A/N: This chapter was really fun to write, and my friends Giri-chan and Jade-Eye were a huge help (but Giri-chan, I lost the papers you marked stuff on! I'm so sorry!).
This chapter is dedicated to them.
Note: As the school year draws to a close, my teachers have poured a monsoon of work on us. I currently have three tests and five projects due within the next two weeks, plus finals, so I may not be updating until the middle of May – when Star Wars comes out! WOOHOOOOO! Um, don't freak out, I'll prob'ly just write a lot and daydream a lot about the story so that I'll have a lot to post when I do come back. Thanks, all!
Disclaimer: You do realize that the only reason I write these it to add more words to my story's word count, right? Yeah, it's true. Anyhow, I don't own Sailor Moon.
Subject to Change
From the diary of a random Azabu High School ninth-grader:
Dear Diary,
OMG, the strangest thing just happened! Three kids fainted, and Principal Waishatsu had a heart attack! Right in the middle of the cafeteria! Karounen-sensei just called the ambulance!
What happened that caused such a shock, you ask? Well, Darien Shields, the love of my life, just sat down next to Serena Tsukino. Tsukino, that ditzy blonde tenth grader who always has the grades at the bottom of the rankings board. I'd never really wasted much thought on her till now, but when Shields-senpai plopped down next to her at the table she shares with other social rejects – the blue-haired brain-tank girl and the redhead with the annoying accent – everyone around me started taking bets on how long it'd be before they started going out. I just asked Guri-chan, and she said that Murasaki-chan heard from her sister, who heard it from Asanuma-san in her Physics class, that Shields-senpai has had a crush on Tsukino-san for ages.
I don't see how that could be true, though. I mean, I watch Shields-senpai quite closely – no, I'm not a stalker! – in all the classes I have with him (which are only P.E. and lunch, unfortunately) and I've never seen him do anything but tease Tsukino-san. It's not even the flirting type of teasing, it's more like the "I've got no one else to pick on, so I'll pick on you," and Tsukino-san seems to hate it. I can't see why, I'd die of happiness of Shields-senpai teased me. But anyways, Shields-senpai has never been anything but condescending towards Tsukino-san (and who can blame him? She's a ditz!)
But right now, while he's sitting next to her, the usual hostility that's usually between them doesn't seem to exist at all! She hasn't shouted at him even once, and anyone who's ever spent ten minutes in a room with the both of them knows that that's about a miracle – or not, in my case.
Actually, the atmosphere between them seems kind of awkward. Which is good for me, right? Their elbows are bent kinda funny at their sides, like they're trying to avoid accidentally brushing up against one another. But Tsukino-san's smiling way too much – like the way she does whenever she's talking to one of the myriad boys who have crushes on her. She never smiles this much talking to Shields-senpai.
Oh, wait! Seiko-senpai is approaching them! Everyone knows he's one of Tsukino-san's most active pursuers (except for Shields-senpai? Hopefully not.), and even he rarely gets close enough to her to do anything more than chat with her between classes every couple of days.
Oh, he's at the table, he's speaking – oh, please, Seiko-senpai, if they're together, break them up!
"Check it out." Asanuma jerked his thumb towards the cafeteria doors. "Looks like the ambulance has arrived for Principal Waishatsu. "Hey, Ami-san, are you gonna eat that shepherd's pie?"
"That lump of seething carcinogens?" Ami wrinkled her nose distastefully and nudged the food item towards Asanuma with the tip of her plastic, school-issued fork. "I think not. Here, you're welcome to it, but don't say I didn't warn you."
"Thanks!" Asanuma dug a forkful of brownish glop out of the Styrofoam container and shoved it in his mouth. He grinned at Darien while he chewed. "Hey, Dare, I like sitting with the underclassmen! They're so generous! Can we sit with them again tomorrow?"
"Oh, I see how it is, Asanuma-kun," pouted Serena, pretending to be hurt. "That's all we mean to you? Free food?"
