Love Boat Part 1 - Two Tickets Rated G or PG by Alexia-chan Hey minna-san! This is my first attempt at writing a fic, so please be gentle! This story takes place in the first season, and involves your favorite couple and mine, Serena and Darien. I would really like some feedback on this story, so e-mail me at alexiachan@yahoo.com and tell me whether you liked it or you thought it just plain sucked. This story is going to be self-edited unless any of you wonderful readers would like to be my editor. E-mail me and let me know, please! I'll try to catch as many errors as I can, but it's going to be hard. Well, I think that's all I have to say, so on with the story! Oh, one more thing, this story changes perspectives, so I'll put the speaker's name in ~, like this ~Serena~ before each segment. Enjoy!! Disclaimers: All standard disclaimers apply. Sailor Moon and all related characters do not belong to me, they belong to many powerfulcompanies. ~Serena~ I put down the phone, dazed. I couldn't believe I had won! I never won anything in my entire life. I guess today was my lucky day! I raced down the stairs and into the living room where my mom was seated on the couch watching TV and knitting dad a knew scarf. "Guess what, guess what!" I gleefully exclaimed. Ilene laughed and said,"What?" "PamelajustcalledandshesaidthatIwontwoticketstoaChristmas/Millennium CruisethatleavesDecember20andcomesbackJanuary5!Isn'tthatthecoolest??" I exclaimed. Hmm...I wonder if mom understood any of that! "Wow Serena! That's great! Who are you going to take with you?"Ilene asked. My face fell. Crap, I hadn't thought of that. How can I take one of my friends without making the others feel bad? I think I'll ask Molly first since I've know her the longest and I *have* been neglecting her lately. "Well, I think I'm going to ask Molly first, and if she can't go, then I'll have to figure something else out." "Ok, Serena. But remember, I'm not letting you go unless you have someone go with you. I don't want you on a cruise ship all by yourself. I'd be more than happy to go along, but you know how your Aunt Sandy can be. I promised her we'd go there for Christmas and New Year's last year, and she's just flip if I told her we weren't going. She's not going to be too happy that you're not going to be there, but oh well, the Millenium is a once in a lifetime experience." I smiled and said,"Thanks mom! You'll have to send Aunt Sandy my regards! I'm gonna go call Molly now before she can make any plans!" I ran back upstairs and dialed Molly's number. "Hello?" Molly's New York accent greeted me. It amazed me that a girl from Juuban, Tokyo could sound like she was from New York. Oh well! "Hey Mol! This is Serena! You'll never believe what happened to me today!" I said, still excited about winning. "What??" Molly asked. "I won two tickets to a Christmas/Millennium Cruise! I wanted to know if you'd like to go with me." "That's great Serena! But I can't go!!! I'm going to my grandma's house this year, remember? I was telling you all about it at schoolyesterday." "Oh yeah, I remember now! That's too bad you can't go with me!! I really wanted you to go!" "I'm sorry Serena!!" "That's ok, Molly. I'll bring you back something nice, I promise!! Hey, have fun at your grandma's house. Tell her I say hi!" "Ok, I will!! You have fun, too! Don't get too sea sick!!" "Hehe! Ok Mol! I won't! Bye!!" "Later Serena!" I sighed and hung up the phone. One down, four to go. Now what am I going to do? I don't want to make the scouts jealous of each other! Before I called anyone else, I went into my room to talk to Luna. "Luna! I don't know what do to with my other ticket! I don't know who to ask, and I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings! I wish I would have one five tickets, then my whole problem would be solved." Igriped. "Why don't you take me?" Luna asked, grinning. "Luuuunnnaaa!! You're not being much help!" I whined. Luna laughed and said,"Sorry, Serena, but I haven't got any ideaseither!" "Great, just great! I have to decide who I want to take, but if only it were that easy! Maybe I should ask Raye. It would give us a chance to start over again. Then we would get in as many fights! Yeah!" I walked out into the hall and picked up the phone. I dialed Raye's number and waited for someone to pick up. "Cherry Hill Temple. Raye Hino speaking." "Hey Raye this is Serena!" "Hey, what's up?" "Well, I won two tickets for a Christmas/Millennium Cruise and I wanted to know if you would go with me." "This sucks! I have to go to see my dad in Hiroshima this year! I don't want to go but he and grandpa are making me. He says he hardly gets to see me anymore, so he wants to spend more time with me. I'd love to go, but I just can't!" "Oh, ok. I'll bring you back something cool, I promise! Have fun visiting your dad!" "I'll try to. I really never talk to him, so maybe this will be a good thing! Have fun on your cruise! Try asking Amy, Lita, or Mina." "I hope I can find someone to go with, because if I can't, my mom said I wasn't allowed to go!" "I know you'll find someone who'll go! I gotta go, grandpa needs help ironing some robes, so I'll see you tomorrow at the temple! Try not to be late!" "I'll try!! Bye!" "Later!" I sighed and hung up the phone again. I decided I should try the others now, too. I picked the phone back up and dialed Mina's number. "Hello?" "Hey Mina! This is Serena." "Hey girl! What's up?" "Well, I won two tickets to a Christmas/Millennium Cruise and