Title: Beauty is Only Skin Deep
Author: Alicia Blade
E-mail: Kammi22@sprintmail.com

Hey there!! Here's yet another first season romance between the 
cutest couple ever! I hope you all enjoy, and you MUST e-mail me!! When 
I don't get mail, I stop writing, and we don't want that, do we? 
Thank you to Athena who I love dearly and is always full of 
comments and ideas! I don't know what I'd do without ya! Same to Edeet 
who came up with the title for this as well as Next Time Take the 
Stairs. And she also has the coolest ideas and suggestions. Thank you! 
Everyone read both their stories and also, read Through the Time Gate, 
which I swear is like an episode of the Twilight Zone. (I know more 
about it than you do! Though not much... R-chan is doing her best to keep 
it a secret. Meanie!! =P ) 
Um... normal disclaimers, bla bla bla... Well, again, write to me!!
"And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall
be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, 
for the former things have passed away."   	Revelations 21:4
Enjoy!

She fell against the wall as streams of tears flowed down her 
cheeks. With a sob, she stumbled into a small alleyway before 
collapsing to the pavement and curling into a small ball, her blonde 
head buried in her knees. 
	"I hate him... I hate him..."
	
***Flashback***

	"You're such a ditz, Serena! Why can't you try to be serious for 
5 minutes?"
	"I don't care what you say, Darien!"
	"I'm so hurt. But honestly, you have to grow up. All you do is 
sleep and cry all the time! At least, when you're not klutzing out. 
You're terrible in school, pig out on junk food all day, and are always 
acting like a total baby!"
	"Shut up Darien!"
	"I'm only saying the truth, Meatball Head. It's not my fault 
you're a failure."
	She didn't stay to hear anymore after that.

***End of flashback***

	Serena bit her lip as unnoticed tears continued to soak her skin. 
Her dim blue eyes stared blankly at the pavement below as she 
remembered all of the hateful words that had stung like knives. 
	"Why do I have to care what he thinks, anyway? Why does it 
matter?" She tilted her head to the side as she felt a pounding 
headache take control of her thoughts. "It's not like I care about 
him... just... what he thinks about me... I guess..."
	But she knew she couldn't fool herself. Ever since she'd met him, 
she'd had the same fantasy. Where just one time, she would walk up to 
him, and he would be the one drooling over her. And she would be 
completely irresistible, so that even Darien couldn't keep his eyes off 
of her. And she'd dreamt that he would be so taken aback that he would 
fall madly in love with her and then...
	She always ended the daydream there. It was too painful when she 
realized it wasn't true... it wasn't happening. And it never would 
happen. He didn't care for her. To him... she was nothing more than the 
annoying, klutzy, brain-dead teenager.
	Serena clutched at the skirt of her school uniform, wiping her 
tears with her sleeve. "All I want... is for him to notice me... 
just... once..." And the tears fell from her eyes as she concentrated 
on that thought... and the complete impossibility of it. 
	"Darien... why do you do this to me?" Her teeth clenched in 
momentary anger. 
	'He's probably laughing at me right now. Yes, I'm sure of it. 
He's thinking about how immature I was running out of the arcade like 
that... and how I'm so childish and irresponsible and...'
	"Oooh, Darien you make me so mad!" she yelled out to no one. "I 
don't deserve to be treated like that by you! I deserve, just once, to 
be noticed by you! I deserve that! From all I put up with, and how you 
treat me, I deserve for you to be completely... awestruck!"
	With clenched fists, she wiped her red cheeks, gathering any 
remaining tears, and pushed herself up to lean against the brick wall. 
	Looking around for the first time, she muttered, "Where am I, by 
the way?"
	Peering around the corner, she saw a beauty and cosmetic shop 
right by where she was standing. She laughed to herself as she thought, 
'But then again...'
	With a nervous smile, she walked into the salon.

***  2 hours later, arcade ***

	Darien sipped at the straw, his brow scrunched as he stared at... 
the change machine?
	"Yo, Darien, are you okay? I mean, seriously, you've been sitting 
there for over 2 hours now. What's wrong?"
