Chapter Three: High School Bites

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.

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As they drove along the interstate, traffic was heavy but moving. They had been silence for most of the ride. Darien stared at the highway while Serena sighed at the beautiful vastness of the Mississippi River with the sun shining brightly in the horizon. She turned her head in Darien's direction when she heard an old Fallout Boys song. She started to sing the lyrics loud and off key.

Darien chuckled, "Wow that is really horrible."

Serena gave him a cute toothy smile and said counting things off with her fingers, "Thanks! I also suck at math, English, Japanese, running unless late for school, and ice skating."

Darien laughed, "Wow, you really are a flake."

Serena put up a peace sign and said with a big smile, "Certified and proud. It is not easy to suck at nearly everything."

Darien said humorously, "So what are you good at?"

Serena said, "I am a champion of justice in eating and surprisingly good at throwing a tiara and dancing." Serena felt something strange in the pit of her stomach. Darien noticed she was feeling uncomfortable.

He asked worried, "What's wrong?"

Serena sighed then shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know. Lately, I have been feeling a strange case of deja vu. It's like I feel like I should remember something but I cannot recall what it is."

Darien said with a warm smile, "I am sure it will come to you eventually." Serena turned to him and smile.

After a moment of peaceful silence, Serena asked dramatically, "So Darien?"

Darien said playfully still looking at the road, "Yes, milady."

Serena asked, "I know I am not the smartest apple in the bunch, but how can a gardener, part-time gardener or whatever you are…." Darien grinned. "…go to a private school and afford an expensive car like this?"

Darien said, "As for the latter part, that is through the generosity of your aunt. What I admired about your aunt is that she treat everyone regardless of their status in life as her equals. She looks down at no one, and she respects all beings. She never treated me like her gardener's grandson. She instantly liked me and said the moment she saw me she said she knew I was destined for greatness so she raised me as her son and introduced me into her lifestyle. Practically, anything I wanted I got." Serena smiled as she felt a sense of calmness come over him as he talked admiringly about the aunt she never met.

"As far as the former part, I like nature. I like planting things. I like making something unremarkable and plain into something beautiful and inspirational. It's therapeutic to me. So I do it as a hobby. My grandfather taught me about different types of plants and soils and how to make things grow. It was our thing. So when he died last year from leukemia, it was the only thing that helped me cope with his loss."

Serena placed her soft hand over his hand that clutched the shift stick and gave him a gentle squeeze. Serena said softly, "I'm sorry."

He quickly turned to her startled by her touch. He rambled, "I didn't mean to say that to get your pity. I don't even know why I said all that. I'm sorry."

Serena gave him a small smile and tilted her head playfully to the side, "For what? Showing me that you are not completely the jerk I thought you were."

Darien stared at her for a moment. She looked angelic in the sunlight. He quickly removed his hand from her as if her touch repelled him. She looked hurt as she turned away from him and stared at the horizon again. Darien placed his hand on the steering wheel.

Darien exited on St. Charles Ave.

When the pulled up into the two storied Catholic school, Serena was in awe as she saw a large granite cross plastered on front of the school with a circle around it. There was a large circular smooth cemented pathway that led to the school. In the center of the path was a large life style statue, of the French explorer Robert De La Salle posing in a heroic stance.

As Darien pulled into a parking spot for students, Serena asked as they unbuckled there seatbelts, "Is that a statue of a priest?"

After Darien hooked the green parking decal for driving students on his rearview mirror, he quickly glanced up then turned around in his seat as he grabbed in his backpack off the backseat. He answered, "No, that is Robert De La Salle, a 17th century French explorer who was claimed the entire Mississippi River Valley for France in 1679."

Serena said, "Wow!"

Darien said as they got out of the car closing the doors, "Louisiana is very different from the rest of the states." He hit the alarm key on his car. "It's like this big melting pot of French, Creole, Spanish, African, and mulatto culture. It has the best tasting food in the country, the birthplace of jazz and the game poker, plentiful seafood, and for supposedly one of the most conservative states in the country, it has the gayest holiday." Serena laughed.

As they walked up the large granite steps that led to the front entrance of the school, Darien sighed, "It's not the same as it was before Hurricane Katrina. The government is trying to make it more commercial and drive out the poor people of color, yet it is the people that are the heart of this city and without them all that make New Orleans great will seize to exist."

Serena asked, "So apparently you lived here for a long time?"

Darien said, "My grandfather brought me here when I was six at the request of your aunt. Then after Hurricane Katrina hit and the levees broke and flooded the city, we moved on the east coast for a while, and lived in Boston, hence my love for Harvard." Serena smiled. "Then things happened and we ended up back here a couple of years ago."

Serena asked, "How old are you?"

Darien answered, "I just made my seventeenth birthday a couple of weeks ago."

Serena said, "Cool."

Darien looked at her and said mockingly, "Cool" as he held the door open for her. She froze and looked at him strangely as he said still holding the door with a Southern drawl, "I'm just being a Southern gentleman." Serena laughed as she walked through.

