The Beauty Within Her Chapter 6 By: Jessica M. Moonflower E-mail: salud731@earthlink.net Rated: PG-13 (Adult content again, but nothing serious) Disclaimer: Standard disclaimer applies. ANs: I have nothing really to say except enjoy the story! ^_^ "You don't need a reason to like or love someone...you just do." ~**Unknown Source**~ ---<-----<----<-----@ After lunch the next day, all six girls headed for the mall. Raye, Amy, Lita, Mina, and Serena were all looking for a dress for tonight's extravagant party while Rita helped pick out their dresses, or gave them her approval. Every girl picked out a dress that suited them the best while Serena didn't seem to find anything that she liked. "How about this one, Serena?" Mina held up a beautiful, white strappy dress with a draped neckline and long scarf to complete the ensemble. "No." She scrunched up her face in disapproval. "What do you mean 'No'?! We have browsed through every single store in the mall and not one dress has satisfied you! We must have scanned a million dresses, which, by the way, have all been exceptionally beautiful!" "Mina, you're overreacting." She took off her glasses to clean them with a lace trimmed handkerchief. "Serena, she's right. You keep on rejecting any dress we have suggested to you without even trying any of them on! If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you are a picky shopper when it comes to picking out clothes," Lita observed, looking directly at her while twirling a lock of hair around her finger. Once Serena made sure that her glasses were perfectly clean, she carefully placed them back on and stuck the handkerchief in her small purse. "I'm sorry, guys. I appreciate all of you trying to find me my dream dress, but the truth is, I really don't want to go." "Serena, don't back out now! You've got to come to the engagement party!" Rita begged. "Yeah, Serena! You'll miss out on this happy occasion," Raye agreed. "You shouldn't be excluded," Amy added. "Besides, Serena, you never want to go to any party we throw. It's about time that you finally went to one," Lita urged. "I know, but I really don't have the money right now to buy a fancy gown for the party." She absent mindedly fingered a blue silk gown on the rack in front of her. "I'll pay for it!" Rita offered. "It's very nice of you to offer, but I really don't want you to spend your money on me. Anyway, I really don't want to dress up in a big fancy gown. I prefer to dress up in one of my own simple dresses that I have at home." "Are you sure?" Rita asked skeptically, brushing a long curly lock of hair away from her face. "Yes, I'm sure." She smiled. "I think we better get back to the mansion now and get ready. It's now five o' clock," Raye declared, checking her watch. "Yeah," all the girls agreed. *~ The six girls left the mall after they paid for their dresses, and drove home to get ready for the party. By seven o' clock, stylishly dressed guests in tuxedos or sparkling gowns started arriving at the mansion. The grand party took place in a huge white tent that was set up in the gardens. Inside the tent, several tables covered in a white silk table cloth was set up with a huge buffet table just to the side, containing various dishes of appetizing foods and desserts. At the center, a band was playing a soft musical piece of Mozart with a few people dancing on the dance floor. Outside the tent, the garden's trees and bushes were decorated with delicate, glowing white lights. Andrew and Darien were already inside with the other guests, socializing and greeting people. The two men excused themselves from a group of guests and walked over to the buffet table where they started a private conversation of their own. "So, where are the girls?" Darien asked Andrew as he took a sip of his champagne. "Probably still getting ready or waiting for the right moment to make their grand entrance," He joked while taking a few grapes from the table. "Women," Darien commented. "Tell me about it," Andrew agreed, chewing on a grape. "I swear, Rita takes like an hour to get ready for a date or some big social event. I don't see why women always have to take an eternity to get dressed for anything." "It's a girl thing that we men will never understand. All the female population seem to inherit it as they get older." Darien swallowed the rest of his drink and motioned for one of the caterers to bring him another glass. "You're probably right," He chuckled. "Right about what, darling?" Mrs. Scott approached them. "Oh, nothing, Mom." Andrew devoured the rest of his grapes. "We were just talking about how the girls are taking way too long to get here, Aunt Faith." When the caterer swiftly came to Darien's side, he gave his empty champagne glass to him and took a new glass off the tray. The