Hey people!! Welcome to the second chapter of 'Making the Days Count' * voice booms over speaker* umm…I don't really have many author notes other than the fact that if you sue me, you'll lose more money than you'll gain and uh….an American average chocolate bar has about eight spider legs in it : )

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Serena lifted her suitcase out the elevator and let out a huff as it immediately thumped back onto the floor. She groaned as she dragged the case of bricks while trying to read the door numbers at the same time. 816…818…820…Bingo! 822. She pulled herself up into front of the door and raised her hand but paused in mid-air. Was she sure about this? How was she going to act around Andrew? She hadn't seen him in almost six years! What was she going to say? Hey Andrew! This is Serena? Remember me, the little teenager who had a never ending crush on you and stalked you every day in the arcade? She shook her head. Then she grinned. If only her dad found out that she was staying with a male roommate, even worse, two male roommates. His dusty shotgun would be out in a flash. She finally built up her nerve and knocked firmly on the door. It made no sound. She sweat-dropped. I need to exercise more. This time she knocked harder. It made a sound but no one answered the door. Was no one home yet? Her eyes widened with worry. How long was she going to have to wait? Were they on vacation still? She checked out of her hotel this morning! She couldn't find another one on such short notice! Maybe she could wait in the lounge downstairs. But for how long? Her eyebrows crinkled with worry. Serena raised her hand to knock again when the sound of a click was heard through the door. Then it opened to reveal the one of the sexiest guys she had ever seen.

Her jaw dropped open. "Andrew?"

Andrew's eyes twinkled with laughter. "You might want to close your jaw there, Serena." With that said, he scooped her in his arms for a giant hug. Recovering from her shock, Serena laughed and hugged back. When she was let down, she took a step back and pretended to look him over. "Not looking to bad, Andrew."

"I could say the same for you! You look so much more cuter than when you were fourteen," he added with a grin and an awkward pat on the head. Serena gave him a mock frown but sighed inwardly. She was always going to be a cute little teenage girl to him, and more likely a sister than a prospect. It was no use anyway. She found out from the girls that Andrew was already taken and that he was, unfortunately, happy with the current girlfriend. Andrew looked over her shoulder, which wasn't so hard to accomplish, Serena being a little shorter than 5 feet and 7 inches and Andrew being a little taller than 6 feet. "Is that all you have, Serena?"

She looked at him sheepishly. "Umm… I have one or two more bags down in the lounge. I was going to bring them up here after –"

"You know what? Don't worry about it. Why don't you make yourself at home and I'll go get them for you. It's okay, Serena. You can come in."

By impulse, she stuck her tongue out and quickly drew it back in, blushing. He chuckled before shoving her inside and leaving for the elevator. Although he seemed comfortable, Serena felt slightly uneasy about the whole arrangement. She slowly moved her bag into the immensely large apartment. The walls were cream colored and from what Serena could see, it was spotless all around. The Kitchen was in the right corner and expanded right next to the living room. The kitchen had marble flooring and it was all of polished wood and glass. The living room held a set of plush green couches and an enormous stereo and television system. How could Andrew and his roommate afford such rich tastes? They were only college students! Opposite the kitchen was the dining room and in front of it was the glass door to the balcony. She carefully placed her suitcase next to the large couch and walked towards the balcony before she realized to remove her shoes. With quick little steps back to the door, as if someone was following her, she quickly removed her shoes and tried to wipe any signs of dirt from the carpet. Any sign of dust seemed out of place in this airy place. It was then that she noticed the door to the left and recognized it as a door to a bedroom.

Serena looked at the front door and then back to the bedroom door. It wouldn't hurt to take a peak would it? It wasn't like she was going to drag any dirt in there, she argued. As soon as one foot directed itself towards the bedroom, she heard the doorknob rattle and in entered Andrew. He had a skeptical look on his face. "One or two more bags, Serena? You have your whole house out in the lounge!" Serena grinned and shrugged while Andrew huffed and went back out the door to carry all her luggage in. She mentally counted the bags as he dragged them into the apartment. Three duffel bags with clothes, two cardboard boxes with all her favorite books inside, one suitcase with fancy clothes and umm…underwear, a small kit with make up, hygiene, and accessories, a shopping bag with stylish handbags…and that was it! With the suitcase she had dragged up, that was a total of…nine bags. She flashed Andrew a bright smile and thanked him.

