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!! 

"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."

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 

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!