Name: Starlit Princess Title: Charade, Chapter 3 E-mail: starlitprincess@tuxedomask.com http://www.homestead.com/aneternalstarlitromance/welcome.html @)~~>~~>~~~ Hello everyone! Gomen nasai for the long wait for this, but homework, illness and AP history has been taking its toll on me... *sob* But it hasn't claimed me as a victim yet! *grin* You all seem to really like "Charade" a lot; I've gotten very nice e-mails from many of you... arigato! It's very nice to hear from all of you, so keep writing! My inbox gets very lonely! And without further ado, here is chapter 3 of "Charade." ~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~ <3 <3 <3 @)~~>~~>~~~ <3 <3 <3 ~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~ "CRACK!" And with that, a flying fist coming out of nowhere just barreled right in and punched the girl straight in the jaw. Watching like a fool, I was still just standing there, a hand on my mouth, and trying not to join in with Lita in giving that girl exactly what she deserved. I was reeling with rage and shock at the impulsive, rather unpleasant kiss Sarah had planted, but seeing (and hearing) Lita's fist come in contact with Sarah's jaw was what woke me up out of the fog of confusion floating around my head. Not to mention, one other thing... A wail of agony that had pierced my heart... Meanwhile, as I realized what had happened so suddenly, the struggling Amy and Molly were both pulling at Lita, who had gotten so terribly upset that she slammed Sarah to a nearby wall, pinned her shoulders up to the rough bricks and roughly slapped her. "DIDN'T LIKE THAT? How COULD you do that to someone as sweet as Serena, for GOD's SAKE? That was the most despicable, outrageous, most heartless thing you have EVER done to her! How could you be such a snake?" Lita fumed. The uproar continued as Sarah's alleged boyfriend, Chris, started to get a clue and was struggling to pull Sarah from Lita's tight grasp. As I was still shaking my head, I was trying to ignore the fiasco temporarily. TEMPORARILY. I was absolutely steaming at that horrible girl. It's just that I had someone much more important to take care of first... Even though I was glad someone had the sense to tell her off, the only sound I heard at the moment was from a melancholy, slumped golden figure gazing at us all sadly from a short distance away. Long streams of blonde silk hung limply to the ground, hanging from a bowed, solemn head that shook just a bit. One long, sad little whimper, and I felt as though that very sound had singed and injured my entire body. Good God! What she must think of me! Why hadn't I pushed off that horrid girl sooner? She just stood there before me, biting a nail nervously in silent fear, just staring, sparkling drops of unshed tears pooling in her misty azure eyes. Serena... crying? For me? As realization dawned on me, I inched closer to her trembling figure, trying to comfort her, to make her cease the tears that made my heart ache. She back away a step, as if afraid to touch me. Her lower lip quavered, as she gave me a long, solemn gaze. "Darien... no... why? I-I saw how amazed you were after you kissed her... you must really like Sarah, right? You didn't seem to even hear anything going on around you!" "Serena, I--" "No, Darien, I understand." She started backing away, ever so slowly, and tugged at her limp strands of hair that were dragging lifelessly on the ground. Half hidden by the long curtain of blonde hair, she murmured, quietly, "I did kinda have a crush on you, you know... you really aren't that annoying... actually, now I know you're really sweet. But I guess that really doesn't matter to you, since you're always calling me some name... and you must really think I'm a baby right now..." "Anyway, it's not like we were going out or anything-- it was just a... simple charade. Nothing more..." She sputtered out the last few words in a whisper, as if she couldn't quite believe it herself. "Darien, thank you for trying to help me, I'll never forget it. But... a charade is never as good as the real thing, and it's obvious that you must like--" Abruptly, she stopped short, as her face crumpled and she turned and ran, swiftly, away in the direction of the flower gardens. "Serena! Come back! I never actually wa--" But as suddenly as she had left, she disappeared into the thick green foliage of the flower gardens, deep into the maze of flowers. I started to chase after her, but she had already disappeared from sight and hidden like a master chameleon. I sighed with resignation; I knew I wouldn't be able to find her just yet. Besides, I had something very important to deal with anyway... I was so distraught at the moment, I didn't even notice the shadowed figure running quickly after Serena into the gardens... @)~~>~~>~~~ As I turned around and focused on the others, the fire burning at a painful tear in my heart seemed to double as I saw Lita stagger backward, blood running from her lip, as Sarah lunged for her throat. A small crowd of classmates had gathered around, watching eagerly at the spectacle, and slowly caught the attention of the entire class. Luckily, Miss Haruna was presumably at the park's nurse's office, tending to someone that had gotten sick, or something. Thank goodness she was; if she had been here I'm sure Lita would really be in hot water! I noticed the purple, bluish swelling surrounding Sarah's pointy jaw, and I couldn't help but smile at that. However, the trickle of blood running from Lita's lip had started to flow faster, and I wondered if Miss Haruna would return with the nurse