"That smile reminds me of the days you used to come into Crown Arcade and brighten up every time you saw a milk shake. And remember the video games you loved? Ever beat the top score in Sailor Venus?"

Serena gave a sniff and held her head high. "You make it sound like I was a ..a puppy waiting for a treat. And yes, I actually did beat the top score." Then she felt slightly sad. "And you weren't there to see it."

Andrew gave an encouraging smile. He walked up to her and gave her a little bop on the nose. Serena groaned inside. He used to do that when she was twelve! "No, Serena. You were a perfectly normal girl with a lot of sparkle in you that's all. You're just able to enjoy every small thing in life."

He grabbed a black jacket from the coat hanger and beckoned her. "To celebrate your victory in Crown Arcade, why don't we go out for a little ice cream?"

Serena gaped. "Are you crazy? It's freezing out there!" She motioned to the wild winds waiting for them out side the balcony. Andrew scrunched up his face in thought. "What about some nice hot pizza?"

She was completely for that idea. She hugged herself to capture whatever warmth could be captured and walked over with Andrew, out into the cold streets, for some heart warming, high calorie pizza.

~~~~~~

Rei paced over the same area again and again. She turned to face the others to say something. Ami and Lita were watching her intently while Mina raced to finish the last of the popcorn. Rei, annoyed by the loud cruching, said, "Mina…too much popcorn isn't good for you. And think of all that butter and fats!"

Mina stopped chewing and frowned at Rei as best she could with all the popcorn still in her mouth. Lita rolled her eyes and motioned for Rei to continue. Rei turned to them and asked, "Well, we managed to get Serena into Andrew's apartment. Now what?"

Lita shrugged. "I guess we could wait and see what happens. I mean, we don't know what to do yet, with school about to start and homework ready to pile up again." Everyone, even Ami, blanched that the idea. The summer had made them into lazy butts and they weren't ready to accept school back into their lives yet. It was impeding doom. Ami rationally voiced her opinion. "I agree with Lita. There is nothing else we can do at the moment. All we can do is wait. By the way, does Andrew know about the plan?"

Mina shook her head. "I don't think so. Maybe he got the gist of it…"

"He couldn't be that thick headed. We jumped on his offer as soon as we found out who his roommate is."

"Think of the look on Serena's face when she finds out. Imagine the look of horror and surprise."

Rei rolled her eyes. "That's what she pretends to feel. You know as well I as do that it was just childish flirting going on between them. It's like trying to get two asses together. Neither with budge an inch, therefore being the cause of exhaustion for the rest of us."

Lita nodded with complete agreement. She announced, "Serena should be thankful that we're even doing this for her. I mean, would anyone else even think of such a brilliant idea?" For emphasize, she grabbed the popcorn bowl from Mina's lap and slammed it onto the table. Everyone grinned and for pleasure, looked around their condo for the millionth time. It was classy and had a touch of modern style to it, pleasing all four of the girls. It wasn't gigantically huge but it was more than enough space than what the girls needed.

Mina grinned. "She would kill us if she found out what this place looked like."

~~~~~~

Serena gave Andrew a smug smile. "The girls would kill me if they found out what your place looked like."

Andrew took the pizza from the counter and sat next to one of the available seats. The restaurant was like mini diner, not only with pizza but also Italian and French food. More like a Sbarro restaurant. Andrew handed he a piece in a paper plate before biting into his own. After using some time for considerate chewing, he said, "Well, now it's more like both of our apartment. Not just mine and Da-" He quickly took a bite before finishing his sentence. She apparently didn't notice for all her concentration was on the cheese sagging down from the slice. Andrew watched with amusement as she tried to capture some of it into her mouth. "How's Crown Arcade without me? Is Lizzy doing a good job?"

Serena managed to eat the cheese and pondered. "It's definitely not the same without you but your sister is trying really hard to keep it clean. These days, there is this new group of kids and everyday they have nothing damn better to do than try and cause havoc. Lizzy's very firm with them though. She tells them what's what whenever she gets a hand on them. Other than that…it's pretty much the same. No more milk shakes on the house though." Serena gave a small grin. "Your sister thinks that you spoiled me too much."

Andrew nodded. It was the same stuff his sister had told him in her phone calls and letters. With a chuckle he promised to have a word with her later. Now Serena asked, "How's Rita?"

Andrew looked at her, surprised. "How do you know about that?"

