Chapter Four
Shopping!
And here we go again. This thing is turning into a little monster... Standard disclaimers apply, and I really would love the feedback. Much appreciation and some cyber roses to Sarah, Pam and Kendell. You ladies rock!
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~ Raye ~
If I'd had any doubts about whether or not Serena and Darien were meant for one another, the adorable couple I saw walking towards me erased them all. Amy, Lita, Andrew, Chad and I were standing by the fountain waiting for Mina and Rita to finish in the bathroom. We'd all agreed to meet by that fountain the day before, and were only being held up by Serena, Darien & Co.
"Oh, MY GOSH, looky there!" Lita whispered to me, interrupting the conversation I'd been having with Amy. I followed her pointing finger and saw one of the cutest things in the history of the world. (So cute, I was getting cavities.) Serena and Darien were heading towards us, walking a little too close to be considered enemies, with Hailey sitting on Darien's shoulders and Logan sitting on Serena's. Skyler kept darting around the couple and chattering excitedly, and it was all I could do to keep from making a comment about it to Serena when she got in ear shot.
"There you guys are!" Andrew exclaimed, "We're waiting for Rita and Mina to finish primping."
"Ahem," another voice said from behind. Andrew turned around to see Rita with her hands on her hips, trying to look insulted.
"Oh, I..." Andrew blushed, "I mean, we're waiting for Mina and Rita to come back from the bathroom."
"Well, we're here now," Rita said, taking Andrew's arm.
"Hey, what took you guys so long?" Mina asked of Serena.
"Sorry," she blushed, "My dad went BALISTIC when he found out a GUY was driving me to the mall..."
"Yeah, we know," Lita said with a compassionate smile. I swear, not even my grandfather is as bad as Serena's dad.
"So, Raye, like, are you gonna go or what!?" Chad asked, jumping into the conversation. I put a hand to my forehead as if to try and fight off the on-coming headache. Sometimes he can be SO embarrassing "Yeah, I'm ready to do some serious shopping!" Serena laughed, reaching into her purse to make sure her money was still there.
"I can't believe I agreed to this!" Darien let out. The rest of us exchanged looks, save for the blissfully ignorant Serena.
"Well, shall we go, I'd like to go to the bookstore and pick up some new physics books," Amy said in her usual shy tone.
"Oh, Amy!"
~ Darien ~
I could NOT believe I had agreed to this! I was in for at LEAST four hours of shopping, and Serena had already been surrounded by her friends, and was now deep in conversation with them. Urg! This was pointless... How could Andrew endure this. And yet... I looked over at the glorious Meatball Head, who's eyes were shining as she talked about the Christmas Party. She looked radiant.
The entire group stayed together for about an hour, walking around and talking, occasionally poking into a few stores, before grabbing dinner at the food court and eventually splitting up to do some serious shopping. Suddenly I realized everyone else had paired off except Serena and me.
"Guess you're stuck with me, Meatball Head," I said, half expecting her to go off on her own. Instead, she replied, much to my delight; "You know what Darien, actually, you're not half bad, as long as you DON'T call me Meatball Head!" Sure I can do that...
"Whatever you say Mea... Serena," I replied sheepishly. Okay, easier said than done.
"Ohh... Bunny, look at that!" Hailey burst out. She pointed to the beautiful display of Christmas lights at the very center of the mall.
"Oh, how pretty," Skyler and Serena breathed, almost at once.
"You girls wanna go see it?" I asked. Serena looked up at me, and I swore her eyes were brighter than all of those lights put together.
"You don't mind?" she asked.
"Why not?" I shrugged, watching her smile. I have no idea what we did for the next hour and a half, it had something to do with buying party dresses for the twins, presents for Serena's friends, and chocolate for all of us. But I do know, that somewhere along the line, Serena slipped her hand in mine. I don't even think she realized she'd done it, but I did, and suddenly the whole past two hours seemed well worth it. As she stopped to peer in at one of the displays, I saw the perfect couple reflected in the glass. Or, at least I thought. But then again, obviously some others did too, because at least three clerks commented on how adorable our 'children' were. I watched with delight as each time, Serena would turn a new shade of red, glancing over at Logan and the twins. As we exited the bookstore, where she had been picking up Amy's gift, Serena whispered in my ear.
"I can't believe they'd think that you and I were..." she trailed off with an embarrassed laugh.
"Oh, come on, Bunny," I said. She didn't seem to mind if I called her that, in fact, I'd even slipped up a couple of times with the 'meatball head', and she'd merely smiled at me. Maybe she didn't hear me. "Would it be so bad if we were a couple?" She merely looked at me with one of those confused aqua gazes and turned her attention to Hailey's chatter.
