A Break From Reality, part one: Thursday. By Amethyst, insane webmistress at large Hi! This is Ame's little author's notes domain. Okay, first of all, I gotta say that Alicia Blade inspired the "First love" obession in me. So my story takes place right after DiC dubbed ep. "So You Want To Be A Superstar." Also, for once, the Scouts aren't fixing anyone up in this story, Molly gets in on the action. Also, to get the stories as soon as Im done and they're hot off the presses, go to MY page at http://members.tripod.com/blckmoonchik Feedback on this story is appreciated. Also, The sequel to "Unfinished Buissness" is up, it's called "Fate's A Bitch." And, no, there's no cussing in in, except for the title and one other word. Oi. I forgot, Thanks to Saint Ethyros, Celeste Goodchild, Jenny, and all of the peeps who sent feedback, the people from the RPG list, especially Sailor Galaxy and Haruka, and who could forget Darian, my oniisan, luv ya dude, and Bridgita, Caroline, and Kira, who have cheered me on even when I said "I suck at this". And Bridgita, Rubius would like to say something. R: I'm NOT a girl, or a girly man. And stop calling me Rube-cube! Ja ne! See ya at the end of the story. I don't own Sailor Moon, Andrew, Jediete , or any of the other characters. If you like, i will buy a character... i have 50 cents. I'm not making any profit off of this story, that's why I babysit... *long sigh*. Please don't sue me! Im going to the mall this weekend, i'll be broke after that! And my dad won't lend me anymore money ^.^Here we go: @>-- Quote of the Day: "Strange girl"-Darien "Computer School Blues" "What can i say. Is it REALLY my fault that Wiseman turned into an Evil Speaking Pop-Tart? Hey, if he starts to annoy us, we'll stick him in the toaster.. hey! He's blueberry!"-Amethyst ****************************************************************************************** Darien Chiba.... Why did that name always sound like music to my ears to me? Why did I care so much about what he thought, why he cared? When he teased my friends about the talent show he was in, telling me that they were making "fools out of themselves", why did my heart jump? Was it anger? How can this man that I hate so much make me feel this way? Serena, you really are going insane. Love Always, Serena Tsukino ********************************************** The golden blonde girl sighed, and rolled over on her bed, sucking on a lollipop that she'd bought at the arcade. It tasted just like raspberries, Serena's favorite kind of berry. She smiled, enjoying the lazy afternoon, glad that Darien was finally off her mind. Whenever she wrote her feelings down, she'd always felt better. She smiled, wondering what Molly would say if she found out that she had a diary. "Serena Tsukino write? Willingly? When pigs fly!" Serena could hear her best friend's astonished remark. She smiled, thinking of Tuxedo Mask, who'd rescued her just in the nick of time earlier this evening at the talent show. In so many ways, he reminded her of Darien Chiba... 'Excuse me, Serena, I thought we were going to STOP thinking about that concieted jerk for a couple minutes.' Her mind reminded her heart. She yawned, and sat up, staring at Luna, who had been sleeping peacefully on the carpet. "Serena, is there anything wrong?" The girl smiled down at her talking cat. In many ways, Luna was an advisor, mother, aunt, and best friend rolled into one. Though they both would never admit it, there was a bond between the two of them, one that not even Time could break. "Not really, Luna." Unfourtunatley, Serena didn't feel that Luna would help her on this matter. Luna smiled, as much as a talking cat could smile. "Well, does it have anything to do with that date circled there on the calendar?" Serena looked over at the anime calendar hanging over her desk. "Which one? The exam, the dance, or the birthday?" All three of them were on her mind, and none in a good way. "All of them. Serena, dear, why haven't you made any plans for your birthday yet?" The cat frowned, and Serena sighed again. "Why should I celebrate? Yay, Serena, you're 15, you have no true friends, and you're single. Again. Oh, yeah, let's not forget that you're gonna fail another exam." Luna shook her head. "You do have friends, Serena. And trust me, one day you will have a boyfriend. As for the exam... only you can help that." Serena looked up, surprised that for once Luna hadn't lectured her about finding the Moon Princess. Serena smiled a secret smile. "Serena! Sweetie, dinner's ready!" Serena sighed. Food. After being frozen in an icicle, she really didn't want any food... she was just too... not hungry. Depressed, even. "I, uh, ate alot at the arcade, Mom! And I, uh, had some dinner at Molly's! I don't think I'll be eating tonight!" Serena waited for the reply, knowing her mother must be in shock. "Oh, uh, ok, sweetie! Are you ok?" "Yes, mother." "Is it that time of the month again?" "MOTHER!" "Fine, fine, I guess not. I was just making sure that you were okay." Serena heard her mother walk away from the bottom of the stairs. Only her mother would yell out something like that. Now Sammy would never let her hear the end of it. Serena sighed. 