A/N: I'm sorry about not posting in a while. I've been having computer issues. :-( But school is over now and I got all A's! I have a busy summer, but I'm going to try hard to get on a regular posting schedule so please bear with me. Enjoy this next chapter and let me know what you think. Hopefully it was worth the wait!

The next day at school Darien met up with his friends in the front courtyard. He mentally prepared himself as much as possible for all the jokes about his dinner at Serena's house last night and hoped it wouldn't be too brutal. "Hey," he said when he arrived.

"Hey yourself," Beryl replied.

"How was your date with Meatball Head last night?" Mina asked.

Darien rolled his eyes. "For the last time, Mina, it wasn't a date. It was just a simple dinner with her and her family."

"So how horrible was it?" Andrew asked.

Darien shrugged. "It wasn't bad. We had lasagna and we just got to know each other better."

"So they didn't make you read the Bible, chant 1000 Hail Marys, pressure you to convert, or sing Kumbayah around the dinner table?"

"No. I mean they prayed over the food, but other than that it was just a normal family dinner."

"They probably just put on the perfect little family act so you wouldn't think badly of them," Rae suggested. "I bet they have all kinds of skeletons in the closet."

"Maybe they actually have a dead body in their closet," Chad added. "Don't Christians make sacrifices to appease God or something?"

"Chad, you watch way too much TV. It was nothing like that. Believe me, I know exactly when to call BS and I didn't get that vibe when I was over there. They're genuinely nice people and I'd appreciate it if you'd stop talking about them like they're monsters."

"Chill out, Darien," Beryl said. "It's not like they're your family."

Darien narrowed his eyes at her. Lately it seemed that she had developed a bad habit of saying the wrong things at the wrong time. "Maybe not, but you wouldn't like it if I started talking crap about your family, would you?"

The question hung in the air just as Serena was about to pass by the group. She smiled when she saw Darien. "Morning, Darien," she said cheerfully.

Darien smiled back at her. He just couldn't help it. "Good morning." She continued walking towards the school as he watched her disappear inside. He turned back to his friends and found them staring with mischievous looks on their faces. "What?"

"Nothing," Rae giggled.

"What?" Darien asked again.

"Dinner, right?" Chad asked. "Did you happen to stay for 'dessert' too?" The group laughed and Darien rolled his eyes. He grabbed his backpack and headed inside just as the warning bell rang. He hated that his friends felt the need to keep implying that he was in love with Serena and wondered how long it would take for them to grow up. He sighed as he headed to his English class.

Darien was about to join his friends at their normal lunch table but when he saw Serena sitting at another table with Amy Anderson and Lita Kingston an idea came to him. He started heading in her direction when Andrew's voice stopped him. "Where are you going?" he asked.

"I'm going to sit with Serena."

"Why? Isn't one meal with her enough?"

"Very funny, but it's for our project. I have to see how she interacts with her friends."

"She has friends?"

Darien rolled his eyes. "I'll catch up with you guys at the Crown after school."

"If this is about this morning…"

"It's not. I'll see you later. And tell Beryl not to come after me." Darien left and continued towards Serena's table. She was laughing with Amy and Lita when he got there. "Hey, Serena. Is it ok if I join you?"

Amy just stared and Lita looked at him suspiciously. "Of course you can," Serena said as she made room for him. Darien took a seat beside her. "Do you know Amy and Lita?"

"Not really."

"Then you're missing out. Amy is literally a genius, but she's also one of the kindest, most caring, and loyal friends you could ever ask for. And she's also a beast on all of the Just Dance games."

"I wouldn't say all that," Amy said shyly. "But I find that dancing is a wonderful stress reliever."

"And Lita is by far the best cook you would ever want to meet. She's always trying new recipes out on us and today she brought some curry. You should try some."

Darien looked at the curry. It smelled delicious and he was dying to try some, but he saw the glare Lita was giving him. "Something wrong?"

"What are you up to?" she asked him. "If this is another sick joke I swear to God…"

"Lita, don't swear," Serena scolded gently. "Darien is a friend and I'd appreciate it if you gave him a chance. Please?"

