Title: Royal Flush - Day 1 Author: Alicia Blade E-mail: Kammi22@sprintmail.com Hey minna!! Guess what!! I want more people to e-mail me!!! PLEASE!!! Thank you to all you who had the heart and took the 30 measly seconds to write me, I really appreciate it!! Keep those letters rollin' in! My inbox gets very lonely, very quickly. :( Now then, after my... guilt trip (do you feel guilty yet?) here's part 1!! Hope you like it (and would LOVE to hear what you think!) Again, it is way too short, but like I said before, they DO get longer! I promise!! Also... one quick question, if there was a website dedicated to strictly first season romances, how many of you would absolutely love it? If you think it's an awesome idea, tell me!! (This is sort of a test, check to see how many people would actually go type thing.) GUESS WHAT!!! I'm writing a poetry book!!!! It won't be done for awhile, I have to finish typing it up and take it to a publisher, yadda, yadda, but who would be interested in buying it?! If you love poetry, please tell me!!! Also, people, I AM NOT IN EIGTH GRADE!!! It was a joke!!! Sorry for the misunderstanding there. Heh heh... Um... what else? Oh yeah!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU Edeet and Lady S!! You both are too cool and I love you to no ends and minna, they are fantastic writers, so read their stuff!! Oh yeah, and Athena, I STILL MISS YOU!!! "Why did the nations rage, and the people plot vain things? The kings of the Earth took their stand, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against His Christ." Acts 4:25-26 Darien inhaled sharply, checking his appearance in the mirror. He knew he shouldn't be so concerned about his looks at this moment, she had seen him at his near best numerous times and never flinched. But still... she was going to be spending the whole day with him! She'd have to notice sooner or later, wouldn't she? He spent a moment to look around his apartment, making sure everything was in order. He had no idea what he was going to do today. He had to make it seem like he really wanted her to be his slave. Like... make him coffee and clean his house. But his house was already spotless and he wasn't sure he trusted her in the kitchen just yet. He sighed. This would be a most interesting day. Glancing at the clock, he saw that it was already 11:10. Of course, he was expecting her to be late. First she would sleep in, then take her sweet time getting here, and then probably get lost when she couldn't find his apartment. He hoped he'd made the instructions clear enough. But through all his logic that he already knew she'd be late... it was still driving him crazy. He wanted to see her... her bright shining eyes, silky golden hair, heavenly smile... Anymore, he knew she was like a drug to him. He needed her... if only pieces of her. He had to see her, hear her, admire her... even if he knew he couldn't hold her. It was torture to him... pure and undaunted... but with all the agony he went through thinking of her hateful glares at him, imagining how she'd curse his name, it was worth it. At least she looked at him. At least she knew his name. And as long as she was near him... he'd be okay. He straightened up his apartment a little more, fixing some gray pillows on his dark green couch, blowing some dust off his bookshelves... not that she would look there or anything. It was now 11:20. He collapsed onto the couch to wait... He sipped at his drink, staring out the window quietly. 11:30. "Where is that girl?!" He thought about how unbelievably clean the place was. What would she think? Wouldn't she know immediately that he didn't need her, after all? That wouldn't do. 'Maybe... I should try to make this a little more realistic...' The thought of messing up his ultimately spotless home gave him chills. 'Not that it would stay like that for long... That IS why Serena is coming over anyway, truth be told, so...' He squeezed his eyes shut. Holding his breath and turning away, he lightly tipped over his cup of coffee. He shuddered as he heard the ceramic hit the wood coffee table and the contents spill out onto the floor. Opening one eye, he overcame the urge to run into the kitchen and find a stack of towels to clean it up right then. However, he soon thought he could feel a surge of power. Raising an eyebrow, he slowly stood and made his way over to the couch. Picking up a pillow, he casually tossed it across the room. It landed on the island separating the living room and kitchen. With a smile, he threw its match, which somehow made its way to land in the soil of his favorite, tall, green houseplant. Making his way into the kitchen, he loaded his arms with bread and ice cream and chocolate chips before once again going into the hallway and spilling everything haphazardly around the room. 