Oops, I accidentally posted chapter fifteen of Satin Hostage and not letter fifteen of Dear Stranger...thanks trish and an anonymous reviewer for letting me know about that! Though I recommend reading Satin Hostage too if you haven't already!

Dear Stranger,

Darien came in this morning, greeting me with his usual cheery, "Good morning, Serena!" I don't understand how he can be so happy and awake this early in the morning. Then again, he always had a mug of strong smelling coffee, so maybe that was his secret.

I gave him my usual greeting as well: an incoherent grumble as I pulled my blanket over my head.

He yanked it down and I snapped at him for it. He didn't reply; his eyes were trained on a space a few inches above my eyes.

Then I remembered that I was losing my hair.

Gosh it was so embarrassing!

I had fumbled for the bandana, attempting to tie it around my head as my mother had, but each time it just wouldn't stay. Stupid thing! It shouldn't be this hard!

Darien wound up doing it for me. And it went like this:

"I'm, uh, sorry for the loss of your hair. I know you cared a lot about it," he grumbled something about how long I took in the shower. "And it was really long, so I'm sure you've been growing it out since you were little. And um, it was a very unique hairstyle you kept it in. Kind of made you look like a bunny."

Would the poor guy just stop already? It was getting really awkward…

"At least it won't get into my mouth next time we watch a movie…"

Oh make it stop…well, at least there's a next time…

"So—"

"Darien, you can stop. Please stop."

He let out a breath, knotting the bandana tidily. "Sorry, I don't really know how to deal with this sort of thing yet."

I waved him off and he stepped forward to begin the preparations for today's treatment. I looked away when he brought out the needle and inserted it into my arm to withdraw blood. "Hey Serena…you don't think of the other night as a date, do you? I mean, we watched a movie together and that's usually something people on a date, but I know it was just us as friends…" The needle was taken out and I looked up at his flushed face.

"Uh…" it was silent for a few seconds. The ticking of the clock suddenly became a nuisance. TICK TICK TICK TICK BE QUIET YOU STUPID CLOCK YOU'RE GIVING ME A HEADACHE.

"No…" the word that passed through my lips was long and drawn out and definitely did not sound certain.

"Great! Glad we got that awkwardness sorted out." He smiled and guided me over for the next part of the preparations.

Darien, you're the one making it awkward since you first walked in here!

I thought this guy was supposed to be super-duper smart.

Wondering if it's possible to request a new nurse on the grounds of 'extreme awkwardness',

Serena