Author's Chapter Notes:

That's right, Mafia Legacy is completed and now I am turning my sights to my uncompleted list, starting with Heart's Sight!

Thankyou to everyone who has stuck with me with this one, I know it's been a VERY long wait, but here we go, we're getting into the story now.

Enjoy Chapter 3!

Chapter 3 – A Moment Seen

It was almost noon before the first of the girls woke. Amy, as usual. Normally Amy woke briskly at six thirty am to begin the day fresh and early, but like three of the four girls still soundly asleep in her bedroom – one of which was sleeping on the other side of her queen-sized bed – it had been a late but fun night filled with teenage frivolity.

Amy quickly assessed her current physical condition and instantly concluded that the drinks that she'd been drinking last night had indeed been alcoholic even though she'd attempted to avoid alcohol altogether. Evidently she hadn't succeeded.

Apparently even the drinks that had meant to have been non-alcoholic had been spiked last night. Disappointing but not surprising.

Amy made a metal note that next time she went to a teenage party she was only going to drink out of soda cans that she'd opened herself. A rule that she had made last night but had found it surprisingly difficult to keep too.

Amy's head was pounding, she felt nauseous and her stomach felt queasy. Her limbs felt heavy, there was a horrible taste in her mouth and she was craving a more hydrating liquid to drink like water or tea. From her symptoms, Amy concluded that she was experiencing her first hangover, a mild one no doubt as hangover went, but a hangover none-the-less.

Well, that was one teenage experience she could cross off the list of things that teenagers were practically expected to do.

Amy turned her attention to her friends, taking in each one in turn.

They were all still asleep, deeply by the looks of it. Although comatose wasn't a far off description either.

Lita was laying on her stomach on one of the three air mattresses on the floor, her limbs sprawled this way and that, except for her right arm that was draped over her head protecting her eyes from the bright early morning sunlight that was streaming in through the window. Her hair, still up in its usual style was a curly rich brown mess. To add to the look, Lita was also drooling and making sounds that wasn't quite a snore, but was so much more distinctive than the more feminine sounds the other three girls were making. Sometime during the night Lita had kicked off all her blankets that were now bunched messily at the foot her air mattress, displaying her white sleep shirt – that like all of Lita's tops was stretched tight across her ample bosom – and flannel green pyjama bottoms.

Honestly, Lita when awake looked like a fierce Amazon warrior, a woman to be reckoned with, but in sleep Lita looked just like a decorumless teenager. The stereotypical tomboy.

Mina though, even in sleep, was so much daintier that the brunette Amazon – the two were almost exact opposites. Mina was sleeping soundly on her air mattress, her hands resting on her stomach with her covers in almost perfect order over her even after a good ten hour deep sleep. She made only soft little sighs as she breathed evenly in and out, a perfect picture of serene rest. Her long golden hair that she'd deftly plaited before going to bed lay draped across her pillow and eventually coming to rest on her shoulder.

Honestly, Mina looked like she'd just retired to bed after spending a good deal of time getting herself ready for sleep, as opposed to the few minutes it had taken her to change into her pyjamas, brush her teeth and plait her hair with amazing swiftness and practised skill before settling into her makeshift bed.

If Amy had been anyone else, if Mina had been anyone else, Amy would've envied Mina her great and seemingly effortless nature beauty and feminine grace.

But Amy loved all of the girls too much to ever be envious of any of them.

Beside her in her bed, Rei was virtually cocooned in the bedcovers – Amy knew from much past personal experience and had gone to bed expecting it. Rei was a covers hog – having wrapped them around herself in her sleep during the night – fortunately Amy had seen this coming and had made her bed the night before with two sets of covers, one for each of them.

Only the top of Rei's head was visible, the deep black of her hair starkly contrasting the pure white covers wrapped around her. But even buried in the covers, Amy could still hear her somewhat feminine snoring that was barely muffled by the thick covers wrapped around her.

Rei had been the most intoxicated of the four of them and had practically fallen into the bed after only taking the time to use the bathroom and change into her pyjamas. She hadn't done anything with her hair the night before which meant that no doubt when Rei crawled out from her cocoon she'd look like a bird had nested in her long black hair and therefore would have to spend a great deal of the morning trying to put it to rights.

And Serena. Amy looked at her friend with concern on her kind gentle face. Serena had left the party early last night, texting that she'd felt sick but giving no details other than that. Somehow Serena had found her own way back to the house and had put herself to bed but not before placing two almost full glasses of water and some aspirin on the chair beside her makeshift bed.

Amy was worried about Serena. Amy didn't doubt the truth of Serena's text message – why would she? – but what was – or had been – wrong with her friend? Had she gotten sick and hadn't wanted to spoil their fun by letting on that she'd in fact been very ill and that was why by the time they'd gotten back Serena had been sleeping like the dead with water and aspirin beside her, handy if she needed them?

Should she wake her mother who was no doubt sleeping in the master bedroom just down the hall to check on Serena? Amy wanted too but at the same time she didn't. Her mother worked hard and she worked long late hours a lot of the time, her mother needed her rest.

She should wait until Serena woke up and then make a judgement call on whether to alert both of their mothers that Serena was ill. Amy knew her mother wouldn't mind at all if Serena was sick and needed her, but what if Serena was no longer sick? What if it had just been a stomach bug or mild food poisoning or something?

Amy wanted to be a doctor herself and she was the daughter of a doctor but at the same time she wasn't a doctor, which meant two things. Firstly, that she was in no place to try to diagnose Serena's illness and secondly she wasn't a doctor so she couldn't know that Serena's illness wasn't serious enough to alert her mother.

Amy shook her head at herself. She was working herself up. She was supposed to be the rational one, the intellectual one, of their little group.

It was likely that she was stressing over nothing. She was just worried about Serena and she was letting it work her up. Yes, she was the most rational but that didn't mean that she didn't care, or that she wasn't just like the rest of them – a teenage girl who occasionally reserved the right to act like one.

With all the girls still asleep and it looking like it was going to stay that way, at least for a while longer, Amy laid back down in her bed and smuggled back into the covers, seeking out a comfortable position and then she reached for the medical textbook on her nightstand – one of her mother's old textbooks.

Using the cardboard bookmark she'd left in its pages to find her place, Amy opened up and started reading. She was perfectly content to read quietly while her friends slept on. She was in no hurry for them to wake so she would let them rest.

Serena especially seemed to need it.

She wasn't alone. That was the first thing Serena became aware of when she rose from the sweet peaceful darkness that was unconsciousness as she woke by degrees.

She wasn't alarmed though. The hushed voices that filled her ears were as familiar to her as her own voice was.

The girls. All four of them were talking amongst themselves, mostly hushed but clearly excited and energetic. The girls were awake and were trying to keep their voices down so not to wake her while they rehashed the events of last night.

As Serena slipped more and more into the world of the conscious, the demands and ails of her body became harder to ignore.

It was either late in the morning or early in the afternoon, the stiffness in her body and the haze in her brain told her that. She'd slept for a long time, that much was obvious. She'd overslept enough times to know well what it felt like.

