This thing is an unedited piece of work people. Not too many errors though, I'm usually pretty good about everything. You guys will not believe the feedback I got on this thing, wow, thank you all from the bottom of my love-struck heart. It means so much to me, this is the most feedback. I have gotten on any piece of my writting so far and I love it. Keep it up! Part of my inspiration comes from my very own Mamo-chan named Alex. I love him with all my heart. So this just proves, if someone like me can get someone, well sort of, I'm working on it, then anyone else out there can find their very own special Mamo-chan as well. Disclaimers: I don't own Sailor Moon. it's just a far off wish that will never come true. ~Chapter 2~ "I’m telling you Andrew it was the strangest thing, we were just standing there and the next thing I know, he asked me out to dinner. I wonder what he was high on when he asked me out?" Serena sat on a stool in the arcade talking to Andrew the next afternoon. "Maybe he’s just changing his mind about your relationship. Maybe he wants to bury the hatchet and become friends or something more, you never know." Serena let out an airy laugh, inside her stomach was filled with thousands of fluttering butterflies, "Oh please Andrew, Darien interested in me. I’m four year younger than him for goodness sake!" just then the arcade doors slid open and Darien sauntered though, his head buried in his Physics book. "Hey Andrew, what’s up with you Meatball head?" he barely glanced up at the two people in front of him. He realized that he had called the dreaded nickname, and waited for the explosion. When only silence followed, Darien looked up once more and saw that she wasn’t even paying attention to him. "I said hello meatball head." still nothing, "Good afternoon Serena." "Oh hello Darien, nice to see you." she flashed him a wide grin, "How are you today?" he sat down next to her, "I’m fine Meatball head." her attention snapped away from him like a giant rubberband, "So Andrew, did you order the new Sailor V game yet?" Darien let out a sigh, "I’m fine Serena." she once again acknowledged his existence, "That’s great. I’m doing great today too. I woke up early and got all of my work around the house done. I’m free to do whatever I want for the rest of the day." he couldn’t help but smile at her happy attitude and wide smile, there was definitely something about this girl that got to him. "Can I get you anything Darien?" Andrew turned his attention to his best friend who was sitting there, smiling like a moron. "Um yeah Andrew, how about a cup of coffee and a large chocolate milkshake." Andrew looked at him but nodded quickly, "Coming right up." he turned away from the couple in front of him and went to work on the drinks. "A chocolate milkshake Darien? I’ve never seen you drink anything but coffee. How do you drink it and not get hyper?" Serena asked him innocently. He let out a soft chuckle, "The milkshake is for you, and coffee just doesn’t have that affect on me, I’m not sure why." "The milkshake is for me, why?" she narrowed her eyes at him, why the sudden change of heart? "Who are you and what have you done with the Darien I love to hate?" she waited for an answer and finally Darien spoke up with that wonderful deep voice of his, "Can’t I just be nice to you for once? Buy you a milkshake, let bigons be bigons?" "No you can’t! It’s bad enough you invited me to dinner, I’m still in shock over that! What is with you lately? Did you hit your head on anything, get a concussion?" she picked up the milkshake as it was slid in front of her, "Thanks Andrew." he nodded and turned away from the conversation once again this was between the two of them. "I didn’t hit my head on anything, geez this is the last time I do anything nice for you, you could at least say thank you for the milkshake." she dropped her eyes to the floor, "I’m sorry Darien, I didn’t mean to seem ungrateful. Thank you for the milkshake." he nodded, "You’re welcome." "So are you two still on for dinner tonight?" Andrew decided that this would be the perfect time to get back into the conversation and get the two unsuspecting lovebirds thinking about spending time together. Serena’s eyes flashed quickly from Darien to Andrew and then back again, "I don’t know Darien, are we?" He rolled his eyes, "Did you see me taking back my invitation Serena? Yes I still want to go out with you tonight." she nodded slowly, "Okay then I’ll see you around 6:00 tonight, do you know where I live?" He nodded, "Yeah, dress nice, I’m not going to take you to McDonald’s or some fast food place." "D-dress nice? Oh okay." she felt her heart skip a beat at that sentence, he wasn’t going to spend 10 bucks at Mickey-D’s this was going to be a honest to God dinner. His brow furrowed, "Are you okay with this, you look nervous." "I’m fine Darien, I see you tonight then. Bye Andrew!" she ran out of the arcade as fast