Serena shut the door quietly behind her and went downstairs to her own room.

"Hey," Darien said as he stepped into the living room.

"Hey," Serena said, "They're all tucked in for the night."

"Good."

"Yep," she said, "Well, I'm wired. The whole bar scene is just not for me...
I'll see you tomorrow, Darien."

She turned to head to her room when Darien called after her.

"Wait," he said, "Serena, I... I have something I want to tell you."


I Need You
by Phantasy Star
--------------------

Chapter Eight


Serena looked at him curiously. "What?"

"Serena, I..." Darien said hesitantly.

"What, are you feeling okay? You really shouldn't drink so much..."

Darien ignored her and stepped closer to her.

"Thanks for tonight," Darien whispered.

Before Serena could reply, he had put his arms around her possessively and was
lowering his face to hers.

"Darien!" Serena cried as she shoved him away as hard as she could.

He stumbled back a few feet.

"What are you doing?" Serena cried.

"I just... I wanted to-"

"Never mind, I'm tired, good night!" Serena squeaked quickly and fled to her
room, leaving a befuddled Darien alone in the living room.

- - -

Serena woke up and stared at her alarm clock.

It was a dream. It had to be a dream.

She grimaced. No it wasn't. She could see the mark on her dresser where she
had banged her head against to clear her mind.

'What happened last night?' Serena thought with a moan, 'What could he have
been THINKING?'

"Okay, Serena," she said aloud to herself, "Calm down. You've already thought
about this all night and it isn't going to help. Just go out there and act
like nothing happened."

She opened her door slowly and quietly, then peered outside.

Nope, no signs of Darien. Probably still asleep.

She tiptoed down the corridor and sneaked into the kitchen.

Okay, all clear. No doubt he was still-

"Geez, Meatball Head, do you have to be so loud?"

Serena screamed and turned around, seeing Darien coming towards her with a cup
of coffee in his hand. He groaned and rubbed his head groggily.

"Don't ever scare me like that again!" Serena said, "And, I wasn't being loud!
I was barely-"

"Okay, calm down," Darien said, his eyes dull and tired, "I'm already having a
bad hangover. I don't need a hyper Meatball Head splitting my head open."

Serena stared at him. This wasn't the Darien from yesterday.

Then a thought occurred to her.

"Darien... What do you remember about... last night?"

Darien groaned as he tried to concentrate.

"I think... there was a bar. And there was alcohol. Definitely alcohol."

Serena studied his weary face carefully to make sure he wasn't lying.

"What?" Darien said, staring back at her skeptically, "Oh, hey, you'd better
wake the girls up - it's almost eight."

"You have to go pick up your car at the pub," Serena told him hesitantly, "You
got so drunk last night I had to call a taxi to get us home."

"You came and got me?" Darien said, dumbfounded.

"Yeah... Yes," Serena said, then waved her hands frantically, "But... don't
think about it. Don't bother trying to remember anything. You know what?
Just... Okay, last night didnt't happen. Nothing happened."

Darien furrowed his brows and gave her a strange look, "Except that you went
bonkers..."

Serena glared at him.

"Okay," he said with a shrug, "I'll get the car, after just one last cup of
coffee."

Serena nodded and went to make breakfast.

'So it was only because he was drunk...' Serena thought, 'But... does that mean
he still...? No, of course he doesn't...'

- - -

"DARIEN TRIED TO KISS YOU LAST NIGHT!?"

"Keep it DOWN, Molly!" Serena hissed.

The two girls sat at the bleachers watching the basketball game during lunch
time. A couple of students turned and stared at them as Serena tried to look
away.

"Sorry," Molly said, "But oh my goodness, he could have been your first kiss!"

"I... I haven't even thought of that," Serena said slowly.

Suddenly, Molly let out a knowing sigh, "Oh I know what's going on."

"What?" Serena asked, leaning closer to her best friend.

"It's break-up rebound behaviour," Molly said wisely.

"Break-up bound be what?" Serena echoed.

"Darien just broke up with that girl he used to be with, right?" Molly said,
"So, he's looking for a rebound relationship."

"O... Oh," Serena said.

"Boy, aren't you relieved? Imagine if he really were in love with you!"

Serena forced a smile, suddenly confused as to why she was feeling almost
disappointed.

She didn't want him to like her... right?

Molly rested her head on her hands thoughtfully, "Anyway, I guess what you
should do is... steer clear of him. Unless, of course, you want to take
advantage of the situation."

Serena laughed, "Yeah right, Molly. Darien's... not as bad a guy as I used to
think he was. But, I'm not in love with him. No, of course not."

"I'm just glad you got away from him when you did," Molly said, "I mean, can
you imagine if he'd actually kissed you?"

Serena's face turned bright red.

- - -

Later that night...

"Thermos... Bandaids... Extra clothes... Jackets..."

