      Chance Encounters


      Author: aria


      Rated: NC17



      Chapter 1
      September 1997
      The bright autumn sun glinted off of the multitude of glass panes of the 
      newly designed buildings of UNBC. Behind the main buildings, up on a hill, 
      students were shuffling about moving into their dorms rooms, saying hi to 
      old friends and meeting new ones. In the second building, lovingly dubbed 
      "Rez 2", students and their parents were steadily streaming in and out 
      lugging their meagre belongings into the building.
      Serena Cole stood in front of the building and took a deep breath. Well 
      here it goes, she thought. With the wind swirling her long, golden hair 
      around her face, Serena carried a couple of small boxes up the little hill 
      in front of the dorm. Ok let's see now, room 303 south. *That should be 
      third floor and down the corridor on the right.* She remembered as she 
      thought back to the map of the school she had studied the night before. 
      Serena walked through the security doors and stood in front of the 
      elevators, pressed the button and waited.
      "You're new around here aren't you?" Serena looked up toward the voice. On 
      the stairs behind her was a very good looking guy with glossy black hair 
      and smiling azure eyes.
      "Uh, yeah...oops." As she turned to talk to him one of the boxes started 
      to topple off the stack.
      "I'll get it." He hopped over the railing and grabbed the box just before 
      it hit the ground. "Let me take them for you. By the way, the elevators 
      are almost always broken down so you'd better get use to using the 
stairs."
      "Oh, ok. I'll remember that." Serena looked up at him and studied his 
      features. Short black hair, broad shoulders, not too muscular, tall, and 
      beautiful blue eyes. And he was talking to her. "Huh? Sorry." She mumbled 
      annoyingly aware that her face was heating up.
      "I was just asking what room you were in," he grinned.
      *He's laughing at me! Argh!* "Room 303...s-- Wait! Why should I tell you? 
      I'm sure that I can find it myself, thank you." Cool as ice, Serena took 
      back her boxes. She turned around and made her way up the stairs. 
      *Hopefully I won't have to see him again.*
      Three flights of stairs later, Serena stumbled out onto the third floor. 
      Turning right she walked down the hall and scanned the doors for the right 
      number. A few doors down she finally found 303. On the door was a poster 
      with her name and three others on it. *Well it looks like I have roommates 
      named Lita, Mina and Raye. Hope they're nice.* She'd talked to some people 
      who had been off to school and was horrified with some of the stories they 
      came back with about their crazy roommates. Serena desperately hoped she 
      wouldn't return home with stories to rival theirs. She reached into her 
      pocket and tried to fish out the keys she had gotten no more than thirty 
      minutes ago from the housing office. *Well here goes.* She turned the knob 
      and walked in.
      Straight ahead of her was a small living room with a large window, it was 
      very modern and decorated in green tones. On the left was a kitchen and 
      behind the opened door was a closet. Next to that was a hallway that led 
      to the numbered doors of the bedrooms and the bathroom, which she noticed 
      had two large mirrors and two sinks as she walked past. *Room 4 should be 
      right at the end of the hall.* And sure enough it was. Serena opened the 
      door and looked in. Inside was a desk, a bed, a tiny closet and a shelf 
      above that and not much room for anything else. Serena dropped her box off 
      on the bed with a dull thud and noted how hard it was. She cringed. *I'll 
      have to so something about that.* The window faced the woods, like a 
      beautiful tranquil painting which was good since she loved the outdoors. 
      She sighed, "Well this is it. This is my room for the next eight months." 
      Serena went back to her car and brought up the rest of her things.
      ----
      For the next few days the residence buildings were a buzz with activity. 
      There was orientation, clubs had their tables lined up along the halls of 
      the university trying to recruit members, students were lined up 
      everywhere trying to change courses or signing up for clubs and not to 
      mention just hanging around trading stories of the summer. Serena was 
      slowly getting to know her other roommates. And so far things were going 
      well.
      The next to move in after Serena was Mina Stirling. Slender with flowing 
      blond tresses, she and her parents moved in what seemed like their entire 
      house into her dorm room. Which was an amazing feat in itself since her 
      room was even smaller than Serena's. They traded hellos and smiles. Later 
      that same day Lita Weston arrived. She was incredibly tall and muscular. 
      She had curly hair that was a becoming chestnut. She and her mother said 
      their hellos and moved in a modest number of boxes, then disappeared until 
      the evening. Finally, last to arrive a few days later was Raye Harris. She 
      was slim and athletic looking with long black hair. Quietly she moved her 
      things in, said a shy hi and then read magazines in her room.
      The first morning all the girls were together, they sat together at the 
      table and were getting to know each other. Everyone still in their 
      housecoats and pyjamas, they sat nervously nursing their coffees trying to 
      think of something to talk about.
      "So where is everyone from?" Lita decided to hazard the first question. 
      "I'm from Vancouver."
      "No way. So am I." Said Mina, "I'm from Whiterock."
      "I wish I came from somewhere interesting like that," said Serena, "I'm 
      from a tiny town up north called Kitimat. It's got to be the most boring 
      place on earth."
      "Well I'm from Calgary," said Raye quietly.
      "That's cool. We're living with someone from another province. The rest of 
      us are just from boring old BC. " laughed Serena. "Anyone for another 
      coffee?" Serena got up and went into the kitchen and grabbed the kettle 
      and the container of instant coffee.
      Mina shook her head, "No thanks. I think we need to find some real coffee, 
      not this instant garbage."
      "And we could definitely use some provisions. So who's got a car? Asked 
      Lita.
      "Well I've got one," said Serena.
      "And I've got a truck," Piped up Raye. "We're going to be getting quite a 
      bit so we'd better take the truck."
      "Ok so we'll all get dressed and we'll go. So how's an hour sound?" Lita 
      stood up and looked around at the other girls.
      Everyone nodded and went about getting dressed. After much confusion in 
      the small bathroom, everyone managed to get showered and made up.
      Serena was the last to get into the shower. While toweling off she heard 
      some male voices coming from the living room and decided to go have a 
      look. Putting on her robe she headed out of the bathroom to see what was 
      going on.
      In the hall in front of her, Serena saw that Lita, Mina and Raye were 
      talking to a couple of guys. One of them was tall with blonde hair and 
      laughing profusely and the other had blond, almost white, shoulder length 
      hair and laughing along with the other one. Serena walked up to the group.
      "Oh and here's Serena, our other roomie, " introduced Lita. "She's got 
      room four."
      "Hi," said the lanky blonde as he extended his hand, the other guy 
      followed his friend's example. "I'm Andrew and this is my roommate 
      Malachite." He pointed at the silvery blond next to him.
      "Hi nice to meet you both." Smiling she shook hands with them both. Serena 
      was aware of where their gazes were drifting too and pulled her robe 
      around her a bit tighter. "I think I should cover up a little. Be back in 
      a bit." And with that she turned and headed to her room to dress. When she 
      came out the boys were gone.
      "Weren't they cute?" asked Lita. "Especially the tall one."
      Serena thought back to the encounter at the elevator when she met another 
      cute guy. "Yeah but he's a bit tall for my liking. He'd be perfect for you 
      though." Serena looked up at Lita. She towered over Serena. "So they live 
      across the hall huh? This should be interesting."
      Mina walked to the closet looking for some shoes. "Yeah they said they 
      were living with some guys named Seiya and Kyle or something. I thought 
      Malachite was kinda cute." Disgustedly she kicked at her own boring shoes. 
      "Anyone wear size 7 shoes?"
      "Yeah I do," said Serena. "Go help yourself. My shoes are in the closet."
      "Thanks Serena." Mina went into Serena's room and looked around. She had 
      set up a sophisticated looking computer system on her desk and on the 
      shelf above it a huge stereo. "Nice set up, Serena," she shouted down the 
      hall. Her closet was packed full of clothing and on the floor beneath all 
      the hanging clothes the floor was covered with shoes of every type that 
      could be imagined. Wow! She must have some kind of bank account! Mina 
      thought. She'd have to ask her about that. She browsed through the shoes 
      until she found a pair of black chucks. Slipping them on, she walked back 
      out. "You certainly have quite a collection of shoes there."
      "Yeah, I kinda have a thing for shoes." Serena herself was wearing her 
      favourite pair of Doc Martins. "Everyone ready?"
      They all filed out the door. Across the hall, it seemed that the guys had 
      the same idea, because at the same time the girls came out so did they. 
      Serena looked up at the sound of the door opening. Andrew followed 
      Malachite out and then someone that Serena didn't recognize and then she 
      saw a familiar face. Today he was wearing a leather jacket and jeans and 
      he looked like he was ready to hop onto a racing bike. Oh no! He lives 
      across the hall! Quickly, before he saw her, she ducked behind Lita and 
      prayed that no one would notice. Unfortunately, Lita was the first one to 
      step forward.
      "Hi there! Heading out too huh?" She looked behind the first two and 
      asked, "So you must be the other roomies right?"
      Malachite looked away from Mina long enough to hear what Lita was saying. 
      "Yeah, this is Kyle," he gestured to the redhead in the sweater, "and he's 
      Seiya." Pointing at Seiya who was smiling and leaning against the 
      doorframe. They all exchanged hellos, while Serena tried to sneak back 
      into the room without anyone noticing.
      "Serena? Where are you going? I was introducing you to the guys." Lita 
      caught her as she was opening the door.
      Busted, Serena turned around and smiled. "I think I forgot my keys in the 
      room," she lied.
      "Don't worry, I've got mine." Ever helpful, Lita patted her coat pocket 
      and then pulled her over. "This is Serena, our forth."
      She shook hands with Kyle and looked up at Seiya.
      He extended his hand, looked into her eyes and smiled, "Nice to see you 
      again, Serena."
      Smiling weakly, she shook his hand and simply nodded hello. Lita was still 
      chattering away. Mina and Malachite were engrossed in conversation and 
      Raye looked bored and was fiddling with her car keys.
      "So you two know each other?" Lita was staring at Seiya.
      "Not really. We met when I was moving in." Serena shrugged like it was no 
      big deal. "We should really get going before the shops close, and we're 
      still not quite sure where they are."
      "Oh that's not a problem," Mina said, "according to Malachite here, this 
      is their third year in Prince George. They can help us find them."
      *Fantastic.* "Great. Let's go then."
      They all walked down the stairs and down to the car park. UNBC was on top 
      of a hill in Prince George and to get into town you needed a vehicle. 
      Raye's truck was parked in the second row and she led everyone to it.
      "Well this is it. My chariot. Sorry guys but I don't have enough room for 
      you all." The girls began to pile into her beat up old Nissan truck.
      Seiya walked across to the other row. "Don't worry this is my car." He put 
      his hand on a jet black Presidia. "Did you guys have any place in mind?"
      *Surprise, surprise. He's got a really nice car.* "Well, we need 
      groceries. But I bet no one would mind doing a little window shopping, am 
      I right girls?"
      "That'd be great!" they all chimed in. The guys looked a little less than 
      enthused.
      "Ok then follow me. We'll go to the mall you can do everything there all 
      at once." Seiya slid into the front seat and started the car. The engine 
      came to life and the boys climbed into it.
      "Try and keep up ok?" Grinning he sped out of the lot.
      "Raye you can't let them beat us! Go! Go!" and girls raced off after them.
      Later that evening the girls sat together in the front room and talked 
      about everything. Serena and Raye sat on their new beanbags on the floor 
      while Lita and Mina sat on the couch. They had moved on from talking about 
      their families and were now comparing high school and boyfriend horror 
      stories.
      "Ok, nothing is worse than a guy who thinks that his mother driving you on 
      a date is cool," said Raye. "I went out with this one guy who didn't know 
      how to drive, so whenever we needed to go anywhere he would get his mom to 
      drive us around. I remember a couple of times she even waited in the 
      parking lot for us while we went out for dinner." She shuddered. "Needless 
      to say, it didn't last very long."
      "Yeah, well I went out with one who thought a hockey game was a romantic 
      date." Giggling, Mina got the popcorn out of the microwave poured it into 
      a bowl and sat down again. "After going deaf from all the shouting on 
      about three occasions, I decided that he was just too romantic for me."
      "I'm sure you wouldn't have a problem with driving if you went out with 
      Seiya," said Lita.
      "Did you get a look at him? And that car? I could definitely go for that. 
      Does anyone mind if I go for him?" She looked around and everyone shook 
      their heads, including Serena.
      "That's not a problem," Mina was grinning. "I think Malachite is cute."
      Raye nudged Serena, "Ooooh! That was quick!" They both fell over laughing 
      when Mina blushed.
      Lita looked over at the two of them and smiled. "So have you two got your 
      eyes on anyone yet? Raye shook her head while Serena thought of leather 
      jackets. "Serena? How about you?"
      She shook her head. "Nope, not on anyone I've met so far. So what classes 
      are you taking, Raye?"
      "I'm majoring in Wildlife Biology. And you guys?"
      "I'm doing History and Political Science." Lita leaned back on the couch.
      "English, with a minor in Biological Anthropology." Serena answered with a 
      smile.
      "Weird, I'm doing English too, but I'm still not sure what to minor in. 
      It's hard to pick a major let alone a minor as well" Nods of agreement 
      came from all around.
      Then there was a knock on the door before it swept open. It was Malachite. 
