Chapter 4: Quality Time
They had been stuck in the elevator for 10 minutes now. Neither said a word to the other. Serena was sitting on the floor, her back leaning against the wall. Darien remained standing, pressed up against the elevator doors.
Grumble-growl
Serena's stomach made a loud noise. Oh, my gosh… I can't believe my stomach did that, she thought, patting her belly. She heard Darien chuckle off to the side, "If you're hungry, Meatball head, why don't you just eat? We have food, remember? Besides, it looks like we aren't going anywhere for awhile," he said as he plopped himself down on the floor, across from Serena.
"I'm not hungry," Serena, said stubbornly, "My stomach is just upset because it has to be stuck here with YOU."
Darien rolled his eyes and pulled out a sub from his bag. He took the sandwich and waved it around Serena's head -- smiling, "Mmmm…doesn't it look DELICIOUS?" he taunted, taking a hungry bite out of the scrumptious looking sandwich. Serena pouted, and her stomach growled even louder than before, "You should learn how to not be so stubborn. It's not a good characteristic you know? Just eat. I know you're hungry," he said as he took another big bite.
She looked at her bag contemplatively. Her stomach gave her another emphatic warning. This time, she listened to it. She grabbed a sandwich, took it out of its wrapper, and took a huge bite.
Darien stopped chewing and stared at her, "I've never seen a girl shove that much food in her mouth before. It's sexy," he teased as he chewed, talked, and laughed with his mouth open.
Oh god. This is so embarrassing, thought Serena, trying to take smaller bites, while watching how she ate the rest of the time, feeling extremely self-conscious.
"So, tell me about yourself," Darien invited, after he'd finished eating.
"What is there to tell? I'm a freshman stuck in an elevator," she replied wryly as she put the trash in her bag.
"No, not that… Tell me about yourself. We might as well get to know each other while we're here, there's nothing better to do."
"Uh, all right. Well, I'm eighteen… I was born in New York and raised there… I'm gonna be an architect… I like to draw, sing, dance, paint, and eat," she finished and looked at him with her azure eyes.
Then Darien's deep ocean-blue eyes met her gaze, "What about you?" Serena questioned, cocking her head to one side.
"Um, I'm a junior here. I'm twenty; I was born in California. I'd like to be a doctor, and I enjoy reading, music, surfing, and other things," he finished.
"What's your favorite color?" Serena asked.
"Black," he answered simply.
"Black…that's not a color."
"Well, it's a 'neutral color', but a color nonetheless. The color, to me, signifies strength. It's a sophisticated color, and it's kind of mysterious. Black goes with everything," Darien said, knowingly, "What about you? What's your favorite color?"
"I like pink," she answered simply.
Darien smiled and shook his head, "Pink, of course, every girl's favorite color."
"What's wrong with it? Pink is a very pretty color! It's delicate, fun, cute, and happy. It's also a strong color, and it catches your eye," she said with a smile.
He'd never seen her smile before. She has a nice smile, he thought as he smiled back, "Can I ask you something a little weird?" Darien asked.
"I guess so."
"Why do you dress the way you do?"
"What's wrong with the way I dress?" Serena asked, looking at her clothes, confusedly.
"It doesn't fit you. All the shirts you wear are huge. It hides you," he explained as he looked at her gray sweater, "I bet you have a pretty figure underneath all that extra, unneeded material." He looked at her thoughtfully, she's blushing, and he smiled to himself.
"I don't know. I guess I don't really care what I look like. As long as it's comfortable, and clean, I'm good."
Darien frowned, "Don't you think the way you dress reflects some of your personality and character?"
"Not necessarily. I don't think people should judge you by your clothes," Serena answered in a serious tone.
"Well I don't either, but you should still dress to impress, especially if you want to impress the fellas," Darien explained , smirking.
"I don't have to impress anybody."
"Oh, you have a boyfriend then?" Darien questioned, interested.
"No, I don't have a boyfriend. I've never had one, actually. But that's not the case. The reason is, that I don't really care what people think. If you like me, then you should like me because of who I am, and my personality, not my clothes."
