey, Serena,
can you come with me?"
Serena nodded dumbly, a little surprised.
"Darien, you can go..." she said, "I'll lock up."
He shook his head, "I want to finish talking about this."
"Tomorrow," Serena promised.
He hesitated, then nodded in defeat.
* * *
Darien sighed as he pulled out his key and opened the door.
'That locket...' he thought as he walked into his empty apartment,
'There's something about that locket...'
He frowned as he recalled his conversation with Serena about it.
Some guy had given it to her...
'Probably just a silly highschool crush... Nothing I should worry
about...'
He went into the kitchen to make himself a pot of coffee.
'But... I've got to get my hands on that locket again... I just...
have a strange feeling that it holds all the answers I'm looking for,
answers to... everything.'
His brows furrowed, he leaned himself against the wall to wait for
the coffee to perk.
'Is Serena trying to hide something from me? Something she knows...
about my past...?'
* * *
"What the heck are you doing?"
Serena turned around and looked at the angry redhead, "What...? What
are you talking about?"
"I thought we agreed that you would stop chasing after Darien!" Ann
yelled.
Serena blinked and realized that she had completely forgotten about
that.
"But... but..." she sputtered, "I wasn't! It was just a coincidence
that we would work here today. And, it's only for today, so..."
Her voice drifted off.
"Isn't it enough that you took away Alan? My lo- My brother? And
now you want Darien too?"
"I don't want Darien!" Serena exclaimed, "We just run into each other
a lot, and I'm not even interested in him!"
"Yeah right," Ann said as she rolled her eyes.
"Ann, come on!" Serena said, "If you like Darien, go ahead and make
a move! I couldn't care less... I'll... even help you if you like..."
She said the last part hesitantly, not sure if she was ready to do
that yet. But, if she wanted to earn Ann's trust and friendship,
maybe it'd be something she'd have to try doing.
"Fine!" Ann said, still not looking convinced, "How do you plan to
help me?"
"Um..." Serena said, "I... uh... Well, maybe we can arrange some sort
of outing... you know, with me, and you, and Darien... and maybe Alan
too... And then maybe we can split up, you know..."
Ann stopped and thought about it, then surprised Serena with a sudden
grin.
"All right," she said as her eyes sparkled, "We'll do it!"
Serena nodded nervously.
* * *
A blue-haired alien sat on the top of a large vine, playing a flute.
"Hey Alan."
"It's unbelievable..." he said softly as she teleported herself to sit
next to him, "The tree is getting better, but we didn't feed it any
energy..."
"That's great!" Ann said, surprised.
She looked at the huge trunk, spouts of green finally beginning to
appear. All over the place, there were signs of growth.
"Anyway," Ann said, "I want to talk to you about something else."
"What?" Alan asked, without looking at her.
"It's pretty obvious that this - we - aren't working out."
"What do you mean?" Alan said quietly.
"Oh admit it, Alan. You're in love with Serena and you know it. And
I'm in love with Darien. Now, how about we finally stop fighting and
work towards what we both want?"
Alan finally turned to look at her.
"Is that how you really feel?"
She nodded.
"And what exactly do you have in mind?" he said.
"Well, this is what we're gonna do..."
* * *
"So you *can* come out?"
"Yes," Darien answered, "In the park in half an hour, right?"
"Right," Serena's voice came.
"I'll... see you there."
"Okay, 'bye!" Click.
Darien clutched the receiver tightly, refusing to set it down.
Did Serena just ask him to go see her?
He shook his head. Don't get your hopes up, he told himself. She
probably just wants to see you about... about...
He frowned. What would she want with him? Maybe she changed her
mind about that locket!
Or else maybe...
A smiled etched over his lips.
Hmm...
* * *
"He had better be here..." Ann said.
"Oh, he will," Serena said, "Don't worry..."
"Remember the plan," Ann said, "Alan reminds you that you have
something to do, so you go off with Alan while I go off with Darien."
