Title: Opposite Attraction --Chapter 3
Author: Blue Ice
E-mail: Blue_IceSM@hotmail.com
Rated: G



Hi everyone!! Well school starts next week. I can't believe summer is 
over already. I had hoped to write at least one more after the next 
story, but that's not going to happen. There's always other times, I 
guess in the future. 

I had gotten a request in the mail last week from Sailor SwiftHeart, 
who is a very talented author. I've read all of her stories and they 
are really good. She has a Sailor Moon fanfic site of her own and she
would like more stories. If you're interested in sending her your 
stories, you can e-mail her at this address:    SwiftHeart@v-wave.com
If you just want to visit her site, than logon to either:   

	Sailor SwiftHeart's Moon Chronicles: 
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Ginza/2222/

	Sailor SwiftHeart's Little Garden of Goodies:
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Island/5284/

Well, one more thing. Don't forget to e-mail me and tell me what 
you think. E-mails are the only way we authors know if you like our 
stories or not. And that's very important. Anyway, that's all I have 
to say. See ya at the bottom of the page...



	"So are you going to the hospital tomorrow?" Mina asked Serena 
who was busy stuffing cake into her already full mouth. "What?" "Uhhh, 
Meatball head. Watch where you're spitting!" Rei wiped her face with a 
napkin. "Sorry Rei. Ya I'm going. Did you know that there are over 50 
orphans there already since last year. It's so sad to see them without 
parents. But I still want to help out." Mina nodded. "I'd hate to have 
no family. I can't imagine how it's like to be an orphan." she shook 
her head sadly.
	"Hey guys!" Ami hollered as she made her way to their booth. 
"Ami?! I thought you were supposed to be out of town this weekend." 
Lita asked and scooted over. "I know. But my mom's meeting was 
canceled at the last minute because the professor from Germany 
couldn't make it this weekend. So we took the next flight back. How 
did you do at the sale?" Rei smiled broadly. 
	"We sold almost everything! With all the money we earned, it's 
enough to cover temple expenses for more than a year. I'm sure 
grandpa's going to flip!" "That's great! I'm sorry I wasn't there to 
help. Did you have any trouble?" "No...." Serena started to say but 
was interrupted by Rei. "You could say that. It took Serena more than 
half an hour to change. And she had to stay behind to help Darien for 
who knows what reason. Kimonos aren't that hard to dress." They turned 
to Serena and giggled. 
	"Don't look at me that way. I know what you are thinking!" she 
turned towards the window and ignored their smirked faces. "And it 
doesn't matter what you say, it's not true. "Relax Serena. We're just 
joking around. Why are you so tense whenever we mention Darien." "I'm 
not tense. He just...I just don't like hearing his name that all. It's 
enough to make me puke." the girls giggled at Serena's stubbornness.
	"Well I better head home. It's almost 8:30." Rei stood up and 
tossed some tips on the table. "Ya me too. I don't want to walk home 
in the dark." Ami walked to the door and opened it for everyone. "See 
ya guys on Monday!" she waved and quickly jogged down the street. The 
girls said goodbye to each other and went their separate ways.
	"Mom I'm home!!!" Serena hollered as she shut the door. "Hi 
Serena! How was the sale?" Irene asked as she folded some towels and 
laundry. "Oh it was ok. Nothing else happened. Nothing!" she looked at 
her mom like she was hiding something. "Why are you so tense?" Sammy 
asked as he came out of the kitchen with a fudge bar. "I'm not tense! 
And why is everyone saying that?" Irene shook her head and laughed. "I 
think you worked too hard today. Have you had supper?" Serena sighed. 
"Ya, me and the girls went to the caf鮢 Irene smiled and stood up. 
"Why don't you take a shower and go to bed. I bet you're tired." 
Serena nodded and walked upstairs slowly. 
	"What is it with everyone asking me about Darien like I knew 
him or something. He's just a jerk who I happen for some weird reason 
always run into. There's nothing, and can't be anything going on 
between us. It's just impossible. He's impossible to ever be friends 
with." Serena said to herself as she took a nice relaxing shower. "I 
am exhausted." Suddenly she heard a creaking noise. "Who's there?" 
Serena asked and poked her head out from the shower. No one answered. 
"Must have been my imagination." 
	"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Irene 
and Ken rushed upstairs as they heard the shrieking scream. "Oh my god 
what's going on??" Irene asked her husband worriedly as they made 
their way to the bathroom....to find Sammy holding his stomach 
laughing his head off. "Oh you should have been there dad!! You should 
have seen Serena's face....Ahhhh!" he was cut short as Serena grabbed 
him from behind. "Don't you ever flush the toilet when I'm in the 
shower!! YOU HEAR!??" she screamed as Sammy screamed back. "Uhh." 
Irene and Ken sweat dropped. "Tell me, why did we have two kids?"


