A View of Happiness
Chapter Three
By A Shot of Amber
Hey all! I want to warn you that the chapter ahead is really dark. I'm talking really really really dark. This chapter actually sets the base for this story, the beginning chapters were just setting up for this chapter and what happens afterwards. I want you to know that you've been warned. I'll be discussing the chapter and my views at the end. I've warned you the best I can without ruining this chapter so please take that into consideration.
In the meantime please read and review or send all comments, questions, suggestions, and flames to . Thank you!
A View of Happiness
Chapter Three
"How about this?"
Serena turned away from the mirror to look at the shirt Mina was holding up. "I don't know, I don't really look good in orange."
Mina looked at the shirt for a second then dropped it on the floor. " Alright no orange."
"You know Mina do you think that Serena will fit in your clothes?" Rei asked from Lita's bed where she sat.
"What do you mean?" Serena asked.
"Well Mina is a little taller then you so you many not fit in her shirts or jeans."
"Who cares about that? If the clothes are too tight then she can show off some skin!" Mina replied. "And has you know skin is sexy."
Serena nodded her head and turned back to the mirror. "Its not like I'm going ala Christina Aguilera and wearing some straps of cloth across my boobs and a skimpy skirt." Serena turned around just as Mina looked up from the floor where she was kneeling.
" Blue!" Both girls shouted and dived into the closet while Rei gave them a confused look. "Blue?" She asked.
"This one should be perfect! A nice baby blue sweater to make him think maternal thoughts." Mina cried holding up a pale blue fuzzy sweater.
"Yes!" Serena cried taking the sweater and hugging it. She then stood up and pulled off her pink top and pulled on the blue one. "What do you think?" Serena turned around and held out her arms.
" Perfect!" Mina said giving her a thumbs up.
"It is cute," Rei added.
" Great," Serena turned around and smoothed out the sweater. "I have the perfect plaid skirt to go with it too. I think I'll go and get it now. How much time do I have left?"
"Two hours," Rei replied looking at the clock near Lita's bed.
"Then I have to get cracking. I want to try something new with my hair."
"I'll help you," Mina replied standing up and following Serena out of the room.
Rei watched the two walk out and stood up obviously left behind and headed out of the room too closing the door behind her.
"So who are you coming to the party with?" Andrew asked catching his football in the air and looking at Darien.
"No one, I'm just going stag," Darien replied fixing his shirt collar so it hung just right.
"Stag? You? The most handsome guy at our high school? What happened to that girl you've been talking about? The blond one? Serena?"
"She's already got a date. She's going with Derek."
Andrew sat up and placed the ball in his lap. "Derek Kizuzenshin? The player of school? Does she know what she's getting herself into?"
Darien turned around and leaned against the dresser. "I doubt he would do anything to Serena. She's a freshman; you don't expect things like that from a freshman."
"Yea but this is also Derek Kizuzenshin and if you know him you know that he is a major player who expects a girl to put out on the first date, especially if she has a few drinks in her."
"Do you think he'll do that to Serena?" Darien asked nervously.
"You never know, he may. I've never seen Serena but if she is pretty he'll be all over her," Andrew replied.
Darien turned back to the mirror and looked into it. "Serena is pretty, she's beautiful. She's full of dreams. Anyone who meets her will see that. She's like an angel, perfect and beautiful. Derek won't do anything to her...and if he does I'll punch his light outs."
Andrew laughed and threw the football in the air. "Sounds good but if he does see the beauty in her I say keep an eye out for her. If you see them heading up stairs then take the back way and stop them, even if that means butting in."
"Yea, I'll keep my eye out for her. With me in charge nothing will happen."
"Isn't this great?" Serena asked Rei as she looked around at the people dancing and laughing with red plastic cups in their hands.
"It's a little loud," Rei replied sticking one finger in her ear.
"But that's the best!" Mina cried from next to Rei as she shook her hips and swung her cup through the air.
"So where's Derek?" Lita asked from next to Mina.
"He went to get me a drink," Serena replied looking around the room and spotting Darien. "Hey Darien!" She cried waving her arm.
Darien smiled as he spotted her and moved through the crowd holding a bottle of beer in one hand and wearing a pink shirt unbuttoned at the top. " Hey Serena. How are you guys doing?"
