Lessons In Life
Chapter Four- First Date
19 pages
Dedicated to eightofswords! Fais-chan, your heart and tolerance is almost as big as your love of anime and Daniel Radcliffe! Almost! Anyway, thanks so much Fais and Nan, for your support, and putting up with me being so slow to update! You guys rock! And, not to be forgotten, thanks all my great reviewers! Replies at the bottom! Please read, review, and rave to all your friends!
Just recently, I'd realize how negative I'd been in my authors notes, my writing, and, well everything else. I apologize for that! I'm really very thankful for all of my reviewers, all of my friends, and the awesome-ness of fanfiction! Okies, onto the story!
Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon, but if I did, I'd have the Scouts eliminate child torture, aka, Physics during the summer.
Serena scowled and set her bag on her desk, kicking off her shoes so hard that they banged against the wall, leaving a black streak as they did so. She set her backpack on her desk, suddenly feeling lighter at the removal of such weight. Grudgingly, Serena pulled her geometry book from the bag and opened up to the page that she was supposed to work on. As she stared at the problems, Serena felt her stomach sink- there was no way she could get all those symbols and numbers and theories and questions right, let alone understand them. Maybe it was just like Rei said- her brain was made of meatball mush.
-Great- she thought despairingly,- First the tutoring, then the biology, and now this. I don't think this day could get any worse.-
And, like a dark curse, a prim voice rose up from the opposite side of Serena's room.
"Well now you've done it. You've really gotten yourself into a hole Serena, good going."
Serena slid down to the ground, coming face to face with the little black cat that was staring so viciously at her – and it certainly wasn't because Serena had forgotten to feed her.
-Thought too soon…-
"I know Luna, I know…" Serena said a slight strain in her voice. The last thing she needed was to get patronized by a cat. Luna- the magical talking cat who was Serena's discoverer, proctor, advisor, and all around pain in the tail – no pun intended.
Luna hissed under her breath, and then began the process of reprimanding the lackadaisical teen," This is all your fault, you realize! Serena, you should have kept up on your studies, so that you wouldn't have to spend valuable time that could be used for tracking down the Dark Kingdom being tutored by some boy that you've never been able to get along with!"
Luna stalked up to the blonde and made a swipe at her face. Serena evaded the paw of pain the first time around, but wasn't so lucky the second. She cried out as she felt her face – no blood this time.
"I'm sorry Luna, I just can't handle everything! There's too much to do!"
The cat scowled," The other girls do it – why can't you?"
"Come on Luna, you know that's not fair!" she wailed, her eyes starting to glaze as she sunk into typical baby mode," Rei's a psychic, Lita's a kendo master and lives on her own, and Ami's a friggin' super genius! Of course they can handle it! I can't. Me, I'm-"
"You're a lazy, boy obsessed, crybaby!" Luna retorted," You need to focus and work harder – remember our goal!"
"I know, you don't have to tell me- to find the Moon Princess and save the world and blah, blah blah…"
"You need to be more serious Serena!" Luna growled, the hair on her tail bristling up and making it look like an oversized pipe cleaner," Now, because you're grounded, you're going to have to sneak out of the house!"
"I thought you didn't condone that kind of behavior Luna," Serena said, smirking a little.
"I DON'T!" she yowled," But this is different! You-"
Serena felt her temper rising above the normal tear jerk reactions.
"Luna, you know what, I've heard enough of you ragging on me and making me feel useless. Now, I've got some geometry to work on – go bother the others. They're obviously much more important than I'll ever be."
She opened the door and shooed the enraged feline out before Luna could protest.
Luna stalked out of the room and down the stairs, a little surprised. This was the first time Luna had ever been kicked out of the room before, and she wasn't sure how to react. That must have taken a lot of nerve, for Serena to force her out.
"Maybe I was too hard on her," she mewed quietly to herself. She had been rather harsh, and Serena did seem pretty upset. Luna shook it off. Serena would be fine, and besides, she needed to toughen up some.
Half way done with guessing her way through that night's geometry assignment, Serena's communicator started to buzz. With a groan, she dug the small piece of technology out of her back pack. Just what she needed, a youma attack to add onto everything else she had to deal with. The pink object flashed blue lights and vibrated wildly in her palm – Serena wished that, when Ami had been doing modifications, she had included a silent mode. She pushed a miniscule button at the top of the communicator, and the circular video screen at the top right corner lit up, revealing her bluenette friend Ami. From the look on her face, Serena could tell that whatever Ami was going to say, it would be no good- her pinched pale lips and furrowed brow spelled only trouble.
"Hey Ami," Serena said, trying hard to put on a cheerful face. Whatever was bothering Ami would come out in time, she had no doubt of that," Sorry about before. I'm just in a little bit of trouble."
"I hate him."
-Well,- Serena thought, shocked but somewhat relieved that Ami hadn't said anything about her being in trouble-That didn't take any time at all.- But who was he?
"Ok…" Serena started, having no idea what – or more accurately, who – her friend was referring to.
"I can't believe I let myself sink down! I bet he was just waiting until I was off guard, and then he struck! With the battle and everything I didn't-"
"Whoa, Ami, what are you talking about?" the girl looked like she was about to explode, and the prospect of Ami brains all over the communicator really didn't suit Serena," Calm down and start from the beginning- Who is he?"
Ami took a deep breath and closed her eyes, looking as if she was trying to push out the rage that had erupted in her. Her mouth remained tight, but as she spoke her voice went back to normal Ami tones.
"Darien. Darien Shields."
Serena smiled triumphantly," See! Didn't I tell you he was a jerk! You should have believed me!"
"I know Serena, I know. I just couldn't see it before. I was blinded by his charm and looks and brains, and my feelings for him, but now I know the truth." She opened her eyes, which held a burning rage Serena had only ever seen when Rei got mad at her for being late.
"You like Darien?" Serena asked hesitantly.
