Strong Destiny, Weak Heart

Chapter 6

Most guys are a dime a dozen

Disclaimer: I wish I could take credit for Sailor Moon! Alas, not my creation, only this story is.

Previously on Strong Destiny, Weak Heart:

"Serena, phone!" Her mother called from downstairs.

"Okay!" She ran down to answer. "Hello?"

"Hello, Serena?"

"Yes."

"Um, it's Reagan. I hope you don't mind, but I used your card to get your number."

"Oh, um, no. I don't mind at all. What's up?"

"Well, I was just wondering...do you want to go out sometime?"

And now the continuation...

Chapter 6

Serena's heart stopped for a moment. She had hoped that this would happen, but now that it did, she was caught completely off guard. When she heard there was a call for her, she thought it would be Ami saying she wouldn't be able to make it. When she heard a man's voice on the line, she thought it would be another guy from the arcade. Now that she knew it was Reagan, everything changed, she was suddenly nervous and anxious at the same time.

"Hello? Serena?" She didn't realize she hadn't said anything.

"Um, yeah, I'm here, sorry."

"So, would you be interested?" He sounded discouraged after her silence. "You can say no, it would be fine, I won't bother you again."

"No, no, no. It's fine. I mean...yes, I'd love to go out with you Reagan."

"Really? I'm not pressuring you or anything?"

"Not at all. To be honest, I was hoping you'd call."

"I see. Well, how about tomorrow then? It's my day off."

"That sounds wonderful." She was beginning to blush, and was glad the conversation was on the phone, and not in person. "What time?"

"Is six okay?"

" Seven would be better..." She was thinking about training, afterward she'd have Ami come straight over. She'd be showered, changed and ready by then.

"Okay, seven it is, see you then."

"Okay, bye."

"Bye." After she hung up, she began to squeal with joy, and ran back up to her room to the game.

"Thank you Sailor V game!" She said as she hugged and snuggled with the cartridge. She was so busy thinking about where he would take her, what she would wear, and what they would talk about, that she didn't even notice the time.

"Serena, Ami is here!" Her mother screamed up the stairs.

"Okay!" Serena yelled back before running down the stairs. She grabbed Ami's hand, and ran back up to her room, locking the door behind her.

"What's going on Serena?" Ami asked, wondering why Serena seemed so anxious to study today.

"Oh Ami, you'll never guess who just called me!" Serena squealed as soon as she had the door locked, and still faced it.

"Who?" Ami asked, realizing her true reason for rushing upstairs, Thinking she should have suspected something like this.

"Reagan!"

"Is that another guy from the arcade, or the boy from the game store?"

"Ami, keep up! It's the guy from the game store!" Serena said anxiously, wondering how Ami could forget such a thing, but remember many complex equations at the drop of a hat. "I've been hoping he'd ask me out, and now he finally has! I'm so excited!"

"Serena, shouldn't we be studying?" Ami said, clearly not amused by the events.

"Why aren't you more excited for me Ami, I've been waiting for this guy for a long time!"

"Not as long as you've waited for Darien..." Ami whispered.

"What was that Ami?" Serena said, clearly not happy Ami had mumbled something under her breath.

"Nothing." Ami replied, blushing.

"Hmmmmph." Serena said, pulling out her school books.

"Serena, I hope you don't let this guy make you lose focus on your school work. I'm sorry I'm not more excited, but you've been dating a lot lately, who's to say this guy is any different from the many guys you've already gone out with?"

"He is Ami, I just know he is."

"If you say so, now let's get started, please try to focus, you've been doing so well without guys on the brain, don't go back to your old habits. Remember, you don't want anyone thinking you're a ditz anymore."

"Yeah Ami, I remember." She said, trying to put the date out of her mind for now. Not an easy task when all she could think about was his muscular build and beautiful face, but she made the effort none the less.

The next day, she again found it difficult to focus on school, but with much more effort, she was able to persevere and not flunk another test. She went straight to Rei's instead of the Arcade or anything, and tried to get training out of the way early. She hoped if she started early, no one would mind if she left early. After all, all they cared about is if she put in effort, right?

After the morning shift at the hospital, Darien went over to see Andrew, and talk to him before heading to the temple for training. "Hey Andrew." Darien greeted as he walked in.

"Hey Darien, how's it going?"

"It's been alright, do you have anything for me?" Darien asked, looking around the room to see if he could spot anyone that Serena may have been interested in.

"Yeah, well, a little."

"I'll take what I can get." Darien said, ready for some bad news.

"Well, she's been on quite a few dates with a lot of the guys here, but it doesn't seem like anyone asks her out for a second date." Darien smiled at the information, since he knew Serena wouldn't be as loose as to do anything on a first date. She was one of the most conservative women he knew. "But I hear the guy from the new game store was planning on asking her out, and from what I've heard, he's liked her for a while, just never had the nerve to ask her out."

