This chapter is titled this way because it's meant to pass time... a lot of time. It's jumpy and discontinuous for a reason so I don't want any huge complaints okay? Okay. So, I've had a HUGE influx of reviews lately and I'm a bit... shocked! It's been sluggish as far as the reviews went then BAM! As if getting rid of Seiya was the single greatest thing ever!

Now... a warning for all those D/S lovers out there. We all know I LOVE D/S. I think they're the greatest couple of all time and that's all I write but in this particular story (and it's hard for me to write) it takes a hell of a long time until we get what we want here. You'll see... anywho, all I can say is, please no flames. REVIEW!

Time Flies

Serena sat in the hall as the doctors tended to Darien’s leg. She was nervous to say the least. The paperwork they had to fill out was ridiculous, of course anytime guns were involved the medical professionals had to be sure it wasn’t gang related, and if not then why someone was shot. The doctor then walked out followed by Darien who was in a leg brace. “Good news!” The doctor smiled. “No broken bones or anything… he’s in the brace for support… I don’t want him using that leg too much so I’m giving him these. The doctor thrust crutches at his patient in a clear display of authority. Darien rolled his eyes and took the crutches then looked at Serena with eyes that told her he wasn’t going to listen.

“Darien… you do what you’re told now okay?” Serena cooed with amusement as he snorted. “I mean it.” She shook her finger as he mumbled something and signed himself out of the hospital. “Don’t mumble at me!” She exclaimed and waited for him to get situated so they could leave the hospital. Despite her incessant need to be near him she’d been smart enough to follow the ambulance in her car so they didn’t have to get a cab. For that she was thankful. “How do you plan to drive like that?” She asked him sweetly knowing he’d hate to answer it. Seiya had been an asshole and shot his right leg.

“I can’t.” He sneered at his leg then continued to hobble towards her car. “I hate these things. I’m not an invalid.” Darien sighed and tucked the crutches under his arm as soon as they exited the building. She laughed as he walked to the car and waited for her to unlock the door. They drove home in silence, he leaning back in the seat then groaning as they saw their parent’s car in the driveway. “Why do they have to be here?” He groaned.

As soon as they exited the car Ilene came running out and grabbed Darien firmly looking him over as Ken stepped out and hugged his daughter. “Are you okay? Oh my poor baby!” Ilene cried and hugged Darien tightly. “I told you that boy was no good!” Ilene looked at Serena. “Look what he did to your brother! Oh!” She kissed Darien’s cheeks as if he were a five year old that had just skinned his knees.

“How did you know?” Serena asked looking from her mother to her father then back again. Ilene turned on her heels and glared at Serena. “Well?”

“I know people! People who told me all about your little fuck toy! I can’t believe you! Letting that… that monster in this house! I’ve made sure he’s going to be punished for his actions though… severely punished.” Ilene turned back to her son with complacent eyes. “My brother will take care of it.”

“Doesn’t he always.” Darien sneered and walked past her. Making her wilt a little. “Do you even care what happened to Serena?” He turned to her eying her carefully. “She’s your daughter!” Darien shouted as she stood silently still.

“Maybe it taught her a lesson.” Ilene offered somewhat softly but the icy tone was still there. Darien growled and turned to Ken. Ken hugged Serena a little tighter answering Darien. Ken was never one to stand up to Ilene and it was no wonder. With Sapphire as her brother the woman could do anything she wanted and get away with it. Ken could easily wind up dead on the side of the road somewhere. “I’m worried about you. Diamond didn’t hurt her any… you’re the one who’s been shot!” Ilene cried as Darien began to walk into the house with Serena’s hand in his own.

“You don’t care that a psycho, related to your brother raped her? Drugged her? Used her as bait to try and kill someone? It doesn’t bother you that your brother ordered his brother to kidnap your daughter? What’s wrong with you?” Darien shouted angrily and pulled Serena closer to him. “I can’t trust either of you! You don’t care!” He looked at Ilene who stepped back then at Ken who was hanging his head in shame. He didn’t really need to address Ken. Ken knew his spinelessness was disgusting. “Go back to work mother. I’ll take care of everything as I always have… I don’t know why we need to keep having this conversation.” Darien pulled Serena into the house and upstairs, past the bloodstained carpet, then into his room where he pulled her onto his bed and lay with her in his arms. “I’m tired of all of this bullshit. I’m about ready to throw it all to the wind.” He murmured into her hair making her shiver slightly. She closed her eyes and welcomed sleep. The one thing she hadn’t realized was the fact that she hadn’t slept well in a week.

