The poem in this chapter is entitled "Beloved" and it is MINE! So don't touch without permission, got it? I'm about to have it published in a book of poetry! That and one other I wrote. How cool is that? On with the story! "Love Waits for You" by Stormlight ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Chapter Three ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In school the next day, Serena sat idly doodling in her notebook, hardly paying attention to what Miss Haruna was teaching. She'd not slept well the night before. She'd told Luna it was because of a headache (and not because of Ryan, whom even LUNA didn't care for). It wasn't a lie, really. After the buckets of tears she'd cried, a headache-not to mention her burning eyes-was only natural. She was listless over lunch, and Molly and Lita, who were sitting with her, kept shooting her worried glances, but she was too busy waiting for Ryan to show up and eat with her like he'd promised to really pay attention to her friends' concern. When lunch had ended, Ryan had still not shown up. **Maybe he's studying in the library, like Amy always does,** Serena told herself. It wasn't likely, but it was all she could come up with to excuse him. Fortunately, the large crowd of students that was for some reason gathered around Serena's desk when she got back to the classroom was enough to drive all thoughts of Ryan from her mind. "Excuse me!" she proclaimed loudly as she squeezed through the mob, more than a little curious to know why her desk was suddenly so fascinating to her classmates. Of course, it might possibly have had something to do with the large vase of roses sitting on the middle of it... Her jaw dropped in shock as her gaze took in the roses, all half-opened buds, as fresh and dewy as though they'd been picked just that morning. The roses were all snow white, except for a single rose of deepest, velvet red that stood out like a drop of blood on a field of snow. A thin, white ribbon tied around the red rose held an envelope, with her name inscribed on it in beautiful calligraphy. "Open it!" Molly encouraged eagerly. "See who it's from!" "Th...there's been some mistake," Serena stammered. "These can't POSSIBLY be for ME!" "It's your name on the card," a dark-haired girl named Robin pointed out. With a shaking hand, Serena took the small envelope and opened it, reading the note silently. Her cheeks began to burn as she read, and her eyes widened in astonishment. "What's it say?" Molly demanded, then snatched the note upon receiving no answer and began to read out loud. "Beloved Serena, I can see the moonlight glowing in your beautiful eyes, like fragments of a memory, and I wonder, does that memory include me? In my heart I embrace you, and hold you close to taste your sweet lips, as I dare not in life. Is it possible to hope that you might dream the same dream? One day, our two souls will come together and be forever bound, entwined like two roses. When that day arrives, the universe will be at peace, and I will finally be able to say, "I love you..."* * * * * Molly finished reading and gaped at a glowing Serena, while the other girls all sighed dreamily and the few boys curious enough to gather around grimaced in disgust and quickly found more interesting things to talk about. "WHO is it FROM?!" Robin asked eagerly, eyeing Serena enviously. "There's no name," Molly replied, checking the note front and back. "Wow! What a romantic poem! Serena, you have a secret admirer!" Serena giggled, slightly embarrassed. "Don't be silly!" she replied. "How could I have a secret admirer when I already have a boyfriend?" Molly wrinkled her nose. "Well...do you think maybe HE sent you the roses?" she asked. "I mean...he doesn't strike me as a poetic type..." Serena hesitated, before slowly shaking her head. In all honesty...she highly doubted that either the roses or the note were from Ryan. She doubted that the idea to send them would have even occurred to him, as much as it pained her to admit it. But the question remained... Who HAD sent them to her?* * * * * "Let me get this straight. YOU have a secret admirer?!" Raye yelped, plopping down in front of Serena in disbelief. "Is the world coming to an end or WHAT?!" "Ha, ha! Veeeery funny, Pyro," Serena sniffed, snatching back the note Raye had grabbed from her. She and the other three Scouts were once again sitting in the arcade, munching on French fries and sipping milkshakes. Serena, of course, was dying to show off her mysterious gifts. "YOU'RE just jealous 'cause my secret admirer writes better poetry than Chad does!" she added teasingly, ignoring her friend's glare. Chad was a young man who worked at the temple, and who had a huge case of puppy-love for the raven-haired priestess and insisted on announcing it to the world by writing bad songs for her...and singing them even worse. Raye glowered at Serena. "Don't you ever mention that again," she growled. Serena giggled. "Why not? I think it's sweet," she replied teasingly. "Raye and Chad, sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First come lovmmmph!" She was rudely interrupted by Raye's hand clapping down on her mouth. "Finish that, and I'll break both your arms," Raye snarled at her, while Amy and