But then again, what she was feeling felt just a little bit different, strangely different.

Serena frowned but didn't open her eyes or move at all, she did nothing to alert the girls that she was awake. She wanted a moment to analyse her body and allow the haze in her mind to clear, at least a little bit, before she was forced to face them.

Physically her condition was iffy. She was as thirsty as a camel, and her stomach was queasy. She wanted liquids but she didn't want anything sugary or strong. She wanted liquid in its purest form – water. Her stomach lurched at the mere thought of anything else.

And her head. Oh, her head! She had a headache that was only just short of skull-splitting.

What had happened last night?! Serena could remember getting ready for the party and even arriving but after that things started to get fuzzy.

No, blurry. She vaguely remembered dancing with the girls and then some guy who'd been grinning at her like he liked what he saw, but then the rest was just brief flashes and disorientating fragments which she couldn't distinguish between memories or lingering memories of a dream.

Yes, she'd dreamed, Serena was sure of it. She just couldn't remember what she'd dreamed. Not with any clarity.

But Darien had been there again. She knew he had been, but had he been there last night at the party or had he been in her dream?

Serena felt so confused, so her memories so jumbled, that she wasn't sure what was real and what was her own mind.

It had to have been a dream. Right? Darien couldn't have been there looming over her surrounded by golden light like some avenging angel. Could he?

Oh God, what was with her lately? Why did her mind insist on making her dream of Darien? And why did the dreams have to have such a strong effect on her?

Her own mind was trying to drive her crazy.

Serena would've loved to return to sleep as her body half wanted too, but she'd obviously been sleeping for a long time and the lower half of her body was making some really pressing demands on her that she couldn't ignore any longer.

With a reluctant sigh, Serena opened her eyes, only to immediately shut them again when bright blinding sunlight pierced her eyes and stabbed into her brain.

Serena covered her face and eyes with her hands in self defence against the painful light and waited for the pain in her head to ease. The pain wasn't that bad, it was just bad enough to make her want aspirin and a long hot shower.

"Good afternoon sleepy head." Came Mina's irritatingly cheerful voice.

"It's about time you woke up." Rei grumbled grouchily.

"Leave her alone," Lita mildly scolded Rei. "She wasn't well last night."

"Are you alright now, Serena?" Amy asked, worry and concern clear in her kind soft voice. "Do you want me to get mother?"

Serena sighed again and braced herself as she slowly removed her hands from her face and slowly, warily, opened her eyes, slowly allowing them to gradually adjust to the light of day.

"No, I'm fine." Serena assured them all, knowing that all four of them were worried about her, even Rei. Rei was a spitfire but she was a good friend. Serena could usually tell just how worried Rei was about something by how grouchy she was.

Judging by Rei's tone, Serena would estimate Rei's current level of worry to be somewhere around "mild to moderate".

"It's just a headache." Serena told them, blinking her eyes. She was relieved when the headache didn't flare up again and she was gradually able to look around the room, searching for the owners of the voices. "Some aspirin and I'll be fine."

"Right there on the chair beside you." Amy told her, her tone a little odd sounding.

"Huh?" Serena cautiously raised her head to see that the chair had been pulled out from Amy's desk and on it sat two tall glasses of water, beside which were two white pills, no doubt aspirin. "Oh, thanks."

Serena carefully sat up and reached for a glass and the aspirin. Wow, the girls really must've been worried about her to have been so considerate to have gotten her two glasses of water and some aspirin.

Just how long had she been asleep?

What had happened last night that had them this worried about her? She just couldn't seem to remember. She couldn't even remember how she'd gotten back to Amy's house, it had to have been with the girls, but she just couldn't remember anything clearly after arriving at the party.

Serena tossed the two aspirin into her mouth then put the glass to her lips.

The moment the first drop of water touched Serena's tongue she couldn't stop. She drank the entire glass down, practically pouring the cool liquid down her parched throat, without stopping.

But the one glass wasn't enough. Serena hurriedly replaced the now empty glass on the chair and reached for the second, putting it to her lips barely a few seconds after the first had left her lips. She downed half the water in the second before she was forced to stop in desperate need for air.

Serena drew in several deep breaths, somehow still feeling thirsty but not in the desperate way she had moments before.

With one of her body's needs now met, Serena lifted her eyes to realise that all four of the girls were staring at her with wide eyes and worried expressions.

"What?" Serena asked in confusion, wondering what had them all so worried.

"Are you alright, Serena?" Rei asked, her tone gentle and concerned, and just a little hesitant, almost as if she were truly worried about her and was wondering what she could do for her.

"I'm fine." Serena reassured them almost automatically. She didn't want them stressing themselves out worrying about her, even though she wasn't all that certain that she hadn't just lied to her best friends in the entire world, her sisters.

The truth was that even though she was sitting there safe and sound, something wasn't fine. Something was wrong, only Serena didn't know what. She couldn't remember. There was a hole in her memory that both troubled and vexed her.

But she wasn't going to ruin her friend's day because she was a little troubled. Last night and this morning were a collection of firsts, and Serena intended to enjoy them with her friends.

She would worry about the hole in her memory when she was alone and had time to sit and think about it.

Serena looked around at her friends, at their concerned and worried expressions and she willed a smile to spread across her face as she firmly pushed the memories and lingering questions from last night out of her mind.

For now.

The girls hadn't believed her when she'd said she was fine, so Serena would just have to convince them that she really was fine, even though Amy looked like she was seriously considering getting her mother, the town's much loved and adored doctor who was no doubt asleep down the hall after working the late shift last night.

"I'm fine," Serena repeated, emphasising both words. "I'm just having a little trouble remembering exactly what happened last night, that's all. I'm sure it'll all come back to me and no doubt I'll die from embarrassment over something I did last night and that's why my brain is protecting me from it right now."

"You don't remember, Serena?" Mina said slowly, carefully, more than a hint of confusion in her concerned voice. "You disappeared not long after we got there. Then you sent us a test message saying that you were sick and that you were headed back here. You didn't say how but you did tell us that it was nothing serious and that we should stay and have fun."

Serena stared back at all four girls blankly. She had absolutely NO memory of any of that.

Had she been sick? She felt sick now. Was it because she'd been sick that she couldn't remember much about the party after arriving?

That must be why the girls had been so considerate in leaving the water and aspirin for her right beside her bed.

It warmed Serena's heart that she had such caring and considerate friends. She truly was fortunate to have them.

"I must have been," Serena agreed after a long moment of silence, shrugging it off. For now. There was no point in worrying the girls any further by letting them know just how wide the hole in her memory was. "I guess that explains why I don't remember much."

Serena returned her attention to the last of the water in her glass. "Thanks for the water and the aspirin! Honestly, I don't know what I'd do without you all."

Too preoccupied with her own chaotic thoughts and the task of emptying her second glass of water, Serena didn't see the baffled and troubled looks all four girls silently exchanged.

Now all four of the girls were really worried and confused.

They'd all thought that Serena had gotten the water herself.

What had happened last night?

