What Was Lost


      Author: aria


      Rated: R



      Chapter 1
      Three Years Earlier
      The sun was warm and cheery, brightening the already blazing blue sky and 
      she couldn't have been more miserable. Serena flipped her long golden hair 
      to take a better look at the paper she held in her hands. A 35. 35% how in 
      hell did she manage that? She studied her brains out and still only got 
      35%. Sighing she crumpled it up and tossed it over her shoulder. "I guess 
      math is not my strong point."
      "Aim isn't either." A sarcastic voice informed her.
      Serena wasn't in the mood to be made fun of. She whirled around and 
      grabbed it from his hands and tossed it into the garbage can. "Whatever." 
      She could feel him smiling at her and she looked up. "What are you smiling 
      at?"
      He chuckled and shook his head. "I was just wondering how someone so 
      beautiful could manage only a 35% on her math exam."
      She laughed mirthlessly. "Funny. I suppose that because you obviously 
      think you're so smart that you think you're handsome as well?" she looked 
      up at him and saw that he was indeed very handsome. Everything about him, 
      from his dark hair, deep blue eyes and broad shoulders screamed 
      'gorgeous'. Her breath hitched a little and she started coughing when she 
      couldn't get her breath back right away.
      Darien stood there and watched her appraisal of him and was flattered at 
      the way her eyes widened when she actually got a good look at him. He 
      waited for her to say something else but ended up whacking her on the back 
      when she started choking. "Are you ok?" he smiled when she nodded. "Ouch, 
      then."
      Serena smiled self-effacingly when she realized he was referring to her 
      earlier comment. "I'm sorry. I'm just not in the best of moods," She waved 
      at the trashcan. "For obvious reasons." While she did that an ice cream 
      parlour caught her attention. "Can I make it up to you?"
      His lips twisted into a wry smile. "For what insulting my looks or my 
      intelligence?" Her embarrassment was genuine and he could see it. Her 
      expression and the slight flush to her pixie like face was just too 
      adorable, he just couldn't help teasing her about it. She started 
      stammering now and it was all he could do to stop himself from laughing. 
      "Alright. How about a double scoop each and we'll call it even."
      Serena dug through her pockets and pulled out a few pitiful coins, "I only 
      have enough for one."
      He winked a navy eye at her. "Don't worry about it."
      ----
      They were chatting comfortably in one of the booths as they enjoyed their 
      second cone each.
      Serena looked up at Darien Chiba and was still in awe of him. He was 
      obviously very intelligent it showed in the words he used in conversation 
      as well as the topics they ended up talking about. Now they reached career 
      choices.
      Darien had just told Serena that he was in his second year at the local 
      university. "And you're going to be a doctor?"
      He nodded. "Yup. How about you? What are you interested in being?"
      "I was thinking medicine too but I'm not sure yet. We'll see when I get 
      there. Three long years from now."
      He chuckled and toasted her with his ice cream. "Here's to two future 
      doctors then! Watch out medical world!"
      Serena laughed and collided cones with him. "Absolutely!"
      ----
      She walked home later that afternoon, practically flying in her elation. 
      Serena didn't even notice the arduous hike she hated to make every day 
      just to get home. Traffic turned into a minor inconvenience, crowded 
      sidewalks became a non-issue. Nothing could bring her down.
      Serena glided through the front door and gave her father the customary 
      peck on the cheek. "Hiya, daddy." She danced through the kitchen, pulled 
      open the fridge and rummaged though, pulling out a pitcher of juice.
      She didn't notice the strange look on her father's face when she turned 
      back to him. All she could see was Darien's smiling face in her mind. God, 
      he was gorgeous.
      "Hi pumpkin. How was your day?" Wonderful if her face was anything to go 
      by.
      "It was great daddy." Serena took a large gulp of her drink, her eyes 
      still glazed over with joy.
      He was definitely puzzled now. Serena was never this happy after school, 
      especially when she was supposed to receive her grades for her exams. "And 
      your math test? How did you do?"
      She barely even heard his question. "Not too bad actually." She downed the 
      rest of her drink and put the glass in the sink. "Gotta go and tackle my 
      homework now. See you later!" Whistling cheerfully to herself, Serena 
      picked up her back and skipped out of the kitchen.
      ----
      Homework? Serena rushing off to do homework?
      Ken Tsukino had scowled when he saw the dreamy look on his daughter's face 
      when she walked in the door that afternoon. But now he was so shocked that 
      he couldn't even do that.
      An ice edged blade twisting in his gut when he realized what that look 
      was. His little girl was in love. Serena was in love and he didn't like 
it.
      He watched her float about the house for the rest of the day and tried not 
      to grimace. She was too young, too innocent, to fragile to be in love. 
      Besides, there was plenty of time for that. Later. Much later. After 
      college perhaps.
      He sighed at the thought of her looking so happy though. It had been too 
      long since he'd seen her so carefree. He decided to let the little crush 
      run its course. How long could a high school crush last anyhow?
      --
      Serena sat at her desk reading over a novel she was supposed to have read 
      months ago. Now she was rushing to finish off the last twelve chapters of 
      a fourteen-chapter book the night before her essay was due.
