A/N: It's been forever, but I found some time to another chapter. I'm so close to finishing this story and I intend to do it although it may take me a while because I'm an adult with lots of responsibilities. Hope you enjoy this next chapter!

Chapter 18

Three weeks passed and prom season was in full swing. Every day it seemed like more and more classes were being interrupted by extravagant "prom-posals." Last week Rae was alive with excitement as she told everyone how Chad took her on a picnic and serenaded her with a song before asking her to go to prom. On Monday Serena walked into her study block classroom and found a girl squealing with delight as she stood at her desk decked out with balloons and a bouquet of flowers reading a card with the word "prom" written on the outside of it. It was now Friday and Serena was currently sitting at the lunch table with all of her friends except for Darien. He had walked her to school in the morning and left quickly because he had to talk to his teacher about an assignment. After getting out of study block she got a text from him saying he'd be late for lunch and would meet up with her later. It was odd, but she didn't think much of it.

Mina was in the middle of telling Amy and Lita the story about how Andrew hijacked volleyball practice yesterday to ask her to prom. Serena wasn't really listening because she already heard the story before school this morning. It was a sweet gesture, but there was a part of Serena that was a little discouraged because prom was next week and Darien still hadn't asked her to go yet. She didn't expect him to do a "prom-posal" like everyone else because that just wasn't his style, but it still would have been nice if he at least acknowledged it. In fact, it seemed that every time someone mentioned prom Darien would either not contribute to the conversation or change the subject all together. She'd have to talk to him about it later but now she had other things to focus on.

"It was so amazing," Mina was saying. "He really made me fall in love with him all over again."

"That's really sweet," Amy said.

"Bleh," Lita said playfully. "It's so sweet it's giving me cavities."

Mina stuck her tongue out at her. "Oh, we all know you're a secret romantic, Lita."

"Yeah," Rae added. "I'm sure someone already asked you to prom and you're just keeping it a secret so you can surprise everyone."

Lita shifted for a moment. "I'm actually not going."

"What?! Why not?"

"I'm supposed to be going out of town to be visit a friend that weekend, but it's still up in the air."

"Aww, it won't be the same without you," Chad said.

"If things don't work out we'll have space for you," Serena said warmly. Unbeknownst to Lita, Serena had a special surprise planned that involved said friend and she was confident Lita would make it to prom after all. The thought brought a smile to her face.

"What are you smiling about?" Mina asked.

"I'm just thinking about how special prom will be."

Mina gasped. "Did Darien finally ask you to go?"

"Well no, but it's not a big deal."

"What's not a big deal?" Darien asked as he joined them at the table. He gave Serena a quick kiss on the cheek. "Hey guys."

"Prom," Serena answered.

"Oh, yeah," he replied dryly. "So what's for lunch today?"

"Taco salad," Lita replied as she handed him a plate.

"It's very good," Amy commented as she took another chip.

"Hey Amy," a male voice said above them. The group looked up and saw Greg Johnson standing over them with eyes on Amy. "I forgot to return your Calculus book." He handed her the book.

Amy smiled. "Thank you, Greg. I'll see you later."

"Yeah," he replied. He waved and walked away.

Mina looked at Amy sharply. "What was that?"

"What was what?"

"He SO likes you! He totally singled you out and went out of his way to give that book back to you."

"Yeah, he doesn't even have lunch during this period. What gives?" Andrew asked.

"Gregory and I are old friends," Amy explained. "I'm so glad he brought this to me because I surely would have been in trouble next period."

"Mmhmm," Mina said. Amy opened the book and giggled to herself. "What?"

"Gregory left a note for me," she replied as she showed it to them.

Everyone looked at it confusedly. There was a note above two graphs with a bunch of math problems underneath that said Amy, could you please complete these with a red pen? Don't forget to connect the dots. Thanks, Greg. "It just looks like Calculus homework," Chad deadpanned.

"Don't you see? All these problems correspond with the two graphs." Amy looked at it carefully then smiled. "If I do these correctly, there should be two pictures." She put the paper in the middle of the table and took out a red pen and a calculator. She began work on the first graph and entered the equation into the calculator. She smiled when the answer appeared and drew a red heart on the first graph. She started working on the equations under the second graph and placed dots on the graph as she completed each problem. When she finished she connected the dots in order and smiled as the word prom appeared.

