I know, in the beginning I mentioned that this story takes 
place around the beginning of Sailor Moon, but in this chapter I 
mention that Sailor Moon is the leader, and they didn't make her 
the leader until around the end of the first season (right after 
Venus makes the scene, if memory serves...).  Well, in this story, 
she's the leader now, even though she doesn't even have the moon 
wand yet and they aren't searching for the crystals.  Call it an 
alternate reality, k?  Cause you'll KNOW that none of the coming 
scenes happened in the real story!  Disclaimers:  Sailor Moon isn't 
mine, but you all already know that, so it's hardly worth the 
effort of mentioning it, isn't it? ;-)Enjoy!

"Love Waits for You"   
by Stormlight

~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter Five
~~~~~~~~~~~~

	"This is really good, Darien.  Thanks for treating us," 
Molly proclaimed cheerfully around a mouthful of eggroll.  Serena 
was too busy inhaling her food to comment much, but she mumbled 
something that could pass for a "yeah, thanks" and kept right on eating.
	"No problem," Darien replied, smiling in amusement.  "Not 
often I get to eat lunch with two pretty girls."
	Molly blushed and giggled a little, whereas Serena shot him 
a sharp glance, before deciding that he was merely teasing, and 
rolled her eyes.  "Oh, come off it, Darien," she snorted, pausing 
long enough in her eating to retort.  "You probably eat lunch with 
a different girl every day of the week!  I see how they're always 
fawning over you!  It's kind of sickening, really."
	Darien's lips quirked in a smile as an eyebrow shot up.  
"Are you saying you're always watching me?" he teased.  "Are you jealous?"
	"HA!  Like even!" Serena yelped.  "I did NOT say that!  
But you shouldn't pretend to be so modest when we both know 
you're as arrogant as a tomcat!  Admit it!"
	Now both of Darien's eyebrows shot up, and he opened his 
mouth to make a sharp retort, but Serena's expression stilled him.  
She was staring, wide-eyed, past him, looking absolutely stunned, 
frozen into silence.  Curious, not to mention a little alarmed, 
he glanced over his shoulder to see what had startled her so 
much...and there was Ryan, strolling through the food court like 
he owned the place, two of his pals swaggering behind him.  
Darien scowled.  Speaking of arrogant tomcats...
	"Hide me!" Serena suddenly hissed, looking around desperately.  
"If he sees me here...with you...he'll think...oh, just HIDE me!"
	"Uh...hide you WHERE?" Darien asked sarcastically.  "Under the table?"
	"Great idea!" Serena yelped, and immediately disappeared, 
ducking beneath the table and shoving their packages in front of 
her to hide her from view.
	"Oy vey," Darien muttered, slapping his forehead.  "I was 
being sarcastic," he added drolly, looking under the table.  
	Two large blue eyes glared up at him.  "Shut up!" came the 
sharp hiss, followed by a swift kick in the shin, making him yelp slightly. 
	"What was that for?" he hissed, glaring at her.
	"Just sit up and act normal!  He's heading this way!"
	"Look who's talking about acting normal," he muttered, 
straightening and shooting Molly an exasperated look, who merely 
shrugged in return and sipped her milkshake.
	Ryan reached them a few moments later, looking Molly over 
carefully.  "Aren't you Serena's little friend?" he finally asked, 
somewhat suspiciously.
	Molly eyed him coolly.  "Yeah.  So what's it to you?" she 
retorted, not even trying to hide her dislike of him.
	"Isn't she supposed to be with you today?  She canceled a 
date on me to hang out with you at the mall, and here you are with 
him, instead.  So...where's Serena?"
	Molly shrugged.  "She decided to go into the...um...video 
game store.  I said I'd wait here for her."
	Ryan raised an eyebrow.  "I just came from the video game 
store.  I didn't see her there," he said coldly.
	"It's a big store.  Must've missed her," Molly replied 
smoothly, shooting Darien a somewhat desperate glance.
	Ryan turned his gaze to the other man.  "So what're YOU 
doing here?" he asked.  "Serena told me that it was just gonna be 
her and Molly."	"They missed their bus.  I happened to be nearby and 
offered them a ride.  So in return they said I could tag along."  
Darien's voice was icy, as was his stare.
	"How convenient," Ryan sneered.  "Did you buy them lunch, too?"
	"Well, I thought I'd make it up to Serena for the meal you 
didn't buy her the other day," he replied with a smirk.  For this 
he received a hard punch in the leg from under the table, and 
barely refrained from yelping.  He winced instead.  Well, okay, 
he supposed trying to rile Ryan wasn't the smartest thing to do...
