Elisabeth James ejames000@ameritech.net True Love Conquers All Rating: pg This is my second fanfic so I hope everyone likes it. This story is a little bit weird so I will explain it to everyone. This story takes place after the defeat of Beryl, everyone still remembers everything except for Darien, due to that is the premise of the story. so sit back and enjoy (I hope) and don't forget to write. My e-mail address is: ejames000@ameritech.net "Darien! Darien wait up!" Serena after chased him down the street. She was so happy to see him, after that huge battle with Queen Beryl and him getting his memories back she figured they could be together like it was always meant for them to be. He turned around and watched as the petite meatball headed girl raced up to him. "What is it Meatball head, I'm late for work." he looked at her experated as she flung her arms around his waist, "Hey, what do you think your doing?" "I'm so happy to see you Darien, I thought I would never see you again, after that huge battle with the negaverse and all." she looked up at him smiling, but he just looked back at her confused, "Negaverse? What kind of stuff are you babbling about now Meatball head?" she pulled away and stepped back from him. "Don't you remember the battle with Beryl?" she asked him softly. "Who's Beryl, what battle? Really I don't have time for this I'm already late." Darien turned to walk away but Serena grabbed his arm. Tears welled up her eyes and Darien felt too bad to pull his arm away and just go. "Darien you have to remember, You're Prince Darien and I'm Princess Serena. We're meant to be together, it's destiny. Please tell me that you remember." she looked into his blue eyes searching for any sign of recognition. Darien looked away, he couldn't look at her sad face anymore, "I don't know what your talking about Serena, but I will talk to you later, I promise." he loosened her vice grip on his arm and continued on his way. Serena turned and ran home, she had to talk to Luna about this. ************************************************************************** "How can he not remember me Luna, I'm his princess, his true love!" Serena fought valiently to keep the tears back but it was to no use. They came, streaming down her cheeks. Luna hopped into her lap, "Serena don't cry, everything will be just fine. He'll regain them sooner or later, does everyone else remember?" "Yeah Luna, everyone except him, the one person who I wanted to remember. After all the searching and fighting I did to get him back, and he doesn't even remember anything about it. Was it all in vain?" she brushed away the tears and stared at the cat in front of her. "That is very strange, he should have kept them. There's nothing I can do about it, but there might be something you can do." "What's that, I'm willing to do anything have Darien remember." Serena picked up Luna and held her in front of her face. "Serena chill and put me down, I'll tell you." Serena set the cat down gently on the bed, "Maybe you should spend time with him and see if he still falls in love with you without your past getting involved. Think of it as a test to see if it was really meant to be, after all true love conquers all." Luna jumped off the bed and left the room. Serena laid down on her bed and pondered the thought. She would start tomorrow, she had to get him to remember her, she felt so lost without him. She reached over and turned off her lamp, she needed sleep. ************************************************************************** Serena walked quickly down the street, in a hurry to get to the arcade and talk to Andrew. It was a beautiful Saturday morning and Serena had actually gotten up early to go and find Darien. Well 11:00 was early for her. She walked into the arcade and over to the front counter. Andrew greeted her with a smile, "Hey Serena, up awful early this morning aren't we?" he teased her while she giggled, "It's not that early Andrew, it's noon after all. I'm not that lazy." he nodded still laughing at her. Serena felt a strong hand on her shoulder and she spun around, "Darien! You startled me, I wasn't expending you here this early." she smiled weakly, still embarrassed about the scene she had caused yesterday. His eyes studied her face, which was blushing bright red and trying to avoid eye contact with him at the moment He finally smiled at her, "I was looking for you, I'm actually interested in hearing the rest of what you had to say, you peaked my interest. Can I buy you something to eat?" she shook her head, "No Darien that's not neccessary, but if you want to talk I'm okay with that." They walked over to a table in the corner and sat across from each other. An uncomfortable silence settled over them, both of them looking at each other nervously. Finally Darien cleared his thoat and threw the question out in the open, "What's all this about destiny Serena? Yesterday you metioned something about me being Prince Darien, who is he?" "I was probably sugar high or something, does it really matter, it was just incoherent babble anyways." she smiled sweetly at him. he narrowed his eyes at her, "You expect me to buy that, do think I'm that stupid?" the grin melted away and she had to come up with something fast, "I don't think you're stupid Darien, it's just too complicated and you'll remember soon enough." "I want to know now Serena, something has felt imcomplete the last few weeks. I'm on the verge of something big but something keeps holding me back." he gently took her small hand in his. At her touch he saw two people, a man and a woman. He was holding her close, clutching what looked to be a locket of some sort. He could hear music tinkering in the background. Suddenly Serena pulled her hand away at Darien vacant look and pulled him out of what seemed to be almost like a dream. He turned back to her almost angrily, "Why did you do that Serena, I was remembering something!" she pulled a little