Emotions

Chapter Eight: …Chaos Ensues

Serena walked up the long flight of stairs, humming a little tune. She had gotten an A on her project, and was happy enough to tell Darien.

As she neared his door, Serena heard his deep laugh. A frown crossed her face. Obviously, he was watching something on TV.

Before she put her card in, she heard the gentle ringing giggle of a woman through the door, and Darien chuckling. Serena backed away from the door. What was going on?

Gaining new determination, she pushed open the door. What she saw broke her heart.

Darien was lying on top of a beautiful red-haired woman. His blazer lay on the chair next to the couch. The white button-down shirt he wore was unbuttoned, and the woman's shirt was disheveled. Darien grinned down at the woman under him.

Serena gasped, tears springing in her eyes. Darien looked up, startled. When his eyes saw Serena, he swore vividly as he jumped up. The woman propped herself on one elbow and leveled cold red-brown eyes at Serena.

"Serena, I can explain," Darien babbled. The woman smirked evilly.

Serena glared cold eyes at Darien. "No thanks, you don't have to explain yourself to me," she threw over her shoulder as she ran out the door, tears streaming.

"And that's what happened," Serena cried, eyes bright.

Raye, Amy, and Lita had watched her in shock and anger as Serena explained the event that had happened at Darien's apartment. Now, Mina rubbed her back soothingly as new tears surfaced and Serena sobbed harder. Raye paced the Temple floor, while Amy hid in a book and Lita started rubbing her wrists.

"How dare he!" Raye exclaimed after a few minutes. All looked up into her smoldering amethyst eyes. "How dare he! Damn him and all males of his kind!"

"Pure language, Raye," Amy said, eyes worried. "Although, I do agree with you."

"So do I," Lita voiced, her eyes cold.

Mina looked up. "Why would he do this?"

"Because Serena wasn't there to satisfy his urge, that's why!" Raye roared, flames dancing at the ends of her hair.

Seeing Raye like that made Serena look up. Through her blurry vision she saw tousled ebony hair and handsome midnight blue eyes filled with love. A sob racked through her body once more.

The girls came to comfort her right before the communicators rang.

Malachite was smiling cruelly as he saw the Sailor Scouts approaching him.

"You come back," he remarked mildly when they were in earshot.

Serena emerged from behind her friends. Her sky blue eyes were fierce, and held anger and fury, laced with sadness.

"Your prophecy came true, Malachite," Serena said, face emotionless.

Malachite grinned. "I heard from my voluptuous queen. Too bad for you."

The sadness disappeared from Serena. This man was the most infuriating man she ever met, besides Darien. Anger and fury boiled in her blood. Her eyes held murder.

She came full force at Malachite. When their hands met, sparks flew. Serena strained against him, for he was stronger and bigger than she was. He smirked as he started to push her down. She landed on her knees.

"You were always a weakling, you know," he remarked as sweat broke out on her face. "You always needed someone else to fight your battles."

Serena widened her eyes. How dare he! She could fight her own battles, give or take. She pushed up with new strength. When they didn't move, she moved her leg in a leg sweep. His legs weren't braced, and they easily gave way. He cursed as she jumped out of his way.

"Damn you, sailor brat," he muttered through gritted teeth. When he recovered, he aimed a light beam at her. She dodged it, and another, and caught one on her burned stomach. Wincing, she moved as Sailor Mars came in front of her.

"Mars Celestial Fire Surround!"

The flaming symbols missed Malachite, and he smirked. "Can't even aim correctly," he observed as he dodged Sailor Jupiter's Supreme Thunder Crash, Sailor Mercury's Bubbles Blast, and Sailor Venus's Love Chain Encircle. Moving around the Scouts, he seized Serena by the throat and waist, making her flinch from the pain.

"Poor Sailor Moon," he murmured in her ear as the Scouts moved away, eyes on their leader. "Your friends can't fight worth a darn and Cape Boy isn't here to save you. Too bad."

Serena went still in his arms. He tightened his hold around her waist, and she gasped as pain burned on her skin. A black-and-red blur by her eye, and Serena realized Darien had shown up.

"Never mind, he's here," Malachite muttered as he turned. Serena looked up to see Darien standing on the streetlight. He hesitated when he saw who was in Malachite's arms.

