Here's part 2. =)

StAnDaRd DiScLaImEr

CeReS@starmail.com
Rated: PG

'Til the Real Thing Comes Alongby CeRes

-^v^-^v^-^v^-^v^-^v^-^v^-^v^-^v^-^v^-^v^-^v^-^v^-^v^-^v^-^v^-^v^-^v^-^v

	"And I always thought that I'd be the first to get married," 
Serena said smiling sadly as she hugged Sammy goodbye and watched him 
speed away with his new wife. 'This isn't fair,' she thought lamely.
	It was only a few months ago when Sammy had called her, dropping 
the bombshell of his engagement like any annoying little brother would. 
The whole day of the wedding, Serena watched in pride and just a hint 
of envy as she observed the incredible bliss reflected in her brother's 
eyes. 'Someday I'll find that kind of love, and it'll be my turn to be 
that happy," Serena thought grinning at the image of her embarrassingly 
drunk brother sped away in the limo.
	"Excuse me," a polite, yet mesmerizing voice rang from behind 
her. Serena spun around only to collide with another figure.
	"Sorry," she apologized quickly, mentally hit herself for acting 
like such a klutz.
	"It's okay. I guess it was my fault" looking up, Serena relaxed 
at the amusement on the guys good looking face. "Um...I'm Greg Taylor," 
he extended his strong arm and briefly shook her hand.
	"Serena Paige," her mouth aching from smiling so hard.
	"Yeah," Greg said as if he had made a break through, "Your 
Sammy's sister. I'm one of the bride's relatives. I saw you up there at 
the alter. You were really... breathtaking," Greg admitted much to 
Serena's delight as she blushed a bright crimson, "Thanks."
	The rest of the night flew by like a shot; Serena had spent her 
time listening intently to Greg as he talked about the many things they 
had in common. At the end, or rather the beginning, of the day when 
everyone had left drunk, passed out, or sore, Greg finally asked Serena 
for a date. And of course Serena accepted, to her this guy seemed like 
the most normal person she had ever encountered for a long time.
                             *   *   *
	With a sigh of contentment, Darien leaned back in his chair. It 
was Friday night and this was the first time in a while that he didn't 
have to go on any date.
	"Andrew must have run out of women," Darien spoke thankfully, but all too soon.
	Andrew suddenly burst through the doors of Darien's office with a 
very unsettling grin plastered on his face, "Darien, great news!"
	"No," Darien snapped bluntly looking down at a stack of papers he 
was working on.	"But you didn't even wait to hear what I was gonna say!" Andrew 
began to whine like a little kid who didn't get his candy.
	"Every time that there's 'good news' it probably means you have 
another date for me," Darien replied still working as Andrew continued 
to complain, "So the answer is no."	"But she's really nice, and..."
	"No," Darien interrupted his friends rambling sharply, but Andrew persisted.
	"She recently became free, and she's pretty..."	"No," Darien retorted intently.
	Andrew continued, pretending not to hear Darien, "And she's 
really funny, and she's perfect for you. You'll have a great time."
	"Listen Andrew. I...I don't want to go on a date k? I just want 
to go home and maybe, for once, get a good night's..." Darien started 
to say, but before he could finish his sentence Andrew cut into his 
sentence, still pretending not to hear what Darien was saying.
	"Good, I'll set it up," Andrew announced cheerfully as he jetted 
out of the office before Darien could get out another word.
	After Darien had time to let the information hit his brain, he let out 
a low, tortured groan, and repeatedly banged his head against his desk, 
hoping to knock himself unconscious before the date.
                             *   *   *
	"So... who's you're next victim gonna be after this one Sere?" 
Mina inquired as Serena put her hair up in its usual meatballs.
	"How can you be so confident as to think that this is only gonna 
be a one date relationship, huh, Mina?" Serena asked impatiently while 
tapping her foot on the hardwood.
	"Well...uh...Serena, Lita and I have witnessed the 'flawed' date 
before. I mean with the past dates, you stop going out with the dude 
because he had a 'slight' flaw. That's how I know this one's gonna 
bomb," Mina replied matter-of-factly.
	"Well this one is gonna be different," Serena snapped 
defensively. 'At least I hope so.'
	The chime of Serena's doorbell interrupted her stare-down with 
Lita and Mina. Immediately, she made her way to the door, but gave her 
friends one last warning glare before she went on.
	"Hi Greg, won't you come in?" Serena greeted the casually dressed 
man into her lavish apartment.
