Author’s note: Hi, everyone! This is my Second attempt to a piece of this story, hope ya like it! This has... “THE DATE” in it. So, MAYBE you’ll likeit. Honestly, I’m not the best romance writer. For that, you’d have to go see Alicia Blade, her writing’s awesome AND romantic *sigh* I’d like to thank my girl on the web, Sailor Starlite, for being a GREAT friend, I would NEVER have had the gall to send this in myself, if it wasn’t for her... She’s also helping me by sending in the parts to this story, so HUGE HUGE HUGE thanks to her. Read her stuff! She just finished a really good story, so read that! Any ways, I am happy to bring you this new part, and as usual, standard disclaimers DO apply. *************************************** Title: Serena and Darien... together? No WAY! Part: 2 By: Mako-Chan E-mail: Breeze13@hotmail.com Rated: PG-PG13 *************************************** After Serena had left, Andrew waltzed over to Darien and said, “so, she said yes?” “Yeah...” said Darien, still dazed that she actually was going out with him. “Well, then... WHERE are you going?” asked Andrew. “I don’t care!” said Darien, getting up and spinning in circles, his arms out-stretched. Andrew laughed, he had NEVER seen Darien act like thisbefore! “So, Dare, what’s the plan for tonight? You know, you only have four hours to prepare...” teased Andrew. Darien stopped spinning and his eyes grew wide, “You’re right!” “Huh? Dare, I was only joking!” “That may be, but either way, I only have four hours! My hair! Reservations! My clothes!” he panicked. Andrew laughed, and Darien smacked him lightly with his notebook, “It’s not funny, it’s serious!” he complained. “Later, Dare!” called Andrew as Darien blew past him, a black and greentornado. “What’s with him?” asked Sherry, a waitress. “He’s got a big date tonight,” laughed Andrew. “Really? That doesn’t sound like Darien,” she said. “Well, I have a feeling he’ll be back.” “What makes you so sure?” questioned Sherry. “He forgot her address,” said Andrew wryly. At that moment, Darien ran through the doors and snatched the paper from Andrew’s hand, then took off again. ******************************************************************** Serena glanced at the mirror, for the billionth time that day. She had on a light pink dress that was almost (but not quite) see-through. The material seemed to glitter a little, and it matched the soft pink eye shadow she had worn. The dress had short, feathery sleeves that looked perfect with the round, slightly low, neck-line. The back was tied in a sort of crisscross design, and into a cute bow. It had light bunnies all over it, in VERY pale white; so pale, that you had to look closely to see them at all. Her hair was done in the usual style, with pink bows around the buns. Perfect, she thought, absolutely perfect. But still, doubt lingered in her mind. What if he absolutely hates pink on girls? She asked herself. Or what if he expects me to go without the meatballs today? She shrugged her doubt out of her system. After all, he could live with a little pink on a meatball head. It was his idea to do this date in the first place, and she didn’t care one way or the other what he wanted today. She still was mad at that cute, wonderful, sexy, guy with a minus zero personality. At Darien’s house, he was busy pulling the same doubts through his mind, only without the “I’m mad at” her alibi. He had made reservations the moment that he got home, for a new restaurant on this side of town. It supposedly made the greatest of everything. Then he went to a hair stylist to get his hair perfect. (AN: sorry,not sure what guys do when they are excited about a date!) He wanted EVERYTHING to be perfect. He then followed up by buying a new suit, and putting on some cologne. He THOUGHT he looked perfect, but he still wasn’t sure. Serena checked her watch. 7:58. ‘STILL?!’ she thought, ‘Hey, itshouldn’t matter to me! This is JUST Darien, you know that jerk,’ her mind seemed to scream at her. Still, she double checked her hair, make-up and dress before running down the stairs and telling her mom she was going out on a date, and that she’d afterwards be going to another sleep over, this time at Amy’s. After she had told the other three that she was going out with Darien, they insisted upon it so they could have all the “juicy details”. “Again?” asked her mother, “I can’t believe it! You four have been having slumber parties almost every night this week! Just because you’re on summer vacation, doesn’t mean you need to be out EVERY night!” “Please, mom? Pretty please with sugar on top?” begged Serena. Her mother sighed, “fine, but still, you need to promise me thatyou’ll call FIRST THING TOMMORROW MORNING!” “Of course, mom.” “Now, who’s the lucky guy you’re going out with tonight? Is it aformal date?” giggled Elaine. (Her mom, that’s the standard name that is used) “Of course not, mom! It’s this guy that drove me crazy all the time, making me mad, and he is apologizing by taking me out, that’s all.” Her father, who was reading the paper behind them, seemed to slump down with a sigh ofrelief. “I see,” said Elaine, but her eyes twinkled. There was a quiet