Author's note: It has been a very long time since I last wrote anything and I learned that sometimes, things happen in our lives for a reason and this time, it was to help me find something I lost. This is how I bring you another story with Serena and Darien. This takes place before any of the events of Queen Beryl and they were living simple lives.
In this story, Darien finds Serena in the library unable to work through being ghosted by someone she invited into her life. They both find that their complicated feelings for each other are more than simple teasing.
The Lunar Eclipse
"Meatball head?"
These were the first words she'd heard in hours. She was surprised that the nickname didn't put her into an instant rage like it usually did. The thoughts going through her head at a hundred miles per hour overrode any other feelings such an interaction would have on her. She raised her sad blue eyes up to the only person to name her after the traditional spaghetti dish.
"Whoa," Darien exclaimed, his eyes widening at the sight of her. "What's going on, Meatball Head?"
"Just go away, Darien," came the reply with a sigh, putting her head back down on her arms.
Silently, Darien pulled up a chair and sat down next to her at the computer station. Admittedly, he was shocked to find her in the library of all places. Her usual haunts were the arcade, the Fruits Parlor Crown café, the Hikawa Shrine, and the park. But the library? The idea of being around anything that involves studying, school and exerting her brain was enough to make her wail like a banshee. So, he felt in his gut that something wasn't right with her. But what brought her here? He could only look at her and wait for some response. His presence alone was an inevitable catalyst for her scowl, a roll of the eyes, an entertaining argument or her to storm away from him. But not today.
"Serena," he said softly, feeling it was important to use her name. He noted the shift in her body as she heard his voice at her side. "What's wrong?"
She sighed into her arms and slowly sat up, resting herself fully against the back of the chair. She turned to look at Darien, his deep ocean blue eyes boring into her. She gulped, looking away, seeing the computer screen in front of her and she felt the first threat of tears in her eyes. She swallowed hard.
"Why would you be interested?"
"I wouldn't sit here with you if I wasn't interested."
Serena looked at Darien and shook her head.
"It's really stupid." She paused. "I suppose I'm really stupid."
"Did you fail another test?"
Her head whipped round to glare at him, her teeth grinding together in annoyance. He smiled at her, giving her a nudge.
"I'm just playing," he teased. "Come on, I really want to know. This isn't like you."
"How would you know what I'm like?" she wandered. "All we do is argue."
"And you think that means that I don't take notice of you?"
She felt that funny butterfly sensation in her stomach and she pushed her arms into herself in an attempt to stop them. It wasn't the first time Darien did that to her.
"I was just looking at my social network profiles online," she admitted.
"Yes?" Darien frowned, glancing at the screen.
Serena sighed heavily.
"I don't know why I'm telling you this," she groaned.
"You obviously need to tell someone and as the girls aren't around," Darien replied, almost impatiently, "just tell me."
"There's been this boy…"
Darien's eyebrows raised minutely but he said nothing.
"At first, we were just talking, and we had things in common which was nice, but there were also the things we didn't have in common. That's what made it interesting and how the conversation kept flowing because we just wanted to know more, or at least I did. Then before I knew it, we were talking every day."
The story was flowing out of her before she could stop it.
"We went on a date."
Darien frowned, feeling something stirring in him. He observed the petite blonde at his side who he teased relentlessly on a daily basis. How could her attention be turned by anyone else?
"It was simple. Just a coke and some food. Conversation flowed so easily between us. There was this moment during lunch when he noticed my necklace was hanging from some of my hair and he took it into his hands. The necklace chain had broken from around my neck and while I talked, he sat patiently fixing the chain. When he finished, he handed it back and I just had this strong sense that maybe he was a decent guy. I haven't had anyone do anything for me without needing to be asked before. It was… nice."
Serena smiled sadly. Then she continued.
"I came home, and I told mama how we walked through the park and sat by the lake in the warm sun. I just felt so happy."
She threw her hands up in frustration.
"It's just so stupid. He was just another boy. Why would I feel so happy after one date?" She glanced at Darien who hadn't once dropped his gaze from her. "Don't answer that. We continued talking and it felt so great to have someone to talk to who wasn't the girls. It was like he was this possibility that I didn't think I'd have. I mean remember my crush on Andrew. That was never going to go anywhere as he's with Rita, but I just wanted that to be something. When I accepted it couldn't, I allowed myself to let go a little and there he was at school. So, then there was date two…"
Serena dropped her head into her hands. She felt the rising of tears and willed them to stay away. Why was she letting Darien in? They've never exactly been close. But there was something about him that felt warm and inviting and… safe? She felt his hand on her shoulder.
"It's okay, Serena," Darien assured her. "You don't have to continue."
"I invited him to my house to watch a film," she sniffed. "That was the date that I wish hadn't happened."
"Why?"
"He kissed me."
It was Darien's turn to sharply inhale and allow this new information to process. He didn't like that at all. Not one bit. It confused him to feel this way, but he had known for a while that he had something there for her. He couldn't name it. It didn't matter. He didn't need to.
"I thought it meant something," she professed. "I didn't want to be that girl on the long list of other girls." She felt the tears sitting on her waterline and she looked up to the ceiling in an attempt to let her tears fall back, but instead, the tears fell from the corners of her eyes and dripped down her cheeks. "One day we were talking, and then suddenly, he was telling me that it was a chore to talk to me every day. He continued to tell me that it was like having a job to reply to lots of messages and he figured I was that type of person. When I asked what he meant, he told me that I was clingy, and I got attached to people. Honestly, when I looked back, I sent one text back to his text to me and I never told him there was an expectation to talk to me every day. He never told me he needed space to just be by himself sometimes. I'm not a mind reader. He always had this annoying habit to tell me what I'm thinking when I was thinking nothing of the sort!"
