Title: An Uneggspected Discovery Author: Erdric Calhar E-Mail: LunarEB2@aol.com Rating: PG Hi All! Welcome back! My plans never seem to work out do they? Well, I'm trying, so just bear with me, k? Once again, I really appreciate all E-mail sent, it's fun reading :). Oh yeah, and for all those that like this story, or any pure romance type, I HIGHLY suggest you look to Alicia Blade's works, ya can't miss them! Anyway, enjoy the story, see ya later! An Uneggspected Discovery Day 2 News of the contests spread rapidly, and of the winners even more so. Not only has Amy gained reknown as an excellent gamer, but one of Serena's newer friends, Lina, put on quite a show at the science fair and managed to wind first place. So now it's down to the last two events, with the winnings being claimed tomorrow. I got out of the apartment rather early today, about 8:00, to make sure I got a head start at the tournament. Upon arriving at the sports store, I notice that the place is already unusually busy. Over at the dart section, the contest has already begun. People are lined up to have their shot, so I figure I'll just stand off to the side and watch for awhile. Before long another young man comes up to play, and scores five shots to the bullseye. "It looks like we have a winner! Unless someone else would like to challenge that!" The announcer calls out, but nearly everyone walks away, rather disheartened. "Okay then, the winner is.." "I'll try," I say calmly, walking forward. The current winner glances my way with a raised eyebrow. "Well, go ahead young man, try your luck!" the announcer hands me five darts while an assistant removes the previous ones from the board. Taking aim, I let the darts fly one after another, and one after another they hit the board right in the center. Once done, a collective gasp comes from the reacquired crowd. All five darts hits the exact center of the bullseye. "We have a NEW winner!!" The previous man glares over at me and stomps off. Boy, I could practically feel the anger coming from him. I shrug it off. Sorry pal, I take this seriously too. "Are there anymore challengers??" Dead silence. "Then I declare this contest over! Come forth sir!" Laughing to myself, I think how all that time of throwing roses has now paid off. Well, practice makes perfect. As the crowd disperses, the contest rep hands me two tickets and explains all the details, what time to be there, where to meet, basically the same ordeal that Serena and her friend Amy went through the day before. With that taken care of, I head out of the store, business finished, and find myself confronted with a small group of, obviously angry, guys. Raising an eyebrow, I glance over them, taking note of the same figure I just beat out at the contest. "There! That's him!" yells the guy as all eyes turn to me. "Hey you lucky jerk! How dare you show me up!" "Yeah, this here's the best dart players around." Mutters of assent come from those assembled. "You just got lucky!" I sigh, crossing my arms. "Now come on guys, it was just a contest. And remember," grinning, I stare right at the main guy, "however good you are, there's always someone better." "Not this time pal." He cracks his knuckles as the others chuckle. "Now hand over them tickets." Now my grin drops to a glare. Give up my chance with Serena? Over my dead body. "You wish pal. Now just back off.." Just as he starts advancing, we hear yelling coming up the street. "Gods, does she do this to all her friends?!?" A female voice calls out as we turn. "Basically. I swear, she just rubs o.." a second voice says, just prior to the pairs impact with the lead guy and another near him. Wide-eyed, I recognize the second girl as Serena's friend Raye, and the first seems familiar, but... I'm not sure. "As I was saying..." mumbles Raye. Rubbing her head, she looks up. "Sorr.." "Why don't you watch where you're going!!" Much to everyone's surprise, the other girl had jumped to her feet, yelling at the guy she ran into. He stares at her for a second, then glares back. "Me?? You're the idiot's that ran into us!!" He takes a second to scan her over, mouth wrinkling in distaste. "Now get lost flat chest!" He misses her eyes igniting as he turns to Raye, grinning. "We'll get to you in a second doll." Instantly, fire ignites in the pair. "FLAT CHEST?!?!" "DOLL?!?!" Moments later I'm merely blinking in wonder as guys scramble everywhere, running for their lives in all directions. "Uh...well, thanks you two..." They both look over, complete bewilderment on their faces as they see me. Sighing, I chuckle and shake my head. They never even