A.N: Thank you for the comments! This is the longest story ever… LOL. Sorry for the long updates…. I've been way busy!
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Chapter 37:Finally
Serena and Darien snuggled on the couch while the classic TV show, "I Love Lucy" aired on their TV. Serena's body was leaned up against Darien's, while his arms were wrapped securely around her tiny waist. A comfortable blanket lay strewn across them cozily as they laughed together.
Serena kept bouncing lightly on top of his chest as she watched, due to giggling. Darien chuckled as he watched her. The sudden feeling of love completely overwhelmed him. It was unbelievable, the feelings that were coursing through his body. He smiled down at his girlfriend lovingly, his eyes getting soft and twinkling with emotion. He was completely head over heels for Serena Tsukino.
Suddenly, Serena's head fell down into Darien's lap while she laughed hysterically, holding onto her stomach. "S-she's soo f-unny," she gasped through giggles. She then pointed to the TV," Look! Hahaha! She's sticking all of those chocolates in her mouth… hahaha."
Darien grinned and watched her still, as she lay contently, now on his lap. Her golden blonde hair spread out everywhere, blanketing Darien.
She laughed once again, and then turned her head in his lap, and looked up into his adoring face. To her surprise, Darien was already staring at her, and from the look on his face, he probably had been for awhile now. She smiled goofily up towards him, her eyebrows arching up questioningly. "What?" she said as she looked up into his gorgeous blue eyes.
Darien gave her his charming smile, and shook his head. "Nothing. I was just watching you," he answered truthfully, shrugging his shoulders.
Serena could feel her face turning red, feeling embarrassed and utterly flattered. She blushed profusely and then lowered her eyes away from his, as if she was shy; her eyelashes batting together.
"You're blushing," Darien teased lovingly down at her as he chuckled. She turned even redder at his comment, completely turning her head away from him.
"Stop it," she said softly, trying to hide her smile.
"What? I can't look at you?" Darien asked, his left hand lightly caressing her exposed arm.
Serena felt her entire body tingling from just one simple touch. She turned her head to look up at him, her blue eyes alluring. "You can look at me all you want," she whispered, grinning.
Darien laughed at her witty remark. This time Serena was the one staring at him. His ebony hair fell down to his eyes as he laughed joyfully. She always felt safe with Darien. She felt like when she was in his arms, nothing could possibly go wrong or harm her. She loved every minute she spent with him. She loved him. She had no one else to compare him to, but she knew she was in love. And she liked the feeling of knowing he loved her too. Her stomach still does flips and turns when he looks at her, or is near her.
Darien looked down at her again, and this time she was looking up at him. He smiled, and lowered his head down to her, but then stopped just a few inches away from her expecting lips. His blue eyes gazed into hers, his heart suddenly speeding up.
Serena's hand reached up towards his face, and then she raised her head towards him. The gap between them disappeared, as their lips met.
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Andrew and Raye walked around, admiring the festivities all around them. They shared a stick of pink cotton candy as they laced in and out of the crowds of people. Andrew found that he always had fun when he was Raye. He enjoyed himself, and he was perfectly comfortable with her. He wasn't afraid to be goofy or silly around her. He was himself. And she didn't seem to have a problem with that whatsoever.
"Would you like to take a spin on the Ferris wheel?" Andrew asked Raye, flashing her his pearly whites.
Raye noticed that every time he smiled at her, her heart seemed to skip a beat. She quickly glanced at his blue eyes, and nodded. "I'd love to," she finally replied.
Andrew grinned and started to head in that direction. While they were walking together, side by side, he had the strongest urge to grab her hand. He caught himself looking down quickly at her delicate hands, just inches away from his own. But he didn't want to scare her, so he quickly stuck his hands into his pocket.
Raye kept walking happily beside him, obviously unaware of his inner struggle. She had thrown away the remainder of the cotton candy, but her big bear was still in one of her arms. She turned her head and looked at him, smiling cheerfully. "Thanks for the bear. And the cotton candy," she added, squeezing the bear closer to herself.
"No problem. As long as you like it," he said, as he neared a ticket booth. "We need to buy tickets for rides. Wait here, I'll go get ours."