farther away, "I'm sorry I didn't mean to shout. You have to tell me everything Serena, I want to remember so badly, but I need your help." she nodded slowly, knowing that she would have to explain things to him now that he had seen something from his past. "We have to go somewhere more private Darien, this could take awhile, there's a lot that your missing." she took his hand and led him out of the arcade. They waved farewell to Andrew and then walked toward Darien's apartment. "Are you sure you want to do this Darien, it should come back naturally in some time." she looked at him, he was still deep in thought. "I'm positive Serena, I need to know my past, about the prince and princess and about Beryl, whoever she is." he looked down at her, her eyes misting over with tears. He didn't think how hard this would be for her, to have to retell everything between them. He put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer. She gasped but didn't pull away, this was how she always wanted it, them together, like it had always been planned. She smiled a little at her thought, When they reached his apartment, Serena sat down on his couch. She glanced about nervously, she had never been here before. Darien came back from the kitchen with a cup of hot cocoa for her and a cup of coffee for himself, "Are you ready to get started?" he asked her softly. He was trying his hardest to be patient, but his burning desire to know what was missing was driving him insane. The emptiness inside was eating him alive She nodded and turned to look at him, her blue eyes blazing, "This is so hard, where do I start? There's so much that's missing." she glanced up at him, his eyes were lusting for her knowledge about his forgotten past. She took a shaky sip of cocoa and then let out a sigh, "I'll just start at the beginning Darien, 1000 years ago, there was a princess..." (AN: We all know the story so I'm not going into details) Darien sat there transfixed with her and everything she had to say. Could this girl, this beautiful, kind, caring, person really be his one true love? Was he that lucky to be blessed with her for eternity? Questions swarmed though his head as she continued to tell the tale of their lost love. Serena choaked back tears during the entire story, Darien hanging on her every word as if it were the last one she would ever speak. Finally she had reached the end, and they all came spilling out. Sobs racked her body as she remembered Darien saving her from Queen Beryl's crystal. She looked up at him and he stared back at her, almost not believing that this had all happened, "That's it Darien, that's everything. Do you remember any of it, at all?" she looked at him hopefully. "Not really, it's there in my brain, trying to break free, but something won't let it. Serena did you tell me everything? I don't want you to hold anything back." she looked away, tears still came down her cheeks. "Did you hear anything I just said? I told you everything, you're being selfish Darien, do you care at all about how much pain all this has caused me! This hurts me so much inside to have to relive all of this! You still don't even remember, what was the point of this?" She stood up, she had had enough of all this pain, and his attitude. Darien grabbed her arm, "Please Serena don't go, I still care about you even if I don't remember everything. I don't want you to walk out of here mad at me. I really appreciate you doing this for me, it means so much to have you take time and tell me about everything we've shared together." She turned back to face him, "Darien do you mean that? You care about me? Not just because of everything I told you I hope." "No just from my memories of here Serena, I'm sorry I put you though that. I want to remember everything Serena so I can finally feel complete." he pulled her into a hug and held her tightly as she cried into his shirt, "I should be more understanding Darien, you can't remember anything about being Tuxedo Mask or anything like that, it must be so hard knowing the knowledge is there but not being able to access it." She gazed out the window and saw the setting sun, "It's getting late Darien, I'll see you tomorrow?" "I'm sure I'll see you around my moon princess." She nodded slowly and let herself out of the apartment. Darien sat back down on his couch, he rubbed his eyes as weariness swept over him. "Well Darien, life certainly handed you a full plate, Tuxedo Mask, Prince Darien, Serena, Sailor Moon. It's enough to drive a person mad." he closed his eyes and another flood of memories rushed back to him. He saw Sailor Moon crying over him when he got hurt by Zoisite, and her holding the precious star locket out to him, begging him to touch it. There was no doubt about it anymore, his destiny was Serena, in every forgotten memory that had come back to him, there she was. Her radiant beauty in any form, her willingness to risk her own live to save him, she simply made him happy. He walked into his bedroom and laid down, sleep called him and he was more than happy to answer. ************************************************************************** Serena walked around the park the next afternoon enjoying the beautiful day. Her thoughts were on Darien, and how much she wanted to see him. She blushed at the thought of what he called he yesterday before she had left his apartment, " 'My moon princess', I like it even better than meatball head. Definitely better." She said out loud as she walked along the duck pond situated in the middle of the park. Children ran by her shouting and laughing, not a care in the world. She sighed almost wishing she still had that innocence, that ability to not know what's going on the world and not really caring. She sat down on a nearby bench and closed her eyes, trying to forget about the negaverse, about being Sailor Moon. "A penny for your thoughts?" a voice behind her startled her out of her dreamlike state. She opened