noticed me here. "Oh hi Darian." Raye says, sending a friendly smile my way. The other girl's face lights in understanding. "Oh yeah, Darian. Serena's boyfriend, right?" Raye breaks into hysterics as I stare in shock at the girl. Boyfriend???? "Excuse me?!?" She looks between the two of us strangely. "Well...you're not then?" I shake my head dumbly. Just who is this girl?? Meanwhile, Raye somewhat recovers from her giggle attack. "Are you kidding?" The two can barely stand to be in the same room together!" Glancing over at me, Raye continues. "Oh, and this is Lina by the way. You've met before, but I imagine you don't remember." I finally begin to bring myself under control again as the redhead gasps loudly, grabbing Raye's arm. "Raye!! The contest, we'll be late!" Raye's eyes go wide as the tables turn and it's her dragging Lina off. Both promptly forget I exist. Chuckling, I walk off down the street, gazing at the tickets in my hand. Well, if I'm right, those two were on their way to the martial arts contest, and the final one at that. It wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if Raye won it too, which puts all Serena's friends as the 'test group'. Except for these two I have. Hmm, that brings up another question. Who in the world will I take with me? Andrew? Logical choice I guess, if he's not busy. Shrugging, I head off to the arcade for a visit. Just thinking of another regular customer there makes me smile, but with how early it is I highly doubt I'll run into her. Or so I thought until I did, quite literally, run into her as she came bouncing around a corner. I'll never understand how such a little girl builds up so much force. Both of us collapse to the pavement and I merely smile at her for a moment as she begins shooting apologies without ever looking up at me. "Do you practice this Meatball Head?" Her head flies up at the voice. "Darian! Wow, you're up early." "I could say the same for you," I say, picking myself up before offering her a hand up. She stares up at me for a moment before accepting the help, but stops before I can pull her up. "Oh, what's this?" Following her gaze, I look down to find her holding the very tickets that I never realized I dropped. "Ah, well, those would be mine." She looks up at me in shock as I assume she realizes what they are. Shrugging, I grin slightly. "Guess I dropped them." "You're going on the Easter egg hunt?!?!?" She's still staring at me as I pull her up, taking the tickets from her hand. "Well yeah, that was the plan Meatball Head." I pause momentarily, pocketing the tickets. "Is that a problem with that?" "No! Well... yes but, I mean..." stuttering like mad, she turns away. Not, however, before I swear I see a red tint stain her cheeks. "I just thought you were too old for things like that..." I laugh as she turns back to me. The blush I saw, if I did see it, is gone. "Never too old to have some fun. You're living proof of that. I swear, you act like a five year old sometimes." As her face turns angry I curse myself. Gods Darian! Have you no control at all over that mouth?? "I do not!! Just because you're always such boring stick in the mud!" Regardless of the anger on her face, my insides are laughing. She's SO cute when she's mad! Still, rather than make her angrier, I decide to see what other types of reactions I can get out of her. "Well that's what we've got you for!" The angry glare vanishes, quickly replaced by confusion. "Seriously, it's impossible not to have fun with you around." I can tell that's she's unsure how to respond to that one, so I take the opportunity to leave before I say anymore. Smiling, I brush past her. "See ya on Friday then. Later Serena!" With a wave, I head off down the street. She waves back before turning and walking, of all things, the other direction. I laugh to myself. Guess she's not used to me being, at least partly, nice to her. Oh well, she'll get used to it. "Hey I'd like to bud, but I've got plans with Rita then, it is on Friday you know." I nod to Andrew as I sip at my coffee. Well, it turns out he's a no go, as he'd just finished explaining. Sighing, I lean back, staring at the tickets. "I haven't a clue who else to ask." He rubs his head for a minute. "Hey, actually Serena was just in her talking to me. You know how she does," he grins knowingly at me. He just loves to rub it in. "Get on with it Andrew," I growl. "Okay okay. Well anyway, she was telling me about how sad she was that Mina can't go this weekend, some performance or something, and neither will that girl Lina. Serena said she just didn't want to go, wasn't used to