Strong Destiny, Weak Heart
Chapter 4
Reality Hits Home
Disclaimer: I wish I could take credit for Sailor Moon! Alas, not my creation, only this story is.
Previously on Strong Destiny, Weak Heart:
"Don't be, we didn't have that much in common, and we are much better friends." She lied, hoping it would be true when she saw him next. She read the guy's nametag when she got a chance and noticed it also said 'manager' on it. 'Reagan, hmmmmm. I wonder where he's from. I better ask him next time, or I'll be late to the meeting' she thought to herself. She paid her down payment, and headed toward Rei's temple. She skipped to Rei's thinking about Reagan and if he was interested in her...because she was certainly interested in him.
And now the continuation...
Chapter 4
"Serena! You're late again!" Sailor Mars said, with fire in her eyes, "You have no excuse, we started without you! Hurry up and transform!"
"I'm really sorry guys, I just got distracted with...Darien?" She saw him standing next to Sailor Jupiter, but instead of wearing his Tuxedo Mask costume, he was wearing his Prince Endymion armor, and fighting with a sword. He put his sword down and looked at Serena with loving and longing eyes, he had no idea he'd miss her this much. Had it really only been two months? And he expected to last four years? Well, maybe it would be better if he just saw her more often, his eyes longed for her beauty. Rei saw the way he was looking at her and her heart went out to him, 'why can't she just grow up?' she thought to herself.
Serena blushed, and was happy she didn't finish her sentence since she was going to say 'a real hunk!' "Hey Serena, how are you? I heard you've been grounded." Darien said, not taking his eyes off of her.
"Yeah, today is my first day of freedom in a long time." She said, noticing how handsome he looked in his armor. It really did suit him. "Why are you wearing your armor instead of being Tuxedo Mask?"
"I'll answer that," Ami said, stepping toward Serena, "With you gone, we were evenly distributed in pairs, but then we realized Darien could be much more of an asset then just saving you all the time, risking his life as well, since he hasn't had anyone to really train with, we decided to ask him to join in on our training sessions. As it turned out, his cane and roses aren't as effective as his sword fighting skills are. However, he still has the power of his rose and seems to pull them out from his cape, it's like his cape just makes them appear out of thin air. Now his skill matches Lita's when it comes to hand to hand. He improves a lot every day. He's an anxious learner." She finished, beginning to blush at the fact she had been talking about him for so long.
"Yeah Meatball Head! If you'd been here on time, you would have been here for us to ask if he could still join in on our training sessions! But now it doesn't matter cause you were late and now you're out voted!" Rei said, glad there was nothing she could do to prevent Darien from staying.
"Why would I be against it? Now we all have someone to train with." She said, determined to sound more mature, and happy to spend at least an hour every day with him. Her heart rejoiced at the thought.
"What? But Serena you hate training." Lita said, still breathing heavily from her spar with Darien.
"No, I just wasn't able to train properly since we were never an even number." She said, blushing and trying to defend herself. "Darien, you can already spar with Lita? You're that good at hand to hand combat?"
"I honestly don't deserve all the credit, Ami has been researching my abilities on her computer, and apparently there's some power there that I have yet to tap into. I have no idea what it does or how to use it, but it's supposed to be similar to your abilities, something I can control at will, if I learn what it is and how to use it.
"And that's another reason he has to stay." Rei said, looking at Ami, hoping she'd find out what his power is soon.
"Rei, I didn't say I wanted him to leave! That is really cool though, if he has powers like us! I wonder what power he'd have?" Serena pondered while thinking of all the things he was always able to make her feel.
"Enough chit chat, let's get back to sparring!" Lita said, ready for another round with Darien.
"Right" Darien said, as he took his fighting stance. Ami and Mina have been training, so it looks like it's me and you Meatball Head."
"Rei, stop calling me that! I only allow..." She stopped short and looked in Darien's direction, he was fully concentrated on the match. Rei felt really bad for making her think about what she couldn't have right now.
"Sorry Serena, I won't call you that again." She said, with pity in her eyes. Serena just smiled at her, in understanding.
"Thank you." She said as she transformed for practice, "Now prepare to be dusted!" Everyone's training resumed. Darien's goal was to tire himself out enough to not think about her, but now that she was back, seeing her fragile form once again, he wanted to train harder than ever, to protect her from anything.
After practice Darien went home, he had an evening class that night, and had to work early in the morning at the hospital the following day. The girls all went to the Malt shop as a reward for their hard work. "So Serena, you never did tell us, why were you late today?" Mina asked, knowing her never finishing her story meant that it had something to do with another guy.
"Oh, I, um, found a video game store that was selling the new Sailor V game."
"What? It's not supposed to be out for another month!" Mina cried, anxious to find out where this store was.
"No, they don't have it yet. I guess it's just available for pre-order."
"Oh, is that all?"
"Yeah, well, I didn't know what that meant so I had the guy that was working explain it to me."
"Guy? Was he cute?" Mina said, her interest suddenly piqued again.
Serena began to blush," well he wasn't bad looking..." she remembered his soft face and red hair, the perfect complement to his pale skin.
