A/N: I think you'll like this chapter. I really do. Sorry the chapter took so long, though. My laptop crashed, and I've been stressed out over various things…

Disclaimer: This chapter's being typed in a hurry because I'm on the run from the coppers. (I've been telling people I own Sailor Moon. Hey, is it my fault that they believe me?)

Subject to Change

Chapter Eighteen

The previous night:

"You mean that…Serena's defected? To the Dark Kingdom?"

Ami's voice quavered as she spoke. Her hands glistened brightly in the dancing light of the Great Fire, looking as though they were made of ice. They were actually just coated with the hand sanitizer that Ami had poured in globs onto her palm as she anxiously listened to Luna's narrative.

"I'm afraid so," said Luna gravely. Her whiskers quivered, and Ami could only conclude that it was because she was so shocked and frightened by Serena's betrayal.

"I can't believe it," murmured Ami. "Serena…she's barely got the courage to stand up against the youma, much less join them. Why would she do a thing like that?"

"Cause she's a lazy, worthless bum, that's why," growled Rei. She lifted yet another manga into her lap and snapped open the lighter in her hand. The tiny flame lit her eyes with a manic fire, and she lifted the lighter so that the flame licked the underside of the comic book. The manga, one of the many that Serena had lent of given to her over the past couple of months, began to melt and twist and curl in the fire.

"Oh my God!" shrieked Ami, flailing her arms around in an attempt to dissipate the clouds of smoke curling up from the melting manga. "Rei! How COULD you? Second-hand smoke is DEADLY! Now we're all going to die!" Ami resolutely pressed her lips shut, cheeks puffed up with clean air, and reached with a groping gesture into her Subspace pocket. She pulled out a huge gas mask, which she then affixed to her face.

Luna knit her (invisible) eyebrows. "Could we concentrate, please?"

Rei rolled her eyes and tossed aside the destroyed manga, then selected another from the pile of manga that lay at her feet. "They probably offered her a date with Tuxedo Mask if she'd work with them."

"Rei…" Ami's protest came out muffled and distorted through her gas mask.

Rei threw Ami a sour glance. "What? It's true! You know she cares more about him than us any day."

"That's…not true…"

Rei snorted. "Get a grip, Ami. Of course it is. You've seen how she looks at him."

"But she was aware of the high possibility of him being an enemy! We informed her!"

"And obviously she didn't care." Rei threw aside another decimated manga. "I saw some footage from the youma attack at the movie theater. One of the security cameras in the back of the theater caught some of the battle. Zoicite was there, and Tuxedo Mask, and Sailor Moon talked to both of them."

"Ami," began Luna seriously, locking eyes with the blue-haired teen. "I know that this must hurt you deeply. And that is okay. It's okay for you to be mad, or sad – what's important is that you keep away from Serena. She may have received new powers from the Dark Kingdom, and there is a very good chance that she will try to harm you or even persuade you to join her. So you must avoid her. Both of you. If she calls, hang up. If you see her in the street, go the opposite way. Have I made myself clear?"

Ami nodded slowly. "Yes, Luna. We can't allow Serena to impede our searching for the Princess or the Silver Crystal."

"Rei?" Luna turned her cinnabar gaze to the priestess.

Rei's violet eyes flashed. "I understand. We won't tolerate a traitor."

The next day:

"I never knew you were so interested in rocks, Serena," remarked Darien, arching an eyebrow as they walked away from the school after their conversation with Principal Waishatsu.

"Uhhh – of course I am!" exclaimed Serena hastily. "I love rocks! Diamonds and sapphires and emeralds – rocks rock!" She attempted a weak smile.

"Ha ha." Darien knitted his fingers behind his neck. "So, you're headed to the arcade, right? For your usual Sunday smorgasbord?"

"Jerkwad!"

"Hey, it's true!" he dodged her swipe. "Besides, you look like you could use the sugar."

"I do?" Serena glanced down at herself.

"Yeah, you look tired." Darien shot her a furtive glance. "Did you even sleep at all? I bet you were up all night stressing over Ami and Rei, weren't you?"

Serena's lips compressed. At times like last night, Darien's acute perception was helpful and even comforting, but at times like this…it wasn't. It just made her life more complicated. He was too smart to be fooled by her smiles.

"You were," said Darien, reading her expression. "Well, not today. Come on, let's go to the arcade, and you can drool over Andrew or some other 'hottie.'" He crooked his fingers into quote marks as he said it.

"I do NOT think Andrew is hot!" protested Serena, face flushing.

He shot her an amused glance. "You were singing a different tune a few weeks ago."

Serena averted her eyes sheepishly. "Well, I was young. Blinded by Motoki's two thousand watt smile."

Darien snorted. "More like blinded by his potential as a lifelong supply of free milkshakes."

"DARIEN! What happened to not teasing each other!"

Darien stopped walking abruptly. So abruptly that Serena collided nose-first with his shoulder.

"Hey, what's the big idea?" she demanded in a nasal voice. "Hasn't my nose suffered enough for one day?"

"Do you really want me to stop?"

