A Change of Destiny Ch.7
By: Ria
TiMia637@aol.com
Rated PG
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    “Are you okay miss?  You look a little pale,” Darien’s
voice filled with concern when he saw all the color on her
face disappear.  ‘You probably scared her you moron.  Nobody
in their right mind is out this late.’
    Selene tried valiantly to collect herself before Darien
got suspicious.  “I’m sorry you just scared me.  I thought I
was alone.”
    ‘That voice, why does it sound so familiar?  Cool it
Darien, your confrontation with Serena has made you a little
insane right now.  Everyone in Tokyo is not Serena.’  Darien
didn’t want company right now but he just couldn’t leave a
helpless girl all alone in the park.
    “It’s okay, I shouldn’t have bothered you in the first
place but I just wanted to know if you were okay.  It is not
safe to be out this late.”
    “Thanks for the concern but I live near here so I have
no problem getting home all right,” Selene tried to think of
a way to get out of the conversation fast, she couldn’t
stand to be so near Darien.  The urge to throw herself at
him was too great and if she didn’t leave there soon she
probably would end up in his arms and confessing everything. 
‘Damnit Darien, why do you have to be so damn caring?  You
are making this too difficult for me.’
    “Ummm, I think I better get home now, my cousin will
get worried,” Selene stood up to get the point across that
she wanted the conversation to end now.
    Darien didn’t know why but he didn’t want her to leave
him so soon.  “I think I should walk you home.  You never
know what psycho lurks in the shadows.”
    “No it is okay.  I’ll be fine,” saying it quickly and 
nervously.
    Darien heard the nervous part and blamed it on the fact
that she probably thought that he was a rapist.  “No really
I just want to make sure that you get home all right.  If I
don’t walk you I’ll probably never get some sleep tonight. 
I’ll be tortured with nightmares of what may have happened
to you,” he gave her the smile that usually made the girls
fall to their knees.  
    Unfortunately for him this particular girl was not very
smitten, ‘What the hell is he doing?  I can’t believe he is
actually flirting with me.  How dare he pick up on me, he is
still suppose to be in mourning.’  Jealousy ran rampant
throughout her body, it didn’t matter to her that his
attentions were given to herself.  He didn’t know that the
two girls were the same so Darien was actually flirting with
another girl. {Confused? Sorry, if you are.  I didn’t know
how to say it better.}
    “Don’t you have a girlfriend somewhere mister?  She
might get angry if she found you with me,” Selene spat out,
trying not to sound furious.
    Darien let out a sorrowful sigh, “I don’t think she
would care one way or the other.”
    That took the wind out of her sails.  The sorrow in his
eyes made her want to cry.  “I’m sure you are mistaken.  She
probably loves you a lot.  Probably more than you,” mumbling
the last part to herself.
    Darien however heard it and quickly got angered.  ‘How
dare she think that, she doesn’t know me enough to presume
such a thing.’
    “Excuse me but you do not you have the right to say a
thing like that to me.  You don’t know me enough to
criticize,” he couldn’t let her get away with such a
comment.
    “Oh yeah, if you love her so much than why the hell are
you flirting with me?” glaring right back at him.
    “Flirting!  I wasn’t flirting I just wanted to make
sure you got home all right, excuse me for wanting to help.”
    “I never asked for your help so back off!”
    “Why are you so angry?  You sound like a jealous
girlfriend.”
    Selene was stunned to silence.  She couldn’t understand
why Darien got under her skin so much.  Even before he made
her want to rearrange his body parts.  Their love-hate
relationship use to give her a headache.
    “Sorry,” giving him an apologetic smile, “me and my
boyfriend just got into a little fight and I guess I’m
taking it out on you.”
    Darien took her peace offering and returned her smile,
“It wasn’t all your fault, I did yell back at you.”
    Selene knew she should leave it at that but she
couldn’t squish her curiosity on what he thought of her, or
rather Serena.
    “So what did you and your girlfriend fight about?”
eyeing him carefully.
    “She has been avoiding me because she doesn’t want me
to help her out with her problems,” leaning against a tree, 
suddenly feeling exhausted.
    Selene wanted to defend herself but she knew the right
thing to do was to slander her own personality.  She
couldn’t let Darien keep his hopes up, hell she couldn’t
even promise him that she will live through the next few
weeks.
