In honor of the Prom (or Morp, or whatever your particular school prefers) I present the next installment of Operation: YES!!! I am so happy! HUZZAH! Oh, and some very exciting news. Remember way back in Chapter 1 when I mentioned that this story was based on my friends Laura and Josh and their oh-so-entertaining Prom experience? Well, I saw them when I was home for Spring Break, and they are engaged! So, Laura and Josh, this chapter is for you, with many good wishes!
'IT'S NAP TIME! Do you want to take a nap? Lie down and close your eyes. It is dark. You can listen in the dark. What do you hear? Do you hear the Boogey Man? Do you hear the werewolf? Do you hear the Bloody Monster? No no. There is nothing there at all. Now go to sleep.'
~Shel Silverstein. (Maybe I should up the rating on this fic based on the Silverstein quotations at the beginning. Hmmm. Nah! Yes, I have a twisted sense of humor. *evil grin*)
Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon. Once more, with feeling!
Operation: YES!!!
Chapter 5 ~ What Do You Say?
*~*~*~*~*Serena's POV*~*~*~*~*
This was not fair. This was *so* not fair. He was being nice again! Give a guy an apology, and he runs wild. This was my inner voice talking, rationalizing with me.
- Come on, Serena. Just because he bought you balloons? And a teddy bear? And a dozen roses? And scattered them all over the city with romantic little cards on them? Just because of *that* you are going to say...? -
I listened to that little voice. I heard her out. I waited until she wound down, out of a deep respect for the workings of my psyche. Then I stomped on her. She obviously had nothing constructive to say. And once I closed the iron metal door over that stupid voice that had gotten me into this situation in the first place, I found that things weren't quite as complicated as I had first imagined.
*~*~*~*~*Darien's POV*~*~*~*~*
She wasn't moving.
Serena was standing in the middle of the park, in a very short skirt (not that I was complaining...no, no, I wasn't going to go there...) clutching five long stemmed red roses and a single white one, and staring as if she had never seen anything quite like me. I didn't want to credit the thought, but there seemed to be only one explanation for this extended pause.
- She is speechless. Impossible. This girl can't possibly have nothing to say...oh, God, I've scared her. Very nice, Chiba, really smooth. Now she thinks you're a raving lunatic. If she didn't think you were nuts before, there is a very real possibility that she now considers you a terminal head case. -
And for all I knew, she was right. She'd all ready told me no. Not once, not twice...I'd actually lost track of the number of times I'd asked her. It had to be at least six, if you counted all those presents. Not counting the other prospective date I had chased off. She probably thought I was a stalker.
My neighbors had been accurate in their analysis.
I was crazy.
I nearly blushed. Actually, I may have.
"Listen, Serena, I know that you may see this as a little over the top, and I don't blame you, but I promise I'm not crazy. Well, not certifiably crazy anyhow, and..." I stopped talking. I was babbling. I never babble. Cool, collected and confident guy. Right.
I was in big trouble.
And through it all, Serena just stared at me. And finally I gave up and stared back at her. It wasn't the best reaction I had ever had, but there wasn't anything else to do. I couldn't think of anything intelligent to say, so I kept my mouth shut and watched Serena. It wasn't a hardship. A slight breeze blew up, ruffling her skirt and my jacket. I let my kept my eyes on her, just watching her face, her expression. I had no idea why I was having such a hard time thinking of something to say. We had talked before...why was this time so different?
"You look good in a tux."
I jumped. She had spoken. Well, that was progress. Now we were communicating. Still, I wasn't certain I could speak without babbling, so I smiled and looked down.
- Very smooth, Chiba. First you blush, then you babble, now you are embarrassed. This can't possible get any worse. Just get out while you are able to cling to a few shreds of dignity. -
"Darien?"
"Yeah?"
Hey, a conversation. We were moving into high tech territory now. Two words, but it was an improvement.