her eyes and saw Darien standing over her, smiling. His blue eyes sparkled with the light reflecting off the water. If only he remembered everything would be perfect. "Darien..." She trailed off as he sat down next to her. She sighed dreamly thinking everything could be so much better right now. "I told you I would run into you Serena, it's like I was led right to you." he was still smiling and Serena could feel her breath getting shorter just being caught in the sight of those blue eyes. "Yeah, its that bond that we share." she had to look away from him, she felt her heart almost stop beating when he touched her hand, "Serena, you seem nervous around me today, what's wrong?" he ran his fingers though her long hair, it felt like silk, golden silk. "Just thinking Darien." she tried to keep it short, every little touch made her feel lightheaded. "About what, my moon princess?" there it was again, that beautiful nickname, she turned her face back to him and broke out in a smile. "Darien, it's nothing really, just about how complicated life is. How it always has another twist or turn just when you think everything will be perfect. Evil finally banished, true love unbrainwashed, and everything is looking up, the sky is rosy and you think everything will be okay for once. Maybe you'll finally have a boyfriend, be a normal teenaged girl, no more evil, no more problems." she saw his face turn away and she felt horrible, "Oh Darien I didn't mean that you were standing in the way of my happiness, I'm sorry it sounded that way. I'm just happy to have you here with me, the memories will come later, and then we can be together." "You won't love me if I never get my memories back? Does it matter to you that much Serena? You still mean something to me, even if I don't remember. You're friend and someone I care about, you talk as if me getting my memories back will automatically bring us together. If it was true love, you would love me no matter what, memories or not." Darien stood up just then and Serena grabbed his arm. "I will love you no matter what Darien, fate has brought us together, we found each other from another life! Even if you don't remember, it still has happened and I can't turn my back on it." She fought back her tears, mad at herself for saying such things before. "Maybe fate isn't all it's cracked up to be Serena, maybe we shouldn't let the past play such an important role in the future." he told her coldly and walked away. She sat back down and watched him leave the park. Her heart ached and tears stung her eyes, but she refused to let them fall, "Oh Darien, what have I done to you, I'm so sorry." She sat up in her room listneing to star locket play it's sad song of the past. She hummed along with the music, usually it gave her comfort, but now it just reminded her of the cold truth. angry tears blurred her vision. She hit a pillow, trying to relive some of the hurt she had caused Darien and herself. Her heart felt heavy and empty of all feeling. Her head filled with the same thought over and over again <'Maybe fate isn't all it's cracked up to be... shouldn't let the past play such an important role in the future'.> Darien's cruel, yet totally true words recycled themselves in her head, every minute. "I can't take it anymore! I want the pain to stop! I can't stand to lose him again, it will kill me!" tears finally freed themselves from her blue eyes and she wept into a pillow. "Darien I'm so sorry, I'll love you no matter what, I promise. I'll help you remember, I swear." she whispered the words out loud to herself, before she cried herself to sleep. Darien walked slowly around the apartment, trying to find things to do that would destract him from Serena. He had thought about her all night long, he was mad yes, but that was no excuse to say something about them really not belonging together. Who cared if he didn't remember, if something brought them together again, after 1000 years of waiting, it must be destiny. Tears beconded to be allowed to fall, but he pushed them back, he had to be strong, no matter how horrible the situation seemed. He picked up a piece of paper and started writing, something that always cooled him down and made him relax. A dream of us forever together, Shattered by misfortune. A love that has spanned lifetimes, Lost by callous words. Fate's answer to a mistake from long ago, Soul mates bonded from the moment time began. Destiny brought us together, Though time and space. And though memories are vague and some are forgotten, My love for you is still undying, untouched by all those passing years. He read over the poem over and over again, he wanted to give it to her. He folded it carefully and set it on the table, there would be plenty of time to give it to her tomorrow, along with his most sincere apology. Right now, he wanted to sleep, and pray that some of his forgotten memories would surface during the night. ************************************************************************** Serena awoke early, really early, the next morning. Her dreams were not pleasant last night. Darien's hateful words kept coming back, everything he had said seemed to twist a knife deeper and deeper into her, until she had died and his laugh echoed though her ears long after she had woken up. She showered quickly and left the house, she was beginning to enjoy these solitary walks. She put a hand in her pocket and touched the star locket, she felt safer with it with her. It offered emotional support, and that was something she deperately fought to hang onto. Since the sailor scouts were no longer needed they all had drifted apart. Serena still talked to Lita since they were best friends, and she always said hello to Mina at school, but she didn't see Raye anymore, Amy either. Tears came at the thought of everything she had lost since her life had become normal again. She lifted the locket slowly out of her pocket and sat down, leaning back against