Serena blinked. Why is his head hanging like that? Why does he sound so…cold all of a sudden? "What?"

"I said I wouldn't hurt you anymore." He was still talking to the sidewalk, eyes hidden by his black bangs. "I guess that means teasing. I shouldn't have said that. I'll stop. I'm sorry."

"What?" Serena's lips parted. God, he sounds like me! "No! Darien, I was just making a joke! I wasn't serious!"

"But you're right. I need to stop making fun of you." Blue eyes glinted out from between two hanks of black hair, cool and distant.

"No!" Serena panicked. He finally went back to how we were before all that drama – we can't go back to being awkward now! Not when Ami and Rei aren't talking to me! "No, I didn't say that!"

"Can we just forget this?" Darien lifted his head and stared determinedly past her. "Please?"

"But I – no!" Serena darted around to stand in front of him, ponytails flapping. "I don't want you to stop making fun of me! It's not fun when you don't make fun of me! It feels…weird."

Seeing no change in his taut face, she continued earnestly, grabbing his shirt sleeve. "Look, Darien, you were the one who said that when you yell at me or act short with me, it means that you trust me enough to express your emotions. Well, I trust you enough with my feelings not to hurt them. That's part of friendship, too – isn't it?" Her voice was suddenly uncertain. Maybe I don't know what friendship's about. Who am I to preach about friendship, when most of my friends aren't even talking to me right now?

When Darien didn't answer, Serena's uncertainty deepened further. She let go of his sleeve and shuffled backwards. Already, she could feel a wall rising up between them again, thicker and taller than ever before.

"I'm sorry."

Serena jerked up in surprise. Her eyes caught Darien's equally stunned eyes. They had spoken their apologies at the same time – not an uncommon occurrence, but one that seemed to hold more power than the other times it had happened.

"Jinx?" Darien's voice hesitated.

Serena smiled. "Jinx."

They began to walk again, slowly, as though picking their way through the rubble of some crumbled wall. It was silent, but it was a content silence, a relaxed silence.

A silence that was, uncharacteristically, broken by Darien.

"It feels weird when I don't make fun of you?" he murmured.

Serena shrugged her shoulder, blushing slightly. "Yeah. I mean, if we're not friendly enemies, what are we?"

"Gee, I don't know," said Darien, slightly sarcastic. "Friends, maybe?"

"Well – yeah," muttered Serena, twirling a golden curl timidly around her finger. "I just didn't want to say that…you know, out loud. In case you'd changed your mind or something."

Funny. I never pictured Serena as being that unsure – not when it comes to me. She actually spared time to wonder whether I had changed my mind about being friends?

A chuckle escaped his throat. "Odango, you think too much."

"Look who's talking," grumbled Serena.

"I thought it was only me."

Serena looked up curiously.

"Only you who what?"

"Who thought it felt weird when we weren't arguing."

"Then why didn't you say something!"

"The same reason you didn't want to call us friends." He scrubbed the back of his neck with the heel of his hand. "Too proud, too afraid. I didn't want to reveal how I felt if you didn't feel the same way."

"Life would be a whole lot easier if we didn't all wear masks all the time," murmured Serena softly, staring into space. Tuxedo Mask…I need to know who you are. I need to know if I can trust you.

"Hmm, those words sound familiar," remarked Darien sarcastically. "Where did you hear them?"

"Actually, this supergeek I know from school told it to me. Maybe you've seen him in the mirror? He's tall, has lots of hair growing out of his nose, wears his pants up to here – "

"ODANGO!"

Serena squealed as Darien grabbed her by a pigtail.

"Oh, look at that cute couple!" exclaimed a matronly woman emerging from a shoe store half a block away. "Simply adorable! Don't they just remind you of us at that age, Harold?"

Darien's hand dropped Serena's ponytail as quickly as if it was a cobra. Refusing to look at each other, Serena and Darien marched stiffly into the arcade as quickly as they could.

"Welcome, weary pilgrims!" Motoki flicked a washcloth at them in greeting. "Back so soon, huh, Dare?"

"What's eating the two of you?" inquired Asanuma, waltzing out of the supply closet with a mop. Motoki must have bribed him to help with spring cleaning again. "You look like you just guzzled a bottle of lemon juice. Of course, Dare always looks like that, but…"

"Wait, wait, wait, I think I know what happened," interceded Motoki. He watched Serena and Darien plop down in stools. "Someone mistook you two for a couple again, didn't they?"

"Darien regarded Motoki suspiciously, then leaned back to glare past Serena at Asanuma. "I thought you promised that you two weren't stalking me."

"No, I said I wasn't stalking you," corrected Asanuma impishly. "Whatever Motoki does in his spare time, on the other hand…"

"Oh, please," interjected Motoki. "Unlike you two girlfriend-less losers, I actually have a life." (A/N: But Reika has yet to show up in this fic…)

Asanuma cackled gleefully. "Is that so? Then why were you stalking a teenage girl at the movie theaters yesterday instead of going out on a date with your precious Reika?"

"Hey, that was your idea! And Dare did it, too!"