    “Maybe it is best if you just let her go.  She has left
you out of her life it is only fair if you let her out of
yours,” she forced the words out of her mouth.  Her mind
told her it was the right thing to do but her heart wouldn’t
listen.  ‘No, don’t listen to me.  Never let me go,’ kept
running through her mind but she would never let him go
through that, she would never let him be alone because of
her selfishness.  “You should find someone new, someone
worthy of your love, someone that can give your love back.”
    Darien stayed silent and let her words sink in.  He
knew that she spoke the truth and for a split second he
agreed with her but in the end his heart ruled over logic.
“I can’t. She is my life, I am not capable of loving anyone
else.  She promised me that we would be together forever,
why is she breaking her promise?  Why can’t she see that I
need her, I can’t bear not having her in my arms,” Darien
choked on his tears.  He didn’t care that he was crying like
a baby in front of a perfect stranger.  Strangely, he felt
more comfortable with her than any of the scouts and Andrew. 
Serena was the only person that had gotten him to express
his feelings and he didn’t understand why this girl had the
same power over him.
    Selene felt guilt and pain wash over her.  Darien had
always been the kind of person that had trouble expressing
his feelings and if he could cry in front of a stranger than
she knew that he was having a hard time cooping.  She
couldn’t stand him looking so lost and alone but her present
situation held her back from giving him the kind of comfort
that would relieve his mind.  Selene couldn’t tell him what
she really felt but it didn’t stop her from holding him. 
Her arms went around his shoulders, putting enough pressure
to give him consent to put his head down on her shoulder. 
During his bout of tears Selene knew that she had to find a
way to make him forget her and their past.  ‘I’m so sorry my
love.  I know it is unfair to you but it is the only way for
you to go on with your life.’
    Darien slowly pulled himself together, wiping away the
last remnants of his tears and pulling himself out of
Selene’s comforting embrace.  He knew he should be
embarrassed, hell even mad at himself at his open show of
emotion but the only thing he felt was guilt.  He didn’t
want to acknowledge it but he knew that he felt something
for this girl.  The feeling of warmth and love radiated from
her, warming his heart.  It also filled the hole that Serena
had created.  Darien didn’t understand himself anymore.  He
always believed that what he and Serena had was eternal,
that no one could ever make him feel the way she could but
one embrace, one hour with this girl threw all of his
beliefs in the air.
    “Are you feeling better now?” Selene had been watching
him try to regain his composure, waiting to see if he would
become good old minus-zero Darien or her Muffin.  She wished
for the former because she couldn’t deal with Darien being
her lovable prince.
    Darien wanted to dissect his new found feelings but he
also didn’t want to scare the girl away by saying them to
early.  She did say that she had a boyfriend and he also
didn’t want to look like a two timing jerk.  “Yeah, I’m
fine.  Sorry for losing it.”
    “Don’t worry about it.  You aren’t the only person that
strangely feels comforted with my presence.  As a matter of
fact people often tell me that the word comfort is written
all over my face,” trying to make light of the situation. 
“If you wouldn’t mind I would like to take you up on your
offer to walk me home.”
    Elation filled him and he didn’t even know why.  He
tried to see her features more carefully but the shadows hid
them well.  But even though he couldn’t see her clearly he
knew she would be beautiful.  
    “Of course the offer still stands.  Where do you live? 
If it is too far I can use my car or motorcycle,” slowly
leading them out of the park, making sure she didn’t trip on
anything.
    Selene was amused on how cautious he was being.  ‘Oh
well, I guess I should make him feel like I am helpless.’
    “I live in the apartments ahead.”
    “Really, so do I.  Did you just move in?  I don’t
remember ever seeing you around,” Darien searched through
his memories and found nothing.
    ‘Oh god, I can’t believe this.  It was just pure luck
that I didn’t run into him sooner,’ Selene closed her eyes
briefly, she really wanted to shout out her frustrations
now.
    “Umm yeah, my cousin and I just moved in.  I don’t
think we will be staying long though.”
    Disappointment suddenly crushed the happiness he felt,
“Why?”
    “Work,” she said simply.
    They had finally gotten out of the park and Darien
finally had the chance to look at the stranger that had
given him a sense of peace and comfort he hadn’t felt since
Serena’s battle with Beryl.  He stole a peek at her beneath
his lashes and almost fainted.  The coloring was different
but besides that she could have been mistaken as Serena’s
twin.  ‘Could it be?’