Serena closed her own bedroom door with an exhausted sigh of relief.

As much as Serena loved being with the girls and had enjoyed all the fun they'd had, she was relieved to be home and able to now rest. She was exhausted and still ever-so-slightly queasy even after the big breakfast – or lunch, considering they hadn't gotten around to making it until well after noon – she'd helped prepare and then share with the girls.

They had wisely stayed away from bacon and anything else too greasy, instead settling on fresh fruit, yoghurt and omelettes.

The whole time Serena been kept too preoccupied while with the girls to reflect on the night before and the big gaping hole in her memory, but now it was like an itch that was mercilessly gnawing at her. Something had happened last night but for the life of her Serena just couldn't remember what, or at least she didn't think she did.

It was like some part of her remembered and was trying to give her the answers she wanted, but for some reason she just couldn't comprehend any of it.

Hoping the fresh air would help, Serena stepped out onto her balcony and took a seat on the deck chair, laying back and turning her face up too the warming golden light of the Sunday afternoon sun, allowing her entire being to relax, mind and body.

Peaceful minutes passed until she finally felt so peaceful that any other time would've had her dozing, only not this time. There was something she had to remember, something that her muddled mind was trying to work out.

The girls had mentioned her sending them a text message, which had been in the sent folder of her cell phone. She'd checked not long after getting out of bed.

'Feel sick. B Amy's sleepin it off. Don't worry, nothing serious. Stay & have fun 4 me!'

She could've written it. It did sound like her and with the big gap in her memory it was more than likely that she had written it. It was her cell phone after all.

Then why couldn't she seem to accept it, that she had written it? Something was keeping her from really believing it, the same unknown thing that was endlessly bothering her and had been since she'd woken up with no real memory of the night before. How had she gotten back to Amy's place? It wasn't that far to walk, maybe twenty-five to thirty minute walk for someone who was walking briskly enough.

But if she had walked from the party back to Amy's, then with the shoes she'd been wearing last night her feet would've been undoubtedly left sore, maybe even blistered.

But her feet were pain and blister free.

So she hadn't walked and the girls hadn't driven her. So who had seen her back to Amy's place and why had they do so so mysteriously?

It didn't make any sense.

So far, Serena had managed to somehow have gotten safely back to Amy's last night but she hadn't walked. And she had a gap in her memory. A gap that seemed to stretch between the last moment that she could remember clearly, which had been arriving at the party, and the girls return to Amy's to find her soundly and deeply asleep.

Sometime during that time, Serena had sent the girls a text message so they wouldn't wonder where she was, which lead Serena to assume that she'd disappeared from the party without any of them knowing, which they had confirmed before she'd left them to come home.

Finally with a heavy sigh, unable to truly relax or make any further progress, Serena decided to forget about it, at least for now. If she kept trying to force it then she was going to drive herself insane.

Serena just wished that she had more answers than she did questions.

'I wish you could see me as I see you.'

With a startled cry, Serena bolted upright in her bed, her heart racing and her dreams replaying in her mind's eye before her impossibly wide eyes.

Darien. Darien Shields. She'd dreamed of him again, but this time the dream had been different. It hadn't been as chaotic as the others had been, but it had been no less intense. This dream had been a memory, Serena was sure of it. She didn't know why she was so sure, she just was.

'I wish you could see me as I see you.'

The words kept repeating in her mind, whispered in his haunting voice all too clearly. It was like he was right beside her, whispering them in her ear each time she repeated the words in her mind.

At first the dream had been confusing and full of living black shadows. There'd only been darkness around her, only the darkness beneath her had felt . . . soft. She'd been lying down. Serena was as sure of it as she could be.

The darkness had been all around her, all around her except for a person-sized upright rectangle right in front of her. The rectangle had been made of orange light, light that had blinded her to everything else around her.

A black faceless figure had been looming over her. A figure that had been left featureless by the light behind him and the darkness around them.

Fear. She had felt so heavy, both her body and her mind. Like she was watching from underwater, water that was holding her body down and fogging up her brain. But there had been fear.

And then suddenly the figure had vanished from over her as if he'd never been – there was no doubt in her mind that the black shadow, the figure, had been a he.

But he'd appeared again a second later with a second figure. A second figure who had punched the first. The first figure had fallen backwards from the force of the blow and had disappeared, swallowed by the surrounding blackness.

And then the second figure had turned to her and his face had become visible but only for a brief moment before the orange light was swallowed by the darkness as well.

The second figure had had Darien's face.

Serena had then sensed him move towards her, coming closer to her than he had ever been.

There had been nothing before her eyes but black darkness, but there had been so much around her, her senses had been overwhelmed, but she had felt no fear. In fact she had felt nothing but . . . peace. She hadn't been afraid but her mind had been too heavy, too clouded, to comprehend anything else.

A heartfelt voice had then filled the darkness around her. "I wish you could see me as I see you."

It was the voice that had woken her from her dream/memory. The voice had sounded so sad and despairing that it had seemed almost inhuman, as if the words had been whispered from an angelic force from above that had known only sorrow and loneliness for so long.

It had to have been a memory. It didn't feel like a dream. It felt . . . .

Real.

Even now it still felt real.

Too real.

Serena looked around at her dark moonlit room, that same room she had known all her life that now felt so alien to her. She felt suddenly and strangely detached from it, from what she had known all her life.

What had happened at the party?! Why couldn't she remember how she'd ended up back at Amy's with two full glasses of water and some aspirin laying ready for her when she'd woken?

What had happened while she'd been trapped in the hazy darkness? Trapped there by something other than the one cup of beer that she'd had. There had to have been something else in her beer other than beer, something that shouldn't have been there.

A stronger alcohol perhaps?

Or maybe something much worse.

A chill swept through her entire body at the thought, at the number of unknowns about what had happened to her in the last twelve hours.

Nothing terrible had happened. Serena wasn't that naïve; if something had happened to her at the party there would be some evidence on her body. But she felt no pain or discomfort. All there was that was strange was that she felt drowsy even though she'd just slept over ten hours.

Nothing terrible had happened but something had happened.

A nasty suspicion crept into her mind that made Serena feel nauseous all over again, and not because she was hung over.

She wasn't hung over, not from any alcoholic at least.

Well, lesson learned. If she ever went to a part again, Serena was damn sure going to be more careful with her drinks, she was going to be "drinks safe". Or should she say, drink safe. She'd only had one. Given to her by that guy. What had been his name? She couldn't remember, had she even known it to begin with?

And had he put something in her drink?

Serena closed her eyes and called up every memory she had of last night, every hazy blurry memory she could find in her memory banks.

Two shadows moving in and out of the darkness and the burnt orange light.

Could one have been the boy she'd met at the party?

Who was the other?

Could it really have been Darien?

Another memory flashed before her eyes, this one not anymore clearer as the others making Serena uncertain as to whether it was a memory or a dream.

Darien. Planting a kiss on her forehead that had been as soft as a whisper.

Had Darien really kissed her so tenderly on the forehead?

Had it really happened? Was it a memory or the memory of a dream?

