Okay. This is like the third time that I'm completely re-writing the sixth chapter here!! ARRGH…. anyway sighs here it is….
A foolish grin covered her face as she dreamt of meadows with daisies and daffodils. Sighing, she laid back into the heavenly smell and sniffed in, managing to hack on the pollen taken through her nose. From the side she saw fuzzy animals flouncing towards her…why, they were llamas. Serena cooed as the tiny llama-looking animals surrounded her. Suddenly, she felt another animal behind her…creeping up to her. She wanted to turn to see what it was but her damned dream wouldn't let her. The llamas looked peaceful enough, sipping milk out of cat bowls…what the…? Serena placed her hand down to lift herself from the ground, only to touch fuzzy stuff instead of flowers…
Beep! Beep! Beep!
Serena groaned and rolled over in her brand new bed. She tried vainly to reach for the annoying alarm but only managed to shove it off the shelf. Oh well, she thought groggily, as long as it shut up. Sighing, she rolled into the middle of her twin sized, heavenly bed. Andrew had taken her shopping for a bed a few days ago, just about when Serena started to whine about back pains. Serena had felt bad to use the rest of her money on such an un-needed commodity but Andrew had insisted that she was indeed spending her budget wisely. As always, Darien went for whatever made her feel bad.
All in all, she really needed to get a job. Rei and Lita had already found jobs, Rei being a secretary for some big-shoot lawyer in the area and Lita being an assistant chef in some restaurant. Mina was currently searching for one and Ami didn't need to have one because of the full scholarship she had received. And her rich mother paid for the apartment share. She remembered how Rei had been in the restaurant with her, yelling at Serena for being an idiot for attacking the robber when she remembered her interview. She had rushed out the café like a speeding bullet on fire. And there to continue Rei's tirade was Ami, who took up where Rei left off at.
Groaning yet again, Serena sat up, searched for her fuzzy slippers, and crawled towards the door. She looked back sadly at her bed, bidding it adieu until nighttime. Back to the dream. What was that about? Llamas drinking out of cat bowls. She rolled her eyes. Dreams are at least supposed to make some sense, Serena, you dumb butt. As she opened the door, it hit her.
Luna.
Oh no! Her poor kitty! She had promised her parents that she would have Luna shipped over as soon as she settled in. It had been two weeks since she had moved in and last talked to her parents. She ran around, searching for the phone. Where was it? Arrgh! She didn't notice an amused face watching her efforts.
"Whatcha doing, Meatball Head?" Darien winced at the boyish tone. What the hell was wrong with him. Here he was, a handsome, sexy, young man with an IQ of a genius and the first thing he says is 'Whatcha doing, Meatball Head?' He begged for someone to slap him right then.
Serena startled at the voice but didn't even bother to turn back and respond. She needed to talk to her parents now. What would they say and/or do when they hear her voice on the phone? Her Mom had wanted to keep it with her for company, but her dad hated the 'fuzzballs' (They're all shedding maniacs, I say!) and her brother acted indifferent, although she knew that he was getting attached to Luna.
"Looking for your brain?" Darien, he noted, has to kick self later - out of Serena's trail of vision.
Serena muttered, "Oh go shove something up your butt. I'm busy." She went to circle around the kitchen, where Darien was sitting at the counter, sipping his black coffee. He just watched as she fumbled with drawers and cabinets, searching for some non-existent object. He heard her chant "phone, phone…need phone…"
"It's right next to me, Meatball Head." Serena whirled around and a look of relief flooded her face.
"Oh, no wonder I couldn't find it. It's in your vicinity." She headed for it, her arm outstretched to grab the receiver from the wall. Unfortunately, Darien had nothing better to do than to grab it before her. Before he could open his mouth, she spat, "Don't make me draw on your face again!" She could have sworn that he would have smacked her right there if he could have. The permanent marker had faded only a few days ago and Darien was enjoying the feeling of clean. Not to exclude the returning senses of dignity and respect among his teachers and colleagues. Serena, although she threatened, knew that she would never do that again. Sometimes, it pricked her heart when a stranger would giggle behind Darien's back and then point him out specifically.
No. What was she thinking? Feeling sorry for that jerk? As if. She smugly plucked to receiver out of Darien's hand and quickly punched the numbers. She hoped that Andrew wouldn't mind the long distance phone call. Mentally, she vowed to pay him back…sooner or later. Come on, someone be home…someone…
The receiver clicked on the other end. "Hello. Denver residence."