"Actually, I did have this Trig worksheet I needed some help with…" trailed off Asanuma, looking at Ami hopefully. "Dear, generous, benevolent, giving, selfless Ami-san, you wouldn't happen to be willing to share some answers, would you?"
"No, I wouldn't," said Ami, not looking up from her textbook.
Motoki leaned over and scooped up a bit of the shepherd's pie from Asanuma's tray with a spoon. "I know how you feel, Usa-chan. 'Numa uses me for free food, too." He offered her the loaded spoon. "Here, would you like the honors?"
"Nah, I think your aim's probably way better than mine." Serena grinned and watched Motoki bend the spoon handle backward. An atypical silence reigned over the table as Motoki released the spoon and sent the glob of shepherd's pie soaring through the air and onto an unsuspecting Asanuma.
Ignoring Asanuma's subsequent shout of surprise, Serena turned to look up at Darien. "What?" she asked disbelievingly. "No agreement of how horrible my aim is?" She lifted a hand, pushing back his dark shock of bangs so that she could feel his forehead.
"You don't feel hot…" She leaned back and raked mischievous eyes across him. "And you definitely don't look hot…"
Darien smiled back at her indulgently, and she settled back in her seat, feeling faintly annoyed. Calm down, Sere. Don't you be the one to break the truce, after all that ranting you did this morning. "Seriously, why didn't you say anything? That was, like, the perfect opening for an insult."
Darien seemed baffled. His eyes settled on hers hesitantly, like a pair of butterflies alighting on a potentially dangerous flower. She noticed the bags under his eyes, mirroring her own dark smudges, and wondered fleetingly what girl would have considered Darien unworthy of her affections. Four out of every five females on the Juuban district idolized him.
"Well – didn't we agree this morning to stop being mean to each other?"
"Oh, yeah…right." Serena smiled lopsidedly to hide her inner chagrin. And you just made a crack about his looks! Yet another example of how horrible a friend I am, she thought guiltily. "Um – sorry about that, you know, 'not hot' comment."
"What?" Darien blinked, then laughed a little. "No, that was funny, not mean."
"Oh…okay." Serena floundered about a moment for a new topic. All lunch had been awkward conversational dead-ends like this, ever since he had plopped down at her and Ami's table… "Hey, you, uh, don't think the principal will make us foot his hospital bill, do you? After all, it was us who made him have the heart attack…" She giggled a little, then felt a surge of self-condemnation. Serena, how could you make light of someone's pain like that?
"Nah…" Darien replied absently. Through her own flustered state, she noticed that he was focused on something behind her, and she twisted around to see what it was.
Oh man…Seiko… Serena's shoulders slumped, and she unconsciously leaned backwards in her seat a little. She felt her odangoes brush against something, and flinched forward quickly as she realized that it had been Darien's chin.
"Sorry," she mumbled.
"No, that's okay…" Darien shook his head to clear it of the images of Sailor Moon that had drifted into it. Serena's hair was ultra-soft like the superheroes – or maybe all girls had hair that soft. It wasn't as though he had enough experience with girls to know.
"Um…" he coughed, trying to force the words he needed to say out of his throat. Asanuma had said that Seiko talked to the Odan – Serena a lot. Maybe Serena would want to talk to him without anyone sticking their nose into the conversation. Or maybe – his lips pressed together – it was Seiko she had been talking about on the bleachers that morning, and she wouldn't want to talk to him. Only one way to find out. "Um, Serena, do you want us to leave? So you can talk to Seiko?"
"What?" said Serena, a little too quickly. Too quickly for what, he wasn't sure. "No, of course not. You don't heave to leave!"
"I know, but if you want us to – "
"Serena-chan!" Seiko had reached the table. He leaned an elbow casually on the empty chair next to Serena. "Do you need any help on that Geometry? I heard you were having trouble with it…"
Darien watched Serena fidget in her chair. Seiko, from his vantage point standing close to her, couldn't see it, but Darien saw that Serena's fingers were plucking nervously at the pleated fabric of her school skirt.