So many questions but no answers at all.

The only person who would have any answers if any of it had really happened would be Darien.

Darien.

It all seemed to keep coming back to him.

'I wish you could see me as I see you.'

Darien had whispered those words to her, Serena was almost certain of it. She could still feel the weight, the emotional significance, of those words.

Regardless of the really early hour, determination flared inside of her. She'd had too many questions lately, most of which seemed to be centred on or around Darien.

Serena wanted answers and she was going to have them. If all it was was just a series of dreams, her own mind messing with her, then so be it. She would force herself to forget all about it and move on.

But if not . . .

A plan was already forming in her mind. She felt determination to see it through and relief that she now had something to focus on after the last couple of mentally unsettling days.

When morning came Serena would go to school early and she would confront Darien. She wanted answers and she was going to get them, one way or the other.

If she owed Darien for saving her, maybe even saving her life, then Serena wanted to know. She didn't know what she'd do if that were the case, but at least she would know and she'd be able to figure it all out.

'I wish you could see me as I see you.'

The whispered soulful words just wouldn't leave her alone. She couldn't leave them alone. They felt too important.

Serena considered the words and the tone in which she thought that they'd been spoken.

How did Darien see her? How did he want her to see him? If Darien wanted her to see him, then see him she would.

Starting this very day.

Serena forced herself to lay back down in her bed, even while knowing that there was little chance of her getting back to sleep. Her mind was too awake, too distracted and determined to rest now.

There was also a strange but undeniable feeling, a sense, inside of her that made her impatient for morning, for her chance to confront Darien. It was like a sense of . . . importance. Like everything in her life, in her future, depended on what happened in the hours to come.

'I wish you could see me as I see you.'

Maybe Serena could give Darien his wish, if only she could find out exactly how he saw her.

Serena was exhausted. She'd been right when she'd known that she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep after she'd woken just after five am. She'd been too anxious, there'd been far too many unanswered questions rolling around inside of her head that she hadn't been able to get back to sleep. She'd tossed and turned almost as much as the unanswered questions and hazy memories – that she didn't even know where real or were from a dream – had, causing absolute chaos inside her mind.

She wanted – no, needed – answers and Darien seemed to be the only one who could give them to her. Her friends didn't know anything more than she did. According to them they hadn't even seen Darien at the party, and neither had anyone else Serena had been able to call and/or text and ask.

And she hadn't sent that text message. Serena was sure of it, regardless of the fact that it did read like she had written it. It sounded like something she'd say I a text, but it hadn't been her!

Serena was sure of it. She was.

One of the worst parts about all of this was that as much as Serena wanted too, for the first time she hadn't confided in her friends about something that was bothering her as she'd always done, usually without hesitation. She'd asked them what they could remember from Saturday night regarding herself and Darien and all they'd been able to tell her was that they hadn't couldn't recall having seen Darien there at the party at all and that after she'd disappeared they'd received the text message from her cell phone telling them that she was on her way back to Amy's because she felt sick.

And she'd been there, right where they'd expected to find her after they'd later come back to Amy's. They'd found her sleeping peacefully – and very deeply – in her temporary bed with two tall glasses of water and some aspirin beside her.

There were many reasons why Serena hadn't confided in her dear best friends that were as close to her as a blood sister could ever be.

The main one of which was that if Serena told her friends what she was thinking, they'd all think she was crazy. And that was if they believed her – and that was one mighty big if.

Hell, Serena didn't even know exactly what it was that she was thinking! It was insane, but there was something that she couldn't quite explain that refused to let her dismiss everything. It was maddening and frustrating and it was compelling her to keep a hold of it, to not let it go, to follow it wherever it might lead.

Did that even make any sense? So little did make sense in Serena's mind lately that it was so hard to be sure of anything anymore.

Serena looked around for what had to be the hundredth time in the last five minutes. She was standing out front of the school on the top of the long and wide cement steps that lead into the main building. From where she stood Serena could see the entire front of the school and a great deal of the street in both directions. She'd arrived a full hour before she normally did, making her the first student to arrive on the school grounds that morning but she hadn't gone inside.

In fact, she hadn't moved from her current spot. No matter what, she was going to talk to Darien today. She needed to know if he'd been at that party, if he had-.

Oh, god! She didn't even know what else to ask him! Nothing was clear; the bulk of what she remembered was hazy shadows and whispered words that were so soulfully sad that they enveloped had her heart in a ring of sympathy and sadness.

It must've been a dream, right? Who could possibly go through life enduring such sadness and loneliness? The very thought of it threatened to break her heart in two.

But still . . . Serena HAD to know for sure. She didn't understand why, she just NEEDED TO KNOW. She needed to hear it from Darien's own mouth that he had no idea what she was talking about, that he hadn't even been at that party.

Only then would she be able to start putting the whole lot of it behind her, dismissing it as dreams and her imagination running wild.

If only Serena believed that she actually could let it go that easily.

Darien was at a complete loss at what to do.

He knew what he should do, what he was supposed to do, but everything in him was screaming at him to do anything else.

Something had woken him just after five am. The same something had compelled him to go to Serena even though he'd looked into her future and seen her arrive safely at school the next morning.

A full hour earlier than she normally did.

That in itself was off, add to that that she'd clear been as edgy and impatient as a squirrel on a sugar rush, and alarms had started going off in his head.

But what had really had him rushing to her was that when he'd called upon Serena's timeline to check on her, for the first time since he had mastered his sight, it had taken a great deal of effort to bring her timeline to his mind's eye.

Serena's timeline had always been the clearest he had ever seen, but for some unknown recent reason, her timeline was becoming more and more difficult to call upon. Saturday night his sight had failed him and as a result he'd nearly been too late to save her and early the very next morning Darien had had difficulty seeing her.

The only thing that kept Darien from going into a complete panic was that her future was still there. Granted, it wasn't as clear as it usually was, but it was still there, which told him that Serena still had a future, that some terrible tragedy wasn't going to shorten her very precious life.

After dressing and leaving his Aunt a note to explain his absence at breakfast this morning – the one meal they usually have together most days – Darien had gone to Serena, parking his motorbike where he usually did in a tight cluster of trees a block away from Serena's house.

With his motorbike hidden, Darien had then slipped silent and unseen through the yard of Serena's neighbours who lived behind her and had leapt over the back fence with the practised ease of many years of doing so.

No lights had been on inside of Serena's house except for the outside security lights, but Darien had known that Serena was awake. He'd been able to sense it, to feel it, the same almost eerie way he had always been able to sense things when it came to her.

Cold and uncomfortable, Darien had stood in his usual spot hidden in the shadow of the tree beneath her balcony and had stared up at her dark room, knowing that she was in there, safe but anxious enough that she couldn't sleep get back to sleep regardless of the early hour and her town-famous love of sleep.

What had woken her at this time of night? Another dream? And what had her so unsettled? What was wrong?

Could it be that she remembered something distressing about Saturday night? About the almost attack?