Lita giggled at their squabbling. "Hey, girls! What's up?" Serena stiffened at the sound of Darien's voice, but Lita didn't seem to care as she blurted out, "Serena's got a secretadmirer!" Darien turned to give Serena a searching look, raising an eyebrow, and she squirmed under his silent scrutiny. "Lita! Ya don't have ta tell the whole world!" she hissed, sinking further down into her seat as a blush covered her face. She didn't know why she was so embarrassed about Darien knowing that she had a secret admirer. After all, maybe once he saw how desirable she was to other guys he'd leave her alone. "I think it's great, though!" Lita was saying dreamily. "I wish I had a secret admirer who'd send ME flowers and write me really romantic poems! I'd die of happiness!" "Romantic poems?" Darien asked curiously. "Yeah, like this," Raye told him, snatching the paper from Serena, who gave a startled screech and attempted to snatch it back, but Darien held it just out of reach and scanned the writing quickly. His eyebrows shot up and a grin spread across his lips as he looked at Serena curiously. She bit her lip, preparing herself for his next obnoxious comment. "Ya know, he got that part about your eyes right. They are really pretty, you know." Serena's mouth dropped open in shock, as did everyone else's, and her eyes went wide as saucers as she stared at him in absolute disbelief. Whatever she had been expecting, it was NOT that! He winked at her, so slightly that it was barely more than a twitch, but it was enough. Then he bid her farewell, turned, and moved on, grinning to himself. "Well, well, well!" Raye was the first to recover. "Did I actually just SEE that?! Darien was NICE to you?! I'm shocked!" "You and me both, honey," Serena muttered, still staring after him. "What's gotten into him, anyhow?" "Maybe he likes you," Amy teased. "Ha! AS if! He's probably just trying to come up with a new way to torment me," Serena grumbled. "Just you wait! He'll be back to normal in no time!"* * * * * Darien smiled to himself as he watched Serena and her friends, sipping a cup of coffee contentedly. The look on her face when he'd told her that her eyes were pretty had been priceless! Like she couldn't decide whether to smack him or yell at him or hug him (although she'd probably deny that last one). "What're YOU so smug about?" Darien turned at the sound of Andrew's voice and shot him an innocent smile. "I don't know what you're talking about," he replied cheerfully. Andrew's expression was skeptical as he regarded his friend. "And why don't I believe you?" he replied with a chuckle. "I'm just thinking about Serena's secret admirer, is all," Darien replied evasively. "Did she make you read the note yet?" Andrew laughed. "She nearly tied me to the chair 'till I looked at it," he replied. "I don't think I've ever seen her so happy! And that's saying a LOT for Serena!" He paused, then shot Darien a sly glance. "But, ya know...I couldn't help but notice that the handwriting seemed a little familiar to me..." he added. Darien returned his look, trying to appear innocent, but the slight grin that kept tugging at the corners of his mouth gave him away. "Ah-HA!" Andrew crowed. "I KNEW it! YOU'RE the one who sent the roses, aren't you?" "Keep it down, will ya!" Darien hissed. "I'm supposed to be a SECRET admirer, remember?" "Er...right, Dar. No problem." Andrew's voice was considerably lower. "One question though. Why're you doing things this way? I mean...why not just send her the flowers and sign your name to that poem, so she knows they're from you?" Darien snorted. "Because the last time I checked, Serena can hardly stand the sight of me, and I haven't been too kind to her, either. What do you think she'd do if I suddenly just started sending her flowers and writing her love poems?" Andrew thought for a moment. "Hmm...I see your point. I guess she might be a little suspicious of your motives," he replied slowly. "Exactly." Darien took another sip of his coffee. "But are you ever gonna tell her, or are you just gonna make her insane wondering who's sending her these gifts?" Andrew asked. Darien bit his lip, turning his gaze to Serena, who was gazing at the flowers thoughtfully, one slender finger stroking the deep red bud. "I'll tell her eventually, I guess. But first I have to make her see that I'm not the bad guy. I mean, if I can become friends with her, get her to know ME...well, maybe then she'll realize that Ryan isn't the right guy for her," he said. "Oh...so this whole thing is about Ryan, huh?" Andrew replied dryly. "No! Well...yes. Sort of. I mean, I SAW how he treats her, Andrew. He treats her like...like..." "Like you do?" Darien turned a startled gaze to Andrew, who returned it innocently. Then he grinned a bit sheepishly. "Well...yeah," he admitted. "But not anymore. I'm gonna prove to her that I can be everything she's ever wanted if it's the last thing I do!" With that, he drained the last of his coffee, bid Andrew farewell, and walked out of the arcade. Continued... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ So...how is this so far? Boring? Too long? Email me and let me know! Comments, flames welcomed. I got my little bag of marshmallows right here... More on the way!