"I don't understand," Serena paused, as though searching for words. She settled for a shrug and a slight toss of her arms. She tightened her grip on the roses, and looked down at them. Then she looked back up at me, a bewildered and slightly curious expression on her face. "I really don't get it. Why go to all this trouble?"
I paused. The last time she had asked me this question, I hadn't had an answer for her. Well, I had, but not one that I felt comfortable sharing with the greater student body population. So I had kissed her instead of attempting to respond verbally. I thought it was much more satisfactory than batting words around for a few minutes. And she had kissed me back and all had been right with my universe. Ultimately, though, I had pissed her off, a mental state that I seemed to have a great deal of skill in inspiring Serena towards. This time around, the reply required great consideration. Why couldn't I take no for an answer?
- Because you like this girl. You like her a lot. You like that she said no, that she didn't fall at your feet the very first time you spoke to her. You like that it took effort, and that you actually had to work, hell, are still working, to get a date. You appreciate her attitude, her sense of humor, her sarcasm. She isn't boring. -
There I was again, in the same situation I had found myself in earlier this same day. I didn't have an answer to her perfectly reasonable inquiry. And, as many people know, if you have no answer, counter with a question.
"Why do you keep saying no?"
*~*~*~*~*Serena's POV*~*~*~*~*
*That* was a little unexpected. He had thrown me off balance...again. And I smiled. Just a little smile, more rueful than anything else...because the truth was, if you took away all the events that the past few days had wrought, my refusal was all about principal. He insulted me, I humiliated him...a truly entertaining, and at times enjoyably aggravating, cycle that just kept going and going and going; like the Energizer Bunny. Darien gained momentum from my reactions, and I was inspired to new heights of creativity by his persistence.
All things considered, I had had a great time in the past few days. True, I had been insulted, humiliated, exasperated, and infuriated, but it had been one hell of a ride. Darien had made my life very interesting in the recent past.
- He's funny. He's entertaining. He doesn't mind being the center of attention, and he handled public humiliation with grace. And really, how many guys could manage a smile with a chocolate malt crown? He's determined, that's for damn sure. And he has a great smile. -
I found myself marveling at my change in perception. Five days ago, Darien Chiba had been a vague concept of a person. He had not entered my sphere of existence, and had therefore been rather unimportant. When he had crossed my mind, I had thought of him as cocky, sarcastic and cold. And he was all of those things. But he was also romantic, determined, and humorous. Then there was that whole drop-dead gorgeous thing he had going on, not to mention that he was a great kisser. He was an enigma; and I liked him. A lot.
The absurdity of the situation struck me from a distance. This was Prom, not a lifetime commitment. It was one night, one night out of my life and his, a single evening. But it felt like something more. Hey, can you blame me? A starry night, roses, not to mention a gorgeous guy in a rather striking tuxedo? All we needed was the violin and a few movie cameras. But I found myself wondering what this one date might lead to. And I wasn't opposed to the idea in any way, shape, or form.
I stood there, looking at the roses, and the stars, and feeling the breeze on my face.
"Are you going to ask again?"
*~*~*~*~*Darien's POV*~*~*~*~*
Was I going to ask again? I thought I'd all ready done that...but then again, maybe she wanted to hear me say it.
- And hey,- I thought, with a sort of mental shrug, - why the hell not? The worst she can say is no...again. -
It all sounded so simple, so rational in my head. Mentally, I knew that if she turned me down, it wouldn't be the end of the world. I had taken physics, so I was fully aware that the world would continue spinning merrily on its axis no matter what the outcome of my love life. But the question became, what would I do if she said no? If she turned me down this time, would I ask her again? Would I accept her answer and begin my search for another date?
For something I had once thought so trivial, the Prom was becoming something much more. I couldn't believe that a dance, something I had scoffed at for years, mocked endlessly, had become such a large part of my life in recent days. And I didn't mind at all.
I walked up to Serena, offered her the remaining red roses, which I had forgotten I had been holding, and when she accepted them, I took her free hand.
"Serena, will you attend the Prom with me?"