"No," Raye stopped him, grasping his arm tightly. "You've paid for enough. I'll buy my own ticket," she said, staring into his eyes intently.
Andrew felt entranced as he kept his eyes locked on hers. She was touching him. There was an awkward moment that passed between them, and then Raye suddenly let his arm go.
"Sorry," she whispered, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear nervously.
"It's fine," Andrew reassured her. "But I'm buying you the ticket whether you want me to or not," he pushed further, grinning. "Think of this as our first official date."
Before Raye could open her mouth to protest, Andrew trotted to the ticket booth. She gave an amused sigh, and shook her head at Andrew's turned back. He was stubborn, but still undeniably sweet. And very good looking, not to mention; with his blonde hair and brilliant blue eyes that one could drown in.
Before she knew it, Andrew came back with ticket bracelets.
"Here," he said as he grabbed her hand and stuck it out. He looked at the bracelet and tore off the sticky part of it so he could wrap it around her wrist and stick it on. He gently rubbed on the sticky part to make sure it'd stay. "There you go," he said, nodding his head.
Raye grabbed his bracelet out of his hand, and took his arm. She did the same process, and patted his arm gently when she had finished. "And there we have it," she smiled.
"Now, the ride," Andrew announced, pointing at the massive Ferris wheel. He grinned at her, and stuck out his arm for her.
Raye blushed slightly, and took his arm.
"Do you want me to hold the bear for awhile?" he asked, looking down at her as soon as she had wrapped an arm around his.
She shook her head," I'm fine. It keeps me company."
"What? I'm not entertaining enough for you? A stuffed animal beats me?" Andrew joked, acting extremely hurt.
Raye laughed and shook her head," No! I didn't mean that. It's like a security blanket. I use to sleep with a teddy bear when I was younger. One day, I came home and I found out my dad had thrown it away. He was cleaning the house that day, and he found my raggedy old bear and he tossed it. I was probably sixteen, but I was still devastated. I couldn't sleep for weeks," Raye told him.
Andrew smiled at her heartwarming story. "Cute," he grinned. "Well, now my bear can replace yours," he added, eyeing the polka dotted bear.
Raye smiled and looked up at him. "What should we name it?" she asked.
"Name it?" he questioned, looking confused.
"Yes. We have to name it! It's an unwritten teddy bear rule. You've never named a teddy bear before?" Raye asked, looking serious and jokingly outraged.
Andrew shook his head," No. I never had bears. I had action figurines. I named those though, so I guess it's the same thing."
Raye laughed," You named action figures?"
Andrew puffed his chest out in pride. "Yes, I named my beloved figurines. They're still up in my room at home actually. They're my pride possessions," he admitted with a smile.
Raye laughed some more and shook her head at him. "Well, since you've never named a bear, I'll let you name him," she said as she gave the bear over to Andrew.
He took it from her and held it in his arm awkwardly. The bear was big and white. It had pink polka dots scattered everywhere, and it was holding onto a big red heart that said," I Love You," on it. What can I name this? He thought as he looked skeptically down at the bear. Dotty… Heart… Pokie…
Raye watched his facial expressions as he studied the bear. She could tell he was putting effort and thought into the name, and she found it adorable.
"I dunno," he said when he looked from the bear to her. " There's the obvious, such as Polka Dot, or Dotty, or Heart, or Pokie… then there's Fair, cause we're at the fair. Or we're at an Art's Fair… we could name it Art… or Bet… or… I dunno," he said as he handed the bear back to her.
Raye took the bear gingerly, and looked down at it. "Art," Raye repeated aloud," Art… I like that. Art he shall be," Raye grinned. "Job well done, bear namer."
Andrew chuckled," Thank you, thank you."
Soon enough, the two finally reached their destination; the Ferris wheel. Andrew let Raye on first, and then climbed in next to her, but not sitting too close. He made sure he kept a friendly distance between them.
As they made themselves comfortable, the Ferris wheel began to rotate in a slow, relaxing manner, as the two skimmed over the darkened city. Flashing lights, and different colored lights filled the sky, making it look beautifully magical.