"Here to save her?" Malachite called, joggling her a little. Searing pain lanced through her, and she almost blacked out.

"Drop her, Malachite," Darien threatened, voice a dangerous growl. His shoulders bristled.

"Or what? You'll make me into a rose pincushion?" Malachite countered, cuddling Serena closer. Serena stopped struggling when she saw Darien. Instantly, hot anger shot through her.

"Leave me alone, Tuxedo Mask! I don't need you," Serena yelled, eyes bright with fury. Darien saw this and felt guilty, for he was the one who had put it there.

Malachite grinned. "See? She doesn't need you. She can fight her own battles."

Serena, catching Malachite by surprise, turned in his arms and punched him in the stomach. He doubled over as she jumped to the ground. The Scepter appeared in her hand, but Malachite was gone by the time she looked up.

Serena let out a string of curses bad enough to make the hardiest man alive go as pale as snow. Amy gasped and covered her mouth, Mina widened her eyes in surprise, Raye looked amused, and Lita grinned. Serena looked for Darien. He was gone.

Serena let Raye and Mina convince her to throw a party. She needed one, they said, so she could forget the 'incident'.

Serena earned good money as summer turned into fall. The party wasn't until August, and the girls needed to celebrate the fact that they were now seniors in high school.

She stayed away from Darien. He was leaving in September, so he was pretty busy packing. He barely had time to visit the Crown Arcade anymore. Serena appreciated it just then.

Many boys asked her if she was single that summer, including the college boy Jason. She politely refused them, and earned the name of 'Heartbreaker'. The girls were upset that Serena wasn't dating, but Serena just couldn't stop thinking of Darien.

He couldn't stop thinking about her either. Darien lay awake at night nowadays just thinking about what he had done to Serena. He felt guilty about what he did, and wanted to make it up to her. Her friends were alert, and watched him with hate-filled eyes.

At night it was different. Serena was slowly warming up to him. She actually accepted his help when she was in tight spots with a Youma. After that, she was indifferent to him, cold and broken hearted. The Scouts heard him out when he needed to talk to them, and they were urging him to reconcile with their best friend and leader.

August rolled around, and Andrew invited him to go to Serena's party with him.

"It won't hurt," Andrew said when he asked. "Besides, this may be your last opportunity to mend things up with her, after what you did, before you leave."

Darien grumbled, but agreed to go.

Amy, Mina, Raye, and Lita grumbled as Serena whined for the eighth millionth time that afternoon.

"I don't have anything to wear!" she cried, exasperated. Mina got up from her position on the floor nearest the closet and went in. The girls jumped when they heard Mina squeal in delight.

"No way, Serena! You have the coolest clothes! Don't tell me you don't have anything to wear," Mina reprimanded gently. After a tussle, Mina came out beaming.

"May I present Serena, party thrower and heart-stopper," Mina announced proudly as Serena stepped out. The girls whistled.

Serena wore a denim skirt that came way above her knees to stop at mid-upper-thigh and a bright pink halter top with a bright sequined Hawaiian flower on her left hip. A pink shell choker and pink flower earrings accented the shirt, and the black knee-high boots complemented her slender legs.

Raye looked at Serena. "We need to something with that hair," she mused. The girls looked at each other and sang, "MAKEOVER!" as Serena tried to run away.

Two Hours Later……

Serena wore a welcoming smile and light makeup as she greeted the guests. Raye had put her hair in a messy bun with tendrils framing her face and Lita had made the food, with Mina and Amy being the decorators. Many boys looked Serena up and down, but she ignored their stares.

Andrew walked in, smiling.

"Andrew!" Serena exclaimed, tightly hugging her best friend. He returned the hug, laughing. When she pulled back, he whistled as he looked her over.

"Wow, Serena, you look great," Andrew said as Mina came over. She greeted her boyfriend with a sweet kiss and pulled him toward the living room, which had been turned into the dance floor.

Another man stood in the doorway. Darien looked at Serena uncertainly while she leveled cold eyes at him.

"Hello," she said stiffly, leaning against the doorway.

He rubbed his neck nervously, a lock of hair dropping into his eyes. Serena's hands itched to push it away, but she resisted the temptation. "Hey," he said at last.

