Past, Present, and Future

"Are you sure you're up to walking honey? We could use the wheelchair Dr. Mizuno brought for you."

"Dad, I hit my head. My legs are fine." She said slowly climbing out of bed. She smiled to Amy's mom. "Thanks again Dr. Mizuno."

"Anytime. Now I want you to take tomorrow off of school. Rest up tomorrow and over the weekend and then you can return to school on Monday."

"Any excuse to skip school!" She cheered.

"Darien, do you need a ride home?" Ilene asked.

"No thanks. My car is here."

"You have a car?" Serena asked.

"I'm a senior. How else am I supposed to get around?"

"All I saw you do in the summer was walk though." She complained.

"Summer is warm. I refuse to walk anywhere in the winter. Too cold."

"I guess that makes since."

"You still up for dinner tonight Darien?" Ken asked.

"Sure."

"Dinner will be ready around five. Why don't you come over around four, four-thirty?" Ilene suggested.

"Yah, I can introduce you to Sammy…as snobby as he is. But you can meet Luna too." She said grabbing onto him arm. "I'm sure she'll absolutely love you."

"Luna?" Darien asked as they all walked from the room.

"My cat. I found her when she was just a small kitten. Some kids were picking on her, so I told them to bug off. She did some weird flip onto a car, stared at me for a second, then hopped on my shoulder and meowed."

"Weird."
"Yah. She can be sometimes. She's really cautious around people. So don't be surprised if she doesn't come near you right away."

"No problem."

"Come on Serena. Let's get home." Ken called as they neared the cars.

"See you later Dare."
"See you Sere." He said as she hopped towards her parents' car. He continued his walk to his car and quickly drove home.

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…DING…DONG…

Serena quickly walked down the stairs and opened the door. "Hey Dare!" She said leaping into his arms for a hug.

"Hey Sere. How are you doing?"

"The same as when I left the hospital two hours ago." She said leading him to the living room. "Daddy, Darien's here."

"Hello son, how are you?"

"Fine sir. Yourself?"

"Great. Thanks."
"I'm gonna go introduce him to Sammy and Luna now. Bye daddy!" She called dragging Darien up the steps. They quickly arrived in front of a closed door, and Serena knocked.

"Come in." Someone called from the other side.

When Serena opened the door, they were greeted with a boy sitting in front of his TV with his tongue hanging out the side in concentration with a gaming controller in his hands. "Almost, almost. HA! GOTCHA!!" He said leaping to his feet.

"Are you playing that action game again?" Serena sighed.

"For your information, it's the latest and greatest Sailor V game. I so wish I could meet her."
Serena snickered to herself. If only he knew…he has met her. She couldn't contain it and let a giggle slip.

"What's so funny?" Sammy asked.

"Oh, nothing. Just thought of something Mina did the other day." Saying Mina's name made her snicker even more.

Meanwhile, Darien was thinking along the same lines. She's really not all that great. I've only met her once, but still…I don't see the big deal.

"Anyways, Sammy, this is Darien. Darien, this is my annoying brother, who is obsessed with the sailor scouts and that new guy, Sammy."

"Tuxedo Mask?" Darien asked.

"Yah, him." Serena said.

"Nice to meet you Darien, but can I ask why you're hanging around with my klutz of a sister?"
"SAMMY! He saved my life! If he didn't push me out of the way, that car could've killed me!" Serena hollered.

"And why wouldn't I hang around my girlfriend?" He smirked.

"G-girlfriend? You're going out with my sister?"

Darien nodded.

"Sammy, you can't tell mom and dad yet. They don't know. I need to break it easy to dad. I'm surprised he isn't stalking us. You know how he gets with me."

"Yah, remember when he saw your schedule said 'coed gym?' He blew a fit!"

"Exactly. I need to break it to him when he's really happy or something."
"Okay, okay. I won't say anything."

"Thanks."

"No problem."
"Come on, let's go see Luna." Serena said pulling Darien out the door.

"See ya kiddo." Darien waved.

"Yah, see ya." Sammy called.

Serena quickly led him to her room.

"Luna? Are you in here?" Serena called to her seemingly empty room.

"Y-" Luna came from the bathroom and saw Darien. "Meow?"

"Luna, this is Darien." Serena said.

"Hey there." He kneeled and held out his hand for the cat to sniff.

Luna cautiously walked over to his hand and smelled it. She then looked to Serena who nodded. Luna then rubbed her head into Darien's palm.

"Yay! You're the only one she's let pet her the first time she met you…other then me that is. It took her a whole week to warm up to my family."

"Why is that?" He asked petting Luna. Luna walked to his lap and he picked her up.

"Uh – not sure."

"You said you found her while some kids were picking on her, maybe that's it. You saved her so she was comfortable with you, but then around others, she's cautious."

"That's probably it. Feel free to sit." She said taking a seat on her bed.

He walked over to the bed, Luna in hand, and sat next to Serena.

"So, you've met my parents…when do I get to meet yours?" She asked glancing at him. He was tense again. His jaw locked and arrows narrowed.

"Sorry." She said looking down.

He softened his features, put Luna next to him, and scooted closer to Serena. He then wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "You have no reason to be sorry."
"Well when my parents questioned about your parents, you tensed. When I asked how they called from another country, you tensed then told me not to worry. I should've realized something was up. Maybe you don't get along with them or something. I shouldn't have pushed."

"I should have just told you. The reason my parents aren't here is because they died." He heard her gasp. "I just didn't want to worry you with the information."

"Darien! I'm so sorry!"
"It's okay. It happened when I was five, so I've grown to accept it."

"You were so young. How did you live?"

"I was sent to an orphanage. They left me all they had…but that wasn't much. I moved here because I could get a higher paying job at a younger age then I could in America, so I moved here. That's why I spend so much time out. If I'm outside or somewhere else, I spend less time in the house using the electricity, heat, water, etc. The car was the only thing I have that is totally free. It was paid off. My mothers. It was the extra one."

"Extra one?"

"We had two, but they were killed in a car accident. The car was totaled."

"I'm so sorry Dare." She said wrapping him tightly in a hug. She had tears in his eyes, and felt one fall on her head.

"I never grew up knowing what love was, or what having a family felt like." He said hugging her harder.

"You won't have to go through that anymore. That was your past. We are the present. And you'll have a happy future. I'm here for you, now and for as long as you want me to be."

"Thanks Sere."

"It's a promise."

Even Luna seemed to have watery eyes.

"Kids! Dinner!" Ilene called from downstairs.

"Come on. Let's go downstairs and get some food." Darien said pulling away from her.

She raised her hand to wipe away his tears. "Sure." She looked over to Luna. "Come on Luna."

The three got up from the bed and walked downstairs.