"I used to, but now…"
Serena was speechless- her friend? Smart, sensible Ami, liking that jerkwad Darien? What had this world come to?
"But now I hate him. He-he- he ranked the highest on the trigonometry exam. I ranked second. He beat me! HE BEAT ME!" Ami's contained rage bubbled out again, until her voice was hysterical," If only I had had more time to study, but that night we had that huge battle and I didn't get home until late and I only got to study for three hours but then I crashed and – and now! No college will ever want me! I'll never be a doctor and it's ALL HIS FAULT!"
The girl stopped her rant and starting breathing heavily. Serena was floored.
"I can't believe you used to like him!" she yelled, her voice too getting hysterical.
"That's not the point Serena! He outranked me! In MATH! It would have been fine in any other subject, but in MATH? I was at the head of the class but now – now… colleges will never want a failure like me…"
"Ami, do you have moon rocks lodged in your brain or something that's gone you to go temporarily insane?" Serena screamed," Of course colleges are going to accept you! You're a freshman taking 11th grade courses! They're going to be impressed whether you got first or second or fourteenth in the class! You're a friggin' super genius! Me, me I can't even pass geometry! I have to get a tutor just so I don't fail this year! And – and to make it worse, I'm grounded and Luna hates me and-"
"Serena, please, calm down."
Serena stopped immediately. Ami had changed back to her normal self in almost the blink of an eye, calm, collected, and concerned.
"I'm sorry for complaining, it's just that, well, you know." Ami blushed shamefacedly," I got too worked up over it. Now, what did you say about tutoring?"
The blonde groaned and pulled nervously at one of her drooping pigtails before launching into the complicated story. Ami nodded and listened patiently, only snorting when Darien's name was mentioned. Serena finished off with her unfortunate grounding and the fight with Luna.
"How are we going to be able to find the Moon Princess if you're grounded?" Ami asked, although not accusingly as Luna had.
"I dunno Ami," Serena sighed," I suppose I'll just have to sneak out. That'll be fun. I just don't see how I can get out without Mom knowing- she has this crazy third eye thing going on which keeps me from doing almost anything without her knowing."
"Except for being a Sailor Scout. I'm sure we'll be able to manage," Ami continued, her tone revealing that she might have an idea," For the meantime, I want to know why The Principal choose Darien to be your tutor- I'm perfectly capable!"
This reminded Serena of what she had wanted to ask Ami" He said that you were starting up cram school again, and that you wouldn't have time. Why didn't you tell me about this Ami?"
Ami frowned, not out of anger, but out of confusion," I didn't tell you because I'm not. Between school and Scouting, there's no time for cram school. I have no idea where He got that idea from." She bit the nail of her index finger, and stared away from the screen of the communicator, looking perplexed," I just don't understand. And besides, haven't your geometry grades been getting better?"
"That's what I thought too, but now… I just don't know."
Serena heard a voice that didn't belong to Ami come from the communicator. It was muffled, and at the sound of it, Ami turned away again. Serena couldn't make out any words, but Ami nodded and yelled something back. She then turned to the communicator again.
"Serena, I'm sorry," she whispered," Mom's home and I've got to fix some dinner before she gets called back to the hospital again. Thanks for listening and calming me down, and don't worry about sneaking out- I've got an idea I'll tell you about tomorrow. I'll come by tomorrow so we can walk to school. Bye!"
Before Serena could say anything, the screen went blank, leaving Serena alone in her now silent room. Talking to Ami left her feeling somewhat better, even though her friend's temper tantrum had taken her by surprise. Serena set down her pink communicator/ torture device and looked forlornly at her geometry homework, which was only half finished. The girl sighed and picked up her pencil, thankful for friends like Ami and cursing her luck in general.
"Hey Serena, why the long face?"
Serena looked up from her half eaten pudding cup, and met warm brown eyes.
"Hey Motoki, it's nothing."
The blonde boy frowned, and sat down next to her. Motoki ran the café at the arcade Serena and the gang frequented, and was a junior at Crossroads High. And, in Serena's opinion, he was the second hottest guy in the world. Tuxedo Mask being the first, of course. However, that wasn't really on Serena's mind at the moment.
"It doesn't look like nothing," Motoki replied," You look sadder than a milkshake that's been abandoned for a power smoothie – and let me tell you, that's pretty sad."
Serena smiled at Motoki's attempt to cheer her up, but the smile was short lived. "It really isn't important Motoki, I swear, it's nothing. I'm fine!"
She tried to laugh but failed miserably. With a sigh, she chucked her unfinished pudding into the nearby trashcan and wrapped up the rest of her untouched lunch, her appetite escaping her at the moment.
"You know Serena," he said, a touch of worry in his voice," If you're trying to convince me that you're happy, your acting skills really suck. Now tell me, what's wrong."
"Sorry 'Toki," she mumbled," It's just that, well…"
"It's Darien, isn't it?" he asked."
Serena blinked at stared at him," How did you know?"
Motoki smiled," Call it counter boy instinct. Now, what did he do to you? Do you want me to beat him up for you? He may be my friend, but if he broke your heart, I'll hurt him."
"Wha?" Serena's heart almost stopped," Break my heart? Motoki! I totally do not like Darien! You don't think I do, do you?"
He held up his hands in defense," Jeez, I thought you did, but now, I guess not. Sorry Serena, it's just that, well, sometimes when you guys argue-"
"Don't start! I don't need you thinking I like him too! Anyway, no, Darien didn't break my heart, it's just that he ruined my life! That rotten, horrible, jerk that calls himself a human completely ruined my life!"
"Now, now Odango, I would say that's a little harsh."
Serena blanched and turned pale as Darien set down his lunch tray and sat right in between her and Motoki. –Speak of the devil, and the devil will come…just what I need-
"I didn't ruin your life – if anything, you ruined your own life by not working hard enough in math." Darien stared her down; challenging her to contradict the statement that they all knew was true.
"See Motoki?" Serena whined, leaning forward so she could see him," He's always so mean to me! I wish he'd just die or something! Jerk."
