Breaking the Rules
Disclaimer: You all know that these characters don't belong to me, right? Well, I'm just reminding you of that unfortunate fact. But, on the other hand, if anyone steals my plotline, they can count on having their guts ripped out to make a necklace for me as soon as I find out. Thank you (:
By MaryMagdalene912
A/N: Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed; I love you all so much! You motivate me to continue writing this fic! And thank you KaTiE-LeE for submitting the first review. You rock! Thumbs up to you, too! (:
Just to clear up a few things: "Hmm….": If you're too chicken to leave your own name, don't insult my fic, ok? (And even if you're brave, don't insult it anyway!) Maybe you weren't insulting it, but your tone of voice seemed a bit off… But just for your information, Serena is meant to be somewhat mentally challenged. That's how she's portrayed in the series. So if you want Serena to be some brainiac chick, write your own fic! And icyblossom3, Raye and Serena ARE friends, but the whole point is that Raye is overprotective of her brother. It'll become clearer as you read on. And as for the diet coke, anonymous, I can't agree with you more! Maybe it's because of the brain-damaging effects of Diet Coke that Serena's so dumb, hmm? (I actually like Vanilla Coke myself, but Serena seems like the Diet Coke type, don't you think?) Btw, sugarbob, I haven't noticed Raye having a major role in many Darien/Serena fics, and I've never read one where she was Darien's ex. You'll have to link me sometime!
Chapter 2
We reach the apartment and the phone rings. I rush in to pick it up, thinking it might be TJ or Dan or one of the cute guys I met at the party. Mina smiles knowingly at me.
"Hello?"
"It's me, honey." I hear my mother's voice. I sigh. Not again! Does she have to ring every damn week? She had been so protective of me when I was living with her, now that I had moved out, she was worried even more about me and Mina. "How are you and Mina?"
"Yeah, we're good Mum! How are you and dad, and that little brat?"
"Serena! Don't call your brother a brat!" my mother scolds. "How are you guys managing without any parents around? Is the house a pig sty yet?"
In spite of myself, I laugh. "No, Mum, it's not! We're actually taking good care of it, you know. You'd be surprised at how well organised everything." I didn't feel the need to add that Mina did most of the work anyway.
"Well, I'm glad to hear it! How are things? Anything interesting happening lately?"
"No, not really. We just went to Raye's party tonight, for her older brother coming back from England-" I cringe slightly at the memory of Darien "-and as a matter of fact we're really tired now." I fake a yawn. "We were just about to go to bed."
"Oh, ok, sorry honey." My mum says, and I feel a little guilty for cutting her off. Oh well, I can always talk to mum later when I don't have something important to discuss with Mina. "I'll talk to you later. Love you, sweetheart."
"Love you, too, Mum." I hang up.
"Well?" says Mina.
"It was Mum, wanting to know how we were getting on. Gee, it had been a whole ten minutes since the last time she had called!" I roll my eyes.
"I know that, silly, I heard you say mum and stuff. I meant, why the rush to leave the party? I was getting on quite well with some of the cute guys there, you know!" Mina grumbles.
"Oh, Mina! Don't you know I wouldn't have dragged you out without a very good reason? I was getting on quite well with TJ and Dan, too!" I say wistfully. "But, you know what happened? Well, I was dancing with this really cute stranger, right?"
"Yeah, I saw you, he was really something!" Mina grins.
"Yeah, that's what I thought, too, but guess what! He turns out to be Raye's brother! It was the shock of the century! I mean, they don't even look alike. And Raye was like telling me off for dancing with her brother, I mean, come on! He's her brother not her boyfriend." I finish, pouting glumly.
"Oh Serena, she probably just feels weird that you're hanging out with her brother. I mean, wouldn't it be weird if I hung out with Sammy?" Mina laughs.
I shudder. "Don't even think about it! He's such a little pest!"
"See what I mean?"
"Not really."
"Well, anyway. I can't believe that he's Raye's brother. What's his name?" Mina asks thoughtfully.
"Darien. I always thought it was Darren or Darryl or something. I can't believe it either! Why does Raye have to come and ruin everything?" I wail.
Mina comes over and gives me a hug. "Cheer up; didn't you say you wanted to get to know DJ or whatever his name was?"
"It's TJ," I smile. Mina always knew how to make me feel better.
"Yeah, ok. Now, why don't you have a shower and go to bed? You'll feel better tomorrow morning!" Mina is seriously taking over the role of Mum, I think disbelievingly as I head to the bathroom. Oh well, nothing like a hot shower to make me relaxed!
I wake up the next morning, feeling refreshed, just as Mina had promised. I decide to take a shower and maybe do a little bit of shopping. It was such a fine looking Saturday that I felt it was almost necessary to be outside in the beautiful spring sunshine.
After finishing my shower, and getting dressed in bright happy clothes to match my mood, I go downstairs. Mina's already making pancakes and coffee.
"Would you like some pancakes, Serena?" Mina asks.
"Yes, please!" Mina sets down a plate stacked with pancakes.
I grab about four immediately and set them down on my plate, smothering them with maple syrup. I take a big bite and chew happily.
"Uh, Serena," I look up. Mina is looking at me concernedly. "If you eat like that, you're going to get a stomach ache, sweetie. Cut down on the sugar already!"
I just laugh. "I'm happy today! Let me eat sugary stuff in peace, Mina!" I say through a mouthful of yummy pancakes.
"Hmmm, I suppose you were happy yesterday, too? It was you that finished the packet of Oreos, wasn't it?" Mina asks darkly.
