Try me - part 2
By Henra
HenraM@tuxedomask.com 
PG rated

	Standard Disclaimer applies.
	Enjoy reading, and be sure to drop me a comment! ^__^

Part two

**************

	   “I don’t believe this, I don’t believe this, I don’t believe this,” 
Serena murmured to herself, pacing around her new room. 
	   She sighed, and fell down on the bed. “That guy in the store…is Darien. 
Darien…is that guy in the store,” she said out loud, the words clearly sinking 
into her. 
	   She laughed bitterly, thinking how ironic the situation was. <Can I 
move out now? Would Raye mind giving me back the check?> 
	   <Oh, Kansie, you are out of your mind. Why move out for a guy like that? 
You can’t find another place just as the semester’s about to start.> 
	   Just then, a knock was heard on her door. 
	   “Come in,” Serena said, standing up from her bed, eyes on the door. 
	   Raye stuck her head in, and smiled at Serena. “Hey--whoa!” Her violet eyes 
widened when she saw Serena’s room. She came in, and surveyed the whole room. “Wow! 
I never knew the room could look like this! You work REALLY fast, girl, let me 
tell you that. A few hours--and THIS result? Damn, I need to learn how to decorate
a room nice and quick from you.” 
	   Serena laughed. “So! What’s up?” 
	   “Oh, me and Darien are thinking of going out for pizza tonight--are you 
interested in going with us? And…” Raye fought to keep cool, “Chad?” 
	   Serena was flattered. She barely knew Raye, and she was already asking her 
to go eat pizza together as if she knew her for a long time already. “Sure,” she 
answered with a smile. “Hey, Raye--is it all right if I take a shower now, though? 
I’m all, heh, sweaty from working around the room.” 
	   “Of course it’s all right! We’ll get going once Chad’s home…and that’s 
usually around 7 during weekends. So you have about,” Raye looked at her watch, 
“thirty minutes.” 
	   “Good enough for me. I’ll see you then,” Serena said. 
	   “Okay. Enjoy your shower!” Raye called out, walking toward the door. 
	   Serena laughed. <I will. Oh, I definitely need a cool shower.>

	   “Oh, good. You’re home,” Raye said flatly, eyeing Chad Duncan as he walked 
in the front door. 
	   “Good to see you again, too, Raye,” Chad replied back, his voice just as 
unenthusiastic. 
	   Raye rolled her eyes. “We’re going out for pizza--Serena, me and Darien, 
and you’re welcome to come along.” Instantly, she cursed herself. <You said that 
Darien was going to tell him! Why did you open your mouth?> 
	   Chad raised an eyebrow. “You’re asking me if I want to go to pizza with 
you guys?” 
	   Raye shrugged, trying to be careless. “Darien wanted you along.” 
	   “Oh.” Chad then shrugged, too. “I don’t know, if I have nothing else to 
do. And wait--Serena’s here already?” 
	   “Yeah.” Raye said with a smile, “she’s here. She moved most of her stuff 
in today, and she’s going to be living here from tonight on.” 
	   “Cool.” Chad grinned. “She seems like a nice girl.”
	   “Yeah, she is,” Raye replied. 
	   “Oh, Chad! You’re home! Wanna go out for pizza with us?” Darien appeared 
in the kitchen, grabbing a can of soda from the refrigerator. 
	   Chad glanced at Raye. “Raye already told me about it. I don’t know…maybe 
I’ll tag along.” 
	   Darien straightened up, and shot a glance at his cousin. “Raye already 
told you about it?” 
	   Raye could already see her cousin’s mind calculating what just happened, 
his eyes asking a question Raye didn’t even know the answer to herself. ‘Why did 
you ask him when you told ME to ask him?’ Maybe it wouldn't be such a big deal to 
anyone else, but to Darien's eyes and mind, everything had to do with SOMETHING. 
Raye hoped Darien wouldn't ask her anything. 
	   But, thankfully, Darien didn’t act on it. He just kept on looking at Chad. 
“Maybe? Where else do you plan to go tonight?” 
	   Involuntarily, Raye’s attention was grabbed. She tried to keep on looking 
at the book in her hands, but her ears were way into what Chad was about to say.
	   “No where, really. I just--I don’t know, I don’t think I’m really very 
welcomed,” Chad said to Darien, watching Raye from the corners of his eyes. 
	   <Hell, you are coming, Duncan, no matter what. I’m not about to face 
Serena if Raye’s not going to face you.> But Darien just tried casually to convince 
him, “Come on, what harm could it cause? We’re hungry, we’re roommates, we’re going 
out for pizza like normal friends.” He almost stumbled when he said friends, because 
he thought of Serena, but he caught himself in time. Chad would surely pick out that 
stutter if he made it. 
	   Chad’s eyes shifted to Raye. Raye, catching Chad looking at her, immediately 
started staring at the page in the book as if it was the most interesting thing 
in the whole world. Chad couldn’t help but smile. “Yeah, I guess I can go with you 
guys.” 
	   Darien grinned. “Cool.” He shot one more look at Raye, then at Chad, and 
then walked out of the kitchen, trying to figure out--for the millionth time--what
was it between Raye and Chad. 
	   Raye went back to her book. 
	   Chad hesitated for a moment, then started going to his room upstairs. 
	   Raye looked up as he walked slowly up the stairs. At that moment, Chad 
also shot a look at Raye. Their gazes met, and then Raye quickly looked away, 
feeling a faint blush creep up to her cheeks. 
	   Chad continued to go upstairs. 



