A/N: I've been sick, but I managed to get this next chapter done. Thanks again to all my faithful readers and for all the favorites/follows/reviews. Enjoy!

A week later, Serena and Darien were at Darien's locker after the final bell rang. "Are you sure you know what you're getting yourself into?" Darien asked as he closed his locker.

"Not really," Serena replied with a laugh. "But I still wanna try. You teaching me karate is something unique and it gives me a chance to interact with you in your home environment since you got to interact in mine."

"Fair enough. I'm warning you, though, karate isn't as easy as it looks. It's hard work. Do you have everything you need?"

Serena nodded before they walked out of the school together. "I'm ready for the challenge," she continued. "It'll really put me in your shoes and it'll also give me an idea of what's going on during your black belt tournament next week."

They were about to pass the Crown and Darien stopped for a moment. "Do you like smoothies?" he asked her.

"I do. A strawberry banana smoothie actually sounds really good right about now."

Darien opened the door for her and followed her inside. "I know we just had lunch a little while ago, but all the vitamins and nutrients from the smoothies will give our bodies the energy we need to exercise properly," he explained while they waited in line.

Serena nodded. "Fine with me. See? I'm learning something already."

Darien smiled at her as they finally got to the front of the line. "Two strawberry banana smoothies, please," he said to the attendant.

"$5.47 please," the attendant replied.

Serena started digging through her purse to find her wallet, but by the time she pulled it out Darien had already paid. "Here," she said holding out a couple of dollars to him.

"Don't worry about it. You've done so much for me the least I can do is buy you a smoothie." The attendant handed Darien the smoothies before he handed one to Serena. "Ready?"

Serena nodded. "Thank you for this. I'll repay you somehow."

Darien rolled his eyes dramatically and sighed causing Serena to giggle as they began walking out of the Crown. "What part of 'don't worry about it' don't you understand?" He held the door open for her and followed her outside. "Isn't worrying a sin or something?"

"Well, the Bible doesn't necessarily say 'worrying is a sin,' but one verse says 'do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer…" She was cut off when she accidentally bumped into someone. "I'm sorry," she said apologetically. "Oh, hi Beryl."

Beryl looked Serena up and down condescendingly with Darien's other friends standing behind her looking on with annoyance. "You better be sorry, Fruitcake."

"Serena and I were just leaving so if you'll excuse us we'll be on our way," Darien said trying to lead Serena past her.

"Oh come on, Dar," Andrew said. "Can't you hang with us for a little bit?"

"Can't. We have work to do for our project."

"With smoothies?" Rae asked. "You spend enough time with her as it is. Just ditch her and come hang with your real friends for once."

"It's obvious they're going on a date," Mina suggested. "I think it's cute."

"I ship it," Chad added. "Of course we all know Darien's into kinky freaky stuff anyway so it's totally cool with me." The group laughed as Serena frowned and Darien rolled his eyes.

"Enough is enough," Beryl said. "Let's just leave them alone and let them get to their little project." The group went inside the Crown, but Beryl stayed behind and whispered something to Serena. "God doesn't like ugly." She smiled at her innocently before joining the rest of her friends.

Darien eyed Beryl suspiciously as she went inside then looked to Serena. Her body language immediately told him something happened. "What'd she say to you?"

"It's not important," she said quietly.

He sighed deeply. "I'm really sorry about them."

"You don't have to apologize for them, Darien. I'm used to it by now."

"But it's not right. I'm gonna give them a piece of my mind." He started to go back inside, but Serena stopped him.

"Darien, relax," Serena said gently touched his arm. "It's not worth it. I don't want your relationship with your friends to be broken because of me. Let's just put this behind us and focus on what's ahead, ok?"

Darien closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Ok," he finally said. They continued walking to his apartment and made small talk as they finished their smoothies. Darien certainly liked being around Serena and even though it cost him time with his other friends he liked that her presence had such a positive calming effect on him. Soon enough they arrived at Darien's apartment complex. "I have to check in first," he explained. They walked to an office on the first floor where the door was already open. Darien knocked on the door getting the woman with the long dark hair's attention. "Trista, I'm home," he said to her. "I brought a friend with me, Serena my sociology partner. We'll be working on our project."

