Written for Usagi and Mamoru: A Love Like No Other. Link can be found on my bio page.

41. Jacket (625 words)

Serena skipped happily into the arcade but halted in horror at the sight before her. She took small steps closer staring at the gruesome monster. It was rather like looking at a car accident. All the horrible details yet unable to glance away. Serena stretched out her hand but could not bring herself to touch it and so left her hand hovering in the air only centimetres away from the green disaster. "Andrew…" Serena whimpered. "Why are you wearing that thing?"

Andrew couldn't help chuckling at her reaction. "You're not the only one who hates this jacket Serena," Andrew said grinning. "I actually shuddered with disgust when I first put it on. I'll never understand why Darien seems to like it so much. I forced him to take it off for once and the only way to prevent him from sprinting to the back room to retrieve it was to wear it myself."

"Where is Darien?" Serena glanced around but couldn't see the jerk anywhere. She then returned her gaze to the horrid olive green jacket Andrew was wearing.

"I left him in the back room after trying to convince him to wear my leather jacket. He's probably still in there glaring at the poor, innocent article of clothing."

Serena smirked. "So he's not around?" She took another cautious glance around the arcade then leaned closer to Andrew conspiratorially. "Can I please burn the scary thing?"

"Don't you dare even think about touching my jacket Meatball Head."

Serena turned at the sound of his voice, ready to glare at Darien and throw back a witty insult but she was once more stopped from shock. "Whoa…" she breathed, her eyes open wide. Darien was standing there in a black leather jacket glaring at the whole world.

He looked past her to Andrew. "Andrew can we please switch our jackets back?" he whined.

"No." Andrew fluttered his eyelashes and adopted a fake girly voice. "And besides you look sooo hunky Dare-bear."

Darien sat down at the counter and scowled at both Andrew and Serena. "Why are you still staring at me?" he growled.

"You… y-you…" Serena stuttered. "You're wearing a leather coat."

"Yeah and?"

"Do you not realise how amazing a gorgeous guy wearing leather looks?" Serena suddenly realised what she was saying and corrected herself. "But then you're a jerk not gorgeous so what does it matter?"

Without giving Darien a chance to properly process what she had said, Serena turned back to Andrew. "Umm Andrew as much as I hate to say it, I'm with the jerkwad on this one. I think you need to switch coats back. I mean that hideous jacket just matches Darien's hideous personality so well and leather looks so much better on you than it does on him." Serena glanced at Darien from the corner of her eye and cringed at the thoughts that were running through her mind. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut in hopes that it would stop the images in her head. When it didn't work she began to knock her head against the counter. Bad thoughts, bad thoughts, bad thoughts…

"Uh Serena?" Serena stopped pounding her forehead against the Formica counter-top and looked up at Andrew. "Are you feeling okay? First you rambling and now you're trying to mutilate yourself."

She chuckled nervously. "Just fine Andrew. I'm great really. I think I'm going to go. Yeah that sounds good. I'll just be leaving then. Bye!" Serena escaped the arcade as quickly as she could.

"Well that was strange," commented Andrew.

Darien raised an eyebrow at him. "And the Meatball Head acts normal when exactly?" He scowled as he looked down at himself again. "Andrew can I please just have my jacket back?"

"No."

Darien pouted.