A.N: Yay! You guys liked my last chapter! I'm so happy, LOL. Well here's the next one! And it's not over yet. There's gonna have to be obstacles in the relationship just like everyone else's. That is in later chapters to come. (Or maybe… I'm not sure yet.)
P.S: Sorry the chapter's so short.
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Chapter 18: What is love?
Serena and Darien had been stuck out in the middle of nowhere now for about 15 minutes. Darien found a camping blanket in the back of his car trunk, so he spreaded it out on the grass, aside his car. The two lie down on the blanket, admiringly looking up at the skies where the stars twinkled above.
"This is romantic," Serena said, smiling. Her head was resting on Darien's arm as they lie down. They cuddled closed to one another.
"Yep. I planned it all," Darien joked.
"Can I ask you some questions?" Serena asked, looking at Darien's face in the dark.
"Yes."
"How many girlfriends have you had?" Serena asked, now lying on her side to look at Darien. She rested her arm across his stomach, playing with his shirt.
"I've had about three girlfriends. I had a 'serious' girlfriend several years back but we sort of just drifted apart," Darien said, looking back at her.
"What made you guys drift apart?"
"Well… we just didn't really have time for each other any more. And as time went on, our feelings had changed for each other so we just decided to break up."
"Ohh," Serena said, cuddling closer to him. "What is love to you?"
Darien looked back up towards the sky and thought about it. "I think love is when you can't fall asleep because your mind is always on that person. It's when you can't walk away from them when you know they're mad at you, and you can't have a good time knowing they're not. It's when you care more about that person then you do yourself. It's that 'I want to die if I don't have you in my life' feeling. I think that's what love is," Darien said, looking back down at her.
Serena was quiet for awhile, taking in everything he just said. That was probably one of the most romantic things any guy could ever say. "You always know the right things to say, don't you Darien Chiba?" she said, smiling up at him.
He chuckled, pulling her in closer.
"So have you ever been I love then?" Serena asked, wondering.
"Well, I thought I was once, but no. I don't think I've ever been in love," Darien answered honestly. "How about you?"
"Me? No way. I've never even kissed a guy until you," she said, looking in his eyes. "You lucky dog, you," she joked.
Darien grinned at Serena. "I am lucky, aren't I?"
Serena smiled and nodded, playfully.
"What do you think love is?" Darien asked, looking in her eyes.
Serena sighed, and thought about it for a minute, looking in his eyes. "I think that love is something everybody needs in order to live. Without love, there'd be no life. It's like a warm fire on a cold Christmas night. It's always embracing and caring. Love is when you let a person have the last cheese-cake; when you embarrass yourself in front of them, but you don't care. Love is like the 'holding a radio above your head for hours-can't sleep, think or breathe without you-I hate you, but I love you' feeling. I think that's what love is. And I also think that nowadays, people throw the word around like it's nothing. So now, a beautiful four lettered word has no meaning, weight, or value to it anymore."
Darien smiled at her when she finished. "I agree with you about it being used too much now," he said, hugging her close to him.
"Let's make a promise then. That we won't use the "L" word unless we truly mean it," Serena said, bringing her face closer to his.
Darien looked at her, smiled, and nodded. "I promise."
The wind was blowing gently outside. Serena's blonde long hair blew about as she rested her head on his arm, and curled around his body.
They lie there, looking at each other, the stars strung out above them. They had just had a moment, a memory.
Without thinking, Serena started kissing Darien. He didn't object, and kissed her back. He slowly moved so half of his body was on top of hers. Their tongues twirled and danced together, as a car pulled up in front of Darien's car. They parted breathlessly. Darien looked up to see who it was. He squinted, looking towards the car, and slowly got up, reluctantly.
He saw someone open the door, and walk out around the car.
"Aww, look at the lovebirds!" Darien heard Andrew's voice. Andrew came towards them, hands in his pocket, smiling warmly at them. "You two alright?"
"Hey Drew! Yeah, we're fine," Darien said, going to Andrew and giving him a pat on the back.
Serena smiled sweetly at Andrew, and started rolling the blanket up. Darien came and helped her. Then he threw it back in his car, and locked his car.
"So are you guys ready? It's late and we got school tomorrow," Andrew said, heading back towards his car.
Darien held Serena's hand, and they both headed towards Andrew car together.
They got in the back seat. Serena sat next to Darien, hugging his waist, and resting her head on his chest.
"How'd your night go?" Andrew asked as he started driving off.
"It was perfect," Serena said, smiling up at Darien quickly.
"Darien always knew how to make a girl happy," Andrew smiled in the rear view mirror, looking back towards them.
Darien grinned, and put his arm around Serena. "Thanks Andrew for coming to pick us up," he said, leaning his head back on the seat.
"What, you think I drove all the way up here cause of you? No, I drove all the way up here cause I didn't want Serena to get cold and die," Andrew joked, sounding serious.
Serena giggled, hugging Darien tighter.
He smiled down at her, and ran his fingers through her hair. He heard her breathing slowly get steady and heavy, and he knew she fell asleep. He bent down and kissed the top of her head. It really had been the perfect night.
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Andrew and Darien talked quietly as they drove back home, trying not to wake Serena.
"Dude, you got it bad," Andrew said quietly, smiling.
Darien looked down at Serena. "I do not."
"No… you really have. I say she's a keeper," Andrew said, grinning at Darien.
Darien laughed, stroking Serena's hair. "I'm keeping her," Darien said quietly.
"So tell me Darien, what she got that I don't got?" Andrew joked, making a right turn.
"She's perfect, and you're not," Darien joked back.
"Perfect? What? I am so BEYOND perfect Dar. No girl can compete with me."
Darien laughed and rolled his eyes at Andrew. "You know, I told her about my family," Darien said.
Andrew looked at the rear view mirror towards Darien. "You did? Wow… Darien, that's a big deal. Rory didn't even know about your family until like several months of dating," Andrew said, sounding a little surprised.
"Yeah I know, that's what's so weird. I trust her more then any girl I've ever known. She's amazing though Drew. She's got a good heart, she's smart, she's funny, she's gorgeous.. she's perfect," Darien said, looking down at Serena's sleeping form.
"Sounds like cupid struck you with it's arrow Dare Bear," Andrew said, smiling. "You're all lovey dovey and mushy."
Darien looked at his friend and smiled widely, shaking his head.
They finally reached the University.
Darien didn't know it, but Serena was wide awake, and had been for awhile now. She was just pretending she was asleep. So she heard everything they talked about, making her extremely happy. She smiled to herself, eyes closed. Tonight had been one magical night for her.