Ilene and Ken went back to work the next day, mostly because Darien told them to. It then took a month for Darien’s leg to heal enough so he could return to school. He didn’t want to leave her again but Jadeite promised to stay with her so that she wasn’t alone. Jed had been a valuable asset while Darien was recovering and the black-haired Adonis could tell that Jed was very fond of Serena. Not in a crazy possessive way either.

Serena didn’t know it but Darien sat down with Jed each night, telling him about Seiya, what he had done and what he still might do. Jed didn’t seem afraid, even if Darien was. “I want you to watch yourself Jadeite… he’s dangerous. I know he’s not going to give up on her… and just because he’s gone now doesn’t mean he’ll stay that way.”

“I understand Darien. I don’t mind… really… I love your sister. I really do. She’s so talented… we have plans actually… we were scouted… by a producer in LA who wants us for a movie… it’s a big box office… I’m not sure why he wants us an not some big time… I think he’s trying to save on production costs… anyway. Serena and I have worked extra hard this year and… we’re graduating early so that we can move down there. She wasn’t sure whether or not Seiya would go but… I guess it doesn’t matter anymore.” Darien stared at Jed in disbelief. This was big news… Serena hadn’t spoken a word about it. It wasn’t like her to keep secrets from him. Then again… he had a few of his own. “She… didn’t tell you did she?” Jed stared at the floor seeing the hurt behind Darien’s eyes.

“No… but you know. That’s okay. I’m sure she was waiting until you two had it all worked out and she knew how to approach Seiya.” Darien leaned back in his seat and sighed. “I’m not gong to lie and say you two were made for each other but… I’m sure you’ll be good together.” Jed blushed slightly. Though it wasn’t a full compliment he’d take the endorsement from Darien any day. “I’ll tell you what though. I’m done with people hurting her. You do it once I’ll rip your head off.” Jed nodded.

“I seriously think I could spend the rest of my life with her.” Darien smiled and closed his eyes. “What’s the smile for?”

“Because… I know you won’t.” Darien sighed and looked at the blonde man in front of him. How confident he was, it was sad to know that even though Serena cared for him she’d never love him as he loved her. “I just know okay?” He answered the question in Jed’s eyes. “She’s not going to get married to anyone. She’s just… Serena.” Darien sighed. “I’m tired… I think I’ll shut up now before I tell you something I’ll really regret.”

“You’re a perplexing man Darien.” Darien laughed heartily. If only Jed knew the half of it.

The year ended for Serena. Her and Jadeite graduated from high school a whole year early. “I’m finally done with school forever!” Serena exclaimed as she hugged her brother tightly. Raye stood by her boyfriend silently smiling while trying to hide her excitement. It wasn’t long after Darien had returned from his adventure with Seiya that he’d began to get melancholy. As if he were bothered by something. Then suddenly, he, Andrew, and Raye were sitting at the dinner table eating; he proposed to her. It came from nowhere, and seemed to sit in the air as both Raye and Andrew processed the words. She’d accepted happily but suddenly felt guilty about it. She wasn’t sure why but she did. “You’re too quiet!” Serena grabbed Raye into a hug then Andrew before moving onto her father and staring at her mother who stood patiently next to her husband as if she were at some company meeting she had to make an appearance for.

“We’re done! On to LA!” Jed shouted and picked her up spinning her around much to Ilene’s surprise. The black-haired woman looked at her daughter then the blonde boy with the question in her eyes. “Hello Mr. And Mrs. Shields!” He shook their hands firmly. “Nice to finally meet you.”

“And you!” Ilene smiled warmly then turned to her daughter with warmth in her eyes for the first time in years. “I had no idea you were dating this young man! What an improvement from the last one.” Serena’s jaw dropped open. “Then you’re moving to LA… what prompted this?” She asked with an excited tone.

“We’ve been cast in a major movie Mrs. Shields. That’s why.” Jed offered making Ilene hug her daughter tightly much to Serena’s surprise. Ken looked at his wife hugging Serena with wide eyes then looked to Darien who looked even more surprised.