"Um, actually, I think I'm doing pretty good," he heard her say. "Thank you anyways, Seiko, I really appreciate it."
"Any time." Seiko flashed Serena a dazzling, if ineffectual, grin. He glanced at Darien, Asanuma, and Motoki in turn, then back at Darien again. "Hey, guys."
"Yo." Asanuma lifted a fork in greeting, then returned to his Jello-O. Darien was not fooled by the nonchalant gesture; he noticed the tense curve of Asanuma's back beneath his blazer. For all his comic relief, the dark-haired trickster held no love for Seiko.
Motoki donned his usual Arcade grin. "What's up?" he said affably.
Ami glanced up from her chemistry book. "Seiko-san," she said abruptly, eyes glimmering with a manic light Darien instinctively felt afraid of. "How many spikes are there on your head?"
"Spikes?" Seiko reached up self-consciously to finger the crown of gelled spikes poking up from his scalp. Darien would never admit it, but he held a secret envy of Seiko's ability to control his hair so easily. His own was always in chaotic disarray. "I – uh – don't know."
"Ami-chan – " Serena began, but it was too late. Ami leapt up, like a panther on the prowl, and locked her arm in a half-nelson around Seiko's neck. She then began to drag him off towards the exit, muttering about tallying porcupine quills in proper light.
Serena let out a small sigh. "I should go after them."
"No, Oda – Serena, they'll be fine." Darien tilted his head towards the clock on the wall. "Look, the bell's about to ring anyways. If you went after them now, you'd be late to Study Hall."
"Yeah, but – "
"Aw, Usa, they'll be fine." Motoki backed Darien as he emptied his tray in the trash can. "Seiko's a big boy."
"And Ami's a pretty fast counter," added Asanuma, also rising with his tray. "Seiko shouldn't be too late to class. You and Darien just run off like good little children and don't be too bad for Miss Lanai in detention today, or she'll beam you up to the mothership!"
Oh, yeah, thought Serena as she walked down with Darien out into the sunny courtyard, and then into the dimmer, empty hallways of the 800's building. I forgot we had detention again today…maybe it'll be better today, since me and Darien aren't fighting…but I don't know if I like not fighting with him any more than when we were fighting, everything's so awkward now…
"You don't have to feel bad about not returning his feelings, you know."
Serena's head jerked up at Darien's quiet words, a smile automatically curving her lips. It slowly faded as his words sank in. "Wh…What?"
"Seiko," Darien clarified, pausing outside the door of their study hall classroom. Funny, how tall he seemed suddenly, with his hand on the doorknob like that and his back to her as he spoke. "It's like with Coach and joining the teams. You shouldn't force yourself to do something you don't want to just for someone else's happiness. It's okay to put yourself first sometimes."
He paused and she watched as his knuckles whitened around the doorknob.
"Besides…unrequited love is an inevitable learning experience."
A long, quiet moment passed, Darien with his back to Serena, staring through space and time into his own private world of pain, and Serena with her eyes downcast guiltily on the floor, trying not to think about hers.
Then a student shuffled into the hallway with her friend and began gabbing as she twirled her locker combination into her lock – the spell was broken. Darien turned the knob and pulled the door open. Serena followed him inside the classroom. Her eyes were still focused on her own faltering feet so that she did not see the crumpled metal of the doorknob, compressed in the shape of clenched fingers.
"You were lying, weren't you?" said Darien a few minutes later. All the class had entered and were now slouched complacently in their desks, poring over history notes or bobbing their heads in time to their earphones.
Serena looked up from her geometry book. Her stomach knotted as she ran quickly through all of her conversations with Darien in which she might have lied – it was an occupation she had become shamefully proficient at in the past few months – but could come up with nothing. "When?"
