Hello! Here's the long awaited chapter 5! Enjoy ^_^ Sailor Moon belongs to lots of people, none of them being me, but some of them being Naoko Takeuchi Kodansha, Toei, etc. "Never Gonna Let You Go" belongs to Sergio Mendes and Brazil 66, please don't sue me for using it! But this story belongs to me so don't you dare try to take it! "Endless Waters" by Tess. Chapter 5 Serena didn't bother reading the rest of the article. "No!," she screamed. "Why would he do this to me? I thought he loved me!" Mrs. Lands put her arms around Serena. Tears started to pour down her face. "Why?," she sobbed in anguish. "He's supposed to love me! He said he loved me! Why?" Serena's mother stroked her hair gently. "I'm sorry, dear, I'm so sorry." *End Flashback* A single tear made it's way down Serena's cheek as she remembered that day. Her parents had been very supportive at first, but soon urged her to move on with her life. She had tried, she had really tried, but she couldn't bring herself to let go. Serena still loved him with all her heart. Serena reminded herself. With that, she walked down the stairs to room. ***************************************** Later that evening, after dinner, Katie and Serena walked into the "Queen of the Sea" room, where karaoke night was taking place. The room had plush teal carpet and small white tables and stools placed facing the slightly elevated stage. There were two microphones on the stage, and a TV where the lyrics would appear mounted on the wall. Katie and Serena went and sat down at a table. About 5 minutes later, a brown-haired woman in a uniform went up to the microphone. "Good evening Ladies and Gentleman," she started. "Welcome to karaoke night! Tonight I'm sure you'll have a ton of fun, and without further ado, here's your host for the evening, captain Darien McAllister!" Serena thought dryly, She started to fiddle with a paper napkin on the table to calm herself down as Darien stepped up to the mike. "Good evening!," he said cheerily. "Is everyone having a good vacation?" People in the crowd nodded and cheered while Serena rolled her eyes. she thought sarcastically. Darien continued speaking, "We have a great night planned for you. First is volunteer karaoke, where people volunteer to sing the song of their choice. Then there's mystery couple karaoke, where the people who want to put their names in the boxes behind me can do so." Darien pointed to two boxes, one labeled "men", and the other labeled "women". "I'll pick one name out of each box and those people will sing together. My name is also in the box. My assistant, Mrs. Kerry Levy, will pick a song for them to sing. So, for the next fifteen minutes, you guys can go put your names in the box, and then we'll get started with volunteer karaoke." Darien stepped down from the stage, his eyes never leaving Serena. He remembered what he had managed to read in her notebook: "They felt like their hearts were being torn apart. How could they have been so cruel?" he wondered. Meanwhile, Serena was staring distantly off into space thinking about Darien. "Psst! Serena!," Katie said, distracting her from her thoughts. "Are you okay?" "Okay? Yeah, I'm fine, why wouldn't I be?," Serena lied. "Because you have shredded that whole napkin without realizing it." Serena looked down at her lap to see little white napkin pieces littering her dress. Her eyes widened for a minute. "Well, maybe I'm not 'okay', but I can deal with it." "Are you sure?" "Positive." "Great, now let's go put our names in the box!," Katie said enthusiastically, getting up out of her seat. "Are you crazy?," Serena exclaimed, "Darien's name is in there!" "So?," Katie asked. "What are the chances you'll end up with him. And even if you did, it'd be kinda cute. He is really hot! (AN: Yes he is!) Maybe you could even resolve your differences and stuff!" (AN: Remember that Katie doesn't know all the details about Darien and Serena. Like the whole marriage thing:) "Oh, right. We'll sing and then suddenly everything will be fine and we'll kiss. Right. Look, you go put your name in the box, and I'll just stay here and watch!" "Sere, the whole point of this was to cheer you up! You love karaoke, right? So what's the point if you're not gonna sing?," Katie whined. "Do you want to leave? Maybe we can find something else to do!" "No, no, I don't want to leave. But I'll just sit and watch. It doesn't bother me, really," Serena lied again. "I'm fine." "Oh alright. You sure you don't want your name there? 