Serena laid out in the sun wearing a light pink halter-top bikini and a pair of sunglasses. Next to her was a tray full of fruit and a couple bottles of water so she didn't have to get up. It was still early in the day, but everyone was already gone. Darien had a meeting to attend with his father, and Martha was shopping for a new dress for their dinner party being held in two weeks. There was nothing but peace and quiet, just the way she liked it. After a few moments she rolled over onto her stomach so her back could get a little sun as well. She didn't notice the back door open or the person standing beside her until she was lifted into the air and thrown into the crystal clear pool. Her feet hit the bottom as she pushed herself up out from underneath the water.
"Darien, I am going to kill you!" She yelled at the young man laughing at the side of the pool. He was still wearing his suit from his meeting, apparently just got home and noticed she was out there.
"You know it feels good." He held out his hand to help her back out of the pool when she made it to the side. She grabbed on firmly to lift herself up when she smiled.
"I don't know, why don't you see for yourself!" With that, she pulled as hard as she could, dumping him into the pool with her. When he came up for air she latched onto him as to dunk him back under, but he was faster than she was, pushing her under instead.
"That wasn't very nice, this was my favorite suit." He teased as he lifted himself out of the pool.
"Oh come on, you are already wet, you may as well stay in."
"Who says I wasn't?" He flipped off his shoes and socks then took off his shirt and jacket leaving him in only his suit pants. Before Serena knew it he dropped his pants and jumped back into the pool in his boxers. She couldn't help but begin to fantasize about his well trimmed body pressed up against her own. He shot back out of the water right in front of her, pulling her closer to him while keeping them both afloat. "It does feel good in here."
"I think it is starting to heat up…I mean its getting warmer…I mean the water, not you!" She mentally hit herself. "That wasn't what I meant, I mean…I'm such an idiot." She turned a deep red and let herself sink under the water. Darien laughed and pulled her back up, pulling her so that her body was pushed up against his.
"It is hotter in here." He breathed into her ear then he had to let her go so she wouldn't notice how much hotter it really was. She looked up at him, gazing into his eyes. She was lost in them, they seemed to be so kind and loving, something she longed for but was too afraid of taking it.
"Darien?" She whispered as her head slowly moved closer to his. Their lips were an inch apart when the back door opened, causing them to jump apart.
"Serena dear, I just wanted to tell you –" Martha stopped and looked in the pool, noticing Darien in there as well. "Oh Darien, I didn't expect you to be home so early."
"Yeah, the meeting was rather quick." He glanced over at Serena, who was now on the opposite side of the pool.
"Oh…well I was just going to say that I was home." She noticed how silent Serena was and smiled. It was a mothers instinct that something was going on between her and Darien, although both were being shy about it. "I'll be inside, see you two later, and don't forget to send that suit to the cleaners before it really is ruined." She said while glancing down at the business suit laying across the edge of the pool and walked back inside, and when she did Darien turned toward Serena.
"I'm sorry." The both said at the same time.
"What are you sorry about?" Darien asked, she did nothing wrong.
"About yesterday and then earlier, I don't know what's going on with me, I am usually not like this."
"Me too, Serena, there is just something about you that I am drawn too." Serena nodded, it was the same with her.
"I know what you mean, but I can't…I mean we can't…it's not right." She said, averting her eyes so she didn't have to look at him.
"Why not? Why is it not right?" He moved closer to her.
"Because Darien, you are Darien Chiba, and I am Serena, little orphan girl from nowhere…I am a nobody." He gently grabbed her face and made her look at him.
"Don't say that, you are somebody." His voice softened out and looked her straight in the eyes. "If you were nobody then how do you explain the feelings I have when you walk in the room? Or why I can't keep you out of my head or out of my dreams? Why is it that all I want to do right now is hold you in my arms and never let you go; to keep you safe with me." Softly he cupped her cheek, which she leaned into and smiled. "Give me a chance, just one to prove to you that I'm the one for you…it doesn't matter what social class we come from or who our parents are, all that matters is you and me."
"You wont make me regret this will you?" Darien's eyes brightened as he gathered her up into his arms.
"Never." Carefully his lips inched closer to hers and finally captured them with his own. Unknowingly to them there was an older woman watching them from the back window. She smiled and walked away, leaving the couple to peace.