Darien raised a single eyebrow," You do realize I'm sitting right here, Odango?"
"Of course I do," she snapped," Just leave me alone!"
"Well, that's going to be kind of hard, seeing as I'm your teacher until you start caring enough about your grades to pull them up."
Darien was in her face now, his dark eyes burning brightly into hers, a smug grin streaking across his face. Serena glared back then screwed up her face and stuck her tongue out.
"Meatball head."
"Jerk"
"Spacey"
"Loser"
"Whining little rabbit."
"Out of style grandpa!"
"Um…excuse me for interrupting this little love spat, but I'm going to go ahead and go…" Motoki said, slowly edging up from his chair.
"NO!"
Two sets of furious eyes startled Motoki back down into his seat. Darien smiled coolly, and ran a hand through his black hair," Anyway Odango, I came over to tell-"
"Yea, yea, I remember. We're meeting at the public library right after school."
Motoki's eyes widened," For-for a date? But, Serena you-"
"IT'S NOT A DATE!" they both yelled. An unsettling silence fell over the entire cafeteria as the students all turned to stare at the two.
"Let me finish!" Darien hissed, lowering his head some," I was going to say that I just found out that I have an important Kendo meeting to go to after school. I have to be there, so I was wondering if you would meet me at the café, and then we could go to the library from there. I'm sure you don't have any later plans."
"And if I do?"
"Well then, you'll have to cancel them, huh?"
Serena clenched her fists and slowly went through the breathing exercises Lita had taught her. This really wasn't what she needed today- to have to deal with Darien at school, and then again after school. –I suppose it's not that bad- she tried to reason with herself – My life's already a living Hell, why not turn up the heat some?- But still, to have to reason with such an arrogant, ignorant, mean, pancake faced, out of style, loser like Darien for more than was really needed just wasn't good. Serena could already feel the detrimental affects that being with him would have on her health.
"I guess so," she muttered through clenched teeth.
Darien laughed mockingly, and Serena scowled.
"Well then, I guess I'll see you this afternoon. Remember-"
"At the arcade, I know, I know!"
Without another word to her, Darien stood up and faced Motoki," Later Motoki. I've got to go help out in the Chem. labs at lunch today. See you 6th period."
Motoki nodded and turned to watch as Darien walked away. He then turned back to Serena, who was silently fuming. Ok, well, maybe not so silently.
"He's so infuriating! What a jerk, I mean, come on! Ugh! I just don't see how I'm going to be able deal with that loser after school! He'll probably only insult me anyway!"
Motoki put a hand on her shoulder and patter her head in a brotherly manner," Calm down Serena. Don't be so hard on Darien; he really is a nice guy."
Serena snorted and flipped a pigtail behind her shoulder in annoyance," Yea, about as nice as a pack of hungry woodchucks attacking a poor defenseless stick!"
"Actually Serena, woodchucks don't chuck wood!"
Serena jumped at the cheery voice from behind her. She turned to see Ami, who was smiling brightly and holding her bagged lunch. Standing besides her was Lita, who had decided that she'd had enough rest and relaxation. Serena put her hand to her chest and took deep, dramatic breaths.
"Jeez! Why is everyone trying to scare me today?" she whined," Whaddya want to do Ami, give me a heart attack?"
"Aw, poor baby," Lita cooed before sitting in the seat that Darien had previously occupied, the one in between Serena and Motoki. Ami came and sat down on Serena's other side and pulled out a tuna and spinach sandwich. Serena wrinkled her nose at the overly healthy piece of food, but knew how uptight Ami was about her brain-power meals. Much to Serena's surprise, instead of pulling out a book, Ami started up her tiny Sailor Mercury Super Computer, and began to type rapidly. Serena turned to Lita to talk, but she was already deep in conversation with Motoki, her no so secret crush. Motoki didn't seem to mind. With a sigh, she turned back to the blunette.
"So Ami…whatcha working on?"
Ami glanced up at her, and then dropped her eyes back to the computer screen. Serena winced inwardly, knowing how much Ami hated to be interrupted during her work. However, Ami soon replied with a secretive smile.
"Something that should make your problems a little easier," she whispered," you know, with the whole 'being grounded' thing."
"You mean you're hacking into the school's computer system and changing my grades?" Serena whispered back hopefully. Just then, Motoki and Lita turned to them. Ami only had time to send the blonde an "of course not" look, before launching into advice about a trigonometry problem Motoki was having trouble with. Serena sighed inwardly. -I didn't think so- She thought. Certainly, she was interested in seeing what Ami had concocted for her, but just changing grades would be so much easier. She didn't know – Ami had this kind of honor system that she followed when it came to school that completely confused Serena.
Serena sat there at the lunch table as the world moved around her – talking, laughing, kissing, knowing, and moving so fast that she couldn't keep up. She sat there dejected, and, as the pangs of hunger eased in, wishing that she hadn't thrown out her pudding cup.
"What do you mean you're at the arcade?" Serena's mother screamed, causing the blonde to move the phone away from her ear and wince," You know you're grounded, but yet you defied my orders and then call to tell me about it? With that attitude of yours, you'd better not show up on the doorstep of my house ever again! Why-"
"Mama, let me explain!" Serena begged, clutching tighter to the phone with both hands," Darien… no Mom, my TUTOR… yes, him… well, anyway, Darien told me that he had some really important kendo meeting to go to right after school… yes Mama, he just found out about it, and he wanted me to wait here at the arcade so that we could meet up and then go to the library from there… to work, what else?... MOM! I just wanted to call and tell you that I'd be home a little later than usual… I didn't want you to worry or anything… alright Mom, I won't…yes Ma'am… ok, I love you too. Bye."
With a huge sigh, Serena pressed the "Off" button of the café phone and placed it back in its base. She turned to Motoki, who had been watching her anxiously from the counter. She slunk back to her usual bar stool.