"Toki, Toki, Toki," tsked Asanuma. "I see that your parents have never used the jumping off a bridge scenario on you. You can't do everything your friends do. I mean, come on, if Dare and I told you to walk into a Victoria's Secret and ask to try on a thong, would you do it?"

"OF COURSE I WOULD!" bellowed Motoki. "I did it the last time we played Truth or Dare!"

"You did?" Asanuma frowned in concentration. "Are you sure? I'm pretty sure I would have remembered something like that so I could use it for blackmail material…oh, wait, I remember now." He smacked his forehead. "That was the game of Truth or Dare when Ichiji dared me to chug a bottle of sake! No WONDER I didn't remember!"

Serena gaped in horror. "Asanuma! You drank alcohol?"

"Yeah, so?" Asanuma shrugged innocently. "It was still better than what Dare did."

"Do I want to know?" asked Serena, arching an eyebrow.

Darien smirked slyly. A booth of girls a few feet away swooned and fainted. "Let's just say it broke a couple of laws and leave it at that."

"Yup!" Asanuma slapped Darien soundly on the back. "That's our Dare! Hot, law-abiding piece of manflesh by day; hot, law-breaking piece of manflesh by night!"

"I don't know if I feel comfortable with you touching me anymore," muttered Darien, scooting away from Asanuma so that a wide-eyed Serena was between them. Especially since he hit pretty close to the mark with that law-breaking by night part.

"Oh, he's just pretending," Asanuma told Serena. "He knows I love it when he plays hard to get."

"Hey!" Motoki's sudden exclamation startled all three of the high-schoolers. They swung about to face him, Serena's ponytails slapping Darien in the face. He growled and batted them away. She tilted her head back to stick out her tongue at him.

"I thought of it!" announced Motoki proudly.

"Thought of what?" Serena, Darien, and Asanuma demanded, all rather irritably – Serena because her nose still throbbed and also because she had yet to get the milkshake she had been promised; Darien because Asanuma had been flirting with him, and that was enough to make even the Dalai Lama crabby; and Asanuma because his torture of Darien had been interrupted.

"Remember that time I said stranger things could happen than Dare having a crush on Serena, but I couldn't come up with anything?" Motoki said excitedly. "Well, I've thought of something!"

Darien rolled his eyes. Second time today someone has brought up me and Serena being romantically involved. No, third. Or maybe fourth? God, I can't even keep track anymore. I need more coffee. Or sleep. At this point, either would be heaven.

Motoki thrust his index finger into the air. "If Darien had a crush on Asanuma!"

There was Silence. Not even crickets croaked. Then every head in the arcade – except Motoki's and Asanuma's – sweatdropped.

Darien groaned and buried his face in his hands. "You have GOT to be kidding me."

"I don't think it's that impossible." Asanuma struck a pose. "After all, Orlando Bloom ain't got nothin' on me, baby."

Only one girl in the arcade swooned and fainted at Asanuma's flexing, as compared to Darien's twelve. The others just made gagging sounds.

"I think you're handsome, Asanuma," said Serena loyally.

"Oh, Serena-chan, you're such a good friend!" cried Asanuma, throwing his arms around the blonde. He pulled back and waggled his eyebrows at her. "Or maybe more?"

Motoki grinned. "Asanuma, I don't think it's wise to flirt with Darien's girl right in front of him like that."

Asanuma flipped his hair back. "Hey, if I can flirt with Darien, I can flirt with Darien's girl. Right, Serena-chan?"

"Wrong." Serena yawned. "Can I have my milkshake now?"

"And I want some caffeine," added Darien.

But Motoki and Asanuma were gaping at them. "Are you guys seriously going out? For real?"

"No," said Darien exasperatedly. "How many times do we have to tell you before it sinks in?"

"It was just…you guys didn't seem very enthusiastic in correcting us when we called Serena you girl. Usually you start screeching like a bunch of howler monkeys."

"Why waste the energy?" retorted Darien. "You two never listen to us anyways."

"Can I PLEASE have my milkshake now?" whined Serena. Man, these guys talk more than we girls ever have. "I don't have all daaaaaay…"

"What else could you possible have to do today?" asked Darien lazily. "Other than your daily collision with a brick wall., I mean."

"If I wanted to do that, I could just walk into you, dimwit," retorted Serena snidely. She smiled widely as she said it. Ah, it was so good to be back to normal. "I'm going to the temple."

Darien's whole demeanor changed suddenly. From languid and relaxed as he lounged against the counter to tense and coiled like a spring as he leaned forward. "Don't tell me you're going to go prostrate yourself in front of Rei and beg her to forgive you."

"Shields, don't make me mad at you again," warned Serena, leaning forward in kind, jutting her chin out defiantly.

"I'm just trying to keep you from getting hurt. That's what friends do, in case you'd forgotten."

"And I guess you've forgotten that I'm not supposed to do something just because someone else wants me to do it."

"It's not fair for you to keep throwing my own advice back in my face, Odango." He gritted out through clenched teeth.

