The Kiss of Enemies
Chapter 2: the morning after, the week after, the best gossip in the world!
Rated: R
Disclaimer: standard
Author: rain of silver stars
e-mail: pennames: natia99, silent moon1, CleverWitch1979
authors notes: Well, I think it's actually been a YEAR since I dusted this off and
even READ IT. So I've spent the last year trying to write a novel, which I am still
working on and 3 months ago I lost my mind and left Canada to teach English in Korea
for a year with no experience whatsoever simply because my boyfriend asked me join him.
Never say I'm not a romantic. Ah well, this particular boyfriend happens to be the
keeper, I've known him for...dear god, 11 years now. Just how old am I getting?
Anyhoo...was having a very depressing day, terrible writers block and of course a
fight with said boyfriend and I went to check on the website of a very old author
whose fic I adored, Mg, and lo-and-behold I find this penname in her favorite stories
list. After I die of joy I check out the link to my old stuff and read over 1 hundred
reviews which cheered me to no end. I had started this chapter a long time ago with
totally different intentions but decided to keep going with a new spin! Hope you
enjoy! I'm still so dazed and star struck that Mg listed me AND left feedback
(though she shat on Blood Love but rightly so, I will eventually shred that fic
to bits and re-write it with an actual plot-line, it has such a great opening!)
Alright, on with the show! Thanks for all the delightful, ego-saving reviews
that just made this lonely writers weekend :) :) :)
Darien woke up slowly, recognizing the dim, groggy feeling
that followed drinking too much. It took a moment to collect
where he was and then, that he wasn't alone...
He felt the warm press of a naked body against his, opened his
eyes to a head of blonde hair and found his hand resting on her
breast. And as the shock of that began to sink in she shifted,
tilting her face and he received, what he later determined, was
the greatest shock of his life. It was Serena.
The name seemed to echo, his brain desperately trying to remember
everything that had happened. How had he ended up in bed with
Serena? They hadn't...? They couldn't have...! But they were
naked! He was frozen with shock, unable to move, unable to
breath. He forced himself calm. He had to start at the beginning
and remember everything, one memory at a time.
First, the crazy redhead. Second, hiding out and getting more
drinks from Lita. Third, a lot of boardgames. Fourth...his
eyes widened as it came back, all at once...the kiss, the heady
rush of desire, the hours of making out...
Serena stirred. The moment was unavoidable. There was no time.
She opened her eyes and met his. Her mouth fell open in a tiny
"o" shape and nothing came out. He had expected her to scream.
Instead, her voice very hoarse asked, "Darien?"
He simply stared back at her, watching her senses slowly come
back.
"We're...we're naked." She gasped and then gave him an indescribable
look, "You have your hand on my..." She couldn't even say it and
he suddenly realized he still did have his hand on her breast.
He quickly let go and pulled up the sheet for her. She wrapped it
hastily around herself and he could see her trying desperately to
remember.
"I can't...we didn't, Darien we didn't...?" She faltered.
He shook his head, "No. Think back to the last thing you
remember and go from there...it'll come back to you."
He said it as though the 'coming back of it' would not be
much comfort.
He watched her mentally trace her steps, watched her remember
the kiss, watched her remember the rest. Her cheeks burned
very red and she met his gaze incredulously.
He nodded, answering the silent 'We didn't do all that--did we?'
Serena didn't think she could ever let it all sink in.
She hadn't just kissed him. If it had been only that, then
the mere fact that the kiss had been really really great
would have been shock enough for one lifetime. But she
hadn't just kissed him. They had...had...she turned
bright red all over again. She remembered everything. She
remembered how it had felt. She remembered everything she had
done to him. How was she supposed to face him now?
A sudden noise outside the door made them both jump. Darien
instinctively grabbed the covers higher over her and threw
an arm protectively over her--Serena could not help but notice
the gesture, he had done it without thinking and a funny part
of her was flattered.
Footsteps went by and disappeared as a door shut. A moment
later the shower came on.
Darien and Serena stopped holding their breaths. Darien was in
terror. They were still at Andrew's! What if he saw? What would
he say!
"We're still at Andrew's!" Serena repeated his observation out loud,
"What are we going to do?"
