Title: Trouser Snakes and Meatball Heads Chapter: One Author: masxvi Email: Sailor_Venus@New_Senshi.zzn.com Rating: G Hi there everybody! This is my new story, it's about--oops! Can't give the story away now can I? I'm so happy! I'm 15 now!!! Woo-hoo! Anyway, before that little outburst, I was going to say all my thanks. So, thanks to the following people who emailed me about my first story, Mina's Helping Hand: Ms. Grace McMoon, Serena Chan, Makoto, and Sailor Starlite. Especially to Makoto and Sailor Star- lite, the two what I call "senior writers", because I love mail. They were the first two to email me and you KNOW that I appreciate mail. And now, thanks to the following people: CaBlAb1127, Super- SayainMae, Sarah and Lili, and Rob and Jessie and Aimee. Also to Alicia Blade and Lady Starra for accepting my stories and posting them on ASMR. Oh yeah, can't forget to thank Gina T. I also want to thank Sarina for posting my fanfics on her site. Please visit The Silver Millenium, http://www.mckown.org/main.html, and sign the guestbook. I promised Sarina I'd advertise her site. So, standard disclaimers apply and I don't feel like writing them so fill in the blank where necessary. On with my story!!! "Yes! I'm so excited!" exclaimed Serena. "Finally! A weekend away from everything...and best of all, with my best friends!" "Serena, calm down," Lita smiled. "We're all happy." "Elated is a better word," Amy was also smiling. They had made a pact to see if Amy could spend an entire weekend away from her laptop, and surprisingly Amy had agreed. Mina was just as excited as Serena, and was saying a little poem. "No more parents, no more chores, a weekend away with just skiing stores." "Woo-hoo!" Serena exclaimed. "No more parents, no more chores..." Serena sighed contentedly. "And most of all..." "No Darien," the four girls said together. "Exactly!" Serena took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. They were in the mall, and, believe it or not, Serena was getting tired of walking around. But nothing could ruin her good mood. She'd be in a ski cabin in the mountains, with her best friends, and most of all, she wouldn't have to deal with that annoying Darien. Serena sighed happily again. She closed her eyes and let a yawn escape. She giggled and thought nothing of it. "Hey guys, I'm getting tired. How about you?" "Me too," Mina agreed, heaving a big yawn. "What time is it, Ames?" Lita asked. "Oh my gosh! It's later than I thought! It's nearly nine!" Amy exclaimed, panicked. "My parent's will kill me if I'm not home by nine," Serena's shoulders sagged, but were immediately perked up by the thought of no Darien and no parents for a whole weekend. "How much time do we have, Amy?" "Approximately fifteen minutes. If you run, you can make it home in precisely twelve minutes. If you walk though, you will be late," Amy informed her. "Go, Serena! You don't want to be grounded on our ski weekend, do you?" "Absolutely not!" Serena dashed out of the doors of the mall, carrying her bags over her shoulders. She rounded the corner, and WHACK!!! She fell. Serena groaned, mumbling apologies, and groped for her bags. "We really oughtta stop doing this, Meatball Head," came the suave voice that made Serena's blood curdle. "Darien, I shoulda known," Serena muttered. "I'll be so glad when I'm outta here tomorrow. I won't have to see you for a whole weekend." "Believe me, I couldn't be happier," Darien replied. He held out his hand to help her up. Serena debated whether or not to accept the help, wondering which was better--getting in trouble or accepting help from Darien. Even the mention of his name made her blood run cold. The snow wasn't helping much either. Serena sighed and unwillingly accepted the help from him. "See? Now that wasn't so hard, now, was it, Meatball Head?" Darien smirked. "My name is Serena. Not Meatball Head," Serena said tiredly. "Look, I'm in too good a mood to play these stupid games with you. And, if I don't get a move one, I will be in major trouble when I get home." "Not much of a change," Darien muttered. "You're always late." "Ooh! Darien!" Serena stalked off, half running. Serena made it home just in time to not be late. She heaved a big sigh of relief and put her new ski stuff in her room. Serena immediately changed into her pajamas, said good-night to her parents, and climbed into bed. She couldn't wait for tomorrow to come. Serena woke up early the next morning. Serena's father was going to drive them up to the mountains early that morning and pick them up late Sunday night. She was extremely elated, especially since it would be a whole weekend without Darien. Serena suddenly felt a pang of guilt. 