Chapter 2-

The bus stopped and a loud, booming voice startled everyone. "Hello, everyone! We've finally reached Forbidden City. Follow me, and we'll start our tour." Janine stated.

As soon as the last person got off the bus, the group proceeded into the Forbidden City. "Ugh! It's so hot, Mom!" whined Serena.

"I know, honey. Here's a bottle of cold water. Give one to your brother, okay?"

Serena nodded. "HEYYY! DORK! HERE'S YOUR WATERR!" shouted Serena.

"Thanks, Meatball Head." Sammy laughed and left with his new friends.

Serena proceeded to take pictures, and bumped into something. "AHH!" she screamed and fell to the ground. She looked up and noticed the same raven-haired guy she saw the other day. "Oh! I'm so sorry, sir!"

"No problem," the raven-haired guy stuck out his hand. "I'm Darien Shields by the way."

Serena blushed and her face turned crimson. "Uh…um…I-I-I'm S-Serena Tsukino."

Darien smirked. She's cute. I wonder how old she is…. "So…how old are you Serena?" he asked.

She sat down on a bench located inside the Forbidden City. "I'm 16…almost 17. How about you?"

"I'm 17. I just got out of high school."

"Really? What school are you going to?" Oh wow! He's only a year older than me AND he's in college!

"UCLA (University of California- Los Angeles). So are you a junior or a senior?"

"I'm going to be a ju-"

"DARIEN! LET'S GO! COME ON!" Serena spotted a little girl tugging on the bottom of Darien's shirt. Must be his little sister…

"Okay okay!" Darien laughed. "Rini? This is Serena. Serena…this is my little sister, Rini."

"Rini, huh? That's a very cute name!" smiled Serena.

Rini stared blankly at Serena, and proceeded to tug on Darien's shirt. "Darrrieeeeennnnn! C'mon! I wanna go look at all the stuff!"

"Okay! Okay! Uh, nice meeting you, Serena!" Darien shouted as Rini pulled him away.

Serena smiled and waved, "Nice meeting you, too, Darien!" Poke. Poke. Serena turned around to see her mother smiling widely at her. "Whaatt?"

"So…who's the boy, Serena?" her mom asked.

"Whaat?" Serena blushed. "Oh, um…that was…my new friend, Darien." She whispered as she walked away.

Ilene smiled. "Okay…" They would make SUCH a cute couple!

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The tour guide stood on a rock and said, "Attention! Everyone! May I have your attention, please? We are about to leave, so stick together and follow me!" The group followed the tour guide, and Serena spotted Andrew.

"Hey Andrew!" Serena waved.

"Hey Sere! Did you take a lot of pictures today?"

"Yeah…and…I think I made a new friend…" Serena blushed.

"Oh really? So, Sere…who's the lucky guy?" Andrew smirked.

"Andrew! Don't be like that! I JUST met him!" Serena playfully hit his arm. "Anyway, his name is Darien Shields."

Andrew's eyes almost bugged out of his head, and Serena started to laugh. "Darien Shields? Man! I haven't seen that guy since elementary school!"

"You know him? Well, now you know 2 people, Andrew!" Serena smiled.

He smiled. "I guess so!"

Everyone boarded the bus, and Serena sat down by the window. "Excuse me, Serena?"

Serena looked up, and saw a pair of midnight blue eyes. It was Darien! "Uh…hi, Darien! Did you need something?"

"Well, uh, there aren't anymore seats left…and…I was wondering if…I could sit next to you?" asked Darien.

Serena's eyes brightened and she smiled. "Of course you can sit here!"

Darien grinned and sat down. "Thanks, Serena."

"No problem!" But truth be told, Serena didn't feel comfortable around Darien. I just met the guy! No one has ever made me feel this uncomfortable before! Ugh…. As time progressed on the bus, all Serena could do was stare out of the window trying to avoid Darien's eyes at all times.

Why is Serena avoiding me? Darien asked himself. Then, he felt something rest against his shoulder. He turned around to find Serena fast asleep and resting her head on his shoulder. Darien grinned and placed his head on top of hers.

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Serena yawned and rubbed her head against her comfortable "pillow". Wait…I didn't bring a pillow on the bus with me…. Serena's eyes opened widely and moved her head slightly to find Darien resting his head against hers. Oh no! What have I done? I just made a friend, and now our friendship is going to get so screwed up because of this! How am I going to…get myself out of this? She moved her head and Darien awoke. "Oh. I'm sorry, Darien! Did I wake you up?" Gosh, I'm such an idiot. Of course I woke him up!

"It's okay," Darien smiled and the bus stopped. "I think we're about to have lunch, anyway."

The bus-load of tourists got off the bus and walked into a traditional Chinese restaurant. Serena left to use the bathroom and came back to find her family sitting at the same table as Darien's family. Oh no…wha- , but Serena's thoughts were interrupted by someone's laugh. She turned to find Darien smiling and laughing with Andrew. I guess they're catching up on old times. Darien's laugh is so cute…. Ugh! Stop it, Serena! We didn't come all this way just to meet some guy, especially one you hardly know! Remember Seiya? The one that broke your heart? You don't want to go through that again, do you? The purpose of this trip was just to get away from boys!

"Serena? Honey? Are you alright?" her mother asked with a concerned look in her eyes.

"Huh? I'm fine, mom! Just…you know…spacing out like I always do." Serena smiled and began to scoop some rice into her mouth. Mmmm! Yummy!

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"Attention! Attention! Is everyone finished with lunch?" the annoying tour guide asked. Everyone nodded. "Great! Now let's proceed to the hotel and we'll have some leisure time."

Serena smiled. FINALLY! I can go rest in my hotel room that I have ALL to myself, and maybe go on a walk. She ran to the bus and sat at her seat. Oh no. But Darien's going to sit here…ahhh. Okay…get a hold of yourself, Serena. Just be friendly…don't make anything awkward between you two…but do NOT fall in love again….

Darien took a seat next to Serena. "Um…Serena?" Darien asked hesitantly.

Serena looked up. "Yeah, Darien?"

"Well…um…were you…trying to avoid me earlier?"

Oh no! Look what you've done, Meatball brains! You've made Darien think that you hate him! "Oh…um…n-no, Darien. Of course not. I'm sorry…I've been kind of spacey lately. Forgive me?" she asked.

"Of course…." Darien smiled, but somehow…he still wasn't convinced. The bus ride to the hotel was silent between the two. Tension stirred.

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"WAKE UP EVERYONE!" a loud, booming voice yelled. Everyone looked up with groggy eyes. "We are FINALLY here at the Jade Palace Hotel! Get a good night's rest and wake-up call tomorrow is 7 o'clock!" the tour guide smiled happily as she brushed her hair out of her face. Everyone groaned at the thought of waking up at 7, and the bus stopped. " Darien Shields and Serena Tsukino! Come get your hotel keys!" Darien and Serena looked at each other and walked to the front. " Darien, you are in room 1416, and Serena, you are in 1418."

Serena and Darien got off the bus, grabbed their things, and walked to the elevator. All of a sudden, the lights started to flicker, and the elevators stopped. "OH NO! WE'RE GOING TO BE STUCK IN HERE!" Serena whined.

Darien covered his ears. "It's OKAY, Serena! Don't worry!" he assured.

Then they heard a voice over the intercom. "Don't worry, kids. We'll get you out in 20 minutes!"

Serena sat down and began to cry.