caterer offered some champagne to Mrs. Scott, but kindly declined, looking back at her nephew and son. "Oh, don't worry. They'll be here soon enough. I'm sure Rita and the others want to look their very best for the party. Why, they're probably doing each others hair." "Well, they better hurry up! I'm dying to know what my fiancee looks like!" Andrew exclaimed in mock annoyance. "Calm down, son. The longer they take, the more stunning they'll be when they arrive," came the voice of Mr. Scott, joining the group and wrapping his arms around his wife's waist. "Of course! I did the same to your father..." "And look at your mother! She's as beautiful as a sweet smelling gardenia flower," filled in Mr. Scott, kissing his wife on the cheek with much love and adoration. Gasps and comments from around the room caused Darien, Andrew, and Mr. and Mrs. Scott to divert their attention from each other to the entrance way. Six elegantly clad women were the center of attention, enjoying every moment of their spotlight treatment and effect on the crowd. Raye was wearing a long, red, sequined halter strap gown with a touch of silver stars scattered all over the material. Her long raven hair was swept up in a high, sophisticated bun with a few curled tendrils framing her face. All around the bun, silver star clips were scattered, making her look like the queen of the celestial heavens. Adorning her ears were long dangling star earrings to complete the look. Wearing a simple, strappy, blue silk gown with an empire waist and dark blue flower prints all over it was Amy. Draped around her shoulders was a matching floral lace shawl. One side of her shoulder length blue hair was clipped back in a sapphire clip, and around her neck was a sapphire choker with sapphire studs on her delicate ears. Lita wore an emerald green, corset-style bodice gown with emerald straps holding the dress up. Her wavy chocolate brown hair was kept loose all around her shoulders with only the left side of her hair being held up with a single white rose. An emerald drop necklace hung around her neck with matching tear drop earrings on her ears. On Mina, she wore a strapless, orange evening gown that flowed out at the bottom. Her hair was tied back with a bunch of pale orange roses and baby's breath sticking out on both sides of her hair. Her accessories were a white pearl necklace and teardrop pearl earrings. Rita wore a small strapped, high neckline, white silk gown with a small slit on each side that went up to mid-thigh. Her hair was left loose in a mass of brown curls with a white orchid pinned on both sides of her hair. Around her neck was a heart shaped diamond necklace with matching earrings and a diamond bracelet on her wrist. Lastly, Serena was wearing a black tank top that showed off her creamy white shoulders with a knee length, ruffled black skirt, covered with yellow floral designs. Her hair was tied back in a French braid, and she wore a silver heart shaped locket around her neck. All six girls leisurely walked towards the buffet table where Darien and the Scott family still stood, gawking at them. "You girls look exceptionally beautiful!" complimented Mrs. Scott, the first one to recover from her shock . "Thank you," each girl answered with a smile. "Rita, you look amazingly pretty tonight!" came Andrew's breathless reply, looking at his fiancee up and down with admiration in his eyes when she came up to him to stand right beside him. "Thank you, sweetie. You look handsome as usual." She gave him a short kiss on the lips. "Sure, he's happy now. Before he was complaining about how long you girls took to get ready," Darien joked, dipping a grape in his champagne glass and devouring it in one bite. "Like my Dad said, the wait was well worth it!" He gave his cousin a wink while linking his arm with Rita's. Turning to Serena, Darien curiously asked, "How come you're not wearing anything fancy like the girls?" "Well, I really didn't want to dress up too extravagantly," was her simple reply. "But it is a party. That's what people do at parties," he pointed out. "I just feel like wearing this," Serena insisted. "Darien, leave Serena alone. If she wants to wear something simple then let her. Don't force her to do something she doesn't want to do," Lita spoke up haughtily. "Besides, Serena borrowed that outfit from me since she didn't have many simple and elegant dresses in her closet." "I'm not forcing her to do anything! I just thought she'd be wearing something remarkably fancy since the rest of you seem to outshine everybody else in the room." "Well, you thought WRONG! She prefers to be different from the rest of us, and I admire her for it," the brunette boldly stated, tossing her hair back defiantly. "Yes, Darien, I agree with Lita. Serena has