A/N: Hey Guys! I'm super sorry for not updating for such a long time, but exams took much of my time then family and visiting and christmas, but don't worry, I am back on track now! I have a few more chapters after this one already in mind and I know how I'm going to be wrapping this story up! Please keep reviewing, I love all the great reviews I've been getting, thank you so much! :) I'm really glad people like my story! So Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and without further ado here is Chapter 6:

I'm Sorry… and Drunk

Darien was standing out on the terrace overlooking the backyard. He didn't want to be at this party; it was too crowded and there were too many loud people, it was making his head hurt! He didn't understand why people got drunk; they got drunk to forget things, or to have fun but often ended up forgetting their night, but he knew what it was like to forget and he would much rather just remember!

He sighed, rubbing his forehead, why had he let Andrew convince him to come to this thing? His day had had a bad enough start –Serena had spilled his coffee over his new book and he had yelled at her and made her cry. She had run away in tears and he felt terrible! Andrew had looked at him with that reproachful look he had every time he made her cry. He didn't actually care that much about the book, especially not after how terrible he felt for making her cry. Darien sighed again and wandered off the porch and onto the grass. He headed toward a tree that had a tire swing in it and he sat down next to the tree to gaze up at the few stars he could see through the branches and the bright lights of the party.

"Darien?" he heard a singsong voice call his name, "Ohhh Darien, where are you?" it called again.

Darien stood up from his hiding spot behind the tree and saw Serena walking –or rather stumbling down the porch. She fell with a big thump on her butt, "Ow!" she cried out, startled.

Darien rushed to her side, "Serena, are you okay?"

"Oh there you are, Darien!" she said with a smile, that soon faded, "Why is it that I always fall in front of you? I always embarrass myself in front of you! It's not fair!"

Darien smiled and grabbed her hand to pull her up, "It's okay Meatball head, I don't mind."

Serena looked at him crossly, "I know you don't mind because you like to laugh at me, but I do mind so there! Oh look, a tire swing!" Serena's petulance disappeared as quickly as a wisp of smoke in the wind as she ran over to the tire swing and jumped on –or at least attempted to.

Darien watched in amusement as understanding dawned across his face, "Serena," he asked moving closer to her, "Are you drunk?"

Serena looked at him incredulously, "Don't be silly, Darien, I'm not drunk! I'm too young to drink! And besides I didn't drink any alcohol!"

Darien looked at her with an eyebrow raised, "Did someone else bring you a drink, Serena?" he asked her.

"Why yes!" she cried out, "a boy… what was his name? I don't remember! I remember Andrew pointed him out to me and told me to ask him for some juice, it was very sweet!" she said with a smile, then corrected herself, "the juice I mean, not the boy. He said some very lecherous things to me! I didn't like him much."

Darien took note to ask Andrew who the boy was later, if Andrew could remember or else he'd get Serena to point him out; he couldn't handle anyone being inappropriate or rude with HIS Serena… wait, did he just call her his? Darien was confused with where his thoughts were leading him and just shook his head to clear his mind and get back to his conversation with Serena –who had been rambling on for the last few minutes.

"And then," she said, "A huge monster comes out of nowhere and just grabs the children and of course, what am I to do? I can't leave the children at the mercy of this monster, so I fight him and Tuxedo Mask helps me," Serena's voice faded off as she stared dreamily into the darkness. "You know what Darien?" she asked him.

Darien jumped because he had been trying to understand her story –her fighting monsters? That was unbelievable! "What Serena?" he replied.

Serena had finally managed to get herself into the tire swing, "Push me!" she said with a smile.

"That's all?" Darien asked, a little disappointed.

"No…" Serena said, "I just wanted to you to push me!" She smiled at him as he started to push her gently on the swing; he didn't want her to fall off! "What I was thinking was that you look awfully handsome tonight and that you remind me of Tuxedo Mask!"

Darien froze as his mind tried to process what she had just told him, she thought he looked handsome? That boosted his ego greatly, but her thinking he looked like Tuxedo Mask? That scared him, what if she found out his secret?

"You think I look like Tuxedo Mask? That's crazy, we look nothing alike!" Darien sputtered.

Serena looked back at him quizzically in her drunken state, "Yes you do, you're both tall and dark haired, same build, both handsome," she drifted off into dreamland again.

"But I yell and fight with you while he saves you, I don't think I could be him," Darien said, desperate to cover his tracks.

Serena slowed her swing to a complete stop, "Oh, that's right," she said, her eyes filling with tears, "You hate me, you wouldn't save me." She staggered off the swing, dizzy from her ride and lightheaded from the alcohol and she tried to run off, before falling to her knees.

Darien's heart broke as she tried to get away from him, she was crying again. Why did he always make her cry? He walked over to her, sat down and pulled her into his chest, "I don't hate you Serena, not one little bit," he told her.