"But first impressions really do count, whether you like to believe it or not. People's first impression of you really sticks in their heads. And the first impression usually has to do with how that person looks on the outside, then, afterwards, how they are on the inside. So pretty much, you need the whole package: looks, and personality," he explained.
"But I have a problem. I have absolutely no fashion sense whatsoever!" Serena whined.
Darien thought for a minute, then continued, "How about I take you shopping one day? You don't even have to buy, I'll pay for you. But you have to listen to what I say, and take my advice into consideration."
Serena stared at him. Why is he being so nice? And why is he offering to buy me clothes? "Erm. All right, I guess."
"Okay! Then it's settled. I'll take you tomorrow. It's the first day of school, there shouldn't be too much homework," Darien assured her as he opened up a bag of chips, "Oh, one more thing, since I'm paying for everything, that also means I get to call you whatever I want, which means, Meatball head is your nickname," Darien grinned.
It took all the willpower Serena had to agree with him, but she had to. It's every girl's dream to go shopping and have a guy buy everything they wanted. Just gotta suck it up, and go with the flow, she thought.
Then a voice issued from the intercom interrupted their conversation, "All right folks…the elevator will be operational in a couple of minutes. We're so sorry about everything," the disembodied voice said apologetically.
"Oh, it's fine," Darien, answered, after getting up. He dusted himself off, and offered Serena a hand.
She looked at the proffered hand for a second or two before looking up at his face, "Are you going to let me help you up, or what?" he questioned, a hint of a smile forming on his face.
Serena finally took his hand, and he pulled her up as the elevator started to go up again, making Serena lose her balance and fall into his arms that instinctively wrapped themselves around her slender waist. Serena shrieked at the sudden movement and her eyes closed for a second. It didn't register in her mind that Darien had her in his arms until he asked," You all right?"
She looked up at him shyly, before gently pulling away, and nodded, "Um…thanks," she said, in a soft-tone.
He simply nodded, and picked up his bag. She fitted perfectly in my arms, Darien thought as he reached for his things.
Ding
Darien looked at Serena as she picked up her bag, then stepped outside and waited for her. She composed herself, and walked out of the elevator. They walked down the hall, neither prepared to break the comfortable silence that fell between them until after they'd reached their rooms.
Darien stood before his door and stuck his key in the lock, and turned the knob. When his door opened, he turned to face Serena, "It was nice getting to know you, Meatball head. Remember, tomorrow, after school, I'm taking you shopping." He smiled at her, and went inside.
Serena watched as the door closed behind him, and finally opened her own door. What just happened today? She thought to herself. I was stuck in a lift with a guy… He offered to take me shopping… and he was being so sweet…
When Serena entered the room, Ami was sitting at the computer, listening to some music and searching the web. She turned to face her, "What took you SO long? You said you'd be back in fifteen minutes! It took you an hour and a half to get food?"
Serena smiled at Ami, and started on her reply, "I'm sorry. I got stuck inside the elevator. Here's your food. I ate mine in the lift. Sorry…it's a bit cold." She looked at the clock-- it was 6 p.m.
Er, school starts in about 13 hours. Better go take a shower and get an early night's sleep, she told herself inwardly.
For some reason, Serena couldn't stop thinking about Darien. She kept seeing him throwing her his cute lopsided smiles and smirks. She kept seeing his pretty blue eyes, and kept thinking about the hug in the elevator. Of course, it wasn't really a 'hug', but it was close enough. Even though the hug only lasted a couple of seconds, but she felt safe and comfortable in his arms. I liked it.
Serena didn't know it, but across the hall, Darien was thinking much the same things she was.
Serena sure didn't smile all that much at him, but when she did, he liked it. It made him feel happy and satisfied. Her eyes… he thought to himself. He'd never seen eyes quite like hers. They were the most gorgeous blue eyes he'd ever seen. And he hated to admit it, but he really liked that hug in the elevator. When he held her in his arms, he caught a whiff of her scent. She smelled so good. He liked it.
What am I thinking? I don't like her. I just like to pick on her… he tried to reassure himself.
That night, he had told himself that same lie so many times, he grew to believe it. I just like to pick on her, he thought, over and over again.