"Would you rather I threw something else in your face?" Serena challenged. "A banana split, maybe?"

"Only if you feel like wearing nachos and cheese," countered Darien.

"Guys, guys, guys!" Asanuma wriggled in between the two. "Calm down, will you? No one's going to wear banana splits or nachos unless they want me licking the leftovers off them."

Serena and Darien immediately sprang apart.

"EWWWWW!" shrieked Serena.

"It burns!" groaned Darien, trying to banish the mental image from his head.

"Hey, it got the two of you to stop chewing on each others' faces, didn't it?" Asanuma crossed his arms smugly.

Serena gulped. "I think I'm gonna hurl."

Darien, meanwhile, glared at Asanuma. "We weren't THAT close."

"Hey, if you don't believe me, you can check out the security camera." Asanuma's eyes lit up. "I'm a genius! Quick, Toki, get the video! If we make copies of that and sell them at school, we'll be RICH!"

"You're right!" Motoki dropped his washrag and sprang over the counter, hopping on top of a table to reach the security camera. A high school couple – seniors, Serena was pretty sure – sat at the table; the boy sent Motoki a venomous glare, while the girl stared appreciatively at Motoki's, uh, milkshake.

Motoki jumped back down off the table, brandishing the video cassette triumphantly. "Wait till everyone gets a load of this!"

"You know what?" Darien said to Serena, laying his head on his arms "I'm too tired to even care anymore."

Serena yawned again, eyelids drooping. "Me…too…zzzzzz…"

"Motoki!" Asanuma stared in shock at the two. "They fell asleep!"

"No way!" Motoki peered under Serena's bangs, then Darien's. "You're right. I told you Darien was smashed."

Asanuma frowned. "Well, this is no fun. Unless…" his eyes slanted evilly. "Anyone have a Polaroid?"

Motoki reached behind the counter.

Serena drifted awake half an hour later. Her eyes remained closed for a moment, as she tried to figure out what felt so weird. Has my pillow always been this silky? I thought my pillowcase was cotton…

She opened her eyes.

And screamed.

And scrambled backwards.

"Why, good morning, Usa," said Motoki cheerfully, smiling at her while he dried a shake glass. "Or good afternoon, actually. Did you have a nice sleep?"

"I – I – I – " stammered Serena, eyes flicking from the cheerful, acting-as-though-nothing-was-unusual-at-all Motoki to the ebony head resting on the counter top – the ebony head she'd just been sleeping on top of! How in the heck did I end up sleeping on top of Darien! Oh, God, did I drool in his hair? PLEASE don't let me have drooled in his hair…

She craned her neck this way and that, trying to see whether she had or not, but his night-black hair was too dark to discern any wet spots. "Uh – did I – I guess I fell asleep, huh?"

"Ye-e-e-s," said Motoki, still smiling broadly.

Serena smiled back, trying to act as though nothing had happened. Good thing it's Toki-onii-chan and not Numa, he'd NEVER let me leave this down… "Um, where's Asanuma?"

"Asanuma? He had to go get some pictures developed."

"For what?" asked Serena curiously.

"For what?" Motoki blinked, then blanched. "For what. Oh. Um – for his photography course. Yes. Asanuma's very interested in photography." Motoki giggled.

"Okay," said Serena, giggling back in an attempt to act normal, even though Toki was seriously starting to freak her out. "Um – what time is it, Toki?"

"Two o'clock," answered Motoki, his giggles dying down as he glanced at his watch. "You want some lunch, Usa?"

"Two o'clock!" yelped Serena. "No, no lunch, thanks, Motoki-onii-chan – I've got to go! Seeyouplasedon'ttellanyoneabotumefallingasleepondarienpleasepleasepleasepleasepleasei'llloveyouforeverifyoudon'ttellanyonebye!"

Motoki blinked. "Bye, Usa-chan!" He began to giggle madly again and reached into the freezer. Fishing out a piece of ice, he crossed around to the front of the counter and slipped the cube of frozen water down Darien's shirt collar.

"AAAAAOOOWWWWARGGGHH!" Darien shot up a mile in the air and landed on his rear on the floor. "MOTOKIIIIIIIII!"

Asanuma barreled in through the automatic doors, brandishing a small bag. "I GOT 'EM! I GOT 'EM!"

"Got WHAT?" snarled Darien, rubbing his bottom.

Asanuma stopped dead, staring at Darien, and suddenly stuffed the bag in his mouth. "What bag?" he said, but it came out sounding like, "Warhabah?"

"THAT bag," snapped Darien, tackling Asanuma to the floor and attempting to pry his jaws apart. "GIVE IT TO ME! WHAT IS IT!"

"Oh, my!" exclaimed one mother in a booth, covering her daughter's eyes with a hand and whisking her out of the café. "And I thought this was a FAMILY-FRIENDLY establishment!"

"Uh…we cater to all types?" said Motoki weakly. He hastily untied his apron and tore it off, then began beating Darien and Asanuma with it. "Stop it, you guys! You're scaring away the customers! Get up! I've got egg salad and I'm not afraid to use it!"

