Disclamer: I am in no way responsible for the ownership of said Moon, or any of her friends. I am a starving college student, so even if you wanted to sue me, you wouldn't get jack!

Italics: Thoughts

Chapter 9: "Foresight Is So Often Blind"

When the emotions started to boil over in Serena, she couldn't control herself for one moment longer. She exploded all over the two young people with enough force to knock them over.

"WOW! You guys are SOOOOOOOO CUTE! I mean, he beat you, and he thanked you! How sweet! I hope that you two can be good friends. But really, what have you and Darien been doing for the past couple of days? I haven't seen so much as a few minutes of him in-between his work and your attention?" She suddenly turned the conversation to more serious matters and shook an accusing finger at him to emphasize.

Jonathan blushed, both at the scolding he was receiving from the little fireball, and also from the position he and Mina ended up in. They landed on the floor tangled with their hands together and her body lying across his own. When they finally managed to untangle themselves, Jonathan returned Serena's question.

"We are having a long, ongoing discussion about very important things, stuff that you wouldn't be interested in."

Serena just looked at him as to say, 'Not another one', and she just said, "Well, as long as you don't hurt him, I guess that… well, not that I think that you would do that, but…"

Jonathan laughed and said, "Sere, don't worry too much. He could wipe the floor with me if he wanted to. Besides, I value both his and all of his friend's friendship." He gave her a wink to ease the tension she created.

Then she smelled the cocoa.

"OOOH! Hot chocolate! Mina, I am going to get one. Why don't you guys come and share one?" she said with an impish grin tugging at the corners of her mouth.

Jonathan was very tempted, but he said, "Hold on, I want to ask Mina something. We will be right there." Serena bounded off to indulge in liquid chocolate, and Mina finally looked up at Jonathan, the blush covering her face finally returned to a somewhat normal color.

"Yes?" she said.

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings today." He almost pleaded with her eyes for a positive response.

"WHAT? That old thing?" she gestured to the 'Sailor V' game.

"Yeah. I actually think that it's pretty cool that you play, and that you are really, really good too." Mina blushed. (AN: Boy, there is a lot of blushing going on!)

"You don't have to apologize for anything. I wouldn't be beat by anybody else, well, except for Amara. But you are special." That slipped out before she could reel it back in her mouth. She hoped that he wouldn't think she was just a stupid teenager.

Jonathan caught the phrase, but he chose to not react to it. Yet. Instead, he moved to his next agenda.

"Well, that's good. Listen, are you going to come to the Christmas party at Darien's on Friday?"

She nodded and he continued, "Good. I have something in mind that I thought would be fun. You can play the guitar, right?"

"Well, I can, but not very well," Jonathan cut her off before she could finish, "That's good. It doesn't matter if you are Joe Satriani or not, just as long as you can play chords."

She responded with, "Joe who?"

Jonathan just shook his head and said, "Oh, a famous guitar player from where I come from. But that's not important. I was thinking about letting all of you guys, Serena, Ami, Rei, Lita, each perform maybe a song or two. You can play and sing right?"

She looked at him like a cow looks at an oncoming train.

"Aw, it's not that bad. We are all your friends, and besides, you will like showing off in front of them. I know you would like it." He finished his speech with a peck on the cheek, which sent jolts of electricity through both of them.

"Wow, ok!" was Mina's response. She could hardly contain her excitement. Jonathan addressed her again, "I want all of you guys to try out some stuff from my home. There is one song in particular that I think would fit for all of us. Like an ensemble, or something." Both Mina and Jonathan were growing more and more excited with each passing second. They started to spring ideas back and forth when they both reached an epiphany at the same time. They stopped gesturing, turned toward each other, smiled evilly, and sang in unison, "Oh, Serena!"

Across the arcade, Serena and Andrew were discussing the new arrival in their lives.

"He is really hitting it off with Mina," Andrew said. Serena thought about it for a moment before continuing. It is really nice that someone has finally come along for her. I know that she and I are like sisters, and that every time she tries to find someone, it never works out. I hate it when that happens. I hate to see any of my friends sad. Well, this time, I have a feeling that everything will turn out fine. Her internal monologue was interrupted by two voices in almost perfect harmony singing out her name.

"Oh, Serena!"

She jumped out of her thoughts and looked back to where the two people in question were. She almost fell off the stool she was perched on. Mina and Jonathan were looking at her with a strange glint in their eyes as if she was a wounded animal and they were two hungry predators. There was something about them that just didn't sit well with Serena's mind. One, they looked, well… they looked like they were up to something. She didn't always agree with Mina on things, and she had that look. Two, they both had the look. That meant double trouble. She tried to put on her best, "I know you're up to something" face. They just kept coming.

Mina thought about what they could do to scare her before telling her their little secret. Nah, just let her fall over from shock.

They both stopped and hovered around her stool so they created a trap between them and the counter. Andrew just kept wiping at that invisible spot, keeping his ears tuned into the conversation.

Jonathan decided to start. The first sounds that came out of his mouth made Serena jump and she almost fell off the stool again. After she calmed down, Jonathan finished.

"We have an idea about Friday that you might be interested in." He smiled and gestured to Mina. She picked up immediately and continued.

"Jonathan discovered a song in my apartment that fits you. We all are going to sing songs and stuff like that."

Serena didn't like where this was going, and she made no effort to hide that fact on her face. Jonathan saw it, and decided it was time to pull out the heavy guns.