Lita continued glaring at him for a moment longer. "Ok," she drew out as she put some curry on a paper plate. She handed it to him. "I saw you eyeing it so try some and tell me what you think. It's a new recipe I found on Pinterest."

"Thanks," Darien replied. He took a bite and chewed it slowly. The curry had the right consistency and all the flavors blended perfectly. It was one of the best things he had ever tasted. "This is amazing," he exclaimed as he took another bite.

"Bet you didn't know I could cook so well, huh?"

Darien was surprised that a girl like Lita was so skilled at cooking. He only knew about her based on what Andrew had told him after she transferred to the school last year. He remembered being intimidated by her height when he first saw her and later heard the rumor that she got kicked out of her old school for fighting. He never had any personal encounters with her and only saw her in the hallways, but he noticed that she was always by herself and the other students moved out of her way whenever they saw her coming. At this point he wasn't surprised that Serena had befriended her and brought out her good side. "If I had known I'd be getting a free meal, I wouldn't have bought my lunch today," Darien said as he got more curry. "What else can you cook?"

"Everything," Serena said excitedly. "You name it, she can make it."

"Serena, you're embarrassing me," Lita replied with a laugh. "I can't cook everything… at least not yet. I love baking and lately I've been specializing in Asian cuisine. But one day I'm going to open my own restaurant chain and then take the whole world by storm with a little bit of everything."

"Darien, I hate to ask, but why are you sitting with us today?" Amy finally chimed in.

Darien thought about it. It was a fair question. Sure he told Andrew it was for his and Serena's project, but he knew it went deeper than that. He liked being around Serena not because he had a crush on her or anything because her presence just made him feel better. He'd never admit that out loud, but Amy certainly seemed like the calculating type who could easily figure out his motives. He had only been in one class with Amy since he had transferred to the school a couple of years ago. She was quiet, but she was very intelligent as evidenced by all the A's she received on every single assignment. He heard other students talk about how Amy was stuck up because she knew she had the highest GPA in the whole region and everyone kept their distance without speaking a word to her… everyone except Serena, of course.

"I don't know if you know already," Darien finally said. "but Serena and I are partners for Mr. Peterson's big sociology project and right now we're on a unit where we're exploring each other's environments. We tried to have lunch together yesterday, but we… uh… kind of got interrupted so I thought I'd make it up to her."

"So this is a temporary arrangement until you complete your project," Amy stated.

Darien looked from Amy to Serena who seemed curious about what he was going to say next. "I hope not. She's too good of a friend to lose. I'm sure you know that already."

Amy smiled. "Indeed. I don't know what I would have done if Serena didn't start sitting with me at lunch during freshman year. She's certainly a true friend."

"Definitely," Lita mused as she stared at Darien for a moment. "You know, you remind me a little bit of one of my ex-boyfriends."

"Oh here we go," Serena said as Amy giggled. "You'll have to excuse her, Darien. Lita is a little bit boy crazy."

"I am not…" Lita defended. Darien continued eating amused by the conversation that followed. Serena's friends were certainly one of a kind and he was glad he had the chance to learn more about them. On the surface it wouldn't appear that these three girls had anything in common, but again it just goes to show that he couldn't make quick judgments about anyone without learning their story first. Different people had different things to offer and he was glad he had the opportunity to learn more.

Beryl watched bitterly as Darien took another bite of whatever that Amazon was feeding him while sitting beside that stupid Meatball Head. How dare he order her not to come over there? "You know, if you take a picture it might last longer," Chad said.

Beryl turned and rolled her eyes at him. "If you learned to mind your business you might not get punched in the face."

"Don't threaten him," Rae said defensively. "Just because your ex-boyfriend isn't paying attention to you anymore doesn't mean you can take your frustration out on us."

"You have been staring over there for a long time, Beryl," Mina chimed in. "Give it a rest."

"It just doesn't make sense," Beryl mused as she picked at her lunch.

"There's nothing to worry about," Andrew said. "He's only sitting over there to get more information for his project or something. He probably wouldn't have had to if you didn't butt in yesterday."

"It wasn't a big deal. How was I supposed to know he'd take it so seriously?"

"Because he's Darien and he's known to get mad if you try to screw him over. You of all people should know that." Beryl groaned. "Anyway, he's going to meet us at the Crown later and things will be back to normal."