All thrashing stopped. Darien let go of Asanuma's collar, and Asanuma lowered Darien's leg from his teeth.

"Toki…not egg salad…" he whimpered.

"Shut up and take it like a man, Numa!" bellowed Motoki. He shook his head disgustedly and shrugged his apron back on. "Honestly, you two are such girls sometimes."

"This coming from a man in an apron," griped Asanuma.

"Hey, wait a second," said Darien suddenly, looking around. "Where's the Odango?"

Asanuma took advantage of Darien's distraction to quickly dig the saliva-saturated bag from his mouth and pass it to Motoki, who stashed it in his apron. By the time Darien's eyes returned to them, they were standing motionlessly, looking innocent as Cabbage Patch dolls.

"Where's that bag?" Darien demanded.

"I swallowed it," answered Asanuma, perfectly straight-faced. "Toki, you wouldn't happen to have any laxatives behind that counter of yours, would you?"

"No, Numa, they're OVER the counter!" exclaimed Motoki, looking particularly proud of himself. "HAHAHAHA!"

"OH! That was a good one! HAHAHAHA! Gimme five, man!" Asanuma slapped Motoki's palm. "We'll make a pun master of you yet!"

"I'll never understand how you two made it all the way to the eleventh grade," muttered Darien. "Seriously, where's Serena, Toki?"

"Aw, let me savor this moment, Darien…" Motoki whined.

"You're gonna be savoring a knuckle sandwich in a minute if you don't answer my question," said Darien threateningly.

"And here we see the Dare-bear entering protective mode," narrated Asanuma. He elbowed Motoki. "You better just tell him, man, he looks scary." Leaning in closer, he whispered seriously, "Remember his eyes…"

"Oh." Motoki straightened. "She, uh, just left like ten minutes ago."

"Where?"

Motoki frowned. "She didn't say. But wasn't she talking about going to the temple earlier?"

Darien dashed off in a cloud of dust.

"Chad!" Serena ran up the temple steps. "Is Rei here? Or Ami?"

Chad looked at her uncertainly from under his mop of brown hair. "Uh…look, you know it's, like, nothing personal, Serena, but Rei said I'm not supposed to, like, talk to you."

Serena gulped back tears. Are they still mad at me for Saturday? Or did Luna get to them? If I can just talk to them…I NEED to talk to them…I NEED to know…

Needless to say, Chad was "like, totally shell-shocked, dude," when tiny, kind Serena darted past him into the temple. He turned with his broom to watch her disappear, then went to hide in the woods beside the shrine. Rei was so going to set his hair on fire again…

Panting, Serena skidded to a stop in front of Rei's room. She wrenched open the door. "Guys – "

Rei turned around. Her violet eyes flashed fire, and in less than a second, she had sprung to her feet as agilely as a tigress. A column of fire engulfed her figure and whooshed out of existence a moment later, leaving a transformed Sailor Mars in Rei's place.

"Get out," she hissed.

"Rei, listen! Luna's been – "

"MRRRRRRRRRRRREEEOOWW!"

A black blur sped into Serena's face. Serena stumbled backwards in shock, and felt the exhalations of displaced air whoosh into her face.

"GET OUT!" screeched Luna murderously, landing on Rei's carpet with flashing eyes and flashing claws.

Serena lifted a trembling hand to her face. Disbelief flood her veins; fear froze them. Luna had gotten to Rei. She'd gotten to Rei – but maybe she hadn't gotten to Ami? Hope niggled into the back of her mind. She had to find Ami, then, had to warn Ami, and Ami would know what to do, how to convince Rei that Luna was keeping secrets from them –

Luna lunged again. Serena spun and ran, feet pounding thunderously on the wooden floor of the temple. Only when she was outside, at the foot of the steps, did she stop, and turn around to look behind her. She would have killed me. She would kill me. Luna was no longer following, clearly trusting that Serena's cowardice would keep her from trying to re-enter and talk to Rei.

A pair of hands grabbed Serena's forearms. Fear jolted Serena's heart as though it had been jumpstarted. She screamed.

"Serena!" Darien spun her around to face him. Her eyes widened further, then fluttered half-closed in relief. Luna would have killed me. Oh, God, what's happened to us? "Serena, what's wrong!"

Serena forced her eyes open and pasted on a shaky smile. Let this one fool him, please, just this once… "Nothing. I just thought there was a lizard on my leg." She giggled. "Pretty stupid, huh?"

"Good God, you're giggling," Darien muttered.

She blinked. "Huh?"

He just shook his head and transferred his grip to her wrist. "Nothing. Was Rei home?"

She shook her head slowly, very careful not to break eye contact with him. He would know for sure she was lying then. "No…um, she's out with Chad, her grandpa said."

"Good," said Darien. "C'mon, we're leaving."

"O – okay." Serena allowed him to lead her away. She failed to notice the glance he shot over his shoulder at her.

She's such a liar. Rei must have been home, or she wouldn't be this shaken. She'd never let me boss her around like this otherwise.

God, Odango, why do you have to keep putting yourself through all this?