a mind of her own. Let her be the judge of what she should or shouldn't do," Andrew reprimanded him. "Okay, okay! I was only asking a question! No need to jump down my throat!" Darien took a defensive stance. Turning to Serena with a look of pure sincerity, he said, "I'm sorry, Serena, if I have offended you in any way." She shook her head which said that she understood. "It's all right, Darien. I'm not offended at all so no need to apologize. You were curious anyway." "More like nosy," Lita mumbled to herself. "You say something, sis?" Darien arched a questioning eyebrow at her. "Uh...me?! No, not at all!" She gave him an innocent look as if she didn't know what he was talking about. He just threw her a skeptical glance as he sipped his champagne. "You girls simply look ravishing!" squealed the excited Mrs. Garrison, running up to meet with the rest of the family with Mr. Garrison close at her side. "Really, Mrs. Garrison, there is no need to compliment us. It's just something we picked out at the mall." Amy's cheeks were stained with a soft pink hue. "Nonsense, Amy! Don't any of you, be so modest with me. You were the highlight of the evening with your magnificent entrance!" Mrs. Garrison clapped her hands together in delight. "We all appreciate your comments," replied Raye obligingly. "That's because they are all true," added Mr. Garrison, his deep green eyes shining with merriment and amusement. "What's HE doing here?!" Andrew's angry outburst disrupted the friendly banter that was going on between his family and friends. A few curious guests also turned to stare at the seething blond male, wondering what could possibly rile up the easy going young man. "Who, darling?" inquired a concerned Mrs. Scott, obviously flabbergasted at her son's sudden change of moods. "Look towards the entrance," he said through clenched teeth, unconsciously clenching and unclenching his fists at his sides. Everybody including a few nosy guests turned in the direction Andrew referred to. Startled gasps escaped from a few of the guests, but no one was more stunned than the Garrison and Scott family. Standing at the entrance way was a handsome, tall, well-built man dressed in a stunning black tuxedo. He had brown hair that was slicked back so no strand fell out of place, and light green eyes that gleamed with mischief and power, but were also expressionless and hard. He held an aura of arrogance and self-importance that it made him almost intimidating, yet surprisingly irresistible at the same time with his seductive smiles and sex appeal. Linked to his arm was a trashy looking slut wearing a short, low-neckline red dress that went all the way up to her thighs and showed off her long legs, making some of the men glance at her with desire while other men whistled their approval, triggering disapproving looks from the women. Her waist length blond hair spilled over her back in a river of ringlets, crimson red lipstick graced her full lips, light red blush was on her tanned cheeks, and silver eye shadow was brushed lightly on her eyes. Like her date, he was sexy and seductive, yet looked to be one of those stereo typical dumb blondes who had the intellect of a fruit cake. "Who's that?" Amy inquired, touching Lita's arm lightly, her eyes still fixated on the newcomers that were causing quite a stir around the room. "Francis Matthews, the biggest jerk ever to grace the world with his presence," Lita snapped venomously, looking ready to pound someone to the ground. "I don't know who's that tart with him, but I bet it happens to be one of his 'toys' for the bedroom." Amy's eyes widened at the newfound information, but said nothing else. "Darien, how could you invite th-that disgrace to society?!" Mrs. Garrison cried out in disbelief, turning to her son and waiting for an explanation. "Son, we already disapprove of the fact that you are still friends with such a spoiled brat with a quack of a family, but inviting him to our parties, after we specifically told you he was no longer welcomed into our house?! This is so disconcerting that you would go out of your way to defy us! We don't care if you still want to be friends with him--that's your business. After the raucous he caused two years ago at our garden party, he is banned from stepping even one foot on our property! Tell me, Darien, why did you disobey our wishes and invite him anyway?" Mr. Garrison calmly questioned him, but his eyes flashed with anger and disappointment. "Mom, Dad, I honestly didn't invite him! I knew how you all felt about Francis so I stopped asking him to come over to the mansion, or to any of our parties. You have to believe me!" He tried defending himself. "You need to find better taste in friends," Andrew gruffly swore under his breath. "Look, I'll try to get him