Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon in any way, shape, or form. The show and the characters are the property of Naoko Takeuchi.

Chapter 5

It was Monday morning. Mina sat up from bed and placed her head in her hands. Her sleep had lasted around five minutes before her alarm went off. The rest of the night had been dedicated to thoughts of Andrew and Jeffrey roaming throughout her head.

She sighed. There was no doubt that she was attracted to Andrew. The problem was she didn't know what to do about it.

She stood up and stretched. Glancing at her dresser, she eyed the framed photo she had placed there, of her and Jeffrey. Their arms were around each other, and they were staring into each other's eyes. It had been their one year anniversary.

Groaning, she uttered one oath. "Shit."

How could she not feel guilty? Jeffrey was working his ass off while she was practically dry fucking Andrew.

But why Andrew of all reasons? It was strange.

Her head pounded as she stepped into the shower. As the water hit her skin she let out a heavy breath.

She had met Andrew through Darien and Serena. At the time, he had been Mr. Stevens's right hand man for the diner. All Serena could do was rave about the place, as they walked in. As Darien introduced them, she couldn't help but be drawn to his charm.

Andrew instantly took her hand and led her to the booth. His blue eyes stared intently at her. "Mina, I don't know if you should be here."

Her head snapped up and she stared in surprise. "Why, not?"

"Well…" he glanced at Serena and Darien who were in the midst of continuing their argument from the bus. "Customers are always attracted to eye candy. In fact they require it. And by eye candy I mean people that are extremely attractive. As you must have known since you walked through that door, I've been the eye candy here for quite some time."

Mina failed to hide her smile. She was finding it difficult to decide whether Andrew was being serious or not.

"I see."

"Well, since you've walked in here, I've been told by certain customers, that you're the new eye candy." He sighed. "Normally I would declare war but customer satisfaction is a priority here."

"Oh really?"

"Yes, so to keep my customers happy you have two solutions. The first is to discreetly step out through the backdoor and scram even though I'm sure my handsome face will haunt you for the rest of your life." He smiled as she laughed. "Of course, there's always solution number two in which we get married."

Mina laughed even harder.

He continued. "That way our children can be eye candy too. And their children and their children. Our descendants will rid the world of ugliness." He extended his hand. "Are you with me?"

She laughingly took it and replied, "All the way."

They quickly became fast friends.

Like many others, she had developed a crush on him. While she was in high school, it was a ritual for her to stop by the diner after school to tease him and make him laugh. Their friendship had grown but had never risen to anything more. But she hadn't minded. If ever she needed a quick laugh, she knew he would always be there to draw her out of her moods and flirt shamelessly with her. She had always loved him. Yet, it had been in friendship.

The morning she was set to leave to Paris to begin her modeling career, he had driven up to her home, and met her at her walkway with a grin on his face. After hugging her and saying the customary good-byes and congratulations he had handed her a note, and asked that she read it while on the plane.

After he left, her group of friends stopped by to give teary farewells and wishes. She cried buckets. Once on board the plane, she reached into her jacket for tissue and found his hastily written note,

Beauty,

Your dreams are big .The diner will miss your money and your mouth. Hope it turns out well. If not, I'll always be here for you.

Love,

Beast

P.S. I once heard from a beautiful, strong, smart Wiseman (me) that happiness doesn't live in your dreams. It lives in your heart. Follow it.

In the four years she had been gone, she and Andrew had never spoken or written to each other. Yet, whenever she had spoken to Lita she had asked after him.

Three years ago, she had returned home. She had given up her career as a model and secretly given most of her money away to fund Lita's catering service. Mina knew Lita would never have accepted her money regardless of how well off she might have been. Lita was stubborn and despised pity. But she needed a chance and Mina had given it to her.

Once she had found an apartment, she noticed her money supply dwindling. Despite searching through newspaper ads for employment, she had not found anything that would keep her interested in the long-term. She was frustrated and regretting her impulsive decision to leave Paris. Hoping to clear her mind she decided to visit Serena and Darien.

They welcomed her back joyously. They had recently become engaged and were arguing even more fiercely. While Darien made hot cocoa, Serena quickly informed Mina of all the news she had missed while overseas. She chattered non stop.

"Raye was so angry when Chad insisted on meeting her parents last month that she wouldn't speak to him for two weeks! And to think they work together! She eventually gave up and it turns out her parents adore Chad. Amy is doing well. She just finished getting her masters. In September she broke up with Greg because she barely saw him. I kept telling her that he was the perfect guy for her but she wouldn't listen. Two months ago, she went out on this date with James, her old lab partner, and Greg saw them. He was so upset and angry! He walked right into the restaurant and demanded that she speak with him right then and there. They had this huge argument in the restaurant!"

"Amy? She never yells at anyone!" exclaimed Mina.

Serena took a breath and sipped her cocoa which had grown lukewarm. She nodded and continued.

"I know! But while the maître d' was trying to push Greg out, he kept screaming at her that loved her!"

Mina could only gape as Serena squealed.

"That's exactly what I thought when she told me! How romantic!" Serena sighed and placed a hand over her heart.

"That girl is so lucky!"

"Oh, but did you hear about Lita?"

