Title: "Exactly"
By: Lady Lightning
Chapter 2: 'Plan in Motion'
Rating:  PG
E-Mail:  iwillzapyou@hotmail.com

Hi, hi, hi!  Welcome to chapter two!  Let's get on with it, shall we?
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO


	All five girls made their way back to Serena's house from the mall.  Mina
Lita, Amy and Raye were sitting cross-legged on the floor listening 
attentively on
how to carry out Serena's revenge on Darien.  She had just mapped out the 
exact plan
of attack.  Amy would write the note because her penmanship was the best, 
Lita
would wait behind a tree with a video camera, and Mina would take all the 
polaroids.
Everything would work perfectly- assuming Darien was going to show up, of 
course.
But now Raye was having second thoughts.  Her job was to deliver the note.
Raye and Darien had dated for a while and it hadn't worked out.  But that 
didn't change
the fact that she knew where he lived.
	"Ah, come on Raye!" Serena's face was crumpled in frustration.  "You're the
only one who knows where he lives!"
	"I can give you guys directions, you know."  Raye's sarcasm was very 
evedent.
	"But everyone else already has something to do!  Please?"
	"No way, Serena!  What if I get caught?  I don't want to make Darien mad
at me just because YOU want to play some stupid joke on him!"  Raye shot.
	All of a sudden, Serena's voice got sugary sweet and her face broadened 
into a
large smile.  "But Raye, you're so stealthy!  You'd NEVER get caught!  You 
could get
in and out of there in seconds and he would never know you were there!  Just 
think of
it as a scout training exercise!"  Serena ended in a hopeful grin.  Mina 
picked up where
she left off.
	"Wow!  That WOULD be beneficial training.  Man, I wish I got to deliver the
note!"  Mina's shoulders slumped and she cast her gaze to Serena, at whom 
she winked.
Serena picked up on where Mina was going.
"Okay Mina, since Raye doesn't think she can do it-"  But Serena was cut 
off.
"Hey!  I never said I COULDN'T do it, just that I don't WANT to do it."
Raye's fists were clenched and eyes flashing.
	"It's okay, Raye, we understand.  You don't have to make excuses.  We love
you anyway."  Lita said with mock concern.
	"It's not an excuse!  UH!  What are the chances of you guys shutting up 
until
you get your way?  Just give me the stupid note already!"  Raye did not like 
having her
skills as a scout come into question, so she would play Serena's game- but 
only this once!
	"Ohh!  Thank you, Raye!"  Serena returned to the state of giddiness.  "Okay
Ames, here's a piece of paper."  Amy sat down at the desk and began to write 
as Serena
dictated.

__________________________

	'I can't BELIEVE I got talked into this!'  Raye was just walking into 
Darien's
building.  Although the day was warm and sunny, she had on a huge black 
trench coat
that make her slender fame seen even smaller.  On her head sat a baseball 
hat and on her
nose, big, dark sunglasses.  With a note in her left hand, she pushed the 
button for the
sixth floor with her right.  'Serena is gonna owe me BIG time for this.'
	On the elevator, Raye went over the plan in her head.  She could her 
Serena's
voice telling her what to do.  "All right Raye, here's the game plan.  You 
put the note
under his door, knock, and run.  You'll have to run down the stairs 
afterwards because
the elevator might take to long.  Do you got it?"  'Shish, this isn't brain 
surgery.  Does
Meatball Brains think I'm some kinda moron?'  Just then the elevator dinged 
and the
doors slid open.  'Well, here goes nothing!'  Looking over her sunglasses, 
Raye made
sure the hallway was clear before she made her way down the corridor on 
tiptoe.  'Here
it is.  6C.  Deep breath and...'