      "Why do I do this to myself?" she turned the book around and banged the 
      spine against her forehead. "Why, why, why?" she stopped when her head 
      started to hurt. "Great now I have a headache too." Feeling completely 
      stupid, she closed her eyes and willed the throbbing to stop. She had to 
      get the essay done or she'd barely pass the class.
      Serena shook her head and focussed her eyes on the pages again, determined 
      to finish reading. Her gaze wandered over to the clock on her wall. It was 
      almost 11pm. She groaned again. "Why do I do this to myself!"
      She leaned her head on her arm and read a few more paged before her eyes 
      fluttered shut.
      --
      She ran across a lush green field and stared into the morning sunlight 
      feeling absolutely wonderful and without a care in the world. Serena 
      focussed her efforts on the rolling hills before her and decided that she 
      was going to see what was on the other side.
      She had just reached the top when a turtle tripped her.
      Face first in the grass, Serena started laughing at how easily she was 
      tripped by such a small and slow animal. Spitting out a few blades of 
      grass, she sat up and looked around her. There were animals everywhere all 
      staring at her curiously.
      Feeling a little like Snow White in the forest scene, she wondered if they 
      would come to her if she put out her hand. So she did, and they did.
      She was brushing the downy fur of a little bunny, looking into its 
      enormous eyes when it opened its mouth.
      Ring!
      Was it just her or did the bunny sound like a phone?
      She looked at it again. "What did you just say?"
      The bunny looked at her straight in the eyes and opened its mouth again.
      Ring!
      --
      Serena opened her eyes and stared into the book that was millimetres from 
      her nose. She snapped to attention when she realized that she had fallen 
      asleep. She fought off the last vestiges of sleep and tried to shake the 
      ringing from her ears.
      But it just kept coming.
      She shook her head again but she could still hear the ringing. It was a 
      full second before she realized it was her phone ringing and not her head.
      Serena rolled her eyes and snatched the receiver from the cradle. "Hello?" 
      Who on earth could be calling her at this hour?
      "Hi," the husky voice replied.
      She instantly knew who it was and her pulse responded accordingly, dashing 
      into a mad gallop in her chest. "Darien?"
      "Did I wake you?"
      She shook her head and smiled into the phone. "No, I was doing some last 
      minute reading."
      "Great. Look out your window."
      "My window?" puzzled, she looked toward her window.
      "Yeah, just do it."
      "Ok..." she got out of her chair and wandered over. "And what am I looking 
      for?"
      "Just open the curtains and take a look." The voice replied laughingly.
      She did as she was told and looked. Serena had to laugh when she saw a 
      figure bobbing over the tall hedges that enclosed the yard. "Is that you 
      out there?"
      "Yeah. I just wanted to say goodnight." The figure waved and she waved 
      back.
      "How are you doing that?" if Serena had to guess, she would say that he 
      was on the shoulders of a couple of friends.
      "A good buddy is helping me out. Say hello, Drew."
      Another masculine voice came online. "Hey. Hurry up and say goodnight so I 
      can get this dope off of my shoulders."
      "Hi to you too." She laughed.
      Darien came back again. "Well you heard him. I should let you get back to 
      your reading anyways."
      "Ok." Serena waved happily at the shadow and it waved back before it 
      dropped out of sight.
      "Oof!"
      Serena laughed even harder. "Are you ok?" she couldn't hide the shaking in 
      her voice.
      "Yeah. I'm ok. I'm not sure Drew is though."
      She could hear groaning on the other side and grimaced. "You'd better make 
      sure he's ok."
      "He's fine. I'll talk to you later ok?"
      "Of course. Goodnight."
      "Goodnight, Serena."
      She saw a hand wriggling over the hedge for a moment and then it 
      disappeared. Smiling, she hung up the phone. Somehow she managed to read 
      the entire novel and write an essay and get to sleep that night without 
      any more trouble.
      --
      She was up in a flash the next morning and easily made fast work of her 
      morning routine. She was dressed, made up and at the breakfast table in 
      record time, much to the amazement and dismay of her father.
      "You're up early." The brow to the one eye that peeked over the paper 
      arched at his peculiarly perky daughter.
      "Yeah, I thought I would get in early for once and see what I miss in the 
      mornings." Serena grabbed a piece of toast and jammed it in her mouth 
      while she poured a drink into her portable mug.
      "I see." He returned his gaze to his paper and tried not to show his 
      discomfort.
      Serena hadn't noticed anything anyway; she was too busy trying to balance 
      everything in her arms. "Yup, gotta run!" she leaned over pecked him on 
      the cheek and disappeared out the door.
      Serena briskly walked the short distance to school, almost whistling along 
      the way. She arrived at the school to see students milling around talking, 
      doing homework, and some just lounging on the lawn. Serena couldn't 
      remember the last time she had seen the school this way. Usually she was 
      dashing through the doors just as the bell was ringing and the students 
      had all but abandoned the halls.
      Not sure what to do next, Serena thought it would be a good idea to pay a 
      visit to her neglected locker. It would be the perfect time to do some 
      much needed cleaning.
      "Serena?" the familiar voice called from a distance.
      Serena spun around in time to see her friend running toward her, her dark 
      hair trailing behind her. "Hi Raye, how're you doing?" She wasn't the 
      least bit surprised to see the shocked look on Raye's face.