"What's going on with you two?" John set down his fork on the table as he looked over at Serena and Darien who had been stealing glances at one another all night. Darien looked up at his father and grinned.
"I don't know what you are talking about father." John let out a small laugh.
"Oh don't give me that, you don't think I have noticed the looks you two have been giving each other all night long. Or perhaps why you have taken your seat next to the young lady, instead of your normal seat." There was a short pause. "And do you not think I would notice that your hands have been under the table all night." Serena tried to pull her hand away from Darien's grasp but he held it firm.
"John, leave them alone…continue to eat." Martha scolded her husband as she continued to eat.
"Ok, but as long as they are keeping it a secret they can at least use protection."
"John!"
"Dad!" John just laughed and continued to eat his dinner.
Darien sat on the bed holding Serena's hand, who sat next to him taking in the events of the day.
"We can take this as slow as you need it to be." Serena turned to him and nodded.
"I know…I trust you to protect me…I am not scared when I am with you, and I don't understand why I am so comfortable with you."
"I appreciate your trust in me, and I will not let you down. I will be by your side every step of the way." Serena smiled and stood up to walk him out of the room.
"I know you will…thank you." Darien returned the smile and kissed her lightly on the cheek.
"Good night." Darien walked out of the room and the door was closed behind him. Once Darien was out of the room, Serena ran back to her bed and jumped in, squealing with delight. She didn't know what was going on with her, nor did she care, all she cared about was that she was happy and that was because of the man who saved her life in more ways than one.
Serena knocked softly on the study doors before entering. She saw Martha sitting on a small couch, who upon seeing Serena enter the door stood to greet her.
"Thank you for coming to see me, I wanted to talk to you about a few things." Martha sat back down, patting the seat next to her for Serena to sit as well, which she did. "I wanted to talk to you about your relationship with Darien-"
"I'm sorry but I'm not going to stop seeing him." Martha laughed a little.
"No dear, that's not what I meant. I want you to see him, that's fine, I just want to make sure you are ready for that type of relationship." Martha grabbed the younger girl's hand. "Darien is not the type of man who jumps into relationships like this, it is very uncharacteristic of him, and I just wanted to make sure you know that he is serious and not one to play around with others emotions." Serena nodded.
"I know I haven't known him that long but it feels like I've known him my whole life…I'll admit, it scares me a little, but excites me at the same time." She blushed a little, embarrassed that she was telling this to her boyfriend's mother. "It's like I know he is the one for me, the one I was meant to be with." Martha grinned; she knew she didn't have to worry about this girl breaking her son's heart.
"That's wonderful news dear, come on…lets go to lunch." The two of them spent the rest of the day together, shopping and talking about various things. It was as if Serena had a mother now, something she had always wanted.
Serena awoke at six o'clock on Friday morning to find fresh flowers sitting in a large vase on her dresser. Smiling she got out of bed and headed toward the shower that was calling her name. She emerged ten minutes later from the now foggy bathroom, and began the task of drying her hair. Within thirty minutes, she had her hair completely dry and pulled up on both sides how she liked it. Putting on her new knee length black skirt and v-neck red shirt she was ready to go and eat after she put on her makeup. She put her notebooks in her forest green backpack and carried it downstairs along with her leather jacket.
"Hey Jake, could I have some toast with grape jelly please?" She asked as she walked in the kitchen. She sat down at the small table and took a bite of her toast as it was set down in front of her. She picked up the paper only to find on the front cover were big bold letters that read: YOUNG CHIBA FINDS LOVE. After taking a drink of her orange juice and flipped the paper over she almost choked when she saw a picture of her and Darien kissing at the mall along with various other photos taken during the week.
"Are you ok Lady Serena?" Jake asked coming toward her.
"Oh no." She wined and put her head down on the table with embarrassment. Darien came walking in the kitchen along with John and Martha.
"What happened?" Darien asked walking to her quickly, giving her a soft kiss on the cheek. He heard Jake start to laugh a little, then his parents. "What's so funny?"
"Young Chiba finds love." His father announced. "How cute!" Darien took the paper room his father's hands and looked at the paper. He too, started to laugh a bit.
"I don't know why you think this is so funny?" Serena announced. "My first day of school and the only thing people are going to talk about is me on the front page of the damn newspaper. How is that going to help me fit in?"
"More than you will know." Darien answered her, causing her to look up at him in confusion.