Mina cleared her throat nervously and began to nibble on a chocolate chip cookie.

"Uh-no, not really. What's happened?"

"Someone donated a huge amount of money to her. She doesn't even know who. At first, she wasn't going to keep it, but we all nagged her until she agreed. I think it's someone on her mother's side. We all know they were well off. But of course, she might have a secret admirer. Ken has been acting pretty jealous about the whole thing, but he'll calm down."

Mina smiled and noticed Darien staring at her. From his serious expression, she knew he had discovered who the secret donor was. He had always been too smart to keep secrets from.

Shaking her head silently at him, while Serena continued going on and on about how Lita was planning to spend the money, she put down her mug and interrupted her.

"Yeah, I guess Lita's finally gonna be able to buy that oven she always wanted. How's Mr. Prettyboy doing at the diner?"

At the mention of his name, Serena clapped her hands together. "Oh, Andrew! He's been doing so well. Mr. Stevens hasn't been able to keep the diner going like he used to, but luckily Andrew knows the ins and outs of it all. In fact, ever since Mr. Stevens had that bad fall, Andrew has been in complete control of the diner. I even helped him out while Mr. Stevens was in the hospital."

Darien gave a loud laugh and placed his hand over Serena's. "Actually Mina, poor Andrew thought it was a great day for business when Serena kept giving him dozens of orders every five minutes or so. But when he came outside, he noticed it was the regular crowd, except for the fact that Serena was sitting down eating half of the orders she had written for him. I was able to drag her away before all the food was gone."

Laughing, Mina watched as Serena swatted Darien's arm.

"Oh, Darien! Go watch T.V. and let me talk to Mina. I haven't seen her in forever!" she complained.

"All right, all right. I'll leave you two alone." He leaned close and kissed Serena and then took Mina's hand and squeezed it.

She nodded and smiled warmly at him. She knew Darien understood what she had done for Lita and wouldn't tell a soul.

Once Darien closed the door, Serena continued where she left off.

"We should gather the whole gang up and see Andrew on Tuesday. Darien told me Mr. Stevens is offering to sell Andrew the diner."

"Really?" Mina immediately went on alert. She knew that if Andrew bought the diner, she would be able to plead and plead until he gave her a job, even if it was only temporary

By the time Serena finished delivering every bit of news Mina had missed out on, it was late. Although Serena had insisted on driving her home, Mina argued that she wanted to start taking the bus. She gave a kiss and hug to both Darien and Serena and left.

The cool air created a rosy glow on her cheeks as she began her walk. Winter was nearing fast. She pulled her coat tight around her. As she reached the bus stop, she noticed the diner's lights were still on. Curious, she walked to the window and peered in.

Inside, Andrew sat at one of the tables sifting through papers. Mr. Stevens had just signed over paperwork, granting Andrew ownership of the diner. It should have been one of the greatest experiences of his life but the impact of what had just occurred had not set in yet. He had only been able to gape at Mr. Stevens's signature. In fact, he hadn't even fully realized Mr. Stevens had left. He could only recall a chuckle, a pat on his shoulder and then shuffling steps. When his head had cleared somewhat, he sat down amidst the paperwork. Suddenly, he heard a loud knock and looked up. His heart gave several beats. She was back.

Mina stepped outside the shower and dried off her hair. As she remembered, Andrew had been shocked to see her. No one had told him of her return. After hearing his big news she congratulated him and sat down.

Nervously she ran a finger along the side of the table. "Do you think you'll need help?"

He nodded and thought to himself that she had grown more beautiful since he last saw her. "Most likely. I'll put an ad in the paper tomorrow. Remind me before I do, to insist that Serena not volunteer her services. I can only shudder at the painful memory." He looked at her. She had not smiled or laughed at the light joke, as she had always done. "What's wrong with you?"

She bit her lip and blushed. Now that she thought about it, it was possible that Andrew would not give her a job. After all he owned the diner now. He couldn't afford to take pity on friends and risk losing his business. She sighed. She needed the job. It didn't matter whether he said yes or no. All she could do was ask.

Shifting in her seat, she looked up at him, "Andrew I need money. I can't tell you why but I do."

He frowned and looked at her seriously. She noticed he took in a quick breath.

"When can you start?"

As Andrew brushed his teeth, he was recalling the exact same moment. She had been in desperate need of help, and he had given it to her.

He rinsed his mouth. Last night, he had spent a great deal of time thinking about how fast their relationship had changed. A week ago, he would have laughed at the idea of them forming a relationship other than friendship. Now, she was all he could think about.

If she hadn't reminded him of Jeffrey, it was likely he could have seduced her and taken her back to her place.

Jeffrey

He gritted his teeth. The guy was so likeable that you had to hate him. He was the wealthy type that always walked around in business suits. Andrew shuddered at the thought of wearing suits on a daily basis. Jeffrey was definitely smart and nice. In fact, it was hard to find fault with him on anything. Andrew had met Jeffrey twice and he hadn't thought much of him…until now of course. The guy definitely had class. What was worst was he had Mina. The most beautiful girl Andrew had ever met.

Nervously, he grabbed his keys and headed out the door. He and Mina were working at the diner today, and he needed to speak with her.