Chapter Five
And Around They Go...
This part gets romantic, which is, of course, what you've all been waiting for, of course. Please let me know what you think. Standard disclaimers apply.
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~ Serena ~
"BRR!!" I said as I stepped out into the cold. How was I gonna last all day sledding if it was this cold? I was already bundled up head to toe, and was relieved when, after a minute or two, I adjusted to the temperature. Then I ran down the steps and out into the snow covered drive. I heard Amy and Lita laugh when the saw me, but I just LOVE the snow. We were all over at Amy's grandmother's, (who happens to have the best hills for sledding, by the way) just waiting for Raye, Chad and Darien to arrive. I scooped up some snow in my hand and packed it together, throwing the resulting snowball at my friends.
"Serena!" Lita shouted, hurling her own snowball at me. She missed by a mile.
"Haha!" I laughed, "You'll never get me!" I danced about before throwing another white sphere at my friend.
"Why you little..." Lita said, and tried to hit me again.
"You'll never get me!" I sang. Suddenly, I felt something cold and somewhat wet hit the back of my head. I turned around to see Darien, wearing his snow clothes and a cocky grin.
"Oh, you!" I exclaimed, trying to sound angry. It wasn't working. Lately I've had trouble getting mad at him. I know I'm falling for him, but I just can't help myself. He's really wonderful, went he's not tormenting me, which he hasn't been of late.
"Nice to see you too, Meatball Head," he says, coming closer.
"Hey, man!" Andrew called out as he came out side, with Mina and the kids close behind.
"You ready for some serious sledding?" Mina asked, her eyes bright with challenge.
"As soon as Raye and Chad get here, man, and she yells at ME for being late!" I exclaimed.
As if to prove something to me, a sudden screeching noise filled the are, and an old, beat up station wagon swerved its way up the drive. Urg, I had no idea Chad's driving was worse then his singing! We all jumped out of the way as the driver managed to bring the car to a stop and turn it. The medium and the rock-star-wanna-be climbed from the car, and we all braced ourselves for Raye's inevitable eruption. We didn't wait long.
"You IDIOT! I can't believe you're allowed to drive!" Raye shouted, hitting Chad on the head, "You are SO irresponsible."
"Like, I'm really sorry Raye, totally, like, really," Chad pleaded. Then one of the strangest things happened; Raye looked at him and sighed.
"I forgive you," she said, before stomping around to the trunk to get their sled. Silence hung in the air.
"Have we passed into the Twilight Zone?" Lita asked, nervously.
"Must be something in the air," Darien said from behind me. The sound of his voice sent shivers down my spine.
"COME ON EVERYBODY!!" Hailey yelled, "I wanna go sledding!"
"Me too!" Skyler announced.
"Yeah, let's go!" I couldn't wait. We all grabbed our sleds and paired off, walking down the path that would lead us to the greatest sledding hill in all of Tokyo. That's when I realized, I didn't have a partner.
~ Darien ~
I watched Serena stand there for a moment, right in the middle of the path. She must have realized she didn't have a partner, because she was looking around in vain. Poor thing, she looked incredibly adorable all bundled up against the cold. I glanced over at the rest of the group, Lita and Andrew (since Rita had an obligation she couldn't get out of), Raye and Chad (what's up with those two anyway?), Amy and Mina, and the kids. Turning back to Serena, I saw that she'd started moving again, struggling to pull the sled along with her.
"Here, Meatball Head," I said, taking the sled from her and carrying it with one hand, taking her hand in the other. "Looks like we're gonna be partners today!" She looked up at me with her pretty blue eyes and shook her head.
"Imagine my joy," she said dryly, and I laughed. She was such a unique creature, I've never known anyone quite like her.
~ Lita ~
I kept looking over my shoulder at the couple lagging behind the rest of the group.
"It's working!" I whispered to Andrew. He laughed and threw his arm around me (in a friendly way, >sigh<, yes I KNOW he has a girlfriend).
"We'll have them together by Christmas!"
~ Darien ~
As soon as the hill was in sight, Serena broke out in a run, occasionally nearly tripping as she tried to sprint in the deep snow. I couldn't help but laugh, though thankfully she didn't hear me. I put the sled down at the edge of the slope and waited for my partner to finish her frolic. The hill was steep, and there was a huge snow bank at the bottom. It looked incredibly fun.
"Hey, Meatball Head, hurry it up!" I called out to her, watching as they others climbed aboard their sleds and pushed off.
"Sorry!" She panted as she climbed back up the hill.
"It's okay," I said, "You want front or back?" She frowned in concentration for a moment, before deciding.
