Every Reason Not To: Chapter 2 AN: Here's the next piece minna! Hope ya like! Rated: G ;) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~@ Serena filed into the classroom with a crowd of other students. Noneof the other girls had been able to make it but she still wanted to hear thetalk about the moon anyway. The moon....she felt her heart tingle at the thought of it. She foughton behalf of the Moon-her guardian planet-as Sailormoon, but there was something else. Something familiar about it, as though it were...home? She shook her head of these thoughts as she took a seat and theProfessor spoke, "Hello, and welcome! I'm glad to see such a large turnout. Today'sspeaker is one of my finest students-Darien Chiba!" Everyone applauded as he stood up and took the podium. Serena choked back a shriek. HIM!? The jerk who kept teasing her!? Oh no! She looked desperately towards the door but it was too late. Everyone was seated and quiet-it would be really obvious if she left. She settled back lower in her seat grudgingly. Why did fate keepbringing her and this jerk together? "Hello," he said, with just the slightest trace of being nervous,"Thank you all for coming. The moon has fascinated me for as long as I can remember...." From then on she had to admit, his talk was wonderful. He had a waywith words that made you feel wrapped up in them. He had done thorough research. He talked about the science of the moon as well as thevarious myths connected with it. She watched his face intently as he spoke- thankfully he never spotted her in the crowded room. The lecture finished and everyone applauded-including Serena. She watched as various students and Professors approached him to chat and shake hands and smothered a smile as he casually slipped through themand made his escape out the door. ~Just like me.~ She followed after him into the empty hallway and said in a voice loud enough for him to hear,"I guess it's my turn to be impressed." He stopped and turned slowly around, "I see," he said and smiledwryly, "Has this changed your opinion of me perhaps?" "Yes," she smiled in return as she caught him up, "I still hate you,but now you're a lot more interesting." He took it all in stride. They walked down the hall together. "I like that image," he said, gesturing with his hands like adirector, "Hateful, yet interesting. It has a nice ring to it.""If you say so." They both spotted the poster for the dance and groaned. "Oh no." He moaned as they stopped and stood in front of it."You too huh?" "Andrew is going to force me to go!""Yeah, my friends too." "He's always trying to set me up with someone." "Yeah, my friends too." She frowned, "Do we have the same life or something?" "Oh save me! Not another dance!" he put his head in his hands. Suddenly she smiled and laid a hand on his arm, "Hey, I just had aterrible idea!""Oh well in that case-" he began sarcastically but she cut him off. "Shut up and listen.""I'm all ears." "I think we might just be able to solve each other's problems." "What are you getting at?""Neither of us wants to be set up right?""Right." "And we hate each other right?""Right.""What if we went to the dance together?" "WHAT!?....wait a minute. It just might work. We'd have a date...butnot a real date.""Right! The chances of us getting together," she laughed, "Are considerably less than nil." "Why ruin a perfectly good hate-hate relationship?" He smiled.She smiled. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~@ "WHAT?!" Ami, Leeta Rei and Meena exclaimed in unison. "Did I hear you right? Did you just say you already have a date?!" Serena laughed, "Yes." She replied, her eyes twinkling. The girls sat outside Rei's Temple. They'd finished the Scout Meeting early-there hadn't been much activity lately--and had turned to more important matters: the dance."Are you feeling alright?" "Yeah, who are you and where's the real Serena?" "Aw guys, don't be so hard on her. Who is this guy Serena? How didyou meet him?"Serena smiled, "His name's Darien-actually, he was the one who gave that talk about the moon, the one you guys couldn't make it to. Remember?" "Ohhh, it's like destiny!" sighed Meena dreamily. The other girls rolled their eyes at her starry ones. "Well, that's great!" said Leeta, "Now we all have dates!" Rei smirked, "Yeah, even I'm going to take Chad!" "Ohhh, I just knew you guys would end up together!" chimed Meena. "Meena you're hopeless!"The girls parted giggling. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~@ Elsewhere... "WHAT?!" choked Andrew."You heard me." Smiled Darien. "Hang on. Let me recover." Andrew feigned a shaky recovery with much sarcasm, "Alright, come again?""I already have a date to the dance.""WHAT?!" "You said that already.""Who is she?" "A music student-she played at the club the other night. I talked toher afterwards and we agreed to go." "Who are you? Has the real Darien been abducted? Possessed? Clonedand replaced?"Darien laughed. "I can't wait to see her." Concluded Andrew, "She must really besomething to get to you!"Darien got up to leave, "She is, she is! I'll see ya there!" "Bye!" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~@ Someplace between the Temple, Andrew's and School......CRASH! "Ouch! Do you have a klutz disease or something?!" exclaimed Darien rubbing his throbbing head. "NO! How do you manage to always jump right out in front of me?!" retorted Serena."No one would get in your way unless they had a death wish!" "A death wish you say? Your demise can easily be arranged!" she was waving a textbook threateningly at him. He laughed. She bit back her temper-she'd never known she had a temper until she ran into Darien-correction HE ran into HER. 1, 2, 3.... she silently counted. They collected their scattered books from the ground. It was Friday,the night of the dance, and this was their fourth collision of the week. They stood for a moment, Serena glaring at Darien's amused face. "See ya tonight?" he asked with a charming smile. She matched his smile, "Of course! Meet me at the doors at eight?""Divine." "Dress up nice!" she sang after him sarcastically. He grinned as she disappeared around the corner. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~@ ACK! This story isn't as good as I remember thinking when I firstwrote it! Gomen nasai if it's awful! yikes!