Raye was wearing casual clothes. She had on a short sleeved v-neck. It was seductively conservative. It showed off her flawless figure. As the Ferris wheel stopped on it's first halt, she shivered slightly as a light breeze swept through them.
Andrew took notice of this, and immediately removed his jacket, and placed it gently over her shoulder. In order to do so, he had to scoot over closer to her. She jumped slightly as she felt his hands lightly brush her exposed arm.
"Thank you," she said quietly, slightly blushing at his sweet gesture.
He gave her a smile and rested his arm behind her on the seat.
It was only then that she realized how close they were. All she had to do was move a little, and she'd be resting in the crook of his arm. He'd held her before, on their blind date, but he hadn't made a move since then. Without anymore thought, Raye leaned in the rest of the way as their bodies leaned next to each other cozily.
Andrew smiled to himself, feeling all giddy inside. Like he had opened a Christmas present a day early. He then wrapped his arm around her waist, and kept it firmly there.
"Are you still cold?" he asked, looking concerned and happy.
"I'm perfect," Raye answered, grinning, still holding tight onto Art, the newly named bear.
Andrew chuckled at her comment and looked down towards the carnival and city lights. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" he asked, his eyes taking in everything.
"Mmhmm," she mumbled back, resting her head near his neck.
"How are you liking our first date?" Andrew joked as he pulled her in closer to him.
She smiled and answered," I love it." She could feel his heartbeat as she rested her head on him. It was calm and rhythmic; at times it would speed up, and then it'd return to normal again.
Andrew suddenly broke the silence," So, tell me why a pretty lady like you, is still single."
"No one's asked me out recently. Not after I broke up with Collin," she answered softly. "Tell me why a pretty man like you is still single," she mocked teasingly.
"Well, I dunno actually," he answered honestly. "My last girlfriend, her name was Kylie Hicks, and that was nearly 2 years ago. After we broke up, I haven't really gotten with anyone else."
Raye lifted her head off of his chest to look at him. "Why is that?"
"I guess I was 'heartbroken' or whatever. We were together for a little over a year. I thought everything was going great, you know? Then out of the blue, she breaks up with me. She told me it was because we were too different, and we didn't have anything in common. She said I was hard to talk too. Anyways, I was depressed for awhile. I haven't gotten with anyone else because I've never been interested in one girl long enough to do something about it. Or I didn't like her enough to do something about it," he finished, his face falling slightly.
"Oh," Raye mumbled, looking a little sad.
"It's different with you," he said quickly, looking down into her eyes. "I've never been this interested in anyone in a long time. Well… I've never been this interested in anyone since Kylie…"
Raye's eyes were locked to his dreamy blue ones. She couldn't seem to pull herself away from his tantalizing gaze. She felt her heart skip a beat, as she held her breathe.
Time seemed to stand still as they looked at one another. Neither one said a word. They didn't know what to say! Andrew's eyes slowly trailed its way down to her lips. Her lips were opened slightly, and they looked so tantalizingly inviting. Andrew felt his head move closer to her lips, then, he stopped when he was inches away from them. His eyes slowly rose up to look into her eyes again, as if asking for permission. As he looked at her, he saw that she too, was looking at his lips. Raye's eyes darted back up to his, and their eyes met once again.
"Can I kiss you?" Andrew whispered so quietly, it was barely audible.
"Yes…" Raye whispered, licking her lips in anticipation.
With her permission, Andrew closed the gap between their wanting lips, giving Raye the sweetest kiss she had ever received.
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Ami and Brett sat down at an empty benched table as they ate their gyro and listened to a singing contest. Occasionally they'd clap and shout to encourage the contestants, laughing gaily.
Brett glanced down at his watch. It was 6:30 and already dark. They quickly finished up their meal, and watched the rest of the show. A women in her thirties won the contest. She sang Celine Dion's "Because You Loved Me."
Ami clapped frantically as the women went up to collect her prize. "Woo hoo! Yeah!" she shouted loudly, smiling.
Brett clapped along with Ami. They walked away with the rest of the crowd, holding hands.
"What do you want to do next?" he asked, looking around.
"Anything," Ami replied, her eyes gleaming with joy.
"Well you pick," he ushered.