I waited nervously, uncertain of my reception. I blanked my face and stood up straight. It was enough to make my ex-ballroom dancing teacher proud. But I kept my eyes on Serena's face, and I waited.
Serena looked down at her shoes, and lifted the roses to her face. She inhaled their perfume and I saw her eyes drifting closed. Her lashes formed dark crescents on her cheeks. The breeze kicked up again, tugging at the rose petals. A few of them jumped free and swirled in the breeze, away from us and into the night. I watched them go, and loosened my grip on Serena's hand. Serena hadn't answered, and I knew that she was trying to think of a way to let me down gently. You know how people are always saying that you can feel your heart sinking? Well, it's true. And mine was sinking to do the 'Titanic' proud. I appreciated the gesture, but I knew that if I just walked away now, this whole thing would be a lot easier. Besides, if she had a pie hidden somewhere, I didn't want to be around when she decided to throw it.
That thought made me smile. She wouldn't do that. Why repeat a trick? But her rejection still stung, and stung a lot deeper than I had ever imagined it would. I wasn't sure why...she had turned me down before. But this time, this time I had genuinely wanted her to say yes. I started to take a step back, intent on fading into the background.
Serena's hand shot out and grabbed mine. Quickly, she twined her fingers through my own and pulled me back to my original position. I was shocked. Hand holding? That must mean she wanted me to stick around. I felt my heart begin to lift, helium balloon style. Then she looked up at me and smiled; a brilliant, blinding smile.
'Wow,' I thought, and started to smile myself. Because that bright of a smile...well, though I had a good idea what it meant, I didn't really care. Because I felt the urge to give this girl anything she wanted to keep her smiling like that for the rest of her life. Preferably at me.
Serena took one of the red roses out of the bouquet in her hand, and broke off the stem. She had to drop my hand to do it, as one hand was occupied with the profusion of roses I had showered upon her, but she managed quite well. I was impressed, and I didn't move. There wasn't any reason to; I was very happy right where I was. Still smiling, she tucked it into my lapel and patted the flower gently into place. Still holding my hand, which I was more than willing to relinquish to her permanent care, Serena stepped in closer to me, so close that we were almost touching, and turned her face up toward mine. She was still smiling, and I felt the smile on my face growing to match hers.
"Okay."
'IT'S NAP TIME! Do you want to take a nap? Lie down and close your eyes. It is dark. You can listen in the dark. What do you hear? Do you hear the Boogey Man? Do you hear the werewolf? Do you hear the Bloody Monster? No no. There is nothing there at all. Now go to sleep.'
~Shel Silverstein. (Maybe I should up the rating on this fic based on the Silverstein quotations at the beginning. Hmmm. Nah! Yes, I have a twisted sense of humor. *evil grin*)
Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon. Once more, with feeling!
Operation: YES!!!
Chapter 5 ~ What Do You Say?
*~*~*~*~*Serena's POV*~*~*~*~*
This was not fair. This was *so* not fair. He was being nice again! Give a guy an apology, and he runs wild. This was my inner voice talking, rationalizing with me.
- Come on, Serena. Just because he bought you balloons? And a teddy bear? And a dozen roses? And scattered them all over the city with romantic little cards on them? Just because of *that* you are going to say...? -
I listened to that little voice. I heard her out. I waited until she wound down, out of a deep respect for the workings of my psyche. Then I stomped on her. She obviously had nothing constructive to say. And once I closed the iron metal door over that stupid voice that had gotten me into this situation in the first place, I found that things weren't quite as complicated as I had first imagined.
*~*~*~*~*Darien's POV*~*~*~*~*
She wasn't moving.
Serena was standing in the middle of the park, in a very short skirt (not that I was complaining...no, no, I wasn't going to go there...) clutching five long stemmed red roses and a single white one, and staring as if she had never seen anything quite like me. I didn't want to credit the thought, but there seemed to be only one explanation for this extended pause.