"Darien's right honey." Martha added. "How many girls do you know wish to be with Darien?"
"A lot."
"Right, so what do you think the girls will say when they see this picture of you and me?" Serena just shrugged her shoulders.
"They will be jealous. You have instant popularity my dear." Martha added while smiling. "Don't worry about it. Besides, I think it is kind of cute." She said looking at the picture again. "I think I might have it framed." Martha smiled at the two blushing teens.
"How did they get these anyway? This happened on Saturday, almost a week ago." She asked, a bit annoyed. Everyone looked at Darien.
"I guess the press had to get the picture from someone, and check sources and stuff."
"Oh well, there's nothing we can do about it now." Serena turned to Darien and smiled. "Did you want to take me to school, knowing that I don't know how to get there." She asked while picking her back pack up off the ground. He nodded and took the bag out of her hands, throwing it over his shoulder while wrapping his arm around her waist.
Serena followed Darien to the school and they parked in the student parking. Serena had never seen so many nice cars in one place before. Her old school had mostly junk cars in the parking lot. Darien got out and walked over to Serena's car, still carrying her back pack for her, and opened the car door for her.
"Thank you." She said as he helped her out of the car after putting the top up. Together they walked hand in hand through the halls to the office to check her in. He opened the door, allowing her to enter first before following.
"Mr. Chiba, so nice to see you again." An older man shook Darien's hand.
"Hello Mr. Snail. How are you doing?"
"Good, who is this young beauty with you?" He said while kissing Serena's hand. She forced herself not to slap the man, and plastered a fake smile.
"This is Serena Stevens, she is new to the school. We were on our way to get her schedule so she could get on her way." Darien replied while placing an arm around Serena, saying 'she's mine'.
"Oh I see. I should get going. Nice meeting you Serena." He called then left the office.
"You need to watch that guy, he tries to date all his students." Serena nodded and continued to the registration desk. "Mrs. Angel, I'd like you to meet Serena Stevens." He said to the older lady behind the desk. She had on a loose sundress and her hair was turning gray.
"Hello Serena, I've heard a lot about you from Mrs. Chiba." She pulled out some papers and handed them to Serena. "There is your schedule, a map of the school, your locker number and combination and a few other things. If you have any problems, let me know." Darien smiled and thanked the woman then walked Serena out of the office.
"So what is your first class?" He asked while looking at her schedule.
"Literature with Mr. Blake, room 236." Darien nodded.
"I had him, he is a bit on the weird side, but he is nice, sort of." Serena giggled and walked with him. "Your locker is here." He pointed to locker number 318.
"Thank you Darien." She smiled and walked into the door that he opened for her.
"Mr. Blake, this is Serena Stevens, she is new to the school." The bald guy looked up at her and smiled.
"Good morning Miss Stevens. My, you look lovely." He smiled at her. She blushed a little. "I will take good care of the little lady Mr. Chiba." He gave Darien a weird smile, which Darien gave back. "You may sit wherever you would like."
"Thank you." She nodded and walked over to a desk in the front row. She noticed a bunch of girls were all watching her and she smiled.
"Now if you need anything, just give me a call and I will be here. And make sure not to let any of these boys flirt with you or I may have to have a little talk with them." Darien whispered into her ear. She laughed a little and nodded her head. "Now be a good girl and play nice with the other kids."
"Yes father." Darien smiled and pulled her close to him, giving her a short, yet passionate kiss before walking out of the room.
"You are soo lucky girl!" A girl called out from the back row. She was tall and had long blond hair. She walked over to Serena and extended her hand. "I'm Mina, you are?"
"Serena." She shook the girl's hand. Several other girls followed Mina.
"This is Lita…" pointing to a girl with mid length wavy brown hair. "Rae…" she had long black hair, "and Amy." Who had short black hair.
"It is nice to meet all of you." Serena said smiling.
"Well class is going to start soon, so we better get to our seats. It was nice meeting you too Serena." The girls waved and went to their seats in the back of the class. The bell rang and everyone scrambled to their seats.
"Ok class, we have a new student this year. Miss Serena Stevens." He told her to come to the front of the class, which she did. "So why don't you tell us about yourself?"
"Well, I've lived here for the past seventeen years and decided to attend here for my senior year." She really had no idea what to say about herself, she didn't really want to tell them the truth.