Ami scrunched her mouth to the side in thought as she looked around the fair. There are games… rides… art… jewelry.. tattoo.. Tattoo! "Let's get a tattoo," she shouted, jumping up and down.
"What?" Brett practically yelled, looking extremely surprised. "A tattoo? Ami.. are you sure?"
"Yes! Come on, please," she begged him, smiling as she let go of his hands and clasped them together.
Brett ran a hand through his blonde hair, looking trapped. "Well… I dunno. I mean, tattoos aren't something you can take off if you want to," he warned her. "It's a big step…"
"Come on," Ami insisted, pulling him towards the stand," live a little," she badgered.
"If you want one you can get one. But I'm not getting one," Brett said, trailing behind her as she pulled him forcibly.
"Okay!" she squealed, and let go of his arm as she looked through a book full of tattoos.
Brett looked horrified as she skimmed through the book. He couldn't believe she was going to go through with this! Oh no… he worried, what about her parents? They're gonna blame me! I know it, he panicked. "Ami! What about your parents?"
"What about them?" she asked, not taking her eyes away from the book.
"They already don't like the fact that you have a boyfriend! Now you're getting a tattoo! They're gonna think I dragged you into this," he said quickly.
"I don't care about them. I'm going to do what I want to. It's my body and it's my life. And I'm gonna live and do as I please," she said as she placed the book back down on the table and showed a man what she wanted.
"But… this is so random! Shouldn't you think about this a little more before you follow through with this? I mean.. this is completely unlike you," Brett tried to convince her, pacing behind her worriedly.
When Ami got done talking to the man about where she wanted it, she spun around and walked over to Brett. "Don't worry, Brett. I'll be fine! It's just a tattoo," she said as she cupped his face. "Now, do you want to go in there with me? Or do you want to wait out here?" she asked as she let go of his face.
Brett's face screwed up in terror as he shook his head and waved his hand," No… I'll wait out here," he answered breathlessly.
"Okay. I'll be back in a few minutes," she said as she walked into the tent, out of view.
While Ami was getting her tattoo, Brett paced around and around. He had one hand in his hair as he paced quickly. This was what he did when he was worried, and right now, he was extremely worried and terrified to say the least.
Ami popped out of the tent within fifteen minutes, all smiles. She watched Brett pace around in front of the tent before going over to stop him. "Hey," she greeted, grinning at him.
"Uh, hi," he answered, his eyes skimming her arm to see where she had placed the tattoo. Good… at least it's nowhere visible, he thought to himself.
Ami turned around, and lifted her shirt up. On her lower back, there was a big brown design.
Brett glanced at it, and held his breathe. Ami spun back around and laughed.
"It's a henna tattoo! It'll wash off in two weeks," she giggled uncontrollably.
Brett heaved a sigh of relief as he smiled at her. "I cannot believe you just did that… you have no idea what you put me through!" he said loudly, grinning.
Ami laughed some more and entwined their fingers together as they walked off. "I couldn't resist. You're so cute when you worry," she said in a sweet voice.
"Yeah, worry is probably an understatement. I was having a nervous breakdown," he joked. He looked down at his watch again, and it was 7 o'clock. "Hey, we'd better text Andrew and Raye. Tell them to head towards the car. We'll leave at 7:30," he said as he took out his phone.
"Alright," Ami replied as she watched him push on the dials.
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Darien and Serena had to stop themselves from going to far again. Each time they did so, it was a little harder to push each other off. They both knew they wanted more, but they also knew it wasn't the right time.
Serena sat up breathlessly. She was on top of Darien, who was panting just as hard as she was. Their lips were bruised from their passionate kisses. They got up and fixed themselves as they tried to calm their pulsing nerves down. Serena felt flushed, and filled with lust and desire. But she wanted to wait. And she was strong enough, and willful enough to do it.
"I'm sorry," she apologized as she sat up straighter. "We shouldn't have started."
Darien shook his head," No, it wasn't your fault. I can't seem to control myself sometimes," he said quietly, looking guiltily away from her. "I'm not going to push you into something you don't want to do, Serena. If you want to wait until marriage, then wait until marriage. Don't feel pressured by me."
