A/N: Dang, dang, dang! I had the first half of this chapter all typed out, and then it disappeared – I think I accidentally deleted the file. So…sorry if the first half isn't that good, I kind of rushed it because I was eager to get to the drama.

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon. And that makes me really sad. Review and make me happy again.

Disclaimer No. 2: I don't own Cosmo magazine either. If I did, I would have a way better sense of fashion than I do.


His Grin:

Chapter Five

(Which Was Supposed to Be the Last Chapter and Isn't. Grrr.)


It wasn't until detention that Bunny realized that she hadn't thought about her leg all day. This could either because Tuxedo Mask had bound it so well, or because she had been too busy wondering about what that the white object Darien had so quickly removed from her sight was to think about her injury.

She waited until Miss Haruna left the room to receive a phone call – from a Robert-someone-or-other – before she pulled her skirt up and lifted an edge of the bandage. Peering beneath the soft white cloth, she saw a long reddish scab surrounded by bruises that were slowly fading from yellow-green to purple. She poked the bruise and flexed her leg experimentally, then winced as pain jolted up her leg. Okay, definitely still hurts. Oh, no, now it's bleeding again! Bunny mentally slapped herself as the rusty red of the scab began to darken to crimson. She hurriedly replaced the bandage. Great, now I'm going to have to limp all the way to the arcade to meet Rei and Ami…

Miss Haruna re-entered the room, and Bunny quickly yanked the hem of her skirt back down. The redhead glanced at her suspiciously, then returned to her issue of Cosmo.

Bunny sighed, suddenly wishing that Darien were there for her to argue with. On second thought, maybe not. After what happened this morning, I don't think I could look at him without blushing…

"Someone on your mind, Bunny? A boy, perhaps?"

Bunny jumped at the dry voice. Miss Haruna was regarding her with mild curiosity.

More like two boys, thought Bunny wryly, thinking of Tuxedo Mask.

Bunny's silence must have worried Miss Haruna, because the teacher set down her magazine and leaned forward in her desk. "I know I may not be your favorite teacher, but you know what you can talk to me, right, Bunny?"

"Um," said Bunny, thinking of Miss Haruna's various boyfriends. Maybe she could help – but it would be too awkward to talk to her teacher about her love life – or lack thereof. "Yes, but it's nothing, Miss H. I'm fine. Really."


By the time Bunny hobbled in through the automatic doors of the Crown Arcade, it was half an hour past the designated meeting time for her Senshi meeting. Rei is going to burn me alive, thought Bunny wearily. Bunny was so preoccupied by her dread of the poison Rei would surely spit at her that it completely slipped her mind that Darien would be in the arcade, talking to Andrew like he did every day.

So when her eyes landed on the shock of blue-black hair at the serving counter, she froze. No, not him, no, not him, no, I can't face him – she couldn't live through another tsunami! It would crash down on her this time; she didn't have the strength to resist it!

Bunny, move! You dummy! Don't stand there like an idiot – someone'll notice and ask questions!

Unwillingly, Bunny took one stilted step forward, then another, careful to hide her limp as best she could. Before she knew it, she had reached the counter was and standing behind the stool that was two seats to Darien's right. That's right, not too close. Can't let them get suspicious…

Bunny sat down and cleared her throat, acutely aware of the stares of both boys – Andrew and Darien – on her.

"H-h-have you – " Bunny croaked, then winced, cleared her throat, and tried again. "Have you seen Ami and Rei, Andrew?"

"Yeah, they left to look for you a while ago – they were worried because you were so late." Andrew stuck his pencil behind his ear, leaning an elbow on the counter.

"Not that the Odango Atama being late is anything new." Darien laughed beside her. She focused on her hands in her lap, feeling uncomfortably warm on her left side even though there was a whole seat between her and the being dubbed "Jerkwad." "Did Haruna give you extra-long detention or something, Odango?"

"No, " answered Bunny, picking up her bag and making to stand up. "I should go look for Ami-chan and Rei – "

"Nah, they said they'd be back if they didn't find you in fifteen minutes. Sit down, Odango." Darien leaned over and took her school bag from her yielding grasp, setting it on top of his on the stool between them. "Talk with us. Insult me or something."