"It's nice to meet you, Serena. Darien, you know you don't have to introduce your friends to me. You know the rules and I trust you."

"I know, but I just didn't want you to be surprised."

Trista smiled. "Just don't make too much noise, ok?"

"Yes, ma'am." He led Serena up the stairs into his apartment. "Make yourself at home," he said as he set his things down and closed the door. "Is there anything you need?"

Serena shook her head as she set her things beside Darien's. "Not right now. Trista seems nice."

"Yeah, she's cool. She's kind of like the landlord representing social services/house mother and basically makes sure we're doing what we're supposed to. I like her because even though she's serious about her job she doesn't hold her power over our heads and actually treats us like adults. I'm gonna go ahead and change into my workout clothes. You can change in the bathroom which is the first door on the left. I'll meet you in the den."

Serena watched him go to the back of the apartment and decided to change clothes too. After changing into some gym shorts and one of her old church t-shirts, she went back into the den and admired her surroundings. Darien didn't have many decorations and everything was neat and simple. It was a nice little place for him, but she couldn't help feeling sorry that he lived all by himself. She noticed an acoustic guitar sitting in the corner of the den and smiled as she remembered being surprised when he told her that he played. She went over to get a closer look and found hand written sheet music lying on top of some music books. "Wow," she said to herself as she picked them up.

"I could give you some lessons if you want," Darien said from across the room startling her.

Serena looked up and had to stop herself from staring at Darien. He was dressed in gym shorts and a tank top that showed off plenty of muscles she didn't realize he had. "Maybe another day," she said as she looked down and focused on tying her hair in a ponytail while looking at the music in her lap. "I didn't know you wrote your own music too."

Darien shrugged. "It's just something to do." He handed her a large bottle of water and a towel. "Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'm gonna be." She followed him into another room that had nothing but a small amount of exercise equipment in it. "Is this your personal gym?"

"Something like that," he said as he set two pillows on the middle of the floor. "It's an extra bedroom, but I decided to make better use of the room since I live alone."

"So what's first? Do we bow to each other like they do in the movies?"

Darien smiled and shook his head. "It's not quite like the movies," he explained. "It's more like a workout at the gym except with less equipment and more work with your body. I usually spend about an hour and a half practicing, but I'll go easy on you since this is your first lesson. We'll meditate, warm up, stretch, and then I'll teach you some basic punching, kicking, and blocking techniques. As soon as you take your shoes off, we can get started." Serena followed his directions while he set two large pillows and a radio in the middle of the room. She met him in the middle and waited for more instructions. "We can bow if it'll help you get in the spirit." Serena smiled as they stood face to face. She and Darien clasped their hands together and overdramatically bowed to each other. Darien laughed. "Meditation will actually help us get in the zone. Go ahead and sit on one of those pillows."

Serena sat on one of the pillows and watched Darien do the same. "Do I have to sit with my legs crossed?"

"Not necessarily," Darien explained as he positioned himself on his own pillow. "As long as you're sitting in a comfortable position where you can keep your back straight for about 5 minutes, you'll be fine. Have you ever meditated before?"

Serena shook her head no as she got in a comfortable position and made sure to straighten her back. "Is this ok?"

"That's perfect," he said to her. "Meditation is just a process used to clear your mind of all distractions. All you have to do is close your eyes and focus on taking deep steady breaths. While your eyes are closed, picture all of your thoughts evaporating into thin air. I like to use soft music to create a tranquil mood. Once the song ends we'll be done."

"That sounds easy enough," Serena said as she closed her eyes and began breathing slowly.

"Just relax," Darien said softly. He turned on the music and closed his eyes getting in his own restful position. The room was filled with silence aside from the soft background music as he and Serena sat there relaxing their minds and letting go of all the stresses of the day. It was a very peaceful time and 5 minutes passed quickly before the music finally stopped as Darien opened his eyes again. Serena was still sitting there in the same restful pose looking very much at peace. "Serena," he called gently.

Serena opened her eyes and looked at him. "I didn't even realize the music went off. I feel completely calm."

"The best thing is that you can do it anytime you want." They stood up together before he kicked the pillows aside and moved the radio out of the way. "Now we're going to warm up by running in place for about 5 minutes then doing about 5 minutes of pushups and sit ups."

