So sorry it's been taking me such a long time to get this chapter out you guys! I've been on vacation. Anyways, I hope you enjoy it! ^_^

Disclaimer: I do not own any Sailor Moon characters

Chapter 6: Betting on a Whim

"What the hell are you doing here?" Karen asked with venom dripping from every word as she narrowed her gaze at the man in front of her.

She had completely forgotten that Darien was standing next to Cooper and continued to shoot proverbial daggers into him. He leaned forward and asked, "May we come in?"

"Yes of course!" Serena said before her mother could decline. "I need to go grab my purse anyways."

The fiery redhead stepped aside gracefully and let the two walk inside. They stopped after just a few strides into the lovely home and examined the décor. It was simple with light ocean blue coloring, white lining and beautiful dark stained furniture to coincide with it. Karen continued to glare as she walked into the kitchen and poured herself a quick drink.

"Mind making me one?" Cooper asked.

"Yes I do," she replied sweetly.

Darien eyed the exchange between the two of them and silently begged for Serena to hurry up. If they didn't get out of there soon, dishes would be flying. He didn't know why there was such thick tension between them, but at this rate, he couldn't care less. Once Serena strolled out of the room in her lovely deep blue dress and her glittering silver clutch in her hand, Darien stood up and pushed the small of her back to guide her out of the moderate mansion. She waved goodbye to her mother who forced a smile on face and wiggled her fingers at her daughter leaving.

The moment the door closed, her facial expression of feigned happiness dropped down into her drink as she said, "I won't repeat myself again; what on god's green earth are you doing here?"

"I'm here to see you," he grinned. "And to escort my client to pick up your daughter."

"They have left, in case you haven't noticed," she replied before quickly sipping her beverage. "You should have escorted him out of here."

"Eh, he can't take care of himself," he said with a shrug.

Karen slammed her drink down onto the counter with a loud bang and she exclaimed, "What the fuck do you want?!"

"I want … I want …."

She leaned forward and gave him a look that matched what she said, "Yeah? You want what?!"

"I want you," he finished.

Pursing her lips tight, she shook her head silently, "No. No. No. No. You can't do this to me."

"Do what?!"

"You know exactly what! You come here on your high horse. You divulge your feelings of love and affection for me. Jesus, you're such a piece of work Cooper!" she snapped.

"I'm merely—"

"Playing a game! That's what's you're doing!" she interrupted. "If I had it my way, I would never have to deal with you in my life!"

"But …?" he prompted.

"There is no but!"

"Oh I think there is, which is also why I came here. I wanted to know what you're keeping from me."

"Keeping from you?"

"You won't return my calls. You won't respond to my e-mails," Cooper listed. "For the last few weeks, I've been thinking you might have dropped off the face of the earth, but then I look at paparazzi blogs and find pictures of you at functions and events. You're alive and kicking red; why won't you reply to me?"

"You only think about yourself," she whispered, realizing that he never wanted her to begin with. He had always wanted her connection to her husband.

"So will Darien ever get an interview or a try at one of your pieces?" he asked with a cock of his head.

"I can't fucking believe you."

"Believe it baby," he smiled evilly, raising his arms up and then dropping them at his side.

"Get out," she murmured. "Get out before my husband comes home."

"I already am home."

The two turned and looked to find the broad shouldered, blue eyed, blonde haired man that had just entered the home silently. That was one of the things that Karen had found disturbing about her partner; he was stealthy and snuck up on her when she least expected it.

Darien helped Serena out of the limo when they made it to the party. There were the flashing bulbs everywhere, a guarded rail blocking off the screaming fans, and some reporters stabbing their microphones in their faces. Serena did her best to not scowl at all of this; she had to keep a smile on her face at all times. Darien glanced at her fake happy visage and was pleased to see she had picked up the reigns so easily. Even though he could tell that smile was fake, it was still beautiful to the whole world.

"Don't hold my hand," Serena begged against his ear as they made it to the red carpet with the rest of the cast.

They all stood in a row and let the paparazzi snap multiple photos of them. Each one of them filed into the club after being photographed what felt like a thousand times. Serena brushed a strand of hair over her shoulder and then looked at Rei who had stepped up beside her.

"Now what?" she asked her, scanning the crowd of sparkling women, flashy men, and bright cocktails that looked like they were glowing in the dark.

"Now we dance and drink until we can't stand any longer," Rei replied, trying to raise her voice over the booming music that played a remix of the opening song to the show.

Darien leaned over and yelled in her ear – since that was the only way to possibly communicate in that environment, "Want me to get you a drink?!"

"A soda would be nice!" she yelled back.

"A soda?!"

She nodded defiantly and gave him that "don't-question-me" look. He shrugged and then grabbed her hand in order to push through the crowd to the glowing bar. Darien wondered if this exchange, these little touches, the simple gestures or anything else that seemed physical would get back to the press. You always see in tabloids that there's a quote from a "close friend" of the said celebrity, but that's never the case. It's always a person who just happened to be there at the club and wanted to fabricate a story. He handed Serena the drink he ordered for her sipped on his own.