as her legs could carry her, this whole situation with Darien just made her uncomfortable. "She likes you, you know?" Andrew’s warm voice interrupted Darien’s thoughts about the blond haired angel who had just ran from the arcade. He shook his head, "She doesn’t like me, why would she like me?" he sighed deeply. "Oh Darien, you are so, so wrong. She’s got it bad, probably always has too. I think she’s just confused about the feelings she has for you." a sudden smile crossed Darien’s face, "I hope you’re right Andrew." @~~~~>>~~~~~ "Mom! Where’s my pearl necklace?" Serena’s shrill voice carried through out the Tsukino home at five thirty that night. Darien was due there in half an hour and Serena was still rushing around like a chicken with it’s head cut off. "Mom, where’s my-" "Serena, stop right this instant! Here’s your necklace, your shoes and the freshly dry-cleaned dress, now chill and go get ready." Ilene shoved the things into Serena’s arms and pushed her up the stairs. "Thanks mom." Serena smiled at her mother and shut the door to her bedroom. "What’s all the racket about mom?" Sammy walked out of his bedroom and over to his mother. Ilene just smiled, "This is a very important night for your sister, she’s going on her first date with a older guy. I’ve never seen her so nervous before." Sammy made a disgusted face, "Who cares about stuff like that? I’m never going to get married or anything like that, girls are just nasty!" "Just you wait Sammy, someday you’ll meet someone who can make your heart melt at a simple look, or whose gentle touch can drive you crazy, you’ll find love just like everyone else." Ilene let out a silly little sigh and Sammy ran downstairs, "Yeah right mom, never in a million years!" "Mom, can you help me with my hair?" Serena called from behind the door. "Sure honey, let’s see how you look." Serena opened the door slowly and stepped out, she wore a pale pink dress, tight in all the right places, held up by spaghetti straps. The dress came to about mid thigh and she wore a pearl choker around her neck and diamond earrings. Her hair, at the moment, dragged along the floor. She wore a nervous smile upon her face and no makeup. "Darling he’s going to pass out when he see you, you look so grown-up." she could feel the tears rise in her eyes as she stared at her daughter, so grown up and beautiful. "Mom, I wouldn’t go that far!" Serena turned a bright pink color that complemented her dress perfectly. "Come downstairs, and I’ll put your hair up for you." Ilene walked quickly downstairs and Serena trailed behind her, trying not to trip over her long hair. "AHHHHH!" she unfortunately couldn’t make it to the bottom, without falling. She tripped and tumbled head first down the last few stairs. Ilene rushed back over to her, "Oh no! Serena are you all right?" A glazed look appeared in Serena’s eyes, "I’m fine mom, just bumped my head." Sammy raced over to the fallen heap of hair and arms and legs, "What a klutz, why would any older guy want to go out with you?" Sammy laughed and sauntered up the stairs, "Serena is a klutz! Serena is a klutz!" he cackled gleefully and then ran into his bedroom and slammed the door behind him. Serena threw a killer glance up in his direction and struggled to her feet "I’m fine mom, really I am." Ilene looked at the daughter and shook her head, "Serena I’m afraid you better go look in the mirror." Serena’s eyes widened to impossible size and she swept her hair around her and ran into the downstairs bathroom. "OH NO!" she caught a glance at her left eye that was turning a beautiful bluish- blackish color as she stared at it, "He’ll be here any minute! Mom!" Ilene walked into the bathroom, "It’s not that bad Serena, I bet he doesn’t even notice." Ilene tried to sound sincere but Serena wasn’t buying it, "Mom, stop with that fake sympathy bullcrap, I look like I got knocked out or something in a school yard fight. Darien won’t take me anywhere looking like this!" tears spilled down her cheeks, so much for looking like a princess tonight and impressing him. The doorbell rang cheerfully and Serena looked at her mother, "I had better go and let him in, I think the swelling stopped honey, can you still see all right?" Serena nodded slightly still staring at herself in the mirror. Ilene left the bathroom and seconds later Serena heard Darien’s deep voice as he entered her house, "Hello Mrs. Tsukino. It’s a pleasure to meet you." Serena peaked her head out as Darien kissed her mother’s hand, he really was so sweet, why couldn’t he treat her more like that? "Hello Darien, Serena’s told us so much about you, you’ll have to excuse my husband’s absence he had a poker game tonight so he couldn’t be here to meet you." Darien smiled warmly, "It’s not a problem, where’s Serena, we have a 6:15 dinner reservation." "She’s inside, won’t you come in, I have to make sure she’s all right." his brows furrowed in concern, "Why? What