Beryl sighed. She hated that Darien was slowly but surely moving on and part of it was her fault. She had to think of another strategy if there was ever going to be any hope of getting back on his good side. She tried to remember how succeeded the first time.

It was the first day of sophomore year and Beryl was running behind because she forgot her textbook in her locker. She wasn't in a terrible hurry because she was sure she would have no problem coming up with an excuse since her father was a prominent part of the school board. She turned a corner and saw Dean "Diamond" Blackmoon, his brother Samuel "Sapphire" Blackmoon, and their cousin Ruben Carson surrounding the new guy she and the girls saw earlier. The new guy was one of the most gorgeous guys she had ever laid eyes on and even though most girls had already gone over the top trying to make their presence known to him Beryl was determined to make him notice her first. She marched towards Diamond and Ruben who were now shoving the new guy around while Sapphire watched worriedly.

"What's the matter?" Diamond taunted. "Can't fight back or something?"

"He's probably scared senseless," Ruben responded before shoving him again. "What are you gonna do?"

"Come on guys," Sapphire said as the warning bell rang. "You can't get in a fight on the first day of school."

"Don't be such a wimp, little bro," Diamond said. "We just need to teach New Guy how things work around here." He shoved him again. "Come on! Fight back!" The new guy clenched his fists and looked like he was finally about to retaliate until Beryl cut in.

"Get lost, morons!" she yelled at them. They turned to face her and just stared. "What's the matter? Don't you understand English? I said get lost!"

Sapphire immediately ran away, Ruben rolled his eyes, and Diamond merely smirked. "I love it when you take charge like that. It's sexy."

"And I love it when you keep your mouth shut. Try your lines on someone stupid enough to fall for them." Diamond sighed and left with Ruben while Beryl shook her head. "Imbeciles," she muttered. She turned to face the new guy. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," he said as he closed his locker. "Thanks." He started walking away from her and she caught up with him.

"Where are you headed?"

"English, room 127. I appreciate you getting those losers off my back, but I'm fully capable of taking care of myself."

"So is that why you're going towards the History wing?" He stopped and frowned while Beryl smiled. "It's ok. It's easy to get confused in a big school like this. I can show you a shortcut if you follow me. I'm headed to English too."

He sighed and started following her. "Fine."

"So what's your name anyway?"

"Darien. You?"

"Beryl. Are you new to the area or did you just transfer schools?"

"Both."

Beryl sighed. Not much of a conversationalist I see. "This breezeway takes you directly to the English wing. Just remember the lockers in the History wing are green and the lockers in the English wing are orange. On the second floor, the lockers in the Math wing are blue and the lockers in the Science wing are red. The cafeteria is towards the principal's and nurse's offices and the gym is in the back of the school."

"That should be easy to remember." The final bell rang. "Crap, we're late."

"It'll be ok. It's the first day of school and Ms. H. won't care." Beryl entered the classroom with Darien following close behind.

"Ms. Stone, you're late!" Ms. H. complained. "You know I don't tolerate tardiness."

"I know that and I'm sorry," Beryl replied. "But I was helping one of our new classmates find his way around here."

Ms. H.'s face softened. "Oh," she said as she noticed Darien for the first time. She looked at her attendance sheet then back up at him. "Are you Mr. Shields?"

"Yes, ma'am," Darien replied.

"Well I'm glad Ms. Stone helped you 'find your way,' but next time you're late you'll have detention. Both of you may find a seat."

Beryl looked around and noticed that the only open seats available were in the back; one in the corner behind a guy and one beside the corner seat near a few girls who were motioning for Darien to sit there. "You can have the corner seat if you want," she said to Darien.

"Thanks," he said as he sat down.

Beryl sat at the desk beside him near the girls who were still staring at Darien. She could see the annoyed look on Darien's face and she was annoyed that the other girls were trying to get his attention when she saw him first. "If you take a picture it might last longer," she said to the girls. "It's not like you haven't seen a boy before so stop staring at him like he's a piece of meat!" The girls frowned and did as they were told. Darien looked up at her and smiled appreciatively. She could have died after seeing him smile for the first time, but she opted to smile back instead. This would be easier than she thought.