"The music is a little loud," Rei replied crossing her arms over her chest and looking around her.
"Don't listen to her, the music is great," Mina replied shaking her head and shaking her hips.
"How are you doing Serena?" Darien asked looking down at her and noticing the lack of drink in her hand with a smile.
"I'm great! This is so exciting!" Serena cried looking around her at the dancing people.
" Where's Derek?"
"He went to get me a drink," Serena replied looking past Darien to see Derek coming over to them with two cups in his hand. "There he is!" She cried happily.
Darien turned to see Derek walking toward them with a big grin on his face.
"Hey Shields!" Derek called stepping up next to him and smiling at him before turning to Serena. "Here is your drink beautiful."
Serena smiled back and took the cup from him and took a sip while Derek grinned down at her before taking a sip of his drink.
"What is this?" Serena asked.
"Its beer, have you ever had it?" Derek replied.
"No, it tastes kind of funny though," Serena said taking another sip.
"Beer does taste funny," Mina replied reaching out to pat Serena's arm.
"You know you don't have to drink it if you don't want too," Darien said as Jessica Simpson came on.
"Hey who is playing this crappy music!" Someone yelled from nearby.
"Turn it!" A bunch of people chimed in.
"I don't mind the beer," Serena replied taking another sip.
Derek reached over and took Serena's hand. "Come on Serena lets go out back and see what's going on out there. I feel stifled here by the drinking police," Derek said giving Darien a look.
" Okay," Serena replied throwing a smile to her friends as she headed off through the crowd while Darien turned around and watched her disappear.
"How nervous are you about her?" Rei asked.
"Too nervous. I don't trust him," Darien replied turning back to the girls.
"What do you mean?" Mina asked looking around at them.
"He might pull a move on Serena," Lita replied.
"The thing is how soon?" Rei asked looking over at Lita.
"Who knows. I doubt he spiked her drink, he's not that smart but he might get her drunk and take her upstairs," Darien replied.
"Then its agreed, we split up and look after her for the rest of the night. That means no dancing and flirting but instead you need to stay sober and keep an eye out for her. We don't want her to get hurt," Rei said looking at everyone including Mina who was pouting slightly.
" Alright," she agreed nodding her head and walked off towards the backyard where Serena and Derek had gone.
"Do you think she'll listen?" Darien asked the remaining girls.
"I'm sure she'll listen, Mina's a good person," Lita replied nodding her head.
The others nodded and headed off in different directions.
How long had it been since she took her first sip of her drink? Serena felt funny. She felt dizzy and hot, unbelievably hot like she was boiling up from inside. She also felt bumpy like she was bouncing up and down but not sure why. Slowly it came to her that the bumping was the car moving underneath her, she was in the passenger seat of someone's truck while it drove over a bumpy road.
Suddenly the bumping stopped as the brakes squealed and the car came to a stop in an empty parking lot. Serena fell forward against the dashboard then fell back against the seat again. Now she felt cold like she was made of ice, her limps felt heavy, too heavy to move. She couldn't even move as someone moved over next to her and placed their arm around her shoulders.
"Don't worry baby I won't hurt you," someone mummered in her ear.
Serena turned her head to see Derek looking over her. He gently pushed her down into the seat pressing her shoulder against the worn leather.
"Don't worry baby," he mummered again.
The dizzy feeling was growing worse but not worse enough to keep understanding from dawning on her. Serena began to scream and cry and tried to push him away but it didn't work, he was to strong on top of her pushing her down and down into the seat. Suddenly he wasn't so gentle as she began to cry, he reached up and ripped the shoulder of her sweater, the soft wool tearing and hanging in tatters. His other hand pulled at her skirt pulling it away from her body. She continued to scream and tried to claw at his face.
"Stop screaming!" Derek yelled taking a hold of her hands and pinning them above her. "You should know better then that!" With his other hand he slapped her face so hard that she cried out in pain as she saw stars above her.
Then suddenly she stopped screaming as a heavy darkness fell over her. Her head slumped to the side and her arms weakened and slipped out of Derek's hand. He smiled and let go of her, it was about time.