"I've gotta get you out of here! Quick before he gets out of the
shower!"
They both moved to leap from the bed and realized at the same moment,
they were naked.
"Uh...shut your eyes ok?" Darien said and she shut them tight.
He quickly threw back the covers and found his boxers, then searched
for her clothes. They were all over the place and he blushed at that.
He found her shirt and pants, her bra in the remnants of the checker
board...and finally her tiny pink underwear. It was a strange feeling
to pick them up. He didn't think he'd ever helped a girl find her
clothes after anything before. Usually the girls he made out with were
bold and picked up their own clothes. But Serena wasn't bold. She
was...embarassed. There was such an innocence to it all. It was the first
time searching for clothes and it was Serena. He didn't think he would
ever forget the sight of her pink cotton underwear.
He laid all her clothes beside her, grabbed his shirt and pants and
went around the other side of the bed.
"Ok." He told her.
Serena opened her eyes, saw her clothes piled neatly beside her and
felt an odd sensation at the sight. She turned to find Darien
dutifully facing away, slipping his t-shirt over his head. She
remembered pulling that t-shirt off and quickly turned back. She
put her clothes back on and started to collect the bobby pins and
hair elastics from the floor to fix her hair.
"Ok." She told him and he turned to find her twisting one of her
buns back in.
"Better not." He said quietly, coming over, "The less you look like
you until you're away from Andrew's, the better."
She dropped the bun. He was right. She tucked the pins away in her
pockets and their eyes met. Darien looked at her hair, hanging long
and loose and remembered telling her how pretty she looked. He
couldn't believe he'd admitted that. Worse, he saw her remember he'd
said it at the same moment. They both blushed. A change in the sound
of the shower made them both snap back to reality.
"I'd better hurry." She said quietly and grabbed her bag. She looked
about the room, the mess of board games and cards, the unmade bed.
"Sorry for the mess..." She said and stopped, feeling stupid--who cared
about the mess?
"S'Alright, I'll get to it."
They cracked the door open and peered out--much as they had the night
before. It was clear so they hurried for the stairs. Darien threw
the front door open, Serena ran out and turned back, and they hesitated.
It was such an awkward way to end things. They hadn't been able to talk
about it. Serena's head was spinning. When were they even going to? What
did it mean? Why had it happened?
Darien looked at her and felt an odd mix of sentences form. Like, for
instance, she was a really really good kisser. What? What the hell
was he thinking?
She watched the odd play of emotions on his face. A door slammed upstairs
and the moment was shattered. He had looked like he would say something but
instead he nearly jumped out of his skin.
"I-I'll talk to you later--ok?" He said hurriedly and shut the door as she
took off down the street.
He hurried back upstairs and met Andrew in the hallway, trying desperately
to look non-chalant. But Andrew looked very very amused.
"Your shirt's on backwards." He observed as he passed him and headed into
his own room.
Darien shut his eyes. Why me?
Serena meanwhile, sprinted all the way to Litas and beat down her door.
A very aggrieved and hungover looking Lita finally opened said door and
glared at her.
"Mshmah?" She said.
"LITA YOU HAVE TO TELL MY MOTHER I SLEPT HERE!" she hollared and Lita winced.
"I already did." she said dryly, "She called an hour ago."
Serena breathed a sigh of relief.
"Where WERE you last night?" Lita asked.
Serena blushed, "I-I...look Lita this has to stay between you
and me...I stayed at Andrew's."
"WHAT!" Came Mina's voice, sounding betrayed.
"Mina's here?" Serena hissed.
"They're all here..." Lita muttered.
Mina came stumbling out with wild bedhead, followed by a
very cranky Rei and as Serena looked in she saw Chad still out
like a light on the couch.
"What do you mean you stayed at Andrew's!" Hissed Mina, stalking over like a
she-beast.
Serena's eyes widened and she stepped back, putting her hands up, "I didn't stay
WITH ANDREW!"
Now everyone's eyes widened, "Oh? And who DID you stay with?"
"No one!" Serena blurted, hoping she looked honest, "Andrew just let me crash
on his couch because I drank too much."
They looked skeptical a moment so she decided to play the lie to her advantage with
the obvious, "Don't you remember I was hiding out upstairs with DARIEN while he
avoided that redhead?"