I was wondering if you'd like to go with me." "That's super! But I can't go!! I'm going on a ski trip with my parents. They've been promising to take to me to the Alps for a long time and they finally decided to do it now!" "Oh! That sounds like you're gonna have a wicked cool time! I promise I'll bring you back something super from the ship! Maybe some pictures of the hot crewmen!" "Hehe!! That sounds great!! I gotta go, mom's taking me to get some new ski wear! I'll see you tomorrow at the scout meeting!" "Ok! Later girl!" "Bye!" I hung up the phone and sighed yet again. This was starting to suck. I only had two friends left! I picked up the phone and dialed Lita's number. I might as well get it over with! "Hello?" "Hey Lita! Serena here." "Oh, hey! What's up?" "Well, I won two tickets to a Christmas/Millennium Cruise and I'm hoping you don't already have plans so you can go with me!" "Oh! That's really cool!" "So you can go???" "Well, no. Sorry!! I'm going to Ken's house to spend the holidays with he and his family. He felt bad that I would be spending the Millennium alone, so he invited me to his house." "That's great Lita! Well, I'll bring you back something cool from my trip. Have a good time with Ken!" "I will! You have a fun time too! I gotta go make dinner now! I'll see you at the scout meeting tomorrow!" "OK! Later!" "Bye!!" I sighed and hung up the phone. I was beginning to see a pattern... I only had one more phone call to make and then I was done. I couldn't go! Man, those tickets would all go to waste! Unless...what if Andrew could go? I know mom would let me take him cause I'm always telling her how he always saves me from that jerk, that loser, that hunk and his comments. What a minute, how did hunk get in there?? Well, I guess it's true, he is pretty good looking when he isn't making fun of me! He would be my last resort. Imagine, spending three weeks with that guy! Smiling goofily, I picked up the phone and dialed Amy'snumber. "Anderson residence." "Hey Ames. It's Serena." "Hi Serena. What's up?" "Well, I won two tickets to a Christmas/Millennium Cruise and I'm hoping upon hope you can go with me!" "Serena! Don't you remember?" "Remember what?" "I'm going to that doctor's conference in Germany with my mother!" I smacked myself on the forehead. D'oh! "Oh yeah!! I can't believe I forgot! You're leaving tomorrow after the scout meeting, right?" "You got it." "This sucks royally Ames." "What does?" "I haven't found anyone to go with me on the cruise, so no I can't go. My mom told me that I couldn't go unless I had someone to go with me. I called everyone I could think of and they all have plans already! I really wanted to go, too. I guess I could sell my tickets..." "No! Don't to that! I'm sure you'll find someone to go with! What about Andrew or Darien?" "Well, Andrew I wouldn't mind going with, but he has a girlfriend, remember? I'm sure he's gonna be spending time with her over the holiday. And I really don't want to say anything about it to Darien cause I'm sure he'll find someway to make fun of me about it! He'll probably tell me that I don't have any friends or something. Face it, I'm not gonna be able to go!" "You never know, Serena. Maybe if you ask Darien, he'll say go. I don't think he has anyone to stay with for the holidays, so he might want to go just for something special to do for the Millenium." "I don't know, Ames. I could try asking him, I guess. I mean, what can it hurt? He can only say no and make fun of me, I guess." "You should call him and see what he says. That would be better than confronting him face to face." "But, if I just walk up to him and ask him, I have a lesser chance of rejection because that way he can't say no without watching me cry. And besides, I don't have his number!" "Oh, ok then. You should talk to him tomorrow at the arcade after the meeting. Don't take anyone with you though, that might make him feel intimidated. Good luck! I have to go finish packing. Have fun on yourcruise!" "I hope I get to go! Have fun on your trip! I'll bring you back a souviner! See ya at tomorrow's meeting!" "Goodbye Serena!" I hung up the phone with a renewed hope. Maybe Darien would go with me on the cruise! That would be just great!! I walked back into my room, where Luna was perched on my bed. "Well, how did it go?" she asked as I walked over to my bed and satdown. "Not so good. Everyone is doing something already, so they can't go wtih me!" I lamented. "That's too bad. What are you going to do?" "Amy suggested asking Darien to go with me, but I don't know yet. I mean, he's always so mean to me, so I doubt he'll go." "You mean the tall, dark-haired, good looking guy who saved me fromthat truck?" "Yeah, him. But I don't know if he's *that* good looking!" "Oh well, you never know, he might just go with you!" "I hope so, cause if I don't find someone, you know what thatmeans..." "What?" "We'll be going to Aunt Sandy's house!" Luna shuddered and said, "No, no! I don't want to go there! Your stupid cousins pull my tail!" "I don't want to go any more than you do, Luna. That way, if I go, I'm sure I can arrange so you can go, too. I don't want to put you through that, especially if I'm not there to enjoy it!" "Hey!!" Luna exclaimed. "I resent that!" She put on her meanest looking face, but failed to look too scary when she started breaking out in laughter. I joined in and we laughed hysterically until our sides hurt and tears were rolling down our cheeks. "I think I'm going to turn