Chapter 4! Yay!
Serena sighed in exasperation as her intercom went off in her apartment, signaling her "date" was downstairs. She walked over and pushed the button, letting out an "I'll be right down." She gave herself one more look over in the mirror.
She had not overly dressed for this occasion. She hated being in the position as it was. She wore a simple sundress and sandals. Definitely not date worth attire but slightly dressier than a day at the arcade...barely. She wasn't trying to impress anyone. In fact, she wanted to get through this date as quickly as possible.
Part of her was actually thinking about canceling at the last moment. She hadn't though. Not because she didn't want to hurt Hokuto's feelings. She could care less about that ass. But she had been hoping a certain someone would come and stop her date before it started. But he hadn't shown up and now it was time for this stupid date.
She rolled her eyes at herself and headed out the door. When the elevator reached the first floor, the doors opened to reveal Hokuto standing just inside the door. He grinned when he saw her. It was a grin that made her slightly uncomfortable.
She put on her fakest smile as she approached him.
"Don't you look sexy," he greeted. She couldn't help the eye roll that came with the statement.
"Where are we going?" she asked. He opened the door for her as he led her to his car.
"Thought maybe we'd go to dinner and then take a walk," he said, forgetting the gentlemanly thing of opening the car door for her. She huffed softly to herself and let herself into the car as he jumped in the driver's seat.
"That's fine," she stated. He drove her to a local pizza place, not really suitable for a date. While she loved this restaurant, it was more of a hangout. Not a nice dinner place.
She rolled her eyes as they pulled up. Did she really expect anything less from Hokuto?
As they sat down, he ordered a pizza and sodas for both of them. Serena tried her best to enjoy her "date" while still watching the door hopefully, hoping someone would come and save her.
But no. No one came to her rescue. She sat at that table across from Hokuto, pretending to listen to him as he boasted about himself, not once asking about her.
She ate her pizza in the most unladylike fashion so as to be off-putting. It didn't seem to be working as well as she had hoped. He still eyed her up and down constantly. It made her feel dirty.
Once dinner was over, a sense of relief washed over her. She wiped her mouth of any sauce that may be lingering and cleared her throat.
"This was a very nice dinner, Hokuto," she stated.
"The night isn't over yet," he grinned. Her shoulders slumped. She had been hoping he would forget about the walk part of their "date".
"I'm really rather tired though. Maybe you could just take me home," she pleaded. Hokuto shook his head.
"Come on. We won't take a long walk. I promise," he said. She sighed out loud and stood from the table.
"Alright," she said defeated. "Let's get this over with." She had no use to pretend anymore that she cared about this date. He obviously didn't get the hint that she wasn't having a good time. Even if he did, she was sure he didn't care. He was getting his date!
"That's the spirit!" He said enthusiastically. She rolled her eyes and followed him out the door to his car. They hopped in and he sped off towards the park.
She let herself out of the car, knowing he wouldn't come around to open the door, and followed him wordlessly down the path. She hadn't been to this part of the park before. Frowning, she looked around, trying to figure out where exactly they were.
"Hokuto, what part of the park is this? I don't think I've been here before, " she asked as she looked around. He looked back to her and grinned.
"This is the lower East side. No one goes here."
"Clearly," she muttered to herself. She frowned as they came across a blanket laid out across the ground. "Um, what's this?"
"Just a little something I had set up for us," he replied with a disconcerting grin. A feeling of dread came over her and she felt her face pale.
"Uh, thanks but I think I should just head home." She turned quickly and started to walk away but he jumped in front of her, blocking her way.
"Don't go yet. We still have so much more fun to have." He walked towards her, forcing her to back away from him.
"Hokuto," she tried, "please, let's just go home. I'm tired and I..." her words halted as her back hit a tree.
"Come on, Serena," he said in a slick voice as his hands on either side of her in a menacing way. "It's just a little fun."
"No!" She yelled, ducking under his arm to try and escape him. But he was faster than her, grabbing her arms and slamming her back against the tree. His grin was gone and there was a dangerous look in his eyes.
"What's wrong, Serena? Am I not good enough for you? You'll fuck some guy you hate in an alley but not me?!" He yelled. She frowned in fear and confusion. "Yeah, I saw you guys the other day. He can fuck you in some dirty alleyway, but I set up a nice blanket and I get told no?! That's not how this works!"
Serena's fear turned to anger. Her eyes narrowed, and her nose scrunched up in disgust.
"You will never be HALF the man Darien is. You're not even good enough to lick his shoe." And with that, she spit in his face.
She realized in an instant that was the wrong move. His eyes filled with rage and his nose curled up in a snarl.
"You bitch," he yelled. Her eyes widened as he brought his hand up, connecting it hard with her face. Her head jerked to the side with the force of his hit. White light flooded her eyes, blinding her as pain coursed through her jaw.
He brought his face to hers and licked her jawline. "Today is the day to learn something new, my pet. You're going to-"
He was cut off as a figure tackled him to the ground. Serena slumped against the tree, her hand cradling her throbbing cheek. She was still reeling from the hit; still too dizzy to realize what had just happened.
