Chapter 3: Stuck in the elevator
I cannot believe the nerve of that man! Serena thought to herself, feeling exasperated as she walked around the campus park in an attempt to calm down. My, but he is beautiful…isn't he…? she sighed, no… What am I thinking? He is an arrogant asshole! He doesn't even know me, and he's already picking on me.
She looked ahead and noticed a bench under a shady tree where a tall brunette girl sat reading a book, "Excuse me… Hi, um, is anyone sitting here?" Serena asked politely.
The brunette looked up and answered, "Oh, no… Go ahead, have a seat."
"Thank you."
"No problem," the girl said as she focused back on her book.
"What are you reading?" Serena asked out of curiosity.
"Oh... I'm reading The Sound and the Fury, by Faulkner. It's really confusing," she commented as she placed the book down on her lap. Serena smiled in response.
"What brings you out here on a Sunday afternoon?" the girl questioned.
"Oh, there's this guy in my dorm I can't stand. I'm trying to escape for a while until he leaves."
"I see. Well, Hi! I'm Lita Makoto," she said happily, sticking out her hand.
Serena smiled and shook it, " Hi, nice to meet you. I'm Serena Tsukino."
"Nice to meet you too. So, tell me about this boy. Is there some kind of spark between you two?" she questioned, turning towards Serena.
"Oh no… I hardly know him. I, unfortunately, met him and his friend yesterday in the café. His name is Darien Chiba."
"Ah, the infamous Darien Chiba and Andrew Motoki. Quite a pair, those two. I'm surprised you haven't 'fallen in love' with one of them already," Lita said, smiling.
"Why do you say that?"
"Well, they're amongst the most popular boys here at UCLA. Every girl seems to be in love with one of them," Lita explained in an -- matter-of- fact-tone.
"Oh, I see."
"Yeah, so are you a freshman?"
"Mmmm… Can you tell?" Serena laughed.
Lita smiled," Not really. I've just never seen you around before is all?"
Suddenly, the sound of a cell phone interrupted their conversation; it was Lita's, "Oops…sorry! Well hey... I got to go. It's nice to meet you, Serena! We should hang-out sometime," She said as she stood up.
"Oh, definitely…nice to meet you, too… Bye!" Serena waved.
Might as well head back to the dorm, Serena thought.
"Well, there ya go, Ami!" Darien said as he turned on the computer, "And if there's anything else you need, just go across the hall and ask me or Andrew, and we'll do our best to help you."
"Thank you so much! You just saved my life," Ami laughed.
"And next time, I'll make sure I have more clothing on than I did this time… Sorry about the boxers," Darien smiled as he got up to leave.
"Ha-ha… Oh, no problem," Ami blushed.
Just as Darien opened the door, Serena stumbled in and fell, but fortunately, for Serena, he caught her before she hit the ground.
"Whoa there! You all right?" he asked as he steadied her back on her feet.
"I'm fine," Serena said as she yanked herself out of his hands.
"All right then. See you Ami," Darien called out, waving at Ami. Then he looked at Serena, and offered her a brilliant smile before leaving the room.
"He's so sweet, isn't he, Serena?" gloated Ami as she looked at the computer.
"Yeah. He's perfect," Serena, mocked as she fell onto her bed.
"Do I sense tension between you two, or is it just you?" Ami questioned as she looked back towards Serena.
"There's no tension at all. I just don't like him. Plain and simple," she said as she closed her eyes.
"Aw, that's a shame. How was the walk?"
"Oh, it was good. I met a girl named Lita Makoto. She seems nice," Said Serena.
"That's good."
"Hey, you hungry? I'm gonna go grab something to eat!" said Serena as she jumped out of bed.
"Yeah… I'm starved! But I'm gonna stay up here. Can you just get me a sandwich or something?" Ami asked sweetly.
"Sure, I'll be back in fifteen."
"All right."
"Drew, I'm gonna go get us something to eat, okay? I'll be back later," Darien called over his shoulder as he grabbed his jacket and made for the door. He grabbed a coat and headed out the door.
As he stepped into the hallway, he saw the elevator door closing, and before the doors shut, he stopped them with his foot and stepped inside, only to see Serena standing there, "Well, you can't seem to stay away from me can you," Darien teased, grinning as he pressed a button on the panel before him.
Serena just rolled her eyes and stepped away from him, "What is your deal? I practically save you from injuring yourself, and you don't even give me a 'thank you' or anything," Darien gently scolded, glancing at her with a questioning look.
Serena simply looked straight ahead and in a cold voice gave her response, "Thank you."
Darien couldn't help but smile. She was so hardheaded, "Careful now! Don't be too enthusiastic about it," he joked.
Serena turned her head and gave him a look of disgust, but he ignored her attitude and smiled nicely at her. They rode the rest of the way in silence.
The doors finally opened, and they walked out, Serena leading the way –Darien a few paces behind as they were going to the same place. He couldn't help but notice the way she was dressed. She wore a large gray sweater, and jeans. Why does she dress like that? He asked himself.
After they reached the café he broke the silence, "What are you gonna get, Meatball head?"
Serena's head snapped towards his, and her mouth fell open, "Why you arrogant, know-it-all, annoying, queer little bastard! What gives you the RIGHT to call people names, especially people you HARDLY know? You think you're so great, don't you? Well, guess what… You AREN'T…just leave me the hell alone!" with that said, she turned around, and stepped in line.
Darien looked around and noticed that everyone's attention was pretty much focused on him, "What are you looking at?" he yelled, feeling his face turning hot with anger and embarrassment. No one had ever talked to him like that before, especially not a little freshman girl. He hated it when somebody embarrassed him in front of a large crowd like that.
Agh…stupid, stupid man, calling me meatball head. He got what he deserved! She thought angrily.
When she was given her food, she walked as fast as her slender legs would go to make sure she got to her dorm as soon as possible. She was determined not to allow herself to be stuck inside the elevator with that pompous man if she could help it.
She paused before the elevator doors , and hit the up button with her free hand. She heard a cough behind her. Oh God, what did I do to deserve this? She thought, closing her eyes, "What you did in that café was unnecessary, you know," Darien whispered, a little angrily.
"You got what you deserved, Mr. Chibi," she whispered back.
"As I was saying… What you called ME was completely unnecessary!"
"Meatball head is not nearly as offensive as…whatever you said!"
"It may not be offensive to you, but it is to ME!"
DING
The elevator door slid opened. Serena stepped inside -- Darien hot on her heels. She punched in their floor number and she tried to stay as far from him as possible. They glared at each other, and remained silent.
All of a sudden, they heard a rumble, the elevator stopped and the lights went out, "Damn it," Serena exclaimed, "What could POSSIBLY be worse than this?"
"Chill out. I don't exactly enjoy the situation either, Meatball head," Darien responded as he pressed a number of buttons on the control panel.
Then a voice issued from the intercom, "Is anyone there?"
"Yes! Yes, there are two people in here…" Darien yelled back frantically. Serena slumped down on the elevator floor and sighed in frustration at their situation.
"All right, just stay calm. We'll get help to you as soon as possible!" the voice assured them. Then the lights flickered back on, but the elevator didn't move.
"Great. Just wonderful…." Hissed Serena.
It looked as if they weren't going anywhere, anytime soon.