A small grin touched Darien's lips, something that reassured her to no end despite the fact that she still didn't know what he was talking about. At least that grin meant that his mood from the hallways seemed to have vanished.
"When Seiko asked if you needed help with Geometry, and you said no. You were lying, weren't you?"
Serena glanced down at her eraser-smeared paper and then back at Darien. "Maybe," she admitted.
Darien's grin widened. This was something he could help Serena with. Something he could do to start redeeming himself. "Do you want help now?"
"I wouldn't want to impose," began Serena, but Darien picked up a pen and pulled her worksheet towards him. Serena froze for a moment, transfixed by the peculiar way Darien's fingers curled about the writing utensil, then shook herself out of it and leaned towards Darien so she could see the worksheet.
"Okay," said Darien. "Which one are you having trouble with?"
"Which one?" echoed Serena with a sarcastic snort, a bit of her usual fire returning as she glared down at the loathed numbers. "Oh, I love them all far too much to choose just one."
"Translation: all of them," Darien interpreted, quirking an eyebrow. "That's okay. Let's start on number one – see that mark right there? That means this line is congruent to that one. And this line is congruent to this one. And look, each of these triangles has a right angle. Got it?"
Serena nodded, face tense with concentration as she scowled belligerently down at the triangles. "Yeah. "
"Okay. So what do both of these right angles have on either side?"
"Um…" Serena's brow furrowed; she chewed on her pencil a moment. "Congruent sides?"
"Right! So what kind of congruence postulate are these two triangles going to use?"
"Congruence postulates?"
"Yeah – these ones." Darien flipped back a page in her book and tapped it with his pen. "SSS, SAS, ASA – "
"ASS?" injected Serena with a grin.
Darien rolled his eyes, though a small smile curved his lips. "Like I've never heard that one before," he muttered. (A/N: Any of you who have had Geometry, you know what I'm talking about.)
Serena made a face at him. "Well, excuse me for living, Your Majesty."
Darien's eyes widened, and he grabbed her wrists. "No – wait – Serena – I didn't mean it – "
Serena frowned and pried his fingers from her arm. "What are you talking about? I'm not mad."
"Oh." Darien let go of her hand and rubbed his neck sheepishly. "I thought – I mean – oh, never mind. Here, what congruence postulate would you use to prove these two triangles are congruent?"
"Um…SAS?"
"So, heard the two of you were sitting pretty close in study hall today." Asanuma elbowed Darien in the ribs.
Darien scowled. "What do you do, follow me around all day to see what I do with Serena? That's called stalking, you know. I could have you arrested – "
"Pfft." Asanuma snorted. "As if I have the time to waste following you around campus, Mr. Boring. No, I just have Melvin do it. He's always following you two around anyways because he wants to be the first one to know when you guys start going out."
"He's gonna be waiting a long time."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Asanuma waved his hand around dismissively. "Like I haven't heard that one before. Man, how about the nerve of that Seiko guy, huh? Trying to move in on your girl while you were right there? You shoulda punched his jaw in, man, that's what I would've done."
"She's not my girl, Asanuma."
"Suuuuuuure…"
"Asanuma…"
Asanuma held up his hands. "Hey, all I'm saying is, she better be your girl by – " he checked his wrist watch. " – five o'clock this afternoon, or I'm out twenty bucks."
"Ah! You are 'ere! Bien!" Miss Lanai yanked them in and slammed the door behind them. "Sit, sit! Just like yesterday!"
Serena eyed the couch dubiously as Darien walked over and sat down. "Do we…have to?"
"Matin, Matin," sighed Miss Lanai. "I though zat you 'ad gotten over zis bashfulness yesterday. I told you, I 'ave seen senior citizens making out on ze metro. A young zing like you sitting on 'ot Boy's lap is nozzing."
"Yes, but – "
"Matin, Matin, Matin." Miss Lanai shook her head, her braid swinging back and forth, and pointed at the star-shaped clock hanging on the wall. "Time is flying, and ze two of you are absolutely not leaving until I finish at least 'alf of ze painting."
