Welcome to Chapter 4!  I hope everyone is enjoying it so far, this is different from
anything I’ve done before, so you guys let me know if I’m on the right track okay?

	Disclaimer: I don’t own Sailor Moon, nor will I ever.  But I am the proud owner
of the title Squall no Megami!  He’s such a hottie, the hottest man in video games today
folks!  if you own a Playstation and you haven’t played Final Fantasy 8 yet, what are you
waiting for?!?  See Squall in action!  Go now!  Don’t even read this fic!  Wait, forget that
last sentence!  heehee, read the fic first then go play FF8.

Elisabeth James AKA Liz-Chan


	~ Chapter 4 ~

	“Steph, can you please keep it down to a dull roar!” Selene called from her
bedroom doorway into the pulsating living room.  It was Steph’s birthday and there was a
huge party rocking the tiny apartment.  It was only 8:00 p.m. and Saturday night but she
had to do a huge AP Chemistry report and she couldn’t very well concentrate with the
noise around her.  Steph looked her way and waved, she was already well on her way to
becoming drunk.  Selene sighed and walked back into her bedroom and gathered up her
books.  She would much rather go to the library then deal with this all night.
	She walked toward the front door and waved to Steph meaning that she was
going.  Steph shook her head and wandered over to her.  “Stay, I’ll find you someone to
dance with.”  Selene glanced quickly around the room, the guys here weren’t suitable to
talk to, let along dance with.  “No that’s okay I have a project due Monday that I need to
get done and since I took the weekend off I plan on actually turning it in for a grade.” she
made a move to open the door when it was pushed open from the other side.
	“The keg is here, let the party begin!!!” a bunch of already half- drunk college
students pushed their way into the apartment and shoved Selene backwards.  The noise
level raised another decibel and she quickly made her escape into the cool night air.  She
walked slowly to the library, it was only a few blocks away from her home.  She breathed
in the warm scent of flowers, the smell of tulips waived over from a nearby flower bed. 
Spring was well on it’s way and what a beautiful one it was at that.  She reached the well
lit building and let herself in.  
	The library was one of her favorite places as a child when the orphanage would
take them over here to check out books.  She always chose the thickest one she could
find, in hopes that it would take her awhile to finish.  She had demolished books, she
loved to read, any book she could find.  She plowed through them quickly, always
finishing before it was time to return to the library to check another one out.  Selene
sighed at the memories, growing up without parents was hard on her, especially having
no memories of her childhood.  She had awakened from a coma in a hospital bed,
knowing nothing of her past.  Only remembering the last five years of her life, it was as if
she was a completely different person.  People who knew her from before told her that
she was different, she had changed.  They chalked it up to have her parents killed, saying
it could change anyone, but Selene knew it was something else.
	She threw her bookbag down on an empty table and sat down in a plump green
chair.  She dug though her bag to find her lab book and her AP Chemistry book and
began to write.  
	Time raced by and before she knew the library was closing.  She started packing
up her things slowly, just now realizing that there was someone sitting next to her.  She
glanced over and saw Darien sitting there silently working on the same report.  She
gasped softly, how long had he been there?  She cursed silently, wishing that she would
have been paying more attention to her surroundings, she didn’t even say hello.  She
slung her bag over her shoulder and stood up slowly, feeling very strange all of a sudden.
	“Are you leaving?” he looked up from his book, “I’m sorry if I intruded on your
space.”  Darien stood up slowly after her.  She smiled, “Oh no, I need to get home and
see if that party is done yet.  I hope no one threw up on my bed.” <Oh God did I just say
that out loud?  Stupid!>  Darien laughed softly, “Must be some party huh?”
	“You have no idea, it’s my roommates birthday.  When I left they were dragging a
keg into the apartment, I’m not very eager to get back there any time soon.  But I have no
choice, the library’s closing”  Darien ran his hands though his black hair, “Would you
like to join me for a cup of coffee at the cafe down the street?”
	“Sure I would love to.”  they walked out of the library and turned left toward the
Corner Cafe.  “I usually don’t come here unless I have too, when I’m not working.”
	“Oh sorry.” he sounded disappointed.  The air had grown colder and Selene
shivered slightly.  “I always make exceptions though, if the conditions are right.” she
smiled up at her and he smiled back, “Aren’t you cold with no coat on?”
	She shrugged trying to cover up her Goosebumps on her arms, “No it’s not that
cold out here.”  He looked at her a laughed, “You lie like crap you know that?”  he slid
his jacket off and placed it around her shoulders, “There, all cozy”
	“But now you’ll be cold.” she protested, but the jacket was warm and it smelled
of his spicy cologne.  She silently breathed in the comforting scent, it made her feel
warm all over.  “Naah, I’ve faced worse over in Japan.  This is a picnic compared to
