Welcome to my very first Sailor Moon fanfic!  Please take a seat and enjoy the story.  
And by all means, let me know what you think. =)
Disclaimers: Sailor Moon and Co. do not belong to me.  I am merely borrowing them for the 
sake of writing my fanfic, and I promise not to make any money off of them.  Don't sue me.  
I'm poor.  =)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Out of the Blue"
by Stormlight
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CHAPTER ONE

	"AAAIIIEEE I'm LATE!  WHY doesn't anybody ever wake me UP?!"

	The shrill yell shattered the peaceful morning stillness of a neighborhood lying just 
inside the city of Tokyo.  A peacefully-slumbering man two blocks away grumbled and turned 
over as his wife insisted that he go out there and shoot whatever mangy cat was wailing outside 
the window.

	In the Tsukino's house, meanwhile, the true source of the noise was up and moving at warp 
speed to get ready for school and eat breakfast at the same time.  After managing to bolt down 
five pancakes in as many minutes, Serena blew her parents a kiss, smacked Sammy on the back of 
his head for his remark about his sister the "bottomless stomach", and bolted for the door, 
grabbing her lunch and school bag on the way out.  "Serena, take an umbrella with you!" her 
mother called after her.

	"Can'tnotimetostop!" Serena yelled back as she slammed the door behind her.
From the bedroom window, Luna the cat watched as Serena raced down the street, then heaved an 
exasperated sigh, shaking her head sadly.  

"That girl will never learn," she sighed.

*	*	*	*	*
	**Almost there,** Serena thought as she sprinted down the street.  **Whew!  All this 
running!  I should join the Olympics!  I'd probably win; I get enough practice at it!**  She 
slowed to turn a corner, but the leg suddenly appearing around the other side of it gave her 
warning that someone was there.  With a startled squawk, she veered left...and managed to run 
right into a stop sign.  Only by grabbing hold of it with both arms did she manage to keep from 
flying into the street, and it was a good thing, too, because at that moment a bus roared 
past...mere inches from her nose.

	She stood there, hugging the sign, gasping for breath, her eyes wide with shock.  
**That...that could have been ME out there...** she thought dazedly.  Out loud, she gasped, 
"Whoa!  That was close!"
	"I'll say it was!  Look what you made me do, you Meatball Head!" came a highly annoyed 
voice from directly behind her.

	She stiffened.  **Darien.  It just HAD to be Darien...**  Not that THAT was anything 
unusual.  Lately, it seemed like it was ALWAYS Darien!

	"Well, Meatball Head, once you're done hugging the pole, why don't you make yourself 
useful and help me gather these papers you made me drop," he said arrogantly.  "Thanks to you, 
I'm gonna be late to class!"

	Serena straightened proudly, swinging around to glare at him.  He was kneeling on the 
sidewalk, hurriedly gathering scattered papers.  A report, by the looks of the typed pages, 
and a big one judging by the amount of them.  He saw her standing there watching him, and 
straightened, clutching a fistful of papers.  "Well?  Are ya gonna stand there all day?" he 
snapped.  "I worked on this report for weeks, and if I lose it, I'll hold you responsible!"  
Her eyes widened and she stared at him.  She had nearly been killed, and all HE could worry 
about was a stupid report?!  Anger simmered inside her, and she bit her lip against the tears 
that filled her eyes at his unfeeling remarks.  There was no time for a tantrum.

	"Well, gee, Darien!  I'm SO sorry!  I tried to avoid you-nearly got flattened by a BUS 
in the process-but hey, what does THAT matter?  It's your stupid PAPERS that are more 
important!"  She snatched up a handful and shoved them at his chest.  "Pick the rest up 
yourself!  I wouldn't want to be accused of wrinkling them!"  With that, she turned on her 
heel and raced away again, her hair streaming like two golden ribbons, leaving a stunned 
Darien to stare after her.

*	*	*	*	*
	The day just went downhill from there, it seemed.  She was late for first class, and got 
an hour's detention after school.  Of course this was the day when the Sailor Scouts had their 
meeting at the Cherry Hill temple.  Serena scowled as she imagined the self-righteous scolding 
she'd be getting from Raye, her fellow Sailor Scout and the priestess of the temple, for being 
late.

	Serena yawned as she listened to Miss Haruna drone on and on about 
triga-something-or-other.  Truthfully, she would've much rather been outside with the spring 
sunshine to warm her.  Heck, she would've rather been outside had the temperature been twenty 
below zero and it was in the middle of the biggest blizzard in history!

	"Earth to Serena!  Are you alive in there?  Hel-LO!"

	Those words and a hand waving in front of her face were enough to jerk Serena from her 
musings.  "Huh?  Wha...?" she muttered, blinking large, blue eyes.  The class tittered, 
although this was somewhat of a normal occurrence between Serena and the teacher.  Miss Haruna 
looked annoyed, and she heaved an exaggerated sigh as a sweat drop appeared on her forehead.

	"Serena, why don't you ever pay attention to what I'm teaching?" she asked irritably.  
"Every time I call on you, you're off in your own little world!"

	The words were out of Serena's mouth before she could stop them.  "Well, Miss H, if ya 
know I'm never gonna answer, why do you keep calling on me?" she asked resentfully.  And 
immediately bit her tongue as the class gave a collective gasp.  What was the MATTER with her?  
She had never talked back like that before!

Miss Haruna was not amused.  To say the least.  "That will be DOUBLE detention for you, little 
miss smart-mouth!" she nearly growled, before turning on her heel.  "Roger!  What is the answer 
to the question?"

Serena sighed heavily and slouched down in her chair.  Mom and Dad were gonna go ballistic 
when they found out why she was so late...and she'd never hear the end of it from Raye, either. 
 She'd have to miss the Scout meeting completely now.  **Well, who cares?** she thought 
grumpily.  **It wasn't like I'd ever ASKED to be Sailor Moon!  If Raye thinks she's so smart, 
maybe she should just take over!**

The class finally ended, and Serena eagerly shoved her math book into her desk and raced out 
of the room.  Finally!  It was lunch time, her favorite subject!  And school was now at least 
halfway over for the day.

*	*	*	*	*
	The rest of the day seemed to be never ending.  Serena went to her detention and spent 
the time, for once, doing her homework.  She even got it done...although she wasn't sure that 
it was actually correct, but the look on Miss H's face tomorrow morning would be well worth 
the effort!  

By the time she got out of school, the day was nearly gone.  She WOULD have been out earlier, 
but Miss H had kept her a half an hour longer to lecture her on the importance of never 
talking back to those in authority.  Serena scowled.  Haruna sure had been in a cranky mood 
today.  She'd probably been stood up for a date or something.  Shaking off uncharitable 
thoughts, Serena looked up at the sky.  It was a covered with roiling, grayish-black clouds 
that completely blocked the sun, and the air was chill and damp.  It was going to rain, and 
not just rain but storm.  She shivered.  She HATED storms!

As if mocking her thoughts, the clouds lit brightly with a flash of lightning, which was close 
followed by a deafening roar of thunder.  Serena shrieked and covered her ears.  She was gonna 
have to walk home in THIS?  

**Maybe I can call home...**

She was about to do just that, but then she remembered that her father was supposed to have 
left the country on business just this morning.  And her mother was supposed to have taken 
Sammy to his school for play practice that evening, which she was helping to organize that 
year, so nobody was home.   

"Well, maybe I can take a bus home," she muttered, until she remembered that she had lost her 
allowance that week for failing another math quiz, so she had no money to pay for it.  Another 
crack of thunder caused her to jump, and she hugged her book bag closer to her.  "Looks like I 
have to run for it."

The thought was less than appealing.  

**If I can run REALLY fast, maybe I can make it home before it starts raining,** she thought 
hopefully.  Gripping her bag tightly, she took a deep breath and sprinted across the school 
grounds toward home.  Something wet hit her arm.  Then her face, and she barely had time to 
register that it was a raindrop before a growl of thunder caused the air to quiver around her.  
Serena yelped and sped up, but it did no good.  Like a faucet being turned on full-force, the 
sky suddenly opened up and sheets of rain began to pour from it, drenching her to the skin in 
a matter of seconds.

"I hate storms!" she wailed, striving to see through the gray torrent.  It was nearly 
impossible, and the rain stung her skin as it pounded against her.  Another brilliant flash of 
lightning was followed by a crash of thunder that caused the ground, and not just the air, to 
shiver.  Serena would have shrieked, had she the breath for it.  All she could do was to run 
even faster, faster than she'd ever run before, her terror driving her on.  She remembered 
every story she'd ever heard about people getting struck by lightning during storms like 
this...

And then the unthinkable happened.  

Serena slipped on the slick sidewalk and went sprawling into a large puddle, her bag flying 
out of her hand to land a few feet away.  She gasped, half a sob, as pain shot through her 
ankle, and she slowly sat up, feeling the sting of a scraped knee.  But her ankle was the 
worst.  She raised it to look closer, but there wasn't anything wrong that she could see.  
It hurt terribly, though, and the stinging rain wasn't helping any.  **This isn't happening 
to me,** she thought, her eyes filling with tears.  But she had no breath to cry.  

Slowly, she dragged herself over to her bag and lifted it from the dirty water.  She knew 
without looking that the contents were soaked.  All that time spent in actually doing her 
homework, and now it was ruined!  And no way Miss H would believe her when she explained!  
She sat on the curb for several minutes, feeling completely numb.  She hurt everywhere, and 
her lungs felt like they were on fire.  She was wet, and freezing, and she just wanted to go 
home...

It occurred to her, presently, that there was light glimmering through the torrent of rain, 
and she wiped the water from her eyes and squinted to see where it was coming from.  Imagine 
her shock when she realized that it was coming from the arcade, where she spent most of her 
after school hours.  **It was right in front of me all this time...** she thought wearily, and 
giggled softly, dazedly.

She rose to her feet, biting her lip when pain shot up her leg, and stumbled across the street 
toward the light.  Lightning flared, illuminating the arcade, and she could see blurry figures 
moving about within it.  Limping painfully, she reached the automatic doors, and they slid 
open just as another flash of lightning followed by the loudest crack of thunder yet, heralded 
her arrival.

**Like some cheesy special affect in an old horror movie...** she thought with a detached sort 
of amusement, ignoring the startled heads that whipped in her direction, then stayed there to 
stare at the bedraggled creature before them.  She barely noticed the stares and whispers as 
she stumbled over to an empty booth and sank down into it.  With a relieved little sob, she 
tossed her bag unceremoniously on the seat beside her and buried her head in her arms, 
heedless of the water that ran down her body to pool on the floor.

"Better get Andrew," one of the waitresses whispered to her coworker, eyeing the girl 
pityingly.  "Poor kid.  She must've had a rough trip."  The other girl nodded and hurried 
back to the office, where she knew Andrew was doing paperwork.

Serena, meanwhile, was half asleep as exhaustion threatened to creep up on her.  She was still 
freezing, and couldn't seem to stop shivering.  Part of her was aware of the mess she was 
making all over the clean floor, but the rest of her was too tired to care.  All she wanted 
was to sleep...

"What in the world happened to YOU?!  You look like a drowned rat!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CHAPTER TWO

Serena stiffened at the sound of the familiar, obnoxious voice behind her.  **Please,** she 
thought.  **Not him.  Anyone but him...**  Why did Darien always manage to turn up right when 
she least wanted to see him...?

"So is this a new look, or did you just klutz out more than usual, Meatball Head?" Darien said 
with a laugh.

Serena buried her head further into her arms and whimpered softly.  She was in no condition to 
start a verbal sparring match with him at the moment.  "Just go away," she pleaded.

"Now why would I want to do a thing like that?" he asked cheerfully.  "So...did you knock over 
any poor, defenseless old ladies on your way here?"

Well, THAT did it!
Serena slowly raised her head and slid out of the booth, standing up carefully.  Her injured 
ankle screamed at the abuse, and she swayed sharply as a result, but grabbed the back of the 
bench in a death grip to keep from falling over again.  She barely noticed the shock flare in 
Darien's eyes as he finally got a full view of her.  "Darien...SHUT UP!" she screamed, her 
voice hoarse.  "I went through hell today, and I don't need YOU to rub my face in it!  All you 
ever do is tease and torment and make my life miserable, and if you can't act like a normal 
human just once, then just...just go step out in front of a speeding truck!  As far as I'm 
concerned, the world would be a better place without you!"

Darien's eyes went wide and his jaw dropped as Serena screamed at him.  In the time that he'd 
known her, she had never YELLED at him before!  At least, not like that; not like she really...
MEANT it.  Had he really upset her that much?  Of course, now that he could see her fully...
her soaked, torn, dirty uniform and her scraped knee that bled a little, and her hair that 
hung in bedraggled clumps around her face...he was uncomfortably aware that maybe he'd gone 
too far this time...

"Chill out, Meatball Head," he replied defensively, not liking the feelings of guilt her words 
stirred in him at all.  "I was only teasing!  Ya don't have to blow a gasket!  Jeez!"

"I can blow anything I darn well please!" she snapped.  She stood rigidly, one hand clenched 
at her side as the other one gripped the bench, her fingernails digging into the vinyl and 
bending so that they threatened to break.  Without thinking, Darien reached out to snatch her 
hand from the bench before those delicate nails DID break.  Her hands were so pretty, he 
realized, long and slender and delicate...it would be a shame to let his cruel words make her 
ruin them...

Serena gasped when he suddenly took her hand, nearly making her lose her balance, and she 
snatched it away from him, glaring resentfully.  He coughed, embarrassed at his odd display.  
What had gotten into him?  So she had pretty hands.  So what?  He looked down at her, and she 
glared back, pushing back a wet clump of hair from her head.  Neither one of them spoke.  
Neither of them knew what to say.

And then a savior in an apron arrived.  

"Serena?  What happened?!  You're soaked!"

The new voice came from a tall, blond haired young man with kind eyes and a gentle smile.  
Serena's face crumpled at the sound of it, and Darien winced and prepared for the loud wail 
that was sure to follow.  What came out instead was a soft whimper, and that surprised him as 
much as anything.

"Oh, Andrew," Serena nearly sobbed, turning to the other man.  "It was so awful!  I had late 
detention and then it began to rain and I didn't have an umbrella and I HATE storms, and then 
I slipped and my school bag got soaked and my homework I just spent two hours doing is RUINED 
and Mom's gonna have KITTENS when she sees what I did to my uniform and I'm cold and tired and 
I hurt and...and...I just want to go home." 

She took a deep breath, raising a shaking hand to wipe away another lock of soaked hair.  
Andrew and Darien exchanged worried glances.  This wasn't the Serena they knew.  She had never 
sounded so...subdued before.

"Well, can't you just call home and ask your parents to pick you up?" Darien asked with a 
frown.

She didn't look at him as she shook her head.  "Nobody's home.  I can't take a bus 'cause I 
don't have any money."  She stopped as a giant shudder racked her small frame, and wrapped her 
arms around herself.  

 "C'mon back to the employee lounge, and you can dry off a little and get warmed up with some 
hot chocolate, okay?" Andrew said gently.  "I'll call your house and see if maybe your parents 
are home yet and let them know what happened to you.  My shift soon ends, and I can give you a 
ride home.  How does that sound?"

"Fine, but I don't want any chocolate.  I'm...not very hungry at the moment."

Again, Andrew and Darien exchanged glances.  This time of alarm.  Serena not hungry?  Not 
wanting any chocolate?  Maybe she was sick...

"Here," Darien said, impulsively slipping off his green jacket and wrapping it around Serena's 
slender, quivering shoulders.  "This'll help keep you warm until you get home."

She stared at him, clearly startled, and somewhat wary.  "Th...thank you," she replied 
cautiously.  "I...I'll make sure it gets back to you..."

"No problem, Meatball Head," he replied cheerfully, flashing her a quirky grin, trying to make 
up for his harsh, unfeeling words earlier.  At the sight of the smile, Serena appeared even 
more startled, like a rabbit caught out in the open.  Something appeared in her eyes briefly 
before vanishing again, and she offered a sweet, hesitant smile in return before Andrew turned 
her to lead her away, limping, to the back room.

Darien watched her go, his smile still lingering.  As much as he hated to admit it...he rather 
liked the sight of Serena wrapped up in his jacket, which hung the whole way to her knees.  
She looked...cute.  He blinked.  Cute?  Since when had he ever thought of her as CUTE before?  
He sighed and shook his head.  "Darien, ol' boy, you're goin' soft."

Still...he couldn't stop the feeling of worry that nagged at him as Serena's blond ponytails 
vanished through the door.
*	*	*	*	*
	"Here," Andrew instructed, leading Serena carefully to a beat-up old couch in the lounge.  
"Raise your foot a little while I call your house, okay?  What's the number?"

	Serena gave it to him, then added gratefully, "I really appreciate this, Andrew.  Thanks 
for being so nice.  I've had a really bad day."

	He laughed.  "I don't doubt that," he replied.  "I'll just be a moment."

	Serena leaned back against the couch, resting her injured foot on a pillow and eyeing it 
critically.  She was no expert but...that swelling could not be a good thing.  **Maybe I broke 
it,** she thought, then brightened.  **Which means maybe I can get out of school for awhile!**  
Then she wrinkled her nose.  **Of course, if I have to stay in bed doing nothing all day...
I'd rather go to school!**

	She giggled at the thought of herself actually WANTING to go to school, attracting 
Andrew's attention from where he stood in a small office.  She coughed and smiled at him 
innocently, and he gave her an odd look before turning away again.  **Great.  Last thing I 
want is for Andrew to think I'm one of those crazy people who talk to themselves!**  She sighed 
and draped an arm across the back of the couch, resting her head on it tiredly.
	Darien's jacket smelled good, she thought sleepily.  It smelled like...roses.  Sweet, 
heavenly roses, with a faint, underlying scent of spicy pine, like a deep, secret forest.  She 
buried her face in the sleeve to breathe it in deeper, hardly aware that she was doing so, or 
that she was smiling softly.  She had never been this close to Darien before, she realized, 
even if it was only his jacket.  But she...liked it.

	**Whoa!  Earth to Serena!  This is DARIEN'S jacket!  Darien the conceited jerk who lives 
to torment you!  The guy you are supposed to hate!** 

She paused for a moment, considering.  **Well...at least dislike very much,** she amended.  
After all, she prided herself on not HATING anyone, no matter how close to it she might 
actually feel on occasion, or how much a certain person (like Darien...) might deserve it.  
Hating was just not in her ability.  Well, she was too tired to consider whom she may or may 
not hate at the moment, so she closed her eyes and let herself drift in and out of sleep.  Her 
scraped knee didn't hurt so much anymore.  Even her foot didn't hurt as badly, although she 
was pretty sure that that wasn't a good thing.  She wished now she'd paid more attention in 
first aide class.