      "Serena? You do realize that you are at school almost forty-five minutes 
      early. Are you in trouble or something?" Raye reached over and touched 
      Serena's forehead, looking for a fever.
      Serena swatted her away laughingly. She was in too good a mood to let 
      anything get her down. "No, I was up so I thought I would get to school 
      early for once."
      Raye looked at her sceptically, "Yeah, sure. What's going on?"
      "I told you. I'm just in a good mood." Smiling, she turned away and walked 
      toward her locker knowing that the dark haired girl was too tenacious to 
      let things drop.
      Just as she anticipated, Raye rounded the corner behind her. "You're never 
      in that good a mood. Not even a giant chocolate cake can get you out of 
      bed in the morning before ten! Now spill it!"
      Serena laughed and swung open her locker, and pretended to chastise her 
      friend. "Temper, temper, Raye. You know, you should really learn to relax. 
      You'll live longer."
      "And you'll live longer if you tell me what's going on!" Raye dropped her 
      bag and stared up into the face of her best friend. She may have been a 
      few inches shorter, but it didn't stop her from being scary when she 
      wanted to be. "Now tell me what's going on!"
      "Should I call the principal?" a deep voice laughed.
      Serena shut her locker to find Darien leaning casually on the other side, 
      seemingly enjoying the show. "Darien? What are you doing here?"
      "I was in the neighbourhood and since I don't have classes for a couple of 
      hours, I thought I'd stop by and see what your school was like." He turned 
      to Raye who stood like a shocked statue staring at him. "And you must be 
      Serena's friend?" He couldn't help but be amused by the expression on her 
      face. "Hello? You speak English?"
      Raye snapped out of her trance. "Yes I speak English! I assume you're the 
      reason that my friend is in such a good mood." She eyed Darien then Serena 
      before glaring at Darien again. "And why is she in such a good mood? 
      Hmmmmm?" she jabbed Darien in the chest with a finger before Serena pulled 
      her away.
      "She's just kidding, Darien. Raye just has a hard time being nice to 
      people."
      Darien threw up his hands in supplication, "Hey we just talked that's 
      all." Then his voice lowered. "Nothing nasty." He smiled wickedly and 
      whispered, "Yet."
      That set Raye off and it was all Serena could do to calm her down and send 
      her on her way with promises to explain everything later. She turned back 
      to the infuriating man before her. "What are you doing here?" she 
      whispered as she took his arm to find somewhere they could talk. "You know 
      teasing Raye like that isn't a good idea. She's got quite a temper."
      "Yeah I can see that." He shook his head. "But honestly, I just stopped by 
      to say hi and see what your school was like."
      Serena smiled. "That's nice of you. So what have you got planned for the 
      rest of your day?" she stopped walking when they reached a quiet corner in 
      the hall.
      "Well, I have class in a few hours. Then I've got classes until three 
      another couple of hours break and then class again at five then I'm done 
      for the day."
      "Sounds like you have quite the schedule. Is it hard to keep up with? I 
      always figured university would be pretty tough."
      He chuckled. "It's pretty hard and sometimes it feels like I'll never get 
      through. But you pull through." He winked at her just as the first bell 
      rang. "Well time's up. Can I walk you to your class?"
      She knew he was reassuring her and Serena nodded. "Thanks, just let me get 
      a book from my locker."
      He bowed gallantly, "Lead the way."
      Serena loved it. Every girl in the hall was staring at them, well at 
      Darien. But she was with him and that was good. There she was with the 
      most gorgeous man she was sure anyone had ever seen and it was the most 
      fabulous feeling in the world. She almost groaned aloud when they reached 
      her class. She turned to him slowly. "Well, this is me."
      Darien smiled and nodded. "It was nice seeing you again. Close up. Without 
      having to try and scale a hedge."
      Serena laughed. "Yeah I guess talking for five minutes in a crowded hall 
      full of gawking teenagers is a bit better." She caught the amazed gaze of 
      a classmate as she stumbled into class. "So I'll see you later?"
      "You bet you will."
      Her breath hitched when he leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. She 
      could smell his cologne lingering near her when he moved back. He smiled 
      handsomely and winked slyly before turning around and ambled away.
      And that was when Serena knew she was in love.
      Heart pounding, she turned and walked into her class.
      --
      The next few months were a blur. A wonderful, happy, romantic blur.
      Darien was the perfect gentleman and came to see her as much as he could. 
      Her favourite visits were the ones in the middle of the night at her 
      window. The first visit caught her off guard. She thought it was a burglar 
      or something. She had her lamp in her hand and almost bashed him with it 
      before she realized who it was.
      "Whoa! It's just me!" he put his hands down when he was sure she wasn't 
      going to clobber him.
      "Darien! You scare the crap out of me!" she took a deep breath in an 
      effort to calm her pulse but she wasn't quite sure that the scare had 
      anything to do with it now that she got a look at Darien. He was wearing a 
      t-shirt and jeans that were slightly damp from the drizzle outside. His 
      hair was matted and plastered to his head but he was grinning from ear to 
      ear.
      "Hey." He whipped his fingers through his hair to dispel some of the 
      water. "How's it going?"
      "You must be freezing!" Serena rummaged around and pulled out a towel. 
