-1AN: Woo! Finally done. My apologies for the length of time this took, but I hope this chapter makes up for it. Also, I feel some people may not be satisfied with the ending, but I probably will not return to revise it any time soon.
Darien bent to pick up Serena's schoolbag and gather the papers that had fallen out. As he straightened them, he saw the images that had been drawn. The circles on the top of the woman's head gave her away as being Serena. The man was him? His eyes widened as he crammed them back into the bag and strode with it toward the girl.
He bent down next to her and hissed in her ear. "Serena, we need to talk."
"What? I'm in the middle of a game…" she murmured. She kept her eyes glued to the screen, determined to ignore his proximity.
"Now." With that, he promptly grabbed her by the elbows, stood her up, and spun her to face him.
"Hey! What's your problem?" she demanded loudly, shrugging her arms roughly to free them from his grip.
A glance around the arcade showed Darien that he had an audience. He opted for a calm, whispered reply. "We are going to talk in the break room. I suggest you come along quietly. I'm not sure how these people would react if I threw you over my shoulder and carried you."
At this suggestion, embarrassment made Serena flush brighter than the anger that already tinted her face. Sure they had made up the day before, but that gave him no right to tell her what to do. And why would he say something that could be perceived as so sexual? She scowled at Darien, pushed past him, and stalked toward the door to the back.
Darien stared after Serena for a second. He had just gotten the death glare for some reason. He walked slowly toward the break room, trying to figure out just what he had done to upset her so much. He wanted to be her friend and having her angry at him prevented that, but it certainly made being just friends easier. "Hey, Andrew," he called. After meeting Andrew's eyes, Darien nodded toward the door as a silent way of telling Andrew what he was doing. He ignored Andrew's raised eyebrows.
As soon as Darien closed the door behind them, Serena rounded on him. "Who do you think you are, Darien? What makes you think that you can order me around like that? Like I'm just supposed to follow orders without question," she said angrily, her voice barely above a whisper.
Darien looked down at Serena's accusing finger, which was dangerously close to poking him in the chest. She was small, but her righteous anger seemed to make her fill the room. Then again, she always seemed to be the center of the room to Darien, so maybe that was his imagination. Rather than dwell, he pulled the papers from her schoolbag and tossed the bag aside. "Look familiar?"
Serena gasped and pulled the papers from his hands; she seemed to deflate immediately. "I meant to throw them away. They're just… I couldn't believe they… I didn't want anyone to see."
A frown formed on Darien's face. "Who did this?" he demanded. Compared to just a few moments ago, Serena seemed so small and helpless. He wanted to kiss the sad look off of her face, but of course, he wasn't going to do that. That would be giving in.
Just as quickly as her anger had dissipated, Serena's back straightened, and her mood righted itself. No way she would let those bitchy girls at school have power over her. She tore the pictures into several pieces and wadded them into a ball and walked over to throw them in the garbage can. "Who do you think?" Her tone was level, and she looked pointedly at him.
Darien suddenly realized the harsh tone he had taken with Serena; he regretted it. He had no reason to be angry at her, almost reproving. Clearly she was hurt by what her classmates had done. "Serena, I'm sorry. This is my fault," he began, moving toward her.
Serena's eyes narrowed. Why did she care about such a moron? Saying sorry about it didn't make her feel better. Despite her best efforts, she felt her anger toward Brayden redirect itself at Darien "No, it's not. It's my fault for being interested in a douchebag, like you." Here she actually poked him in the chest.
"Are you kidding? " Darien thought. He couldn't believe that Serena was actually angry at him again when he had just been empathizing with her. He glared back at her. "Oh, I'm a douchebag? I almost got fired because of you," he hissed.
"Because of me? Really, Darien? I think you mean you almost got fired because you couldn't keep your eyes off of my boobs," she growled, her finger punctuating the words with more prods.
Involuntarily, Darien glanced down at said feature. He noticed Serena's chest was heaving in her rage, and his mind conjured up the image of her clinging, rain soaked shirt. "Oh fuck," he sighed, closing his eyes; he knew she would call him out.
Serena smirked. "And you blamed me? Please. You're clearly not mature enough to keep yourself under control." She couldn't believe he actually looked down. Being friends with Darien would be nice, but he had just given himself away as to what he really wanted from her. She was totally the one in charge of this situation.
Self-control. Everyone was going on to him about self-control: his conscience, Andrew, and now even Serena. He knew he was lacking in the quality by how he kept getting himself into these situations with Serena. "Serena, I--" He abruptly stopped talking when he felt Serena's finger retreat to be replaced by her hand pressed to his chest. His eyes shot open.
"Wow." She sounded so casual, even though Serena felt like nervousness was oozing out ever pore. "Your heart is beating like mine during a rainstorm. You really don't like being told you have no self-control, huh?" Here, she unconsciously stroked his chest. "Do you feel like less of a tough guy? Or realize that you can't make me do whatever you want?" She rolled her eyes.
Self-control. Darien did need to have self-control; he had it, even if other people doubted it. He wasn't trying to tell Serena what to do. He wanted to talk to her seriously about the notes in her book bag. He had tried to explain that he regretted it, but she hadn't listened. She was acting like he was doing it to be macho or something. What was her problem?
"I'm sure if you ask Brayden, she'd do anything you asked," Serena commented coolly, drumming her fingers against his chest.
Darien stared at her, his eyes slightly lidded. Who needs self-control, really? His hand reached pressed hers to his chest for a moment before drawing it up to kiss each fingertip before placing a kiss in the palm. "Serena," he murmured, letting his lips brush her hand, "I have no problem getting you to do anything I ask."
