A Rose amongst the Thorns
Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon nor the characters contained in the anime!
Attention all readers! There will be a flashback segment later on in this chapter and I just wanted to tell you that the thoughts are in normal writing while everything else is in italics. Thanks!
A tall, muscular man stood in a crowded ballroom with his friends, his midnight blue eyes scanning the people at his best friend, Andrew's, party. The grand door that led to this well-decorated ballroom had been pushed open, inviting all guests to enter. Darien spotted a girl in a slinky black dress, the neckline plunging low to reveal a substantial amount of cleavage. The dress seemed to hug at her voluptuous form, the black contrasting well with her honey-hued eyes. The split up the left side of her dress displayed long cream legs that ended in pointy black high heels, enhancing her height even more. Her normally wavy hair was now a mass of tiny red ringlets that appeared to spill down her back. Catching him checking her out, Beryl flashed one of her most seductive smiles at him.
"Man, that Beryl is so hot, I'd do her any day," a man with silver-blonde hair stated.
"Diamond, I swear you're so horny sometimes," Darien half-joked as he playfully slapped his friend on the back.
"Whoa! Look at those girls coming in now!" Chad, the musician in their group, exclaimed suddenly.
Darien turned towards the entrance and gasped. Four glowing beauties strolled in; all dressed in their own unique colour of green, blue, red and orange. He recognized these girls immediately as being four of the most popular girls at school: Lita, Amy, Raye and Mina. However, it was the mysterious girl walking in a step behind them that made his breath caught in his throat. She was a rare vision, a shimmering angel that seemed to glide through the darkness and straight into his heart. Her long golden tresses swayed gently in the breeze, her semi-transparent dress showing off her slender figure. Purity and innocence radiated from her like a new-born cherub, the moon itself envious of her beauty.
"Who is that?" Darien muttered in complete awe.
"Who is who?" asked a confused Andrew.
"Nevermind, I'll go find out for myself," he replied absentmindedly as he walked towards the girl who had caught his attention.
His friends stared after him as he approached an unknown girl, puzzled expressions plastered on their faces.
Serena stood bewildered near the entrance of the ballroom, not quite daring to move any further. Her friends had ditched her as soon as they had arrived, scattering off in different directions to go find cute boys to flirt with. Her ocean-blue eyes surveyed the surrounding room nervously, capturing the picturesque scene before her.
The ballroom was brightly lit, many burning candles lined up along the walls. A large crystal chandelier hung from the centre of the room on a thick gold chain, each crystal reflecting the light shining through it, creating a multitude of assorted colours that bathed the ballroom below. Couples in various different costumes swirled together as they danced around the room, the orchestra playing loudly in the background.
Wow, Andrew must be really rich, Serena thought as she stood in admiration of her surroundings.
"Hello, my name is Darien Shields, may I have the pleasure of a dance?" came a deep male voice, breaking her out of her thoughts.
Serena glanced up and looked straight into the cobalt blue eyes of the most popular guy at Crossroads High. His jet black hair was flopped casually to one side, his white mask seeming to hide his true identity. An immaculate black tuxedo was fitted to his well-built form, a bluish glint shining off the suit. A long black cape flapped wildly behind him as the wind blew through the open doorway, the inside of it a dark crimson red. He was smiling charismatically, his pearly white teeth flashing at her in the light. It was his eyes that captivated her though; they appeared to be a black hole that could pull you into them if you dared look long enough. However, this was not the first time she had been caught staring at his eyes. There had been many previous occasions where she had taken sneak peeks at the most sought after guy in school.
And now those same royal blue eyes she had often day-dreamt about were pleading. Pleading for her to take his hand, which he held out, extended to her.
"Well, my lady? Will you accept?" the voice came again, making Serena's spine tingle.
"Uh…Um…Yes," she finally managed to stutter out, placing her hand in his.