"Thanks for letting me use the phone 'Toki," she said.
"No prob. So what did she say?"
"Well, first she was angry, but when I told her why I was here, she was a little better. However, I'm completely forbidden from playing any games, which is fine, because she revoked my allowance anyway and I'm completely broke."
Motoki nodded and smiled sympathetically," Oh… well, she didn't say anything about eating at the café, did she?"
Serena shook her head," No, but like I said, I don't have any money." She looked down at her stomach, and blushed as it gurgled loudly. Motoki just waved his hands in the air, and smiled like a magician about to pull a rabbit out of a hat. In one deft movement, he reached under the counter and pulled out a dessert glass, which was filled artfully with a sweet, chocolaty concoction that Serena had never seen before.
"What is it?" she said, admiring the whip cream top and chocolate sprinkles. Motoki grinned proudly.
"I call it the Strawberry Chocolate Swirl Shake, and I made it just for you. I was wondering if you'd be the first one to try it, seeing as it was inspired by you. And, it's free of charge!"
Serena's eyes lit up, as she took the spoon Motoki handed her and dove into the milkshake. She sighed with pleasure. –This has gotta be Heaven!- Motoki laughed," I'm going to guess that's a sign of approval!"
Serena nodded, and took another bite, savoring the flavor. –If this is Heaven, Motoki is definitely an Angel!- She finished it in no time flat.
"It's absolutely wonderful 'Toki!" she exclaimed as she swallowed the last bite,"Thanks!"
"I'm glad you liked it. You seemed like you needed a pick-me-up this afternoon," a concerned face set in," Are you sure everything's alright? There's nothing else wrong? I mean, besides your Darien troubles."
Serena smiled, hoping that it didn't look as forced as it felt," Yep, everything's fine."
"Positive?"
"Absolutely!" -Not-
Motoki laughed," Alright, I just wanted to make sure. Hey, I hope you don't mind, but I've got to go through a quick inventory in back. If anyone comes in, just yell for me, ok?"
"'Kay!"
He turned and went back into the supply room. As soon as the door swung shut, his smile vanished. Serena had improved her mood drastically from earlier that day, but he still wasn't convinced…
Serena sighed and sunk down in her chair as soon as the door Motoki had just entered swung shut. She felt bad about lying to Motoki, but honestly, what could she say? There was no way she could just tell him "Of course I'm not fine. Besides Darien being the most infuriating human being on Earth, I've been grounded by mother because my grades have gone down, which really causes a problem to my already dwindling social life. And, oh yea, I'm secretly the superhero Sailor Moon, which means now I have to sneak out of the house to save the world and find some Princess that I've never met and battle some ancient evil that I've never hear of until now. Oh, and did I mention the fact that my cat can talk, and now hates me because I'm so incompetent?"
-No, I can't tell him that. So I just have to pretend like my life isn't in shambles. Joy.-
Serena laid her head on the counter and looked out the glass doors of the arcade. It mad started raining while she and Motoki had been talking, and it didn't seem like it would let up anytime soon. The arcade was completely devoid of life besides her, something that almost never happened. Serena guessed that she probably wasn't the only one who had gotten grounded from going to the arcade. She looked at the clock. 5:30. The second hand lurched forward at a painfully slow rate.
Darien had told her that he expected the meeting to only last an hour. If that was the case, he would have left the school around 5. It only took about 10 minutes to get from the High School to the Arcade. He should have left half an hour ago.
The clock read 6:15. Serena sat there at the counter, watching Motoki try and fix one of the blenders that had mysteriously stopped, well, blending. There had been no sign of Darien. She looked out to the streets, where the water from the ongoing rain was rushing into the storm drains. The rain came down in large drops, which occasionally splattered a passing car or the one or two walkers trying to stay dry under flimsy umbrellas. Other than that, it was absent of life.
The crackling sound of fried electronic equipment followed by a stream of curses roused Serena from her street ponderings. Smoke poured up from behind the counter, and Motoki rushed to the fire extinguisher. He pulled the safety latch and let loose a spray of foam onto the burning blender. He quelled the flames while Serena looked on, dumbfounded. With a final blast, he put the fire out, then turned to Serena with a sheepish smile.
"Uh, oops. I guess I shouldn't have messed with that."
Serena laughed halfheartedly," I guess not."
Motoki set down the fire extinguisher and, with impressive skill, jumped over the counter and landed on the stool next to Serena.
"Talk to me. There's something wrong, and it's no use trying to hide it."
Serena looked at the boy with wide, innocent looking eyes," Huh? I don't know what you're talking about Motoki."
"I think you do Serena. Look, whether you're going to tell me about it or not, just listen to what I say. Whatever happens, use your best judgment. Don't let him push you around – you should be the one in control."
"Motoki, what are you-"
"Listen to me! Love can be hard sometimes, but we all have to go through it. Don't let it bring you down though, you should be happy. If it's someone that's making you sad, he's not worth it."
"Toki I-"
"Not yet. Serena, I think of you like a sister, and let me tell you, if he ever tries anything inappropriate, you just tell me, and I'll talk to him. Everything should be done on your terms."
"That's not-"
"Now, these are older brothers Rules of Dating:" Motoki stuck up his index finger.
"One, neck down is of limits, with the exception of hands, otherwise I'll beat your date up. Two, the only kiss on the first few dates should be the good night kiss, and it should never be more than a few seconds long. Three, go to the movies with a group of friends, and don't you dare sit in back. Remember, Big Brother Toki will be watching. Four, never let him take you for sushi before you go ride roller coasters. I did that once and well… anyway! Five, never shove your tongue, i-
"Motoki, didn't need to hear that!" Serena yelled, covering her ears with her hands," I'm not having problems in love. In fact, I'm perfectly fine! See!" She smiled unconvincingly, her eyes going squinty and her cheeks turning red," There's nothing wrong with me!"
"I wouldn't say that Odango. Your face looks pretty messed up to me."