'I wanna go for a nice, long, walk.' "Then why don't you?" Serena jumped, not aware that she'd spoken out loud. Luna smiled up at her, a motherly look in her eyes. "Thanks, Luna." Serena stood up, grabbing a jacket, since it was getting cooler out. She then left the room, shutting the door. ********************************************************* Darien Chiba sighed, while sitting back in his favorite bench at the park. The bench was right off the path, under a tree, facing the lake. Darien shut his eyes. Immediatley the face of the Princess flashed by him. Her blue eyes, which were pools of tranquillity, gazed out sadly at him. Her blonde hair, tied up the same way Serena wore hers... Serena. The awakard teenager who possessed a beauty that she tried to hide, Darien could tell she was trying to hide it, was haunting his subconcious again. She didn't believe in herself, or her beauty, which caused a dark cloud to hang around the girl. She was beautiful in so many ways, though, and she couldn't hide them all. Her lovely personality was one of them, the way that she could make someone feel blessed just by talking to them. Of course, Darien very rarely got that kind of response from the teenage girl. Normally it was "OOOH! You're such a concieted jerk!" Stuff like that. Stuff that never would make you feel blessed. 'Dude! Hello in there? Please remember who you ARE thinking about, Mr. Chiba. She's a fourteen year old girl. You are twenty. There is quite an age difference there. And what about the Princess, and Sailor Moon?' Darien sighed. There were just too many women in his life, and they all had the same meatballs as Serena. He turned around, feeling a prickling in the back of his neck. Serena was near. He decided to stay sitting down, he really didn't want to get run over today. Darien was in shock when the blonde passed him. First of all, she wasn't going at her usual top speed of Mach 2. Second, the dejected look on her face made his heart shatter, but it would make anyone who'd ever met the normally peppy blonde heart's shatter, as long as they had one, at least. "Hey, there, Meatball Head." The girl's head perked up, and her eyes turned to look into his. They were souless. As dead as doorknobs. His heart, or the pieces of it, shattered again, until they were "moondust", as Sailor Moon would say. "Hello, Darien." She just stood there, looking like she was ready for the insults, and she didn't look at all like she was going to fight back at all. "Serena, is there anything wrong?" 'Serena. My real name. Not Meatball Head, Serena.' Her heart fluttered happily. She then stopped herself. 'Darien. This is Darien. Down girl.' She sighed again, and smiled sadly at him. "I'm fine. Just a little tired, I guess." The souless reply caused the worry in Darien's eyes to grow. "I'll see you tomorrow, Darien." Serena started to walk off, trying to avoid an awakard situation. Instead, a warm hand reached out and grabbed hers, pulling her towards the dark haired young man. The touch caused jolts of electricity to go travelling up her spine. The warmth flooded up her arm, and into her bleeding heart. For some strange reason, she felt warm and protected, safe from the pain and the sadness that had been haunting her lately. She then realized just how close she was to Darien. Darien jumped as his hand reached out to grab hers, an impulsive act. Her small hand was so warm and soft, like a living piece of silk. Her eyes had lit up with emotion, confusion and fear appearant in them. He unconciously pulled her close, until her skirt was touching his pant leg. "Serena, please tell me." There was a certain degree of begging in his eyes, that caused her knees to turn into jelly. How could she not tell those beautiful blue eyes that you could drown in so easily... "Darien, I'm fine, really. I'm just so tired, I had a long day today..." "Why don't you tell me what happened?" Darien was determined to see what was wrong with the beautiful angel who normally cheered everyone up. "Molly, my best friend and I are fighting, and she's using Melvin against me, my cat's being a royal pain, my mother's driving me insane and my brother's annoying the heck outta me. Plus, I have a major exam coming up and I just can't study for it, my head's too filled up with junk. I just need to get away." By this time, Serena had sat back, and shut her eyes, leaning her head back so the sun's warm rays could kiss it. Before Darien knew what he was saying, an offer flew out of his mouth. "Serena? How would you like to get away for a weekend?" Her blonde head shot up, and her blue eyes had honed in on his defined face. "How?" "Well, this weekend, Andrew and I were going to go out to the beach, and stay at a condo, but since Andrew's busy maybe you and a friend could go out there?" Serena's eyes lit up, and before either of them knew what had hit them, her small arms were around his neck. It surprised Darien how strong they felt, almost like Serena worked out. Her blonde hair smelled like lavender, and her skin smelled like vanilla, a heavenly combination. She was so close, she was touching him, her hair was tickling his lips... He smelled like fresh roses, that was the first thing she noticed. Not only his silky black hair, but his skin too. Roses were her favorite flowers... He was so warm, so close to her. She could feel his heartbeat, hear his breathing... she shut her eyes. She didn't want to move from this position for a long time. "Uh, Serena? I kinda have to go. But is that a yes?" Serena smiled. "How will I ever repay you?" "Don't worry about it." Darien smiled. 