         Serena came downstairs wearing a long-sleeved tie-dyed shirt, along 
with a pair of low-slung jeans. 
	   Raye was already in the living room, hands on hips, looking at her 
watch now and then. Serena smiled and called out, “Raye!”
	   Raye looked up, and smiled back. “Serena! God, I knew I could count on 
you.” 
	   “Where’s Chad and Darien?” 
	   Raye rolled her eyes. “Chad’s still in his room, and Darien’s still in 
the bathroom.” 
	   “Well, I’M back, so don’t worry about me any longer.” 
	   Both Raye and Serena turned toward the direction of the voice, and found 
Darien standing there, a smug smile on his face. “I’m not late, am I?” 
	   Serena fought not to notice how very attractive he looked. The crisp 
navy-blue shirt just somehow made his eyes more smoldering. Darien caught her 
looking at him, and gave her a smirk, which caused Serena to look away immediately. 
	   “Well, YOU are here, but where the hell is Chad?” Raye stomped a foot. 
	   “I’m here, I’m here,” Chad called out, practically rolling down the stairs 
because he tripped on his baggy pants on the top step. 
	   Raye rolled her eyes. “All right, all right. Let’s go.” 
	   “We’ll take my car,” Darien told them, walking ahead of the others. 
	   When they reached the Mitsubishi, Raye climbed in the backseat immediately. 
Serena was about to climb in after her, but Chad beat her to it. He flashed her 
an apologetic smile. “Sorry, I don’t like to use seatbelts. And Raye makes whoever
sit in the front seats wear them.” 
	   Serena saw Raye roll her eyes, but she also saw that her friend then flashed 
a small smile at Chad. Now Serena was the only one standing outside the jeep, 
staring at the seat beside Darien. She bit her lip, hesitant. 
	   Darien seemed to notice this. “What’s wrong, Serena? Afraid to sit beside 
me? Think I have the cooties or something?” He asked casually, half-smiling. 
	   Chad snickered, and Raye elbowed him, causing him to make a straight face 
in about a second. 
	   Serena narrowed her eyes at Darien. “Oh, very mature, Caseley.” She climbed 
in the seat next to Darien, closing the door after her. 
	   Darien went ahead and pulled out of the driveway. 


	   
	   “This place is so crowded,” Serena commented as the four of them made 
their way to a table. 
	   Raye nodded as she looked around. “Papa Joe’s always is during weekends.” 
	   “What do you guys want?” Darien asked, sitting down and leaning back against 
the leather seat. 
	   “Pepperoni,” Serena answered without thinking. 
	   “Okay, then. I want a cheese,” Darien replied, smirking at Serena. 
	   Serena stared at him in surprise. “I didn’t ask you what you wanted.” 
	   “Yeah, well--you wanted pepperoni, and so when you go up there--” Darien 
pointed to the counter with a finger, “--and order for the slices of pizza, order 
three slices of cheese for me.” 
	   Serena felt like exploding. “Excuse me? Why am I supposed to go up there 
and order for you? And why the hell DO you think _I_ would go and order when I just 
said that I wanted pepperoni? Besides, you were the one who asked me.” 
	   “So I asked you.” 
	   “Well, one USUALLY assumes when someone asks that, it means that he or she 
is the one who’s going to order.” 
	   “Well, one USUALLY assumes when one asks that, it’s just asking ‘What does 
everyone want’ and doesn’t mean ‘I’m going to order for you guys.’” 
	   Serena clenched her fists. She opened her mouth, but was interrupted by 
Raye. “All right, you two! I’LL go there and order, for god’s sake, since I ALWAYS do!” 
Raye started toward the counter. 
	   “Wait.” Chad started after her, grabbing her wrist. “I’ll order this time,
since like you said--you always do.” He half-smiled at her, and then walked to the 
counter, getting out his wallet.
	   Raye stood there, gawking after him. She turned back to their table, and 
sat down slowly.
	   “Is Chad paying for everything?” Serena asked when Raye sat down, “Because 
I brought mo--” 
	   “It’s always like that, don’t worry, Serena,” Raye replied, smiling. “He 
pays for now, but when we go home, we then pay for what we get.”
	   Serena nodded. 
	   “Are you rich or something? Because if you are--you CAN pay for everything, 
you know,” Darien said with an innocent smile. 
	   “Darien!” Raye exclaimed, giving her cousin a glare. 
	   “Although, I wonder--if you are really rich, why did you try to open the box 
of milk in the store?” 
	   Serena’s eyes flashed. “That has nothing to do with me being rich or not.” 
	   He shrugged, looking away. “Whatever.” 
	   “Chad!” Raye interrupted, relieved, before Serena could open her mouth.
	   Chad looked at Raye, a smile half lit on his face. “Gee, don’t you sound 
happy to see me.” 
	   Raye blushed, not saying anything. 
	   Chad sat down, also putting down a receipt on the table. “Our number is 210, 
easy to remember, right? I ordered two slices of pepperoni, three slices of cheese*, 
and a whole sausage pizza, all right?”
	   
