Emma63@juno.com

I received a comment from one of the fanfic readers, and they told me
that my story was hard to understand because the text was confusing.
I went and checked it out myself, and I discovered that my story was
totally murdered! So here's the version that was supposed to have
been posted. Sorry if I gave you the wrong copy or anything. I'm also
sending the new copy with the same info to aerdnahu, and hopefully
it'll be fixed! Thanks!! :)


In The Morning, Will I See You?
PART 3

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Alone in the night
I visit you by dream paths-
There's no blame in that.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

        Chad was worried. He had not been yelled at by Raye since last
week,
when the party planning was going on. After that, well- something
about her had changed. She was actually being _nice_ to him. Not that
he minded the change in that part of her attitude, but he felt that there

was some other driving force behind her actions. It was as if she was
frantically trying to hide from herself, and...he could not understand
it.
        He hesitantly approached the person in his thoughts. "Uh, hey
Raye, are you feeling ok?"
        Nothing.
        "Raye?"
        "Huh?! Oh Chad, hi."
        "Are you okay?" Chad expected a "Mind your own business!" or
"Don't you have anything _better_ to do than ask me dumb questions?"
but all she said was,-
        "Thanks for caring, Chad, but if you don't mind, I really don't
feel
up to talking about it right now." *Or ever,* she thought.
        He made an attempt to cheer her up.
        "So, what depressing gig did ya dig up for Serena?"
        Mistake.
        "I've been thinking maybe we should forget about the screw-up
party- I mean, it's not fair to Serena, I'd rather she knew about the
real
one."
        "Raye, are you kidding? You have got to be joking, for sure...of
course ya gotta fool Serena! She deserves a great party, which will be
_great_ because of the surprise-thing, ya havta know what I mean! Did
I ever tell you about..."
        Raye started to brighten up as Chad mentioned how much fun he
had at the one thing his rich parents had managed to do for him the
previous year. For once, he had a casual, all-out, friends-gathered-to-
lovingly-tease-him birthday. It had him totally surprised and grateful of

the great people he knew. He outlined it in an excited voice, which he
hoped would convince Raye to go back to being her old self.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

        Serena sat in the fourth booth of the ice cream parlor, shoving a

spoon mercilessly into the glop that she miserably gulped down.
        *Darien. Raye and Darien. Raye, I know you love him too, but-*
        Who was she kidding? She did not deserve such a great guy like
Darien. After all, the crybaby leader of the Scouts had no way to compete

with Raye, who had her head screwed on straight.
        Luna sat in the corner of the booth, across from Serena, set on
setting
her friend straight.
        "Serena, stop stuffing your mouth with ice cream, or you'll be as
round
as those meatballs on your head!"
        (So Luna wasn't very subtle- she wasn't usually, especially when
she
was irritated, which she was, at the moment.)
        "Oh Luna, Darien deserves someone better than me," Serena choked
out. "Someone like Raye, who's beautiful, strong, and isn't such a
crier!"
Serena burst into tears, crying harder because she felt so alone and
un-loved.
        "Stop it, Serena! You are the leader of the Sailor Scouts, the
Moon
Princess, destined for love with Prince Darien of Earth, and, most
importantly, the daughter of Queen Serenity. You have your
faults, I'm sure, but you're _human_! Don't judge yourself so harshly
when there's a world out there who will more than fulfill that end of the

job for you! Now get a hold of yourself and stop wallowing in self-pity!"
        There, she had said it. Luna only hoped she hadn't been too hard
on her charge. All this trouble, just for a party!
        "Luna, you're right." Determination gripped Serena. "I should go
_talk_ to Darien about this. Maybe I'm jumping to conclusions. Yeah,
that's it! I'm going to Darien's apartment _right now_!"
        Serena jumped up from the table, paid for her HUGE sundae (the
now scraped clean boat which had once had five scoops of chocolate
fudge ripple, topped with cherry sauce and blueberries -hey, she was
REALLY depressed!-) and ran out the door.

        "Ok, Serena, you can do this. Just go right up to that door and
knock the heck out of it! Then _calmly_ ask Darien what his relationship
with Raye is, exactly." She stepped out into the hallway and stopped in
front of his door, collecting herself before she went for the plunge.
        She did not mean to eavesdrop, but a smile of relief slowly
spread
across her face as she heard the plans for the party at the temple the
next
day. And she had been so wrapped up in boyfriend troubles that she
almost missed the fact that today was June 26th, and that meant there
were
only a few days more until she turned sixteen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