      "Here. Dry yourself off before you catch something."
      "You know you don't actually catch anything from being cold--"
      Serena threw the towel over his head. "You're not a doctor yet, Darien."
      He chuckled and dried his hair before trying to sop up his clothing. 
      Darien stepped into her room and smiled as he looked around. "So this is 
      your room huh? Nice. I expected pink flowers." He smiled appreciatively at 
      the dark blue walls and lightly coloured furniture. It was a nice 
contrast.
      She ran around the room clearing up the clothes that she had been folding. 
      She didn't need him to see her underwear quite yet. "Yeah, well what do 
      you think I am? Some girlie girl?"
      "Not anymore." He nodded at a chair. "Mind if I sit?"
      "No, of course you can sit." She made her way over to the door to make 
      sure that it was securely closed. "Just keep it down so my father doesn't 
      hear you."
      "Not a problem." The last thing he needed right now was a rampaging father 
      on his case.
      "So what brings you by?" Serena perched herself on the edge of her bed not 
      sure what she should do. She'd never had a boy in her room before. 
      Twiddling her fingers, she settled with smiling stiffly and staring at 
him.
      Darien could see that she was uncomfortable. "I can leave if you like."
      She shook her head emphatically, "No, no." then more calmly, "Well, if you 
      have to leave..."
      He chuckled again, something he was coming quite accustomed to when he was 
      around her. There was just something about Serena that had him feeling so 
      carefree. "No, I don't have to leave. There is no other place I'd rather 
      be right now."
      Serena could feel the blush creep up her cheeks. "That's sweet, but you 
      really should get out of here as soon as you can because if my father 
      catches you, you're a dead man."
      He stood up, "Alright. I just wanted to give this to you." He pulled a 
      soggy oblong box out of his back pocket. "Sorry. I didn't think it would 
      start raining."
      Serena took it from him. "What's this for?"
      He winked at her on his way to her window. "It's been a month since we 
      first met and I saw this and well...well I thought it was worth 
      celebrating..." he stopped speaking when he realized that he was getting 
      tongue-tied.
      "Is that a blush I see?" Serena couldn't stop herself from teasing him. 
      But the moment she opened the box all thoughts of teasing evaporated.
      Inside was a delicate silver bracelet. He pulled it out and wound it 
      around her wrist. "Do you like it?"
      "It's beautiful. Thank you." She shifted her arm around so she could see 
      how it caught the light. "But I didn't get you anything."
      He pecked her on the cheek. "I don't need anything." Darien smiled at her 
      again. "I've gotta go before your dad finds me."
      Serena watched him climb back out her window. "Ok. I'll talk to you 
      tomorrow ok?"
      "Absolutely." He waved. "Goodnight."
      "Goodnight."
      Serena closed and locked her windows then flopped onto her bed, laying on 
      her back so she could take a look at the bracelet. Amazing. He was so 
      sweet. She let it catch the light as she stared at it. She was definitely 
      speed through her list of firsts with Darien. He was the first guy to get 
      her such a sweet gift, the first guy to be in her room since she was four, 
      and he was definitely the first guy to ever make her feel this way. She 
      felt all tingly, flushed, happy, excited, scared, and flustered all at 
      once. And it was wonderful.
      Sighing happily into the silence of her room, Serena turned out the lights 
      and fell asleep thinking about the man with dark hair and laughing blue 
      eyes that made her feel that way.
      It had been about a month since that night and Serena was sitting up 
      waiting for him to visit again. The nervousness of having a boy in her 
      room was gone. But the one because her father was just down the hall was 
      as strong as ever. She could just imagine what would happen if her ever 
      caught any boy in her room in the middle of the night.
      She'd be in boarding school quicker then you could say 'ugly uniforms'. 
      Serena shuddered at the thought. But she shrugged it off when she heard a 
      light tapping at her window.
      She climbed out of bed and opened the window. "Hiya."
      Darien smiled and climbed in. "Hey. How're you doing?"
      "My day was lousy until now."
      "Aww. How sweet." He mockingly knocked at her chin with his fist. "I'll 
      turn you into a sentimental fool yet."
      "Me? Sentimental? Never!" she laughed.
      "I see definite potential for sentimentality in there." He poked at her 
      head with his finger.
      "Oh really? And how do you suppose you're going to bring it out?"
      "Oh I don't know. There has been something I have been thinking about 
      doing for a long time now."
      Serena's breath stopped but she managed to ask, "What's that?"
      He leaned in closer so close she could feel the heat emanating from him. 
      "Well, when two people are attracted to each other, there are things that 
      they like to do to be as close as possible. One of those things is a bit 
      of a no no at the moment given your age and the fact that your father is 
      down the hall."
      "And what makes you think that I would give in to you anyhow?" she 
      retorted with more force than she felt. Serena's body was already 
      gravitating toward him and she knew that if he forced the issue she would 
      more than likely give in.
      He shook his head. "I'm forgetting about that option right now." Darien 
      moved even closer so now. She could feel his breath, hot on her cheek. 
      "Let's concentrate on the other choice..." he wound his hands around her 
      waist and tugged her close.
      Serena found herself pressed up against him and hardly able to breath. She 
      looked up at him and the soft lips that were rapidly descending on hers. 