the nearest building. The slow, beautiful melody softened her fears and her tears slowly disipated. She closed her eyes and she remembered when Tuxedo Mask gave it to her, it was beautiful and she had always cherished it, more so now than ever before. "Oh my gosh, Serena! What's wrong?" Lita's voice was full of worry as she sat down next to her friend. "Oh Lita everything is just horrible! I'm so sad and there's nothing that anyone can do to make it better." "How can that be, everything should be perfect now, you have your normal life back and Darien knows everything and you two can be together finally with no secrets." "Everything isn't perfect, everything is far from perfect! Perfect is over in France and I'm still here in Tokyo. He doesn't remember anything Lita, about being Tuxedo Mask, about being Prince Darien, and most of all he can't remember anything that we've shared." Lita's face dropped at the words just muttered from Serena's mouth, "Nothing? That's terrible Serena, I'm so sorry. Everything will come back eventually though, it has to. You won't be alone forever, once it all comes back, everything will be perfect." she gave Serena a hug. They both stood up and continued down the street. Chatting about little, unimportant things, just trying to take their minds off the changes that their lives had been put though the last few weeks. "Lita, Serena, wait up!" Mina walked up behind them. "Mina, it's so nice to see you!" Serena hugged her tightly, she missed them all so much it made her heart ache at times. "Oh Serena you look so sad, what's wrong, guy problems with Darien?" "You don't know the half of it Mina, it really bad." Serena told Mina everything, even some stuff she didn't fill Lita in before. "That's horrible, I can't believe he would say something like that to you!" Mina said angrily. "You didn't tell me about this before Serena, I wouldn't even forgive him for that. I never thought of him as that cruel!" Lita put her two cents into the situation. Serena sighed and they turned into the arcade to talk with Andrew. He was on break and sat with them in a booth, "So what brings you all in here, I haven't seen all of you together for a long time." Andrew smiled warmly at all of them, but his attention was focused in on Serena, she still looked disappointed and sad, "What could be wrong with you Serena, you're always so happy." "It's nothing, God can't someone have a bad day and not have everyone all over them about it?" Serena was getting sick of this, she didn't want to have to explain her feelings anymore, it hurt too bad inside, "I have to go, I need to be alone right now, thank you for all of your concern but I'm really okay, I'll get over it in a few days." she stood up and walked quickly out the door of the arcade. Serena felt the first rain drop as it hit her face about half way to the park. It started to pour but she didn't care, she continued on her. The park was vacant, devoid of all life. She sat down under a tree and closed her eyes. She couldn't tell the difference between the tears and raindrops that ran down her face. She lifted up her knees to her chin and rested her head on them. Thunder crackled though the air and lighting lit up the sky. Serena felt breath catch in her thoat at the loud boom that echoed though the sky. She stood up and started to run home. She had had enough alone time. The road was slick and Serena wasn't paying attention to the ground. She tripped over the curb and landed hard on the sidewalk. She stood up slowly and reached down and touched her leg. She saw the blood on her hand and she let out a cry. Another thunderclap shook the sky and Serena let out a squeal of fright. She took off in a mad run for home once again, again not paying attention to anything around her. She ran past Darien who was just leaving the arcade, and he grabbed her arm. She went flying backwards into his arms and the two of them landed hard in the doorway. "Serena are you all right?" he asked cautiously, afraid that she might explode at him. "Darien, why did you do that!" She stood up quickly and was ready to run again when he caught sight of her bleeding leg, he pulled her back once more, "Just let me leave, I don't want you to yell at me in front of all my friends." she had just seen Lita, Mina and Andrew studying the two of them from the booth they were still sitting in. "I'm not going to yell at you again! Chill out Serena, I just wanted to know what happened to your leg." "It's nothing, I tripped running and scraped it on the curb." she gently took his hand off her arm and turned to attempt to leave one more time. Darien caught sight of something gold glittering in her pocket. He reached in and pulled out the star locket. At his touch it opened and the tragic melody began to play. The music sounded so familar, but yet he still couldn't place it. "Is this the star locket I gave you Serena?" he breathed in deeply, afraid that this would the last breath he would take and never hear her answer. "Yes Darien, I still have it and I always will. It's a symbol of our everlasting love." she whispered to him, she took it delicately from his hands, and closed it, "The song makes me sad. I have to go now." She placed it back into her pocket and sucessfully walked away. "Serena wait, we can still be friends can't we?" he chased after her and fell in step right next to her. "Is that all you want to be Darien? Friends, after everything I've told and from your memories that you have regained, after fate has placed us here for each other! Your my one and only, I'll always think of you that way!" she let out a cry as thunder shook the sky above their heads, "I can't just be friends with you, it hurts too much already to see you and know that you will never feel the same way about me that I feel about you." "Which is what Serena, love? You don't even know me, you go about like destiny has written your life story of something. We make our lives