Right-o I think this is the most reviews I've ever gotten for a chapter. 26! Thanks guys! I'm sorry that this was late but I started school a couple days ago so I've been really busy. Umm it looks like I'll have to extend my update times probably to a week because of the heavy workload that my final year of high school has placed on me. Sorry guys.

Thanks to: chxpsticks, Goddess -Princess-Serenity, Gemingirldani, bunnybunny (yes there are more chapters and no Mina) twiggirl06 (I missed your reviews! Welcome back) Melina Kon (your name is almost like my real name!) Forever Tranquility (it was a guess. He put 2 & 2 together when Sere's mum told Dar, Sere was surfing and when he realized her glasses were fake.) tenshisailor,heaven-sent-angel1, Bradybunch4529, CharmedSerenity3 (she doesn't know he likes her), SulliMike23 (they will eventually), rockfreak2003, koldy, Sea girl, Moon-Daisuke, Lexi Wexi, silver-shadow-62, bubbles05, xfilesoc, Becx, Pamela, LoveRabby, Rockergirl1991, Xx0n1y 0n3xX and Kay

Title: Mystery Girl
Author: Crystal Saturn
Rated: PG 13
Chapter: 9- Complications Simplified

My mind was buzzing with so many questions that I just couldn't take it anymore. Straight after work, I dialled Andrew's number.

"Hello?"

"Hey Drew."

"Daz man, what's up?"

"Look I need to talk to you… I'll be over in a few ok?"

"Sure thing dude... uhh Ken and Greg are here too."

"Yeah that's cool. Laters man."

"You guys will not believe what I'm about to tell you."

"Well go on. You're killing me with the suspense." Ken passed Andrew and Darien cans of soda.

"Serena isn't actually a nerd, she doesn't need glasses and more importantly…" I opened my can of soda, "She is the beach girl."

"Heavens to Betsy!" Andrew dropped his unopened can of soda. Ken, Greg and I stopped and silently turned our heads to look at Andrew who had shyly picked his can up and was blushing. Greg cracked. He literally rolled off the chair laughing and we all added to the laughter.

"Dude! Heavens to Betsy? Man, my great grandma says that!" He clasped at his sides while laughing.

"Hey man, it's a habit ok? Ma got me into it. She says it all the time, ever since I was a little kid. And besides-"

-SPLOOSH… fizz… fizz.… fizz- Andrew defended himself while he opened his soda, forgetting that he had previously dropped it. Ken rolled around on the floor in laughter.

"Settle down ladies! Now listen… we're here to help out our pal, Daz here." Andrew looked up as he attempted to clean the soda from his shirt and change the subject.

"Right, so what's the problem? You like her right?" Greg sat up in his chair.

"Yeah, but you see, she's not talking to me." I sighed and looked defeated. What? There's nothing wrong with earning a little bit of sympathy every now and then. It's a good way to get help and support.

"Ahh yeah about that." Andrew chuckled nervously. "You see… err… Chad… well he had an encounter with Serena and well he…"

"What did he do?"

He better not have done anything stupid!

"Well it's not so much what he did…" Ken added.

He better not have said anything that would make me wanna-

"It was more of what he said."

Damn it! Confounded fool! Gaah! Now look what he's done! He's got me speaking like an old man.

"He just told Serena to stay away from you because he thought she was crampin' up your style." Andrew sighed as he realized he was never going to get the cola out of his shirt.

"Cramping? Cra- crampin' up my style? I'll give him something to cramp about…" I was fuming. Here I am, trying to get this girl to notice me and like me and this ignoramus comes along and tells her to go away! That's completely absurd! It's so absurd that it's totally preposterous! If you haven't noticed, I know it may seem strange, but when I get REALLY fired up I tend to use words that aren't very… 'cool' in the present era. It's not really my fault considering I studied the dictionary and thesaurus every day in grade 3 because my English teacher said I would be an illiterate derelict if I didn't improve my marks. And that goes back to me sounding like an old man. But Chad started it!

I was halfway out of the door when-

-WHAM!-

"Oh hey Daz-ma-man!" It was 'the Chad-meister'

-SMACK- I clipped him, square on the jaw, causing him to stumble back a few steps

"We are SO not on lucrative terms man!" And with that I stormed down the street.

So it was dusk and I was peeved. What better way to release some of that energy then shooting some hoops on my driveway. I was so worked up in my own mixed up mess of emotions and thoughts that I didn't even notice the small figure creep up beside me.

"Hi Darien." She looked at me cautiously.

"Hey…" My voice trailed away as I turned to look at her. She had her long golden hair up in her usual schoolgirl hairstyle but she wasn't wearing her glasses. Her hand reached up and removed them from the bridge of her nose just as I turned around. She was wearing a rather short skirt and a halter neck top. I could see the straps of her pink and brown bikini underneath. The same one she was wearing when she walked into my work that afternoon.

"You wanted to talk?" She stated simply and I bounced her the basketball. She took firm grip of it between her hands and began to bounce it up and down on the pavement before lowering it onto the ground and sitting on it. I sat down on the floor next to her, attempting to slowly catch my breath, beads of sweat clinging onto my body.

"Who are you?" I looked up at her. I know… strange question to ask, but wouldn't you want to know too? She looked at me strangely for a second.

"I should've known someone would find out sooner or later." She sighed and smiled. "Not even glasses, make up, clothes and colored contact lenses could fool you."

"But why? Why have a secret identity?" I proceeded to ask her simple questions about herself and she proceeded to answer them as best as she could. We sat there for a while and I listened to her reveal her motives, her stories, her secrets and her past. She didn't want to get too emotionally attached to anyone. It was as simple as that, but something was telling me it just wasn't right.

"You should just be yourself. You're not helping anyone by pretending to be someone you're not. Don't you just want to escape the bonds that keep you down? Don't you ever just want to be free of all these lies? Don't you ever just want to be yourself for a whole day? Not have to be afraid of getting caught or have your identity revealed?"

"Well… yes but-"

"Serena, you shouldn't have to hide who you really are from the world."

"I know but-"

"But what?"

"But I'm afraid." Awkward silence. Yeah, you know the ones. They happen just as someone has just made a revelation and the other person doesn't know what to say. You see, I can see her right now and I know that she's probably feeling bad about herself and that she probably thinks she's said too much already. But I'm a guy. I'm not equipped to handle these situations gracefully and I don't know what to say. So I just did what I thought may help. I reached for her hand and-

-SNAP!-She gasped and looked up at me in shock. I broke her glasses.

"From now on, Serena, you will no longer need to pretend to be someone you're not. I want you to be yourself all the time. Don't worry about what everybody thinks or what they say. You are beautiful both inside and out. So why not show it?"A small smile graced her lips and she slowly nodded.

"Promise me you won't hide who you truly are anymore." I watched as her smile faltered. "A promise is a promise." She looked into my eyes with her piercing blue ones and I couldn't help but feel weak. She held a sense of commandment over me.

"I promise." She whispered. "I have to go now. Thank you for listening to me Darien. Good night." She handed me the basketball and headed back over to her side of the fence.

Only time will tell if her word holds true.

Alright that's it for another chapter. I'd just like to say, don't forget your manners when you review. Like I've said before, I don't respond to demands, commands and threats, I just ignore them. But to anyone who wants me to update straight away after they review… please have some consideration. I do have a life and it takes time to come up with these stories. Thanks for reading my ramble guys. I'll be back in a week (hopefully sooner) with a new chapter

Crystal Saturn