"Mina and Lita told me. They wasn't very happy about it though," she added with a giggle. Andrew looked wary. "They had their own boyfriends now! Still the same duo, huh?"

"Yep. So tell me about Rita."

Andrew took another bite and stared into space with thoughtful eyes. "She had long brown hair with a few highlights. Her eyes are warm brown colored and her face is…perfect."

Serena rolled her eyes. "Skip the mushy stuff, Andrew."

"Oh…well, why didn't you say so? She has a great personality. You would make friends with her pretty easily. She loves manga too, you know. Her hobbies are tennis and bug collecting." He saw Serena choke on her food and scowled. "It's not my favorite thing either. Anyway, she's always happy and ….boisterous, I guess. Kind of like you. Although, sometimes she can be shy."

Serena smiled at the look on Andrew's face as he pictured his girlfriend. "She's out in Africa now. On one of her expeditions, you know. She loves archeology. Plans to set her future in that path."

There was a small silence.

"Do you support that?"

He looked slightly insulted. "Of course I do. Granted, I don't get to see her often but if that's where her heart lies, then I'm behind her one hundred percent." He closed his eyes and placed his hand over his heart, ending with a dramatic pose.

Serena rolled her eyes and finished off her second slice. "You are so romantic, Andrew."

He winked. "That's why all the girls love me. You want another slice?"

Serena shook her head. "I actually had a small lunch on the way to your – our- place. I'm pretty full now."

"Same here. We'll take it back and maybe Da- I mean, my roommate might want to have some."

Serena wrinkled her eyebrows in question as she slid from her seat. "Tell me about your roommate. You haven't even mentioned anything about him yet."

Andrew gave her a quick smile and a nudge towards the exit. "He'll probably be back right now. He's an intern for this huge medical research project and that's why he comes home later than I do. I'm just a lazy butt when it comes to extracurricular projects and such."

Serena gave him a playful nudge. "Wow. This guy sounds smart. Any chance of hooking us two up, Andrew? Come on…"

Andrew grinned inwardly. "Maybe. We'll see. He has this girl right now but he says that they're only 'close friends'. Too bad I saw this close friend cuddling too much with him one night."

Serena laughed and sat in Andrew's Porsche. "Granted, he didn't seem to comfortable about it, though. We'll see, Serena. Maybe you guys can hook up."

Serena smirked. "I was just playing around, Andrew. I mean, he must be about your age, right? That's like, four or five years older than me." She gave a strong shake of the head as if signaling that it was too much of an age difference. Andrew backed up the car and drove it into the road.
"You make it sound like he's too old for you, Serena."

"Isn't he?"

"I remember when you had a crush on me ever since you were twelve until the day I left the arcade. I was older than you back then to, you know."

Serena gasped. "Nuh uh, Andrew! That's not true!"

Andrew laughed. "No way you can deny it now, Serena! I know you're blushing."

Serena gave him a playful smack on the shoulder before huffing and crossing her arms. "It's not true."

"That's not what Rei told me."

"Rei told you? How could she?" she growled with annoyance.

Andrew smirked. "Ha. Gotcha. So you admit it."

"NO."

