The Kiss of Enemies
Chapter 3: That Fatal Second Party
Rated: R
Disclaimer: standard
Author: rain of silver stars
Darien was having a very satisfying dream. Only two unfortunate factors marred
this dream. One: the dream featured Serena, sans clothing and wrapped
tantalizingly around him. But it was SERENA! Yet he found himself murmuring
her name and forgetting what he was SUPPOSED to think of her which leads us
to TWO: he was dreaming after falling asleep on his textbook, in the arcade, at
the bar, and near Andrew.
When his hand finally gave out and his face slammed into said book, he awoke
with a start saying "Serena?" and found instead a grinning Andrew mere inches
away.
"SURE you don't have a thing for her pal?" he asked without asking at all.
"Dirty dreams don't count." Darien muttered darkly and Andrew laughed.
"You two are going to end up married. Just wait."
"Whatever." Darien replied, "Tonight we're going to the party and we're going to
make out with other people and YOU can't stop us!"
But Andrew shook his head confidently, "I'm leaving it up to Fate--who has done
remarkably and amusingly well so far I might add."
There was just no winning with Andrew.
His dreams of Serena had been getting more frequent and more intense lately
though. He needed this party.
The nagging sense in the back of his mind that he had forgotten something really
important; that there was something dangerous about this attraction; it wouldn't
let up. He was feeling rattled. And he hated that feeling. It was the one feeling
he avoided at all costs.
It wasn't even the fact that it was Serena, teen whiner, antithesis of proper
temptress and all around obnoxious clutz that had him feeling that way. While
those were all valid reasons, plus a few more he could add on off the top of his
head, the main cause of the disturbance wasn't who made him feel that way but
how he felt. This fleeting attraction had brought with it a jumble of emotions he
did not care to explore. It was some kind of freakish early-twenties brain crisis he
decided. Not only could HE of all people absolutely NOT feel this way, but
definitely not for SERENA. First of all, she was too young. And too loud. And
too insane. And too loud. And since when did that whole cute and innocent thing
ring his bell? Since never, he told himself firmly as visions of her in the white
mini-skirt she had worn yesterday began sashaying around his head with
alarming results.
Across town, in the pre-party preparations Serena found herself equally
harassed—not by her brain but by an over-enthusiastic Mina. With thoughts of
luscious Andrew dancing through her head, Mina was on a vicious new
bandwagon wherein all must be romantically linked together in some fashion.
And Serena with Darien was even more enthralling than Rei with Chad.
"He's hot Serena, you have to admit!" she was saying as Serena fiddled with her
earring.
"Who cares?" Serena retorted, "Not only are LOTS of other people hot, but it
totally doesn't matter that HE is because he's so evil!"
"You two seem to have been getting along THIS week—ever since your make-
out session actually." Mina observed slyly.
"We haven't had a choice!" Serena shrieked, starting to lose patience, "We've
had to join forces against an even greater evil—YOU! And it's positively
unnatural getting along with Darien! It's a veritable oxymoron!"
Mina had to pause at that and reflect, not for the first time, how vastly expanded
Serena's vocabulary had become after a week in close-quarters with her enemy.
Now THAT was positively unnatural!
Expanded vocabulary aside, Serena's list of reasons for not even considering
Darien were much more reflective of her age and personality.
First of all, he was too tall. Second of all he was a total jerk who made fun of her
hair. Thirdly, he read books ALL the time and never laughed except when
making fun of her hair. Also, he was a total jerk.
"Deeeeeee-nial." Sang Mina softly in her ear and she glared daggers at her
Andrew-smitten friend.
"Is it time to go YET?" she asked desperately.
"Almost….but not quite." Teased Mina.
"Rei looks comfortable and happy," Serena observed, "Isn't it her turn to be
tortured?"
Lita laughed as she emerged from the bathroom. She was the only one of the
group not yet paired off—save for Ami, but the girls had planned a naughty
surprise for their bookish friend and invited her old friend Greg to the party. The
now tallish and still studious fellow had jumped at the opportunity—apparently
having never forgotten their shy friend.