"Me? No way!" I say, pretending to look innocent. But Mina doesn't fall for that one any more.
"I'm so sure! Anyway, what are your plans for today?"
"I thought I might do a little shopping, seeing as it's so beautiful outside. You know what; I might even walk to the shops!"
Mina pretends to gasp in shock. "Serena? Doing anything physical? I must be dreaming!"
I pretend to chuck the fork at her. "Yeah, yeah, smarty pants. I thought I might enjoy the sunshine for once! What are you doing today?"
"I'm going down to the beach, and then out to lunch." Mina looks smug.
"Who is it, then? Come on, tell us!" I say.
"It's Aaron, I met him yesterday."
"Thought so! So is he hot or not?"
"Well, he's alright looking, but it's his personality I've fallen in love with. He has the most charming character!" Mina says dreamily. I smile at her.
"Well, at least you're not superficial!" I set my plate in the sink and grab my bag. "See you later, honey!" I say as I close the door. Mina's still sitting there, staring off into space.
The fresh air greets me like a puppy, jumping around my face, swirling around my legs and swishing the knee length skirt. I fell so happy, I wish I could fly! Maybe I can!
I look around to see if anyone's on the street. There seems to be nobody, as this street's a quiet one, and it's Sunday today, anyway. I raise my arms and run, pretending to fly. It was a game I used to play with Dad, but he used to actually lift me up and make roaring noises like and aeroplane. I roar out loud and laugh, thinking I probably look like a lunatic if anyone can see me. Thank God no one's here.
"Serena?"
Uh oh.
I turn around slowly. It's Darien. Immediately my face heats up at 20 degrees per second, and soon I'm looking like a bottle of tomato sauce. I pretend not to see him, and walk on, quickly. But Darien has longer legs than I do, and soon catches up without effort.
"You like playing aeroplanes, too?" Darien says, with a hint of laughter in his voice.
"Oh, shut up!" I laugh in embarrassment. "Anyway, I'm not supposed to see you, Raye made that pretty clear yesterday."
"Serena." He puts a hand on my shoulder and stops me. I turn around to face him, puzzled. "I want to see you, and I don't think you should mind what Raye said yesterday. After all, it's my life, not hers. She can be a little overprotective at times." I look at him in silence, mulling over what he said. I notice again how he has the most beautiful eyes.
"I like your eyes." I say, because I don't know what else to say.
He laughs, and suddenly before I know what's happening, he bends down to kiss me. I feel his warm dry lips on mine, and press mine against his, returning the kiss. He pulls away gently. I know what he's thinking; he should keep the first kiss chaste, because otherwise I might think he's a sleazy bastard. But I have no intention of doing that. I grab his neck and pull his face down to mine for a deeper kiss. My tongue runs over his lips, making him open his mouth. Our tongues tangle as we explore each other's mouths. I press my mouth harder against his one last time and pull away fast, leaving us both breathless.
"Wow." Darien says looking at me with a new kind of respect mixed with amazement. I smile seductively in return.
"That's how we kiss around here." I say, as I walk away, in what I hope to be a luring way. Sure enough, he follows me.
"Care to have brunch with me?"
"Sorry, I'm full, I've already had breakfast." I'm playing hard to get, so he won't think I'm such an easy target after that kiss. But he doesn't give up. I like him for that.
"No worries, what about coffee then?"
I pretend to think about it. "I don't see why not."
"Great!" Darien smiles. "Come on, I know this cool place."
So ten minutes later, we're sitting with steaming mugs of coffee in front of us. "So tell me, how was it studying away from your family? You went five years ago, right?" I ask.
"Yeah, I did. It was kinda lonely at first, but then I got used to it coz it was so busy and I hardly had time to worry, being in Med School and all that. Hey, I remember you from five years ago! You were that little cutie that was scared of the dark at Raye's sleepover and wouldn't sleep till we turned the night light on!" Darien laughed.
"Shut up, you! I was better than you! Didn't you use to wet the bed until you were like ten? Raye told us all about it!" I grinned smugly. That shut him up about embarrassing childhood experiences.
"So, how are things with you?" Darien asks, crunching on a chocolate biscuit. Yay! He shares the same food thoughts as me!
"Well, uni is so much harder than high school, though everyone says it'll be better as it goes on, coz it's only my first year now. I've moved out like I've always wanted to, and it's heaps of fun partying all the time with no parents around!"
"I can imagine," Darien says, smiling. "We only had Gramps around when I was at Uni, and he sleeps like a log, and goes to bed early. So it was party time from 8pm to dawn the next day! He didn't even wonder why Raye and I were so sleepy during the day."
I grin as I imagine Darien climbing out of the window in his pyjamas and falling into a bush of thistles right outside their window.
"What's so funny?"
"Nothing, just imagining you sneaking out of the window." I say, standing up, "Do you want to go for a walk? I've always thought this kind of weather was beautiful. Though, I've always thought rainy, stormy days are fabulous, too. I guess I just love nature!"
"Yeah, so do I, though I'm not so crazy about hail stones cracking the windshield of my car."
I giggle. Darien's so subtly funny, I'll have to get used to him. We walk slowly through the streets, our shoulders touching comfortably. It feels like we've known each other for a long time. We enter the shopping mall, browsing and saying a few lazy sentences each. We're just enjoying each other's auras, or so it seems.
I'm the first one to spot her, walking down to us. She's with Ami, one of our mutual friends, and they seem to be talking and laughing.
"Darien-" I call, but too late. Raye's seen us.