      Oh god this was really happening! Darien was going to kiss her!
      His lips touched hers lightly, delicately kissing the corner of her mouth 
      and working their way to the centre. There they pressed harder, tasting 
      her, making her breath come in gasps.
      Serena shut her eyes and kissed him back, following wherever he led. She 
      felt one of his hands moving lightly up her back to gently cup the back of 
      her head to hold her to his exploring mouth. Not that she was about to go 
      anywhere. Colours flashed behind her eyelids as she fought not to become 
      completely limp in his arms. Warmth radiated from her lips and seeped 
      through her limbs, working their way to pool somewhere deep in her 
stomach.
      Her hands went to his hair and threaded themselves with the silky strands. 
      She pulled him closer and changed the angle of the kiss so they could 
      deepen it. And deepen it he did. Darien's tongue traced her lips before 
      dipping into the honeyed recesses of her mouth to taste her.
      She could hear a low groan coming from him and instinctively pressed 
      herself closer, wanted to have every inch of her body against his.
      Serena heard the unhappy sound that came from her throat when he slowly 
      pulled away and knew that he heard it too.
      They stared sleepily at each other for a moment trying to get a grip on 
      their rampaging emotions. It was a long time before either one of them 
      spoke. "Wow." They were both thinking it, but he was the first to regain 
      his senses enough to form words.
      Serena blinked at him wishing that he'd kiss her again. But he didn't and 
      the world slowly righted itself again. "Ditto."
      He touched foreheads with her and stared into her eyes. "Well, I guess 
      it's official then."
      Serena looked up at him questioningly. "What is?"
      "We're boyfriend and girlfriend now." He laughed.
      "And it took a kiss to make it official?"
      He nodded. "And if I knew it would be that good, I would have kissed you a 
      million times by now."
      "It was that good huh?" Serena knew that it was, she was still reeling 
      from it. "Wanna see if it's as good the second time around?"
      He was already finding out for himself.
      ----
      "Serena? Seeeeeereeeeeenaaaaa."
      Serena focussed on the hands waving in front of her face. "Yeah Raye?"
      "You wipe the goofy grin off of your face. We're in the cafeteria about to 
      eat disgusting cafeteria food. Get that look off of your face before they 
      think that you like it."
      Serena kept right on smiling.
      "I take it things with Darien are progressing well?" After their initial 
      encounter, Raye had actually grown fond of the man. He actually did care 
      about Serena like she deserved and they way that she looked since they'd 
      met was wonderful. She was truly happy.
      "Yup. Very well."
      Raye's dark brow arched, "How well?" she asked devilishly.
      Serena giggled. "Not THAT well. But good."
      They laughed as they tried to eat their petrified lunches.
      "Are you sure you should be eating that? It looks like it belongs in the 
      lab."
      Serena looked up to see her boyfriend, boy she loved the word, standing in 
      front of them holding bags of take out. "Oh thank you!" she slid over so 
      that he could sit down with them. Serena looked over his shoulder to look 
      at the two other guys with him. "Hey Andrew. Hey Chad. How's it going?"
      "Not bad." Andrew sat down next to Darien while Chad made his way over to 
      the other side of the table.
      "Pretty good." Chad smiled at Raye. "And you must be Raye. We've been 
      hearing a lot about you from Serena."
      Raye flushed a little. "Oh really? And what has my dear friend been saying 
      about me?"
      The three men laughed. "Only the best possible things, of course."
      Serena laughed, "Raye meet Andrew and Chad. A couple of Darien's friends 
      from school."
      Raye shook hands with them in turn, letting Chad hold her hand for a 
      little longer than necessary. Maybe her best friend having a boyfriend in 
      university had its perks after all.
      They sat down and split the meal, having a great time in the process. By 
      the time they finished, they had a double date set up for the weekend as 
      well as a plan on how to get Serena out of the house to actually attend 
it.
      Serena was humming with excitement by the end of the day. She slammed her 
      locker shut and headed out the door. To think they would be actually going 
      a real date!
      She hugged her bag to her and grinned from ear to ear as she headed to the 
      sidewalk she always took home. This was so exciting! But first she had to 
      get around her dad. The thought slowly wiped the smile from her face. If 
      things went according to plan, it would work out fine. But the worst-case 
      scenario was pretty terrifying and was almost enough to change her mind. 
      Almost.
      Things had to go right. They had to.
      Serena sent out a little prayer to any god listening that the plan would 
      go without a hitch. All she had to do was tell her father that she and 
      Raye were going to study together that night. Raye was going to pick her 
      up and they were going to the library downtown, they were going to study 
      for a few hours, go out to dinner and then come home. As simple as that.
      She flicked her hair over her shoulder and stood nervously for a second at 
      the front door to her home before she opened it and walked in. Luckily her 
      father wasn't home yet. It would give her time to fine tune the story.
      Serena ran straight to her room and shut the door behind her before she 
      started pacing up and down rehearsing her words over and over in her head. 
      "This is going to work. This is going to work." She reassured herself.
      Serena looked out of the window for the millionth time trying to will her 
      father to get home from work before she lost her nerve.
      She took a deep breath and shook her arms trying to relieve the tension. 
      Serena never lied to her father before. She wished she didn't have to 
      either but he would never let her go out with a boy five years older than 
      her. Especially since she was only fourteen. She took another slow breath. 
