A.N: Smiles Thanks for the reviews!
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Chapter 19: Prince Charming
As they arrived at the University, Darien gently shook Serena, not knowing she was wide awake. Serena pretended to wake up, and stretch, smiling sleepily at him.
"We're here," Darien whispered.
They climbed out of the car, and Darien took Serena's hand. The three of them walked in together, talking. It was about 12:20 a.m.
"So how are you Andrew?" Serena asked him, walking with Darien. Andrew was a little ahead of them.
He looked back at Serena. "I'm good, how about you?"
"I'm great. Thank you for picking us up, it was sweet of you."
"Ah, no problem," Andrew said, shrugging.
They made their way up to their dorm rooms, making small-talk all the way up. Andrew said goodbye to Serena, and went inside his room, while Darien stayed outside with Serena for awhile longer.
"He's a good friend," Serena said as Andrew closed the door behind him.
"Yeah, he's always been there for me," Darien said, smiling at the closed door.
"Does he have a girlfriend?" Serena asked, wondering.
"No.. why? You're not trying to do another one of your matchmaking are you?" Darien asked, raising his eyebrow.
"Erm.. no…" Serena lied.
Darien chuckled. "Well, It's getting late and you need to go to sleep cause you have school early in the morning," Darien said, now sounding serious.
"God, you're like my mother," Serena joked, smiling up at him.
"Just looking out for you," Darien replied, smiling back down at Serena. He bent his head down, and gave her a good night kiss. It was gentle, sweet, and quick, but a perfect kiss to end the night. "Good night, Serena," he said, resting his forehead on hers.
"Good night, Darien. And thank you again for tonight," she said, looking in his eyes. She smiled at him, and gave him a quick peck on the lips before turning around to open her door.
Darien smiled and watched as she walked in slowly, making sure not to wake Ami. She halfway closed the door, and peeked out, smiling and waving at him. She blew him a kiss, and closed the door.
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Serena's alarm clock rang before she knew it. She felt so tired! She groggily got out of bed, dragging her feet as she made her way to the bathroom, groaning.
Ami was already in there, brushing her teeth. She smiled at Serena, toothpaste all over her face. "Wow shwas da dwate?" she asked while brushing her teeth.
"It was good, really good," Serena said, rubbing her eye. "I got here at around 12 something. Darien's car broke down so Andrew came to pick us up."
Ami nodded as she gurgled some water.
The girls finished getting ready in silence, Serena too tired to talk much.
As Ami put on her shoes, she mentioned Brett. "Brett came by when you guys were gone. We just hung out here and watched a movie together," Ami said, smiling.
Serena suddenly felt more awake. "What! Awww… how did that go?"
"It went great! We popped some popcorn and we watched The Notebook together, hahaha," Ami giggled. "Well, he didn't want to watch it, but I made him anyways."
Serena smiled, picturing Ami and Brett watching the Notebook. "Did he like it?"
"I wouldn't say he 'liked' it so much as he 'put up with it'," Ami said, finishing tying her other shoe.
Serena found some flip-flops and stuck them on. "Me and Darien went to this little restaurant out of town. It was so gorgeous and romantic," Serena sighed, smiling.
"Aww, that sounds so lovely," Ami said, smiling back. "Brett kissed me!" She suddenly shrieked.
Serena eyes went wide. "OH MY GOSH! How did it go!"
Ami blushed a little. "Well… I've never kissed anyone before, but he was very gentle. It just.. felt right," she said, getting up slowly. "He's not forceful or anything! He was even afraid. He asked me before he kissed me though, which I thought was adorable," Ami said, picking up some books.
"Aww… look at Ami, all grown up," Serena joked, laughing. Ami rolled her eyes.
The girls chit-chatted some more as they walked out of the door. Serena suddenly remembered something! Raye! Today was the day she invited Raye over to do something with them.
"Oh Ami! My friend Raye in my graphic designs class is going to come over after classes and hang out with us, make more friends," Serena said.
"Oh alright," Ami said, nodding, agreeing. "Sounds like a good idea! Us three girls should have like a girls night out or something after school," Ami said.
"Cute! I'll tell her about it, see what she thinks," Serena said smiling.
As the girls made their way to the elevator, Serena heard someone yell out her name. She turned around, and it was Darien.
She smiled right when she saw him. "Hey Ami, you go ahead, I'll see you after classes, alright?" Ami nodded and waved bye.
Darien walked up to Serena, smiling, hands in his pockets. "Good morning hunny," he joked.
"Hunny? That's what old couples say to each other," Serena said laughing. "And besides, we're not even a couple yet," she pointed out, pushing the elevator button.