	Darien shrugged. "Nothing, Andrew."
	Andrew looked at him concerned, but knew it was useless to try 
and get more out of him. He left to the game area to help some of the 
little kids with the video games.
	Darien gulped down another drink, cursing himself inside.
	'I was too mean to her. I went way past the line this time. 
She'll never talk to me again... oh, what would I do if she never 
talked to me? What would I think about? What would I look forward to 
every day?' He sighed and yelled at himself mentally for being too 
sentimental.
	'Why do I have to be so mean to her? Am I, like, physically 
incapable of saying anything nice? All I want is for her to know what I 
really think... well, maybe not everything that I think... I'm sure I 
could leave out the part about her gorgeous, silky hair and long, 
slender legs and...'  He mentally hit himself for thinking such things 
of a 14-year-old girl.
	'But I want her to know how I think she is so beautiful, inside 
and out. How I love her light, and love and kindness. How I think of 
her all the time and constantly wonder what it would be like to hold 
her and kiss her... And want her to know she's not a loser, or ditz, or 
crybaby. But that she's incredibly sweet and caring and... perfect... Oh, 
Serena, why do I keep pushing you away?'
	His thoughts were cut short, rather rudely, by a whistle coming 
from the front of the arcade and a few men making obscene comments and 
calls. Curious, and angry at being interrupted in his thoughts, Darien 
turned in his stool to see what, or probably who, was causing the 
commotion. He felt his jaw drop, and no matter how hard he tried, it 
would not go back to its original spot.
	It was her... but not her. Her usual, innocent charm had melted 
away to reveal a young, sexy woman. A pair of black ankle boots adorned 
her feet, followed by black nylons on her shapely legs a short blue 
skirt brought out her pale blue eyes, and the white tank top accented 
her slim waist and arms. Silver bracelets were stacked on one wrist, 
and... a tattoo on her shoulder?! A fake tattoo of a red rose entwined 
around a golden crescent moon rested on her bare shoulder. Her lips 
were stained a bright pink and her skin glowed with a light he'd never 
seen before. The meatballs were gone, so that the thick golden locks 
flowed to below her knees, two faux diamond clips keeping them pinned 
to the side away from her face.
	She was standing just in the doorway with both arms clutched
nervously in front of her. Then, she seemingly gathered her composure 
and let her hands fall to her sides. Her shoulders straightened and she 
lifted her head high, a small smile spreading across her lips. Darien 
gulped roughly and felt a faintness sweep over him as he watched her 
lick her lips slightly. In all the dazed emotions quickly dulling in 
his mind, he never once noticed that she was staring back at him. How 
her incredible, piercing blue eyes focused on him, among the other men 
in the large room. Something back in the corner of his mind urged him 
to turn away, to ignore her, to clear his thoughts of her someway, 
somehow... but he pushed the thoughts back to where they came from. 
Besides, looking away was never an option. 
	The look in his eyes announced victory to her. Just that 
confused, glazed expression was well worth the 85 dollars she had spent 
- all discounts after the women running  the beauty store heard her 
story of desire for an older man who felt nothing for her. His jaw was 
open and his eyes, for the first time she had ever seen them, were 
soaked in complete wonderment, astonishment. She smiled. 
	Every male eye watched the new beauty as she strolled over to a 
young, dark haired man sitting leisurely at the counter. Slowly, very 
slowly, the lustful men turned back to their coffee and the wishful 
boys continued with their games.
	Darien and Serena stared at each other, barely 3 feet apart. She 
smirked with pride at herself, ecstatic that for the first time, he was 
dwelling in her absolute perfection. Her incredible gorgeousness. Her 
divine fabulousness.
	"What happened to you?" he managed to choke out. 
	She felt her world crash instantly. 'What happened to me?! What 
does that mean, Darien?! You're suppose to say 'You look beautiful! I 
can't believe I never noticed. How could I have been so blind? You are 
most certainly the loveliest women I have ever laid eyes on!' NOT 'What 
happened to you?'!!!'
	She cleared her throat, pushing the tears back to their ducts. 
"What do you mean?" 