	Ryan was glaring daggers at him.  "Serena's MY girl, got 
it?" he snarled.  "You keep your paws away from her!  Nobody 
touches her but me!"	Darien stood smoothly, towering over Ryan by a good foot, 
and glared down at him in a way that caused him to step back a 
pace.  "Last time I checked, Serena was a person who could choose 
to hang around with whomever she wants.  You don't have the right 
to tell her what to do."	Ryan looked around nervously, noting that people were 
starting to stare.  He sneered and backed up, motioning to his 
two lapdogs to follow him.  As they started to leave, Darien got 
in one last word.  "By the way, Ryan," he added, glaring at him 
steadily.  "If I ever find out that you've hurt Serena in any way 
again...you'd better hope I don't find you, because you'll regret 
it if I do.  She's a sweet girl.  She deserves better than the likes of you."
	Ryan muttered something under his breath as he stalked 
away, and Darien sat back down again, heaving a sigh.  Then he 
leaned over and looked under the table.  Serena was staring after 
Ryan with wide eyes, but when she turned her gaze to him, her 
look turned furious.  "What were you thinking?!" she snapped.  
"You didn't have any right to say those things to him!"
	Darien rolled his eyes.  "Get out from under the table," 
he sighed, gripping her arm and helping her to slide back into the 
seat.  "You should thank me for getting rid of him for you.  Would 
you rather I told him you were under there?"
	"No," she muttered, glaring down at her plate.
	"You're welcome," he said, slightly miffed.
	She sighed.  "Look, thanks for not blowing my cover, thanks 
for lunch, and...and thanks for...defending me."  She glanced over 
at him.  "It was nice of you to stick up for me like that, I guess.  
Even though you STILL didn't have the right to say those things.  
He's my boyfriend!"	"Some boyfriend," Darien snorted.  
	"I'm not going to discuss it with you!  It isn't any of 
your concern," she retorted haughtily.  Turning to Molly, she 
fixed on a bright smile and added, "Well, I'm done eating.  
Wanna go to the video store next?"
	"Are you girls STILL not done shopping?!"  Darien's look 
was incredulous, and they giggled, standing up and grabbing their packages.
	"We can go on all day!" Molly teased.  "It's a shopping marathon!"
	"What's the matter, Dar?  Are we wearing you out?  Maybe 
you should go home and take a nap!" Serena added, laughing at his expression.
	"Very funny, Meatball Head," he replied, reaching over 
and lightly pinching her side.  She yelped and jumped, then 
glared at him and returned the favor, only harder.  Darien, 
suddenly feeling playful, grinned slightly, then reached out 
behind her and grabbed her sides with both hands, trying to tickle her.
	"Hey!" Serena squealed, pulling away.  "What's the big 
idea?!"  She glared at him, but he looked at her and smiled innocently.  
	"Is something wrong?" he asked, and her eyes narrowed.
	"Try that again, buster, and I'll give you a smack in the 
face!" she warned, brandishing her fist under his nose.
	"I'm so worried," he replied with a grin, but didn't tickle
her anymore.  "Well, anyhow, the video store's this way.  Come on!"   
Before he changed his mind, he dared to reach out and grab Serena's 
hand, pulling her along.  She looked at him, surprised for a minute,
until he grabbed Molly's hand on his other side.  For a moment, she 
felt almost...disappointed, but she quickly hid it and allowed 
herself to be led along.*	*	*	*	*
	Serena was busy checking out the new releases when she 
suddenly heard someone calling her name.  Looking around, she 
saw Amy waving to her, followed by Raye and Lita.  "Hi, guys!" 
she chirped, waving back.  "Fancy meeting you here!"  She 
giggled a little at her own joke, and Raye rolled her eyes.	
	"We've been looking all over for you," she complained.  
"Amy tried calling you on the communicator, but all she got was static!"
	"Oh, well, see...I kinda left the communicator at home," 
Serena said sheepishly, casting a quick glance at Molly and Darien, 
who were checking out the comedies.  "Didn't want it to go off when 
I was with them around.  I wouldn't know how to explain it that I'm 
carrying around Sailor Moon's communicator."
	"Serena, you know you're to have it with you at all times!" 
Amy scolded.  "What if there's an emergency?  A youma could attack 
at any time!  We have to be ready!"
	"Relax, Ames!  There hasn't been an attack in weeks!  I 
figured I could take a few hours off to go shopping!" Serena grumbled.
	"Look, speaking of the Negaverse, I'm having a fire reading 
at the temple in an hour.  I've been picking up some really weird 
vibes lately, and we need to check it out.  We've been slacking in 
our duties," Raye stated.  "You better be there!"
	"But...I promised Molly we'd spend the whole day together!" 