So Lita was the last bachelorette—though Serena shrieked denials by the hour.
Lita however, was unfazed and in her flashy outfit and dangly earrings she was
confident that her status would soon be drastically altered.
"Lita, you're going to come home with TEN boyfriends!" Mina laughed.
"Why have just one?" Lita quipped, packing her purse.
Rei headed into the bathroom after her to take out her bundle of hot rollers and
they heard her cursing and muttering as she burned her fingers. But when she
came out she looked as beautiful as any of the girls could remember and they
realized her feelings for the shaggy Chad were quite genuine. Who knew, maybe
the boy would get a haircut? Unlikely.
Soon they were off and Serena felt a mixture of anticipation and relief. This
madness would soon be over. They took cabs to the campus and followed the
photocopy map to the dorm. It was already loud with music and crowded with
drinkers. Every male head in the place took in the sight of the school girls with
real delight. Serena sought out Darien without realizing and they gave each
other an encouraging nod. She could see he had taken the same pains with his
appearance that she had. Tonight had to count. Now that they had located each
other they could head off in separate directions.
She flashed him a 'good luck' smile. Mina was right. Darien was handsome.
And when he wore dark colours like tonight, the best of his looks were shown to
their advantage. She didn't think she'd ever seen him dressed so casually, in a t-
shirt and jeans. He looked….younger. She shook off the odd wash of feeling
that realization gave her—as though she were forgetting something again that
she could not remember.
He smiled back, gave her a thumbs-up and headed down the hallway in the
opposite direction. But he passed by his first four opportunities because he could
not get the image of Serena in her black, off-the-shoulder top and low-slung skirt
out of his head.
Finally he settled into a nice conversation with a dark-haired, studious and
respectably aged girl who started giving him very inviting smiles. And when they
found themselves alone later and she leaned in to kiss him he met her halfway.
Unfortunately the kiss was a dismal failure—at least for Darien. He thought of
trying to find someone else but he had a sinking feeling it just wasn't going to
work that way. And he needed to get Serena out of his head.
He kept on kissing the dark-haired girl, whose name he already couldn't
remember and then headed out to get them drinks. Because it was going to take
some alcohal to get through this part.
He comforted himself that he only needed to get to the good stuff and he would
be back on track. Back to normal. Yes.
Meanwhile, Serena was getting more and more annoyed. She had already gone
through five guys and the kissing was getting progressively worse. She too
headed rather desperately for the punch bowl on her floor. Maybe it had been
the drinking that had enhanced the experience. It couldn't have been DARIEN. It
just couldn't.
She sat down with her drink and looked around for her friends. Lita was
hamming it up with a curly haired Junior, Rei and Chad were already in a dark
corner and Ami was avidly chatting with Greg. Mina and Andrew
were….somewhere. Serena grew more annoyed. EVERYONE was having fun
but HER. This SUCKED.
Lita made her way over and sat down, "You look miserable. Your plan hasn't
worked so far?"
"No." Serena muttered darkly.
"How many have you tried?"
"At least five."
"Well, try one more. Come meet Steve's friend Paul. He's blonde, funny, easy-
going and not that tall. He's the anti-Darien!"
Serena smiled and followed her over. And after a few more drinks she and
"Paul" stumbled upstairs. The kissing still sucked but Serena hoped that the rest
of it would be nice and finally banish the wretched Darien from her thoughts.
Alas, as you have already correctly guessed, this proved not to be so. In fact it
proved to be nothing but the usual drunken groping and Serena finally blew her
top, launched the unsuspecting Paul off of her with a strength uncanny for her
size and fueled entirely by the rage the comes in particular with teenage girl
disappointment, and left the room.
The sight that greeted her in the hallway however, was not the one she expected.
Four doors down emerged an equally disheveled Darien, whose t-shirt was inside
out and who looked as angry as she felt. He was muttering and banging his fist
off the walls and finally settled back against said wall with a sigh of anger and
despair. And she realized, the same thing had happened to him. He had just
stormed out of his own equally dismal failure of a make-out session.
