CHAPTER 4

**(A/N at the bottom)**

What in the world had gotten into him? As the party of four began to say their fare-wells, he silently berated himself for allowing the moment to get away from him. So what if he'd been dying to know if the honey-blonde locks felt as silky as they looked; so what if his fingers had been itching to touch and the nearness of her had been messing with his senses. He had absolutely no right to be touching her in that way. Not only was the thought simply idiotic, out of character and unwarranted, his body had no reason to be betraying him in that way; there was no way that he could feel any need to touch clumsy little Serena, after all she was nothing but a clumsy crybaby and much too pure and innocent for the likes of him.

Darien attempted to rein in his thoughts and exchanged pleasantries with Mina, letting her know that it had been a pleasure to meet her as well and that yes, they should definitely do this again sometime. He was grateful that he'd had the movers work on his new place while he was away for a few hours, glad to have a nearby place to sort his mind. Though his move was "official" in every sense of the word, he still owed his previous office the courtesy of keeping his leave private until the end of the market week, so as not to affect them financially; no official announcement would be made until next week. He did feel bad for lying to Mina, but at least he'd been "polite" about it, according to Meatball Head.

He stood to get up and leave at the same time as Serena, and he noticed that she was headed the same direction as him. Watching her carefully he noticed her nearly missing a light post to then almost run into a poorly-placed trash can. Though seeming to play it off well, he noticed that his little Meatball Head was still the same clumsy girl he knew. He smiled slightly, speeding up his pace to catch up to her.

At the feel of his hand at her waist, she turned in shock and almost jumped until she recognized him.

"Are you stalking me now, Meatball Head?"

"It seems that age has fried your brain cells; you're the one who is following ME!" she turned around in a huff and nearly collided with a pedestrian.

Using the arm he already had about her waist Darien pulled her towards him, effectively avoiding the collision, but also bringing her even closer. The sweet scent of vanilla was assaulting his senses; they must be, because how else could he explain not being willing to let her go when she composed herself and attempted to pull away? His reluctance had nothing to do with the curve of her slim waist or the barest whisper of exposed skin that lay beneath his fingertips. Of course not, there was no way that this slip of a girl could affect Darien Shields. So then why was he still holding onto her?

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Why, oh why was he still holding on to her? Serena could hardly concentrate on breathing let alone walking down the sidewalk, still busy despite the late-afternoon hour. All she could think of was the way his fingertips were brushing against her bare skin with every step she took, and the absolute male scent that radiated from him. The proximity to her childhood tormentor must be frying her brain, because at this very moment her own fingers were itching to touch said tormentor, and that could not possibly be rational thought on her brain's part. Yes, her brain cells must be malfunctioning…

She could see her building fast approaching. Was that disappointment she felt? Definitely not, she was probably just tired. Good thing tomorrow was Saturday and a day off; she planned to do nothing but binge-watch her favorite shows and pig out in front of the couch, no disturbances. Oh, what a glorious thought that was. First though, she would have to disentangle herself from Darien- what a weird thought that was- could this day get any more bizarre?

As she slowed down, causing him to slow as well, she turned to face him. It was a bit awkward now, having walked so close to him and in silence for so long. Darien still had not let her go, and when she turned around, his other arm came instinctively around her, effectively wrapping her in a loose, yet still slightly intimate embrace. For a minute she froze as if entranced when she looked into his eyes, 'eyes so deep that they can see into my soul'. The thought terrified her. She blinked rapidly and broke the trance, hurriedly saying "this is me," her words coming out a bit timid despite herself.

Darien furrowed his brow, seemingly confused, and looked up at the building then back down at the blonde still in his arms. "You must be joking…this is actually my place."

She returned his confused look, thinking back to the earlier conversation regarding his living status. "I thought you told Mina that those rumors weren't true. I figured you would be staying at a hotel nearby or something. Are you here with a friend?"

"Well, I guess the cat's out of the bag: you might as well come with me, I can explain better inside. Never know who might be listening." He started walking, dropping his hands from her in the process.

"Boy, someone's paranoid…"she jokingly replied, but turned to follow him into his…her building; curiosity getting the best of her.