A punching noise to her side brought her back to reality. She looked to her side and through her still fuzzy gaze, she could see a man on top of another one. Her brow furrowed.
"Darien?" She voice sounded strained even to her.
At the sound of her voice, the man jeered his head toward her. In a flash, he was up and rushing to her side, leaving Hokuto laying on the ground.
Darien appeared in front of her, crouched down, worry etched across his features. He gently pulled her hand away, inspecting the bruising cheek.
"Are you okay?" Concern coursed through his voice. "I'm so sorry, Serena! I should have never let this happen. I should have never-" but he was cut off as she flung herself into his arms. Her tears soaked his shirt as she let herself go.
He sat back on the ground, taking her with him with her into his lap to cradle her as she cried. He ran his fingers through her hair in an effort to soothe her.
A moan to the side drew his attention. The bloodied man lay a few feet away in pain. Darien glanced at his hand, realizing he had lost control. His knuckles were bloody from his punching of the man assaulting his Meatball Head.
With a sigh, he shifted slightly to pull his phone out of his pocket. Serena didn't move. Her tears eased but she stayed snuggled in his embrace. He slowly dialed the three digits he knew he had to.
"911. What's your emergency?" Came the voice on the other end.
"Yeah, I have an attempted sexual assault at the park," he answered. Serena looked up at him.
"Where in the park are you located?"
Darien gave them directions, the whole time looking over her cheek, his profession as a doctor kicking in. After hanging up with 911, the two sat in silence for a moment.
"You didn't have to call them," Serena said softly. But Darien nodded.
"Yes, I did. The police need to know what he did to you. Plus, he needs an ambulance." He gestured to the half-unconscious man, blood pooling from his face.
"Darien..." Serena whispered, her eyes wide.
"He'll be okay. Well, he'll live." He turned his attention back to her. "Are you okay?" Her eyes filled with tears again but she nodded slowly. He pulled her back to him, rocking her gently. "I'm so sorry, Serena. I should have been there. I should have never let you go with him. I should have..."
"Stop," she cut him off, sitting up to look him in the eye. "It was my choice to go. I was being stupid. I was trying to throw it in your face. I..."
She was also cut off as a flashlight light bounced around their heads. They looked to see an officer making his way toward them with a few more on his 6. The two stood, Darien helping Serena to her feet, as the officers approached, two EMTs appearing behind them, gear in hand.
"Did someone call about an attempted sexual assault?" One officer asked. Darien nodded and pointed toward Hokuto. Both EMTs eyes widened as they rushed to the man.
The next hour was spent going over the events of the night, Serena having to explain what had gone on, while the EMTs took Hokuto to the hospital.
"We're almost done here," the officer taking the report said. "Ms. Tsukino, we'll need you to come to the station for a full report in the morning." Serena nodded. "In the meantime," the officer continued, looking to Darien with a grim look, "we need to discuss the aggravated assault on Mr. Mitchuru."
"Aggravated assault?!" Serena yelled. "But he was just-"
"Please, Ms. Tsukino!" The officer interrupted loudly.
"Serena, don't," Darien warned in a hush, slightly squeezing her waist with the arm he had around it. The officer looked hard at Serena before turning his attention back to Darien. He then gave him a slight smirk. Darien frowned in confusion.
"So from my understanding," he looked at his notepad he had been scribbling his notes on, "a random man attacked Mr. Mitchuru, beating him to a pulp, while you comforted Ms. Tsukino. After you called the police, he took off." He looked back to Darien. "Do I have that correct?"
Both Darien and Serena looked at each other and then back to the cop, confusion coursing through them. Another guy? Neither of them had mentioned another guy.
"Uh, I don't-" Darien started slowly.
"If this is the case," the officer pushed, "there will be nothing we can do. No one to charge with assault since he ran away. We'll probably never find him."
Darien's eyes widened in understanding. With a smile, he nodded his thanks to the policeman.
"You're correct, officer." Beside him, Serena looked between him and the cop. After a moment, her eyes also widened in understanding and she let out an audible "oh!" The officer closed his notebook and placed his pen back in his shirt pocket.
"I think we have all we need, here," he said. He first looked at Darien, holding out his hand. Darien took it, shaking it with a smile. "Good to meet you, Mr. Shields." He then turned to Serena, his face turning softer. "Me. Tsukino, I'm so sorry about what happened. We will make him pay for this."
"Thank you, officer," she glanced at Darien before looking back at him. "For everything."
The policeman tipped his hat at her before turning and walking off.
Serena shifted to look at Darien. He gave her a small smile.
"Will you take me home?" She asked.
"Of course," he answered, taking her hand gently and leading her towards his car. She stopped short, forcing him to look at her.
"Your home? I...I don't really want to be alone at the moment." She looked at the ground as if embarrassed. Darien placed a finger under her chin, forcing her to look at him.
"That was the plan anyway," he smiled. She returned his smile and they continued the walk to the car.
So, I totally lied. Apparently, there will be a chapter 5. I was going to put these last two chapters together but I decided I didn't want all of the stuff that happened in this chapter in the same chapter as the stuff that will be in the next…..does that make sense? Anyway, I'll bring back some lemonade in the next, and FINAL chapter….I think….yeah, final.