	"Wow! This is quite a place Serena...," Greg stopped mid-thought 
as he collided with two sets of eyes, examining him up and down.
	"Down girls," Serena intercepted the gazes that Greg was 
receiving from Mina and Lita. "Um...Why don't you sit down Greg? I'll 
be right back, and then we can go," Serena lead an uneasy Greg to the 
living room, leaving him in between a skeptical Lita and a scowling Mina.
	"Okay, I'm ready to go," Serena step out of her room a few long 
minutes later in a nonchalant boatneck tanktop and black slacks outfit. 
But before she utter another word, Greg burst from the couch and zipped 
out of the apartment, dragging Serena along with him.
	"Sorry about that," Serena apologized readily when they reached his 
car, "My friends are overprotective during occasions like this."
	"No prob," Greg replied in between gasp of air.
	"So...um...where are we going?" Serena asked meekly, hoping that 
Mina and Lita's little cross examination didn't ruin her one chance for 
a normal date.
	"Oh, I thought that it would be nice if we went to The Rain Lotus 
to eat. They've been booked for weeks, and I finally got reservations. 
So I wanted to make a good impression in there and come with an 
exquisite woman at my side," Greg grinned smoothly after he had caught 
his breath.	"Oh," was all Serena could say, as she lowered her head to hide 
her burning cheeks.                             *   *   *
	Darien grimly pulled up in front of the towering apartment that 
Andrew had given him the address to. "Here we go again," he spoke 
lamely to himself as he waited exhaustedly for his newest torturer to appear.
	Just as he turned off the engine of the roaring car, a lithe 
figure stepped out from the glass doors of the building. Slowly, Darien 
staggered out of his car to the other side and opened the door.
	"Hi," he greeted, not even trying to hide his bordom.
	"Darien right?" a delicate hand stretched out cordially, forcing 
Darien to shoot his head up. There, right in front of him was a fair 
woman with ocean blue eyes and the same color hair that gently tickled 
the side of her face, "Hi I'm Ami Robertson." Darien's face ever so 
slowly lit up as he held her hand in a loose handshake.
	"I'm sorry to say, but I really hate doing this 'blind date' 
routine. My friend forced me into this," Ami confessed truthfully, 
which made Darien like her all that more.
	"To tell you the truth I feel the same way," he curled his soft 
lips into an irresistible grin and helped the composed woman into the car.
	"Is it alright for me ask where it is we're going to?" Ami asked 
calmly as Darien glided down the street in his car.
	"Well I hope The Rain Lotus is alright," Darien pretended to 
speak reluctantly, but he knew that every date he took down there loved 
the place.	"That would be superb," Ami voiced politely, as Darien continued 
to drive pass the luminous lights of the city.
                             *   *   *
	"It's so beautiful," Serena stared in awe as her senses were 
bombarded with the charm of the restaurant.
	"I knew you'd like it," Greg smiled warmly as he stepped up to 
the host booth, "Taylor, reservation for two."
	Immediately, the host skimmed through the book propped open 
before him, "ah yes. Right this way sir." The duo watched as the 
formally tailored man stepped from behind the platform. They were about 
to follow him when a refined and elegant voice called out to Serena's date.
	"Greg?"                             *   *   *
	"Here we are," Darien announced proudly as he placed his hand out 
to help the blue-haired woman out of his luxurious car.
	"Enchanting," Ami sighed staring at the restaurant to its full content.
	"Shall we?" Darien extended his arm out for her to take and 
walked along side her through the glass doors.
	As they emerged from the entrance, a gasp escaped his companion.
	"Greg?" was all she said as she looked ahead in disbelief.
	Darien gawked in the direction Ami was looking in and met with 
the sight of a moderately rigid man side by side with a breathtaking 
woman who seem awfully familiar.                             *   *   *
	"Ami?" Greg turned on his heels as he rushed to the amazingly 
beautiful woman with a dumbfounded Serena following steadily. "It's 
been so long!!"
	"Yes, it has been," the elegant female threw herself into a more 
than friendly embrace with the other man.
	"Oh Ami I want you to meet someone," Greg interrupted the reunion 
and gestured towards Serena, "Ami Robertson, I would like to introduce 
you to Serena Paige, my date." Serena, pushed out of her trance by the 
sound of her name, gave a warm smile to Greg's 'old friend'.
	"Hello," Serena nodded lightly.
	"How rude of me," Ami grinned graciously and waved in Darien's 
general direction, "This is Darien Collins."