Darien sure hoped not, but if she did then it would be all his fault. He had very nearly been too late to save her. Hell, he had been late in saving her, just not too late. He should've been there well in time to prevent her from even have been drugged, but at least he'd been able to prevent that bastard from touching her and worse.

Darien had saved her but he was still worried. Worried about Serena and worried about what was happening with his sight. He was worried not just because of Saturday night and that Serena was having trouble sleeping right now, but because there was something wrong with his sight when it came to Serena.

Darien had already double-checked and his sight was working fine in every other aspect; he could still see through time as clearly as he always had.

Except for Serena's timeline, the one he cared about and watched over the most.

Something had changed or happened that had affected his ability to see Serena's future, but it wasn't that she didn't have one. It was more like something that he couldn't see had moved into the way, preventing him from seeing her timeline as clearly as he usually did.

Whatever it was, it was strange, unexpected and difficult to describe, even to himself.

And whatever it was, it had him more than a little scared for Serena. Darien had spent years watching over her, protecting her. He wasn't about to let anything happen to her now. He couldn't. He needed her. He needed her light to brighten up the dark empty abyss that was his life.

Which was why Darien had vigilantly watched over Serena from the moment he'd woken before sunrise this morning. Which was why he'd spent hours standing and waiting beneath her window. He had moved out of sight when the family inside the house had woken and Serena had risen from her bed. She had dressed – which he hadn't watched in any form – and had quickly grabbed a piece of toast on her hurried way out the door even though she was leaving an hour earlier than usual.

The look on her parent's stunned faces had been comical. They hadn't known her to get out of bed so early in a long time – Christmas morning five years ago if Darien recalled correctly.

Serena was the first to arrive at the high school campus by a good twenty minutes, the next person arriving twenty-two minutes later was the Vice Principal who was almost always the first to arrive.

Upon arriving, Serena had positioned herself atop the stairs at the front of the school – the perfect vantage point to see everyone as they arrived – and there she had stayed.

Darien had positioned himself behind a high picketed fence beneath the shade of a thick-leafed tree across the street where he knew he wouldn't be seen. There he stood silent and still, watching her and protecting her.

It was obvious by the way Serena kept looking impatiently up and down the street, as fidgety and as impatient as a golden retriever puppy, that she was waiting for someone. Someone she didn't want to miss judging by the way she kept whipping her head back and forth.

The high school campus was getting crowded, the bell signalling the beginning of the school day was only ten minutes away, but Serena wasn't going anywhere until she saw him.

Serena was waiting for him. He just knew it. He hadn't seen anything that told him that she was waiting for him, he just knew. His heart lurched and his breath quickened at the very thought that Serena was not only waiting for him, but she wanted to talk to him.

She'd never done that before.

Darien felt nervous and for the first time in a long time, he felt genuinely unsure of both himself and what he should do. He felt just like the teenager he technically was, even though in truth he had never really been the typical young adult. With his sight, as a side effect, he'd always been older than what he actually was. When you lived in time and had the responsibility of so much on your shoulders, you couldn't be your age. He dealt directly with fate and life and death situations on a daily basis. He'd had to grow up fast, he'd been forced to grow up fast.

He had seen too much, experienced too much to ever be able to think of himself as young ever again.

Darien pulled on the thread that was Serena's timeline – bothered anew that it took a noticeable moment longer to respond to his will but at the same time he was relieved that it did ultimately come to him – and he saw that she'd stay there until well into her first class waiting for him.

And then she'd resume her search for him at lunch.

Darien looked further, the timeline becoming less and less certain and unclear the further forward he went in Serena's future.

And it wasn't as clear as it normally was to start with.

If Serena didn't see him today at school, if she didn't speak with him, then she'd show up at his Aunt's house after school. She was determined to see him today and the stubborn young woman wouldn't stop until she'd had her chance to confront him.

That was one of the many things Darien loved about her. Serena was small and sweet and innocent looking but she had a will of iron, a stubborn streak that went bone deep in her.

Serena WOULD show up at his Aunt's house, and there she would stay until Darien made an appearance.

And there Serena would undoubtedly find herself face to face with his Aunt.

Darien didn't need his sight to know how that conversation would go. His Aunt would do whatever she thought she had to do to assure that Darien wouldn't be left alone after she was gone.

Even fight dirty.

Serena wouldn't stop until she spoke to him. She was stubborn that way. Just like his Aunt. The two women, despite their massive age difference, were peas in a pod that way.

Darien had little choice – not that he wanted any – he was going to have to let her see him, let her ask her questions of him.

And he would lie to her. For her own good Darien would have no choice but to lie to her and deny everything that she already half-believed – even though it seemed impossible to her.

Darien would lie to her and in a few days Serena would let it all go. She'd forget about everything, the dreams and what happened Saturday night, and she'd eventually stop noticing him at all again.

Serena would return to the path meant for her that would lead her to a future that didn't include him, not even in the slightest.

Although it was a small comfort that once in a while until Darien graduated, Serena would look his way with those deep soul-bearing eyes of hers, wondering what might've been if things had gone differently in the minutes to come from this very moment.

Lying to her was going to hurt him, but for the sake of Serena's happy future, Darien would do it. He HAD to do it.

He loved her, always had and always would, and he would always do what was best for her.

No matter what it cost him.

Serena looked down at the screen of her mobile phone that she held in her hand for the tenth time in the last minute. It was only five minutes until the first bell sounded.

Where was he?

True, Serena honestly wasn't sure what time Darien usually arrived at school, but surely it was earlier than this!

Where was he? Had she somehow missed him? Had Darien entered the school grounds at one of the other but far less used entrances?

Or was he absent from school today? Was he sick or was his Aunt sick and he was needed at home to take care of her? Serena just didn't know, she didn't know enough about him!

Although that was her own fault. She should've paid more attention to him over the years. She should've spoken to him before now, even approached him and tried to befriend him. She'd known from the first time she'd seen him that Darien was lonely, anyone with eyes who looked at him had to know that. He had that look about him that immediately made one think of a life of tragedy and loneliness, the kind that went soul deep, the kind that ran so deep it a part of him.

Honestly, now that Serena looked back she was a little ashamed at herself for being one of the crowd, one of the many, who'd not quite ignored him, but had more been blind to him. Not seeing him as more than just someone who was always there but never drew attention to himself, who was always alone.

Maybe she should ditch school and go to his house? His Aunt might not be happy with that, she might even call Serena's parents – did her parents know Darien's Aunt? No doubt they knew of her but whether or not they knew her was up in the air.

Like Darien – but not to such an extreme – the old woman had a tendency to keep more to herself, although like most of the senior citizens of the town, she was a member of several of the town's committees and charity organisations.

She just didn't have many people out to her more-than-not isolated house that was basically situated in the middle of the woods just outside the town limits.

Which kind of limited the "I just thought I'd drop by"s.

And then just like magic Darien was there.

The crowd had thinned over the last minute or so as many of the students had or were in the process of making their way inside to begin the day, so now it was just the last few dozen heading in who were either running late or had lingered out front talking with their friends in pairs or small groups.