At 6:21 p.m., the glass doors slid closed behind Darien Shields.
Serena shot up from her seat, fists clenched, eyes on fire.
"You. Jerk." she started, her voice emotionless. She saw a hint of indecision in his eyes, and she knew that both Motoki and Darien knew what was about to come next. She took a deep breath.
"I'VE BEEN WAITING HERE SINCE FOUR P.M. FOR YOU TO SHOW UP! I LOST VALUABLE SLEEPING TIME JUST BECAUSE YOU DECIDED TO PUSH BACK THE TIME WE WERE SUPPOSED TO MEET! THEN-" she took another breath, for drama's sake," AND THEN, WHEN YOU FINALLY SHOW UP, TWO AND A HALF HOURS LATER, THE ONLY THING YOU CAN DO IS INSULT MY FACE!"
Darien blinked, and then retorted," My God Serena, you do realize that there is a fine for disturbing the peace by breaking the decibel level, right?" He looked around," And you know, most public places don't allow hyenas."
Motoki grabbed Serena and held her back by the arms while she desperately tried to lunge at Darien. He glared at his dark haired friend as the girl struggled.
"Don't make me kick you out Dare'" he said, threateningly. Darien sighed, and ran a hand through his hair," Sorry Motoki."
"Don't apologize to me, it should be to her."
Darien stared at his friend as if Motoki had suddenly sprouted a second mouth, then shook his head.
"At least explain to me why you were late," Serena mumbled, not wanting Motoki to threaten to throw her out of the arcade too.
Darien ran his hand through his hair again, a classic sign of agitation," Well, I got out of the meeting at five and started this way-"
"It doesn't take and hour to get here!" Serena exclaimed. Motoki tightened his grip on her arms as Darien glared daggers.
"Let me at least get started Odango," he said, clenching his teeth," Like I said, I was on my way, on the motorcycle, when I had to stop. There was an accident, which stopped all the cars. I was stuck in traffic forever. Then it started raining. I tried to get here as fast as I could, I was even thinking about ditching the bike, but I couldn't. It was at a standstill for over an hour," he sighed, and then did the most unbelievable thing," I'm sorry Serena. For being late."
Serena blinked, and nodded, confused. Motoki slowly let go of the girl, for she'd stopped struggling. She looked at Darien. He was drenched. His uniform hung from him with the weight of the water, and parts of his hair was plastered to his face, while other parts stuck up from him running his hand through it. He was breathing heavily, and had been when he had come in. Serena almost didn't hear Motoki's question because she was so busy observing the wet teen.
"Do you know what caused the accident?"
Darien sighed, and this time just pulled at his hair. He suddenly looked years older.
"A youma."
Both Serena and Motoki gasped, and stared at Darien.
"A youma had attacked the driver of a school bus and started to drain him of his energy. The bus, which had been moving, crashed. Fortunately, the Sailor Scouts and Tuxedo Mask showed up and stopped the youma before it killed that poor guy. And, doubly fortunate, no one else was injured, not even the children. However…"
"However?"
"The Scouts weren't able to finish off the youma, just chase it away. Sailor Jupiter showed up first, followed by Mercury and Mars, then Tuxedo Mask. They all fought really hard, but-"
"What about Sailor Moon?"
Darien looked over to Serena, who had asked the question. She was suddenly much paler, and in her eyes she held a concern, a worry, Darien had never seen before.
"She wasn't there."
Serena gulped and nodded silently, before going back to her stool and gathering her bag. She walked back over to where Motoki was drilling Darien for information.
"I guess we should probably go," she said, interrupting their conversation," I don't want to be any later getting home than I already am." She tried to act mad, but she had much more important things on her mind than an hour long study session. Like, why hadn't the Scouts called her? Was she really so useless that they didn't want her around? What did Tuxedo Mask think? Was Luna going to be mad at her?
"Yea, you're right. I don't want to have to hear you complain more than you already are." Darien retorted, grinning a little.
"Ha, ha, very funny. Come on, let's go. Bye Motoki, thanks for the awesome milkshake!"
Motoki smiled," No problemo. I guess it's kind of like that song, you know,' My milkshake brings all the girls to the yard, an-"
"Motoki!" Darien cut him off," No."
Serena looked up to the boy, who loomed over her almost a foot," What's wrong?" she asked," I like that song!"
"Well… it's just that… it has some bad connotations…" Darien said.
"Like what?"
Motoki laughed evilly," Well, you see Serena, when a man and a woman love each other very much-"
Darien glared at his friend," Motoki! Not here, not now, and not you."
Serena swore that Darien's cheeks were tinged with pink as he led her out of the arcade and away from the Milkshake Man.
"There is no way I am getting on this thing."
Darien stared at the blonde banshee as she did what she did best: complained. The two were out in front of the arcade in the pouring rain. It was already getting late, and they hadn't even started the tutoring, but what was the only thing Serena could focus on?
His motorcycle.
"Do you know how dangerous these things are Darien?" she asked, her blue eyes genuinely worried. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair; Serena had told him once told that the action would bald him by thirty, but it was a comforting habit he just couldn't seem to stop.
"Do you doubt my abilities as a driver?" he challenged her. Serena paused, and then, with a little hesitation, answered.
"Yes…"
"Look Odango, I've been riding myself to school for the past year on the motorcycle, and I've never gotten so much as a scratch on it! I swear I'll be even more careful than I normally am, you don't need to worry."
"I…still don't know…"
"It's either this, or walk to the library. Alone. In the rain. You'd better decide fast, because I'm not waiting here much longer, and I'm sure not going to drag you."
Serena looked from him to the bike and back to him, her indecision clear. Darien got on the bike and revved it up. He tossed the helmet to Serena.
"You have three seconds to decide: either you get on the bike and stop complaining, or I leave you and your soggy self right here."
"B-"
"Three…two…o-"
Serena threw her hands up in the air," Fine, fine! I'm coming!"
