Hey guys I'm sorry this part didn't come out on Friday or Saturday! I was super freakishly busy and sleep deprived so I'm posting it now. Hope you enjoy and look for the next one this Friday! (I promise!) Also, just to clear some things up, this story is loosely based on Center Stage. Also, I'm making Darien's parents alive in this story, because I don't like the fact that he didn't have any throughout his whole life. That's sad! And to all you people who've left me comments, I truly do appreciate it, and I hope you continue to enjoy the story!
Serena strolled into the restaurant which from the outside looked rather expensive. She linked her arms through Chad's as they walked through the front doors that were held open by a rather short man with a black tuxedo on and had his hair slicked back. Serena marveled at the elegance and the ambiance calmed her frantic nerves slightly. Chad smiled at her as they walked towards the garcon, who was busily fixing his tie and smoothing back his hair.
"Bonjour monsieur. Welcome to Atelier. How may I be of service to you?"
"Yes I have a reservation for two for Montgomery at 9:00."
"Montgomery…Montgomery. Ah yes! I see. You requested private dining?"
"Yes that would be correct."
"Right this way please."
Chad gently grabbed Serena's hand, lifting it to his lips and kissing her knuckles before following the garcon towards their table. Serena took in the restaurant's appearance, the snow-white tablecloths, the tinkling of china as people ate, and the most magnificent chandelier she had ever seen. When they arrived at their private dining area, Chad dismissed the garcon and pulled out Serena's chair, nodding at her to sit down. She took a seat, and smiled as he sat across from her. Serena opened her mouth to speak, but quickly shut it as another waiter came in and handed them menus.
"Welcome to Atelier. Would you care for anything to drink while you are deciding?"
"Yes please. I would like a bottle of Château Lafite, year 1996for the lady and I."
"Right away sir."
The waiter disappeared as Serena stared at him blankly. Did he know that she was only eighteen?
"Is there anything wrong, Serena?"
"Chad, I am only eighteen. It's illegal for me to drink."
"Serena, don't worry. You could pass for twenty-five looking the way you do right now. I promise you that you will not get drunk. I just wanted to make sure you got the full experience. Plus, this restaurant is known for it's exceptionally large winery and it would be a shame not to take advantage of it. Now, look over that menu and order whatever you want."
Serena opened the menu and looked over the menu, noticing the outrageous prices. She looked over at Chad, who was busy looking over the menu as well. He didn't seem phased by the cost of the meal. She also looked at their wine list, and noticed that the wine he had ordered cost 300! And he didn't seem phased by that either! She looked over the menu again and noticed the foie gras. She had had foie gras once before, and found it delicious.
The waiter returned with their bottle of wine and two wine glasses. He popped the cork and poured a glass for her and Chad. Chad swirled it around and sipped it slowly, allowing himself a good taste.
"Hmm…delicious. We're ready to order now."
"As you wish. What would care for this evening?"
"I would like the Cuisses de Poulet à la moutarde de Dijon et sauce crèmée." Serena quickly looked through the menu and found what he had ordered. Chicken cooked with bacon and mustard and smothered in a white wine cream sauce.
"I shall have the same, but I would also like an order of pâté de foie gras."
"As you wish. I shall return shortly with your order."
The waiter left, as Serena picked up her glass and slowly drank the wine, savoring the taste. It was delectable. She had never had tasted anything as fruity and delicious as this. She looked over at Chad and smiled at him.
"So, Serena. Pâté?"
"I had it once at home. My ex-boyfriend took me to a French restaurant for our anniversary."
"Ex-Boyfriend? What happened to him?"
"We had a really big argument after I found out that I had been accepted to ABC. He had never been very supportive of my dancing, and he had always been lobbying for me to stop, but I couldn't let him get in the way of my dream, so I let him go. Not that it mattered because he was banging the town slut on the side and had been looking for a reason to end it with me to begin with."
"Oh well, I personally am glad that you came to ABC. I really like you. You're extremely beautiful and talented, even more so than Raye Henderson. Serena, I would very much like to kiss you right now."
Serena was taken aback by his admission, but smiled at him and slowly nodded her head.
Chad leaned over and softly captured her lips with his, gently grazing the skin of her cheek with his fingertips. She leaned into the kiss just slightly, pressing her lips against his with a bit more firmness.
Just then, she felt her mouth being pushed open as his tongue slid in, gliding against hers, as she desperately tried to push him away. His arms wrapped tightly around her waist, pinning her arms to her sides as he continued his unwanted ministrations. He tried to control her as she struggled against him, screaming into his mouth. His hands roamed all over her backside, sliding the zipper of the dress down and slipping his hands under the fabric.
"Oh Serena…" he moaned against her lips. She took this opportunity and bit down on his lip hard, breaking the skin and drawing blood. One of his hands went instinctively to his lips and she pushed him away from her, throwing herself out of the chair, and grabbing her purse and running out of the restaurant.
Chad sat there, confused as he put a napkin against his lip in order to stop the bleeding. Oh well, he thought. I shall see her tomorrow.
Serena ran all the way down the dark New York street. She had no clue where she was at, and she stopped for a bit to catch her breath. She realized the back of her dress was open, so she zipped it up slowly, making sure it didn't get caught on the fabric. She let out uncontrollable sobs as the tears ran freely down her face. She felt like throwing up. How could have he taken advantage of her? Was she just that easy of a target?
She slowly trudged up the street in the direction she thought was towards the dorms. Her face was held down in shame and embarrassment as the tears continued to leak from her eyes.
The street was dark and she approached a corner without bothering to check where she was in order to get back to the dorm efficiently. She wanted nothing more at this point than to wash herself and crawl into her soft comfy bed and sleep. She then turned the corner at the end of the street and collided into something very hard and very warm.
