Hiya!

I am NOT Mike Bright!  Please do not call me that if you e-mail me!  ^^

Disclaimer:  Oh, come on!  Anyone who knows anything about Sailor Moon
knows that I do NOT own the series or anything in them.  If you do not
even know that, then what the hell are you doing on this sight?!  I
REEEEALLLY wish I did own SM.  But Naoko Takeuchi does instead, and that
is all there is to it.  I am a poor high school student, and it is SOOO
not worth suing me, because you would probably lose more money than you
would gain.  I dunno if I am going to create any characters, but if I
do, you will know, and I claim rights to them.  But hey, if Naoko can
share her characters, why can't I?  If you want to borrow someone from
ANY of my stories, both present and future, then just ask.  And if you
want to post my stories anywhere else, just ask!  I really don't give a
damn, I just want to know.  Okey-dokey?  Then, on with the show!

A Change of Heart
Rating: PG-13, even though SlrSkuld says that it's more like an R.  I
	swear, there is NO sex in this!
By:  Miss J.
Addy:  mcbright@epix.net

	It was Friday, October 30th.  Andrew looked at the clock in the
arcade, where he worked.  3:30 PM.  *Yup, school's out.  Serena should
be here any moment.*  As if in answer to his thoughts, a bubbly young
blonde burst through the automatic doors and into the arcade.
	"Hi Andrew!" she giggled, obviously happy.  She jumped on a stool
and smiled sweetly.
	"What'll it be, Serry?" Andrew asked.
	She seemed to contemplate for a moment.  "Oh, I think I'll have
a....chocolate shake."  Andrew walked away momentarily, and returned
with a large drink.  He set it down in front of Serena.
	"Well, nobody's here right now, so I can hang with you for a bit,"
he said.  "So, how's your day been so far?  You seem like you are in a
good mood."
	"Yeah, I am.  I didn't get any detentions, and I didn't embarrass
myself at all. Oh, and I PASSED a math test!  Aren't you proud of me?"
	"Of course I-" Andrew started.
	"Oh, wow, you actually passed?!" gasped a sarcastic voice from the
door.  "Gads, alert the media!  Give the girl a prize!  What, did you
cheat, Meatball Head?"
	"Go to hell Darien!  And this time, STAY there!!!" yelled a
suddenly very pissed Serena.  "Geez, not everyone is as 'smart' as you,
you big jerk.  Can't you even leave me alone today, when I am having a
good day, for once?  Sheesh."
	"Oh, alright, Meatball Head.  But just this once."  Darien smiled,
mentally laughing at Andrew and Serena, who's jaws were both on the
ground.
	After recovering from her shock, Serena turned back to Andrew. 
"Mina is coming by in half an hour to report."  Noticing Andrew's
confused expression, the girl continued.  "She's going to make sure that
everyone can still make it on Saturday.  Ring a bell?  I told you she
would this morning, silly."
	"Oh yeah.  Do you have all the costumes?"
	"Costumes?  Wait a minute....." said Darien, going completely
unnoticed by the other two.
	"Yeah, I got them all, except for mine and Mina's.  Mina got both
of them, and is bringing them with her.  Yours was $43.  You better pay
me back."
	"Yeah, I will."
	"Pay her back?  What are you doing with a costume, Andrew?"
	"Okay.  Mina should be here any moment.  I told you that we are
all meeting at my house at 5:30 to get ready, right?"
	"Yeah, I'll be there."
	"What is going on??" mumbled Darien.  Suddenly, realization hit
him like a baseball bat hitting a nice car.  "WHOA, ANDREW!!! You aren't
going trick-or-treating, are you?" he yelled, grabbing Andrew by the
shirt.
	"Uh, yeah..."Andrew trailed off.
	"Andrew, you are eighteen years old!  Not three!!!  You are way,
WAY too old for that!"
	"Chill man!  It's only trick-or-treating!  Plenty of people my age
go trick-or-treating!  If you had a life outside of school, maybe you'd
get asked to go too!" Andrew snapped, ripping out of Darien's hold.
	"Yeah....you big jerk!" Serena chimed in.  Darien looked at her,
then at Andrew, then back at her.  Suddenly, he bust out in a roaring
laugher.

^^A Few Minutes Later, After Darien Had Calmed Down^^
	
	Andrew, Darien, and Serena were sitting in silence.  There was
still no one in the arcade other than the three.  Serena was busily
slurping her half-melted shake, and Andrew was looking through a J. Crew
catalogue.  Darien was staring at the unsuspecting Serena, thinking
about how beautiful she was.  Andrew noticed, but didn't say anything;
at least they weren't fighting.
	"Goddammit, where is Mina?  She's 30 minutes late!"  Serena
snarled impatiently.
	"Right here, bitch," said a playful, singsong voice.
	Serena slowly turned around.  Standing in the doorway was another
blonde, about four inches taller than the 5'2" Serena, with her hair
half pulled back in a red bow.  Serena sighed, then spoke, grinning oh-
so-sweetly.
	"Hey, slut.  'Bout time you showed up.  It's already 4:30!" 
Serena paused.  "So, what's the verdict?  Is everybody coming?"
Mina sighed.  "Well, everyone is coming - except for Nick.  He got
grounded, and now he has to watch his baby sister while his parents go
to a party.  He told me to tell you that he is real sorry, and wants you
to call him.  Sounds like he likes you!"  Mina winked.  "He wants to
take you out to dinner!"
	Serena sighed again, this time quite disgustedly.  "Man, the only
reason that I agreed to let him come with us this time is because we
needed another person!  I personally cannot stand him."
	"Honey, he's the most popular guy in the eleventh grade!  Let me
remind you that we are in the ninth!  You are frigging crazy!" Mina said,
exasperated.
	"Don't 'honey' me, you!  The guy is scary, reputedly horny, and
twice my size!  I am NOT going anywhere alone with Nick.  That is all
there is to it!"
	All through this conversation, Darien and Andrew stayed silent,
listening attentively.  Darien spoke up suddenly.  "Wow, Meatball Head,
the most popular guy in the eleventh grade likes YOU?  What is HE on?"
	"Shut up, asshole."  Serena stuck her tongue out at him.  "Now,
Mina, what are we going to do about Nick's costume?  We really need
someone to fill his spot."
	"I dunno, Serena."  Both girls thought hard for a minute or two. 
All of a sudden, Serena got a wicked look on her face.  She quickly put
on her flirtiest smile, and slid into the seat next to Darien.  He got
quite uncomfortable.
	"Darien," she said coyly, "how tall are you?"
	"Uhh, 6'4", why?" he replied uneasily.  He just didn't trust
Serena when she got THAT look on her face.  Then, it dawned on him just
what she was getting at.  He looked at the three blondes in horror; they
all smiled back sweetly.
	"No!  I WILL NOT stoop to trick-or-treating!!!" Darien shouted.
	Suddenly, Serena snapped.  She stood up on top of her seat,
grabbed Darien by the shirt, and lifted him bodily up to her face,
snarling.  Andrew and Mina gaped, both thinking, *How the hell did she
get that strong?!?!?!*  Darien squealed, his thoughts mirroring the
other two's.
	"Look, Chuckles, I paid $60 for that costume!  You are going to go
trick-or-treating with us tomorrow, whether you like it or not!  Now,
you can either come along quietly, or I'll sic Lita on you!"  She
dropped him on the floor, sat down, and smiled sweetly.
	"Darien, silly, get off the ground!"