"Does anyone have any questions about Miss Stevens?"
"I have one." A girl with short brown hair stood up in the middle row. "Do you have a relationship with Darien Chiba?" She sat back down.
"You could say that." She nodded her head. Darien said she should use their relationship as a tool to fit in. She laughed to herself.
"What kind of car do you drive?" A guy from the back called out.
"A black corvette convertible." She said proudly.
"Where do you live?" Asked another guy from the back.
"I live in the Chiba residents." When she said that all the girls' jaw's dropped. Everyone started to ask questions all at once.
"Does the father really shot whoever comes onto their property?"
"I've never seen anyone get shot, however I haven't seen anyone try to break onto the property either."
"Is it true that Darien was a bastard's child?" Asked one guy in the front row. Everyone shut up when they heard that.
"Do the Chiba's really have 30 rooms in the house?"
"Actually I have only seen the West wing, and it has 20 rooms, so I don't know how many there are all together." She answered.
"Ok class, any questions about Serena, not the Chiba's?" Mr. Blake asked.
"Where are your parents?" One girl asked. Serena didn't want to tell them that she was an orphan.
"They are off on a trip in America. They wanted me to stay here and finish high school so that's why I am staying with the Chiba's."
"Ok, enough questions." He turned to Serena. "You may have a seat now Miss Stevens." She nodded and took her seat.
At lunch a group of guys asked her to eat with them, but she decided to eat with Mina, Lita, Rae, and Amy who were more then happy to let her eat with them.
"Serena how was your day so far?" Mina asked before biting into a green apple.
"It has been so exhausting. I've never had to answer so many questions in my life. Now I have to go home and get the history on the Chiba family to see if all these rumors are true." The girls all laughed as Serena sighed.
"Speaking of the Chiba family…" Lita pointed behind Serena with her mouth wide open.
"Wha?" She turned around and found Darien walking toward her with a rose in one hand and a large case in the other hand. He reached her and handed her the rose and kissed her on the cheek. "What are you doing here?" She squeaked out.
"Well, I figured that you might need this for your next class." He gave her the case and inside was a black lap top computer and a few disks and C/D's. "Your next class is computer management or something like that. This is my old computer, since I didn't have time to buy you a new one." He smiled at her.
"Darien, I don't need a new computer." She blushed as he lowered his head to her ear so nobody could hear him.
"I know, I just wanted to see you." He backed up just a little then looked deep into her blue eyes and kissed her softly on the lips. At least that was what it was meant to be. He quickly deepened the kiss, setting his hands on both sides of Serena's face. He pulled away when everyone started to clap. "I'll see you at home Sere." He waved then left the cafeteria after saying hello to a few of his guy friends.
"WOW!" Was all the girls could say. Serena was still in a little daze after kissing the man of her dreams. She let out a soft giggle. The girls at the table just sat in their seats watching her. When Serena noticed that half the room was looking at her, she blushed a bright red.
"I have to get going. I still have to go to my locker." Quickly writing her phone number down and handing it to each of the girls, she stood up and carried the computer to the class then went to her locker and grabbed her backpack that she put in there for lunch.
As the bell rang, students ran through the halls and out of the school. The first day was finally over and Serena took her time to get to her car while thinking about all the ridiculous questions that she had to answer all day. She had walked over to her locker and put her books that had been assigned to her away, and then walked out toward the student parking lot. The man she had met in the office that morning had stopped her as she exited the building.
"Hello Serena, how nice to see you again." He said with a cheesy smile, showing off his plaque covered yellow teeth.
"Yes, nice to see you again too, Mr. Snail." She bowed a little and tried to excuse herself, but his hand stopped her again. "What do you think you are doing?" She started to panic.
"What does it look like I am doing?" Her mind began to replay the night she was left in the alley. "I am doing what you want me to do." He whispered in her ear. Oh my god! Oh my god! She screamed over and over in her head.
"Serena?" She didn't answer. Mr. Snail held out a book that he picked up. "SERENA!" She looked at him in horror. Did I imagine it? "You dropped your book." He said as he handed it to her and let go of her arm.
"Th-thanks." She snatched it out of his hands and ran out to her car feeling a little uneasy.
A large group of students from her classes surrounded her car as she reached it. Many of the guys were all smiling at her and smoothing out their clothes, and the girls were jumping up and down with excitement; it was like Serena had became an instant celebrity. She unlocked her car and put her notebooks and backpack in the trunk.