"Front," I nodded, allowing Serena to get settled before taking a seat behind her and grabbing the ropes. I put my arms around her, suddenly very aware of how lucky I was. I could smell her perfume-vanilla- even through all her clothing, as well as that lovely scent that was uniquely Serena. Heaven.
"Hold on tight," I instructed her when I regained my senses enough to push us off. We swooped down the slope, wind in our faces, as Serena screeched and held tight to my arms. She was terrified and I was loving it. Alas, we skidded to a stop at the bottom, a little ways before the snow bank.
"I want the back this time," she informed me through chattering teeth. We hurried up the hill to do it again. I have to tell you, that afternoon was one of the most enjoyable I can remember. The cold air rang clear with the sound of everyone's laughter, five sleds racing down the hill, each time faster, more reckless then before.
Then it happened. The others were all trudging up the hill again, save Chad and Raye, who'd wrecked in the snow bank and were busy cleaning themselves up. Serena and I were at the top, with her holding onto me from the back (which I absolutely loved). Then we pushed off, laughing as we sped past our friends. However, I really wasn't paying attention to the steering (more to the feel of Serena's arms holding onto me so tightly) and by the time I realized where we were headed, it was too late, and we were going too fast, to stop. The snow bank loomed before us, and though I tried to get us to stop, all I succeeded in doing was making us crash sideways instead of head on. >(<>)< we hit the soft snow. How Serena ended up underneath me, I'll never know, but the next thing I knew, there we were, arms around each other, lying in the snow, with me on top of her. I couldn't bring myself to move.
"Are you all right?" I asked, my voice a whisper. She looked at me with her aqua gaze, incredibly innocent. She made such a beautiful picture, lying there in the snow, her blond locks spread out around her from where they'd come loose in the crash, her cheeks flushed, her eyes bright.
"I'm fine," she sighed, not moving. We lay there in silence for a moment, as if neither of us could bare to let go.
"That's good," I said. She nodded. Then I did something I never thought I would. I kissed her. I brought my aching lips down on hers, trying to be gentle as I caressed her petal soft lips. She was perfection, her mouth warm against mine. I thought for a moment that the white around us had to be clouds, because I was in heaven. Then I realized something, she was kissing me back. I opened my eyes to see that hers were closed; she was throwing herself into the kiss. Her arms encircled my neck and her fingers began playing with my hair. That was all the encouragement I needed, I began placing tiny butterfly kisses on her lips, over and over, until she let out a small giggle, which I smothered with a longer kiss. I maneuvered my weight so I could reach a hand to cup her head, wishing for everything that I wasn't wearing gloves so I could feel the silky wonder that had to be her hair. Yup, I was probably dreaming, but this was a heck of a lot better than any dream!
~ Serena ~I couldn't believe he was kissing me! One minute we were lying there in the snow, and the next his wonderful lips are on mine. I never knew such a little touch could light a fire like that. I kissed him back, how could I not, I knew I was in love with him (alabiet reluctantly). And you know what? His kisses were absolutely wonderful! I wrapped my arms around him, trying to press closer. I was dreaming, probably sitting at dinner right now, staring off into space. I waited so someone's voice to intrude and shatter my fantasy, but it never happened. We just went on kissing, totally oblivious to the world. That is, until I heard a little voice.
"What are they DOING?" I was dimly aware of Skyler asking. I felt a fiery blush rise to my cheeks, realizing we had an audience. But Darien was kissing me!! All I could do was kiss him back, it was if I was physically incapable of doing anything else. (AN: Wouldn't we all, though ;-p)
"They're kissing, you idiot!" I heard Hailey say, 'Don't you 'member, Mommy and Daddy kiss all the time!"
"Not like that!" Skyler retorted.
"Hey, Serena, Darien!" Now Raye's voice reached my ears. Oh, MY, gosh, I couldn't let her see me lying in the snow and KISSING *DARIEN* of all people! As if sensing my thoughts, Darien brought his head up, looking into my eyes. He was already blushing... oh NO, he must regret it! I thought.
"Aren't you cold?" he asked, concerned.
~ Darien ~
"Aren't you cold?" I asked her. I was blushing, I could feel it. I couldn't believe I've just done that, she must hate me now!
"Not really," she too was blushing, "But we should go join the others."
"Yeah," I said, rolling off her and helping her up. I couldn't believe I'd just made-out with a fourteen year-old, in the snow! Granted it was Serena, by far the most beautiful, unique, lovely and wonderful creature ever to raise her face to the sun, but still... she must think I'm a real jerk now!
"What were you two doing?" Skyler asked curiously, cocking her head to one side. I then noticed the twins, who were sitting in the snow some ways away, looking at us with great interest.
"Um.... I... that is... I... Serena..." I couldn't think of anything. Luckily, Serena was better in that department.