^^The Next Day, around 5:30^^

::Darien::
	I fervently hoped that I had gotten Serena's address correct.  She
writes so messily that I had trouble reading the scrawled-on napkin.  I
stepped up on the porch to a decently sized house, and tentatively rang
the doorbell.  Hearing a screamed, "Somebody answer the door!", I
guessed it to be Serena.  After a minute, the door opened, revealing
Raye in a large, paint-covered shirt.  She smiled wanly, gesturing me
inside.
	"Well, I bet you could hear Serena the Hyena screeching," she said
as she shut the door behind me.  I nodded; she smirked.  Sighing
slightly, she lead me through the house to the family room, informing me
as we walked that the theme for this Halloween was 'The Haunted Woods'.
As we walked into the designated costume room, I saw Andrew, Chad, Mina,
Ami, Lita, and Serena, as well as a shit-load of bags.
	Lita was working on Ami's costume, which was obviously a witch. 
Raye resumed helping Chad with his costume, which was unidentifiable as
of yet.  Mina was carefully painting a face on an already-dressed
Andrew, who was going as a black cat.  Serena was rummaging through one
of the bags.  She didn't even look up.
	"Hi Darien," she called out.  "Hang on a sec, I'm just finding
your costume."  After a minute, she produced a black bag, and, handing
it to me, ushered me into the bathroom.  A few minutes later, I came
out, very, very confused.  I was in a pair of blue, loose-fitting,
medieval looking pants, which were tucked into a pair of black, soft
leather boots that came half-way up my calves.  My shirt was a white,
light-weight linen deal, with a lace-up that showed off my sculpted
chest quite nicely, I must admit.
	"Okay, Meatball Head, exactly what the hell am I supposed to be?"
She was rummaging in another bag, and didn't immediately respond. 
	Thinking she hadn't heard me, I shouted.  "Hey!  What am I?"
	Serena's reply was a pissy, "Hang on a second, geez!"  I snorted.
She finally found what she was looking for, and tossed it into a red bag.
By this time, Lita and Raye had finished, leaving an evil witch (Ami) and a
surprisingly real-looking skeleton (Chad).  Lita then started working on
Raye.
	Serena motioned for me to sit on a chair, plunking her bag on the
table next to me.  She sat down on the table in front of me.  Reaching
into her bag, she pulled out some fake elf-ears.  *Okaaaaay.  What is
she going to do to me???*
	"Hey, Meatball Head," I spoke up.  "What am I going to be?"
	Choosing to ignore the snide nickname, she responded.  "A troll."
	"A troll?!  How are you going to manage that?"
	Mina chimed in as she worked.  "Oh, Serena is actually quite good
with Halloween makeup.  She is the one that organized and bought all of
the costumes, well, except for mine and hers...."
	"Which I still haven't seen," interjected Serena.
	"....I bought them.  Don't worry, Darien, you are in good hands
with Serena," Mina finished, maliciously eyeballing Serena for
interrupting her.
	"Oh, okay."  I stared at Serena's face as she worked on mine.
*She is so beautiful, with that long hair and big blue eyes-wait, did I
just say beautiful?  Whoa, Darien, she is four years younger than you! 
Ehhh, so what.  She is still beautiful, even if she probably hates me.*
	She spoke to me as she worked.  "I guess you know what Ami and
Chad are, but I'll fill you in on the rest of the gang's costumes. 
Andrew is a black cat, Raye is a crow, and Lita is going to be an evil tree -
don't ask.  Molly and Melvin, who are also coming, are going to be a
wolf and an owl.  Melvin is the owl, for obvious reasons.  And Mina is
going to be a fairy."
	"What about you?"
	"Huh?"
	I sighed.  "What about you?  What is your costume?"
	"Oh, didn't I say?  I am going to be Mina's twin fairy!  Since we
look so much alike, we decided to be the same thing."  She giggled
slightly as she realized that I was watching her.  I blushed, but did
not avert my eyes.

^^a few minutes later, still in Darien's POV^^

	"Oh, I cannot get the right angle for this!" Serena exclaimed.
	"Why don't you just sit on his lap, instead of on the table?" 
said Mina.  "It would probably be a lot more comfortable."  Suddenly,
Mina and Andrew looked at each other and nodded.  *Uh-oh,* I thought, *I
wonder what those two are conspiring.*  The question irked me, but only
for a second, because my attention was called to something much more
alarming, and beautiful.
	Serena heeded her friend's advice with a nod, not even registering
my shocked expression.  She climbed onto my lap, kneeling on my legs and
steadying herself with my shoulder.  Surprisingly enough, she was very,
very light.  The slight blush that had lingered on my face from before
intensified into a lovely beet red.  Meatball Head, noticing my suddenly
'rosey'  (AN:  Get it?  Well, do ya?  Oh, never mind, it's a bad pun
anyways.) complexion, got a wicked look on her face.
	*Oh no, she knows she's making me uncomfortable!  Shoot, I can just
tell that she is going to capitalize on this!*  Which, of course, she
did.  She scooted very close to my body, and, strangely enough, I had to
exert all my will-power to not jump her on the spot.  *Whoa, Darien,
what is this feeling?!  This is Meatball Head we're talking about! 
Besides, she is clumsy, loud, not very intelligent, annoying, beautiful;
she has a great body, gorgeous long golden hair, big blue eyes, a
vibrant smile, and....HEYYYYYY!!!!  Cut it out!*

::Andrew::
	I was so proud of Mina!  We had though up the plan to get Serry
and Darien together three weeks ago, after we had gotten fed up with
Darien ripping into Serena, and then staring longingly at her when she
wasn't looking.  But every plan we tried, from setting them up on a
blind date, to locking them in a closet for three hours straight, had
failed miserably.  Mina and I had finally decided to leave them alone,
seeing as we figured that they would eventually come together of their
own accord.
	But now Mina had gone and suggested Serena sit on Darien's lap! 
Even better was that Darien had gotten visibly uncomfortable.  And the
best part was that Serena had noticed, and was now purposely moving as
close as possible to him.  What a cute expression on her face!  But I
was starting to get worried, because Darien looked like he was only
barely stopping himself from whisking her off to her bedroom.  That was
BAD!!!  But I didn't do anything about it.

	Serena worked on Darien's face for another fifteen minutes.
Finally satisfied, she reached for a mirror on the table...and lost her
balance.  Darien quickly reached out, catching her around the waist. 
She looked at him, surprised, and caught his eye.  It was all either of
them could do to not get lost in the other's deep blue orbs.  Serena
quickly looked away, conscious that she was being watched by Andrew, and
handed Darien the mirror.
	"Well, what do you think?" she said, suddenly feeling very shy.
	"Wow, very good!" Darien replied, noticing the blonde's
discomfort.  Instead of getting her back for making him uncomfortable,
Darien did something very un-Darien-like.  Smiling, he patted her on the
head good-naturedly.  Both were unaware of the four gaping girls and two
gaping guys standing off to the side.
	"Well," Serena began, trying to break the silence, "I'm not done
yet.  I still have to do your hair."  Darien suddenly looked very
suspicious.
	"My hair?  And what, exactly, are you going to DO to my hair, if I
may ask?" he questioned distrustfully.
	The girl in his lap smiled mischievously.  "No, you may not ask,
Mr. Chiba.  You cannot expect me to reveal all my secrets!"  Serena
smiled a big don't-you-worry-Darien-I-don't-bite-unless-you-want-me-to
smile.  "Don't fret Darien," she said coyly.  "You'll look great.  And
it will all be over in just a moment.  But I think you better close your
eyes."
	"Don't trust her, Darien!  She'll KILL you!" commented a crow,
a.k.a. Raye, who was helping Lita with the taller girl's costume.
	"Shut UP, you French whore!" snarled Serena.  Then, reaching into
her red bag, she produce a bottle of hair mousse.  She proceeded to
violently rub a huge handful into the hair of a bug-eyed Darien.
	"Heyyy!  What the ~censor~ are you doing!" he shouted, struggling.
"That's girly stuff!  I'm going to smell like a pansy for a week!"
	"Oh, calm down Darien.  PLENTY of guys use mousse to style their
hair.  It washes out easily.  'Sides, I need it for the spikes."  She
began twisting sections of his hair into the so-called spikes.
	"Spikes?  I'M going to be the French whore!"
	"Whatever.  Just shut up, and hand me the green hairspray.  It is
on the coffee table next to you."
	Darien sighed in resignation, and handed her the spray.  *Well,
I'm not going to get out of this one.  At least no one will recognize
me.*

::Serena::
	Ten minutes later, I was done.  I sat back on my haunches, and
sighed contentedly.  "Yes, Serena Tsukino IS a genius."  Mina looked
over from where she was being made up by Ami, and nodded.
	"Uh-oh."  Darien fumbled for the mirror, obviously convinced that
he really DID look like a French whore.  (AN:  I LUV that insult!)  But
what he saw made him do a double-take.  His spiky hair was multicolored,
and his face was positively creepy.  "Hey, I really do look good!  Wow,
Meatball Head, you should pursue movie makeup as a career!"
	"Was there ever any doubt?" I said, with a twinge of seduction
present in my voice.  The troll who's lap I was sitting in froze.  I was
like the speeding car, and he was like the deer caught in the
headlights.