She put on the helmet, which by some miracle fit over her eccentric hairstyle, and then awkwardly climbed onto the back of the bike.
"Where do I hold on?" she asked, and Darien could tell from the tone of her voice that she already knew.
"Put your arms around my waist Odango, and hold on tight."
"O-"
Darien grinned and started up the bike; they zipped into the wet street at a breathtaking speed, and zoomed towards the library. He could hear Serena's strangled syllables as she tried to scream something, but even her Siren like pitches were no match against the roar of the speeding wind and rain. She grew quiet, but held even tighter to his waist, until she was practically clinging to him. Darien rolled his eyes, and sped up ever so slightly. The world rushed past him in an almost indistinguishable blur; all light, noises, colors, feelings, became one and all until there was nothing. It was a feeling Darien lived for, and enjoyed every time he started up his bike, even if he had to share that feeling with someone else. The only time he ever felt more exhilarated was when he was rushing to save Sailor Moon… something he had missed out on earlier that afternoon due to the fact that she had never shown up.
It was something he didn't understand: How could Sailor Moon not appear? Why wasn't she there while the others were? There had never been a youma battle that occurred without Sailor Moon. She was almost like the active principle: in order for an event to occur, she had to be there, but she wasn't responsible for it. The last time he'd been near her was at the retirement home. Over two days. Darien felt for a moment like an over obsessive boyfriend. Not like he and Sailor Moon were a couple, although he wouldn't mind if that were the case. There was just something about her that was amazing, wonderful, attractive, and almost… loveable. No, she wasn't the smartest, or calmest, and there was no way that she was the most graceful of the girls that Darien had ever met, but that didn't matter. Sailor Moon had her own entire list of qualities that made her special, if not better.
"Daaarrriiieennn…."
Darien looked up, almost positive he heard someone call his name. He shook his head and focused again on the road, trying hard not to drift back into Darien La-La Land. He'd completely forgotten that he had a passenger until that passenger unwrapped one of her arms from around his waist and started to pound on his back to get his attention.
"Daarriieen!" Serena shrieked, her words distorted and elongated.
"What is it Meatball Head?" he yelled back, annoyed. She yelled something again, but it was whipped away by the wind.
"I can't hear you!" he yelled back, laughing slightly as he said it. To not be able to hear her was almost impossible. Serena rewrapped her arms around his waist tightly, then moved in as close as she could until her lips were only inches away from his ear. Only Sailor Moon had been that clo-
"You missed the library you idiot!" she screamed. Darien blinked, the words taking a moment to sink in. Cursing as he realized what the girl had said, he sped up. There were no other vehicles on the street, so although it was illegal, he might just be able to…
Even at the high speed, Darien could hear Serena's scream as he sharply pulled a U-Turn. The motorcycle tipped precariously, and obviously too near to the ground for Serena's comfort. She exploded into another set of wails as Darien righted the bike and sped up.
"Shut it Odango!" Darien yelled, seriously fearing for the integrity of his ear drums," Or I swear I'll-"
"STOP!"
Darien braked, not fast enough to throw them over the handlebars, but just enough to send Serena slamming painfully into his back. The bike came to a full stop, right outside of the Public Library. Darien set his legs on the ground and rested for a moment, before trying to stand up. However, he was unable to, due to the fact that, although they had stopped moving, Serena was still clutching tightly to his midriff. The girl was breathing heavily, her head down and pigtails dripping.
"Odango, I know you like me, but there are other ways of showing affection besides clinging onto me for dear life. Trust me; I'm not going to disappear anytime soon."
Serena's head shot up, and she stared at him with furiously bright blue eyes. He could see her anger at him for everything he'd done to her today, and the remnants of fear from the wild ride. She flung her arms away from him and got off the bike, trying to put as much distance as she could between her and him.
"How dare you insinuate that I could possibly like you!" she yelled, at the top of her lungs," You-you're so mean! I bet you did all of that just to scare me, and I bet you enjoyed it to! You knew this was the first time I'd ever been on a motorcycle, and you-you!" she hastily took off her helmet, and threw it at him with surprisingly good aim. He managed to catch it before it took out his face.
Darien sighed and got off the bike. He set up the kickstand so that it wouldn't fall over while they were inside, then turned to Serena.
"I was just kidding. About you liking me. It was a joke, get it Odango? Ha ha. A joke," he smirked," Or are you too dense to realize that?"
Serena snorted," I realized you were joking, but still! Ugh! I wish you would disappear! You're such an antagonist!"
Darien blinked, slightly surprised," Well, I have to say Odango, while you suck in other subjects, your vocabulary of bad things to say about me has certainly flourished."
Serena just glared at him," Come on. I wanna get this over with so I can get home."
The two walked in silence up the stairs and into the cool, temporarilyquiet library.
"Alright, so, what's a pronoun?"
Serena let her head sink down to the hard, wooden, library table.
"Um…" she started," It's a thing…that…does stuff…"
Darien sighed, agitated," No, really? Come on Serena, we've been over this before!"
"Yea, I know," came her muffled reply. She blew some of her hair out of the way of her face," And I've been over the fact before that I can't do this! So, why don't we just call it quits for tonight and go home?"
She turned her head so that her chin was resting on the table, and she was able to stare up at him with big, blue, puppy dog eyes.
"My God Serena," Darien said, turning away from her bizarrely adorable expression," Don't give me that look. You look like you just came out of an episode of The Powerpuff Girls. Come on, focus!"
"I ca-an't!" she whined," I mean, come on, who can focus in this kind of atmosphere?"
Darien looked around. There were only a few other people in the library, and they were all preoccupied in their reading and searching. Other than the noise coming from Serena and Darien's constant arguments, the library was silent.
"Serena. Come on. We're in a library."
"I know…it's just hard to work."
"At least sit up and look like you're trying to improve your grades. Right now, you look like some poor abused rabbit who's been left all alone on the moon without a carrot."