that type of thing or something..." He glances away with the last thought, and I might believe his attention actually strayed, if not for the smirk tugging at his mouth. "Andrew...." rumbling menacing, I easily succeed in warning him. "Whoa! Down boy!" he laughs, hands outheld guardingly. "Jeez you're impatient, you know that?" I merely cross my arms and glare at him. "Fine then. Well, you know how Amy won the arcade contest here because of Serena's insistence, so now she feels obligated to give her other ticket to Serena. Still, just a minute ago Serena was telling me that she was sure Amy'd like to go with some guy named Greg though, or maybe it's just that she want's Amy to go with him..." he shrugs as I listen intently. "So what about her other friends? You just said that Lina and Mina can't go, and from what I saw Raye was on her way to win another one." I think back to my encounter with the two girls earlier and chuckle. Boy, I feel sorry for her opponents. "What happened with the other tickets?" He sighs. "It's a long story, especially with how Serena talks, but this is what I got from it." He takes a deep breath for effect. "Serena told Raye to go with Chad, to get him out of the temple, or so she said. Lina's tickets are going to go to Lita and her friend Ken, again partially Serena's idea. And so with Amy taking Greg that takes all six tickets." Exhaling deeply, he turns to get a glass of water while I laugh at him. "Hey bud, just because you heard it from Serena doesn't mean you need to get it out in under five seconds like her. So...I've never really even heard much about these other guys so they can't be that close. With how much Serena's dying to go, why can't one of them forfeit?" "She won't let them." Andrew sighs as he leans on the counter. "She's still trying to get them all together. Thinks they're all perfect for each other and now she's playing cupid." A customer calls for attention while we're talking, so Andrew runs off to take care of them while I ponder the new info. Hmm, so Serena's pairing up her friends, and now, because she's too nice for her own good, she believes she can't go to the egg hunt. I glance down at the tickets in my pocket and a sly grin falls over my face. Two tickets...one for me and one for.. "Sorry about that Dar." My head snaps upward as Andrew comes back from taking care of business. "No problem. Listen, I've gotta run pal. See ya later." Getting up from the stool, I catch one more suspicious look on my way out and smile as I walk down the street. I wonder how she'll react to my offer. Glancing up at the sun, I sigh. Nearly evening from what I can tell, and with the event being tomorrow, well, that doesn't leave me much time. I wonder how I'll ever be able to convince her to take my ticket, after all, the girl seems to practically hate me... ::WHAM:: A near mid 'air' collision sends me realing as I realize I wasn't paying the slightest attention to where I was walking. Hearing a familiar groan from in front of me, I chuckle without even looking up. "Ya know Meatball Head, keep this up and you'll be bruised for life." Looking up I see...not my Meatball Head. Instead a head of fiery red hair pops into view and, while I blink in surprise, a similar pair of eyes turn up to mine. "Since when do you call me that?" Lina asks as she climbs to her feet. "Oops, sorry." Apologizing, I also push myself up. "Thought you were Serena again. This type of encounter with her is entirely to common." I push annoyance into my voice to keep the softer one out of it. She looks about to respond, but a scream splits the air around us. Simultaneously we turn to the sound and she takes off in a blur down the street. Hmm, that came from the park. Taking a slightly different route, I dash towards the source as well, prepared to transform if need be. As I enter the park I can indeed tell that the trouble is here, for sounds that are anything but good lead me on. Breaking through a final layer of brush, I come upon the chaos' origin as a youma terrorizes the park inhabitants. I start to turn and find a place to bring on Tuxie when a form on the other side of the youma catches my attention, all of it. "Serena!!!" I yell, both in astonishment and warning. Unfortunately, she doesn't hear me over the noise and as the youma turns to face her, I sprint to the rescue. As I near I barely take note of the second figure between me and my target. "Do it Serena, now!" the form yells and Serena nods, throwing her arm up in the air...but faltering when her gaze catches me dashing down the path. "Run Serena!!" Panting heavily, I finally