::Darien::
	I slowly forced my body to look at the little witch in my lap.  *I
could have sworn that she was teasing me, daring me to take her!*  But,
as I looked into her suddenly innocent eyes, I decided that I was
imagining things.  *Just paranoid, Darien, just paraniod.*  ~Or maybe
just doing some wishful thinking!~ said the annoying little weed that I
prefer to call 'my conscious'.  *Shut up.*
	Serena got up off of the once dark-haired man's lap.  At the same
time, a blonde fairy got off the sofa, where her makeup had been done by
a blue-haired witch.  Mina's eyes and lips were a pale silver, and her
hair had long silver streaks.  Her silver fairy suit had a long,
slightly see-through skirt that went down almost to her knees, and the
petal sleeves were made of the same light material.  She fished through
the remaining bags, before pulling out a small blue one.
	Handing it to Serena, Mina said, "Into the bathroom with you.  Get
changed quickly; Melvin and Molly will be here any moment, and we still
need to do your makeup."  The doorbell rang, and Lita answered it,
coming back with a spooky owl (Melvin) and a quite literally bloody wolf
(Molly).

::Darien::
	Meatball Head stepped in the bathroom.  After about five minutes,
we heard a shriek.
	"MIINNNAAA!!!  What were you thinking?!  I look like a ~censor~ING
HOOCHIE!" she wailed.  "I am NOT going anywhere in this!"
	Raye snorted.  Mina muttered something decidedly crude under her
breath.  Then she walked into the bathroom.
	"Serena, why all the wailing?  You look great in that!" we heard
her say.
	"Mina, what are you talking about?  I look like a slut!  I guess I
cannot go, because this is obviously way too revealing."
	"Oh, you are going to go, alright."  We could all hear the open
ended threat in Mina's voice.  Serena suddenly squealed; I expect that
Mina was advancing on her.
	"M-mina?  What are you going to do?"  Meatball Head managed to
squeak out.  Then her voice took a more frightened turn.  "Mina, I don't
want to go, it doesn't feel right!  I shouldn't be wearing this, I am
too fat.  Mina?  Mina, please don't stare at me like that!  Mina, you
are scaring me!!  MINA!"
	Suddenly, we all heard a crash and a scream, followed by a "STAY
AWAY FROM ME, YOU CRAZY BITCH!" and a curse.  Serena came flying out of
the bathroom, screaming bloody murder.  She was definitely wrong about
being too fat for her costume, though; she looked absolutely fabulous.  The four
guys in the room, including me, gaped in awe.  *God DAMN she has a nice
body!*  
	But she was right about one thing:  that skirt could barely even
be called a skirt!  And, even better (AN:  >;P), it was see-through!  Add
that to a spaghetti-strapped, corset-style body suit (made of rather thin silver
material), which was just a little tight in the bust area, so that the
tie up the front didn't close all the way and showed a bit of *ahem*
cleavage, and you had a VERY alluring picture.  Boy, did I ever want her
now!  I made up my mind that I would ask her out tomorrow, that is, if I
made it through tonight.
	"Help!!! She's trying to KILL me!!!" screamed Serena as she
avoided Mina's lunge for her legs, only barely scampering out of the
way.  She ran into Lita's arms, completely missing the unconcealed evil
grin on the big girl's face.  So she was even more scared when she was
thrown over Lita's shoulder.  The 'evil tree' carried the fairy back
into the bathroom, where the other fairy waited, and chucked her down on
the ground.  "TRAITOR!!" Serena screamed as Lita gleefully slammed the
bathroom door.
	Mina giggled wickedly, and Serena squealed in horror.  "Mina, you
better just stay away!  Hey, leave me....owww! Hey, stop, that hurts! 
Leave-me-alone-you-psychopath-I'll-go-trick-or-treating-just stop
hitting-meeeee!!!" Serena cried.  I was starting to feel quite sorry for
the girl, but Lita was standing guard at the door, so I knew that a
rescue mission would be worse than useless.  However, the crashes and
slapping noises stopped, so I figured that Serena had given in to
Mina's, um, 'persuasive' tactics.
	After a few minutes of worrisome silence, we all heard Mina squeal
with delight.  "Oh Serena, you look fabulous!  Now all we have to do is
streak your hair.  Take out your meatballs; you are going without them
tonight."
	"No," came a whimpered reply.  Man, didn't Serena learn her lesson
the FIRST time she refused Mina?
	"What do you mean, 'no'?"  Mina growled, her voice dangerously
low.
	"My hair is too long!" Serena moaned dejectedly.
	"What?" Mina said, very confused.  "Serena, your hair only barely
touches the ground!  It's not too long!"
	"Yeah, it only barely touches the ground...." Serena started,
obviously disgusted, "....when my hair's up in the buns!  Mina, you are
a complete ditz!  You give a whole new meaning to the term 'blonde'!"
	"Huh?  What do you mean?"  Mina still didn't get what Serena was
implying.  Outside of the bathroom, we all exchanged looks that clearly
said, 'Oh man, does Mina REALLY not get what Serena's saying?  Gads, she
IS stupid!'
	Serena was obviously thinking the same thing.  "MINA!" she yelled,
exasperated.  Then she began, quietly, dangerously, "A foot and a half
of my hair is wrapped in each bun.  When I have my buns in, which is
always, my hair goes down to the ground.  So if I have my buns out, then
a foot and a half of my lovely tresses drag on the ground!" she
finished, yelling between clenched teeth.
	"Ohh..." Mina trailed off.  She sat in an uncomfortable silence,
as we all held our breaths, wondering what Serena would say next.  But
we never even got a chance to contemplate the question, because all of a
sudden, Mina shrieked.  "I got it!"  She poked her head out the doorway. 
"Darien, you don't really want to be trick-or-treating, so you can carry
her hair, and she can get your candy for you!  I am so brilliant!" she
giggled, not even letting me answer.

::Andrew::
	*Wow, Mina sure redeemed herself!  For a minute there, I thought
that I was going to have to smack that girl, but she pulled through! 
Now Darien and Serena will HAVE to spend time with each other, because
Mina obviously is NOT going to take no for an answer!*  All of a sudden,
I heard a shriek, sounding suspiciously like the good ol' Meatball Head.
	"Whaaatttt!!!!  What are you trying to do, embarrass me to death?! 
No way!!  I'm not going!" Serena screamed.  WHAM!  I guessed that Mina's
response had been to slam the girl up against the wall, judging by the
way the house was shaking.  Hearing maliciously low murmuring, I figured
that Mina was 'talking' some sense into Serena, and strove to hear,
although my efforts were in vain.
	All of a sudden a wail rose above the whispers.  "Oh, Mina, you
are so MEAN!" Serena cried out.
	"Maybe we should, I dunno, stop Mina.  It sounds like she is
hurting Meatball Head," spoke up Darien.  I chuckled, glancing at Lita,
who was still guarding the door.  Darien took the hint.
	A minute later, the bathroom door opened.  First came out a proud
Mina, giggling excitedly.  "You should see her guys!  She looks great!"
	"Well, we WOULD see her if you would just get her out here!"
snapped an impatient Raye, who was eager to start trick-or-treating. 
She just LOVED her candy.
	Mina, realizing that Serena had not followed her out, reached into
the bathroom with one hand, dragging a tearful Serry out.  Serena
mumbled a "You better be glad that my parents are out of town for the
week!", which was directed at Mina.  The smaller fairy unhappily toyed
with a silver wand, which fit with the costume perfectly.
	As Serena stepped, slowly, out of the bathroom, the 'audience'
gasped.  She was a vision, an angel, including the wings!  Her beautiful
silver-gold hair cascaded down behind her, and there MUST have been more
than 1 1/2 feet of the beautiful mane flowing out behind her.  Her eyes,
although still watery, had pale silver eye shadow on the lids, as well
as underneath them.  Her lips were a pale pink, giving her an angelic
air of innocence.  I noticed Darien gaping, heck, I WAS GAPING!!!