- She is speechless. Impossible. This girl can't possibly have nothing to say...oh, God, I've scared her. Very nice, Chiba, really smooth. Now she thinks you're a raving lunatic. If she didn't think you were nuts before, there is a very real possibility that she now considers you a terminal head case. -
And for all I knew, she was right. She'd all ready told me no. Not once, not twice...I'd actually lost track of the number of times I'd asked her. It had to be at least six, if you counted all those presents. Not counting the other prospective date I had chased off. She probably thought I was a stalker.
My neighbors had been accurate in their analysis.
I was crazy.
I nearly blushed. Actually, I may have.
"Listen, Serena, I know that you may see this as a little over the top, and I don't blame you, but I promise I'm not crazy. Well, not certifiably crazy anyhow, and..." I stopped talking. I was babbling. I never babble. Cool, collected and confident guy. Right.
I was in big trouble.
And through it all, Serena just stared at me. And finally I gave up and stared back at her. It wasn't the best reaction I had ever had, but there wasn't anything else to do. I couldn't think of anything intelligent to say, so I kept my mouth shut and watched Serena. It wasn't a hardship. A slight breeze blew up, ruffling her skirt and my jacket. I let my kept my eyes on her, just watching her face, her expression. I had no idea why I was having such a hard time thinking of something to say. We had talked before...why was this time so different?
"You look good in a tux."
I jumped. She had spoken. Well, that was progress. Now we were communicating. Still, I wasn't certain I could speak without babbling, so I smiled and looked down.
- Very smooth, Chiba. First you blush, then you babble, now you are embarrassed. This can't possible get any worse. Just get out while you are able to cling to a few shreds of dignity. -
"Darien?"
"Yeah?"
Hey, a conversation. We were moving into high tech territory now. Two words, but it was an improvement.
"I don't understand," Serena paused, as though searching for words. She settled for a shrug and a slight toss of her arms. She tightened her grip on the roses, and looked down at them. Then she looked back up at me, a bewildered and slightly curious expression on her face. "I really don't get it. Why go to all this trouble?"
I paused. The last time she had asked me this question, I hadn't had an answer for her. Well, I had, but not one that I felt comfortable sharing with the greater student body population. So I had kissed her instead of attempting to respond verbally. I thought it was much more satisfactory than batting words around for a few minutes. And she had kissed me back and all had been right with my universe. Ultimately, though, I had pissed her off, a mental state that I seemed to have a great deal of skill in inspiring Serena towards. This time around, the reply required great consideration. Why couldn't I take no for an answer?
- Because you like this girl. You like her a lot. You like that she said no, that she didn't fall at your feet the very first time you spoke to her. You like that it took effort, and that you actually had to work, hell, are still working, to get a date. You appreciate her attitude, her sense of humor, her sarcasm. She isn't boring. -
There I was again, in the same situation I had found myself in earlier this same day. I didn't have an answer to her perfectly reasonable inquiry. And, as many people know, if you have no answer, counter with a question.
"Why do you keep saying no?"
*~*~*~*~*Serena's POV*~*~*~*~*
*That* was a little unexpected. He had thrown me off balance...again. And I smiled. Just a little smile, more rueful than anything else...because the truth was, if you took away all the events that the past few days had wrought, my refusal was all about principal. He insulted me, I humiliated him...a truly entertaining, and at times enjoyably aggravating, cycle that just kept going and going and going; like the Energizer Bunny. Darien gained momentum from my reactions, and I was inspired to new heights of creativity by his persistence.
All things considered, I had had a great time in the past few days. True, I had been insulted, humiliated, exasperated, and infuriated, but it had been one hell of a ride. Darien had made my life very interesting in the recent past.
- He's funny. He's entertaining. He doesn't mind being the center of attention, and he handled public humiliation with grace. And really, how many guys could manage a smile with a chocolate malt crown? He's determined, that's for damn sure. And he has a great smile. -
I found myself marveling at my change in perception. Five days ago, Darien Chiba had been a vague concept of a person. He had not entered my sphere of existence, and had therefore been rather unimportant. When he had crossed my mind, I had thought of him as cocky, sarcastic and cold. And he was all of those things. But he was also romantic, determined, and humorous. Then there was that whole drop-dead gorgeous thing he had going on, not to mention that he was a great kisser. He was an enigma; and I liked him. A lot.