She took a deep breath. "Mom? Hi," Serena started tentatively. Darien watched intently.
"Oh my….oh my! Ken! Ken! Come over here! It's Serena! My baby! Are you okay? You haven't called in two weeks! Did you know how worried we were? We tried to get your number from Mrs. Lockner or Mrs. Carmine but they didn't know your number – no, Ken, let me talk to her. One sec-" Serena heard the distant sound of rumbling as her father grabbed the phone.
"Dad? Is that you on-"
"Serena! How irresponsible can you be? When we let you go, you promised to be mature and responsible because after all, you're supposed to be eighteen years old! Act like it. One second, Irene. This girl needs some talking –"
Darien grinned at the shouting coming through the receiver and especially at how sour Serena's face looked at the moment, her nose wrinkled and her cheeks flushed red. She probably realized that he could hear the whole conversation. "So you're eighteen huh? Could have fooled me." Serena's eyes narrowed. Darien grinned. Inside, he knew that he was underestimating her. Her body after all, was definitely past the clumsy baby fat stage – snap out of it, Darien! All she is to you is a stress reliever, not an actual girl-woman-no, girl! Arrgh. She calmly took a sip of his bitter coffee.
"Shut up, Darien. Why don't you give me some –"
"Darien? Who's Darien? Is that a boy?" snapped the voice on the line. Serena winced and mouthed 'Look what you did' towards Darien, who just shrugged.
"Dad, it's okay. Darien's just a-a … friend." Darien gave a mock bow of appreciation.
"In your apartment? You let a boy into your apartment? Is Rei there with you? No, not Rei. Ami. Ami's the responsible one –" Serena rolled her eyes. Ever since she had introduced Ami to her parents, her Dad became ecstatic to see her, even if it was to drop off homework. He would preach to Serena about shifting her path towards a doctor's life, like Ami, and not one that has 'And would you like a drink with that?' as part of the deal.
"Dad, I'm not living with Ami and Rei or Lita or Mina." All of a sudden her eyes started tearing up. Serena tried to hold back the urge to sniffle. Darien picked up his briefcase and turned around to shoot off one last insult when he saw her watery eyes.
"You're not living with them? Then where the hell are you living? No, Irene- Irene, stop it!" Her mother snatched back the phone.
"Why not, honey?" she asked calmly. Serena tried to hold it back, she truly did. From the corner of her eye, she could see Darien staring at her. She turned back full-faced and stared back. Probably waiting for her to burst again, she growled inside. Darien, on the other hand, noticing that she was staring pointedly at him, took the cue and left. He didn't want to, maybe because of Serena's watery eyes but then again, she might accidentally burst his eardrums if he hung around.
"Serena?"
"Mom….t-they k-k-kicked meeeeeee oooooouuut!!!!! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" She could hear her Mom tried to comfort her on the other end but she didn't care. She needed to cry to her Mom. "T-t-they said that there w-w-wasn't enough r-room and they kicked m-me ooouut!"
"Honey, calm –"
"And now I'm stuck in an a-apartment with my worst e-enemy and I h-hate it!" She wept into the phone, howling like a hyena.
"I know, Serena dear." That effectively stopped Serena.
"What?"
"Mina told me all about it," her Mom informed her, almost a little smug.
"When?"
"After your 'incident' in the store. I need to talk to you about that-"
"And Dad-"
"Doesn't know. I think I'll feed it to him a little at a time. No, Ken. I'll tell you – No, not now! I need to talk to Serena." Serena decided that now was the time to sniffle a little. Just a little, not too much. Her Mom sighed with exasperation. "Serena, I've decided that the family is going to come up and visit you in your apartment in two weeks, just before college starts. You know, to make sure that you're comfortable, honey – yes, Ken, we are going – by the way, honey- do you have a job yet? Mina told me about Rei and Lita. I'm so proud of them."
"Geesh, Mom, they're just friends, not your lost children."
"So do you?"
"I'm…working on it." To change the subject, she asked, "How is Luna?"
"I completely forgot! Luna is missing you , honey. Everyday, she paws at your covers as if you were still in bed. Serena, you better be ready to have her there. Instead of shipping her, we'll bring her with us on the visit, litter box and bowl included."
"So you're not mad at me?" Serena asked, hopeful.