Serena, not the past. Just because it was meant to be then doesn't mean it will work out today." he looked away from her, "I'm sorry for what I said yesterday, that was way out of line but you have to stop relying so much on fate to get you though life. If I do love you I love you for the way things are now, not for the way things were 1000 years ago. I could care less what happen back then between us, the present is what needs to be focused on." "You're right Darien, who needs all those wonderful memories of our times together on the moon kingdom, or the ones of you saving me as Tuxedo Mask. You certainly would't, would you Darien?" She felt his hand brush against hers and calmness rushed over her. He shook his head, tension broken between them as it occured to him what she was talking about, "All right, the past is important, but would you be willing to put aside all of your dreams to be with someone from that long ago?" the rain was stopping but a light drizzle still fell. She stopped and turned to face him, "Is that what you think, I would be giving up my dreams to be with you? Darien that's far from the truth, I want to spend my life with you because I care about you, it wouldn't be giving up anything. I truly believe that there is one person placed on this earth for everyone, think of how lucky we are to have found each other so early in our lives." "You really believe we're soul mates Serena?" he looked at her doubtfully, he wanted to believe that this beautiful viberant girl was his soul mate. He wanted to kiss her right here and now but he couldn't. She didn't love him for him, she loved him for their past and their destiny. She was living in a dellusional world, things just don't work like that, true love is based on real feelings from today not ones from a thousand years ago. "Yes Darien, that's what we are, soul mates. No debating it or making silly excuses to get out of it. You can't fight me on this one, you believe in soul mates too, I can see it in your eyes." she smiled at him, and he couldn't help but smile back, "Maybe we are soul mates, but until you prove that our love is from today and not from the past it just can't work out. We have to love each other for the whole person, not based upon one thing, that's like marrying for money or something." "No matter what happens Darien just know that I will always care about you, and nothing can ever change that." she kissed his cheek, "I guess I can try just being your friend Darien, but it will be hard." "If it was meant to be, it will break though anything Serena." he turned and walked away waving over his shoulder. She looked down at the ground and noticed a semi-wet piece of paper lying there. She picked it up and saw her name written on it. She opened it and saw Darien elegant handwriting, it was a poem and from what she could tell it was written about them. It was beautiful and Serena felt the tears spring into her eyes when she finished. ************************************************************************** Lita and Mina watched the entire discussion take place between Darien and Serena. Andrew was tempted to go over there and see what was going on, but they restrained him, this wasn't something Serena wanted them in, Lita could tell. The two frantically raced to the doorway to listen to the rest of their conversation, this story was too juicy to just sit there and wait to be filled in. "Do you think they'll get back together?" Lita whispered as they watched them stop walking. "Of course, it will just take time, the chemistry between them is enough to cause an explosion." Mina pulled Lita back into the arcade as Darien walked past, waving goodbye to Serena as he did, "You get on Serena and I'll get Darien." Lita nodded and ran over to Serena as Mina walked up to Darien. "Hey Darien, how are you?" Mina smiled sweetly at him as the walked down the wet sidewalk. "I'm cold, wet and I want to go home. Why are you walking with me?" Darien looked over at her and watched the smile disappear. "Sorry Darien, I didn't know I was interfering with your time, I'll go now." Darien grabbed Mina's arm and pulled her back, "You need to stop doing that, you could hurt someone!" "I'm sorry it's just Serena, why does it have to be so difficult between us?" "How so? You two can get along, I've seen it happen." "Yeah, but I feel like a failure by not remembering, she has so much riding on me and our future. How can she be so sure about it?" "She's Serena, she has hope in everything. That's what most people like about her." "But she seems to know that everything will just work out, she loves me I'm sure of that, but are the reasons good?" "Darien you are losing me here, you love her too, so why are you reading so much into this?" Mina was getting frustrated, he was far to difficult to understand. "Yes Mina I love her, I want to tell her that, shout it from the rooftops and announce it to the world." "Then what is stopping you? Do it Darien!" "Are you listening to anything I'm saying, I love Serena from just knowing her from what I remember, not as Prince Darien, or Tuxedo Mask. I'm not so sure her reasons are the same." he let out a sigh and Mina patted his arm. "Darien, she loves you for you, not just for Prince Darien, or you being Tuxedo Mask. She offers her love unconditionally to you, and you love her too. So why don't you take it and make the both of you happy?" "Mina will you just stop, I'm not so sure she loves me unconditionally! She talks like me getting my memories is the most important thing right now, like she won't love me if I don't ever remember." "That is not true Darien, she wants you to remember so you'll be happy again. She knows how hard it is for you to go though this and she wants to ease you pain. Why do you think she would be willing to relive all of that pain for you, she loves you enough to deal with the pain that this gives her. She fought so bravely against Beryl to save YOU! She has risked