They all seemed to remember slowly. Serena smiled, "You really think anything happened
with HIM?"
They all laughed and she joined in weakly. Oh God.
Lita ushered her in and they all drank coffee. Serena found some relief in Mina and Lita's
constant chatter about THEIR experiences at the party.
"It's really a shame you hate kissing Serena, because one of the guys there last night,
the blonde one that looked like that actor," she added to Mina who nodded, "He was just
incredible. I saw him kissing Rei later--what did you think of him Rei?"
Rei's eyes widened to epic proportions and she shot an alarmed glance to Chad who
slept on before glaring at Lita, "Shut UP!"
Lita laughed and exchanged a telling glance with Mina.
"Well, ANDREW was great!" Mina enthused, "You were so right Lita, he has the
most amazing hands!"
Serena smothered a smile. Andrew always seemed so cute and innocent to her. She
couldn't imagine him having "hands" in the way Mina was intoning.
Of course, she reflected with irony, there were a lot of things she just couldn't
have imagined before this moment, so who knew? Now that she thought back
over the night without that initial shock, the irony was settling in and she didn't
feel SO horribly upset. YES, it was Darien, YES he was the enemy, YES the shock
had very nearly killed her, but all that aside (she would process it later she was sure)
the experience itself had been...great. At least that made her feel better about her
kissing prospects. It made her feel better about a lot of things. If she had to choose
between thinking kissing sucked, and kissing Darien. Darien was beginning to look
like the better option.
She watched her friends chat with a smile and pictured each reaction if she told them the
truth. Then she shuddered. Soooooo not worth it. No, she would settle it between she
and Darien in private hopefully, and no one would ever have to know.
Unfortunately no one banked on Andrew. And if you asked Andrew, it was Darien's
fault. And if you asked Darien at this point he would only make a very tragic, choked
noise and hide his head in desperation.
Because when Darien finally came down--after cleaning the spare room like it had never
been cleaned before--he found Andrew lazily eating breakfast and smiling at him with
real satisfaction.
He let Darien sit down, pour coffee, get a good mouthful in and right before swallowing
asked, "So who was the blonde?"
And Darien's fatal choking on that coffee spelled his unfortunate downfall,
"No one." he muttered after he stopped choking.
"What was her name?" Andrew smiled, really interested now.
"I don't even know." Darien said, trying too hard to sound casual.
"You didn't even get her NAME!" Andrew laughed, "Whoa, how drunk WERE you?"
"Pretty drunk." Darien muttered with sincerity, drinking a lot more coffee and hoping
he somehow drowned, or skipped this day.
"Well, what DO you remember?" Andrew asked, "Did she say what she was studying?
She's probably from campus and came with a friend."
"I already TOLD you I don't know." Darien said, trying to seem annoyed and
much more hungover than he really was--which really frightened him--if he wasn't
that hungover, just how SOBER had he been? "It's a night I want to forget ok?"
Unfortunately this only peaked Andrew's curiosity and led him to comb the
spare room with eagle eyes after Darien left.
So that when Serena came into the arcade later on her own and sat down at the bar
to wait for Darien, Andrew strolled over very smug indeed. He reached into his
pocket and pulled out two bobby pins, laying them down in front of her and saying,
"You left these at my place I think."
Serena's eyes narrowed, assessing Andrew anew, "Those could be anyone's bobby pins."
she hissed in self-defense.
But Andrew grinned, "True, but..." he reached into his pocket and this time pulled out
a whopping handful which he dropped down in front of her before adding, "...how many people wear THIS MANY?"
Serena's eyes widened.
"He hid them UNDER the bed," Andrew scoffed, "Like I wouldn't find them there!"
A normal guy wouldn't have, she reflected. But Andrew was not normal.
"Not a word Andrew!" She threatened.
"Or what?" Andrew taunted, "This is just the best gossip I think I've
EVER had my hands on."
"Or I'll tell Mina YOU kept me warm while I slept off my drinking
at your place!"
Andrew's smile vanished, "What!"
The tinkle of the bell announced the arrival of Darien and it was
perfect timing.
"Yes, and you know who will back up my story?" Serena said confidently.