in. All that laughing made me tired!" I said, yawning. I walked into the bathroom, brushed by teeth and came back in my room. I changed into my flannel pink pjs and crawled under the covers of my bed carefully, so I didn't wake Luna up. I made sure that my alarm was set, not that it mattered, I wouldn't get up on time anyway! I fell asleep, dreaming of how I was going to ask Darien go towith me. ~Darien~ I glanced over at my clock and stifled a yawn. My alarm was about to ring, and I hadn't gotten much sleep, as usual. The beautiful golden princess has been flooding my dreams, making it difficult for me to sleep for a long period of time. I quickly shut of my alarm, moments before it started to ring. I wasn't in the mood to hear it right now. I got out of bed and walked over to my balcony and peered out the window. It had snowed last night, and the ground was covered with a dusting of power. Another Christmas spent home alone, reading and watching TV, every year the same thing. Sure, Andrew invites me to his house every year, but I always turn his invitation down. The idea of being with a happy, loving family doesn't sit too well with me. I get along just fine, not doing anything. Maybe I'll get a tree this year, nah, I don't want too much Christmas spirit around here. Well, I best get ready, I promised Andrew I'd visit him at the aracde today. He said he had something to talk to me about. I'm sure it's about spending Christmas with him. Oh well... An hour later I was on my way to the arcade. I walked through the sliding glass doors and saw Serena at the counter talking to Andrew. "...and you see, I don't have anyone to go with now, because all of my friends already have plans! Do you know what I can do??" I heard her say to Andrew. "Hey Andrew, hey Meatball head!" I said, as cheerfully as I could, but it didn't sound too cheerful at all. "Since you sound down Darien, I'm gonna let that Meatball Head slide, just once. What's wrong?" Serena asked, concerned. She was actually worried about my well-being. Could it mean...nah... "Nothing, I'm fine, Serena," I replied, lying through my teeth. "Are you sure Darien? You don't look fine," She said, concern still showing on her face. I looked into her beautiful blue eyes and I realized that this girl was genuinely concerned about me, so I might as well tell her what's bugging me. "I'm just not in the Christmas spirt, I guess."~Serena~ How could a person not be in the Christmas spirit?! Before I had time to think about what I was saying, I heard myself say, "Hey Darien, I won two tickets to a Christmas/Millennium Cruise and I don't have anyone to go with, so would you like to go?" I felt my face redden. I don't believe I just said that! It's not like I *didn't* want to go with him, I'd love to spend 3 weeks with Darien! Jeez, he's gonna think I like him...oh wait...~Darien~ Did I just hear her right? She actually wants to spend time with me?? Not that I'm complaining or anything, but still! I didn't know what to say. I really wanted to go, but I hate the holidays! Maybe spending them with Serena would be different. She's looking at me...she's expecting an answer. Before I had time to think about it much longer, I blurted out a quick yes before I was nearly knocked to the ground by a bear hug from Serena. "Thank you!! My mom wasn't going to let me go unless I had someone to go with, and I really wanted to go! We're gonna have so much fun! Hey, wanna come to my house for dinner tonight? My mom's gonna want to get to know you and stuff, since she doesn't know much about you. Come to think about, I don't know much about you either. Oh well, we can give each other our whole life histories on the cruise. Oh sorry, I'm babbling!" Serena said, still hugging me. "Um...ok. Where do you live?" I asked. She eased herself out of my arms, grabbed a napkin, and scribbled something on it. She handed it to me and glanced at her watch. "Crap! I'm gonna be late! My number's on there, too. Call me later! Bye!" Serena exclaimed and in a flash, she was gone. I just stood there, gazing at the napkin in my hand. I had Serena's address and phone number. Wow! I heard Andrew clear his throat, and I snapped my head up quickly, blushing. "Well, I guess you won't be coming with me for Christmas again this year?" He asked, grinning broadly. I chuckled and said, "Nope, not this year! I already have plans!" He smiled and said, "So, what are you gonna wear tonight?" I hadn't thought of that! I had better go pick it out! "Man,I don't know! I have to impress her family though, cause I really wanna go with her! I gotta go...take 5 more showers and make sure I look just perfect! After all, I only have 7 hours until it's 5:00. Ahh! What time do I have to be there by? Man! This is not good!" "Dude, calm done! You have plenty of time. Call Serena later and see what time dinner is. You'll be just fine. Just act like your normal self, oh wait, that won't impress too many people!" Andrew said,laughing. "I gotta go!!" I said, completely ignoring what Andrew had just said. I didn't really care! All I knew is I had to get ready! I jogged out of the arcade and started running in the direction on my apartment. That's it for now. Sorry this part was so short! The next part will be longer, I promise! I was going to make this part a little longer, but I'm too tired to write any more! Ok, yeah, I know it isn't Christmastime, but I just felt like writing one about Christmas! Remember to e-mail me at alexiachan@yahoo.com!