Gaping, Bunny dropped back into her stool. She smiled at Andrew gratefully when he placed a frothy pink milkshake in front of her, and took a nonchalant sip, trying to hide her reaction to Darien's invitation. Quick, make a retort or something. That's what they expect…

"Why would I wanna waste any time talking with you, Jerkwad?" Bunny grinned as she spoke, feeling a sense of control flood her veins. There you go, just keep up the insults and you'll be fine – he's not really that sweet or adorable…mayday, mayday! Ship going down, need another insult, pronto! "After all, your primitive brain isn't even capable of speech!

Darien laughed.

Bunny felt a heavy pit settle in her stomach. He…laughed? He looks so cute when he laughs, so much younger – No! Why did he have to laugh! He's messing everything up! He's not cute, Bunny, not at all, not cute, not cute, not cute –

"Enough!"

Bunny jolted out of her inner battle as Andrew slammed the counter with his fists. Darien, too, was regarding Andrew curiously. What happened!

"Are you on drugs?" Andrew demanded of Darien, crossing his arms across his, er, apron. He apprised Darien sharply. "You don't seem like yourself today. First you come in here and order a soda – a soda! – instead of your precious coffee, and then you laugh when Bunny accuses you of being incapable of speech!" He grabbed Darien by the lapels of his school blazer and began to shake him. "YOU'RE TOO HAPPY! WHY ARE YOU SO HAPPY!"

"Andrew – " Bunny began, eyes wide, but discovered she didn't know what to say and closed her mouth. IS the whole world going insane? Darien the jerkwad did my HAIR, I have a crush on my worst enemy, and Andrew's practically assaulting his best friend! What's wrong with this picture!

Andrew threw a glance at Bunny, and his eyes sharpened. He turned back to Darien. "I think I know what it is. You got a date, didn't you?"

"WHAT?" Darien yelped. "I don't think so." He pried Andrew's fingers from his blazer and leaned back in his stool, away from Andrew. "What makes you think I'm happy, anyways? I'm not happy." But he was grinning.

Andrew looked at Bunny. "There is something definitely wrong with him."

Bunny nodded, opening her mouth to speak, but Darien beat her to it.

"I know Odango agrees because she asked me the same question this morning." Darien focused his gaze on her. She carefully averted her own eyes. Notcutenotcutenotcutenotcutenotcute…!

"Hmm." Andrew glanced at Bunny again. She flinched from the weight of both of their stares and hurriedly took a slurp of milkshake. "Does that mean Bunny's your date?"

"NO!" Darien bellowed. Bunny felt a hot, swift jab of hurt and slurped more of her milkshake, trying to numb the pain. "God, Andrew! Can't a guy be happy without being on drugs or having a date!"

"Not in this world," sighed a wistful Andrew. "Oh, look, here's Ami and Rei now!" He waved to the two girls entering through the sliding doors. "Come over here, you two!"

Bunny could have told Andrew that Rei needed no urging. Already feeling the heat of Rei's wrath on her back, Bunny clutched her frosty milkshake glass tighter, reluctantly swiveling her stool around to meet the black-haired priestess.

Rei stomped over to right in front of Bunny, eyes flashing. "Where were you?" she demanded. "Wait, let me guess – detention! Always, always detention! Honestly, Bunny, is it so hard for you to get to school on time or to stay awake in class! It's not like you ever do anything outside of school that could make you so tired that you can't do anything inside of school!"

Bunny heard the double meaning veiled beneath Rei's ranting – Sailor Moon's just as lazy as you! It's not like you ever do anything at battles but scream and whine, so you don't have an excuse to be late to school and Senshi meetings!

"Sorry," Bunny whispered, eyes fastened to the floor. There was a similarity between her and the floor, she realized, a special kinship. It was dirty and stomped all over, and so was she. The difference between them was that she deserved it and the floor didn't. Poor floor. I wish I could help you…but I can't even help myself. Self-disgust rolled over Bunny in waves, sucking her like the tide, deeper and deeper into the sand.