her life for you and you for her, stop with all this pain that you've inflicted on both you and her!" Mina was getting pissed now, this was incredible how he still doubted Serena's love for him. Darien fell silent, he pondered her words, "You're right Mina, but it's too late to correct the mistake now. She must think I hate her." "Darien you are so stupid! She will always love you, no matter how much you hurt her or insults you throw at her. You share a bond that few people will ever have the privilage of even knowing about, nothing can ever break it, not even death." Mina lowered her voice, "Try being friends with her and you'll see how much love she for you, not for Prince Darien, or Tuxedo Mask. If that doesn't convince you, then I can't help you anymore." Mina smiled proudly, she had gotten though his thick skull and get some sense in his lovelorn head. "Thank you Mina, I appreciate it, more than you'll ever know." Darien smiled at her, "Serena's lucky to have you as a friend." "And she's lucky to have you as her true love, remember don't doubt her love for you." "I'll remember, I'll see you around Mina." Darien walked a block deep in thought. Suddenly a sharp pain caused him to stop and grab his head. Another memory flashed quickly though his head, he was flying though the air. He had been protecting the Princess when a whirlwind of dark energy had been sucked him up away from her. He watched in horror as Serena ran and leap into the air. "Darien!" "Serena!" he took her hand and held onto her with all of his might. Queen Beryl laughed manically in the background, but he could barely hear it as the wind rushed past his ears. Instantaneously something slammed into them, hard. Their hands separated and they flew apart. "Darien!" "Serena!" The memory went black, and the pain disappeared as quickly as it had come. This had been the most vivid recollection so far and it scared him deeply. He saw Mina still chatting with someone. He ran back to her, and pulled Mina over away from the other person. "Mina, where does she live? I need to know!" Darien looked frantically at her dumbfounded face. "Darien, you look as if you've seen a ghost! What happened?" Mina tried to calm the man in front of her down, but he just looked scared and worried. "I don't have time Mina, just tell me where Serena lives!" Go about three blocks past the arcade and then turn left at the stop sign. Her house is the white one." Mina glanced back at Lita who was standing there wide eyed over Darien's behavior. "Thank you Mina, I'll explain later." he took off toward Serena's house. Lita walked over to Mina, "He looked downright terrified, I wonder what's up with him?" "I don't know, I bet he remembered something though. It must have been bad, but I don't know why he would want to talk to Serena about it." "Because he has a deeper bond with her than anyone else, and he can't talk to Andrew about this. I've never seen anyone so scared!" Lita exclaimed, "What did you talk to him about?" "Stuff, mostly about his love for Serena. Their feelings are deep but Darien feels like he's letting her down by not remembering anything." Mina sighed, "Things will work out though, I'm sure about it." "That's good, they need each other a lot right now." "Well what did you find out from Serena?" "I don't know, she disappeared before I could catch up with her. She must have ran home to change." "Oh well Darien will be there soon, I hope she's ready for him." Mina turned and they walked back to Lita's place. Darien found Serena's house with ease and he rang the doorbell. Serena's mom opened the door and a very surprised look crossed her face. "Is Serena here? It's important." Darien looked francally past the woman's shoulder trying to catch a glimsp into the house. "She's upstairs, who may I ask are you?" she narrowed her eyes at the young man, he was far to old to date her daughter. "I'm her friend Darien, I really need to talk to her about something." "All right, but I'll be keeping my eye on you. Her door is the first one on the left, knock first please." her mother stepped aside and Darien bounded upstairs. Serena's door was closed and Darien rapped lightly at the door. "Come in." Serena called softly, he could hear that her voice was cracking with emotion. "It's me Darien." He opened the door slowly and peered in. She was sitting on her bed, hugging a pillow. At the sight of him she gasped and turned away from him. She wipped the tears away quickly as he crossed the room to sit down next to her. "What brings you here Darien?" she asked him with hope evident in her voice "I'll get to that in a second, why are you crying?" he watched as she averted her gaze to anywhere but his eyes, "Serena, look at me, please." Darien gently guided her face back to his and she blushed bright red. "You are very dense Darien, I swear you can't figure anything out can you?!" Serena exploded at him all of a sudden. Darien reeled a bit but quickly masked the confusion that spead across his face, "You're very hard person to read Serena, you hide your feelings sometimes." he told her softly. "You're even harder Darien," she mumbled, "Why are you here?" "If I tell you that you have to tell me why your crying Serena." "Fine Darien, go on." "I remembered something that scared me, something told me to seek you out." Serena turned all of her attention to him then, and she took his hand, "Darien what is it?" she asked him tenderly. He slowly pulled his hand away and a very hurt look crossed her face, "It's so hard to explain, I was flying though the air, caught in some whirlwind of dark energy. You jumped in after me and we grabbed hands. Then suddenly out of nowhere a blast of dark energy just shot us apart. Then the memory just went black." Darien drew a shaky breath and looked at her. Her blue eyes glistened with unshed tears, she looked away from his gaze. "I'm sorry Darien that must have been horrible. It was horrible when I had to