_____________________________

	Darien had been laying face down on his bed thinking about almost kissing
Serena when he had fallen asleep.  A few hours later he was being woken
up by someone knocking on his door.  'Hum, did I tell Andrew to stop by?'  
Darien sat
up and put his feet on the floor.  He quickly straightened his rumbled shirt 
and pulled
a hand through his disheveled hair.  He was almost to the door when he saw a 
little
pink envelope sitting on the floor.  It looked as though it had been hastily 
done, for one
corner was bent.  He walked to the letter and scooped it up in one big 
motion.  He turned
the delicate card over in his large hands and examined it closely.  On the 
front, his name
had been carefully written.  All along the border were little bunnies.  Not 
moving from
the spot where he had been standing, he opened the letter and pulled out its 
contents.
He withdrew a single sheet of white paper that lightly smelled of lilac.  He 
unfolded it
carefully, his curiosity becoming unbearable.  It said:

Dear Darien,
	I really need to talk to you.  Today,
when I was in your arms...  I'll understand if
you don't show- but please, there are so many
things I'd like to tell you.  If you want to meet
me, I'll be waiting on the end of the dock, on
the lake, in the park.

			Serena

	Darien stood frozen.  His eyes were reading every line over and over, as if 
the
words might change.  His mouth was slightly agape in surprise and he only 
let his breath
out when his lungs started to ache.  A billion thoughts ran like wild fire 
through his mind.
'What does this mean?  Could she possibly... like me?  No, that can't be... 
Or can it?
What, what if she does?  What will I say?  What will I do?  What am I going 
to wear?  All
right Dare, cool it.  You don't know what this means.  Don't get your hopes 
up.  Play it
cool.'  And with that thought, Darien ran to the bathroom to take a shower 
and get ready.