*:: (A.N. I’m not sure if you could order like that since I never did before, 
but--just read along, okay? ^__^) 

	   “210,” Raye repeated. She looked at him, a sparkle lit in her eyes. “You
knew I wanted--sausage?”
	   Chad grinned easily. “I’d be dead if I don’t know what kind of pizza 
you like by now.” 
	   Raye nodded, and looked away, thinking how dumb her question was. Of 
course he knew by now…she just never knew that since he never ordered for them 
before. <Stupid, stupid, stupid.> 
	   Serena watched the exchange, and felt a small knowing feeling creep up 
to her. She caught Darien’s gaze, and from the way he was looking at her, she 
could tell that he was thinking of something--not the same--but similar. 
	   She looked away. She glanced at him sideways and saw that he had grinned 
and then turned his attention to somewhere in the other side of the room. 
	   Some minutes later, they heard a guy calling “Number 210! Number 210 is 
ready!” The four glanced at each other, and Serena started to get up. “I’ll get 
them.”
	   “But you don’t--”
         “Raye! Serena wants to get them, and so let her!” Darien said, trying to 
sound reasonable as he watched Serena turn to go. 
         Raye glared at her cousin. Honestly, he could be so annoying when he wanted 
to. She tried to call to Serena again, but when she looked back, Serena had already 
marched up toward the ‘pick-up’ part of the counter. <At least Serena didn’t hear 
that remark…Otherwise she would be REALLY hating Darien.> 
         Serena, unfortunately though, HAD heard it. She fought to keep her face 
smiling when she received the pizzas from the worker. She fought to keep her face 
cool when she reached back to the table. And she fought not to bite Darien’s head 
off right then and there when she delivered the different kinds pizzas to their owners.
         She finally sat down, picked up a slice of her delicious, hot pepperoni 
pizza, and prepared to start eating. 
         “Anyone want drinks?” Darien suddenly asked, looking at Serena. 
         Serena narrowed her eyes. She stayed silent. <If he thinks I'm going to 
answer that one like I did with the pizza, he's got another thing coming.>
         “I said, anyone want any drinks?” Darien asked again. 
         Serena looked at Raye and Chad. They somehow didn’t look like they heard 
anything; both were completely focused on destroying their pizza. She cocked an 
eyebrow, and wondered if there was anything going on between Raye and Chad. 
         “Serena? Want any drinks?” Darien grinned at her, picking a bite at his pizza. 
         Serena mouthed the words ‘Go to hell.’ 
         “Only if you come with me,” Darien replied, still smiling.
         It was at that moment Raye and Chad decided to pay attention. “Who come with 
who to where?” They asked in unison. They looked at each other, reddened, and then 
looked away, Chad focused on Darien, Raye focused on Serena. 
         Both Serena and Darien raised their eyebrows at the exchange. “Oh, we were 
talking about hell and stuff,” Serena answered, purposely making her voice cheerful. 
         “Hell?” Raye repeated. 
         “Yeah--it’s, you know, the UNDERWORLD,” Darien said in a serious tone, wiping 
his mouth with a napkin roughly.
         Raye rolled her eyes. “I didn’t ask you.” She went back to nibbling at 
her pizza. 
	   Serena gave Darien an evil eye. Darien raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
	   Serena finished with her first piece of pizza, and then made a grab for the 
second one on the plate. Somehow, the pizza tonight just tasted extra delicious. 
Then, she caught a glimpse of long blonde hair. Serena’s eyes widened. She put down 
her slice, and stared in the direction which she just saw that flash. <Mina?> 
	   Then, when her eyes saw that it was just another girl with long blonde hair, 
a shade a little bit darker than Mina’s, she slumped down in her seat. <Stupid, 
stupid. Mina went away, remember? She left yesterday night. God…I miss her already.> 
	   She looked at her half-bitten second slice of pizza. She just lost her 
appetite. “Um--” Serena began, catching everyone around the table’s attention, “I’m 
going to--go outside for a minute, okay?” She half-smiled, and stood up to go.
	   “Wait! Wha-what about your pizza?” Raye asked. “I mean--it’s going to get 
cold, and when it’s not cold--it’s not as delicious.” 
	   Serena smiled. “I’m not really that hungry anymore.” She walked to the 
front door. Chad, Raye, and Darien all stared after her. 
	   Raye looked expectedly at Darien. “Well?” 
	   “Well what?” Darien stared back at Raye, his eyes narrowed. 
	   “Well, what did you say to her?” 
	   Darien gaped at his cousin in disbelief. “Excuse me? What _I_ did to her?” 
	   Raye didn’t answer. She crossed her arms and leaned back in her seat, 
looking crossly at her cousin. 
	   “Raye, you were here the whole time, okay? I didn’t do anything to her.” 
Darien took a bite on his pizza. “She fought back, anyway,” he mumbled, looking 
away. 
	   Raye threw another concerned look out the door of Papa Joe’s, and then 
hesitantly finished the last bite of the slice of pizza she was holding in her hand. 
	   Darien shifted in his seat, making a little squeaking noise with the leather 
chair. His eyes darted to the half-bitten pizza that was on Serena’s plate, and 
unconsciously, he looked out the direction where Serena had gone. He frowned. 
	   It couldn’t have been something that he did that got to Serena. He was 
sure of that.

