For the passed hour and a half, they walked around the city talking about just about anything. The time seemed to pass so quickly. They could go on forever. "So, can I have your number?" Serena asked. He wasn't sure how to handle this. Should he just say that he doesn't have a phone because he's homeless? Would she go for that? Homeless people are usually stereotyped as being dirty, hungry bums who are to lazy to get up and get a job. But that's not him and he doesn't want to give the wrong impression so-

"No! No you can't!" He blurted out. His response startled the blonde "I…I…I'm having some problems with the phone company so…. So…. You can't"

Serena crossed her arms and looked at him suspiciously. "You don't have a phone, do you?"

"Is it that obvious?" He relaxed his shoulders.

"Can you say 'yes'? Only people without phones would try to come up with such a lame excuse."

"Okay, you caught me." He turned his back towards the girl and took a deep breath. "The truth is… I don't have a phone because, I don't have a home."

Was she hearing things? She wasn't sure. "What? Come again. You're homeless?"

Ashamed of himself, he looked down at the ground. He couldn't bare to see the look on her face. What's worst, he betrayed his father's trust. 'Never be noticed' That's what his father always told him. They couldn't take any risks in being kicked out of the airport. Now, that's exactly what he has done. There's no turning back now. "Yes." He answered, his voice full of nervousness and shame. "My father and I are homeless." He lifted his head up slightly to see the shocked look on her face. "Yes, I know, it's pathetic. You don't have to be seen with me-"

"Oh, no!" She interrupted and placed a hand on his shoulder, "I'm sorry. I never meant to make you feel bad about it. It's just that you don't look like a homeless person at all!"

Darien looked down, ashamed of the blush that crept across his face. He ran his hand through his silky raven hair. "Good. That's a good thing. Father always did stress that I had to blend in with everyone else." He glanced back up at the girl to find that she stood before him grinning with her arms folded behind her back.

"Well," she chimed, "He should be proud. You certainly fooled me!" She looked down at the ground and turned to the side, kicking at small ball of concrete. "If you don't mind me asking, what happened?" She looked back at the young man. There was a mix of emotions in his eyes. Sadness, worry, pain, hope. His eyes told it all. He didn't ask for this and neither did his father. She wanted to help.

His hands balled into tight fists and prepared himself to tell.

That half-hour was the roughest yet, or so it seemed. What was he doing? He just spilled out his life history to a complete stranger! However, something told him that it was okay; that he doesn't have to hide things from her. What was he saying! He just met the girl for crying out loud! And what could she do? She's just a fifteen-year-old!

As they continued down the street, he looked down at the petite girl. She seemed to be in deep thought. Her head was tilted down slightly and her arms her folded across her chest. What does she think of him now ? He wasn't sure if he wanted to hear the answer to that. What was she thinking about so?

"Darien? Do you…" She began, but then trailed off, not sure how to say what she was thinking about. "Maybe…" she trailed off again. "Darien!" She perked up. She turn towards him smiling and placed her hands on his arm. "I want you to come meet my dad!"

Taken aback by her request, he stepped back from the girl who stood in confusion with her head tilted to the side. "What!" Darien said in shock.

"I want you to meet my dad!" Serena repeated, "Maybe he could help!" She took a step forward towards him.

"Serena!" He exclaimed, "Why would he want to help me, some brat off of the streets he doesn't even know!" His breathing quickened and mixture of emotions rushed through him: Annoyance, fear, nervousness- How could she ask this from him? They just met! "Besides, your dad would hate me from the moment I walk through your door thinking that I'm some guy that came to take his little girl away from him!"

Serena stood quietly with her arms folded, listening to the nonsense her new friend was trying feed her.

"Don't be silly! Daddy won't hate you! Just tell him what you told me and everything will be fine."

"But why would he want to help someone like me?" Darien asked solemnly.

Serena moved towards him and placed her hands on his shoulders. "Because you're a good person in need of aid. She then placed her hands of either side of his face and pulled him closer so he was at her eye level.

Unexpectedly, a person passed by, pushing Darien into her and yelled, "Hey lovebirds! Get a room!" Then, another yelled, "Nasty!" The two couldn't help but blush. Darien quickly backed away from the girl and Serena brushed off her clothes. Neither dared to look at each other in the eye.

There was a moment of silence between the two. "Maybe." Darien spoke up. "Do you think you father would really help us?"

"I'm sure of it!" Serena answered confidently.

Darien smiled at the thought of finally being able to have a home to go to. To no longer pretend that everything is okay when in truth, it's not. "Let's go!"

Serena was estatic. "Yay!" She gave a huge bear hug. As they went on to her house, they continued to talk about just about everything, arm-in-arm.

AN: Ahh… finally! This is taking longer than expected. I'm getting there though. sigh School starts Monday. Hm. And what's weird is that I actually happy about it. Finally back to the drama. Not that there wasn't any drama going on this summer, cause there was! Just more excitement for me! Lol. Please review and thank you! I love you guys! Oh. The next chapter will be longer, I promise!

A:\Finding a Way\finding a way ch. 2.rtf