"Serena, you have stars in your eyes, and you're drooling, you're daydreaming about him aren't you?" Rei said, disapproving. Now she saw firsthand what Darien was talking about. Serena shook her head to erase her thoughts, and wiped her mouth, while laughing like a hyena.
"Oh Rei, I was not!" She said, blushing at being caught.
"Please!" She said, upset at her immaturity.
"So what if I was? I'm a free woman, to date or drool over whoever I want remember?"
"Do you really think Darien will be okay with that?" Rei said, in his defense.
"So what if he's not? I'm giving him what he wants, time." Serena said, going back to her milkshake.
"I don't think HE wants time, I think he wants YOU to have time." Ami spoke up.
"I don't' know what that means!" Serena said, suddenly stunned that Ami was talking about the situation.
"Never mind, forget I said anything." Ami said, and began to blush.
"She means you have been unfair to Darien!" Rei said, leaning over the table looking down at Serena.
"What? What did I do? He wants a break from me!" Serena screamed back.
"You are so dense! Did you see yourself just now? When you were daydreaming about another man? Yeah, Darien really seems like the love of your life! You constantly gawk at other guys, swoon over them even!" Rei was beginning to see she was walking on thin ice, but she couldn't stop herself. "You treat Darien so horribly when he is so good to you! Can't you just commit to him like a real girlfriend should? Or are you too young and immature to get that you should only be attracted to ONE guy if you are really in love with him?" Rei was steaming with anger, everyone was looking at their table, and the rest of the girls were blushing, waiving their hands trying to distract the patrons from looking at the scene playing out in front of them. Serena's eyes began to water as truth was beginning to sink in. She remembered the customer at the game store telling her she had something on her face, and thought back on all the times she drooled over guys while she was with Darien. "You are a horrible girlfriend!" Rei finished as she sat back down.
"But, just because I'm attracted to other guys, doesn't mean I don't love Darien." She whispered, trying to defend herself.
"That's true," Ami was explaining, "however a normal reaction would be to notice someone else, or blush, maybe even stare. However, Serena, I hate to say it but, drooling, and a love sick starry eyed look, aren't a part of that." Ami said, glad that Serena was noticing what was wrong, but sorry that she had to be told in this way. Everyone realized this was the only way she'd understand what she was doing, like a slap in the face. But they all felt bad it had to be done in the first place.
"I, I'm going home." She said, as she ran out crying.
"Serena wait!" Lita called after her, Mina reached out to her, but she was already gone before either could stop her.
"Let her go, she has a lot to think about." Rei said, unsure what her words would do to the fragile emotional girl.
Serena ran straight home, thinking about everything that had been said the whole way. "Hi mom, I already had dinner at Rei's and then I had a malt, so I'll be in my room if you need me." She ran so quick and got all of it out before her mother got a chance to see her.
"Oh...okay...welcome home." Ikuko said, as she felt the breeze that Serena had created zip past the kitchen.
Once she was in her room she began to wonder what was wrong with her. Why did other guys always seem to get her attention? Was it immaturity or something else? Could it really be that she didn't love Darien as much as she thought she did? Did he really love her that much more than she loved him? She finally saw the point of the 'break'. She did have things to get out of her system, she wasn't ready for her relationship, she wasn't being fair to him at all. He deserved much better, she always believed that. Now she just had the proof.
She knew it wouldn't be easy, but she owed it to Darien to find someone else. Date around, like he had said. Find whatever it was she was looking for that pulled her attention away from him. With her mind made up, she decided to start her 'dating journey' early the next day.
Meanwhile, after Darien left the training session, he began to wonder if he did the right thing. Was she really that bad? Did it matter how she acted around other men? She was his, after all. No matter how many men she stared at, he knew he had her heart, and would never hurt him. He was unsure of what to make of his feelings when he saw her. Love, caring, want, passion, he could feel them all bubble up inside him when he saw her standing there. What would happen if she found another man? Would he really be able to take seeing her with someone else? He knew the answer, never. But what else could he do? Go crawling back to her after only a few months? Why not? He knew the answer, even though he knew her heart was his, she needed to realize that. Otherwise the insecurities would only get worse, but could he live up to his side of the bargain? Should he? If she found someone else, did he really have to stand by and wait for that relationship to be over? 'Jealousy works both ways' he reminded himself. 'If she does find someone else, which I doubt, I'll have to remind her where her heart lies.' He thought as he started his shift at the hospital. He didn't remember anything from his class, and couldn't sleep thinking about the whole thing. He found himself still thinking about it at work.
Serena decided that if her feelings were wavering that much, she owed it to herself, and to Darien to find out what the big deal was with dating another guy. Maybe then, and only then, would all these insecurities and distrust would go away. Her naturally sweet demeanor and caring heart drew in many suitors that she wasn't even aware of, and so she decided to go to the arcade tomorrow and talk to Andrew.
Early the next morning, she found herself awake, and in plenty of time for school. For some reason she was also able to focus on her schoolwork. She didn't feel very stressed at all, she was more concerned about being mature, and her brain needed the most work. The school day went by very fast since she was actually paying attention to what she was doing. She headed straight to the arcade after school, and up to Andrew. "Hey Andrew, can we talk when you get a minute?" She spoke softly as to not draw attention to their conversation.