Monday morning:

"Now that we've finished reading the play, we're going to talk about who was really to blame for Romeo and Juliet's deaths," announced Mrs. Takenouchi. "There's several prevalent points of view. Some people say it was their parents' faults, others that it was the nurse's faults, others that it was the friar's fault, and still others who believe Romeo and Juliet themselves were to blame – Serena, please lift your head up and pay attention."

Dully, Serena obeyed to the first half of Mrs. Takenouchi's command, propping her cheek on her hand. She paid little attention the class, though – she was too busy thinking of yesterday's events.

Luna would have killed her. That, without a doubt, Serena was sure of. At that moment when Serena stood in the doorway, trying to convince Sailor Mars to listen to her, Luna would have torn her face to shreds before she let Serena reveal what Zoicite had told her.

And that was why as soon as this class was over, Serena was going to find Ami. She would have searched for her yesterday, except that Darien had dropped her off at home and told her mother that she had fallen asleep in the middle of the arcade. Her mother took one look at her wan face before marching her upstairs and tucking her into bed. She must have dissolved some sleeping pills in the warm milk she gave Serena to drink, because the next thing Serena knew, it was Monday morning and she was about to be late for Literature.

Despite all this, she couldn't find it in her heart to be mad at Darien. Not after how sweet and friendly he had been over the past few days…

"…to commit suicide if she couldn't be with Romeo. This puts double the blame on the Friar because in the Catholic religion – and many others, actually – those who commit suicide are automatically destined for hell. Therefore, by giving Juliet the means to kill herself, he was condemning her to – Miss Tsukino, are you asleep again?"

"Huh?" Serena jolted up.

Mrs. Takenouchi sighed in exasperation. "Okay, everyone, put away your notes. We have a field trip to discuss. As some of you may have heard, the whole school is taking a trip to the museum on Wednesday. Here are your permission slips – " She walked about the room, passing out the pink sheets. " – which are due tomorrow. Don't forget them unless you want to have bathroom-cleaning duty for the rest of the semester. Now, since the whole school is going, Principal Waishatsu has said that you will be able to pick your groups. When the bell rings, I shall dismiss you to go find your friends and sign up for your groups in the library. Groups of four, no exceptions. Got it?"

"YES!" chorused the class happily.

And here's yet another thing to worry about, thought Serena. This new geologic exhibit…is it possible that the Silver Crystal will be there? If it is, and if I beat the Dark Kingdom to it, what will I do with it? Will I take it to Luna?

Maybe…maybe I shouldn't even bother trying to find it…

BRRRING!

"Class dismissed!" announced Mrs. Takenouchi.

Serena followed the flood of students out into the hallway, still absorbed by her own thoughts. The idea that she should not even look for the Silver Crystal…

Well, first things first, Serena. Find a group.

She spotted Molly's familiar red hair a few yards away.

"Molly!" she called, feeling rather guilty. "Can I be in your group for the field trip?" Since, you know, Ami might still be too mad at me to be in my group?

Molly turned around. "Serena! Oh my gosh! I'm really sorry, but Melvin and I have already signed up to be in a group with Saul and Kim – I mean, I thought you'd be going with Ami!"

Hurt washed over Serena, accompanied by shame. Bad enough to be begging a friend you had ignored to take you back, even worse to be rejected. But in no way did she blame Molly. It was her fault, and hers alone.

"Serena, I – "

Serena jolted up at Molly's stutter, and realized that now Molly felt guilty. No, don't you feel bad, too, Molly! "Oh, it's okay, don't worry, Mol!" Serena said hastily.

"Are you sure?" asked Molly anxiously. "I can always tell Melvin I need to change groups…"

Serena felt tears prick her eyes for a moment. She didn't deserve someone as loyal and kind as Molly for a friend.

"No, no, no!" she insisted. "It's okay. I'll be fine. You just have fun with Melvin, okay?" Flashing the sly smile that was required of a friend teasing her pal about a boyfriend, she quickly slipped away into the crowd before Molly could change her mind.

But unluckily for poor Serena, she escaped the frying pan only to walk straight into the fire.

"Serena!"

She spun, thinking that perhaps the eager male voice belonged to Asanuma or Motoki – the latter, especially, loved to call her name in the hallway so that all Serena's fellow sophomores would sigh in jealousy over how Serena was so familiar with a junior – but was faced with a familiar face surrounded by russet curls

"Seiko," she greeted him weakly. I swear this kid has depressed-Serena sensors – or maybe I'm just depressed too much lately. I need to work on fixing that.

"I've been looking all over for you!" Seiko exclaimed.

"Have you?" said Serena faintly.

"Yeah, I have!" Seiko seemed faintly irritated; he kept blowing his hair out of his eyes. "Where did you go on Saturday? One minute you're right next to me, then poof! you're gone! That corny caped guy didn't do anything to you, did he?" He peered at her suspiciously.