"Of course we are, sweetie," her mother said, still calm. "We are raging mad, especially me. You had the nerve to not call us, you got into the mischief and potential danger that you did get into – yes, Ken, I'll tell you about it-, you are in a place that could be considered inappropriate, and you are responsible for putting that poor cat in miserable torture of grief. But I just think that I should spare you this once. Plus, I've already had an outlet to my anger about the shop incident- and I get to yell at you in person in time." Serena grinned sheepishly, her cheeks staining red once more.
"You're the best, Mom. Tell Dad and Sammy that I love them too."
"Yes, honey. I'll tell them that and whatever else. I would love to chat more, hon, but your dad and I are going out for lunch –"
"Yeah, of course. Sorry, Mom. I'll talk to you later then. Tell Luna that Mommy misses her baby." Her mother chuckled.
"Yes, I'll make sure of that. Bye, Serena dear. Love you." With that the line went dead.
Serena wasn't a little surprised at how her mother had dealt with the news. Her grandparents on her mother's side were incidentally from the south and as such, her mother was trained in the arts of etiquette and how to look like a proper lady. Her father on the other hand, was a New York town boy who barely managed to keep his mouth shut. He would let every emotion in his head be expressed without leaving any doubt. The lovely southern belle had met the rough 'Yankee' and it was love at first sight, well, at least for Serena's dad. After months of wooing and changing his behaviors, he finally won her hand in marriage. The years together softened her mother's strict etiquette nature and gave her father a sense of it.
Serena resisted the urge to bit her fingernails and fret over her father's reaction to all of it. He would be a lot more angry than when he caught her kissing her boyfriends. No matter how much her mom tried, her dad just didn't grasp the concept that now was the 21 st century, where holding the girl's hand was the minimum requirement for a relationship. Serena was startled out of her thoughts by the sharp ring of the doorbell. Actually that was an understatement. Hearing the doorbell was like listening to claws run down a chalkboard. She was startled to find out that they had a doorbell. Usually, her friends had knocked, or preferably, yelled.
"Coming, just one second," she yelled, trying to quickly fix her hair and robe as she made to the door. She blushed a little as she remembered that Darien had seen her like this, in complete disarray. The doorbell rang again. Serena sighed and yanked it open without bothering to check on who it was.
"Hello…is Darien in?" said the beautiful voice. Serena's jaw almost hit the floor. In front of her was a model of perfection for all woman kind, you know, the anatomically correct ones. Her strawberry blond hair fell like waterfalls past her shoulders and her wide, warm brown eyes looked amused. Her nose was elfish, almost like Serena's, her mouth was a perfect rose bud, and Serena could have sworn that her breasts were abnormally perfect as well. She caught the lady looking at her and she blushed at getting caught – especially for checking out a girl! Serena cleared her throat.
"I'm sorry. Please come in. You are…"
"Teresa. Darien's…friend." Right. Friend. Teresa's clothing definitely didn't look at all 'friendly'. Her blouse was loose in the front, showing the top of her chest, and her skirt was a few inches shorter than what protocol dictated in the subject of 'friends'. Wait- stop, Serena. Slow down those thoughts. It's none of your business as to how Darien's 'friends' dress up. Got that? Good. Serena plastered on a smile.
"Sorry about the mess I'm in. I just woke up. Would you like to have anything to drink?" Serena asked politely as the lady made herself comfortable on the sofa.
"Oh, just some water, thank you." Just some water, Serena mimicked quietly, rolling her eyes. Who was she, Dumbo the elephant? If she watched her weight anymore, she would be anorexic – Serena, you're doing it again. Stop. Now. She snapped on the tap and watched with sadistic satisfaction as the un-pure tap water poured into the glass. Ha. She probably drinks filtered water, you know, just to keep of the weight of germs. Serena handed it to Teresa, who took it with a beautiful smile.
"I'm sorry but Darien left only twenty minutes ago." The lady's face dropped slightly. "Would you like me to leave him a message that you came by, Ms. Teresa?"
"Oh, no need. Teresa would be just fine. And yes, could you tell him that I came by? I would really appreciate it. You see, we work as partners on this mini-experiment that Darien set up and I came by to set some times to meet each other. I would have called him but I was just in the neighborhood." She gave Serena an apologetic, yet gentle, smile. "Apparently, I must have dropped in at the wrong time. Sorry for disturbing you."