"Darien... thought I was hurt! He was giving me mouth to mouth!" she exclaimed. I tried desperately not to laugh. That was about the silliest excuse I've ever heard of... but my heart was breaking too. She wanted to pretend it hadn't happened... I looked at her, profile outlined against the brilliant white snow. I may have gone way too fast, but I'd win her yet... at least we were still friends, I think.
"Hey, guys, there you are!" Lita called, racing down the hill. "You all right?"
"We're fine," I replied, "One heck of a crash, though."
"Yeah, tell me about it," Serena muttered.
"Well, come on, I'm cold, let's get back to the house!" Lita insisted, grabbing Serena's hand. The twins scurried after then, as I followed more slowly, wondering just how to prove my love to the ever-angelic Meatball Head.
~ Raye ~
I don't know who Serena and Darien thought they were fooling, but it was obvious (even to any one who hadn't seen them practically removing each others' tonsils back there) that they were both VERY attracted to one another. It was all I could do not to tease Serena about it, after all, Andrew, Mina, Lita, Chad and I had all seen it from our precarious hiding spot, but the others were absolutely against it, feeling that it would do nothing but embarrass the couple. GRRR.... Sometimes life isn't fair.
~ Hailey ~
"See, I told you so," I whispered to Skyler as we walked home, slightly behind the older people, and the traitorous Logan, who'd gotten Mina to carry him instead of hanging back with his sisters.
"I'd still like to know what they were really doing," Skyler commented, eyes wide.
"Who cares," I replied, "Now we know they both really like each other and'll fall in love soon, and then all they have to do is live happily ever after like in all the fairy tales."
"It was like they were gonna eat each other's lips or something..." my twin went on, still not having moved from her previous line of thought.
"Would you get a GRIP!" I said, a little more loud than necessary, seeing as the others all turned to look at me. I put on my best who-me-no-way-'cause-I'm-just-way-too-sweet faces, and smiled at them. Assured there was nothing seriously wrong, they all turned back to their previous conversations. "Sorry," I whispered to my sister.
"I forgive you," she said sweetly.
"Good, 'cause I smell cookies!" I grabbed her hand and ran towards the big victorian-like house that belonged to Amy's sweet granny. "Mmmm, cookies!" I heard someone else cry, and realized Bunny was right on my heels.
~ Darien ~
I ripped myself up all the way home, and by the time I got to the apartment I was feeling really down and depressed, almost to the point of not going to the Christmas party day. That's when I realized that the next day was Christmas Eve... gee, just great. My apartment looked as it did every day, no decorations marking the season what-so-ever. Any major family holiday was like the plague to me, they only served to remind me of what I truly was. An orphan, alone, no one to be loved by, and of course, I've just royally screwed things up with the only girl I'd ever loved- Serena. I just HAD to make things up to her.... With a sigh I went and climbed in the shower, relaxing under the hot water and reminding me why I wanted to go to the Christmas party. I honestly hadn't realized how close it was to Christmas, but then, I'd been with Meatball Head for the past few days, and she really messes with my sense of time, among other things.
What happened next is going to sound really strange, but I swear to you that it is nothing but the truth. After all, I'm not that imaginative, and this is really out there. You see, I dried off after my shower and threw on my robe, lying down on the bed to clear my thoughts. Anyway, I must have fallen asleep, because next thing I know, it's midnight, (or so my alarm clock informed me) and (here's the strange part, ready?) there's a woman sitting on the end of my bed. She was older, with long black hair streaked with silver, that fell down her shoulders and back in waves. Her eyes were dark blue, a lot like mine, and she was dressed like a queen, (complete with a crown, if you'll believe it). The strangest thing was, I felt like I knew her. There was the faintest sent of lilacs, and I thought for a moment that I saw something, a flash, of a woman, a queen, who grew lilac bushes right outside her window, so she could reach out and touch them whenever she wanted. She was a mother, too, I knew that for some reason, and she taught her son everything she knew about gardening. She was the type that wouldn't trust anyone but herself with her beloved flowers... WAIT A SECOND. I looked at her again, blinking, she couldn't be...
"Hello, Darien, my son."
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HEHE!!! CLIFF HANGER, no? (MAWHAHAHA!! Evil Mad Scientist Laugh [tm]) Sorry about that, if I scared you. Next part should be out soon, but I'd love the feed back. Hopefully this chapter was more romantic. After the next chapter, they'll all get REALLY romantic.
Kendell: really?
Meredith: NOT THAT WAY!! Get your mind out of the gutter!
Kendell: Grumble...
Meredith: hey, I'm the author here…
To the world you may be one person, but to the person you may be the world.