She looked at Darien with glassy eyes. He pursed his lips and reached over to gently wipe her cheeks with the backs of his fingers.
"I'm not clingy," she insisted. "One reply to his previous message is just a conversation, right? So, then I heard nothing from him. I left it a weekend then I sent him a message to express that name calling was uncalled for. But I heard nothing back. We went from being close in my house and having conversations to one day, he was gone. Just a ghost."
"He sounds like a narcissist, Serena," Darien observed.
"What do you mean?"
"He chose to make an intentional, self-centred decision to leave your new friendship in a manner that inflicts trauma and shame while leaving you without a voice," Darien explained. "That's classic ghosting."
"What did I do wrong?" she whispered.
"Absolutely nothing," he assured her without a pause. "I'm sorry you're hurting. I had no idea."
"No one does," she murmured. She looked up. "We haven't spoken in a while. And I kept quiet. But he decided to remove my following on social media of his accounts, made his account private but he kept following my account. I'm so confused. I blocked his accounts from following me because I didn't understand why he would continue following my social activities if he clearly doesn't want me in his life. That's why I'm in the library. It's quiet and at this time of day, barely anyone is in here. I just needed to process but I don't know how."
"That's okay," Darien said simply.
"That's all you have to say?" Serena replied with a hint of disgust.
"That's all I have to say on account of him," Darien emphasized. "But I have a lot more to say regarding you. He couldn't handle having someone in his life that's caring, warm and full of love. You love with all your soul. It's brighter than the fire… blinding. That's why you pull away from it. You won't ever lose it because you don't reject it. Love is pain and you will find that you forge strength from pain. Love, give, forgive. Risk the pain. It is your nature."
"How do you know this?" Serena cried quietly, the tears falling freely now.
Darien leaned over, his face closer to hers than its ever been before. She was vaguely aware of the delicate scent of roses, it was soothing and warm. She closed her eyes against the intensity of this moment. She could never name what she felt for him but despite the regular arguments they had, she quietly smiled to herself about them when she was on her own. She was fond of him, even though he drove her nuts. He was her one constant. She felt his hands against her cheeks, his thumb rubbing under her eyes, gently wiping away the tears of hurt and confusion.
"I know this because I really see you, Serena," Darien said softly. "One boy looking for a good time, having problems of his own that he won't deal with and lacking the simplest of communication skills are not your problem. That's not where your love should go. He just needed it from you to feel good about himself. Don't let this one person be the shadow to darken the moon. Without the moon, the earth would descend into chaos."
Darien sat back, letting his hands move from her face down to her hands. He nodded his head to the computer at their side.
"So, this is what you will do," he proposed, "you will turn off social media and you won't waste another minute wondering what happened. Nothing happened. He was a coward, a fool and toxic. You are surrounded by friends who adore you, and more people you don't know who see you. Let him go. It sounds impossible but you'll do it because you risked the pain. You'll forge strength from it, and you'll find something even better."
"Isn't that just society's cliché way of telling me to get over it?" Serena said dully.
"Maybe," Darien shrugged. "But I'm the one telling you this. I wouldn't tell you to get over it because it's not that simple. I'm telling you to embrace it and shine brighter than you ever have before when the shadow is gone. Ghosts become forgotten because they're of the past. You won't remember this one fondly, so we move on."
"You sound like a poet," Serena smiled at him.
She felt his fingers squeeze hers and she looked down at them in her lap. He was just holding her hands, but it felt like a warm hug. She wanted to embrace this. She didn't expect Darien to be so kind. She expected him to laugh at her. Tease her that a boy could ever be interested in her. Then laugh some more that this boy left her in such a horrific manner. But no. He displayed empathy, and compassion, and tenderness. She felt the butterflies stirring in her stomach, but she didn't push them away. It felt like he was chasing away that shadow that forced the lunar eclipse. He was allowing the sun to shine on her again. She wondered what it would be like to have his arms around her.
"It's hard to deal with being thrown in the garbage can by someone you barely know, let alone by someone you love," he said. "It'll get easier. One day you won't think about it anymore."
"You really think so?"
Darien looked at her sad pale face and it struck him how beautiful she is to him. It wasn't just her cerulean blue eyes that he could have swam in. Or her little slender nose. Her lips with the natural pout to them and a faint rosy shade to them. Her long blonde hair tied up in odango, giving her that additional cuteness that he couldn't help but tease. It was like a waterfall of blonde silk that he often wanted to reach out to touch. It overwhelmed him to look at her while she was being vulnerable and open to him. She was letting him in and that was beautiful to him.
"I really think so," he confirmed. "Someone will love you so unconditionally that you won't see it coming. The lunar eclipse will end, and you'll meet the sun again."
"A solar eclipse?" she teased, a stray tear falling on her cheek, this time with a little joy in her face.
"I like to think the Sun, the Moon and the Earth are meeting together in a warm hug, giving the Earth a break from day and night," Darien smiled. He wiped her cheek gently. "You are worth more than you can ever know."
She didn't expect it when Darien leaned over and pressed his lips against her cheek. She felt like she lost all of her breath and suddenly the butterflies were in her chest, in her throat. And she knew that she didn't need to waste any more tears, any more thoughts, any more time on a ghost. And she felt him seal the deal.
"I'll never be a ghost, Meatball Head," he whispered in her ear.
"Isn't that what they all say?" she whispered back.
"Maybe," he acknowledged, "but I'd be lost if I couldn't tease my Meatball Head every day."
She felt herself smile as his arms encased her in a gentle hug. This wasn't just the warm hug she felt when his hands held onto hers. This was a flickering fire, but she knew she'd never get burned. She smiled into his chest and freed herself of the ghost. The lunar eclipse was passing over.