	Sunday morning came with a golden sun as it barely rises from 
the east. Stretching her arms, Serena sat up in bed and looked at her 
alarm clock. It was only 7:30, usually too early for her liking, but 
she got up without complaining and made her bed. After getting dressed, 
Serena made her way quietly to the bathroom to brush her teeth and fix 
her hair. Tiptoeing down the stairs, Serena wrote a quick note to her 
mother telling her where she'll be for the rest of the day.
	An hour later Irene woke up and went straight to Serena's room 
to wake her up. "Serena dear...you better...Serena?" she walked into 
her daughter's room and saw the bed made already without a trace of 
her. "That's strange. She's up?!" She quickly went downstairs and 
found the note on the telephone stand. 

Hi mom,
 	I got up early today. I had to go to the hospital remember? I 
hope you weren't worried about me when you couldn't find me this 
morning. The kids at the orphanage wanted me to be there before they 
wake up. And I wanted to keep my promise. Well better get going. 

Love,
Serena

P.S. I'll be home before dinner!

	Irene stood there holding the note with a smile on her face. 
Serena has really grown up. Shaking her head, she trudged upstairs and 
woke up Sammy....just part of her usual routine. 


	"Serena!!!! Serena!!" a bunch of little kids rushed to Serena 
as she stepped into their room. "You're here!!" a little girl jumped 
excitedly. "Of course, sweetie! I promised I would didn't I?" picking 
up the little girl, Serena sat down on the couch as the kids gathered 
around her. "Are we really going to the zoo today?" a little boy asked 
as he held up his animal drawings. "Lions are my favorite animals! I'm 
going to have one when I grow up!" he yelled happily and handed the 
drawing to Serena. "For me?" she asked feeling like the luckiest girl 
in the world. He nodded with a tiny smile. "Thank you Michael. This is 
going on my fridge tonight!" Michael's face brightened up immediately.
	"Hi Serena!" Lita and Mina hollered as they walked in. "Hey 
guys! what are you doing here?" Mina smiled. "Well we thought maybe 
you might need some help today. I heard from Andrew that you're taking 
the kids to the zoo." Lita poked her in the elbow. "Ya, she just wants 
to see the polar exhibit." "I...I do not! I'm not a kid!" she 
stuttered and kneeled down to play with a little boy. "Sure.....you're 
not."
	"I'm glad you came. These kids are a handful. I've only been 
here twice and they cling to me like I'm the only one they've got." 
Serena smiled sadly. "I wish I can raise them by myself, but we all 
know that's a silly wish." Lita nodded in understanding. "I know what 
you mean. Just look at them...all happy and giggly. Brings back a lot 
of memories from my past." Serena smiled. "Come on help me with 
breakfast."
	"Ok everyone! Line up in a straight line!" Serena blew a 
whistle as Mina and Lita stood beside the line of kids to keep them in 
order. "Now I want you guys to get a buddy and hold hands so you won't 
get lost. The zoo is really big." the kids hurried and found their 
playmates. "Everyone ready?" Serena asked and turned the door knob. 
Suddenly someone wailed loudly across the hallway in the nursery. "Oh 
no. I better go check who's crying. Mina would you take the kids to 
the bus?" "Sure thing." Mina winked and led the kids out with Lita 
behind them.
	"I'm coming, I'm coming." Serena mumbled to herself as she ran 
down the hallway. Suddenly the crying stopped. "That's strange." 
Serena thought and walked to the open nursery door and peeked inside. 
"Ah." Serena gasped silently at the scene before her. There stood 
Darien holding the crying baby in his arms. "It's ok buddy. I'm here." 
he said softly and rocked him back and forth. The baby struggled to 
say something as it started fussing again. "Oh.." Serena stared in 
disbelieve at Darien. He was so gentle and caring. 
	Taking a bottle, Darien fed the little baby as he softly 
hummed a lullaby. He closed his eyes as he listened to Darien's smooth 
voice. Seeing that the baby fell asleep, Darien gently laid him back 
into his crib. As soon as Darien stepped away, he screamed his head 
off. "Ok, ok, ok I'm not going anywhere. You can't sleep huh? Are you 
lonely all by yourself? Maybe a song would help." Winding the mobile 
slightly, a melody begin to play as Darien softly sang the words.