They stepped onto the elevator and he pressed the 14th floor- her floor. She felt that this must be some type of joke that Mina put him up to, there was no way, this was too big of a coincidence and someone's sick attempt at a bad joke. She looked at him questioningly, but he just stared at the elevator doors. As they heard the elevator ding and the doors opened to their destination, Serena stepped out and started heading towards her door out of habit. When she realized what she was doing, she turned to apologize but noticed that he was right behind her, headed in the same direction. Her apartment was the one at the end of the hall, directly ahead of them, so she figured maybe he'd decided to follow her there to talk. She began feeling a bit apprehensive about welcoming a virtual stranger into her home, then immediately dismissed those thoughts; Darien might be a jerk to her, but she knew that he was a good person and completely harmless, besides there wasn't a chance in Hades that he would even think of her in any way other than a convenient klutz to tease.

Darien stopped just short of her door, turning to the left side. She noticed that he was in front of the apartment to the left of hers, and he pulled out a single key, proceeding to open the door. At first she just stood there, flabbergasted. She stared, not believing what was happening.

"Wait, wait, wait, please just wait a minute. Tell me this is a joke. There is no WAY that you're my, my…my neighbor! Did Mina put you up to this? Ha-ha, very funny guys!" She gave a small laugh then looked at him pleadingly. "You ARE joking…aren't you?"

"What are you going on about, Meatball Head? I told you that this is my building. I moved in today. And what do you mean by neighbors?"

She pointed to the door to her right, the apartment at the end of the hall, and effectively perpendicular to the door that they were standing at. "This. This is my apartment door."

"Ha! You really ARE stalking me then Meatball Head. I mean, I knew I was irresistible, but this is going a bit far, don't you think?"

"Ugh, you jerk! I can't believe I have to live near you. Why did you have to pick this particular building, you inopportune dingle-brain, you! You're the one who's stalking me!"

Darien outright laughed, this time. "Dingle-brain, that's rich!" More laughter. "What are you, in the 2nd grade? I'll give you points for originality." He swiped at a fake tear, presumably from his laughter. Serena was not amused. She pushed past him through his open door and huffed as she breezed past him.

She turned to him, noticing that he followed her in. Once he got closer, she jabbed her index finger on his chest. "Why are you in my city, in my building, next to MY apartment door? Spill it."

He grabbed her finger, effectively stopping her insistent poking, and looked her in the eye. He was so close; Serena could see her reflection in his eyes. She expected to see anger there, but their depths revealed nothing to her probing gaze, but seemed to reflect her own sudden nervousness. She wasn't sure who moved or why, but suddenly they were mere inches apart, and she found herself wondering if he was going to kiss her.

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Someone's phone rang, breaking Darien out of the trance her clear blue eyes had put him in. A siren, she must be a siren to be able to alter his emotions so. He took a step back and turned around, running a hand through his dark locks to try and clear his head. She had asked him a question, something about…

"Why are you here?"

He turned around as though startled by the mere whisper of words. Yes, that question. For fear of damaging the market value of his previous company, they had kept his resignation as branch director a secret. He didn't expect her to understand, but he proceeded to explain the situation, emphasizing that no one, not even his close friends could find out about his current status until the official announcement was made. "Do you understand my predicament and the importance of your silence?"

Serena seemed to take everything in, and she nodded when he was done explaining the situation. "I understand" she conceded. "I won't say a word."

"This isn't just the typical gossip column type of rumor, Serena. People's livelihoods are at stake here; you can't go blabbing off to your friends the first chance you get." The moment the words left his mouth, he knew they had been a bit too harsh, but he needed to get his point across. He immediately saw the change in her: she stood just a bit taller, raised her head just an inch higher, narrowed her eyes just so; she was offended.

"How dare you. I am not a child, Darien. I know the meaning of discretion, you cretin. Condescending jerk! Your secret is safe, rest assured. Why I would feel the need to mention your name to anyone in my life is beyond me. Don't be so conceited- believe me when I say that your presence on this planet is of no consequence to me." With that, she turned in a huff, her hair trailing behind her and nearly smacking him in the face with the force of her departure.

"Well, that went well…" The door slammed behind her, resonating with a loud thud in his suddenly-lonely apartment.

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A/N: Well, there you have it- the fourth installment to our little adventure. I have some fun things planned for this so I'm excited to continue. Please, please, please review! I want to hear tour thoughts, even if you aren't singing my praises, I don't mind, constructive criticism and suggestions are also welcome. It's always nice to know that someone is reading your work.