Serena slowly sat up," That's how I feel too," she muttered. This was not going well. The only thing that the two had done since they sat down in the little corner was bicker. –If grades were based on how well I could argue with the jerkwad- she thought sadly – I wouldn't have to be here right now.-
"Alright, enough English. Let's work on some math. Now, your teacher said that you had started working on Trig Ratios."
"Huh?" Serena looked at him blankly.
"Trig ratios, you know, tangent, sine, cosine, triangles."
Serena pulled on a blonde pigtail," Oh, um yea. Trig rations. Like, sine equals hypoten…uh… that thing over the line and…"
"No wonder you're failing Geometry," he muttered. He got out a piece of paper and a pencil, and began to write out the trigonometry formulas. As soon as he was done, he shoved the paper at Serena.
"There."
"Ok…" Serena just stared at the paper, then at her geometry book, and then back to the paper," I don't think I'm gunna be able to remember all of this."
Darien reached over and snatched the paper back. He began to write again, and as he wrote, he spoke," Ok, well, you know what trig ratios do, right?" not waiting for an answer, he continued," You can use them in triangles to solve for angles and side lengths. You normally use them in right triangles, and that's all we're working with right now. So, what we want to do first is find how to calculate for tangent, cosine, and sine. You know the three parts of the triangle, the hypotenuse and the two legs…" Darien continued with his explanation, and watched as realization slowly crept onto the younger girl's face.
"Alright, so, for remembering the trig ratios, you can use this acronym: Some Old Hoe, Caught Another Hoe, Tripping On Asphalt. The first letter of each w-"
Darien was stopped by Serena's gut busting, tear jerking laughter. She was doubled over in her chair, laughing, he assumed, at the acronym he had made up to help her remember her trig functions. Darien glanced over to the old, overweight librarian, who was glaring over at their table unabashedly.
"Serena," he hissed, glancing up at the librarian again," Hush! In case you forgot, we're in a library!"
Serena tried to stifle her giggles," S-sorry, i-ha, it's just-hee-s-so funny I c-"
Darien clamped a hand over her mouth and kept it there until the girl regained most of her self control.
"I-I'm really sorry," she whispered, still laughing a little," It's just that, when you said that, I pictured in my head Miss Haruna tripping and, well… I know it's mean but, it's funny and-"
Serena stopped, surprised as Darien let out a bark of laughter, earning the table another reproving glare. He too tried to contain his laughter, and did more successfully than she.
"Tha-that is funny. I don't know why it never c-crossed my mind." he grinned and raised an eyebrow," But, the hoe part aside, I think it would be you who did the tripping."
"I'm not that clumsy!" Serena said defensively," I wouldn't trip on asphalt!"
"Remember all those times in Gym?" he started," Or that one time at the café when you tripped over your own pigtail, or the one time you fell onto the school superintendent because she was climbing up the stairs and you were falling down, or th-"
"Ok, ok, I get it! You're right…" Serena spat out the words, and then, added," But don't expect to agree with you again, because I won't!"
"Whatever you say," Darien muttered," klutzo."
"I HEARD THAT Y-"
She was cut off by Darien's hand fastened tightly over her mouth once again.
"Do I have to spell it out for you Odango?" he whispered," This is a library, and we are studying! This is no time to break out into screaming fit."
Serena crossed her arms stubbornly and leaned back in her seat, pouting.
"Fine. Sorry."
"Alright, now, start on your homework."
"Yes mother," she mumbled. With a reluctant sigh, she opened her geometry book, and began to start on the problems that had given her such trouble before. Her obnoxiously pink pencil moved across the page slowly. Every once and a while, her fingers tapped out something on the calculator. She was so focused on trying to finish that she didn't noticed eyes that glanced enviously over to their table. However, Darien did. He couldn't fail to see the boys, all together in a group on the far side of the library, staring and trying to act cool in order to gain the blonde's attention. Serena, invariably, had failed to even glance over in their direction. Now, they were openly watching her.
"Darien?"
Darien looked away from the observers.
"What is it Odango?"
"Will you, um…help me with this?"
Darien stood up, and moved over so that he could look over the girl's shoulder. Her paper was a mess of scraps and symbols, numbers barely legible.
"Jeez, can you even read that? Is it even in a language from this planet?"
"No, she replied bitterly," It's how the moon people write.
"I believe it. Okay, now, what's your problem?"
Serena pointed to the problem she was on, that was giving her trouble. As Darien tried to untangle her mess of numbers and symbols, he couldn't help but glance up at the clock. Only half an hour until he was free. He hoped he could last that long. Somehow he doubted it.
Serena hadn't protested at all about his motorcycle on the way back. In fact, she'd been unusually silent. The rain had let up, but the air was still heavy with the muggy sense that it might start up again. Darien hoped not; he'd had enough of the rain. The sun was nearing it's final moments, causing the clouds that hovered near it to turn a fiery red.
It wasn't until he felt a heavy object thud onto his back that he realized why Serena hadn't argued with him – she was exhausted, and now asleep. They had left the library right as the clock hit eight, with Serena fretting because her mother had expected her home over an hour ago, and that it was his fault because he'd been late in the first place. Her worry hadn't lasted long though, the weight of her head on his back proved that. Darien just hoped that she didn't drool on him.
It hadn't been his fault that he'd been late.
Darien just hoped that nothing more happened, at least not when he was trying to work with Serena. He couldn't exactly explain his situation to her.
Sorry Odango, but I'm not going to be able to tutor you today, due to the fact that I actually live a second life which involves running around in a mask and cape, jumping off of buildings, and saving other super heroines. Not to mention trying to find the Silver Millennium Crystal for this mysterious Princess whom I've never met but has been infiltrating my dreams for the past year and completely erasing any chance of me getting a decent night of sleep. Oh, and by the way, you can't mention this to anyone, because the Dark Kingdom and their youmas are everywhere thinking up of more ways to make my live miserable.