	Darien, on the other hand, was too busy staring at the radiant 
blond with Greg's arm wrapped around her to even respond. Suddenly, the 
realization hit him like being sideswiped by a rock. 'It's that woman 
from the hospital, the angel,' Darien gasped inwardly , but on the 
outside his face was as indifferent as a glacier.
	"Hey Ames why don't you and your date join us. You and I have a 
lot to catch up on," Greg grinned stupidly.
	"Great," Serena mumbled sarcastically under her breath.
	"Did you say something Serena?" Greg asked not really paying any 
attention to her.	"I said that's great!" Serena quickly outburst, "The more the 
merrier." 'Boy that sounded lame' she thought regretfully.
	As soon as they were seated, things went from miserable to the 
way beyond miserable for Darien and Serena. For the next three hours, 
the two were subject to mind-numbing conversation after conversation 
which consisted mostly of Ami and Greg talking to each other. Serena, 
who was use to this sort of thing, just sat by and watched Greg and Ami 
giggle up a storm, every once in a while catching a glimpse of Ami's 
date who Serena couldn't deny was pretty hot. Darien, on the other 
hand, was pissed off beyond words. No one had ever treated him like 
this. Usually, his blind dates would be all over him. Not that he could 
complain, this was a lot better than having a human ornament draped 
around him like he was a big Christmas Tree. The best part for him was 
being able to see the so called 'angel' again.
	Ami gradually leaned over and whisper a faint message into Greg's ear.
	"Um...!" Greg jumped up abruptly, "um...Ami and I are going to 
check out the ...um... fish pond! ...um... we'll be right back!" In an 
instant Greg madly grabbed Ami's hand and rushed away from the table, 
leaving Darien and Serena all by themselves.
	Silence stretched between the two. Serena began to play idly with 
her glass, but Darien sat there still and uneasy. Seconds ticked away 
like minutes. The murmurs of conversations suffocated the room, and the 
sound of clinking ice against the blonde's glass, finally sent Darien 
over the edge.	"So I guess we have to wait for those two to come back before we 
eat," Darien broke the silence much to his delight.
	"I doubt that," Serena uttered continuing to tease her cup.
	"What do you mean?" Darien asked, slightly confused, giving his 
full attention to golden-haired beauty.
	"I mean," she responded placidly, "the fish pond is that way." 
Serena pointed in the opposite direction that Ami and Greg had charged off to.
	"Oh yeah," Darien dumbly stated, the realization that he had been 
stood up finally hitting him.
	Once again the familiar muteness extended between the two. That is, 
until Serena let out an involuntary sigh, "Ya know what the weird thing 
about this is?" Darien stared at her, deeply immersed in her voice. 
"I'm not surprised this happen," Serena said smoothly, "like every date 
this one turned out to be a disaster."
	"Tell me about it," Darien mumbled, instantly receiving Serena's attention.
	"I doubt you can even imagine the kind of dates I've been on," Serena 
announced incredulously.
	"Try me," Darien challenged, a grin playing his face as he spoke.
	"Okay..." Serena paused and thought for a while, "I have gone out 
on over thirty dates so far this year, each with different guys, and 
all of whom have shown the typical male trait of self adoration, no offense."
	"None taken," Darien responded. "But I can top that," he smiled 
as he saw Serena give him a skeptical look. "For the past four and a 
half months I have had three different dates every week thanks to my 
friend, Andrew, who seems to be a bottomless pit of blind dates. 
Furthermore, all those women I went out with clung to me the whole 
time. By the end of the date, I'd have handprints all over me."
	"Oh my gosh," Serena flashed Darien a sympathetic look, "I am so 
sorry for you. But, hey, at least your friend actually warns you first. 
My friends threw me a surprise party for my birthday. Of course, 
they had to go ahead and turn it into a dating service by inviting 
every single guy they came across. The whole night I was hit on by 
these dudes with the lamest pick-up lines I have ever heard. One them 
was even name 'Tony the Tiger'!"
	"Wow," was all Darien could utter after he heard her story.
	"But by far," Serena continued to talk, "By far the worst thing 
about this whole dating business is when you get stuck with that kind 
of person that...ya know...that kind of person that obsesses over their car..."
	"Or their make-up" Darien added playfully.	"or..."
	"Their hair!" the two spoke in unison, afterwards bursting into 
laughter at their conversation.
	"I don't think we were introduced very well. Especially with 
those two fawning over each other like they were," Serena extended a 
slender hand, "Serena Paige."