happened, is she all right?" a note of worriness followed his voice. Ilene smiled slightly, "She’s fine, just a little worse for the wear." she left and entered what looked to be the bathroom from Darien’s point of view, he sat down and waited for them to return. "So you must be Serena’s date, why would you want to take her anywhere?" a voice above him startled him, he looked up to find a young boy standing there smiling down on him. "Yes I am, you must be her little brother." Sammy smiled even wider, "Yep, how did you know?" Darien smiled himself, "Lucky guess. Do you know what happened to your sister." Sammy grinned devilishly, "She fell down the stairs, it was really funny, she tripped over her hair. I think something happened to her eye or something, you could hear her yelling all the way upstairs." The smile faded from his face, "Is she all right?" Sammy rolled his eyes and laughed, "She always over reacts to stuff like this. You should have seen her fall, bam right on her face! Well it was nice to meet you, next time find someone better to take to a nice restaurant." Sammy retreated back into his bedroom, leaving Darien once again alone to deal with the silence. "Serena get out here this instant, it looks fine now come on!" Ilene grabbed her daughter’s hand and pulled her from the safety of the bathroom and pushed her in front of Darien. His eyes widened as they traveled up and down her beautiful frame. Then his gaze came to settle on her face, so sad and teamed streaked. Her eye was blue and black but not badly swollen. He stood up and kissed her hand softly and heard the soft gasp emerge from her pink lips. "Darien we don’t have to go if you don’t want to, I know how horrible I look with my eye like this and all." Darien simply smiled warmly and gently lifted her gaze to his own, "I think you look gorgeous Serena, come on we’ll be late!" he took her hand and led her to the front door. "No later than eleven you two!" Ilene called as they walked out to Darien’s shiny red sport's car. Serena nodded and got into the car. Darien slammed the door and walked over to the driver side, with a quick wave and a smile they had disappeared. @~~~~>>~~~~~ "Wow Darien this is really nice! Are you sure you want to take me here?" Serena turned to him with a look of bewilderment on her lovely face. For what seemed like the hundredth time that night he smiled at her, "Oh come on Serena, of course I want to take you here. Now come on before they give away our table!" he turned off the ignition and got out of the car. He took Serena’s arm and led her up to the grand front door of the restaurant and the doorman opened it for the handsome young couple. "Reservations for Chiba please." Darien stated as they reached the reservations counter. The matiree ‘d looked over his list quickly and smiled, "Right this way Sir, Madmoiselle." he led them to a darkly lit back table for two. Darien pulled out Serena’s chair for her and she sat down slowly taking in everything around her. Darien sat down across from her and handed her a menu. "So what do you feel like tonight Serena, choose anything you like." she smiled slightly as her eyes skimmed the page of delicious exotic foods. She could feel him staring at her, she turned her gaze upwards, "Why are you staring at me like that Darien?" she touched her eye gently, "Oh I knew I should have just stayed home, I must look so out of place here." "Oh Serena you look fine, I must admit though, I’m a bit curious, how did you trip over your hair?" her eyes flashed angrily, "Sammy! Oh I should have know that little dork would tell you how stupid I was." he laughed softly, "Is your hair that long?" she nodded, "It drags along the floor if I leave it down." he simply shook his head and tried to contain his laugher, "Oh Serena, you are something." she let out a soft sigh, "Yes something klutzy, ditzy, and stupid. I wanted to look beautiful for you tonight, you deserve someone special here with you. I still don’t know why you even asked me." "I asked you Serena Tsukino because I wanted to get to know you better. I wouldn’t want anyone else here with me tonight." the smile slowly faded from his face and his gaze fell to the table cloth, "Serena I really should tell you something-" "Tell me later, the waiter’s here I’m hungry." Darien saw the man waiting patiently to take his order. "Oh I’ll have the escargot." the waiter nodded and took the menus from his hands. Serena looked surprised, "What’s escargot?" the smile returned once again, "Snails." he stated matter-o-factly. She wrinked her nose in disgust, "EWW! That is just nasty Darien! I think I’m going to be sick." "Don’t, I like different food, I’ll let you try some of mine when they get here." "You will not put that stuff near my mouth." her voice got menacingly low, and the smile never left his face, "Where’s your sense of adventure and trying something new?" she narrowed her eyes at