to leave if it'll satisfy everyone!" "Yes, it would!" Rita angrily snapped at him. "Okay then." He took a deep breath. "I'll go over and tell him." Darien was about to leave to go find Francis in the crowd when Lita stopped him. "Don't bother, Dare. Here comes Mr. Wonderful and his playmate of the week now," she curtly said. Francis and the woman at his side casually sauntered over to the group, unfazed by the cold glares they were receiving from them. "Darien, how are you? It's been a year since we last seen each other, huh?" he greeted him coolly, face void of any expression. "Yeah, I've been swamped at work lately so I haven't really been able to come down here a lot," he replied uneasily, fully aware of his family's annoyance and anger directed more at him than at Francis for the time being. "The office in New York, right? The big city can be hectic yet exciting at the same time, am I correct?" "Sure can. New York does, after all, have a lot of things to do there like night clubs if you're into the whole partying and dancing scene at night." "I should stop by sometime," Francis said nonchalantly, giving his date a kiss on the cheek and moved his lips upwards to settle on her ear which he eagerly nibbled. There was a long pause among the group, an uncomfortable tension hanging in the air. After whispering a few things with his date that caused her to giggle a bit, Francis spoke again. "I'm sorry, I'm afraid I haven't acknowledged all of you yet. How rude of me!" He showed mock shame. "Congrats on the engagement, Rita and Andrew. I hope you two have a happy life together." "Thanks," Andrew caustically growled, his arm around Rita's waist tightening to a protective grip. "You certainly look beautiful tonight, Rita. It's been two years since I last saw your pretty face." He shot a seductive look towards Rita, ignoring Andrew's murderous gaze aimed at him. "You're too kind, Francis." She uneasily replied. "I'm sorry we can't stay and chat since Andrew and I really need to greet our other guests." She then proceeded to pull Andrew to the other side of the room, trying to keep his temper in check. Francis shrugged and turned his gaze to Lita who glared several evil looks at him. "Lita, I must say, a rose doesn't compare to your beauty." He looked her up and down in a predatory way. "Spare me with the pick up lines, jerk!" she bluntly exclaimed. Not taken aback at all by her rash comment, he replied, "Ooh, and still a lot more feistier than ever. I see your temper hasn't changed one bit." "And don't think it ever will," she snidely retorted, giving him a sardonic smile. "Such a sense of humor." He chuckled with the same sarcasm as her. "I'd hate to interrupt," Mrs. Garrison spoke up, "but Mr. Garrison, the Scotts, and I have other business to attend to. It was nice seeing you again, Francis." "Same here, Mrs. Garrison," acknowledging the raven haired woman with a nod. They departed the group, talking in hushed tones as they went towards one of the caterers. A whiny voice pierced through the silence that it took the remaining group's gazes off the departing figures and over to the blond bimbo on Francis' arms. "Francis, baby, aren't you going to introduce me to your little friends." She gave him a pouty face, hands on hips impatiently waiting for an introduction. "Of course, honey. As you know, this is Darien and Lita Garrison." He gestured to the two on his left. "The pleasure is all mine." The bimbo walked in a tantalizing way up to Darien to shake his hand while licking her lips seductively at him, causing Lita to make gagging noises while the blond ditz paid no heed. After he shook her hand uncomfortably, the blond slowly sauntered back to her place beside Francis, her lust filled gaze never once leaving Darien's face. "I'm afraid I don't know these other young ladies. Would you care to introduce us, Lita?" He pointed to the four girls that stood just to the right of him. "I'm afraid I have no choice," she muttered incoherently. "What was that, Lita? I didn't hear you?" Francis put a hand to his ear as if straining to find out what she said moments before. "Nothing that concerns you." She threw him a fake smile. "This is Raye Parker, Amy Fleming, Mina Churchill, and Serena Banker." Pointing to each girl as she introduced them reluctantly. "Charmed. Very charmed indeed." Francis had this evil and amused glint in his eye as he looked over each girl thoroughly. He seemed to be deep in thought until the clingy bimbo poked him hard in the ribs, interrupting his nasty thoughts. Shaking his head to push them aside for the time being, he started to introduce himself and his date. "Oh, I'm Francis and this is my lovely date, Cassidy." "But Cassie for short. I hate when people call me Cassidy! It doesn't really fit