that.”
	She giggled as he held open the door of the cafe.  The smell of coffee and warm
pastries washed over them, it never smelled this good when she came into work.  It
always reeked of hamburgers and the greasy smell of french fries.
	“Selene, you decided to work tonight, well I could use another person.” her boss
Patricia walked over to her as soon as she entered the small restaurant.  “No Pat, I’m here
with Darien for a cup of coffee, I took tonight off and I intend to keep it off.”  Pat gave
her a tight smile, “Fine follow me.”  she lead the couple to a tiny table near the back. 
“Rich will be with you in a moment.” Selene nodded and sat down across from Darien.
	“Nice boss.” he mumbled.  Selene laughed softly, “Yeah, she’s a witch but oh
well, the pay is so great here, I couldn’t work anywhere else and pay half my rent.”
	“That’s because every guy tips a pretty girl extra.” he winked at her and she
blushed, “I’m not pretty.” she looked around uncomfortably, avoiding eye contact with
him.  “Oh come on Selene you’re very pretty and you’re a good waitress.”  
	She looked him in the eye, “Is that why you left me a twenty dollar tip last night?” 
it was his turn to feel uncomfortable, “Do I have to answer that?” she sighed, “No, I’m
just teasing.”
	“You know everyone else at school thinks I’m strange, some freak.  Your the first
person who has been nice to me in a long time.” he stared out the window as it sunk into
Selene’s brain what he had just said.  Rich decided to show himself at that moment.
	“So Selene, what’ll it be?” she smiled at the short blond haired kid in front of her,
he was new, and a huge klutz at that.  “I think I’ll have a cup of coffee and a sticky bun.”
he nodded slowly and jotted it down on his pad, “And for you sir?”  Darien stifled back a
laugh, “The same.” Rich finished and once again the table plunged into silence.
	“Do I really look that old?” Darien asked her with a straight face.  She choked
back a giggle, “He didn’t mean anything by it.  It’s just kinda customary here.”  He
nodded, “Too much about American culture that I don’t understand yet.”
	“How long have you been here?” she asked as Rich set down a cups of coffee and
a warm sticky buns in front of her and Darien.  She smiled at him and turned her
attention back to Darien.  “Oh about six, seven months, I had to get out of Japan.”
	She took a slow sip of her coffee, “Really, do you mind if I ask why.  I know that
you don’t know me that well...” she trailed off, a feeling of discomfort washed over her. 
He drew in a deep breath, “No it’s okay.  I trust you.  Something bad happened to me
there just a little under a year ago.  I felt so guilty about it, and even though my friends
seemed understanding and supportive, under it all I knew that they blamed me.  If I had
run a little faster, or if I hadn’t of broken up with her, maybe she would have come to me. 
And she wouldn’t be dead right now.”
	Selene set down her cup and looked at him, he looked so sad, so vulnerable at that
moment.  “I... don’t know what to say, I’m sorry.” she said finally.  He nodded, the quiet
was uncomfortable, but neither knew what else to say.  She closed her eyes for a moment
trying to collect her thoughts, she had never dealt with anything like that before.  “I don’t
want pity or anything.” he told her softly.  Selene opened her eyes to find him staring at
her.  She nodded, what do you say to something like that?
	“Well did you get your chemistry report done?” she tried desperately to try and
change the subject.  It was obviously depressing him and it was getting to her as well.  He
looked surprised for a moment and then smiled slightly, “Yeah, it was easy, I got it done
half an hour after I got there.” 
	“That’s good, it was pretty easy for me too.  For a college level class there’s no
challenge to it at all.” she bit into her now cold sticky bun, “Yum, I haven’t had one of
these in ages.  I stopped enjoying most food here about a month after I started working.”
	“You remind me of her.” he stated suddenly.  She smiled unknowingly, “Who’s
her?”  He looked kind of disappointed for a moment, “My girlfriend, the one I told you
about earlier.  Well except for the grades, and the coordination that you have.”
	She continued to smile, “It sounds like you loved her very much.  I’m honored
that you compared her to me.”  He polished off his cup of coffee and started on his sticky
bun as well, “Have you ever meant anyone who gives you that feeling?  The one that is
just pure happiness, and you sit there and wonder ‘What did I do to deserve this?  Why
am I special enough to be blessed with this person, so full of love and caring that they put
the world to shame, why me?’”  she looked down into her empty mug, “No I’ve never
found that before, but I know that there’s someone out there that will love me beyond any
doubt and when I find him, something will just click, and I’ll know.  I’ll know that he’s
the only one for me in this whole world, and I’ll marry him and I’ll live happily ever
after, just like in a fairy tale.  Like some princess with her prince.”  she realized that she
had rambled on, and looked up at his amused face.
	“You really remind me of her, you two are exactly alike,  God I can picture her
saying that right now in front of me.  Sometimes I miss her so much.” she placed a hand
on his and patted it gently, no more words were needed.