him, "I left it at home, what were you going to tell me before we were interrupted?" quickly changing the subject before this whole snail thing could go any father than it already had. "It was, uh, nothing Serena, don’t you worry your pretty little head about it." "No Darien, you’ve got me interested. Tell me please." "It’s really not important Serena. I just wanted to tell you that you look like an angel tonight. With the black eye even." her mouth fell open, "Thanks Darien, that’s got to be one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to me." the smile she gave him could melt the coldest heart. "Here you are Madmoiselle, your duck, and Sir, here’s your Escargot." the waiter interrupted their very private moment for the second time that night. The food was slid in front of them and the two ate in silence. "Serena." Darien’s voice was low and it held a note of mystery. Serena’s eyes rose to his and he held out a fork with a strange looking food-like thing on it. "No Darien, I’m not eating that." Still smiling he leaned forward inching the fork closer to her lips, "Just a little bite, it’s really good Serena. I promise it won’t kill you, I’m still alive." "Unfortunately." she told him with a smile, "Fine, but if I throw up, it’s all going on you." her eyes flashed teasingly and she opened her mouth and closed her eyes. He gulped and gently eased the fork into her mouth. She took the food and chewed it slowly. Darien waited patiently, as she swallowed, "It’s... not... that bad." she smiled, "I guess you were right Darien." "I have superb taste in French cuisine madmoiselle." he said with a horrible fake French accent. She laughed and went back to her plate, glancing up from time to time to see his handsome face still smiling at her. @~~~~>>~~~~~ "I must say Darien, I had a wonderful time tonight. Thank you for taking me, even with this horrible looking eye of mine." they stood on her front porch half an hour early. After dinner they ordered French pastries and sat and talked for hours about nothing in particular. "The pleasure was all mine." he leaned in closer to her and lowered his head to hers. Her eyes were closed and her lips parted, waiting to be kissed. He licked his lips and brushed them against hers. "Oh God!" he heard her exclaim and she pulled away quickly, "I’m going to be sick!" she threw open the door to her house and raced inside. He closed his eyes and thought about what had just happened, he was going to kiss her, Serena Tsukino, a girl he only asked out to win a bet that he had made with Andrew. What was happening between them, this was just for money, he wasn’t supposed to feel like this about her. He walked in the open door and looked at the closed bathroom door. Poor girl, probably getting rid of that expensive French dinner that he had treated her to at that very moment. "Serena are you all right? Honey answer me!" Ilene pounded on the door and Sammy stood to the right of her smirking slightly, "Stupid Serena." he said softly while shaking his head. Suddenly the door opened and Serena stood gripping the door tightly for balance. Darien took a few more steps forward and she looked at him in surprise, "I’m so sorry, I felt so ill all of a sudden." "Serena what’s wrong baby?" Ilene put a hand to her forehead, "You’re not warm honey." "I don’t know mom, oh no!" she slammed the door again and Sammy and Ilene backed away from the door once again, "Poor dear. What did she eat tonight?" Darien scratched his head, "Some French pastries, she had duck for dinner." there was something he was forgetting, "Oh yeah and some of my escargot." Ilene’s face paled, "She ate snails? They don’t agree with her at all. No wonder she’s so ill. Darien perhaps you had better go, I don’t think she’s coming out of there for awhile. Maybe you could stop by tomorrow or something. When she’s feeling better." the doorknob turned again and Serena stepped out of the bathroom. Tears were streaming down her cheeks and she was shaking, "I want to go to bed." she whispered. "Can you get upstairs by yourself honey or do you need some help?" Serena just nodded, Darien stepped forward, "I’ve got her, it’s all my fault she’s so sick." he picked her up easily and carried her upstairs, Ilene and Sammy close behind him. He walked into her bedroom and placed her gently into her bed. Ilene put a hand on his shoulder, "Thanks Darien, I’m sure she’ll be better tomorrow. Don’t blame yourself, how were you supposed to know about her being allergic to snails?" he nodded and left the bedroom and saw himself out. What a disaster this night turned out to be. Funny? Sad? Happy? Write me and tell me what you thought of our wonderful couples dinner date? I'm not sure if Escargot, or whatever it is, is spelled correctly. I'm sure it means snails though, I only took one year of french guys so cut me some slack. Next part will be out as soon as I'm done, until then. *~*Elisabeth*~*