Suddenly she felt a warm hand gently pushing away the damp bangs that had fallen over her 
eyes, and smiled.  "Did you reach my mom, Andrew?" she asked, opening one eye a crack.  Then 
both eyes flew wide open in surprise, for it wasn't Andrew that knelt beside her, but a 
worried-looking Darien.  She frowned in confusion.  He had followed them back?

**He must want his jacket back,** she thought, feeling strangely disappointed.  Well, she was 
hardly surprised.  It was amazing enough that he had been that nice for THAT amount of time!  
She sat up and started to shrug it from her shoulders, but his big hands took it and wrapped 
it back around them again.

"Keep it on," he said quietly.  "It's probably the only thing that's keeping you from freezing 
completely."

She nodded silently, her eyes betraying her confusion.  Why on earth was he suddenly treating 
her with so much respect?  Like...a real person, rather than some sort of pet peeve?  Not that 
she was complaining...It made a nice change from his usual, obnoxious self.

Andrew finally appeared again, his eyes worried.  "Nobody answered the phone, so I guess your 
mom and brother aren't back yet," he told her.  "Listen, my shift ends in an hour.  I'll give 
you a ride home, if you want to wait back here and recover a little."  He flashed her a crooked 
grin, which she returned.  "Do ya think you'll be okay?"

"I'll be fine," she replied.  "Maybe an ice pack for my ankle, though.  It's nice of you to 
offer me a ride home."

Darien listened to this exchange and was startled by feelings of...was that JEALOUSY?  **Don't 
be ridiculous!** he scolded himself.  **Andrew has a girl, after all, and besides, even if he 
didn't and WAS interested in Serena, why should I care?**  Still, the fact remained that he 
just did not like the way Serena was looking at Andrew, with dreamy, glazed-over eyes.  He 
gritted his teeth and abruptly stood to pull Andrew aside.  "Listen," he said in a low voice, 
"you go back to work, 'kay?  I'll take care of Mea...er...Serena."

Andrew looked surprised.  "Are you sure?" he asked.  "She needs that scraped knee cleaned up, 
and she did a number on her ankle, too.  You don't have to stay."

"I know I don't HAVE to!  I want to," Darien replied with a shrug.

Andrew shot him a searching glance, a small, knowing grin tugging at his mouth.  "Why the 
sudden concern, Dar?" he asked slyly.  "Don't tell me you're actually WORRIED about her!"

Darien coughed uncomfortably.  "Er...well, I know you have an arcade to run, so I thought I'd 
just help out a pal, is all," he replied a bit sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.

Andrew's grin widened; he wasn't fooled in the least.  "Well, sure, Dar.  Thanks, pal.  Well, 
back to work for me!  See ya later, Serena.  Get some rest!" he called.

Serena's eyes went wide as she watched him leave.  "Hey...wait!  You're not gonna leave me 
with HIM are you?!" she wailed, some of her spunk returning.

"Awww...I'm hurt, Meatball Head.  Don't ya trust me?" Darien teased, his eyes twinkling.

"About as far as I can throw you..." she muttered, slouching back on the couch, crossing her 
arms over her chest sulkily as an adorable pout pursed her lips.  Darien chuckled at her 
dramatics as he filled a bowl with warm water from the kitchenette sink and rummaged around 
for a hand towel.  "What are you doing?" she asked suspiciously as he approached her with his 
prizes.

He snorted.  "I'm gonna clean up your hurts," he replied.  "Look at your ankle, Meatball Head.  
It needs attention.  Lucky for you I got an A+ in first aide when I was in high school."

She slapped her hands against the cushions with such vehemence that he stopped, startled.  
"Don't call me that!" she groused at him sulkily.  "Unless you want me to start calling YOU 
conceited jerk!"

"I'm shaking," he replied with a small grin, setting the bowl, towel and a first-aide kit on 
the floor beside her and pulling up a chair.  "Now give me your foot."

	She pouted a little as he carefully took her injured leg in hand and rested it on his 
lap.  She winced and her jaw clenched, but she had decided that she was going to try her 
hardest not to let him know how much it hurt.  It would only give him something else to tease 
her about.  So she gritted her teeth and bit back every whimper and cry as he tended her 
wounds.  He was surprisingly gentle as he cleaned the blood from her knee with the wet towel.  
And when he sprayed antiseptic on the wound and blew gently to dry it, something very much 
like an electric jolt shot up Serena's leg, the whole way up her spine and into her chest, 
setting her heart to pounding.  Her eyes went wide and she barely managed to catch the sharp 
gasp that tried to escape.  

**What in the world was THAT?** she thought, not really wanting to know.  Her eyes fixed on 
Darien's dark head as he bent over his task, his deep blue eyes serious as he placed a Band-Aid 
on her knee, and she suddenly wondered if his gleaming black hair was as soft as it looked.  
She blinked, surprised at herself.  What did she care how soft his hair was?  And why did she 
want to touch it so badly...?

Her thoughts were interrupted (thank heaven!) as Darien grasped her foot and removed her shoe, 
sending a stab of pain through her ankle.  She couldn't stop the slight whimper that escaped 
her lips, and Darien's eyes shot up to meet hers.  "Sorry," he nearly whispered, his eyes 
gazing into hers for a long, confusing moment.  Then he blinked slowly and dragged his gaze 
away, turning his attention back to her foot, and she could suddenly breathe again.

**This is getting TOO weird,** she thought grumpily.  **First he torments me until I either 
want to scream or throw something really heavy at him, and NOW he's acting like Mr. Wonderful 
and treating me like a person and making me feel all these things I never felt before...**  
She bit her lip and tried to ignore the feel of warm hands gently caressing her ankle, looking 
for any possible break.  **I reeeeally wish Andrew would come back here!  I wish I wish I 
wish...**

"Well, there are no breaks, Meatba...er...Serena, but you sprained it pretty badly.  I'll wrap 
it for you and put some ice on it to help the swelling go down.  I wouldn't count on school 
tomorrow, though."

"YES!" Serena squealed.  "At least SOMETHING good is coming from all this trouble!"  Darien 
laughed as he carefully wrapped her ankle in a bandage and applied an ice pack to it, making 
her squeal.  "It's cold!" she wailed.

"It's supposed to be," he replied, smirking at her.

She frowned.  "Thank you, Mr. Science," she groused, crossing her arms and slouching again.  
"Are you done yet?"

"Yes, I am, and you're welcome," he replied, feeling slightly annoyed at her lack of 
appreciation.

She took a deep breath.  "This goes against everything I believe in...but...thank you for 
taking care of my ankle," she said, half grumbling.  "At least you proved that you aren't a 
COMPLETE monster!"

"Ha, ha," he replied.

*	*	*	*	*
	Andrew finished wiping off the table, his mind barely on his task.  He was thinking 
about Serena and Darien; more specifically, about Darien's sudden change in attitude toward 
Serena.  He chuckled to himself as he pictured the look on Darien's face when he had suggested 
that maybe Darien liked the girl more than he was letting on.  He had denied it so vehemently 
that Andrew just knew that he had been right.  Now, all he had to do was to make Darien 
realize it, as well.

	He paused, frowning slightly.  He was not much of a matchmaker.  That was more of his 
girlfriend Rita's specialty.  But maybe he could enlist some help from her.  And there was 
always Serena's gang.  He grinned as he thought of them.  Lita, Raye, and Amy, the Three 
Musketeers.  Serena made number four, although usually she was more like the comic relief than 
a Musketeer.  Andrew could bet his last dollar that he could get the girls to help him.  At 
least Lita would, he was sure.

	"Hey, Andrew," one of the waitresses, named Lucy, called to him.  "Rick's on the phone.  
Says he's sick and can't make it into work tonight, so we don't have a manager for last shift.  
Think you could stay an extra three hours?"

	"Aw, geez.  I told Serena I'd give her a ride home.  She's had a bad day," Andrew replied, 
scratching his head.  Then, like a bolt of lightning, an idea struck him, and a slow, sly 
smile spread across his face.  "On second thought," he told Lucy, "tell Rick that I'll be 
happy to cover for him."

	She raised an eyebrow.  "What about the kid?" she asked.

	"Don't worry," Andrew replied smugly.  "I've got a pal who I know would be more than 
happy to give her a lift home..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CHAPTER THREE

	Serena was dozing on the couch while Darien cleaned up the kitchenette, shooting glances 
at the girl every once in awhile.  She had finally bowed down to that hot chocolate, but only 
after an unusual amount of convincing on Darien's part.  He feared that she might be catching 
a cold on top of everything else.  He hoped not.  Serena of all people shouldn't have to stay 
stuck in bed with a lousy cold.  

As he washed the cups they had used, he allowed his gaze to linger on her face, which looked 
very innocent and vulnerable in sleep.  Then he realized, with a sort of shock, that Serena 
ALWAYS looked innocent and vulnerable.  He paused with his hand halfway to the cupboard, where 
he was about to store the cups.  How come he had never noticed it before?

	His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by Andrew as he strolled into the room.  "Hey, 
Dar, how's it goin'?" he asked casually.  Too casually.  Darien eyed his friend suspiciously.  
Whenever Andrew used THAT tone it meant he had a favor to ask of Darien.  Not that that was 
anything bad, but Andrew favors were usually on the...outrageous side.  Such as the time he'd 
convinced Darien to take his cousin Stephanie out on a date when she'd come to visit from 
America.  A complete disaster from the very beginning, and one Darien was not about to repeat.

	"It's going fine," Darien replied calmly, glancing at Serena, curled up on the couch, 
still asleep.

	"Well, that's good," Andrew replied, going over to check on her.  "How's Serena doing?" 
he asked.  Darien looked at him sharply.  There was that tone again. 

	"Her ankle is sprained, and she has the beginnings of a cold, probably, but she's okay 
at the moment.  She's just gotta get home now."

	"Yeah...uh...about that..." Andrew said nervously, scratching the back of his head.  
"See...well...Rick called in sick and asked if I could cover for him tonight, and I told him 
I could.  I was sorta wondering if maybe..."

	**Here it comes...**

"...YOU would be able to take Serena home tonight."

**Bingo.**

"You want ME to drive Serena to her house?" Darien asked in disbelief.

"Well...yeah."

Darien scowled at him.  "I don't even know where she lives," he told him.  Well, that was only 
half true.  He knew exactly WHERE her house was, just not the name of the street or the street 
number.  He'd found out where she lived when he'd-for some strange reason-followed her home 
from school one day.  He still didn't know what had possessed him.  Just that...he had seen 
her walking home from school with her head hanging, looking rather upset, and it was late, 
and...well...he'd followed her to make sure she made it home okay.  He had merely brushed it 
off as concern for a young girl; there had been many yoma attacks lately, after all.

"Well, that's no problem.  I have her address," Andrew was saying.

Darien gritted her teeth.  "Can't you call her parents.  I'm sure at least one of them is home 
by now," he suggested.

"There's no sense in making anyone run the whole way out here in this weather," Andrew replied 
smoothly.  "Look, Dar, be a pal, huh?  You said you wanted to help me.  Well, this would 
really help me.  So?  Waddaya say?"

Darien sighed, then turned to look at Serena again.  Only Andrew saw the brief, tender light 
that shone in Darien's eyes when he glanced at her, and he did a cartwheel in his mind.  
"Welll..." Darien hedged.  "I...I suppose I could do that.  I wouldn't want anyone to worry."

Andrew clapped him on the back.  "Thanks, pal!  I owe ya one!"

Darien grinned.  "Naah.  This one's on me," he replied.  "Well, you better get back to work.  
I'll take care of Serena."

Andrew could not keep the smug grin from his face as he left the room.  Maybe he was better at 
this cupid thing than he'd first thought...

*	*	*	*	*
Serena woke slowly to someone whispering her name and gentle fingers stroking her cheek.  She 
smiled slightly and turned her face toward the warm hand.  "Just let me sleep a few more 
minutes," she murmured.  "Then I'll get up for school.  I promise..."

"School's over for the day, and you're drooling on my hand, Meatball Head."

The mocking voice was like a splash of ice water in the face, causing her to leap up with a 
squeal.  "Darieeennn!  I DO NOT DROOL!" she squealed indignantly.  "What are YOU still doing 
here, anyhow?  Where's Andrew?!"

"Things have changed," Darien replied with a smirk.  "Andrew has to stay and work longer.  I'm 
taking you home now."

"OVER MY DEAD BODY YOU ARE!"

"Cut the decibels, Meatball Brains!  Are ya trying to make me go deaf?"

Serena glared at him.  Any shred of liking she might have held for him earlier was now 
thoroughly pounded into dust by his words.  "I would rather walk home," she said stiffly, 
sitting up.  But before she could go anywhere, he suddenly scooped her up into his arms, 
making her squeal.  "PUT ME DOWN!" she yelled.

He winced, but didn't obey.  "Nu-uh," he replied with a smirk.  "No way are you walking on 
that ankle.  Dr. Darien says you have to stay off it for at least a few days."

"Dr. Darien can go take a nose-dive off a roof for all I care!" she hollered.  "Now put me 
DOWN!"
Darien laughed and merely held on tighter.  "Watcha gonna do about it, Meatball Head?" he 
asked teasingly.

She glared at him, that adorable pout back in place, but she stopped struggling.  Even she 
knew when she was beat.  "That's better," he whispered, gazing into her eyes.  She glowered 
back before turning away, refusing to look at him.  "Aww, come on, Serena, don't be mad.  I'm 
trying ta do you a favor!  Is that any way to thank me?" he half teased, although the other 
half was perfectly serious.

She sighed.  "Well, what do you want me to do?  Bow down?  Kiss your feet?  What?" she snapped.

"None of the above," he replied, a bit unsteadily, because the mention of her kissing him had 
suddenly sent his heart to pounding and a very vivid picture into his mind of her doing just 
that...although it wasn't his feet she was kissing...

He blinked to clear his thoughts, and when he turned to look at her she was staring at him 
with an odd look on her face.  "What's the matter with you?" she asked.  "You look like you 
just saw a ghost."

"Uh...don't be silly, Meatball Head.  Look, I'd better take you home before your parents blow 
a gasket wondering where you are."  Without waiting for her to protest, he picked up her bag 
with one hand and carried her to the back door.  No sense in using the front.  Too many 
witnesses who would ask too many questions that he wasn't about to answer.  It had stopped 
raining, thankfully, although it was still black out, although most of that was, by then, due 
to the fact that it was nearly eight o'clock.  He walked to the back parking lot, which was 
nearly empty, and stopped in front of his car, a shining black vehicle with sleek curves and a 
purr like a contented cat.  It had cost him half of his entire life's savings, but it was worth 
it.  Right now it glittered from the droplets of rain beneath the street lamp, and the 
expression on Serena's face was balm to his pride.

"THAT'S your CAR?" she gasped, her jaw hanging open and her eyes wide with admiration.  
"How many banks did you have to knock off to get THAT?"

He chuckled.  "None, Meatball Head. I just saved up for several years, is all, and if you 
wouldn't blow every cent you get on comic books and video games, you could probably afford 
one, too, when you grow up."

"Hmmph!" she grumbled.  "I don't need a fancy sports car to show off how special I am!"

"You think I'm special?  Awww...that's sweet, Meatball Head," he replied as he put her in the 
passenger seat of the car.

"THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT!" she yelled.  "Ooooh!  You are THE most aggravating, infuriating man 
I've ever MET!"

"And I love you, too," he replied with a teasing chuckle, and before he thought twice about it 
(or even once, for that matter), he had leaned over to press a soft, tender kiss right at the 
corner of her mouth.

Well, THAT shut her up!  She gasped and her hand flew up, not to slap him, but to cover her 
cheek where he had kissed it.  She gaped at him, her brilliant eyes wide with shock as color 
flooded her face, and he could only stand there, feeling just as stunned as she was.  WHAT had 
possessed him to DO that?!?  She was only fourteen, for cryin' out loud, and he was twenty 
years old!  A grown man!  He fought back the heat that flooded his own face as he nearly ran 
to his side of the car, getting in and starting it quickly.  

**Get her home and leave, and then we can both forget that this ever happened,** he thought to 
himself as the car roared to life.

*	*	*	*	*
	Serena was absolutely silent on the way to her house.  She didn't even bother asking how 
he knew where she lived.  Somehow, she had known he would.  How wasn't relevant in this case.  
The area right beside her mouth was STILL tingling from where his lips had touched it, so 
briefly.  She still could not believe it.  What had possessed him?  And why hadn't she slapped 
him for it?  Any other guy she probably would have...well, except Andrew.  But Darien?  The 
one who probably deserved to be slapped the most...and she didn't have the heart to do it.

	The question was...WHY didn't she have the heart to do it?

	The answer was...because she had LIKED it.  She had liked the feel of his kiss, as brief 
as it was, and although she knew that HE was regretting it...the look on his face afterwards 
had spoken volumes alone...she found that, as much as she wanted to, she could not.  She 
sighed and closed her eyes, leaning her head against the window and staring blindly out at the 
passing scenery.  **Darien, why do you do these things to me?** she wondered sadly.  **Why do 
you have to be such a jerk and then go and turn into Prince Charming?  I'm so confused!  I 
don't know whether to hate you or to love you...**

	Wait a minute...love?  What did LOVE have to do with anything?  And loving DARIEN?  
Hmmm...maybe she was sick...

	Her thoughts were broken into by Darien's unusually subdued voice.  "We're here," he 
announced quietly.  "There's a car parked out front and lights are on.  I guess somebody's 
home now."

	"My mom.  My dad's out of the country," she replied, just as quietly.  "She's probably 
worried sick."

	Darien got out of the car and moved around to open her door.  He started to reach in for 
her, but she hastily pushed herself out of the seat and stood, balanced on her good foot.  
"Um...thanks for the ride," she said.  "I...I have to go in now.  Here's your jacket back; 
thanks for the loan.  It...it's a little wet, but I'm sure it'll dry okay if you hang it over 
the heater or something..."

	She trailed off, unsure what to say next.  He took the jacket from her, carefully making 
sure that his fingers did not brush her hand.  **Almost like he's afraid he'll catch some sort 
of disease!** she thought indignantly.  That thought helped break the spell that had taken 
hold of her.  "Well, see ya 'round, Dar," she said cheerfully.  "Don't go running over any old 
ladies on the way home!"

	He looked surprised.  "What's that supposed to mean?" he snapped.