	Serena came out of the bathroom sniffling, but immediately brightened
at her friends shocked expressions.  "You like?" she shyly asked anyone
and everyone.  The four guys, Chad, Andrew, Melvin, and Darien, all
dumbly nodded.
	"Wow, Serena.  You look amazing!  I can't even think of anything
nasty to say!" admitted Raye, who noticed that the girl in question
smiled lovingly, looking down at her feet in embarrassment.  Raye was
quite pleased with this reaction; although, to some, it seemed that she
and Serena hated each other, the fighting was only a facade.
	Serena was Raye's best friend, as well as her first friend. 
Before the blonde befriended her, Raye had been an angry introvert (if
such a thing were possible) and had driven any and all possible friends
away from her.  But Serena had persisted even through the worst of the
priestess' insults, and the two had become extremely close.
	Ami was next to comment.  "Wow, Serena, I'd probably mistake you
for a heavenly deity, if I was religious!"  Noting everyone's confused
expressions, she explained.  "You look like an angel."
	"Ohhh..." Serena trailed off, blushing even MORE furiously.
	"Yeah, ditto here," said a still-shocked Lita.
	"Damn, girl, if you looked like this in school, you'd send every
guy, including the senior year, into a coma!  Nobody else would be able
to get a guy!" giggled Molly.  Serena chuckled too, turning every shade
of red in the rainbow (and maybe a few that weren't).
	Everyone stood in silence for a moment.  Then Raye spoke up,
gleefully nipping the bonding moment in the bud, before it made her
sick.  "Hey, y'all, it is almost 7:00.  We should be heading out,
because the city curfew is at 10:30."  Everyone agreed, and filed out
the door.  Darien proudly carried the angel's hair, while she carried
his candy bag.
	The first hour of trick-or-treating was fun.  Everyone thought
that Serena and Darien were a great couple, the fairy and the troll, and
subsequently gave them extra candy.  Everything was going great until
8:30.  Then, with a loud boom of thunder, a downpour ensued.

::Darien::
	As the rain poured down on me and the crew, all I remember
thinking was, *Figures.*  Serena jumped into my arms, whimpering and
burying her face into my loose linen shirt.  I gasped, and looked at her
curiously.  Then I looked up at a soggy 'evil tree', asking silently
what Serena was so afraid of.  The tree, Lita, mouthed a reply.  "Serena
is afraid of storms."  I nodded; it made sense.  Suddenly, I had an
idea.
	"Hey, Meatball Head.  My apartment is down the next block.  Why
don't you come wait out the storm?"  She nodded, fright having made her
mute.  "Anyone else?"  I looked up, silently willing them all to say no. 
Everyone, strangely enough, said no quickly, all with some excuse or
another.  I silently rejoiced, and then, after quickly saying my
goodnights, turned towards home.  I practically carried Meatball Head,
who was completely unnerved.  But I didn't mind.

::Serena::
	I was thankful for Darien's support, although I was also
embarrassed at the way I was clinging to him.  I had been surprised at
everyone's quick responses to Darien's offer, but was also secretly
glad, though I would confess it to no one.  I had to admit, he was
INCREDIBLY handsome.  But I knew that he would never even consider an
ugly, whiny brat like me!  *Come on, Serena, you are FOUR years younger
than him!  TALK about wishful thinking.  Besides, he hates you; he
always has.*
	We arrived at the lobby of his apartment building, my arms still
wrapped tightly around his waist.  *Probably cutting off his
circulation!  Eh, oh well.  He'll live! :)*  He waved at the guard
sitting at the main desk, who, upon seeing me, winked knowingly back.
*Hmm, I wonder what that look meant?  Oh, I get it!  What a crude guy!*
Darien sighed and, pulling me into the elevator, pressed the button for
the top floor.  Now that I could not hear or see the thunder and
lightning of the storm raging outside, I relaxed, and began to take in
my surroundings.
	The elevator was quite metallic, and spacious, with a mirror to
one side.  I peered into the mirror......and gasped.  *Oh my!  I look
dreadful!*  My silver eye makeup had smudged down my face, and my
costume was matted and soaked.  That was not exactly good, considering
that it made the suit slightly see-through.  But what upset me most was
my hair!  It was scraggly and wet, and the silver streaks had merged. 
The last foot and a half of my once beautiful tresses lay in a heap at
my ankles, in a seemingly-impossible knot.  I groaned.
	"Darien, why didn't you tell me I looked this bad!" I wailed. 
Darien looked down at me.
	"Oh, come on, Meatball Head, you don't look THAT bad." He said
gruffly.  "Now me, on the other hand..."  He trailed off, studying himself
in the mirror.
	"Don't look that bad?  DON'T LOOK THAT BAD?!?!"  I held up the
rats nest at the bottom of my hair.  "Look at this!!!  It looks horrid! 
I'll never get this out."  I sighed unhappily, looking back in the
mirror.  "Maybe I should just cut it off.  I might as well; at least
then I could walk around without my buns once in a while."  I turned to
Darien to ask him what he thought, but he was staring at me in shock. 
"Darien......?"
	"N-no!" he exclaimed.
	"Uh,...no what, Darien?"
	He grabbed me roughly by the shoulders.  "You can absolutely NOT
chop off your hair!  You do, and I swear to hell that I will KILL you!"
he snarled, oblivious to my frightened face and stiffened body.
	"Wh-why do you care?" I stuttered.  Looking up at him in a mixture
of agitation and fear, I noticed that he had flushed an angry red. 
Darien finally realized that he was scaring me, and his face relaxed.  I
could tell that he felt bad, but still he did not let go of my shoulders.
Thankfully, though, he loosened his grip slightly.	"Because," he said
gently, obviously ashamed, "your hair is just gorgeous.  You know that."
	"But I'll never get this knot out!  I look like a drowned rat,"  I
moaned.
	He put a finger to my lips.  "Shoosh.  I refuse to hear anymore. 
You aren't going to cut your hair, and that is final."  Darien put on
this mockingly royal look, as though he were commanding a subject to do
as he said.  I tried in vain to take an offended mug, but ended up
giggling.
	He smiled, and suddenly realized the position he and I were in. 
Blushing furiously, he let go of my shoulders and busied himself with
the carpeted floor.  His face took on a shy quality, which I thought was
positively endearing, and he looked up at me through his dark eyelashes.
"You know, i-if you want, that is..." he stuttered.  My smile
widened, and he seemed to take confidence (although not much) from it. 
"I could help you comb out your hair.  It doesn't look like this storm
will be letting up anytime soon......" he mumbled, causing me to have
trouble hearing him.  But, in the end, I managed to figure out what he
was saying, and, although my heart pounded wildly, I was calm and
collected on the outside.
	"That would be lovely, Darien.  I sure could use the help." I
grinned, gesturing towards the lump of wet hair that lay at my feet.  He
smiled.