Serena stalked over to him, "It happened to you too, didn't it?"
He nearly jumped out of his skin before rounding on her, "What are you talking
about?"
But Serena knew better, "Your attempt sucked JUST as bad as mine, didn't it!"
Darien's face fell in defeat, "Yours sucked too?"
"He grabbed my breasts!" she expostulated.
"He WHAT?" Darien heard himself yell before realizing.
"I think HE thought he was doing something nice to them—but he soooo wasn't!"
Serena replied without noticing his sudden, random attack of jealousy, instead
she turned and pointed at him, " It's you! You've ruined everything!"
"I'VE ruined everything!" Darien retorted, "You've ruined the GOOD STUFF!" he
was quite dramatic on this point and waved his arms about to express how all-
encompassing this disaster was, " It's ALLLL ruined because of you! With your
stupid black skirt and your crappy one-shouldered shirt and your lame pretty hair
and your strange voodoo kissing!"
Serena blinked and regarded him anew, "I don't think I've ever seen you freak out
before."
He stopped waving his arms and met her gaze, "I don't think I've ever had a
reason too!"
They both leaned back against the wall, "Look," Serena said, "There's only one
thing to do."
"Throw ourselves into traffic?" Darien moaned.
Serena rolled her eyes, "No, make-out with each other."
Darien stiffened, "Oh no! No no no no no no no no!"
He began to back away as she turned, "Look, I know it's insane, because it's us.
But what can we do? Obviously, it's us!"
"That can't be." He said, his face white with horror, "You're too young, and loud,
and crazy, and young….."
"Yes well, you're a jerk and you're way too tall for me—" he seemed taken aback
by that and slouched a little, "And you read too much and you're SO obnoxious
about what you learn! Really it seems impossible, but we already know it isn't."
"Yes it is!" he said a little desperately, "It IS impossible!"
"Look, maybe we don't get along because underneath it all, we have something
that's actually good." She said with inadvertent insight.
"I don't understand," he said, more to himself than her, "Why is it you?"
She looked equally baffled but stepped toe to toe with him and looked up into his
face. It was still there, the feeling. She knew he would meet her halfway as she
leaned up, even as he muttered something that sounded a lot like "We
shouldn't…"
They probably shouldn't. But they were going to anyway.
And the kiss felt just as fantastic as the first. It was uncanny. Serena's hands
slid up into his hair and he felt the skin on his neck break out in goosebumps at
the pleasure. What did it mean? It was more than just attraction, there was a
moment in the kiss and it was so intense he didn't know what to do with it. She
drew away though and caught it, palm to his cheek and when he looked into her
eyes he didn't see a teenager, or the Serena he knew from the arcade at all, it
was something else. Something that drew him in and terrified him all at once.
She leaned up and caught his bottom lip and he lost himself completely, catching
her up in his arms and making the height difference obsolete.
It was Rei who caught them like that as she and Chad hunted for a free room.
She never told them she saw but said only, very quietly to Chad, "My God, they
actually have the real thing."
But this was the one thing that Darien did not want to admit. He pushed it from
his mind just as Serena began to realize it herself. But there could be no
summoning of will against the sensation. He fumbled with one hand for a door
handle, any door handle, and found the room behind them unlocked—and empty.
They stumbled inside and he locked it before pulling feverishly at her clothes.
They were both a little drunk and both overhwhelmed. But Serena wasn't so
drunk that she didn't begin to appreciate it this time. Her woman's mind was
coming to the helm and she ordered this experience in her mind with that
feminine logic which so terrifies men. This felt good. Good feelings were subject
to the law of cause and effect. Something was causing it to be good. That
something had meaning and could be exploited for further feelings of goodness
with the addition of more of these factors. In other words, if touching Darien felt
good then she must feel something for him and exporing that feeling could only
yield more good. The conclusion of this experience could only be the pursuit of
more.
Unfortunately for Serena, Darien did not possess this logic and was left behind
after the sentence "This feels good."