Serena gave a sheepish grin back, although she was still a little dazed by Teresa's beauty. Teresa was so nice and here she was feeling all jealous of her – wait! Jealous? Why would you feel jealous? Just because she was sexy and mature and was Darien's 'friend'? I think too much, she groaned inwardly. "Oh don't worry about it. I've been wandering like this forever now. You should be thankful that you haven't seen the worst of me." Teresa chuckled at that. Not giggled, as in Serena would do, but maturely chuckled.
"Oh, I completely forgot. You are…?"
"Serena. I'm Andrew's and Darien's new room mate. I've known Andrew since I was a child so he kind of took me in," she replied. Teresa raised a teasing eyebrow at her.
"Does Rita know about you?" Serena tried to raise her eyebrow in return but miserably failed. Instead, she chose to lean in and whisper.
"I'd prefer it if you kept it within the four of us." Teresa chuckled once more. "No , truly, Andrew is like a brother to me. I don't know if he told you this but he used to work in an arcade back home and, well, I was his dependable profit. I would go in every day, rain or shine, and everyday, I would order his famous double chocolate milk shake, with the extra froth on the top." Serena sighed at the short trip down memory lane. "I used to have a major crush on him but now, it would feel too ridiculous if I even thought about that. I thought I still had a crush on him when I first came here but -" Suddenly, her eyes shot open. Teresa, who had listened to her story intently, looked curious.
"Oh. My. God. Did I just tell you that? Swear that you won't tell Andrew or anyone you meet! Swear!" Serena held out her pinky by impulse and looked wildly at the amused lady in front of her. Teresa, for the first time, giggled and wrapped Serena's pinky in hers. Then she pulled her pinky back and laughed, the sound resonating like bells within the living room. Serena blushed and bashfully pulled her hand back onto her lap. "Oh, sorry about that. I tend to blurt out things –"
Teresa grinned. "Oh, no problem. Don't worry, I won't say a word. It was a great pleasure meeting you, Serena." With that Teresa stood up. "I have to say that I haven't done that since high school. A little fond memory, don't you think? I suppose I should leave now, seeing that Darien isn't here. Thank you for your time." Serena rushed behind her to open the door. Teresa looked back once more to say, "I have a feeling that we'll be great friends." Serena smiled back, waved goodbye, and shut the door. Groaning, she leaned against it. Why did she have a feeling that they weren't going to be exactly chummy in the future? Maybe because you don't want to be friendly, her mind quipped. Maybe you know that no matter how nice and beautiful and smart she is, seeing that she's going to be a doctor as well, you will never be able to get over your jealousy. Maybe because she's Darien's partner. Or maybe because they could be more than -
"Oh shut up. I don't need your stupid foreshadowing here to make me feel worse," Serena muttered before walking back to the refrigerator. She needed to fix herself a large breakfast of chocolate ice cream with wafers. Who says that just because you're jealous means that you're gonna have 'just some water'? As if. Now, back to a problem that actually concerns you. What was her dad going to say when he finds out that she was living with two sexy, four-years-older-than-her guys in a fancy, modern apartment with no other girl with her? Time to bring out the rifle, she supposed. Serena snatched the ice cream boxes out.
Who says that Teresa was the only pretty girl on the block? Serena had boyfriends to albeit not serious ones. She could match up to Teresa any – stop it, Serena! You are going to get the ice-cream, sit your butt down and watch soap operas all day long. That should cheer you up, she thought brightly.
Rei tried not to stare as the woman walked past them, her hair almost flowing behind her. It was like watching a live commercial where the model was beautiful and there was always this wind coming from no where so that the model's hair could magically fly. Mina nudged her arm, pulling Rei back.
"Rei," she whispered, "I just saw her coming out of Serena's apartment door."
"Mina, how could you know that? She was already half-way down the hall before we got off."
"Fine. I didn't exactly see her come out, but something tells me that she did, okay?" Mina whispered, grudgingly. Rei smirked at her. They were going to visit Serena at the moment because they didn't have anything special to do. Ami was, as usual, trying to cram some extra credit class in and Lita was currently working at her job. They supposed that Serena wasn't busy either.
"Why are you whispering? She's gone down the elevator." Mina shrugged and knocked loudly on the door. "Oy, Serena, you in there?" she yelled in addition, just in case Serena was in a dead stupor and couldn't hear the loud thumping of metal knuckles on the door. They heard a muffled curse from the adjacent apartment. Rei sweat-dropped.
"Mina, you have to stop being irritating like that." The door opened to reveal a slightly ticked off Serena.