      "Oh god." She sighed when she saw his car pull up. This was really going 
      to happen.
      Serena took a quick look at her reflection in the mirror and made the face 
      there look happy. She walked into the hall.
      She nearly tripped on the rug in the hall as she made her way out. Calm 
      down! Serena righted herself and carefully made her way out to the 
      kitchen, where she knew her father would be as usual. She peeked around 
      the corner and saw him walk in and put his briefcase down on the kitchen 
      countertop. With one last reassuring breath, she rounded to corner. "Hi 
      daddy!"
      "Hello, pumpkin. How was school today?"
      "Not too bad." He seemed to be in a good enough mood. It bolstered her 
      confidence a little. "Is it alright if Raye and I hit the library and have 
      dinner on Friday night?" Serena winced. She thought it was blurted out, 
      but Ken didn't seem to notice.
      "I don't see why not. As long as you two actually get some studying done." 
      He looked at her sternly then beamed. "I'm glad you're actually paying 
      more attention to your studies now. You're up in your room every night now 
      instead of staying up and watching TV. I'm proud of you Serena." He patted 
      her heartily on the shoulders.
      All Serena wanted to do was throw up. If he knew the reason she was in her 
      room every night... "Thanks dad." She sighed and turned to walk out of the 
      room when her father's voice stopped her. She froze waiting for him to 
      pounce on her lie. "Yes?"
      "Say hi to Raye for me. I haven't seen her in a while." He smiled and 
      headed to his office.
      Serena nearly collapsed with relief. She stumbled through the hall on 
      wobbly legs to give Darien a call and let him know that things were ok.
      ----
      Friday night was upon her before she knew it and Serena was petrified with 
      thoughts of her father stopping her, of him knowing exactly what was going 
      on but only just letting her dig herself deeper into a hole before 
      confronting her.
      She was dressed in casual jeans and fitted blouse. Perfectly suitable for 
      a night on the town or a night in the library. She looked at herself in 
      the mirror and wondered if she should change. Again. She fiddled with her 
      hair while she tried to decide but the ring of the doorbell stopped her 
      from making any further changes.
      Serena grabbed her book bag and headed to the door. Her father was already 
      there chatting politely to Raye who stood like a deer caught in headlights 
      on the other side.
      "And her she is." Ken smiled at both girls. "I was just telling Raye that 
      she should stop by more often." He turned to the aforementioned girl. "We 
      haven't seen you around too much lately."
      She smiled uncomfortably and shrugged. "I've been busy with school work."
      "Serena has been too. It's good to see you two buckling down." He paused a 
      moment and when no one said anything Ken smiled. "I guess I've held you up 
      long enough. Have a good night girls." He stopped Serena as she passed him 
      in the doorway.
      Panicking, Serena turned to him as calmly as she could, though she was 
      sure that her heart was pounding so loudly that they could hear it down 
      the street. "Yes, daddy?" He knew! He knew!
      "Do you have enough money for a cab? Just in case?"
      Serena nodded jerkily. "Yeah, you know me. Always prepared."
      "Alright." He waved at them. "Have a good evening and don't get home too 
      late."
      "I won't daddy." Serena turned around again and walked steadily down the 
      three steps to where Raye was waiting for her. She could feel tears of 
      relief pooling in her eyes when she heard the door close behind them.
      She grabbed Raye's arm and they ran down the driveway and out onto the 
      sidewalk. Serena turned and hugged Raye, nearly going limp in her arms. 
      "Oh god Raye! I don't think I can do this! I can already feel an ulcer. I 
      swear!"
      Raye was giggling giddily. "I thought he was going to bust us for sure!" 
      she heaved a breath and laughed even more. "Come on the guys are waiting 
      for us!" she dragged the non-resistant Serena behind her.
      Serena was still trying to recover when she saw Darien and Chad standing 
      waiting by their car and her breath was taken away for a completely 
      different reason.
      She stared at them as she approached. But her attention was completely 
      taken by Darien. He was wearing black dress pants and a dark burgundy 
      dress shirt. He left the top button undone giving him a more casual look 
      despite the dress clothes. His hair was actually styled for once, unlike 
      his usual messy wash and go look. In short he looked incredible.
      His eyes widened when he saw her too. Serena always looked great to him 
      even when she was in rumpled pyjamas chatting to him through her window. 
      But now with even the tiniest of glitz she looked stunning. He even found 
      himself wondering what she would look like fully made up. Stunning he'd 
      bet.
      Darien's heart beat double time as she walked up to him and smiled shyly 
      as if to ask him if he approved of her appearance. So he did the only 
      think he could at the moment. He leant down and kissed her tenderly on the 
      lips and whispered, "Wow."
      He could see her flush even in the dimming evening light when she looked 
      up at him with shining eyes. "I could say the same about you."
      Darien put his arm comfortably around her shoulders and they both looked 
      over at the other couple that were shyly admiring each other from a short 
      distance.
      Serena's eyebrow shot up. She hadn't seen Raye show this much interest in 
      anyone before. This was going pretty good so far. She turned her attention 
      back to her date and smiled. "So what do you have planned for us this 
      evening?"
