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Title:    Intro to Chemistry
Part III: Experiments
Author:   Fawkes
Email:    fawkesphoenix@yahoo.com
Rating:   PG
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Standard disclaimers apply.

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	The first few weeks in the lab weren't terribly eventful.  
Darien was investigating the sanitation properties of a variety of 
chemicals and surfaces.  Before, it would have sounded horribly dull 
to Serena, but, oddly, she found herself looking forward to the lab sessions.
	As they worked, Darien would try to explain what they were 
doing.  Gradually, Serena's understanding of ions and chemical 
reactions increased, and her physical science grades slowly began to 
reflect her newfound understanding.  
	Because of his usefulness as a tutor (whether he realized it 
or not), Serena could almost forgive the older boy for his cheap shots 
about her hair, amongst other things.  In order to solve the safety 
hazard issue, she had formed several long loops with each pigtail and 
pinned them next to the buns on top.  Darien had promptly pointed out 
the spaghetti-like appearance of this style, and went to town with 
spaghetti and meatball-themed jokes.  
	Indeed, Serena did feel ridiculous with her hair like this.  
The stylish safety goggles and humongous lab coat she had to wear did 
little to make her feel more attractive.  To top it all off, Darien 
had to be the only person alive who looked good in lab wear.  The 
white of the lab coat was a good color on him, and although the safety 
goggles themselves were ugly, the strap ruffled up his hair to create 
a sexy, tousled look.  
	His attractiveness was not lost on the young girl.  As the 
days passed, Serena found herself thinking about her supervisor more 
and more.  Even if Darien made cheap shots about her hair, she had to 
admit that he was fun to be around.  She soon had to confess to herself 
that she had developed a crush on the older boy.
	Nothing could have scared her more.  To Darien, Serena knew 
she was just a goofy, somewhat annoying middle schooler.  What was 
more, she knew that if he ever found out about her feelings, he was 
more likely to laugh at her than return them.  With every look, she 
felt like she was skating on thin ice.  Still, as pointless as she 
knew it was, she made an extra effort to pay attention and do a good 
job at each of her tasks.  At least he might think she wasn't totally 
worthless.  	Sure, she got to spend time with him now, but if they weren't 
assigned to the same project, there was no way he would want her 
following him around.  This thought saddened Serena, that she was the 
only one looking forward to the time they spent together.
	Of course, she couldn't have possibly been more wrong.  Working 
with Serena each afternoon was far and away the highlight of Darien's 
day.  Not only did she look ridiculously cute with her hair all tied 
up, wearing the giant lab coat and blinking her crystal eyes through 
the safety goggles, but he found that she was as good a lab assistant 
as anyone he could have gotten.  Sure, her grasp of chemistry wasn't 
equal to Amy's, but she was a faster learner than he would have 
thought.  And her dedication to the project was real, which was 
proving to be more valuable than some great grasp of science.
	After four weeks, Darien's chemistry teacher was going to 
make a visit to the lab to view his progress.  As a result, he began 
putting in more hours.  Serena insisted on staying however late, which 
really impressed him.  It seemed like he found more things to admire 
and love her for every day.  He was also glad she stayed late, just 
because it meant that he got to walk her home more often.	
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	Tuesday.  Everything Serena had been working on seemed to be 
due on Tuesday.  She had a test in physical science, a quiz in algebra, 
and a paper due over Watership Down, the book her class had been 
reading in English.  It was hard to find time to study, especially 
while putting in extra hours at the lab, but Serena was determined.  
Monday night she stayed up until midnight studying and editing her 
paper, and she still wasn't sure if it was any good.  After years of 
criticism, she wasn't sure of herself, no matter how much work she put in.
	But as she took the test, and when she handed in the paper, 
Serena couldn't help but feel a little proud.  Maybe she wouldn't get 
the highest score in the world, but she had really done her best this 
time around.  As she placed the essay on the teacher's desk, she met 
Miss Haruna's skeptical glare with a bright smile.  She had nothing to 
be ashamed of this time around.
	As she chatted with Amy on the way to Turner Pharmaceuticals, 
her spirits lifted even more.  If what Amy said was true, and it 
always was, she must have done fairly well on her science test.  
	With the stress of her grades lifted and the thought of seeing 
Darien buoying her mood, Serena practically skipped into the lab.  
"Hullo, Darien!  Whatdya have for me to do today?"
	"Ah, Serena, I'm glad you're here!  There's a ton of stuff to 
finish up before Dr. Richmond comes in tomorrow."  Darien anxiously 
ran a hand through his hair. 
	Serena felt a pang of guilt.  Worried with her own assignments, 
she hadn't even remembered that Darien's big grade was coming up on 
Wednesday.  'I'll make up for it, though, work twice as hard...'  