"Hey Serena!" Ken called out over the volume of the crowd when he saw her; Ken was in her second period history class and who was also dating Lita. "A bunch of us are all going to the café in town. We were wondering if you wanted to come along." He had on a white polo shirt and a pair of blue jeans and a thick short gold necklace. Before she could answer her car phone rang.
"Hold that thought." She said as she reached for the black car phone and answered it. "Hello?"
"Hey Sere, it's me, Darien." She nodded with a hint of sarcastic attitude.
"Yeah, I got that, who else knows this number, I don't even have it." She joked. "Anyway, what did you need?" Should I tell him about Mr. Snail? No! I can deal with this on my own.
"Um…actually, I thought I could show you around town a little more, maybe grab a bite to eat later."
"Well…I am going to some café in town with a group of people, I'm sure they won't mind if you come." She looked over at Ken who just nodded.
"Sure, I know the place, I'll see you there."
"Bye." She hung up the phone and turned back to the group. "Ok, let's go." She got into her car and followed the other ten cars in front of her.
Serena walked through the glass doors for the Sunset Café and followed the group to a long booth in the far back corner where everyone sat. The café lived up to its name in the decorations. All the walls were painted as if you were watching a sunset, along with paintings of beaches from around the world. There was a small counter with a few built in bar stools. She sat at the end and was the first to order when the server came. She ordered a chocolate milkshake and large French fries. Most of the others got a hamburger and a coke, along with some ice cream afterwards. To her surprise, another group of people from her school came in and sat at the booths around them. She realized that this place was the hangout of the town, but she still didn't really know what else was around since she never really had the chance to come to the 'rich side of town'.
"Serena right?" A guy with sandy blond hair and green eyes asked as he held out his hand. She nodded and took his hand, but what surprised her was that he kissed the back of her hand instead of shaking it. The guy's forwardness flattered and scared her at the same time. She let out a sigh of relief when she saw that Darien had walked into the small café at the same time and was glaring at the guy.
"Well, I am Diamond. If you need anything, please let me know." Serena nodded.
"I will, and it is nice to meet you Diamond, but if you will excuse me, I have to meet someone." She turned a little to face Darien who seemed a little angry with the man. "Hey." She tried to calm him down a little as she scooted over a little and patted the bench next to her for him to sit, which he did.
"Darien, it is good to see you again man. Where have you been?" Diamond asked.
"I've had to do a little work. It hasn't been as fun out of school as I thought it would be." The server walked over to him with a small notepad.
"What will it be Darien? The usual?" Batting her eyelashes and giggling she took his order as he nodded and she went to the back kitchen. Moments later she came out with a chocolate milkshake and a small order of fries, the same thing that Serena had already ate.
"Dude, you know, I have never seen someone with such a strange order besides you, and Serena." Ken added, who was sitting across from them.
"Yeah, well great minds think alike." Darien said as he put his arm around Serena's shoulder and pulled her closer. She had grown accustom to him holding her, it gave her comfort knowing he was there protecting her. "I'll be right back, have to use the little boy's room." He got up, kissed Serena on the cheek, and walked toward the back of the café to the bathrooms.
"What's with him?" Mina asked Serena who just looked at her funny not knowing what she was talking about. "He just seems so jumpy lately…you not giving him any?"
Those words echoed in Serena's head…Not giving him any?...Her thoughts again drifted to that one night…she gave him some…But I didn't want to! It wasn't my choice! Her heart screamed but the devil inside of her begged to differ. You know you didn't do anything to stop it…you liked it! Tears began to form in the backs of her eyes. She didn't mean for that night to happen…she didn't mean to not please Darien…She didn't mean for any of this…would Darien not want her because someone got to her first?
Darien returned to see Serena in a panicked state and asked Mina softly what had happened, trying not to bring any attention to them.
"I only asked her if she was giving any to you or not…I don't see what she got so upset over." Darien just shook his head and quickly wrapped his arms around the frightened girl and helped her to get out of her seat.
"Hey Dare, you taking Serena to bed already?" Diamond laughed out as he saw the two start to leave which caused Serena to freeze. This is all wrong! She said to herself, but was pulled away by Darien who just glared at Diamond and walked out of the door. He opened the passenger side of his car and helped her to get in and fastened her seatbelt for her. He then took the keys to her car and threw them to Mina who had been following them.