      The girls looked at each other and much to Mina's embarrassment, greeted 
      him with a "Hi Malachite!" in unison. His ears went red.
      "Anyone up for a party? There's another one tonight over in Rez 1. It's 
      suppose to be the last one before classes start." Mina was already at the 
      door. "Come on guys. You'll get to meet some great people."
      Slowly one by one they stood up and headed out the door. On the second 
      floor of the other building flocks of people were crowding themselves into 
      a small apartment. Before they even got close, they could feel the bass of 
      the music and hear everyone shouting and laughing. Malachite made a 
      beeline over to a crowd in the middle of the room with the girls in tow. 
      Serena recognised Andrew and Seiya immediately. They were in the middle of 
      the crowd, apparently telling a very amusing story. Amid the hilarity, 
      Seiya looked up and saw her. Without a word he headed over.
      "Hi there ladies," he was looking directly at her. "Come on I'll introduce 
      you to some people." Lita slid herself in between Serena and Seiya and 
      followed him into the kitchen. Serena looked over at Raye.
      "Well it looks like we're on our own huh?" and with that they lost 
      themselves in the crowd. A little while later, after a couple of drinks 
      and meeting a bunch of people, Serena and Raye settled in with a group of 
      people and were in the middle of a conversation when Serena felt a tug on 
      her arm. Seiya was next to her and looked like he wanted to talk. "Raye 
      I'll be back in a sec ok? She nodded ok.
      "Yeah? What do you want?" Serena scanned the room for Lita. "Where's Lita? 
      I thought she was with you."
      "She's over there somewhere," he said waving his arm, "talking to some 
      people. What have you been up to? Where did you disappear to? I was going 
      to introduce you to some people."
      "Raye and I did quite well on out own thanks." She looked up at him. "As a 
      matter of fact I think I should be getting back to her right now." Raye 
      looked desperate to get away from this guy who was trying to entertain her 
      with what looked like a duck walk. Serena laughed at her friend's dismayed 
      look and smiled at Seiya, "Talk to you later ok?" Before he could say 
      anything Lita appeared next to him and dragged him off to another crowd.
      Raye and Serena walked home together a few hours later. "That was fun huh? 
      We should have gone to more of them, but I'm sure that there will be a lot 
      more." Raye was smiling. "Did you get a load of that creep who was trying 
      to make me laugh with that duck walk thing? He wouldn't leave me alone!" 
      She looked at Serena. "Sere what's wrong? Didn't you have a good time?"
      Serena shrugged and made a weak attempt at a smile.
      "What was it? Some loser come on to you?" Serena just shrugged. Raye 
      pulled her down onto the grass. "Well then what was it?" Serena looked 
      down the path and saw Seiya and Lita heading their way. Raye saw the look 
      on her face. "You have a thing for Seiya don't you?
      "Nah. He annoys me."
      Raye nodded. "Yeah I can see that." Her tone was totally sarcastic. "Just 
      like I would say no to a date with Brad Pitt." She jabbed Serena in the 
      ribs with her elbow. "Admit it you think he's cute."
      She shrugged. "He's ok."
      "Well then why don't you do something about it?"
      "How can I?" she waved at Lita and Seiya. She was blatantly throwing 
      herself at him.
      "She practically called all rights to him. How could I do that to my own 
      roommate? Besides, I'm not looking for a relationship."
      Raye nodded and pulled her up. "Come on, I'll make you a drink." Back at 
      their room Raye made her a coffee and poured a little something extra into 
      it. "Here it'll help you relax, it always helps me."
      "Thanks," Serena accepted it and sat down. At the same moment Lita came 
      through the door practically flying. "I think I'll drink in my room. 
      Later." Totally down, Serena sat at her desk and took a sip of her coffee. 
      She wasn't about to go stealing her friend's guy. She knew what it was 
      like to be cheated on. Serena decided to just let it be. Serena smiled to 
      herself. She'd just have to look for her nonexistent dream guy. Knowing 
      that he didn't exist and too tired to finish the mug off, Serena got into 
      bed. At least he couldn't break her heart if he didn't exist. She slept a 
      fitful dreamless sleep.
      ----
      Over the next few weeks everyone got to know their classes and each other 
      very well. It became a daily routine to wake up, go to classes and then 
      meet up and hang out, if time provided. Mina and Malachite got along very 
      well and were doing just about everything together. Kyle and Raye both 
      seemed to like going off and each do their own thing. Lita, Serena, Andrew 
      and Seiya hung out together as much as they could, when they didn't have 
      papers and labs to do.
      Serena and Mina had a few classes together so they decided to pool their 
      brain power and study together with some other people from their class. 
      They would meet at the library and discuss plot lines and ideas discussed 
      so far during the semester.
      "Okay, so you're telling me that the character of Falstaff, from 
      Shakespeare's Henry plays, is a noble character?" Kenny pulled his glasses 
      off his face, rubbed his eyes then stuck a leg of his classes into his 
      mouth and started chewing.
      "He very well could be," said Sarah who was one of the more attentive 
      students in the class. "He tries to do the right thing in the end." She 
      put her book in his face and pointed out the passage with her pencil.
      Between gulps of coffee, the group tried to write down and absorb as much 
      as they could from the conversation. Serena had never seen so many 
      stressed out people in her entire life. Tempers were short and sleep was 
      little. People would be walking to class and back without even realizing 
      it or acknowledgement of friends passing by. Students laden with books and 
      mugs of coffee walked around like zombies, hardly taking anything in. 
      Although all the girls were now good friends, arguments were becoming more 
      frequent and she found herself doing whatever she could to vent her 
      frustrations and get out of the suite.
      "I think that's about all I can take for tonight. So I'll meet you back 
      tomorrow?" Serena's brain felt like it was going to explode. "I definitely 
      need a break." They had been at it for three hours now and it was all that 
      she could take.
      "Yeah I think I'm all burnt out." Mina looked everything like a tired 
      student, right down to wrinkled clothes and pencils absently stuck in her 
      hair.
      Everyone agreed and got up to leave. Mina and Serena walked back up to Rez 
      together.
      "So how are you and Malachite getting along? You two look pretty cozy."
      "Yeah I think that we're doing pretty good. We've got so much in common 
      it's like we were made for each other." She looked over to Serena. "I 
      really think that he could be the one." She did a little hop. "He just 
      makes me all tingly."
      Serena smiled at her friend. "I'm happy for you. But remember to take your 
      time and let things go slowly."
      Mina laughed, "You sound like my mother!" Both laughing they walked up the 
      stairs to their suite. "So how about you? You have your sights on anyone 
      yet? I think I saw Kenny going googoo eyed at you." Mina couldn't 
      understand it. Serena was pretty and great to hang out with yet she still 
      didn't have a boyfriend. She found it so strange. She'd seen the way guys 
      looked at her and had even seen some approach her but she had never seen 
      her go out on a date or anything.
      "Kenny? Are you kidding? I don't think that he's my type."
      "How do you know? You've never looked at him for more than a split 
second."
      "Believe me I know. I always figured I would know I was in love because I 
      would look at the guy and bang! It would feel like I was struck by 
      lightning."
      "Have you ever felt that way though? You know all tingly and giggly."
      "Nope not that I can remember." Serena shrugged doubting that she ever 
      would.
      Mina frowned and nodded. "That's too bad! But that's definitely how I feel 
      with Malachite!"
      "Good." Serena smiled. They walked into their room. Steve, Malachite, 
      Lita, Seiya and Raye were sitting around watching TV. "Hello everyone! 
      Trying to wind down?"
      Andrew and Malachite looked exceptionally happy. "We did good on out 
      midterms so we're celebrating. We've got a pizza coming up and we're just 
      waiting on you guys to find out what movies we should get."
      "Great, just hold on while we get relaxed." Mina all but threw off her 
      coat and shoes and then jumped on the couch with Malachite and Andrew.
      Serena took off her coat and hung it up in the closet.
      "Be back in a sec." She headed into her room and shut the door. *Yup this 
      is going to be relaxing alright.* Kicking off her shoes she sat on the 
      bed. *I'll just go out for a little while and I'll just relax.* Determined 
      to have a good time, Serena pulled her hair back into a ponytail, put on 
      some sweats and walked back out.
      Andrew greeted her with a slap on the back. She gave him a withering look 
      and gave him a shot in the arm. "Hey thought we lost you. The pizzas are 
      here, got five?" Serena nodded and pulled a five dollar bill out of her 
      coat and handed it to him. He ran out the door. Serena walked into the 
      front room and sat down on one of the beanbag chairs that they had bought 
      on one of their latest shopping trips. She sank into it and the motion 
      alone started to relax her.
      "So how are you midterms coming along, Sere?" Lita was sitting across from 
      Seiya and was handing her a cookie. "Almost through?"
      "Yeah I have one left in Renaissance Lit talk about joy. But I think we've 
      got it covered eh Min?"
      She nodded absently still looking at Malachite.
      Serena turned to the others. "How about you guys?"
      "I have one left in History," said Lita.
      "I've got a couple left, Plant Bio and Math." Raye did not look at all 
      enthused.
      Seiya stretched, "I know how ya feel. I've got Bio left and it's a killer. 
      But enough about that, we're relaxing here. That means no one mentions 
      anything about work. So what movies do you think we should get?
      "Please, something funny." Said Serena. " I really need a good laugh." 
      Everyone seemed to agree. "Ok then it's settled. Comedy it is, but can 
      anyone recommend a good one?"
      Andrew and Malachite looked at each other and said, "Austin Powers!" 
      Everyone just groaned.
      "Come on you guys you know you like it. It's a funny movie, you have to 
      admit that." Seiya was getting his coat on. "Anyone up for a ride?" 
      Immediately Lita was on her feet. She had her coat and shoes on in a 
      flash. Raye looked at Serena, rolled her eyes and smiled.
      "I think I'll go and get the snacks," said Serena. She put on her coat. 
      "Anyone wanna come with?"
      Raye nodded. "Yup I'll come along."
      Andrew got up as well, "Yeah I bet you'd both get lost without me." Serena 
      took a swipe at him. "Hey, hey! Don't have to get defensive!" Andrew 
      easily ducked the blow and laughed. "Be right back, need my coat." And he 
      was out the door.
      Serena looked at the couch, "How about you two? There's room if you want 
      to come along."
      "Nah I think we'll stay here and wait for you guys." Malachite was 
      smiling. "Here's some money, just get us a couple Slurpees, some ice cream 
      and a bag of Doritos."
      "Ok then, see ya in a bit." The five of them filed out the door and headed 
      for the parking lot.
      "So which car's yours?" asked Seiya.
      Serena saw him looking at the old beat up trucks and cars. I bet he's 
      wondering if I have an old beater. Serena walked over to a little red 
      Sunfire and ran her hand over the hood. "This is my baby." She looked into 
      his eyes and saw surprise dawn and then amusement. "You don't believe me."
      Laughing he shook his head. "No, really. This is your car?"
      Serena pulled out her keys with exaggerated movements and opened the door. 
      Reaching in she started the engine. Grinning triumphantly she looked at 
      him. "Believe me now?" She, Raye and Andrew climbed in.
      "Catch ya later." Without another thought they were off.
      Andrew was in the back seat and was looking at Serena in the rear-view 
      mirror. "Why don't you two just kiss and get it over with?"
      "What are you talking about?" Serena was focusing on the road. "Which way 
      do I turn?" They reached the mouth of the entrance to the university.
      "Right. Come on Sere, it's so obvious that you two are crazy about each 
      other. Well it's either love or you two should just kill each other and 
      get it over with."
      "You're delusional." She took the corner and sped down the dark road. 
      "Lita is the one with the thing for Seiya. Or haven't you noticed?"
      "I think you're the one who hasn't noticed. Or haven't you seen the way he 
      looks at you. He makes any excuse to go across the hall and see you."
      "How come I never see him then? Now which way?"
      "Straight over. You should have, he's there everyday."
      "Lita grabs him that's why," Raye was looking over at her from the front 
      passenger seat. "I think she thinks that he's over there to see her. You 
      should see how happy she is to see him there everyday."
      "And that's another reason. Lita has her heart set on him. How could I do 
      that to her? She's my friend."
      "Well you'd better do something before Lita gets hurt cuz it's obvious 
      that he doesn't want her."
      ----
      Seiya's black Precidia was speeding along the road toward the nearest 
      Blockbuster. Lita was chattering away. "So what have to been up to today?"
      "Nothing much, study for midterms, go to classes, you know the usual." He 
      stopped at a red light and looked at her. "How about you?"
      Grinning Lita answered, "Same here. We have so much in common."
      "Well it is midterm time, so there isn't much else to do." He laughed.
      Lita blushed. The light turned green and he sped off. She decided that she 
      wouldn't say anything more for the rest of the ride. She reached over 
      turned on the radio and settled back in her seat and tried to enjoy the 
      rest of the ride.
      ----
      About twenty minutes later, they were all back at the girls' room and were 
      getting settled to watch the movie. Serena grabbed a blanket out of her 
      room and settled on the floor with a bean bag, Raye followed suit. Andrew 
      sat on the dining table while Lita sat on a chair. Opposite Lita, Seiya 
      perched backwards on a chair and as usual Mina and Malachite took over the 
      couch. Then Andrew had a brainwave.
      "Be right back." About two minutes later there was a kick at the door. 