"Don't worry, Darien, we'll get it done," she offered shyly as she 
pinned up her hair.
	It didn't make sense, but her simple words comforted Darien.  
'We- I sure like the sound of that.'  "Right, let's get started..."
	Focused on the task at hand, neither noticed as the hours 
passed.  By the time the last detail had been adhered to, it was eight 
o'clock- later than they had ever stayed before.  As they headed for 
the exit, Darien couldn't help but be impressed by how uncomplaining 
Serena was.  He knew from her enthusiastic outbursts from previous 
nights that her family ate at six thirty, seven at the latest.  Now 
he had caused her to miss dinner, on top of whatever other 
inconvenience he was putting her through.  
	"Tell ya what, Meatball Head, how about I take you out to 
dinner, since you were so helpful?"
	Serena's instinct screamed at her to say yes.  Not only was 
she famished, but it was dinner with Darien!  So it wasn't exactly a 
date, at least he wasn't embarrassed to be seen with her in public.  
But she didn't want to have him treat her just because he felt 
obligated.  She timidly responded, "You don't have to do that 
Darien... I mean, I was glad to help."
	"Don't be silly!  I know I made you miss your dinner- it's 
the least I can do.  I insist."
	Serena's heart lifted as he grabbed her by the wrist and 
dragged her towards a nearby cafe'.  "Besides," he added wryly, "I 
didn't think you could go this long without eating.  Wouldn't want ya 
to collapse or something."
	She sighed.  Who was she kidding, he wasn't thinking about 
this the same way she was.  This outing may remind her of a date, but 
Darien was just trying to make up for keeping her out so late.  
'Still, it is nice of him, and at least we get to spend a little more 
time together.'	So Serena was in fairly high spirits as they slid into a booth 
in one corner.  The waitress came, and they ordered cheeseburgers and fries.
	Darien tried to hide his excitement and remain cool.  How many 
times had he dreamed of taking Serena out to dinner?  Even if it 
wasn't really a date, he was still thrilled.  Heck, a month ago, she 
would probably have bolted for the door rather than spend time with 
him!  This was real progress.
	"So tell me, Darien, why are you doing this experiment-thingy, anyways?"
	"Well, Meatball Head, I needed a lab credit, and I thought 
that doing an 'experiment-thingy' would be more interesting than 
taking a standard lab class.  Besides, it's good experience for 
medical school and stuff."	"So you wanna be a doctor?"
	"Yeah... I've wanted to ever since I was a little kid."
	"Why?  The money, or the prestige, or what?"
	Darien paused.  His reasons for wanting to go into medicine 
were rather personal, and he didn't usually discuss them.  "Well, you 
see... when I was about seven, my whole family was in a car accident.  
My parents... didn't make it, and I was in the hospital for a long 
time.  Part of me is... bitter, I guess, that the doctors couldn't 
save my mom and dad, and I sometimes I think that if I was somehow in 
their position, if I could just... try a little harder, some poor kid 
won't have to go through what I did."
	He was almost in a trance, staring off into space as he spoke.  
"I know it's completely unfair of me; I'm sure they did everything 
that could be done.  And when I really think about it, part of me is 
just grateful that they were able to save me.  Then, I think it's more 
about me repaying them, and giving someone else what was given to 
me..."  Suddenly realizing what he had been saying, Darien jerked his 
head up and met Serena's wide-eyed gaze.  He immediately lowered his 
eyes to the table, and nervously ran a hand through his hair.  "I'm 
sorry... I don't know why I told you that.  I... I've never really 
talked to anyone about this before..."
	Serena was unsure how to respond.  The Darien she knew was 
cocky and arrogant, but now he looked so... vulnerable, like the 
little kid in the hospital all those years ago.  Slowly, she reached 
her hand across the table and laid it on top of his.  "Darien," she 
began softly, "I... had no idea.  That must have been so hard on you.  
I'm surprised- no, impressed, that you aren't more... jaded, you might say."
	His eyes slowly drifted up to hers.  "Well, I have my moments.  
But I remember one time in particular, when I was feeling especially 
resentful.  I went out on the balcony of my apartment, and suddenly I 
was just swept away by what I saw.  Skyscrapers full of people working 
on computers, cars and trains zooming by, kids playing in the park.  
And I suddenly thought that if I was standing here a thousand years 
ago, things would have looked so very different.  No modern 
conveniences, no sanitation, people living like animals, or as servants 
to whoever was richest."
	"The reason we're not living like that today is that millions 
of people have dedicated their lives to making the world a better 
place.  I mean, how many thousands of people have fought in wars and 
died, literally given their lives so that their children wouldn't have 
to live with some injustice?  It just strikes me that every one of us 
has... an obligation.  We owe it to those people to do our best, to 
give whatever we have to improve things for the next generation.  And 
that is why I want to be a doctor... I really do want to help people."