	His eyes roved shamelessly over her form for the ump-teenth time. 
"THIS! What did you DO?!"
	She clenched her fist and breathed in deeply. "And just what 
would you care Darien?!"
	"Why would I care? Because you're 14 and you're prancing around 
like you're some 21 year old college twit!"
	Her heart sank. Her dreams, hopes, esteem... 
	"And just what does it matter, Darien?! It's not like you care 
for me or anything! And it's certainly not as if we... we're... I hate 
you!"
	"Serena, what happened?" asked Andrew from behind, just recently 
having recovered from his shock.
	Turning with tears forming in her eyes yet again, she pushed past 
him and left storming out the arcade. 
	Darien, his heart still beating abnormally fast, just from the 
sound of her voice (among other things) stared toward the doors, his 
jaw agape and eyes wide.
	"Darien... what happened?"
	Yet the sweet voice echoing in his head drowned out that of his 
best friend. 
	'I hate you!... It's not like you care for me or anything!... I 
hate you!... I hate you!' 
	"Darien?"
	"What happened to my Meatball Head?" he mumbled.
	"Huh? Yo, Dare, you okay?"
	Finally, Darien tore his eyes from the door to focus on the 
blonde. "I... I.... Did I imagine that?"
	Andrew scrunched his brow. "Nooo... I mean, if you're talking 
about Serena looking... looking..."
	"Beautiful..."
	Andrew glanced at him surprised. "Blunt... but, yeah, exactly."
	Darien nodded slightly. "I... think I made her mad..."
	"Darien, you always make her mad."
	"No... it was worse this time, somehow. I mean... she never 
actually said that she... hated me before."
	"She said she hated you? That doesn't sound like Serena..."
	"Yeah, well, in case you didn't notice, she wasn't exactly 
herself back there."
	"True..."
	"I think I should go apologize..."
	Now Andrew was REALLY stunned. Of all the times Darien had teased 
her and made fun of her, he'd never actually considered apologizing. 
Heck, he'd never even seemed sorry.
	"Um.... yeah... I think... that'd be good...to do..."
	"Yeah..." 
	After about 10 seconds of silence, Darien stood up and walked 
quickly, uncertainly, out of the arcade.

	Serena swiped at the tears, yet again, and yelled mentally at the 
jangling of the small metal silver bracelets, a sound that appeared way 
too happy for her current state of mind. Hugging her waist, wrapping 
her bare arms tightly around herself, she leaned against a tree, her 
head falling onto her chest.
	"Darien..." she muttered. "Why am I so hooked on you? Why do I 
have to care about you?!"
	Looking around, she found herself in the park. It was twilight. 
Dark shadows stretched all around her and she suddenly began to feel 
scared. Biting her lip, she searched the pathway to see if anything was 
familiar. She had walked through this park hundreds of thousands of 
times... but never at twilight. Now, everything looked different. Like 
an alternate universe...
	"Are you lost?" asked a deep voice. She turned to see a man of 
about 25 standing only a few feet behind her. He had dark brown hair... 
and darker brown, almost coal eyes. He wore all black, except a white 
shirt beneath his jacket. Something about the way he looked at her, as 
if she were a piece of meat for devouring, made her feel very 
uncomfortable and she unconsciously backed away on the tree. 
	"No... no, thank you. I'm fine..."
	"Oh, well in that case..." he walked a bit closer to her and 
leaned his side up against the tree next to her. "How would you like me 
to accompany you home? Or we could go somewhere else... somewhere 
private..."
	"No, thank you. I think I'll be going..."
	Serena turned to walk away, but his hand grabbed her wrist 
roughly. She shuddered at the icy touch. Turning back to him, fear 
evident in her eyes, she whispered,
	"Let go of me." The fright was thick in her shaky voice, and he 
only smiled crookedly at her 'command'.