"Sorry? Sorry's not good enough, you Odango Atama! You always say sorry, but you never do anything – "

"Hey."

Rei stopped mid-rant and lifted her flashing eyes from Bunny to see who had dared to interrupt her. Bunny didn't need to look up; she recognized the voice. Her head drooped further. She didn't think it was possible for her to feel any worse than she did right now, but if anyone could accomplish that feat, it would be Darien. She clutched her milkshake tighter.

"What?" Rei bit out at him.

"You're not allowed to call her that."

Goosebumps ran up and down Bunny's skin. What was he saying?

"Call her what? A stupid, lazy, crybaby klutz?"

Bunny felt a hand slip into hers. It was cool, like the milkshake glass, and she looked gratefully up at Ami. The blue-haired girl smiled reassuringly back and squeezed her hand, then directed Bunny's eyes back to the showdown currently going down between Rei and Darien.

Darien, apparently, had ignored Rei's second comment. "Odango Atama. You're not allowed to call her that. That's my name for her."

Bunny felt a simultaneous sinking of her stomach and jumping of her heart. He couldn't mean that – but it sounded so possessive! Maybe…could he like her, after all? Or was he just being regular, selfish, sadistic Darien by refusing to share his insults with other people?

Rei didn't reply for a moment, grinding her teeth as she stared at Darien. "Fine," she gritted out finally and spun, throwing herself into the stool beside Bunny, away from Darien. "Andrew, get me a hot tea, please."

Andrew nodded, and turned away to make it. Silence reigned at the counter after that. Bunny huddled in her stool, staring at her fingers in her lap. Ami had moved over to Rei's other side.

"So, um, Bunny," began Ami finally. "Did you hear the new Sailor V news?"

She's trying to cheer me up, thought Bunny, and lifted her head to look at Ami, summoning a smile for her friend's benefit. Everything's so mixed-up…Rei's gonna hate me even more now, and Luna will be mad that I was late for another Senshi meeting…

"Melvin told me," continued Ami, encouraged by Bunny's smile. "He said that Sailor V hasn't been spotted in England for over two weeks. I looked it up on the web, and the crime rate in London's increased by forty-three precent. It's like Sailor V's just disappeared!"

Okay, thought Bunny somewhat cynically, Maybe she's not trying to cheer me up. How is it supposed to make me feel better that Sailor V's disappeared? Bunny immediately felt contrite for harboring such uncharitable thoughts and hurried to cover up her guilt. "That's horrible! Do they know where she's gone?"

"Maybe she got injured in a battle," injected Darien thoughtfully. Bunny spun to look at him, heart pounding. Calm down, Bunny, he was talking about Sailor V, not you. "Don't they have youmas over in England too?"

"Senshi can't get injured, though," argued Andrew, returning with Rei's cup of tea. Steam billowed from the dark liquid. "Careful, it's piping hot. You might want to wait a few minutes before you drink it," he said in an aside to her. "The Senshi are invincible. I follow all the news reports on 'em, and I've never seen one of 'em get anything worse than a couple of scrapes. They're too good at fighting."

Bunny flinched. Except me, she thought bitterly.

"That's not true," Darien countered. He set his soda down on the counter and leaned towards Andrew, who was standing in front of Rei. Bunny held her breath as Darien's sleeve brushed her bare arm. Don't shiver, he'll notice, don't shiver, don't shiver – "Sailor Moon's the best fighter the Senshi have, and she got hurt just the other night in a battle."

Bunny choked, hands gripping the edge of the counter. Darien thinks I'm a good fighter? Darien thinks I'm a good fighter! He thinks I'm a good – wait a second – DARIEN SAW THE BATTLE?

Rei and Ami's necks cracked as their heads whirled towards Bunny. "SHE DID!"

"Uh – yeah." Darien seemed flustered; he leaned away from Bunny and shifted in his seat. Eyes directed downward to avoid Ami and Rei's piercing stares, Bunny watched his leg jostle the stool between them so that his and her briefcase slid over to hang precariously a few inches over the edge of the stool. The slightest movement was going to make them fall – which was how Bunny felt right then.