"You know, Mina," she said, pointing to the little object next to the door, "there is a thing called a doorbell." Mina looked surprisingly bewildered.
"I didn't see it there."
"I didn't know building apartments were allowed to have doorbells," Rei added. "Normally, they are considered a nuisance to the neighbors."
"Considering the other option, I'd prefer the doorbell any day," Serena said dryly, staring pointedly at Mina. "Come on in, guys. I've got ice cream out."
"We came here because we were plain bored and we figured that you would be too. Oh, by the way. Lovely look Serena. The messed up hair and dead robe definitely go with your eyes," Rei commented teasingly. Serena just gave a 'dumbass' comment before all of them settled on the sofa. Serena asked, "So how are you guys doing? In your own apartment, and all? You all getting along?" Rei caught the slight impression of betrayal.
"Serena, for the last time, we didn't kick you out! It's just that there's no space and…well…"
"What?" she asked, trying to sound desperate. Mina sighed and gave Serena a small hug of comfort.
"Serena, we love ya and everything but did you notice a difference between you and the us?" she asked gently, eyeing the double fudge ice cream. Ooh…it was low fat too.
"What? Other than the fact that you all are together and I'm not with you? Or that you all suck and I don't?" she answered, slightly bitter about the topic. Then again, she admitted, she did start it. Rei smacked her arm and not in a gentle way either. Serena scowled at her and snatched away the carton near Rei.
"No, Serena," Rei said. "The difference is that we have boyfriends and you don't." Serena winced at the bluntness in Rei's voice.
"That's harsh, Rei, that's harsh." She felt her eyes become watery and sniffled. Mina tried to hid a sympathetic smile. Poor Serena. If she was in Serena's shoes, Mina supposed that she would feel the same way. Hurt.
"But it's the truth. We didn't want you to feel like the fifth wheel or something, you know? What would happen when all our boys come to visit us and then there you are, stuck in an apartment, alone? We would feel horrible. You would feel horrible."
"I'm alone in this apartment too. What's the difference?" Serena bit back while opening the top of the wonderful chocolate fudge. She needed a big scoop. Now.
"The difference is that you'll be less hurt…I don't know. If you don't see us leave you, you'll be happier. Like, maybe, that saying 'What you don't know can't hurt.' We just don't want to be there, preparing for our dates while you just sit around. They all go to the same college so it's more likely that the boys come at the same time. I don't know, Serena. Trust me, we only did this because we care and because there was no freakin' room left," Rei ended, emphasizing the last words. "Would you prefer that we have kicked someone else out? You were the one who said in that café that if worst came to worst, you would find –"
"That was all hypothetical, Rei!" Serena snapped, a little abashed to remember her stupid, caring words. Taking her spoon, she dipped it deep into the carton and scooped a large chunk into her bowl. They took advantage of her nice…ness…yeah! They did. But then again, whom would she personally prefer to throw out? Not Ami because she was too shy alone. Not Mina because she needed someone to talk to, someone to help her not make stupid mistakes. Not Rei because although she was tough on the outside, inside, she was just like Ami – afraid to be alone. And Lita could stay alone but all her life, she had been alone, in her small apartment. Now was her chance to be among friends. Then she groaned. Rei knew her all too well. "Fine. You're right. I wouldn't have preferred to kick someone else out anyway. And," she sighed, "I appreciate the effort you guys took to find me a place to live."
Rei gave her a beautiful smile. "There's the Serena we all know. And you're welcome. It's the least we could do." Rei reached for the ice cream. Serena pushed it towards her and the other carton towards Mina, who politely declined.
"I'm in the mood for chocolate, not strawberry. Bring it on!" she said, grinning. "By the way, Serena. Did you just have a visitor?"
Serena's smile dropped a little. Just a little. "Yeah. Her name is Teresa. She came by to see Darien for some experiment they're doing- together." Mina and Rei looked at each other quickly, Mina's gaze laying smugly on Rei's grudging one. They also noticed Serena's lack of enthusiasm on the topic.
"You don't seem happy. Is she mean? A bitch?" Mina chirped. Serena grinned.
"Nope. She's as sweet as honey, as gentle as a baby, smart like Darien, as nice as a teddy bear, and as beautiful as Miss Universe," Serena said dejectedly. "Over all, Miss Perfect."
There was a slight pause before…
"I hate her," they said together. Mina burst out laughing first, followed by Rei and Serena.