	She giggled.  "Just that you drive too fast," she replied airily, almost relieved to see 
Darien back in his old fighting mode.  "I thought we were gonna break the sound barrier there 
for a few moments!"

	He snorted.  "HA!  I think you've got the record for that one racing to school this 
morning!" he replied slyly.  "I had to go and hand in a crumpled report, and the professor 
wasn't happy.  He didn't believe my excuse about me being attacked by a speeding meatball head, 
either!"  He didn't mention that he had still gotten an "A" on that report.

	"Oh, ha, ha.  You are SO hilarious.  You should join the circus.  I hear they're looking 
for a new clown!"

	Darien opened his mouth to retort to that one, but just then the front door at Serena's 
house opened, and a small head poked out.  It was Serena's little brother, Sammy.  "Hey!  You, 
dummy!  Where ya been?  Mom's been calling all over for ya!" he yelled out at her.

	"Can it, you dweeb!  I was at the arcade, and for your information I got hurt and had to 
get taken care of!" she yelled back, sticking out her tongue at him.

	Darien rolled his eyes.  "Very mature, Meatball Head," he said seriously, at the same 
time stifling a grin.  "Do you need help walking in?"

	"No, I do NOT," she replied haughtily, and to prove it she began to limp her way to the 
door.  Before she had taken three steps, however, her ankle gave out and she began to fall 
with a wail.  She didn't touch the ground, though.  Darien was immediately there and had once 
again scooped her into his arms.  "Put me down right this instant," she growled.  "Mom'll see 
you!  And Sammy'll never let me hear the end of this!"  Then her eyes widened with horror.  
"Ohhh, he'll tell all my friends, and then THEY'LL never let me hear the end of it, either!  
Oh, you put me down right now, you hear me?!"

	Darien grinned and ignored her, concentrating instead on walking up the steps and into 
her house without tripping himself.  He carefully lowered her onto the couch, as though she 
would break if he was too rough.  Serena was almost touched by his treatment of her, although 
she tried not to show it.

	Mrs. Tsukino was there, her eyes worried.  "Oh, thank heavens!  Where did you find my 
baby?" she asked.

	"Geez, Mom, there's no need ta go ballistic," Serena muttered, embarrassed as her mother 
fawned over her in front of Darien.  "I just had a little accident on the way home from school, 
and...this is Darien Chiba...he helped me out a little."

	"Mr. Chiba, how can I thank you?" Mrs. Tsukino gushed.  "I was so worried about her!  
Her friends told me she'd had late detention, but even so she should have been home already.  
I got home late, myself, so I didn't even know she was missing!  Oh, I'm a terrible mother!"  
With that, she burst into tears in front of a very embarrassed Serena.

	"MOM!" Serena yelled.  "Will you cut the hysterics already?  I'm fine!  You're not a 
terrible mother!"

	Mrs. Tsukino sniffed.  "I'm sorry dear.  It's just...the stress, you know."  She 
brightened.  "I know!  Why don't you both sit down and I'll make you both cups of hot clam 
chowder?  How does that sound?"

	Serena was about to open her mouth to protest when Darien cut in, "That sounds wonderful, 
Mrs. Tsukino.  I'd love some chowder."  She closed her mouth with a snap and glared at him, 
but he appeared not to notice.  Mrs. Tsukino smiled widely and hurried to the kitchen to fix 
the chowder.

	Darien glanced at Serena, a small grin tugging at the corners of his mouth.  "Well.  Now 
I know where you get it from," he teased,  referring to the display of waterworks from her 
mother.

	She pouted.  "I don't know why she has to have a panic attack over every little thing," 
she muttered.  "It's really annoying."

	Darien bit his lip to keep from commenting on the irony of the last remark, instead 
choosing to dwell on the first one.  "Actually, I think it's great that she worries about you 
the way she does," he said in a low voice.  "I mean...some people don't even have parents to 
worry about them."

	"Oh, yeah?  Like who?" she challenged.

	"Well...like me, for one," he replied, then mentally kicked himself.  Why had he told 
her that?!  He hadn't meant to tell her that...had he?  Well, it was too late now.  He turned 
eyes to her to find her staring at him in complete shock.

	"You...you're an orphan?" she whispered, her eyes very wide.

	He shrugged uncomfortably.  "Don't look at me like that," he said darkly.  "I was young 
when it happened.  I was only six.  I don't even remember them.  I don't remember anything 
before the accident."

	"You have amnesia, too?" she gasped loudly.

	He winced.  "Will you keep it down?" he hissed.  "It's not like many people know about 
this, and I wanna keep it that way, if you don't mind."

	"Oh," she said quietly.  Then, "Why did you tell ME then?"

	He paused.  "I...I don't know.  I certainly didn't MEAN to.  It just sorta...came out.  
You have a way of making me say things I really don't intend to say, you know..."

	She cocked her head, pursing her lips as she studied him.  "Should I be insulted by that 
remark?" she finally asked, although her eyes were twinkling in a way that made his breath 
catch in his throat.

	He swallowed and attempted to catch his sanity before it fluttered out the window and he 
did something he would regret later...like grabbing her and kissing those sweet lips until she 
melted into his arms... "I don't know, Meatball Head.  Should you?" he asked, somewhat dazedly.

	She rolled her eyes at him and then looked away as her brother sauntered into the room, 
eyeing Darien curiously.  "That's Sammy, the family pet," she said in a bored tone.  "Be 
careful or he might bite you."

	"Hey!" Sammy protested.

	"Serena, be nice to your brother!" Mrs. Tsukino called from the kitchen.  Serena just 
giggled smugly and settled back into the cushions as Sammy stuck his tongue out at her.  Darien 
smiled as he watched the display.  He had never had a little brother to torment.  That he could 
remember, anyway.  Maybe that's why he was so insistent on teasing Serena.  To make up for the 
teasing he never got to do in his life.  **Although,** he thought smugly, **Serena probably 
would probably be able to stand me better if I'd HAD a brother to tease in the past...**
	"Soup's on!" Mrs. Tsukino called, bringing in a tray laden with two large bowls of 
fragrant chowder and thick slices of homemade bread.  "Pull out those TV trays, Sammy," she 
directed.  Sammy obeyed without much fuss, and set one up in front of Serena and the other 
beside Darien.  Mrs. Tsukino unloaded her tray, then pulled  Sammy by the arm into the kitchen.  
"Leave Serena and her friend alone, Sammy.  You have homework to finish," she instructed, 
followed by Sammy's disappointed, "Awww, mom!"

	Darien and Serena exchanged awkward glances.  "Well, um...dig in," she finally told him.  
"My mom makes the best chowder.  You'll love it."  She picked up her spoon and started eating, 
but carefully and slowly.  No way was she gonna give him any reason to make fun of the way she 
ate tonight!

	Darien watched her concentrate on her food for a few moments, a small smile on his face, 
before picking up his own spoon and beginning to eat.  Serena was right, he quickly realized.  
Her mother DID make great chowder, and he quickly drained the bowl, followed by the homemade 
bread.  He sighed as he pushed back his tray, realizing that he had even beaten SERENA at 
eating!  This fact did not go unnoticed by her, he could tell by the slight grin on her face 
and the coy glances she shot at him, but she didn't say anything.

	"Well," he said awkwardly after a few more minutes.  "I...guess I should be going now.  
It's pretty late."

	"Yeah, and I need to take a bath.  I'm all over mud!" Serena replied, wrinkling her nose 
as she took in her rather rumpled appearance.

	Darien couldn't resist.  "Yeah, but I've never seen you look cuter," he told her with a 
wicked grin.  Surprised, her eyes shot up to meet his, and she looked like she couldn't decide 
on whether to be insulted or not.  Then her lips pulled into that all-too-familiar frown.

	"Very funny.  You've outlived your usefulness, you know.  There's the door.  Don't let 
it hit you on your way out," she sniffed.

	He grinned.  "Well, it's been interesting," he said, standing to leave.  "Suppose I'll 
see you around, once you're back on your feet, huh?  I'll just watch out for any tornadoes 
heading my way."

	She shot him a sulky look, and he had to once again stifle the urge to kiss away her 
pout.  **You're losing it, dude.  Get out of there before you DO lose it!** his brain warned 
him.  "Yeah, well...so long.  Bye, Mrs. Tsukino!  I'm glad Serena's okay.  Thanks for the 
chowder.  It was great," he called back to the kitchen, and then beat a hasty retreat.  
Leaning back against the closed door, he heaved a sigh of relief.  This had most certainly 
been an interesting day...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CHAPTER FOUR

	School was out of the question.  Not that Serena was complaining, of course, but she was 
so BORED!  She'd had to spend the day in bed, and on top of her injury, Darien's prediction 
had proven true, and she had ended up catching a cold.  It was nothing serious, but it was 
enough to make her completely miserable.  She had a headache, and her eyes were blurry, and 
her throat hurt, and even her favorite comics couldn't make her forget her misery.
	"Is there anything I can get you?" Mrs. Tsukino asked as she poked her head into Serena's 
room.

	"A shodgun?" Serena asked sulkily, her voice sounding strange thanks to her congested 
sinuses.

	Mrs. Tsukino smiled.  "Did you take that medicine I gave you?" she asked, raising an 
eyebrow.

	"Awww...Moooom!  Dad sduff dastes AWFUL!" Serena whined.  "Do I HAVE do dake id?"

	"If you want to be able to talk normally you do," her mother replied with a chuckle.  
"Just...drink it and wash it down with water.  It won't kill you."

	Serena sighed and picked up the small cup of a vile-looking, pinkish goo, eyeing it as 
if it would leap out and bite her.  She would hardly have been surprised if it had.  "Well...
here goes nobing..." she muttered, squeezed her eyes shut, and tipped the contents into her 
mouth.  "Ewwww...icky icky icky!" she gasped, hastily gulping down a large glass of water and 
dropping back onto her pillows, gasping for air.  Mrs. Tsukino rolled her eyes at her 
daughter's dramatics and closed the door.

	"Serena, maybe now you can take some time to study," Luna suggested hopefully.  "You do 
have a math test coming up, after all..."

	"Luda!  I'b sick!  Can'd you led id go?" Serena complained, unceremoniously shoving the 
cat onto the floor.  Luna yowled a protest, her fur ruffling indignantly, but Serena ignored 
her in favor of taking another nap.  **Well,** she thought, **one good thing about this.  
Plenty of time to catch up on my beauty sleep!**

*	*	*	*	*
	Darien whistled to himself as he walked down the street toward the arcade.  His thoughts 
were occupied by Serena, as they had been for most of the day.  He wondered how she was doing, 
supposing that she hadn't gone to school.  Just then his attention was drawn to a group of 
girls standing outside the arcade, recognizing them as Serena's friends.  "Hey, girls," he 
greeted.

	Amy looked around, then waved when she saw him.  "Hello, Darien," she replied.  "How are 
you?"

	"Doing okay.  Say, has anyone heard anything about Serena today?"

	The tall brunette, the one named Lita, stepped forward, a sly grin crossing her face.  
"Well, she wasn't in school today," she informed him.  "We're all going over to  visit her 
right now, in fact.  You're...welcome to come along, if you like."  Behind her, Amy and Raye 
giggled, shooting sly glances at each other.

	"I heard you're the one who took care of Serena when she ran into the arcade last night.  
Andrew said you fixed her right up, and then drove her home.  Gee, Darien, I didn't know you 
cared so much," Amy added, for once in a teasing mood.

	"Uh..."  Darien scratched his head, wondering how he was gonna talk himself out of this 
one.  "Andrew...had to get back to work, but he didn't wanna leave Serena, so I just...helped 
him out a little, is all," he stammered.  "I'd have done the same for anyone else." 

	"If you say so, Dar," Lita replied, clearly unconvinced.  "Well, we gotta go.  Ya wanna 
come with or not?"

	"Yeah, Darien.  Walk with us," Raye pleaded.

	**Hmmm...go with the girls and listen to their gossiping and endless questions?  I can 
think of more pleasant things to do...like getting a root canal!** Darien thought, as a 
sweatdrop appeared on his forehead.  "Er...sorry, girls.  Another time.  I'm...busy right now," 
he stammered, pulling away from Raye's possessive grasp on his arm.  He ignored their 
disappointed exclamations and headed into the arcade.

	"Hey, Darien!  How's it goin' pal?"

	Darien froze.  He'd forgotten about Andrew...

	"So...did Serena make it home okay last night?" the young man asked, his eyes twinkling 
mischievously.

	"Yeah, I got her home.  Her mom was there and invited me to stay for some clam chowder.  
Then I left," Darien replied casually.  **No need to mention the little event in the parking 
lot...**

	Andrew's grin widened.  "So...what was all that last night, huh?  I looked out the back 
door to tell Serena goodbye, and there you were in the parking lot.  It looked a lot like you 
were...kissing her?"

	Darien's eyes went wide with shock.  **Wha...?  Andrew SAW that?!  No WONDER the girls 
were giving me such odd looks!  Andrew must've told them the whole story!**  He gulped.  "I...
er...don't be ridiculous," he exclaimed.  "You must've been seeing things!  ME kissing SERENA?"  
He began to laugh uncomfortably, burying his hand in his dark hair.

	Andrew gave a sly chuckle.  "If you say so," he replied.  He was not fooled in the least, 
though.  He knew what he'd seen, and he was feeling quite pleased with himself.  "So...when's 
the wedding?" he asked innocently, unable to resist the urge to tease his friend. 

	"Huh?  WHAT wedding?" Darien demanded, confused.

	"Why...your wedding...with Serena, of course."

	To Andrew's surprise, Darien actually BLUSHED!  His grin widened and he could not hold 
back his laughter.  "Come on, Dar!  Why don't you just admit it?  You're totally gone on 
Serena!  You have been forever, only you're too stubborn to admit it!  Why else would you go 
out of your way to torment her like you do?"

	"You don't know what you're talking about," Darien replied haughtily.  "I'm not about to 
stand around here and listen to these ridiculous accusations!  I have better things to do!"  
With that, he turned to storm back out of the arcade.

	Andrew got the last word in, however.  With a wicked grin, he called after him, "When 
you see Serena, tell her I hope things work out between you two!  You're perfect for each 
other!"



*	*	*	*	*
	Serena was nudged awake by Luna's cold nose pressing into her face.  "Ahhhhh!  Luuunaaaa!  
I'm trying to SLEEP!" she yelled, sitting bolt upright.  "What did you do, stick your face in 
the freezer?"  Then, her face brightened.  "Hey!  I can breathe again!  Huh!  Guess that glop 
I had to take actually did the trick!  I actually feel better!"  A twinge in her ankle made 
her wince.  "Well...almost."

	"Well, that's good to hear, because you have visitors," Luna informed her primly, 
nodding toward the door, where Amy was shyly poking her head inside.  Serena brightened again.

	"Hey, Ames!  I was wondering if you'd come over!" she squealed.  "Are Raye and Lita here, 
too?"

	"Yes, they are," Amy replied, opening the door to reveal the two other Scouts. "Oh, your 
mom said to tell you that she took Sammy to play practice, and they'll be home later, okay?"

	"Great!  Let's party!" Serena joked.

	"Oh, and by the way, we were just at the arcade," Raye suddenly spoke up.  "Andrew was 
there, and he's the one that told us what happened to you."

"Yeah, he had quite the story to tell," Lita added with a knowing smile.

	"Er...What story might that be?" Serena asked suspiciously, not liking the gleam in her 
friend's eyes.  

	"So...Darien actually kissed you, huh?" Lita asked bluntly, deciding to jump right to 
the point.

	"WHA...?!  Are you DAFT?!  WHERE'D YOU HEAR THAT?!" Serena screeched indignantly.

	"Cool it, Meatball Head!" Raye snapped.  "Andrew told us!  He saw the whole thing, so 
there's no use in denying it!  WE know the truth!"

	Serena spluttered for a few moments, trying to think up some excuse.  "He didn't...it 
wasn't...we never....he was TEASING me, and then he...I don't know WHAT you're talking about!" 
she huffed.

	Amy giggled, and Lita looked positively impish as she watched Serena stammer.  Raye was 
unusually quiet, however.  She seemed almost...disturbed.  Amy noticed, and she cocked her 
head at Raye curiously.  She knew that Raye had sort of a thing for Darien; they'd gone out a 
few times, in fact, but Amy had always thought that Darien wasn't half as serious about Raye 
as Raye was about Darien, and now it looked like she might be proven right.  **Poor Raye.  Not 
that it's bad if Darien and Serena DID get together, but Raye will be heartbroken...and what 
might it do to her and Serena's friendship?  It's so...rocky as it is, sometimes.**

	"Look," Lita was saying to a steaming Serena, "we came over to cheer you up, not to 
upset you, so how about we drop the whole subject for now, 'kay?  But when you get better, 
girl...watch out!"  And she grinned and slapped her fist into her palm.  Serena gulped as 
sweatdrops appeared on everyone's foreheads.

	"Well...I suppose so," Serena grumbled.  "But it really wasn't the big event you guys 
are making it out to be.  I mean, it was just Darien being his usual, obnoxious self, is all."

	Lita giggled.  "Well, if being mean and obnoxious means getting a kiss from a cute guy 
like Darien, I'd take that over sweet and kind any day!" she teased.  Serena's only answer to 
that was to brain her with a pillow, which caused a major pillow fight to break out, of course, 
and soon feathers were flying everywhere as the topic was forgotten for the time being.

*	*	*	*	*
	**Okay, courage, Dar.  You can do this,** Darien thought to himself as he paused on the 
sidewalk before Serena's house.  The car was gone from in front of the house, which meant that 
Mrs. Tsukino was gone, and hopefully the curious Sammy, as well.  Which meant that, with any 
luck, Serena was home alone.  "I must have a death wish coming over here," he muttered.  "If 
any of Serena's friends see me here, my life as I know it will be over!"

	He looked at his watch.  Six o'clock.  It had been two hours since he'd met Lita, Raye, 
and Amy on the street, and it was dinner time.  With any luck, they had all gone home by now.  
He hoped.  He took a deep breath and strode boldly up to the door, knocking on it loudly.  
"Hang on!" someone called from inside.  His eyes widened slightly.  That hadn't sounded like 
Serena...

	The door opened suddenly, and he stood face to face with Lita, who looked at him with 
something like surprised delight crossing her features.  "Darien!" she cried happily.  "You 
decided to come, after all!  I'm sure Serena'll be thrilled!"

	"Well...er...maybe this isn't such a good idea..." he began, but she had already grabbed 
his arm in an iron grip and was yanking him inside.  "Here, we were just about to watch a 
video.  I've got the snacks.  You can carry the drinks," she instructed, all the while a small 
grin hovering on her lips.  Her eyes were devilish as she led him up the stairs to Serena's 
room.

