“Always and Forever” Chapter Three By: Miisty4810 E-Mail: Miisty4810@aol.com Rating: PG I know, I know, FINALLY!! right? Sorry it’s been so long but I just moved from North Hollywood, CA to Lexington, MA and I’m just now getting settled in with the new surroundings, my new school gives WAY too much homework,(raise your hand if you think homework on the weekends is absolutely NUTS!!)my grandma keeps nagging at me, and to top it all of I had a slight case of ‘writers blocks’. Oh yeah, that reminds me; Thanks so much Alicia, for your help, you’re a life saver! Anyway, on with the show..er..story...um... Enjoy! (this whole chapter is in my P.O.V.) Chapter Three Darien walked into the arcade and took a seat at the counter. “Hey Dare, what can I get ya?” Andrew asked, Darien just sighed dreamily and rested his head on his palm. “Uh.. Darien? You o.kay bud? And what’s with that goofy lookin’ grin on your face?” Andrew asked, laughing. Darien finally snapped out of his daze when he noticed someone was talking to him, “Oh! Hey Andrew, can I have a coffee?” Andrew gave him a strange look then nodded, “Sure.” He came back and put the hot cup in front of Darien. “Darien, you seen Sere today? Mina was looking for her.” At the mention of Serena’s name, Darien slipped back to LaLa Land, “Serena, what a pretty name...” Darien breathed. “Ok, what’s up with you?” “What do you mean?” “Well, for one thing you’ve got this totally idiotic smile on your face, your kinda flushed, and your pouring sugar all over the counter and I’m pretty sure that sugar was meant to go in your coffee.” Darien looked down at his hand and saw that he really WAS spilling sugar everywhere, he put down the sugar and laughed nervously, “Um, I gotta go now, see ya Andrew.” Darien said as he sped out the door and bumped into an old lady who slapped him a few times with her purse, Andrew laughed again and shook his head. Then Serena walked in happily, “Hey Andrew!” she chimed. “Hey Sere, would you, by any chance, know what’s up with Darien?” “WHAT? WHY WOULD *I* KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT *DARIEN*? I’M JUST GOING TO THE DANCE WITH HIM, GEEZ!!! STOP PRESSURING ME!!” she screeched and huffed out of the arcade leaving a suprised Andrew at the counter. “I think I’m gonna go home now.” <3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3 (at the park) Darien walked down the dirt path looking down at his feet which were kicking red, orange, and yellow leaves carelessly. He lifted his head to the sky and took in the distant scent of roses then looked straight ahead. There sat Serena, leaning against a tree, reading what looked like a Sailor Moon Manga. Her hair was down and blowing gently in the wind, eyes shimmering and ivory skin glowing in the light of the lowering sun. He took a deep breath and walked up to her. She looked up and smiled slightly, “Uh, hey Darien.” she said quietly. “Am I the only one who thinks we need to talk?” Serena shook her head and patted her hand on the ground next to her. He sat down and she set her manga aside, “So...” she breathed. “Did that kiss actually mean anything?” he asked quickly. Serena thought for a sec., “I guess not, what do you think?” “I.. I think you’re absolutely right, it didn’t mean a thing.” “Yeah, just think of what the others would say, you and me actually LIKING eachother!” “Yeah, that would be pretty strange.” They both started laughing then.. stopped. “Well.. see ya tonight...Meatball Head.” he said teasingly and walked off. “My name’s Serena!!” <3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3 (hours later at Serena’s house) “Serena, what’s up with you, you’ve been wiggin’ all evening, is there something wrong?” Lita asked a little worried that her usually fun and cheerful friend was so quiet. Serena shook her head, “No, there’s no problem.. I’m just kinda confused.” Mina frowned questioningly, “How so Sere?” she asked, now SHE was confused, as were the other three girls. “I...I think I have a, I dunno, a “thing” for Darien.” Serena answered. Her reply was three gasps and one obnoxiously loud laugh from Raye. “Hold up a second, you’re gonna sit there and try to tell me that YOU’VE got a thing for DARIEN?” Raye asked still laughing. “Well.. yeah.” Suddenly Raye stopped laughing and looked at Serena with disbelief written all over her face, “Wait a minute, you’re serious?” “Well DUH! Hello, are you even in there?” Mina said. “Shut-up Mina!” Raye screeched and Mina shrugged. “So Sere, what brought the idea of you actually liking Darien that way on?” Lita asked and Serena frowned. “You don’t