"Please don't judge me," Serena said as they began running in place. "I haven't really worked out since my last semester of PE in 10th grade."

"I wouldn't have known if you didn't say anything. You look like you're in great shape."

Serena smiled. Hopefully running in place would make her cheeks red enough to hide the blush forming on her face and Darien wouldn't be able to tell the difference. "So how long have you been doing karate again?"

"3 years. I started when I started high school."

"What made you interested?"

Darien laughed to himself. "Don't laugh at me, but the Karate Kid movies inspired me when I was little. Since no one was really fighting for me I decided when I got older I would learn how to fight for myself. It's actually a really good stress reliever and it keeps me relaxed."

"I can see how, with the meditation and everything." Serena stopped running when Darien did and placed her hands on her hips to rest for a moment. "I'm glad you found a healthy outlet instead of letting everything build up inside."

Darien nodded as he placed his hands on his hips too. "I guess I was determined to rise above and be the best I could be despite everything else going on around me." They rested for a little bit longer before he sat on the floor. "I usually do about 20 reps of pushups and sit ups to finish warming up."

Serena sighed as she joined him on the floor. "This is more intense than I thought."

"You don't have to do as many as me if you think it'll be too much for you. I can always slow down too."

Serena shook her head. "Don't slow down because of me. I'll just pace myself while you do your normal set." She positioned herself to do her pushups.

"Well take your time," Darien instructed as he positioned himself. "I don't want you to hurt yourself."

Serena nodded and started her pushups. She took her time like Darien instructed, but she couldn't help feeling slightly intimidated as she watched him go twice the speed she was. They finished pushups around the same time even though Darien had obviously done much more than 20 and repeated the same process with the sit ups. As soon as Serena finished her last sit up, she laid down with her back on the floor. "Whew," she said breathlessly.

"Are you ok?" Darien asked as he sat up.

Serena closed her eyes and nodded. "I'm just resting for a moment."

Darien got up and returned with their waters. "Don't forget to stay hydrated," he said as he handed her the bottle.

"Thank you." Serena sat up and drank some of her water. "What's next?"

"Now we stretch," he replied as he set his water down. He started stretching his arms and Serena followed suit.

"Is there a reason we didn't stretch before warming up?"

"Warming up activates your muscles," Darien explained. "It's not a good idea to stretch before you warm up because that's when your muscles are still cold and least receptive to what stretching actually does for your body. Make sure you stretch your legs." Serena obeyed and Darien eventually showed her some stretches she wasn't quite familiar with that stretched other muscles she never thought about. "Now we can get into the karate moves."

"Great. Where do I start?"

"Well first you have to get familiar with your fighting stance. Stand with your legs shoulder width apart and your feet facing outward like this." Darien demonstrated and Serena followed suit. "Now raise your fists like you're ready to fight." Serena did as she was told. He came over and slightly repositioned her so she was more balanced. "Perfect. Now you have your resting stance. Remember that." Darien patiently taught Serena all the basic punching, kicking, and blocking techniques the same way his karate instructor taught him. He helped her form and allowed her to practice her moves on a dummy instructing her how to improve before trading places and showing her step by step how he did it. They worked on those moves for about half an hour before they took another break. "You're doing a great job for your first time," he said before wiping his face with a towel. "You catch on quick."

Serena smiled tiredly. "I didn't watch the Karate Kid movies, but I did watch a lot of Sailor Moon." She took a long drink of water. "You're a great teacher."

Darien drank some water too. "I do what I can. How are you feeling? Did I overwork you?"

Serena shook her head. "I'm fine. This is a great workout. What's next?"

"Sparring is too dangerous, but if you're up to it you can practice your punches, kicks, and blocking on me since the dummy can't really move."

Serena frowned. "But I don't want to hurt you."

Darien smiled at her innocence. "You won't because I'll have these shields on." He picked up the arm shields and strapped them on. "And I know other blocking techniques so I'm ready for anything."

"Ok," Serena said as she stood again. "I also want to see you practice for your black belt so I know what a true karate master looks like."