Serena rolled her eyes, "For the hundreth time, I've got it, Ann!"
Meanwhile, Alan stood uncomfortably beside the two girls.
"Hey, Meatball Head!"
Serena turned around to see Darien jogging towards her, usual green
jacket and black shirt, "What'd you want to see me about?"
Darien blinked in surprise when he saw that Ann and Alan were there
as well, standing beside Serena.
"Um..." Serena said slowly, "Well... I was wondering if you'd like to
go and grab a shake with Ann and Alan and me at the arcade..."
"Er, I..." Darien said, confused, "Actually, I'm not that free..."
Sure, he wanted to spend more time with Serena. But Alan and Ann
weren't exactly what he would consider good company.
"Oh come on!" Serena said, "It'll be fun!"
Hesitantly, Darien nodded. The four of them walked awkwardly through
the park and past the entrance, towards the arcade.
Suddenly, Alan stopped walking, and the others looked at him.
"Hey, Serena," Alan said, "I suddenly remember about that movie we
have to go to."
Serena gasped, "I totally forgot too!"
"Well, we'd... er... we'd better hurry if we're going to catch it..."
"Sorry, Darien!" Serena said, "We've got to book it. But Ann here is
free, if you're still wanting to go to the arcade. 'Bye!"
Her pigtails flew around 180 degrees as she turned and walked off with
Alan. Finally, Darien's brain registered what had just happened, and
his mouth opened with a "huh?".
"Well, Darien," Ann said, "I guess it's just you and me then."
* * *
"Wow, that was fun!" Serena said with a giggle.
Alan chuckled, "We're all good actors, huh?"
Serena nodded, "You were great! Except the part where you stuttered
when you said we had to leave!"
Alan laughed, something Serena had never seen him truly do before.
She giggled - it was infectious.
"So, what should we do now?" Alan asked as their laughter finally died
down.
"Well, I was just going to go home..." Serena said, "I thought we just
came here to help those two out."
Alan looked directly at Serena and smiled, "How about just walking
around the park for a bit?"
Serena blushed.
"Well... I guess that would be all right... My mom won't be expecting
me for a bit..."
Alan nodded and the two of them headed back into the park to look at
the flowers and the trees.
* * *
Darien stared out the window, feeling like his heart had been ripped
out and thrown on to the ground, where a 50 tonne truck was rolling
across it over and over again.
It wasn't fair.
It wasn't fair at all.
He thought that Serena had asked him to go out on their own, not with
Ann and Alan, and definitely not ditching him to go off on a date.
Where were they now? Probably at that stupid movie... Would they be
holding hands? He'd better not hold her hand! If he did...
"DARIEN!"
He gave a little jump and looked at the redhead that he had forgotten
was sitting across the table from him. He blinked and remembered that
he was supposed to be having drinks with Ann.
"Darien," she said, annoyed, "I called you three times and you didn't
answer!"
"You know what, Ann?" he mumbled as he stood up, "I've got to go. I'm
really sorry, but I uh, I just gotta..."
He pulled his wallet out and threw a bunch of bills on the table,
"Keep anything extra..."
With that, he walked out of the arcade.
* * *
"'Bye, Alan," Serena said softly, waving, "See you at school on
Monday..."
She turned around to head back home.
Where was Darien and Ann? Would they be doing something after hanging
out at the arcade?
Serena frowned. A promise was a promise. She wasn't supposed to be
going for Darien. And she didn't want to either, right?
Darien's a jerk, she told herself, Remember that. He is mean, he is
arrogant, and he keeps making fun of you. Darien? No good. Darien -
bad bad man!
She sighed and continued down the street. It was no use. She still
cared about Darien and she knew it. After the whole Prince-Darien-
of-the-past incident, she doubted she could go back to thinking of
him as who he was before, her greatest mortal enemy, Darien the mean
college student who made fun of her every chance he could get.
It was impossible to go back, even when he didn't show any signs of
affection towards her. Well, maybe except for lately, with the
locket...