Darien looked at each item as he put them into the three mini suitcases - red,
blue, green.

"Serena!" Darien called, "Get me another sweater! You know how cold Raye gets
at night."

Serena got down and put it into the suitcase, "Geez, Darien. They're only
going on the school trip for two days. You've packed way too much stuff."

"Not everybody is as carefree and empty-headed as you are, Meatball Head,"
Darien muttered, "Besides, it can't hurt. What if Li Li catches a cold? You
know she hates taking medicine tablets."

Serena sighed. "Is Mina still mad?"

"Yeah. I guess she really wanted to go on this big trip too."

"I guess I should see if they're having any problems."

- - -

"Don't leave!" Mina screamed angrily, "It's not fair! If I can't go, you guys
shouldn't go either!"

"It's not our fault," Lita retorted.

"Sorry Mina," Raye said, "But you're still in kindergarten."

"You'll get Dar Dar and Mommy all to yourself," Amy reminded her.

"But I WANNA GO TOO!" Mina cried.

Serena stepped in and sighed. "All right, Mina. If you behave, I'll give you a
special treat."

Mina turned to her, her face still a little mad, "Really?"

"Yes, really," Serena said, then turned to the other three girls, "Now, hurry
up and get dressed. The schoolbus will be here soon."

- - -

After the hugs and kisses, Darien, Serena, and Mina waved as the yellow bus
disappeared down the road.

"Oh, I forgot to pack Amy's favourite book," Darien said as he smacked himself
on the forehead.

"She's not going to a book-reading club," Serena reminded him, then turned to
Mina, "Now, about that special treat - seeing as you have a holiday today, how
about you and me go to Playland for the entire day?"

"Yay!" Mina cried, then grabbed Darien's hand, "Dar Dar too!"

"Let's make it a girl's day out," Serena suggested, then turned to Darien,
"Looks like you can use a break."

Darien grinned, "When did you learn to be so considerate? All right, I'll see
you girls later then."

"I want you to behave at home!" Serena told him jokingly.

Mina jumped up into Serena's arms and the two of them walked off to the bus
stop. Darien went inside the house and decided to enjoy some time alone. Then
he frowned.

'Did I forget anything else...?'

- - -

Serena and Mina came home at eight that night, with a huge teddy bear and
bags of cotton candy.

"Are you sure you want a story?" Serena asked Mina, "Aren't you tired?"

"We're almost done Cinderella," Mina reminded her as Serena sat on a stool
beside her bed.

"You're right..." Serena said as she found the page. "All right, here we are."

"So," Serena began, "the prince decided to look all over town to find the girl
whose feet would fit into the glass slipper."

"Serena..." Mina said softly, "What's a prince?"

"Well, a prince is... the king's son. He's... intelligent, loyal, and
extremely handsome," Serena answered, then added with a smile, "All the girls
like him."

"Like Dar Dar?" Mina asked.

Serena tried to hide a smile, "Yeah, kind of like that."

"You're a girl, so shouldn't you want to be with him?" Mina asked curiously.

Serena smiled a little, "You're asking too many questions. We've got to finish
this story or you won't get any sleep, silly."

A few minutes later, Serena put down the storybook and looked at Mina, who was
already asleep and dreaming. She got up to open the door, then found Darien
spying on them through the crack.

"I... I was just wandering around the house," Darien lied, "Anyway... I was
thinking, tomorrow, maybe we can drop Mina off at her friend's. That way, when
you get home from school, we'll have the whole night off."

"That's great," Serena said, "We've been so busy lately and-"

Just then, the telephone interrupted them.

"I'll get it," Serena said and headed for the phone, with Darien following
closely behind her.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Serena? It's Rick."

"Oh, hi Rick."

"Listen, Lita told me she and the girls are going on a field trip."

"They left today," Serena said, "Mina's a little mad though."

"I can imagine," Rick replied, "But anyway, I was wondering if you want to do
something tomorrow."

"That sounds good," Serena said, "I'd love to get out of the house."

Darien frowned and sat down on the couch beside her.

"Great," Rick said, "I'll come by around four."

"What do you want to do?" Serena asked him.

"I'm thinking a movie and maybe something else. See you tomorrow then?"

Serena smiled, "All right, I'll be here."

Serena put down the receiver.

"Hey, listen, Darien," Serena said as she turned around to face him, "Tomorrow
I'll be-"

"Yeah, I heard," Darien said, cutting her off, "I'm going to my room to study."

"Wha-" Serena began as Darien walked off coolly.

She stared after him for a moment.

'What was THAT about?' Serena thought.

Then it dawned on her.

'He cleared tomorrow night because he wanted to... be with me,' she realized,
then sighed, 'I guess it's for the best anyway. He's only using me to forget
about Elisa...'

Standing up, she stepped into her bunny slippers and went to her room.

'I just hope Darien's not mad at me...'