Darien walked over uneasily and saw the pile of bobby pins with horror.
"Under the BED?" Serena said with disgust, "You couldn't have just TAKEN
THEM WITH YOU? I mean REALLY!"
"You hunted through the ROOM after I left?" Darien accused Andrew.
"Hell YEAH!" Andrew retorted, "You wouldn't tell me who it was!"
"Not a WORD Andrew!" Darien threatened.
Andrew rolled his eyes but Serena repeated her threat, "Or WE'LL tell
Mina I spent the night with YOU!" She looked at Darien expectantly and
he looked pretty impressed and high-fived her. They faced Andrew
united and his face crumpled into disappointment.
"Bums!" He muttered and slinked away to clean the equipment, "Spoilsports.
I'm never going to have gossip this great again EVER."
Serena rolled her eyes and met Darien's pale face, "Yeah, lets never tell
anyone."
He looked so relieved she almost laughed, "Oh thank god. I'm so glad
you feel that way."
Their eyes met and held for a moment. Darien said quietly, "Do we need
to talk about it though?"
She looked thoughtful, "What are we supposed to say? She regarded him
intensely, "You don't think it was great just because it was US do you?
That can't be right."
"Noooo," he said quietly, "But it was great."
They smiled in agreement, then looked a little embarrassed.
He broke into a smile then, similar to the naughty one he had so shocked
them all with the day before--but it held no secrets from Serena anymore,
she merely smiled back wryly in return.
"The way I see it, this works out great for both of us. Now we've
got the hang of it, and our bad times are over!" He said.
"Agreed," she chimed, "Our kissing problems are solved!"
"Yeah, and since we're...well, enemies--albeit good-natured ones--we
have nothing to regret."
They settled it with another high-five, "It's a win-win." agreed Serena and
really thought she meant it. So did Darien.
It can be observed at this point, that neither of them remembered the
night completely.
Darien walked out of the arcade then, with much more jaunt in his stride than
entering--no matter that Andrew bored holes into his back with his glare of
disappointment. But as he stepped out into the sun, the angle of him in the
light finally reminded Serena completely of that night and some of the things
she had felt and had not expected to. She wondered uneasily if she could ever
enjoy that feeling of equal parts possession and surrender with anyone in
such a powerful way. It couldn't have been just DARIEN that made her feel
that way could it? He was just the first guy she had felt any real chemistry
with--even if it came mostly in the form of barbs and arguments.
For Darien there was only an uneasy prickling in the back of his mind that he
had forgotten something. Being a guy he was sure whatever it was he had forgotten
was best left that way and so he let it go.
This miraculous truce might have lasted. But because it was Darien and Serena,
because Andrew loved gossip almost as much as he loved Mina, and because I am the
author of this fic, things were doomed from the start.
Darien was so happy with this turn of events and how they had come up unexpectedly
in his favour that he was quite nice to Serena for the rest of the week. So nice
in fact that the girls began to grow suspicious.
That friday when Darien sauntered into the arcade and greeted Serena with a broad,
happy grin and a wave, she blew, "For heaven's sakes Darien! AT LEAST call me
Meatballhead! Could you BE more obvious! What if the girls were around?"
"I'm sorry!" he laughed unrepentantly, "I just can't contain my joy!" he mocked
and leaning in while no one was looking he said quietly, "Bet you can't stay angry
when I tell you what a great kisser you are!"
And to his credit Serena couldn't help but smile, and laugh.
And at this precise moment the girls DID walk in and all eyes narrowed on the pair.
"You two are AWFULLY cheerful!" Mina chimed, "What's up?"
"Yeah, where's the usual fire and war?" Lita half-joked, but her eyes were keenly
suspicious.
Serena stood heavily on Darien's foot and muttered, "Idiot!" out of the corner of
her mouth.
Darien made a hasty exit, "Gotta run!"
Serena bit back her rage. What a hideous TRAITOR! This was ALL his fault! She was
soon surrounded at the bar and the girls were accosting her.
"Yeah why ARE you two getting along so well lately?" Rei asked and Andrew looked rather
tortured as he dried out a glass.
"Did something happen at the party?" Mina asked in a moment of strange insight.
Andrew made a choked sound and turned away.