She closed her eyes and felt herself falling backwards, expecting the sting of the impact and the tragedy of ruining the most perfect dress in the world. But the impact didn't come. Instead she felt strong arms wrapped around her waist as she was pressed against the very warm, very hard something she had collided into not seconds before.
She opened her eyes and found herself staring into pools of midnight blue, almost black in the light of the street lamp. She was breathing hard, her breaths coming out in tiny little puffs of smoke in the cold night air. She hadn't realized it was that cold and the man holding her now was definitely doing a good job keeping her warm.
She stepped back away from him and noticed some familiarities of the face that was now smiling at her. She then gasped in realization when it dawned on her who this man was.
"Darien? Is that you?"
The young man's smile grew even wider.
"Yes it is. Strange thing, though. I just came from your dorm, where your roommate told me that you were on a date."
"Yes, I was. I just left though."
"May I inquire as to why?"
"Because he wasn't my type."
"Ahh. I see. And what, pray tell, is your type?" His eyes twinkled mischievously.
She giggled softly before walking past him. It was so much fun flirting with him.
"Wouldn't you like to know?"
"Yes, as a matter a fact, I would. I find you completely intriguing."
"Is that so?" She giggled again. He was running to catch up with her now.
"How about I take you out to dinner right now. I know this great place up ahead, and you can tell me all about 'your type' of man."
She looked at him skeptically. She remembered what he had said at the club last night, about how he would never try anything unless she told him to. She smiled brightly at him.
"Ok. I accept."
"Darien? Aren't I a little overdressed? I mean this isn't exactly the classiest place to be."
"Serena, don't worry about it. You look completely sensational. There has never been a girl as beautiful as you to step across the threshold of Mario's Pizzeria."
She blushed slightly as he took her hand and led her to a small table in the corner. A man tall man came out of the kitchen wearing a white shirt and an extremely stained apron. He walked over to their table, pulling out a small white paper tab and a short, stubby pencil.
"Hey Darien! Long time, no see! Who's the chick?"
"Hey Mario. Yeah, I know I haven't been here in a while. This is Serena Carmichael."
Mario whistled low, and waved his hand in front of his face.
"Man, Darien. You sure know how to pick 'em." Serena smiled, blushing at the comment made by the man who apparently owned the restaurant and knew Darien.
"Yeah, I guess I do. Can we have a pitcher of Coke and a large pizza? Serena, what would you like on it?"
Serena looked at him for a moment, thinking carefully about what he was asking her.
"Darien, are you sure you want me to pick. I have a very strange sense of taste."
"I assure you, anything that you choose will be fine. Isn't that right, Mario."
"Yes sir, it is. This man will eat anything except for anchovies."
Serena smiled brightly again as she turned to Mario and ordered.
"Fine. Then we'll have a large pizza with hamburger, Canadian bacon, and black olives. And bring a bottle of ranch dressing."
Mario smiled as he finished writing down their order, and nodded as he disappeared once again into the kitchen.
Darien looked at the girl sitting by him, and grinned ridiculously at her.
"You eat ranch dressing with your pizza?" he asked her, surprise evident in his voice.
"I eat ranch dressing with almost everything, and have done so since I was little. It's the world's greatest condiment."
"Yes, I agree with you whole-heartedly."
Mario returned fifteen minutes later with a steaming pizza and a large pitcher of Coke for the two. They immediately dug in, slathering each slice they ate with an enormous amount of ranch dressing, all the while making small talk, uncovering each other's past and ambitions. Once the food had been devoured, they simply enjoyed each other's company.
"So, Serena. How long have you wanted to be a dancer?"
Serena sighed as gripped onto the glass that was in front of her.
"I've wanted to be a dancer since I was little. I actually wanted to be a gymnast at first, but then I watched a performance of the Nutcracker on television when I was four years old, and all of my gymnastic dreams flew out the window. I wanted to be a ballerina and look just like the dancers did in that performance. Ever since, I've worked hard to achieve my goals, and now I'm at ABC. What about you? How long have you wanted to be a doctor?"
"I've always known I would be a doctor. Both my parents were doctors, but it's not like I'm being forced to follow in their footsteps or anything. I really want to be a doctor. I'm going to be a pediatrician, though, whereas my mother is an obstetrician and my father is an urologist. Personally, the idea of all that time spent around people's private areas is not something I would want to do for the rest of my life. We've actually been asked to leave restaurants before because they talk about their day at the hospital at dinner."
They both laughed loudly, and then the lateness of the evening settled in. Serena yawned and glanced at her watch and noticed that it was 11:17.
"Oh my gosh! Darien, I have to be back at the dorm in ten minutes! We have to leave now!"
Darien quickly threw some bills down on the table, and grabbed Serena's hand racing out the door, waving a goodbye to Mario. They ran down the street, Serena stumbling over the heels she had been wearing the whole night. They made it back to the dorm in record time, and ran in just as they were locking the doors.
"Darien, thank you. I had a great time tonight."
"Me too, Serena. May I see you again soon?"
"Yes I would like that. How about Saturday? We have no classes on the weekends."
"I would like that very much. Be prepared to have the time of your life on Saturday. I'll be here at 11 am to pick you up. I'll call you Friday to confirm."
She smiled at him and nodded her head as he leaned over and kissed her cheek softly.
"Goodnight Serena. I'll see you Saturday." He winked at her and walked out the doors. Serena waited until he disappeared from her view before she began towards her room, anticipating the fun that Saturday would bring.
Whew! Hope you liked it! I'm sorry for all those people who like Chad! I had to make him kind of a bad guy in here because we couldn't have Serena fall for him. Don't worry; he'll make reappearance later! Please read and review!