Twinkle, Twinkle, little star.
How I wonder what you are.
Up above the world so high.
Like a diamond in the sky.
Twinkle, Twinkle, little star.
How I wonder what you are.

	The music stopped as the little baby quietly slept. Darien 
bent down and planted a soft kiss on his forehead and smiled. Pulling 
a little blanket over it's tiny body, he quietly walked away. "Oh my 
god." Serena whispered softly and leaned against the door frame. She 
couldn't even move. His voice, the tenderness he showed, was forever 
embedded in her heart. 
	Suddenly their eyes met as Serena straightened up and smiled 
slightly. Tiptoeing out of the nursery, Darien shut the door. For a 
moment neither of them spoke. Finally Serena looked up to Darien with 
tears in her eyes. "I'm glad you were here for him...he hasn't been 
able to sleep for the past few nights or days." she giggled slightly. 
Darien chuckled. "Ya I know." "How?" Darien mentioned for her to 
follow him as they walked down the hallway.
	"I've been volunteering here since a year ago. This place 
brings back a lot of memories." Serena scrunched her brows. "What do 
you mean?" Shaking his head, Darien looked down to Serena. "It's 
really nothing. What are you doing here?" Serena didn't answer for a 
moment. He was keeping something, something painful that he couldn't 
tell anyone. Deciding not to push him, Serena spoke up. "I started 
volunteering here two weeks ago. I couldn't help but come back. The 
kids needed me and I needed them." Darien nodded as she went on.
	"I love it here. It's a place where I could give my love to 
little orphans. Is that why you're here?" she asked. Darien turned 
away slightly and looked in front of him. "Well that's part of the 
reason...." he let the sentence trail off as they stopped at the door. 
"I'm...taking the kindergartners to the zoo. Do...do you want to 
come?" Darien stared at Serena questioningly. "Oh....um...well never 
mind, I...I guess you have other things to do. And besides....Mina and 
Lita can help me...so I'll go now bye." Serena turned the door knob 
and stepped outside.
	"Wait." Darien grasped her wrist and smiled. "I think I'd like 
to go. You need help right?" Serena smiled relieved and nodded her 
head. "Sure do. 10 kids are a lot to handle." Chuckling slightly, 
Darien followed Serena to the bus. 
	"The wheels on the bus go round and round, round and round, 
round and round. The wheels on the bus go round and round, all around 
town...." "If they sing that song one more time I'm going to go 
insane!!!" Mina shut her eyes. "I...I know it's been 20 minutes and 
they are....still singing, but look at them. Happy as a clown." Darien 
chuckled and looked beside him. Serena had chosen to sit with him for 
some odd reason and wasn't even complaining about it. And neither was 
Darien mean or cold hearted, like usual when he meets Serena...or in 
better words get ran over by her. Maybe it was because of the light 
feeling around the kids. 
	For a moment or so, Serena was quietly thinking to herself. 
Darien gently nudged her on the shoulder. "Serena....hello?" Snapping 
out of her thoughts, Serena looked up to him with an unreadable 
expression. "Something bothering you?" he asked. "You...you didn't 
call me meatball head." she said simply. "Well, I um I guess I forgot. 
Unless you want me to?" "No. I'd much prefer Serena." she smiled and 
looked away again.
	"Look at those two whispering to each other. Do you think 
something's up between them?" Lita asked quietly. "I don't think so. 
She can't stand the guy." Mina looked two seats in front of them to 
see Serena had already turned away. "Maybe they're just saving their 
arguments until after the zoo trip." Mina nodded in agreement. 
"Maybe."