remember it." she sniffed and hugged her pillow closer, at the same time inching away from him. The room fell into an uneasy silence as they both avoid each other's looks like they were poison. Finally Darien broke though, "So why were you crying?" Serena let out a loud sigh, "You are so stupid Darien, I can't believe you are asking me this!" "Is it because of me Serena?" he asked softly "Very good, does the doggie want a biscut now?" Serena's voice rang sarcastically around the small room, "Yes of course it was because of you silly. You are hurting me so much right now, and I bet you don't even care!" "That was low Serena, of course I care that I'm hurting you!" he was getting just as upset as she was. "Then why don't you stop Darien, why are you standing there still hiding your feelings from me? Tell me how you feel about me, do you hate me, love me." "I can't explain it Serena, I don't know what I feel about you. I know it's not hate though! I could never HATE you!" "Then tell me why you wrote this Darien!" she flourished the poem she had picked up off the sidewalk. He let out a gasp and grabbed the paper away from her, "Where did you get this?" "It fell earlier today, I picked it up after you walked away. You do love me Darien, admit it, please." "I was upset when I wrote that, it doesn't mean anything." he handed it back to her and looked away, he didn't want to see the pain in her eyes after the comment would hit her. She drew in a sharp breath, the words stung her to her very core, "Get out of my room, just get out and stay away from me! I hate you Darien, I don't care if you remember anymore, just as long as I never have to see you again! I hope you're happy..." she trailed off as tears let loose and she started to sob. Loud ones that echoed in his ears and ripped his soul to shreds. She slammed her fists into his chest as hard as she could muster at this point in time. He stopped them and she looked up at him, "I'm sorry Serena, I didn't mean that. It does mean something, I do care about you, but we're both so confused right now." he let go of her hands and she looked down in defeat. He felt terrible, his heart was telling him to tell her the truth, but his brain screamed for him to think about his reasons for taking this postition in the first place. He had to comfort her though, he took her in his arms and hugged her tightly. She put her arms around his waist, his soft, loving touch was calming her down. He ran his fingers though her hair, for once not thinking about the moment, just following his heart. He inhaled the scent of her perfume and felt his mind drift into thoughts of them together like this on a normal basis. He shook the thoughts quickly from his head and pulled away from the iron grip that she had established around his waist. "I have to go Serena I'll talk to you later." Darien told her, he left the room quickly, leaving Serena more confused and heartbroken than before. ************************************************************************** "Yeah Lita and then he told me that the stupid thing didn't mean anything. Of course I didn't believe him, who would? But the strangest part was when he hugged me all of a sudden, that boy doesn't realize what he does to me! No he didn't ask me out or anything, he just pulled away and left the room. He isn't worth it, I swear, one of these days I'm just going to forget about him and find someone who really cares about me." Serena was talking to Lita on the phone later that night. "Mina chased him down today and started to bug him for his true feelings." Lita informed her. "Go Mina, what did she find out?" Serena let out a cheerful squeal. "That he totally loves you, but he thinks the only reason you love is because of the past. He said that he loves everything about you and he's not sure that you love him the same way." "How dare he! The nerve! What does he want from me, a parade proclaiming my feelings for him that marches around town?" Serena was shouting into the phone and causing poor Lita to go deaf on the other end. "Serena chill, your breaking my eardrum. I have to go now, but I'm sure that everything will work out just fine. Give it time and he'll see your true feelings about him, not that he already doesn't know you love him." Lita laughed and Serena joined in, "I'll talk to you tomorrow at school Lita, Bye." Serena placed the phone gently into its cradle. ************************************************************************* The next day after school Serena walked to the arcade with Lita and Mina. Serena filled Mina on everything that had happened the day before, and Mina seemed shocked at Darien's behavior. "He said he loved you yesterday, I don't know what has gotten into him lately!" Mina exclaimed. "I have no clue, but I'm sick of it, I want to know where we stand today! This whole thing just has me so confused, I don't like it this way. It hurts me so much to know we both love each other but he's not willing to give me a chance. How can he tell you that he loves me and then just treat me as if I mean nothing to him?" Serena was on an emotional roller coaster, and she really wanted off. She was determined to tell him today that she needed to know where they stood, friends, boyfriend/ girlfriend, or nothing at all. She hoped it wouldn't be the latter. "You stood stand up for yourself and tell him how you feel. You deserve to know, it's not nice to lead people on and then totally act like nothing is going between you two." Lita jumped into the conversation, putting her two cents in. Serena hugged her two friends and they entered the arcade. Andrew smiled at them as they waved and sat down in the corner booth. Andrew walked over to them and sat down next to Mina, "You look like you're feeling better today Serena." "Yeah Andy I do feel better, I talked to Darien yesterday, he came over to my house." Andrew's eyes widened with surprise, "Really, I've always known he's liked you but its