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Title: Mystery Girl
Author: Crystal Saturn
Rated: PG 13
Chapter: 16- Darien's Misery

I walked along the secluded beach and watched as the waves kissed the sand, sighing contently. I only wish to be happy. I only wish to be in love. I slowly bent over and picked up a sea shell that had been washed to shore by the gentle waves. I held it in the palm of my hand. So beautiful… so fragile… I thought to myself. Yet the more I looked at it, the more it reminded me of Serena. I closed my eyes and clenched my hands into a fist, struggling to let go of her. In one swift movement, I released the shell with force into the whitewash and watched as the water swallowed it whole.

"Darien?" I closed my eyes once more, facing the ocean. I didn't want to see her. I couldn't face her. "Darien…" She placed her hand on my arm, activating my erector pili, resulting in the hairs on my arm to stand on end. Yes, I got goosebumps. Stop thinking dirty thoughts. "Darien, please talk to me."

"You told me not to." My tone was surprisingly cold.

"I know, and I'm sorry. I was just angry. I mean, you were beating up my boyfriend!"

"You didn't even give me a chance to explain." I clenched my fists until my knuckles were white.

"I know and I should've. But what was I supposed to do?" She had a point. It must've looked pretty bad from her point of view but he deserved every punch and so much more. I never knew I could hate someone so much. I truly hated him with a passion, and if Serena wasn't so blinded by her affection for him then maybe, she would see why I hated him so much. She may have thought it was love, but I knew it was merely a little high school crush. Sure, she adored him, but what she felt for him could in no way measure up to how I felt for her.

"You were supposed to give me a chance to explain."

"Well… ok. What happened?"

"Nothing… it doesn't matter now." I replied rather bitterly and began to walk away.

"Darien! Look I don't know what happened between you both but I don't want it coming between us." Us… peculiar word to use. It still made me stop dead in my tracks.

"You're my best friend, and he's my boyfriend. I don't want to be stuck in the middle of this. I care about you both very dearly. Please, Darien…" Serena pleaded. I could feel her eyes staring at my back, so I turned to face her. She slowly walked up to me, tears in her eyes, and I struggled to keep myself from touching her, caressing her, kissing her. My heart ached to see her so upset and when a single tear escaped from her eye, I couldn't help myself. I reached and gently brushed it away with my thumb. She sniffled and leaned in to seek comfort in my arms. Instinctively, I wrapped them around her small frame and held her close to me. I envied Lucas more than he could ever imagine. He had the one thing I could never live without. And she thought of me only as her best friend. Nothing more.

"Hey look I have to get going now." I unwillingly pulled away from Serena.

"Ok… can I call you tonight?" She looked deep into my eyes and I had to look away.

"I umm... I don't know... Sure, why not." I gave her a weak smile before turning away and slowly dragging my feet home.

A few months passed since that incident. Serena and I did rebuild our friendship, but it was so hard for me to love her from a distance, knowing she was someone else's girl. As the weeks flicked past, she talked about Lucas more often. She even called me on the phone just to cry every now and then because they had a minor argument, or he wasn't able to see her on a special occasion. I knew he was cheating on her, but I didn't have the heart to tell her. She really liked the guy and I didn't want to be the one to crush her heart… I didn't want her to feel the way I've felt these past few months. I simply wasn't man enough to see her cry, knowing it was partially my fault.

Ring ring!

"Hello?"

"Hey Sere."

"Darien! Hey! What's up?"

"Oh I was just calling to see if you wanted to go out on Saturday for lunch, ya know, since it'll be your birthday and all."

"Saturday… my birthday… oh I'd love to Darien, but Lucas already asked me to the movies and dinner. I'm sorry Daz."

"To the movies… on your birthday… ok, that's fine, maybe some other time then yeah?"

"Of course! Hey Darien I have to go now, dinner's ready."

"Ok, sure thing. Talk to you later."

"Good night!" Well… obviously she'd already have plans with Lucas to go out on her birthday. I'm such an ass. I must've sounded so lame. Well it looks like I'll be working on that day after all.

The next morning I woke up early. Another weekend, another shift, more money. I managed to convince myself I needed the money for college and for when I moved out and had my own family. I decided to make a mental note not to stay up too late at night thinking about Serena but I was way too drowsy to remember it.

I stumbled downstairs and picked up an apple from the fruit bowl, watching Serena mix a chocolatey treat and spoon it into little muffin trays through the kitchen window. I couldn't help but wonder which innocent member of the unsuspecting public she was going to unwillingly poison today.

Work was relatively slow, as it usually was. Most of the time I just sat on the stool, idly watching as couples, young and old, walked past the juice bar, holding hands, smiling, laughing and enjoying each other's company. I wondered if I would ever be truly happy. I wondered if I would ever find anyone to hold my hand, walk down the street with me and tell me to swat a spider on the wall. I wanted to wake up and have that special someone in my arms. I wanted to be able to be there for her whenever she needed me and I wanted to be able to hide in the shed from her every time she was mad. I wanted someone to love, and I wanted her to love me back. I wanted Serena.

At that very moment, a freak accident caught my eye. No, don't worry, no one ran an old lady down with a shopping trolley. The accident I was talking about, was Lucas. He strutted past a few steps away from the store and I watched intently as he placed an arm around the brunette's waist and not long after, on her behind.

Sleezeball.

I walked over to the phone, picked it up and began to dial Serena's number, but before I got to the last digit, I knew I couldn't tell her. I couldn't possibly bear to listen to her crying on the phone to me and I certainly couldn't stand to listen to the sound of her, heartbroken. No matter how much I hated Lucas and how much I knew Serena could do better, I just couldn't tell her, which I guess, made me worse than Lucas. It made me scum. I watched as he groped her and kissed her in public and I knew that Serena would find out sooner or later. I decided that it would be better if it came from me. It was time. No more pansy Darien, this was it. I picked up the telephone and dialled Serena's number.

Ring ring!

"Hi you've reached Serena's number, I can't answer the phone right now but if you-"

Damn it. There was nothing more I could do about this… it was in the hands of fate now.

Ok we're coming closer to the end now. I think we've got about 5 more chapters to go… maybe more, maybe less. Enjoy and please review!

Crystal Saturn