	"Yeah, we're here Serena! Are we going to see lions?" Michael 
asked as he sat at the edge of his seat. "Lions and tigers, and bears. 
We're going to see hundreds of animals." Serena smiled excited. Their 
cheeriness was starting to get to her. "Oh boy, I'm going to ride the 
elephant like at the circus I saw in the movie yesterday!" he jumped 
up and down as the bus came to a stop.
	"Alright everyone!" Serena walked to the front of the bus. 
"When we get off the bus, I'm going to call role to make sure everyone 
is here ok?" the kids screamed and fought to get off first. "One at 
the time." Serena tried to keep them in order. "Hey who is he?" 
Michael asked as he spotted Darien for the first time. "This is 
Darien...my friend." Darien was surprised to hear Serena call him her 
friend and smiled down at Michael. "He's going to help me today. 
Wouldn't you want a cool big brother like him?" Michael smiled 
mischievously. "Alright,but you've gotta teach me how to put bull 
frogs in the girls' beds. They scream so funny." he laughed and took 
Darien's hand.
	"I sure will. As long as you promise me not to tell Serena. 
You see she doesn't like me very much." he whispered jokingly, 
purposely letting Serena hear. "Don't make me look bad Darien!" she 
rolled her eyes playfully and blew her whistle to start calling role. 
	"...and Ashley." "Here!" Smiling, Serena looked up from her 
clipboard. "Alright everybody. Mina and Lita, you guys watch the kids 
from the back. And Darien...you uh..." she covered her mouth stifling 
a giggle as Michael jumped onto his back. "I guess you can be the....
the elephant for now." "Yeah!! Go Dumbo!" he yelled excited. Darien 
set Michael on his shoulders and chuckled. "Now look what you've 
done!" Serena just smiled innocently. 

	"This is the North American Sea Otter." Lita pointed to a 
bunch of cute otters. "Why do they swim?" a little girl asked as she 
stared into the water tank with her nose pressed up against the glass. 
"Eh....that's a good question. Um...I guess because...they ah....you 
know what? I don't know." the little girl giggled and jumped back as 
an otter swam by and did a little back flip in the water. "Oh look. 
There's a baby...I wanna see him!" she yelled excitedly and dragged 
Lita to the opposite side. 
	"No, no, no!! Don't stick your hand in there. He'll bite you!" 
Mina hollered as a little boy was going to stick his hand into the 
pigeon looking, deformed version of a parrot, small bird cage.....so 
she thinks. "He won't bite." he huffed and stuck his hand in. Mina 
closed her eyes as she got to him too late. One second, two seconds 
later.....nothing happened. No crying, screaming...none. Opening one 
eye, Mina saw him petting the bird. "See he's really nice. My friend 
had one just like it. His name was Freddie." "Oh....I'm glad you know 
what you're doing." "Aren't you going to pet him? He says he likes 
you." he grinned mischievously. 
	"Really....ok maybe just once." Mina begin to stroke its 
feathers on the head. "Oh....nice birdie....Hey he's kinda cute...AAAH
HHHHHHH! Get him off! Get him off!!!!!!!!!!!" she screamed and kicked 
trying to pull her hand out. Finally the bird gave in and let go. 
Staring at her bruised finger, Mina turned angrily to the little boy. 
"He doesn't like people touching his head. Freddie was the same way." 
Mina sweat dropped. "Four more hours.....just four...ya...ya...that's 
only 1/6 of a day....." 

