Sorry it took so long to update! I don't really have a good excuse, or even
a good reason but I hope you'll read and enjoy Newayz! Here's chapter
three!
Flashbacks
"Serena. Serena don't worry, don't be scared. I'm here. I'm holding you. As long as I hold you, nothing can happen. I won't let it happen. Serena, as long as I'm here, I'll keep you safe."
"Why'd you have to go away? Why'd you have to leave me? I loved you. I couldn't keep you safe. Why'd you have to die? What should I do? I'm so alone."
that night
"No one understands, not even Mina. You'd know, you'd understand. If you were here, I'd know what to do. If you were here, none of this would have happened. I hate you for leaving me! I'm here all alone. There's no one to keep me safe. I loved you and you left me. You died and it was all because of me! It's all my fault..."
The next morning
"Sere?" Serenity looked up from where her head was buried in her pillow. She thought she heard a light rapping sound. "Sere? Can I come in? Are you up?" Serenity gave a small groan and hid her head back in the pillow. A small crack of light appeared at her door, followed by a head. Upon seeing Serenity grab her teddy bear and hug it, Mina forced out a cheerful voice. "Oh, good. You're up! I made you some scrambled eggs, I know they're your favorite, but I didn't know if you'd be up. Did you want them?"
"Sure." Sitting up slowly, Serenity wiped the still-wet tears from her cheeks. Her face was red and blotchy and her eyes were glossed over. Her tears were evident in her voice.
Mina gave her a sympathetic look but kept silent. Serenity had enough to deal with, she didn't need more pressure. She handed Serenity the plate and grabbed a brush from the nightstand and gently began stroking her sister's hair.
"Mina? Do I look awful?" Serenity asked tentatively. Mina could hear her unspoken plea, 'say something nice about me; tell me I'm fine as I am, that it's okay to cry.' Mina forced herself to smile.
"You look beautiful Sere, you always do." Mina tugged her sister's hair. "Do you want the usual?" she asked, referring to Serenity's trademark pigtails.
She nodded, "Thanks, Mina."
"No problem."
They sat quietly for a while, each in deep thought. Serenity was using her fork to move the eggs around on her plate. She looked at the ground, then at her hands, anywhere but up. Her wide eyes were a deep, soulful indigo. "Mina, what's wrong with me?"
Startled, Mina looked swiftly up. "What do you mean, Sere, nothing's wrong with-"
"NO! I mean, what the hell is wrong with me!? Why is Diamond so mad at me? What did I do wrong? I didn't do anything unusual last night. I tried to be myself and keep him distracted. It's like, every time he focuses on me, he gets pissed off. And I don't know why. Is there anything I could do that would keep him from glaring at me? Something that would make him smile? I just want him to be happy. I want us to be happy again but I don't know how to do that. Mina... I'm so lost. What do I do?"
Mina's eyes widened. This was a new revelation. She hadn't realized that Serenity knew how Diamond felt. The only problem was that she still didn't really believe it. 'But how can I make her see it?' Not knowing what to do, she thought of Andrew. And her eyes lit with her new idea as her face sobered. Tugging on her sister's hair to get her attention, Mina launched her question, "Do you love him?"
Serenity looked up and Mina saw her in the mirror; a small, fragile porcelain doll. "Yes." Her voice was thick with last night's tears.
"Does he love you?"
flashback
"I love you Serena, I'll never leave you. Trust me. Believe in me."
"You've got to stop this Seiya. I don't want you to get caught. I couldn't live without you."
"And I couldn't live without you. Don't worry Serena, I won't get caught. I've gotta go now but I'll be back soon." Seiya placed his hand over hers, "I love you." He let go and started to hurry towards the parking lot.
And Serena whispered, almost inaudibly, "I... I love you, too."
Seiya stopped midstep and ran back to her. His face showed shock and an... almost fragile... hope. "Do you really mean that, Serena?" he asked, titling her face to his and looking at her with an intense emotion in his eyes that he could no longer hide.