"We're not?" Darien asked, looking confused.
"No…" Serena said, frowning. She couldn't understand why he didn't already know this! He never officially asked her to be his girlfriend or anything. They just went on a date… and kissed…
"Oh…" Darien replied, furrowing his eyebrows together. Not a couple? We went on a date! I kissed her… we promised each other stuff, doesn't that count? He thought to himself.
Serena stepped into the elevator as it opened. She waited for him to ask her to be his girlfriend, but that sentence never came out of his mouth.
"You hungry?" Darien asked, trying to move away from the awkwardness.
"No," Serena said, sounding a little disappointed. Guys are so stupid, she thought as she pressed the lobby sign.
"Alright, well I'll walk you to your first class then," Darien said, looking at Serena. She had somewhat of a pout on her face. I wonder if she's mad…
"Okay," Serena said, not looking at him.
When the elevator door opened to the lobby, they walked out together. Darien glanced down at Serena as they walked out. He wanted to hold her hand but he didn't know if he should or not.
"What class are you going to?" Darien asked, trying to strike up a conversation.
"Graphic design," Serena said in a monotone voice.
As they neared her class, Darien asked," Are you mad at me?" he looked a little confused.
"I don't know, you tell me," Serena said, stopping and facing him, looking in his eyes.
"Well.. I dunno. That's why I asked you. Are you?" Darien asked, looking in her eyes.
"No, why would I be mad?" Serena asked back, cocking her head to the side. Of course I'm mad! You didn't know that we weren't together, and I told you, and yet you STILL haven't asked me out!
"I dunno!" Darien said, now starting to look a little aggravated.
Serena just stared at him. "No, I'm not mad at you," she said, expressionless.
Darien looked a little skeptical, but he believed her. "Alright…" he said, sounding unsure. He gave her a small smile, and leaned in to give her a kiss, only to be rejected. Serena walked off just as his face came down towards hers. I knew it… she's mad, he thought, shaking his head as he watched her walk off. Why are women so difficult!
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Serena came into her Graphic Designs class, pouting. Brett saw her, and looked concerned.
"You alright there Serena?" he asked, taking a seat.
"No. Guys are idiots," she said, rather bluntly.
Brett looked confused, but went along with it. "Okay.."
"Why won't he ask me to be his girlfriend Brett? I mean.. I made it really obvious that I wanted him to ask me out, but he didn't," Serena said, sighing.
Brett smiled. "Guys think differently than girls do Serena. I think he thinks it's a mutual thing between you two. He probably thinks he doesn't have to ask you to be his girlfriend cause you two already act like you're together, so there's no point in asking you." He explained.
Serena pouted even more. She just wanted it to be official; for her to know that she belongs to him, and he belongs to her. "Yeah… I guess I understand," she said quietly.
Raye walked in, and sat beside Serena. "Hey guys," she greeted, putting her stuff next to her computer.
"Hi Raye," Serena said, sounding a little sad. Raye looked at her questioningly.
"What's wrong? You seem bummed," She said, turning on her computer.
"I am bummed," Serena said, arms crossed.
"I'm sorry… wanna talk about it?"
Serena gave Raye a weak smile. "I'll tell you later. Besides, we're gonna hang-out today, remember?"
Raye smiled and nodded. "I'm actually excited," she admitted.
"Good!" Serena said, logging onto her computer. "We're gonna have fun."
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Serena led Raye to her dorm around 12. They met at the park bench, and headed towards the dorm building.
"So what are we gonna do?" Raye asked, following Serena.
"I'm not sure, we'll figure it out when you meet Ami and stuff," Serena said, smiling.
As the two girls headed to the dorm rooms, they talked about Graphic Design and their futures, getting to know a little more about each other.
Serena opened the door to her room, Ami sitting at the desk.
"Hey Ami! This is my friend Raye," She introduced them as they came inside.
Ami smiled and stood up, holding her hand out. "Hi! Nice to finally meet you!"
Raye smiled back, giving a little nod of the head. "Nice to meet you as well. You guys have a cute dorm room!" Raye said, looking around.
"Thanks," Serena said, putting up her coat and taking her shoes off. "Where do you live?"
"Oh, I live at home with my parents. We live pretty close by," Raye said, taking a seat on the couch.
"That's nice," Ami said, sitting back at the desk.
"So do you like anyone here?" Serena asked, laying down in her bed, propping herself up by her elbow.
Raye shook her head. "Nope, no one."
"Hey, Ami! You know Andrew right? Don't you think she'd be cute with him?" Serena asked, grinning towards her friend.
"Stop playing cupid Serena," Ami said, shaking her head, smiling.