Such is the balance of the universe.
Logic aside however, the electricity of the connection they shared was felt by
both as shirts came off and skin met skin. Serena found her own instincts
exciting as she instinctively pressed up against him and ran her hands over his
back and into his hair. She wrapped her legs around him as he lifted her and
turned her to lay down on the bed. It wasn't a bed so much as a mattress on the
floor with a scattering of blankets, but it was heavenly to sink into with him. His
mouth never left hers and in the heated tangle of lips and tongue she had a fierce
sensation of having him completely that rekindled what she had felt that first night
but forgotten. He was hers. And now that she remembered it clearly, she never
wanted to let that feeling go.
She hooked her legs about his hips and let his weight crush her for a long
moment. And he let her. He let her have whatever she wanted. This was not
the Darien from the arcade tucked away in a book with all his walls in place. And
it wasn't the taunting boy who kept himself guarded—she realized—behind the
making fun. This was a Darien both generous and lost. She was all that held
him together and he her.
And when he finally pulled away to kiss a line from her throat to her breasts she
was so ready. She arched up to meet him and gave over her thoughts and her
conclusions. This feeling would take care of itself. It was a power unto itself and
all they could do was the ride the crest of it wherever it led them.
She drew him back up to kiss her and fiddled with his belt and pants until finally
pulling them off so that he groaned against her mouth. Then he pulled back,
breathing hard, his eyes unfocused and reached for what he thought was the
buckle to her pants. Then his face changed and a funny smile turned up the
corners of his mouth as he said, "Oh, I forgot it was a skirt."
She couldn't help but giggle at the silly, appreciative look on his face before he
slid his hands up her legs and under. And then she really started to remember
that first night. She couldn't believe how much she'd forgotten. She could see
him remembering too as he pulled off her underwear and touched first tentatively
and then with confidence. He remembered what she liked.
And she remembered what he liked. Her hands wandered down, pulling at his
boxers and stroking him until he lost his rhythm with her and his balance so that
he toppled over. He landed on his side and she made short work of his boxers
and he of her skirt so there was nothing between them and then they had a fairly
humorous battle of wills as to who would please who. Darien rolled her over but
Serena surprised him with sudden strength and rolled him back making to kiss
her way down his stomach before he caught her with a laugh of surprise. They
finally settled on their sides facing each other and stroking at the other while they
kissed. It felt incredible but it wasn't enough.
Darien knew it wasn't enough and Serena was stirring restlessly too until she
finally pushed his hand away with her thigh and wrapped one leg around his hips.
A rush of heat had his hand slipping around to grasp her against him before
rolling her over and pressing between her legs without entering.
He kissed her mindlessly before pulling away to murmur, "Serena, I want…..I
want…"
He never had to finish because she was already nodding, her hands kneading his
back impatiently. He fumbled up blankly and grabbed for his pants. In the
pocket his mind repeated senselessly. In the pocket…
Finally he found the one condom he had brought on a whim. He was so out of it
he had a hard time focusing enough to open it. Serena sat up, tangling around
him to grab for it, "Hurry up!" she barked impatiently, "Open it!"
They both tried and wrestled with it, muttering and arguing as though it were a
milkshake at the arcade. But neither noticed this uncanny similarity—or telling
comfort level.
"No, here, let me!" he finally retorted, shaking off her hands.
He gave the package a determined look and ripped it hard—a little too hard in
fact He tore both package AND condom in two.
They both stared blankly at it a moment before his eyes met hers. And then, for
some reason, it was hilarious. He tossed it aside as they both laughed rather
drunkenly. Then he reached for her with a broad smile, "You first."
She smiled back but shook her head, "No you."
"Mm-mm, you."
"I was first last time!"
"So?"
"So! It's your turn."
But Darien was not to be deterred and laid her back with the strength that comes
from being tall. Her legs were still tangled around him and the sensation of bare
body against bare body was one that had him shutting his eyes in pleasure. He
kissed her with all his strength, then her breasts and finally down her stomach.