Now it was Serena's turn to feel annoyed. How dare he imply that Tuxedo Mask would ever take advantage of her! Sure, maybe she had her suspicions that he wasn't actually an ally of the Sailor Senshi, but that didn't mean that Seiko could drag his name through mud! Seiko had never been in Tuxedo Mask's secure embrace or heard his wry, heart-strumming voice as it tickled her – on in Seiko's case, his – ear.

At least, she was pretty sure that Seiko hadn't experienced these things. Serena grimaced slightly as she pictured Tuxedo Mask wrapping his arm around Seiko and whispering into his ear. She shuddered. SO disturbing.

"Are you cold?" Seiko's voice interrupted her musing. He started to shrug off his bulky varsity jacket. "Here, wear this –

"No, no, that's okay." Serena shook her head vigorously. "I was just, um, thinking about that youma on Saturday. That was really scary." Almost as scary as that horror flick you so kindly failed to warn me about, she thought acerbically. "I was lucky that Tuxedo Mask was there, or I would be a pancake right now." A pan cake with a side helping of smushed dumplings. "I'm sorry I didn't meet up with you again – Tuxedo Mask told me to run, and I was just so, um, scared – " This is some REALLY bad lying you're doing, Serena. There's no way he's gonna buy this…

But Seiko did buy it. Or rather, Serena suddenly realized, he just hadn't really been listening. Almost as soon as she finished making her lame excuse, he said, "Yeah, well, that was a really sucky date."

DATE!

"So how about I make it up to you? The carnival's coming this weekend – hey, are you even listening to me?"

"Huh?" Serena mumbled, glancing at him before returning to squinting across the packed hallway. There it was, that flash of blue again –

"Ami!" she shouted and darted forward, slipping through and past knots of people. "Ami, wait!"

The blue-haired genius turned. Her eyes locked with Serena's, and a chill made its way down Serena's spine, sweeping goosebumps along her skin. Now she understood why Ami was called the Senshi of Ice.

But she couldn't let that stop her. Serena steeled her resolve. She had to tell Ami what Luna was up to.

"Ami, listen, I've got to tell you something!"

Ami turned, closed her locker, and began to stride quickly away. Serena hurried forward, but someone jostled past her and grabbed Ami roughly by the elbow.

"Hey," growled Seiko to the genius he'd just seized. "Answer her when she's talking to you!"

"Hey!" Serena cried out, hardly believing her eyes. He did NOT just do that to Ami! "Let go of her!"

She leapt forward – but someone beat her to it!

"Lay off, Seiko! God!" Asanuma shoved Seiko away from Ami. "What kind of wuss are you? Beating up on girls!"

"Hey, I was just – "

"Jut what? Pretending you were Mike Tyson?"

"Shut up, Itto! Why are YOU defending the Queen of Brains, anyway? You got a crush on her or something?" Seiko tugged his varsity jacket back into place.

"Just get outta here," bit out Asanuma. "You're not wanted."

Seiko's lip curled. "Shows how much you know, Itto. Why don't you leave so that my girlfriend and I can finish our conversation?"

GIRLFRIEND!

"This conversation's already over," snapped Serena, glaring up at Seiko.

Seiko blinked, curls falling into his face. "What do you mean – ?"

"She means she doesn't have anything to say to you." Darien stepped out of the English lab to stand behind Serena. "Please leave now, Seiko."

"Yeah. No means no," snickered Seiko.

Serena cast him a searching glance, noting how quickly the jokester had gone from I'm-gonna-rip-your-throat-out to I'm-laughing-at-what-a-moron-you-are. I swear Asanuma has more mood swings than a pregnant woman.

"If you want her, why don't you just come out and say it, Shields?" Seiko's hands clenched. "You've had your opportunity, man. Now stop interfering and give the rest of us a chance at having her."

Darien's dark eyes flicked to Serena's. He looked slightly expectant…and slightly angry.

Serena returned his gaze for a moment, feeling her stomach churn. Nausea swept through her at the thought of someone believing that he could control her…that he could own her like some toy. She wasn't that powerless. She wasn't that worthless! She was a person!

She swept her glare back to Seiko again.

"Have me?" she repeated. "Like I'm some thing?"

"No! I just meant – "

"I know exactly what you meant." Serena's face hardened. "And I don't like it. Please go away."

The fight drained from Seiko's face. He suddenly looked like a poor, defeated little boy who had lost his ice cream. Serena's heart lurched guiltily, and she suddenly opened her mouth, most likely to apologize and say she hadn't meant what she'd said –

But a hand landed on her shoulder. She glanced up to see Darien staring straight at her. He was so close that she could see her own reflection in the dark blue of his eyes. He knew what she felt obligated to do. And he wasn't going to make her stop. He was just reminding her that she had a choice. He was just reminding her that she was human.

You're not this carefree angel they can dump their own desires on…

Her lips fell shut. She turned from Darien to see Seiko shoot her one last look – a slightly hopeful look that quickly faded into defeat – and then slink away.

As he passed out of sight beyond a corner of blue lockers, Serena suddenly remembered her friend and spun around. "Ami – "

But the bluenette had vanished.