“I was waiting for you to do something with your life… something good.” Ilene smiled and looked at Ken. “Isn’t this wonderful? Gosh… what else could go right?” Raye looked to Darien who remained silent drawing Ilene’s attention. “You’re awfully quiet… all three of you.” She looked from Darien to Raye then to Andrew. Raye shrugged her shoulders and stepped towards Serena.

“Congratulations Serena… this is amazing news.” She then brought her hands from behind her back and hugged the petite blonde. It was a genuine hug but Serena had noticed the sparkling ring on her finger and was now glaring daggers at Darien. His gaze was steadily fixed on her eyes telling her it was true.

“Excuse me.” Serena smiled and pulled away from Raye. She grabbed Jed’s hand and walked briskly away from the group confusing him. She waited until they were outside before sinking to the ground and sobbing. She was so happy to be out of school, her mother was proud of her for once and she was about to become a successful actress. She should be happy not crying over her brother proposing to his girlfriend.

“What… just happened?” Jed asked confused by her sudden change of mood. “Serena?” He knelt by her and hugged her tightly pulling her face into his chest. “Hey… answer me Sere…” He prompted making her sob louder drawing people’s attentions.

“He asked her to marry him!” She sobbed loudly. “This isn’t fair… this is my night!” She cried making Jed sigh. He’d noticed the ring but had yet to say anything. “I hate her!” She screamed loudly just as Andrew walked out of the building. He walked to them and knelt next to the couple. “Go away Andy! You knew! You knew!” She growled and held Jed tighter. “When?” She looked at him with her crystalline blue eyes. “When did this happen?”

“A month after he was shot… I think he came to the realization that he’s not invincible.” Andrew wondered aloud. “It was sort of sudden though.” Serena sniffed and tried to dry her tears only to see her family walk out of the building her mother excitedly looking at Raye’s sparkling ring. It was all too fast! What was going on? Why was everything crashing down around her? She’d gotten rid of Seiya and graduated, she was moving to LA soon… and he proposed to Raye? She didn’t understand.

“When’s the wedding?” She asked eying her brother accusingly. He was staring at her with a cold expression, not necessarily that he was angry just that he was hiding himself from her.

“After they graduate… They’re also graduating early… should be next year.” Andrew looked down at the dewy grass. “Everything’s happening so fast… can you believe it Serena?” She shook her head then stood up with Jed as the group came over to them.

“Why are you crying?” Ilene looked from Serena to Jadeite and Andrew. “You’re just happy that everything’s turning out so well huh? Your brother’s getting married after he and Raye graduate… you both have made me very happy today!” Ken’s eyes were sympathetically locked onto Serena’s. He knew she was crying because she was upset. Darien was her world and if he got married… she’d be pushed aside.

“Yeah that’s why… come on Jed or we’re going to miss the bus to the Senior party!” Serena smiled a fake smile and pulled Jed towards the bus. “I can’t wait to be away from them all…” She sneered and got onto the bus.

Once again the summer passed quickly, though this time not as quickly as other summers. The constant reminder of the end of Serena’s close relationship with her brother on Raye’s finger made her want to cry all the time. In fact, it was such a reminder that she had barely spent time with Darien; instead she spent all her time with Jed searching the internet for apartments in LA. Another thing that made her summer so much longer was that Jed didn’t want to have sex yet. He told her he wanted to wait… wait for what? That’s what she wanted to know.

“Serena?” Darien walked into the dinning room where Jed had set up his laptop and was searching for apartments. “We need to talk.” She glanced over her shoulder then back at the monitor and pointed to a building she liked. “Serena!” Darien snapped pulling her away from the computer.

She silently nodded and stood walking with him into the living room. She had been waiting for him to call in his “talk” and she’d been dreading it. “What is it Dare… I’m sort of busy looking for a place to live…”

“Cut the crap Serena. You haven’t spoken to me since graduation.” He sighed. “You knew this was going to happen I told you.” She turned away from him and crossed her arms. She knew it was eventually going to happen but not so soon! This wasn’t what she wanted. “Don’t make this harder for me than it already is Serena.”

“You? Harder for you? How is any of this hard for you? You’re about to graduate from Law school… get married… you’ve got it all planned out. La dee fucking da! How is this hard for you?” She glared at him as he looked at the ceiling as if to dispel some sort of struggle with himself. “I’m the one moving.”