"Fair enough." They moved to the middle of the room. Darien stood a few feet in front of her and instructed her to get in her fighting stance before she started the punches and kicks he taught her. He moved around a bit as she followed and continued her moves. He continually gave her tips so she improved her form and she seemed to take everything on naturally. They continued for about 15 minutes before Serena finally slowed down clearly exhausted. "Good job," he said proudly before taking off the shields. He followed her to the wall where their towels and waters were. "With a little more training you'd definitely be able to get your first belt."

Serena dabbed her face and neck with her towel before smiling at him. "Thank you," she said before drinking more water. She slid to the floor and took a seat.

"Do some of those stretches we did earlier to cool down," he instructed. "Especially your legs."

Serena nodded and did what she was told. "So can you show me some of your black belt moves now so I know what I have to live up to?"

"As long as you keep stretching for at least 5 minutes and keep drinking water." Serena continued stretching while she watched Darien go back to the center of the room to begin practicing. He started by practicing some advanced kicks and punches on the dummy from earlier progressively going faster and faster. He eventually stopped and moved on to do various patterns of kicks and punches into thin air. Everything he showed her was certainly impressive and she expected no less because she knew that once Darien set his mind to do something he was going to work hard to get the job done. She saw him in a new light and appreciated him even more. "Are you sure you aren't a ninja?" she asked when he stopped.

Darien smiled tiredly as he rested his hands on his hips. "I'm working on it."

"Take a break. I know you know what you're doing, but I don't want you to overwork yourself."

He walked towards her and grabbed his towel. "Don't worry," he said breathlessly as he took a seat beside her. He wiped his face and breathed deeply. "I'm done for the day."

She handed him his water bottle. "I don't know exactly what it takes to get a black belt, but you certainly have my vote."

"Thanks," he said before taking a drink. "Do you need to shower or anything?"

"I'm fine. It looks like you're the one who could use a shower." She checked the time. "I need to get going soon."

"You don't have to feel pressured to leave. You're not bothering me."

Serena smiled. "That's really sweet and I'd love to stay, but I have church tonight. I need to get home so I can get the rest of my other homework done."

"Right… I forgot you have church on Wednesday nights." He stood up and offered a hand to help her stand up as well. "I'm gonna go wash up real quick."

"Good," Serena said as she covered her nose. "You stink."

Darien rolled his eyes. "I'll be back. Don't leave without telling me." He headed to his bedroom and did a few cool down stretches before he started a quick wash up in the shower. His muscles ached a little bit and he wondered if he overdid his exercises today. He smirked as he turned on the shower. He wondered how much overdoing his karate moves was legitimate practice for his black belt test and how much was trying to show off to impress Serena. Why was he suddenly so interested in what she thought about him? He knew the answer deep in his heart, but he still didn't want to admit it. His opinion of Serena had changed drastically in the last few weeks; she went from the Meatball Headed Jesus freak to the sweetest most genuine friend he ever had. Darien shook his head at his thought process. There was so much more to her than he originally thought and he was glad he had the chance to get closer to her. He got out of the shower and got dressed in some fresh sweat pants and a t-shirt before going back out to meet Serena. He found her in the den looking at his music in the clothes she wore to school. "Do you need a ride home?" he asked her.

Serena put the music back where she found it and faced him. "I can walk. My house isn't that far from here."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive." She picked up her things and headed to the door with Darien following close behind. "You know, you're welcome to come to church with me if you want to."

He sighed and seriously considered it for a moment. "Maybe another time," he finally said. "I'm behind on some of my AP homework and I need to catch up."

"That's fine," she said with a smile. "Just remember that the invitation is always open. Thanks for having me over." She gave him a hug. "I had fun."

Darien smiled and opened the door for her. "Thanks for coming. See you tomorrow."

Darien was finishing the last of his homework and was interrupted by a knock at the door. He got up and opened the door surprised to see Andrew standing there. "Hey, what are you doing here?" he asked.

"I texted you and told you I was coming over," he answered as he let himself in.

Darien closed the door behind him. "Oh. My phone has been in my room. I guess I didn't hear it."

"What have you been up to all afternoon?" he asked as he took a seat on the couch.

Darien took a seat on the other end of the couch. "Serena came over so we could work on our project. She left around 4 so I've been trying to catch up on my AP homework with a short dinner break in between."