	Serena felt like she was seeing him for the first time.  
Before, Darien Chiba had been the tall, annoyingly perfect student 
who tossed insults at her every day.  It was as if he had stepped out 
of a painting, and was now a living, breathing person where before he 
had been but a character.  And yet, she had somehow known these things 
were inside of him.  Something about Darien, in the past few weeks 
especially, drew Serena to him.  She couldn't have explained it then, 
but she now felt like she knew what she had been sensing all that time.
	"I feel almost ashamed," she began slowly.  "I mean, you have 
this great... purpose in your life, and here I'm just a worthless, flaky..."
	"No, Serena!"  She lifted her gaze to his, and saw sincerity 
in his eyes.  "That's not true at all- you're not worthless or flaky.  
This whole time in the lab, anyone else would have left as soon as the 
they'd met the minimum obligation.  I mean, what does my project 
matter to you?  But you always stayed, because you put other people 
before yourself.  There's nothing anyone could do that would impress 
me more than that."  
	His free hand moved to cover hers, as he turned his other hand 
over to grasp hers more firmly.  "It's when I look at you, Serena, 
that I see something worth fighting for."
	She was caught in his eyes, sinking into the deep pools of 
blue.  Her heart was racing, which was odd, considering she was 
sitting down.  What was this feeling washing over her...
	Darien gulped.  With everything he felt for this girl, she 
thought he regarded her as worthless?  Flaky?  He had never told her 
how he really felt, and he couldn't remedy the situation soon enough.  
"Serena, I..."	"So, who had the burger without pickles or onions?"
	Two heads jerked to the side and regarded the waitress as if 
she had stepped out of an alien space ship.  Could she possibly have 
come at a worse moment?  Darien sighed, and raised his hand to 
indicate that it was his food, releasing Serena's hand as he did so.  
Disappointedly, she trailed hers back to her side of the table.
	Darien wished he had some sort of remote control, so that he 
could rewind back to just a moment ago and continue.  But the moment 
had passed, and he couldn't muster his courage to begin anew.  He 
sighed to himself.  His moment would come.
	"So, Serena, what exactly made you decide to do this 
'experiment-thingy,' if I may ask?"
	The young girl almost choked on her french fries.  How could 
she tell Darien about her failing grades, especially now?  In this 
moment, she wanted more than ever for him to regard her favorably.  
Plus, with him studying extra hard to better the human race, what 
would he think of her daydreaming through science?
	"Well, you see, Darien, it's... uhhh... kinda complex.  There 
were a... variety of factors, really, none of them too terribly 
interesting.  I'm, um, really glad that I did sign up, though."
	Throughout her spluttering speech, she noticed that Darien 
had a terribly amused expression on his face, as if he were just 
about to burst out laughing.  "What?  What did I say?" she asked, 
suddenly very self-conscious.
	He leaned forward over the table, reaching one hand towards 
her head.  "You have ketchup on your nose, Meatball Head," he observed 
as he dotted at her face with his napkin.
	For the first time ever, Serena was glad she had done 
something foolish in front of Darien; at least it had managed to 
change the subject.  "Well, you see what happens when I don't eat for 
a few hours- I'm likely to get desperate."
	He grinned back at her.  "I'll have to remember that."
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	"So you're sure you want me to come tomorrow?  I won't be in 
the way?"  They had finished dinner, and coming up on Serena's house.
	"Absolutely, Meatball Head!  You've been really helpful, and 
I want Dr. Richmond to meet you.  Besides, I could use some help 
setting up the demonstrations."
	"Well, if you say so.  Oh, and thanks for dinner, Darien, that 
was really nice of you."  Serena turned to face the young man before 
mounting the steps to her porch.
	He smiled as he stepped closer to her.  Taking one of her 
hands in his, he casually, yet suavely, brought it to his lips.  "It 
was my pleasure."  Serena felt her stomach dance, and was disappointed 
when he dropped her hand and turned around.  "I'll see you tomorrow, 
Meatball Head."	A curtain fell back into place just before the giddy blonde 
turned towards the door.  Ilene made her way towards the kitchen, so 
that her daughter would never suspect she had been watched.  'Just as 
I thought...'~~~~<~~@    ~~~~<~~@    ~~~~<~~@
	Wednesday.  Everything seemed to crash on Wednesday.  First, 
Serena's alarm didn't go off, and she was late to school.  For this, 
Miss Haruna gave her a detention, even though it was her first tardy 
in several weeks.  'She must be starting to miss me,' Serena mused bitterly.  