'Cause this guy's pretty hot, and you've gotta admit you'd love to sing with him!" "Katie, I'm sure!" "Okaaay...," she said, but Serena didn't notice the unconvincing note in her voice. *********************************************** A girl with long brown hair bowed as the crowd clapped. She was the last person in volunteer karaoke. As she stepped off the stage, Darien went up to the microphone. "You guys ready for our first mystery couple?," he asked. The audience replied in applause. Darien pulled a piece of paper out from the men's names box. He started to read it aloud. "Dari-oh wait, me. Ok, let's see who I'm singing with!" Katie crossed her fingers under the table as Darien picked a name out of the women's box. "Serena Lands!," Darien exclaimed. Serena turned to Katie and gave her a death look. "C'mon, Serena, what are you waiting for?," Katie urged, playing dumb, and pulled Serena out of her seat. Serena thought, shakily making her way towards the stage. She stepped onto the stage and stared at the floor. Darien looked at her, confused. Mrs. Levy stepped up to the mike and spoke. "The song I've chosen for these two is "Never Gonna Let You Go" by Sergio Mendes and..." but Serena didn't listen to the rest. She was remembering the day after her sixteenth birthday, when she and Darien had gone horseback riding and he had decided to serenade her with that song. She remembered laughing at him and telling him that it didn't fit because they had just met and hadn't gotten into an argument or anything. He had agreed, but still told her he'd never let her go. she thought. But it had all been so perfect. She glanced at Darien to see if maybe he remembered, and he nodded at her. She blushed and quickly distracted herself by picking up her microphone. Darien took his microphone also. The music started to play, and Darien's deep voice filled the room. "I was as wrong as I could be, to let you get away from me, I'll regret that move for as long as I'm living. But now that I've come to see the light, all I wanna do is make things right, so just say the words and tell me that I'm forgiven. You and me we're gonna be better than we were before. I loved you then but now I intend to open up and love you even more. This time you can be sure," Darien sang. Serena took a deep breath and joined in during the chorus. "I'm never gonna let you go, I'm gonna hold you in my arms forever." Darien thought, and sang another part alone. "Gonna try and make up for the times I hurt you so." Serena joined in again, tears beginning to fill her eyes. "Gonna, hold your body close to me, from this day on we're gonna be together. Oh I swear this time, I'm never gonna let you go." A tear ran down her cheek as Serena sag her first solo part. "Looking back now, it seems so clear, I had it all when you were here. Oh you gave it all, and I took it for granted." Darien thought, singing the next line. "But if there's some feeling left in you, some flicker of love that still shines through, let's talk about, let's talk about second chances." "Wait and see, it's gonna be sweeter than it was before. I gave some then but now I intend, the dedicate myself to giving more," Serena's voice cracked, "This time you can be sure." Tears ran down her cheeks as Darien joined her singing. "I'm never gonna let you go, I'm gonna hold in my arms forever." A sob escaped Serena as Darien sang his next line, "Gonna try and make up for the times I hurt you so." She could barely sing between sobs as they finished the chorus. "Gonna hold your body close to mine, from this day on we're gonna be together, Oh I swear this time, I'm never gonna let you go." There was a break in the song, and Serena could no longer stand it. She dropped her microphone and ran out of the room as fast as she could, leaving Katie calling her name behind her. ***************************************** Serena rushed through the hallways and up a small flight of stairs. The stairs led to a small, empty lounge with cool breezes coming from the large open windows. Serena stopped to catch her breath and looked outside at the stars, thinking about the scene in the karaoke room. "Serena, what's wrong with you?," a voice behind her asked. Her heart nearly stopped when she saw Darien standing behind her, the look in his eyes a mix of confusion, hurt, and concern. "Nothing!," she sniffed. "I'm fine, ok? Just leave me alone!" "I don't believe you. Not for a second. Serena, why are you being so cold?," Darien asked. "Why am *I* being cold? Hmm, let's think, Darien," she replied sarcastically. "Sere, ever since that awful day, I've never stopped thinking about you! When I saw you on deck this morning, I can't even begin to describe the feelings I felt!" "Well you'd better find someone else because I've moved on! Oh, wait, you already did that!" "What are you talking about?," asked Darien. "You know you've missed me as much as I've missed you! I can see it in everything you say and do!" He slowly made his way up to Serena. "You can't tell me you haven't missed this!" Darien took Serena in his arms and pressed his lips to hers. End Chapter 5 Whew! Glad that chapter's over. About the song, it's by Sergio Mendes and Brazil 66, but a woman sings all the parts that Serena sang, k? Another thing, remember how I told you about the last flashback. Sorry about that. There are maybe two more short ones that weren't in the rough draft that I've decided to add here. Oh! And thank you guys who have been saying such nice things in my book!! ~*Tess*~