Of Faux and Friends
Chapter One: Part 2
A/N: It wouldn't let me upload the whole thing. But this is still Chapter One.
Disclaimer: I don't own SM.
Rating: M
I
I
Between Seiya trying to seduce her and the two of them arguing, they had arrived fashionably late in front of Oasis in one of Seiya's many limousines.
"You look nervous, dear," he said, grabbing her hand and helping her climb out of the vehicle.
"No I'm fine," she lied, rolling her eyes and turning to check the back of the black dress she was wearing.
"Did I mention that you look absolutely gorgeous?" asked Seiya, kissing her hand before intertwining his fingers with hers and ushering her into the posh club entrance.
"Not in the last five minutes," she replied sweetly, admiring how nice Seiya looked when he didn't talk. Maybe that's why she stayed with him for so long.
"Darling, are you sure you're alright? You look pale."
"No, I'm okay," said Serena. But really she wasn't okay. With Seiya getting dressed with her, she wasn't able to figure out what exactly she should say to Darien and with Seiya coming as her date, she knew she would get hell from the girls for getting back together with him. Needless to say, he wasn't one of their favorite people.
"We're a part of Raye Hino's party," she said to the greeter, a tall red headed woman who was eyeing Seiya longingly.
"Down the hall and to the right," she said to him, as he tightened his grip on Serena.
"Do you need an escort, sir?" she asked sultrily.
He grinned and Serena rolled her eyes. "No, I think we'll be quite fine. Thank you, miss."
"Rachel, my name's Rachel," she said, tucking her hair behind her ears.
Seiya made no response, but smiled gently before he and Serena rushed off. "Do women always fall all over themselves in front of you?" asked Serena.
"Of course they do," he said, kissing her cheek. "But you don't have to worry, I'm all yours."
"Lucky me," she said dryly.
As soon as they reached the doors, Serena hesitated to step inside. Surprisingly she was comforted that Seiya was with her. As pompous and arrogant as he could be, one complaint from her and he would end up bending over backwards to please her. With one sigh he would rush her out of there. She tried to convince herself that everything would be okay. They'd stay for a couple of hours and the whole time she'd gaze longingly at her boyfriend and completely ignore the fact that Darien would be sitting somewhere across the way from her. All vestiges of her plan collapsed as soon as the double doors swung open, wide and gracefully.
"Let's see," began Darien, smiling at his audience, "I think the worst thing I've ever seen was when I was a resident working in the ER. This guy had a gunshot wound on his leg and he had let it fester for a little over a month because the shooting was gang related. Anyway by the time he came in, it was green, rotting and there were maggots actually under the dead skin."
"Oh my god," said Amy fascinated. "Did you have to amputate?"
"Unfortunately yes," said Darien. "He was very upset."
"I can imagine," said Raye, smiling as she sipped her cocktail. Everyone seemed to be having a good time. Serena and Seiya were standing around, both of them looking very annoyed that no one had noticed they had entered. Taking it upon himself to focus their attention, Seiya cleared his throat loudly. Every inhabitant, including Darien turned to focus on the rooms newest guests. If Darien had been holding a drink he would have dropped it.
He hadn't seen Serena in ages, and the last time he had seen her, she was a blossoming eighteen year old girl. But now, she was a beautiful, voluptuous woman. She was standing before them, in a knee length, skin tight black dress, with straps that wrapped around her neck, elevating her ample cleavage. Her legs were long and lean. Her face was mature and sharp, with full lips, big blue eyes and rosy cheeks. Her hair, shorter than he remembered, cascaded around her face and down her back in gentle waves. For the first time in a long time, Darien was absolutely speechless.
"Seiya what are you doing here?" asked Raye furiously, breaking the silence that had descended over the room.
He smiled rudely at her before answering. "What does it look like Raye, I'm here with my girlfriend," said Seiya. The news that Serena was taken immediately broke Darien from his trance. Raye was too busy being irritated that Serena was back with Seiya to notice that Darien and Serena hadn't stopped staring at each other since she walked in.
