*^_^* comments? send to ALEB@xtra.co.nz *^_^*

  author notes at the bottom.                 


                  WILL I DREAM OF YOU TONIGHT

-------------------------------------------------------------------

                                 KATHRYN



    Chapter 4

     +DREAMS+


    "Late at night,
When all the world is sleepin'
I stay up and think of you.
And I wish on a star
That somewhere you are
Thinking of me to.
I'm Dreamin' of you.

Yes, I'm dreamin' of you tonight
And Tomorrow,
You'll be holding me tight.
And there's no where in the world
I would rather be
Than here in my room
Dreamin' about you and me.

   ~Selina~

"Dreaming of you Tonight"



  "Hey Serena," Darien waved to her. She was sitting on the park bench
with some doughnuts. When she turned to look at him, he saw how her
bruises were still very revelent and it made him cringe. >Women are better
off if they aren't born with good looks.< he thought and sighed.
>They get too much unwanted attention.<

   "Hi Darien." she said glumly. She put a chocolate doughnut in her
mouth but then she just took it out again. He sat down. It was
getting to be a habit to be there when she was really needing someone
now. 

  "What's wrong? That sad expression on your face makes my heart flip." 
he teased.She blushed briefly. 
"Mind if I have one?" he took one of her doughnuts. She shrugged and
handed him the bag. "Sure, have them all for all I care." she sighed.

  "Huh? Serene, it's Saturday, sunny out, and you have this huge package 
of doughnuts! Something is wrong again isn't it?"
She nodded. "Nothing out of the usual. I called Toby again. We made up.
At least I thought that we had!" she sighed. He watched her.
>The guy just isn't worth her being so miserable over!< he thought.
>He's making her feel really awful because she's just the kind of person
who isn't that serious!<

  "Want to tell me about it?"

   "No., You'll just glare at me."
  
   "I will not. What makes you think that?" he asked, offended.

   "Because every time I mention his name, you do!" she snapped. "I know
I'm not good enough for him, but you don't have to rub it in!"

  Serene if I glare it's because I don't think he's good enough for 
you! Not the other way around!" he flushed red almost with embarresment.
"Look, do you want to tell me?"

  "Ok, may as well. I called him, told him I was sorry and that he was
right and that I wasn't serious enough and that I could change and..."

  Serene

  Serene interrupted him. "He didn't believe me." she said flatly. "But
he says he's interested in seeing me try. But I don't know how to
prove it to him. So I thought, Before my big moment as Popova in "The
Bear" I have a role to play in the hearts and truth stage ceremony
in 4 days. I have to give some sort of recital, about Love or being
true to yourself and to the one you love. Everyone's assigned if they
care to join and that was what I was assigned. I didn't think I would try it
but now maybe it would prove to him I can work hard and take something 
seriously."

  Darien frowned, but said nothing. Why didn't Serene just forget about trying
to please someone who was obviously not worth it!
But she looked at him and he felt like she needed his support on this,
despite what he really thought. "Ok Serene maybe it'll work. But don;t
try to hard and end up trying to be someone you're not, ok?" he
said. She nodded carelessly. "Sure, no problem."

  he got up. "Ok, well good luck on your recital plans. Oh, and also
how's your face?" She felt the tender spots and smiled. "It's ok.
It'll get better. My mom freaked and I told her I just feel down the
eskilator at the mall. She wasn't too surprised."

  "Why didn't you just tell her the truth?"

  "Are you crazy?  My dad would bolt down the front door and make me
and Sammy carry guns to school if I told him I was attacked by a psycho
in the park because I didn't go to school. The teacher didn't give me
a not because I told her I had an accident and of coarse, the wound was
really fresh so she believed me. So my parents don't know that I didn't go
in the morning. And I'm not going to tell them. Certain things are better
if parents just never know their daughter's day!" she grinned at him and
he handed her back her doughnuts and turned to leave. "See you round."

   "Thanks. And Darien.." he turned. she smiled shyly at him.

"Thanks for helping me out. You've been doing that a lot lately."

 "What are friends for?" he asked with a smile and walked off.
Serene felt a smile brighten her face. 'what are friends for?'
"Friends." she smiled, and murmured, rubbing her arms where the sun
was touching. She suddenly felt so much brighter.
"Friends..." the word was probably one of the nicest words that could
stamp your heart. "Friends....he's my friend."
_____________________________________________________________________
    

     "Serena, what are you doing?" Toby asked, seeing Serena
scribble something down in her note book. He took another bite out of
his hamburger, and watched her. She glanced up. "Making some notes."
"For what?"

  "I'm suppossed to give this recited report at school in a few days and
I have to make some notes to practice at home tonight about how it's
going to sound."

  "What's it about?"

  "Being true to the one you love." she smiled at him. He looked confused
and didn't return her warm look. "Your school asked you to talk about
that?"