"Aww," Mina, Lita, and Rae cooed.

"Clever," Andrew said. He smiled at Mina. "Looks like my Love Goddess called it again," he added before nudging her.

Mina held up two fingers in a V shape. "V for victory. I'm always on point!" Serena sighed as the bell rang signaling that lunch was over.

Darien and Serena said goodbye to their friends and started walking to their Sociology class hand in hand. He noticed how quiet Serena was and squeezed her hand as they entered the classroom. "What's wrong?" he asked.

Serena shook her head as she took her seat. "It's nothing," she said. "I'm just a little tired of all the prom talk. It's all anyone talks about anymore and it's kind of exhausting."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. Asking someone to go to prom with you has become too much of a competition for anyone to really appreciate it. Makes me not wanna even be a part of it."

"Yeah…" Serena sighed as she got her books out.

Darien watched her for a moment. "Come on, Serena," he chided. "What's going on?"

"Nothing," Serena replied as the bell rang. "We'll talk later."

After the final bell rang, Darien packed his things quickly and hurried towards the door leaving Serena confused. He came back and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "I'm sorry. I have work to do and I can't be late today," he explained quickly. "I left a note in your locker explaining everything. We'll talk later." He waved and hurried out of the classroom.

Serena was puzzled by his behavior and still felt a bit disappointed about what he said about not wanting to be part of prom. Clearly he didn't want to go and she shouldn't have assumed that he did just because they were dating. She headed to her locker and found Mina already standing there. "Hey Mina. Where's Andrew?"

"He said he had to go straight to work after school today. He seemed to be in a hurry more so than usual. Where's Darien?"

"He left in a hurry and said he had work to do. He wouldn't even tell me where he was going, but apparently there's a note in my locker that will explain everything."

"Oh really?" Mina asked pointedly. "That doesn't seem like something Darien would do."

"That's what I thought," Serena said as she opened her locker. When she opened it the first thing she saw was a perfect white rose sitting on the top shelf. She picked it up and found it attached to a little envelope with her name printed on it in recognizable handwriting. She opened the envelope and found a note written in the same handwriting. Serena, I'm sorry I had to leave in such a hurry, but I hope this makes up for it. And I apologize in advance for the silly rhymes. :-P I hope this doesn't seem lame, but humor me and play this game. Finding the first clue will begin, my sweet, when you go to the place we love to eat.

"Anything interesting there?" Mina said from over her shoulder. "Ooh, a white rose."

Serena smiled at Mina. "Apparently Darien is making me play some kind of game and my first clue is somewhere where we love to eat."

"Wonder where that could be? I'd come with, but I have to meet up with my mom." She held up a peace sign. "Enjoy the hunt."

Serena closed her locker and took the rose and note with her as she left the school. She saw Sammy sitting with Mika on a bench out front and stopped to talk to him. "I'm going to the Crown. Do you guys wanna come with me?"

"No thanks," Sammy said. "Mika and I are headed straight home to hang with mom and dad. We'll see you later." He stood with Mika and held her hand as they started walking away.

Serena headed to the Crown and found Andrew meticulously wiping the counter. She headed over there and took a seat in front of him. "Hey, Andrew," she said.

"Hey, Serena," he replied. "Darien wanted me to give this to you." He took a strawberry banana smoothie out of the mini fridge under the counter and placed it in front of her. "He already paid for it so it's on the house. He also wanted me to give this to you." He pulled out a yellow rose attached to another envelope. "Can't imagine what it could be," he said with a wink.

Serena placed the rose with her other one and opened the note. You've had your treat and have been fed, now find the next clue where you lay your head.

Serena smiled and stood up. "Thanks for the smoothie, Andrew."

"Aww, leaving already?"

"Yeah, I have something waiting for me at home. Can't imagine what it could be." Serena smiled mischievously at him.

"I'm sure it's something special."

"Like you don't already know exactly what it is." Serena waved at him. "See you later." She hurried out of the arcade and headed home. When she got in she found Sammy and Mika sitting in the kitchen with her parents. "Hey," she greeted.