A little dance couldn't possibly hurt, she thought as he whisked her onto the dance floor, tomorrow I'll go back to being a social nobody again, I should at least enjoy myself tonight…
Darien held the enchanting girl closely in his arms as they swayed slowly to the music. His hands were placed tenderly on her lower back, the silk dress feeling soft beneath his fingers. She had her arms around his neck awkwardly; she was not used to being this close to a man before, especially not one that was so charmingly handsome. Serena looked up at him through her long golden lashes and gave a shy smile, the lustrous cherry lips almost inviting him to consume them. Her hypnotic blue eyes twinkled merrily up at him, causing him to stare deeply into them. Time seemed to stop around them as they gazed into each others' eyes.
Anger blazed through Beryl's system as she watched Darien and Serena dancing together. She clutched onto her dress, causing the silky material to wrinkle, not caring that it had cost her thousands of dollars to purchase.
That little brat, she thought, infuriated at the fact that Darien even paid attention to that clumsy bimbo, who does she think she is?
Resentment boiled up inside of her, her breaths coming out short and quick, giving her the appearance of an enraged demoness. Flames seemed to burst out of her tawny eyes, which were slowly turning a dark shade of amber as jealousy consumed her.
You'll get yours soon, Serena, you'll get yours, Beryl thought wickedly as a plan formulated in her head, no one tries to steal my man without paying for it.
Saturday night
Serena sat on her bed, her pet cat lying on her lap. She stroked the cat affectionately, purrs escaping from the black fur-ball.
"What have I gotten myself into, Luna?" she asked her beloved pet, which was also one of her best friends, "I really like him."
She felt as though she could talk to Luna about everything regarding her life and not be judged about it. It had already been two years since the fateful day where she had rescued her from a pack of bullying kids. She held the beautiful black cat closer to her, causing her to look up at her owner with big eyes and meow softly as to ask what was wrong.
"Oh, it's just so complicated…" she replied with a light sigh.
Serena lay down on her back, placing her friend beside her on the bed and reminisced about the remarkable night before.
It had seemed like an eternity before the night eventually came to an end and the earth began revolving once more around them. The ballroom had started to empty out already, only a few remaining groups of people still there. Her head had been resting on his chest for the most part of the night, her eyes closed as they had danced. She could not recall a time where she had felt more exuberant.
"Can I see you again?" he asked when the orchestra had finished their final piece.
Serena looked up and saw those same intense eyes staring back at her.
Had he been looking at her the whole night? she wondered.
"You want to see me again?" she asked, surprise evident in her tone.
Darien gave a small nod. "Yes, desperately."
"But…But I can't," she finally uttered as she remembered who she was and how different their social standings were.
I can't let him know that I'm one of the most unpopular girls at school, she thought, pushing herself out of his strong arms.
"Huh? Why not?" he asked confused, feeling empty space where she had just been a second ago.
"I'm sorry, I just…can't," she answered in an almost inaudible voice, her eyes staring down at the floor.
"Can…Can you at least tell me your name then?" begged a frantic Darien, his eyes pleading at her once more.
She gave him a tiny smile. "Just remember me as Serenity, princess of the moon," she replied, giving him a kiss on the cheek.
With that, she turned around and raced towards the door, one of her white flowers falling out of her hair as she fled. He stood, dumbfounded, as he watched the girl of his dreams run out of the door and temporarily out of his life.
A man who had been observing the two the whole night smirked slyly to himself. He watched as Darien walked towards the fallen flower and picked it up, holding it dearly to his chest.
"Silly fool. That girl is mine and no one, not even you Darien Shields, is going to get in my way," the man said aloud, an evil glint in his darkening blue eyes.
Beryl snickered quietly to herself as she overheard this. Perhaps I have found myself an accomplice to assist me in executing my plan, she thought naughtily as she approached Alan.
Author's Note: Hey all! Thanks for everybody's reviews, I'm glad you are all enjoying the story so far :) Sorry it has taken me a while to update, hope you like this chapter as well!
To Ka0ri-chan: Yep, the dress Serena is wearing is that of Neo-Queen Serenity's :D