"Whatever you say, Serena." And so, he continued to tease her all the way back to the complex.

~~~~~~

He impatiently opened the front door and walked in without looking up. The research paper was due in a week and he was pepping himself to the week ahead, full of shit called homework. He muttered a few words now and then from the article he was reading, removing his shoes swiftly and efficiently while balancing on one foot at a time, still managing to catch a few phrases from the paper. Throwing up his coat onto the hanger with precision, he walked over towards the couch. What he didn't expect was the pile of luggage blocking the way to the large couch. He startled as he tripped clumsily over a small kit of a kind and toppled over a large suitcase in the process. The items scattered around as he tried to balance himself and but in vain. He finally toppled over the couch and banged his knee into the glass table. After a pause to recollect himself, a string of curses flew from his mouth. No wonder. He was an idiot. The new roommate was coming to stay with them today. And judging from the pink and blue baggage, it was a female roommate. He sat up and rubbed his knee. If it was a male, he had some serious issues with gender confidence. Pink bunnies on small make-up kits wasn't exactly a guy's dream. Pink bunnies…who did that remind him of? He shook his hair into place and grabbed the fallen article from the couch. Damn. Why did it have to be so long? He was studying in the Yale New Haven Medical Center with a sponsoring scientist. They worked together on lab rats, testing different variations of specific chromosomes concerning diabetes. Normally, he was able to finish work on a timed schedule but with all the extra work from the research center and the stalking of a lunatic, not much work was being done.

He leaned his head against the couch and gave out a growl of frustration. And now with an extra roommate, he doubted that his pace would get any better. Then it hit him. Pink bunnies. Meatball head. An involuntary grin cracked on his face. He remembered her obsession with bunnies and her cat. She used to always talk with her cat, as if it could understand her. Whenever he teased her about it, she would flush and tell him to go away. What if the roommate was Meatball head? Darien vehemently shook his head. There was a one in a million chance of that happening. And also, she would definitely be a nuisance to have around. He grinned again. Too much ice cream would cover up the dining table. With another feeling of resignation, he tuned his attention onto the article. Diabete was an increasing problem in society. Many, especially adolescents, had Type 1 while others had Type 2. Pregnant women are sometimes in risk of gestational diabetes, although…he had already read all this at the door. As he scanned to where he left off, he didn't hear the door click as it opened.

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Andrew noticed the intense look of concentration on his roommate's face. He signaled Serena to be silent and she nodded in comprehension. They silently walked into the place and Andrew carefully shut the door with a soft click. His roommate still didn't look up. Serena immediately knew that this man was taller than herself, more of Andrew's height. He had silky black hair that was cut off at the top of the neck. Although she couldn't see his face and his whole body, she recognized the look of a person who exercised a whole lot more than she did. He was looking down at a packet, studying with diligence.

Serena then recognized her luggage scattered all over the living room and glowered. Couldn't the man be a little more careful of where he was walking? Absolutely no respect at all! She almost gasped at the sight of her flattened duffel bag, now more of a pancake than a cylinder. Serena, a little ticked off, took of her coat and turned to hang it on the rack when Andrew startled her.

"Hey, Darien meet our new roommate."

Serena froze and didn't turn away from the rack, her back facing…Darien. Oh no. No, no, no, no, no. This is not true. She quickly pinched herself and yelped. She gulped. It was true. She was sharing an apartment for the next few years with Darien. Maybe there were other Dariens around the area. Yeah right, Serena, like your luck goes so far. She forgot to turn around, but stood facing the rack.

Darien looked at her back with concern and interest at the same time. Wow. She had one heck of a body. She was wearing flare jeans that hugged her never ending legs and a loose silk blouse on top. Her hair was almost as long as her legs, although it was in a pony tail at the moment, sunny blonde with highlights in the right places. Unfortunately, she didn't turn around so that he could see her face. He looked at Andrew in concern who was grinning from ear to ear.

"Is she okay, Andrew?"

Andrew breezily waved his hand, shooing away Darien's worry. "She's alright. Just a little…nervous."

Andrew forcefully grabbed Serena's shoulders and spun her around. Serena immediately covered her face, her face as red as a cheery. She refused to see Darien sitting on the couch. It's just a dream, Serena. It's just a dream.

Now Darien was really concerned, especially with Andrew sweat-dropping and trying to tug the poor girl's hands of her face, with no success. Darien stood up and frowned at his friend.

"Geesh, Andrew. Give her a break. Maybe she's just shy." He walked up to the obviously timid girl. Andrew gave Darien a small smirk. "Trust me, it's definitely not that."

Darien rolled his eyes, and managed to sound pleasant when he said, "Hi. I'm Darien and I'll be your roommate. And you are…?"

He heard a mumble through the hands. "Sorry, I didn't catch that."

"Mebahay ywork."

Darien looked at Andrew again, who was still grinning from ear to ear. He actually looked like he was going to burst from laughter. "Could you say that again? With the hands this time," he joked, trying to make her feel comfortable.

Serena gave a small cry of frustration. Why her? Then she snarled. Her friends were in this. And so was Andrew. Andrew knew all along! This was all a conspiracy against her! Why don't they just feed her to an alligator while they were at it? She would get them back, fair and square. They set her in the same apartment with the guy who teased her for two whole years. Almost everyday at the arcade, they would met and words would fly, either at each other or at innocent passers who had stopped to watch the show, as it was a daily series of a soap opera. Oooh, yeah. They were going to pay. Maybe she should cut their hair off or something when they were sleeping. Sleep with one eye open guys, she thought angrily, and maybe you'll see the scissors. She finally removed her hands and stared straight into the face of her childhood enemy.

"Meatball head, you jerk."