The thought kept nagging at me. Ask Darien? To a 
dance? Sure, we've been friends for a while, but we've never 
really done anything together. And then there's the name-
calling thing. I have yet to give him a good name, something to 
back at him for 'meatball head'. 
	How am I going to ask him? I have to come up with a 
really cool plan, something he won't be able to turn down.


	"Mom, can you help me with something?"
	She sat down at the table with a plate of warm 
cookies and two glasses of milk. "Sure, honey. What do you need?"
	"You have to promise not to tell Dad or Sammy. 
Especially Dad. He'll kill me if he finds out."
	Mom looked a little concerned. "What did you do, 
Serena?"
	"Nothing yet. Remember the dance I told you about? 
Well, my friends and I are planning to go."
	"That sounds like fun, dear. So why are you so 
against telling your father?" Mom asked.
	I was surprised she hadn't realized it yet. "Mom, 
we're going to be with guys. Unless Dad's changed his mind, I 
thought he still had something against me hanging out with 
guys."
	"Oh," she said, understanding now. "Well, you know 
I don't like keeping things from your father, but I'll do my best 
to keep this a secret. I can't promise anything, though."
	I jumped up and gave her a tight hug. "Thanks, Mom, 
you're the best."



	Friday came quicker than I expected. I met Mina 
outside the arcade after school. "Are you ready to do this?" she 
asked me. I smiled nervously. "It's now or never."
	We walked in the door together. Sure enough, 
Andrew was behind the counter, working as usual. I mouthed a 
'good luck' to Mina, and watched her go talk to him.
	I scanned the arcade, and spotted Darien at the crane 
game. I walked over, and stood next to the machine.
	"Hi, Darien," I said as casually as I could. Would he 
find it strange for me to be hanging around him?
	"Hey, meatball head," he replied without looking up. 
Ooh, that stupid name. It shouldn't make me mad, but it 
always does. I pushed my anger back down, and watched him 
instead.
	His fingers swiftly punched the control buttons, as he 
tried to guide the claw towards the closest toy. Just as the 
metal hand was about to grab the prize, it suddenly closed and 
retracted back to the top. I had a feeling that the machine was 
rigged. No one could ever get a toy out of it, except for Game 
Machine Joe, that is. But that's another story. . . 
	Darien slammed the side of the machine with his fist, 
and started muttering under his breath. Maybe this wasn't the 
best time to bring up the subject of the dance. But if I didn't do 
it now, I'd never find the courage to do it again.
	"Um, Darien?" I started.
	"What do you want, meatball head?" he barked. I 
jumped back, startled by his sudden outburst. Would he ever 
stop calling me that? "Take it easy, Darien. I just wanted to 
ask you a question."
	His face softened. "Sorry. Guess I'm just a little 
overworked. What's up?"
	It would be so like him to be easy-going about this. 
But then again, he had no idea what was about to hit him.
	"Serena? Are you okay?" He looked at me, concern 
all over those dark blue eyes of his. Oh, how my heart nearly 
melted every time he glanced at me. I looked down at the 
floor. "I-was-just-wondering-if-you-wanted-to-go-to-a-dance-
with-me."
	He placed a hand on my shoulder. His warm touch 
gave me the tingles all over, and I was very close to becoming 
a big Serena-puddle right then. "Say that again?" he replied. I 
took a deep breath, and looked up. "I was wondering if you'd 
go to a dance with me." There. I said it. So much for a cool 
plan.
	He just looked at me, amusement written on his face. 
I sighed in despair. "I don't know why I even bothered to ask. 
Why would you want to go to a dinky school dance with 
someone like me?" I started to turn around to leave, but a 
warm, firm hand stopped me.
	"Is that what you think?" he said, standing behind me. 
I tried to pull out of his grasp, but he held on and turned me 
around so I was facing him again. "C'mon, meatball head, give 
me a little credit. I'm flattered that you would even ask me. I 
think this is a great idea. Maybe we can get to know each other 
better."
	I stared at him, losing myself in his eyes again. 
"You--you think it's a good idea?" He nodded. "Yes, I do. 
When is it?"
	"Next Friday." I couldn't believe this was happening. 
The other girls were so sure I couldn't pull it off. Wouldn't 
they be surprised!
	I waved at Darien as I walked out the door. 
Everything was going my way. The weekend was here, I had 
no homework, and best of all, I was going to the dance with 
Darien. Who cared if he called me names? It didn't seem as 
bad any more.
	Suddenly, the thought hit me like a ton of bricks. The 
reason I'd never gone to a dance was because I didn't know 
*how* to dance. And slow dancing was an entirely different 
subject! I couldn't go now. What would Darien and everyone 
else think of me?