She closed her eyes as she walked. She was right. It would be better
if he didn't remember. It would just make things even more complicated.
"Meatball Head?"
Serena opened her eyes and saw Darien standing right in her path, a
strange look on his face. A look of pain? Hurting? And something
else...?
* * *
A minute later, they were sitting at a bench at the side of the
street, lit partly by the streetlamp and partly by the sunset.
"So..." Serena said, "How was going to the arcade with Ann?"
"You still trying to get us together?" Darien asked.
Serena blushed.
"Well, Ann's my friend... And she obviously has a crush on you, so..."
she laughed, "I certainly don't know why *anyone* would have a crush
on you."
Darien flinched, but she didn't notice.
"You wouldn't, huh..." Darien said quietly.
Serena put a hand over her mouth, "No, Darien! That wasn't what I
meant at all! I... I was just kidding..."
Darien looked at her with a weak smile, "So there are things about me
that you may find... crushable?"
Serena gulped.
"I... uh..." she said nervously, "Well..."
She frowned, then bit her lip, then smiled, then frowned again.
"Well... You're... not an... unattractive person, Darien."
Darien chuckled, "Thanks, I think..."
"And..." Serena continued, "I guess... people can say that... you're
pretty cool... you know?"
Darien smiled. Taking a deep breath, he turned to look at her
directly in the eyes, "Then why won't you even consider me?"
Serena looked back at him with shock, "I... Well, we're... enemies,
aren't we? We make fun of each other, and that's pretty much what
makes up our whole relationship..."
Her voice trailed off, and she smiled nervously.
"Serena..." Darien said quietly, "What if I told you I want it all to
change? What if I told you I want us to be friends? Heck, more than
that. What if I told you I want you to be my girlfriend?"
"Well, then I'd say-" she stopped, and blinked, "What- what was that
last part?"
He looked deep into her blue eyes. There was no turning back now.
"I... I have feelings for you," Darien admitted, "I'm sorry, but I
don't want Ann, and I don't want you to be with Alan. I... want you
to be with me, Serena."
"..."
kept you talking and didn't leave you time for ice-cream."
Serena turned and gave him a smile that didn't meet her eyes, "That's
okay, Darien..."
She hastily reached out to grab the locket when the lid flew open.
The melody flowed out, each note floating gracefully around the two of
them.
Serena quickly put her hand on the lid to close it back up, but she
froze when she saw that Darien had closed his eyes and had fallen
into a trance-like state.
She gasped.
'Is... is he going to remember?'
Sometimes
by Phantasy Star
--------------------
Chapter Five
*FLASH*
Darien hurried down the street, hoping to get to work on time.
Suddenly, he felt something grab his arm.
"Hey, miss me, big guy?"
Darien almost had a heart attack. He sighed in relief when he saw
that it was only a girl. She had attached herself to him now, and was
leaning against his shoulder affectionately.
"Whoa, you scared me there!" Darien exclaimed.
"Oh, Darien," she said with a smile, "You don't have to be that way
around me..."
"How come you know my name and I don't know yours?" he asked,
confused.
Serena looked up at him in surprise, then closed her eyes, "Well, if
you want to be *that way* about it... My name is Serena, and you and I
are supposed to be together..."
Darien almost laughed, "What?"
*FLASH*
Serena stared up at him in shock. No, was he going to remember now?
Darien's brows furrowed. Just one more... one more step back, and
he'd know. He could feel it...
*FLASH*
"Destroy her, Prince Darien!"
"Yes, my queen..."
He jumped towards her and raised his sword.
"No, Darien!" the girl in front of him cried, "I'm not-"
*FLASH*
Darien's eyes shot open. The melody was gone. Serena had pushed the
lid shut abruptly.
"Ser... Serena..." Darien whispered.
She looked up at him, afraid.
"Open it, Serena," Darien said, in an almost commanding tone, "Let me
hear it again."
"No, Darien. It's the end of our break, remember?"