	"How much fun would that be?" He tightened his hand and yanked 
her back toward him before pressing her shoulder against the trunk with 
his free hand. Only a short scream emitted from her mouth before his 
scorching lips covered her own, forcing her head roughly against the 
wood. Her eyes rolled around, searching for any movement, any hope 
beyond him. Nothing. Finally, she let her eyes simply stare off to some 
unknown point as crystal tears formed once more. She could feel his 
tongue now probing her mouth and she whimpered against him. One of is 
hands clasped both of hers together behind her back while the other 
began to roam over her body.
	Then, in a blur of black and green, he was thrown off her. She 
slid unconsciously to the grass below, her eyes still staring dazedly. 
	Darien smacked the man with his fist in the chin again. His nose 
was bleeding now. With a muster of strength, the man pushed Darien over 
and rolled so that he had the upper hand. He landed a good punch in the 
stomach, but left himself open as Darien hit him hard on the face 
again. Fury built inside both of them. Before Darien knew what was 
happening, the man had pulled out a sharp knife and now lifted it to 
his throat, an evil, crazed gleam in his eyes. 
	A loud thud was heard. The man's brown eyes rolled back into his 
head and he fell unconsciously off of Darien, who quickly pushed him 
away. He then looked up to see a distraught Serena above him, just as 
she dropped a large stone to the ground beside the attacker. Both their 
breaths were ragged as they stared at each other. Serena felt tears 
coming, more from the sight of his blood than anything that had 
happened to her. And then, with a loud whimper, she fell to her knees 
and threw her quivering body into his arms. He welcomed her warmth and 
immediately wrapped his arms around her. Sitting up, he pulled her 
across his lap and rocked her back and forth slowly as she cried into 
his shirt.

	Darien fumbled with the key before finally opening the door to 
his apartment. He carried the girl into his living room, turning on a 
light before lying her down on the couch. Her sobs had subsided, though 
she seemed reluctant to let him go. He kneeled down in front of her and 
her large blue eyes looked up at him thankfully, he smiled crookedly 
and brushed some long golden strands away from her face. She smiled at 
him. They stared at each other for a few brief moments before Serena 
reached a hand up to his shoulder. 
	"You're hurt," she said simply. The first thing she had said to 
him since 'I hate you!'	
	"I'm fine," he replied. But she only shook her head and sat up, 
against his urges to keep lying.
	"No, you sit here," she commanded.
	"I'm okay, Serena, really."
	"Darien, I've had a bad day, don't argue with me for once, okay?"
	He smiled at her before complying and sitting down on the couch 
as she disappeared into the hallway. He could hear her banging around 
in the bathroom, searching for something, and smiled to himself. 
Finally, she emerged with a washcloth and bowl of water. She sat the 
bowl down on the table next to the couch and kneeled down in front of 
him.
	"Take your jacket off," she said authoritatively. He raised an 
eyebrow, but complied. She inhaled sharply and reached a hand out to 
roll up a sleeve of the black shirt. He smiled and nearly laughed at 
her nervous expression, a million interesting ideas flying past his 
thoughts.
	Slowly, she dipped the washcloth into the lukewarm water before 
dabbing it lightly onto his wounded shoulder. She bit her lip in 
concentration and he smiled again. As he watched, he seemed to see his 
old, innocent Meatball Head filter back into this beautiful girl. She 
moved the warm cloth up to wash away some of the dried blood on his 
cheek. Darien was surprised to feel a loss when she reached back to the 
bowl to dip the cloth. She began to clean his brow, the side of his 
cheek, a cut on his lower lip...
	Serena gasped quietly as their eyes met. Her thumb unconsciously 
brushed across his lips. Her eyes became a bit unfocused. His hand 
reached up to take hers gently. His fingers traced along the back of 
her hand tenderly.
	"Thank you..." he whispered.
	"Yeah..." was all that she could reply. Slowly, Darien leaned 
forward, his breath coming faster in the excitement of a heavenly kiss 
with Serena... just like he'd dreamt of how many times. His eyes 
analyzed hers, dancing between her blue, drowsy eyes and tempting pink 
lips. 
	Serena began to close her eyes and lean forward. She could still 
feel his fingers caressing her hand. She swallowed and parted her lip 
slightly just as their lips touched. 
	Memories flooded in of only a few minutes ago, back in the park, 
painfully burning kisses...
