Breaking the Rules
By MaryMagdalene912
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 (:
A/N: So sorry to my readers about the long delay in updating! I had my trials (for those of you who aren't Australian: they're like a practice version of end of school exams, but they actually count for my final marks as well!) so I couldn't write during them coz I had to study. Now I'm kinda free for a little while, so I thought I may as well write! (: And sorry for all those people who were left hanging! I'll try not to do it again.
Chapter 5
I run to Darien (which is an achievement in itself in these damn stilettos) and touch his bruised eye with a feather-light touch, so as to not hurt him. His eye looks comically multicoloured, and swollen to at least twice its size. "She did this to you, didn't she?" I ask in a horrified whisper.
"It's nothing, Serena, don't worry. Seriously." He prises my hand gently away from his face. "Let's get out of here. I'm really looking forward to dinner."
"Why did she do this to you?" I can barely speak, I'm so angry.
"Serena..."
"Just tell me. It's because she found out about last night, isn't it?"
Darien just looks at the floor. I guess that means I'm right.
"Darien, you can't let her do this to you. Don't you see?" My voice trembles with anger and something else… I wonder if it's fright. "She's just gonna get worse. How could she do this to you? Why the HELL is she acting like your girlfriend or something?
He sighs. "Look, Serena, Raye's always been a little overprotective of me. I can't do anything about it. Do you want to go out or not?"
"Darien, that's not the point! How can you let your little sister PUSH YOU AROUND! ARGH!" I bang my fist on the door frame in frustration and yelp in pain.
"Are you ok?" Darien's hand takes mine and soothes away the pain, looking tenderly into my eyes as well as he can with one black eye. The poor thing, I can't resist him. Pretty soon, we're all over each other, making out in the doorway. Suddenly we hear a slight cough. It's Mina.
"Oh, you two!" She giggles. "Go on, shoo! Get out and have some fun!"
We laugh at her and wave as we head to Darien's car. In the car, I try to get serious, about how he shouldn't let his sister control his life. Especially his little sister, but he turns on the radio and starts singing along in funny voices. I can't help but laugh, and soon we arrive at Torrini's in a good mood.
Darien is not only the best looking guy there, but the most well-mannered gentleman, too. His black eye looks almost rakish, I decide, as I smile and slide gracefully into my chair after he's pulled it out for me. We order food (well, Darien orders for me, because I ask him to, as this is my first time in this beautiful restaurant) and wait for it to arrive. Darien takes my hand in his and rubs it slowly against his cheek, as he smiles at me over the warm glow of the candles that have been lit at our table.
"Serena, I want to tell you something." He looks deeply into my eyes, seriously, as if preparing himself mentally for the thing he is about to say. I look back into his midnight blue eyes searchingly.
"Serena, I- I think I've fallen in love with you." He lowers his eyes. He's so cute when he's shy! I admire his long eyelashes, and smile as an affectionate, warm feeling engulfs me. I know, from this moment on, I'll stop flirting with all those random guys I meet at parties. Darien is the One. I almost feel my love emanating from me, towards him, and I know I have to confess I feel the same way.
Squeezing his hand in mine, I whisper, "Darien, I too, feel the-" Suddenly, we're interrupted by a tremendous crash. We turn to see someone walking so fast towards us that they are a haze of black and red, and they've knocked a poor waiter over.
The person reaches our table, and holds out something in front of Darien's face. It's Raye. Surprise, surprise. And she's holding Darien's phone. On the screen is a record of the message he had sent me earlier, arrangements for the date at Torrini's.
Raye looks like a fire breathing dragon, wearing a red low cut dress with a slit almost up to her waist, her hair hanging around her face in fierce dark curls. "You're deliberately going behind my back, now, huh? So this is what I get for trying to protect you from this slut?" She hisses at Darien.
"What the hell do you mean, slut?" I gasp at her. I can't believe she's being so vehement.
She throws me a scornful look. "Look at you, getting drunk at some party every other night, hooking up with all the guys in our suburb. You think you deserve my brother?" She turns to Darien, and speaks to him almost tenderly. "Darien, she's not good enough for you. Nobody is. Why are you doing this? I'm sorry I punched you before, but this isn't the best way to get me back."
"Raye, this isn't about you." Darien spits out between gritted teeth. I realise he's tensed up because everyone in this stylish restaurant is staring at us. They've probably never even heard anyone raise their voice in this beautiful place, let alone have an outright argument. "It's about me and Serena. Listen to me. I love Serena, and I want to be with her. So will you quit this bullshit? I don't need your protection, alright? We both know what you want and-"
"Darien, don't." Raye has suddenly coloured a deep red, and she looks quite frightened.
"Listen Raye, what happened before… it won't ever happen again. There's no chance. It was a mistake." He looks into her eyes and speaks slowly, clearly. Do I detect a hint of regret there? Raye nods at him, her eyes slightly glistening.
"I always thought you might say that," she whispers. She caresses his cheek softly, with one hand, as I might have done, and I'm surprised. What shocks me the most though, is that she bends down and kisses him, full on the mouth, before she leaves.
"Bye, Darien." Her voice cracks, and she rushes out of the restaurant.
Darien sits there looking stunned, as the waiters start going about, serving people as usual, and slowly the soft chatter returns to the atmosphere. People have stopped looking at us.
"Now are you going to tell me what that was all about?" I ask him, slightly annoyed, mostly mystified. What had just happened here?
"Serena, I'm truly sorry, but what happened was between me and Raye, and I can't tell you. She has entrusted me with a secret, our secret, and I do not feel I can tell you just yet."
"But you just said you loved me. Why can't you tell me?"
"I DO love you. But this involves Raye as well. I can't just blurt it out like that. Maybe a time will come when I can reveal it to you, but I'm sorry Serena, I just can't tell you now." He bows his head, the tops of his cheeks burning red with what seems like shame. I decide not to press it any further, I don't want to embarrass him. He finally looks up. "So, what was it you were saying, before she came in?"
"I was going to say, I feel the same way too. I love you, also." I say, but it sounds a little hollow, even to my own ears. Raye's surprise visit has disturbed us both a great deal, and I don't feel the same way as I did five minutes ago. The warm feeling has dissipated completely.
"Oh. Good. That's great!" Darien forces a smile, it looks quite ghastly under his black eye.
"Darien, sorry to do this to you, but I don't really feel like eating anymore. Could we just leave? Maybe you could drop me home on the way?" I say, a little hesitantly.
He sighs wearily. "No problem. I've kind of lost my appetite, too. Sorry about this whole thing."
"Not your fault." Is this what we've become? Polite strangers, separated by a chasm of a secret?
We drive home in silence, and when I get upstairs, I realise Mina's gone to bed. Just my luck. I would've loved to have talked to her about what this all meant. I content myself with putting my iPod on low and listening to soft music until I finally fall asleep.