	I never did like Monday mornings, but this one 
topped them all. The countdown had begun. Five more days 
until the dance. Five more days until I humiliated myself in 
front of the entire school, and worst of all, Darien.
	The dance was on my mind so much, that I even woke 
up early, shocking my family, and especially Luna. For the 
first time in a long time, I actually sat at the table to eat 
breakfast, and walked, not ran to school. I wouldn't have 
exactly called it walking, however. It was more like trudging 
through mud. It was pretty impossible to keep a happy 
expression on my face, too. Nothing could brighten up my day, 
not even the warmest sun.
	My problem got worse when I bumped into someone. At least this time, it wasn't full force, and I didn't fall down.
	"Sorry," I mumbled, and started to walk away again, 
when I heard the voice. Oh, that voice. How it could make any 
bad day seem better. But not today. 
	"Meatball head? Early to school? Something *must* 
be wrong," Darien chuckled. I tried to smile, but I just couldn't 
get it to be sincere. Not even for him. Even his calling me 
'meatball head' didn't anger me like it should.
	He stopped when he saw my face. He could always 
tell when something was bothering me. That was just one of 
the things that made him so. . . so likeable.
	I don't remember when I started liking him more than a friend, but one day, it just happened. One day, I noticed how 
handsome his face was, his adorable smile, his warm touch. . . 
Oops. There I go again, off into my little dream world. I guess 
I've been prone to doing that these days. It's certainly a better 
place to be than the real world. At least there nothing ever 
goes wrong.
	"Serena? What's wrong? You certainly don't seem 
very cheerful today."
	I sighed, and started walking again. Darien fell into 
step beside me. "It's nothing, really. Just a small problem I 
have to work out." He shrugged. "Maybe I can help."
	For a moment, I considered that option, but how 
could I tell him that my problem was *him*? That I was afraid 
he'd laugh at me because I couldn't dance?
	I shook my head. "Probably not, Darien. But thanks 
for caring." He smiled that cute little grin of his again. 
"Anytime. Mind if I walk you to school?" I don't know how he 
did it, but it worked again. Slowly, he was bringing my spirits 
up. All I could do was nod, and I could feel the blush creeping 
up my neck. I just prayed that he wouldn't notice. Hopefully it 
would be gone by the time we got to the school.





	The rest of the week was a blur. Thursday I went 
shopping with Lita, Mina, and Rei for dresses. It didn't take 
me long to spot my dress. I saw it hanging in the window of 
the first shop we entered.
	It was a white sleeveless with a high waist, and fell 
just above my ankles. There was a delicate floral embroidery 
covering the top. It was absolutely perfect.
	Lita found a stunning green one that complemented 
her hair and features perfectly. Mina chose a short yellow 
dress that enhanced her flawless complexion, and Rei finally 
found a plum colored dress that really brought out her eyes. 
Ami already had a dress she liked and preferred it over buying 
a new one. It was a light blue with a scoop neck, soft against 
her skin and complemented the highlights in her hair.
	That night, we had a party at Rei's temple, and threw 
a fashion show for each other. We spent hours deciding how to 
do our hair, and where we were going to eat.
	Everyone finally agreed on a picnic in the park, since 
it was the only thing we could afford, and no one could pass up 
Lita's cooking.
	My little dancing problem still loomed over my head, 
but I couldn't let it ruin the fun we were having. I wish I could 
confide in someone about it, but I just don't think anyone 
would understand. And there's no way I'd even tell Luna, 
because I know she'd waste no time in blabbing it to Artemis, 
who would in turn tell Mina, and then everyone else would 
know. No, it was better to keep this to myself, no matter how 
difficult it was to deal with.