The absurdity of the situation struck me from a distance. This was Prom, not a lifetime commitment. It was one night, one night out of my life and his, a single evening. But it felt like something more. Hey, can you blame me? A starry night, roses, not to mention a gorgeous guy in a rather striking tuxedo? All we needed was the violin and a few movie cameras. But I found myself wondering what this one date might lead to. And I wasn't opposed to the idea in any way, shape, or form.
I stood there, looking at the roses, and the stars, and feeling the breeze on my face.
"Are you going to ask again?"
*~*~*~*~*Darien's POV*~*~*~*~*
Was I going to ask again? I thought I'd all ready done that...but then again, maybe she wanted to hear me say it.
- And hey,- I thought, with a sort of mental shrug, - why the hell not? The worst she can say is no...again. -
It all sounded so simple, so rational in my head. Mentally, I knew that if she turned me down, it wouldn't be the end of the world. I had taken physics, so I was fully aware that the world would continue spinning merrily on its axis no matter what the outcome of my love life. But the question became, what would I do if she said no? If she turned me down this time, would I ask her again? Would I accept her answer and begin my search for another date?
For something I had once thought so trivial, the Prom was becoming something much more. I couldn't believe that a dance, something I had scoffed at for years, mocked endlessly, had become such a large part of my life in recent days. And I didn't mind at all.
I walked up to Serena, offered her the remaining red roses, which I had forgotten I had been holding, and when she accepted them, I took her free hand.
"Serena, will you attend the Prom with me?"
I waited nervously, uncertain of my reception. I blanked my face and stood up straight. It was enough to make my ex-ballroom dancing teacher proud. But I kept my eyes on Serena's face, and I waited.
Serena looked down at her shoes, and lifted the roses to her face. She inhaled their perfume and I saw her eyes drifting closed. Her lashes formed dark crescents on her cheeks. The breeze kicked up again, tugging at the rose petals. A few of them jumped free and swirled in the breeze, away from us and into the night. I watched them go, and loosened my grip on Serena's hand. Serena hadn't answered, and I knew that she was trying to think of a way to let me down gently. You know how people are always saying that you can feel your heart sinking? Well, it's true. And mine was sinking to do the 'Titanic' proud. I appreciated the gesture, but I knew that if I just walked away now, this whole thing would be a lot easier. Besides, if she had a pie hidden somewhere, I didn't want to be around when she decided to throw it.
That thought made me smile. She wouldn't do that. Why repeat a trick? But her rejection still stung, and stung a lot deeper than I had ever imagined it would. I wasn't sure why...she had turned me down before. But this time, this time I had genuinely wanted her to say yes. I started to take a step back, intent on fading into the background.
Serena's hand shot out and grabbed mine. Quickly, she twined her fingers through my own and pulled me back to my original position. I was shocked. Hand holding? That must mean she wanted me to stick around. I felt my heart begin to lift, helium balloon style. Then she looked up at me and smiled; a brilliant, blinding smile.
'Wow,' I thought, and started to smile myself. Because that bright of a smile...well, though I had a good idea what it meant, I didn't really care. Because I felt the urge to give this girl anything she wanted to keep her smiling like that for the rest of her life. Preferably at me.
Serena took one of the red roses out of the bouquet in her hand, and broke off the stem. She had to drop my hand to do it, as one hand was occupied with the profusion of roses I had showered upon her, but she managed quite well. I was impressed, and I didn't move. There wasn't any reason to; I was very happy right where I was. Still smiling, she tucked it into my lapel and patted the flower gently into place. Still holding my hand, which I was more than willing to relinquish to her permanent care, Serena stepped in closer to me, so close that we were almost touching, and turned her face up toward mine. She was still smiling, and I felt the smile on my face growing to match hers.
"Okay."