believe me, you think this is some kind of sick joke, dontcha’?” Serena asked rather cheerfully with a smile. All the girls nodded with equal smiles on there faces then.. Serena’s face fell again and the others stopped nodding. “It’s not funny. I think.. no, I KNOW I like Darien, but I can’t tell him that, he’ll probably laugh at me. I mean, he sees me as just a friend and now I’m going nuts! Come on guys, I really need your help here.” Serena pleaded and the girls, to her her suprise, started laughing hysterically. “I knew this was gonna happen sooner or later.” Mina started and took a deep breath. “Yea, I’ll say it’s about time you got the sense knocked into your hard head.” Raye said teasingly. Serena gave her a look then turned her attention back to the others, “What are you people talking about?” “Serena, Darien’s, like, totally in love with you.” Lita said. “Wha...?” “Always has been, probably always will be.” Raye added and Amy nodded. “Na-uh...” “Ya-huh.” the four said in unison. Serena smiled, sighed, and fell back onto her bed, “Darien...” she breathed and sweat drops appeared on the other girls’ heads. “Serena, we’ve gotta get ready for the dance now, it’s 4:30, the dance starts at 7:00, we’ve only got 3 and a half hours.” Mina wined impatiently. “Then what are we waiting for? Come on let’s get goin’ Sheesh!” Serena stood up and rushed over to her closet, the girls followed. “Hey Sere, ya think we could borrow some of your dresses?” Mina asked nervously. <3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3 (6:35 at arcade) The guys sat around a table, drinking Pepsi, thinking about....colors. “Hey, what do red and purple make?” Chad asked. “Um, I think brown or a maroonish sorta’ thing. How about red and white?” Darien replied. “Pink. Blue and yellow?” Andrew said. “Green, how ‘bout silver and gold?” Ken asked. “Uh, platinum. How do you make red?” Greg asked the final question and everyone shrugged. “Guys, I think we need some serious help.” Andrew said looking into his cup of coffee. They all nodded, “Hey look, it’s finally 6:40, we can get ready for the dance now.” Once again, they nodded and walked out of the arcade. (an: Sorry about that part, I was just thinking about mixing colors for some strange reason and I felt like making an incredibly boring conversation about it, does anyone know how to make red?....Don’t worry, I’m calling my therapist right now!) <3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3 (at Serena’s house) “Serena, will you come out of the bathroom already?!” Raye yelled banging on the door. “Just wait a second, one more minute!” “But I CAN’T wait any longer!” “Hold on, you’ll get to see the dress soon enough, just hold your horses!” “But Serena, I gotta go!!!” Raye wined and Serena shot out of the bathroom, “Well why didn’t you say so?” Raye just growled and was in the bathroom in less then a millisecond. “Wow, Sere, that dress is SO perfect on you!” Lita squealed and the other girls nodded. Serena stood there in a black, spaghetti strap, satin dress that almost covered her feet with slits going up both legs. Light brownish beige lip stick, dark blue mascara, light pink blush, a tint of vanilla perform, diamond stud earrings, and to top it off her hair was up in bunches of curls with a small diamond studded head band to hold it all up. (an: if you’ve ever seen the movie “Simply Irresistible”, Serena’s hair looks exactly like Sarah M. Gellar’s hair did at the end.) Raye finally came out of the bathroom and stopped dead in her tracks, “Woah Sere, you look so pretty!” “Thanks, you guys don’t look too bad yourselves.” she said looking at their gorgeous dresses. Mina stood in a strapless, white, silk dress with gold outlining at the top and one slit at her right leg. Her hair in it’s usual position but only instead of a bow, there was a bun and the down part was crimped. And to top her off, small gold loop earrings dangled at her ears. Lita sat on Serena’s bed in a silk, jungle green, also strapless dress with a knee-high slit in the back. Her hair was all down and in “Shirley Temple” curls and she had her usual pink rose earrings on. Raye leaned against the bathroom door in a halter top-type, velvet, fire red, dress with one *very* revealing slit up her right leg. Her hair was up in a tight french roll with small tendrils falling at her cheeks and she wore heart-shaped rubies for earrings. And last but not least, Amy sat on Serena’s white been bag, which had small pink bunnies all over it, in an also silk, powder blue, fat strap dress with no slit. Her earrings were small blue tear drops