******************************************************************** Hey everyone!! This is my very first fanfic ever!! Woo hoo!! :) Anyway, this story takes place in a different dimension. Serena and Darien (yes, I'm gonna use the dub names) don't have any secret identities (i.e. no Sailor Moon or Tuxedo Mask) and the story takes place in Tokyo. OK, that's all I think you need to know so enjoy the story. It will probably be a long one, so hang in there with me. E-mail me, Daloola45@aol.com. Comments, flames, and suggestions are all welcome, (but I'm kinda sensitive, so try to keep the flames to a minimum :) ) Arigato and enjoy! All the usual disclaimers apply. These characters aren't mine, but the story is. Can It Be True by Kini Cooper Chapter 1 Rating- PG ************* Serena Tsukino looked up into dark brown eyes and sighed. Not a contented sigh, but one of deep boredom. She didn't want to be here. How her father convinced her to come to one of his company balls was beyond her. Now she was dancing with an older man who was probably in his late thirties/early forties and obviously wore a toupee. This man had a certain arrogance about him. She could see it. Serena had a gift. She could instantly tell what a person was like just by looking in their eyes. And when she looked in this mans eyes, she felt uncomfortable and a little scared at what she saw. She quickly averted her gaze when the man looked back at her. Serena looked at her watch. 10:27 p.m. She sighed again. She *really* didn't want to be here. Serena was a young woman of 21 who lived in a small apartment right outside of Tokyo with her cat, Luna. She had long golden blonde hair, and silvery blue eyes. Her hair was almost always put up into two balls on the top of her head with long flowing pigtails coming out of them. Tonight her hair was done up in a loose bun with small tendrils of it softly brushing her neck and back here and there. She wore a velvet black dress with spaghetti straps and an empire waist. The dress gently flowed to a little past her ankles where her toes could be seen through the black sandals she wore. A slit in the skirt showed one of her long, beautiful legs up to mid-thigh. Serena looked beautiful, except for the smug look on her face. She was thinking up excuses she could use to get her out of the ball early so she didn't have to put up with any more arrogant men when the music stopped and a light applause brought her back into reality. Serena excused herself from her dance partner and went to sit down next to her father. "Are you having a good time, sweet heart?" her father asked her when he realized she was there. "Yes, daddy," Serena replied with a weak, forced smile. "But I'm not feeling to good right now. I think I'll leave early." "Oh, no. That's a shame..." he said with a worried frown, "but if you really don't feel good, maybe you *should* go home and get some sleep," then added with a smile, "but there will always be more of these dances, so don't you worry." The look of smugness on her face deepened. "Great, daddy," Serena said, not trying to hard to cover the disappointment in her voice. But her father didn't notice her reaction. "Sweet heart, if you feel up to just one more dance, there's a young man I'd like you to meet. His name is Darien Chiba. I don't think you've met him, but he's a very nice man. I've told him about you, and he'd like to meet you." "I don't think I feel up to another dance, daddy," she said a bit distracted. Serena was focusing on the door and wishing she could just get up and leave. After a moment Mr. Tsukino said, "Sorry, honey, it's too late. He's on his way over here right now." Serena sighed. *Well, just one more dance won't kill me, and if it will make my father happy...* Her thoughts were cut short by a deep voice that sent wonderful shivers down her spine. It resonated in her head for a while before Serena knew what the voice had said. "Ms. Tsukino? I'm Darien Chiba. Would you care to dance?" Serena slowly looked up at the man now asking her to dance. *Wow, he's cute* she thought. She stared at Darien for a couple of moments when she realized her mouth was hanging open. She quickly shut her mouth as she could feel a blush come to her cheeks. She looked down, hoping Darien wouldn't see the red in her cheeks. "Um... OK," she answered. Serena noticed a big hand reached out in her direction. She slowly took it and stood up. "Have fun sweet heart," she