      He looked over at Chad and they shared a mischievous look before he looked 
      back at her. Still smiling impishly, Darien produced a silken scarf.
      More then slightly confused she looked over at the other couple and Chad 
      had done the same thing.
      "Uh, what's going on here?" Serena nervously took half a step back ready 
      to run for it. "What's that for?"
      Darien chuckled. "Relax. Where we're going is a surprise." he held out the 
      scarf when he saw her staring at it dubiously. "It's a blindfold."
      She looked up at him and saw that he looked like he was about to burst 
      from laughter that she felt a little sheepish. She should have known he 
      wasn't going to hurt her. Breathing a little easier she let him gently fit 
      the cloth over her eyes. Darien guided her to the car and helped her into 
      the seat. She sat perfectly still and could feel Raye get in beside her. 
      But just to make sure she touched her hand. Raye tapped it back and she 
      felt instantly reassured.
      Serena tried to keep track of where they were headed, but after the first 
      fifteen sets of twists and turns she couldn't make heads or tails of where 
      they were. She leant in closer to Raye and whispered, "Any idea where we 
      are?"
      "Nope. Are you sure we can trust these guys?" she giggled when Serena 
      clamped down on her hand. "I'm kidding. But I think I can smell the sea."
      Serena took a whiff of the air and nodded useless. "Yeah. I think I can 
      smell it too." she settled back for the remainder of the ride sure that 
      they were headed for the beach.
      A few minutes later they pulled to a stop and gentle hands closed around 
      hers once more and helped her out of the vehicle.
      A smile formed on her glossed lips when he feet sunk into the sand. They 
      were right. They were at the beach. She was guided a little ways before 
      she was stopped and the blindfold was removed.
      Serena see a plaid beach blanket laid out on the beach, each corner pinned 
      down with a tiki torch. They were all lit and flickering slight in the 
      still night. Cushions of various colours were strewn over the cloth and a 
      small portable stereo sat in the sand playing soft music.
      "What do you think?" Darien looked into her face hopefully as he pulled 
      her down with him onto the blanket.
      Serena propped herself up on a few cushions and looked up into the 
      cloudless sky, letting her gaze sweep over the millions of pin points of 
      light twinkling there and then letting it drop to the calm, sparkling sea. 
      "It's beautiful. It's just amazing, isn't it Raye?"
      "Wow, yeah." She answered absently.
      Serena giggled to herself. Raye wasn't looking anywhere in the vicinity of 
      the sky or sea when she answered. She was staring at the man sitting next 
      to her. She turned her attention back to Darien and saw that he had 
      noticed it too. He shook his head and leaned back on his elbows to take in 
      the night.
      She did the same too and looked into the depths of the inky sky. It was so 
      tranquil. Serena sighed happily then giggled when Darien's face moved over 
      hers, blocking out the view.
      "Are you hungry?"
      Hungry was an understatement. She hadn't eaten anything since they came up 
      with the plan. She'd been too nervous to even look at food and now she was 
      paying for it. Serena nodded emphatically. "I'm famished."
      Darien sat up and snapped his fingers in the air. Immediately a familiar 
      blonde figure appeared at his side. "Garcon? We'll have our meal now."
      Andrew bowed stiffly and disappeared to presumably bring back the 
      requested meal.
      Serena was laughing now. "Poor Andrew! How on earth did you get him to 
      agree to do this?"
      Darien shrugged nonchalantly. "It's easy when you know how."
      "It's easy when you know how to put your best friend in an arm bar you 
      mean." Andrew grumped when he returned with two platters of food.
      Serena's jaw dropped and she looked accusingly at Darien, who was sticking 
      his tongue out at his best friend. "You beat him up?"
      He laughed. "I can't help if he has a low tolerance for pain." He looked 
      over at the man setting up their food. "Don't be such a sore loser. I won 
      fair and square."
      Andrew grumbled good-naturedly for a little while longer but soon 
      quietened when Serena and Raye insisted that he sat down to dinner with 
      them.
      They laughed over the meal of roast chicken, freshly bake bread and 
      sparkling apple juice. When questioned about it the boys all chuckled and 
      mentioned the laws about underage drinking.
      Serena just nodded. She had forgotten all about the age gaps between them 
      all. It seemed like such a non-issue. There wasn't anything that they 
      couldn't talk about they even share many of the same interests and though 
      the boys would discuss things that they encountered on campus that the 
      girls hadn't even thought about. But they made sure that they weren't 
      uncomfortable with what they were talking about, and stopped before they 
      embarrassed either Serena or Raye.
      Having feasted as much as she could handle, Serena leaned back on Darien's 
      shoulder and listened to his voice as they chatted. Slyly she shifted and 
      slid down slowly so that she rested her cheek on his broad chest, then 
      contentedly listened to the timbre of his voice reverberate through his 
      body into hers. She smiled to herself when his arms came around her and 
      held her to him. This must be what pure bliss was like. Serena couldn't 
      think of another time in her life where she felt this happy. This whole.
      They lounged around some more before someone decided to do a little beach 
      dancing. It had to have been Raye and Chad, because if it were up to 
      Serena, she'd stay curled up in Darien's arms for the remainder of the 
      evening. But not to be outdone, Darien swept her up and proceeded to 
      dazzle her with his lack of dancing skill. They managed a few clumsy 
      twirls and a dip before they fell into the sand.