::Darien::
	Upon hearing the Meatball Head's reply, I was innerly mirthful,
though I don't know why.  My conscience spoke up, ~It's because you like
her!!~  *Shut UP!*
	The elevator arrived at the top floor, my floor, and we stepped
out.  Almost like it was waiting for us, the ground rumbled and the sky
lit up in a furious attempt to scare the golden-haired goddess that
trudged by my side.  Well, needless to say, it worked, and she jumped
into my arms, burying her head into the soggy folds of my shirt and
moaning.  Unfortunately, when I had invited her to my apartment, I had
forgotten one important thing:  YOU COULD STILL HEAR THE THUNDER!!!! 
*Du-uh Darien!  Stupid, stupid, stupid...*
	I tried to steer Serena towards my place, but with the way the
girl was clutching at me, I couldn't even move, much less walk.  I stood
in the middle of the hallway for a moment, wondering what to do, when
suddenly a wondrous idea came to mind.  *Ooo, Meatball Head is going to
kill me for this, but...*  And with that, I scooped her up into my arms,
and proceeded to carry the wretched thing into my apartment.

::Serena::
	When the thunder clap came, my first reaction was, *To hell with
modesty!* and I jumped into Darien's arms.  I just really DID NOT CARE
what he thought about my actions; only that I could block out the
storm's noises a bit by stuffing my face into his shirt.  We stood like
that for a moment, and, in spite of myself, I began to get a little
embarrassed.  I swallowed, intent on facing my fears, and was about to
step back, when Darien did something that I would have NEVER expected. 
He picked me up damsel-in-distress style.

	After fumbling with the lock on the door for a moment, Darien
quietly carried the frozen Serena into his apartment, and shut the door. 
He wondered for a moment what he would do with the wet object, now
carefully tucked within his arms, but spotted the couch, and set her on
it.  She smiled a flushed smile, and he grinned back.
	"Couldn't walk with you clinging to me," he explained, chortling,
and happily watching as Serena's face turned so red that it was almost
purple.
	"Uhhh..." the girl stammered.
	"What, doesn't the Meatball Head have anything to say?  That's a
first!"  Darien intended for the remark to be taken as a joke, but it
hit home.
	"Well, excuse me, you great big JERK!!  Geez, I just cannot
understand how you can be so nice one minute, then in the next, Mr.
Chiba's ego rears it's ugly head!  You are sooo MEAN!"  The last
sentence was just barely choked out, and Serena whirled around and
stomped out the door.  She would rather take her chances with the storm
then stay a moment longer in his company, especially seeing as she was
crying.

::Darien::
	I watched, awe-struck, as the little Meatball Head screamed at me,
and then practically ran out the door.  *GREAT, Darien, just blow the
whole thing!  Really, you deserved every word that she yelled to you! 
You ARE a jerk, with an ENORMOUS ego to top it off!*  I raced out the
door, intent on pushing aside my pride and apologizing.  I only just
managed to catch up with her before she stepped into the elevator, and
grabbed her wrist, spinning her around.  I reached my other hand around
her waist so that she could not get away before I had my say.
	"Serena, it was meant to be a joke!  I never meant to hurt you-
Looking down, I realized that the girl wasn't even looking at me,
and I reached for her chin with the hand that had grabbed her wrist only
a moment before.  Tilting her face upward to meet my eyes, I gasped. 
Her big blue eyes, usually as clear as a summer day, had clouded over. 
And, to make matters worse, a storm, so to speak, had started with a
fury.  I suddenly had the urge to go bang my head against the nearest
wall.
	"Serena, why are you crying?!" I exclaimed.  She scrubbed the
tears from her eyes, obviously pissed at herself for letting me see her
in such a state.
	I could tell that she was about to give me a(nother) piece of her
mind, but I never gave her the chance.  Sliding the hand that had
previously been on her face down her back, I enveloped the small fairy
in a great, big, bear hug.
	"Oh, I'm so sorry, Serena.  I never meant to hurt you.  I was
hoping you'd laugh..." I whispered into her still-drenched hair.  Suddenly
pulling away, Serena looked up at me with a mixture of surprise and,
well, just surprise.
	"Wha-at?!" practically squealed I, feeling foolish for letting my
emotions show through.
	"Wh-why did you follow me?  Wh-why do you care about......w-what I
think?" she questioned, seriously stammering.
	My expression softened from an indignant one, into a shy smile.  I
looked down at her, relieved that she didn't seem to be too mad at me
anymore.  *Wait a god-damned minute!  Why DO I care about her?  After
all, she's only a silly girl, with the most beautifully sharp eyes that I have
ever seen... Ahh, there's my answer...*
	"Ser-RE-na! I care because you are one of my friends.  Right?" I
whispered questioningly.  She looked at me for a minute, and a slow
smile spread across her face.  She lunged into my arms and gave me a
violent hug.  "Please come back to my apartment, Serry.  I'd really like
you to..."
	Even more suddenly than her jump into my arms was when she froze. 
I looked down at her, worry flashing across my face.  *Uh-oh, please
don't get embarrassed now, Serena!  I don't want you to leave my arms
again!!*  My fretful eyes met with her enlarged ones, blue for blue.
	"You called me Serry!!" she gasped.  "No one has ever called me
that, other than Andrew, and we've known each other for as long as I can
recall!  Not even the girls call me that!"  I smiled humbly.
	"It suits you," and then I got a nefarious look to my face,
"Almost as much as Meatball Head!!!......Ooof!" I groaned as Serena punched
me, none too gently, in the stomach.  I looked at her from my doubled
over position, taking note of the sickeningly-sweet smile plastered on
her pretty face.
	Without warning, as if the Fates themselves were mocking her for
her reaction, a HUGE clap of thunder resounded.  She screamed and bolted
down the hall, right into my home.  Painfully, I followed her.

	Upon glancing around when he first stepped into his apartment,
Darien did not see Serena.  Wondering just were the girl had gotten off
to, he searched around more carefully, only to find her on the couch,
head under about four pillows.  With a naughty, I'm-gonna-get-her-back
for-punching-me look on his face, Darien crept up behind the tiny
figure.  Suddenly, he lunged forward, and, with a hollow yell, gave her
'jumper cables.'  Serena let out an unearthly squawk, and jumped at
least three feet in the air.
	Whirling around, she found a tall, dark-haired man, with merriment
and laughter in his eyes.  *Heyyy, I've never seen him this happy
before...*  But, in her anger, she quickly dismissed the notion.  *Hmph,
I'LL give him something to laugh about...or rather, cry about!* thought
the 'sweet' little blond.

::Serena::
	I advanced on Darien, the ideas of things I might do to him very
morbid.  Seeing me with my "killer look", as Raye had so quaintly put
it, the troll visibly blanched.  *Good, he should be afraid...very
afraid!*
	"H-hey Meatball Head, uh, I mean S-Serena, it was just a joke. 
You know that, right?  RIGHT?!?!"  I smiled an insipid grin, knowing
full well that I just didn't care.  Darien obviously caught the meaning
of my smirk as well, because he started to back away, laughing
nervously.  "Heh heh...Serena, a-are you okay?  Do you want something to
eat???"
	"Hah, nice try, troll-boy.  Even food won't save you now..."  I was
just about to pounce on Darien when something stopped me.  Something
evil.  Something sinister.  Something...wet.  My hair.  I tripped over it,
and slammed head-first into the coffee table.
	Moaning, I sat up, fully expecting to see Darien laughing in my
face.  Surprisingly enough, however, he was kneeling next to me, a
worried expression on his handsome face.  "Hey, you okay Serry?  Now I
see why you wear those buns..." he trailed off, staring into my eyes.  I
slowly felt myself slipping, falling into the deep pools of blue that
were so close to my own.