heard her father say, but she was too busy avoiding looking at Darien to answer back. Darien led her to the middle of the off-white marble dance floor, under the huge, crystal chandelier hanging from the high ceiling. Thankfully, Serena felt the heat in her cheeks dissipate. She heard the five-piece orchestra start playing a slow song. Serena unconsciously hooked her hands around Darien's neck as he hooked his hands around her slim waist. They started moving with the music, and Serena finally built up enough courage to look him in the eyes. His deep blue sparkling eyes. Darien returned her stare, which made it all the easier for Serena to find out what this man was *really* like. Serena gasped to herself. She gasped not because of what she saw, but of what she didn't see. Serena couldn't tell anything about him. It's like a wall was put up, a wall, which everyone had, but she could always break through. But this time she couldn't break through. It was too strong. The fact that she couldn't see what this man was like made Serena all the more anxious to find out. Serena would have to do some investigating before she could tell if this man was nice or not. So Serena decided to start with some questions. Clearing her throat lightly, she shyly asked, "Mr. Chiba, what do you do for a living?" Darien smiled, happy that the silence was finally broken. "Please, call me Darien. Right now I am working at a restaurant... just until I get out of med. school." *Med. school, wow!* thought Serena. "Do you know what kind of doctor you want to be?" she asked, sounding interested. "I think I may want to go into pediatrics. I think kids are so full of life and energy," Darien replied. After a moment he asked, "So what about you, Ms. Tsukino, what do you do?" Serena had to smile. No one has ever called her Ms. Tsukino before. "Call me Serena, Ms. Tsukino sounds too much like my mother." Darien smiled and nodded. The stiffness of the air loosened a bit. "I work as a teacher's assistant at a local elementary school. I love working with children." Darien smiled at her and after a couple moments of comfortable silence, he pulled her in a little closer to him. For the first time tonight, Serena felt happy. She let out a sigh and rested her head comfortably on Darien's chest. *I'll give my questioning a break for now,* Serena thought, *I should at least try to enjoy myself.* She closed her eyes and let Darien guide her as the music played softly in the background. ************* Darien looked down at the gorgeous woman he held in his arms. He smiled. *Serena has got to be one of the prettiest women I have seen in a long time* he thought. *She feels so warm and tender in my arms.* Darien Chiba was a young, handsome man of 26. Darien had black hair and dark blue eyes. He was around six feet tall with a muscular build. He looked wonderful in his black tuxedo. He normally didn't like these big fancy dances. He was glad he came to this one, though, because he got to dance with this beautiful angel. Darien sighed and closed his eyes, letting the soft melody of the music lead him. ************* Eventually, Serena opened her eyes. She looked around for a second, remembering where she was. She had been put in a glorious daze by the warmth of Darien, and the smell of his nice cologne. But how long had they been dancing? Serena glanced at her watch. 12:30!! They had been dancing for almost two hours!! Serena pulled away from Darien and looked around the ballroom more intently. Most everyone had gone. There were only a few couples out on the dance floor now. Darien snapped out of his daze and looked down at Serena. She was looking around the huge room with a look of puzzlement on her face. Darien lifted his head to see what she was looking at. "Where did everyone go?" he wondered aloud. He lifted his wrist to look at his watch. "Whoa, it's 12:30!?" *That's weird,* he thought, *how time flies...