	   Serena came in a few minutes later, looking tired. She shakily sat down 
beside Raye, and looked for a drink. Then she realized that no one had ordered a 
drink. Shooting a glance at Darien, she warily began, “I’m going to go buy a drink…” 
	   Raye and Chad nodded. Serena looked at Darien, expecting him to come up 
with another sorry excuse for an insult. Instead, he didn’t say anything. Just held 
her gaze evenly with his piercing blue eyes. Serena stood up, breaking eye contact, 
and walked to the counter, pulling out her wallet from her shoulder bag. 
	   Darien cocked an eyebrow as he saw Serena talking with the guy behind the 
counter, and then giving him some money, and came back holding a glass of soda in 
her hand. “What did you buy?” 
	   Serena sat down, eyeing him carefully, and not answering for a moment as 
if considering the question was tricky. Then she answered in a cool voice, “Cola.” 
	   “Cool. I like cola,” Darien replied, half of a smile appearing on his face. 
	   Serena’s eyes narrowed. “That’s nice.” She watched him as he stretched his 
palms out, then snatched up the remaining slice of pizza on his plate, and casually 
ate it, while the whole time never moving his eyes away from hers. She was 
half-expecting him to tell her to go and buy a cola for him.
	   “Well,” Raye said cheerfully, dabbing her mouth with a napkin, “I’m done. 
Do you guys want to go straight home or go somewhere else to have fun?” 
	   Chad grinned. “Go somewhere else to have fun, of course, my lady.” 
	   Raye glanced at him, then looked at Serena and Darien. “What do you think, 
guys?” 
	   Serena looked back at Raye, and smiled. “I don’t know. I’m sort of tired…”
	   “Oh, come on, Serena! Already tired?! You should have fun today! It’s the 
beginning of the days that you’re going to be living with us!” Chad exclaimed, 
his grin getting wider. 
	   “Yeah, Serena. Tired so soon?” Darien put the last bite of pizza into his 
mouth, and picked up a napkin to wipe his mouth. “You guys could go to that newly
opened club.” 
	   “What? In THIS?” Raye exclaimed in disbelief, gesturing at her blue baby
tee and white slim-fitting jeans, with the dirty sneakers. “I don’t think so. 
And what do you mean, Darien-YOU guys?” 
	   “I don’t plant to go, actually. I, uh--promised Andrew I would meet him at 
the park tonight,” Darien answered casually. 
          “Oh.” Raye’s gaze dropped, then she looked between Chad and Serena. 
“Well, then…if you guys don’t mind, I think we should all just go to that amusement 
park on Main street,” Raye, brightening suddenly. 
	   “Amusement park? At this hour?” Serena asked, blinking. 
	   “You know--that’s not a bad idea,” Chad commented, a glint to his eyes. 
	   Serena thought about it. There was still some stuff that she had to 
finish in her new room…but, of course, that could be done later. But--she looked 
at Chad, then at Raye. There was something between those two, and somehow, she 
didn’t feel like tagging along. “Well, I--it’s probably a good idea for you guys 
to go somewhere…but I--really, Raye--I’m exhausted from moving all those stuff. I 
just want to go home and take some rest. I’ll take a rain check, if it’s okay…?” 
Serena smiled apologetically at her new friend. 
	   Raye panicked. If Serena weren’t going…and Darien weren’t going…then she 
and Chad would be going alone…and somehow, the idea of going to the amusement park 
doesn’t seem so fun and carefree anymore. She turned a pleading gaze to Serena. 
“Serena…please?” she began, “I mean, you’re my new friend--and I want us to really 
have some fun together…consider this like, like some sort of celebration of you 
moving in with us.” 
	   Darien snorted. “Yeah, right, celebration.” 
	   Raye glared at him, and Serena flushed in anger. 
	   “Listen,” Chad suddenly said, stealing everyone’s attention, “if Serena 
doesn’t want to go…then we shouldn’t force her.” 
	   Serena sighed silently in relief.
	   Raye stared at Chad, not believing her ears. “ExCUSE me?” 
	   Chad turned to look into her violet eyes. He grinned, shrugging. “What, 
you don’t think we’ll get along together?” 
	   Raye opened her mouth to say something, but closed it again when no words 
came out for five seconds. She turned away, hiding her reddened face. 
	   Serena smiled secretly, licking her lips. “Well, Raye?” 
	   Raye turned wide eyes to her friend. “Um, well…I-I…I guess it’d be okay. 
But, are you SURE you don’t want to come along?” She asked, getting hopeful again. 
	   “She’s sure,” Chad cut in, grinning and leaning toward Raye. 
	   Serena smiled. “That’s decided, then?” <Raye and Chad…? Possible.> 
	   “Wait!” Raye suddenly exclaimed, realizing something. “We came here in 
Darien’s car! How will Darien go to the park, Serena go back home, and…me and--Chad 
go to the amusement park?” 
	   Darien thought for a moment, then snapped his fingers. “That’s easy. I’ll 
get you guys to the Amusement park first, since that’s not really far away, and you 
guys can order a taxi or something on the way home. And I’ll drive Serena back 
home after that, and then I’ll drive off myself to the park.” 
	   “You know what, you don’t have to drive us--we can just take a cab,” Chad 
offered. 
	   “Um, yeah--if you need to like, get to the park really fast,” Raye said 
quietly. 
	   Darien grinned. “Oookay…I’ll, uh--fine. You guys can go get a cab and 
ride off to the amusement park, and I’ll take Serena home.” 
	   Both Serena and Raye swallowed uncomfortably. 
	   <I’ll be alone in the car with Darien…> 
	   <I’ll be alone in a car with Chad…well, there’s still the driver…but…> 
	   Serena sighed. <I guess I have to be prepared for whatever other insults 
Darien has in store for me on our drive.>
	   “Okay, then. Let’s go,” Chad said, smiling, as he got up and headed for 
the door, with the other three following him. 