	Serena pulled away quickly, tearing her gaze away to look at the 
carpet, pulling her hand down to her lap.
	"Serena?" Darien asked with confusion very apparent in his voice. 
	She looked up at him with tears pooling in her blue eyes. He 
tilted his head to the side, wanting to reach out an arm to comfort 
her, but afraid that she would pull away again. 
	"I'm sorry..." she whispered. "But... I just... thought... of.... 
him..." She wrapped her arms around herself, shaking back and forth on 
her knees. Only then did Darien realize his mistake.
	'Of course she wouldn't be ready for something like that... Oh Serena...'
	Slowly, he slid off the couch to sit next to her and placed a 
comforting arm around her shoulder. He held her close to him, nuzzling 
his face in her hair.
	"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm sorry..." Bending his neck down, 
he gently kissed a tear away from her flushed cheek. Her crystal eyes 
looked up to him and she fell willingly against his chest. He brushed a 
hand through her hair and kissed her forehead gently. "I'm sorry."
	He held her for a long time, uncountable for both of them. 
Finally, Darien whispered, "You're hurt too."
	She looked up at him confused. "Not really. He only k...kissed 
me." She looked down again as she said that. Darien smiled slightly to 
comfort her and ran two fingers over her lips. Surprised, she looked up 
at him.
	"Your lips are bruised," he said matter-of-factly. Her eyes 
seemed to be searching his to see if he was serious or not.  He only 
smiled and stood, dragging her up with him, before gently nudging her 
onto the couch. He took the bowl and washcloth in the kitchen and 
returned with a glass of ice cubes. Sitting next to her, he took one 
out and began to rub it lightly over her swollen lips. She gasped and 
quickly took the ice from him, approaching the task herself. He only 
smiled and leaned back calmly, not exactly sure what to do.
	"Serena... have you ever... I mean..."
	She looked up at him confused.
	"Well, I was just wondering if you'd ever kissed somebody, I 
mean, before..."
	Serena looked down and Darien could have smacked himself for 
being so stupid as to ask something like that. However, when she looked 
up at him, she didn't seem embarrassed or angry.
	"No," was all that she said at first, then continued, "Hm... I 
never thought my first kiss would be like... that." She shuddered 
noticeably and Darien placed his arm around her again.
	"It didn't count, you know. I mean, for a first kiss, or any 
kiss..."
	"I know... but it was so terrifying and so... it hurt. I mean, it 
actually hurt. Like.... a violation... and it stung, or burned or...I 
can't believe I'm telling you this."
	Darien smiled sadly. "Serena... well... all kisses aren't like 
that, you know. I mean... when you care about someone, and they care 
about you... they're not painful at all you know... I mean...um..."
	"Why are you telling me this?" she whispered, looking into his 
eyes. He looked up at her.
	'Geez, why AM I telling her this?'
	"Because... I just... if you've never been kissed, I mean, REALLY 
kissed, then I don't want you to think that, ya know... all kisses are 
terrible and frightening and... but that they really can be wonderful 
and... beautiful and, um... you know..."
	"You're cute when you stutter." 
	'Where did THAT come from?!' she screamed at herself as she 
turned away in a furious blush. Darien quit talking and looked up at 
her. He could only see a light pink tint on her cheek, her face was 
turned away from him.
	'Did she just say... what I thought she said?'
	"Anyway, Darien, thanks and all... but I really don't think I 
need to be thinking of kissing just yet. I mean, who would want to kiss 
me anyway, right? Other than some creep..."
	Darien scrunched his brow. "Serena, are you kidding?"
	She giggled slightly, sadly, and leaned against the back of the 
couch, her eyes closed. "Of course I'm serious, Darien. I mean... I'm 
me. Who would ever want..."
	"Come here," said Darien, effectively cutting her off. He stood 
and offered his hand, which Serena took curiously. He led her down the 
hall and into his bedroom. Turning, he opened his closet to show a 
full-length mirror inside. He stood behind her and wrapped his arms 
around her shoulders. He whispered into her ear, sending delightful 
shivers own her spine.
	"What do you see?"