'If only I could pre-mold some of this stuff.' Darien slumped against his front door, staring dazedly into his apartment. Hardly an ounce of his once beige carpet could be seen through the piles of laundry and snack food. Melted ice cream decorated the furniture, old magazines littered the table spaces. His plant vases were tilted over. His books were piled in corners and strewn across the floor... He thought a couple could have ended up in his refrigerator or like places. Shaking his head, he muttered, "What have you gotten yourself into?" 12:00. Noon. One hour late. He glared at the door, which refused to open to show his Meatball Head on the other side. He gritted his teeth. Anger pooled inside of him. 'She's not coming. I can't believe she's not going to show up! After everything I just did to my beautiful, clean apartment, she's not going to show?! Could she hate me so much?! Even though she knows I won the game, and she knows she has to be my slave for a week... Where is that girl?!' Folding his arms, he paced around the cluttered floor, making a thin path amongst the debris. "This will not do," he said out loud to himself. "How dare she not show up?! I practically own her!" Rolling his eyes, he smacked his head roughly. "You'll never get anywhere with her if you think like that! You don't own her. Serena is not something you can just win... her affections have to be earned." Darien glared over at the door again. "And I WOULD earn them is she'd give me a chance!" he yelled. Slumping into his favorite chair, and pulling out an old candy wrapper from beneath him, he leaned his head back against the rest. Before he knew what was happening, tears were threatening to fall from beneath his closed lids. "She hates me. She hates me that much..." KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! Darien nearly jumped a foot in the air. For a second, he only sat staring at the door. Slowly, he stood and walked over to the entrance and cautiously opened it. He forced the bright smile down. It was incredibly hard, for he'd never seen such an elegant sight. Serena was standing before him, her head down and long golden locks nearly scraping the floor. One foot was behind the other, the toe of her shoe digging into the blue hallway carpet, and her fingers twiddled nervously in front of her stomach. Taking a deep breath and refusing to make eye contact, Serena walked quickly into the apartment, slipping her shoes off next to the door. "Sorry I'm late," she muttered half-heartedly. Darien threw on his cocky, carefree smile. "I was expecting it, Meatball Head." Looking over her shoulder, she glared at him with icy daggers in her crystal blue eyes. Darien gulped, attempting to remain suave as he closed the door, trying to create an air of finality. It worked as Serena moved her gaze to the closed door, a lost hope entering her eyes. Sighing, she turned her back on Darien again, looking around the small apartment. Her jaw fell. Her eyes wandered over the disaster area, drinking in the clothes, the probably stale food, the garbage... Shakily, she ventured into it, looking around at the hidden tables, bookshelves, and what looked to have once been white walls. Darien watched her closely, almost afraid to take his gaze off of her, for fear she would disappear. He felt a blush creep into his cheeks. 'Maybe I should have kept the place clean after all...' "I think you should have kept all five slaves," Serena said in awe. He forced down a chuckle. She shook her head. "I never thought that the always clean, always organized Darien could even MAKE a mess like this!" Darien cleared his throat nervously, running a hand through his messy hair. 'Neither did I.' With a sigh, Serena turned around to look up at him, her eyes and expression submissive. She was giving up. He tried to smile, though wasn't sure that she noticed it or not. "Um... do you... want something to eat?" he asked nervously. Her gaze was doing wonders to his composure. More or less, she was destroying it. She bit her lip, looking off to the opening of the small kitchen. With a nod, no words, which shook Darien's heart a little, she walked into the adjacent room, carefully stepping over the junk. Furrowing his brow, Darien followed her to see that she was already digging through some cupboards. With a curious frown, she turned to him, holding up a large science book. With a nervous look, he took it from her slowly, setting it down on top of another book on the counter. "Wh... what are you doing?" Looking up at him again, she asked simply, "What would you like?" "Huh?" Rolling her