Serena glared daggers at him, "As a matter of fact it did." she said and everyone,
including Andrew, froze.
"Really?" Lita said.
"With who?" blurted Ami and blushed immediately.
Andrew's eyes were watching her with real interest now.
"I don't remember his name!" Serena said sounding aggravated and Andrew rolled
his eyes and turned away again, "That's not the point. The point is, kissing
doesn't suck after all!"
"That's great, and true Serena, but what does it have to do with DARIEN?" Rei
asked and Andrew silently cheered her.
"Apparently the same thing happened to HIM after the redhead left and we parted
ways." Serena said non-chalently and to her credit, she pulled it off, "We've been
celebrating our mutual good luck."
Andrew made another choked sound.
"HA! What a coincidence!" said Rei and for a brief moment Andrew thought she had
figured it out and turned grinning with elation but, "That's KARMA! BOTH of you
being proven wrong on the same night!"
"AUGH!" cried Andrew, he could bear it no more, "It was with EACH OTHER!" he practically
screamed, "THEY KISSED EACH OTHER AND IT WAS GOOD!"
Everyone froze again and looked at Serena, "WHAT!"
"THAT IS NOT TRUE!" hollared Serena, her eyes almost red with rage, "The truth is
it was ANDREW!"
Now all eyes turned to Andrew.
"WHAT!" screeched Mina's voice much louder than the others.
Andrew paled but it was his word against Serena's, "That's not true,
I swear it! It was THEM! I found them the next morning in the
spare room!"
It was like tennis, everyone looked at Serena, "You did not!" Serena
cried, "YOU snuck me out the front before Darien got out of the shower!"
Andrew glared in return, "NOT TRUE! I was the one in the shower when
YOU snuck out! I would have known it was you from the first but your
BUNS were out!"
He pulled out all the bobby pins, "But I found THESE under the bed
after Darien left and then I KNEW IT WAS YOU!"
Mina's eyes narrowed, "What are YOU doing with the bobby pins if
it was DARIEN?"
Serena smiled in triumph.
"I snooped the room after Darien wouldn't tell me who it was! I knew
something was up, he was so edgy and kept trying to brush it off!
And then when I figured it out they threatened me, but this is the
best gossip I think I've ever had!"
"You SNOOPED through the room after they left?" said Mina incredulously.
Serena gave him an almost pitying look.
"That's BRILLIANT!" Mina finished, "That's TOTALLY what I would have
done!"
"You don't believe him do you?" Cried an outraged Serena.
The girls looked at her intensely.
"You would never make out with someone any of us liked Serena." Rei
said matter-of-factly, "It's not in your nature."
"And what ELSE could prompt a truce between YOU and DARIEN?" pointed out
Lita.
"TRAITERS!" Serena hissed.
"This is GREAT!" Mina cheered, "You two will make a GREAT couple! All that
chemistry, no WONDER it was so good!"
Serena paled then and jumped up, "Oh no no no. Don't even THINK about
match-making Mina!"
But Mina's eyes had narrowed and she was rubbing her hands together and
the rest of them looked equally devious.
Serena ran out of the arcade with a yelp. She had to find Darien and warn him.
She had to tell him they knew before the girls found him!
And that was how she came to find herself on Darien's enormous campus in time
to see him cornered by none other than...the obnoxious redhead. She really
was quite aggressive, Serena observed. Darien looked a bit wild trying to get away
from her. In fact, he looked much different on his campus than he did in the
arcade. He suddenly seemed younger, and less at the helm. With a smile, Serena
headed over to rescue him. She straightened her posture, brushed the skirt
down on her school uniform and marched over trying to look a lot more confident than
she actually felt.
"Hey handsome," she said, catching him by surprise. Then she turned him round, threw
her arms around his neck and pulled him into a kiss. Out of the corner of her eye
she saw the redhead stalk off in a huff. But she found herself in no hurry to end the
kiss. It was even better than her drunken memory had been able to recall and they held
on some moments longer than necessary.
Darien had a hard time collecting himself and found disturbing memories clouding his
mind from that night at the party. This didn't just feel good, this felt friggin fantastic
and he was SOBER and it was SERENA. Just what was going on? The feel of her, the
smell of her, the sensation of having her close, they were bringing up feelings he could
not understand, had never felt before. They scared the crap out of him and still he could
not find the will to let go.