      Lita went and opened it. Outside were Andrew and Kyle. "Mind if Kyle joins 
      us? No one objected, so Kyle came in dragging the guys' couch while Andrew 
      pushed on the other end. With some ingenuity, they managed to fit it into 
      the small room.
      Lita jumped on it after Seiya sat down on the corner. Kyle sat in between 
      them and Serena leaned up against the end. Andrew looked comfortable on 
      the table so Serena decided to start the movie.
      "Everyone ready?" They all nodded and Serena pressed play on the remote. 
      She sat back and tried to loose herself in the misadventures of Austin 
      Powers. The boys sat and cheered and between mouthfuls of food shouted out 
      the lines along with the hero. They thought that this was hilarious. Of 
      course this didn't matter, the girls had all seen it so many times, thanks 
      to the boys, that they could recite every single line in the movie 
      themselves. So rather than freak out on the boys, the girls just let them 
      have their fun. That was up until the credits started to roll.
      Lita stood up and stretched. "Ok now all of you out! We've got some more 
      studying to do." They gave the little, hurt puppy look but left anyway, 
      sadly dragging their couch behind them in an attempt to gain sympathy. 
      Unfortunately for them it didn't work. With them gone the girls started to 
      tidy up, well tidy up the way that they do. This meant moving the mess 
      from the living room to the kitchen. They would deal with that in the 
      morning, when they had more time. That done the girls began to retire to 
      their rooms one by one.
      Serena went to her room and sat at her desk and turned on her stereo and 
      listened to the radio. Reaching over to the windowsill she grabbed bunch 
      of candles and her incense burner and lit them all one by one. By the time 
      she was done her room was looking and smelling like something out of the 
      Arabian Nights. Satisfied that she had achieved the right ambience, she 
      picked up her notebook and flipped through, trying to get facts straight 
      in her mind. She changed positions from having the books in her lap, on 
      her desk, leaning over the books and then leaning back in her chair, 
      Serena picked up her books and decided that she would be more comfortable 
      on the bed. But before she could get to it there was a knock on the door. 
      Putting her book down she opened the door.
      Lita was standing there grinning from ear to ear. "Guess what?" She was so 
      excited she was practically bouncing up and down. "I think Seiya is going 
      to ask me out!"
      Before she could say anything else, Mina and Raye were out of their rooms 
      and in the hall as well.
      "No way!" shouted Mina.
      "How do you know?" Raye was looking worriedly at Serena. "Did he say 
      something?"
      "Yup! He said that he would love to take me out and show me around town 
      sometime. I said great and he said 'I'll give you a call sometime'." She 
      was definitely bouncing now. "This is so great!"
      "That's fantastic for you!" Serena was smiling. She was truly happy for 
      her roommate.
      "You'll have to tell us how it works out for you two." She leaned into the 
      closet and tossed a pair of shoes over her shoulder. "I think I'll go to 
      the gym for a while." She blew out the candles and put out the incense. 
      Lita wasn't even hearing her. She floated down the hall and into her room. 
      Serena grabbed her cross trainers and put them on.
      "Sere, are you ok?" Raye had followed her out into the hall. Serena 
      continued walking.
      "Of course I am. Don't be silly. It wouldn't have worked out for us 
      anyways. I always seem to get the losers. And Lita is deliriously happy. 
      So it all works out for everyone." They stopped talking and nodded hi to 
      some people who lived on their floor as they walked by. "I'm happy for 
      her. Really I am."
      "You don't look it. You know if you need anyone to talk to, you can always 
      come to me. Want me to tag along?" Raye and Serena were squash partners 
      and played a lot of the time.
      "No thanks, I'm ok I just tired. I need to clear my head. I'll be back in 
      a little while, alright?" Raye stopped at the front doors. Serena waved 
      and sprinted to the gym.
      One of Serena's favourite things was to go to the gym. Serena found that 
      lifting weights, making use of the punching bag and playing squash 
      definitely released a lot of tension. Plus it was a good excuse to get out 
      of the suite. Once in a while she would head down with one of the other 
      girls, but she found that sometimes going alone was more therapeutic.
      Unfortunately a lot of people had the same idea. Tonight the weight room 
      was completely filled and downstairs the squash courts were all taken.
      Shrugging, Serena walked past them and out the doors that opened up next 
      to the Canfor Theatre. Serena didn't feel like going back to Rez yet. She 
      slowed when she heard the beautiful music drifting out from it. There must 
      a performance tonight. She stopped for a moment and listened, whoever was 
      playing the piano was superb. She looked around for a place to sit. Across 
      from the doors to the theatre were some cushy looking benches. A couple of 
      students were sitting on them studying. "Mind if I sit?" They absently 
      shook their heads and returned to their books. Serena sat down and brought 
      her legs up to her chest. Closing her eyes, she put her head on her knees 
      and let the music carry her away.
      ----
      A small redhead boldly pushed her way past several women and approached 
      the tuxedo clad figure in the middle of the crowd. "Monsieur le Conte can 
      you sign this for me please?" The gorgeous, tall, broad-shouldered man 
      before her turned and smiled, accepting the book. His fingers touched hers 
      when he took it. She shivered with pleasure and smiled as beautifully as 
      she could, hoping that he would notice her.
      He smiled kindly, but barely noticed her. The concert had lasted three 
      hours and now all Darien le Conte wanted to do was relax. He quickly 
      signed his name in it and handed it back to her. She thanked him profusely 
      and disappeared in the crowd.
      Darien ran his hands through his midnight black hair and took a deep 
      breath. Women surrounded him on all angles, pushing and shoving trying to 
      get as close as they could to him. Darien had gotten use to their admiring 
      glances and attempts to get him to notice them over the years. The truth 
      was he didn't have any time for anyone at the moment and besides that he 
      wasn't interested in a relationship. He thought about how his last one 
      ended and shook his head. Talk about a disaster. He looked around at the 
      pushing women, but he did find the whole thing amusing. Darien sighed and 
      signed a book handed to him by another trembling female.
      A handsome, dark haired man, dressed in an expensive Armani suit, pushed 
      through the crowd of women, came up behind him and patted him on the back. 
      "Darien! That was magnifique!" He pushed up his wire rimmed glasses and 
      looked at his old friend's tired face. "Glad it's over non?"
      He smiled at his friend Nephlite Noyez. "Oui Nephlite, I just want to 
      sleep for a month now."
      "Ha! You know we're scheduled for another concert tomorrow and then it's 
      off to Europe again." He knew he didn't have to remind him. Darien kept on 
      top of everything.
      "The things I have to do." He shook his head in mock exasperation. 
      Nephlite knew as well as he did that he loved nothing more than performing 
      and sharing his gift with others.
      Nephlite laughed. "Come on! The sooner we're done this, the sooner you can 
      get some sleep."
      Darien signed the last of the autographs while Nephlite and the rest of 
      Darien's crew gathered up their things and packed up some equipment and 
      stored it for the following night. Darien walked over and joined in to 
      help them do it. He never could just sit by while the others were busy. 
      Darien didn't feel it was fair at all for him to go and sleep while his 
      friends slaved away. He took off his jacket and rolled up his sleeves and 
      helped move the equipment.
      Some time later, they finished up and walked out. Darien was the last to 
      leave after making sure that everything was in order for the next 
      performance. He took one last look, turned off the lights and walked out 
      the front doors of the theatre, locking the doors behind him. He turned 
      and was about to walk away when he saw her.
      At first he didn't know what to make of it, but he decided to investigate 
      the small body curled up alone on the bench. He had seen the students 
      roaming around the university like zombies and instantly knew that it was 
      exam time. Darien thought back to his own days at university and 
      remembered what it was like. He shook his head smiling to himself. Clearly 
      this was a tired student taking a break from studying. Still it wasn't 
      safe for a young woman to be out alone at night.
      Darien approached her and gently tapped on her shoulder. He didn't want to 
      startle her. He had to tap several times before she responded. *She must 
      be so drained!* She looked incredibly tired and looked at him with big 
      blue eyes. For some reason tears were drying on her cheeks. Darien 
      suddenly had an inexplicable urge to wipe them away with his finger tips. 
      He quickly halted that thought, sure that he would alarm her. Wisps of her 
      sun-kissed hair had escaped from her ponytail and softly framed her heart 
      shaped face. She was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. A bolt of 
      lightning went through him when their eyes made contact. Darien decided 
      then and there that he was going to do whatever it took to keep her in his 
      life.
      He smiled warmly at her. "All."
      ----
      Serena must have fallen asleep, because the next thing she knew was 
      someone was tapping on her shoulder.
      "All? Miss? Are you ok?"
      Serena heard a deep male voice talking to her. She looked up and saw a 
      silhouette in front of her. The bright light behind him made it impossible 
      for Serena to see his face. She shielded her eyes from the light and 
      squinted trying to make out who it was.
      "Oh, je m'excuse." He kneeled down so their faces were even.
      Serena now saw a handsome raven-haired man kneeling in front of her with a 
      concerned look on his face. Her jaw dropped as she stared at him. He was 
      magnificent! A lock of ebony hair tumbled onto his forehead. He quickly 
      brushed it out of the way. He had gorgeous features, his cheeks looked 
      almost as though they were chiselled out of the smooth stone that made his 
      skin, but what got her the most were his eyes. They were an unreal shade 
      of blue. They seemed to pierce straight into her. Wow! A jolt went through 
      her when their eyes met. Serena shivered and taking in his face again, saw 
      that he was smiling at her. Quickly she regained her senses and shook her 
      head absently. "I'm fine, thank you. I must have fallen asleep."
      "Why do you cry?" He smiled at her kindly.
      Cry? She brushed at her cheeks and found that he was right. She quickly 
      wiped the tears away. "Oh. It's nothing. I'm alright."
      "It is not right for someone so beautiful to cry." Again, he instinctively 
      raised his hand to wipe the tears away but stopped. Instead he brought it 
      back and reached into his pocket, pulling out a silk handkerchief. Darien 
      handed it to her. "Here."
      She noticed his words were heavily accented and he was wearing an elegant 
      black tux. He must be one of the musicians. "Thank you. You're French 
      aren't you?" She carefully wiped her eyes.
      He grinned. She might be upset about something but she was still 
      perceptive. "Oui."
      "What are you doing in Prince George?" Duh! Why did she just ask such a 
      stupid question?
      He didn't seem to notice. "I was playing here tonight as part of a tour."
      Her eyes widened. He was the one who had been playing. "I heard you. You 
      were wonderful."
      "Merci, that is very nice of you." He studied her face again. "But what 
      has you so troubled?"
      "Just my exams. I'm very tired of them. You must know what it's like to be 
      stressed out." She rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands.
      "Bien sur. Of course, but you must not let it get to you like that, it is 
      not good for you." He extended his hand. "Join me for coffee?"
      She looked at his hand and then back at his face. It was a very tempting 
      offer. She definitely needed some more time away from studying. And Serena 
      had to admit he intrigued her as well. But she didn't even know the guy. 
      She shook her head. "No, thanks. I have to get back to my studying." She 
      went to stand up. "Thank god I'm at the end of them."
      "S'il vous plait? Please, it will be nice to drink and relax for a little 
      bit." He extended his hand further. "It will help me relax too."
      Serena thought about it for a bit and agreed. "Ok, but only if we stay on 
      campus." Why not? Going back to her books wasn't appealing at the moment 
      and he looked like a pleasant diversion. She took his hand and felt a 
      frisson of pleasure go through her. Serena looked at him as he easily 
      pulled her onto her feet. He was unexpectedly strong. "Merci beaucoup."
      "You speak French?" He looked at her incredulously.
      "I took French classes in high school so I speak a little. It's not very 
      good though, it's been along time since I've spoken it so you'll have to 
      bear with me." Serena stopped when she realised she was babbling 
      idiotically. *Serena stop being so stupid!*
      He smiled warmly at her, "I'm sure it is wonderful." He looked around. "So 
      where can we go?"
      "The Wintergarden should be open still. It's this way." She led him down 
      some stairs to the little bistro at the Wintergarden. She led him to the 
      counter and called her friend over and ordered two coffees.
      There were some students milling around looking like they were trying to 
      find something to divert their attention from their studying. A bunch more 
      were sitting at the tables madly flipping through books with their 
      forgotten food cooling in front of them.
      "This is where most of the students hang out. It's a bit quiet now but 
      that's because of exams." The waitress' eyes flicked over to Darien 
      several times as she handed Serena the coffees. Serena couldn't blame her, 
      she couldn't keep her own eyes off of him either. "Thanks, Lisa." 
      Chagrined, Serena realised that she didn't have a cent on her since she 
      was suppose to be going to the gym. She uselessly patted the sides of her 
      sweats. They didn't have any pockets. Without a thought, Darien handed the 
      girl the money and smiled at Serena.
      Serena smiled back. "Thanks. Want to sit over there?" She pointed at some 
      of the taller tables. He nodded. They wandered over and sat down. Darien 
      pulled out her chair for her. Serena smiled at him and stepped up into the 
      seat. "Thanks."
      Darien looked around and was aware of the strange looks people were giving 
      him. He smiled. "People are looking at us. I guess I am a little over 
      dressed, non?" He began pulling off his tie and jacket. In a flash he had 
      them off and hanging on the back of his chair. "Do I look more like a 
      student now?"