Serena looked steadily back at him. For the first time since he had known her, her eyes showed no sign of fear. Taking a deep breath, she looked at him with everything she had. "Yes."
end of flashback
Serenity's fork fell to her plate with a loud clatter. Her hands were shaking and her breathing was ragged. She twisted the shirt of her pajamas round and round with tightly clutching fingers. "Does he, Sere?" Mina prodded gently.
"Mina, I... I'm not..."
DING-DONG
sniff "Huh?"
"I'll get it Sere. Hold on."
Serenity firmly grabbed her sister's hand and pulled her back down. "No. I can get it. I need to grab some orange juice anyway." She yawned and stretched her arms. Entering the living room, she slid on her slippers and shuffled to the front door. "Wha-?" she stared down at the enormous bouquet of lilies in front of the door. Lilies. Not roses. The lilies were white. Both signs of Diamond. Diamond never gave Serenity roses; he felt they were too commonplace. And flowers from Diamond were always white. He wanted the maid or whomever else to know they were for Serenity without looking at the card.
Serenity was half tempted to just shut the door but she didn't. Instead, she took the large bouquet of lilies inside and put them on the kitchen table. She picked up the card and looked at the envelope. Sure enough, it read 'Diamond'. He always wrote who it was from rather than who it was for because he didn't want his flowers mistaken for flowers from their (and I quote) "prattling fans". She opened the envelope, which was sealed with white wax. Inside, it read...
My dearest Serenity,
Meet me at Tiffany's at 10 o'clock.
Love always,
Diamond
Serenity looked up and wiped the tears from her eyes. "I love you, too," she whispered to the letter.
"Hey, who was that Sere?" Mina came into the kitchen. "What'd they wa- oh..." she noticed the flowers on the table. "From Diamond. Again?"
"Yes. He wants to meet me at Tiffany's at 10 o'clock."
Mina looked up sharply. "You can't make it, remember? Today they're doing the final fittings on your dress. Then we have to call your wedding planner, what's-her-face."
"Miranda?"
"Yeah, her, and make sure that everything is perfect. Then we're going to the airport to pick up Molly and Ami. They're coming tonight. This means we're going to have to have Michael get someone to really fix this place up before they get here. And tomorrow, we're all going shopping. None of us have bridesmaid's dresses, remember? Where is Diamond going to fit in?"
Serenity winced. "Oh. You're right. I'll have to call and tell him I can't make it. He isn't going to like it much. Here, hand me the phone. I might as well get it over with now. I just hope he doesn't mind too much."
Beep/beep/beep/- beep/beep/beep/beep.
"Yes."
"Hi, honey. Look, I really wish I could meet you at Tiffany's but I can't today. I have to go to my final dress fitting and then Mina and I are going to the airport to pick up Molly and Ami. And tomorrow we're all going shopping to get their bridesmaid's dresses. I really wish I could but you know how bushy it gets the week before the wedding. We'll have plenty of time to do it after we're married so we can just make it a rain check. That way it's not actually canceled. Is that okay with you?"
"Fine. In three days then."
"I love you, honey."
click
"Okay, Mina. I'm all set for today, then. I'm gonna go take a quick bath and then get dressed. Thanks for the eggs. They were totally delish!"
"That's cause the maid cooked 'em," Mina mumbled.
"What's that?"
"Oh, nothing, nothing at all, heh heh."
"Okay. Well, if I'm not out in an hour, come get me. All right?"
"Will do."
3 hrs later
"Gah! Mina, I'm so totally late! My fitting's at 10 and its 10:45. Marie's gonna kill me!"
"Don't worry about it Sere. I'm sure it'll be fine. Let's just go inside."
Serenity closed her eyes and sighed. "If you say so." Shrugging her shoulders, she took a deep breath and opened the door. "Marie? Are you here? I'm sorry I-"
"Serenity! Right on time! (For once.) Now, into this room you go, I want to measure you one more time."