	"Huh?" She looked at his reflection questioningly, but only saw 
complete seriousness. Finally, she just shrugged and stared at the 
mirror, piercing her lips together and analyzing her appearance. "Um... 
I see... blonde hair. And... blue eyes... and... no curves..." (Darien 
almost burst out laughing at that comment. If only she knew how many 
times he'd caught himself practically drooling over her feminine 
figure!) "Scrawny legs, big, awkward feet, pointed nose..." she sighed 
and stared at herself dejectedly.
	Darien raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure we're looking at the same 
person?"
	"Hm?"
	"'Cause I see silky, golden hair, glowing azure eyes, a VERY sexy 
figure, long, slender legs, an adorable little nose..." he took one 
pointer finger and tapped the tip of her nose for effect. She giggled 
and pulled closer into his embrace, a blush covering her face. "Serena, 
you're gorgeous. You are THE most beautiful girl I have ever seen. Guys 
would kill to go out with you... or to kiss you..." She giggled even 
more and attempted to hide her blushing face in the folds of his shirt. 
He smiled widely at her obvious discomfort. Serena had her side facing 
the mirror, her arms wrapped around one of his, a bright smile covering 
her face. They each looked at the reflection of the other 
simultaneously. 	
	Both of them saw the picture of a perfect couple, happy and 
smiling and teasing. Serena fit so perfect in his arms... how her head 
nestled so perfectly in the crook of his shoulder and neck, and how his 
arms could tie around her and pull her so close. Like pieces of a 
puzzle. How their eyes glowed with such a sheer happiness and caring... 
	"Darien?"
	"Yeah?"
	"Do you really think I'm pretty?"
	Darien smiled down at the girl in his arms, finally tearing his 
gaze away from their reflections. "Beautiful. Gorgeous. Lovely. 
Radiant. Stunning. Irresistible..."
	Serena giggled and hid her head in his black shirt again.
	"But you know what?"
	She looked up at him, a bit of worry dawning. "Hm?"
	"I miss my Meatball Head."
	She looked into his blue eyes that actually looked... sorrowful. 
And for the first time since she'd known him, she smiled at the 
nickname. He smiled back as well, running a hand through her hair, 
feeling the soft locks falling around his arms. Then he took her hands 
into his and led her to the bed, sitting down beside her.
	"Serena... why did you do this?"
	Serena glanced down at her new ensemble. The short skirt, tank 
top, fake tattoo...
	"You don't like it?" she asked hesitantly.
	This took Darien by surprise. What could he say? The new look was 
gorgeous, sophisticated, sexy, but... it wasn't Serena. And he wanted 
Serena.
	He laughed a little, looking into her pleading eyes. "How could I 
not like it? You look... well, just look at you! You could pass for 20! 
Sure, you look mature and sophisticated and... and... incredible! 
But... you're not... you're not Meatball Head. And... I want Meatball 
Head."
	Serena looked up at him with a slightly shocked expression. She 
stared at him, a million emotions flying past her face. Finally, she 
leaned forward and quickly pecked his cheek, sending electricity 
flowing through him. Before he could gather his senses, she was out the 
bedroom door, calling "Be right back!"
	"Huh?" He rubbed the spot on his cheek. "Serena?"
	Taking a breath, he shook his head slightly, running a hand 
through his hair. Standing up, he glanced in the mirror with a smile, 
unstoppable daydreams and fantasies invading his thoughts. 
	A few minutes later Serena walked back into the room, and stood 
in the doorway, watching him until he noticed her. Darien looked into 
the reflection and immediately, a smile dawned on his face. He 
chuckled. Turning around he looked her up and down, ending with her 
very proud grin. 
	"Better?"
	"Much better. I missed you..."
	She giggled happily. "Good to be back!"
	He walked up to her and reached out a hand, playfully tugging on 
one blonde pigtail.
	"Hey!" she squealed, jumping away. He laughed.
	"Just had to make sure they were real!" he chirped.
	Serena crossed her arms and pouted her lip, making Darien laugh 
harder.