Serena was shocked by how much he had changed. It was no secret that Darien was gorgeous before but now he owned a sophisticated and refined disposition that was present in the way that he sat, the way he moved, even the way he smiled. He was glamorous yet humble enough in his appearance to make him seem approachable. He was handsome yet boyishly adorable, intelligent but conversable. He was more beautiful than she remembered and his eyes….still dark with untold secrets and possibly pain, were just as perfect as she remembered, maybe even more so.
"Seiya, Serena, why don't you sit down," said Amy as she and Serena exchanged glances. Seiya pulled out her chair before taking a seat next to her and possessively putting a hand on her bare thigh. Raye and Lita rolled their eyes.
"Sorry we're late," said Serena, her voice strong despite the feelings of nausea that were soon becoming overwhelming.
"Don't worry about it," said Mina.
"Serena, Darien was just telling us about his experiences as a doctor in New York," said Mina.
"Oh really," said Serena her eyes meeting Darien's. "I'm sure you and Amy have a lot to talk about."
"We all have a lot of catching up to do," he said looking meaningfully at Serena. "How've you been?"
"I'm okay," she said, smiling softly. Seiya was about to open his mouth to brag about his girlfriend before his cell phone began to vibrate in the side pocket of his suit coat.
"Excuse me," he said, pulling out the gadget and walking out of the room.
"So," began Darien, never taking his eyes of Serena, "what have you been doing these past few years?"
"Oh, not much," said Serena smiling gently at him. She was just about to summon a waiter over when her cell phone began to ring.
"Don't answer it!" cried Raye, as Serena reached for her phone. "One weekend is all I ask. They'll survive without you!"
"Fine, fine!" said Serena, flipping her hair from her face. Her one possible escape from Darien's unwavering gaze and Raye had to shut her down.
"Sorry about that," said Raye, "but Serena is a workaholic."
"No, I'm not," said Serena, glaring at Raye.
"Cut her some slack," said Mina, smiling at Serena. "She's a busy woman."
"Serena what do you do?" asked Darien, intrigued.
"Oh I just work for a magazine," she said vaguely.
"Are you kidding me," said Seiya strutting confidently back into the room, before sitting down next to Serena. "She's the fashion director of Vogue magazine, not to mention she has her own line of evening gowns called Koi. She's one of the top designers in Japan if not the eastern hemisphere."
"Seiya," she said, in an attempt to stop him.
"She's utterly successful," he said proudly as Raye glared at him. "What?"
"Are you done bragging?" she asked spitefully. Serena rolled her eyes.
"I'm not bragging," he said nonchalantly. "Is it wrong for me to be proud of my beautiful, successful girlfriend?"
Raye opened her mouth to make a scathing remark, just as Serena intervened. "Where's the waiter?" asked Serena, "I need a drink." Looking behind him, Seiya signaled for someone to come and take their order.
"Milady?" asked the waiter, a young blonde man.
"Can I have Martini, dry," she said. "Actually, make that a double."
"That's way too strong for you," said Seiya knowingly. "Do you remember what happened the last time you had one of those? She'll have a Cosmopolitan." Raye raised her hand, which Lita grabbed thinking that she was about to slap Seiya. Serena remained stoic. "And I'll have a glass of Merlot."
Darien couldn't help to notice how much Serena had changed. When had the outgoing, loud girl he used to know turn into a demure, quiet blonde?
"Serena," asked Darien, his eyes on her again, "would you dance with me?"
"No," she said abruptly. She had gotten over the initial shock of how good looking he had become and her hatred for him had returned, full force.
"Oh come on, darling, dance with him and show him what he can't have," said Seiya. If to only get away from her boyfriend, Serena nodded her head in approval and Darien approached her gracefully. He reached her chair and pulled it out for her, before taking her hand in his and leading her to the dance floor.