	Darien and Serena simultaneously snapped out of their separate
trances.  Both blushed hard, and wondered, *What WAS that?  I am sure I
felt something, a current of some sort...*  Darien was first to break the
silence, after noticing Serena's present, ahem, 'soggy' condition.
	"Hey, Meatball Head, you're soaked, so why don't you take a
shower?" he suggested, smiling at her.
	"Well, I would have asked myself, but..." she stammered.
	"But what?"
	"Well, I don't have anything to change into!  If I had known..." she
trailed off, looking at her hands.  *Boy, this sure is going to be a
long night,* she thought to herself.
	Darien thought hard for a minute.  He refused to just let her sit
around soaking wet - not only would it ruin his furniture, but she was
going to catch a cold!  Suddenly, a rather-obvious concept entered his
head.  *Duh, Darien!* he thought.  *Like that wasn't apparent enough! 
Geez, why can't you think straight!?*
	"Well, you know, I'm sure I could find something that wouldn't be
TOO big on you, if you want to borrow some clothes.  I think you should;
you are going to get sick if you stay in that wet costume.  And
besides," Darien blushed, "your suit, uh...well...uh, don't take this the
wrong way, but...um..."
	"What?! Don't take WHAT the wrong way?!?!" Serena practically
screamed.
	"Well...your suit is kind of see-through."  Darien blurted out all
too quickly.  Serena blushed a brilliant shade of pink and crossed her
arms.
	"Uh...heh...heh...maybe I WILL borrow some clothes..."

::Serena::
	*Oh, MAN!  Just when I thought that I couldn't embarrass myself
anymore...and then, SLAP, he hits me with the big one!  Well, a shower
does sound nice...maybe I can get my face to go back down to it's original
color!*
	Darien practically RAN into his room, probably to hide his own
burning face, leaving me alone on the floor.  I quietly got up, trying
to breath and calm my frazzled nerves.  A few minutes, and crashes,
later, Darien came out of his room, bearing 'gifts'.  He handed me the
little bundle of clothes and a towel, and pushed me into the bathroom.
	"Use whatever you want to in the shower, Serry!" he called from
outside.
	"Okay!"  *Wow!  He called me Serry again...*

^^Fifteen Minutes Later^^

::Darien::
	When Serena stepped out of the bathroom, I had to stifle a laugh. 
The black shirt I had given her was insanely large, showing off her
creamy white shoulders nicely, I must admit.  *And the pants... hey, where
are the pants?!?!*
	As if in answer to my silent question, Serena handed me a black
bundle.  "The pants were too big, so I decided not to wear them.  That
is okay, though, because the shirt goes down to my knees.  Its almost as
if I am wearing a dress!"  She giggled lightly at herself, and I nodded
dumbly.  "Well, Darien, would you mind combing out my hair now?  Or
would you rather get a shower first?"
	"Uh, I think I'll do it now," said I, trying not to sound too
eager, but failing utterly.  Serena looked at me curiously, and I
scrambled for an excuse.  "Wouldn't want it to dry like that!"  *Ugh,
like THAT didn't sound obvious, you IDIOT!  Baka, baka, baka...*
	I walked off for a moment, returning with a small-toothed hair
pick.  Serena looked at me quizzically.
	"Uhh, Darien?"
	"Hmmm?"
	"Why do you have a woman's hair comb?"
	"Uhhh, because...well...ummm..." I sighed in resignation.  *Better just
to stick to the truth, buddy, no matter how much Meatball Head laughs.* 
"Well, it's mine.  I use it some times, when my hair is unruly."
	*Uh-oh, here it comes!  Now she is going to make fun of me until
SHE keels over from laughter!!!*  But she never did.  Instead, she
quipped an understanding, "Oh, okay!" and happily plopped herself on the
couch, looking at me expectantly.  With a sigh of relief, I sat down
next to her, and pulled her into my lap, stroking the mass of sodden
gold hair out of the way so that she would not sit on it.
	I started at the bottom, doing my best not to pull on knots.  She
was right though.  Her hair couldn't have had more tangles in it if she
had tied them all herself!  As I worked, we talked about our lives. By
the time I was finished, about two hours later, I knew just about every
detail of Serena's life, and she knew a lot about me.
We kept talking long after I was done combing her hair.  She told
me about how her friends always treated her like some dumb little tag
along, just because she didn't do well in school and was klutzy.  I told
her about being an orphan, and how I had been alone these past twelve
years.
*Wait a minute, why did I tell her that?* I wondered.  *I hope she
doesn't start the pitying act on me!  I don't want her sympathy.*
But Serena just turned and gave me a hug, whispering in my ear. 
"You aren't alone anymore, Darien."  Then she giggled, "You have me!" 
She obviously did not understand how much her words meant to me.  I
returned the hug with a vengeance, enjoying the feel of her tiny body
within my arms.  It felt so right, having her near to me.  I knew that
the days of teasing her were at an end.

::Serena::
	*Oh, it is so wonderful to be in his arms like this.  He is such a
great guy-I wonder why I never noticed before...*  My thoughts trailed
off as I remembered that he still had to wash the dye out of his hair. 
I looked up at him, and realized that his eyes were closed.  Wriggling
my body out of his wonderfully tight grasp, I shook his shoulders
slightly, trying to wake him.  When that did not work, I shook a little
harder, and whispered his name.
	He still did not awaken, so I was forced to resort to the method
of awakening that I usually only use on Luna.  I yelled his name and
tweaked his hair simultaneously, which woke him instantly.  He lunged
forward, knocking me to the floor in the process, and looked around
wildly.  Noticing me, his first reaction was, "What are you doing here,
Meatball Head?"
	"Uh, Darien, I've been here for the past four hours.  Don't you
remember?" I questioned him, worrying that he was going to forget that
he had invited me over, and, with that, how nice he had been to me.
	"Oh yeah...Gads, do I feel like an idiot now!"  He laughed
nervously, and helped me to my feet.  "You okay?  Didn't mean to push
you off the couch."
	"Yeah, I'm fine.  I guess I shouldn't have woken you like that," I
stated sheepishly, "But you weren't getting up when I tried to be gentle
about it.  And you need to get that dye out.  Sorry."
	"'S okay.  I dunno why I didn't wake up the first time.  I'm not
usually a heavy sleeper...quite the other extreme, actually.  Anyhow, I
guess that I'll go catch a shower."  He responded.
	I giggled.  He obviously didn't know that if he got the dye on his
scalp, it would stay that color for about four days.  Not exactly an
ideal arrangement for someone who was embarrassed about going trick-or
treating to begin with.  I could tell that I was going to have to wash
it out for him, and so I grabbed his hand before he walked into the
bathroom.
	
::Darien::
"No, Darien, you can't just wash it out," she informed me.
"Huh?  Why not?" I asked, confused.  * Now, wait a minute, why
can't I wash it out?  Is it permanent?  It better not be...*
"Be-CAUSE," Serena informed me.  " If you aren't careful, the dye
will get on your scalp.  If it does, than you will be stuck with a
rainbow scalp for at least four days.  You have to wash it out a special
way."
Of course, I had no clue what the 'special way' was, and I knew
that Meatball Head could tell.  But, instead of offering to aid me
herself, she waited for me to ask her.  *I guess that she wants to hear
me beg her for assistance, the little wretch.*  I sighed.  *Oh well,
better just ignore my pride and ask-I'll never be able to live down a
multicolored scalp.  The guys on campus will know that I've been trick
or-treating!*
"Would you mind helping me, Serena?  I don't,um, exactly know what
to do," I beseeched her, noting the triumphant smile on her face.
"Of course, Darien."  She gestured to my, or should I say, her
shirt, "But you gotta take of that shirt-it was pretty expensive, ya
know.  Oh, and you gotta get a couple towels for me."
"Uh, okay." I replied, suddenly very uncomfortable.  *She wants me
to take off my shirt?  Well, I guess that she is right...don't want to
get dye on it, especially since it is white.*  Sighing, I stripped the
comfortable shirt off, and saw the girl's eyes widen for a split second.
I got the towels, and she lead me into the bathroom.  She spread a
towel onto the floor, next to the tub, and gestured for me to sit on it. 
I kneeled over the tub, and she leaned on top of me, turning on the
water.  As she carefully shampooed the dye out of my hair, making sure
that nothing ran onto my skin, I inhaled her sweet smell.  *God, but she
is wonderful.  I just wish that I could sweep her off her feet and into
my bedroom...*  Little did I know that my wish would be granted very
soon, but not in the way I expected.