It turned out that Beryl had most of her classes with Darien and after helping him adjust to the school quickly they became good friends. Her only regret was introducing him to Rae because they eventually developed a mutual attraction to one another. Darien ended up taking her on a few dates and Beryl didn't like it, but she did her best to stay out of the way while innocently encouraging Chad not to give up his crush on Rae. She, however, was almost ready to give up on Darien until junior year when he came knocking on her door. She was surprised to see him standing there when she answered. "Darien," she said calmly. "What are you doing here?"

Darien came inside with his shoulders slumped and sighed as he took a seat on her couch in her den. He had been to her house plenty of times over the course of the last year and their homework sessions turned into meaningful conversations getting to know each other better. It was there he confessed he had a crush on Rae and asked for her help and soon after that the visits slowly decreased, but Beryl always said he could come to her whenever he needed something. She was glad he still felt comfortable enough to make himself at home like old times. "She dumped me," he said sadly as Beryl took a seat beside him. "I mean, I know we weren't officially dating, but you may as well say that's what happened."

Inside Beryl was rejoicing, but on the outside she expressed concern. "What happened? I thought things were going so well for you two."

"It was! At least I thought it was. I took Rae out plenty of times and I thought she was enjoying herself. We talked and laughed together and we found out we have so much in common. I thought she was the perfect girl for me, but today she basically told me it was over. Apparently Chad was inspired to write a song for her and after she heard it she realized he was the one for her." He sighed. "The sad thing is the more I think about it, the more I can see that she's right. He's funnier, more creative, bolder, more open… everything she needs and everything I'm not." He laughed nervously. "I'm pretty pathetic, huh?"

"Not at all," Beryl said as she inched closer to him. She placed a hand on his back near his shoulder and started rubbing motions. "A little misguided, but definitely not pathetic. So what if you're not like Chad and you're not a good fit for Rae. You're still you... intelligent, mysterious, strong… handsome…" She paused for a moment and took in his beautiful features. The way his face was so perfectly structured. The way his dark hair fell messily in his face. The way his cobalt eyes were finally focused on her. "You might not be the right fit for her, but you're the perfect fit for another girl. Maybe a girl who's been in front of you this whole time."

"Maybe you're right," he said quietly as his eyes moved from her eyes to her lips. Beryl's heart began to race as Darien closed the gap between them and gave her a soft kiss. She closed her eyes and started to respond until he suddenly pulled away. "Oh my God, Beryl, I'm sorry," he said quickly. "I just got caught in the moment a-a-and…"

Beryl silenced him by placing a finger on his lips. "I didn't mind," she said with a smile before she leaned in and gave him another kiss. He was tense at first, but he eventually relaxed as he responded to her by falling back on the sofa and deepening the kiss. He caressed her face and hair while she continued kissing him as she played with the back of his hair. She never wanted the moment to end, but she had to before things got out of hand. She pulled away and rested her forehead on his.

"You've always been there, haven't you?" Darien asked gently as he sat up and let her rest her head on his chest.

Beryl smiled as he protectively wrapped an arm around her and continued playing with her hair. She closed her eyes and listened to his racing heartbeat. "I'll always be there for you as long as you let me."

Darien was always sweet and gentle with her ever since that moment they shared their first kiss and later became an official couple. She was always protective of him and even though she didn't manage to get him in bed with her, she did treasure the moments they had together. Perhaps she was a bit too protective of him, but it was only because she loved him and desired so badly for him to love her the way she loved him. It hurt when he pushed her away whenever she made any sexual advances towards him and eventually she had enough when he finally started pushing her away anytime she tried to show him affection. She only wanted to hurt him for a moment when she set it up for him to "catch" her kissing Diamond, but it backfired big time because the trust he built with her was now broken. And now it had come to this. Darien seemed to be showing love and attention to another girl. The worst part was that it wasn't just any girl, but it was one of the strangest people in the entire school he somehow seemed to share a bond with. Beryl hated it, but she wasn't going to give up so easily this time around. She was going to do whatever it took to finally win him back.

To be continued... thanks in advance for all the reviews/follows/favorites!