      Serena was having the time of her life, even though she was half buried in 
      the beach albeit underneath the most attractive man she'd even seen...hell 
      she was having the best time ever! Who gave a damn about a little sand!
      Darien rolled off apologizing profusely. "I'm so sorry, are you ok?" he 
      laughed even harder when she started spitting sand. "I'm really sorry!" he 
      helped brushed sand off but accidentally touched bare skin when he went to 
      swipe a layer off of her shoulders. He reluctantly pulled away. "Are you 
      alright?"
      Serena nodded. "Yeah I'm fine." She hadn't expected that jolt that zipped 
      through her when he touched her and was having a hard time breathing. But 
      the feeling was soon brought to a halt when a fat raindrop hit her face 
      with a splat. Rain fell now fast and hard, pelting them with huge drops, 
      soaking them to the skin in seconds.
      Serena grabbed a few cushions and tried to make a makeshift umbrella while 
      they all gathered everything up as quickly as they could. She still 
      couldn't help giggling and having way too much fun considering what was 
      going on. They threw everything into the back of the car and jumped in 
      themselves.
      Raye let out a delighted shriek. "I don't know about you, but this is the 
      most fun I've had in a long time!" she wrung out her long hair and whipped 
      it out of her way.
      "Absolutely." Serena squeezed out the remaining water and secured her hair 
      in a knot at the base of her neck.
      The three guys looked relieved. Andrew shook his head. "You ladies are 
      great. Here I thought the rain would have soured your mood. Instead you 
      look even happier now than before."
      Darien hugged Serena proudly. "Is it any wonder I'm with her?"
      All she and Raye could do was smile gleefully.
      Darien rubbed at Serena's soaked shoulders then touched her cheek and 
      frowned. "I don't know what you guys think, but I suggest we get the 
      ladies home before they catch something."
      "Awwww." Raye and Serena cried in unison, neither one of them wanted the 
      evening to end. "Just a little longer?" they managed through chattering 
      teeth. It seemed justified to risk a cold for a few more hours of fun. But 
      there were cold and no amount of pleading was going to change their mind. 
      They looked into the stern faces of Chad and Darien and relented. "Fine. 
      But you owe us both another date to make up for this one!"
      They argued the rest of the way home, laughing at the ridiculous threats 
      both sides threw at each other in order to get their points across.
      Serena smiled listening to the cheerful din but she knew now that the 
      night was coming to an end she would have to put up the farce again with 
      her father. The thought had her mood swiftly plummeting.
      Darien caught the change and held her hand tightly. "I wish I could do 
      something about the situation with your father."
      "I know I wish I could too. But I really don't think that bringing you 
      home would be a good idea right now. I mean what would he say when finds 
      out I broke his no dating rule with a guy who's in college?" she cringed. 
      "He'd jump to all the wrong conclusions and it would just get ugly."
      "You don't think I should go and introduce myself to him then?" he jested.
      She glared at him. "Don't even think about it. Just let me handle this in 
      my own way. He'll come around eventually."
      "I'm just not sure you can handle the stress. I mean look at you. Your 
      wound up so tight that I bet if I let go of you, you'll bounce straight 
      through the roof of the car."
      "I wouldn't go that far." She scowled. Serena knew she was getting pretty 
      tense again, though. It wasn't good but it was worth it if she could go 
      out with Darien and not have her father going crazy on her.
      They pulled up a few houses away and let Serena out. She quickly cleaned 
      up her make up as quickly as she could and straightened her rumpled, wet 
      clothing. "How do I look?" they groaned at her. "That bad huh?" she pushed 
      away the butterflies and took a deep breath.
      "Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?" Darien stepped out onto 
      the sidewalk with her to try and help calm her nerves.
      "I'll be fine, Darien." She squeezed his hand gently and let him peck her 
      on the cheek. "I'll talk to you later ok?"
      He nodded. "I'll be waiting for your call."
      Serena waved at the others. "Bye guys! Thanks for the great night!" She 
      kissed Darien one more time before turning around and steadily walking 
      home. Her fingers went to her hair and fidgeted with the limp strands 
      there before going once again to her make up. She forced a smile onto her 
      face and walked in the front door.
      As she expected her father was waiting for her. "Hi daddy." She managed 
      cheerily.
      "Hi Serena." He took in her waterlogged appearance and shook his head. 
      "Got caught in the rain?"
      She nodded, not trusting herself to speak.
      "You'd better take a shower and get in bed before you catch a cold." He 
      pushed her toward the hall. "I'll bring up some tea later if you'd like."
      Serena shook her head. "No thanks. I think I'll jump in bed right after 
      the shower. I'm so tired." She yawned for effect.
      Ken smiled at her and nodded. "Goodnight pumpkin."
      "Night, daddy." And with that Serena ran straight to her room.
      She dumped all of her things in her room before heading to the bathroom. 
      She shook out all of her clothing in the bathtub before quickly washing 
      all the sand down the drain. The quick shower dissipated the chill and by 
      the time she got out, Serena was feeling back to her usual self again.
      She threw the sodden clothes in the hamper in her room, threw on some 
      nightclothes and climbed into bed to dream about the most amazing first 
      date she'd just been on.