Okay, after a long wait, I'm back with an update to the story. It's finally "Holiday Break" so I finally found time to finish this chapter and post. I hope you like it and definitely review and tell me what you think of this new chapter! Oh yeah, sigh I don't own any rights to Sailor Moon and yada yada yada. Oh, and -words- signify Serena's thoughts. Okay, on to the story!

Sinking down, Serena rested her aching head on a near-by counter. She closed her eyes, trying to rid herself of every thought… Of all the pain. The clock on the counter shone a dim light, stating cautiously that is was 7:00. A note on the fridge said that her mom, dad, and brother had gone to a family friend's and would be back late. Smiling, she knew they were trying to give her time and space to try and feel better.

Just then, there was a knock at the front door…

Chapter 3

Serena moaned as she heard the knock on the door. Pushing herself away from the kitchen counter, she looked out the window to see it was pouring outside. The face reflected in the glass was tear-stained, puffy-eyed, and miserable.

-The last thing I need right now is company.-

Tiredly, she opened the door, only to stop and stare wide-eyed at the vision in front of her. The form of the dark haired 'man of her dreams' stood in front of her. Rain was soaked into every bit of him, it seemed. For a second, she found she couldn't breathe. A trail of water ran down his cheek and across his lips, consuming her surprised eyes attention for the moment. A faint smell of roses seemed to drift into the room.

"Serena!" Darien said, breaking the spell, "I didn't know this was your house… Are you alright?"

Serena shook her head to steady her thoughts, "Umm… yeah, yeah I'm fine… What are you doing here?"

"Well, I was driving home from the store when the rain got worse than I expected. I didn't see this pot hole and I got a flat tire… And, well this house was the closest so I thought I'd come and ask for some help…"

"Oh, I see. Well, I'm kinda home alone and I'm not sure I can help you…"

"That's okay Meatball Head. But at least you could invite me in."

"I told you not to call me Meatball Head! I have a name you know?"

A glaring battle ensued, each daring the other to break their concentration,

-Those dark blue eyes… NO Serena, concentrate! He has a girlfriend, anyway. Plus, he's a total jerk! Concentrate… Don't let him win!-

Suddenly a crack of lightning and a terrible crash of thunder shook the house. Serena jumped, grabbing on to Darien. He instantly wrapped his arms around her as she hid her head in his chest. For a moment, they froze. Then, Darien let go and Serena pulled back, looking at the floor.

"I'm sorry.. It's just, the storm… I got scared," Serena started, fumbling for words.

"It's okay.. I got you all wet…"

Both looked at the ground, desperately hoping to escape this awkward situation. Finally, Serena looked up at him. "You're soaking wet… You might as well come in before you catch a cold…" She stood aside to let him through the door. Turning on the light, she led him into the kitchen, telling him where to hang his soaking coat and put his dripping shoes.

"Hold on a second, I'll be right back," she said disappearing out a door into the next room. She returned a moment later holding a towel in her arms.

"Here, you must be freezing…"

"Thanks."

"No problem.."

An awkward silence descended once more.

"Umm… So what were you doing driving at this hour?"

"I had to go to the store… I had to get wine for.. For my anniversary."

"Oh, I see… Sorry you got stuck here with me… I mean rather than being at home with your girlfriend…"

Darien looked deep into her eyes then. His eyes studied hers for a moment, though what is was he was looking for, she couldn't tell. Finally he tore his eyes away and looked around.

"Where is everyone else… You parents and brother, I mean?"

"At a family friends.."

"Why aren't you there then?"

"Well, not like it's any of your business, but I wasn't feeling well. And it's lucky for you I wasn't, or you would still be stuck in the rain right now!"

"Okay, okay! Cool your heels Meatball Head!"

"How many times must I tell you not to call me that!" She said, taking a step closer to him. They glared at each other then. But then, Darien pulled the towel up to his face to dry it off. For a moment, all of his lower face was covered and his piercing blue eyes were all she could see. Starring into them, she felt herself falling into them once more. As what happens sometimes, the moment stood in time longer than it seemingly should have as time seemed to slop down gently.