'Just seeing your smiling face is worth it, Sere.' He left the unspoken words hanging above her. Sere. He liked his little nickname for her. It was much more complementing than Meatball.She pulled away, and for a moment, their eyes were locked and their lips were almost touching. If either of them moved the wrong (or right) way, they'd kiss. Darien was tempted to pull her closer, to have his lips covering her small pink ones. But he stopped. 'For God's sake, she's fourteen! Get over it. Right now you should worry about telling Andrew that the weekend is off.' Darien got up, gently moving Serena out of the way. "I'll see you tomorrow,and you tell me which friend you're bringing, okay? Bye Meatball!" He walked off, and Serena sighed. "How many times do I have to tell you? My name is SERENA, not Meatball!" Darien laughed. She was back to normal.And the best part was that he had made her that way. "Andrew, how are you?" Darien smiled as he walked in the nearly empty arcade. Andrew sighed. When Darien got like this, it meant he wanted something. Normally something big, since Darien normally didn't ask for anything. "What's up, Darien?" Andrew sat down on one of the bar stools, and Darien sat next to him. "Remember our vacaction this weekend?" Andrew nodded. What now, was Darien's plant sick? Darien always managed to wiggle out of these things, he was afraid to leave Tokyo for just one day... Andrew wished he knew why. "Well, I saw Serena today." "You're taking her, eh? Well, you two finally got together! I've been expecting this ever since you two met!" Andrew smiled, laughing. 'Finally he realized that he's got it bad for her!' "Andrew." Darien's blue eyes were angry. "I am not going with Serena. Listen to me. I saw Serena in the park. It turns out she's been having a really tough time lately, with her family, school, and friends. Even her cat is annoying her, now. So, I offered to let Serena and a friend go down, maybe that Molly girl." Andrew smiled. A genius plan had hatched inside the blond doctor-to-be's head. "Oh, no problem. Though, Darien..." "Yes, Andrew?" The tired, suspicious reply came back to him. "Either you really like her, or you're getting really soft." Darien rolled his eyes and got up. "Thanks for understanding." At that, the tall med student walked away, every girl in the arcade staring at him as he left. Andrew then spotted Molly sitting in the corner, talking to Melvin. Melvin got up to leave, and Andrew smiled. Molly would definitley help him, he was postive. Molly rolled her eyes as she looked up. "For the last time, Melvin, I don't want to go see Star Trek: Insurrection with you!" she groaned, wondering if she should just kil the boy and be a hero. "Sorry, I'm not Melvin." Molly looked up into the blue eyes of Andrew Furuhata, the cute arcade boy. "Oh, sorry, Andrew. What's up?" She smiled at him, though she knew Serena liked the boy. "You know Darien, right?" "Oh yeah, the boy who Serena fights with all of the time. Ya know, I think that she likes him, though she's too stubborn to admit it. Don't tell her i said so, though." Molly smiled. "Molly, what would you say if I said that i thought that Darien felt the same way, but was also being too stubborn?" Molly gasped, and her eyes widened. "We should get them together! But how?" she furrowed her brow, looking pensive. "What if I told you that Darien had let Serena borrow his condo on the beach for a weekend, this one, and that he said she could bring a friend along?" Molly gasped again. "I think the friend would be you, and I want you to say no. I'm going to get Darien to take her down, and you convince Serena to go..." Andrew trailed off, an evil smile on his face. Molly smiled an equally evil smile on her face. "Operation Cupid is in effect." ********************************************************* To: GameBoyCupid@hotmail.comFrom: Lady.Aphrodite@yahoo.com "Princess" called me today, asking me if I could go. I told her I couldn't. I made sure that all of her other friends were 'busy' this weekend, though they don't know what exactly is going on. You start working on "Prince", okay? ~Aphrodite ^_^ Molly smiled as she hit "Send" on the screen, delivering the message to Andrew. They'd decided that email would be best for commmunication, only because Serena and Darien would notice them talking, and get suspicious. She remembered the phone call quite clearly.