knocking at the door, and Serena raced to it. Her brother, Sammy, got there first. “Who are you?” asked Sammy, clearly disappointed it wasn’t for him. “My name’s Darien,” he said, then stiffened, “is Serena around?” “I’m right here,” she said, her voice cold, “and this is my brother, Sammy.” “Nice to meet you, Sammy,” said Darien. “Yeah, yeah, yeah... are you Serena’s boyfriend or something?” heasked. “Uh, well...” started Darien. “No,” said Serena, “Darien’s just a guy who asked me out.” “Yeah, right,” said Sammy, rolling his eyes. “Shall we?” asked Darien. “I guess. Bye Mom, Dad!” she called out the door. Darien walked with Serena a few steps before she said, “So, whereare we going?” “That new restaurant, Moon Kingdom Cafe’,” he answered. “Isn’t that supposed to be like a themed restaurant, you know, a kingdom onthe moon?” “Yeah, I guess so. I just heard that they made very good... well, anythingthat you can order!” he chuckled. “Well, I always wanted to go there. Maybe not like this, but I have alwayswanted to go there.” They reached a sleek black convertable car. Serena’s eyes immidiately flew wide open and she said, “THAT’S your car?! How many banks did ya knock off to get that? Or was it just a gift from a rich realative? You know, dearly departed?” He smiled, “Actually, I just saved for a few years. I had alwayswanted a sports car, so I made up my mind to save for one. Hop in, Meatball Head.” Her eyes went dark, “If you want to stay on my good side, I’dsuggest NOT calling me Meatball Head.” He laughed, then hurried to Serena’s door and opened it for her,“You’re door, mi’lady,” he said with a grin. She turned her nose up and slid into the car. It was then that Darien first caught a good sight of her. She was breathtaking, in every sense of the word. She looked so good in pink, he thought. Heck, she looked good in ANY color, he chuckled, even those ugly school uniforms that the Juuban area forced the kids to wear to school. Serena got a good look at Darien when he opened the door for her. Hehad his hair done the usual way, only every piece was in the right place, not one strayed against his eyes. He wore a black tuxedo with a black bow tie, and for some reason that Serena couldn’t pin point, he looked familiar in it. She shrugged it off, noticing Darien chuckling to himself. She raised an eyebrow. What was so funny? He then walked calmly over to his door and opened it, placing the keys in the black dream as he did so. The car made a satisfied purr, and then they rode smoothly over to the Moon Kingdom Cafe’. The ride was quiet, neither knew how to break the uncomfortable way they felt. A few times, it looked like one was about to open their mouths to say something, but they always cut themselves short. When they arrived there, a man wearing a gray uniform waltzed out to greet them. “Valet service, sir?” suggested the man. He had short, dirty blonde hair, and the familiarity of this man gave Darien the heebie-jeebies. One glance at Serena announced that she was feeling the same way. “Uh, yeah,” Darien said, handing the man his keys. The man put one hand across his uniform, bending it at the elbow in a sharp “V” across this bib-like thing that was buttoned up, and bowed. “Just ask for Jedeite,” he said. Darien shivered, and something tickled at the back of his mind. He shrugged it off. Strolling through the door-way, another man in the same tacky gray uniform greeted them, and then asked, “Do you have a reservation?” this man had long white hair, and wore it down about his shoulders. The same feeling tugged at the back of Serena and Darien’s brains, but they shook it off. “Yes. Chiba for two, please,” he asked, his voice unsteady for some reason. The man snapped his fingers and another man walked out. He had a long red-blonde ponytail, and looked very femine for a guy. “Take Mr. Chiba and his guest to the princess table, Zoicite, and then see to it that Nephrite serves the VERY best for them.” The man named “Zoicite” did one of those creepy bows, and then he said, “right this way, sir.” The first man stopped Darien and said, “If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to ask me about them. My name’s Kunzite and I am more than happy to meet any of your standards with a smile.” “Thank you, I will remember that,” said Darien, slowly following Zoicite down a red carpet to some rooms. “What’s with all the mineral names?” asked Serena. “I don’t know,” stated Darien, “but I think it has to do with the moon kingdom theme. After we eat, maybe we can go on a tour of this place. This is only the foyer, and this place is supposed to be huge, like a mansion.” Serena nodded, deep in thought. Then her eyes brightened as she saw the couples twirling around on the ballroom floor. Darien noticed her antics, and made a mental note to take her to the ballroom after they had finished eating.Zoicite continued down the red carpet, leading them past a HUGE kitchen where they heard a guy with long auburn hair yell, “YUCK! CAN’T YOU PEOPLE DO ANYTHING RIGHT?! KUNZITE WANTS ONLY THE BEST!” Finally, after a long corridor that seemed to stretch endlessly, they reached a little door. Zoicite opened it