Serena, who had been temporarily shocked by the tingles Darien was sending through her body, quickly regained her composure. She ripped her hand away from him. "Haven't you been listening, jerk? You don't want to have anything to do with me, so don't act like you have any claim or power over me," she jeered.
That stung a little. He had just promised himself that he would be nice to Serena, and here he was fighting with her again. But now he felt the need to remind her that she let him have power over her. Okay, and maybe to soothe the macho issues he may or may not have been having. Darien stepped forward into Serena's space; she stepped back. He was distantly reminded of the Bugs Bunny cartoons where a line was drawn, then crossed, and so on until someone fell off a cliff. The difference was that in their situation, the lines Serena drew allowed him to back her up into the break room's table. "Would you like to say that one more time?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow at Serena.
Serena felt cornered, which she figured was because she was trapped next to the table with Darien between her and the door. This was decision time. Was she going to continue her new plan of just being friends? Or go all in and get the original prize. She took a deep breath. "You don't want to have anything to do with me."
"When have I ever given you the idea that I don't want anything to do with you?" Darien responded. Repeatedly in the last week, he told himself, but he wasn't letting that stand in his way. He leaned nearer to Serena, one hand reaching down to run gentle circles against the outside of her thigh.
"Quite a lot, and don't pretend you do now." Serena hoped she was holding steady. It was kind of a hard feat with the tiny circles on her leg moving inward and upward, under her skirt.
Darien allowed himself to grin at her. "Do I seem to not want anything to do with you now?"
Hopefully the scoffing noise she made was believable. "You're the one who said that two people don't have to like each other to fuck."
Darien's eyes widened, which he hid from Serena by lightly licking her earlobe. How was it that she constantly had him off guard? He knew he was going to hate himself for that remark. Now his mind was going to the place it conjured up. "That was then, this is now. Tell me the rest, Serena." He pulled back to peck and nibble her lower lip.
After he pulled away, she repeated, "Don't act like you have any claim or power over me." She was trying to ignore the constant circles and that his other hand was slowly but steadily working its way up her ribcage.
Darien felt crazy. He had been working against this, but it felt so good to just give in. If he was honest with himself, he liked this new type of banter he was having with Serena so much more. "Tell me again." Bending lower, Darien lightly kissed her neck.
Serena felt her breath hitch in her throat. "Don't act like you have…" She paused as Darien's hands slid down to grip her thighs. "Any claim…" She gasped here as she was lifted to sit on the table. "Or power…" The hands on her thighs kept them in place, allowing Darien to move between them. Her heart was hammering. "Oh God… over me." The kisses at her neck had turned to soft bites, which retreated at her words.
"Serena, I think you're lying," Darien chided with a slight laugh. He pressed himself forward, enjoying the friction against the zipper of his jeans but longing for more. His fingers traced along the edge of her panties to her inner thigh, stopping there. "Would you like to confess?"
Looking up at him with darkened eyes, Serena shook her head. Her hands slid down from his back and into the back pockets of his jeans. She admired the firmness under her hands as she drew him forward and trapped his hand between them. She arched up into the contact but still ground out her answer, "Never."
A wolfish smile graced his face. "I'm happy to hear that." Darien slowly withdrew his hand, leaving endless tingles in its wake; it moved back around her leg to pull her closer. He delighted in the little moan she made. How he would love to hear more of them. With a grip on her legs, Darien pressed hard against Serena, who rewarded him with a louder moan. Perfect.
With the way his kisses were clouding her senses, Serena was proud she had the presence of mind to pull up his shirt and slide her hands under it. His chest felt so much more wonderful bare than through the fabric. Serena wanted to return the shivers he was giving her; she tried to mimic him by nibbling at his neck. Her hands in motion the whole time, taking in the smooth planes of his chest and abs, she found an adorable trail of hair on his stomach that she couldn't help but stroke repeatedly.
Too much. Darien physically threw himself away from Serena and strode to the door. This was not good. Not now, not here. He needed to clear his head before figuring this out. Wasn't he trying to avoid this? To his surprise, the door was held shut by Serena's hand being firmly planted against it.
Serena pulled his arm to turn him around. The fact that Darien was trying to walkout on her caused her to shake off the haze quickly. "No, Darien. I'm not going to allow you to continue running away from this like… like some little boy scared because a girl on the playground wants to kiss him."
Darien stared blankly at her. Did Serena just call him a little boy? Serena was the young one in the room, not him. Some of his recent actions could certainly be considered rash and juvenile. This thought led him to consider his other actions toward her: teasing, name-calling, everything a five-year-old would do. Clearly age did not automatically bestow wisdom or maturity. Had he attributed the negative traits to Serena solely because of her youth? Maybe she was actually interested in something real with him. Maybe he wasn't the schoolgirl crush he explained himself as to Andrew.
"Hello? Anyone home in there?" Serena asked, snapping her fingers before his eyes.
Okay, maybe not. Darien made a move to open the door again. He really couldn't do this with Serena of all people. The exasperated sound Serena emitted gave him pause. He stared at her.
"Are you kidding me?" Serena grumbled. She promptly seized a fistful of his jacket and pulled his face down to hers. Her lips ghosted against his with everything she said. "Get over yourself. I am mentally way older than you. I mean, you call me Meatball Head. What more proof do you need?" With that, she kissed him roughly.
When Serena and Darien emerged arm in arm, everyone in the Arcade seemed to notice immediately. Serena blushed at the attention. The couple was immediately accosted by Andrew.
"So, bud, you're going to set me up with your entertainment system, right?" the man asked Darien, whose only response was a huge grin.
In a booth across the way, as Mina and Lita high-fived each other, Amy nudged Raye with her elbow. "Pay up. I warned you that I always win bets."