eyes and sighing agitatedly, Serena turned to give him her full attention. "Well, obviously I don't know what you like to eat, so you're going to have to tell me if I'm going to make it!" Darien stared at her for a second, his eyes wide in comprehension. Then he laughed. "Actually, Meatball Head, I was going to make you something!" She raised an eyebrow, cocking her head to the side. "Why? I'm the... slave," she shuddered a little at the word, "remember?" Darien was not expecting that kind of reply. She wasn't rebelling at all? How unlike her... "Unless you're only doing this to torture me. You WOULD do that, too. Free all the others except me, simply to make me feel worthless and... and... you are SUCH a jerk, Darien!" He took a step back with her words. 'That's not why I did this... I just want to be with you. I just want to spend time with you... that's all.' Serena sighed, looking down at her feet. Finally, she whispered, "What do you want, Darien?" He thought he heard tears choking the words, and almost felt like crying himself. With a calmness that surprised him, he whispered, "I'm not hungry. Make yourself something if you are." And he disappeared into the living room. Serena looked up to see him leave, as a tear streaked down a flushed cheek. "I hate you, Darien. I hate you for everything you're doing to me," she whispered to the air. Darien heard Serena enter the room from behind him. Turning, he saw her looking around the place with a hint of fear, her hands on her hips. With one foot, she pushed away a newspaper that had somehow made its way to cover her feet. Sighing, she lowered her head, before bending down and picking up an armful of books, carrying them over to the bookshelf. With her free hand, she pushed away the clutter on top and straightened the books out on it. Darien watched almost with an air of amusement. Smiling slightly, he scooped some garbage off the coffee table and left into the kitchen to throw it into the near-empty garbage can. Bringing it into the living room, he proceeded to pick up the empty pop cans and food wrappers off the floor and shelves. Serena wiped a sleeve across her forehead, managing in leaving a few black smudges on her once clean skin. "Darien, this is disgusting!" she yelled to him in the kitchen. "I wouldn't be surprised if I found a dead rat in here!" He chuckled slightly, pulling the stain remover from beneath the sink and grabbing a spool of paper towels. He came back into the living room, handing her the utensils. She glared at him and took the cleaning material roughly from his grip. Turning, she began scrubbing at the ice cream stain in the middle of the couch. He watched her working so diligently for a moment before leaving in search of his vacuum. Serena blew on the top of the table, scattering the dirt and dust. Spraying the furniture cleaner on top, she began to scrub at it with a dishtowel. Darien laughed from behind her. Turning, she looked over her shoulder at him. He sat with his feet propped up on coffee table, sipping at a cup of tea. "What's so funny?" "You missed a spot!" he said pointing. She glared at him. Standing, she threw the cloth at him before storming into the kitchen. He laughed again, pulling the towel off his face. Shaking his head, he smiled at her where he could see her looking for another clean towel in his kitchen drawers. Soon, she came back out carrying another rag. Plopping down in front of the table she had been working at, she mumbled, "I hate you Darien." The smile disappeared. With dull eyes, he set down his cup and began scrubbing another table she hadn't yet gotten to. "Here, I'll do that," said Serena taking the vase of roses from Darien's hands and retreating to the kitchen to refill them. He watched her leave, his heart aching at the emotionless voice. Was he doing that to her? With a sigh, he followed her into the kitchen, watching as she poured tap water into the clear vase. "You know, you don't have to do everything around here." She ignored him, walking past him to set the vase down on the windowsill overlooking down town Tokyo. "That's the only reason I'm here. Unless... you want me to leave." She looked up at him hopefully. He gave her a quirky grin. "Now why would I want you to leave? You're doing a great job!" Her smile gave way to a frown and she turned her gaze away to the couch before fixing the dull pillows carefully in the corner. "Why are you keeping me here, Darien? It's obvious your apartment is clean enough now, I think I've done my share in this pigsty! And this isn't funny. I don't want to be stuck here with you anymore! Why don't you just forget all about the stupid bet?" Darien braced himself for the sting of her