Serena protested.  "I can't just up and leave her!  She'd never 
understand!  What am I supposed to tell her?"
	"Tell her something important came up and you have to go.  
You can make it up to her later," Raye replied with an exasperated sigh.
	"But...you don't understand..." Serena stammered.  "We've 
been...I mean...she's my best friend!  I don't want to..."
	"Just tell her that you have to go and come on!" Raye 
snapped, running out of patience.  "You're Sailor Moon, and 
Scout business always comes first!  You know that!  You're our 
leader, so start acting like it!"
	Serena turned a cold gaze onto her.  "I never asked to be 
your leader," she said in a voice gone deadly soft.  "But fine.  
Since Scout business obviously means more to you than keeping a 
promise does...I'll come to your meeting."
	Before anyone could react, she turned and stalked over to 
Molly, speaking softly to her.  "Molly, I'm so sorry, but something 
important came up.  I really hate to do this...but do you think it 
would be okay to take a raincheck on those movies?  Maybe next 
Saturday would work out," she said, her voice laced with guilt.
	Molly stared at her, stunned and hurt.  "But...but you 
promised the whole day," she replied, her voice soft.  "I thought..."
	"I know, Molly.  I thought that, too.  But...sometimes 
things don't always work out how we think they will.  Do youunderstand?"	
	Molly's eyes looked suspiciously bright.  "No.  I don't 
understand, and I don't think I ever will."  She looked to the 
Scouts, who lowered their gazes and refused to look at her.  "I 
don't know what's so special about them.  Why don't you ever let 
me come along with you?  Am I...am I not...good enough for you anymore?"
	"No!  Oh, Molly, no!  It isn't that at all!" Serena 
exclaimed, her eyes going wide.  "We'd love to have you come 
along...but you see...this is sort of a special club, and only 
us four are in it.  I'd love to have you come, but you could 
never be a part of it.  Don't ask me to explain, because I can't!  
Just trust me when I say th-that you're much better off NOT being 
a part of this club, believe me!  It's nothing but trouble, but it's necessary!"
	"Serena...I don't know what you're talking about," Molly 
said worriedly.  "Are...are you in some kind of trouble?  I 
mean...you aren't involved in anything bad or...illegal, are you?"
	Serena gave a small, bitter laugh.  "If only it were that 
simple," she replied.  "Look...I can't tell you about it now, but 
I promise that someday I will!  I...I have to go.  They're getting 
impatient."  She turned to Darien, who was listening intently 
while at the same time trying not to appear to be doing so.  
"Darien, will you...will you bring Molly home?" she asked hesitantly.  
"She lives down the street from me; she can show you the way.  I 
don't want her to ride the bus by herself."  Her gaze was pleading, 
and his own softened as he looked at her.
	"Sure, Serena," he told her.  "I'll be glad to take her home."
	She gave him a brilliant smile.  "Thanks, Darien," she 
replied, relieved, before turning back to Molly.  "I'll call you 
tonight, okay?  Tomorrow after school, maybe we can watch those videos!"
	"Yeah, sure," Molly replied dejectedly.
	Serena sighed, pondering on whether to say anything else, 
but an impatient cough from Raye quickly put an end to that notion.  
"I'll talk to you later, 'kay?  See ya!"  She grabbed her bags and 
quickly headed over to the three girls with an annoyed, "I'm coming, 
already!  Don't get your panties in a bunch!"
	Molly watched her go, feeling a sense of foreboding fall 
upon her.  "Are you okay?" Darien asked from behind her.
	"No," she whispered.  "I'm not.  I'm losing my best 
friend...to something terrible...and I don't even know what it 
is!  And she won't tell me, and she assures me it's for the best 
that I don't know, but I just can't help feeling that something 
BAD is going to happen to her!  A-and it all started since she 
met those three girls.  They're nice girls...but there's just 
something about them..."
	Darien stared after Serena, where she and her friends were 
just exiting the mall.  Truth be told...he'd often felt those same 
things himself.  A sense of danger, a need to protect her at 
certain times.  He'd merely written it off as hormones before...but 
now he wondered if it wasn't something different...something deeper.
	It was a lot like the need he had as Tuxedo Mask to protect 
Sailor Moon, now that he thought about it.  It was imbedded into 
his mind that he HAD to protect that girl, no matter what the cost.  
As soon as she was in danger, his sixth sense woke up, urging him 
to transform, to get to her before it was too late, and he didn't 
even know why.  At times, in the beginning, when it had happened, 
he had tried to ignore it, but the urge had just come more and 
more strongly until it was almost a physical pain, and he'd been 
forced to give in every time.  So eventually he'd stopped trying.