      Serena looked at him. No, he didn't look like a student he looked more 
      like a gorgeous apparition. Serena didn't think there was anything he 
      could do to distract attention from his looks. He sat straight and tall in 
      his chair and had a very dignified air about him that commanded attention. 
      He looked absolutely regal. She watched as he undid to top button of his 
      shirt with his long fingers and wondered what he looked like with it off. 
      She cleared her throat and took a sip of the bitter brew. Serena didn't 
      like where her mind was straying and tried to focus on the conversation. 
      "Don't worry about them. If you'll look at them, they aren't exactly the 
      best dressed people on campus." She nodded pointedly at a guy with green 
      hair and a pierced nose who was staring at them.
      He laughed. She was a nice person. "So what is your name? I am Darien le 
      Conte."
      For some reason she'd forgotten that she didn't even know his name. "I'm 
      Serena Cole." She stuck her hand out sideways for him to shake but he 
      turned it palm down and kissed it instead.
      "Enchant" Darien let his lips linger on her silky skin. He inhaled her 
      fresh scent then looked into her eyes. God, she was beautiful.
      Serena blushed and gently disengaged her hand from his. She busied herself 
      with dumping sugar into her cup and stirring. Mechanically, she lifted her 
      coffee and sipped nervously. That was new. She'd never had anyone kiss her 
      hand before. She looked at him. What was she doing having coffee with some 
      man she didn't even know? Her thoughts were sidetracked when she heard him 
      trying the coffee. She looked up from her cup.
      He had put his cup down. "This coffee is terrible!" he choked. Grimacing, 
      Darien started dumping cream into it.
      Serena laughed. His face was twisted up like it was the vilest thing he 
      had ever tasted. She stopped him before he emptied the entire container of 
      cream into it. "It takes a while to get use to. Here try this." Surprising 
      herself, she filled a tablespoon with sugar, dumped it into the cloudy 
      liquid and stirred it for him.
      Obligingly, he took an experimental sip. "A bit better." He looked over at 
      her smiling face and grinned, displaying gleaming white teeth. "See? You 
      are relaxing already."
      Serena did feel more relaxed now. She took another sip and looked at him. 
      "So tell me about yourself."
      Serena was amazed at how relaxed she was with him. Usually she kept quiet 
      around people she just met, but with him it was like they knew each other 
      forever. For the next few hours they talked about everything.
      He told her about his childhood on a vineyard in the south-west region of 
      France. And about how at an early age he displayed a talent for music. Now 
      at the age of twenty six he toured all over the world sharing his gift. He 
      told her about all the places he'd been to and the interesting things he's 
      seen on his travels.
      She told him about how she grew up in a small town and how after high 
      school she wasn't sure what she wanted to do so she ended up in Indonesia 
      studying orangutans in their natural environment for two years. And now 
      she started university to study English and Biological Anthropology.
      They then moved onto other topics, science, politics, and news. He was a 
      fountain of information. He happily discovered she was as well. They 
      discussed their views on everything and found that they felt the same way 
      about most things. Darien was on cloud nine. It was rare to find anyone as 
      interesting, intelligent and beautiful as Serena. And he had managed to do 
      it by accident.
      Serena looked at him as he sipped his fourth cup of coffee. He was the 
      nicest person she had ever met. Darien seemed to be totally honest and at 
      ease with her as she was with him. Serena reminded herself that people 
      were often nothing like they seemed. But as she continued to talk to him 
      she slowly lost her reservations. She was having too good a time to be 
      wary of him. Serena was laughing hysterically at a story he was telling 
      her about one of his school day antics when she saw Kyle heading toward 
      them. Still smiling she waved. "Hey Kyle!"
      "Hi Serena. How's it going?" He looked over at Darien. "Who's you friend?" 
      He stopped next to the table and looked at her. This was strange; Serena 
      grinning ear to ear late at night before an exam. She was usually stressed 
      out, locked in her room and chain drinking coffee at this point.
      "This is Darien." They shook hands. "This is my friend Kyle. He lives 
      across the hall from me."
      He stood studying the guy sitting with Serena, very interested in who 
      could make her so happy. "Hi there. How's it going?" Kyle grinned and 
      shook hands with Darien. Then turned his auburn head to her. "Sere, not to 
      be bossy or anything but shouldn't you be studying? It's getting late eh?"
      Serena looked at her watch. It was well past midnight! "Oh my god! I 
      didn't realize how late it was." She looked over at Darien. "Darien, Je 
      suis dsole, mais il faut que j'aille. I'm sorry but I have to go. I have 
      an exam tomorrow that I still want to do some more studying for."
      How had it gotten so late? Darien was reluctant to go, he was having such 
      a good time. But she was right it was getting late. Darien smiled at 
      Serena. "Bien sur. I must be going myself. It is getting late and I have 
      another performance tomorrow." He drained his cup and looked at her. "Will 
      I see you again Serena?"
      She definitely wanted to talk to him again. "You want to meet again 
      tomorrow night? I'll be better company with all my exams done."
      "It is a date." He helped her out of her chair and kissed her hand. "We 
      will be setting up at around four pm." He grabbed his jacket and tie. " 
      bientt!"
      "Bonsoir." Serena smiled watching him weave his tall form easily through 
      the crowd.
      "Who the hell was that? Is he like a count or something?"
      "Nah." Grinning, Serena toyed with the back of the chair. "He's a 
pianist."
      Kyle looked at her with a big smirk on his face. "You are so smitten."
      "I am not!" She couldn't stop smiling.
      "Look at you! Smiling. Inanely even! This is the happiest I've seen you 
      since we moved in." He jostled her ribs with his elbow.
      She couldn't deny it, she was in a very good mood. She couldn't remember 
      the last time she laughed so hard or felt so at ease with anyone let alone 
      a guy. After that talk with Darien all of the tension was gone and she 
      felt great. It showed. She shrugged at Kyle.
      "Sigh, isn't he dreamy? He was so dashing!" Kyle was doing a really lousy 
      imitation of her voice.
      She punched him in the shoulder, but still couldn't stop smiling. "Stop 
      being stupid!"
      "You've got it so bad!"
      Finally after much teasing they got their rooms. "You know I'm just 
      kidding right? I'm happy seeing you happy. Night Serena."
      "Yeah I know. Night Kyle." She walked into the room quietly so she 
      wouldn't wake any of the others. Serena was careful not to let the door 
      slam and turned silently only to be startled by the girls, they were 
      already awake waiting for her in the living room.
      "Serena, are you alright? Where have you been?" Lita, Mina and Raye were 
      sitting in their robes at the table apparently waiting for her to come 
      home. They all looked very worried.
      Serena was in too much of a good disposition to notice. A big smile on her 
      face she waved at them. "Hi guys! Having a good night?" She hung up her 
      coat.
      They looked at each other puzzled by her good mood.
      "We've been worried about you. You said you were going to the gym like 
      four hours ago. And you definitely weren't in a good mood." Lita grabbed 
      her face and looked into her eyes. "Are you on something?"
      Laughing, Serena shook her off and kicked off her shoes. "Nope, I'm just 
      happy. Can't I be happy?"
      Raye looked at her and picked up on the happy aura around Serena. She 
      arched her brow, "I know that look!" she stared at her open mouthed. 
      "You've met someone!" She turned to the girls. "Serena met someone!" 
      Everyone snapped their heads around to look at her. Raye pointed at her 
      accusingly. "You hooked up!"
      Serena stopped and looked at them open mouthed. "No I didn't." She still 
      couldn't stop smiling.
      "Come on, dish! We want to hear it all."
      "I don't know. Maybe I have, maybe I haven't. What I do know is that I'm 
      tired and I need a shower. So if no one minds..." she disappeared into the 
      bathroom. Serena took a nice, leisurely, hot shower and when she came out 
      they were right there waiting perched on the sinks.
      "Come on!" They all stood looking at her. Serena proceeded to brush her 
      teeth and wash her face. "He's got to be something special, you've turned 
      down half the university."
      "I have not. Besides he's not from the university." She mumbled with the 
      toothbrush still in her mouth.
      They all brightened, at least she was telling them a little something. "So 
      he doesn't live on the hill or he doesn't go to school?"
      "That's all I'm telling you guys!" Serena was laughing as she ran to her 
      room and shut her door. They knocked and shouted questions as Serena 
      changed into a T-shirt and shorts. She stuck her head out the door and 
      smiled, "Good night you guys!" and closed the door again. They continued 
      to knock a little while longer, but when it became apparent that she 
      wasn't going to say anything more about her mystery guy they left for 
      their rooms. Serena climbed into bed and just lay there smiling thinking 
      about Darien for some time before she drifted off into a deep sleep.
      The next morning, she woke up more refreshed than any morning she could 
      remember.
      Walking to her door she could hear voices talking excitedly. She decided 
      to investigate. Quietly she crept down the hall and tried to hear what the 
      others were saying. She could clearly make out her roommates' voices and 
      she could hear Malachite's and Andrew's as well. They were talking about 
      her.
      "Kyle said that since he's not use to rating guys, he'd have to say he was 
      ok looking from a guy's standpoint and had a heavy accent, I think he said 
      it was French." Obviously they were talking about Darien. "Yeah I think he 
      said that she was talking to him in French." She peeked around the corner 
      and saw the girls, they were engrossed in what he was saying. "Anyways she 
      was laughing and grinning like crazy. Kyle said he'd never seen her so 
      happy before."
      "God! He must be something! Have you seen the talent that she's turned 
      down?" It was Lita's voice. "You should have seen her when she walked in. 
      She was flying!"
      Shrugging, Serena decided to give them some more time to gossip so she 
      headed for the bathroom and did her usual brush her teeth and then shower 
      routine. When she came out they were still there talking. Serena walked 
      into the room.
      They all looked up and smiled, "Bonjour Serena!"
      "So I suppose you've heard all about him then?" Serena went into the 
      kitchen and made herself a coffee.
      Lita and Mina were sitting at the table grinning from ear to ear. "You 
      have to tell us more! This is so exciting!"
      Malachite walked over and sat down next to Min and took her hand in his. 
      This caught everyone off guard. All eyes turned toward them. They blushed 
      but looked happy.
      Serena smiled, "Looks like I'm not the only one with some news. When did 
      this happen?" She sat down on the couch and put her coffee on the small 
      table in front of her. "So? Come on you have to tell us. Or so you guys 
      keep telling me."
      Cornered, they looked at each other and grinned. "Well we've been talking 
      about it for a while and decided that we're good together so we're going 
      out now. And that's all there is to tell." Mina said the whole spiel in 
      one breath. "Now you."
      Serena took an exaggerated look at her watch. "Oh will you look at the 
      time! I have to get going to get some last minute cramming in. Gotta run!" 
      Everyone groaned. She got up and dumped her coffee into a travel mug, 
      threw on her coat and walked out the door. "Bye now!" Pillows hit the door 
      behind her.
      The rest of the day went by uneventfully, she studied in the library for a 
      couple of hours and she headed to the exam. It took her three hours to do, 
      but satisfied that she answered to the best of her ability she handed her 
      paper into the professor and walked out the door. She looked through the 
      window at Mina. She didn't seem to be doing too well. She was dragging her 
      hand through her hair and chewing on her pen, she looked miserable. Serena 
      turned and walked down the wide hall confident that she did well. Turning 
      another corner she ran into Malachite.
      "Hey there Malachite!" She knew what he was up to. "You trying to find 
      Min?"
      "Hey girlie, Yup. Y'know where she is?"
      "Second door on the left. The prof just extended the exam by about twenty 
      minutes so you shouldn't have too long to wait."
      "Ok, cool. Check ya later." He sauntered happily down the hall.
      "Later!" Serena took a look at the bulletin board. Flyers with books for 
      sale were everywhere. Posters for clubs added some colour to the wall. 
      Then she saw the poster. Darien was photographed sitting at his piano 
      smiling, dressed to perfection in his black tux. His cerulean eyes 
      twinkled with obvious love for his art and he had a slight dimple in his 
      right cheek that she hadn't noticed the night before. It announced that 
      tonight was his last night, not only in Prince George, but in North 
      America as well. Smiling she turned around and walked past the main 
      entrance and toward the Wintergarden, at least she'd get to see him one 
      more time before he left. Too bad she couldn't spend more time with him. 
      He was incredible, and she could definitely fall for him. She shrugged to 
      herself. I guess it's just not meant to be. On her way through the garden, 
      she stopped to talk to a few people here and there, then headed back up to 
      Rez.
      She walked into the suite and found Seiya there waiting for her.
      Oh great! "Hi Seiya, how're you doing?" Serena hung up her coat and kicked 
      off her shoes. "What are..." she had turned and walked straight into his 
      chest. She stumbled backwards. He reached out and held her arms to steady 
      her. "Thanks." She said dryly. "So what are you doing here?" She backed 
      out of his reach.
      He pulled her over to the couch and sat her down next to him. "I heard 
      about your little encounter with the French guy last night."
      Serena looked at him and noticed how tense he looked, not very Seiya-like 
      at all.
      He cleared his throat. "I just want you to be careful ok?" He was quiet 
      for a moment. "I just wanted to tell you how I -" Before he could finish 
      his sentence, Lita, Mina and Malachite walked in. Malachite must have said 
      something hilarious because the two girls were in hysterics. Mina was the 
      first to notice them.