	Humphing her shoulders, Serena turned on her heels and marched 
out of the room, Darien not far behind her. When they had reached the 
living room, Darien, still with a goofy smile on his face, placed his 
arms around her shoulders. 
	"I'm sorry." she turned her head away. He pierced his lips 
together to keep from laughing more. "Aw, come on Meatball Head... I 
was kidding. Besides, you're so cute when you're angry I couldn't 
resist!"
	Serena blushed bright pink and attempted to stutter a reply, but 
it only came out in laughter.
	"That's better," Darien said, kissing her on the cheek, before 
releasing her from his embrace. 
	With a lingering smile, Serena turned around to face him. He was 
busy analyzing the meatballs. "So... how do you get those things up 
there anyway?"
	"It's a girl thing."
	"Oh...." Their eyes met and for a minute, Serena was lost in his 
dark blue stare. Her gaze drifted to his quirky grin. Darien seemed to 
notice the look. He found himself using all of his willpower not to 
sweep her into his arms and kiss the sweet breath out of her. 
	'Goodness, he's handsome. This is like a dream. I mean, I never 
actually expected things to turn out like this. So close to him and in 
his apartment, all alone and...and... I've been dreaming of being with 
him and him actually liking me for so long...'
	"Darien?"
	"Yeah?"
	"How many girls have you kissed?"
	Darien was taken aback. "Huh?"
	"Well... I told you I've never been kissed so it's only fair..."
	Darien looked down at the ground. "Okay, I guess... um...two."
	Serena stared at him for awhile before a small giggle escaped her 
lips. "Two?! But... I mean... I figured that you, like, I dunno, had a 
different chick every week or something!"
	Darien burst out laughing before running a nervous hand through 
his hair. "Well... uh... thanks?"
	Serena giggled. "Aw come on though, two? Is that all? But... 
you're DARIEN! The... the cute college guy who owns an awesome car 
and.... TWO?!"
	Darien laughed harder. "Yeah...well..."
	Serena looked at him with the bright smile on his face, looking 
down at her with a light twinkle in his eye. She bit her lip as a 
rushing urge came over her. 'Who cares about the creep at the park!? 
Like Darien said, not all kisses are terrible and frightening. They can 
be wonderful and beautiful...'
	"Say, Darien?"
	"Yeah?"
	"You know how they say the third time's the charm?"
	Darien raised a curious eyebrow. "Yeah...."
	"Well..." Serena took a deep breath and took a step closer to him 
so that they were almost touching. Darien looked down into her eyes and 
wanted so much to feel her lips, to hold her against him, to call her 
his...
	"Serena?"
	With shaky, but quick movements, Serena reached her hands to his 
neck and pulled his lips to hers. Darien was stunned at first and 
simply delighted in the surprising sensations. But as he gained his 
composure, he slowly closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around her. 
He placed tons of small butterfly kisses, one after the other on her 
lips before catching them in a long, passionate kiss. 
	Her hands slid behind his neck as she allowed him her kisses to 
his desire. He pulled her closer to him, one arm tightened around her 
waist while his other hand stroked through her hair, savoring the 
texture, like he had always dreamed of doing. Kissing her and holding 
her...
	'My lovely Meatball Head... and to think that an hour ago I 
thought you'd never speak to me again...' he smiled inwardly at the 
thought. 'She's kissing me. Of all the times I've dreamed of this 
happening, I always figured I would initiate it... hmm... just as well. 
My dear Serena... if I could hold you forever...'
	'His kisses are so gentle and soft... not at all like... oh I 
won't think of that now... I'll just think of this... the feeling. I 
never thought a touch could be so magical and... perfect... even better 
than I imagined...'
	Slowly, Darien pulled away to be sure he hadn't pushed it too far 
yet. Her eyes were closed in a dazed, half dreaming state. When they 
opened, he saw diamond stars twinkling back at him. They had only 
kissed for a little while, and yet both were out of breath. Darien 
smiled down at her, raising his eyebrows in question. She smiled back 
and he could feel an incredible happiness flow through him. He leaned 
forward and kissed her lightly on the tip of the nose, making her 
giggle and pull away a little, though his surrounding arm offered no 
mercy. Leaning down, he brushed her lips with his again. She could feel 
a tingling reaching from his kisses down to her toes. She inhaled 
sharply but then smiled, her eyes drifting closed again. Darien looked 
her up and down, attempting to believe she was really here in his arms. 