        The Scout signal beeped in and urgent tone. Serena hastily
responded,
knowing before the figure appeared on the screen that there would be a
"Scout" meeting at the temple.
        For once, she arrived at the steps to the temple on time, an
incredible
feat for a girl who defied the meaning of  "prompt" with her everyday
tardiness.
        She walked (ok, ran) up the steps in eager anticipation for her
"surprise"
party.
        Just as she had expected, there was a banner, a lousy one, but a
banner
nonetheless, reading: MERRY BIRTHDAY! It wasn't much of a sign, but
who was she to complain? It cheered her up immensely, no matter the
actual
outcome of the party.
        She reassured herself. *I mean, isn't it the thought that
counts?*
        "Surprise!" The whole gang, including Darien, shouted the word a
bit
over-enthusiastically, as if she'd find out something was wrong with the
picture.
        "Ohmigosh! You guys are the best!" Serena beamed.
        "We know, we know. Just wanted to remind you again how great we
are to ya," Raye answered with a flourish.
        "Mmmm, Lita is that a chocolate cake!!!? That looks heavenly!
Puh-LEASE tell me it's all mine!"
        "Pig!" Raye stuck out her tongue at Serena, an action which was
immediately returned, and resulted in a clashing. (Picture the scene in
every SM episode of Raye and Serena sticking out their tongues at each
other and suddenly obtaining a hair lift, flushed cheeks, and being
surrounded by the wacky signals! :o] )
        "Hey, don't fight you guys, it's Serena's birthday...well, not
the
exact date, but officially, in the presence of friends, yeah," Lita
intervened. "And yeah, that's a chocolate cake, just for you, Serena.
I baked an extra one, 'cuz I knew you wouldn't leave any for the rest
of us once you got started."
        Laughter.
        "Here Serena, I hope you like it." Ami handed her friend a small,

neatly wrapped, plain package.
        She ripped it open.
        It was a book.
        "Um, War and Peace, great- uh, novel to read- uh, for fun."
        "Isn't it great? I found a complete, unabridged, _and_ translated

version! The one I picked up from the library was roughly done,
translated, I mean, so I couldn't get the full literary perspective. I
won't
feel a bit deprived, though, knowing that you'll read it and fill me in
on
he details, right?"
        The others just stood in their places, "ooh"ing and "ahh"ing
appropriately, while trying very hard not to laugh at the contorted but
struggling-to-paste-a-real-fake-smile look on Serena's face. And not
surprising, for Serena usually enjoyed Ami's gifts best of all, and well,

let's just say she did not feel the same about this present as the ones
from
previous years.
        "Open mine," Mina offered, thoroughly entertained by the
situation.
        Again, Serena tore through the gift wrap, to discover a- mug,
really
very pretty and delicate, not a horrible present, except for one minor
detail.
The word "Serea" was printed across the side of it.
        "I can explain," Mina rushed in, "You see, I wanted to get the
personalized, you know, but it was rush hour, and they, the people at the

shop, I mean to say, um, couldn't put the 'N' on it. No, no! They didn't
forget, they just couldn't find the letter and since it was almost
closing
time, I couldn't rant and rave or even help to look for-"
        "Mina, it's ok, really," the birthday girl exasperatedly said.
She
was disappointed, but the mug was pretty, and she could always save it
and name her daughter Serea or wait until she met someone by the
name of  Serea and give the mug to her.
        "Well, I figured that the best way to your heart is in the manner

of food, so I made you some of the cream puffs you said you loved when
we passed by the Tokyo Bakery the other week. Plus a gift certificate
to the ice cream parlor, good for a six-scoop double banana split."
        "Lita, thank you so much! Mmmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm!
I can't wait!"
        And she didn't. As soon as Lita set the box in Serena's hands, it

was slit open and dug into like mad, and soon half of its contents were
stuffed into a way-too-slender-to-fit-so-much-food-how-does-she-do-it?
throat of Serena's.
        "Rfo Rfae, ers rhat mor mbe? Ah gan roahf foo lwe rot ert ers!"
        (Translation: Oh Raye, is that for me? I can't wait to see what
it
is!)
        Raye handed her package over to Serena, carefully fixing her
gaze on the face of the recipient, waiting for the reaction.
        "A napkin?!"
        "Yeah!" Raye's voice escalated in feigned excitement. "Don't
you remember? When we went to the mall and saw Jason Mandre, the
hot new star of the one and only soap opera to die for, MH? (Mental
Hospital- hmm, ring a bell? Ding! Ding!) Anyway, I picked up his
_lunch_ napkin! The very same one that he wiped those gorgeous lips
of his on!"
        "Thanks, everyone." Serena said in what she hoped was a bright
and cheery tone.
        "Wait! You didn't open my gift yet, Serena."
        "An envelope?"
        "Look inside!"
        "Front row seats-! To Wrestle Mania???!!!"
        "Can you believe I got them? It was murder, standing in
for them last night!"
        *I don't want him to think I'm ungrateful, and I'm not! Of
course I appreciate his effort, everyone's effort! Besides, a
relationship
means compromise, Serena, remember that!*
        "Darien, it was really sweet of you!"
        He was astounded to find Serena in his arms, wrapping her arms
around him like she'd never let go. She was so happy! Even with the
stupid tickets he found in the trash can of one of his neighbors! He
felt a pang of remorse, but told himself that her _real_ party was
going to look great in comparison, especially now that they had
thrown Serena off the scent.
        "Really, all of you are the best!"
        The others felt horrible, but satisfied at the same time. But
none
of them could wait until the following Saturday for the real thing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To be continued in Part 4...