"You're home early," Irene commented.

"Where's Darien?" Ken asked.

"Apparently he had to leave school in a rush to get some work done," Serena explained. "Would any of you happen to know anything about that?"

Ken and Irene shrugged at the same time. "You may wanna check your bedroom, sis," Sammy said. "He gave me something to specifically leave on your pillow."

Serena went upstairs to her bedroom and found a pink rose on top of an envelope on her pillow. She smiled as she opened the envelope and read the note. Roses are red and remind me of you: delicate, beautiful, and blooming into view. Your next clue will be where we go to use our mind, and adore the beauty of the roses left behind (Bring your roses with you).

Serena thought for a moment then smiled because she knew exactly where to go. She hurried downstairs, said a quick goodbye to her family, and headed to the park. When she got to the alcove in the park she stopped at the entrance and smiled when she saw Darien sitting on the bench with his back to the entrance as he waited for her. She thought about how perfect it was because the rose garden, a place she found on accident, had now become their spot. The place where they prayed together, the place they went when they needed a break from everyone else to think, the place where they even had their first date. Serena finally approached him and made her presence known.

When he heard footsteps Darien turned around and smiled as he stood to greet her. "It's about time you got here," Darien said cheekily. Serena ran into his arms and hugged him as he laughed. She felt the rumble in his chest and it made her happy to be reminded that she brought joy to him. When they pulled apart Darien presented a red rose to her. "For you, my lady."

Serena smelled all of her roses together and sighed. "Thank you, Darien. I love my roses."

Darien waited for a moment. "You still haven't figured it out yet, have you?"

"All the clues led me to you. Wasn't that the point?"

"I'm flattered you think I'm the grand prize, but you should take a closer look at your roses especially the petals."

Serena did what she was told and looked at her roses carefully. She looked at the pink rose and noticed a letter on one of the petals. O. She looked at the other roses and saw different letters on each of them. O R P M "I don't understand."

"Hmm," Darien said suspiciously. "Do you remember what order you found the roses?"

Serena looked at the roses again and tried to remember. Red was definitely last because Darien just gave her that one. The pink one matched the pillow on her bed so that was third which left yellow and white. She thought back to when she opened her locker and remembered that the white rose was first because Mina made a comment about it. So the order was white, yellow, pink, and red. When she looked at the letters again she gasped when she realized what word was spelled. PROM. "Darien…"

"Four roses for the four weeks we've been together," he began. "Today marks exactly one month since we started dating and these have been the best 4 weeks of my life. I just wanted to do a little something to celebrate and express my appreciation for you."

Serena suddenly hugged him and hid her face in his chest. She felt so foolish. She had been so consumed with thoughts about not going to prom that she didn't even realize they had been dating for an entire month already. "I'm sorry," she mumbled.

"What?"

Serena looked up at him and frowned. "I said I'm sorry."

"For what?"

Serena looked down again. "I didn't get you anything."

Darien just laughed and held her closer as he kissed the top of her head. "There's nothing to be sorry about, Meatball Head." She looked up at him and rolled her eyes. He continued smiling at her before she finally broke into a grin. "I don't care that you didn't get me anything. We have plenty of time to celebrate each other and it just so happens that this time I beat you to it."

Serena opened her mouth to speak, but Darien spoke first. "And before you say anything let me explain something else to you. I've been planning this for a while. I was just going to give you the roses since I know they're your favorites then ask you to go to prom with me, but I've noticed how worried you've been about me not asking you to prom yet so I made up this scavenger hunt for good measure. You mean so much to me and I can't imagine going to prom with anyone else so will you go with me?"

Serena smiled. "Of course I will," she said happily. The couple sat down on the bench together enjoying the warm weather as Serena rested her head on Darien's shoulder while he rested one arm around her. She felt so lucky to have a guy like Darien she could call her own. Even though they had been together for a month and they had been working together getting to know each other since the beginning of the school year there was still a lot to learn about him. She still felt bad that she didn't get him anything to express her appreciation for him, but like he said before they still had plenty of time to surprise and celebrate each other. Besides that she had a feeling that sitting here just like this enjoying each other's company was all he really wanted anyway.