"She – uh – just ran away." Asanuma, catching the expression on Serena's face, tried to comfort her. "She probably just had to go to the bathroom or something…"

No. Serena appreciated Asanuma's attempt, but she knew why Ami had really run. Luna's already gotten to her. I should have found her sooner. I should have found her!

Serena stomped down the urge to sob and ducked out from under Darien's hand. I won't think about it. Not now. I can't let anyone else realize… She clasped her hands on front of her and turned to face the two upperclassmen. "Thanks, guys."

Slightly to her relief, Asanuma spoke up before Darien had a chance to reply. "Hey, Serena-chan, do you have a group yet? For the trip?"

"Not ye – "

"YEEEEEEES!" Asanuma punched the air and grabbed Serena's hands. "You can be in OUR group! We'll have so much we'll explode! We can sit on the bus together and sit in each other's laps, and take naps on each other's shoulders while the boring tour guides drone on about boulders, and we can sneak off to the gift shop and buy rock candy to share – "

"This is beginning to sound more like a honeymoon than a field trip," muttered Darien. "I'm suddenly not looking forward to this trip at all."

"Aw, stop being such a Grump, Dare-Bear!" ordered Asanuma, steering him towards the administrators' table. "Now go sign up our group!"

"Why do I have to do it?" grumbled Darien. Serena was avoiding his eyes – darn that girl!

"Because the teachers like you," said Asanuma matter-of-factly. He added in an aside to Serena, "In fact, like may be an understatement. I saw Mrs. Karounen staring at his butt last week."

Serena burst out laughing. Smile, Serena, be happy… "What butt? Darien has no butt."

"Nice to know you've been looking, Odango," drawled Darien.

Serena flushed. Okay, went too far…

A pair of arms suddenly wrapped around her. They were burly and hairy and they were squishing Darien against her.

"I'M SO HAPPY!" thundered a familiar voice right in Serena's ear. She cringed and flinched away, only to have her head collide with Darien's chin.

"Ow!"

"Ow! Are you trying to kill me, Tsukino?"

"Maybe if your Jay Leno chin wasn't in the way!" retorted Serena, spitting hair out of her mouth. She wasn't sure whether it was hers or Darien's. "Coach – LET GO!" These last two words were roared by Serena and Darien simultaneously.

But Coach's gorilla-like arms only tightened around his two prodigy students. "You're even fighting like normal! Oh, I think I'm going to cry!" He began to sniffle, and Serena's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as she felt something warm and wet splash onto her scalp.

"Coach, please tell me that was a teardrop."

But Coach ignored her, continuing to howl and sniffle.

"Man," whispered Darien. "Is he on estrogen or what?"

"If he looks like this on estrogen, I'd hate to see him on testosterone," whispered Serena. This is really awkward, being so close to Darien…"What's got him so worked up, anyways? All we were doing was talking."

Darien's brows knit; he watched kids stopping in the hallway to point and snicker at him, Serena, and Coach. He cleared his throat. The last time I was this close to someone, I was rescuing Sailor Moon. "You're right. I think we've missed something." He lifted his voice. "Coach? Did something happen?"

"Did something happen?" echoed Coach in a shocked voice, dropping them both. "Only the most inspiring tributes ever made to true love being put on display in the cafeteria!" He blew his nose into his handkerchief. "It's so – so – HEARTWARMING! Please convey my congratulations and gratitude to your friends, Shields! They are true geniuses! And Miss Longeye! I think I'll ask her if she wants to go to Friday's basketball game with me…" With that, he wandered off into the throng of students, still sniffling and humming the theme to Titanic.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" said Darien when Coach had completely disappeared from sight.

"Way ahead of you," answered Serena.

They took off for the cafeteria.

Two minutes later:

"Oh my God," wailed Serena. "She did NOT do this to us."

"Apparently, she did," replied Darien, staring in horror at Miss Lanai's painting of them – which was hanging up on the cafeteria bulletin board atop all the student notices, in clear view of every single person in the school, from the health teacher to the lunch ladies.

"Hey, Serena," someone whistled from the other end of the crowded cafeteria. "Nice lingerie there, girl!"

Serena flushed horribly. "It's not lingerie, it's a dress!" she hissed. "Just a very, um, revealing dress."

"Is this even legal?" pondered Darien. "I mean, to have something like this up in a public school?"

Serena gasped. "Darien – look!"

Darien looked. And swore. "Where did those come from?" he demanded, ripping the photos off the board. There were at least ten of them, depicting the two of them sleeping. Their position in the photos weren't anywhere near as bad as the ones in the painting, but they were still highly humiliating. Serena winced as she saw one of her head nodding on top of Darien's, just like she had woken up at the arcade – her eyes widened –

"Someone must have doctored these!" Darien was muttering furiously to himself. "This never happened!" His eyes widened, and at the same time as Serena, he roared –

"ASANUMA!"

A/N: There. Was it realistic enough? Too melodramatic? Not dramatic enough? How were the characters? Please tell me! I need lot of reviews, my Physics class has me so depressed….

Several of you wonderful lovelies have asked for story challenges. I AM thinking of some, and I will post them in next chapter, promise.