He could feel her heart beating fast, feel the strain of her body towards him and
the heat. She smelled soft and sweet and innocent and…….his. It was a feeling
he had never known before. She had given over to him and now he held her
completely. It was overwhelming and sank into him deeply. He tried to tell
himself she had only given herself over to the pleasure, but he couldn't shake the
feeling that it was more.
He kissed his way between her legs, memory serving him so that she shook and
strained and gasped beneath him. He swore he could feel what she was feeling.
The pleasure was shared. And at that memory he finally started to clearly recall
that first night. He let the memories come—they were all of feeling incredibly
good and he felt no danger from them.
Serena came apart in his arms and he savoured the feeling, gathering her up in
his arms as she clung and buried her face in his neck while her breathing
returned to normal. One of her buns had come undone and he gently undid the
other, pulling pin after pin out until he had to laugh at the sheer volume. My God
she was patient to spend this much time doing her hair.
Finally her hair was down and curled about her after being wound so tightly. He
ran his fingers through it and she gave a murmur of contentment. Then she
mumbled into his chest, "Is there any tissue?"
"Tissue?" he frowned and looked around, "Yeah, there's a box here. Why?"
She pulled herself up lazily and smiled, "Because it is SO your turn now!"
There was something wicked in her eyes then and he found himself rather
satisfied that he had put it there. She grabbed a handful of tissue before turning
him to lay down on the bed. He fell back with a smile and let her have her way.
Her long hair trailed down her back and she made a very sexy sight as she
straddled him. He caught up that hair as she leaned down to kiss him and
tangled their bodies together, laying down so that he was pressed between her
legs and stroked against the very edge of her until he was nearly out of his mind
for her. She seemed to enjoy it too and let him grasp her tight against him and
grind them together for some long moments.
She finally pulled back and slid down to take him in her mouth making him stiffen
and groan with that same sound of surrender she remembered delighting in last
time. She employed her hands this time and felt him shake with pleasure as she
drew him closer and closer. The incredible thing about it was how shared the
pleasure was, and how connected she felt. He was, in a strange way, vulnerable
like this and she enjoyed being the touch and presence that lured that out. She
swore she could feel the rise and fall of his pleasure within herself. The rhythm
was so intuitive, the beats of pleasure timing and resounding from them both with
a familiarity that struck so deep it left her feeling small, and ancient and
awakened and alive. What would happen when they did this together? She was
almost frightened to find out.
She felt him surrender, body arching and shuddering, unable to hold that
pleasure together. It could only be a shattering, the return a gathering together of
what was and what would be. She climbed over him and felt his arms tighten
around her with sudden possession, thrilling her as she remembered the
protective way he'd covered her that morning at Andrew's.
Their eyes met and in that moment Darien finally remembered that last of that
night. The humiliating wash of feeling that had overwhelmed him and broken his
pride and left him begging not to be alone anymore. And he could feel it coming
again. The desire to hang on and to be comforted. Serena watched his face go
white with sudden fear and then he lept up as though burnt.
"I can't do this!" he blurted and hurried back into his clothes with such speed
Serena had barely time to realize he'd said it.
"What?"
"I-I can't do this!" he said again, his eyes a little wild, "I can't…." he held her gaze
for a moment and trailed off, the clutch in his gut at the innocent expression of
concern in her eyes buckling his will with frightening strength. But then he
seemed to grow even more terrified and bolted from the room leaving a
bewildered Serena in his wake.
A few days later at the arcade, a still bewildered was catching up with the girls—
whose newfound various love-interests had kept them from properly relating the
party events to one another….yet.
Though Rei and Chad's first night had proved heady fodder, and Lita's new
college beau had some unusual talents and Mina could NOT stop raving about
Andrew even the newly smitten Ami had ditched Greg for the afternoon to hear
the real dirt—Serena and Darien's latest encounter.
Andrew had stopped pretending to dry glasses and was now leaning avidly
across the counter. Darien had vanished after that party and would not answer
his phone. Andrew was as gossip starved as the rest of them.
"So he just took off?" Lita repeated, eyes wide.