    Selene at first thanked for the blessed silence but
then it suddenly felt uncomfortable.  She could feel his
eyes on her and she didn’t know what to do.  Someone at
Juuban had commented on her resemblance with the deceased
Serena and she prayed that Darien just brush it off as
coincidence.  ‘Stupid, why would he do that?  He already
suspects that you are still alive and Sailor Cosmos so why
wouldn’t he suspect that you are the metamorphosis of the
old Serena?’
    “Why are you starring at me Darien?” Selene didn’t even
notice that she had used his given name without them being
properly introduced.  Unfortunately for her Darien did
notice.
    ‘Got ya Meatball head,’ he knew that she didn’t notice
her slip.  ‘Finally I have the upper hand.  I told you I
wouldn’t let you go Serena and now that I know who you are
I’m going to make it impossible for you.  No wonder I felt
the same with you when I was with Serena, it was the same
person.  I should have listened to my heart from the
beginning.’
    “Nothing, it just unnerves me on how much you and my
girlfriend look so much alike,” giving her an innocent
smile.
    Selene bought the smile and relaxed.  ‘Thank you. 
Finally something is going my way.’
    Darien patted himself on the shoulder at her relieved
smile and decided to turn the conversation on her
‘boyfriend’.
    “So what is your boyfriend like?” he asked casually. 
“It is only fair since you know so much about mine.”
    Darien had slowed the pace a little more so they would
have more time to talk, and Selene unknowingly accommodated
his pace.
    “My boyfriend?  Hmm, he is probably one of the most
frustrating man on this earth.  There are times when I want
to throw the man from the tallest building, he is stubborn,
irritating, overbearing, and the boy is he full of hot air. 
But besides his faults I can’t ask for a more perfect man.” 
Selene had come to a halt when she described Darien.  Every
memory of him came back to her, from present day Tokyo to
the Silver Millennium and even further in the past.  And
every time their first impressions of each other were always
the same.  Sparks flew during each first encounter and the
heated words would always follow.  Her prince never changed
and she would never ask him to.
    Darien had stiffened up from the beginning of her
recitation.  She didn’t see it but he had been glaring at
her but her last words made him want to kiss her until she
promised to never leave him out of her life.
    “I use to dream the perfect man.  But when I compare
the two my dream can’t even hold a candle to him.  I love
him and I would do whatever I could to make him happy, even
let him go.”  Tears stung her eyes but she wouldn’t let them
spill.  She didn’t want to shed anymore tears on a lost
cause, Darien and her could not be together in this
lifetime.
    “I wonder if he deserves such love from you,” Darien
knew that would goad her.  Serena couldn’t stand it when
people questioned her love ones.
    “Of course he deserves my love, if anything I don’t
deserve his.  Don’t you dare say anything about him again.” 
Selene felt weird about defending Darien to himself but then
again it is not as weird as being jealous of yourself.
    Darien smiled at her heated gaze.  He felt ridiculously
happy at her words.  
    Silence again took over and both had resumed their
walking.  Darien felt like whistling but he knew that would
just annoy her some more.  When they had reached the
apartments Darien was surprised that she lived on the same
floor.  He decided to withhold that information from her. 
The way she had been avoiding him she would probably move
out the building by tomorrow.  
    Selene had thanked her good fortune that she had made
it alive.  From now on she would make sure that she avoid
Darien.  She stopped in front of her door and would have
just gone in without saying goodbye if hadn’t grabbed her
hand.  Her gaze flew up to him with surprise.
    “I just wanted to thank you for tonight.  You have been
the only person that has given me some sense of comfort for
a long time and I’m greatly indebted to you.  For whatever
it is worth your boyfriend is lucky to have you no matter
what you think.  And if I was him I would do everything in
my power to never let you go,” he left with that.
    Selene couldn’t shake the feeling that Darien’s words
were more than what it seemed.  As she closed the door she
could have sworn that she saw a shadow watching her.
    Darien waited a few more minutes until he went into his
own apartment.  He couldn’t believe that Serena had been so
close to him and he never noticed.  No matter how hard she
tried to keep Darien at bay fate had a way of ruining her
plans.  “I’m sorry Serena but I can’t let you call the shots
anymore.  Tomorrow is the start of a whole new ball game and
unfortunately for you my love I suddenly have all the
advantages."