He loves me, he loves me not

Disclaimer:

Sailor Moon and its characters belong to Takeuchi Naoko. Original characters and this story however, belong to me.

Author Note:

I want to thank everyone who reviewed the first chapter. Your comments and encouragement are really appreciated and something I look forward to. Thank you so much, guys!

Recap

Left all alone again, the young man sighed, put on his shades again and walked to his car that was parked around the corner. Reaching the door, he hesitated for a while, looked up at the sky again and looked at his watch. It was now a minute past midnight. "Seika… I miss you." With that, Masaya Hikawa entered his car and drove away.

The neighbourhood returned to its normal quiet state.

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"Good morning, Serena. It is nice to see you, how are you? I hope that we can work together nicely. I mean we will surely make a great team in the courtroom, don't you agree with me?"

At this, Serena scowled even more and just answered with a short "Of course, but only in your dreams, Shields, only in your dreams. I don't work with people who think they are better than others and act like jerks to younger girls"

CHAPTER 2: DECISIONS

Narrative (Serena)

And that was pretty much the end of my wonderful perfect morning.

I had always known that it was only a matter of time that my father would ask me to start my internship and I have always been certain that he would want me to be an intern in his law firm and that he would ask one of the best lawyers, or even senior partners, to be my mentor, but I had never guessed that he wanted me to start so soon and that he would choose HIM as my mentor.

Granted, Darien Shields' resume has always been impressive. Orphaned since young to a wealthy couple, Darien was raised by his grandparents. He excelled in his studies and sports and was supposedly very popular in school –personally, I find it hard to believe that he could ever be one of the popular kids in school seeing that he is lacking in social skills. Well, alright, maybe I am biased. Objectively speaking, Darien Shields is the guy that everyone wants to know, be friends with or at least work with.

That being said, I cannot share the same sentiments with the rest of the world. Why, you ask? The answer is simple, really.

Ever since I met Darien Shields all those years ago during my junior high school days, he has been nothing but mean and condescending to me. True enough, I did not do well and often forgot my homework and assignments, but it was not because I was stupid, I just thought it was a waste of time to do all those things if I knew what was going on in class. I mean, I did study for my final exams, and really, getting perfect scores for everything (well except physics that is) really did help me enter Law School at Tokyo University nonetheless. Ever since then I have always performed well, and yet, the taunts and derogatory remarks never ceased. If you ask me, it is almost as if he always thinks the worst of me.

The more I think about it, actually, the more I believe that this is an opportunity for me to prove him wrong. Maybe I can even get an apology or even his approval for my performance and intelligence. God knows I deserve it after all these years of abuse.

Strange, since when does his approval mean that much to me? I must be going mad with frustration. Get a hold of yourself, Serena. Now is not the time to …

No, I cannot ever think that way again. After what he did to Raye… Never.

Narrative (Darien)

I really could not help but notice how flushed and agitated she gets every time I tease her. It has always been one of her most endearing features really. Nine years ago, she was a snivelling lazy brat, who never truly appreciated what she had and who just would not apply herself, and now she is a young adult, who can stand for herself, is determined, diligent and intelligent, and yet she still retains that child-like enthusiasm and innocence of hers. Truth be told, it is not exactly fair of me to tease her so much, but I just cannot help myself. Days without her are dull and boring, and on the rare opportunities that I do get to see her, I just have to see her all riled up.

Not only that, she has always been beautiful and nowadays, it is so hard to ignore that… it has always been, but she has just gotten more and more beautiful with each passing day.

I wonder how working with her would be like. I guess, she would be as fiery as always, probably screaming at me every time I disturb her.

It would be fun, and yet I wish she could look at me in a different way, in an adoring way. I fear that would take a miracle though.

Maybe it is time to make amends…

Normal POV

Looking at Serena for a while, Darien finally replied "Mrs Tsukino, would you mind if I talked to Serena in private. I think we both need time to resolve our childhood feud." Irene looked at the two young adults for a while and then nodded and left the two of them alone with a quick 'See you later and have a nice talk'.