He shook his head, "Just let me hear it one more time. I... I..."
"I can't!" Serena said, "We... we don't have time! Maybe later..."
She shoved the locket back into her pocket and stood up quickly,
before running from the room.
"Wait, Serena!"
* * *
The rest of the day went by awkwardly. Serena refused to speak to
Darien if it wasn't about the customer's orders or their bills.
Serena was wiping a glass clean when she looked down at her soapy
hands and fell into a daze.
'What did I just do?'
She continued to wash the glass absentmindedly, her hands moving
by themselves.
'I thought I wanted Darien to remember... But if he did, I'd have to
explain everything to him... How would he feel? And... what would
that do to me and Alan?'
She bit her lip and frowned. She could fear tears welling up in her
eyes.
'I'm so confused...' she thought as she dried the glass and set it
down on the counter.
'What do I really want...?' she wondered as a single tear slid down
her cheek.
* * *
"Big day, huh?" Darien said.
Serena nodded, "Yeah..."
The two looked down at the ground, both uncomfortable. The sun was
beginning to set outside of the arcade, and all the customers had
left, leaving the two of them to clean up.
"Serena, about that locket..."
She looked up at him, and Darien could see the uneasiness so obvious
in her eyes.
"Serena," he said quietly, "I want to hear that melody again."
"I... I can't..." Serena said softly.
"Why not?" Darien asked, "Do you know something about it? Something
to do with me?"
"No..." she lied, "Darien, can we just drop this? I mean, it's just
a silly locket, right?"
"Then why won't you let me listen to it again?"
Serena looked down at the floor, trying to come up with an answer.
"Please, Serena..." Darien said, "It's important to me..."
"Hey guys!"
The two turned to look at the entrance of the empty arcade.
"Ann?" Serena said, "What... what are you doing here?"
"Nothing," the redhead said casually as she walked inside, "Just
wanted to use the washroom before you guys close down. Hey, Serena,
can you come with me?"
Serena nodded dumbly, a little surprised.
"Darien, you can go..." she said, "I'll lock up."
He shook his head, "I want to finish talking about this."
"Tomorrow," Serena promised.
He hesitated, then nodded in defeat.
* * *
Darien sighed as he pulled out his key and opened the door.
'That locket...' he thought as he walked into his empty apartment,
'There's something about that locket...'
He frowned as he recalled his conversation with Serena about it.
Some guy had given it to her...
'Probably just a silly highschool crush... Nothing I should worry
about...'
He went into the kitchen to make himself a pot of coffee.
'But... I've got to get my hands on that locket again... I just...
have a strange feeling that it holds all the answers I'm looking for,
answers to... everything.'
His brows furrowed, he leaned himself against the wall to wait for
the coffee to perk.
'Is Serena trying to hide something from me? Something she knows...
about my past...?'
* * *
"What the heck are you doing?"
Serena turned around and looked at the angry redhead, "What...? What
are you talking about?"
"I thought we agreed that you would stop chasing after Darien!" Ann
yelled.
Serena blinked and realized that she had completely forgotten about
that.
"But... but..." she sputtered, "I wasn't! It was just a coincidence
that we would work here today. And, it's only for today, so..."
Her voice drifted off.
"Isn't it enough that you took away Alan? My lo- My brother? And
now you want Darien too?"
"I don't want Darien!" Serena exclaimed, "We just run into each other
a lot, and I'm not even interested in him!"
"Yeah right," Ann said as she rolled her eyes.
"Ann, come on!" Serena said, "If you like Darien, go ahead and make
a move! I couldn't care less... I'll... even help you if you like..."
She said the last part hesitantly, not sure if she was ready to do
that yet. But, if she wanted to earn Ann's trust and friendship,
maybe it'd be something she'd have to try doing.
"Fine!" Ann said, still not looking convinced, "How do you plan to
help me?"
"Um..." Serena said, "I... uh... Well, maybe we can arrange some sort
of outing... you know, with me, and you, and Darien... and maybe Alan
too... And then maybe we can split up, you know..."