	"Hey, Serena, you've got a surprise visitor!" she crowed.

	"Really?  Who?  Is it Andrew?" Serena asked eagerly, her eyes lighting up.

	"Well..."  Lita looked smug.  "Not quite..."

	Darien cleared his throat nervously as he stepped into the room, seeing shock flare 
briefly in Serena's eyes.  "D...Darien?  What are YOU doing here?" she asked.  "OW!  Hey!  
What was that for?!" she yelped a moment later, glaring at Raye and rubbing her sore arm where 
the raven-haired priestess had smacked her.

	"Meatball Brains!  Don't be rude!" Raye snapped.  "He came to see you!"  She turned a 
brilliant smile to Darien.  "I'm glad you could make it," she told him.  "Here, there's room 
here on the window seat.  We were just about to watch The Legend of Arislan."

	Darien hesitated, then shrugged and made his way across the small room to seat himself 
beside Raye.  She immediately curled his arm around her shoulder and snuggled close to him, 
smiling up at him adoringly.  He smiled back, a bit uncomfortably, but he didn't move.  He'd 
dug his own grave, after all.  He might as well lay in it.

	Serena saw the way Darien was holding Raye, and a sudden, unfamiliar feeling shot 
through her.  After a moment, she realized that it was jealousy.  She blinked in surprise, 
wondering why the sight of her friend and her...well...whatever he was, sitting so close, 
should bother her so much.  **You knew Darien and Raye were dating,** she scolded herself.  
**It should not bother me in the least!  Besides, this is DARIEN!  Am I really getting jealous 
over HIM?!**  She frowned and shook her head.  **Maybe it's the cough syrup...**

	"Hey!  Earth to Serena!  Are you even paying attention?"

	"Huh?  What?" Serena gasped, blinking and looking toward Lita, who was watching her 
watch Darien with keen interest.  "What?" she asked innocently, stifling the blush that tried 
to rise to her cheeks.

	Lita smiled faintly.  "Oh, nothing," she replied.  "I was just saying that I brought you 
a ginger ale to drink.  That's what my mom used to feed me when I was sick."

	"Well, thanks, Lita," Serena replied, laughing nervously.  "I could use something cool 
on my throat."  She accepted the drink and took a sip, settling back on her pillows to watch 
the movie, determined to put Darien and Raye out of her mind...for a couple of hours, at least.  
But they stayed just inside her line of sight, curled up together like a perfect, happy couple, 
and it began to wear on Serena's nerves.  **What does she SEE in that creep, anyway?** she 
grumbled to herself.  **I mean, he's obnoxious and arrogant and rude and overbearing and a 
bully and a terrible tease and...and...why am I obsessing over this?  Why do I even CARE?**

	She was merely concerned for Raye's well-being, of course.  Yes, that was it.  Darien 
would most likely break Raye's heart.  He wasn't capable of love, if his usual holier-than-thou 
attitude was anything to judge by.  Unless he reserved that particular attitude just for 
Serena...  

**Well, don't I just feel SO special...**

"Hey, Serena, are you okay?"

Once again, Serena was jerked from her thoughts...this time Amy.  She smiled weakly, shocked 
to notice that the movie was just about over.  Had she been zoned out that long?  **Definitely 
the cough syrup...**  "Yeah, Ames, I'm okay.  Just...a little tired, I guess," she replied.  
It wasn't a whole lie.  Suddenly, she felt exhausted.

Amy frowned worriedly.  "Guys, I think we should leave now.  It's late, and Serena needs to 
recover.  We don't want to make things worse."

"You're right," Lita said, turning off the television.  "I have homework to do, anyway."

"Aww, you guys don't have to go," Serena said pitifully.  "I was having fun, after being BORED 
all day!"

Amy smiled.  "Well, if you don't keep rested, you'll get sicker, and then you'll be bored 
longer!" she pointed out.

Serena's face fell.  "Oh...you're right," she replied.

"As usual," Raye chimed in with a giggle.  She stood and stretched, making sure Darien got a 
good view of her slender curves.  "Well, grandpa's probably wondering where I got off to, so 
I'd better go keep him out of trouble."  She giggled.  "I'll see you around, Serena.  Hope you 
feel better soon!"

"Yeah, thanks," Serena replied.  She brightened.  "Hey, anyone wanna come over tomorrow?" she 
asked.  "Mom got me crutches from the doctor, and I have to learn to walk on 'em."

Sweatdrops appeared on everyone's foreheads, and a few nervous chuckles escaped.  "Um...in 
that case, I'll be sure to stay FAR away from you!" Raye replied snidely.

Serena stuck out her tongue at Raye before turning to Darien.  "It was nice of you to stop 
over," she told him.  "Surprising, but nice.  Hope the movie wasn't too boring for you..."

"Naw, it was great.  One of my favorite animes, in fact.  I just wanted to see how you were, 
is all.  Glad you're feeling a little better," he replied, for once not having any smart 
remark to make.

	She looked surprised.  "Well, thanks, Dar.  I guess.  I'm just a little worn out.  
Nothing ten hours of sleep won't cure!"  She let loose a small giggle at her joke, and he 
smiled at the sound of it.  Like silver bells...

	He blinked.  Now where had THAT thought come from?!  "Well, I have to go now.  
Take care of yourself," he told her nervously.  "And try not to break any more ankles in the 
future, okay?"  He gave her a grin that caused her heart to skip a beat for some odd reason, 
smiled and bid farewell to the other girls, and left.

	Serena stared after him with a small frown, then heaved an exasperated sigh and sank 
down into her pillows.  "I do NOT understand that guy!" she complained, crossing her arms.  
"One minute he's Mr. Obnoxious Jerk, and in the next he turns into THAT!  WHAT is his problem, 
anyway?"

	"Maybe you just bring out the worst in him," Raye told her snidely, giggling a little.  
"After all, he sure seems to bring out the worst in you!"

	"And what's THAT supposed to mean?!" Serena yelled.

	"Hey, you two, cool it.  Raye, let the poor girl alone!  She's sick, for heaven's sake!" 
Lita scolded.  "Wait 'till she's better before you start tearing into her, at least!"

	Raye had the decency to look shamefaced, at least.  "I'm sorry," she replied.  Then, 
defensively, "But you have to admit that it's true!"

	Lita cut her off before she could say anymore, glaring at her reproachfully.  

"Actually," Amy told Serena suddenly, "the way you and Darien act is a lot like the way you 
and Raye act.  You're always at each other's throat, you can't spend five minutes in the same 
room without quarreling, and you do your best to aggravate each other.  But look how close you 
and Raye really are.  You're like sisters, even if you won't admit it to anyone."

Serena eyed her friend suspiciously.  "What are you trying to say, Amy?" she finally asked 
bluntly.

Amy's smile was demure.  "Just that...as much as you two argue, you know Raye loves you, and 
that you love her, right?  So...why couldn't it be the same where Darien is involved, huh?"

"Wh...whaaaat?" Serena gasped.  "Are you actually telling me that you think I love DARIEN?  
And that HE loves ME?!  Like even!"  The very idea!

Amy was not put off.  "Well, it might explain some of the reason you're always so hostile to 
each other," she pointed out.

"Like the way brothers and sisters are hostile, right?  Tell me THAT'S what you mean..." 
Serena pleaded.

Amy smiled.  "Um...no, that's not it.  Darien's not one who likes to show his feelings, you 
know.  I bet he teases you because he loves you...well, at least likes you...but doesn't know 
how to tell you.  So this is his way of showing you," she explained.

By now, Raye and Lita had drawn up beside her, clearly fascinated by this conversation, and 
Serena felt her cheeks burning.  "That's the most insane thing I've ever heard in my life!" 
she spluttered.

"No it isn't," Lita replied with a wicked grin.  "I think it makes perfect sense.  He's like a 
little boy in the school yard who pull on the cute blond girl's ponytails to show how much he 
likes her."  Her voice was teasing; she was clearly amused.

Serena wasn't.  "The problem with THAT is that DARIEN is a grown MAN, not a little boy!  And 
if it WERE true, if THAT'S how he'd prove how much he loves me, then I'd rather he hate me and 
leave it at that!"

Lita laughed.  "Actually, I think it's cute," she said, and received another whack over the 
head with a pillow for her efforts.  "Aw, come on, Serena.  You CAN'T tell me that you don't 
feel the teeniest bit of liking toward Darien!  After all, he DID rescue you last night."

"He did NOT rescue me!  He just...drove me home, is all..." Serena muttered.

"And gave you a kiss..."  Raye's voice held a hint of jealousy, but she was too interested to 
be really upset.  Besides...she had suspected for some time that Darien might have a girl on 
his mind, and she'd somehow known it wasn't her...  "So tell me, what was it like when Darien 
kissed you?" she asked wickedly.

"HE DID NOT KISS ME!" Serena yelled.  "We've already been OVER this!"

Raye thought for a moment, then grinned and tried a different tactic.  "You're right," she 
drawled.  "I mean, why would Darien kiss YOU, anyway?  You're not exactly his dream girl..."

"Raye!"  Amy looked shocked, but Raye slyly winked at her to show her that she knew what she 
was doing.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Serena yelled, her face going red.  "Are you saying Darien 
wouldn't WANT to kiss me?"

"Well...if the shoe fits..."

Serena glared.  "I'll have you know that he..."  She stopped in mid-sentence, realization 
dawning on her face.  "Ohhh...I know what you're up to!" she said smugly.  "You're trying to 
get me to admit that Darien kissed me!"

"Ah-HA!  So he DID kiss you?"  Lita pounced like a cat on a mouse.

"I didn't say that!" Serena replied quickly.

"Come oooonnn!  We're your friends!  You're supposed to TELL us stuff like this!" Lita whined.

Serena's mouth twitched.  "It's more fun watching you beg," she teased.  "But...if you really 
want to know..."

"What?  WHAT?" Lita gasped, leaning in close.

"Well...all right, I'll admit that he did give me a kiss in the parking lot, on the cheek.  He 
was just joking around though!  He didn't MEAN anything by it," Serena reluctantly told them, 
and for the first time, much to her disgust, she felt...disappointed that he HADN'T meant 
anything by it...

Lita wasn't satisfied.  "Where on the cheek?" she demanded.

"What?"  Serena looked at her like she'd gone mad.  "Why does it matter?"

"Every little thing a guy does matters!  Every little kiss or touch is a sign, I tell you!  
Now WHERE did he KISS you?!"

Serena eyed her friend nervously, wondering if she WAS going mad.  Then she hesitantly reached 
up and touched the corner of her mouth, still able to recall the feel of warm, soft lips 
pressed so briefly there.  She knew she was blushing, but she couldn't seem to control it.  
It wasn't so much the kiss, it was the WAY he had kissed her, so carefully and gently, that 
set her heart to pounding so fast...

Lita's eyes were positively dreamy, and she sighed blissfully.  "That definitely proves it!" 
she sighed.  "The guy is gone on you!  No guy would kiss a girl like that if he didn't have 
SOME sort of affection for her!  Aren't I right, girls?"  She turned to Amy and Raye, who 
nodded enthusiastically, and Serena blushed even more.

"I still say you're crazy," she grumbled.  "Darien has done nothing but torment me from the 
moment I met him!  He has done nothing to endear himself to me!"

"Nothing?" Raye asked slyly.  "What about taking care of your injuries?"

"And driving you home...not to mention kissing you, even if he WAS only teasing..." Amy added.

"And then there's today, when he stopped over to visit you.  Would you do that for someone you 
couldn't stand the sight of?" Lita pointed out.

"Um..." Serena began.

"And then there's the way YOU act!" Raye suddenly pointed out, giggling slightly.  "All 
starry-eyed and sighing like some lovesick puppy whenever you think nobody's watching!"

"Hey!  I do NOT..." Serena began indignantly.

"It's true," Amy cut her off, in her practical way.  "And you always claim that you can't 
stand him, but the fact that you go on and on about how much you hate him only proves that 
you care for him more than you want to admit."

"Amy!  You...how can you say that?!" Serena sputtered.  "You're totally WRONG!"

"Oh, come on, Serena," Lita teased.  "Amy's NEVER wrong!  You know that!"

Serena glared.  "Who asked you?" she growled.

"Down girl!" Lita laughed, holding up her hands.  "Just pointing out some facts, is all..."

"You can point them out somewhere else!" Serena huffed.  "I'm tired, and I thought you said 
you were gonna wait 'till I felt better before harassing me about that!"

"That's true," Amy said practically.  "You did say that, Lita."

Lita sighed.  "Okay, okay.  I'll drop the subject," she agreed.  "It's time to go, anyway.  
Guess I'll talk to you later, huh, Serena?"

"Not unless we talk about anything besides this," the other girl replied stubbornly.

"Yes, boss," Lita teased.  She and Raye and Amy stood and gathered their things.  From 
downstairs the sound of a door opening caught their attention.  "Looks like you're mom's 
home.  Have a good sleep!"

Serena mumbled some unintelligible reply and the three girls grinned at each other as they 
left the room.  "D'ya think she'll actually get any sleep with everything we left her to think 
about?" Lita asked evilly.

A sudden, loud snore followed them out of the room, and they stopped in surprise and looked at 
each other as the snore was followed by another one.  Raye rolled her eyes.  

"Oh, I'd say there's a pretty good chance..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CHAPTER FIVE

	The rest of the week went by, and Serena spent it at home at the advice of her family's 
somewhat senile doctor.  By the time Friday rolled around, her cold had vanished completely, 
and she was downright crazy with boredom.  Even her sprained ankle had healed fast, and she 
was walking without the crutches in no time (not that she was ever any good at walking WITH 
them...).

	Maybe that was why she so readily agreed to take her neighbors' six-year-old daughter to 
Fairview Park on Saturday morning so the young couple could go out to brunch.  Cassidy Marcus 
was a cute little terror with golden hair, huge brown eyes, and enough energy to power all of 
Tokyo for a week.  Serena was her "best pal", and the two of them got along great, but if 
anyone had asked Serena to baby-sit the child under normal circumstances, she would have been 
rolling on the floor in hysterics within seconds.  Even she was not THAT crazy!

*	*	*	*	*
	**I am absolutely OUT of my mind...** a rather tired Serena thought to herself two hours 
later as she sprawled out across a bench, watching Cassidy climb across the jungle gym a 
little way off.  **Why did I think I was well enough to chase a six-year-old all over the 
park?  How can a little kid MOVE so fast?!**

	Cassidy finished climbing across the monkey bars and skipped over to Serena.  "'Rena, 
can we play tag?" she asked hopefully, her brown puppy eyes pleading.

	"'Rena" pursed her lips.  "Well...I don't know," she replied, hesitantly.

	"Pleeeease?" Cassidy begged, pouting a little.

	Serena grinned.  How could she resist that adorable face?  "Well, if you really want to," 
she agreed.  "And since you suggested it, you're 'it' first!"  And with that she was up off 
the bench and racing across the wide expanse of green, laughing gaily as Cassidy shouted 
behind her.  She ran for a little before she turned around to tease the determined child, who 
was quickly gaining on her.  "Uh-oh!  You're catching up!" she called encouragingly.  "I'd 
better hurry up before...OOF!"  This she cried as she ran headlong into a warm, solid wall, 
bouncing off and landing in the grass in an ungraceful heap.  "Ouchie..." she moaned, looking 
up at the person standing before her.

	It was Darien.  Naturally.  "Hey, Meatball Head!  Why don't you look where you're going?" 
he said irritably.

	Serena automatically bristled at the sound of her hated nickname.  "Why don't YOU look 
where I'm going, and get out of my way?!" she retorted as she picked herself up.  He didn't 
bother to help her.  Not that she wanted him to...

	They gave each other the Evil Eye for several moments before a tug on Serena's skirt 
made her look down.  Darien followed her gaze until it fell on a little girl with golden curls 
and huge brown eyes, watching them solemnly.  He smiled at her.  She sure was a cute little 
thing.  Cassidy, seeing that she had gained their attention, asked, "Who're you?"

	"My name's Darien," he replied.

	She eyed him suspiciously.  "Are you a stranger?" she asked reproachfully.  "We're not 
supposed to talk to strangers, are we, 'Rena?"

	Serena grinned.  "Nope, and believe me, Darien's as strange as they come!" she replied 
with a giggle, shooting a glance at him from the corner of her eye.  He bit his lip against 
the weird feelings that innocently coy glance stirred within him.

	"Ha ha," he replied, in an attempt to regain control of the situation.  "I'm not a 
stranger.  Serena knows me.  We...run into each other a lot."  Now it was his turn to grin as 
Serena glared at his subtle barb.  "What's your name, kid?"

	"Cassidy," the child replied seriously.  Then, apparently satisfied that Darien wasn't 
going to bite, she suddenly grinned widely and gave him a smart smack on the arm, proclaiming 
loudly, "Tag!  YOU'RE it!"  Then she burst into peals of laughter and took off again.

	A giggle from Serena drew Darien's attention from the child, and he raised an eyebrow.  
"You're playing TAG with a SIX-year old?" he asked mockingly.

	She pouted.  "You dolt!  I'm BABY-SITTING her!"

	He snickered.  "Poor kid."

	She narrowed her eyes.  "YOU'RE the one I have the problem with.  She and I get along 
just fine!" she sniffed, crossing her arms.

	"No wonder!" he replied with a laugh.  "You apparently like the same games.  Tell me, do 
you play dress-up with her, too?"

	Serena narrowed her eyes at him, and he readied himself for an outburst, but then 
suddenly she grinned, much to his surprise.  "I do when she invites me to tea with the queen," 
she replied sweetly.  "But right now we're playing tag...and YOU'RE it!"  And with that, she 
stuck her thumbs in her ears and wagged her fingers at him, crossing her eyes and sticking out 
her tongue.  Darien couldn't help himself.  He broke into laughter at the sight of her.  She 
looked so adorably ridiculous...

Serena grinned wickedly, a silent challenge.  Then, with a squeal of laughter, she bolted 
across the park, following Cassidy.  His own laughter subsided as he watched her, and then he 
grinned.  **Well, when in Rome...** he thought, and sprinted after her, running smoothly and 
quickly.

Serena looked over her shoulder, and her eyes widened in shock to see that Darien was actually 
chasing her...and quickly catching up!  "Watch out, Cass!" she called breathlessly.  "He's 
coming!"

"I'm not the slowpoke!" Cassidy called back, giggling.

"Hey!" Serena cried.  "I'm gonna give you a tickle attack for that little remark!" 