-Why? Why do I fall into those eyes whenever they catch mine like this? Why does he have this control over me? Why is he taken? Why am I not good enough for him? Why can't he be able to just take me into his arms right now and hold me close to his heart? Why… just why?"-

Moving the towel up, Darien proceeded to towel dry his jet black hair. Serena found she could finally tear her eyes away from him. She moved around the kitchen table and sat down. Sighing, she put her head in her arm on the table. Looking up, Darien saw her looking so broken. A deep look of compassion and worry passed over his eyes.

"Serena?"

She lifted her head and looked at him wearily.

"Yeah?"

"Are you sure you're okay?"

Suddenly, she looked deep into his eyes. She was surprised by the look in them that seemed to show he actually did care about her, She wanted to scream that she wasn't okay. She wanted to say, "I love you! Choose me! Deny every other girl and pick me!" She wanted to kiss him, to make him see she was the only one for him. But, people want to do a lot of thing and rarely ever actually do them. All she did was say, "Yeah, I'm fine."

He nodded, but disbelief passed briefly through his eyes before all emotions were masked behind them once again.

"I'm going out to my car for a minute. Some of what I got is kind of expensive and I'd rather not leave it out in my car… You won't lock me out or anything will you?"

Serena gave a small laugh. "No, I promise not to lock you out."

Darien smiled at her before opening the door and running out in the rain. Watching him out the window, she found herself smiling.

-It's strange. He's actually being kinda nice to me. And I think that was the first time I've seen him smile like that at me… with no smirk behind it.. A real smile…-

She laughed to herself as she watched Darien try to protect his paper bags of groceries while running toward her house. She opened the door for him and he came in, even more soaked than he had been when she first let him in. He brought the bags into the kitchen and set them on the table.

"You don't mind if I put the cold stuff in your refrigerator, do you?"

"No, be my guest."

He took some objects out of the bag that looked suspiciously like strawberries and whipped cream. He seemed to be blushing slightly as he tried to hide them from her with his body. He hurriedly put the things in the fridge before closing the door and turning back to her.

"Hmm… I think mister big bad Darien is blushing!"

"What! I am not! I hardly ever blush."

"I know which is why it's weird. But I swear to you, your cheeks are pink."

"Hmm.."

He leaned back and brushed up against the refrigerator, knocking off a picture. Picking it up, he saw the image of a small, blonde haired girl being tackled by a puppy. He cocked his eyebrows and turned the picture around for Serena to see. "Look how cute you used to be," he said with a smirk.

Her eyes got big as she run around the table, trying desperately to get the picture back from him. "Give it back! Darien!" He held the picture high above her head, making her jump to try to get it. She finally just gave up and put her hands on her hips, glaring up at him. He hair, which had been put up in its usual pigtails, was coming out from all the stress of the day. A string on hair had fallen down into her eyes. The look in Darien's eyes changed, but only for a second before the smirk returned, covering up any other feelings that might have been there.

"Here, chill out Meatball Head."

"Darien! You are such a jerk! As soon as this storm is over, I want you out of my house and not to talk to me ever again! You don't care about me at al! You don't even have the courtesy to even call me by my name, S-E-R-E-N-A!"

"Do you even know what courtesy means?"

"Erg, you arrogant pig!"

Serena stomped her foot in anger, and with enough power that it tipped over the bags on the table. The bottle of wine rolled out and fell to the floor. She went and picked it up. She clutched the bottle hard in her hands, a perfect reminder of all the obstacles that stood in her way. She felt tears welling up in her eyes, but she closed her eyes tight willing them to go away.

"Serena? I'm not even going to pretend I know what's going on. I'm sorry for upsetting you… If you tell me what's wrong, I might be able to help you. As much as you hate me, I'm not as bad of a guy as you think…"

Serena laughed at the irony of it all. Here, he was the very source of her problems, and yet he wanted to be the solution. She looked up into his eyes once more.

"I'm fine, really… Or rather, I'll be fine. Don't worry about it… It's not your problem…"

And then her did something she never could've dreamed he'd actually do. He took her into his arms and actually hugged her…

Well.. That's all for now. I do hope you enjoyed this new chapter. I'm glad I finally had time to write and post. I hope you're not too mad at me for taking so long, especially seeing as the last chapter was a cliff-hanger… Well, there's more to come and I hope you keep reading! And more so, please REVIEW! I'll love you forever! Okay, maybe not, but hey, reviews are a writer's best friend! )

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season!

.:Phoenix Feathers:.