	   The silence in the car was agonizing. Serena kept shifting in her seat, 
keeping her eyes out the window. She didn’t talk, he didn’t talk…that was fine. 
	   “We’re here,” Darien said, breaking the silence and startling Serena. 
	   She swallowed, and realized they were getting nearer to the garage door as 
Darien pulled up the driveway. She unbuckled her seatbelt, grabbed her bag, and placed 
her hand on the handle, and pushed. 
	   The door didn’t budge. 
	   “Uh,” Serena said, a little sheepishly as she glanced at Darien. “The door’s 
locked.” 
	   “What? Oh…I forgot to unlock,” Darien replied, a lopsided grin on his lips
as he pulled a button by his door. 
	   “Thanks,” Serena said, getting out of the car and slamming the door shut 
again. Then, she realized that Darien was also getting out. She looked at him, a 
little confusedly. “Um--aren’t you going to meet Andrew at the park?” 
	   “Nah. I’m tired,” Darien replied, walking and stretching at the same time 
with his arms. 
	   Serena looked away, but not before she caught the way his muscles showed 
through the shirt when he pulled his arms like that. “So, what--you’re going to 
make him wait?” 
	   “Want to know something?” Darien said, his voice suddenly getting mysterious. 
	   Serena followed him inside as he opened the door, and turned on the 
lights in the house. She looked at him, puzzled. “Sure. What?” 
	   “I don’t have a plan to meet Andrew in the park tonight,” Darien told her, 
his eyes dancing. 
	   Serena raised an eyebrow. “You lied? Why would you do that?” 
	   “I didn’t want to go anywhere after pizza, and I know that I would never 
hear the end of it if I didn’t come up with a excuse for Raye as to why I couldn’t 
go,” Darien answered easily, sitting down on the sofa and clicking on the television. 
	   “You make it sound like Raye’s your mother or something,” Serena commented,
sitting on the sofa’s armrest, a good distance from Darien. 
	   Darien smirked, flipping through a channel. “She acts like one sometimes.” 
	   Serena smiled. “By the way--do you have any idea what’s going on between 
Raye and Chad?” 
	   “I don’t know…I never really cared. When Chad first moved in, Raye despised 
him. But now--she changed her attitude, I guess,” he answered, eyes focused on the 
TV screen. 
	   Serena nodded. “Well,” she stood up. “I’ll be finishing up the stuff in 
my room.” 
	   “Hey Serena?” Darien called out. 
	   Serena turned around. “What?” 
	   “Do you like it here?” 
	   Serena was stunned. What kind of question was that? “Wha-what do you mean?” 
	   “I mean,” Darien turned his head, his midnight blue eyes locked with hers, 
“do you think you’ll be able to like living here?” 
	   Serena searched his eyes, and realized that he actually was being serious. 
“I-I…I don’t know. Probably.” 
	   “Okay,” he answered. Then cleared his throat, and turned his head back to 
face the TV again. “Okay.” He said it again, a little more loudly. 
	   Serena turned back around again, walking up the stairs. 
	   “And Serena?” 
	   Serena stopped. Her heart took a hard pound against her chest. “What?” she 
replied. Was he going to ask another question like that again?
	   “Can you get me a can of beer?” 
	   Serena rolled her eyes, annoyance shooting through her, and continued up 
the stairs. “Get it yourself, you lazybug, I’m not a maid!”