	"Darien Collins," the handsome figure gripped her hand in a 
cordial handshake, "Nice to me ya."
	"Likewise," Serena smirked brightly as she jerk Darien's hand 
forward towards her until he was no more than two inches away from her 
face, "Why don't we ditch this place? These formal restaurants give me 
claustrophobia."	"I couldn't agree with you more," Darien attempted to breath 
steadily.
	Suddenly, Serena dashed from the booth she and Darien were sitting at, 
dragging a dazed Darien along. Finally, the overactive blond released 
Darien's hand at the park across the street, but continued to walk down 
the cemented path.
	"Um...my car is that way," Darien pointed back in the way of the restaurant.
	"Well actually," Serena began, "I wanted to take a little walk 
through the park. Care to join me?" Immediately, Darien sprinted to her 
side and meandered down the sidewalk along with her.
	As the pair drifted through the crowd of roses and trees, each 
would listen to the other's story of dysfunctional relationships. They 
continued to chatter and stroll through the park until they noticed 
that they had found their way back to The Rain Lotus and Darien's car.
	"How about I take you home?" Darien offered graciously, not 
wanting the night to end so soon.
	"Sure" Serena accepted thankful that she wouldn't have to leave him so quickly.
	Serena gave directions from the passenger's seat as Darien drove 
through the familiar streets, until they finally hit her apartment building.
	"No way you live here too!?!" Darien gazed, astounded by the coincidence. 
	"What? Do you live here?" Serena asked dumbfounded.
	"Uh yeah," Darien replied matter-of-factly.
	"Oh my gosh," Serena giggled, "This is so incredibly cool!" 
Serena moved out of the car in one deft movement.
	"Tell me about it," Darien followed Serena to the elevator. 
Neither one of the two really noticing where the other was headed. That 
is until they hit their floor. The two were talking side by side when 
suddenly Darien stopped in front of a door and produced a key to open it. 
Serena studied her surroundings. A gasp escaped her lips as she slowly 
backed away from Darien.
	"Serena? What's wrong?" Darien inquired, slightly confused and 
worried as Serena covered her face with both hands.
	"Um...Darien...my apartments over there," the shocked woman 
extracted one hand from her face and pointed towards the door closest to his.
	Darien inhaled a sharp breath and the two stared at each other. 
In the next instant the duo was frantically pacing the halls both 
hyperventilating.	"Great...This is just g...r...e...a...t...!" Serena's bellow 
echoed throughout the empty hall, "I finally meet a guy that's not some 
self-absorbed, over-bearing weirdo, and he turns out to the jerk next door!"
	"YOU!?! WHAT ABOUT ME!?!?" Darien questioned furiously, "I 
finally find a woman who doesn't hang all over me like I'm a piece of 
meat, and she turns out to be the psyco-chick down the hall!"
	Serena scoffed incredulously, "Psyco-chick!?!"
	Darien mimicked Serena's rudely, "::scoff:: Jerk!?!"
	At that point Serena had had enough. Forcefully, she turned on 
her heels and stormed down the halls.
	"Leaving so soon Meatball Head!?!" Serena stopped dead in her 
tracks at Darien's remark. However, she took a few moments to compose 
herself. Taking in a couple of ragged breaths, Serena turned her head 
towards the intolerable figure. "Why would you care?" she responded 
disdainfully, and with that, strode through the hall her heels clinking 
behind her and a stunned Darien in her tracks. The last sound from the 
hall was the noise of Serena coldly slamming her door shut.
                             *   *   *
	Serena leaned against her frigid door for a shear instant. In the 
next moment, she made a frenzied bolt to her room. Grabbing one of the 
feathery pillows from her bed, Serena stuffed her face into its plush 
softness and screamed out her anguish.
	"Why do the good ones always have to be such jerks!?!" she groaned 
into the furry fabric and collapsed onto the warmth of her bed.
                             *   *   *
	Darien, still shocked and dazed, gently closed the door to his apartment.
	"I can't believe it," he supported himself along the solid wall, 
"that woman, the angel, is that insufferable neighbor of mine!?!"
	He should have been angry. He should have been pissed off beyond 
words. But the only thing Darien could think about at the moment was 
wanting to see that angel again.
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eNd Of PaRt 2
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yay! It's done! It's done! Summer's here and finals are over! I can
continue my story now! Yay! So what do you think? Comments? Flames?
Whatever! If you have some just email me.  =) i'm so...happy!