me, don't you agree, Darrie?" She batted her eyelashes at him and gave a flighty giggle as well. "Uh..." Darien trailed off, unsure of what to say. "If you excuse us, Francis, the girls and I are going to go and get ourselves something to drink. Darien has something he'd like to say to you in private." Lita roughly pushed her brother forward and gave him a you-better- throw-him-out-soon-or-else look before guiding the girls to the bar, leaving Francis, Cassie, and Darien to themselves. "So, what is it you want to tell me, Dare?" Francis queried. "Um...can we talk in private? Just the two of us?" He whispered while motioning towards Cassie, implying that she needed to leave them alone for a while. "Sure." Turning to a bored looking Cassie who was absently twirling her hair, he said, "Darling, would you be a dear and leave me and Darien to talk a bit?" Frowning at him, she exclaimed in her whiny voice, "BUT FRANCIE!!!!! I'm bored can we just leave this joint and start a party of our own in your apartment?" She slowly ran her hands up and down his chest which felt very arousing to him, but controlled his yearning for her immediately. "Sweetie, I have to talk to Darien. We haven't seen each other for the longest time," he soothingly coaxed her. "But after you're done, you promise we'll leave this sorry excuse for a party and go back to your place?" Cassie gave him a puppy dog look. "Promise. I don't want to be here anymore than you do." "Then, I'll leave you, baby." Cassie gave Francis a long, passionate kiss that lasted for about three minutes. Once she broke away from his embrace, she gave Darien a wink and strolled away to another part of the room to flirt with some of the caterers. "New girlfriend?" Darien raised a questioning eyebrow at Francis while straightening his tux and bow tie. "Hardly. Just one of my dates for this event and one of my favorite play toys for the bedroom," was his snobbish reply. "You never change do you?" He cocked his head to one side, staring intently at his friend. "Well, you haven't either. You're still more absorbed in your work instead of cutting loose for once and partying every now and then." One of the caterers approached Francis with a champagne tray and he graciously took one from it. Darien placed his almost empty glass on the tray and the caterer departed. "It's not my thing." Darien brushed back his ebony bangs back. "Besides, I have an obligation to the company. My father is counting on me to continue the prosperous work he had started so I can't let him down." "Oh, please, Darien!" Francis rolled his eyes flippantly. "Yes, your father wants you to run the company, but I hear that your parents pester you to take a break and start dating around more. You should take their advice you know." He took a big gulp of his drink. "Oh, like you do?" Darien challenged him. "If I recall correctly, you practically defy your parents when they start bugging you!" "My parents could care less about me," was his curt reply. "They always nag me because they want something from me, so naturally I don't listen anymore. But you, on the other hand, never date. Jeez, Darien, what's the matter with you?! You've got all these women throwing themselves at you and you choose to ignore them! I can't believe a man like you would do such a thing! What happened to the wild prankster I knew in college who never took things so seriously before and rather enjoyed any woman's company that crossed your way? The Darien I know now is such a stiff and a bore that it amazes me everyday that I still associate with you. If I were you, I'd start getting reacquainted with the female population. I bet you that half those women wouldn't mind warming your bed at night." He gave his friend an approving glance his way, raising his glass as if to salute him. "Jeez, Francis, you're a freak! No, better yet, a sick freak! I'm not like that at all. Okay, I admit that I was wild and mischievous during our college days, but you know perfectly well that when it comes to women, I don't very well plunge into bed with them. I respect all women and I would never take advantage of them like you do!" He had a look of disgust on his face. Francis merely shrugged and gave him an indifferent look. "Your whole chivalry act really is getting stale. Standing by such a code of honor can really restrain you from having any fun at all." "Sleeping with women is not my type of fun if that's what you're insinuating." "Such a sorry case you are." He shook his head in pitifully. "So many beautiful women in this room and yet you don't want to have any fun with them. Take your sister's friends for example, each are alluring beauties that would attract any man from a distance. Except that blond girl with the glasses who looks a little plain and geeky to