Grammarly beta'd
Darien sat at the counter at the Arcade and tried to tune out Serena as she joked and laughed with her friends. He sighed and took another sip of coffee, and turned the page in his anatomy textbook. It was getting harder and harder for him to study while he visited with Andrew at the Arcade.
He almost visibly cringed when Serena popped up next to him and smiled at him. "I don't know why you're always studying here."
"Unlike you, I get good grades." he huffed and flipped the page he hadn't even finished reading. He was distracted by how close she was to him. He desperately wanted to reach out and wrap his arms around her.
She rolled her eyes at him and said, "Hey, ever since I started studying political science in University, I have been getting better grades. I even got a B on my last test."
Darien had been incredibly impressed with her; lately, she had applied herself to her education, and she was doing well. The B didn't surprise him at all. He looked at her though and said, "Well, there is no point in me studying then. You getting a B means the world is coming to an end for sure. Think I can make it out of here before the firestorm starts?"
She scrunched up her face and stomped her foot at him, "Oooh, you are just so mean! You won't ever be nice to me, will you?" She spun around and stomped out of the Arcade, forgetting her purse. Amy ran after her to take it to her.
Mina watched Darien laugh at Serena as Amy went running out. She was tired of Darien being mean to Serena, and she knew she needed to come up with a plan. She was fully aware that Serena was hiding feelings for him, although she would never admit to anyone. Not even to her best friends. Mina wanted to make Darien feel what Serena had been going through. She was tired of Serena leaving in a huff with tears in her eyes.
Now she just needed a plan.
Two days later, Mina joined the girls at the Arcade and was chuckling to herself. She knew her plan was perfect. Venus was indeed looking down on her and smiling. She sat next to Serena and stealthily got a piece of her long golden hair and stuffed it into the vial she had hidden in her hands under the table.
She continued to talk for a while and then acted like she needed to ask Andrew something. She walked up to the counter and noticed Darien turned his head towards the table. His focus was on Serena. Mina rolled her eyes as he said something cutting to Serena and, while his back was turned, she poured the contents of the vial into his cup. She smiled, slipped it into her pocket, and asked Andrew for a soda when he returned. Mission accomplished.
She went back to her spot at the booth, watched him drink his coffee, and silently congratulated herself. She was so pleased that she had managed to get it in his drink without anyone stopping her. Now she just needed to wait five minutes for it to start working. She smiled to herself.
Ten minutes passed, and nothing happened. Mina was growing angry. She spent a lot of money on that love potion that she had slipped into his coffee, and it wasn't working. She grit her teeth and decided she would march over to the woman she bought it from and demand her money back. What a waste all of that was!
She made her excuses to the girls and walked out of the Arcade and turned in the direction of Madame Estee's shop. After a few minutes, she heard grumbling behind her. Some guy was saying, "Just get yourself together. You have managed to not act like a fool for months. What is your problem today?!"
She spun around and saw Darien talking to himself. He came up short once he realized Mina was looking at him. He said, "You didn't hear that, right?"
She raised one eyebrow and smiled at him, "What makes you think that?"
"Wishful thinking," he replied.
"No such luck," she informed him.
He groaned. "Can you forget that you heard anything?" he asked hopefully.
She shook her head and said, "No can do. Spill."
"No, no way," he said with conviction.
She hoped her instincts were right, and she actually did understand what was going on. She decided to go for it and see what happened, "I bought a love potion and slipped it into your coffee. I was incredibly disappointed when I saw that it didn't work."
His eyes grew huge, and he said, "That's why today was harder!"
She smirked and nodded, "It worked, didn't it? I thought your lack of reaction to Serena meant that it failed. That isn't it at all, is it?"
"Dammit, Mina, why did you have to do that to me!" he countered. He was angry.
Mina replied, "Because I am tired of Serena leaving with tears in her eyes after talking to you."
Darien's anger deflated; he grew pale and said, "Tell me you are joking. That's not funny. There is no way that she's crying. Going back and forth like that is our thing."
Mina rolled her eyes, "It's your thing, and she wants to change your opinion of her. You can't even be proud of her for getting a B on her test."
"I am incredibly proud of her. She has really started to study and is doing so well in university; she amazes me." Darien sighed. "I just…"
"You just keep your feelings bottled up and hidden under an exterior of being an asshole." she finished for him.
He nodded and said, "You don't pull your punches, do you?"
"When it comes to Serena? No. She has accepted me in with warmth and care. She has given me the family love I have lacked my whole life. She has done that for all of us, and she would do anything to protect us. We don't take her happiness lightly." she informed him.
"I have noticed you protect her."
"We all do." she crossed her arms and glared at him. "So what is your problem? Why do you insist on hurting the one girl who is kind to everyone?"
"I don't hurt her!" he deflated and added, "At least I don't mean to hurt her."
"What I don't get is how you can get over the uncontrollable urge to be near her. That love potion is supposed to be incredibly strong." Mina told him.