Well, not completely miserable. Without them, he would have never gotten to meet Sailor Moon, one of the prettiest, funniest, most amazing girls he'd ever met. The only other girl that could make him feel the way Sailor Moon did was now in the process of ignoring him…
He cursed as he passed a familiar house, then made a U-turn like he had before. Need to stop doing that, he thought as he stopped in front of the Tsukino residence. He hoped Serena would be tired enough not to notice the fact that she had never told him how to get to her house, let alone her address. He had seen her walking home from detention once, late in the evening, when he was out patrolling the city after an intense youma battle. He assumed that she must have stopped by the arcade to be getting home so late. Anyway, he had kept her address stored away, not knowing he would ever need to use it. Serena was still asleep on his shoulder.
"Odango. Odango." he hissed, shaking his shoulder slightly.
She moved a little, and muttered something," Edo…Ask…I…"
"Odango!" he said a little louder. The girl didn't respond, she was sleeping like a rock. A very heavy rock, he thought grimly as he felt his shoulder slowly turn numb. He carefully turned around and caught her as her body jolted forward from the loss of something to lean on. She still snored lightly as he scooped her up awkwardly and carried her to her front doorstep. Finding himself without a hand to spare, he pressed his nose against the doorbell, then righted himself. After a minute or so, the door opened, and warm light spilled out from behind a confused looking face. A woman in an apron and slipped opened the door further and stepped back a little, spatula in hand.
"Um, Konnichi wa Tsukino-san," Darien muttered, tilting his head respectfully.
"You must be Darien," the woman started," Serena told me that you weren't her boyfriend! I knew I shouldn't have believed her. Smart boys are never that good looking!"
Darien could suddenly see who Serena's normally friendly nature came from. He blushed slightly as the woman, who looked rather young to be a mother, stared him over.
"No, no, it's true, I'm just her tutor," he said, shifting Serena's weight in his arms slightly," She fell asleep on the ride home. I apologize for keeping her later than expected, I was late to meet up with her so we didn't get started until seven and-"
"Would you like to come in for some tea?"
Darien blinked," Um, no, thank you Tsukino-san," he replied awkwardly," I really need to get home, I just wasted to drop Oda- Serena off."
"Please, call me Ikuko. You're positive that you and Serena aren't dating?"
Suddenly, Serena stirred, and opened her eyes blurrily. She blinked, and then screamed, jumping out of his arms and yelling something unintelligible. The only words he caught from her fit were," jerk" and "hate".
Ikuko delivered what seemed like a painful blow to the top of Serena's head with the spatula in her hand.
"Serena, be polite. He dropped you off. And you never told me that your tutor was so handsome."
"That's because he's not," she muttered. She hoisted her backpack up onto her shoulder and scowled at him.
"Well, whatever my daughter says, thank you for bringing her home. You really must come by for tea sometime. In fact, why don't you come by for dinner? I'm sure that my husband would like to talk to you about Serena's progress."
"Um…alright," Darien replied.
"How about next week? My husband gets off early that night and we can all have dinner, so that we can discuss how Serena's doing. Is Tuesday alright?"
"That'd be fine Tsukino-san, but really, I don't want to be an imposition-"
"No, no! Now, I'd best go in, I've got some food on the stove. Nice to meet you Darien. Serena, thank him for bringing you home."
"But m-"
"Now missy!" she wielded her spatula like a weapon, and Serena glared at both of them. She muttered something that resembled a thank you, and then ducked inside before her mother whacked her again. Ikuko smiled.
"Please forgive my daughter, she can be a little rude sometimes."
You're telling me.
"It's fine," he replied," Nice to meet you Tsukino-san."
"Ikuko, please."
He nodded, and Ikuko closed the door. After a moment, he could hear her and Serena arguing, both of them yelling at the top of her lungs. He now knew who Serena inherited her lungs from. He turned with a sigh away from the Tsukino residence and hopped on his bike, praying to the powers that be not to send him another youma.
Eh bien, c'est tout mes amis! And for all of those who don't speak French, well, too bad! Anyway, this is the end of this chapter, made extra long for all of you guys! I'm so sorry it took so long to get out, everything's just been so busy! I really don't know how eightofswords does it! Hopefully I'll be able to post a little sooner, but there's no guarantees! Well, merci beaucoup! Read and review (heh heh, that rhymes)!
Thanks to: my readers. I have to say that I'm rather disappointed in you. Not those that reviewed of course, but those who didn't. Shame on you for making me cry. My self confidence shrinks in the shadow of mighty eightofswords. Many thanks to those seven who did love the story enough to review.
Eightofswords: Lol. You haven't been incoherent in a while. Miss you much, it seems like it's been forever. Oh, and congrats on 300+ reviews. I'm going to go hide behind my 25. Physics sucks! Anyway, thatnk so much for the support… who knows when the next one will come out, but hopefully it will be just as long, and maybe stand to compare to chapter two!
SilentAngel101: Hey! Thanks, it's nice to be called brilliant every once and a while. Yes, anime never has followed the rules of genetics…thanks so much for the support!
Princess-nav- Thanks…here the update is, know not when the next one comes.
nekoinuhanyou- Awesome name! As for the drole… is that drole in the funny sense or drole in the sarcastic sense? I'm sorry, horrible at telling. Either way, thanks for reviewing!
keishaq- Arigato!
Chibi-Doo- Well, whatever Ami does, it'll be big! As for the communicator, I think they can… and if not, I utilize the power of the AUTHORESS! BWA! Lol…sorry…thanks!
elianthos- cool name! Thanks so much! Of course, thanks to Sword-chan too!
Well, as the final note (I know you guys loooovvee hearing me rant), I really like this story so far. I think that the Serena/Darien pairing is the only way to be. I think that Serena's personality is so much easier to portray than Darien's, because with Darien, there are more blanks to fill in. I hope I'm doing alright. I know I've been portraying him as a total jerk and Tux. as somewhat of a love struck obsessor…hopefully they'll meet in middle someday. Until then, enjoy the conflict! .
RR