if this kept on. As Sarah lunged to throttle Lita's neck, that last action really upset me to the max she was doing that a lot since I met her today!) I rushed forward and slammed Sarah away from the injured Lita, whose lip as starting to swell painfully large. She fell back on the grass, touching her bruised lip tenderly as she glared up at Sarah. "Stop it, both of you! Sarah, get AWAY from Lita! How dare you!" She scowled and pointed an accusing finger at Lita. "What do you mean, ME? She started the whole thing by getting all psycho and punching me!" I took a menacing step towards that... that *thing* that was Sarah Westerbridge. "But she couldn't help it; I know how awful you've been to Serena, and not to mention you actually dared to kiss ME, her boyfriend! What is wrong with you?" She smirked, and put her hands on her hips in a mocking manner. "You've got to be kidding? That klutzy airhead? That long blonde hair of hers seems to be blocking any sort of sense from entering her head! She's stupid, lazy, a boring person, and how she ever got a babe like you I'll never know. I'll bet you aren't even her real boyfriend! What did she do, pay you to come here?" She laughed, a high-pitched sound that made my ears want to beg for mercy. "Anyway, the truth is, she's really just too UGLY and DUMB to ever get a boyfriend, and--" "ENOUGH!" I grabbed her arm and slapped her in the face, as hard as I could, those insults ringing like the shrill sound of her hideous laughter in my head. Shocked, she was speechless as she tried to get away, but I grabbed her arm and held it, tightly in my fingers. The rage, anger, guilt and shame I felt for my poor Meatball Head seemed to spiral into one large fireball of hatred, and as I looked as the contemptuous creature I was holding, all the things I was feeling just simply spilled out of my mouth. "Look, Sarah, I don't know what you're thinking in that twisted, sadistic little head of yours, but Serena is NOT stupid, dumb, klutzy, and LEAST OF ALL UGLY!" I screamed at her scowling face. "She's the sweetest, kindest, most wonderful person I have ever know, more than I can say for you, you revolting piece of slime! She's never lazy, always would work her hardest to help a friend, and she's always been an inspiration to me! How someone as wonderful as her could ever possibly like me is beyond my comprehension... but she does! Any guy would be lucky to have such a treasure like her! Ever since she came into my life, somehow the sun began to shine again for me. Serena is like the sparkle of a star, the light of my life, and I care for her more than anything else in the entire world! I would risk my life for her if need be." I paused for a moment as I looked at her stunned face, quite aghast at what I had just said. She looked as if I had punched her in the stomach. However, I wasn't finished with her yet... "Sarah, understand this. Serena is my girlfriend. She's more than that; she completes me! I've never known anyone like her in my entire life, and I... think I love her... Yes, I love her! I LOVE SERENA TSUKINO!!!" I screamed so that the heavens could hear my cry. I loved her! My little Meatball Head! I loved her! "So remember, my heart is hers, and hers ALONE, so if you ever try to pull a stupid stunt like that kiss again, I'm afraid I'll have to let Lita cream you," I said as I gestured to a painfully grinning Lita, whose swelling lip seemed to have dissipated a little, so she pounded her fist encouragingly. "Furthermore, I hope I never run into you again, for you caused my poor Serena so much pain... and you deserved everything you got. I shook my head at her, as I turned and started walking away from the horrid girl. "It's against my principles to hit any lady," I said over my shoulder as I headed for the gardens, "but you, Sarah Westerbridge, are certainly no lady." And with that, I turned leaving one stunned girl, who stood there with her mouth agape. And as I finished her off, a thunderous cheering went up from the students who stood there watching the little scene. "Way to go; she deserved that!" "Yeah, Sarah's an awful person!" "She's always deserved that!" As they cheered, Sarah's nerve started to break, and her face fell as she saw the entire class applauding at her humiliation. With a little sniff she turned, and tossed her hair. Glancing at her watch, she called, "Chris? Hey, Chris! Where are you, anyway? Take me home, NOW!" As I headed for the gardens, I stopped and noticed that Chris, indeed, had disappeared from sight and was nowhere to be found. It was rather odd, since he had been there at the beginning of the fight... where was he now? I entered the gardens, searching this way and that for my missing Meatball Head, when the next thing I heard was a shrill scream tearing across the silence, coming from the rose garden. ~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~ I've got a deadline to reach, so I'm sorry about the delay here, but with an AP class and three other honors classes, my head is spinning with all the homework I have to finish. Gomen to you all, and I hope you keep on reading! Read my other stories too, and I've got two other multi-parters that I'm currently working on, "I Could Fall in Love With You" and "Silvery Blue," plus another story that came out of inspiration. (Dear God, when will I ever finish them all?) The only payment a fanfiction writer seems to get is positive e-mail, so what are you waiting for? ^_^ ~May the stars shine brightly upon you, Starlit Princess, gentle, wise (but panicky) ruler of the Realm of Romance @)~~>~~>~~~