	"Can we feed the seals?" Michael asked as they walked towards 
the seal lion exhibit. Darien laughed and looked beside him at Serena. 
"If she says ok, then we can go." "Oh please Serena?!! Pretty please..
.with a big cherry on top." Serena was going to say yes. In fact she's 
been dying to see them herself. "If you behave....and especially you." 
she pointed to Darien who shrugged. Michael followed his example 
innocently. 
	Laughing exuberantly, Serena fed the seals with fresh fish. 
"Ah! Did you see that?" she grabbed on to Darien's arm and jumped 
excitedly. "They're so cute!" Darien looked down to his arm and 
chuckled. "Oh sorry." Serena finally realized what she was doing. "I..
..just...I tend to get...Oh my god! Did you see it? He just dived in 
the water!" she clapped her hands and threw in the rest of the bucket 
of fish. "I didn't know you liked animals so much." Darien chuckled as 
he put Michael on his shoulders giving him piggy back ride. "Oh well 
I do. Who doesn't?" she gave him a cute smile and walked up ahead. 
	Darien just watched after Serena as she walked up to the 
incubators and pressed her nose to the glass. He didn't know how they 
ended up together at the zoo. For some reason they both volunteered to 
take Michael. "Darien. Darien...aren't we going over there?" Michael 
asked as they've been standing in the same spot. 
	"Oh...ya we were weren't we?" he shook his head slightly and 
walked over to stand beside Serena. "Look...oh the baby ducks are so 
cute." she cooed as she gently tap the window. Giggling slightly, 
Serena looked up to Darien for a second as a baby duck wobbled toward 
her. "Oh...it's coming over here." she smiled and bent down to get a 
closer look. 
	All the while, Darien couldn't take his eyes off of her. She's 
different from the test failing, crybaby klutz that he thought she was. 
Putting Michael down, Darien bent down and watched the baby duck like 
Serena. Turning his head sideways, Darien smiled as Serena opened her 
mouth in amazement as it tried to touch her hand through the glass. 
This pitter patter feeling began to stir in him. 
	Suddenly his thoughts were interrupted as Michael jumped 
between them and scared the duckling away. "Come on. We have to see 
the elephants!" he hollered and took both of their hands. Michael 
skipped away happily in front of Darien and Serena as they both looked 
down feeling a sense of warmth and protection. It was something about 
being together that made them see a whole side of each other that they 
didn't bother to notice before. 
	Sighing deeply Darien smiled and followed an energetic six 
year old down the little path of the zoo. "What are you thinking 
about?" It was Serena's turn to ask. Chuckling slightly, Darien looked 
over to Serena. "Nothing really. I'm just enjoying the nice day I 
guess." Serena thought for a moment. "You never told me why you 
volunteer at the orphanage. What was the other reason?" she asked 
quietly.
	Darien's eyes suddenly became blurry as he turned away 
slightly. The pain in his heart was too strong to bare. Seeing 
the sad expression on his face, Serena backed off. "Hey....it's really 
not a big deal. You don't have to tell me...if you don't want. I'm 
sorry if I was too forward. I just like to get to know people that's 
all. I guess it's not always a good thing...." she trailed off trying 
unsuccessfully to change the subject.
	"I used to live in that orphanage." Darien's voice seemed 
shaky as he told his darkest secret. Serena gasped slightly as she 
heard this dreadful news. "My parents died when I was six. Our car 
drove off a cliff and I was the only survivor. Sometimes I wish I 
weren't..." "NO! Don't ever say that." Serena stopped in her tracks 
and looked up to him with teary eyes. How could anyone not want to 
live? Life is the best thing ever. 
	"Have you told anyone else about this?" she asked. "Only 
Andrew. He's been my best friend since I can remember." Serena 
mentally kicked herself for saying mean things to him in the past. 
She had been inconsiderate and unaware of people's feelings. All she 
wanted to do at the time was get him back. She had no idea that a 
terrible, heart breaking thing has happened to him of all people. 
Maybe he built a wall around himself concealing his true feelings so 
no one can remind him of his dark past and he wouldn't have to feel 
sad. But who can ever just forget.
	Without hesitation, Serena stood up on tiptoes and took Darien 
into her arms. He needed comfort and Serena had to mend his soul 
somehow before he does something regretful. Darien's strong arms 
wrapped around Serena's small body as he buried his head in the crook 
of her neck. Passers stopped to look at the sweet couple holding each 
other and smiled knowingly. 
	"It's ok to feel sad Darien." Serena whispered into his ear as 
she softly stroke his hair, feeling the silky strands slide through 
her fingers. "I....I can't say I know how you feel because I don't. But 
I can imagine. I'm so sorry that I was so selfish..." Serena choked on 
a tear as she tried to hold back the threatening tears. But no matter 
how she tried to be brave, the walls crumbled down like broken glass 
as she cried against his shaking body.
	"I'm so sorry Darien. I hate myself for hurting you and....
and." before she could finish Darien broke away from her and stared 
into her beautiful watery eyes. "No it's not your fault...." his voice 
cracked as he tried to blink his tears back. "It's ok to cry...I'm 
here." No longer able contain the pain anymore, the barriers of his 
soul collapsed. Hugging Serena to him tightly, Darien cried heart 
brokenly for the first time in many years into her shoulder. Never has 
he ever cried before anyone, not even when he was alone. 
	It seemed like hours passed as they just held each other and 
sobbed miserably. Finally letting go, Serena reached up her hand and 
wiped away his tears. "Thank you." he said with a small smile. "No, 
thank you for telling me. I know it must have been hard for you." It 
felt good to cry, releasing all the pent up sorrow and grief he had 
kept to himself for so many hard years. Darien covered her hand still 
on his cheek with his own. His larger hand covering hers perfectly. 
Bringing it to his lips, Darien gently kissed her fingers.
	Serena looked down with a flushed face. She felt her heart 
speed up and butterflies began to flutter in her stomach. For a moment 
or so they stared into each other's eyes lovingly. "Serena I..." "Yes
.." Darien put his hands on either side of her waist and leaned his 
head sideways, moving ever so slightly towards her trembling lips. 
"Hey guys! Are ya coming?!" Michael stepped between them and pouted. 
	Letting go of Serena slowly, Darien looked down to Michael 
and smiled. "Sure...I'm coming!" he laughed as he picked him up 
giving him a piggy back ride. "Yeah!! Let's go see the elephants!" 
Serena shook her head in wonder. That was the second time that she was 
about to...."What's happening to me?" Serena thought to herself. "I 
can't be falling for him. That's just....impossible." This was Darien 
she's thinking about. Sighing deeply, Serena ran over to catch up with 
them.