A quick look into each others' eyes told them of a mutual understanding that this talk will be different than their usual banter or arguments, this one would be a stormy talk that could either worsen their relationship or one that would allow them to work amicably with each other. The tension in the room grew with each passing second and yet neither of them started talking. In the background, you could hear the phone ringing and Irene speaking excitedly. Again, minutes passed and finally, one of them spoke up.

"Serena, look. We can do this the easy way or the hard way. You can refuse to work with me, but you know it as well as I do, that your father will insist we work together nonetheless. He trusts me enough to teach you and because the other senior partners and associates are much older than you are. He was hoping that we can communicate better with the smaller age gap between us."

"Well, why you are right, I have a way out. I have plenty of internship offers from other superb law firms and while he might not be exceptionally thrilled with my decision to turn down his offer, I am sure my father would not mind me joining my cousin at his firm. Besides, I'm very sure that my cousin can teach me better than you ever can", Serena countered calmly.

Hearing that Darien answered heatedly, "You have got to be kidding me! You are running to America just so that you don't have to work with me? Are you out of your mind, woman?! Surely you could never be that childish. I mean we have been arguing with each other since we were kids and I do not think I have ever hurt you that badly to make you want to run from me. Even if I did, so what? Grow up, Serena. It is not like you cannot counter any of my arguments."

Before he knew it, Darien received a slap in his face.

"You never hurt me? Darien, what about the times you called me stupid or ugly? How many times did you make me cry? I knew none of it was true, but it still hurt to hear people saying this kind of things about you. And then the incident before homecoming! Do you really think it is funny to toy with my feelings? I was fresh out of a break up and then you were suddenly so nice to me, you even told me that you loved me. That was a cruel joke Darien… What was worse was that after I told you I did not feel the same way, you suddenly started saying all those mean things to me again and next thing I know, you are sleeping with Raye, stringing her along just to dump her at homecoming… You forgot that, haven't you? What were the words that you used when she told you that she loves you? Ah yes. 'You have been a good lay, but you were just a distraction really. I kinda like Serena, but she turned me down and you were available and needy, so why not go for a ride?' Do you know what that did to her? You made a fool out of me by telling me that you love me and sleeping with my best friend and her for stringing her along, you bastard. I hate you." And with that she stood up to leave the room, but Darien caught her arm and turned her to face him, gripping on both her upper arms.

"I deserve that slap and all that you said about me is true, except that I never meant to hurt you and that I really meant what I said back then. It's not like I enjoyed doing what I have done, in fact, there is no moment that I did not regret what I did back then. I have apologized to Raye over and over again, and she has forgiven me and we are friends now. So, why won't you give me a chance?"

Serena glared at him, "Mr Shields, I suggest you remove your filthy hands of me. I have no reason to believe you and Raye might still have a soft spot for you after all that you have done to her. I on the other hand do not. Let go."

Refusing to let go, "Serena, please. Give me a chance. I'll do anything you want, just don't hate me. I never lied when I told you I loved you."

"Let go. As far as I am concerned this conversation is over." And with that Darien let her go, but before she managed to leave the room, a familiar girl appeared at the door halting Serena in her tracks.

It was Raye.

"Well, isn't this interesting. I never thought the two of you would survive being in the same room all alone. Your mother asked me to come over and talk to you about something. Looking at this situation I can guess what this is all about. Was I interrupting anything?" she said with mirth in her eyes.

Serena scoffed, "Hardly. I was just asking Mr Shields to leave and told him that I will accept one of the offers from the other law firms".

"And I told her she is being ridiculous" Darien argued back.

Raye stayed quiet for a while before answering, "Darien, would you mind going to the kitchen and see whether Irene needs anything from the mall later?". While the question was asked in a very light and friendly tone, the underlying meaning of her wanting to speak to Serena in private was clear to everyone in the room and with a quick nod, Darien Shields excused himself from the room. When he reached the door he turned around to mouth a quick 'thank you' to Raye and a quick look at Serena before he walked out.