They finally pulled away from each other, a little dazed. A couple of the guys in one of
his classes standing nearby whistled and forever after he was referred to by them as "the
King" for having a High School girlfriend who made-out with him on campus in her cute
sailor fuku uniform. It was highly embarrassing.
Serena stared at him in surprise.
"That was good." she said in a low voice.
They both frowned. Finally Darien dared to speak, "But that's good right? It's
a good thing. A good sign. We've got the hang of this now and it'll be better
from now on, with everyone else."
Serena seemed to take heart at this, "Yes! I for one cannot WAIT to try it out
with other guys!"
They nodded vigorously in agreement but still looked a little frightened.
Finally Serena remembered why she had come.
"The girls know. Andrew ratted us out. And though I TOLD them it was me
and Andrew they believed his stupid weasley snooping of your room afterwards
and decided it was you and I instead."
Darien's eyes narrowed, "Man, I have got to get some revenge on that guy.
He is always doing stuff like this to me!"
Then he seemed to realize the implications, "Wait, what will YOUR friends do?"
Serena turned red, "They will assume we are meant to be together...and you can
pretty much guess the rest."
Darien put his head in his hands and moaned, "Oh nooooo. Augh! At least you
warned me in advance. Thanks."
Alas, after that moment, things became increasingly difficult for the duo. Every time
Serena sat anywhere NEAR Darien at the bar Andrew would ask, "What'll it be for my
favorite love-birds?"
The rumour of Darien's "hot high school girlfriend" spread like wildfire, and though it
rid him of the redhead it gained him more attention than she had ever given him.
The girls spent endless hours plotting throw-them-together schemes which ultimately
back-fired into truly humiliating catastrophes. Like stranding them in a rowboat with no
oars. Or locking them in the broom closet of the arcade which resulted in discovering
Darien's horrible allergy to floor cleaner.
Probably the meanest thing they did came from Mina. As revenge for lying about
spending the night with Andrew, she told Serena's mother that she had a boyfriend and
said mother asked her for EVERY detail until Serena went batty from daily naggings and
stories and lectures.
The battery was so constant that they began to be recognized outside the arcade as a
couple. When they showed up at the bookstore--separately and by chance--the owner
suggested a romantic book for new couples in love after saying heartily, "Aren't you that
nice couple from the arcade my regulars are always talking about?"
The "regulars" turned out to be Ami who Serena berated to no end.
Worst of all, they constantly had to unite fronts to endure this torture and there was no
time to fight anymore.
"I can't remember the last time we argued." Darien complained as they made their
way to her place under one umbrella. Serena's had MAGICALLY disappeared at the
arcade and no one had one to lend her. JERKS.
"You haven't insulted my hair OR my test scores in weeks." she said sadly.
"Wait!" Darien said with sudden glee, "I think I have just the thing to end all
this madness! This weekend there's a big party on campus! You invite the girls
and we can just go make-out with other people and they'll FINALLY have to let it
go!"
"You're brilliant!" Serena raved happily.
"I do what I can." he smiled, "I'll give you the directions and all that tommorrow
at the arcade! See ya!"
He disappeared from her doorstep and back into the rain and she reflected that, although
she missed the fighting, he could be rather charming when he wanted to be.
But it didn't matter. None of this ridiculousness mattered anymore. It would all
be resolved when she went to the party and tried out her new-found powers on
the most un-Darien-like guy she could find.
Darien felt equally happy as he arrived home. This was just the thing. One more
party to fix things so they were the way they used to be.
Excellent...he thought. Soon order would be restored to the universe.
dun dun dun, the longest chapter in history! and no smut! I'm a little disappointed
with myself but have no fear, next chapter just HAS to have smut right?
How will this second party turn out? Torture me with demanding reviews and threatening
e-mails and you might just find out! ;) It's the middle of the night, I'm going to
watch Charlie's Angels 1 on DVD in my little box of a korean apartment and tomorrow I
shall endeavor to write the next chapter. But you should allll know you are keeping me
from writing my novel. ! It's already 240 pages long, I'm so proud of it. :D