They walked into a large hallway in the doorway to a large glass windowed office middle-aged and older women sitting in several rolls of desks parallel to each other behind a large counter.

A woman in her sixties dressed in a blouse and long black skirt said in a scolding voice, "Darien Shields, you are late and have missed first period and the Morning Prayer. I have no choice but to write you up."

Darien said apologetically with sad eyes, "I am so sorry Sister Mary. Traffic was so heavy, and we already discussed my problems at home."

The older woman looked at Darien understandingly causing Serena to roll her eyes. Even she could tell he was lying, and she hardly knew the guy. When she saw a ladies' bathroom across the hallway, she felt the sudden urge to pee and decided to excuse herself from the conversation to go use the bathroom but they were not paying attention. She silently walked off.

Sister Mary nodded acknowledging as Darien continued emotionally, "You know after my grandfather died and then my sister leaving."

Sister Mary said remorse touching her chest, "Oh yes…poor Mina. She used to bright up the hallways of this school. We do miss our dear Mina." She fanned her face as she became emotionally thinking about Mina and said in astonishment, "And to think, she is out there in the world doing the devil's work kissing that God awful woman on stage…"

Darien shook his head clearly upset, "I know Madonna like a virgin kissed for a very first time. My poor troubled sister."

Sister Mary shook her head and whispered dramatically so the other sisters would not hear her using such foul language, "And then to think she is selling herself for sex. Those horrible music videos, posing in her birthday suit in that tasteless gentleman's magazine. Your mother must be outraged."

Darien nodded with guilt and embarrassment, "I know. MTV and Playboy. My sister has definitely gone down the wrong path, and our family is so embarrassed. Could you please Sister keep her in our prayers?"

Sister Mary placed a sympathetic hand on Darien's arm and said moved, "Yes, my dear and you know what let's forget about this morning."

Darien nodded emotionally, "I promise you it will never happen again."

Sister Mary pinched his cheek lightly as he smiled warmly at her. When she glanced down for a morning to look at the computer, Darien rolled his eyes. When she glanced back up, he was all smiles again causing her to smile warmly at him.

Serena walked back into the office and noticed a water cooler that stood between two sets of empty chairs for visitors. She started to sip the cool cup of water letting it trickled down her throat.

Sister Mary turned to see a teenaged girl with two freakishly long pigtails drinking water not far from Darien.

Sister Mary looked shocked and asked stunned, "Oh my God, is that…"

Darien interrupted turning to Serena offhandedly, "No, that is Mina."

Sister Mary then said, "My God, they look like they could be twins."

Darien said sarcastically, "I know. It's uncanny." Sister Mary nodded in agreement. Darien then said with mischievous smile looking at the unsuspecting blonde, "Sister Mary, I like to introduce you to my little cousin Serena."

Serena spit the water out of her mouth onto the wall in front of her. She quickly turned to Darien in dreadfulness. Oh my God, she had the hots for her cousin.

Sister Mary smiled then said, "Oh right, your aunt's personal assistant did call to inform us about your cousin coming to school this fall. She looks uncanny like your sister Mina." Serena continued to look at Darien with emotional eyes as he stared back at her with amused eyes.

Sister Mary said sympathetically to her, "My dear, we are very sorry about the loss of your parents and we will do everything in our power to may sure you have a smooth transition here and enjoy your stay in New Orleans."

Serena simply nodded. She turned her head as her eyes started to become misty. Darien's eyes started to lose their amusement and become guilty with concern. He wanted to tease her for her obvious crush on him but he knew that would be too cruel.

Sister Mary said with a warm smile, "Well, I am going to get the two of you your schedules for this school semester. I'll be right back." She walked off.

Serena rushed out of the room into the sanctuary of the girls' bathroom. She hid in a stall as she silently began to cry. She felt so stupid for liking him without knowing anything about him.

She did not hear the soft opening of the door a few minutes later. She heard a soft knock on the door of the stall she was in. She sniffed and wiped her tears away. She cleared her throat and said, "I'll be out a minute."

After a few seconds, she unlocked the bathroom stall and jumped when she saw Darien standing in front of her with two sheets of paper in front of him. He felt guilt-ridden when he saw her eyes were red.

She asked angrily as she brushed passed him, "Don't you know that this bathroom is only for females?"

She went to the sink and washed her hands with a bowed down head. She did not want him to know that she was crying about him but she knew he had already seen her eyes.

He looked at her with apologetic eyes and said, "I'm sorry."

Serena sniffed then said, "For what? For flirting with me or forgetting to mention that we were related liked first cousin related."

Darien said, "We're not. "

Serena quickly turned around to him and asked stunned, "What?"