and her hair was in it’s regular position (DUH) with small white flowers pinned into the short blue strands. “I can’t wait ‘till the guys get here, we’ll leave’em drooling!” Lita squealed excitedly. “OH MY GOODNESS!!! You girls look absolutely FABULOUS...” came Ilene’s unusually high-pitched voice and the girls all smiled. “Ooo, lemme get a picture!” she said holding up her camera and Serena sweat dropped the other girls just laughed and stuck a wacky pose. “Say cheese!” “CHEESE!” *DING DONG* “I’LL GET IT!!” Sammy yelled and got up from the couch. He opened the door and looked up at the five guys in tuxedos questioningly, “Who the heck are you?” he asked. “Yes, who the heck are you?” Ken asked coming to the door and Serena pushed them both to the side. “Leave them alone, they’re not here to kill anyone.” Serena started then looked over at the guys and smiled, “Sorry about that.” “Serena, which one is your date, I wanna to talk to him.” Ken started angrily as Serena and the other girls pushed past him and walked to their dates. “SERENA, YOU GET YOUR BUTT BACK HERE!!!” Ken yelled and was about to run after her but Ilene pulled him back, he looked back at her and pouted, she shook her head and the gang drove off in two groups: one in Serena’s car and the other in Darien’s. <3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3 (Dance 7:02) When they got out of the cars Darien put his arm around Serena’s waist and whispered in her hair, “You look great.” She blushed and smiled, “I know.” she said, he smiled and shook his head. The DJ put on “Jumpin, Jumpin” by Destiny’s Child and Serena’s eyes lit up, “Omigod, I love this song, come on Darien!” she said and dragged him out onto the dance floor, everyone else did the same. After about a half an hour went by they stopped dancing, “I’m gonna go get some punch, be right back.” Serena said over the music and Lita followed as everyone else went to sit down. Lita and Serena looked into the punch bowl, “You think it’s spiked?” asked Serena and Lita shrugged. “You try it first.” Lita suggested and Serena looked over at her like she was crazy. “WHAT?!” Lita said innocently and Serena shook her head. A boy was walking past and Serena grabbed his arm, “Hi Russell, could you..uh..try the punch for me?” she said in her cute and innocent voice with her best puppy-dog eyes and Russell felt his knees melt, he nodded quickly and took a cup of punch. Serena and Lita watched as he finished the punch, “How do you feel?” Lita asked and Russell dropped to the floor. Serena and Lita jumped, “Skip the punch, ne?” Lita asked and Serena nodded. “I’m gonna go to the ladies room, see ya Sere.” “Kay.” “Hello Serena.” came a voice from behind her as she felt someone’s arms encircle her waist, ‘Christian.’ she thought and stiffened. He smiled and ran his finger up her arm, “What do you say we go for a walk?” he said and pulled her possessively towards the door. Serena tried to pull away but he pulled her closer, tightening his grip around her waist. He pushed her out the door and she fell to the ground, “What’s wrong with you?!” she yelled and he frowned. “You embarrassed me the other day in the arcade, in front of my friends.” he said and pulled her up to him, tracing a finger down her neck, “You’ve been a very bad girl, and bad girls get punished.” he said with an evil glint in his eyes. Serena shook her head, “I’m sorry, please, just leave me alone, I’m sorry.” she pleaded as he smiled and pressed his mouth to hers harshly. Serena gasped and tried to pull away again but he pushed her up against a tree, kissing her harder. She felt him run his hand up her leg bringing it up to his side. As he did this Serena felt one hot tear streak down her cheek and he smiled. “What’s wrong Sere, not having any fun?” he asked and started to kiss her neck hungrily. “Darien...” she whimpered softly and the tears came faster. Inside, Darien was beginning to worry, ‘Serena’s been gone way too long.’ he thought and frowned, ‘If anything happened to her...’ he started and was cut short when he felt someone tap his shoulder. He turned around to see a fairly short girl with short reddish hair and green eyes, she seemed familiar. “Hey Darien, I’m Molly, remember me?” she said in a Brooklyn accent, “Oh well, it doesn’t matter.. what does is that I saw Christian push Serena outside.” she said and Darien’s eyes filled with fear, “Where Molly, where’d he take her?” he asked. She pointed to the back entrance and he sped out the door. “Please...stop.” Serena cried and Christian laughed, pulling down the straps of her dress. “Excuse me.” he