* "Darien, I had a good time tonight, but I have to go," Serena said quickly as she started walking away. "Wait!" Darien said as he grabbed onto her wrist. "Darien, I have to get to work early this morning. I'd like to get *some* sleep." "Wait," he said again, still holding onto her wrist, "can... can I see you again sometime?" "Um, yeah... here..." she said as she wrestled her arm away from Darien and walked over to her purse. "I'll give you my number, and you can call me sometime." Serena opened her purse and handed Darien a small piece of paper with her name and number on it. "Great," he said as he looked at the paper. Serena was just beginning to feel the pain in her feet caused by dancing for two hours. She gave Darien a smile and waved good-bye. "See you later Darien Chiba," she said. "Good night, Serena Tsukino," he replied with a smile. Darien watched as Serena went out the door to the entrance hall. He realized he felt numb. Partially because of his two-hour dance, but mostly it was a cold induced numbness. It wasn't at all chilly in the ballroom, but without the now familiar presence of Serena so close to him, he felt cold and empty. ************* Serena got to her car in the parking lot of the dance hall. She turned to take another look at the building. "Darien Chiba," she said to no one. "I like that name. Darien Chiba." She smiled. After a moment, Serena took one more breath of the cool night air, got in her car, and drove away. ************* Serena was in her apartment, correcting some quizzes the students took that day. It was an unusually hot day for April. She had her hair up in a messy bun with her apartment windows open. She was wearing a tank top and a pair of short drawstring shorts. After finishing with the papers, Serena let her mind wonder. She kept thinking about the dance and Darien. *Why hasn't he called me,* she wondered. *It's been almost two weeks since the party, and still no word from him. I wish he would call me.* Then just like her prayers had been answered, the phone rang. Serena jumped up and ran to the phone. "Hello?" she said quickly as she picked up the phone. "Hi Serena! How are you doing?" Serena's heart dropped. "Oh. Hi Mina." "What, Sere, not happy to hear from your best friend?" Serena realized how disappointed her voice must have sounded. "No, no, Mina. You know I love to hear from you!" Serena said, a bit more up beat. "What's up?" "I was just wondering if you wanted to come shopping with me tonight. I'm going to my sister's high school graduation and I need a dress." "I don't think I can come tonight, Mina. I'm sorry but I got a lot of work to do." "It's okay," Mina said, a tinge of disappointment in her voice, "maybe we can go out this weekend." "Sure, that sounds great!" Serena said. "Give me a call Saturday, and we'll go out somewhere." "Okay! See ya' later Sere," Mina said and hung up. Serena slowly placed the phone back on the cradle, with a sad expression on her face. *Darien, please call me.* ************* Darien looked at the small piece of paper for the umpteenth time. It had become worn by now, the message on it barely visible. But it didn't matter, he had the message memorized from reading it so many times. The paper read: Serena Tsukino 555-8548 He wanted desperately to call her, but he got nervous for some reason. *I never had this problem with other girls...* he thought, *but then Serena's not just any other girl, she's got something special about her.* He slowly walked over to the phone. *It's been almost three weeks since the dance, maybe she lost interest in me... if she ever had interest.* He pushed all the thoughts out of his head. He picked up the phone. He carefully dialed her number. It rang. "Hello?" he heard a soft voice say. "Um... Hi, Serena?" "Yes." "Um... Hey, this is Darien." After a pause, "Hi Darien!" Serena said, obviously overjoyed. "How are you?" "I'm good. I'm sorry it took so long for me to call you. I've been... uh... busy." "It's ok. I'm just happy you called." "You are?" Darien asked, a big grin spreading over his face. "Of course!" Serena answered with a little chuckle. After a moment, Darien asked, "So, Serena, you want to go out sometime?" "I'd love to!" "Okay, how about we meet at the fountain in Juuban park on Saturday. Around noon?" "That'd be great!" Serena answered. "Wonderful, it's a date!" Darien said, "See you Saturday! Bye Serena!" "Bye Darien!" Darien hung up, a smile still spread over his face. *I have a date with Serena Tsukino!* was the only coherent thought in Darien's mind. ************* <...it's a date!> Darien's words echoed through her mind. <...it's a date!> Serena let out a giggle. "It's a date!" she said out loud. "It's a *date*!!!" ************* To be continued... ************* Ok, I know this was a short part. I'll try to get Chapter 2 out by next week, but I can't make any promises. Tell me what you think. My e-mail is Daloola45@aol.com. Thanks for reading!! Kini Cooper