	   

	   Serena heard laughter. She stuck her head out her bedroom door, and looked 
down the short but wide hallway. “Raye?” 
	   Raye raised her head, and beamed a huge smile at Serena. “Hey!” 
	   Serena came out of her room, and stood with her hands on her hips. She 
raised an eyebrow. “I’m guessing you had fun at the Amusement park?” 
	   Raye nodded, giggling again. “Yep. Chad was sooo hilarious! I couldn’t 
stop laughing on the rides, even when we were riding up and down on the roller coasters!” 
	   “I’m glad you had fun…” Serena said, smiling back. 
	   “And you know what?” Another giggle and a blush. 
	   “What?” 
	   “He asked me out to movies tomorrow night!” Raye exclaimed, together with 
another giggle. 
	   Serena gasped. “You’re serious?” 
	   Raye nodded. 
	   “That’s great!”
	   “Hee…” Raye yawned, and shot a shy look toward the bedroom door beside 
Serena’s door…Chad’s room.
	   “Where’s Chad?” Serena asked. 
	   “He’s downstairs, talking and laughing with Darien, of course,” Raye 
answered, taking steps into her bedroom, which was the first room by the stairs. 
“Goodnight, Sere.” 
	   “Uh…goodnight,” Serena answered. Sere? She went back into her room, closing 
the door behind her. Did they become good friends already that Raye had started 
giving her a nickname? And what a coincidence it was…it was the same nickname Mina 
had for her. 
	   With that thought on mind, Serena rushed toward her new desk. She remembered 
she had put it somewhere… She pushed aside other papers, and saw a little white 
paper with a flower drawn on it. Serena smiled, took the paper, and opened it. On 
it contained Mina’s address in London. 
	   Serena grabbed a pen from the pencil holder she had placed on the desk and 
looked around for a white piece of paper. <Uh-oh.> She had an alarming thought. <I
didn’t…oh no…I forgot…> 
	   Sighing, Serena put down her pen with a thunk, and walked out the door to 
Raye’s room. “Raye?” She knocked on the door. 
	   No answer.
	   Serena knocked again. Again no answer. She leaned back, and frowned. She 
walked back to her room, but then heard a shower running sound from inside the 
bathroom between her and Chad’s room. <She must be taking a shower.> Serena bit 
her lip, and then walked downstairs into the living room. 
	   “Hey Serena!” Chad was all smiles. 
	   “Hey Chad.” Serena smiled back, knowing the reason that he was grinning 
so hard. 
	   “Um…do one of you have a blank sheet of white, lined paper that could be 
used for letter writing? The three-holes kind is the best. ” Serena's eyes darted
between Darien and Chad. “I ran out of them.” 
	   “Gee, Serena, does the paper have to be college rule, too? Or do you need 
the wide kind?” Darien replied sarcastically. 
	   “Do you?” Serena asked, ignoring his comment. 
	   “I think I have one somewhere around in my drawer…” Chad said, about to go 
upstairs. 
	   “Don’t bother…I can get it, so Chad doesn’t have to crawl all the way 
upstairs to get a paper for you,” Darien said, walking in to his room behind the stairs. 
	   Serena stared after him, not saying anything. 
	   When he came out, he gave the paper to Serena, and led Chad toward the sofa, 
talking again. Serena started her way upstairs. She fingered the paper in her hands. 
She stopped on the top of the stairs, and looked at it, borrowing the light the 
hallway provided. She counted the paper, and found that instead of one, there were
five white pieces of paper. “No wonder they felt thick…” Serena smiled, an image of 
Darien appearing in her mind, and she blushed.
	   She sat down on the chair in the bedroom, and began writing. 