“That’s what’s so hard Serena. I don’t want you to leave… I don’t want you to go that far.” He stepped towards her as she stepped back shaking her head. He knew he deserved it. He’d hurt her more deeply than anyone ever had. By asking Raye to marry him he knew she felt as if he’d stabbed her in the heart… in a way he had. When the words had left his mouth that night he’d immediately regretted it. It wasn’t the right time to ask Raye but he had and she’d accepted. “I don’t want you to go… stay here.”

“I’m going Darien… and you know what… for once… I don’t care what you want. I’ll leave that for Raye.” She then turned away from him and stepped towards the dining room. “If you’ll excuse me I have to find an apartment before I move in only two short weeks.” She left him alone in the living room feeling guilty about everything. She was right… she needed to go, needed to get away from him so he couldn’t abuse her anymore.

That’s exactly what Serena did. Within the month she was saying goodbye to her family and friends. Her and Jed then left for LA for their new life. They had found a simple apartment downtown. “Here we are… god I’m glad.” Jed sighed and looked around the empty apartment. “We need furniture.” He smiled.

“Well… yeah but at least we have a bed.” She laughed then stopped as he looked at her rather seductively. “Oh… what… now you want sex?” She giggled as he pulled her to him tightly. “Guess so.”

Time passes quickly when you’re busy. Perhaps that’s why the next year of Serena’s life flew by. Her and Jed filmed the movie and were awaiting the final, edited version. From what they had seen so far the movie was going to be a big hit. It was a romantic comedy about a girl who travels to LA to be a model and falls in love with a young photographer. The part had been perfect for the pair and the pay was pretty outstanding. In fact, they had moved into a high-rise apartment overlooking the city.

Walking in with a stack of mail Jed smiled at his girlfriend then quickly sifted through the envelopes until he ran across a square handwritten envelope from Darien. “Hey baby. You’ve got something here from Dare.” Serena stood, walking to Jed carefully not sure if she wanted the contents of the envelope. It was one of two things: Darien and Raye’s graduation invitation or… the wedding invitation. She tenderly took hold of the envelope and opened it. The fact that it was addressed to her and was in Darien’s handwriting told her it was the graduation invitation and that relaxed her a bit.

Opening the second envelope she smiled and sat on the couch feeling the wind flying out of her lungs. “It’s… it’s a…” She laughed lightly and set the dual invitation on the coffee table. Inside the second envelope were two invitations. One to the graduation the other to the wedding. Quickly she grabbed her phone and speed dialed her brother’s number.

“Hey Serena! Happy birthday!” She sucked in her breath letting a tear roll down her cheek. “What are you up to today?” It had been a few months since she’d talked to him, it had been difficult but she’d managed to finally push him out of her mind. Hearing his voice in that moment however; made her realize how much she missed him.

“I’m… um… looking at your… your invitations.” She smiled making Jed knit his brow and examine invitations. His face reddened as he realized his girlfriend was upset. She waited for a response from Darien but received none. “I was a little shocked to see them… together.”

“That… yeah, that was Raye’s idea… I… I’m sorry about that. I really didn’t want those to get to you today.” The hesitation in his voice was evidence of his regret. That alone angered her. What was he thinking when he sent her those two things together? “Did you… get the birthday package I sent you?”

“No, Darien I didn’t.” She sighed loudly then closed her eyes. “What’s going on Dare. I haven’t talked to you in three months then I get this… I mean… what the hell?”

“I’m sorry but I’ve been busy… Raye’s been busy… you’ve been busy too. It’s not like I’m ignoring you.” His voice was calm and collected making her even more angry. How could he be so nonchalant about not talking to her? Did it not matter to him? “I’m going to see your movie when it comes out. The previews look pretty good.”

“I’ve got to go Dare. Jed’s taking me out tonight and I need to get ready.” She could hear the disappointment and heartbreak showing in her voice but she didn’t care about hiding it. She wanted him to know he’d hurt her.

“Okay… happy birthday Serena. I miss you.” He tried to cheer her but she wouldn’t have it. She only wanted to escape him and go clubbing with Jed.

“No you don’t. Bye Dare.” She hung up before he could respond then stared at the phone as it began to ring. She looked at the caller ID and decided that she wouldn’t answer it. She didn’t want to talk to him again. “Come on Jed! Let’s get ready!”

“You still want to go out Serena? We could stay in…” She glared at him then marched to her bedroom to dress for her night out. She had to pick something appropriate but not too revealing because the paparazzi were following her and Jed around now. Jed glanced at the invitations one last time before resigning to getting ready for the club.