Cassidy shrieked and ran faster, and Serena laughed as she chased her, catching up and 
grabbing her, tumbling them both to the ground and tickling her sides mercilessly as the child 
shrieked.  "Help!" Cassidy screamed.  "Darien!  She's tickling me!  No fair!  No fair!  
Heeelp!"

"Ha ha ha!  You shall never escape the tickle monster!" Serena growled in a threatening 
voice.  "You are mine, all mine!  BWA-HAHAHAHA!"  Her feigned maniacal laughter was actually 
quite good.

"Never fear, Princess Cassidy!  Prince Darien shall save you from the horrible monster!" a 
deep voice proclaimed, and Serena suddenly felt strong arms wrap themselves around her waist 
as she was pulled from Cassidy's squirming body and flipped onto her back.  She gave a squeal 
of surprise as a grinning Darien held her arms down with strong hands, and he sprawled out 
beside her, pinning her kicking legs beneath his own.  "Ah-ha!  Now I have you!" he drawled.

Serena was too stunned to reply for a moment.  Was this actually Darien?  The serious college 
guy was actually PLAYING with them?  She sucked in a deep breath at the laughter that made his 
blue eyes glow like precious sapphires, a grin playing about his mouth, and his masculine 
beauty suddenly hit her like a gale-force wind.  How had she never truly noticed before how 
handsome he really was?  "L...let me go," she demanded, her voice coming out barely above a 
whisper.  Her heart was pounding so hard that she was sure he could hear it.
"Now, how much fun would that be?" he asked with a grin.  "I have you right where I want you, 
and I must take my revenge on behalf of Princess Cassidy!"

Serena squirmed uncomfortably.  "Can't you take a raincheck?" she asked hopefully.

Darien laughed, and Cassidy leaned over them, grinning.  "Tickle her, Darien!  Come on!  
Tickle her!" she urged, giggling delightedly.

Serena glared up at her good-naturedly.  "Traitor!" she teased.  "Just you wait 'till I get 
up!  I'll get you yet!"

Cassidy giggled again and danced around them, all the while urging Darien to tickle her.  
Darien just grinned as he looked down at Serena.  He was clearly enjoying himself, and she 
bit her lip.  "Well, c'mon, 'Prince' Darien.  Get it over with!" she challenged.  "Gotta make 
the princess happy!"

Darien's expression changed subtly; a slight melancholy shadowed his eyes at the word 
"princess", but was gone a moment later.  He drew Serena's arms above her head, slowly sliding 
his hands along their slim, lightly tanned length in a way that made her shiver.  He noticed, 
and his grin widened as he trapped both of her small hands in one of his own.  "Hmmm...where 
should I start," he drawled.  "Maybe...at her neck?"  He reached down and circled her slender 
neck with his free hand, stroking her soft skin lightly, teasingly.  Her eyes narrowed and a 
smile twitched her mouth, but she refused to give in.

He grinned.  "Hmmm...no good.  How about...down here?"  And he lowered his hand to her side, 
tickling her lightly.  He felt her twitch beneath his hand, but she bit her lip and held on.  
"She's a tough one," he told Cassidy seriously, who giggled in reply, "but I know how to make 
her crack!"  His eyes fell on her stomach, where her shirt had ridden up slightly, exposing 
smooth, creamy skin.  He grinned evilly as her eyes widened, and then he reached down for the 
attack.

Serena felt his smooth hand cover her stomach and something like an electric thrill ran up her 
spine at the warmth of it.  She barely had time to register the response before his fingers 
began moving, stroking lightly and teasingly...and tickling mercilessly.  She bit her lip and 
tried to hold off as long as she could, but the battle was lost.

"Ah-HA!" Darien cried dramatically.  "See, I knew she wouldn't be able to resist much longer!  
I am a master!"

Cassidy clapped her hands and giggled with delight at the sight of her best pal convulsing in 
hysterics, squirming in a vain attempt to escape the merciless Darien.  "Okay, OKAY!" Serena 
finally yelled.  "Enough already!  I give up!"

"Awww...already?  I was having fun, too," Darien replied with a laugh.

She glared.  "I just bet you were," she sniffed.  "Now let me up!"

He sat back with a smug grin and met her evil glare boldly.  "Looks like I win," he whispered, 
and she scrambled back and leaped to her feet, brushing grass from her skirt.

"It's getting late, Cass," she said stiffly, turning her back on him.  "I'd better get you 
home now."

"Awww...I don't want to go!" Cassidy whined.  "Can't we stay longer?  Pleeease?"

"No, we can't, now come on!  Your parents said they'd be back by eleven o'clock, and it's 
nearly twelve."

Cassidy pouted as she stood up and brushed herself off.  Then she brightened.  "Darien, can 
you walk home with us?" she asked hopefully.

Darien saw Serena glance at him in alarm; clearly she wasn't thrilled with that idea.  He 
grinned.  "Sure. Cassidy.  I would love to," he replied cheerfully.  Serena clenched her jaw 
and looked away.  Cassidy, for her part, looked thrilled to have Darien for company.  She took 
his hand, and then Serena's, and skipped in between them as they left the park and headed for 
Serena's house.  She kept up a constant stream of chatter the whole way back, which neither of 
them minded, really, as it kept them both from thinking too much about things they would just 
as soon forget...

*	*	*	*	*
	Serena heaved a sigh of relief after delivering Cassidy, still chattering away, to her 
parents and collected ten dollars from them in exchange.  She turned to leave their doorstep, 
then noticed that Darien was still there.  She looked almost annoyed to see him as she 
pocketed the money.

	"Don't I get any of that?" he asked slyly.  "I DID help you baby-sit, after all."

	"Dream on!" she snorted.  "I didn't ask for your so-called 'help'.  And besides, tickling 
me to death was NOT helping!"

	He laughed.  "You're just sore because I made you beg for mercy," he countered.  She 
merely made an annoyed little "humph" and continued on her way.  He followed her.  He didn't 
know WHY he followed her; she clearly did not want him around anymore today.  But he was drawn 
to her, like a condemned prisoner is drawn to the faint hope of pardon for his crimes.  He 
didn't want to leave her just yet, and he had no idea why.  She was immature, annoying, a 
crybaby, a total klutz...and yet...and yet she filled him with warmth.  With life.  

Today in the park...he could not remember ever having so much fun in his life.  It was as 
though the stodgy, old Darien didn't exist.  He had been a child again...or perhaps for the 
first time.  And he'd found that...he liked it.  He liked the laughter and the humor and the...
the complete JOY of being alive!  If being with Serena, no matter how much she sometimes 
annoyed him, meant that he could feel that way more often... 

"Well...Cassidy's gone home, I'm going home...don't you have someplace YOU need to be as 
well?" Serena asked him pointedly, interrupting his musings.

He grinned.  "Nope," he replied cheerfully.  "I was gonna go get a banana split...but I'm not 
really hungry enough to eat the whole thing myself.  Know anyone who might want to come with 
me?  My treat, of course."

Interest flared briefly in Serena's eyes before she quickly schooled her features into a mask 
of unconcern.  "Nope.  Guess you'll have to eat on your own," she replied flippantly, tossing 
her ponytails.

He hummed a little and bit the inside of his lip.  She wasn't going to make this easy on him, 
was she?  But he wasn't giving up THAT easily!  "Well, then, why don't YOU come with me?" he 
suggested, as though he'd only just thought of it.  "You like ice cream...don't you?"  As if 
he didn't already know!

She stared at him suspiciously.  "Let me get this straight.  YOU are asking ME out for an ice 
cream sundae?" she asked.  "Did you hit your head or something?"

He laughed.  "Naw, I just wondered if you wanted to come, is all.  Call it...a 
glad-you're-feeling-better present.  But...if you really don't WANT a banana split..."

"Well...I'm not really busy right now," she hurriedly interrupted.  "I mean, if you really 
WANT me to come, I guess I could tag along..."

Darien smiled.  It was cute the way she tried to act like she couldn't care less when she 
obviously did.  "Sure, I do," he replied.  "Come on, I know a place that sells great ice 
cream."  Someplace other than the arcade, he actually meant.  He could just picture the look 
on Andrew's face when he and Serena strolled in together to share a sundae... Andrew would 
have a field day with that bit of gossip!  Besides...he really wanted to be alone with Serena 
right now, to gain some time to explore these new, strange, wonderful feelings swirling around 
inside him...

*	*	*	*	*
	Serena once again found herself walking silently beside Darien as he led her down the 
street toward their destination.  **This is starting to become a habit...** she thought with 
a touch of amusement.  Funny thing was...it was a habit that she felt she could grow to like.  
**Oh, stuff it!  Only reason you're here is 'cause he's buying you ice cream!** she told 
herself grumpily.

	**But why is he buying you ice cream in the first place?** another part of her mind 
asked, and laughed smugly when the first part had no answer.  Serena blinked and shook her 
head, smiling slightly.  And now she was holding conversations with herself.  Just great.

	They had paused at an intersection, and Serena briefly noted that the walk sign had lit 
up.  She distractedly stepped down into the street to cross, not even watching where she was 
walking.  Suddenly, there was a cry of alarm from Darien, a sharp squeal of tires on blacktop, 
and the blaring of a horn.  Startled out of her daydreams, she looked up with a sharp gasp in 
time to see that a car had run the red-light and was heading right for her!  What was worse, 
though the driver had slammed on his breaks, he was clearly not going to stop in time before 
he slammed into her...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CHAPTER SIX	

	Serena's mind shut down at that point.  She couldn't think as she watched with detached 
horror as the car slid, as if in slow motion, toward her.  There was no time to run.  The 
scream that tried to escape didn't come out as anything more than a terrified whimper.  She 
tensed, squeezing her eyes closed as she waited for the painful impact of sheet metal against 
her body...

	There was an impact, all right, but it didn't come from a car.  It came from another 
body that suddenly tackled her, sending them both flying out of harm's way.  She landed on top 
of that body, strong arms wrapped about her and her head buried in a warm, solid chest.  She 
looked up slowly, her mind beginning to un-fog.  Darien was there.  He was the one who had 
caught her...who had saved her life.  She stared at him in stunned wonder as he helped her to 
sit up.  His shirt was torn, she noticed; probably when he'd hit the ground.  Then she 
realized that he had taken most of the impact on himself, making sure to land with her on top 
of him so she wouldn't be crushed beneath his weight.  The gesture amazed her.  He had risked 
his life for her?  Had tried to protect her?  Had taken the injuries meant for her onto 
himself?  Why?

	"Why...?" she whispered as their gazes locked.

*	*	*	*	*
	Darien saw Serena crossing the street, and moved to follow her.  She appeared to be deep 
in thought, and he longed to know what on earth she was thinking about that caused her 
normally happy face to look so serious.  He smiled slightly, wondering if Serena even knew how 
beautiful she was when she looked like that.  She looked beautiful all the time, he reluctantly 
admitted, but just now...

	His thoughts were interrupted at the sight of a bright red sports car speeding toward 
the intersection.  He glanced at the street light nervously.  It was still red, and yet the 
car was not slowing down.  There were no cars crossing the other way just then, and a sick 
realization dawned on him.  The driver meant to keep going...right through the light!  But...
SERENA!  He looked at the girl with a gasp, then forced a cry of warning through his 
restricted throat.

	At about that time, the driver of the car apparently realized that there was a 
pedestrian on the street, and tires squealed as he slammed on his breaks, laying on the horn 
to warn her.  But he was going too fast, and he was too close...and Serena was right in his 
way...

	**No.  NO!** Darien screamed silently.  **I can't lose her!  I CAN'T!**  He was acting 
before he'd even decided to.  Some deep, unconscious instinct had taken over, and he was 
racing full-speed out into the street, heedless of his own danger.  It was mere seconds, but 
it seemed like years, and all the time he was thinking, **I'm not going to make it!  I'm...
not...going...to...make...it...**

	She was simply standing there, too stunned to move, but he heard her cry out; a mere 
whimper of fear that echoed in his soul, and it broke his heart.  He could not fail her.  He 
WOULD NOT!  And then his arms were around her waist as he caught her in a flying tackle, 
shoving her out of the way and twisting so that he was landing on his back, ignoring the sound 
of tearing cloth...and possibly flesh...as he held her tight, afraid she'd disappear if he let 
go.  He would never let her go again...

	The driver of the car had finally stopped, his face pale as he stared out the window at 
them.  Darien raised his head and fixed the jerk with a deadly glare, and the man went even 
paler, shifting into high gear and tearing out of there like all of Hell was burning at his 
heels.  Darien let him go, turning his attention back to what was really important.  He helped 
the shaken girl to sit up, still holding her.  He couldn't bring himself to let her go, and he 
didn't care WHO saw him!  She was staring up at him, her face ashen, her huge eyes quivering 
with tears.  "Why...?" she whispered to him, her lips trembling slightly.

	He drew in a deep breath.  "He almost killed you," he replied, his voice barely above a 
whisper.  His own eyes were burning, and he didn't realize at first that it was because he, 
too, was on the verge of crying.  After all, he had not cried since he was six.  "You almost...
I HAD to...oh, Serena!"  He suddenly pulled her close again and buried his face in her neck, 
knowing that he was trembling all over and not caring in the least.  It was too close.  It had 
been too close a call, and now he knew...he knew that if he ever lost her he would never be 
able to live again.  His very soul would die without her to feed it with her compassion and 
humor and...and love...
*	*	*	*	*
	Serena felt Darien holding her so tight that she could hardly breathe.  He was shaking, 
she realized, like a single leaf clinging to her as though to a tree, and a hurricane was 
threatening to blow him away if he let her go.  The thought awed her, and frightened her, 
that strong, brave Darien...who had just so recklessly saved her life with disregards to his 
own...should now be terrified.  His soft hair brushed her chin and she could feel him gasping 
into her shoulder, his breath warm on her neck, causing her to shiver.  But then she felt 
something wet hit her shoulder where the shirt did not cover it; wet like a drop of rain...yet 
warm...like a tear?

	**Darien's CRYING?!** she thought, her lips parting on a soft gasp.  He was crying...the 
thought was inconceivable!  He was the strong one!  She had never seen him cry; hadn't known 
that he COULD cry.  The fact that he was doing so now frightened her more than anything, and 
she couldn't hold back a deep shudder as her arms came about his waist unconsciously and 
tightened.  She closed her eyes and swallowed several times to fight back her own tears.  

It was her turn to be the strong one...

	"It...it's okay," she whispered hoarsely, turning her face to his soft, silky hair.  
"Everything's okay, Darien, really.  I'm fine, you see?  You...you saved me.  I'm not hurt; 
just a little shaken.  Please don't cry.  Please?"

	He slowly relaxed his hold on her, and his harsh breathing subsided against her neck.  
Slowly, he raised his head to look at her, his eyes moist, but his face was perfectly composed.  
She looked up at him, her crystal blue gaze fixed on his deep sapphire one, and smiled a 
little to prove that she really was okay, despite the single, crystalline tear that insisted 
on making its lonely way down her face.  "See?" she whispered.  "I'm still all in one piece...
thank you..."

	His hands slowly rose to cradle her face in a tender grasp, long fingers curling into 
her soft hair, and her heart leaped as a faint blush rose to her cheeks at the way he gazed at 
her, as though to memorize her every feature.  Then, he lowered his face to her own and 
pressed his lips tenderly against her cheek, kissing away the stray tear.  "You're welcome..." 
he whispered, pressing his face to hers, and his breath stirred past her ear and caused her to 
shiver slightly.  As he raised his head, their gazes locked, and pure emotion shot through them.  
His breath caught, and something flashed in her eyes, and then he was moving toward her, his 
eyes closing softly, anticipating the feel of her soft lips against his own...

	"Hey!  Oh, wow, are you two okay?!  I saw what happened!" a sudden voice shouted close 
to them, and they winced, the moment of peace...of absolute kinship...shattering like crystal 
around them.  Serena almost could have hated the man dressed in a business suit that came 
running up to them, his face lined with worry.  He held a cell phone in his hand.  "Hey, I 
got the license plate number off that car, and a good look at the moron driving it, so the 
police won't have any trouble catching him.  Maybe I should call an ambulance for you two..."

	Serena looked up at Darien in alarm.  An ambulance was the last thing she wanted!  She 
didn't want to leave Darien just yet... Her eyes pleaded with him, and he seemed to understand 
as he stood carefully and helped her to stand, as well.  She breathed a sigh of relief when 
nothing felt funny or broken.  She had been incredibly lucky.  Heck, she'd gotten hurt much 
worse in her scuffles with the Negaverse, but there was no need to drop that little detail to 
Darien.  

	"We're both okay," Darien was saying firmly.  "Thanks for your help, but all we really 
need is to get home, okay?  We're not hurt."

	The man looked doubtful, but Darien turned away from him and slid an arm about Serena's 
shoulders, carefully leading her to the sidewalk.  He was limping a little, and she could see 
a wet stain on his dark shirt, and stopped with a gasp.  "You are too hurt!" she accused, 
touching his back gently.  "You...you landed first...and the road was rough.  I couldn't have 
been very light..."

	"It's nothing some peroxide and a few bandages won't fix," he replied.  He took her hand 
and led her to a large, fancy apartment complex, bringing her inside.  She looked around 
curiously as he punched a button for an elevator, then pulled her into it once it came.

**Where are we going?** she wondered.  **Well, he must know someone who lives here.  Pretty 
fancy place, though.  Whoever lives here must be rich!**

The elevator stopped on the twelfth floor, and Darien led Serena down a long, sterile-looking 
hallway with pale green carpet, to a door, where he paused and fished in his pocket.  Her 
mouth dropped open when it emerged clutching a key, and he put it into the lock and turned it.  
"You LIVE here?" she gasped as he opened the door and stepped out of the way, revealing a 
spacious apartment with huge windows and a minimal amount of furniture.  The only decoration, 
in fact, was the vase of roses sitting on the coffee table, various knickknacks resting on the 
low bookshelves lining one wall, and a few paintings hung here and there.

He was grinning slightly.  "Last time I checked," he told her.  "Go on, sit down so I can make 
sure you're okay."

"Nu-uh," she said stubbornly.  "You're the one who's hurt.  YOU sit down and let ME take care 
of it!  I know what to do!"  She disappeared into the kitchen and began banging around while 
Darien listened nervously.  He wasn't sure it was a good idea to let Meatball Head anywhere 
NEAR his clean kitchen, but she was obviously determined.  So he followed her into the room, 
and had to smile when he saw her standing on a stool, straining up to reach a bowl on the top 
shelf of his cabinet.