Ann stopped and thought about it, then surprised Serena with a sudden
grin.
"All right," she said as her eyes sparkled, "We'll do it!"
Serena nodded nervously.
* * *
A blue-haired alien sat on the top of a large vine, playing a flute.
"Hey Alan."
"It's unbelievable..." he said softly as she teleported herself to sit
next to him, "The tree is getting better, but we didn't feed it any
energy..."
"That's great!" Ann said, surprised.
She looked at the huge trunk, spouts of green finally beginning to
appear. All over the place, there were signs of growth.
"Anyway," Ann said, "I want to talk to you about something else."
"What?" Alan asked, without looking at her.
"It's pretty obvious that this - we - aren't working out."
"What do you mean?" Alan said quietly.
"Oh admit it, Alan. You're in love with Serena and you know it. And
I'm in love with Darien. Now, how about we finally stop fighting and
work towards what we both want?"
Alan finally turned to look at her.
"Is that how you really feel?"
She nodded.
"And what exactly do you have in mind?" he said.
"Well, this is what we're gonna do..."
* * *
"So you *can* come out?"
"Yes," Darien answered, "In the park in half an hour, right?"
"Right," Serena's voice came.
"I'll... see you there."
"Okay, 'bye!" Click.
Darien clutched the receiver tightly, refusing to set it down.
Did Serena just ask him to go see her?
He shook his head. Don't get your hopes up, he told himself. She
probably just wants to see you about... about...
He frowned. What would she want with him? Maybe she changed her
mind about that locket!
Or else maybe...
A smiled etched over his lips.
Hmm...
* * *
"He had better be here..." Ann said.
"Oh, he will," Serena said, "Don't worry..."
"Remember the plan," Ann said, "Alan reminds you that you have
something to do, so you go off with Alan while I go off with Darien."
Serena rolled her eyes, "For the hundreth time, I've got it, Ann!"
Meanwhile, Alan stood uncomfortably beside the two girls.
"Hey, Meatball Head!"
Serena turned around to see Darien jogging towards her, usual green
jacket and black shirt, "What'd you want to see me about?"
Darien blinked in surprise when he saw that Ann and Alan were there
as well, standing beside Serena.
"Um..." Serena said slowly, "Well... I was wondering if you'd like to
go and grab a shake with Ann and Alan and me at the arcade..."
"Er, I..." Darien said, confused, "Actually, I'm not that free..."
Sure, he wanted to spend more time with Serena. But Alan and Ann
weren't exactly what he would consider good company.
"Oh come on!" Serena said, "It'll be fun!"
Hesitantly, Darien nodded. The four of them walked awkwardly through
the park and past the entrance, towards the arcade.
Suddenly, Alan stopped walking, and the others looked at him.
"Hey, Serena," Alan said, "I suddenly remember about that movie we
have to go to."
Serena gasped, "I totally forgot too!"
"Well, we'd... er... we'd better hurry if we're going to catch it..."
"Sorry, Darien!" Serena said, "We've got to book it. But Ann here is
free, if you're still wanting to go to the arcade. 'Bye!"
Her pigtails flew around 180 degrees as she turned and walked off with
Alan. Finally, Darien's brain registered what had just happened, and
his mouth opened with a "huh?".
"Well, Darien," Ann said, "I guess it's just you and me then."
* * *
"Wow, that was fun!" Serena said with a giggle.
Alan chuckled, "We're all good actors, huh?"
Serena nodded, "You were great! Except the part where you stuttered
when you said we had to leave!"
Alan laughed, something Serena had never seen him truly do before.
She giggled - it was infectious.
"So, what should we do now?" Alan asked as their laughter finally died
down.
"Well, I was just going to go home..." Serena said, "I thought we just
came here to help those two out."
Alan looked directly at Serena and smiled, "How about just walking
around the park for a bit?"
Serena blushed.