attract ANY kind of attention if you know what I mean. What was her name again? Sally? Serna?" "Her name is Serena Banker. Anyway, don't bother charming them with your looks and pick up phrases. They all have boyfriends or husbands back home." "Even that Serena girl has a significant other somewhere back home?" He arched a disbelieving brow at him. "No, she lives with her parents a few blocks away from here, who, by the way, happens to be the daughter of my family's cook and chauffeur." "That's the little geek you've been terrorizing since you, Lita, and Andrew were kids?!" "The one and only." Darien winced at the memory of how poorly he used to treat the young blond as they were growing up. "Has she always looked like that?" Francis gave an amused snort as he examined Serena from across the room. "Pretty much," he admitted. "Hmm...for a geek--she sure has got one heck of a body! Nice legs, too. If she ditched the glasses, put some make-up on her face, and maybe cut that ridiculously long hair of hers to a reasonable length, then I'd say she'd be lust worthy. There's something sexy about a woman who acts too innocent, and I have had my share of playing around with those types." He laughed wickedly as he guzzled the rest of his champagne and placed it down on the table. "Hey, don't you dare talk about her that way! She's not one of your toys that you play with then discard once their usefulness is over!" Darien yelled, pointing an accusing finger at him. Everyone in the room were hushed into complete silence at his outburst that it caused people to whirl around and face the two gentlemen in the corner. With everyone's eyes fixed on them, both men flashed them a weak smile and casually walked outside so they could finish their conversation without the prying eyes of guests. "What's the matter you?!" Francis shoved the dark haired man roughly. "I was just joking! You need to chill out, man otherwise I'd think you almost cared for the little geek when you were the one who used to torment her from the day she was born." Darien sighed exasperated. "Sorry, I guess I didn't know what came over me. It's just the idea of seeing Serena in that way is a bit disturbing." "But it'd be a nice thought." He gave him a sly smirk. Darien was very confused by his sudden outburst and rage towards the man standing next to him. How come when Francis made such a sleazy remark about Serena, he had the sudden urge to beat him senseless? Was it because Serena was like a sister to him? Is that why he got so overprotective? He finally concluded that it must have been that and nothing more. "I have a proposition for you, Dare." Francis brought him out of his reverie. "What is it?" he curiously asked, cautiously glancing at him sideways. "Remember in college how we used to make all those stupid bets to amuse ourselves and because we loved a challenge every chance we got?" "Yeah...and your point is?" "I have come up with a new bet." "Really? What is it? I'm up for a challenge." Darien's eyes sparked with interest. "Okay, transform Serena from a geek to a super hot babe," Francis simply said. His eyes widened in horror. "Are you kidding me?! NO WAY!" He shook his head vigorously, backing slowly away from the brunette male. "Why not?" "Um...um..." Darien tried to figure out a good excuse. "Because it can't be done." "Exactly! That's why I brought up this bet in the first place. The results will be...interesting." "I don't think it's such a good idea," he reluctantly replied. "Are you saying you can't..." Francis paused for a moment as if he were choosing his next words correctly, "handle it?" "I never said I did--" "Then prove it, Dare," Cutting him off with a wave of his hand. "Serena seems to be a shy, quiet girl who obviously needs to get rid of a few things hindering her natural prettiness and maybe some parts of her personality as well. She has potential in becoming one of the most rarest beauties a guy can possibly ever hope to come across. And once you're through with her, she'll probably thank you in the end for accepting this bet from me." "So what are the advantages of the bet, and how long do I have to complete it?" Darien inquired, cutting to the chase. "Hmm...good question." Francis paused and thought for a moment, tapping his finger against his chin. After much thought put into it, he said, "Today is Saturday, right? So since you need to change her appearance and maybe a bit of her personality, I'd say three days. It gives you plenty of time to do what you need to do, and after the three days is your parents' annual garden ball. I'll be attending it to view the results. I also know how your parents detest me, but just play dumb that day and say that you never invited me and I just invited myself. Once I have seen that you actually