	Molly was still standing there, trying not to cry, and he 
wrapped an arm around her shoulder and gave it a friendly squeeze, 
smiling down at her.  She smiled back slightly, wiping her eyes.  
"Well, anyhow, I guess I might as well go home," she said, trying 
to sound brave.	"Yeah, same here.  Come on," he told her, leading her out 
of the mall to the car.  He drove silently, deep in thought, only 
half listening to the directions Molly gave him.  He pulled to a 
stop in front of her house, giving her a distracted smile.  "It 
was a fun day," he told her.
	Molly giggled.  "You don't have to say that.  It must've 
been boring for you, hanging out with a couple of teenagers."
	"Naah, I had fun.  It was...interesting, to say the least."
	"Well, in that case, you can come along the next time me 
and Serena go shopping," she giggled, getting out of the car.  
"Thanks for the ride!"	"No problem," he replied, waving and driving away.  He 
didn't want to leave Molly, honestly.  She seemed so sad.  But 
there was something else he had to do, and he knew he'd better 
do it before common sense kicked in and he changed his mind.  
He drove a little way before parking the car and getting out.  
He could see the Cherry Hill Temple, right down the street.  
Where Serena and her friends were supposed to be holding their 
"secret meeting" or whatever it was.
	It was getting dark, luckily, and he was wearing dark 
clothes, so it wouldn't be any problem to sneak onto the temple 
grounds.  It wasn't that he didn't trust Serena, he reasoned, but 
if she was in trouble, he figured he'd better find out what it 
was, if only to put Molly's mind at ease.  **Not to mention your 
own,** he told himself wryly, creeping up to the temple and 
peering in an open window.
	There were the girls, gathered around a fire, with Raye 
sitting in front of it, chanting something in a soft voice.  The
others watched silently, their expressions ranging from keen 
interest (which would be Amy) to absolute boredom (which was, 
of course, Serena).  Darien honed in on her, noting that she 
didn't seem particularly distressed.  But what was Raye doing?  
It looked like...a fire reading.  He had always known Raye was 
a bit of a mystical person, but he'd never actually seen her at 
it before.  Had she always had such an affinity to fire?
	Finally, after long moments, Raye cursed softly and 
slumped down.  "I can't get any readings of the youma at all," 
she complained.  "It just...disappeared!  Are you sure you read 
that energy right, Amy?  I saw the youma in my vision, but it isn't there now."
	**Youma?  Reading energy?**  Darien's brow furrowed.  What 
in the world were they talking about?  He leaned in to listen closer.
	"Do you mean to tell me that you dragged me from my shopping 
trip for nothing?" Serena was complaining.  "This is boring!  I 
thought you said the Negaverse was gonna attack again!"
	Darien's eyes went wide, and he barely held back a sharp 
gasp.  **Negaverse?  What does SHE know about the Negaverse?!** he 
thought in astonishment.  **What is going on here?!**
	"The Negaverse WAS acting up!  I saw a youma in my dreams.  
I know my vision was right!" Raye snapped, glaring at Serena.  "Let 
me try again.  I'll get it this time!"  With that, she turned back to her fire.
	Darien was really confused now.  He glanced at Amy, seeing 
her movement, and his jaw nearly hit the floor when she suddenly 
pulled a small computer from midair and began to tap the keys 
swiftly.  **Wha...did I just SEE that?  How did she DO that?!  
The only other person I saw do that before was...was Sailor Mercury...**
	"Well, we'd better make this fast.  Serena needs to get 
home to study for that math test," a new voice suddenly spoke up, 
and Darien's jaw DID drop when he realized that it was coming from 
a small, black cat with a crescent moon on her forehead curled up
beside Serena's knee.	"Awww...Luna!  Let it go!" Serena whined.  "I'll study 
before school tomorrow, okay?"
	"I'll believe THAT when I see it," the cat replied wryly.
	**Luna...that's Serena's cat,** Darien was thinking, eyeing 
the feline suspiciously.  **But most cats can't hold intelligent 
conversation.  The only other cat I know that CAN talk is...**
	Sailor Moon's companion.  A small black cat.  With a 
moon-shaped mark on its head.  Named Luna...
	Like a bolt of Jupiter's lightening, everything suddenly 
fell into place.  All their secretiveness.  Their knowledge of the 
Negaverse.  Raye's fire reading.  Amy's magic computer.  Serena's 
talking cat...who ALSO happened to be Sailor Moon's talking cat...it 
was so obvious now!  The web of magic that kept their identities a 
secret fell away before Darien's very eyes, and he suddenly realized 
exactly who Serena's friends were.	They were the Sailor Scouts.
	And Serena, of all people, was Sailor Moon...

Continued...