Darien stood apart from them all. He was easily the tallest – Serena had never realised just how tall he was. Darien had to be close to six feet which meant that he'd tower over her when they talked, by a good head at least – of the dozen or so guys in her eye line, and his head of raven black hair that was just a little longer than was normal easily made him stand apart from the crowd.

Serena wondered if Darien intentionally kept his hair just that little bit longer than normal. It was long enough that when he bowed his head even the slightest bit forward his bangs hid his eyes even despite his tall stature.

And if that wasn't enough to catch her attention, Darien was staring straight at her with those dark deep blue intense haunting eyes that seemed to bore straight into her, body and soul. They were eyes that made Serena think of sadness and loneliness, but they were wise eyes as well. Eyes that saw everything and missed nothing.

There was a sharp intellect and a knowing in those eyes that made him – at least to her – seem so much older than he really was. It was like he'd lived before.

What was the expression? An old soul. That was it. Those eyes belonged to an old soul, someone so much older who'd live a full life, who'd seen and done all there was in this world to do.

And it had left him wise but at the same time sad and alone.

Serena's heart ached at the despairing sadness in those eyes, even as they stared into her with an intensity that stole her breath and filled her stomach with icy butterflies.

How easily she could be hypnotised by such eyes, if she let her guard down enough.

He somehow seemed to know that she was there waiting for him because Darien walked straight up to her, his eyes glued unblinkingly on her. There was no mistaking that she was his target.

Serena didn't know what she was going to say or do when he reached her. She hadn't thought that far ahead. She hadn't thought beyond the moment she'd first see him after waking up from either her dream or from remembering – whichever one was the case.

That was why she was there. To find out – memories or dream? Dream or memories? It was driving her crazy not knowing.

But at the same time did she really want to know? What if all her crazy impossible thoughts were just in her head? But what if they weren't?! What if the impossible things she was thinking were real?!

So where did that leave her? She was crazy if she was right and crazy if she wasn't.

Talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Darien approached her, briskly closing the space between them and all else faded from Serena's awareness, everything but him.

But even as he approached, even before he got close to her, Serena felt overwhelmed by the nearness of him, overwhelmed by the intensity that was Darien Shields.

The guy was handsome with a capital H! With jet black hair, deep piercing blue eyes and a flawlessly handsome chiselled face, not to mention the tall build with long runner's legs and large strong-looking hands, he was easily the hottest guy at Hadenwell High. Which meant there was that usual he's-so-hot awkwardness that was practically customary between hormone driven teenagers.

Wait a minute. 'Hormone driven?' Since when had Serena EVER been hormone driven?!

Serena felt her face heat and she knew she was blushing, so she promptly shoved her thoughts away from hormones and back on its original track.

There was something else about Darien that added weight to his presence, something in his demeanour, something that her instincts recognised but her mind couldn't put a name too. Some kind of power or force that was undetectable to everything but her most basic of instincts.

It was potent and intense and so undeniably there. How could she possibly put it into words when she wasn't even sure what it was?

It was almost like a sense that he was far more dangerous than he seemed, like he was capable of anything, of things that she couldn't even image and that made him a very dangerous person, like a predator.

Which at the same time was a complete contradiction to the gentleness, the kindness and compassion that she sensed was his core nature. Maybe because of the unwavering belief she had inside herself that Darien would never ever hurt her, that he wasn't a danger. To her.

Had she always felt like this when she was close to him, when she was looking at him? Serena couldn't remember. In fact Serena couldn't remember ever being this aware of anyone in her entire life. It was like up until this very moment she'd been trapped in a life-long endless dream in which the people around her had merely been shadows, but then she'd woken up and Darien was the first and only person she'd met who wasn't a shadow.

Did that make any sense at all?

Serena gingerly thought about how she'd been asking herself that a lot lately. Very little in her life seemed to make much sense recently.

But that was what it felt like, whether it made any sense or not. It was like she'd finally woken up after a lifetime of being asleep and Darien had been the Prince Charming who'd kissed her awake.

Great, now she was Sleeping Beauty. Serena crossly scolded herself for immaturely romanticizing the moment like some little girl playing make-believe. She was going to make a complete fool of herself if she didn't get a grip on herself.

Mentally shaking herself, Serena looked up into Darien's eyes as he finally closed most of the distance between them. He came to a stop at the bottom of the stone steps which she stood atop of and as a result Serena found herself face to face with him whereas on even ground he would've towered over her.

It was as though Darien had somehow sensed her need for there to be some small amount of space between them so that she could keep her head and not feel so much more overwhelmed by him.

Darien waited. He didn't say a word, just continued to stare into her with those piercing dark blue eyes of his that were so deep they made the night sky seem as shallow as a kiddie pool.

Eyes that made her heart skip a beat and her breathing quicken. Eyes that made her entire body tingle with an awareness of him, awareness that made her body feel hot all over.

Oh, boy.

"There's something I need to ask you." Serena said after a full minute of silence. Silence that hadn't been awkward, just . . . . . . . intense.

At hearing her own words Serena wanted to slap her hand onto her own forehead in embarrassed and exasperated disbelief. Of all the things she could've said, this was near the worst! It was nothing but the truth but the way she'd said it! She'd sounded so timid, so awkward and nervous!

No doubt Darien thought that she was going to ask him out or something equally ridiculous! Could she have made a bigger fool of herself? Now he was going to laugh in her face and just keep on walking, laughing at her ridiculous notion and her audacity.

Serena felt her face heat with her embarrassment, but regardless of it Serena firmly kept her eyes glued to his. Let him laugh at her. Her resolve to get answers from him – whatever they may be – hadn't changed. She would ask him what she'd come to ask him. No matter what it cost her.

This was too important, the answers to the questions that were keeping her awake at night and haunting her dreams were too important. So let him laugh at her and try to walk away from her, she was prepared to follow him and hound him until he caved and answered her questions.

But Darien didn't laugh. He didn't walk away from her. He didn't even smile. Instead Darien stepped back and raised his right arm, indicating that she should proceed him.

"Alright," Darien answered, his tone serious but somehow still gentle. "Lead the way."

Somehow Darien had known that this was a conversation that Serena wanted to have in private.

How did he do that?! He could Darien possibly anticipate everything like he did?! How did he anticipate so much?!

With even more questions than before swirling around her chaotic mind, Serena descended the steps and led the way even before she realised where she was actually leading him.

There were only a few places on the campus where one could go for privacy, and depending on the kind of privacy needed, there could be even less.

Serena wanted a place where they could have unlimited time alone but she didn't want to risk being overheard, so there was really only one place they could go where they wouldn't be seen while assuring that no one overheard them.

Darien remained one step behind her, never moving any closer to her or further away from her than that one step, all the way around the main building and through the campus to the sporting grounds at the back of the school campus. And he didn't say a word either, not even when the first bell sounded behind them just as they reached the bleachers at the back of the sporting ground, only an arm's throw from the campus's back boundary line.