_______________________________

	He was lookin' sharp.  Darien wore a pair of dark blue jeans and a black 
semi-
formfitting shirt that hugged his biceps.  Over his shirt he wore a leather 
jacket; his
normal green one was involved in some freak accident at the dry cleaners.  
Almost
skipping down the street, he made his way to the dock in the park.
	The sun was just kissing the horizon when he arrived at the end of the 
dock.  It
jiggled slightly at his weight.  Not far out on the water was a flock of 
geese floating
quietly while relishing what would be the last rays of light.  The sounds of 
nature
surrounded him.  The birds were happily singing, and the wind was dancing 
with the
trees.  It was not until he heard someone clear their throat did he remember 
his purpose
for being there.  He spun on his heel.  Standing before him was the most 
beautiful sight
he could've imagined.  Serena was absolutely radiant.  Her hair was in its 
usual style, but
she had small pink rosebuds surrounding her buns.  They matched perfectly 
with the soft
pink dress she was wearing.  The dying sun made her seem to glow.  Her hands 
were
clasped in front of her and her eyes were pointed to her feet.
	"Hi."  She said quietly.  The wind picked up her voice and carried it to 
him.  Her
hair tried to follow the coaxing wind.
	"Hello."  His voice was deep and more nervous than he wanted to sound.  He 
saw
her shiver and he immediately took off his coat and handed it to her.  She 
nodded her
thanks as she placed the jacket on her shoulders.  He quickly adjusted his 
tone
to mocking.  "So, Meatball Head, what cha want to talk about?"
	"Us."  Serena raised her eyes and stared straight into his.  This made her 
falter.
He looked so handsome.  Those eyes.  Those intrusive eyes.  The ones she 
fell in love
with.  Perhaps she could abandon her plan.  Maybe she would admit her true 
feelings
and tell him how much she loved it when she was close to him, and how she 
would look
forward to every day just because she knew she was going to see him.  She 
could tell
him how her heart pounded when they touched, or how she loved being called 
Meatball
Head.  'I can't!  He would put a smug smile on his face tell me to keep 
dreaming.  I
don't think I could handle that...  Besides,' Serena rationalized, 'Lita is 
taping this and I
don't want all that to be recorded!  That would be so embarrassing, I'd 
never hear the end
if it!  That's it, I'm sticking with the plan.'  But a little corner of her 
heart couldn't help
but hope.
	"Uh...us?"  Darien wavered.
	"Um hum."  With this, Serena dropped her hands to her sides and took a step
towards Darien.  He unconsciously put his weight on his back foot.  "I 
wanted to tell
you that, for a while now, I've felt... close to you."  Unbeknownst to 
Serena, she was
speaking her true heart.  "I wanted to tell you for a long time but I was 
scared that you
would think I was stupid and never talk to me again."  She continued to 
advance on him,
his back step countering every forward one of Serena's.  "Your smile, your 
eyes, your
laugh- everything.  I love it all."
	At this point, Darien's mind was reeling.  'Good Lord!  Is she serious?  
This is to
good to be true!'  But words were lost on Darien.  His mouth could not form 
the words
he wanted to say.  Instead, he listened with his jaw hanging open.
	"You always tease me, but I don't care.  I love it when you call me 
Meatball
Head.  It's your own special name for me.  I care for you so much.  I needed 
to tell you
that.  I wanted you to know."
	By this time, Serena had advanced and Darien recoiled so much that his 
heels
were almost hanging over the edge to the dock.  And then Serena went in for 
the kill.
She closed her eyes and tilted her head up.  Her lips puckered and she 
rested her hands
on his chest.  Just millimeters from his lips, she gave a mighty push and-
	"NO!"  Bellowed Darien, but it was to late.  Time slowed as she watched his
shocked and hurt filled eyes falling away from her.  His arms flailed as his 
legs came
out from under him.  SPLASH!  And then came Lita running from the bushes, 
laughing
hysterically.
	"Oh my gosh!  That was so hilarious!  Smile Darien, you're on candid 
camera!"
Lita was at the end of the dock, camera pointed towards the water.  Mina was 
by her
side in an instant joining in on all the antics.
	"Strike a pose, Darien!"  FLASH!  The first Polaroid of the evening was 
seconds
from being developed.
	And then there was Serena.  Her heart cursing and berating her, she stood 
apart
from the other two girls, hands twisting together in front of her.  Her eyes 
were downcast
and her mouth held a distinct frown.  'That was too mean Serena.  Who cares 
if he
embarrassed you, he didn't deserve this.'  She clutched the leather jacket 
that was still
around her shoulders.  It was then that she made the mistake of looking at 
Darien.
	Darien had found his footing in the mud and was standing.  The shallow 
water
came to his waist.  Clothes clinging to his body, wet hair dripping water in 
his eyes, he
was staring at Serena.  He made no effort to move, and said nothing.  His 
arms were
straight down his sides.  His fists were clenched and his knuckles were 
tuning white.
There was a cold look in his eyes, but it was unreadable.  She could not see 
anger, or
hate, or any emotion for that matter and it chilled her to the very core.  
She quickly
looked away, her heart again scolding her for doing such a thing.
	"Come on guys, that's enough.  Leave him alone."  Serena faced her two 
friends
and in a somber tone, made them stop.
	"Okay Serena, but here's a memento."  Mina pushed a Polaroid into her hands
and grabbed Lita by the elbow.  "Come on Lita, let's go check out the 
footage."
Without another word to Serena, the two of them sped off in the direction of 
Lita's
apartment.
	It was cold now.  The sun had gone down completely and the breeze had 
picked
up.  Eyes still to reluctant to meet his, Serena stepped to the end of the 
pier.
	"Do you need a hand?"  The trembling in Serena's voice was quite clear.
	"No."  Darien said flatly and with that pushed himself onto the pier 
effortlessly.
Once out of the water, the wind caught him and he shrugged off the goose 
bumps.  His
eyes were still emotionless as he side stepped Serena and started the walk 
home.  She
was shocked to say the least.  He did not say a single thing as he walked 
away.  No
yelling, no calling her stupid, nothing.  It was too much to bear.  She 
darted after him.
	"Wait, Darien, wait!"  Serena had to work to keep up to Darien's pace and 
stride.
"Look, I know that was really mean, but you really embarrassed me in the 
arcade.  I just
wanted to get you back.  Okay, I know I pushed it to far and I feel really 
terrible, but...
But..."  But there were no excuses and Serena knew it.  "Are you mad?"
	With this, Darien stopped abruptly.  "No.  Just disappointed."  And then 
walked
away.
_______________________________
E-MAIL!!!!!!!!
iwillzapyou@hotmail.com
-Lady Lightning