"Follow me home." She nodded to Darien's command and got into Serena's car, started it, and waited for Darien to lead the way. The two cars bolted out of the café parking lot and were on their way to the Chiba Mansion, which was hidden from the public eye along with heavy security.
On the way home, Darien couldn't quit glancing over at the now sleeping angel beside him. After taking a ten mile road in the middle of nowhere they had pulled up to the driveway and as quietly as he could Darien got out of the car and lifted Serena out as well. He was careful to support her head as he made his way into the house with the help of Mina who opened the door for him.
Carrying her upstairs and into her room, he realized how much he liked this girl and possibly even loved, although he has only known her for such a short time. He softly tucked her into the bed and walked downstairs to take Mina to get her car. She stood in front of the large painting of the Chiba family that was painted a little more than a year ago. When Darien saw her she had ran her hand across his face and sighed at the painting. He knew she had liked him, but he never wanted to admit it to himself because he had once liked her in return. Now he felt guilty about it because of Serena and she was Mina's friend.
"You ready?" Mina jumped at the sound of Darien's voice and she quickly turned around to face him.
"Yes. How is Serena?" They began their way to the cars again.
"She's still sleeping." With a sigh he turned and faced her. "Please don't tell anyone about this, Serena has had a hard time for the past few weeks and if this got out she would be devastated."
"I won't tell a soul." Mina said as she shook her head. One thing that Darien had liked about Mina was that she was always honest and kind hearted.
"Thank you." With that he got into the car, not wanting Mina to get her hopes up he didn't open her door for her. She got in herself and buckled her seatbelt and they drove off back to the Café.
"Darien?" He raised his eyebrows and glanced over at her.
"Hm?"
"Why is it that we never dated?" She said softly, trying to keep herself from saying it but her curiosity was too great to keep herself quiet. "I mean, I know you liked me, so why didn't you ever ask?"
"Well…" Darien stumbled for an answer good enough to satisfy her. "Honestly, I really wasn't ready for a relationship at the time. I wanted to wait for the perfect person for me and at the time I couldn't decide who would be the one so I didn't chance having to break someone's heart." He spoke sincerely, knowing that if he said something wrong it would really hurt her.
"Do you think that Serena is right for you?"
"Yes, I do." That was the last thing said for the rest of the ride. They pulled back up to the Café and Darien stopped the car beside Mina's silver Mustang to let her get out.
"If Serena feels better, perhaps you should come to the party at the Anderson house tonight." Darien nodded.
"I'll tell her about it and think about it, thanks." She turned to Darien and kissed him quickly on the cheek as if saying thanks. He then sped off, returning to the house.
Back at the Chiba house, Serena walked out of her room and downstairs where she was greeted by John and Martha, who seemed a little troubled about something but smiled anyway. They were sitting in the large living room on the large black leather couches and drinking a cup of tea that Jake had made for them. One thing that Serena had learned during her stay at the estate was that John and Martha highly depended on Jake to do what they need him to do. It was almost like they had forgotten what it was like not to have someone wait of them all the time, but then again they most likely had been rich their whole lives.
"Hello Serena." John said while holding onto his wife lovingly. "How do you feel today?"
"A lot better then earlier, thank you for asking. How is your day going?" It was surprising how much Serena's attitude changes between the companies that she is with. At the manner, she is very prim and proper, where as when she is out with Darien or school she is more casual like she had grown up.
"Do you have a moment; we need to discuss something with you." Serena's smile faded and the lines above her forehead appeared as it always does when she thinks she is in trouble.
"Don't worry dear, nothing is wrong." Martha said as Serena nodded and sat down across from them.
"What was it that you needed to talk to me about?" She asked, still a little tense.
"Well, it's about Darien." Serena raised an eyebrow at John. "As you know, he is the most sought after guy in Tokyo." She nodded.
"Anyway my dear, we know there are strong feelings between the two of you, but we are faced with a small problem." Martha continued. "Darien's grandfather left him his fortune along with several of the businesses and property that he owns, including places like the Tokyo Hospital and the orphanage that you were at, but he is not allowed to get it until his 21st birthday."