'Hey, being so happy about not seeing Darien is kind of mean, isn't it? I mean, I would be hurt if Darien was going away and was so happy about leaving me. I wonder how Darien feels... 'Oh well, Serena! Don't let that ruin your weekend! Besides, you'll see Darien on Monday. Same place, same time... 'But I've grown kind of used to seeing him everyday. 'Don't let it bother you! 'Right!' Serena went downstairs to eat. Whatever her mother was cooking smelled wonderful. "Mmm Mom! That smells...delicious!" "Thank you, Serena," her mother called back. Serena dashed down the rest of the stairs, grabbed her plate, pilled pancakes and bacon onto her plate, and slammed down into her seat in about five seconds. "Dang, Meatball Head," laughed Sammy. "Slow down. You've got all morning. And it's a surprise you actually woke up early." "Shut up Sammy," mumbled Serena through her breakfast. She swallowed and drank a gulp of milk. "I'm in too good a mood to be mad about you calling me 'Meatball Head.' And Sammy, I'm leaving as soon as I finish breakfast, right, Dad?" Mr. Tsukino only nodded and continued eating his breakfast. "See?" Serena stuck her tongue out at Sammy with a good meaning to it. She was just in high spirits and playing around. Sammy stuck out his tongue and rolled his eyes. When Serena had finished breakfast (and Mr. Tsukino had ushered her and her stuff into the car), she was more elated than she had ever been in her life. First, they went to go pick up Raye. Chad was by her side; he was crying his eyes out. "Please, Raye, don't go!" Raye sighed agitatedly. "Chad! I've planned this trip for weeks! I'm not going to give it up on account of you." Chad reached out for a hug which Raye reluctantly agreed to. "Can I go now?" Raye tapped her foot. "Chad, let go! I'll write you a postcard or take pictures or something! Just let me leave!" Chad blushed and let go of Raye. "Bye Raye." "See you on Monday Chad," Raye climbed into the backseat of the car with Serena, after putting her stuff in the trunk. "So, how long is it supposed to take to get to our cabin from here?" "Only an hour or so," Serena replied. "Really short when you think about all the fun we'll be having." "Yeah. I just wish it would be longer." Serena smiled at that and nodded. The next person they went to get was Lita. Lita jumped right in, flinging her stuff into the trunk, and sat down next to Raye. "Kinda squishy back here, isn't it?" "Yeah," Raye and Serena agreed. "But we'll have to fit Ames or Mina back here, and one of them can have the front." Serena said. "I'd rather be sitting her in the back with all my friends! And believe me, if I could, I would make it so we can all sit here in the back together." During the whole time, Mr. Tsukino hadn't said a thing. Serena noticed this and said, "Hey Daddy, you still alive up there?" Mr. Tsukino laughed and nodded. "Good 'cause I was getting worried," Serena smiled. That smile never evaporated the whole drive. Next stop was Mina's. They gathered Mina and Amy (Amy took the front seat) and were off to the mountains. When they arrived at the cabin, Mr. Tsukino gave them their stuff and immediately drove away. It's like he didn't want to say good-bye for fear he'd never see his "little girl" again. "Bye Daddy!" Serena waved. "Bye Mr. Tsukino!" waved the rest of the girls. "Woo-hoo!" Serena jumped for joy. "No parents, no rules, and best of all, no Darien!" Serena threw a snowball in the air, which landed on her face. Raye laughed. In answer to that, Serena launched a snowball at her. Raye was shocked for about two seconds and threw one at Serena. Laughing, Serena threw one at all the other girls too, and soon they were in a snowball fight. Serena and Mina on one side, Lita and Raye on the other, and Amy as referee. "Okay, we want a good, clean game. No inappropriate names or words, and follow the rules!" Amy said, taking out the whistle Lita had given her for this purpose only. "Team One," she looked to Serena and Mina's team. "Heads or tails?" "Heads!" said the two girls as the coin flipped through the air. "Tails," Amy reported. "Team Two is home team, Team One is the visitors. Ready, set..." she blew her whistle hard. "Play-uh-snowball!" Snowballs went tossing back and forth, giggles and full- out laughs escaping each of the girls, even