      "Hey guys," She saw how Seiya's brows were drawn together and realised 
      what they had done. "Sorry did we interrupt something?"
      No answer from either of them. Serena wasn't sure what was going on. She 
      looked at Seiya.
      "Is something wrong? Hold on don't answer that, we'll get out of your 
      way." She grabbed Malachite's arm and started to pull him back out the 
      door.
      Seiya stood up. "Don't worry about it. I gotta get going anyways." He 
      looked at Serena. "Later." Quickly he disappeared out the door.
      Lita sat down. "What was that about? Is he ok?"
      Still confused, Serena went to make herself a coffee. She shook her head, 
      "I have no clue. He's alright I think. Wanna coffee?"
      Lita nodded, but she didn't look quite convinced. "You're sure he's ok? 
      Did he say anything about me?"
      Malachite and Mina sat at the table, he rolled his eyes. "Whatever, so 
      tell us about this Frenchy. Is it that guy on the poster I saw you staring 
      at?"
      Serena looked at Malachite, "You saw me?" Her face started to get really 
      hot.
      Mina looked at him. "When did this happen?" Since they had started going 
      out Mina was keeping a tight rein on Malachite.
      He just shrugged, "Just before you came out of the exam. I was talking to 
      Sere, trying to find you. And as I was leaving I saw her looking at this 
      poster grinning from ear to ear." He ran across the hall and brought back 
      the poster.
      Serena's face must have been a million degrees. "You can't just rip those 
      off the walls!"
      Everyone noticed her face going red. "So it's him? Darien something, 
      right?" Mina was smiling, "So is he, Malachite? How long is he here? Do we 
      get to meet him?" Malachite elbowed her before she could ask another 
      question. She gave him tearful look.
      "Yeah, his name is Darien le Conte." She pointed at the poster, his name 
      was clearly written on it. "He's from France and no, you're not going to 
      meet him. He's got a performance tonight, his last one in North America 
      for this tour."
      "Yeah but you're going to meet him right?" Lita looked as interested as 
      the rest of them. "I think we'll just have to tag along."
      Serena put up her hand. "Oh no you don't. I know how you guys get all 
      protective and stuff. You'll end up scaring him back to France," she 
      teased. She looked at her watch. "It's about time I got dressed anyways, 
      so if you'll excuse me." She got up and went to her room. About five 
      seconds later she was back out into the living room. "Which dress do you 
      guys like better?" She held out a simple black dress that was short and 
      had no sleeves and a fiery red one that didn't have sleeves either but 
      reached her ankles and had a daring split up one leg.
      Malachite looked at them and grinned, "A dress! It must be serious! The 
      red one is sexy. Go with that one." Mina gave him a hard thump on the 
      back. "I mean the red one is nice."
      Lita looked at them and pointed at the black one. "I like that one 
better."
      Serena looked at it and agreed. "I like it too. Sorry Malachite, the black 
      one it is." She put it up against her and looked down. "Or do you think 
      that it's too much? I have pantsuits that would work." She ran down the 
      hall and brought back a heap of suits in a rainbow of colours.
      "This is too much for me, I'm out of here." Malachite kissed Min and 
      headed across the hall. The girls laughed.
      About twenty minutes later they had decided on the black dress, elegant 
      black leather pumps, a small black sequinned bag and simple jewellery. The 
      girls were in awe when she pulled out her jewellery box.
      Mina gasped, "It's like a treasure chest, it's huge."
      "Nah," Serena just shook her head, "You should see my mom's. Makes my 
      jewellery look like stuff you'd pull out of a Crackerjacks box." Ten 
      minutes after sifting through the entire contents of the box, later they 
      decided on a simple gold chain with a solitaire diamond pendant, matching 
      earrings and tennis bracelet.
      Serena emerged from the room wearing everything they had picked out. She 
      looked stunning. Her hair was held back with delicate combs and her make 
      up was put on carefully. The jewellery sparkled as she walked into the 
      room. Everyone was there, the guys and the girls. "So how do I look?" She 
      looked at everyone and smiled nervously. The guys gave a few catcalls, all 
      except for Seiya. He sat at the table looking grim. The girls flocked to 
      her.
      "You look stunning Sere." They all hugged.
      She picked up her wrap and exhaled. "Ok time to go. Later everyone."
      When she arrived at the theatre and looked around until she found him, 
      working with the others getting everything put into its place. They 
      apparently finished just as she walked over to Darien, he was laughing 
      along with some people and put his hand in his pockets.
      "Bonjour, Darien." Shyly she walked over to him. Serena noticed the 
      curious looks everyone was giving her and she blushed.
      He looked over at her. Darien's breathtaking eyes widened as he looked at 
      her and he smiled. "Serena, bonjour," He gently took her hand, brought it 
      up to his lips and kissed it. "You look beautiful." She looked stunning. 
      Darien gazed into her eyes and for a moment everything else around them 
      fell away. He recovered first. He smiled at her, seeing her dazed look and 
      knowing she felt the same thing he had.
      Putting his arm lightly around her waist, Darien directed her toward the 
      other people. He introduced Serena to everyone without taking his eyes off 
      her even once. Serena shook hands with each of them and said hi, though 
      there were so many that she very much doubted if she would remember their 
      names.
      "You help with the setting up?" Serena was very much surprised when she 
      saw him working along side his crew. She expected him to be like those 
      Hollywood stars that you read about in the paper who couldn't even do 
      their own laundry let alone set up complicated equipment.
      "Bien sur, or course, many hands make light work." He was dressed in jeans 
      and a T-shirt, a huge departure from the tux he wore when he performed. 
      Still, Darien looked terrific. Serena admired his physique. He was well 
      built, something that was hidden under the jacket and shirt last night. He 
      wasn't muscular in a bodybuilder sort of way, but he was definitely fit. 
      His hair was tousled and he was smiling at her.
      "Come, would you like some real coffee?" He took her hand a sat her down 
      on his piano bench. She ran her hands over the keys as she waited. Moments 
      later he brought back her coffee. "Two sugars right? I saw you do that 
      last night."
      "Merci, yes two sugars I have a bit of a sweet tooth." She looked at the 
      piano. "I've never played on a grand piano before." She lightly fingered 
      the keys.
      "You play? Show me." She shook her head shyly.
      He sat down beside her and gently put her fingers backs on the keys. 
      "Please." The request was made quietly. He smiled encouragingly at her so 
      she began to play nervously, praying that the lessons that she had as a 
      child would come back to her. Stumbling a couple of times she managed to 
      play Fr Elise. When she finished, he applauded her smiling from ear to 
      ear. "Magnifique! You play very well, chrie. Especially when you say you 
      haven't played in a long time." He looked at his watch. "Je suis dsol, 
      Serena. I'm sorry but I must get dressed for tonight's performance. I have 
      to go to the hotel. Come with me?"
      Blushing, Serena shook her head. "No, I think I'll wait here." She didn't 
      think that it would be appropriate for her to go with him.
      He smiled when he saw her cheeks colour. She was so cute! "a va, I will 
      return very soon." He kissed her hand and disappeared with three of his 
      people.
      She wandered around making small talk with some of the people who worked 
      with him. She found that they were very friendly and quite funny as well, 
      especially Nephlite Noyez, who turned out to be a good friend of Darien's. 
      He told her amusing stories of their childhood and about how Darien took 
      him on when he lost his job in Paris. No one had anything bad to say about 
      the man. It seemed that his generous nature was not a faade as she had 
      feared.
      About thirty minutes after he left, Darien returned dressed and groomed 
      perfectly. "Did I take too long?" He kissed her hand, something that 
      Serena was getting pleasantly use to. She shook her head. "Good, I trust 
      my friends took good care of you?"
      Nephlite jumped forward. "Of course we did. How could we not? She is such 
      a winning creature." He winked at her and smiled.
      Serena laughed happily. Darien did as well.
      He sat her back down on the piano bench and went through what was going to 
      happen. "Ok Serena, the performance will start in about thirty minutes. 
      Once everyone is seated, I will come through those doors over there," he 
      gestured at the doors to the left of the piano. "Would you like to come 
      out with me?"
      "Oh no! I couldn't!" Serena blushed.
      Darien laughed and took her hands. "Do not worry! I am just teasing you." 
      He smiled even more when Serena the blush on her cheeks deepened. "You can 
      sit here in the front. I will play several pieces with maybe a couple of 
      encores and then we are done for tonight." He made it all sound so simple. 
      "I must go now I will be back in a little while. Nephlite will keep you 
      company." Nephlite had returned and was now dressed in an expensive 
      looking suit. Darien kissed both hands, looked into her eyes and walked 
      out the door.
      Nephlite leaned over to her. "I have never seen Darien so happy. You are 
      good for each other." He smiled and led her to their seats and sat down.
      They chatted quietly as they waited while people streamed into the theatre 
      and took their seats.
      Serena smiled at what he had said. She had never been happier either. But 
      the thought of what Seiya was going to tell her kept nagging in the back 
      of her mind. Was it what she thought he was going to say? No it couldn't 
      be. He was interested in Lita not her. She looked at the piano. And 
      Darien. He was fantastic. He was everything she wanted in a man. He was 
      funny, intelligent, exciting, good looking and his eyes. Wow. They were 
      penetrating. Like they could see straight into her heart. She adjusted 
      herself and sat back in her chair.
      Nephlite looked at her. "Are you alright?"
      "Yes I'm fine. I'm just getting comfortable. How many people are expected 
      to attend tonight?"
      "It is a full house. Darien is very happy about that." He smiled at her. 
      "Even more so, that you could come. He talked about you all last night. 
      He's my oldest friend and I have never seen him behave this way before."
      Serena blushed. "That's very nice of you to say, but I doubt that I will 
      ever see him again after tonight." That sucked. She really liked spending 
      time with him and would have loved getting to know him better. "You all 
      are going to Europe next right?"
      Nephlite smiled, "Yes, but if I know Darien, he will not let you go very 
      easily. He has always fought for what he wants." The lights dimmed and the 
      crowd grew quiet. "It is time." Everyone settled in their seats.
      Serena turned toward the door waiting for Darien to make his entrance.
      Deafening applause erupted from the audience when Darien strode in a 
      moment later looking very confidant. He bowed and took his place at the 
      piano. Again the crowd grew quiet. The anticipation was almost palpable as 
      they waited for his to strike the first note. From the second that the 
      first chord was stuck, it felt as though the entire audience held their 
      breath. The music held everyone in its grasp, including Darien. Serena 
      looked at him and saw that he was playing with his eyes closed, like the 
      piano was a part of him and the music was something that was completely 
      natural to him like breathing. She was mesmerized as she watched him work 
      his magic. His fingers caressed the keys tenderly evoking the most 
      beautiful melodies. Serena closed her eyes and let the music carry her 
      away. The poignant music stirred something deep inside her, but she was 
      only able to sit and listen, completely enraptured.
      After what seemed like an eternity later and his third encore, the 
      audience exploded into a thunderous applause. Serena stood up and joined 
      in, eyes streaming with tears. He bowed in every direction and last of all 
      looked directly at her. He winked and bowed deeply, then he walked off the 
      stage. Nephlite turned to her as she tried to wipe away the tears and 
      clean up her makeup. He handed her a handkerchief.
      "He's wonderful, non?"
      Serena could only nod. He was extraordinary.
      "It is time for the backstage fiasco." He grinned and wiggled his eyebrows 
      comically.
      "Ready?"
      "Ready as I'll ever be."
      He pulled her through the crowd to where Darien was. As they approached 
      she saw women literally throwing themselves at him. Blatantly flaunting 
      themselves and handing him what Serena could see were underwear, phone 
      numbers, and hotel keys. Serena watched as an endless stream of women 
      flirted and smiled at him. One after another they approached him trying to 
      catch his attention. It was really starting to bother her until Darien 
      looked up and saw her.
      He finished signing the book some woman was holding and much to the 
      disappointment of the woman, walked away from her. And the rest of them. 
      "Serena. Did you enjoy the performance?" He scribbled his name into 
      another book that was thrust in his face.
      "Yes, it was fabulous!" Serena ducked a book flying past her face.
      Scowling, Darien looked at Nephlite and issued some quick orders in 
French.
      "Darien says for me to take you out of here before you get hurt."
      Darien nodded at her and she understood. The women looked like they 
      wouldn't let anything get in their way on their mission to get to Darien.
      She followed Nephlite out of the crowd. They wove their way through and 
      walked out a side door and into the back of a shiny black limo. "He will 
      be a little while longer. He usually spends about twenty minutes or so 
      signing autographs and then he comes back to the car. Would you like a 
      drink?" He went to the small bar and poured two glasses of wine. Suddenly 
      there was a loud banging on the window. Looking puzzled, Nephlite put down 
      the drinks and unlocked the door. "That cannot be him."
      It opened and tall blonde woman slid into the opposite seat. Dressed in 
      obviously expensive clothes, jewels and fur, she sat down pulled off her 
      dark glasses and glared daggers at Nephlite. She was absolutely gorgeous.
      "What is going on here? How come no one came to get me before you left 
      Strasbourg!"
      She pulled a cigarette out of a gold case and lit it, blowing smoke into 
      Nephlite's face. Then it hit Serena, she had seen her in some magazines 
      before sitting the exact same way and with a cigarette in her mouth. She 
      remembered admiring her for her looks when she was in high school. But 
      what was she doing here? Serena returned her attention to the two arguing 
      in rapid French, she quickly translated as much as she could.