Relenting, Serena went over and gingerly sat on Darien's lap. Her shoulders reflexively curved in around herself, and she timidly put her hands in the same position they had been yesterday.
"Is somezing wrong, Matin?" inquired Miss Lanai after a few minutes of silence had passed by. "You seem quiet."
Serena shook her head. "I'm okay."
"Why don't you tell me more about zese guardians of Tokyo," suggested Miss Lanai, eyes gleaming behind her spectacles. "Zese, zese, euh, Sailor Sushi, as you call zem."
"Sailor Senshi," corrected Serena, perking up a little. "They're these teenage girls who fight off all the youma who attack the town."
"Really?" Miss Lanai's hand quickened, trying to capture as much of Serena's recovered vivacity before it faded again. "What do zey look like?"
"Um, they kind of wear school uniforms…with the bows and the collars and stuff…" Serena frowned, trying to be as specific as possible without totally giving herself away. "And…Sailor Moon wears boots…"
"And a really short skirt," Darien supplied absently.
Her head jerked up to look at him sharply. He must have felt the sudden tenseness of her body because he glanced down at her with lifted eyebrows above somewhat surprised eyes. It was as though he couldn't believe what he had just said. Neither could she. But realizing that it wasn't so suspicious that he knew what Sailor Moon looked like – the Senshi were, after all, quite infamous in Tokyo – she relaxed again.
"Short skirt, mm?" mused Miss Lanai. "As in a 'oochie skirt, you mean? I thought that this girl was a 'ero, not a 'ooker!"
"She's not!" exclaimed Serena and Darien at the same time. Both blushed madly.
"You go first," said Darien to Serena.
"No, it's okay," insisted Serena, still mortified. "You go."
"No, you. It's only polite."
"No, really – "
"Ladies first – "
Serena smiled, remembering the last time he had said that. "In that case, go right on ahead – oh!" She clapped a hand over her mouth. I did it again! "Darien, I'm sorr – "
But Darien was just laughing. Eventually, he stopped, and said, "I was just going to say that the Senshi are definitely not hookers. But they do wear really, really short skirts."
Serena flushed again. This was actually her that Darien was talking about, after all. Without thinking, she blurted out, "Oh, come on, they're not that short…are they?"
Darien shrugged, a small smile curving his lips. "Let's just say they don't leave much to the imagination."
Oh God. Maybe that's why Tuxedo Mask was mad? Because he thought I was dressed like a hooker? But, no – I've always worn that and he's never gotten mad before…
The rest of conversation was uneventful – even boring. After the embarrassing exchange concerning the length of the Senshi's skirts, conversation dried up, and Miss Lanai seemed content to let the room stay quiet. Serena felt jumpy, ashamed, and bored. She wished that Darien would say something, anything, even insult her, so that they would at least be talking, but his only words were to ask if she wanted a piece of gum – which made her feel even more anxious…did that mean her breath was on the opposite end of the spectrum from minty fresh?
All in all, it was a nerve-wracking hour, and she was glad to be released by Miss Lanai.
"Tomorrow is Friday, n'est-ce pas?" said Miss Lanai as she walked them to the door. As she leaned past Serena to lock the door, her collar dipped a little, and Serena caught a brief glimpse of a sparkling gem hanging from a chain necklace. Before she could ask about it, the teacher bade them goodbye and headed briskly down the hall towards the faculty parking lot.
Serena and Darien started in the opposite way. As they neared the end of the hallway, Serena could see a stream of students pouring out of the regular detention hall – the one that she and Darien would be in were it not for Miss Lanai. She was surprised to see the person least likely to have gotten a detention – after Darien, of course – walking out: Seiko.
Suppressing a groan, Serena edged closer to Darien, intending to hide behind him. Before she could finish the movement, however, Seiko's eyes flicked toward the ebony-haired eleventh-grader, and then caught sight of Serena beside him.