He moved up behind her and reached around her to take the bowl from the shelf.  Her hair 
brushed his face as he looked down at her.  She was suddenly very still.  
"Thought you could use some help," he told her, his voice a mere murmur.  She licked her lips 
and nodded slightly as he set the bowl on the counter, his arm now at her waist.  It stayed 
there for a moment, pressed lightly against her stomach, before dropping to his side as he 
stepped back.  He wasn't sure...but was that...disappointment he saw flash across her features?

She cleared her throat.  "Um...thanks," she said.  "Now, sit down and take off your shirt so I 
can look at you."  She faltered, realizing how that might sound, her cheeks flushing pale 
pink.  "At...at your wounds...I mean..."

He forced back a smile as he perched on the end of the kitchen table, carefully peeling off 
his shirt.  His back stung when he shifted, and he winced.  He heard her gasp softly, and for 
a moment feared that his injured back was worse off than he'd thought...but then he realized 
that she wasn't even looking at his back, considering that he was still facing her.  He shot 
her a glance in time to see her staring at him with something like wonder, her gaze fixed on 
his chest, before her mouth snapped shut and she looked away, busying herself with filling the 
bowl with warm water from the sink.  Her cheeks were pink.
He grinned.  Now this was interesting!  One would almost think she'd never seen a man without 
his shirt on before...

He watched her steadily as she found a few towels and laid them beside the bowl, then picked 
it up and carefully carried it to the table, being sure not to look at him.  "Um...where do 
you keep your bandages and stuff?" she asked, and he grinned at how nervous she sounded. 

"In the medicine cabinet in the bathroom," he replied, and she nodded and quickly left the 
room.  When she was gone, he sighed and stared absentmindedly at the floor, his thoughts on 
Serena.  More, on how he would get her to notice that he was alive...and unattached...and 
interested in her...

**This is weird,** he thought with amusement.  **Up until a few minutes ago, she was nothing 
but Meatball Head, the immature, loud-mouthed crybaby.  But now...** He paused, remembering 
her face as the car came at her, hearing her soft whimper, and he shuddered.  **Now I 
understand how I really feel.**  He grimaced.  **I guess Andrew was right, after all.  I AM 
gone on this girl, and it took a near tragedy to make me realize it.  Or...at least admit it.  
Now...what am I gonna do about it?**

Serena bounced back into the room just then, holding a bottle of peroxide and a box of bandages.  
"Okay, now turn around," she instructed.  "Let me clean up your back.  You really DID do a 
number on that!  Skin and asphalt don't mix, ya know!"

He grinned, chuckling a little.  "Yeah, I kind of got that feeling," he replied teasingly as 
he obeyed.  "You really don't have to do this, Meatball Head.  I'll be fine."

"No, I want to.  Besides, all's fair, right?  I mean, you fixed me up when I got hurt, and now 
it's my turn to return the favor!  Besides that...you saved my life!  It's the LEAST I can do!  
My fault you're hurt, anyhow.  If I'd been watching where I was going in the first place..."

Darien turned around quickly, catching her hands in his own as she looked at him, clearly 
startled.  "It was NOT your fault!" he told her fiercely.  "That creep ran the light, and 
almost hit you!  It was HIS fault, do you understand?  Don't you dare go blaming yourself for 
this!  I made the choice to save your life, and if I could go back and rethink my decision...
well, there IS no rethinking it!  I had to save you, Serena.  Don't you realize that?  I 
couldn't lose you."

She looked stunned at his words as tears filled her eyes, making them shimmer.  For a moment, 
he feared that he'd frightened her or hurt her, but then she gave him a trembling smile.  "I...
I know, Darien.  Thank you," she replied, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.  
"Nobody's ever done so much for me.  I mean...they have, but it's not the same..."  She broke 
off and bit her lip before she blabbed anything else.  As much as she was starting to like 
this guy, she still wasn't about to tell him about her ulterior life as Sailor Moon, where she 
flirted with death nearly every day.  Not that he'd believe her, anyway...

"Well, c'mon now, turn around so I can clean you up," she said briskly, laying her hands on 
his bare shoulders and forcing him to turn, trying to ignore the tingles that shot up her arms 
at the feel of his warm skin beneath her fingers.  She took the wet towel and began to 
carefully dab away the trickles of blood that seeped from the abrasions on his skin.  

He flinched several times as she worked, but she was being so careful about it.  Then she 
poured peroxide onto a clean cloth.  "Um...this is gonna sting," she told him regretfully.  
"But it'll clean out the wounds.  Just thought I'd warn you..."

"I know.  Go ahead and get it over with," he told her, bracing himself.  He heard her sigh, 
then felt the brush of soft fabric against his back...and then the sharp sting of the medicine 
as it hit his wounds.  He clenched his teeth, determined not to show weakness, in much the 
same way she had only a week before.  Then he felt her warm breath blowing against his skin, 
and the stinging was forgotten as this much more pleasant sensation overrode it.  He smiled 
and closed his eyes, determined to enjoy her administrations, considering that this would 
probably be the last time her hands would be near him like this.  He would have to find some 
way to thank her, he thought suddenly.  Maybe with a slow, passionate kiss...on the lips, this 
time, but maybe starting out with that lovely, slender neck of hers and working his way up...

**Yah, right!  And she'll never speak to you again for sure if you do that!** he scolded 
himself.  **Trying to seduce a fourteen year old!  The idea!**

But it was a delicious one, all the same. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CHAPTER SEVEN

	Andrew rapped sharply on the booth in the arcade, and the chatter of the four girls 
surrounding him abruptly stopped.  "I hereby call the first official meeting of L.G.S.D.T 
together," he announced.

	"Um...what's L.G.S.D.T.?" Rita asked, looking at her boyfriend as though he'd just gone 
zonkers.

	He gave a drawn-out, impatient sigh.  "L.G.S.D.T. stands for 'Let's Get Serena and 
Darien Together', " he explained carefully.  "That IS what we're trying to do here, isn't it?"

	"Yeah, but that name is stupid, and it doesn't make sense!" Lita chimed in.  "You can't 
call a club L.G.S.D.T.!  That isn't even a word!"

	Andrew shot her a dark look.  "And I suppose YOU have something much better in mind?" he 
asked sweetly.

	"As a matter of fact, I do!" Lita sniffed.  "I say we call ourselves 'Cupid's Angels on 
a Mission'.  CAM, for short."

	"That's supposed to be any better?" Andrew yelled.

	"Hey!  At least we can PRONOUNCE it!" Lita retorted, sticking out her tongue and 
crossing her arms stubbornly over her chest.

	"All right, you two, knock it off!" Raye jumped in.  "We're supposed to be playing 
matchmaker, not Scrabble!  It doesn't matter what we call the club!"

	"Yes it does," Andrew insisted.  "Every club needs a good name!"

	"Fine," Raye sighed.  "Then I vote for CAM."

	"What?"  Andrew looked to Rita.  "What about you?  You're my girlfriend, you know..."

	She smiled.  "Sorry, sweetie, but Lita's idea is much better.  CAM it is!"

	He turned pleading eyes to Amy, who looked uncomfortable.  "Er...sorry, Andrew, but 
Lita's idea DOES make more sense..." she told him.

	"Fine," he said through gritted teeth.  "Then I call the first official meeting of..."  
He paused and shot a disgusted look toward Lita, "...Cupid's Angels on a Mission...or CAM for 
short...to order.  But I get to be Cupid!"

	The girls groaned as sweatdrops appeared on their foreheads.  "So, what do ya want us to 
do, oh, wise master?" Raye asked sarcastically.

	Andrew blinked.  "Do?" he repeated.  "Er...well...heh heh...I hadn't really thought that 
far, as of yet..." he admitted sheepishly.

	Raye slapped her forehead.  "Oh, I can tell THIS is gonna start out great..." she 
muttered.  Rita and Amy giggled, and Lita shot her a wicked smile.

	Their "meeting" was suddenly interrupted by the arrival of a very breathless Lucy 
(remember her?  She's the waitress) who rushed in the door, hair disheveled and eyes glowing 
with mischievous excitement.  "Hey, guys!" she gasped.  "You won't BELIEVE what I just saw!  
It was so...so...AMAZING!  It was...it was just the most unbelievable thing!  It was..."

	"Lucy!  Calm down and TELL us already!" Raye yelled.  Lucy had the role of drama queen 
down to a fine art.

	The other girl blinked, offended at being so rudely interrupted.  "Fine," she sniffed.  
"I was walking to work, and what did I see, but Darien walking into his apartment.  Well, 
that's normal enough, of course...but he had a GIRL with him!  He was walking with her, and he 
had his ARM around her shoulder!"  She paused dramatically.  "WELL, let me tell you, THAT was 
something new, so naturally I was curious, so I ran up to get a closer look, and went into the 
lobby, and I hid behind a potted tree and watched as he stood at the elevator...and THEN I 
recognized the girl.  I bet you'll NEVER guess who it was!  Well?  Go on...try to guess!"

	Raye rolled her eyes and tapped her manicured fingers against the table impatiently.  
"Um...let's see.  Could it possibly be...Serena?" she asked in a bored tone.

	Lucy's mouth dropped open.  "Awww...you guessed!  How'd YOU know?" she whined.

	Raye looked smug.  "Just my natural intelligence," she replied breezily.  Lucy, 
obviously miffed at having her little guessing game ruined, turned and flounced to the back 
room to sign in for work, and Raye suddenly found four pairs of eyes fixed on her.  "What?"

	"How DID you know that, Raye?" Andrew asked suspiciously.  "Did you see something you're 
not telling us?"

	Raye rolled her eyes.  "Of COURSE not!  It was just logical thinking.  I mean...come on!  
Why else would Lucy be in such a state of excitement over this if it was anybody but Serena?" 
she pointed out smugly.
	"The girl has a point," Lita replied with a nod.  "Although...Darien bringing any girl 
at all into his apartment is something of a phenomenon...OW!"  She gave Raye a glare as a 
sharp pain suddenly bloomed in her ankle.  "What was THAT for?!"  Raye merely glared back and 
cleared her throat pointedly.  "Oh..."  Lita smiled sheepishly.  "Present company excluded, 
naturally..."

	"Thank you," Raye said primly.  "Now...if what Lucy says is true, and Darien DID bring 
Serena to his apartment...which, I'll admit, IS something unusual-I mean, it took me forever 
to convince him to let ME see his place...well, then chances are that things are already 
coming together on their own.  All we have to do now is sort of...give them a shove in the 
right direction."

	"So how do you propose we do that?" Lita asked, swirling her straw around in her coke 
glass.

	"Well...why not set up a trap?" Rita suggested.

	"How do we do that?" Andrew asked.

	"Is there a parrot in here?" Lita quipped.

	"Well...YOU'RE our genius leader!  YOU figure it out!" Raye added  mockingly.  He gave 
her a glare in return.

	Amy, who had been sitting quietly for the most part, now cleared her throat softly.  
When nobody paid any attention, she cleared it again, a bit more loudly...and when she was 
still ignored she put some force behind it and cleared it a third time.

	"Got something stuck in your throat, Ames?" Lita asked cheerfully.

	"No, I have an idea," she replied, slightly miffed.

	All conversation stopped as all eyes turned on her with something akin to wonderment, 
and she felt a faint blush rise to her cheeks.

	"Let me get this straight...YOU have a devious plot involving the lives of two innocent 
victims who may or may not end up hating our guts at the end of it?" Lita asked unbelievably.

	Amy's face was definitely red now.  "Well...yes," she replied with quiet dignity.  
"As a matter of fact, I do.  We could set them both up to go out with friends, then have them 
meet at some private place, say...a moonlight walk in the park..."
 
	Everyone was silent as they pondered this.

	"It...has possibilities..." Rita said slowly.

	"It would definitely take some planning," Raye added, rubbing her chin thoughtfully.  
"But I bet it would work!  It'd make Serena jealous for sure if she saw Darien with another 
girl!"  She giggled maliciously at the thought.

	"But who would we get to take them out?" Andrew asked.  "I mean, I know how Darien is, 
and I know he will NOT go on anything like a blind date, and Serena might get a little 
suspicious..."

	"So who said it had to be a date?" Amy asked coyly, her eyes twinkling.
	Lita eyed her.  "What have you got up your sleeve, you little minx?" she asked teasingly.

	Amy looked at her innocently, then turned beguiling blue eyes to Rita and Andrew.  
"You've been having some relationship troubles, haven't you?" she asked.

	They looked shocked.  "Of course not!" Andrew gasped.  "Everything's been perfect 
between us!"

	"Anyhow!  How could you even think we were-ohhh!"  Rita's eyes widened in understanding 
as a slow smile spread across her lips.  "On second thought..."  She elbowed Andrew in the 
side.  "We sort of HAVE been a little...dissatisfied as of late, haven't we...punkin'?"

	"Huh?  We have?" Andrew asked in surprise.  Another nudge from Rita, and his eyes 
widened in understanding.  "Ohhh...yeah, actually, I've been thinking the same thing..." 
he added quickly.

	Raye and Lita caught on, slow grins spreading across their faces.  "You guys aren't 
gonna get into any...terrible fights, are you?" Raye asked innocently.

	"Yeah," Lita added.  "I mean, it would be a SHAME if you two BROKE UP over a silly 
argument..."

	"But if you did, I'm sure Darien and Serena would be more than happy to cheer you up," 
Amy added slyly.  "After all, you're all good friends, right?"

	Rita giggled, and Andrew grinned slyly.  "Of course.  That's what friends are for," they 
replied.

	"And maybe, seeing how much the two of you love each other...maybe it will make THEM 
realize how much they love each other..." Amy added.

	Lita turned to Amy and wrapped her pal in a bear hug, laughing evilly.  "Hah!" she 
crowed.  "I KNEW it!  I just KNEW my deviousness would rub off on you someday!"  She grinned 
wickedly and gave the blue-haired Scout a noogie as she squealed indignantly.  "I'm proud of 
ya, Ames!  It's pure brilliance.  I couldn't have done better myself!"

	Amy nearly glowed with pride.

*	*	*	*	*
	Serena had gone home, and Darien was doing his best to ignore his aches.  Not so much 
the aching of his bruised body, but more the aching of his heart.  He was...lonely, he 
realized.  It was strange.  He had always had this vague ache inside of him, but it had never 
really bothered him before.  He'd never really even stopped to wonder what it might be.  It 
had taken a young woman with blond meatballs and a wail that could make a Banshee cringe to 
make him realize that his life was...empty.  And now that she was gone, if even for a little 
while, the ache was back full-force.

	He sighed and leaned his head back against the couch, staring at the ceiling, thinking 
about the last few minutes.  After Serena had finished tending him, he'd helped her put 
everything away and then had offered her some hot chocolate, which she'd readily accepted, as 
he had known she would.  They had sat at his table in companionable silence, simply enjoying 
each other's company.  Finally, she had stirred, looking at the clock, her eyes widening in 
shock when she realized that it was nearly seven o'clock.
"I have to go now, before my mom starts to worry," she'd told him, her voice sounding 
strangely wistful.  And he had let her go, even though he was sorely tempted to plead with her 
to stay.  Maybe forever.  But he merely showed her to the door, gazing down at her as she gave 
him a shy smile, thanking him for the chocolate.  Then he'd acted on impulse again, as he'd 
been tending to do as of late.  He'd taken her hand and raised it to his lips, pressing a soft 
kiss into her palm, closing her slender fingers over it as astonishment flared in her eyes.  
With his most charming grin, he'd bid her farewell, then watched as she nearly floated down 
the hall toward the elevator.  

Darien sat up, smiling at the memory.  How was it that he'd never noticed how graceful she 
truly was?  She wasn't a klutz ALL the time.  Sometimes, he now knew, she moved with the 
ethereal grace of an angel.  Things had definitely changed between them.  Changed for the 
better, and he felt the faint stirring of hope that she might realize it, as well, and realize 
what it could mean.  That maybe they didn't need to be enemies after all.  That maybe...they 
could be something more than friends...

His thoughts were interrupted by a sudden pounding on the door.  Stifling the urge to do the 
exact same thing to the person standing on the other side of it as that person was doing to 
the door, he strode stiffly over and yanked it open.

Andrew stood there, looking as haggard as he'd ever seen him look, with red, watery eyes and 
pale skin (due in large part to a very good makeup job by Rita and a large onion), looking 
like the end of the world had come upon him.  "Andrew!" Darien gasped, pulling him inside.  
"What happened to you?  What's wrong?"

Andrew looked at him sadly.  "Rita...Rita and I...broke up," he said brokenly. 

Shock flared in Darien's eyes.  "What?" he gasped.  "How...I mean...WHY?  You two were like, 
the perfect couple!  What in the world happened?"  He sounded bewildered, and concerned, and 
Andrew had to give himself snaps for his excellent acting.

"Well, Dar, it's just...sometimes she gets on my nerves, ya know?" he sighed, then added, 
"Can we go take a walk in the park?  I really need some fresh air."

"Huh?  Oh...sure, Andrew.  Whatever you want.  Now keep talking!" Darien replied, grabbing 
his jacket and locking the door.

  "I mean, she has all these little annoying habits that...that just drive me crazy!" Andrew 
continued as they headed out of the building.  "And she said that there were things I did that 
drove HER crazy, so we got into this huge argument and started pointing out each other's 
faults, and by the end of it...well..."  He broke off and shrugged.  "It's for the best, 
really," he added.  "I mean, we were totally unsuitable for each other..."

"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!" Darien told him sharply.  "I mean, come on!  
Just 'cause Rita has some habits that you think she could work on, doesn't mean she's wrong 
for you!  You can't just give up on her!  And the same thing goes for her!"

*	*	*	*	*
	At the moment, Serena happened to be telling Rita much the same thing as they strolled 
through the park where they'd met on Serena's way to her house.  "Andrew is a wonderful guy!" 
she said firmly.  "I mean...he's sweet, and kind, and he cares about people, ya know?  
Actually...I had a major crush on him for the longest time!" she admitted, blushing lightly.

	Rita smiled inwardly, while outwardly raising her eyebrow at the younger girl.  
"Really?  And do you still have this...crush?" she asked slyly.

	"WHAT?  Like even!" Serena yelped.  "I am SO over that!  I mean, Andrew's YOUR guy...
and besides...I sort of have someone else I'm interested in..."  This last part she muttered 
almost under her breath, but Rita heard and barely refrained from turning a cartwheel.  She 
had a good clue as to who Serena was talking about.

	"So...what's the name of this mystery man?" she asked slyly, trying to draw out some 
information.  "Anyone I know?"

	Serena laughed uncomfortably, one hand going behind her head.  "Well...uh...you've met 
him, I'm sure," she replied, a sweatdrop appearing on her forehead.  "But we're not here to 
talk about ME!  We're here to figure out how to get Andrew back for you!"