"What did you guys talk about before that?" Rei asked, "I mean, you must have
acknowledged that you're both….you know….more than friends."
Serena shook her head, "I never had time to say anything! He left right after—"
she met the slew of suddenly interested eyes and cut her own sentence off, "He
just bolted before either of us had said anything."
"He must have said SOMETHING!" Amy blurted before turning hideously red.
"He said….uh…..he said 'I can't do this.'" Serena recalled, "That's all he said and
he looked really afraid."
Rei seemed to think about that, "Well, how do you feel about it?"
Serena was remarkably calm, "Well, to be honest, I never would have considered
it. I mean, it is Darien." She said weakly, but she wasn't even convincing herself
anymore, "But now…the feeling just has to mean something and I want to know
what that is. So I guess, I'd be willing to give it a shot."
Rei smiled. Mina hadn't stopped smiling since she first found out about their
encounter. Lita shook her head, "You guys need to talk it out."
"What's he so afraid of?" Serena wondered out-loud.
But now Andrew shook his head gravely, "It's a little more complicated than that
with Darien."
Mina scoffed, "This can only bring them happiness. What are you saying, that
he's afraid of happiness?"
"That's exactly what I'm saying." Andrew replied.
"Huh?" Serena said—though they were all thinking it.
"Listen Serena," Andrew explained, "Your parents are married and happy right?
When you think of meeting someone and falling in love you see a happy future
ahead of you."
Serena nodded.
"Well," Andrew continued, "Darien's never known any of that. And he's been on
his own for a long time now."
"What do you mean?" Serena asked, eyes swimming with that fierce concern that
made her such a good friend.
"Oh my God!" Rei gasped, "Your right Andrew, I totally forgot!"
She turned to Serena and took her hands, "Darien was in a horrible accident
when he was five or six years old and lost both his parents—and his memory!
He can't remember ever having a family and grew up in an orphanage."
Serena's face had clouded with horror.
"No wonder he's afraid." Rei finished quietly.
"Do you think he's just afraid because it's all so new to him?" Serena asked after
a long silence. She had already made her decision. In fact, she realized she'd
made the decision some time ago.
Andrew sighed, "No, I think when you've spent so long being a little unhappy you
get used to it. And then it's scary to let it go because if you lose your happiness
again you'll feel that unhappiness keenly and have to learn to live with it all over."
Serena jumped up, "But you should never have to get used to unhappiness in the
first place!" she said righteously, arms and pigtails flying.
Rei privately thought Darien had finally met his match. There wasn't a wall in the
world that would keep Serena out.
"I'M going to talk to him!" Serena proclaimed.
She rounded on Andrew, "He's at home isn't he?" she accused.
"M-maybe…" Andrew said, holding up a tray to protect himself.
"Tell me where he lives Andrew!"
"I don't think that's what he wants Serena. You have to tread carefully here."
But now Mina and the rest of the girls were all staring him down.
"Give us that address Andrew!"
And so it came to pass that Serena stormed over to Darien's apartment,
managed to slip in when someone else opened the door and found her way to his
front door.
Here she rapped soundly and when she heard Darien scuffle over and check his
peep hole she waved, "Let me in Darien! We need to talk!"
"No way!" came his frightened reply.
"Let me in!" She cried angrily, pounding on the door.
"Go away!" he responded, and it finally came home to her just how young he
really was, and not in a good way.
The pounding and yelling went on for a bit before Serena stormed off to regroup
and plan.
To her credit she returned with an excellent plan an hour later. Her hair was
folded up behind her baseball cap which she pulled down over her eyes and she
carried a pizza.
So when she knocked and Darien called out she didn't answer but let him look
through the peephole and see the pizza. She heard the door unlock with
satisfaction.
"I think you have the wrong apartment," Darien was saying kindly, "I didn't order
any—"
Serena shoved past him and into the apartment.
"No!" he said aghast, pointing at her as she squared herself behind his coffee
table, ready to make chase.
"We NEED to talk buster!" She said determinedly.
/br br