      He coughed, choking on the pungent smoke but she didn't seem to care at 
      all. "Darien told you months ago that he didn't want to see you anymore!" 
      He rasped glaring at the woman, his dislike of her was extremely obvious. 
      "You can't follow him all over the world you know. You have no right!"
      "Of course I have the right!" She replied haughtily. "I have more right 
      than anybody!"
      Serena looked at her, her spine straightened. "And you would be?" She 
      could have as much attitude as any crazy French woman.
      She looked at Serena like she had just noticed a bug on her sweater. "I am 
      his fiance, of course!"
      Fiance! Shocked, Serena sat very still for a fraction of a second not 
      knowing what to do and then collected herself. Looks like Darien was just 
      a rat like the other men on the planet. Her appearance as cool and calm as 
      ever, Serena turned to Nephlite looking for an explanation.
      Nephlite was outraged. "She is not! And she never was." Nephlite glared at 
      her. "Darien hasn't talked to you in almost a two years! Why don't you 
      take the hint?"
      The door opened and Darien waved at the crowd one more time and then got 
      in. He was smiling until he saw her, it faded and he muttered an oath. 
      "Sabine, qu'es que tu fait ici?" He did not look happy to see her. Darien 
      stood close to the door eyeing her with displeasure.
      "Darien darling," She purred, putting on a seductive voice. "It wasn't 
      nice of you to leave me like that. I was so scared and alone." She pulled 
      him down beside her.
      Darien pulled his arm out of hers and moved as far away as he could in the 
      small space. "Sabine, I told you months ago to leave me alone! Now please 
      leave!" He looked worriedly at Serena. She didn't look at all happy. It 
      was obvious what she thought. He had to get rid of Sabine so that he could 
      explain things to her.
      Sabine ignored his words and looked at Serena as well. "Is she a fan? 
      She'll be quite beautiful when she grows up won't she Darien?" She looked 
      down her perfect nose at Serena. "Who is this delightful child?"
      Serena had had enough. As gracefully as she could, considering her knees 
      were threatening to fail, Serena stood up and opened the door, "No one." 
      She climbed out, slammed the door and walked away. Again she fell for a 
      slimy creep. Never fails. You think you find a nice guy and whammo! I've 
      had it!
      Darien shouted for her to stop but she didn't listen and kept walking. She 
      could hear more shouting from the back of the car but no one came out. 
      Pulling her wrap tightly around her she walked back into the university 
      and headed for the Wintergarden, but changed her mind when she saw all the 
      cheery students celebrating the end of their midterms. *Argh!*
      She turned and headed toward the fireplace. It was enclosed in a glass 
      room and had cushy chairs around it. Serena kicked off her shoes and sat 
      down, staring at the flames in the hopes of loosing herself in the 
      flickering light. She felt a tear run down her cheek. She angrily wiped it 
      away and punched the chair. How could she have let herself be so stupid? 
      She hung onto and believed every single word out of his mouth like some 
      love struck idiot! Men were bad news, every single one of them. Why 
      couldn't she remember that when she was with him?
      "Bad night?"
      *Oh for god's sake! Can't I get any peace?* "Go away Seiya. I want to be 
      alone." She took a hiccupping breath and the tears started to pour down 
      her face. Serena quickly turned away from him so that he wouldn't see.
      He sat down beside her and put his arm around her shuddering shoulder.
      She pushed him off. "Get off! I don't need you to comfort me." She took 
      another jerky breath, "I don't need anyone." She added in a whisper. Anger 
      started to conquer the hurt and the tears slowed, leaving only burning 
      anger in its wake.
      "So what? You're just going to shut yourself off again? That's an annoying 
      habit of yours you know." He grabbed her by her shoulders and shook her 
      gently until she looked at him. "Now are you going to talk or am I gonna 
      have to shake harder?" Seiya had seen the state she was in when she walked 
      past the Wintergarden. Apparently Mr. French Piano Guy hurt her pretty 
      badly.
      "Go away. I can handle this myself." She went to stand up.
      He pulled her back down. "No, talk to me."
      She looked at him with dull eyes. Sighing she closed them. *Boy do I know 
      how to choose them.* "Where's Lita? I thought you two were together."
      "What do you mean?" He looked confused. "Lita? What's she got to do with 
      this?"
      "Haven't you noticed? She's been throwing herself all over you since we 
      moved into Rez."
      "Nah, she's just friendly."
      "You're blind. I can't believe you haven't noticed. She's completely 
      infatuated with you.
      When they all first met you she told us all to back off of you cuz you 
      were hers. She told all of us that you asked...well were going to ask her 
      out." She looked at him, scrutinizing his face. "You really have no clue 
      what I'm talking about do you?"
      He stood up and started pacing. "Ask her out? What are you talking about? 
      I just said that me and the guys should take you all out sometime and show 
      you around. That way you won't get lost and stuff. I didn't mean it to be 
      a one on one thing. Jeez!" He ran his hands through his hair.
      "You've got to talk to her cuz she's got it bad for you." Satisfied that 
      she turned the attention off of herself, Serena got up, put her shoes on 
      and paused to look at the fire with dry eyes.
      She turned around to say good-bye to Seiya but found herself face to face, 
      well more like face to chin with him. Before she could push him away he 
      gathered her up in his arms and kissed her.
      She tried to struggle out of his arms but there was no use, she didn't 
      have the strength to fight him.
      He felt the subtle change in her and groaned, deepening the kiss. His 
      touch softened and they sank into the warmth of the kiss.
      Feelings that Serena tried to keep buried for too long came bubbling up to 
      the surface. She desperately fought to keep them in check but she 
      couldn't. It had been so long since anyone kissed her like this, her 
      treacherous body didn't listen. Serena found herself kissing him back. 
      Shakily, she wrapped her arms around him and inhaled his cologne. The 
      feelings overwhelmed her; it had been such a long time since she let 
      herself feel. Her bag slipped from her fingers and hit the floor.
      The clatter woke her from the spell. She broke the kiss and pushed him 
      away as hard as she could. "S...stop it!." Unsteady she sat down on the 
      couch and buried her head in her hands. "What do you think you're doing?"
      "What's wrong?" *Stupid! Now you've freaked her out!* The intensity of the 
      kiss caught him off guard and he was a little shaken himself. He sat down 
      next to her and took her hand. She pulled away.
      "I can't, I...." Not knowing how to express herself she got up and paced. 
      "I have to go." How could she let him kiss her? She was such an idiot!
      "Why?" Knowing that arguing with her wouldn't do any good he got up and 
      put on his coat. "I'll walk you up, I'm going that way anyways." He tried 
      to joke.
      "No, I'd really like to be alone." She grabbed her wrap and her bag off 
      the floor. "I'll see you later."
      "Why don't you tell me what's wrong?" He tried to take her hand again.
      "Just leave me alone alright?" She turned on her heel and walked out, 
      leaving Seiya standing there bewildered.
      At the suite she walked in the door and without a word to anyone walked 
      straight to her room and locked the door. She took all the jewellery off 
      and tossed them carelessly onto the desk then took off her clothes and 
      kicked them into a pile on the floor by her bed. Putting on her robe she 
      headed for the bathroom and prepared to take a long, hot bath.
      Sitting in the full tub she dunked her head a couple of times and 
      resurfaced feeling a little better. Taking the loofah she scrubbed herself 
      until she was almost raw. Then she tackled her hair, furiously massaging 
      her scalp until she had suds running into her eyes. She dunked her head 
      again. There was a timid knock on the door when she resurfaced.
      "Sere?" It was Raye.
      "Yeah?"
      "There's a gorgeous guy with an accent at the door looking for you. Should 
      I tell him to go away?"
      How did he find me? Serena felt like screaming in frustration. "Yes! Tell 
      him that I don't want to talk to him and to go away!" She returned to her 
      manic scrubbing. "Tell him to go with Sabine!"
      She climbed out of the tub a while later when the water started to feel 
      too cool. She dried herself off, put on her robe and went into her room. 
      Minutes later she was dressed in a pair of sweats and a sports bra. She 
      walked out to the kitchen to make herself a drink before she headed to the 
      gym.
      Serena looked up when she heard a shuffling noise. Alarmed she whirled 
      around to find Darien was standing there, at the table waiting for her 
      holding a long stemmed red rose and a bottle of champagne. Two crystal 
      champagne flutes sat sparkling on the table in the dim light. He was still 
      wearing his tux but his tie hung limp and undone done on his neck. His 
      hair stuck out and his eyes looked tired. The girls were nowhere to be 
      seen.
      She stared at him astonished by his audacity. "What are you doing here?" 
      Serena's hostility was obvious. "I don't want to talk to you." She walked 
      over to the door and opened it.
      "Please leave before I call security."
      Darien stood where he was. Security would have to drag him out kicking and 
      screaming unless he had a chance to explain things to her. "Chre..." He 
      looked at her and saw how infuriated she was yet he still didn't move. 
      "Serena, I am so sorry about what happened earlier." He offered the rose.
      "You think that you can offer me a rose and say a few nice words and I'll 
      forgive you for deceiving me?" She shook her head. "I don't think so."
      "I didn't deceive you." Darien stared at her directly in the eye.
      Serena turned away from his infuriating eyes. "It doesn't look like that 
      from where I am." She let the door close. Serena knew she wasn't going to 
      get him to leave that easily.
      He looked miserable. "Please give me a chance to explain."
      Serena looked at him. He looked truly dejected. She still glared at him 
      but motioned for him to sit. "How did you find me?" She sat across from 
      him and placed the rose on the table without so much as a second glance.
      "I asked the girl at the Wintergarden where you lived. She told me, I 
      searched et voila, here I am."
      She had to admit that she was impressed that he would go to such lengths 
      to find her. Serena made a mental note to talk to her friend. She didn't 
      like surprise visits.
      "S'il vous plait, Serena. Tell me how I can make it up to you." He took 
      her hand. "You must have felt so betrayed."
      Serena let her hand sit in his. "You could start by explaining. Who was 
      she? And why did she say she was you fiance?" She couldn't make her words 
      have any feeling.
      "She was former girlfriend. She is a bit much to handle if you have not 
      noticed. She was not always like that. She used to be a sweet girl, but 
      when she became a model it went to her head. She was never my fiance. I 
      have never asked anyone to marry me before." He said the last bit quietly.
      "Why is she still following you around if she was a former girlfriend?"
      "She does not want to accept that it is over between us. She is 
      very...uh... ttu? How do you say it?"
      "Stubborn."
      "Oui stubborn. It's because she knows that being seen with me will add to 
      the publicity." He shook his head. "Serena, I do not know what to say to 
      make you believe me." He looked at her intently. "All I can say is that 
      everything I have said and told you about me is true. I can never lie to 
      you. Not to the woman I love."
      Her suspicions arose again at his last sentence. "How can you say that? We 
      only just met. And besides, I'm only a student. You're better off with 
      someone like her. Someone sophisticated, beautiful, she's everything I'm 
      not." Serena looked down at her clenched hands feeling stupid for being so 
      upset over someone she just met and hardly even knew.
      He put his hand under her chin and gently lifted her head to look at him. 
      His sapphire eyes were shining in the dim light. "And you think that you 
      are not beautiful? That you are not desirable?" He could see her disbelief 
      mirrored in her eyes. "I have not stopped thinking about you since I found 
      you crying outside the theatre. I took one look into your eyes and I knew 
      you were the one. It is...coup de foudre. I think of nothing else. You're 
      beautiful eyes, cute little nose, soft lips..." He brushed the hair from 
      her face and lightly kissed each part as he said them. Serena's resolve 
      started to crumble. "You are more than she ever could be." He pulled back 
      and looked into her eyes. "Everything that I have wanted and ever could 
      want." He kissed her again.
      Serena closed her eyes as the world tilted crazily. It was as though 
      someone poured brandy into her. She could feel the delicious warmth pool 
      somewhere in her stomach and then seeped into her limbs. A long while 
      later they surfaced. Serena was breathless from the myriad of feelings 
      zipping through her body. She stared at him in complete wonder, nothing 
      had ever made her feel this way. Shaky, she thought about what he just 
      said. Could it be true? That he felt the same about her as she did about 
      him? "C...coup de foudre?" She wasn't familiar with the phrase.
      "Um..." He stopped a moment the think. "Lightning? Oui, Lightning. When I 
      first looked into you eyes I felt like electricity went through me."
      Serena's eyes widened. He felt it too?
      "Come with me, Serena." Darien felt short of breath. He licked his lips 
      and looked at her for an answer. Darien had to concentrate so that his 
      knees wouldn't buckle. It was such an incredible sensation when their lips 
      touched.
      Still trembling from the intensity of the kiss, Serena looked at him and 
      saw that he was sincere. And that he was as affected by the kiss as she 
      was. Serena saw how his chest rose and fell rapidly as he tried to calm 
      himself down. Her heart softened. She didn't know what it was about him 
      but she believed everything he said. She put her hand on his cheek. "I 
      can't go with you. I have school to finish and..." she couldn't think of 
      another good reason.
      "And what? You can bring your work with you and I'm sure we can arrange 
      something with your professeurs."
      "Darien I can't follow you around the world. I would love to but I need to 
      be here."