The school back up onto a wooded area that was more long than it was wide. It only took ten minutes or so to walk through it to the west side of Hadenwell, that was mostly made up of several blocks of blue collar suburban homes. But it took much longer to walk the length of the woods though, maybe a couple of hours as there were few paths that ran longways through this particular bit of woods. It started only a block from the school and ran along the entire back boundary line of the school and kept on until . . . well, until it joined up with the woods that surrounded Darien's Aunt's house.

Anyway, with the woods at her back, the school a football field away in front and the bleachers above and around them, they had as much privacy as they were going to get without leaving the school grounds.

Which was why this was one of the main make-out spots of Hadenwell High, not that Serena had ever witnessed this first hand, it was merely common knowledge. Those who wanted to make-out knew about this spot so they could use it while the rest of the student body – primarily the younger students – knew to avoid it in case it was in use by one of the meaner – and bigger – older students.

Serena didn't see the appeal as a make-out spot except for the privacy offered. It wasn't dark under the bleachers but it wasn't light either. The bleachers were mostly made of wooden planks that were starting to looked aged enough that the school administration was beginning to consider the idea of either overhauling them or just plain tearing them down even though they'd only been repainted light grey a few years before, but already about one third of that paint was already gone.

Beneath the bleachers, the concrete slab that ran the entire length of the bleachers was covered mostly in an inch thick layer of damp dirt that became a muddy mess when it rained – and never really dried completely afterwards. There was litter scattered everywhere and it smelled of old wood, rot, rust from the underneath metal supports and damp earth.

It might not have been necessary for Serena to have lead Darien all the way to the bleachers as the school day had begun and most of the student body was now inside one of the many buildings that made up Hadenwell High School's campus, but it was too late to change her mind now.

No matter how much her courage had diminished now that she really was alone with Darien Shields, who was probably going to think her crazy for asking him what she'd brought him there to ask him.

A thought suddenly occurred to her and Serena's eyes widened in horror. Oh, god! She'd brought Darien to a make-out spot! Oh, god! Oh, god! Oh, god! What if he thought that she'd brought him here to make-out with him?!

Again heat flooded her face but this time Serena knew that she wasn't going to have the time to deal with it like she had minutes before. It had been bad enough when there was the possibility that Darien thought that she wanted to ask him out, what was he thinking now that she'd brought him here?!

Was it possible to die of embarrassment?

Serena started to turn her back to him when she caught a glimpse of Darien's face. His expression wasn't amused or suggestive, instead it was patient and mildly watchful, as if he were studying her and taking in every detail while he could.

Huh?

The way he was looking at her was almost as though he didn't want to miss a single thing.

What? What was happening? What was this feeling in her stomach and her chest when she looked at him? Why did the air between them almost seem to spark? Was this just normal teenage attraction or was something actually happening here between them?

Whatever it was, Serena couldn't understand it, couldn't even begin to describe it.

And right now she wasn't even going to try. Serena had what she wanted, what she needed, and she wasn't going to let this opportunity go to waste. She had questions and if Darien was willing to give her answers, whatever they may be, then Serena wasn't going to waste this chance.

For the next few minutes at least, it seemed that Darien Shields was all hers.

How many of the female population of Hadenwell High would've died for this opportunity?

Serena wasn't going to go there. She had bigger things on her mind. Or at least that was what she was trying to tell herself.

What she was thinking might be impossible, might make her seem like a crazy person and end up embarrassing herself in front of Darien horribly, but she had to know. She didn't even understand her driving need to know, but she was at the point that she really didn't care about exactly what was driving her anymore.

And on top of that, Serena was so very close to the point that she almost didn't care that what she was thinking wasn't even possible.

Her grandmother would've said that she was at her wits end, and for the first time Serena could truly understand that expression, because that was where she found herself. She was either at her wits end or her sanity's end, it was one or the other and she had to find out which.

But now that she was there with Darien, what was she going to say? How was she going to start? How could she put all her thoughts, feelings and suspicions into words in such a way that she didn't sound like a deranged crazy person?

She could barely admit what she was thinking to herself, let alone someone like Darien, who was when she got down to it, a stranger to her.

But still . . .

"Um, Saturday night . . ." Serena began awkwardly at last. "The party. Did you go?"

And here it was. The Moment. Darien knew what he was supposed to do even though he hadn't seen this coming, but that wasn't surprising. He hadn't seen this coming because it was a crucial part of his timeline, he could feel it, but now that the moment was here no matter what his sight and his rational mind were telling him quite sternly, he just couldn't do it.

Knowing he was supposed to do something was so completely different from doing it. Here he was with everything but his heart telling him to do one thing, while his heart was screaming at him, pleading with him, to do something so completely different.

He had always done the right thing, especially when it came to Serena, was taking this one moment for himself such a terrible thing? Even if it altered both their futures?

And the way Serena looked right in this moment, it was squeezing his heart so tightly that Darien could feel each beat of his heart like a physical body blow.

Serena stood before him in the shadow of the bleachers above them, her golden hair and perfect milky white skin still somehow seemed to shine even in the shade. She seemed so out of place here under the bleachers, out of the sun and surrounded by dirt and filth, like a perfect untainted white rose in the mud. She didn't belong here. His instincts screamed at him that she shouldn't be in such a place that was so very much beneath her.

But at the same time Serena didn't seem bothered by their surroundings at all. No, instead she seemed torn. Darien could see it in her eyes. She seemed to be struggling with some internal conflict, battling with herself, over what Darien knew. Even though she wasn't looking directly into his eyes, she was looking at him with that torn hesitant expression on her face. She felt uncertain and unsure of how to proceed, but at the same time that iron will, that stubbornness that he admired so much was still there, driving her onwards despite her awkwardness and uncertainty.

Darien's hands curled into tightly clenched fists as he battled with his waring instincts to take her in his arms and ease away all her worries, to do whatever it took to soothe and reassure her.

But he couldn't, damn it! She wasn't his to comfort or to hold.

No matter how much he wished it different.

But he still couldn't lie to her.

"I went." Darien told her, his tone betraying nothing of his own internal battle. "I didn't stay long. Not my scene."

"Oh." Was all Serena could think of to offer in reply.

Here she was, alone with Darien just as she'd wanted, but Serena just couldn't seem to make herself say the words that would get her the answers she needed.

She was such a coward.

Serena could feel Darien's eyes on her as surely as a physical touch and it wasn't helping her ability to think at all. She'd been so sure of herself only minutes before, so sure of what she'd say and ask when this moment came, but the moment they'd been alone together she'd chickened out.

What was she going to do? How was she going to ask what she needed to ask? This might be her one and only chance, and here she was wasting it! She couldn't believe her cowardice!

Drawing in a long deep breath for courage, Serena closed her eyes for a long moment, gathering every tiny piece of courage she possessed, and then she opened her eyes and asked her question quickly before she lost her nerve.

Serena wasn't even sure what she was going to say exactly until the words had already left her mouth.

"Did you . . . ah, help me?"

There is was. It was only a four worded question but to Serena so much depended upon it. It felt like everything depended upon it. The answer felt so important, as though her entire future, her entire fate, everything rested on his answer to this one open ended question.