Now alone, Raye observed her friend closely. One look alone told her that her friend was upset and having listened to part of the conversation from outside the room and now seeing how the entire situation is affecting her friend, Raye felt touched by Serena's loyalty. While a part of her is still pained by the events that happened in the past, she also knew that she no longer cares for them much, not if she has moved on, is engaged to a man who loves her deeply and whom she is desperately in love with, a man who is her own.

"Sere, come and sit with me. We have to talk about this." Silently obliging, the blonde haired lady sat down to her best friend.

"Sere, I am touched you are concerned about my feelings, but you also know that I have moved on and that I no longer hold a grudge against Darien." She stopped for a while to give Serena a chance to reply, but silence continued to reign in the room as the other girl stubbornly kept on looking out of the window.

"Serena, you know I am happy now. I am getting married to the love of my life. Funny that I can say that now, right? But it is true, looking back now I do not think that Darien and I would have worked out anyway. While what he did was not right, it was partially my fault too… I should have told you this sooner, but back then… I knew that he liked you when he asked me out… and I agreed because I was jealous of you and finally had my chance to have what you wanted… You never tried to get his attention, but you got his affection… but I knew… that you kind of liked him too… and that you said no to him because of me… We both know you are not really hurt by the ridicules he made of you about your grades and looks… You are hurt because back then… it looked as if he toyed with you… as if he chose me over you… If anything, you should be angry with me."

Slowly turning back at Raye, Serena looked at her friend emotionlessly and finally answered, "I was never stupid, you know, Raye. I knew you had a hand in this… and yet, I cannot be angry with you… emotions can cloud once judgement… and we were only 17 back then… We were young and stupid… Darien on the other hand was 22 back then and I thought he would have handled rejection better. Besides, if he really lov… liked me back then, he would have persevered and tried again. I just cannot forgive him, Raye… It still hurts… I don't know what he did to me, but I still like him. And yet, I want to but I just cannot let him have another chance… My pride and feelings are on the line…"

Hugging her friend, Raye answered "Sere… If you still like him then give him that chance, otherwise you will be thinking about the 'what if's constantly. Think of it this way, if it doesn't work out, at least you can move on knowing that you two are just not made for each other. I did that and hey, I'm with a hunk who is way better than Darien in every single aspect… even in bed." Finishing off with a wiggle of her eyebrows and a smirk, Raye managed to get the blond smiling again.

Serena stayed quiet for a while and then finally answered "Alright, I'll say yes to the internship, but the moment he screws it up, I am leaving. On top of that, I get to make his life miserable if I wanted to, after all, it is Daddy's law firm"

"That's a good girl. Why miss a good opportunity just because of Darien Shields, aye? Look, if he pisses you off then just irritate him back. Why let him rule your life? Even if he screws up, you are there for the job… He is just mainly an ugly accessory that comes with the entire package. Now go to your room and get dressed for our trip to the mall, while I tell that idiot that you are taking up the internship." And with that Serena smiled, nodded and walked away from the room.

Minutes later Darien returned to the room and heard the news from Raye.

"That is great new! Thank you so much, Raye. I don't know how I can repay you. Name it and you'll have it. "

Raye looked at him seriously and then replied, "Save it. I am not doing this for you, but for her. You hurt her again, Shields, I am going to make you regret it for the rest of your life. Understood?"

He looked at her and answered seriously, "Yes. I will never hurt her again. You know how much I regretted hurting her back then. If I ever hurt her again, I'll deliver myself to you and lay my head down at the chopping board while handing you the cleaver."

Smirking Raye responded, "Well, that sounds interesting. You know… On second thought, I just thought about how you can repay me. How about you start by chauffeuring us to the mall? I am sure the firm will give you leave today."

"The m-m-mall? With you girls? Are you mad, woman? NO"

Fifteen minutes later a grumbling Darien Shields was driving two very pleased girls to the mall.

TO BE CONTINUED

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