Serenity was baffled, to say the least. "Mina shouldn't she be-"
"As long as she's not mad, I'd let it alone. You don't' want to make her as mad as she was the last time you were late, do you?" As Serenity shook her head and looked away, Mina let out a small grin. They were, in fact right on time. Glancing at Serenity's watch, then her own, she smirked at the difference in the hour hand, noting that her sister's was way ahead of where it should be. Still, Sere didn't need to know that. If she did, she'd never be on time anyway, and all of Mina's efforts would be in vain.
Serenity looked up as the door swished open and Marie hustled in with and tape measure and an enormous armload of cloth that greatly resembled white cotton candy. After measuring one more time, Marie sanctioned her to wear the exquisite dress. As Serenity stepped into the soft, white satin, she glanced at her ring. It hit her then; this is real, this is happening. This is forever. Marie came forward and buttoned up the back. She then turned the bride-to-be to look in the three-fold mirror.
Gasping, Serenity twirled around, sending her long, light hair in golden streamers behind her. "It's perfect," she whispered breathlessly, caught up in the magic of that moment.
Marie's formal expression transformed as she broke into a smile. "It looks amazing on you. Come, step out of it now. It's finished, you'll see it again on your wedding day."
As Serenity took off the heavy satin dress, the weight she'd been feeling since last night went with it. Sure, Diamond had been less than courteous but nobody's perfect and he had apologized. She decided to call him to let him know he was forgiven. Not that she would say that. It would be insulting to Diamond's pride to make him relive his mistake. It was enough that they both moved on.
7 hrs later
Tapping her foot, Serenity glanced at her watch, then back out the window of the terminal. This watch was different than the one she'd worn earlier. Mina, who'd insisted on going home to change, had begged to borrow that watch. She would have none other. Serenity had, of course, relented, believing that Mina was stressed. Whenever her sister was stressed out, clothes were always the first on her hit list.
Serenity sighed and turned to face Mina. "How long do you think the flight will be delayed? Should I order sleeping bags?"
Mina grinned at her dramatic, and sarcastic, sister. "I wouldn't start planning my future yet if I were you. They're only ten minutes late so far."
Serenity rapidly glanced at her watch, then blushed. "I guess. It just feels like we've been here forever." She turned to her sister with puppy-dog eyes. Blue, big, and dangerous puppy-dog eyes. Eyes that were impossible to resist.
"Don't look at me! You're the one who insisted on being here two hours early!"
Reddening, Serenity looked down at her feet. "I know, I... just, really want them to be here, that's all." She hugged her arms tightly around her body.
Mina softened. Grabbing her wallet, she opened the folds of soft leather and took $10, handing it to Sere. "Here. If you're bored, go grab some ice cream."
Serenity's face lit up, indigo eyes glowing as bright as the moon. She grabbed the money and hugged her sister, squealing, "Thank you, Thank youThankyou!" Turning around, she then made a beeline for the ice cream place.
Mina smiled and put her wallet back in her purse. The precious little wallet held both Mina and Serenity's spare cash for the day. Mina had insisted on carrying both, knowing that Serenity's would be gone after the first sweet-shop they passed. Laughing, Mina shook her head. 'What would Sere do without me?' she asked herself silently.
"Flight 347 from Chicago now landing. Flight 347 from Chicago, now landing." Mina peeked over to the ice cream place and noticed Serenity sitting at a table with an enormous bowl of ice cream. 'There's no way even Sere could finish that in time,' she thought regretfully. She turned her head out the window and saw no sign of a plane. Looking back over at her sister, she nearly fell over. The ice cream was gone, the bowl completely empty. Mina watched, astonished, as Serenity hurried over. "Sere. How'd you- ?"
"You know me!" she interrupted, with an absolute lack of patience. "Can't let good food go to waste! Especially not ice- Ooh!" Serenity held her head and started hopping up and down on one foot.
"What?! What is it?! What's wrong?! Are you okay?! Do you want me to call over one of the airport people? Can you breathe? Can you see? Where does it hurt?" Mina frantically questioned, before stopping to take another deep breath. "Can you-?"