He laughed at her, "I had control over my overwhelming desires today because I resist them every single day. Your love potion only caused me to struggle a little bit more. I have so much practice holding back and staying away from her. I just walked away."
Her jaw dropped, "Then why don't you ask her out? If you have feelings that strong for her, just be with her."
"Fear." was his only reply.
She was baffled.
"Fear of what? I think you should tell me that right now." Serena demanded.
They both turned to look at her. Mina wondered how she snuck up on them. She then turned and walked away; she would ask what happened later. They didn't need her help right now.
"Fear of what?" Serena repeated when Darien made no move to answer.
Darien rubbed his face with his hands and answered, "Fear of rejection." His shoulders dropped, and he looked dejected.
"You don't ask me out because you believe that I will reject you? Did I hear that all correctly earlier?" she asked.
He nodded and decided it was time to be a man and admit it, "I am in love with you, Serena. I have been for a while."
She smiled at him and took a step towards him, "And you want to date me?"
He nodded.
She asked, "Will you stop being mean to me and be kinder?"
"Yes," he said.
She smiled up at him and said, "Well then, I will be your girlfriend. Why don't we go for a walk together in the park?" She took his hand and started walking.
Darien gave very little resistance to her when she tugged his hand to start moving. He wasn't going to question anything she said. He had gotten what he wanted. She was his girlfriend. He liked the sound of that. Now he just had to figure out how to be a good boyfriend. He knew he couldn't keep up teasing her.
After they crossed at the crosswalk, she said, "You have to say two nice things to me. You have said so many awful things that I need to hear what you like about me. It's hard for me to believe you find anything about me to your liking."
He sighed and realized he would have to say a lot more than two nice things to her over the coming days. He didn't want her doubting his feelings, and he noticed that she didn't tell him that she loved him back. He would have to earn her love in return.
He pulled her to a stop, looked her in the eye, and said, "You are the kindest person I have ever met. I haven't seen you dislike anyone, even if they deserved it. Also, I lied about your B on your test. I have been incredibly impressed and proud of your grades at University. I wasn't surprised in the least that you got such a good grade. I think political science is something that you will excel at."
"That's two," she commented and started to turn to head to the park.
He pulled her to face him and said, "There are so many more than two. How do I express how much I love you?"
She shrugged, "I just realized I don't know how to take a compliment from you. You haven't ever given me one before." She looked down at her feet, "I don't really know what you even see in me. You have pointed out all of my flaws for so long that I don't even know what you could possibly like about me. Well, other than those two things."
He tugged her in the opposite direction of the way they were walking, "We are going to my apartment so that we can have some privacy and I can tell you the truth. I want you to know what I think of you."
She let him lead her to his place, and when they arrived, she sat on his couch.
Darien paced in front of her and said, "I said all of those things because I was trying to hide my feelings from you. I am just so in love with you!" He stopped pacing and decided to use what Mina had given him. He let the love potion take over, and he prepared to spill all of his feelings.
He took a seat next to her on the couch, took a breath, and then said, "I have watched you for years interacting with everyone around you. You are kind and fierce at the same time. You always stand up for your friends. That's so rare. You welcome in everyone, and you find things to love about people that others have overlooked. All of your friends have been overlooked, teased, ignored, and then you came along. You saw who they were and gave them something they desperately wanted, acceptance and friendship. You love with your whole heart, and you radiate joy. You have worked so hard at University, and it has been an absolute joy to watch you find a major that you love and that you are good at." He paused and sighed. "I am overwhelmed by you every time I look at you. You are absolutely perfect in my eyes. I say those things to you because I desperately want your attention, and you are so sexy when you are angry."
She knew she could argue with him, he had made her feel insignificant for years, but she didn't want to. He had no reason to lie right now, and she realized that they were utterly alone in his apartment. She had been in love with him for so long, and now he was hers. He thought she looked sexy when she was angry, ha, she'd show him sexy. She'd make him realize that he was missing out by picking on her.
She moved to sit on her knees and faced him on the couch. "You really think all of those things about me?" He nodded at her. She traced one finger down his arm and gave him a seductive look. "You should have just told me. There are far better ways to get my attention than to pick on me. For example, you could just kiss me."
She leaned forward and kissed his lips. He quickly pulled her into his lap and deepened the kiss. She moved to straddle his lap, and she unbuttoned her blouse, exposing her lacy bra to him. She rocked up against him. She raised one eyebrow and said, "You think I am sexy when I'm mad?"
Darien tried to speak, but no words came out. He took a deep breath, shook his head, and said, "Yea, but this is definitely sexier." He brought his hands to her breasts and massaged them and bent down, and kissed the exposed swell of her breasts.
She rocked herself against him and said, "Let's skip making me angry and stick to this."
He nodded adamantly and said, "I like this so much better." He then spent the rest of the afternoon exploring her body and making sure she felt his love.
The next day when Serena and Darien walked into the Arcade hand in hand, Mina was the one cheering the loudest and silently congratulating herself.