	As if that wasn't bad enough, Serena realized that, in her 
worry about her English paper and physical science test, she hadn't 
even remembered the algebra test coming up on Friday.  When she got 
her recent quiz back with the number '36' bold and red across the 
front, her spirits sank.  She'd never understand this cursed math!  
And this was one of the classes where she had to pull her grade up, 
or face the consequences...
	Sitting through Miss Haruna's lecture after school on 
punctuality while knowing she was getting later to Turner 
Pharmaceuticals with every moment was pure torture.  This was not 
part of the solution!  The second Miss Haruna released her, she 
grabbed her books and bolted for the door.  
	Serena ran all the way to the lab- it was a miracle she 
didn't plow someone into the pavement.  Then again, with Darien 
guaranteed to be inside the building, maybe it wasn't such a wonder after all.
	Meanwhile, inside, Dr. Richmond was not amused.  He fixed 
Darien with a skeptical glare as he tried to explain that it was very 
unlike Serena to be late.  'Who woulda ever thought I would say that, 
and mean it!  But where is that girl, today of all days?'
	Darien had barely finished the thought when Serena burst into 
the room, panting for breath.  "I'm <huh> so sorry <pant> Darien!  
Miss <gasp!> Haruna gave me a <huh> detention, and I..."
	Darien caught Dr. Richmond's disapproving eye.  "That's ok, 
Serena," he cut in, more brusquely than he intended, "Just grab a lab 
coat and let's go."
	"Oh, right!"  She hurried to prepare herself, grabbing safety 
goggles as she moved towards the supply closet.  "Ready to go!"
	"Mr. Chiba, I am shocked," a haughty voice cut in.  "Surely 
you must have realized that this girl's long hair is a safety hazard.  
It was very irresponsible of you not to address the issue."
	"Oh, no, that's all my fault!" Serena exclaimed.  "Darien told 
me to pin it up, I just forgot.  Here we go..." she quickly tied up 
the loose pigtails.  "Ok, now I'm ready for sure."  There was no way 
Serena was going to mess up today- this project meant too much to Darien.
	But nothing seemed to go the young girl's way.  First, she 
knocked over a rack of test tubes with her elbow.  Then, she 
accidentally mixed the wrong chemicals, and a series of experiments 
had to be repeated.  With each mistake, she became more aware of Dr. 
Richmond's scrutiny, which made her even more nervous.  
	Darien was about to boil over.  Dr. Richmond was way out of 
line, ragging on every little thing Serena did.  It was only making 
matters worse, he could tell, but the old man wouldn't leave the poor 
girl alone!  	When she lit the bunsen burner with the gas on too high, 
causing a burst of flame to shoot up, Dr. Richmond finally lost it.  
"I've been examining the file for this experiment, and I guess this is 
what Turner Pharmaceuticals gets for taking on students who need to 
do lab work to make up for the fact that they are failing in science!"
	Darien's eyes widened, and his gaze shot to Serena.  He noticed 
her pale, which seemed confirmation enough for Dr. Richmond's 
accusation.  How dare that nasty old man say something like that to 
her!  Furious, Darien averted his gaze.
	Dr. Richmond wasn't done.  "I don't know where your mind is, 
young lady, but it certainly isn't in this lab!"
	Serena was humiliated.  Not only did Darien now know, but for 
him to find out this way... it was too much to take.  Her eyes darted 
to him.  Sure enough, he was furious, and he had every right to be.  
She should have told him from the start, shouldn't have been late, 
shouldn't have been so incompetent as to make him look bad in front of 
his professor. 	She felt like bursting into tears, felt like collapsing to 
the floor.  No, she would rather run out the door first, so she 
wouldn't have to face Darien, to see the look of resentment in the 
eyes that she could have sworn last night held... something else.  
	But, from somewhere deep inside, a voice called to her, 
bidding her to make one last stand, to save face this one last time.  
'What would Queen Serenity do...'  Squaring her shoulders, she did her 
best to lift her chin and meet Dr. Richmond's accusing glare.  "You're 
right, sir.  I don't know where my mind is, and I've messed things up.  
I'm sorry..." Here she almost lost control, but bit her lip, and 
turned towards the door.  "Maybe if I take a quick break, I can 
regroup."  With that, she was out the door.	
	She managed to walk down the hall with dignity, to hold a 
straight face and not break down.  But as soon as she entered the 
women's bathroom, the one place he couldn't see her, she lost it.  
Sinking onto a couch in the lobby area, Serena sobbed into a cushion.  
She cried for the mess she had made of the experiment, for her crushed 
hopes of being more responsible and mature, and she cried most of all 
for the resentment she had seen in Darien's eyes, and her lost dream 
of him ever returning her feelings.  As she choked on her tears, her 
lonely cries echoed off the empty bathroom walls.  

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