"Brain freeze, Brainfreeze, BRAINFREEZE!!!!!!!!!"
Flashbacks
"Serena. Serena don't worry, don't be scared. I'm here. I'm holding you. As long as I hold you, nothing can happen. I won't let it happen. Serena, as long as I'm here, I'll keep you safe."
"Why'd you have to go away? Why'd you have to leave me? I loved you. I couldn't keep you safe. Why'd you have to die? What should I do? I'm so alone."
that night
"No one understands, not even Mina. You'd know, you'd understand. If you were here, I'd know what to do. If you were here, none of this would have happened. I hate you for leaving me! I'm here all alone. There's no one to keep me safe. I loved you and you left me. You died and it was all because of me! It's all my fault..."
The next morning
"Sere?" Serenity looked up from where her head was buried in her pillow. She thought she heard a light rapping sound. "Sere? Can I come in? Are you up?" Serenity gave a small groan and hid her head back in the pillow. A small crack of light appeared at her door, followed by a head. Upon seeing Serenity grab her teddy bear and hug it, Mina forced out a cheerful voice. "Oh, good. You're up! I made you some scrambled eggs, I know they're your favorite, but I didn't know if you'd be up. Did you want them?"
"Sure." Sitting up slowly, Serenity wiped the still-wet tears from her cheeks. Her face was red and blotchy and her eyes were glossed over. Her tears were evident in her voice.
Mina gave her a sympathetic look but kept silent. Serenity had enough to deal with, she didn't need more pressure. She handed Serenity the plate and grabbed a brush from the nightstand and gently began stroking her sister's hair.
"Mina? Do I look awful?" Serenity asked tentatively. Mina could hear her unspoken plea, 'say something nice about me; tell me I'm fine as I am, that it's okay to cry.' Mina forced herself to smile.
"You look beautiful Sere, you always do." Mina tugged her sister's hair. "Do you want the usual?" she asked, referring to Serenity's trademark pigtails.
She nodded, "Thanks, Mina."
"No problem."
They sat quietly for a while, each in deep thought. Serenity was using her fork to move the eggs around on her plate. She looked at the ground, then at her hands, anywhere but up. Her wide eyes were a deep, soulful indigo. "Mina, what's wrong with me?"
Startled, Mina looked swiftly up. "What do you mean, Sere, nothing's wrong with-"
"NO! I mean, what the hell is wrong with me!? Why is Diamond so mad at me? What did I do wrong? I didn't do anything unusual last night. I tried to be myself and keep him distracted. It's like, every time he focuses on me, he gets pissed off. And I don't know why. Is there anything I could do that would keep him from glaring at me? Something that would make him smile? I just want him to be happy. I want us to be happy again but I don't know how to do that. Mina... I'm so lost. What do I do?"
Mina's eyes widened. This was a new revelation. She hadn't realized that Serenity knew how Diamond felt. The only problem was that she still didn't really believe it. 'But how can I make her see it?' Not knowing what to do, she thought of Andrew. And her eyes lit with her new idea as her face sobered. Tugging on her sister's hair to get her attention, Mina launched her question, "Do you love him?"
Serenity looked up and Mina saw her in the mirror; a small, fragile porcelain doll. "Yes." Her voice was thick with last night's tears.
"Does he love you?"
flashback
"I love you Serena, I'll never leave you. Trust me. Believe in me."
"You've got to stop this Seiya. I don't want you to get caught. I couldn't live without you."
"And I couldn't live without you. Don't worry Serena, I won't get caught. I've gotta go now but I'll be back soon." Seiya placed his hand over hers, "I love you." He let go and started to hurry towards the parking lot.
And Serena whispered, almost inaudibly, "I... I love you, too."
Seiya stopped midstep and ran back to her. His face showed shock and an... almost fragile... hope. "Do you really mean that, Serena?" he asked, titling her face to his and looking at her with an intense emotion in his eyes that he could no longer hide.