Amy. Amy blew her whistle. "Foot fault!" She pointed to Team Two. "Foot fault on Team Two. Team One gets an extra shot. Use it wisely. Team One? Hello? Mina, Serena?" "Yeah Ames?" Mina said. Serena was looking far away. She saw the all-too-familiar gleam of a red sports car. She trudged steadily out from behind the snowball fight wall for Team One, and continued until she reached the gate of the cabin. She placed her trembling hands on the gate tops and whispered, "Oh no. Oh no. This can't be happening!" Then she turned to the others and yelled, "Darien! Twelve o'clock!" "Darien?" Lita replied uncertainly, shading her eyes. "Hey! That is Darien's car!" "No, no, no, no, no!" Serena cried in frustration. "This was supposed to be the perfect weekend! No parents, no chores, no rules, and most of all, no Darien! Oh, how could this happen to me?!" Darien's car stopped in front of the gate. Serena's surprised and horrified face quickly turned to hateful. She climbed over the small gate and walked over to Darien's car, leaving just enough room on the driver's side for him to get out. Serena tapped her foot impatiently. When the door opened and that familiar black top of his came out, her eyes went icy cold. "M-meatball Head?" Darien asked. "Don't call me that!" Serena screamed. "My name is Serena! Shall we all say it together? Ser-e-na. Serena. Now you try." "Meat-ball-Head." Darien laughed. "Seriously. What are you doing at Andrew's and my cabin?" "Your cabin? I don't think so! This is my friends and mine cabin! This is for our weekend!" Serena said in rage. "Hey Serena, you mind toning it down out there?" Andrew asked. "A-andrew? Andrew, what are you and the trouser snake doing here?" Serena asked. "We rented this cabin out for this weekend," Andrew smiled. "What are you and Lita and Mina and Raye and Amy doing here?" "This our cabin!" Serena stomped her foot to prove her point. "We'd been saving up for months for this cabin." "Do you have your rental slip?" Andrew asked. "Yeah, I have it here...somewhere," Serena searched her pockets and produced a yellow, yet wrinkled, piece of paper. "See? Cabin 3CM." "Uh, Meatball Head? Look at the shiny gold address on the front of the cabin," Darien pointed, putting his arm around her shoulder a nd spinning her around so she could see. "Cabin 3CN? Wha...? It can't be!" Serena began wailing. "It's okay, Serena," Andrew said comfortingly. "Darien will help you guys get to your cabin." "What? Me?" Darien gave Andrew a disgusted look. For some reason, in the back of Serena's mind, she was kind of relieved to see Darien. And in that same place, she had been longing to see him ever since the girls had arrived. 'Serena, hello! This is Darien. Darien. The man you can't stand? 'But...I can't help it. He feels so warm...how come hasn't let go of my shoulder? 'I don't know! Jerk away. Show him that he shouldn't touch you. But I like the way it feels. He's so warm...so close...it's freezing out here and he's the only thing keeping me warm. 'Oh jeez! Get a grip on yourself! 'He hasn't let go! His arm is draped on my shoulder! 'GET. A. GRIP!' With that, Serena gently lifted his arm off her shoulders (reluctantly) and with a sardonic smile said, "Yeah, Darien. I can sit next to you when we go." For some reason, that statement didn't bring any response from Darien, save for embarrassment. He sighed. "Okay, Meatball Head and Company," he yelled out to the girls, snowball fight forgotten. "Get your stuff and bring it over here!" "Why?" Mina replied. "Because you're at the wrong cabin. Andrew so *graciously* volunteered me to bring you all to your cabin." "We'll be right over," Lita nodded. The girls, except Serena, grabbed their parcels that had been resting on the wood platform of the mailbox. Lita kindly got Serena's bag for her. "Get in the back," Darien commanded. "And try not to get snow on the seats." Serena jumped in the passengers side and grinned malicously at Darien. Raye, Amy, Mina, and Lita all crammed themselves into the back seat of the vehicle and were chattering noisily. "How come you didn't tell me you were going to be going to the mountains this weekend too?" Serena asked, once he was in the car. The hum of the motor and the chatter of the girls in the back seat made it so that only Darien and herself could hear the conversation they were having. "You didn't say you were coming here either," Darien replied. "Did too! You were sitting right there at the arcade when I was telling Andrew about it! I even