      He nodded. "I understand how you feel, this is your home. But you could 
      make one with me also."
      She saw the promise in his eyes. "Darien, you are so sweet, but I'm just 
      not ready for a relationship yet." He looked hurt. She took his hand, 
      "Please don't take it the wrong way. You are everything that I could ever 
      want, but I'm just in a bad place right now. I just need some more time to 
      think and sort things out." She looked into his eyes hoping that he would 
      understand. Serena realized that she did want to be with him, but not yet. 
      Not until she sorted out her life first.
      "Of course, I am going too fast." He smiled a wisp of a smile. "Je t'aime, 
      Serena. Remember that."
      Wide eyed, Serena smiled but didn't answer.
      He stood up and looked at her, knowing it was too soon for her. "We will 
      keep in touch, non?" He looked thoughtful and patted his pockets looking 
      for something. He reached into his coat and pulled a tiny cell phone out 
      of a breast pocket. "Here," he handed it to her. She stared at him 
      open-mouthed and shook her head.
      "Take it, s'il vous plait. I can get another." Before she could turn him 
      down he put it in her hand and closed her fingers around it. He looked at 
      his watch, "I must get going. Nephlite must be going out of his mind 
      looking for me right now. I did not tell anyone where I was going." He 
      winked at her. "Call me any time ok? It will work anywhere in the world. 
      And don't worry about the bill, ok?"
      Serena nodded and walked him to the door. "I will." He gave her a hug. 
      This feels nice and safe. " bientt, Darien."
      "See you soon, Serena." He kissed her cheek and with one last look was 
      gone down the hall.
      Serena walked back to the table and picked up the bottle of champagne. Her 
      cheek tingled where he kissed her. She listened for any sounds. Nothing. 
      It was too quiet. Serena smiled. "You guys can come out now!" She shouted 
      toward the hall.
      Nothing happened for a second but then one by one Mina, Lita, Raye, Andrew 
      and Malachite filed out of Mina's room.
      "We were just helping Min move her bed." Malachite offered lamely.
      "Yeah, yeah, yeah where to the ceiling?" Everyone knew as well as she did 
      that the bed could only fit in one way. "Champagne anyone?" She popped the 
      cork. Before anyone said anything, Mina grabbed the other flute and held 
      it out. "I take that as a yes." She began to pour, dividing the champagne 
      between hers and Mina's flutes and the other's coffee mugs. "How classy 
      you guys." They all laughed.
      "Hey what do you expect eh? We're students." Andrew was smiling. "That guy 
      sounds nice." He picked up the phone and looked at it.
      "He is."
      "Then what are you waiting for?"
      "I don't know."
      ----
      After talking to Serena, Seiya decided he needed to work off some steam. 
      So he headed to the gym and took over the punching bag. He walked in and 
      took off his coat, socks and shoes and started punching and kicking the 
      bag with everything he had. If Serena was right about what Lita was 
      thinking, he had to figure out how to let down Lita without hurting her. 
      And what the hell was he thinking with that kiss? It was amazing but he 
      had never done anything that impetuous before. He pounded the bag harder. 
      Serena. She was cute but she had a lot of baggage. What the hell happened 
      to her for her to be so cold towards men? He kicked the bag, sending it 
      swinging wildly. He was going to find out.
      Before long, an hour had past and he had accumulated quite a crowd, who 
      watched him in awe. Most of the group were girls he noticed. Tired out he 
      picked up his stuff and walked out to where they kept the stair climbers 
      and sat on the floor putting his socks and shoes back on. A couple of 
      girls approached him.
      "Hi there," The short blonde one was talking to him. He nodded. "We saw 
      you in there and you were awesome."
      "Thanks." He stood up. "Sorry but I have to go. Bye." He left them there 
      looking at each other disappointed that they couldn't find out more about 
      him.
      He jogged up to the suite but stopped in front of the girls' door thinking 
      about whether or not he should go and try to talk to Serena again. He 
      shook his head. She made it clear that she didn't want to talk. He turned, 
      went into their suite and shut the door. He would leave her alone until 
      she was ready to talk to him.
      ----
      Serena forgot about going to the gym. She was so tired from the day that 
      she decided to lounged in her room a while. After listening to a selection 
      of CD's, she got into bed and pulled the covers over her. Why didn't she 
      go for Darien? He was most girls' dream guy. He had everything, he 
      traveled all over the world, he was smart, good looking and as 
      unbelievable as it sounded, he loved her. Je t'aime, Serena. She smiled. 
      And his kisses! She smiled when she thought of that but it faded when she 
      remembered Seiya.
      Speaking of kisses, what about him? He obviously had feelings for her as 
      well and she couldn't deny that she felt a little something too when they 
      kissed. Guilt pooled in the pit of her stomach. She felt like she was 
      leading him on. She was interested in Darien not Seiya. They really needed 
      to have a talk. She grinned sheepishly. Two guys were interested in her. 
      Serena snapped herself out of it. Ridiculous! Why was she acting like a 
      silly little schoolgirl? Guys couldn't be trusted and she knew it. Hadn't 
      she been hurt enough? Serena pounded her pillow and got comfortable. 
      Eventually she fell into a troubled sleep.
      ----
      Serena walked into the high school that morning and felt that something 
      was definitely wrong. Everyone was looking at her in a weird way. It was 
      her senior year and so far everything was going right. She wasn't popular 
      but she wasn't unpopular either. She did well in all of her classes and 
      she was well liked by the students and faculty alike and she was going out 
      with a great guy. She looked around her when she got to her locker and 
      people were still looking at her strangely. She heard whispers and she saw 
      people pointing at her. A good-looking dark haired guy walked toward her. 
      "Hey Dave."
      Dave Anderson had been her best friend since kindergarten when she saved 
      him from some bullies. Since then they spent most of their spare time 
      together. They usually met in the mornings at her locker before meeting 
      everyone else. He nodded at her looking very unhappy.
      "What's going on? Why is everyone looking at me so weird?"
      "Serena, I don't want to be the one to tell you this but," He took a deep 
      breath. "Mr. Wonderful has been cheating on you and everyone knows." He 
      looked at her not knowing what to expect.
      He didn't expect her to laugh though. "Haha very funny, so why are people 
      looking at me...." She looked at his face and saw that it wasn't a joke.
      Mr. Wonderful was his nickname for her boyfriend, Jeff. A blonde haired 
      blue-eyed vision, she had been shocked when he asked her out two years 
      before. He was a jock and was very popular with the ladies. Serena felt 
      that they were a great couple. She thought that they were happy.
      The smile on her face faded. "You're not kidding." She paused to collect 
      herself. "Where is he? I want to hear this from him myself." Dave pointed 
      down the hall, indicating that he was at his locker. Slamming her locker 
      shut, she strode down the hall, past people looking at her knowing there 
      was something going on. He was walking toward her; blond hair neatly 
      styled and dressed to perfection.
      "Hi baby," He went to kiss her. She pushed him away.
      "Don't hi baby me. What's going on?" She glared at him demanding an 
      answer. "Why is everyone staring at me and why does Dave say that you've 
      been cheating on me?"
      "How am I supposed to know? And you know Dave has it in for me, he's never 
      liked me. He wants me out of the way so that he can have you for himself."
      They've had that argument before many times. Livid, Serena glared at him. 
      "You know that's not true. He's my best and oldest friend and he wouldn't 
      lie to me especially about something like this. So tell me. Are you?" She 
      tried to keep her emotions in check.
      He shrugged.
      "What's that suppose to mean?" She didn't care that there was a crowd 
      beginning to gather to watch the latest drama unfold in the halls. "Tell 
      me!"
      "Yeah I am, happy now?" He didn't even look the least bit remorseful.
      "How long?" She could feel her eyes welling up but blinked the tears away.
      "About ten months." He went to hold her, but she backed away from him. "I 
      didn't want to tell you like this."
      "Ha! And when were you going to tell me? When I walked in on you while you 
      were having sex?"
      "I wanted to wait until after finals so it wouldn't interfere with them."
      Serena's hands were balled into fists at her side and without thinking she 
      swung at him, connecting with his chin. He hit the ground. "How thoughtful 
      of you!" Before she could hit him again, Dave and some of the guys that 
      they hung out with dragged her off him and down the hall.
      "Let me go!"
      "Sere, calm down. You gonna get into real shit for that you know." He 
      quickly ran past an open classroom door hoping that the teacher inside 
      wouldn't notice.
      Serena wanted down. Still kicking, she shouted at Dave, "Let me go! I'm 
      going to find out who and why."
      "Why does it matter? He cheated and it's over." He put her down and looked 
      her in the eye. "Relax and I'll let you go alright?"
      Still furious she nodded. Dave let go of her arms. He knew how mad she 
      could get and how dangerous it was to be the target of her anger. Serena 
      was the biggest tomboy Dave knew and from what he could remember, she had 
      beaten them all up at one point or another. He flinched remembering being 
      her sparring partner in tae kwon do class. She could definitely handle 
      herself.
      She looked up in time to see that Jeff was walking down the hall toward 
      them. Before he could get to her Dave and the rest of the boys surrounded 
      him.
      Dave looked pissed. He grabbed him by the shoulder. "Leave her alone! 
      Haven't you done enough?"
      "I just want to explain..."
      "Just leave me alone." Serena suddenly felt drained and she couldn't hold 
      the tears in anymore. Slowly she sank to the floor and cried. A million 
      thoughts swirled through her mind. I hate men! How could I be so stupid? 
      I'm never going through that again! Never!
      Serena was startled awake by a ringing. She looked around expecting to be 
      on the ground in the hall. Instead she saw the tiny room and realized it 
      was just a dream. Shaking her head, Serena went to her phone and picked it 
      up. "Hello?" Dead tone. She could still hear ringing. Groggy and confused 
      she looked around to find where the sound was coming from. She saw the 
      cell phone on the desk and it's light was flashing. She picked it up. 
      "Hello? Darien?" Serena was getting use to the late night calls from 
      Darien. He had been calling regularly for months. Sometimes the calls 
      would be during the day other times it was late at night. No matter what 
      the time, Serena loved to hear his voice.
      "All chre! It is good to hear you again." Silence. "Are you alright?"
      The dream was still vivid in her mind. She shook her head again trying to 
      clear it and focus on what Darien was saying at the same time. "Yes I'm 
      fine. It's nice to hear you too. Where are you?"
      "I'm in Paris right now. Are you sure you're alright?" He didn't sound 
      quite convinced.
      "Yeah I just had a nightmare." She quickly dismissed it. It was just a 
      stupid dream. "That was quick. You were just in Bern yesterday."
      "Yes, but I decided to call you as soon as I got in the city. Is there 
      anything you want from here?"
      "Oh...um... nope," She sat on the bed, "I don't think so."
      "I might send you something anyway." She could hear the happiness in his 
      voice.
      Someone else's voice came on. "All? Serena?" It was Nephlite. "I must 
      take Darien away now he must get prepared for another performance. a va?"
      "Nephlite, oui a va."
      Darien came back on. "Serena, je t'aime and I will call again soon. 
      Goodbye."
      "Bye Darien." She closed the flap on the phone and climbed back into bed, 
      and smiling, fell back to sleep.
      ----
      Over the next few months, classes went smoothly and everyone seemed happy. 
      Mina and Malachite were doing well. They looked happy enough. Raye and 
      Lita's last exams went well and they were happy. Lita was still fluttering 
      around Seiya, who since that night in front of the fire hadn't mention 
      anything happened. He and Serena hung out quite a bit. They went to the 
      gym several times a week and became very good friends. The rest of the 
      guys were their usual happy selves, spending most of their time checking 
      out girls and partying.
      Serena was surprised a few mornings by the parcels that she found waiting 
      for her at the mailroom. Darien had sent, over three months, a dress from 
      Paris, a glass vase from Venice, and now a pair of shoes from Rome. He 
      called her at least twice a week to see what was going on and to keep her 
      posted on what he was doing as well. Serena was glad he did, she loved to 
      hear his voice and talk about nothing. He visited her twice for two days 
      at a time, which definitely wasn't enough for either of them. They went to 
      the movies and out to dinner and that was about all they had time for.
      Unfortunately the girls were never around when he was. They were starting 
      to think that she was having an imaginary relationship, which they often 
      teased her about.
      Sitting at the table she pulled the shoes out and looked at them. Very 
      nice.
      "You can add them to your collection eh?" Mina walked out of her room 
      dragging Malachite behind her. "So where is he now?"
      Serena pulled out a letter. "He's in Rome for a few days," she read. Mina 
      picked up the shoes and studied them.
      "Very nice." She said pointedly to Malachite, who was trying to slink 
      away. She grabbed him. "Why don't you ever get me stuff like that?"
      Malachite thumped his chest with his fist. "Me poor student, him 
      millionaire." He said doing a lame Tarzan imitation. He looked over to 
      Serena. "What are you going to do over the summer?"
      Serena put the shoes back into their box. "I have a job in Vancouver at 
      the Sun. I was going to move some of my stuff down there over the holiday.
      "Hey cool! Maybe we can go down together." She started jumping up and 
      down. "This is so great! It'll be so much fun! We have to get Lita in on 
      it too!"
      Serena nodded. "Sounds good. I hate driving long distances on my own."