"What did you end up getting? A seven and seven?" she asked, pointing to his clear, fizzy drink.

"Close. I got a seven up," he answered with a raised eyebrow. "For someone who doesn't drink, you sure know them pretty well."

"I never said I don't drink," she replied. "I just choose to not drink around you. What if something goes wrong? What if I stumble out drunk from the club and pull a stunt like many of these other starlets have?"

"So what? You're only human. You can't be expected to be anything more than that," he stated with a tilt of his head.

"Says the man who has made a career out of being the paparazzi's bad boy," she grinned.

"I'm not that bad," he argued.

"You were just photographed outside your apartment fighting with Lenora this morning," Serena mused.

"You check those awful blogs?"

"I have to see if I'm on there. My father would be furious."

"He really holds the reigns on you doesn't he?"

She didn't answer and just continued to sip her drink while leaning her elbows against the bar. Rei glanced at the two talking and then got back into her own discussion with a fellow co-worker. Darien could feel the tension build just from the mention of Serena's father. There was something more there. Maybe it had to do with what Karen and Cooper had together. Or was it something completely different?

Serena walked away from the bar during Darien's daze. He snapped out of it and tried to follow her as quickly as he could without looking like he was trying too hard. She made it to an empty table and he promptly sat down next to her. She eyed him for a moment, examined the people around her before leaning toward him.

"My dad is a bit overbearing," she started. "He was furious when he found out I was going to the show with you."

"Why?"

"He hates you."

'Thus why I can never get a meeting with them,' he thought to himself.

"Between you and me, I think he's a bit jealous of the fame and prosperous lifestyle you've gained so easily," she sighed.

"Your father is the most well known director in this city! Why would he be jealous of me?" Darien asked, flabbergasted.

"He's had to work really hard to get where he's at," Serena explained. "My mother is the one with the genius ideas. He can execute it, but not without her help. He was lucky to have met her when he did."

"Geez … so the critics have been right all along," he said. "For years they've praised your mother, you know that?"

"Yes. She passes it onto my dad. They both hate press on anything besides their work. If it's on them … well … they freak out. It's weird."

"I can see why they've been so reluctant to let you out of their bubble."

"You have no idea."

Suddenly Rei pulled a chair out beside Serena and asked, "So why don't you just pop that bubble? Rebel a little bit!"

"Rei … don't give her any ideas," Darien winked. "Serena can't keep up with this lifestyle, let alone live in it."

She leaned forward and twisted her face up with defiance, "Excuse me? You think I can't keep up?"

"Not in the slightest," he said simply as she finished off his drink and started to chew on his ice.

"What is it that makes your life so much more difficult than mine?"

"Well," Rei chimed in, "first off, we can't go shopping without photographers around. Can't do anything really …."

"Rei has even had a store closed off completely and the blinds shut so that she could shop in privacy," Darien grinned.

"It was a little extreme, but that was when those baby rumors were so high," she explained with a roll of her eyes. "Another thing that makes this world so hard for us, is that everyone thinks they know you. When I was younger and was in my party phase, everyone was 'reaching out' to me and trying to give me advice. I even got a call from a high end celebrity – whom I didn't even know she knew my name! – and she told me to take care of myself."

"Did you heed her word?" Serena asked.

"I didn't have to. I wasn't that bad," she answered quickly as she closed her mouth over her straw.

Serena could feel Darien's distaste with her statement and she wondered if those rumors about Rei needing to go to rehab were correct. She seemed stable enough and didn't look like she was crazy. The man sitting next the blonde even seemed more unbalanced than Rei. He would stop at nothing to get good press, bad press, it was all positive for his image not matter what. Would she just be another ploy? A boost in his step toward her parents? She was awfully weary, but tried to make it unknown as she continued on with the conversation with Rei.

"So basically, I just need to get out there with you guys?" Serena asked.

"Yeah. See if you can handle this real celebrity life we live in," Rei replied.

"Okay. Where do I start?"

"Oh, do we care to bet on this?" Darien asked excitedly, rubbing his hands together.

"I'd be delighted!" Serena beamed.

"Great!" he laughed. He was happily surprised that she was so taken with this. "If you can't hang with us for one full month, then I win."

"And what do you get?" Rei asked.

He darted his gaze between the two women for a full minute and then answered, "I want a romantic date with Serena."

"HA!" Rei exclaimed loudly. She fell into a fit of giggles as she watched Serena's expression go from intrigued to shocked and disgusted.

"You have a girlfriend!" Serena snapped.

"Not for long. I'm thinking of cutting her loose."

"Cutting her loose? Like she's some animal that needs to find new owners?!" she roared.

"Don't get hysterical by my use of words," Darien replied.

"You are awful!" she said as she stood up to her feet and started to get her things together. "And to think I was starting to believe you weren't some player who bounced from girl to girl."

Ignoring her comments, he asked her, "What happens if you win?"

"You don't talk to me ever again," she said seriously. "Maybe then I'll be free of this place…. Ugh!"