Andrew crossed his arms. "What? You're only 2 chapters ahead instead of 4?"

"I'm actually on the chapter we're studying in class. Where's Mina?"

"If you read your text messages like a normal person you'd know that she's out shopping with Rae and Beryl, hence why I'm over here. Chad's working."

"Ooh hence," Darien said with a smirk. "Glad to see you catching up on your vocabulary." Andrew just stuck his tongue out at him. "What do you want anyway, Drew? You never barge in like this unless you need something."

"Well a) I'm bored. And b) I just wanted to check on you. You spend so much time with Meatball Head…"

"Serena," Darien corrected. "Her name is Serena."

Andrew rolled his eyes. "You keep defending her and you blow us off to spend more time with her. What's gives?"

"We're just friends," Darien said calmly.

"That's what I don't understand. I thought you of all people would keep your distance from Jesus freaks like her."

"There's much more to her than that. Her beliefs are a part of her and everyone has their quirks, but it just so happened that this project forced me to look beyond her quirks and appreciate who she is as a person."

"Well you shouldn't ditch us all the time in the process of 'appreciating' her. Remember who your real friends are."

Darien rolled his eyes. "My real friends wouldn't be so critical of how I spend my time with another friend. They wouldn't be so judgmental either."

Andrew sighed agitatedly. "Well what makes her so special that you feel the need to cut us off?"

"I don't mean to. I kinda have to hang around her because it's such a lengthy project…"

"Don't give me the 'it's part of the project' crap. I know you have to spend a certain amount of time with her to work on it and that's fine, but it's become a bit excessive."

"It's not like I ever prevented any of you from joining us. The table at lunch is always open."

He scoffed. "It'll be a cold day in hell before I eat a meal with her. I'd prefer to skip her sermons, thank you very much."

"See that's the problem," Darien said in annoyance. "You all have given me nothing but grief ever since you found out she was my partner and you do nothing but insult her and judge her every time you see her. She's become a good friend and I hate it when you keep treating her like crap." He sighed. "I'm just tired, man. I'm tired of the fakeness. I'm tired of the games. And I'm just tired of the way people judge each other without even taking a chance to get to know the truth. There's no pretending around Serena and it's nice to be around someone who isn't worried about the stupid petty things."

Andrew smirked. "You like her, don't you?"

"I don't know yet," he said automatically. His eyes widened. "Oh, God. Drew, I swear if you tell anyone…"

"I know, I know. I won't tell." He raised two fingers together. "Scouts' honor."

He sighed. "You must think I'm crazy."

"Well I wasn't gonna say anything, but…" He dodged a pillow Darien threw at him. "In all honesty I get it, but it still blows my mind since you two are SO different. You two seem to have this great connection now and I guess I just miss my best friend."

"I miss you too, man. I'll hang out with you, but I'm not gonna stay and listen to you and everyone else constantly put Serena down."

"Let's just start over again. After you dominate and go all Mortal Kombat on your instructor for your black belt, we can all hang out and celebrate… just like old times."

Darien smiled. "I'd like that, but it's only fair to warn you that Serena is coming too. It's a trade-off for our project since I'm going to that thing at her church on Saturday night."

Andrew smirked. "I see what you're doing. Trying to show off for your lady…" This time Darien hit Andrew in the face with a pillow. "Ok. It's cool with me, but I can't guarantee that the others will like it."

"I'm only asking you to take responsibility for yourself and to make an effort to get along with her… for my sake. I'll tell everyone else to do the same."

"I'll try, but you have to promise to spend some more time with us too."

Darien thought for a moment. "How about if I spend the afternoons with you guys and then spend the evenings with Serena. I can even bug you in the Crown when you have to work." He nudged him in the arm.

Andrew smiled. "Sounds like a deal. One more thing…"

"Yes you can stay for dinner," Darien said with a mock eye roll. "You know where everything is." He watched with amusement as Andrew raided his kitchen like a madman and scrounged up extra food from his refrigerator. He was thankful to have a friend like Andrew around. At first he wasn't sure if they'd get along, but ever since they worked on a biology project together in 10th grade and discovering a common interest in science and medicine they were able to bond like brothers. It would be nice if Andrew and the others would eventually be able to get along with Serena in a similar way.

To be continued...