did your job well, you'll get whatever it is you want. But if I am dissatisfied with what I see, well I'm sorry to say that you might be doing some errands for me around the house for a while. My butler just quit a few days ago and I have been unable to look into a replacement. But don't worry about it being permanent--I'd say three months tops. What would you like if you win the bet?" "First of all, I don't intend to lose. Secondly, how about that summer house you have here in Boston? I've been looking into buying a place here, but most of the houses I've seen look really ordinary. Your place would be perfect for me since it has everything I want and need in a summer house. I also need a place to stay other than my parent's place since they normally drive me out of my mind when I do go out of my way to visit them." "It's a deal." He offered his hand to seal the agreement. Darien grasped his hand and gave him a firm shake. "This will be an easy bet to win." "We'll see, Dare. We'll see." Francis had a discreet, almost wicked smile on his face which Darien didn't notice since his back was turned to him, looking back inside where the party was still commencing. "You better go, bud. I see that my sister keeps sneaking occasional glances out here to see if you've left or something." "Say no more. I'll just get Cassie and we'll be on our way." The two men entered the tent once more with Francis signaling to Cassie to come to him. She blew a kiss to the caterer she had been flirting with and eagerly ran to him. Darien said good-bye and the couple departed. The Garrisons, Scotts, and the girls all crowded around him, anger or disappointment still on everyone's faces. "Took you long enough," Lita angrily spat, hands on her hips. "What were you guys talking about anyway? I actually thought that loud outburst you displayed earlier meant that you were going to kick him and his harlot out!" "No, he just said something that offended me, but it turns out he was just joking and we were trying to catch up on old times." "Why couldn't you do that on your own time?! He already ruined our engagement party with him and his tramp making an appearance here, and you have the gall to keep him here longer, after telling you to make it clear that he's unwanted?! Next time, socialize elsewhere with that scum bag!" Andrew angrily stomped away with Rita trying to keep up with her fuming fiance. "Andrew, I didn't mean to..." Darien tried to call out to him, but his efforts were futile. "Save it, brother. You already angered us enough. Come on, girls, I'm ashamed to look at my own flesh and blood right now." Lita grudgingly walked outside into the cool night with the girls following after her, a few of them giving Darien apologetic looks. Darien's parents, aunt, and uncle all left his side at about the same time Rita and Andrew left, unable to talk to him for the rest of the night. He hung his head in defeat and sighed. He felt guilty that he ruined everyone's night and didn't mind at all that his family and friends despised him at the moment. Right now, all he wanted to do was get back to the mansion and go to bed early since it'd probably be best not to get in anybody's way for the rest of the night. As he turned to go, head still hung low, a warm hand on his shoulder stopped him. He looked up to find Serena looking back at him with concern. "Se-Se-Serena! What are you still doing here? I thought you left with the girls." he stuttered, carelessly smoothing his hair back. "I did, but I came back so I can talk to you for a minute. I hope that's all right with you?" "Sure." He stood up straight and looked down at her, waiting for her to begin. "I just wanted to say...I'm sorry about what you are going through tonight. I'm sure they didn't mean what they said earlier--they're just mad right now. After they cool down a bit, I'm sure they'll forget all about it tomorrow," she said softly. "I know. Thanks for understanding." Darien smiled down at her. "I'm going to leave soon anyway so I won't be able to cause anymore damage to everyone else's night." "Uh...I guess I'll see you tomorrow?" "Yeah, tomorrow." "Great." Serena turned to leave when she stopped to say one last thing to him. "If it's any constellation to you, I'm not mad at you." "It is. Thank you again." His smile widened even more. She gave him a smile of her own and left. 'Maybe this bet wasn't such a good idea after all.' He thought to himself, feeling unsure. 'She's a great girl and if she finds out how I'm using her to win some summer house, it'll crush her. Then again, Serena might thank me later on. Sure it'll hurt her, but she'll realize I did it for her own good, won't she?' To be continued... *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Chapter completed July 3, 2001