Dear Mina,
	
	Hey! How are you? How are things in London? I miss you sooo much!
	Right here, everything’s fine, I guess. I’ve got to tell you something, though. 
Remember that guy in the market who caught me trying to open that box of milk? Well, 
guess what? He’s one of my new ROOMMATES! CAN you believe it? Ugh. He’s made the fact
that he hates me pretty clear…with all those insults and sarcastic remarks. But I 
think I’ve made the fact that I hate HIM pretty obvious too…at least, I think so. 
You know me. I get tongue-tied sometimes when someone makes a bad remark about me 
to my face.
	Still, now that I’ve spend almost a day with him, I’ve got to admit, Min…he 
is REALLY gorgeous. In fact, I think he’s even more handsome than Daniel…! Now, 
that’s something, don’t you think? If you ever see him, you will faint. Wait…I’m 
stretching it here. I think he’s cute, yes, but remember this, Min…I DESPISE HIM. 
	But something happened just tonight, though, about two hours ago. We just 
came back from a place called Papa Joe’s, a pizza place, and Raye and Chad went to 
the Amusement park nearby. They wanted all of us to go, but I didn’t feel like it. 
Turned out, Darien didn’t, either. So he drove me home since he took us to Joe’s in 
his car, and we exchanged a few words before I was walking up the stairs. And then…
Min, and then he asked me something like, “Do you think you’ll be able to like it 
here?” How was I supposed to answer that, Min? But I just said probably. And that’s 
true, anyway…if he wasn’t one of the roommates, I would’ve answered yes. He’s 
annoying, but Raye and Chad are pretty cool, though. 
	Speaking of them, I think they like each other. At first they didn’t show it, 
though, especially on the interview we had for the room. When they were asking me 
questions and showing me around the house, they kept shooting each other these 
annoyed looks. But tonight, after Raye got back from the park with Chad, she was 
all giddy. And Chad? He was smiling so hard I’m afraid his face will stay stretched 
out after he stopped smiling. 
	But, it’s cute, though. They look pretty good together. 
	Anyway, what about you? How are you doing? Is your mom all right to you? 
Seriously, Min, you really should give her a chance. It’s not completely her fault 
that your Dad left…she needs you, and I think you need her, too, Min, although you 
wouldn’t admit it…even when I was practically pounding on your head. Still, you 
went back to London, and that means you at least have SOME love left for your mom, 
right?
	Well…that’s it, I guess. 
	Min…I just want to say…I really, really miss you. 
	Write me back…you promised, remember?
	
									Lots of hugs,
									  Serena. 

	   Serena folded the letter and placed it under a marble display cup. She 
would mail it tomorrow…when she got an envelope, that is. 
	   She groaned. 



	   “Hey, Raye--where’s everyone?” Darien asked, coming out of his room. 
	   Raye looked at her cousin, and smiled secretly. “I don’t know. Chad’s 
probably somewhere with his friends. Serena’s out, getting some envelopes and stamps.” 
	   “I didn’t ask where Serena is,” Darien replied carelessly, walking in to 
the kitchen. 
	   Raye sighed and got up from where she sat on the floor, reading a romantic 
novel. “Well, geez, sorry I felt like I should tell you since you asked where’s 
EVERYONE, not just where’s CHAD!” 
	   Darien walked in the living room, holding an apple in his hands. “What did 
you say Serena went, though? Getting envelopes and stamps?” 
	   “Yeah…” Raye folded the page where she left off, and put the book on the 
coffee table, then turned around to face her cousin. 
	   Darien glanced around the room, and before he knew the words in his brain, 
he asked, “Don’t we have envelopes and stamps that you could borrow to her? Don’t 
make her go the extra miles.” 
	   A smile was beginning to form on Raye’s lips. “You actually care, Darien?” 
	   Darien stared at Raye for a moment. Then he shrugged, and went back in his 
room, while saying, “It’s pretty hot out today, I wouldn’t want ANYONE to go under 
the sun for just some envelopes and stamps.” 
	   “Yeah…whatever, cousin,” Raye mumbled to herself, a big grin lit on her face. 
	   Darien locked the door to his room, cursing himself. Now why did he done 
that? Don’t make her go the extra miles. He snorted as he recalled his words, and 
fell back on his bed, turning on the boombox sitting on the floor beside it. 
	   He would’ve said it if it was Chad, too, not just Serena. 
	   Raye knocked on his door. He turned down the volume on the boombox. 
	   “What?” 
	   “I’m going out, okay?” 
	   “Fine. Do you need my permission?” 
	   “Shut up, bonehead.” 
	   Darien heard the door close. He turned up the volume again, closing his eyes. 