Everything was happening too fast. Darien – however he found out – had just revealed that Sailor Moon had been injured in a battle that Ami and Rei hadn't even been aware of, which meant she was going to get chewed out yet again, by the Senshi and Luna, and she had a crush on Darien, and she had a crush on Tuxedo Mask, and neither liked her back, even though both had defended her from Rei, and her leg was hurting really bad, and she had failed that geometry final this morning, and she was a horrible fighter that no one could depend on, and Darien being so close was driving her crazy – she was about to lose control; the tsunami was rearing again

"You saw her?" Rei demanded of Darien. "She was fighting? Without the other Senshi?"

Darien snorted. "No offense, but the other Senshi don't do much even when they are at battles. They're useful for distractions, I'll give you that, but Sailor Moon's the one who dusts the youmas."

Rei's face exploded in splotches of red. "Oh, please!" she shouted. "Sailor Moon's as much of a crybaby as Bunny is! She can't even walk without the Senshi or Tuxedo Mask's help!"

Bunny bit her lip, fingers tightening around the counter. Don't cry, don't you dare cry, Bunny…

"Actually," Darien drawled, stirring his soda with a straw. "Tuxedo Mask was there. But he didn't help with the youma. She handled it fine on her own."

"And how did you happen to see all this happening?" Rei demanded.

Darien's stirring quickened. "From my apartment. The balcony's got a really good view." He stopped stirring and took a sip of soda. "So good, in fact, that I saw last night's battle, too."

"Really? So did I." Rei's voice was tight. With the steam from her hot tea curling up to surround her face, it was easy to imagine her to be steaming at the ears. "So if you saw the battle, that means you saw how Sailor Moon couldn't even dust the youma without Tuxedo Mask's help?"

"No, it means that I saw how she was exhausted and limping, and how instead of helping her, Sailor Mars shoved her into a TREE!"

"Only because she was stumbling around like an idiot instead of dusting the youma!"

"She had a gash the size of the Great Wall of China on her leg!" Darien bellowed, leaping to his feet. His eyes – his blue eyes – glinted angrily. "The Senshi are just lucky she didn't cut her hamstring, because they'd be sitting ducks without her!"

Hamstring – hamstring A gasp tore from Bunny's throat. Oh God – no, he couldn't be –

"You don't know what the heck you're talking about!" Rei shouted, slamming her fists on the table. The motion shook the whole counter, and before anyone could do anything, Rei's steaming cup of tea had crashed over on its side and spilled its scalding contents onto Bunny's lap.

Pain. Blistering agony. The boiling hot tea soaked right through Bunny's bandage as though it weren't even there and burned into her bruises, her re-opened cut. With an anguished shriek, Bunny shoved herself out of the stool, yanking up the hem of her skirt, desperate to tear off the bandage, which was soaked with the scalding tea. Get it off, get it off, get it off –

She heard a clatter, realized that her violent motions had knocked her briefcase – and Darien's – onto the floor and popped them open. The contents were spilled across the floor: pencils, pens, paper, books, papers, a glove… her tear-blurred eyes snapped back to that last object, and widened.

A man's white glove, stained red at the fingertips.

Her eyes snapped up, darting from Ami's horrified face to Rei's blazing eyes to Darien's intent gaze. Feeling an incredible weight press down on her chest, she followed the path of his suddenly distinctive blue eyes to her own bare leg with its tea-soaked bandage.

Blue eyes…black hair…his grin…

"Oh, no," Bunny breathed, and ran.


A/N: I lied AGAIN! (sobs) This was SUPPOSED to be the last chapter, but I couldn't do it. It was as though I reached that last sentence, and my brain just turned off. "Cliffhanger," it said. "Must leave cliffhanger. I won't come up with anything more until you post this on have such a sadistic brain. It's not fair.

Next chapter WILL be the LAST one even if it KILLS me! This fic will be done, because I have neglected STC for too long!

P.S. Meg-chan, was there anything resembling mush in this chapter? I started trying to write the end to this story with mush like you said, and I suddenly discovered that I have no idea how to write sap that is both believable and heart-warming. All I can write is arguing! AARRGH!