"What! It worked out for you and Brett," Serena said, giggling.
Raye's eyes went wide. "You and Brett are together! How cute!" she exclaimed, sounding shocked.
Ami blushed. "Well we're not 'officially' together yet, but we're almost there," Ami said, smiling shyly.
"Yeah, I don't think me and Darien will ever get there," Serena said, sarcastically.
"What? What are you talking about?" Raye asked, looking puzzled.
"Oh, Serena and Darien are 'seeing' one another at the moment. It seems as though they've come across a bump in the road," Ami said, smiling. "What's goin on Sere?"
Serena gave a long exasperated sigh. "He hasn't asked me to be his girlfriend yet. This morning, he called me 'hunny', so I told him that we weren't a couple yet, and he said,' We aren't?' Like he didn't even know! So then I was like,' No.." which should have been a HUGE clue for him to ask me out, but he still hasn't. Then he has the NERVE to ask me if I'm mad at him! Which I answered no to as well.. guys do not have common sense," Serena said, throwing her head back on her bed.
"So he asked you if you're mad at him, and you said you weren't?" Raye asked, an amusing smile playing on her lips.
"Yeah," Serena said, looking towards Raye.
"You shouldn't have said that. If you're mad, you should tell him you're mad, otherwise he won't know what you're mad about, which will make him really confused," Raye said.
"I know, but shouldn't he be able to FIGURE it out!" Serena said, yelling.
Raye and Ami smiled, both shaking their heads. "You just said guys don't have common sense, Serena. They usually don't know why you're mad at them, even though it is blatantly obvious to us," Ami said, pointing it out.
"I guess so," Serena mumbled. She started twirling a strand of hair around her finger, thinking. "So.. should I go and talk to him about it then? Tell him why I'm mad and whatnot?"
"Yeah," Raye answered.
"You have so much knowledge about this type of thing, Raye. Why don't you have a boyfriend?" Serena asked, looking at Raye.
"I just got out of a long relationship with this guy named Collin, that's why I know so much."
"Ohh, I see. How long were you two together?" Serena asked.
"About three years. I broke things off with him last Christmas. Found out he was cheating on me with one of my really good friend," Raye answered, looking down at the floor.
"I'm sorry, Raye," Ami said, looking sad.
"It's fine. I know I could do better than that jackass anyways," Raye said, shrugging it off.
"I'm telling you! Andrew! He's such a great guy," Serena said, smiling. "I think he'll take good care of you."
Raye laughed. "I don't even know the guy! I've never even seen him!"
"Well, I'll introduce you two sometime…. Somehow," Serena said, thinking. "I'll come up with something."
"Be careful Raye, she's deathly serious about this sort of thing, you won't be able to get away," Ami warned, grinning. "But I must admit, she chooses really good guys."
"See!" Serena said, smiling happily.
"Whatever floats your boat," Raye said, smiling.
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Darien was in his dorm room, thinking about their morning.
"What did I say wrong?" he asked himself, out loud. He didn't like it when she was mad at him… especially when he wasn't sure what she was so mad about. "Why do girls do this!"
Darien heard a soft knock on his door, interrupting his thoughts. He walked to his door, and answered it.
Serena stood there, looking adorably innocent. Her hair was in it's usual 'meatball' shape. She dressed in casual clothing, long-sleeved shirt, and jeans.
Darien's face immediately softened when he saw her. "Hi Serena," he said, opening the door wider, gesturing her to come in.
"Hi Darien," she replied, smiling.
Darien closed the door, and suddenly started talking. "Look Serena, I'm not sure what I did that made you mad, but I'm sorry. I don't like it when you're mad at me, it drives me insane! Especially when I'm not completely sure why you're mad at me."
Serena looked at him. "You still don't know?"
"No…" he said, honestly.
She sighed, and took a seat on the couch. "We're not together. I mean, we're 'together', but it's not official. I mean, I know it feels like we're together and everything, but I just want it to be official… you know? That way I know I'm really with you, and you're with me. So when someone asks 'Are you two together?' I can say yes without any hesitation. I just want to be your girlfriend," She finished explaining, looking into his beautiful blue eyes.
Darien walked over to the couch, and took a seat next to her. He got it now. He smiled down at her, looking into her eyes. "Serena, will you please be my girlfriend?" he asked.
Serena's heart fluttered, and she smiled happily. "I would love to your girlfriend," she whispered, bringing her face closer to his.
"And can I please kiss you now, without you rejecting me?" Darien asked, grinning, cupping her face in his hands.
Serena grinned back, nodding. "Yes you may Prince Charming."