heard a voice and turned to meet a VERY hard fist. “Aah, my face! What the HELL is your problem, Jerk!” Christian yelled, holding his swollen cheek while blood dripped from his nose. “You’re my problem, Creep, you don’t go around trying rape innocent girls!” Darien retorted and punched him again (much to his delight) When Darien was done beating Christian’s brains out, he watched as Serena slid down the trunk of the tree, brought her knees to her chest, and started to rock back and forth. By now her eyes were slightly red, (but not puffy) all her make-up, except for her lipstick, had been washed away by tears, and her hair was completely down in a mass of curls beneath her. To Darien, she never looked more beautiful. He walked over and knelt infront of her, “Serena, are you ok?” he asked softly. She didn’t respond and he brought her into his arms as she cried silently into his shoulder. “Oh Darien, I was so scared.” Serena said as Darien stroked her hair softly. “Ssh. He’s gone-” Darien started and looked over at Christian’s shaking body. “-kinda.” Serena looked over to where Darien was looking and laughed lightly, “Darien?” “Hm?” “Thank you.” He smiled, “No problem.. Serena.” “But...why?” “Because you’re my Meatball Head and I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if anything happened to you.” Darien said with a smile. She smiled back and rested her head on his chest. After a moment Darien lifted her face up to his and kissed her softly. Finally he let go, stroking her cheek gently and she smiled, “What was that for?” “For being so beautiful, and this is because...” he put his hands lightly behind her neck and kissed her again, pulling her closer as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He kissed her with so much passion and love that this kiss made the one at the park seem like a peck on the cheek. After atleast a minute he pulled away and looked into her eyes, “...I love you.” Serena felt tears fall down her cheeks but she gave them no attention and hugged him tight. “Oh Darien, I love you too, I’ve always loved you.” <3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3 “Oh that’s so cute! I think I’m gonna cry..” “Mina, you ARE crying.” Lita said through tears. “I know...” “Will you two hush up, they’re gonna hear us.” Raye snorted. “Sorry.” “This is bad, it’s bad to spy on them,” Amy started and looked away for a minute. “very bad.. tame, tame, tame.” “If this is so bad why are you here whispering, Amy?” Lita asked and Amy blushed. (an: am I the only one who fels like watching Sailor Moon R the movie?) “Will you shut up, PLEASE?!” Raye whispered loudly. <3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3 “You know that the girls are watching us, right?” Serena said, leaning her forehead on Darien’s. He nodded, “Let’s give them something to watch, ne?” She smiled and leaned in to kiss him. <3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3 “Don’t they ever get tired of doing that?” Raye asked, slightly disgusted and at the same time jealous. Mina looked at Raye from the corner of eye knowingly, “Oh come on Raye, we know you wouldn’t either.” “Ahem!” the four girls heard from behind them and turned around to find Chad, Greg, Andrew, and Ken standing there with their arms crossed. The girls all laughed nervously. “So, who are you spying on?” Andrew asked. “Spying? Us? Nah, we’re not spying, we were just..uh..trying to find...Mina’s earring!” Raye stuttered. “Yea, yea.. y-you see, one fell off somewhere...around here and we’re just looking for it.” Mina said and Lita nodded. “Oh Greg, they made me do it!! I didn’t want to, but they made me!! I told them it was bad but they wouldn’t listen-EEP!” Amy was cut off by Raye and Lita’s hands over her mouth. “Hehe..” “C’mon, let’s leave Serena and Darien alone, why don’t we?” Ken said and the girls pouted. “But I don’t wanna!!” they whined as they guys dragged them back into the dance. <3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3~<3 Darien broke the kiss and smiled, “Whatta’ya say we go back to the dance?” he asked and she nodded, standing up. Darien put his arm around Serena’s waist and she rested her head on his shoulder, “I love you, always.” “And forever.” ______________________________________________________________________ I’M DONE!!! I’M SOOOO HAPPY, I WAS GETTING SO SICK OF THIS FIC!! :o) Well anyways, hope you liked it and once again, I’m terribly sorry for making you all wait so long for the ending. And remember, I LOVE E-MAIL!!! Miisty4810@aol.com So until next time, Peace, Love, and Happiness, Shari Hirtle (Miisty4810)