Serena finished washing Darien's hair, and moved out of the way,
allowing him to stand up.  But when she tried to stand up herself, the
soggy towel beneath her feet slipped, making her fall backwards.  Her
head slammed on the side of the bathtub, and she blacked out.
In a flash, Darien was beside her, holding her upper body in his
arms.  "Serena!" he called, trying with all his might to awaken her. 
Seeing that his efforts were in vain, he gently lifted up the girl's
prone form, and carried her to his adjacent bedroom.  Setting the blonde
on his bed, he once more endeavored to arouse her.
"Serena!" he whispered loudly, anxiously, all the while shaking
her by the shoulders.  "Hey, Meatball Head, get up. PLEASE!"  With a
start, the girl awoke to a handsomely worried visage peering at her
from above.
"Darien?"
"Yeah, it's me." he stated, unaware that relief clouded his voice.
"Darien, what happened?  Where are we?  Last I remember, we were
in your bathroom, and I had just finished washing your hair...It wasn't
a dream, was it?  You DID come trick-or-treating with me, didn't you?"
she groggily questioned.
"Yeah, I did.  You slipped on the floor-towel in my bathroom when
you stood up, remember?  When you hit your head on the tub, you blacked
out, and I moved you in here," Darien replied.
"Uhhh, where IS here?"  She maneuvered her body into a sitting
position, which, coincidentally, also meant that she moved closer to the
man.  ~Coincidentally, eh?  Yeah RIGHT!~ chimed in his conscious. 
*Shaddup.* he thought back.
"We are in my room."
"Ohhh."
"You okay?"
"Yeah, I think so.  My head doesn't hurt, or anything like that."
"How can you be unconscious one minute, then pain-free the next?"
Darien teased.  Absently, his hands wandered to her sides, and he began
to tickle her.  Giggling wildly (she was INCREDIBLY ticklish), she began
to tickle back. Aroused (AN:  in more that one way!!!!) into fighting
harder, seeing as he was also very ticklish, Darien flipped Serena over
his shoulder.  Well, needless to say, the girl was not about to allow
him to get away with that, and soon they were all-out wrestling.
Before long, however,it was apparent that Darien had won, considering as
he was on top of Serena, pinning her arms down to the bed.  Both out of
breath, the two stared at each other, enthralled by the other's eyes.
Darien pulled himself and Serena up into a sitting position, but never
broke eye contact for even a second.  The two friends felt themselves
draw towards the other, as if some force was pushing them together. 
They acted accordingly, Serena moving into Darien's waiting arms, and
his lips moving onto hers.
The kiss, which started slow and light, quickly developed into
something much more passionate.  Before long, Darien's tongue was
persuading Serena's lips to open.  Allowing him in, Serena was
pleasantly surprised to feel his tongue caressing her all over the
inside of her mouth.
Then his lips slid down her neck, and he butterfly-kissed her
shoulders, chest, and, after pulling her shirt down a bit, her breasts. 
He started to move upwards again, reminding himself that she WAS only
14.  But if he had stopped to look at her face, he would have realized
that she was slightly disappointed when he did not continue with his
assault on her upper body.
Kissing her lips once more, he allowed his hands to slide down the
sides of her body, and rest on her legs. However, as the kiss deepened,
and as Serena became more and more impassioned, Darien's intrigue
towards what exactly lay under the oversized shirt grew.
Consequentially, he could not stop his hands from sliding back up the
girl's body.  After pausing to caress her inner thighs, Darien's hands
slid up under her shirt, stroking her breasts.  He started to tug the
shirt off, fully expecting Serena to stop him, but she never did...

^^The next day, November 1st, around 10:30 in the morning^^

::Andrew::
	I was walking towards Darien's house.  We had plans for a study
session today, as we do every Sunday.  When I arrived in the lobby of
his apartment building, I paused momentarily to say hi to the guard,
who's name was Adam.
	"Hey, Adam, what's up?"
	"Oh, nothing," replied the guy.  "Say, does Darien have a
girlfriend?"  At my confused expression, he continued.  "Ya know, about
this tall," and he gestured with his hands to a height about 5'1" or
5'2".  "She's blonde, with really long hair, sexy figure, big blue eyes,
well-stacked, so to speak.  She seems about sixteen, though I couldn't
tell for sure.  Anyhow, she came in with Darien at about 8:45 last
night, so I was wondering if they were dating."
	"Oh, you mean Serena!!" I chuckled.  "First of all, she's only 14. 
Secondly,last I checked, they weren't dating, though you can tell that
they like each other." 
"Hmm, too bad.  She was one hell of a vixen.  I guess I should
have figured that that was the case, especially since she didn't come
back down last night."  He smirked.
"What do you mean, she didn't come back down last night?  Are you
telling me that she spent the night at Darien's?!?!" I practically
squealed, shock making me forget to be calm.  *Uh-0h, I hope that they
weren't, ahem, doing anything.  Yeah, I know that I was trying to set
them up, but slowly...It's not appropriate for her to be spending the
night with an eighteen year old!  And to spend a whole night with Mr.
Chiba of all eighteen year olds-when he lets his emotions go wild, he
sometimes has trouble controlling them...*
"Well, I took the late shift last night, and, as far as I can
tell, she never came back down.  I know that I didn't fall asleep,
because of the storm.  Wonder what they were doing up there!" he grinned
perversely, winking at me.
"Better not be MUCH, or I'll kill Darien!"  Turning around, I ran
into the elevator, which, fortunately for me, was open, otherwise I
would have run into the doors.  Frantically pressing the button for the
top floor, I waited for what seemed an eternity for the elevator to get
me up to the chosen level.  When it finally did, I shot out the not
even-half-open doors, only barely squeezing through the tiny space.  I
ran most of the way down the hall, but, nearing Darien's apartment,
slowed down to a controlled walk.
Stepping up to the door, I gave it a hard knock.  However, the
door wasn't even all the way closed!  *That baka, he didn't even get his
door closed all the way before he jumped her!  Not to mention that he
should have locked it...*  I pushed the door all the way open, smiling
as it creaked loudly.  Since Darien was a light sleeper, that would
definitely wake him up.  So I sat on the couch and waited for the man to
come barreling out of his bedroom.  And I waited.  And waited.
I began to wonder, *What if he's not in there?  What if he took
her somewhere without the guard seeing them?  What if they are at
Serena's house right now, screwing around?*  (AN:  poor choice of words,
no?)  Finally, realizing that he wasn't going to come out, I got up, and
cautiously pushed open the door to his room.
I think that I will remember the image of Serena and Darien on his
bed for the rest of my life; not because it was so shocking, but because
it was just so damn cute.  The two were laying curled up together on top
of the bed in blissful slumber.  They slept on their sides facing each
other, and Darien had his arms wrapped tightly around the young girl's
body.
Sleeping on top of the covers, I guessed that they had fallen
asleep from exhaustion, caused by 'whatever they were doing'.  They
weren't exactly, how do I say, presentable.  Darien had on only his
boxers, and Serena was in her underwear.  I have to admit that I stared
at Serena for a moment.  *No wonder he is sleeping heavily, having a
goddess like that next to him has got to seriously cloud his senses!!!*
A light sheen glistened on their skins, but they both looked so happy
that I couldn't be mad.  *And, hey, at least I know that they haven't
done anything TOO serious!*
I had come into the room prepared to yell at Darien until his ears
fell off, but I left without saying so much as a word.  I just didn't
have the heart.  Instead, I walked over to his desk, and scribbled a
note on the pad that he perpetually left there, but never used.  Walking
back to the bedroom door frame, I left it just inside, so that it would
be seen, and exited his apartment.

::Darien::
	I woke up around 10:30 to the sound of a door screeching open. 
For a moment, I thought that it was in my house, but, after hearing
silence for a number of minutes, dismissed it as being from one of the
other houses and nuzzled my face once more into the folds of Serry's
hair.  But, after another few minutes of delicious sleep, I heard a door
close and was roused once more.
When I looked up, the door to my room was open!  Looking around
for long moments, I confirmed that no one was hiding within the bedroom. 
I cautiously slipped out of Serena's embrace, and stood up to survey my
apartment.  I noticed the note, and, after picking it up, scanned it
quickly.