"Here is where the problem comes." John interrupted. "In order for him to get the property, he must be married." The color from Serena's face faded. "His birthday is in 9 and a half months; and if he isn't married then everything goes to his cousin who will knock it all down to build his own buildings." A small tear fell from Serena's eye. They can't be telling me that he is going to marry someone else!
"I know this is hard for you, and we figured it would be best to tell you before we told him."
"He doesn't know about this?" The couple shook their heads. "So what are you telling me? I can't be with him because he has to get married to save some property?"
"No, no, no Serena. That is all wrong. We know it is a lot to ask you." Martha wrapped her arms around the young girl.
"Ask me what? I don't understand."
"We want Darien to marry YOU." With that said Serena fainted. "Well…She took that quite well don't you think Martha?" Martha just rolled her eyes at her husband and helped him get her upstairs to her bed.
Serena awakened a little later by a soft kiss on her forehead and a soft hand moving the hair out of her face. Slowly she opened her eyes only to be met with a pair of deep blue ones. She smiled softly at the handsome man that stood before her in a white shirt and a pair of black dress pants.
"How are you feeling?" Darien asked as he sat down beside her on the bed.
"I could be better, I just have a lot on my mind right now and I don't know what to do." She sighed in frustration.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Serena shook her head.
"Not right now. I just need something to get my mind off of everything, like a drink or something, I don't know." Darien couldn't help but smile as he looked at her being so spastic; it was cute.
"How about a party?" Suddenly her eyes shot open and she smiled as she nodded. "There is one at the Anderson house tonight, a sort of back to school party."
"That would be fun…what time does it start?" Darien looked down at his watch that read seven.
"An hour."
"Ok, well get out so I can get ready, and change out of that and put some party clothes on, I'm sure you have something other than a suit in your closet." She stated as she pushed him out of the door and ran for her dresser to find something else to wear.
After about ten minutes she slowly walked out of her room and down the stairs, but stopped when she heard voices from the study. As she got closer to the she realized that the voices were of Darien and his parents who seemed to be arguing. She sat by the door quietly and listened to what they were talking about.
"I don't understand why you won't go along with this son." John said sounding a little upset and mad at the same time.
"Dad, I don't want to force her to marry me. I don't want her to marry me because my parents say so. She was not born into this and she should not have to go through it." He told them, trying to keep his temper in check.
"You love her don't you?" His father asked seriously.
"Yes, I think I do. I don't know how or why, but I know I do, and that is why I won't go along with this. I want her to marry me because she wants to, for love." Darien said in a quiet voice.
Outside the room Serena felt a tug on her heart. She knew she liked him, a lot, but could she love him? Was that possible to love someone after knowing them for only a week? Her heart begun to race as her head began to throb. She slowly stood up and turned the knob on the door. She let herself walk inside and face the family who had taken care of her in her time of need.
One site of Darien made her feel better, made her head stand still and her heart began to pump harder. Her palms started to sweat and her stomach began to turn into knots and her breathing became unsteady. Then it hit her like a ton of bricks. I LOVE HIM! Her mind screamed.
"Serena?" Darien took a step toward her, as did she. They were in reaching distance but yet stayed apart. "Are you ok?" She looked up and stared into his ocean blue eyes and nodded.
"I've never been better." She smiled and jumped into his arms. "I love you." She whispered into his ear, and laughed as he twirled her around. His parents just stood back and watched the two young people. He finally put her down and looked at her.
"Don't think I am going to marry you though." Everyone's face went blank. "You don't expect me to marry someone, who for one, has never taken me out; two, didn't even propose; and three, where in the hell is my ring." She looked him straight in the eyes. Their love radiated from both of them.
"I will get right on that my dear." He smiled and pulled her into his arms. She moved her head in and kissed him deeply. She could hear Martha sigh, and John just laugh at his wife. Everything will be just fine. She told herself.
"What do you say we go to that party tonight; it will be our date." She kissed him lightly again.
"All right." He said softly, still out of breath from her last kiss. She smiled and patted his head.
"Now, be a good boy and go get dressed." He nodded and without a word, he walked upstairs and into his room. As Serena turned around, she was pulled straight into Martha's arms that started to cry when Serena embraced her back.
"I'm going to have a daughter." She said in between sniffles.
"Not yet, I still don't have a proposal." The two just laughed. "I have to go make sure he is getting ready." Martha nodded and let her go. "Besides, I still have a game of tennis to play." She added while walking out of the room.