Darien said unconsciously, "My grandfather was not really my grandfather. Elena is not my mother or aunt. Mina and I are not brother and sister, and I am as much of an orphan as Sammy and you are. It's just a lie that we tell the world so that they do not ask us too many questions. That is the truth Meatball Head, and it will be helpful if you learn not to believe the things that come out of my mouth. "

Serena stared at him as she noticed a change in his demeanor as he became distance and cold to her. He walked towards her and reached out a white paper to her. He said, "This is class schedule. Second hour is practically over with so you can catch your next class, which is Louisiana History with Sister Anna. If anyone asks, Elena McQueen is your estranged aunt, and Mina and I are your cousins. Your little brother and you came here to America to live with your aunt. No one besides the faculty and staff knows about your parents' accident. That's all they need to know."

Serena looked at him confused, "So is she really my aunt or is that a lie too?"

Darien stared at Serena for a moment then said, "All things will become clear in due time. Patience is a virtue, princess."

Their blue eyes stared at each other for a moment. Even beyond the cold and cynical exterior he presented in to the outside world, Serena saw something strange in his eyes that she could not pinpoint. Darien shook his head a little bit. He turned on his heel and said walking out not looking back at her, "I'm going to class. Go to the front office and talk to Sister Mary. She'll take you to your class." Serena heard the bathroom door swing back and forth. She knew he was gone.

The first day of high school was dreadful. Everyone made fun of her hairstyle and teased her on her accent. She felt someone pull on her hair or tug on her skirt in class and in the hallways. When she turned around to see who it was, everyone would simply laugh. Her natural language was Japanese, and even though she spoke English and wrote English pretty well thanks to her dad, she still had a hint of a Japanese accent in her voice.

She noticed that some of the girls hiked up their skirts a little bit so that they were higher. In P.E., they were playing volleyball in their uniforms of a t-shirt and shorts. Some of the boys sagged their shorts a little bit even though their shorts were already knee length, while many of the girls rolled of their sleeves and hiked up their already short shorts. The boys happily checked them out including Darien. This was the only class that they took together since Serena was a sophomore, and Darien was a senior.

Serena noticed that a girl named Rebecca Lejeune was currently serving the ball on the other team. Rebecca was in Serena's first few classes. Rebecca was breathtakingly beautiful senior at five feet nine inches tall with long voluminous dark hair that stopped at the small of her back and strikingly deep blue eyes like Darien. She had perfect sized breasts and curvaceous body. She was a straight A student, third highest grade point average in her class, captain of the volleyball team, a starter on the girls' varsity basketball team, vice president of the BETA club, and co-captain of the school dance team. In other words, she was Darien with breasts. Even though she was the most popular girls in the school and all the guys drooled over her, she was a major bitch and did not mind holding the title of the Queen B in school. She also was a model and local actress and played small roles in some of the Hollywood movies that were produced in Louisiana. She also came from one of the richest family in New Orleans.

For some reason when Rebecca saw Serena, she decided to hate her and make her life a living hell. She also noticed how friendly Darien was to her even though they were so supposed to be cousins as she watched him check on her between classes. Even though everyone already knew that Serena was supposed to be Darien's cousin, Rebecca believed that Darien was as much of Serena's cousin as Mina was his sister. It also did not help that Mina used to be her best friend and before she left Louisiana last year, Mina came to her house one night clearly upset with her mother and accidently let it slipped out that Darien was not really her brother and that her family was a bunch of liars.

Rebecca looked at Serena with a wicked smirk. She then quickly tossed the ball in the air and smacked it across the net towards Serena. Serena gulped as she saw the powerful serve heading her way. It smacked Serena right in the face causing the entire gym to cringe even the coach as Serena saw lights and stars circling around her head and blacked out.

After missing her next period because she was in the nurse's office, she went to lunch where every laughed at her or mocked her Japanese accent in a stereotypical manner. The rumor had already spread around school how she got knocked out by Rebecca in P.E. She looked around for an empty table, but they were full. She even tried to sit at a table with some kids who were clearly the misfits of the school. A redhead freckled boy with a huge overbite said sympathetically, "I'm sorry Meatball Head, but you can't seat here. We already get bullied enough. You will only intensify it." Serena nodded and got up. She ended up eating her lunch in the bathroom stall.

When school finally ended that day, Serena felt a sense of relief that the horrible first day was over. She happily skipped down the steps passing the statue of Robert De La Salle happily looking forward to her drive home with Darien like it was makeup for this horrible day. She smiled as images flashed in her head of the way he looked at her when they first met, the way he smirked at her at breakfast, and how handsome he looked wearing his sunglasses while driving his car. She froze in her steps as she clutched her book sack's strap tightly. An image of the way he quickly removed his hand from hers in the car flashed before her. She felt like her heart was breaking when she saw Darien smiling and laughing affectionately as he held hands with Rebecca next to his car. They complimented each other well. Serena recalled the image of how worried he looked at her in the girls' bathroom then how coldly he treated her. Serena watched as he leaned down and placed a kiss on Rebecca's lips. Their eyes closed. Rebecca wrapped her arms around his neck as their kiss deepened and became a full on make out sessions as she watched as one of his hands softly caressed the length of her back while the other played with the length of her short skirt. Serena's eyes became misty. She could not watch them together. She started to back away before turning on her heel and running off not caring where she was going.