"Have you seen her?" Rei gasped as she came to stop in front of Darien and Lita.
"No, I haven't, she just disappeared," Lita replied.
"Did you check upstairs?" Rei asked looking at Darien.
"Yea, I checked every room but she wasn't up there."
" Guys!" Mina cried running up to them and coming to stop next to Darien. "I just heard that someone brought roofies to the party and gave some to Derek."
"Do you think?" Lita asked looking around.
"Oh my god," Rei breathed. "What if he slipped one into her drink?"
The others looked at her with looks of horror except Mina who was thinking with a concerned look on her face. Suddenly he eyes lit up with horror. "Guys do you remember how Serena said that her drink tasted funny? What if he did slip one in?"
Darien stood there in silence for a moment then turned and headed off.
" Darien where are you going?" Rei called.
"To find Serena and make sure she's safe!" He yelled back heading for the back porch.
She came to in the darkness. The ground beneath her was cold and sort of wet. Why was the ground wet? Shouldn't it be warm and dry like in the car? What happened to worn leather and a bumpy ride?
Serena sat up raising herself up with her arms to look around at the dark alley where she lay. The ground was cold because she was lying on concrete near a puddle of water. Her shirt was ripped with a huge tear in the sleeve where his hands had ripped the cloth away.
Serena looked down to see her skirt was torn and hanging from her waist erratically. There was also blood staining the bottom of the hem near her legs and smeared on her thighs. Serena moved her legs and stood up feeling soreness down there. She began to walk, stumbling slightly as she made her way out of the alley feeling the soreness grow stronger. She stumbled on a rock and fell down taking the impact with her hands and felt the gravel dig into them. She knew what had happened, those last few moments before she passed out.
Serena stood up again as she began to cry, the hot tears running down her face. Out of the darkness of the alley into the light of the street where a street light shone down on her. Serena was sobbing now as she looked around her to see a couple watching her from the corner. Their eyes were wide in surprise to see the dirty torn girl stumble out of an alley. From across the street a person sitting near the window looked up from their meal to see her enter the light. Their stares seemed to bore into her like his eyes watching and judging. They could see what happened and yet they did nothing, she was completely alone in the world. Suddenly Serena couldn't take it anymore, she fell to her knees and started to scream, a raw jagged scream that came from the depths of her soul.
After Serena passed out on the street someone called for an ambulance. They came immediately to find a group crowded around the still girl lying on the pavement.
"Move back folks and let us do our job," one of them said breaking through the crowd and kneeling next to the still girl. He gently picked up her wrist to feel for a pulse when suddenly her eyes sprang open and she looked up at him. The ambulance driver stepped back a little at the wild look in her eyes. Serena sat up and looked around her with fear. Who were these strange people standing around her? Suddenly she spotted a man with blond hair like Derek's looking down at her. Serena began to scream and point at him.
"Oh my god no! He's back! Help me! Please help me! He's going to hurt me again! He's going to kill me! I know it! Oh god no!"
The ambulance driver looked at his partner who nodded and climbed back into the ambulance and pulled something out of a drawer. He filled the syringe with liquid then climbed back out and walked over to his partner who was trying to calm Serena who was crying in fear.
"Miss please calm down. No one is going to hurt you."
"Oh god no!" Serena sobbed while the other ambulance driver took her arm and injected it with the sedative.
"Calm down miss. You need to calm down or you'll pass out."
"I wish I would. I wish I was dead," Serena sobbed softly as the sedative took control and she fell into a drugged sleep. This gave the ambulance drivers a chance to lift her on to a gurney and put her into the ambulance. A police officer had arrived at this point and was asking people questions about the strange girl who had passed out on the pavement. Meanwhile Darien and the girls had left the party and were searching the campus for Serena who was still missing.
I'll be back next week with the next chapter. Like I warned this chapter was very dark and really sets up the rest of the story. I wrote this chapter before I got hurt myself but I can see now that a lot of the things that happened to me happened to her. I was slipped a drug also but I woke up at the wrong time just like she did. I guess it's a sort of life imitating art thing since this chapter was written a few weeks before I got hurt.
Anyway please read and review or send all comments, questions, flames, and suggestions to . Thank you.