"Serena!" he shouted.
Every head in the hallways swiveled towards her. Serena stifled another groan of annoyance and gave up trying to hide, stepping away from Darien.
"Hi, Seiko."
"Where were you?" Seiko asked, jogging towards them. He stopped in front of Serena, throwing a searching glance past her at Darien. Darien returned his gaze squarely, then moved to his locker, which was conveniently located only a couple of feet away. "I was looking for you after lunch, but I couldn't find you…" He frowned sheepishly. "I was late for class, and I got detention. I didn't see you in there, either – aren't you and Darien supposed to have detention all this week?"
"Um, yeah, but we have it with Miss Lanai," said Serena, shifting rather guiltily. "I'm really sorry you were late because of me, Seiko…"
"Aw, it's no big deal!" Seiko flashed a sudden huge grin. "I've got the perfect way for you to make it up to me!"
"You…do?"
"Me and my brother were gonna go to the movie this weekend, but he found out he's got to stay at school to direct a physics lab, so he can't come. He didn't want me to waste the ticket, so do you wanna come?"
"I…"
"Please? Since you did make me late for class…"
That extra load of guilt cinched it. Serena gulped and nodded. "Of course."
"Great!" Seiko grabbed her hand and squeezed it warmly. "I'll see you at the theater on Saturday? The movie starts at two, so we can meet at quarter till – or we could got to lunch first, if you want – "
"Um – actually, my mom's making me clean my room this weekend, so I'll have to skip lunch," said Serena hastily. "But, um, yeah, I'll see you there."
"Awesome!" Seiko flashed her another grin, then jerked his head towards the entrance. "Want a ride home?"
"No thanks – I'm meeting my friend at the arcade, it's not far. Thanks, though! See you tomorrow!" She waved as he vanished from sight down the stairs, then sighed and slumped against the lockers. How do I get myself into these things? Stupid Serena. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
"I didn't know you were meeting Ami and Rei at the arcade."
Serena looked up. Darien was smiling at her. The smile seemed rather artificial and forced to her. Her heart sank. She knew it. She had just known it. He didn't really want her as a friend. He was just forcing himself to be nice to her.
"I'm not," she heard herself say. She sounded miserable even to her own ears. "I was lying. I'm not meeting anyone at the arcade. I'm just going by myself."
"Well, Motoki's there," pointed out Darien. "And he's your friend, so technically, you weren't really lying."
"Thanks, Darien."
Darien wanted to add, And I'm going to the arcade, too, but he didn't want to be forward. He didn't want to push it. How could he say to her face that he was her friend after all the things he had done to her? He wouldn't be that brazen. He would just stand in the background. And he most emphatically would not comment on the whole Seiko matter. It was her own choice – if she went to the movies with him, that was her own decision. Even though it was blatantly obvious that Seiko had used the guilt trip on her.
A/N: Eh. Another so-so chapter. Wha'd you guys think about the way I started the chapter, with the diary entry of some random freshman in the cafeteria? Yucky? I can change it.
As always, tell me what you didn't like. I need lots of advice. Or, if you're one of those wonderful people who tell me there's nothing that needs to be changed, tell me what you did like and why.
Also – thank you SO MUCH to all you reviewers. Meg-chan, I hope your gram's okay, and Serenity-hime, your reviews are ALWAYS great. Jojodacrow, you have no idea how much your review meant, I've been needing that reassurance. Hanyoukai, you kinda scared me, but I'm glad you like the story. Eternalsailorcosmo, don't worry, Venus and Jupiter ARE on the way, just very slowly, and you totally read my mind on the whole Ball thing. I've had a plan for it since I first started the series, so keep faith, it WILL be forthcoming. Sumiko Kenchi Haimoto, I am TOTALLY looking forward to the romance and "YOU'RE Sailor Moon!" scene too! They're coming, they're coming. Rainkisser, your review made me feel really good inside – thanks!