Darien paced restlessly while Serena huddled into her corner of the couch. She had her head resting on her knees and held her eyes open very wide too keep tears from spilling down her cheeks. Darien hadn't even looked over at her, more accurately he had purposely avoided looking at her. She wasn't sure if she would rather have his attention or continue in strained silence. Serena also did her best not to look at the man who took up so much of her thoughts lately. She most certainly wasn't going to brake the silence cloaking them. Finally with a heavy sigh he turned to face her.

"Serena look at me." He demanded, his voice only a touch warmer then it had been. Serena cringed in on herself shaking her head vehemently. He let the silence drag on for another moment before going to sit beside her. She turned her head to study the wall.

"Look Serena, we obviously can't ignore this and avoiding each other is going to be nearly impossible." His voice was distant and matter of fact and maybe that was what hurt her the worst.

"I know you and your friends were just having fun and I'm sorry I was so harsh, but you have to realize your actions have consequences and effect others. Now we can both be civilized adults and forget the entire thing." Serena gave a harsh bark of laughter and shook her head.

"You really are an idiot aren't you?" She asked bitterly finally looking at him.

"And you could really do it too, you could forget about the entire last week act as though nothing had happened couldn't you?" She asked searching those depthless blue eyes.

"I guess I'm the idiot." She said quietly brows drawing down. She sat there for a moment and was filled with the overwhelming urge to hurt him. She unfolded herself and straddled him as she had the day before in his apartment. She put one hand on either side on his head and leaned in so close a hard though would have pushed them together.

"Was it just a game for you to?" She cocked her head to the side.

"Do I mean anything to you? Maybe I was a conquest of sorts? How long have you known about the bet Darien? Was this just your way to have fun with out getting emotionally involved?" She leaned back to focus on his face.

"That's it isn't it, you can't open up." Darien grabbed her shoulders and rolled her off to the side, then he was gone. She curled back into a ball wondering just what had happened, where those words had come from. The bitterness she'd almost chocked on was gone now and all that was left was pain. She'd meant to hurt him and she had, too bad she didn't feel any better.

That had been a week ago and Serena was doing her best to forget it had ever happened. She was studying more, simply to fill the time, she'd even managed to pass her last math test. It was fairly easy to be a good student when nothing held much appeal. Even food and shopping had lost the allure they once held for her. She went to school and periodically snuck in and out of her window. She'd come home almost right after school and sneak in her window so her mother wouldn't notice anything was a miss. She'd also taken to going on long late night walks, not really caring about her direction though as often as not she'd end up at Darien's building. She wasn't sleeping and she wasn't eating and by Saturday it was starting to show. She'd been telling her friends all week she was too ill to go out and at the same time telling her mother she was out with her friends.

Finally Saturday she couldn't avoid them, they showed up at her house to see how she was. She'd seen them coming from her window and raced out the door before they could knock.

"Hey guys what's up." She gave a huge smile to her friends though it barely touched her eyes.

"Not much we came to see if you were doing any better? Wanna come to the arcade?" Mina asked hooking her arm though Serenas. Despite what Serena might like to think her friends weren't blind and they were worried about her. The saw how thin and pale she'd become in the last week, the sparkle and enthusiasm she usually had for life was gone, she was fading.

"Sure! Being cooped up so long's starting to drive me crazy." She answered with a smile rolling her eyes, and heading down the porch stairs. Despite her easy smile her stomach was tying its self in knots of dread. She hadn't been there all week she hadn't even gone near the place taking the long way to and from school. What if Darien was there what would happen when she saw him again. She really wasn't looking forward to finding out.

"You sure you feel ok?" Mina asked as Serena wavered just a little.

"You're not still sick are you?" Serena looked over at her and managed a close semblance to her old smile.

"I'm fine just famished. I'm suffering from chocolate withdrawal." They all laughed though they weren't quite sure they bought it. They were almost at the arcade when it started to rain and they hurried their steps hoping to reach shelter before the drizzle became and downpour. Serena was concentrating on walking strait through her dizziness and didn't even notice when they reached the arcade. She didn't look up till they were walking through the doors. Then her head snapped up eyes searching frantically hoping to see him and not to see him at the same time. Their eyes locked across the room and Darien stood, putting a five on the counter.

"I better go Drew."

"But you just got here." Andrew protested, his mouth snapped shut when he noticed the group of girls. Serena's eyes flicked from Darien to Andrew's cold face to the full coffee cup on the counter. So Andrew knows then, she thought briefly blinking back tears as she raised her eyes back to Darien.

"You don't have to leave, I'll go. I never should have come." She said quietly stumbling backwards feeling as though someone had just punched her in the stomach. She fell once she got outside the doors to the arcade and Mina, who had fallowed helped her to her feet, only to be shoved away.

"Just leave me alone." Serena cried pushing her friend away and taking off down the street.

"What did you do to her?" Rei demanded stalking towards the counter where the two men stood.

"You mean what did she do to him." Andrew snapped back quick to come to his friends defense.

"Leave it alone Andrew." Darien said quietly. Then he was disappearing out into the rain. He drew up his collar against the rain and headed of in the direction Serena had disappear. She didn't have a coat and the rain was coming down in sheet and he knew for a fact she lived in the opposite direction of the way she'd headed. He was worried about her, she was too pale and too thin and he'd seen that pain in her eyes, pain he'd put there how ever unwittingly. He should have know Serena wouldn't take it that far for a bet. Flirt a little yes try and trick him into taking her to the dance sure but she never would have done what she'd done for a bet.

Serena made it two blocks and turned the corner towards the park when she tripped hitting her head on the hard cement and blacked out.