Lita and Mina watched as their two friends left. "You know, I just noticed how much Seiya and Darien look alike," said Mina, studying Seiya's profile as he sipped his drink. "They could almost be twins."
Serena stiffened as Darien wrapped his arms around her, the two of them swaying to the music. "He's a real piece of work," said Darien.
"Seiya?" asked Serena, knowing the answer. "Yea he is. Sometimes he can be arrogant and other times he can be a completely different person. He's just-"
"No I don't think he is."
"What?"
"You were going to say he was a different person when you guys are alone?" he asked his fingers brushing against her bare back, causing her to tremble.
"No I wasn't actually. I was going to say that's he's spoiled."
Darien chuckled. "I see," he said. "I'm glad you came tonight. I didn't think you'd show up, considering…"
"Trust me, I didn't want to. But Raye can be persuasive…and scary."
Again he laughed. "You're more beautiful than I remember," he said, his fingers drawing invisibles circles across her back. She began to shiver.
"Don't do that."
"Why not?" he whispered, his lips close to her ear. "I missed you."
"Darien why are you here? Back in Tokyo? When you left…"
"Leaving was a mistake. I know that now. I'm home for good," said Darien, caressing her cheek with his thumb.
"Stop that," she whispered, trying to get away from his grip. "Let me go."
"Why?"
"You're making me uncomfortable," she said.
"Am I?" he asked darkly. Quickly he released her. "I'm sorry." His eyes were sincere.
"I don't plan on seeing you after this Darien," she said, as they stood staring at each other in the middle of the empty dance floor.
"Serena, I'm sorry that-"
"Don't," she said.
"You never answered my letters, my emails…the only reason I knew that you were still alive was through Raye."
"Is that the reason why you guys are all of a sudden best friends?"
"She was worried about me!" said Darien. "She's like family to me."
"That's great Darien," she said, turning to walk away. "I knew this was a bad idea."
"Coming here?" he asked, grabbing her arm and turning her around to face him.
"Yes," she said. "Seeing you after all this time. I shouldn't have…"
"But you did," he said. "You came here for the same reason I did.
"Yea and why is that?"
"Because I love you, I never stopped loving you, and I came back to Japan to tell you that," he said sincerely. His arms tightened around her waist and he pulled her into him so tightly that he breasts were being crushed painfully against his chest. Serena glanced behind her to find that Seiya was engrossed in a heated argument with Raye and the other guests seemed to be too concerned with what they were arguing about to pay any attention to what was brewing between her and Darien.
"No," she said, pushing herself away from him. "You left me! You left for seven years…after we…after….you can't just come back and say you love me and expect me to just forgive you. I won't Darien."
"That doesn't change the fact that I love you, Serena," he said, his voice solemn. The fight behind her was getting louder and Darien's words were driving her crazy; she needed to get out of there. Quickly she turned away from Darien and rushed toward Seiya.
"I want to go!" she said loudly, interrupting the battle between Seiya and Raye.
Quickly he glanced up at her and could tell she was either angry or very upset. "Okay," he said, grabbing his coat and standing up. Meanwhile Darien had managed to sneak up behind them. She felt something slip into her hand before her and Seiya exited the room without any goodbyes to the on looking spectators.
"What happened?" he asked, worriedly.
"I don't feel well," she said honestly. Her conversation with Darien has made her feel extremely ill. As soon as they exited the club, Serena found herself vomiting into one of the trashcans. Seiya held her hair and rubbed her back gently before scooping her into his arms and carrying her into the limo.
"Close your eyes, my love," said Seiya. "We'll be home soon."
Seiya quickly returned to making calls on his cell phone while periodically checking on Serena. In her hand she felt the small piece of paper that Darien had handed to her before they left. Checking to make sure that Seiya was otherwise occupied, Serena unfolded the crumbled piece of paper before staring at what it said. The script, written neatly in black ink, made her heart drop into her chest. She would never forget seeing those words. Not for the rest of her life.
I'm coming for you.