	**Rats!** Rita thought.  But she wasn't about to give up.  "I really don't want to talk 
about my problems anymore.  They're too depressing," she sighed dramatically.  "But YOU!  Now, 
this is  something worth hearing!  Come on, Serena!  Can't you give me a teeny little hint 
about who this guy is?"

	Serena cleared her throat nervously.  "Well...um...he's...older than me," she began 
carefully.  "He's got...um...these killer blue eyes that look like the ocean after a storm, 
and this voice like...like smoke, or velvet, kind of rough and soft..."  Her eyes began to go 
all dreamy as she thought about Darien, before she remembered who she was with and stopped 
short with a nervous giggle.  "Oh, well anyway, enough about me!  We're SUPPOSED to be 
figuring out a way to solve YOUR problem, remember?"

	Rita's smile resembled the proverbial cat that had caught the canary.  Now she KNEW she 
was right, and some of the guilt she had been feeling at pulling such a trick on Serena began 
to fade.  She might be embarrassed, at first, but she knew Serena would thank her later.

	Speaking of which, they were approaching the site where the trap would be sprung.  It 
had grown dark, and there was a full moon that night; a perfect night for a long, romantic 
stroll.  Rita hoped this thing was pulled off well.  She was rather looking forward to taking 
her own romantic stroll with Andrew.  After all, they had some "making up" to do...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CHAPTER EIGHT

	Lita yawned and idly swung her legs against the bench where she and the other two Scouts 
were sitting, waiting for the arrival of their unknowing victims.  "I'm bored!" she whined.  
"What are we supposed to do 'till they get here?"

	"I have a physics book with me.  You can read it, if you want," Amy offered sweetly.

	A sweatdrop appeared on Lita's forehead.  "Only if I wanna fall asleep for sure," she 
replied with a snicker.  She stretched and yawned again.  "So...anyone up for a game of 'Rock, 
Paper, Scissors'?"

	"Someone's coming!" Raye suddenly hissed, and the three girls dove behind the wall which 
their bench rested against, peeking out between the neatly-trimmed shrubs lining the top of it 
in anticipation.  Sure enough, there came Serena and Rita strolling along, deep in 
conversation.  Rita looked around subtly as she listened to Serena talk, then saw an arm 
waving at her through a clump of shrubbery.  She stifled a grin and led Serena over to it, 
sitting down on the bench.

	"So," she sighed, continuing her conversation, "I guess that's the end of the road for 
Andrew and me.  I mean..."  She sighed heavily.  "...after everything I've done for him, THIS 
is how he repays me?  I guess that's what I get for dating a younger guy..."

	Serena looked alarmed.  "But...age shouldn't matter, should it?" she asked worriedly.  
"I mean...if two people really love each other...age shouldn't have anything to do with it, 
right?"  She paused, then continued with forced carelessness, "If I were in love with someone 
who was...say...six years older than me...and maybe HE loved ME, the age difference shouldn't 
matter at all.  Aren't I right?"

	Was it her imagination, or had she just heard the bushes behind her...titter?  She 
turned to shoot the plants a suspicious look, but they sat there innocently, completely silent.  
Shrugging it off as her imagination, she turned back to Rita, who was suddenly looking 
very nervous.  "Is something wrong?" she asked.

	"Wrong?  Oh!  Ha ha!  No, nothing's wrong!" Rita replied, giggling nervously.  "SO, I 
guess maybe you're right about age not mattering if two people love each other.  It's the 
hearts that count."

	Serena looked vastly gratified to hear that.  At least she wasn't crazy to believe 
that.  Maybe it even meant that...Darien might believe the same thing... **Oh, get a grip!  
He's...well...a sophisticated college guy who, even if age DIDN'T matter to him, would 
certainly never see ME as anything other than a whiny, immature crybaby...even if his attitude 
HAS changed lately...**  She remembered the look in his eyes when he'd held her so tightly, 
the heat that had burned into her soul at his expression, and she shivered.

	Rita, for her part, was looking around, a bit nervously.  Where was Andrew?  He was 
supposed to have been there by now!  **Maybe something happened,** she thought suddenly.  
**Maybe Darien figured out what we're up to.  He IS a smart guy, after all.  Maybe he isn't 
gonna come at all...**

	But before she could work herself into a panic attack she saw two figures appearing 
from out of the dark, and breathed a sigh of relief when she heard Andrew's familiar voice.  
She stood up, clearing her throat nervously as Serena stood beside her, looking startled.  
**Well, here goes nothing!** Rita thought to herself, then pasted on a look of surprise.  
"You!" she bit out, pleased that her voice came out sounding annoyed like she wanted it to.  
"What are YOU doing out here!"

	Andrew looked just as startled to see Rita, and as annoyed.  "Boy, I can't get away from 
you anywhere, can I?" he snapped, noticing the uncomfortable glances Serena and Darien were 
exchanging.

	From the wall, the bushes were suddenly in a frenzy of activity as three pairs of eyes 
fought to get a better view of the action.  Luckily Serena and Darien were too busy being 
uncomfortable to notice that the plants were hissing at each other to "Move over!" and to 
"Get your elbow out of my eye!"

	Serena stepped away from Rita, closer to Darien, and whispered, "So I guess Andrew told 
you about their fight."  He nodded silently, and her brow furrowed.  "We have to do something 
to get them to make up.  They can't let everything go over a silly argument!"

	"I agree," he whispered back, his breath tickling her ear, and she shivered and blushed 
slightly.  

There was yet another giggle from the bushes, followed by a muffled yelp as someone's elbow 
connected with someone else's ribs.  Serena whirled and gave the shrubs a narrow-eyed stare, 
wondering if she was going crazy.  "Did you just happen to hear those bushes...giggle?" she 
asked Darien in a whisper.  He shot her an incredulous glance, and she hummed in her throat.  
"Guess not."  She shot another suspicious glance at the plants, but they were innocently 
silent.  Well, she had more important things to worry about than haunted shrubbery.  The 
battle was heating up between Andrew and Rita, and, she could almost see the steam rising 
from their ears.

"WHAT did I EVER see in you in the first place?!" Rita was shouting.  "You're ALWAYS flirting 
with that little fan club of yours!  Mere teenagers!  You never take me ANYWHERE!  You act as 
though I'm INVISIBLE half the time!"

"HOW can I think you're invisible when you're always RIGHT THERE whining in my ear to GO 
someplace!  I can't help it I'm a busy guy!  You know I'm in charge of taking care of the 
arcade!  And I do NOT flirt with those teens!  I just try to be nice!  If you have such a 
problem with it, then you must be really insecure about our relationship in the first place!  
Doesn't TRUST mean anything to you?!" Andrew shouted right back.

	Serena watched all this with openmouthed astonishment.  She had NEVER known Andrew to 
yell at ANYBODY before, least of all his girlfriend!  Those two loved each other to death!  
What were they doing, fighting about stupid things like that?  Rita knew how important 
Andrew's job was to him, and she had always supported him before!  Serena frowned, trying to 
figure out what could possibly have happened to turn two of her closest friends into screaming 
monsters.  They'd had spiffs before, true, but they always went someplace private to talk it 
out calmly and rationally, and to think of a solution to the problem.  They had NEVER fought 
like this before!

The more Serena thought about it, the more suspicious she became.  It wasn't right.  Her 
instincts were screaming at her.  Something about this just didn't make sense...and one look 
at Darien told her that he was in complete agreement.

At that moment, Rita drew back her hand, as though she was about to strike Andrew, and Serena 
gasped and stepped forward.  Wrong or not, she had better do something about this, fast!  
"Rita!  Don't you dare!  Look, whatever happened...it can be fixed, okay?  Maybe if you just 
talked this over..." she suggested hesitantly.

	"Stay out of this!" they snapped at her, and she stepped back with a small gasp, hurt 
showing clearly in large eyes that shimmered with a film of tears.

	"Hey!"  Darien immediately bristled.  How dare they take out their anger on innocent 
Serena!  "She's just trying to help you!  Ya don't have to go ballistic on her!" he snapped, 
unconsciously pulling Serena to him and wrapping a protective arm around her shoulders, the 
other hand stroking her hair soothingly.

	The bushes nearly crowed with delight at this little act.

	Andrew and Rita immediately shut their mouths, staring at Darien with shocked surprise.  
Then a sly grin touched Rita's mouth as she looked them up and down.  "You're right, of course, 
Darien.  But...since when do you care what happens to Serena?" she asked coyly.

	Darien blinked with surprise, finally realizing the position he was in.  He cleared his 
throat uncomfortably and stepped away, releasing Serena, who looked away, clearly disappointed.  
"I...uh...it doesn't matter!  I'm telling you that you don't have any right to talk to her 
that way!" he snapped.

	"You're right.  I'm sorry, Serena.  Do you forgive me?" Rita asked, looking shamefaced.

	Serena nodded silently, chewing on her lower lip.

	"Do you forgive me, as well?" Andrew asked, with a grin that had never failed to win 
people over in the past.  "You know I didn't mean anything by it."

	"I forgive you," Serena whispered.  She still seemed upset.  "I just...don't want you 
guys to break up over something so stupid.  Just 'cause you both have things you don't like 
about each other, doesn't mean you have to ignore everything you DO like about each other!  
That's what being a couple is all about.  Overlooking the bad and loving each other for who 
you are."

	The bushes sighed dreamily, and there was another muffled yelp as someone's hand clapped 
over the culprit's mouth, hissing at her to shut up.
	
Darien was staring at Serena with something akin to wonder glowing in his eyes.  "I think 
that's the most mature thing I've ever heard you say," he told her seriously.  "And you're 
absolutely right, you know.  People should love each other for who they are, not for who 
they'd like them to be."  Serena gazed up at him, her eyes shining, and behind them, the 
bushes once again sighed their delight.

This time, when Serena heard them, she decided once and for all that it was NOT her 
imagination.  She highly doubted it was ghosts, either, considering that one of those bushes 
sounded suspiciously like Lita... 

"ALL right!  WHO is back there!" she snapped, whirling and stomping angrily toward the wall.  
There was a squeak of alarm, a mad scramble, and three disheveled girls bolted from their 
hiding place in a desperate attempt to escape.  

"FREEZE!"  

Serena's tone could most certainly have frozen them in their tracks if her command hadn't.  
Her eyes narrowed dangerously as she marched over to the three nervous Scouts, glaring at them 
accusingly.  "Just WHAT in the name of high heaven is going ON here?!" she yelled.  "What do 
you three think you're doing?!"

	"Um...taking a walk?" Lita asked innocently.  "WHOO boy!  Will you LOOK at the time!  
I have to get home now..."

	"I don't THINK so!" Serena growled, grabbing Lita's ponytail.  Lita yelped and fell 
back, allowing Serena to pull her backward toward a very nervous Andrew and Rita.  "Somebody 
is gonna explain something to me, or I'm gonna have to kill somebody!" she snapped, glaring at 
them.  "Andrew, Rita, by your expressions, I take it that you have at least SOME idea of 
what's happening.  Care to fill ME in on the gossip?"

	Andrew gulped.  He had NEVER seen Serena this riled before, even at her maddest.  He 
had a feeling that he'd better do as she'd asked, or he might regret it later.  "Well, er...
you see," he began.

	"It was my fault!"

	Serena turned astonished eyes to Amy, who was watching her with guilt written across her 
features.  "YOU, Amy?" she gasped.  "Wh...what do you mean?"

	Amy sighed.  "This whole setup was my idea, Serena.  I convinced Andrew and Rita to 
stage a breakup and then go crying to you and Darien.  They were to lure you to the park 
tonight, then pretend to make up and leave both of you alone together.  In the hopes that...
uh...seeing them together might...er...well...that is..."

	"Just spit it out, Amy," Serena said tiredly.

	"Well, that it might make you and Darien finally admit how you feel about each other," 
Amy finished in a rush.

	Serena's mouth dropped open in shock as her face flooded with color, and she shot a 
glance at a very surprised Darien.  He met her look with one of his own, and a small grin 
twitched at his lips.  She bit her lip and looked away, not able to stand the fact that he 
was trying not to laugh at her.

	"I can't believe you would be so devious, Ames," she said accusingly.  

	"It wasn't ALL her fault," Raye jumped in defensively.  "We helped plan it.  She just 
came up with the idea, and it would've worked, too, if SOMEBODY had kept their trap shut 
behind that wall!"  She glared accusingly at Lita.

	"Hey, you were sighing as much as I was!" Lita protested.

	Serena abruptly sank down on the bench, all the feeling going from her legs.  She could 
hardly believe that her best friends in the world would go to such lengths to humiliate her.  
They were only trying to help, she knew, in their own twisted, somewhat demented way...but 
frankly she would have been better off without it!  And what must Darien think of her?!  Why...
he might even think that she was part of this whole thing, that she'd helped to set him up!  
She shot him another glance, but his face was expressionless, that cold mask he so often wore 
fixed firmly in place.  No help there.

	"So...maybe we'd better go now..." Rita was saying, slowly edging away and taking Andrew 
with her.  "I mean...I'm sure you and Darien have LOTS to talk about now..."

	Serena looked up, alarmed.  "Oh, no you don't!" she cried.  "No WAY are you gonna leave 
me alone with him NOW!  Not 'till you tell him that I didn't have anything to do with this!  
This was all your idea!"

	"Serena, I'm sure Darien doesn't blame you," Lita told her gently.  "Your shock is proof 
enough that you didn't know anything about this."

	"Unless she's just a good actress," Raye chimed in.

	"Raye!"  Lita smacked her arm, non-too-gently, and glared.  "You're NOT helping!"

	Darien had been silent up until that time, but now he spoke.  "Maybe you're right.  
Maybe you guys had better go.  We...uh...have some things to talk about."  His face was still 
expressionless when Serena looked up at him, and she gulped.  Something told her that she was 
not going to enjoy this...

	The girls shifted and nodded uncomfortably, and Amy gripped Serena's hands.  "I'm sorry, 
Serena.  Can you forgive me?" she asked pleadingly.  "I never meant for this to get so out of 
hand..."

	Serena hesitated, then smiled wryly.  "Gotta admit, Ames, I never expected YOU to be the 
ringleader of this little circus."  She giggled.  "I gotta hand it to ya, it probably might 
have even worked.  At least...as far as Rita and Andrew fooling us into thinking they were 
fighting goes.  They're pretty good actors."

	The two lovebirds straightened proudly at the praise.  "Well...we did our best," Rita 
replied smugly, sliding an arm around Andrew's waist.  Serena rolled her eyes at their 
miraculous "make up."

	"I knew you too were too gone on each other to actually break up," she snorted.  "I was 
beginning to wonder.  I might've even figured it out on my own if the Three Stooges over there 
hadn't blown their cover."

	"Hey!" Raye protested, glaring at her.  Lita just smirked.

	Amy gripped Serena's hand comfortingly.  "Things will work out," she assured her friend.  
"I would have never even thought to pull something like this if I didn't believe that 
something good would come of it."

	Serena gave her a small smile and squeezed her hand, then glanced at Darien.  "Sure you 
don't wanna stay and back me up?" she asked in a low voice.  "I don't think I can face him now.  
I mean, what if all he wants to do is laugh?"

	"Why would he?"  Amy sounded surprised.

	"Why WOULDN'T he?" Serena countered wryly.  "I'm not exactly his dream girl, after all, 
and he's gotta know I have SOME feelings for him.  He isn't stupid."

	"No.  He isn't.  And because he isn't he ought to know that you're just what he needs in 
his life.  You bring out the best in him, you know."

	Serena gave a squeal of laughter.  "Now THAT'S something I've never heard before!" she 
giggled.  "Are you sure we're talking about the same Darien?"

	Amy giggled, as well, then released Serena's hand and stepped back.  "Good luck," she 
whispered, then turned her worried gaze to Darien.  He regarded her for a moment, and then, to 
her complete surprise, his eye closed in a slow wink and a small grin touched his mouth.  She 
immediately relaxed.  Whatever happened tonight, she knew Serena would not be coming home in 
tears. 

It seemed that Cupid's Angels of Mercy were a success, after all...




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CHAPTER NINE

	Serena stood with her back to Darien, watching as her friends faded into the shadows.  
She wanted to run after them, but she knew that it wouldn't do any good.  She'd still have to 
face Darien tomorrow...and the next day...and the next, until he inadvertently cornered her, 
and then she'd be right back where she started.  

Frankly, she was tired of running.

She felt his presence a moment before a warm hand rested on her shoulder, and she felt 
herself stiffen.  **What now?** she thought, panicked.  **What am I supposed to say?  To do?  
I...I'm just a kid!  How could Darien ever see me as anything else?**

"Want to take a walk?" his soft voice said at her ear, and she shrugged, trying to show that 
she wasn't as terrified as she felt.  It was funny...she had battled off the worst monsters 
in the Negaverse without so much as a twitch (well...at least not after she'd gotten into the 
fight...) but the thought of facing Darien was more terrifying than any monsters she'd ever 
faced.  If given the choice...she'd rather be fighting the Negaverse.  

His hand left her shoulder and a moment later grasped her own, his fingers twining themselves 
through hers, just exactly the way she'd often seen couples walk.  She glanced down at their 
joined hands, thinking how perfectly they fit together, like two pieces of a puzzle.  

"No sense in letting all their trouble go to waste, is there?" Darien was saying.  

She blinked.  "Uh...no, I guess not," she replied, her brow furrowing slightly.  "Look...I...
I'm really sorry about all this.  The girls were just...trying to help in their own ways.  
I don't think they meant any harm..."  She shrugged.  "If I'd known anything about it, I 
would've stopped it right away!"

"Would you have?"

The question stopped her dead in her tracks, and she looked up at him, frowning slightly.  
"Well...wouldn't you?" she asked.  Then, before he could answer the question, and possibly 
break her heart, she continued on recklessly, "They...I don't even know WHERE they got the 
idea that we...that you and I...YOU know!"

He made a soft "hmm" in his throat.  "Well, one of us had to have given them that idea," he 
replied with a slight grin.  "I mean...we've been spending quite a bit of time together 
lately."

Serena paused.  "Are you saying that it's MY fault?!" she asked indignantly.

"Calm down, Meatball Head!" he replied with a chuckle.  "For all we know, it was my fault!"

Well, THAT stopped her dead!

She looked up at him, her eyes searching his face with hidden hope, looking for some clue as 
to what he was thinking, and he met her gaze fully.  "Was it?" she finally asked, her voice 
barely more than a whisper.