not like him to take a step that big." "It wasn't a step Andrew, he had a problem and he wanted to talk about it with Serena. Darien needs some help expressing his feelings, he has major problems in that department." Lita told him. "He's never been very good about saying what he feels, he just hides it and hopes no one will notice." Andrew was perplexed, "Serena he's never told you he likes you?" "I know he does, and I like him but he's just being difficult and stubborn." Serena sighed and put her head down on the table, "I can't take it anymore, I want to know exactly where we stand. I feel like he's playing with my heart. One minute he's nice and comforting me when I'm upset, then he's mister coldheart and he can't stand to touch me." "I'll talk to him about it Serena, I'll knock some sense into that empty head of his." "I've tried it already Andrew, it had no effect. I thought he understood what I was telling him, but obviously it didn't hit home at all." Mina stood her head dejectely. The bell chimed as someone else entered the arcade, Serena lifted her head off the table and watched as Darien walked over to their table. "Hey Andrew, Mina, Lita, Serena." he looked away from her gaze and she felt the sadness once again rise up and engulf her body. Lita stood up and pushed Darien into the now empty seat next to Serena. Lita winked at her as she sat down across from them, Serena smiled wryly back "I really have to go, excuse me Darien." she pushed him lightly so he would stand up and get out of her way. When he wouldn't budge she tried to climb over him, but his strong arms picked her up and put her back in her seat. "Darien let me go. Come on this is embarrassing." Serena whispered though clinched teeth. "We need to talk about this Serena, I'm not letting you go until we do." Andrew broke into the conversation, "Hey you guys why don't we make this a group discussion." "That's not a good idea Andrew, this could get very ugly, very fast." Mina whispered to him. "What ever I have to go back to work anyway, just try not to shout too loud okay?" Mina and Lita stood up to let Andrew out and then they sat back down, ready for the fighting to begin. Serena was staring out the window, trying her hardest not to pay attention to Darien. He had his hand on her shoulder trying to get her to listen, "Serena please we really should talk about this." "Fine Darien I talk first, Where is our relationship at?" Serena turned around and looked him boldly in the face. He looked taken aback at her question, "We're friends Serena nothing more." he knew Mina and Lita were boring holes into the back of his head with their eyes. "Fine Darien, if that's all you want to be that's all we'll remain." Serena whispered quietly back to him, "What did you want to talk to me about?" "About that scene up in your bedroom yesterday, I'm sorry if I hurt you." "You hurt me long before that, you've been hurting me all though this thing." Serena felt anger rising though her blood, she wanted to hurt him right now, make him feel pain like she was feeling right now. Drien shifted his body so he could face her better, "I never meant to." "Whatever Darien, you sure are doing one hell of a job at it for it all being an accident." "I don't want to hurt you Serena, stop making it seem like I'm out to get you or something. Just because I don't have feeling for you doesn't make the bad guy in all of this!" their voices were rising and tension in the room threatened to explode at any moment. Mina and Lita stole glances at each other, this was getting good and they wanted to see how Serena was going to handle herself though all of this. "Just tell me you care about me Darien, just say it. Stop being so stubborn and tell me please. I'm not stupid, I know its true and that you're scared at I don't love you for you but I do Darien! I love you no matter what, since the moment I saw you, I've know that you really were the one for me. Our bond only brings us closer, what we have is special, something no one can ever take away. Yet you still fight it, you still can't give in to destiny. If you love me why would you fight this bond, why do you still pretend that you care nothing for me when it couldn't be farther from the truth? Let me help you though this, you can lean on me for support and I can help. I went though the same thing when I remembered." Serena was very close to tears now and Darien just sat there staring at her. Mina and Lita held their breaths as Darien opened his mouth to reply. He inched closer to her and took her small hand in his, "I love you Serena with my heart and soul. I want to be your forever and I never will let you go again I swear." Serena heart skipped a beat at those words and she hugged him tightly, "Oh Darien I love you too." she closed her eyes as their lips met in a passionate kiss. Lita started clapping and Mina whistled at the couple. Andrew was laughing and people were gathering around the windows outside watching them kiss. Serena felt Darien's arms stiffen around her and then pull away, she opened her eyes to see what was wrong. Still holding her hand tightly he opened his eyes and it was like his memories were never gone. Everything had returned and it was more vivid than before. Serena saw it in his eyes and tears spilled down her cheeks. He smiled at her and drew a rose out of nowhere. He tucked it behind her ear and kissed her gently. "I will never loose you again my dearest Serenity." he whispered in her ear and she smiled. "Luna was right." she said softly to everyone at the table. "About what pray tell?" "True love does conquer all." That poem was written by me, I thought of it all by myself, I'm not sure if I should be proud of that or not. Tell me what you think: ejames000@ameritech.net and if you want to get my stuff right when I send it out join the totally awesome fanfic list called usamamofics at onelist.com Check it out and get totally awesome fanfic in the process.