He leaned down so he was almost an inch from her ear, and said "Darien would absolutely love to hear you sing for him. When ever he is home, you are the only thing he talks about you know. This would just give him more ammunition to use." He winked at her and reeled back in his charm. She seemed to take the bait. Her face turned all dreamy eyed and dazed.

She snapped out of her day dream, jumped up and said "I'm In!"

One down, Mina and Jonathan thought, And three to go.

The three of them discussed the issues of planning such a large concert. They went so far as to suggest posting flyers on and around Darien's apartment to draw in some audience participation. Jonathan was just swimming in happiness. He couldn't believe that his dreams were coming true, and they brought with them a feeling of accomplishment and joy that he only felt once before in his entire life.

Jonathan finally went back to Darien's around 5 in the afternoon. It was starting to get dark, and the girls had finals on Friday. He said that they should go home and study, so that they could practice and have fun that night. For the first time in what seemed like an eternity, Serena and Mina both went straight home and studied! They both decided that the atmosphere at the party could always use some lifting, and the shock of a good grade form both of them would certainly be worth the time spent.

Jonathan walked into the spacious two-bedroom apartment, and greeted his temporary roommate.

"What are you doing home so early?" Jonathan asked. The shock of seeing his friend home before sun-down clearly evident on his face.

"I was about to ask you what you are doing home so late? You go and explore the town?" he was clearly hiding a meaning behind his small talk. Jonathan didn't fall for it.

"I actually went to the arcade and made a new high score! Mina was pissed."

They both laughed at that, and Jonathan decided it was time to let him in on the other news.

"The girls are all going to sing and perform some songs on Friday, if that is ok with you, of course." He really didn't expect any trouble, but he always thought that it was easier to ask forgiveness than permission. Well, in some cases. This was one of them.

"They WHAT? I don't know if that is such a good idea. I mean, I have neighbors, and they might not take too kindly to that kind of noise." He made a show of scrunching his face to show discomfort.

"Take it easy. They are going to invite people to come and see. We were all thinking about the lobby of the building." he raised his hand to stall the coming assault. "Serena and Mina said that they would take care of flyers and everything, so all we have to do, is prepare our little surprise."

When Jonathan mentioned the 'surprise', Darien folded even farther into the green couch. He never did like a lot of attention. This new friend was starting to sound very optimistic and happy, just like two very close friends. I don't need any more excitement in my life. Wait, I could really use this to get on Serena's good side, and stay there for a long time. Aw, why the heck not.

"Ok, Jonathan. But this better be worth it. I don't know how to play an instrument."

Jonathan looked at him funny for a second before continuing. "You sing, no?"

"Well, yeah, but I don't…"

"Then you have the greatest instrument that was ever created. The voice is the blueprint for all of the instruments that the human race has ever come up with. So, you can play an instrument. All of them in fact." He finished matter-of-factly. The confidence filtered into Darien as he thought about that statement.

"Ok." he said finally. "I think that this will be, fun."

Jonathan brightened and said, "That's the spirit! Now, do you remember what you and I practiced?" he asked as he picked up the acoustic guitar that Serena bought for him on Christmas. He never had time to learn to play it. Darien was glad that it was finally seeing some use. They practiced on into the night, until around midnight, when the song sounded fit to be played for kings.

"That was so much fun. I think that you have the makings of a great teacher." Darien said.

"You are very gifted in the musical arts, my friend." Jonathan was quick to answer.

"You said that all of the girls are going to do a number." Jonathan nodded. "Well, they don't know that I'm going to sing, which is ok, but what are they going to perform?"

Jonathan went over the events of the afternoon, and said, "Well, there is a special number Serena is doing, and I can't tell you what it is yet," he paused to take a breath. "Lita has a really powerful voice, so I suggested a Maria Carey song called 'Someday'. It is a fast, verbal scolding of a lover who left a good thing for a lesser one. I think that she can pull it off nicely." He got up and put the guitar back in it's stand. "Rei has a special request from me that will take some doing, but I know that a few hours at the temple with her keyboard will fix that. It's called 'Every Moment'. These songs are all in English, but the meaning comes across in every song. Ami will be doing a slow rock song called 'As I Lay Me Down'. I'm sure that you've heard it."

Darien sat on the couch, listening intently. He thought about where this guy was from. How could someone from another dimension possess such a knowledge about his culture. He decided to ask him tomorrow. Hey, that gives me an idea! Jonathan was pacing in front of Darien's entertainment center, and he was running through the list when he suddenly stopped.

"What is it?" Darien asked.

"I just thought about it. I don't have a song for Mina." he hit himself on the back of the head. "How could I have forgotten her! Well, I didn't but I didn't want to give it to her. I don't know what she might think."

Darien saw the look on his friend's face and recognized it instantly. They way that his facial muscles tightened, brows furrowed, his eyes staring intently on an invisible stain on the carpet. Yup, he had it. He had it bad. Darien knew because he still had it. He stood up and walked over to where his friend was lost in thought. He put a hand on his shoulder and said, "You need to do, what you need to do. And in your own time. Don't worry so much about whether or not she will like it, or accept it for that matter. You just need to go for it." Wow, I really am turning into Andrew.

"By the way, why don't you join me for a jog in the morning. We can discuss the songs some more, and I have a feeling that we'll run into two very special people!"

Darien grinned when he saw the look of joy start to blossom on Jonathan's face.

"You're on!"