remember your nasty comment: 'Are you sure you'll even be ABLE to ski Meatball Head? I mean you can barely stand on your own two feet now. Talk about a coordination problem.' You're so mean Darien." "'You're so mean Darien.'" "You are SO immature!" "'You are SO immature!' Jeez Meatball Head! Do you ever listen to yourself talk?" "We're here!" Lita interupted them. "Later, Trouser Snake," Serena scoffed, grabbing her bag and hastily leaving the car. "The name's Darien, Meatball Head," Darien shouted out the open window. "And my name's Serena! You want me to call you by your real name, call me by mine!" was Serena black-mailing reply. "You are TOO adorable, Meatball Head," Darien said, once he was back on the slippery road. The following day, Serena woke up with the "Trouser Snake" on her mind. Finally, she was getting revenge. Serena highly suspected that Darien wouldn't quit calling her Meatball Head but she could annoy him just as much as he did she. "Wanna go skiing today?" Mina asked, bounding into the girl's room. "Oh yeah, and breakfast is on the table. Bacon and eggs and hot cocoa." Serena tossed off the covers and sniffed. "Smells great! Lita must've cooked, huh?" "You bet!" Mina replied, helping her friend to her feet (AN: Did you REALLY think that I'd leave out my favorite Scout from having a semi-important part?? HMM??). "We're gonna go skiing today." "Oh no!" Serena realized in horror. "I didn't bring my gloves! Maybe I left them somewhere..." Then she remembered that she had taken them off at the other cabin. She was going to make an ice ball and toss it at the Trouser Snake. "Maybe Andrew found them and brought them inside his cabin. I'll call later." "Sorry," Mina told Serena, tossing her a sweatshirt and some jeans. "The phones are dead. They're always dead around this time of the year. Raye tried to call the ski lodge this morning to see if it was okay to ski today." "Dang," Serena shook her head. "I'm gonna go and eat some more marshmallows," Mina left the room. Serena hurriedly dressed and went out into the kitchen. Lita placed a plate at a spot on the table. She then spotted Serena and said, "G'morning sleepy head! I wasn't sure if you were gonna wake up before ten." "Haha," Serena yawned. "Like I would waste my weekend away from my parents on sleeping." "Actually, you probably would Meatball Head," came Raye's opinion. "Hey Lita, how much food did you make? Did you make enough to feed the bottomless pit they call Serena?" "Shut UP, Raye," Serena retorted. "Maybe you ought to put some marshmallows in that big mouth of yours and be quiet for once." Mina was holding the bag of marshmallows (not those itty- bitty Jet Puff ones but those huge ones that are also made by Jet Puff) and giggled. "Raye?" "Wha--mmph!?" Mina stuck two marshmallows in Raye's mouth. Serena, Lita, and Mina all laughed. Raye's face became red as she chewed the marshmallows. Then she began to laugh. Serena wolfed down her breakfast, stretched, and said, "I've gotta go back to the other cabin. I left my gloves over there. Walking on this mountain is weird though. It's always slanting and the trail is covered. I wouldn't be upset with you guys if you went ahead to the lodge without me. I'll catch up. Besides, if you get there while I'm still at Andrew's he can drive me." "Ya sure Serena?" Lita asked. "I mean, what if something happens? Like you get lost or something? Ya know, the trail IS covered beyond even trying to see it." "I'll be fine Lita," Sernea reassured her with a smile. "I'll get my gloves, maybe talk to Andrew for a second, then go straight to the lodge." "Okay..." Lita said uncertainly. "I'll take your skis for you, Serena," Amy volunteered. "Thanks, Ames," Serena jumped out of the seat she was sitting in, stretched, and prepared to go out into the snow. Once she had all the snow gear on (AN: sorry, but I don't know any of the snow clothes you wear because where I live it doesn't snow). "Oh and, what's today?" "Saturday, December 18," Amy smiled. "Have fun with Andrew and Darien!" she called out the door. "Tell Andrew we say hello!" "I will!" Serena waved from the mailbox. "Bye guys!" Okay, so, how do ya like it?? Hmm?? I KNOW this one was not exactly romantic but...the others will be. Feedback is greatly appreciated! My email address is Sailor_Venus@New_Senshi.zzn.com and don't forget to visit The Silver Millenium (http://www.mckown.org/main.html) and sign the guestbook and/or email Sarina!!!!! Thanks!! Stay tuned for Chapter Two!!