Darien
I just knew that you two were going to hook up!  Ya know, it
WAS pretty obvious that you liked her.  You just better be glad
that her parents are out of town this week, because if her dad had
found you and Serry in that position, he would have shot you on
the spot.  Don't laugh Darien; I am dead serious, and if it
weren't for the fact that you two looked really cute, I would have
probably shot you too.  You just better have been nice, 'cause if
she tells me otherwise...
Well, you are probably wondering what I was doing here, but
we DID have plans.  Do you remember the STUDY SESSION???  "Ah,
yes," you say.  Well, you just better have had a once in a life
time opportunity to skip it...Anyhow, I wouldn't have known that
you guys were together if it hadn't been for the guard tipping me
off, and hence I wouldn't have barged in.  Now don't get angry:  I
was just worried, that is all.  You would have been too if Serry
had spent the night at my house, admit it.  Well, I hope that you
two have 'fun', and we can reschedule the studying for tomorrow,
8:00 PM, at my house.  Don't be late.
Andrew

I smirked, and gazed back at Serena.  *Aw, hell, she's so pretty! 
I can't believe that I could have been nasty for so long!  I guess that
going trick-or-treating showed me a different side of her-*  ~Like her
thighs, breasts, hips, stomach...~ my conscious spoke up.  *Naw, I've
seen her stomach before now.*
Tiptoeing over to Serena, so as not to wake her up, I stroked my
hands up her lower legs.  My fingertips grazed over the skin on her
inner thighs, and, though one hand moved up to toy with the lace on the
hem of the beauty's underwear, the other stayed resting on her leg.  The
hand fooling with the lace resumed it's journey, sliding up her flat
tummy and over her breast.
Once I had stroked her all the way up to her beautiful
shoulder line, I slipped my hand behind her neck and kissed her lightly
on her forehead.  She murmured my name in her sleep, and smiled. 
Gliding my hand underneath her small body, I eased the sheets out from
beneath Serry, and pulled them up over her.
Glancing at the clock, I noticed that it was 11:00 AM.  *Eh, I can
catch another, say...five hours sleep, and then I'll take Serena out to
dinner.*  Without a thought more, I hoped into bed, and wrapped my arms
around my own private fairy.

^^The next day, Monday, at about 3:30 in the afternoon^^

::Ami::
	*Yes, school's out!*  I glanced around the Home-Ec classroom.
*Damn do I hate this class!  It's sooo boring.  I wish that I could get
out of it, but it's mandatory.*  Prancing out the door, I walked to the
corner of the wall around my school, where I usually met Mina, Lita, and
Serena.  *Ah, Serena...I wonder why she's been acting so strange these
past few days?  First we couldn't find her yesterday, then she wasn't
late for school, and seemed for once to be happy about getting up at
7:00 in the morning.  On top of it, she's had a mischievous smile
plastered on her face all day!  Well, I for one am determined to find
out what's going on, whether the little wretch likes it or not!*
	The three other girls all suddenly tumbled out of the school,
giggling and sounding more like a myriad of girls then just three.  I
called out to them and gestured for them to come over, though I need not
have.  But this was as much a part of our daily tradition as the three's 
tardiness.  They giggled some more and bounded towards me, causing me to
smile in spite of myself.
	"You're late."  *And the tradition starts...*
	"We're not late, you're early!" Serena chortled, knowing her line
to a T.
	"Yeah, and besides, we have farther to go!" chimed in Mina.
	Lita  chuckled, and said, "Raye says that she'd meet us over at
the arcade around 4:30."
	Grinning, I fell into step with the girls.  Noticing that Serena
had that wicked little look on her face again, I spoke.  "Hey, Serena,
why are you in such a good mood today?  And where were you yesterday?  I
tried to call, but no one answered the phone."
	"Oh, I was...uh...home yesterday.  I just didn't feel like
answering the phone, that's all.  And as for my mood, I guess I am just
happy today!  I mean, it is a beautiful day out, and I'm out of school,
and it is just nice!" she gushed.  I glanced at Mina and Lita, silently
assenting to our plan.
The two bigger girls suddenly grabbed Serena, taking a shoulder
each.  They slammed her, albeit gently, against the wall, and I advanced
on the girl.  Poking my finger into her chest, I growled menacingly.
"Who are you and what have you done with Serena?!"

::Darien::
	I sauntered down the road, my spirits unusually high. Ever since I
had gone trick-or-treating with Serena, I had been very happy and eager
to spend more time with her.  Looking down at my watch, I noted that the
time was 3:45.  *Serena should be at the arcade any moment.*
Turning, I stepped through the automatic doors, and into the
arcade.  Searching around, I didn't spot the familiar golden buns, and
sighed,disappointed.  Walking over to the counter, I sat down on one of
the stools. Andrew looked up, and grinned.
"Hey, it's the lover boy!  So, tell me, what exactly did you guys
do???" he questioned, sounding all too like Serena's gossiping friends. 
I sighed, inwardly praying that Serena would get here soon.

	The four girls giggled as they burst into the arcade.  Serena and
Ami followed Lita and Mina, prepared to watch the two bigger girls fight
Sailor V. style.  Mina, of course, was boasting that she could win
against Lita, even though the brunette beat the pants off her every
time.  Serena and Ami groaned, and offered the occasional comment as
Mina and Lita bickered.
	Serena stood towards the back of the group of girls, waiting. 
Suddenly, warm arms slipped around her waist, drawing her backwards and
out of earshot of the other girls.  Turning in the figure's arms, Serena
smiled at Darien and, standing on tippy-toe, pecked him on the lips.	"Hey, gorgeous, how's it going?" he whispered, returning her kiss
tenderly.
	"Just fine.  How are you, Muffin?" she whispered back.
	"Great, now that I'm with you.  Want to get an ice cream, my
treat?  Come on, 'Meatball Head', lets go."
	Serena frowned at him as he dragged her towards a booth.  "Really,
must you call me that?"
	"Yup," Darien grinned at her, kissing her lips over the table.  Of
course it was right in front of Andrew, who was coming to take the two's
order, and he stopped and gaped.  He wasn't expecting such a blatant
PDA, especially coming from Darien.  Recovering, and shaking his head in
the process, he walked over to the happy couple and took their order. 
No one noticed Raye, gawking from the doorway.

::Mina::
	After losing yet again to Lita, I looked to Serena for moral
support.  But she wasn't there.
	"Uh, Ami?"
	"Yes, Mina?"
	"Where is Serena?"
	"What do you mean, 'where is Serena'?" Lita interrupted, turning
to where she had last seen the girl in question.  "She's right h-oh,
she's NOT here.  I wonder where she got off to?"
	"I know where she is." Raye sidled up to us.  She pointed over to
a booth, we all turned in time to see Darien plant a long good-bye kiss
on Serena's mouth and whisper something in her ear.  Gaping, the three
of us who had spent the day with Serena stared as Raye slid up behind
Serena.
	"So, Serena, how long have you two been seeing each other?" Raye
questioned, grimly noting that Serena jumped a foot.
	Whirling around, Serena was about to clobber the girl for scaring
her, until she realized who it was.  "Oh, Raye, it's you!  Well, um,
we've only been dating since yesterday."  Serena grinned sheepishly,
looking at her feet.  Smirking, Raye grabbed the blonde's arm, and
pulled her out of the arcade.
	
"So, tell me everything," the raven-hair priestess ordered as the
two companions meandered towards the park.  "What made you two suddenly
so close?"
	"Well, I went to his house during the storm on Halloween, and we
just kind of clicked, so to speak," Serena tried to explain.
	"Yeah, but you two seemed to hate each other for so long!  What
made you guys change?"
	"Well, we talked for a long time, and we really have a lot in
common.  I guess I just had a change of heart," Serena uttered softly.

The End (finally!!!)  Hope ya liked it!  Let me know...I'm not gonna
post other stuff here otherwise...Well, actually, I probably will. ;)