	@~~~>>~~~~
	
	The two walked down the street slowly, each silently savoring there time with the
other.  
	“Do you want me to walk you home?” he asked her softly.  She looked up at him,
she was still wrapped in his warm jacket, “If you want to, this neighborhood isn’t that
bad.”
	“That’s okay, I would rather make sure you got home safe and sound.” She had
the urge to lace her fingers though his, walk hand in hand, but she didn’t know if he felt
the same, and she didn’t want to push herself onto him.  “So do you live with Andrew?”
	“Yeah, we’re roommates, he came over here for college, he graduated back home
already.  He got accepted to a college over here, and since I was already here, he decided
to take their offer and live in America for awhile.”  She wrapped her arms around herself,
“That’s great, he seems nice enough.”  Darien let out a short laugh, “Andrew’s...
different, but he’s a good friend, I know I can count on him to stick by me.”	
	“You always should have people you can trust, I wish I grew up with someone I
could trust.”  He slowed his pace down, “Didn’t you have parents?” She shook her head,
“Well I did of course, but I can’t remember them.  I can’t remember anything past five
years ago when I woke up from a coma with no memories.  It kinda gets you down at
times, when you see other kids playing with their parents and I can’t even remember
mine for God’s sake.” she felt tears come to her eyes, but she blinked them back, this was
not the time nor the place to start sobbing.
	“I know how you feel Selene, I don’t remember my parents either.  They died in a
car accident when I was six years old, it was a very hard time for me.” she nodded, afraid
to speak in fear of breaking down.  She focused her eyes on the ground, she was eighteen,
she should have gotten over this by now.  She didn’t need to feel sorry for herself, it
didn’t help anything, but yet she did.  She felt deprived from what other children had,
parents, a stable home, a loving family.  She sniffled as quietly as she could, not wanting
to alert Darien of her tears.
	“Selene are you all right?” he asked her softly, but it pushed her over the edge. 
She stopped walking and just stood in the middle of the sidewalk.  “Oh geez I never cry.”
she told him softly, “Look at me, sobbing like a little baby.” she didn’t dare look at his
face, he had said that he went though the same thing, and he wasn’t crying right now. 
She started walking again, at a brisk pace, hoping to leave her stupid feelings behind her. 
Darien stride to catch up with her, his long legs again falling in sync with hers.
	“Do you want to talk about anything?”  she shook her head no and keep walking. 
Her light brown hair blew off her face, a light wind had picked up, drying her tears. 
Darien was looking at her, she could sense it, but she didn’t look over at him.  She was
ashamed to cry in front of him, hell in front of anyone.  She was supposed to be strong,
self assured, not some blubbering idiot, she had been taught that crying was for losers. 
And she wasn’t a loser, she wanted to get as far away from loser status as possible.  She
was the one at the orphanage who was always told had a future, she could make
something of herself, if she tried hard enough.
	“You know it’s okay to cry, everybody does.” his soft voice and calm tone set her
off again.  She shut her eyes, trying to hold back the tears so quickly rushing forward. 
They slipped out from under her eyelids and streamed down her cheeks in salty rivers. 
Hiccuping sobs racked her body, she brushed the tears away as quickly as possible.  Why
did he have this effect over her, with just those simply words, she had found herself in
tears once again.  She felt a strong arm wrap around her waist and pull her into a tight
hug.  She buried her face into his shoulder and clung to him tightly.
	“Shh. It’s okay Selene, I’m here.” he whispered into her ear softly.  He was so
warm and she fit so nicely into his strong arms.  She took a deep breath and tried to
regain control of her feelings.  This had never happened to her before, but for some
reason she felt like it was safe to cry in front of him, that he would make it all better.


	To be continued....

	Please guys write me, tell how you feel about this story.  I feel right now that it is
one of the best pieces of fanfiction I have written thus far in my short fic writing career. 
You opinion matters a lot to me and I hope everyone is at least enjoying this story.  I
know it’s been fun to write, it’s nice to not be so restricted by character’s already
developed.  Selene is my own character, and in ways she’s like me.  Well enough
babbling, on to the thank you’s!
	Clare-chan -I hope you are liking this thing!  Any inspiration to finish yours yet? 
Come on girl get crackin’ on that great piece of fanfic you got going right now,
everyone’s dying for another part!
	Usako- I hope you are feeling better soon!  It was fun chatting with you Saturday
night!
	Endymion no Megami- you helped me a lot in the chat Saturday night.  I hope you
are enjoying this fic so far!  Write me some time!
	And a very special thanks to anyone who has written me praise on this thing so
far, Moonklutz, Serena Moon, oh... let’s see here, Sarah Beth (Garnet) and I know I’m
forgetting people but I’m thankful to Everyone!  Please keep writing!
	Oh and Alex, how can I forget Alex.  He’s given me enough inspiration to last a
lifetime.  You have him and Clare-chan to thank for all of these stories I’m turning out
lately : )  You didn’t think I would forget, did you Clare-chan?

Liz-chan