      Mina dragged Malachite off to find Lita. Serena went and put the shoes in 
      her room amid all the others. Christmas was coming up in just a week 
      Serena started going through her things sorting out what she would bring 
      down to her apartment. She just found the apartment after Halloween. While 
      everyone else was partying, she went down to Vancouver for a week to see 
      what she could find. She was fortunate enough to find a new apartment 
      building that had just been built not too far from Metrotown mall. It was 
      perfect. The rent was a little high but it was nothing she couldn't 
      handle. With her new job she could easily afford the payments each month.
      They drove down a few days later after their final exams. It was fun for 
      just the girls to be doing something without one of the guys tagging 
      along. The entire seven and a half hours it took them to get down to 
      Vancouver they sang and listened to very loud music. They missed Raye 
      though; it seemed a little different without her. They promised to do this 
      again when they were all together. Lita and Serena took turns at the 
      wheel. Mina hadn't gotten her driver's license yet. She spent a majority 
      of the time lounging in the back jabbering about her and Malachite. Over 
      all it was a fun trip though. Serena dropped them off at their parents' 
      homes and then headed over to her apartment.
      Serena drove into the large parking facility and found her space. She got 
      out of the car and decided to go and take a look at the place before 
      bringing up the boxes. She walked up the stairs instead of taking the 
      elevator and stopped in front of her door. Serena pulled out her keys and 
      opened the door.
      She fell in love with the place as soon as she walked in the very first 
      time. It had high ceilings, large windows that showed a great view of the 
      city. It was big enough for her but not too small that it would be 
      suffocating and was very modern which was what she was looking for. The 
      place seemed very secure and was in a great location. Serena signed the 
      lease and hour after looking it over.
      She looked around the empty room. "I think it's time of got some 
      furniture." She pulled out her phone and dialled up Lita and Min. They 
      would know where to get some good furniture. Over the next few days they 
      hit Ethan Allen, Pier 1 and Ikea. The three girls had an incredible time 
      shopping. Mina's eyes widened when she saw the amount that Serena was 
      buying. She didn't even blink when the phenomenal totals came up.
      "Sere? How can you afford this?" She watched amazed as Serena handed over 
      a credit card without even looking at the total. "Is it on Darien?"
      Serena blushed and shook her head, "No, I wouldn't let him do that. 
      Besides he doesn't even know about the place yet." She shrugged. "My 
      parents are quite well off. And my grandfather left me a rather large 
      trust fund. So I can pretty much buy what I want." She looked at their 
      shocked faces. "Don't get me wrong I don't go crazy or anything, I just 
      buy what I need."
      "That's pretty cool." Lita picked up a box of accents they bought for the 
      apartment. Mina picked up a bag of prints and Serena grabbed a couple of 
      lamps. The other things were being delivered.
      By the end of the week, Serena, Mina and Lita arranged the furniture and 
      decorations to her liking. They sat down to watch a little TV when 
      Serena's cell phone rang.
      "Darien! How are you?" The girls moaned and rolled their eyes. It seemed 
      like she was always on the phone to him.
      "Bien. How are you chre?" He sounded happy.
      "I'm great. You'll never guess where I am." She grinned at Lita and Mina. 
      Serena hadn't told him about the apartment, she wanted to surprise him 
      with the news.
      "At school?" He sounded puzzled. Where else would she be?
      "Nope! I'm at my new apartment in Vancouver with Lita and Min right now."
      "Really? That's fantastic!" He sounded very happy now.
      "How come?" it was Serena's turn to be puzzled.
      "I have some time off. I'm actually on the plane over there right now." He 
      paused to look at his watch. "I should be there in a few hours since I 
      have to tell the pilot to alter course."
      "Fantastic!" The girls looked at her exclamation. "I can't wait!"
      "Talk to you soon, chre. Je t'aime!"
      "Bye Darien!" she closed the flap on the phone and looked at the girls. 
      "You'll never guess whose coming."
      They knew from her smile that Darien was coming over. They had never seen 
      Serena as happy as when she was talking with Darien. Something inside her 
      seemed to light up and it was infectious. Soon everyone was in a great 
      mood.
      Lita and Min decided to stay over for a while and help her get things 
      cleaned up and sorted. While the girls were off doing that, Serena started 
      fixing dinner. Not knowing what to make, she decided to just make it 
      simple and made pasta. Serena made sure that the girls had a bit before 
      they left.
      "We're coming over tomorrow though." Lita looked at Serena and smiled.
      "Yup. We're going to take you two out shopping. If you're not too busy!" 
      Min nudged Lita and they both laughed.
      "Get out of here you guys." She half-heartedly swiped at them with a hand 
      towel. "See you tomorrow." They left.
      She didn't have to wait long before she got another call from Darien. She 
      directed him to the apartment as he drove through the busy streets of 
      Vancouver, which was no easy feat. She was very impressed that he did it 
      with no problem.
      Serena sat on the couch waiting for him to arrive. At the knock on the 
      door, Serena leapt up and ran to open it.
      The door revealed a smiling Darien. He looked incredible. He stood there 
      staring back at her. Darien looked like he just stepped out of a fashion 
      magazine. He was wearing a black leather jacket, a beige sweater, jeans 
      and black leather shoes. She looked back up at his face and was taken in 
      by the happiness in his eyes.
      "Serena." His voice was rough with fatigue. He held out a rose.
      Serena accepted it and threw herself into his arms. "Darien!" He held her 
      up in the air and hugged her.
      Finally he let her down and Serena led him into the apartment. He looked 
      around and smiled. It looked almost exactly the same as his own apartment. 
      Right down to the style and colour theme.
      Serena noticed his amused look. "What are you smiling at?"
      "I can't believe how alike we are." He moved his arm in a sweeping motion. 
      "It looks almost identical to my flat."
      "Really?" she looked around. "I'm sure your place is a bit larger than 
      this is though."
      He held out his thumb and index finger and held them a tiny bit apart. 
      "Maybe a little" he smiled at her. "Still it's almost exactly the same."
      "Weird." She pulled him down to the couch. "You must be so tired!"
      He pulled her down with him. "A little."
      She leaned against him and sighed. This had to be her favourite position 
      when she sat with him.
      He put his arms around her and exhaled. "This is nice non? I love just to 
      sit with you." He leaned down and kissed her hair.
      "Mmmmm, for sure." She looked up at him remembering he just took a really 
      long flight.
      "Are you hungry?"
      "Yes."
      Serena got up. "Ok, I just have to reheat the sauce. You can freshen up in 
      there." She pointed to the bathroom. He went in. "You like pasta right?" 
      Serena heard a muffled yes from behind the closed door.
      Minutes later they were at the table eating the pasta. They talked over 
      what they had been doing over the time that they were apart. They 
      discovered that they were both worn out.
      "Yes, that last concert in Barcelona was ok but I think I need sometime 
      off, which is why I'm here now. I was planning to surprise you in Prince 
      George." He looked around. "But this is better." He grinned at her and 
      leaned over the table. "We don't have any distractions." His lips touched 
      hers.
      Serena gasped. She loved the feel of his lips against hers.
      Slowly he deepened the kiss. His tongue toyed with hers as he drank from 
      her. He was like a man starved. Her taste had him craving for more.
      Serena wrapped her arms around him and drew him down to her. She kissed 
      him back with just as much feeling. It was amazing the way that the world 
      tilted every time his lips touched hers. She closed her eyes and let the 
      feelings take over. They rapidly opened again when something smashed on 
      the floor.
      "Oh no!" The bowl holding the majority of the spaghetti was on the floor 
      in pieces.
      "Sorry chre." Darien was immediately on the floor trying to clean it up.
      "It's ok I'll get it." She knelt down beside him and helped pick up the 
      pieces of the shattered bowl.
      They managed to clean it all up with only a few minor cuts and a few 
      splotches on their clothes. Serena gave Darien a T-shirt while she changed 
      into another one was well. She threw their clothes into the washing 
      machine while they sat down on the couch again.
      "Serena." He stopped. He wasn't sure what he was going to say.
      "Yes Darien?" She was trying to clean up a little cut on his hand.
      "I love you more than I have ever loved anyone before."
      Not knowing what to say, Serena stared at him. "Darien..."
      "I just wanted you to know how I felt about you. This is definitely not 
      some casual thing."
      "I know it's not." Serena knew from the beginning that she could never 
      just put him aside as a fling. She'd definitely fallen for him. "And you 
      are the most incredible person I have ever met."
      Darien noticed that she didn't say she loved him back though. It was in 
      every look and every touch she gave him, he could feel it but she still 
      hadn't said the words out loud to him. He would have to give some more 
      time. Darien decided to take the conversation into another direction. "So 
      what is there to do in Vancouver?"
      Serena looked into his eyes and saw that he understood. "Well there is 
      Stanley Park, the aquarium, shopping, Gas Town, there are just too many to 
      count. Lita and Min offered to take us out tomorrow. They know the city 
      better than I do."
      "Sounds great. What shall we do until then?" He looked around the room. 
      "Should we rent some movies or something?"
      "Sure." Serena suddenly found her fingers very interesting. "Um...Darien. 
      I was thinking." She paused for a breath. "You don't have to go to a hotel 
      tonight. Unless you already have a room somewhere. Then I would completely 
      understand-" She realized she was babbling incoherently now and stopped.
      "Serena, what are you saying?" Darien grinned. He knew exactly what she 
      was saying, but he wanted to hear her say it.
      Heart racing, Serena tore her gaze from her fingers and looked at him, 
      straight into his eyes. She blurted it out before she lost her nerve. "I 
      want you to stay with me."
      His lips touched hers. "I would love to, chre." Darien nibbled on her lip 
      then pulled back before he couldn't. They needed to do it right. Which 
      meant not right now. They needed to savour the moment and take their time. 
      "Come. Let's get those movies." Serena nodded.
      They got up and went to the video store but it was such a beautiful night 
      that they decided to go for a walk instead.
      An hour into the walk, they decided to stop at a Starbucks and have a 
      coffee. They had just gotten their drinks when Darien's phone rang. "All? 
      Nephlite." His smile faded and his brows snapped together. "Qu'est ce que 
      s'est pass?" He sighed. "Tell me." He stopped and listened. "Ok I'll be 
      there soon." Sadly, he looked at Serena. "Shall we go back to the 
      apartment?"
      Serena nodded. They picked up their coffees and walked out. Obviously 
      Nephlite called with bad news. "What's going on Darien?"
      "Nephlite just told me that I have to return because something has gone 
      wrong. He wouldn't tell me what it was because he said I would worry too 
      much. I just have to go and find out myself." He shook his head. "It is so 
      strange. Nephlite never has trouble when I'm away. It's very unlike him. 
      It must be really bad for him to call me from my vacation time."
      "So when do you have to leave?" Her spirits slowly started to slide again.
      Darien noticed it immediately. "Serena, chre. Don't get sad. Come with 
      me. You have a few days left of your holiday don't you?"
      "You have no idea how tempting that is. But I can't I have to get things 
      sorted here. You know with the apartment and everything." Why didn't she 
      just go with him? She shook her head. *It's too soon.*
      "I know. I will stay here for a few hours then." He was a little 
      disappointed when she said no but he understood.
      Silently, they took the elevator up to the apartment.
      She unlocked the door and they walked in. Serena took off her coat and 
      took Darien's to the closet and hung them up.
      "Chre, what's the matter?" He looked at her and could feel a tension 
      going through her.
      "I don't want you to go yet." She mumbled as she sat on the couch.
      "No not that. There is something else." His midnight blue eyes caught her 
      sky blue ones, and she knew that he could see she wasn't being totally 
      honest with him.
      "Darien, there are just some things about me I'm not ready to share with 
      you yet." She felt incredibly guilty. She wanted to tell him but what if 
      it changed the way that he felt about her? She didn't think that she could 
      handle that.
      He nodded knowingly. "I see. And you think that it's so horrible that I 
      will leave you?" Serena's eyes widened when he verbally expressed her own 
      thoughts.
      "Ah. Ok then." He saw he was right and pulled her over to him. "Serena, I 
      can assure you that there is nothing about you or anything that you can 
      tell me that would change how I feel about you."
      Serena stared miserably out the window. "How can you be so sure?"
      "Because I truly love you. Serena I haven't thought of anyone but you 
      since I met you. I have not only thought of you, I dream about you, I 
      fantasize about you. Je te rvre. There is no other woman for me."
      A tear rolled down Serena's cheek at his admission. She opened her mouth 
      to say something but Darien silenced her with a finger on her lips. Serena 
      looked at him with big eyes. She was totally in awe of him.
      He replaced his finger with his lips. "Chre I can wait. I will wait until 
      you are ready to tell me." He looked into her eyes again and got up off 
      the couch. "But I must go now and attend to this problem." He shook his 
      head unbelievably. "My only break in months down the drains."
      Serena helped him take his bag to his rental car. "I hope to see you again 
      soon Darien."
      "You will. I love you Serena." He kissed her again, deeply. He pulled away 
      before it got to the point where he wouldn't be able to stop himself from 
      taking her back to the apartment. Both stood there trembling and staring 
      at each other for a long while.
      Finally Darien broke the spell and got in the car. "Bye chre, I'll call 
      you soon. Je t'aime!"
      "Bye Darien!" She watched as he drove away.
      Slowly she walked back to her own apartment. She walked in and sat down on 
      the chair facing the window. She looked around the room. It felt way too 
      big.