She was expecting another kiss on the lips, he could tell... 
	With a mischievous grin, he lightly kissed the top of her 
forehead, drifting down her cheek, the tip of her nose... before ever-
so-gently teasing her lips. He then kissed her forehead again and 
traveled down the other side ending with yet another irritating kiss on 
the nose... before lying butterfly kisses down her neck, skipping over 
her puckered lips. He heard her whimper above him and chuckled lightly. 
Standing straight again, he kissed her nose briefly once more. Slowly 
she opened her eyes, confused and blurry, covered in desire and love...
	"Darien..." she half whispered, half pouted. He smiled down at 
her teasingly, brushing his nose against hers. She stood on her tip-
toes, but he always seemed a fraction of an inch away. Finally she gave 
up and with yet another pouting face, she removed her arms from his 
neck and folded them in front of her. "You're mean..."
	He laughed at her adorability. 'De ja vu,' he thought mindlessly. 
He wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned over so that their 
cheeks brushed against each other. Serena seemed startled at this, then 
she gasped when she felt him gently kissing and nibbling on her 
earlobe. She giggled a little as she felt herself melt like putty into 
his hands. "I'm sorry..." he whispered, his warm breath sending any 
rational thought straight out the window, "but you're so adorable when 
you're angry..." he kissed her earlobe one last time, before beginning 
a trail of soft kisses toward her lips. Serena closed her eyes in 
anticipation until Darien finally reached her lips. He kissed them 
softly at first, like before, though his kisses were becoming slowly 
deeper. Serena felt a light-headedness, and then she felt Darien 
slowly, cautiously, nudging her lips open to his assault. 
	He wasn't sure about this. It might be too fast for her... too 
much like earlier... too scary... too... Darien groaned in surprise 
when he felt Serena's mouth open instantly and her tongue slide into 
HIS mouth. Of course, that was all the encouragement he needed. His 
tongue immediately began to play with hers. After what seemed an 
eternity of kissing her, holding her, feeling completely lost in 
emotions for the first time in either of their lives, they pulled away, 
each gasping for breath. Darien leaned his forehead on hers. After his 
heartbeat had somewhat calmed, he chuckled a little.
	"THAT was you first kiss?!"
	Serena giggled, a blush rising in her cheeks. "Well... I... watch 
movies..." Darien smiled at her, resting peacefully in his arms.
	With a smile, he led her over to the couch and motioned for her 
to sit down. She complied with a nervous look. 
	"Serena... I have a confession to make..."
	She looked at him, analyzing his face, searching for any signs 
that would tell her of this 'confession' of his. "What is it, Darien?"
	"Well, honestly..." he looked up into her worried eyes and smiled 
slightly. "I have wanted to do that since the first time I met you. I 
can't even remember a time when I WASN'T thinking of you or holding you 
or kissing you and... Serena...I think I love you..."
	Serena stared at him for a minute. Then, she reached up and 
pinched herself. 
	"Ow!"
	Darien looked at her surprised. "What did you do that for?"
	"Well... this just got too perfect, so I figured I was dreaming 
or something...ya know..."
	"Too perfect?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
	She only nodded, before reaching out and pinching him. "Ow! Hey, 
stop that!" 
	Serena looked at him with a strange, goofy look on her face. 
"You're real..."
	"Of course I'm real, silly Meatball Head..."
	She laughed quietly. "And then... you... really feel that way... 
for me?"
	He smiled at her hopeful eyes and smile. "Of course. So... do 
you...?"
	"I love you!" she squealed, finally throwing herself into his 
arms. He only gasped and kneeled there for a little while, before 
wrapping his arms around her and comprehending what she had just said. 
'She loves me? She... loves.... me?"
	Closing his eyes, he nuzzled his face into her golden hair. 
	"I love you too, Meatball Head..."