  "Yes. it has to be about devotion or love to someone you care about
but don't mention any names. Every one is assigned a certain one. Melvin
is doing one of individualism!Will you come?" she asked nervously.
"To the recital you mean?" he asked doubtfully.

  "Yeah, please. I promise I won't goof off. I'm taking this really
seriously Toby." he eyes pleaded and he reached out and felt the side of
her face. "Ok, you're something special." he said. 
>He always says that to me< she said, feeling warm all over.
>He just wants me to grow up a little before my time that's all. Nothing
wrong with that! He really loves me and he wants us to stay together!<

  "ok, look I have to go. Serena, you really should put something on
that bruise, it makes you look like you were in a street fight." he said
and got up, putting the bills on the table. She felt her bruises. "I'm
sorry Toby."

  "Yeah, I know I know. You feel down an eskilator. If you didn't always
run so much you wouldn't have fallen and if you had been home studying 
instead of shopping you wouldn't even have had to go on the eskilator in
he first place."

  Serena felt small again suddenly and hung her head. >But I wasn't even
there,< she thought in dismay >I was studying up late to please YOU
Toby and then I skipped school because you yelled at me and almost got
myself raped!<

  "Ok, now I'll see you later!" he called and ran off. Serena watched him and
then opened her note book. "I don't understand myself any more." she
sighed. "One minute he makes me feel so happy and warm and the next
he makes me feel like a cold wind has blown across my heart!"

 She opened her notebook. "Maybe there isn't really such a thing as perfect
Love. That's probably just in Movies. Scarlet O'Hara and Rhett Butler,
Lois Lane and Clark Kent, Anjulie and Ashock, Antony and Cleopatra,
Elizabeth Taylor and what's his name.....probably just some idea that people
dream up of of a perfect relationship but it never really exists. Only
in the hearts of the writers or the dreamers!"

  Serena thought a moment. "I think I'll write that down." she said and opened
her note book. "If I make this from the heart then I can win Toby's into
mine!" she smiled at herself. she started to hum her favorite Selena song 
when she saw Lita and Mina come in.

  "Hey guys!" she waved. They waved back and came over. Lita
nudged her friend with a sly grin on her face. "Just saw Toby exit
and he didn't look angry." Lita winked. "So, you're still together huh?'

 Serena rolled her eyes, but grinned playfully at Lita's nudging.
"Like YES Lita. What do you think?"

  "Well, you two seem to be breaking off and then gluing back together
faster than pieces of paper-mouche` lately."

  "Serena, what are you writing down?" Mina looked over Serena's 
shoulder at her notebook.

  "Hey! Mina, this is private! I don't have to share everything in my
life with you two! Come on!" Serena begged, holding her notes away from
them but they kept stretching their arms out to grab them.

  "Yes, you do! Now give it here!" Mina and Lita laughed together.
Serena hid it behind her back and laughed. "No I do NOT, but I'll tell you
any way. Honestly, I'd share everything with you guys any way if you didn't 
want to know so much! Grief! Ok, I'm making notes for that recital in 4
days."

  They looked surprised. "I thought you weren't interested in that." Lita
asked her. "What changed your mind all of a sudden?"

  "Oh, only the fact that Toby wants me to take more of an interest in
doing more serious things. So I thought this was something neat so why not
prove it to him!"

  "And you've got that play "The Bear" next week any way." Lita nudged Serena
again. "Sounds like a laugh to see you yelling your head off for an hour at
some one and then falling in love with him after trying to shoot his brains
out!"

  Serena pinched Lita's side, making her jump out of her  chair.

  "HEY! Serena..." Lita complained, feeling her side "That's a sensitive
spot!"

   "Then stop nudging me!" Serena told her. "" IO hate it when you do that
and give me your sly foxy lady look, like I've got something cooking."

  "Hey, there's Andrew and Darien." Mina pointed. Serena and Lita
turned, seeing Darien and Andrew walk in. Lita's eyes seemed to be huge
hearts when she saw Andrew. 

  "Hey Serena, how about you go say hello." Mina laughed. Serena
blushed.

  "Yeah, you losing interest in Andrew? You seem to be spending more time
with Darien lately." Serena flushed red. "Hey, we're just friends Lita!
Sheesh! With you, if a girl wants to talk to a boy, then obviously she just
HAS to have the hots for him or something!"

    "Yeah, sure, and elephants have ink ears! Spill girl friend! What do
you talk about then?"

   "Toby." Serena said, her eyes growing to slits in her annoyance. 
Mina and Lita exchanged skeptical looks at Serena's reply.

   "Sure you do Serena. I'm certain that you two get together for all those
times you're in the park or having lunch just to talk about your wonderful
Boyfriend! Isn't there even anything else, like the weather for example?"
she asked Serena sarcastically. Serena shook her head. "I didn't mean it
that way Lita, I meant that when he and I have a fight Darien's on hand and
he doesn't mind listening to me." She took another bite of her almost
untouched hamburger and watched Darien and Andrew sit down, talking in their 
usual friendly manner.