Serena looked steadily back at him. For the first time since he had known her, her eyes showed no sign of fear. Taking a deep breath, she looked at him with everything she had. "Yes."
end of flashback
Serenity's fork fell to her plate with a loud clatter. Her hands were shaking and her breathing was ragged. She twisted the shirt of her pajamas round and round with tightly clutching fingers. "Does he, Sere?" Mina prodded gently.
"Mina, I... I'm not..."
DING-DONG
sniff "Huh?"
"I'll get it Sere. Hold on."
Serenity firmly grabbed her sister's hand and pulled her back down. "No. I can get it. I need to grab some orange juice anyway." She yawned and stretched her arms. Entering the living room, she slid on her slippers and shuffled to the front door. "Wha-?" she stared down at the enormous bouquet of lilies in front of the door. Lilies. Not roses. The lilies were white. Both signs of Diamond. Diamond never gave Serenity roses; he felt they were too commonplace. And flowers from Diamond were always white. He wanted the maid or whomever else to know they were for Serenity without looking at the card.
Serenity was half tempted to just shut the door but she didn't. Instead, she took the large bouquet of lilies inside and put them on the kitchen table. She picked up the card and looked at the envelope. Sure enough, it read 'Diamond'. He always wrote who it was from rather than who it was for because he didn't want his flowers mistaken for flowers from their (and I quote) "prattling fans". She opened the envelope, which was sealed with white wax. Inside, it read...
My dearest Serenity,
Meet me at Tiffany's at 10 o'clock.
Love always,
Diamond
Serenity looked up and wiped the tears from her eyes. "I love you, too," she whispered to the letter.
"Hey, who was that Sere?" Mina came into the kitchen. "What'd they wa- oh..." she noticed the flowers on the table. "From Diamond. Again?"
"Yes. He wants to meet me at Tiffany's at 10 o'clock."
Mina looked up sharply. "You can't make it, remember? Today they're doing the final fittings on your dress. Then we have to call your wedding planner, what's-her-face."
"Miranda?"
"Yeah, her, and make sure that everything is perfect. Then we're going to the airport to pick up Molly and Ami. They're coming tonight. This means we're going to have to have Michael get someone to really fix this place up before they get here. And tomorrow, we're all going shopping. None of us have bridesmaid's dresses, remember? Where is Diamond going to fit in?"
Serenity winced. "Oh. You're right. I'll have to call and tell him I can't make it. He isn't going to like it much. Here, hand me the phone. I might as well get it over with now. I just hope he doesn't mind too much."
Beep/beep/beep/- beep/beep/beep/beep.
"Yes."
"Hi, honey. Look, I really wish I could meet you at Tiffany's but I can't today. I have to go to my final dress fitting and then Mina and I are going to the airport to pick up Molly and Ami. And tomorrow we're all going shopping to get their bridesmaid's dresses. I really wish I could but you know how bushy it gets the week before the wedding. We'll have plenty of time to do it after we're married so we can just make it a rain check. That way it's not actually canceled. Is that okay with you?"
"Fine. In three days then."
"I love you, honey."
click
"Okay, Mina. I'm all set for today, then. I'm gonna go take a quick bath and then get dressed. Thanks for the eggs. They were totally delish!"
"That's cause the maid cooked 'em," Mina mumbled.
"What's that?"
"Oh, nothing, nothing at all, heh heh."
"Okay. Well, if I'm not out in an hour, come get me. All right?"
"Will do."
3 hrs later
"Gah! Mina, I'm so totally late! My fitting's at 10 and its 10:45. Marie's gonna kill me!"
"Don't worry about it Sere. I'm sure it'll be fine. Let's just go inside."
Serenity closed her eyes and sighed. "If you say so." Shrugging her shoulders, she took a deep breath and opened the door. "Marie? Are you here? I'm sorry I-"
"Serenity! Right on time! (For once.) Now, into this room you go, I want to measure you one more time."