and led the couple through the golden door and entered a room with a crystal chandelier in it. There was a table, and a few shelves around the room but that was it, besides the nick-nacks on the shelves. The only other thing that caught Serena’s attention was a large cloak closet, made for holding wardrobes around the mid-evil times. Then Zoicite handed some menus to them, made that bow, and was about to leave when Serena yelped, “What?! You’re going to leave me alone withTHAT?!” Zoicite smiled and said, “You are welcome to any of the items and games that the princess suite has to offer, as well as the activities in the recreational area, and the ball room. Feel free to visit the princess’s gardens, they are the largest in the Moon Kingdom Cafe’.” After he had left, Serena raised an eyebrow and said, “Princess suite, eh?” Darien couldn’t help but smiling, “Well, you aren’t fit for a queen yet, but way too snobby for the servants quarters, or even the guest areas, so I decided to go princess.” She huffed a little, “Well, ‘Prince’ Darien, we’d better look through these menus before ringing that bell.” Darien’s smile broadened, and he pulled Serena’s chair out for her. She sat down, a pout fixed firmly in the place of a smile. Darien handed a silver-encased menu to Serena, and she took it graciously, flipping casually through the seemingly endless pages. Her eyes widened, “Boy, there sure are a LOT of choices here! I mean, I can hardly think of what to choose?” her eyes twinkled, “So how ‘bout we get a little ofeverything?” “You’re going to eat me out of my bank roll, Meatball Head,” said Darien with a smirk. Serena grinned, “So that’s a yes, right? If it is, I’ll even let that last ‘Meatball Head’ go.” Darien looked contemplative for a moment before saying, “Anything to stop your bickering, Meatball Head.” She gritted her teeth, “You’re pushing it!” she snarled, “but I’ll have to let it go, that is until we’ve ordered!” Darien laughed at her cuteness. It never failed, she was so adorable when she got mad like that. They pulled a cord lightly, and in walked the brunette they had seen in the kitchen earlier. “I am Nephrite,” he grinned, “the ‘royal’ cook here at the Moon Kingdom. What is your desire?” Serena giggled, “We want a VERY little of everything!” she grinned. Then made a face, “except all that gross stuff like squid and snails.” Nephrite made the bow with a smile, lightening up the seriousness of it, “And would you like your fortune told?” he asked, “only a dollar!” Serena looked pleadingly at Darien, who rolled his eyes. “All right, Meatball Head, you can get your fortune told.” Serena giggled happily and listened to Nephrite’s voice, “Close your eyes, and open your palm,” she followed his instructions, the he said, “now slowly open your eyes,” Serena opened her eyes to see Nephrite’s face, his eyes shut tightly and his hand fixed firmly on hers. “You have faced many battles, but have never lost one yet,” he stated softly. Serena’s eyes widened. HOW did he know that? NO ONE knew that she was Sailor Moon, and she didn’t believe in fortune telling, so... Did he know her secret? She tried to shake off the feeling she was getting in the pit of her stomach. “You like someone VERY much, two people, actually, but you are afraid that either one may break your heart,” he said, his voice sounding gravely. At that, Darien laughed a little, and Serena kicked him under thetable. “OW!” he yelped in pain.“SHHH!” said Serena. “I feel that you will come across many trials soon, but your efforts will pay off. You will unmask the faces of two new warriors, and you shall all become friends. Possibly more.” Serena’s heart did a flip flop. She KNEW he was talking about Tuxedo Mask... the unmask part? What of this other, ‘new warrior’? When Nephrite opened his eyes, Serena’s were as big as CD’s. He laughed, and she said, “Darien, you have GOT to try this! It’s unbelievable!” Then Darien smirked, “You, a warrior, Meatball Head? I highly doubt it,” he rolled his eyes, “Any ways, I don’t need to know about myself, or about my future, I already have a feeling that I know what I’m going to be doing.” Nephrite looked at him, with a glint of... was that recognition? He smiled, widely and said, “You, Mr. Chiba, intrigue me. I would like to tell your fortune for free.” Darien raised an eyebrow, “I don’t know, I’m not much of the fortunetype...” “Oh, come on,” Serena complained, “It will be fun. Besides, free is the greatest!” she promised. His heart melted when he saw her eyes pleading with his, “Okay, fine. I’ll play the fortune telling game,” he said. “YAHOO!” wailed Serena, who immideatly clamped a hand over her mouth and said, “sorry...” ********************************************************************* Author’s note: ‘Kay, decided to cut it off there, because it was getting WAY too long. I want to thank my best-moonie-internet-girl, Sailor Starlite (she’s another jupiter! Like so many of us out there!) go read her stories, they are CUTE! (especially the one she JUST finished, it is SO good.) I haven’t really gotten in touch with many others on the web, (well, not any die hard moonies) so E-MAIL ME!-Mako-chan