"Hmmm, so why is he suddenly going to ask her out now?"

"Probably because he knows she's not going to be coming in every day anymore. Not since the game she was paying off finally came out, she has no reason to."

"I see." Darien said, not pleased with the information. If he took this long to ask her out, he might be just as conservative as Serena. "What does this guy look like?" Andrew pulled out his notes, ready for such a question.

"He's shorter than you by a few inches, but still well over Serena by at least half a foot. He's got red hair, and red eyes, kind of muscular, with no tan. He looks about 16, his name is Reagan and he's the manager of the game store. His dad owns the place, and he works there with his brother, but it's a franchised company. " He then closed his notebook, and looked at Darien."What are you planning to do?" He asked, unsure if he wanted to hear the answer.

"What can I do? I'm just going to have to wait it out, and hope Serena isn't as interested in him as he is in her." Andrew bit his lip.

"What?"

"Um, I kinda think she already is..." Andrew said, trying to spare Darien's feelings.

"How do you know that?"

"Cause I walked her there one day, and she told me she had already told him you guys broke up. It was before she told anyone else. Also, the way she looked at him when she walked in the store, I could tell she liked him... It's the same look she always gives you when you walk into a room, or at least used to." He said, waiting for Darien's reaction.

"I see." Darien said, not happy at the news. "Well, then I guess I'll have to check this guy out for myself. Where did you say the place he worked was?"

"Just around the corner, at the shopping district, the new place that opened up a few months ago. Oh and Darien, don't do anything stupid!" Andrew shouted to Darien's back as he walked out the arcade.

"Yeah, yeah, I just want to talk to him." He said as the door swung closed behind him. He easily found the new game store and walked in. He looked around for anyone that fit the description that Andrew had given him, but he only saw a man that looked 50, and a boy that couldn't be more than 14.

"Can I help you?" The older man said with a smile.

"Oh, I was just looking for Reagan."

"Well today is his day off, but I'm sure we could help you with anything you're interested in."

"Oh, uh, actually I just wanted to ask him his opinion about a video game, so that's okay. Thanks anyway, sorry." Darien rushed out so the man couldn't ask him any more questions. Knowing today was his day off, he figured Serena and Reagan probably had a date tonight, if he'd gotten the courage to ask her. He planned on making training count today, as he headed to Rei's temple, with nothing else to do.

Serena got to the temple even before Rei. 'I guess that's what I get for coming straight after school.' she told herself, as she seated herself on the top step and decided on starting her homework, knowing time would be short tonight because of her date. A bonus would be if Ami went easy on her because she made the effort.

"Hey Serena, aren't you here a little early?" Darien's voice startled her, as she saw him walking up the steps with a small smile on his face.

"Yeah, um, I planned on leaving a bit early, but I didn't count on Rei not being here yet." Serena said, unsure if she should give him details or not.

"Leaving early? What for?" He asked, already knowing the answer, but he wanted to hear it from her.

"Oh, well because I have a date." She decided not to lie, she didn't want to hurt him, but if he found out later, and it wasn't from her, she reasoned it would have been much worse.

"I see. May I ask who with?" His smile faded at the fact that she wasn't even attempting to spare his feelings.

"Yeah, um, a guy I met at the game store. His name is Reagan." She was unsure if it was wise to tell Darien the guys name and where she met him.

"Oh, well, I hope you have a good time." His smile was back, and she didn't like it. It felt fake, unreal.

"Thanks Darien." She said, hoping she didn't hurt him too bad.

"What are you guys doing here so early?" Rei asked as she reached the temple stairs, and saw Serena and Darien, talking at the top of them.

"Well, I got here cause I had nothing else to do, but Serena's here cause she wanted to get it out of the way because she has a date tonight." Darien said, without pausing.

"Oh." Was all Rei said, but inside she was worried about how it affected Darien.

"Well, if you guys don't want to waste any time, we could start training now. The others can join in when they get here. I guess we can make it me against you Darien, so Serena doesn't get hurt."

"It's okay, I'll be fine-" Serena started to say, but was cut off.

"Fine by me, let's start Rei." Darien and Rei transformed and got straight to it, not thinking twice about Serena.

"Why am I even here?" She said to herself out loud, as she pulled out her schoolbooks once more. When she looked up, she noticed Darien wasn't fighting his hardest against Rei, he was going easy on her. It didn't make any sense to her, since he was now able to heal any wounds. Now that she was paying attention, she noticed they were both going easy on each other, they were more dancing then training. She was getting annoyed and yet she had no idea why. They were merely training in an odd way, but to Serena, something just didn't feel right. She hoped the others would get here soon.

To Be Continued...

Special Thanks/Mention: xx Twilight Princess xx, loveinthebattlefield, and Princess Moonie of the moon