** BEEEP! BEEP! The electronic ring sent Molly flying for the phone, causing the redhead to make contact with the wall. "Ow. That hurt." She picked up her sea-foam green phone. "Hello, Molly speaking." "Molly!" the cry echoed through the phone as Molly wisely held it away from her ear. 'Thank God for Caller ID.' "Oh, hi Serena." "Molly, listen, what are you doing this weekend?" "My mom's taking me to a resort up in the hills, why?" "Oh. I was going to the beach this weekend, and I was inviting you." "Sorry, I can't. What about Kim?" "You know she and Amanda are going to the festival Sunday!" Serena sniffed on the other end of the phone. "I know Beth and Jackie are all going to family reunions." Molly lied, feeling a tiny bit guilty. "But Molly! How am I going to go to the beach this weekend? I can't go ALONe, My mom would kill me!" Serena's trademark wail came through the phone, and Molly sighed. "Who's condo is this that you're staying at. I know Sammy is going on a Cub Scout trip this weekend, and your parents are going to a spa. Serena, are you hiding something from me?" Molly smiled into the phone, imagining her friend squirming uncomfortably on the other end of the line. "Well, remember Darien?" "You mean the hunk? Who could forget him! Did you two finally get together?" "What do you mean by that?" Serena asked huffily. "I guess not." Molly giggled. "But if you two aren't together, why are you staying in HIS condo this weekend?" Silence at the other end of the line. "Well, I, uh, well, you see, he saw me really depressed in the park and I guess he was hgih or something because he was nice to me and he just told me to borrow his condo!" Serena explained in a rush. "Oh well, since I can't go, then I guess it's off... Molly, I have to go, it's late." "Okay, bye Serena." Molly hung up, grinning like a banshee. Now it was all up to Andrew. ************************************************************************************************* Andrew finished reading the email and shut off the computer screen smiling. He heard the door opening to the arcade, and Andrew knew it was Darien without even looking out of the back room. 'He's the only one that can enter and get ten girls at once to sigh.' Andrew walked out of te back room, smiling at Darien. "So, Chiba, you're finally here. Did Serena tell you yet?" Darien's ice blue eyes flew open. "Tell me what?" "Well, her friend Molly was just in here, and she told me that Serena's really upset about not being able to go this weekend." Andrew took note of Darien's reaction. "Why can't she go?" he asked, his voice calm but his eyes telling the truth about his feelings. "She has no one to go with, and her mother wouldn't let her go alone! And i've already made plans with Rita to go see her dad.." Andrew frowned. Darien smiled at him, knowing just how Rita's father could be towards "the man that stole his little girl away." "So you and I couldn't go either." Darien sighed, knowing how much Serena had wanted to go on this trip. Andrew raised his eyebrows. 'I had no idea he had it so bad for her! If only he'd just realize that...' Andrew snapped his fingers, causing Darien to look back at him. "What?" Andrew smiled. "Well, I have to admit, Serena's been pretty bummed lately. If you really want her to go, Darien, why don't you take her?" Darien's eyes shot wide open. Him? Take her? "Me? Take her? She hates me, in case you haven't forgotten." Darien sighed sadly, and Andrew smiled. "Well, maybe this would be a way for her to see the real you. And, besides, I'm sure she'd do anything to go on this trip." Andrew decided not to tease Darien about Serena, that would blow the whole thing. Besides, today was Thrusday, tomorrow was Friday, when she'd leave.He didn't have much time. "What would her parents say." Andrew cringed. He'd forgotten about that thing. He then realized that Mrs. Tsukino would trust Andrew if he put a good word in, and she knew Darien from the time he'd saved Serena's cat. "Well, i know Mrs. Tsukino would want a responsible adult to go with Serena no matter what. And I bet she'd let you go with her in a heartbeat, she knows and trust you. Besides, I could put a good word in, my mom and her mom are good friends." Darien smiled. He had to admit, Andrew had a point. And he knew how much Serena wanted to go, and needed to get away. 'Chiba! This is your chance! Carpe Diem!' the little voice inside of him said, and Darien decided to, for once, listen to it. He needed to get away, too. "Okay, i'm gonna trust you on this." ******************************************************************************************* Is the Suspense just killing you? Can Amethyst not write? Please email Ame and tell Her what you thought. Remember, visit her webpage at http://members.tripod.com/blckmoonchik/ That's where all of her stories will be posted first. Also, for "A Break from Reality:Friday' to be posted, Ame's gonna have to write after school. Yep. School. Im frosh now.... *sighs* Luv ya and God Bless to all, and to all a good night.Amethyst amethyst@tuxedomask.com ------------------------------------------------------------ In the name of the moon, I will email you! (http://www.TuxedoMask.com)