   "It made me see he isn't really so bad after all. We just got off on
the wrong foot I guess." She didn't notice the small smile playing her lips.
Lita and Mina glanced at each other.

   "More like the wrong boot belonging to the giant at the top of the
bean stalk if  you ask me." Lita corrected "And that's a pretty big boot!
3 days ago you would sooner have called Melvin your boyfriend than said 
Darien was your friend."

   "What did you say about Melvin?" Serena asked, her tone indicating she
hadn't listened to a word Lita had said to her in the last minute and a half.
She watched Darien's face, as if she were a camera taking close ups.
She watched the way his bangs nearly dipped over his eyes and the way
they softened yet remained "coole-le bleu" when he smiled. She felt like she
had been trying to find faults in a painting so long she hadn't taken time 
to notice maybe there were bright colors in the way it was
painted!

   "Yoo hoo.." Lita waved her hand a little way in front of Serena's face.
Serena blinked, but was still staring at Darien.

  >He's been so nice to me! And now that I think about it, maybe it was
my fault in the first place that we got off on the wrong foot in the
first place. I mean, every time I saw the guy I HAD to say something really
awful for the record! I never really tried to get to know him at all. And
why would he be nice to me if anyone acted that way every time he saw them?
Maybe he was always like this...I just never could find a way to see it.<

   "Serena, are you listening to me?" Lita asked her as if she were
mentally defective. Serena blinked. "Mmmm...mmmm. Sure Lita."

  "Ok, you're listening to me. Then you agree that you like Darien."
"Mmmm..mmmm."

 Lita and Mina snicked and winked at each other.

"And you also agree that pink elephants shouldn't fly on Tuesdays!"

 "Mmm....hmm...wait, what pink elephants?" Serena blinked and
snapped from her sleepy-dreamy-day-dream-daze.

Mina and Lita started to laugh. "Never mind Serena, you didn't
miss any good conversation." Mina assured her, Lita put an arm over 
her friend and laughed at Serena's puzzled expression.

  "What were you guys talking about? I wasn't listening."

  "We noticed. Don't worry we were just waiting for you." Lita laughed.

   Serena glanced over her shulder at Darien once more. He smiled at
something Andrew said. >I think he has a nice smile. It's so friendly.<
suddenly she didn't see what faults she used to have a list of. How
could you find faults in someone who was as good a friend as he was?
She touched her bruised face, smiling at the small feeling it sent at her
because she remembered how Darien had rescued her from that situation
yesterday.

  'Not all men hit Serena,' he had said, staring at her with kindness and
concern. 'I don't hit.' his touch had been gentle. She had seen such
concern for her being in his eyes that she hadn't seen in Toby's when
he saw her bruise. She shook away the thought that she was comparing them.
Darien was a lot of special things, but he would never be Toby!

But then.......Toby wasn't ever going to be Darien either.

>Gad, I think I'm getting a crush on Darien!< she thought.


    
_______________________________________________________________________

  *^_^* Sorry guys but that's all for this chapter! I know I haven't put
much in this one, but I am afraid that i got started late this week and
because my brother Joel is going on the internet for most of the hours of
our free time, what free time we have now out of our exams and school work,
I also have alot of e-mail to catch up on and several other things.
So I am not even sure I will have the new chaptesr of all 4 stories
out this week either! But I hope so. It's wednsday nigth here and so far
just this is finished along with the new chapter if Fool's Games. I still
have "Can't Lie to my heart" and "Birds of Paradise Lost" to do. Also, I
know I often have errors in spelling but I try to get them all but I just 
never do!

   I really want to thank Michelle Grazer, Jade, Austin, @my, Amanda, 
Jennifer Wand, Sidnei, Melissa, Willow, Selena, the Mon goddess, Lorena42, 
Anita, Swanhilde, Moon star, Jessi, Joel, LiannSen and Razzz, for all the
encouragment that they give me to keep writing. I seem to get alot more
letters in response to this story than any others at the moment and that is
rather ironic because I thoguth that when I started this story it wouldn't
last a week (if you knwo what I mean:) and yet, it seems to get more
mail than the others. Maybe becuse it's more on the romantic line. Seems
to show how many romantics out of actionists to me who read this story
so far. I remember hearing once that "The world is no longer the romantic
place any more, but some of it's people still are and they are the dreams
of hope for the future." and I think I stick by that because I would
rather be a romantic who dreams about the future being that way than someone
who doesn't dream at all.

  I am being centimental and forgive me for that. I needed a moment to
do that and I think wednsdays and Tuesdays do that to me ^_^
Love K:) thank you for reading and telling me you like what I write.