Remember the Good Times Part 2Written by Sailor Grape
Disclaimer: you know the drill....
"I don't know, I just always wanted to go to the States," Serena was
saying at the temple later that morning.
"You were gone so long, and keeping in touch was hard," Mina said sadly.
Then she brightened and squeezed Serena's hand. "At least you're here now!"
"I'm not sure how long I'll be staying," Serena continued. "Probably
only a week."
"Why so short a time?" Raye asked, not bothering to hide her
disappointment.
Serena's eyes softened as she turned to her friend. "I would stay
longer, but I have to go back to work."
"You mean the lazy little Serena we knew now has a job?" Amy asked
incredulously.
"God, Amy! You make it sound like I never did any work! Ok, ok!"
She
quickly exclaimed when everyone rolled their eyes.
"So I wasn't the best
student. I've been working in the fashion industry, and I love it. It was a
great opportunity, even if I did have to travel so far to get it."
"Is that the only reason you moved?" Raye asked quietly.
Out of the corner of her eye, Serena noticed something move. She looked
up, then inhaled sharply. The girls followed her gaze.
"Hey, Darien," Amy greeted him. "Would you care to join us for some tea?"
"No thank you, Amy. I actually came to talk to Serena."
Serena could feel everyone's eyes on her now. She cleared her throat.
"Sure, all right." She stood. "I'll be back later," she told the girls
before following Darien outside.
"Thank you for talking to me," he said.
"Why wouldn't I talk to you?" She sat down on the temple steps.
"Well, we weren't on the best of terms when you left," he replied
uneasily, sitting beside her.
"That part of my life is behind me now. I've moved on."
The words stung Darien as they processed in his head. 'She has a whole
other life now, in a new place. She's happy. She's moved on, so why can't
I?'
"I'm relieved to hear you say that," Darien forced himself to say. "I
was worried you'd never talk to me again."
She wore a bemused smile. "Couples break up all the time. We were no
different."
'But we were different!' he wanted to scream at her. 'We had a love that
even the Gods envied! And in one moment, we let everything self-destruct.
What went wrong?'
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Darien lied. "So... Can we still be
friends?"
Serena's eyes flashed with pain and bitter memories. She pushed them to
the back of her head, saying, "Of course we can be friends. We'll always be
friends."
"Great," he smiled. "I have to go. I'm late for an appointment. See
you later, Serena!"
She watched him jog down the remainder of the steps and down the
sidewalk. She bit her lip, trying to keep from crying. 'What happened to
us?' she repeated to herself over and over again.
**********
"All I said was that you might be wrong," Darien insisted.
"Of course, because I'm always wrong!" Serena exploded. "I'm just a
stupid blonde, an airhead. I have no real brains of my own!"
"You said it, I didn't."
Her eyes widened. "Your true feelings are finally showing," she growled.
"It's a good thing I found this out now."
"If you're so in tune with psychiatry, I'm surprised you didn't see this
coming," he smirked.
"Just shut up!" She threw a book off the coffee table at him.
It narrowly missed his head. "Hey! That's my best textbook!"
"I don't care!" She threw another book at him. "You don't listen to me!
You never listen to me!" She dropped to her knees, crying into her hands.
Darien walked up to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Serena..." he
began.
"Don't touch me!" she cried, jumping up and running out of his apartment.
Darien ran to the door, staring helplessly after her.
**********
Serena's head jerked up. She blinked furiously.
"Where were you just now?" Amy asked. She was standing in front of
Serena on the steps.
"What?"
"You were a million miles away. What were you thinking about?"
"Nothing. Absolutely nothing." She sighed, following Amy back into the
temple. 'It's bad enough I can't sleep without my past invading my dreams.
I'm not even safe during the day now.'
The girls called goodbyes to one another as they left.
Serena, as usual, was the last to go. "Good night, Raye. I'll call you
tomorrow."
"Serena?" Raye spoke up. "Are you all right?"
She forced a smile. "Of course I am."
"Don't lie to me. I know you too well."
Serena sighed. "I'm fine, really. It's not important."
"Of course it is," Raye argued. "You seemed a bit out of it when you
came in from talking to Darien. What did he say?"
"Can't we keep that between ourselves?" Serena snapped.
Raye looked taken aback. "I'm sorry..."
"No, I'm sorry, Raye. I had no right to snap at you. It's just that...
Darien was the reason I left."
Raye's eyes softened. "Serena, I didn't know."
"I know."
They sat in silence for what seemed like ages.
Serena finally spoke. "Our relationship was barely there. We were
hanging on by a thread. At the end, neither one of us wanted to stay."
"But you loved each other so much!" Raye cried.
"Love was never the problem," Serena said softly. "We were too
different. Maybe we were too alike. And we were so young and naive. At
least I was. If we had stayed together much longer, both of us would have
gone crazy."
"Things aren't bad now? Between you two, I mean?"
"I honestly can't say. I told him we would always be friends, but I
might not be able to live up to that."
Raye embraced her friend. "Thank you for trusting me."
"You're the only one I've told. Not even Darien knows why I left. But
I'm sure he suspects it."
"It'll all work out," Raye reassured her confidently. "Just give it some
time."
"I will. Thanks, Raye." Serena left the temple.
Ok, ok, I know it was really short. The next one will be longer, I promise.
So those of you ready to beat me with that fic whip, please don't! Anyway,
send feedback! Thanks!
~Sailor Grape~
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"Seems to me that's how all things are,
Given and taken little pink stars."
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