We split up to do some more private shopping, and I dragged Hailey along with me. There was a sole purpose for her presence, (aside from the fact I was starting to think of her as a little sister); she knew what Serena liked. As soon as my Meatball-headed angel was out of sight, with Skyler and Logan on her heels, I ducked in the jewelers.
"Are you gonna buy Bunny a Christmas present, Darien?" Hailey asked me in a stage whisper.
"Actually..." I said with a secretive smile, my eyes glued to the gems in the case, "You hit the nail on the head."
"What nail?" Hailey asked, now thoroughly confused as she stood on her tippy toes to see the jewelry.
"Never mind," I told her, "I just meant that I AM going to buy Serena a gift."
"Ohhhh goody!" the little girl cried excitedly. I then focused my attention on the jewels displayed before me. I wanted to get Serena something special... Diamonds? No, not with her pale complexion. Sapphires? Too dark for her eyes. Emeralds? No way, maybe for Lita, but not Serena. Rubies? Too bright. Pearls? Not good enough... That's when I saw it. It was a little gold tiara, meant to sit just so on the wearer's head. (can't you just see it framed by my angel's two buns of hair?) Worked almost seamlessly into the center of the setting was a single, perfect heart-shaped garnet, surrounded by tiny diamonds. It was perfect!
"I think I found something," I whispered. Hailey tugged gently on my pant-leg, asking to see the tiara for herself. When she did, she let out a longing sigh.
"It's perfect for Bunny. She's like a princess anyway," the little girl told me. The sales clerk near-by most have noticed our interest, because she sauntered over and asked; "How can I help you sir?"
"I'd like to purchase this tiara," I informed her.
"For someone special?" she asked knowingly.
"Someone very special," I replied. Hailey, who was sitting on the counter, leaned towards the saleswoman and said; "She's gonna be Darien's GIRLFRIEND." The woman raised a brow at me before informing me that the tiara was part of a Christmas sale, 10% off it's purchase, as well as that of another piece of jewelry. I nodded solemnly, my eyes examining each piece and trying to imagine it on Serena. At last I found a dainty little necklace make of oval-cut garnets. I could just see the lucky piece of jewelry gracing her perfect little neck... Whoa, Darien, back to reality, come on, focus... After getting the pieces gift wrapped, I paid the woman and took Hailey's hand, wandering back towards the fountain where the entire group was supposed to meet up.
~ Serena ~
I was in a panic. I was supposed to be meeting up with the rest of the group in less than fifteen minutes, and I STILL didn't have anything for Darien! I really didn't know what he would like, or even see anything that screamed his name... Why was I so upset about his, I mean, he's Darien, the conceited jerk who teased me, tormented me, made my heart go pitter-patter and my stomach do flip-flops... HOLD ON THERE! Okay, so maybe I didn't hate him anymore, and I really did want to get him something nice for Christmas, but I couldn't think of anything! Finally, I looked at my watch and saw that I had five minutes in which to get to the other side of the mall. Well, there were two more days 'til Christmas....
"Come on, Skyler, Logan," I said, prying my cousins away from the Sailor Moon display they'd been looking at. It was an ego boost for me when Skyler commented on how cool my alter-ego was. "Logan?" I said, somewhat impatiently when the boy wouldn't budge. He turned to me and pointed one of his chubby little fingers at the picture of Sailor Moon.
"Bunny!" he said. I just about passed out, but managed to regain SOME composure. Hehe... he always was smart. "No, Logan-chan," I said as I picked him up, "That's Sailor Moon."
"Bunny!" he insisted. I rolled my eyes and hurried on towards the fountain.
~ Darien ~
I stifled a yawn as I drove Serena and the kids home. I just don't understand how those girls do it. My poor feet will never be the same again! All that walking, man, I'm pooped! Still, Serena was positively glowing from all the fun, and I had really enjoyed her company. In fact, come to think of it, I might just take Amy up on that sledding invitation. After all, Serena should be there, she is one of the girl's best friends. The idea was really growing on. All too soon, I pulled up in front of Serena's house.
"Thanks so much, Darien," Serena breathed as she leaned towards me, "I had a lot of fun, and it was really nice of you to pick me up and all."
"No sweat, Meatball Head," I said, before realizing I'd used the hated nickname. Instead of the loud scolding I expected, Serena pecked me on the cheek before grabbing her things and ushering the children up the walk to the house. She paused on the doorstep to wave good-bye, and I returned her wave in a daze. She kissed me... granted a friendly kiss, but we were getting SOMEWHERE.... I could still feel her velvety lips pressed against my skin, however brief the contact had been. Yup, all that walking had definitely been worth it, I thought as I drove home.
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To the world you may be one person, but to the person you may be the world.