	For the rest of the day, Serena and Darien stayed close to 
each other, though neither wanted to admit each other's feelings. 
Michael had seen everything and every animal to last him a life time. 
"Oh the bear! He was this big!" he stretched his arms as far apart as 
he could. "And the lion, he went ROAR!!!" he pretended to pounce on 
Darien who laughed wholeheartedly. "Oh did he?" Serena smiled and 
looked at Darien from the corner of her eye. 'He's kind of cute and..
and the sweetest man....' she thought and blushed all of a sudden. 
	It was close to 6 now as they walked toward the front to meet 
up with everyone. Michael walked a couple of steps in front of a worn 
out Darien and a breathless Serena. Often times, they walked closer to 
each other without really realizing it and the back of their hands 
would touch causing them to turn away embarrassed. 
	Not being able to stand it any longer, Darien grasped Serena's 
small hand in his and gave it a gentle squeeze. Serena was stunned for 
a moment, but the overwhelming feeling of being close to him gave her 
a calm, yet exciting feeling. She looked up to him with a small 
content smile and walked a little bit closer to him. 
	"Darien?" Serena asked quietly as she stared at the path a 
head of her. "Ya?" he answered the same way and looked over at her 
with a dazed expression. "Do you think I'm really hopeless? I mean 
with my grades and everything." the question took a while to register 
in Darien's head. Then smiling softly, he glanced at her downcast face. 
"You know you're not. Don't let people look down to you." "But you 
do." Darien shook his head. "I...I was wrong and I never meant 
anything I said. Well except the Meatball head part." he chuckled.
	Serena couldn't help but giggle. She knew she didn't give 
herself enough credit. The only reason she didn't bother trying harder 
is because everyone expected her to fail or do badly in school. "I'm 
sorry I didn't show up for tutorials. Did you ever wait for me?" 
Darien chuckled again. "Ya for hours." for some reason that made 
Serena smile. "Well better count on me being there tomorrow. Dad's not 
too happy about it and he's making me go back."
	"You mean you don't want to?" he asked a little disappointed. 
"At first I didn't. But....I...um...now that everything is different, 
I think I'd like to. Besides I have to improve my grades. Not for 
anyone, but for myself." she giggled and kicked a pebble. "Good I'm 
glad." Darien said and draped his arm over her shoulder. Serena looked
up to him with a shy smile and wrapped her arm around his waist, lean-
ing her head slightly against his shoulder, they walked leisurely 
down the path. 
	They were surrounded by tall oaks, pines and blue berry bushes. 
The sky was starting to turn orange as the sun shone through the canopy 
of the trees making streaks of sunrays touch the ground below. Every 
now and then, Michael would run back to them and jump in excitement 
when he spots a squirrel or a rabbit. 
	"I think that's Mina!" Serena pulled away from Darien's warm
embrace reluctantly and ran over to help her exhausted friend. They 
both suddenly felt a great sense of loss as they let go of each other.
"Thank god you're here. I'm so tired and..and." a little boy tugged at 
her shirt. "He just hit me." sighing deeply, Mina turned to the bigger 
boy. "Josh, don't hit Adam ok. I'm tired and I'm ticked off and I just 
want to go home and make brownies. Now stop bothering each other!" she 
yelled impatiently and held up her finger. "I was bitten by a bird. A 
bird! Can you even imagine what I went through. Boys are just too much 
for me to handle." she sat down on the bench while Serena sweat 
dropped.
	"Well you wanted...." "Don't even say it." Serena shrugged 
slightly and turned to see Darien walking up to them with Michael. "Hi 
Serena! Here we are, just on time." Lita smiled as a bunch of giggly 
girls followed in a straight line behind her. "We had a blast. How 
about you guys?" Mina raised her head. "Please you're torturing me." 
she whined and rubbed her temples. "Ok....what's wrong with her?" she 
whispered to Serena behind her hand. "Bad day....with the boys." 
"Oh...."
	"So how did everything go with Darien?" Lita asked slyly and 
eyed the two carefully. "Everything was fine. We had a great time....
we I mean Michael, him and I." Serena smiled lightly and looked up to 
Darien. "So nothing happened?" "No." they both said at the same time.
Lita wasn't satisfied but decided to drop it since the two were 
obvious hesitant to elaborate. 