Instead of answering, Darien reached up to trace long fingers lightly over her face, holding 
her chin gently in his hand, his thumb brushing her lips in a light caress.  Her eyes widened, 
and her lips parted softly on a silent gasp at this intimate gesture.  His gaze dropped 
briefly to them, and something appeared in his eyes that both frightened and fascinated her.  
How often had she dreamed of a man looking at her like that...had she dreamed of DARIEN 
looking at her like that?

"If I kissed you now, would you hate me?" he suddenly asked, his voice a low murmur.  His 
breath stirred the hair on her forehead, and heat flooded her cheeks at the question, but she 
shook her head, only once.  How could she hate him when she already loved him?

He smiled.  His hand moved to cradle the back of her head, and his other hand rested gently on 
her lower back, pulling her close against his strong body.  She let her arms hang, uncertain 
as to where to put them, before shyly resting them on his shoulders.  He was lowering his head 
now, and his black-lashed lids slipped over eyes as brilliant as stars.  Serena instinctively 
let her eyes close, as well, waiting for the moment she'd been anticipating for days.

His lips were like warm silk when they brushed her own, in the softest of touches, and 
immediately all the feeling flooded from Serena's legs, turning them to butter.  Only the 
strong arms supporting her kept her from falling, and he used her sudden shift in weight to 
pull her even closer to him, slipping both arms around her in an almost fierce embrace.  Again 
his lips brushed across hers, leaving a trail of fire that burned the whole way into her 
stomach.  She had never known a simple touch could do such incredible things!

The third time their lips touched, she responded, trying to prolong the contact.  She could 
feel his surprise as her arms slid around his neck and pulled him closer again, and his own 
arms tightened in response.  Then all thoughts were firmly swept away as Darien's lips brushed 
her own yet again...and stayed there, turning the brief touch into a deep kiss, filled with 
passion and love and everything Serena had only read about in books.  Her breath left her, and 
her head spun, and she felt tears slip from her eyes at the beauty of it.  Never, ever let 
this end...

*	*	*	*	*
Darien could hardly believe that he was there, holding his angel so tightly, kissing her so 
passionately, as he'd dreamed of doing for such a long time.  It was everything he'd hoped...
and then some.  His arms were filled with light, and her tender lips were warm and yielding 
and so soft against his own.  She was the missing half of him, the light that filled his empty 
soul, making him complete.  He would never let her go, not ever again.  They belonged to each 
other.

When he finally raised his head, after endless moments of pure heaven, they were both gasping 
for breath.  Serena gazed up at him, her cheeks burning with heat and her lips rosy and 
swollen from his kisses.  Her eyes had never looked so luminous as they did then, gazing 
wondrously into his own.  He thought that she had never looked more beautiful.

She looked as though she was struggling to say something, but he was afraid that words would 
only break the spell they'd cast, and he didn't want it to end just yet.  He silenced her with 
another soft kiss, whispering her name through the kiss.  She sighed blissfully, murmuring 
against his lips, and his eyes suddenly flew open wide.  WHAT had she just said?!


*	*	*	*	*
Serena was startled as Darien suddenly pulled away, looking up at him in confusion.  Had she 
done something wrong?  She tried to recall... She had been melting into his arms, thinking how 
much she loved him... Her eyes grew large suddenly.  She HAD only been THINKING those words...
hadn't she?  But...the look on Darien's face told her that maybe those thoughts hadn't been so 
silent, after all...

"What did you just say?" he whispered to her, his gaze locked on her own, seeming to burn 
right though her.

"I...uh...nothing," she replied quickly, pulling herself out of his arms.  Her cheeks still 
burned, but it was no longer from the heat of his kiss.  **Stupid, stupid, STUPID!** she s
creamed at herself.  **What have you DONE!  You told him you LOVED him?!  Are you CRAZY?!  
He'll laugh at you for certain now!**  Shivering from more than the cool, night air, she 
stepped away, her eyes cast to the ground.

"Serena, tell me what you said," he commanded quietly, in a tone that brooked for no argument.

Serena shook her head, her eyes filling with tears.  She couldn't bring herself to look at him.  
She could never repeat those three words she'd spoken, not if she expected to keep him as a 
friend.  Even if he tormented her and called her Meatball Head until he was blue in the face, 
at least he would still talk to her.  But if she ever told him how she really felt...his 
rejection would tear apart her soul.

A warm hand was suddenly lifting her chin and her eyes flew up to meet Darien's concerned gaze.  
"What's wrong?" he asked softly.  "Why won't you tell me what you said?"

She bit her lip.  **Because I don't want to ruin this magic between us,** she thought.  
**Because I still want you to tease me and make me mad and make me walk on air when you smile 
at me.  Because I don't want you to laugh at the silly little schoolgirl who thinks she's in 
love with you...**  Out loud, she merely said, "It was nothing important.  Never mind."  She 
was glad that her voice didn't break.

Darien gazed at her another long moment, and she knew the expression on his face.  It was his 
"I'm determined to get my way and nothing you say will stop me from getting it" expression.  
She had seen it on his face many times before...and every time, he HAD gotten what he wanted.  
She wouldn't stand a chance against him if she didn't leave.  If she stayed, then her 
relationship with Darien would be over before it had even begun.

"I...I have to go home now..." she whispered, preparing to back away and run.

She never had the chance.  Darien's arms were around her again almost before she'd even seen 
him move, and then he was kissing her with such tender force as to make his other kisses seem 
like a peck on the cheek in comparison.  She felt her world tilt crazily, and realized that 
part of that was because he had dipped her back so that she was supported fully in his arms, 
his hand stroking her back as the other cradled her head again.  

He pressed his lips to her own in a hundred tiny, fluttering kisses before trailing them 
across her cheek and down to her neck, making her gasp as soft, black hair brushed her face.  
His breath was warm against her skin and he was doing incredible things to her neck, and her 
arms were once again around him, her hands gripping the back of his jacket for support as she 
gazed blindly up at the full moon.  **Wh...what is he doing to me?** she cried silently, s
hivering as she felt his lips bury themselves against her throat, kissing her there deeply.  
**Oh...Oh, saints, please don't let him end this...**

Finally, she felt his lips lift softly from her neck, although he didn't raise his head.  His 
breath was harsh, and she could feel him trembling under her hands...or was she the one 
trembling?  She honestly didn't know anymore...

"Serena," she heard him whisper, and his voice sounded pleading.  "Will you tell me what you 
said?"

Her eyes flew open, and she fought back indignation.  All that had been a ruse just to get her 
to repeat herself?  She tried to step back, but his arms tightened around her, refusing to let 
her leave.  Brilliant sapphire eyes rose to meet hers and she met his gaze helplessly, trying 
to understand the foreign emotions she saw burning in their depths.  He was so very close...a 
mere tilt of the head from either of them would send them falling into another kiss...

"Please?" he whispered, and at that moment Serena understood what it was that shone in his 
eyes.  It was love.  Pure, unadulterated love.  Her breath caught, then quickened.  Was...was 
she imagining things?  Could it possibly be...?  He was moving again, his head lowering just 
enough so that their lips were once again connected, a mere touch.  "Please?" he whispered yet 
again, turning the touch into another kiss that quickly grew into something much more heated.  
She could feel his desire, though he was controlling himself fiercely, and she moaned softly, 
helplessly.  She'd been right.  She didn't stand a chance, and the words he so wanted to hear 
were dancing on her tongue, just waiting for their chance to escape...

And they did, as Darien finally lifted his head.  They slipped out in a helpless sigh.  
"I love you, Darien.  I tried not to, but you made me love you," she whispered, her eyes 
closing as crystal tears slipped from beneath long lashes.  She tensed, waiting for his 
exclamation of disgust, waiting to be pushed away from him; to think, a mere child had the 
gall to love him!  

But he did neither.  Rather, he pulled her closer to him again, cradling her head against his 
chest, stroking her hair softly as the other arm wrapped about her waist.  He nuzzled his 
face into her soft hair, whispering softly, "Oh, Serena..."

She clenched her jaw.  He sounded almost SORRY for her!  She didn't want his pity, either, she 
realized.  Pity would be worse than disgust.  At least the disgust was something she was 
somewhat used to, and could deal with on some level.  But pity...she didn't know how to deal 
with that.  She didn't WANT to deal with it!  She closed her eyes and tried to gather the 
willpower to leave his arms...but it was so hard...

Then Darien spoke again, and he sounded...almost amused?  "It serves you right, you know," he 
told her, his voice filled with tenderness.  "All's fair, after all.  Maybe now you understand 
what I'VE been going through!"

Her eyes flew open and she turned her astonished face up to meet his own.  "Wh...what do you 
mean?" she whispered, her voice trembling.

"Oh, Serena," he murmured, and his voice was achingly tender.  "Do you really not know?"  He 
placed a long finger against her lips when she tried to speak.  "The truth is...I love YOU, 
as well," he continued softly.  Her eyes widened in astonishment, and he grinned.  "I know, 
shocking, isn't it?" he chuckled.  "That grumpy old Darien is in love with a beautiful, caring, 
kind, passionate young woman!  He's completely gone on her, you know.  Those were Andrew's 
words.  He told me that, the night you came in from the storm, but I didn't believe him, of 
course.  But when I saw you, all I wanted to do was to protect you from all life's hurts, but 
instead I teased you and made you feel worse."  A look of sorrow crossed his expression.  

"I've been a real jerk to you," he added regretfully.  "I don't deserve to have you love me...
but by some miracle of God, you do.  And I love you, as well, and it took a near tragedy to 
make me realize it.  But now that I know I love you...and that you love me (although I still 
don't understand why), do you think that maybe we can...put the past behind us, and begin all 
over again?  As...friends?"

Serena chewed on her lower her lip as she gazed up at him, her eyes calm.  "Only friends?" she 
asked.

A smile twitched his lips.  "Well...very GOOD friends," he amended, and she smiled back.

"I'd like that," she replied shyly, snuggling into his arms again.  He wrapped her into his 
embrace as they stood beneath the full moon, gazing lovingly into each other's eyes.  

Sometimes dreams could come true, after all.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CHAPTER TEN

	Lita paced frantically along the length of the arcade as her friends looked on with 
amusement.  "Better stop that before you wear a hole in the floor.  I don't think Andrew'll 
appreciate it much," Raye teased her, and she stopped for a moment, considering, before going 
right on pacing.  It was Sunday morning, and Cupid's Angels of Mercy were once again sitting 
at a booth in the arcade to wait for Serena to arrive so they could bombard her with questions.

	"Calm down, Lita.  Worrying is not going to change the outcome of this one way or the 
other," practical Amy told her.  "You might as well sit down and have something to eat." 

	"EAT?!  How can you think of food at a time like this?!" Lita yelled.  "Eat, my Aunt 
Bertha's booties!  I want some answers!"

	"Well, I'm sure you'll get them, because here comes the helpless victim now," Raye 
replied with a feral smile, nodding toward the door, where Serena was just coming in.  All 
five members of CAM stopped their activities and turned to stare at the girl, looking for any 
trace of misery on her features.

	"Ya know, for someone who may very well have had her heart broken, Serena's looking 
rather bright-eyed and bushy-tailed this morning," Rita whispered.

	Amy smiled a secret little smile...which Raye unfortunately noticed.  She pounced like 
a cat on a mouse.  "All right, Ames!  You know something!  What are you hiding?!" she hissed.

	Amy merely gave her a demure smile and turned her attention back to Serena.  They would 
find out soon enough.  Serena, for her part, was looking around hopefully.  Andrew called her 
name, and she brightened and looked toward them.  Then disappointment flashed across her 
features when she saw who it was before her normal, cheery smile reasserted itself.  
"Hi, guys!" she chirped, bouncing over to them.  "What's up?"

	"Why don't YOU tell US," Lita said slyly, eyeing her small friend carefully.  "So...
anything you want to tell us?  Need any shoulders to cry on?  A tissue?  A good therapist...?"

	Serena giggled.  "Oh, Lita!  You're so funny!  I'm sure I don't know WHAT you're talking 
about!" she replied cheerfully.

	"So what happened with Darien last night?" Raye, never one to pussyfoot around a subject, 
asked bluntly.  The others groaned as sweatdrops appeared on their foreheads.

	"Real subtle there, Raye," Andrew muttered.

	Raye looked at them innocently.  "What?"

	Serena, for her part, looked like she would burst from sheer happiness, but her grin 
was sly.  "Wouldn't YOU all like to know!" she sang, flapping her hand at them.  

	"Awww...come on, Serena!  All that trouble, and you aren't even gonna let us in on all 
the juicy details?" Lita whined.

	"Hmmm..."  Serena pretended to think about it, then grinned.  "Nope!"

	"I should have you arrested for cruel and unusual punishment," Lita grumbled, and 
Serena giggled in reply, unrepentant.

	"Serena."

	The soft voice calling her name had immediate affect on Serena.  She stood up straight, 
two spots of color appearing on her cheeks as her eyes began to glow, then she turned around 
to face Darien, who was standing there, holding a single red rose, one of the most lovely 
she'd ever seen.  One that looked strangely familiar to her, somehow, but she was too excited 
to ponder where she might have seen such a perfect rose before.  Besides, it didn't matter.  
"Darien," she whispered, a smile tugging at her lips.  She walked slowly to him, suddenly 
incredibly shy, as her friends looked on with hawk-like interest.  It looked like they might 
get to see some "juicy details", after all...

	Darien handed Serena the rose, which she accepted with a small grin, hardly able to meet 
his eyes.  "It's beautiful," she whispered, stroking the soft petals with a finger.

	"Not as beautiful as you," he replied softly.

	Loud, dreamy sighs suddenly rose from the table behind them, and Serena broke into 
laughter as she looked around.  Raye, Amy, and Lita were sitting with their chins resting on 
their hands, gazing at the couple with dreamy, glazed eyes, and Rita had Andrew's neck 
locked in a choke hold that threatened to cut off his circulation as she sighed blissfully.  
They weren't the only ones staring though.  The waitresses, Lucy included, had stopped their 
activities to watch, and the few other customers in the store were now looking on with keen 
interest.  

Serena turned back to Darien, who was grinning now.  "I think they're expecting a show," she 
said in a stage whisper, holding a hand to her mouth.
His grin widened, and he winked.  "Shall we give them one, sweetheart?" he murmured, and her 
heart leaped at the endearment.  She smiled and nodded shyly, and in another moment he had 
swept her up into his arms, spinning her around and making her squeal with surprise.  Before 
she could protest, he had lowered his head and was fitting his lips to hers in a searing, 
soul-shattering kiss that once again left Serena feeling like putty in his arms.  She sighed 
and wrapped her arms around his neck as he drew her closer to him, deepening the kiss into 
something like an inferno, lost to everything but the feel of her warm body in his arms, the 
softness of her lips, the scent of her skin...like peaches and vanilla.

Someone whistled, causing laughter, and as the kiss went on someone else began to applaud, 
which was picked up by yet another, along with a loud catcall.  Eventually, the entire room
 was filled with the sound of clapping and hooting and wolf-whistles, mixed with laughter.

"Are you two ever gonna come up for air?" Lucy shouted, invoking more laughter, and finally 
the two lovers came back to themselves, slowly stepping away from each other, trying to steady 
their breathing.

	Serena giggled softly as she gazed lovingly into Darien's eyes, and he stroked a hand 
softly down her cheek before suddenly picking her up and spinning her around again, laughing 
breathlessly (and barely avoiding Lucy, who proceeded to yelp and duck for cover).  Then, 
keeping his arm wrapped firmly and possessively around her waist, they both turned toward the 
table, where five matchmakers were gaping at them in wonder.  Especially Andrew.  He had NEVER 
seen Darien act like THAT before!

Serena coughed, slightly embarrassed at her friends' stunned reactions, but more than a little 
amused, and she smiled at them sheepishly.  "Well...you DID want some juicy details," she 
pointed out.  "Was that good enough for you?"

	"Trust me, Serena," Lita replied with a chuckle.  "That's all we needed to know."  

"Yes, well, it was the least I could do," Serena replied primly.  "After all...you DID kind of 
help us last night..."  She paused, then suddenly wagged a finger in their faces.  "But if ANY 
of you EVER try to pull a stunt like that again...you'd better buy a one-way ticket OUT of the 
country, 'cause that's the only way you'll be saving your miserable lives!" she huffed.

	"Uh...got ya, Serena," Lita replied sheepishly.  "No more trying to set you up." 

"But it DID work!" Raye cut in proudly.  "You have to admit it!  If it weren't for us, you'd 
be dancing around your feelings for each other forever!  We're the best!"

	Serena glared at her, then smiled a slow, sly grin.  "That's true," she purred.  "You 
DID do a pretty good job, so it's only fair that I return the favor!  Ya know...have you ever 
noticed the way CHAD looks at you, Raye?  He's like a little puppy dog when it comes to you!  
Maybe you should go out with him sometime, hmmm?  I bet he's just what you need to cool off 
that temper of yours!  Oh, and Amy, have you seen Greg lately?  How are things between the two 
of you?  You haven't said much about him...although, I could have SWORN I saw you walking in 
the park last week... Oh, and Lita, have I introduced you to this guy I met who works in the 
ice cream shop down the street?  He rides a motorcycle, and he's a black belt in karate, and 
he's reeeaally cute!  He probably looks a lot like your old boyfriend, now that I think about 
it... Why don't you stop in sometime with me so I can introduce you..."

	Large sweatdrops appeared on everyone's foreheads as they listened to Serena prattle on, 
and Andrew let his head fall against the table with a dull thud.  "We've created a monster..." 
he muttered.

And all was at peace in the universe...

~~Finis~~
   "Out of the Blue"
(written and performed by Debbie Gibson)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
VERSE 1:
     Without you, without you
I always thought that everything was fine 
without you
Never knowing you'd be mine
Suddenly my world has changed
And I just wonder why
All it took was just one smile

CHORUS:
     Now with you, out of the blue
Love appeared before my eyes with you
A dream come true
I never thought I'd realize what love was
what love was, what love was...

VERSE 2:
     I need you, oh I need you
And everyday I love you more and more
Without you (dreams and tears)
I know what it's all for
Suddenly I see you there
And everything's ok
Don't know why I feel this way

CHORUS:
     Here with you, out of the blue
Love appeared before my eyes with you
A dream come true
I never thought I'd realize what love was
what love was, what love was...

BRIDGE:
     We are together now
Never take my heart away
All the love I found
Is here to stay
 (out of the blue)
Whoa-oh-whoa-oh-whoa-oh...
It's like a dream come true
I never thought I'd fall in love with you
Out of the blue
Love appeared before my eyes with you
A dream come true
I never thought I'd fall in love with you...