Serena sniffled, "You promise? You were pretty mad with me this morning! It was very upsetting."

"Oh Serena, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you so upset! I was more startled than anything. And it's just you rile me up like no one else can, I love fighting with you, teasing you, I don't hate you at all, I look forward to seeing you for a good argument at the end of the day!"

Serena's tear filled eyes turned to him, "You're not mad at me? You don't actually hate me?"

Darien could kick himself for making her think these things. "Of course not, I love hanging out with you Meatball head!"

A huge and honest smile spread across Serena's face and Darien smiled back, staring into her beautiful eyes. She reached up to touch his face but instead jumped up quickly! "Oh my goodness where is it? I forgot all about it, I must have dropped it!" And Serena began searching frantically in the grass.

Darien followed suit, not sure what he was looking for and disappointed at the loss of contact, but glad she was no longer crying, "What are we looking for Serena?"

"A package, its brown and oh here it is!" she cried out, picking up a small package and running over to him. "It's for you!" she said smiling as she thrust it toward him.

Darien was surprised, "For me? Why?"

"Just open it." Serena whispered nervously.

Darien opened the package to find a brand new book, no correction the very same book she had spilled coffee on that morning. He looked at her.

Her eyes stared back at him as she explained nervously, wringing her hands together, "I wanted to make it up to you for ruining your other book this morning. I felt terrible, so I bought you a new one!"

Darien grabbed her and pulled her into a hug. Serena gasped in surprise. "That's very thoughtful of you, Serena," he whispered to her, "but I don't deserve it, I was a big jerk to you this morning."

Serena smiled, "You got that right buster! Want to make it up to me?" she suggested playfully.

"Sure!" Darien replied.

"Okay, well then you have to do thirty cartwheels, in a row!" she said.

"What?"

"You heard me!"

"But Serena, that's like almost impossible! Can't you give me something easier?"

"No," Serena said, "but I can give you something different but equally hard."

"Please," Darien replied.

"Hmmmm," Serena said, thinking out loud, still very tipsy from her drink. She stood up and started spinning slowly, "What could Darien do to make it up to me? He could buy me milkshakes for a week! But that isn't very hard and I don't think it would bother him at all. What about driving me to school? No… Do my homework? Nah, I think my teachers would notice… oh I know!" She turned to glance at him slyly and then laughed to herself, "No, there's no way he'll ever do that!"

"Do what?" Darien asked her, his eyes following as she spun around him; he was mesmerized by her beauty.

"You wouldn't kiss me!" Serena said, "just to make it up to me, that's even harder for you than cartwheels!" she giggled.

Darien's eyes darkened and he stood up quickly, pulling Serena to him. Serena was flushed and dizzy and she looked dazedly up at him.

"You're right," he said, "kissing you is much harder than cartwheels," he looked down at her and raised a hand to caress her cheek, "But I would much rather kiss you than do anything else to make it up to you."

Serena smiled at him, "Then kiss me, silly!"

Darien smiled back and leaned down to claim her lips for their sixth kiss. (He thought it was the fifth, but he would eventually learn the truth.) His lips pressed softly against hers. She sighed with happiness and Darien was overcome with desire. He pulled her tighter and her lips parted, allowing him to enter her mouth with his tongue. It was different than their other kisses, but still held a familiarity he just couldn't shake. He tried to deepen the kiss further, pulling her closer to his body.

Suddenly, Serena pulled away, her eyes wide and full of shock. She just stared at him then dashed away, back to the party where she could call for a ride home. Darien raced after her, but lost her quickly in the crowd. He searched the entire house, but couldn't find her. Little did he know, she was sitting on the bathroom floor, completely confused and waiting for her drive home.

The next day, Darien walked up to Serena, to see if she'd blush. He was nervous and wanted to talk about that kiss. But Serena beat him to the interrogation.

"Darien Shields, do you know who got me drunk last night?" she asked angrily.

"Not me," he promised, "you said it was some boy Andrew pointed out to you."

"Argh," Serena said, collapsing into the booth across from him, "I don't remember anything at all! But if you remember me, maybe you can at least tell me what I said to you!"

Darien's anxiousness deflated as he realized, she didn't remember anything that happened, not the kiss, not the conversations… should he tell her? He was scared now. What if she didn't feel the same way and the kiss would be stupid to her now that she was one hundred percent sober? He couldn't tell her, he was too afraid of being rejected.

He gave her a fake smile and launched a story with a grin, "Well, the first time I saw you, you had fallen down the porch stairs!"

"I did not!" Serena cried, indignantly, but then she considered it, "Well, I guess that would explain the bruises."

Darien continued with his story, giving her an abridged, but highly entertaining story of her antics and her gift. Serena smiled, glad that she had been forgiven, but she had this nagging feeling that he was hiding something from her. And then there was that dream about him kissing her…