	"Bye Serena! Bye Darien!" Michael hollered as they waved 
goodbye to the kids. "See ya next Sunday!" Serena smiled and hugged 
Michael. "Goodbye sweetie." she bent down as he gave her a small peck. 
Smiling softly, Serena stood up and ruffled his hair affectionately. 
	"Thanks guys for helping out. I'm really glad you came today." 
Serena said gratefully to Mina and Lita. "It was fun! Besides we had 
nothing else to do." Lita smiled and stretched her arms. "Ya I have to 
admit it was fun, even though the boys were a handful. Well I'm taking 
a cab. I don't think I can walk anymore." "I'll join you." Lita said 
and waved as a cab stopped in front of the street. "See ya." they 
waved. "See ya tomorrow." Serena waved back as the cab drove off.
	"My house is not as far. So I guess I'll see you tomorrow 
afternoon then?" Serena looked up to Darien tiredly. "I rode my 
motorcycle here. Do you want a ride?" Darien asked as he ran a hand 
through his hair. "Really? You have a motorcycle?" Darien nodded and 
chuckled as he motioned for her to follow him to the hospital's 
parking garage. 
	"Wow, this is really cool. I've never ridden a motorcycle." 
Darien smiled and put on his helmet. "Well ladies first." he gestured 
and helped Serena on and turned away slightly as her skirt pulled up 
exposing her long legs. Turning the key, the motorcycle rumbled. "You 
better hold on tight!" Darien hollered loudly over the noise. "Ok!" 
Serena lightly put her hands on his waist. 
	But suddenly Serena wrapped her arms around Darien tightly as 
they took off into the crisp night. "This is so fun!" She yelled 
exuberantly as her pigtails flew like two streamers of muted gold as 
the wind whipped across her flushed cheeks. Adding more speed to the 
bike, they zoomed down the street. 
	Finally stopping, Serena clambered off shakily and smoothed 
out her skirt. "That was the most exhilarating thing I've ever done in 
my whole life." she said while her whole body trembled. "Really? Well 
I'm glad." Darien smiled as he took off his helmet and walked Serena 
to her front steps. "Darien?" "Yes?" "Um...thank you for today. I had 
a lot of fun." she said honestly and touched his arm. "I had fun too." 
he replied, running a hand through his tousled hair as a piece of his 
bands fell over his sexy blue eyes. 
	Not being able to help herself, Serena brushed the piece of 
hair away and looked down blushing. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow at 
the university?" Darien asked as he smiled at her flushed face. "Ya 
I'd like that....I mean I'll be there." she sighed and turned to walk 
up the stairs. "Serena?" "Yes?" Darien reached up his hand to touch 
her cheek tenderly and leaned down slowly. Serena closed her eyes as 
she dreamed of this moment, of being kissed by a wonderful man.......
but only received a soft peck on the cheek.
	Opening her heavy eyes slowly, she realized that Darien had 
already walked to his motorcycle. Waving one last time, he turned on 
the engine and rode away. "Bye.." Serena whispered longingly and 
stared after his retreating form. "Serena? Is that you?" Irene opened 
the door to find Serena standing on the front stairs with a blank 
expression. "Serena? Dinner's ready." Snapping out of her thoughts, 
Serena turned to her mother with a tired smile. "Thanks mom. I'll be 
right in."



Hi! I'm so excited that I finished Chapter 3. There will be at least 
two more chapters after this. I hope to hear more from you guys. 
There are so many people I have to thank for writing me and telling 
me how much they liked The Fire From Within. I really appreciate it.
Well, stayed tuned for Chapter 4. Bye!