1Thank you so much for the reviews! I am trying to update as much as I can, but as of Saturday I'm moving into my dorm room! Yeah! Anyway, classes start next Wednesday so I won't be updating as often, but I promise I will try to update as much as possible.
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When Life Gives You Lemons
Chapter Three
It had been a couple of weeks since Darien found out that Serena was single. He came by the arcade to visit her everyday. The two had become pretty close lately. They would talk, and she would laugh. Things were great between the two. Today Darien sat quietly. 'That's strange,' Serena thought. "Hey, Darien. Are you okay? You're awfully quiet today."
He looked up, "Huh? I'm sorry Sere. I guess I haven't been paying attention."
She just sighed. "I'll be back. I'm going to go take Raye, Lita, and Mina's orders."
Darien sighed in frustration. He was nervous. He wanted to get to know Serena on a more personal basis. He wanted to ask her out on a date. 'What if she says no,' he thought. Serena came back. "Gosh," she said, "those girls eat so much. It's a wonder that they haven't turned in to fat pigs by now!" Darien laughed. "So, Serena," he said. "Yeah, Dare." "Would you like to go do something this weekend? Maybe a movie or dinner?"
"Like friends?" she asked.
"Yeah, sure. Like friends," he said.
Serena smiled, "I'd love to Darien. You've been so nice to me the last couple of weeks, and I'd really like to get to know you better."
Darien smiled, "Ok, so it's settled. Saturday night then. Well I've got some stuff to do so I'll see you later okay?"
"Ok Dare. Have a good day!"
"You too, Serena."
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Darien walked to the park. "Oh my god, I'm such an idiot." All he wanted was a date and he had to go and agree to the whole friend thing. He could have just said it was a date. "Great, now it's going to be even harder to get Serena." Shaking his head, Darien got up and went home.
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It was finally Saturday night. Darien could hardly contain his excitement. Tonight would be the night. He would be the perfect gentleman, and he would sweep her off of her feet. Yes, tonight would be the night. Darien straightened his tie and smoothed his pants. Smiling at himself in the mirror, he said, "It's now or never." He grabbed the bouquet of roses he had purchased and walked into the living room. He took a deep breath and looked up when Serena entered the room.
"You look beautiful tonight, Sere." Serena blushed. She was wearing white skirt that went to her knees and a pink cashmere sweater. "Thanks," she said. "You look pretty dashing yourself."
Darien smiled, "These are for you."
"Thanks Darien!" Serena kissed his cheek. "I'm just going to put these in water."
Darien touched his cheek. That one little kiss made him feel on fire. She came back. "Shall we," he said and offered her his arm. She giggled, "We shall." They walked out of the apartment complex. He lead her to his car, a shiny, black Nissan 350Z, and opened the door for her. On the way to the restaurant, things were a little awkward. Unable to stand the silence anymore Serena asked, "So, Darien, where are we going?" "Well, there's this really nice restaurant by the beach. It's made completely of glass, so you can get an excellent view of the water."
"It sounds like it's a lovely place."
"It is. I really hope you like it."
They pulled up at the most beautiful place Serena had ever seen. She gasped, "Darien it's beautiful." He helped her out of the car and whispered in her ear, "Wait to you see the inside." His voice sent shivers down her spine, and she couldn't explain why. She had to admit, he was very handsome, and she had been attracted to him from the very moment she had met him. But, he was also a womanizer. She had to keep that in mind. She would not let herself fall for him. Friends is all they could ever be.
Darien wrapped his arm around her shoulder and lead her inside. They were seated right away. "So, Darien," she asked, "why such a fancy place?" Darien smiled, "Well, we didn't exactly get off to a great start, so this is my way of apologizing for being a jerk to you."
"Oh, well apology accepted." So he wasn't trying to get to her, thought Serena. He was only taking her out as a way to apologize. This took some of the pressure off of her. They could be friends, and that's what Serena wanted.
"So, we've been living together for a couple of months now, and I still don't know what you do."
Darien smiled, "Well, I'm studying to be a doctor. I'm currently in my senior year of pre-med at Tokyo University. I've was accepted to Harvard for Med School, but I didn't accept it. Tokyo has become home to me, and I just didn't want leave it, you know?"
Serena winced inwardly. Harvard hit her close to home. "Harvard. That's very impressive."
"Thanks. What about you, Sere? You can't possibly work at the arcade forever. Didn't you just graduate from high school a couple of months ago? Is college in your future plans?"
"Actually, I was accepted to Harvard too, but I decided not to go." She didn't know why she was telling him. No one knew about Harvard, except for her dad, and he was dead. Darien just seemed easy to talk to. She enjoyed his company, and she wanted to tell him.
Darien looked surprised. "Why did you turn them down?"
Serena looked down, "It was always a dream of mine to go to Harvard. My dad always used to tell me that I could do anything that I set my mind too. Whenever I told people that I wanted to go to Harvard, they thought I was crazy. I wanted nothing more than to prove to them that I could do it. So I did it. I applied, and I got in. My dad was so proud of me, but I made him promise not to tell anyone. After graduation, things just changed. I just couldn't go to Harvard."
Darien looked a little confused. Shrugging it off he asked, "You talk about your dad a lot. You must really love him."
Serena ignored the pain in her heart. She liked Darien, she really did, but she couldn't tell him about her father just yet. "Yeah, I do."
"So, if you're not going to Harvard, what do you want to do?"
"Well, I'm not ready for college yet. I'll keep working at the arcade for now, and then I'll start thinking about college."
"Okay. Well, now that dinner is over, what movie do you want to see?"
Serena looked at him, "I've been thinking. Do you think we could take a walk along the beach instead of a movie?"
Darien smiled, "That's a wonderful idea." He took her hand, and they headed out to the beach.
It was a beautiful night. They walked down the beach in silence for awhile. Serena looked at him. "Tonight has been wonderful, Darien. Thank you."
"Oh, it was nothing. You're welcome." Serena then looked at him evilly and took off down the beach. "I bet you can't catch me!" she shouted. Darien grinned. He took off after her. Upon seeing him coming after her, Serena yelped. She continued to run, but Darien was too fast for her. He grabbed her and they fell to the grown laughing. He wrapped his arm around her, and the laid there quietly. Serena looked at the stars. "The stars are so beautiful. I love to look at them. I get lost in my own little world when I do. There's just something about them that makes you forget everything and feel at peace with the world."
"I know what you mean," said Darien. He looked her in the eye. 'She's so beautiful,' he thought. She had completely taken his breath away tonight. He liked everything about her, and he wanted nothing more than to make her his. He eyed her lips. How he wanted to taste those lips. He started to lean closer. He wanted to kiss her. He got closer and closer, and suddenly, she jumped up. "It's getting late, Darien. We should go home."
He shook his head. "Yeah, you're right. Come on, Sere."
When they got home, Serena gave him a hug. "I had a really nice time tonight, Darien."
He smiled down at her, "Good, I'm glad." He kissed her cheek. "Goodnight Serena."
"Goodnight Darien."
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Serena was getting ready for bed. Tonight had been a great night. She had gotten to know Darien better, and she really liked him. He was such a great friend, and she was lucky to have him in her life. When they were on the beach it looked like he was going to kiss her, but that must have been her mind going crazy. "He didn't try to kiss me. Did he?" She shook her head and laughed, "Don't be ridiculous, Serena." She laughed and went to bed.
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And that's chapter three. I hope you enjoyed it. I apologize for it being so short. I've been experiencing a little writer's block. I have the basic plot in my head, sometimes I just get stuck with the details in between. So please review!