She pushed her way through the crowd, trying to shake the feeling of Darien's words off of her. Was he seriously like everyone else? Was he this misogynistic? He seemed to be just as spoiled as everyone said he was. She felt like she was going to regret this bet and her father was going to help in that.

Karen bit on her nail as her husband sat down next to her with a drink in his hand. This was awkward. Really awkward. Not the fact that her husband came home early and found her and Cooper talking rather vehemently with one another. No, as it turned out James had called Cooper! He wanted to set up a pre-pre meeting with him without his wife's knowledge, but that wasn't Mr. Crane's style. He liked to shove her face and nose into anything that would make her uncomfortable these days. She figured this was a tactic to get his client into one of her projects, but it certainly wasn't going to work. Not if she had anything to say about it.

So here she was, sitting between her husband and the father of her child as they discussed possible role ideas and imaginary contracts. Karen kept from making he leg shake by sitting on her bare feet. She and James had decided to not go to the charity dinner that they had originally planned on because of Cooper's sudden appearance. The man was m.i.a. for years and was completely erased from his biological daughter's life and now is when he wants to barge in! She narrowed her blue gaze at him wondering what the fuck was going on in side that empty, thick skulled head of his.

"Well, I wish we could have met in private," James said as he looked over at his wife. "I like to bring these things to Karen on my own and then develop the ideas together. Look at how tense she is."

"Oh because keeping your wife in the dark about this meeting isn't what is making me tense at all!" she exclaimed sarcastically. "I had to find out about this by him interrupting my evening? James, I wish you would be more open and honest with me."

"You're one to talk," Cooper scoffed as he downed his drink.

"What does that mean?" James asked, eyeing him for a moment.

Slamming the empty glass down onto the coffee table, he told him, "She probably didn't inform you that Darien escorted your daughter to that wonderful party tonight, did she?"

James turned to Karen and shook his head, "No she didn't."

"You would have freaked out."

"Just like you would if you knew about my meeting with Mr. Crane," he stated.

"So we're all on the same page!" Cooper smiled as he stood up.

He was getting ready to leave right at a perfect moment; Serena breezed on into the mansion and swiftly made it to her room with a slam of her door. Her parents were standing along with Cooper, wondering why Serena hadn't said a word and even more suspiciously, she was visibly upset when making it to her room as fast as possible. The group of adults simply smiled at one another and then said their goodbyes.

When everything was said and done, Karen walked into the kitchen to get herself a glass of wine. That meeting shook her up. Darien Shields was getting closer and closer to their daughter and Cooper was getting closer to the mother lion. She sipped on her huge glass of white wine as she waited for her husband to discuss the topic that was hanging in the room.

James shoved his hands into his pockets and turned to his wife, "This is your doing. This whole Darien and Serena escapade.... Did you think the night would end on a positive note?"

"James, sometimes you need to take responsibility as a parent in this girl's life. You're the one who set up a meeting behind my back! A meeting with this supposedly destructive young man's agent! You want him as far away from our girl as humanly possible? Then don't get close to Cooper!" she shouted. "You hate Darien! I hate Cooper! Why can't we leave them out of our projects like we always have?!"

"Because it's the best deal possible!" he hollered. "He's willing to cut the paycheck down in half if we hire him! Do you know how priceless that is?!"

"No, it has a price, James. It's five mil, right?" she commented with a sly grin on her face.

"Karen … we need to come to an agreement," he sighed. "Darien is a shining star that won't go out quickly. We should snatch up his talent while we still can."

"But you want to keep him away from our daughter? Can you make up your mind?" she asked, slamming her palms down on the counter.

"You're just as bad! You don't want her to be around him yet you're willing to let her be in this ridiculous television show with him? You're the pot calling the kettle black."

"I have my reasons for what I'm doing," she said through gritted teeth. "She is starting to get out in the limelight. We can't avoid it any longer so why not get her into one of the best television shows on cable?"

"You're such a hypocrite!" he laughed.

"We're never going to get anywhere if we keep arguing in circles like this," she murmured before taking a gulp of wine. "At least Serena is done with the television show. If we sign with Darien for this future project, he'll be around her for a solid year, if not longer. My way only lasted a few months … your way will last a few months too long."

"I won't discuss this any further. When I have my real, private meeting with Cooper, I'll figure out what we can do," he informed her.

"Gee, thanks for letting me know, hon," she said flatly.

"You're welcome," he replied curtly.

She watched as he strolled into their master bedroom in the back. They were both trying to balance looking out for their daughter's best interest and trying to make amazing films. It was difficult. Darien was a talent that they had passed up multiple times. The press had questioned as to why they had done this when there were plenty of roles he could easily fill if he wanted. This upcoming project in fact was practically calling his name and all the critics knew it.

Downing the rest of her drink she went to go knock on Serena's door. There was no answer. Obviously the kid didn't want to talk so Karen went to go climb into her large fluffy bed with her husband who was overwhelming the room with tension. She should have just slept in the guest bedroom, but there was no getting out of it now. She got into bed, turned the light out and wondered what their complicated future held.

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