reach the duo and find Serena staring at me in confusion. "Darian??? But...why are you.." she stammers out. "What do you think you're doing here?" Looking away, she nibbles at her lip. "Oh for gods sake, we don't have time for this." Finally taking note of the other presence, I look over just in time to see Lina touch my forehead with her finger. "Sleep..." she whispers. "Wha.." I blink at her as an odd sleepiness comes over me. No! I can't fall asleep now! Not with Serena in danger! Paniced, I struggle vainly against the wave of fatigue as I slump to the ground. "No...Ser..e..na.." Then my sight goes black. After a period of time I can't even guess at, the world fades groggily back into focus. "Lina! Just how long did you put him out for?" "I used as little power as I could and still get instant results." "Don't sound so cold! He's been out for hours now!" ...is that Serena's voice?..she sounds...worried. "I'm...sorry Serena. I really don't know how long he'll be out, but don't worry, he'll be just fine when he wakes up." "Yeah Serena, I mean this is Darian we're talking about. Have you ever seen anything hurt him?" A giggle comes from above me. "You're right Mina. Anyway, it's probably better that he's asleep, he'll most likely want some answers when he wakes up." A sigh as fingers run through my hair. "And he looks so peaceful when he's asleep." "Something you know nothing about Meatball Head..." I mumble out, struggling merely to open my eyes against some tiring force. "Darian!?!" She gasps, instantly dropping my head, which falls backward onto the ground. I grunt with the impact as the force finally seems to dissipate. "Still as gentle as ever I see," Grumbling, I rub my head and sit up. "Ooh, sorry about that. So.." she hesitates momentarily, "are you feeling okay?" I glance at the dark figures around me, lit only by the moonlight. I instantly recognize Serena's form, glowing even in the blackness, and around her are gathered the same group of girls I'm used to seeing with her. Suddenly I gasp, realizing just why I'm with them in the park. "The youma! Is everyone okay?" I receive nods from all as I look around, finding no sign of any renegade negaverse creation. "But...how? And just what happened to me?" "The Sailor Scouts trashed it of course!" Serena smiles happily, but then wavers. "And, well, you got hit by...sleep dust that the youma was throwing around." I raise an eyebrow at her as a horrible feeling comes over me. Did she just..lie to me? I have no way of knowing, but some how I can feel that it's so. Is she hiding something? The sweet, innocent Meatball Head? I shake my head slightly to clear the thoughts. Well, if she's hiding it, then it must be very important a secret, and I shouldn't blame her for it. Still... Glancing up at her concerned face, I feel shame settle over me. How could anyone doubt her? Besides, trust is part of friendship, and I trust her completely. I push myself to my feet and the others rise with me. "Anyway, it's getting late and you should all be getting home." "Oooh yeah, mom'll kill me if I don't get back soon," Serena giggles, then looks back up to me. "You probably don't live with your parents anymore, huh? You're sooo lucky to not have to deal with them!" The statement comes out so suddenly and innocently that I barely have time to check back the tears. Still, I turn away, not wanting her to see the pain in my face. "Darian..? Wha.. what's wrong?" I gulp past the lump in my throat, striving to keep my voice steady. "Nothing. Look, I've got to be going. See ya around Meatball Head." With that I turn to go, walking fast to avoid further questions. I hear her call out to me, but ignore it. Halfway home I realize the I completely forgot about the tickets, the whole reason I went looking for her tonight. Sighing, I hold the pair in my hand. Oh well, was probably a lost cause anyway. The event starts at 10 o'clock tomorrow morning, so I don't see another chance to invite her before they close the doors. What does it matter, it was just a silly Easter egg hunt with a silly, klutzy, childish, and...absolutely wonderful girl. Cursing my own mind, I toss the tickets over my shoulder and keep walking without allowing any second thoughts. She'll find some way to get there I'm sure, and as for me, life will go on as scheduled... Second Chapter!!!! What'd ya think? Unexpected ending, ne? Well, I didn't know I was going to do it myself until it was done :). One, maybe two, more chapters to go. By all means, keep reading! And talk to me, I love to hear your thoughts on things. See ya next time them, take care!