"Sure Serena, what's on your mind?" He asked, leaning against the counter toward her.
"Well, I was just wondering if you knew the names and ages of the guys that have asked about me, are there any here right now?" She asked as she searched the arcade from out of the corner of her eyes.
"Well, yeah, a few of them are here. There's Paul he's 14, Tom 16, Ken 17, and Jeff is 16 ..." He pointed to each one while covering where he was pointing with his other hand from the people around. "Like I said Serena, there's a lot, but not all of them are here right now, some have jobs and school. How did you get here so fast anyway?"
"I didn't get detention today, and rushed over as soon as the bell rung." She explained to Andrew.
"Oh, good for you! Being late isn't exactly a good thing." He said, happy she was trying to fix her bad habit.
"Yeah, tell me about it." She said, while trying to see what the guys looked like, that asked about her. Paul looked her age, which was not her type at all, she wanted an older guy. Someone to give Darien some competition. Tom was okay, except he seemed kind of hairy, again not her type. Ken looked interesting enough to give a shot to. "Okay, what's the deal with Ken, he's the taller one of them right? With straight black hair that's spiked up?"
"Yeah, but I wouldn't recommend him for you Serena." He said upset that she chose the worst in the bunch.
"Why not?" Serena asked as she looked in his direction.
"Because, he's got a kid, and he's not too nice to his girlfriend. They always are off and on, and I don't think you want to be involved in that type of thing." He said, hoping he'd convinced her to let him go.
"Oh, I see." She was a bit disappointed, but still had hope. "How about Jeff? He's the one that's a little shorter right? But he seems like he's real serious."
"Well, I haven't heard anything bad about him, if you want to ask him out." Andrew said casually.
"What? I'm not going to ask him out!" Serena said, suddenly embarrassed.
"Why not?"
"Because...because...that's not my style I guess. I'm old fashioned! He has to ask me!"
"Well he has to find out your single first, and since you aren't wearing a ring in the first place, he's not going to know unless you tell him."
"Unless..." a plan formed in her head and she started wailing right there in the arcade. "I CAN'T BELIEVE DARIEN BROKE UP WITH ME!" She screamed, tears beginning to form in her eyes. She caught Andrew completely off guard, trying to comfort her, and calm her at the same time.
"What are you doing!" He whispered harshly while she had her head down and wailed.
"I thought this would be the easiest, fastest way for all of them to know, plus the rumor mill will spread a lot faster this way." She said, smiling under her arm. A sweat drop formed on Andrew's face, he wasn't sure what he got himself into, but it couldn't be good. And he still hadn't been able to talk to Darien, he hoped he'd run into him soon. Andrew saw that she was right though, as all the guys were already talking about it.
"Serena, I'm not sure if that was such a good idea. Not all these guys are good people..." Andrew began to think of how Darien would skin him if he let anything happen to her. He sighed, defeated, "where are you going next? I'll take my break and walk you there."
"Oh Andrew, that's not necessary!" She said, waving at him with her hand.
"Yes it is, you may not be together, but I know Darien, and he'd have my head if I let anything happen to you." He said, knowing it was true.
"I'll be fine Andrew, but if you insist, I won't stop you." She winked at him, knowing her plan for the arcade patrons worked. By tomorrow all the guys would know, and all she'd have to do is wait for one to ask her out. "I'm going to the new game store that just opened up, then to Rei's temple."
"I better take my lunch break when you leave then."
"No need, you could just walk me to the game store. It's right by the bus stop anyway, I'll be fine."
"Okay." Andrew said, still unsure if he should leave her alone on the bus, but he couldn't leave work just to babysit either. He thought about having his sister Elizabeth bring him some food from her malt shop on his break, so he wouldn't have to waste time going somewhere.
"Let's go now so you can get it out of the way." Serena said, getting up, going back to her cheery self. Everyone was talking about that too.
"Serena, aren't you supposed to be upset?" Andrew whispered.
"Oh yeah!" she put her head down quickly, and started sniffling. Once they left the arcade she put her head back up and acted fine. She saw that Reagan was working again and quickly asked Andrew, "Has he ever been to the arcade and asked about me?" Andrew looked at the man and grew cautious.
"You're not going to cause a scene again are you?"
"No, no, I told him yesterday that we broke up."
"Okay, if you say so. Yes, he is one of the guys." He said, feeling worse and worse for Darien. "I'm sorry Serena, I can't help you anymore. It doesn't feel right, I feel like I'm betraying Darien."
"Okay, okay, it's fine. You've helped me enough. Thank you Andrew. I'll be fine, you can go back to work now." She said, and entered the game store. Andrew just stood there, staring at her back.
'What did I do? I hope I didn't do something that I'll regret already.' Andrew thought to himself as he saw her interact with the man in the store. 'Darien, I hope you know what you're doing...' He said as he walked back to work.
To Be Continued...
Special Thanks/Mention: : xx Twilight Princess xx, Princess Moonie of the Moon