"Well... I guess that would be all right... My mom won't be expecting
me for a bit..."
Alan nodded and the two of them headed back into the park to look at
the flowers and the trees.
* * *
Darien stared out the window, feeling like his heart had been ripped
out and thrown on to the ground, where a 50 tonne truck was rolling
across it over and over again.
It wasn't fair.
It wasn't fair at all.
He thought that Serena had asked him to go out on their own, not with
Ann and Alan, and definitely not ditching him to go off on a date.
Where were they now? Probably at that stupid movie... Would they be
holding hands? He'd better not hold her hand! If he did...
"DARIEN!"
He gave a little jump and looked at the redhead that he had forgotten
was sitting across the table from him. He blinked and remembered that
he was supposed to be having drinks with Ann.
"Darien," she said, annoyed, "I called you three times and you didn't
answer!"
"You know what, Ann?" he mumbled as he stood up, "I've got to go. I'm
really sorry, but I uh, I just gotta..."
He pulled his wallet out and threw a bunch of bills on the table,
"Keep anything extra..."
With that, he walked out of the arcade.
* * *
"'Bye, Alan," Serena said softly, waving, "See you at school on
Monday..."
She turned around to head back home.
Where was Darien and Ann? Would they be doing something after hanging
out at the arcade?
Serena frowned. A promise was a promise. She wasn't supposed to be
going for Darien. And she didn't want to either, right?
Darien's a jerk, she told herself, Remember that. He is mean, he is
arrogant, and he keeps making fun of you. Darien? No good. Darien -
bad bad man!
She sighed and continued down the street. It was no use. She still
cared about Darien and she knew it. After the whole Prince-Darien-
of-the-past incident, she doubted she could go back to thinking of
him as who he was before, her greatest mortal enemy, Darien the mean
college student who made fun of her every chance he could get.
It was impossible to go back, even when he didn't show any signs of
affection towards her. Well, maybe except for lately, with the
locket...
She closed her eyes as she walked. She was right. It would be better
if he didn't remember. It would just make things even more complicated.
"Meatball Head?"
Serena opened her eyes and saw Darien standing right in her path, a
strange look on his face. A look of pain? Hurting? And something
else...?
* * *
A minute later, they were sitting at a bench at the side of the
street, lit partly by the streetlamp and partly by the sunset.
"So..." Serena said, "How was going to the arcade with Ann?"
"You still trying to get us together?" Darien asked.
Serena blushed.
"Well, Ann's my friend... And she obviously has a crush on you, so..."
she laughed, "I certainly don't know why *anyone* would have a crush
on you."
Darien flinched, but she didn't notice.
"You wouldn't, huh..." Darien said quietly.
Serena put a hand over her mouth, "No, Darien! That wasn't what I
meant at all! I... I was just kidding..."
Darien looked at her with a weak smile, "So there are things about me
that you may find... crushable?"
Serena gulped.
"I... uh..." she said nervously, "Well..."
She frowned, then bit her lip, then smiled, then frowned again.
"Well... You're... not an... unattractive person, Darien."
Darien chuckled, "Thanks, I think..."
"And..." Serena continued, "I guess... people can say that... you're
pretty cool... you know?"
Darien smiled. Taking a deep breath, he turned to look at her
directly in the eyes, "Then why won't you even consider me?"
Serena looked back at him with shock, "I... Well, we're... enemies,
aren't we? We make fun of each other, and that's pretty much what
makes up our whole relationship..."
Her voice trailed off, and she smiled nervously.
"Serena..." Darien said quietly, "What if I told you I want it all to
change? What if I told you I want us to be friends? Heck, more than
that. What if I told you I want you to be my girlfriend?"
"Well, then I'd say-" she stopped, and blinked, "What- what was that
last part?"
He looked deep into her blue eyes. There was no turning back now.
"I... I have feelings for you," Darien admitted, "I'm sorry, but I
don't want Ann, and I don't want you to be with Alan. I... want you
to be with me, Serena."
"..."