They stayed like that for some minutes. Finally Serena sighed and moved. "Come in," she asked, opening the door a little more. Darien followed her.

Lights were flashing, people were shouting, and everyone was dancing. Darien danced with many girls before he noticed Serena sitting alone, face flushed with pink and panting from dancing. He made his way over to her.

"Not having fun?" he joked, hoping to make her smile. She did, and his heart flipped.

"Can't…dance…that…much…" she panted, trying to breathe. After a moment, she stood and, grabbing his hand, led him back onto the floor.

They danced together, going faster for the fast songs and slow dancing for the slower ones. Darien was sweating by the time he called for a break. Serena led him to her balcony, not noticing her friends smiling.

"Having fun?" she asked, face flushed. He nodded, not trusting words yet.

Serena asked quietly, "Why did you come here, Darien? For real," she added seriously.

He looked her in the eye. "Andrew asked me," he replied simply, looking away. He felt her hurt and despair. "And tonight was the last night I would probably see you," he added quietly. He heard her breath catch and turned toward her.

Her sparkling eyes were bright, and her face was questioning. She was leaning on the rail, her back to the cool autumn air. Her skin steamed when the air met it. They locked gazes, and Darien moved toward her.

She beat him to it. Her lips covered his with ferocity. He returned her kiss with equal passion and locked protective arms around her waist, touching her hot skin.

Serena tingled everywhere. This felt so right, to be back in his arms and kissing him like there was no tomorrow. She had wanted this. She had wanted him.

They came up for breath, gasping profusely. They looked at each other and grinned.

"How long?" she asked him.

He smiled. "Ever since you left," he replied, brushing his lips against her forehead. She rested her head under his chin and contently breathed in his scent-soap, cologne, and faint spices.

The music blared for three more hours, and then everyone went home. The girls and Andrew said goodnight, and Serena and Darien were left alone. They started picking up the mess, and finished at about three thirty in the morning.

"Ah," Serena said as she plopped on the couch. "Done."

Darien grinned down at her. She looked up and saw the mischief in his eyes just before he pounced on her.

She squeaked and tried to dart away. He firmly pinned her underneath him and planted his lips on hers. She surrendered, but moved her hands to tickle him.

Darien yelped and laughed as she found his ticklish spots. She scrambled away to her room. He followed her, but she slammed the door in his face and ordered him to sleep in the guest bedroom. He conceded grudgingly.

The nightmares returned. Serena tossed and turned as images of Darien covered in blood, dying, and being seduced by a demon in red flashed on her closed eyelids. She sat up shivering, covered in sweat.

Putting on a white T-shirt and shorts, she exited her room and walked down the hall. Darien was sleeping soundly with his back to the door as she entered the guest bedroom. She gently pulled back the sheets and slid in behind him.

His warm scent surrounded her as she snuggled deeper into the warm sheets. Her blonde hair pooled around her, and she trailed gentle fingers down his bare back. Serena felt him shiver in response, and looked up at him as he turned toward her.

His eyes were filled with warmth. "Couldn't sleep?" he asked softly, tracing her cheekbone lightly with a finger. She nodded, and his free arm curled around her waist. She cuddled closer to him and sighed as he closed his eyes. His skin felt warm to the touch.

"Darien?"

"Hm?" he asked sleepily.

"Do you love me?"

His eyes shot open. "Beyond your wildest dreams," he answered lovingly. "Why do you ask?"

Serena fidgeted nervously. "I don't know. It's because you're leaving…you might find someone else…" she trailed off, then picked up again. "You might find someone prettier than me, someone smarter, someone-"

Darien's lips on hers cut off her voice. He pulled her closer, molding her form to his so that only clothes separated their bodies. Serena barely responded before Darien drew away.

"Serena," he said sternly, "there is no one else on this planet, in this universe, who will make me love her more than I love you. Understand?" She nodded, and he sighed gratefully. She closed her eyes.

"Serena?"

"Hm?" she asked.

"Do you love me?"

She smiled as she opened her eyes. "Beyond words and eternity," she replied, resting her hand on his cheek. She gently kissed him and turned her back to him. Darien pulled her to him, and they both settled with a contented sigh.

AAWW! SO CUTE! Thanks for another great chapter! Please R&R!