"I don't feel pressured by you," she replied, looking at his turned face. "I trust you, Darien. I know you wouldn't push me into anything. Don't worry. We just lost track of what we were doing. It'll happen. It's fine," she reassured him.
Darien inhaled deeply, and exhaled. He turned his head and looked into her porcelain blue eyes. He gave her a nod, and smiled. "So… do you want to go eat?"
Serena laughed at his sudden change of subject. "I'm always ready to eat!" she squealed as hopped off the couch.
Darien chuckled, and got up too. "It's a date then."
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Andrew felt his phone vibrating, and jumped, his lips quickly parting from Raye's.
Raye's eyes slowly fluttered opened in confusion, her swollen lips feeling cold from their separation.
Andrew glanced down at his phone quickly, and saw that it was a text from Brett. "Ah, sorry," Andrew said quietly. "It's Brett. I think they're ready to go," he said as he looked back up to Raye.
She had an unreadable expression displayed on her face. Her lips were parted slightly, her cheeks flushed, and her eyes dark with desire. She had never had any guy kiss her the way that Andrew had. He kissed her with such sweetness and care. Softly, like she was the most fragile thing in the world, with his masculine arms wrapped around her securely. She had never felt safer in her life then when she was in his arms. When he kissed her, it felt like sparks and electricity ran through them.
"You alright?" Andrew asked her, his eyes looking concerned at her silence. He suddenly felt panicked, that he had pushed it too far. "Did I do something wrong?"
Raye smiled and shook her head. "No. You did nothing wrong. It was perfect. This whole day's been perfect," she whispered.
Andrew grinned bashfully, feeling like he was on top of the world.
Just then, the Ferris Wheel came to it's final rotation. A guy opened their cart for them, and let them out.
As Andrew and Raye walked off, he courageously took her hand in his without asking her. She looked down surprisingly at their entwined fingers, and then up at him, smiling.
With Art in one arm, and Andrew holding her other hand, Raye felt as if she was floating on cloud nine.
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Ami and Brett walked in the direction of their car. As they walked under the moon's rays, the festive lights, Brett stopped her.
"Hey. I need to go get something. Stay right here, okay?" he said as he looked at her.
Ami looked confused, but agreed. "Alright. You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Be right back!" he said, and he sprinted off in the direction of the art tents.
Within five minutes, Brett came back, with a huge rectangular shaped object in his arms. It was wrapped in some kind of paper, and tied securely with rope. He trotted over to Ami, and handed it to her. "This is for you," he said, and smiled.
Ami frowned and took it, looking baffled. "What is it?"
Brett grinned," It's the portrait you were looking at earlier. I saw you staring at it for a long time. So I got it for you. I hope you like it," he answered.
Ami dropped her mouth open, looking extremely stunned. "Y-you… got the portrait for… me?" she gasped, looking at Brett.
"Yeah. I got it for you when I told you I was gonna go use the restroom. Instead, I went and bought it for you, and had the lady hold it for me," he explained.
"Oh my gosh," Ami gasped again. "Brett… how much did-"
"Don't worry about the price. I got it for you. I want you to have it. You deserve it," he stopped her sentence.
"Oh… you're so sweet.. thank you.. but I couldn't possibly take this. It's too expensive, Brett," Ami said seriously, shaking her head.
"No. Ami, keep it, please? I got it for you, so I want you to keep it," he pleaded.
Ami looked back down at the wrapped painting. "I-I dunno! I mean… "
"Please keep it. I know you want it," Brett begged, looking at her.
"Well….," Ami looked back up at him. She took one look at his puppy dog face, and she said,"Alright. I'll keep it."
Brett grinned," Good."
Ami squealed and set the portrait down carefully on the ground, and jumped on him. "I can't believe you bought it for me!" she screamed. "You're so wonderful," she said as she looked into his gorgeous eyes.
Brett chuckled as he held her in his arms.
She tiptoed up, and gave him a quick, sweet kiss. "I think I love you," she suddenly whispered, her eyes slightly opened.
Brett felt his heart lurch when she said it. It was the first time she'd ever said anything like that to him before. He looked at her for awhile before he said anything back. Then he said," Well, I know I love you,."