Serenity was baffled, to say the least. "Mina shouldn't she be-"
"As long as she's not mad, I'd let it alone. You don't' want to make her as mad as she was the last time you were late, do you?" As Serenity shook her head and looked away, Mina let out a small grin. They were, in fact right on time. Glancing at Serenity's watch, then her own, she smirked at the difference in the hour hand, noting that her sister's was way ahead of where it should be. Still, Sere didn't need to know that. If she did, she'd never be on time anyway, and all of Mina's efforts would be in vain.
Serenity looked up as the door swished open and Marie hustled in with and tape measure and an enormous armload of cloth that greatly resembled white cotton candy. After measuring one more time, Marie sanctioned her to wear the exquisite dress. As Serenity stepped into the soft, white satin, she glanced at her ring. It hit her then; this is real, this is happening. This is forever. Marie came forward and buttoned up the back. She then turned the bride-to-be to look in the three-fold mirror.
Gasping, Serenity twirled around, sending her long, light hair in golden streamers behind her. "It's perfect," she whispered breathlessly, caught up in the magic of that moment.
Marie's formal expression transformed as she broke into a smile. "It looks amazing on you. Come, step out of it now. It's finished, you'll see it again on your wedding day."
As Serenity took off the heavy satin dress, the weight she'd been feeling since last night went with it. Sure, Diamond had been less than courteous but nobody's perfect and he had apologized. She decided to call him to let him know he was forgiven. Not that she would say that. It would be insulting to Diamond's pride to make him relive his mistake. It was enough that they both moved on.
7 hrs later
Tapping her foot, Serenity glanced at her watch, then back out the window of the terminal. This watch was different than the one she'd worn earlier. Mina, who'd insisted on going home to change, had begged to borrow that watch. She would have none other. Serenity had, of course, relented, believing that Mina was stressed. Whenever her sister was stressed out, clothes were always the first on her hit list.
Serenity sighed and turned to face Mina. "How long do you think the flight will be delayed? Should I order sleeping bags?"
Mina grinned at her dramatic, and sarcastic, sister. "I wouldn't start planning my future yet if I were you. They're only ten minutes late so far."
Serenity rapidly glanced at her watch, then blushed. "I guess. It just feels like we've been here forever." She turned to her sister with puppy-dog eyes. Blue, big, and dangerous puppy-dog eyes. Eyes that were impossible to resist.
"Don't look at me! You're the one who insisted on being here two hours early!"
Reddening, Serenity looked down at her feet. "I know, I... just, really want them to be here, that's all." She hugged her arms tightly around her body.
Mina softened. Grabbing her wallet, she opened the folds of soft leather and took $10, handing it to Sere. "Here. If you're bored, go grab some ice cream."
Serenity's face lit up, indigo eyes glowing as bright as the moon. She grabbed the money and hugged her sister, squealing, "Thank you, Thank youThankyou!" Turning around, she then made a beeline for the ice cream place.
Mina smiled and put her wallet back in her purse. The precious little wallet held both Mina and Serenity's spare cash for the day. Mina had insisted on carrying both, knowing that Serenity's would be gone after the first sweet-shop they passed. Laughing, Mina shook her head. 'What would Sere do without me?' she asked herself silently.
"Flight 347 from Chicago now landing. Flight 347 from Chicago, now landing." Mina peeked over to the ice cream place and noticed Serenity sitting at a table with an enormous bowl of ice cream. 'There's no way even Sere could finish that in time,' she thought regretfully. She turned her head out the window and saw no sign of a plane. Looking back over at her sister, she nearly fell over. The ice cream was gone, the bowl completely empty. Mina watched, astonished, as Serenity hurried over. "Sere. How'd you- ?"
"You know me!" she interrupted, with an absolute lack of patience. "Can't let good food go to waste! Especially not ice- Ooh!" Serenity held her head and started hopping up and down on one foot.
"What?! What is it?! What's wrong?! Are you okay?! Do you want me to call over one of the airport people? Can you breathe? Can you see? Where does it hurt?" Mina frantically questioned, before stopping to take another deep breath. "Can you-?"
"Brain freeze, Brainfreeze, BRAINFREEZE!!!!!!!!!"