	   When he opened his eyes again later, he realized that he had fallen asleep. 
The boombox was still on full blast, and he quickly turned it off. He felt sweat on 
his forehead. The clock read 4:32. He glanced around his room, and knew that he had 
been sweating because the window and the door were both closed. He shook his head. 
	   “Why did I fall asleep?” He unlocked his door, and there was no one in the 
living room. He stood in the middle of the living room, and looked toward the rooms 
upstairs. All three bedroom doors were closed, but the bathroom was wide open.
	   That got him toward the bathroom beside the starting of the stairs, the 
bathroom that he always used. The others always used either the bathroom upstairs, 
or the bathroom inside the small so-called family room.
	   The bathroom door was half-closed, the little open space allowing him to 
see the wall the towels were all hanging on. He began unbuttoning his white dress 
shirt with his right hand as his left hand went to open the door all the way. 
	   He heard a shriek even before he had the door wide open. Darien stopped 
fumbling with his buttons, which had unbuttoned down to his abdomen, with only two 
more left. 
	   His eyes widened when they registered that there was another person in the 
bathroom. 
	   Serena was standing there, one hand frozen in midair holding a hairbrush, 
the other pressed down on the sink. He saw that she only had on a long white shirt 
that barely reached down her hips to her thighs. Her hair was wet, and her blue eyes
were huge as they looked into his shocked dark blue ones. 
	   For a moment, neither spoke. 
	   Then, as if gathering her senses, Serena shouted, “What the HELL do you 
THINK you’re DOING?”
	   Darien took a step back, still shocked to his bones. “I didn’t know you 
were in here. The door wasn’t even CLOSED!” he replied. 
	   “Well, I didn’t know you were going to march right in here!” 
	   “Why didn’t you close the damn door?” 
	   “It was hot!” Serena screamed, her face twisted into a fury expression. “So 
I opened the door, a LITTLE tiny bit ONLY! That didn’t give you the right to shove 
open the door!”
	   “The door was open! The door was OPEN! That USUALLY means one thing--no one 
is inside!” Darien exclaimed, his annoyance building up. 
	   “Ugh!” Serena growled, her eyes flashing angrily at him. “Can you just GET 
OUT so I can finish up in here?” 
	   “Certainly. Take your time, as long as you have the door CLOSED this time 
so no one else would make the mistake again that there’s no one inside the bathroom!” 
Darien told her, scowling. 
	   “Of course!” He barely had time to step back before Serena reached back and 
slammed the door in his face. 
	   Darien went straight into the living room, sat down, and fumed. 

	   Serena quickly pulled on her jeans, and then looked again to make sure the 
door was locked. She was breathing so heavily that she was afraid she might start 
to hyperventilate. Heck, she almost did just then. 
	   How dare he! How dare that jerk unexpectedly come in the bathroom with her 
in it wearing only a shirt and underwear, and then shout at her about the door not 
being closed!
	   Well, maybe she should have closed the door all the way, but it wasn’t like 
she thought anyone would come in exactly at that moment. She learned a lesson about 
living here today. 
	   As she continued to brush her tangled hair, her mind reflected back to the 
moment that Darien had opened the bathroom door. His shirt had been almost all the 
way unbuttoned, allowing Serena to see the results of his obvious workouts. She 
blushed, at the same time thinking how ironic the situation had been--him ready to, 
apparently, take a shower, shirt open, and her, just finished taking a shower, and 
half-way dressed.
	   Ironic, all right. 



	   Serena rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. “Come again, Raye?” 
	   Raye just giggled once more. 
	   “The move date with Chad went well, I presume?” Serena tried 
again. 
	   Raye nodded, grinning. 
	   Serena smiled. “Wanna tell me the details?” 
	   Raye blushed, and looked away. 
	   “I guess that means not now. So, like--are you guys an item now?” 
	   Raye stopped smiling and stared at Serena. She seemed to be thinking 
deeply. “I don’t know. Does one date, two, actually, if you want to count that 
trip to the amusement park, make you a couple?” 
	   Serena smiled. “I don’t know. Depends how deep the dates are…” she grinned. 
	   “Stop!” Raye giggled, and went into her room. She sat on the bed, and 
smiled secretly.
	   Serena hovered by the door. “Are you going anywhere later tonight?” 
	   Raye looked up. “No, actually. Are you?” 
	   “No,” Serena answered with a smile. “You want to borrow a tape from a video
store and watch it together?” 
	   Raye smiled. “Yeah. I would like that. I make good popcorns.” 
	   Serena laughed turned to go. <Maybe I’ll become good friends with Raye.> 

**************

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