words. He'd been doing that a lot today. He wasn't even sure why he was keeping her here. Of course he didn't want her to leave... he would miss her. He always missed her when she wasn't around. But then... this wasn't working. She wasn't giving him a chance to be nice at all. If only she wasn't so stubborn! "Serena..." he wasn't sure what he wanted to say to her. His voice carried a tone of desperation, hope that she wouldn't leave. Hope that he could get to her, somehow. "I... I'm trying to be nice to you." Serena looked up at him from the corner of her eye. For a moment, her gaze saw honesty. He almost looked... sweet. But then her heart froze to him once more. "Well you're doing an awful job, MASTER," her voice dripped with hatred and sarcasm. Darien stared at her, his jaw agape. He had never heard her speak with such loathing... for anyone. Why was she so mad at him? What had he done NOW?! "If you were trying to be so NICE, you would have let me go already! Don't you get it, Darien? I want to go home! I want to go play, go hang out with my friends! Not be stuck in this dull, lifeless apartment with the most conceited man in Tokyo! I would rather be working at a slaughterhouse!" Darien looked at her sadly. Then angrily. Then... he felt himself falter. He couldn't take any more of this. His heart simply couldn't deal with the pain she was giving him. Couldn't she see that he didn't want to hurt her? That in reality, all he truly wanted was to make her happy? 'Then make her happy. You know how.' Sighing, Darien looked to the door. "If you want to leave... then leave." His voice betrayed him, shaking uncontrollably at the thought of her leaving him. Inside, he begged her to stay. Pleaded and asked and prayed that she wouldn't leave him now. Serena gasped lightly. He hadn't just... said she could go? Why would he do that? 'Don't argue with the man, just go! Get out of here while you can!' Swallowing hard, she brushed past him on the way to the door, not speaking a word as she slipped on her slippers. Darien watched in shock. 'That's it, then? She's leaving? There goes my chance... I'll never have her... NO! I can't lose this opportunity, not yet. Please, not yet!' "You... you're actually leaving?!" he yelled at her. She turned to face him. "Of course I'm actually leaving, you just said I could!" "Yeah, but... but... you can't leave!" Serena rolled her eyes. "Darien, make up your mind!" "I don't want you to leave..." Serena's breath caught. He almost sounded... sad... She shook her head. "It was fun while it lasted," she said ironically, placing her hand on the doorknob. "But... I won you! I OWN you!" Serena stopped half way through the door, turning to glare at him. "You will NEVER have me!" And with that icy statement, she disappeared through the door. Darien clenched his fist. 'Great going, Chiba!' Not really sure what he was doing, Darien ran into the hallway after her. She was just entering the elevator. "I'll be expecting you around 4 tomorrow after school!" he called. She turned to face him, glaring coolly. "Don't hold your breath!" And with that, the silver doors closed. Darien sighed, falling against the wall. He missed her already. Darien lay awake, staring at the ceiling. The moonlight filtered in through his pale sheers, sending pretty designs dancing on the carpet. His room was clean again, and for that he was happy. 'Serena could sure get something done when she put her mind to it,' he mused silently. He wondered if she would come back tomorrow. He wasn't sure... Probably not. He'd made her very mad today, though he wasn't sure just how. He supposed that he got under her skin, much like how she got under his. Only HE enjoyed it. 'She'd better show up tomorrow. Would she really just... forget about the game? Forget about her... duty? She had to show. She'd chosen to let Mina bet her in the game... She wouldn't... not come, let her stubbornness get in the way, would she?' 'Of course she would. She hates you. As far as she's concerned, every moment with you is pure torture.' He sighed. 'And the same goes for every moment I'm NOT with her.' He rolled over on his side, holding his pillow comfortably beneath his ear. "Serena..." 'I'll have you yet. You can be as stubborn as you like. I had a bargain, and you can't get away from me so easy. I'm not gonna give in after a day when I could have you for a week. Fine, don't show up tomorrow. I'll wait patiently... But if you don't come to me...' he yawned, closing his eyes, 'I'll just have to come to you.' Okey-doke, the end! Again, e-mail me, whether about this story, the all-first season fanfic website, or my poetry book! Thanx!! Luv ya and God bless! <3 Alicia Kammi22@sprintmail.com