Serena's heart was pounding so loud in her ears that she feared that she wouldn't be able to hear his answer. The icy butterflies in her stomach were in a frenzy.

Serena swallowed, preparing herself, bracing herself for whatever was coming the best she could even though she felt anything but prepared and then she looked up into his eyes.

And saw sadness. Soul deep heart-wrenching sadness that was so potent that it threatened to break her heart.

Not the reaction Serena had been expecting. Of all the things she'd been expecting in reaction to her question – confusion, curiosity, incredulity even – sadness was something she hadn't expected at all.

Why sadness?

Oh god! Did he feel sad for her?! Because she was making a fool out of herself? Was it pity rather than sadness?

Oh, good god no! Anything but pity!

But then Serena became aware of something else, something worse than her embarrassment and dismay. It took Serena a long moment to identify it, but when she realised what it was she would've traded it for dismayed embarrassment any day.

It was a bone crushing disappointment.

Serena bowed her head, unable to understand why the disappointment hurt so much.

So it had all been a dream. Everything. Darien had just confirmed exactly what the logical part of her brain had warned her that he would. Darien had been at that party, but he'd never carried her in his arms or whispered to her with such sadness and yearning in his voice that it made the angel's want to weep. There was no mystical connection between them that defied everything she knew to be real.

So, she had her answer. It was the answer she'd been mostly expecting but hadn't wanted.

Wasn't that ironic?

Serena had known that this was the most likely outcome, so why did she feel so disappointed and hurt? So desolate? So wronged? Why did she want it to have been true so badly? It didn't make any sense, it shouldn't make any sense. Why would she want it to be true that she'd nearly been assaulted and had only been saved from that fate because Darien had shown up like some white knight at the last moment like she was some damsel in distress?

Serena couldn't raise her head, she couldn't look at him. She didn't want to see the baffled look he was no doubt giving her while he no doubt questioned her sanity.

Nor did Serena want him to see the hurt in her eyes, or her tears that were dangerously close to falling.

She couldn't stand anymore pity. And she didn't want to cry in front of him, she didn't want him to think her that weak or childish.

But Serena didn't know if she could hold her tears back as the tears in her eyes were tears of loss because again for some unknown reason Serena felt like she was letting something precious slip through her fingers, something that meant more to her than she could yet understand.

Why did this moment feel so important? Like everything for the rest of her life depended on what she did right now, in this very moment?

Serena silently scolded herself. She was just being foolish and melodramatic like the immature emotional teenage girl that she was.

"I'm sorry," Serena mumbled shyly and emotionally, being careful to keep her head bowed so he couldn't see her face. "I didn't mean to waste your time."

Serena turned to leave, but out of the corner of her eye Serena saw his feet take a hurried step towards her, not enough to close the distance between them, but close enough that she was looking as his knees as well as his feet.

"Hey, it's alright." Darien assured her, his tone strangely gentle and soothing.

Strange because there was too much sincerity in his voice than there should've been between strangers.

"What's a few minutes out of the school day, right?" Darien said, obviously trying to comfort her by making it sound like no big deal.

He was being kind, Serena realised. God, that was almost worse than him being cross at her for wasting his time!

Damn! Serena wanted so badly to look up into his extraordinarily handsome face. He sounded so sincere and so kind! It sounded like he was pitying her! And she didn't want that from him.

A moment of silence stretched between them in which neither one of them said anything and it was killing her. Killing her because Serena wanted to say something, killing her because she wanted him to say something, anything!

"Don't be too hard on yourself," Darien told her gently. "I'm sorry if something happened to you at the party, but I had nothing to do with it. And it's obvious that you don't really know what happened – if anything did – so why not just forget all about it and move on? It will be the best thing for you."

Serena froze, her eyes widening in disbelief as alarm prickled at the back of her neck, and just like that Serena forget everything else. She forgot about her mortification and all feelings of disappointment, and all of her teenage awkwardness just fell away.

She was utterly focused on what he'd said, on the words he'd just used. He hadn't said anything unreasonable or startling, but there had been a hidden meaning to his words that Serena hadn't missed. Maybe Darien had intended for her to miss it but she hadn't!

Serena's eyes narrowed in determination and accusation, but she forced herself to remain still, to not lift her head. She didn't want to give anything away.

Certainty speared through her, filling her, making her believe the impossible in the space of a moment, and just like that she did believe.

Serena didn't question the renewed drive within her, didn't waste time with thoughts that it wasn't possible.

Instead, all Serena could think was that he knew! He knew but for some reason he wasn't admitting that he knew!

And just like that it was all real. Serena didn't know why she suddenly believed, but she just did. There was a reason that she was dreaming about him, there was a reason why he'd been there that night. She didn't know what it was, but it felt too right, too significant, to doubt or deny it anymore.

Serena was going to follow it, even if it did feel strangely like she was following her heart . . .

Now that was impossible.

Serena hadn't raised her head but she watched as Darien's feet turned away from her and started moving away.

Serena raised her head, her eyes going immediately to Darien's retreating back, and the sight of Darien walking away from her just felt so wrong.

Serena didn't know what was happening, or why it was happening so fast or why whatever it was felt so compelling, but right now she didn't care. She just had to prevent Darien from walking away from her, from taking whatever this was away from her forever.

Determined and desperate, Serena scrambled for the right thing to say that would make Darien trust her, the thing that would make him stay and embrace whatever this was, just as she was. She couldn't explain or put a name to whatever this was, but whatever it was was inside of her now and she was helpless against it and she didn't want it to be any other way.

"I wish you could see me as I see you." The words came pouring out of her mouth, the very same words that had haunted her for the last day and a half.

Darien froze at her barely whispered words, his eyes growing wide in stunned shock.

WHAT THE HELL?!

Darien barely managed to catch himself before he spun around to gape at her. The shock of that one sentence had slammed into him like an anvil. Not only had she heard and remembered what he'd said to her while she'd been drugged and barely conscious, he hadn't seen this coming! And he should have because this was going to change things.

For the both of them.

What was going on?

Yes, his second sight did have one or two gaps, but never like this! What was going on with his sight?!

This obviously hadn't been meant to happen! What he had seen and what had meant to occur was one in the same and that was Serena remaining silent as he walked away, Serena's timeline becoming clearer the more space he put between them, separating their timelines once again.

What was he going to do? What was he supposed to do?!

"It wasn't a dream, was it?" At first Serena's words were whispered, uncertain, but then they became almost accusing. "How?! How did you know? How did you know I was in trouble? How did you know that I was staying at Amy's instead of at home? That text message you sent to the girls, how did you make it sound exactly like me? Not one of the four girls who know me better than anyone else on the planet doubted for a moment that that text came from me."

The more Serena talked, the more she came to realize didn't make sense, and it was all from the past week. There were more unanswered questions swimming around in her head than there had ever been, and a growing suspicion was quickly taking root inside of Serena's mind.

From the moment Darien had realised that his gift in the wrong hands could be used for terrible things, he'd done everything and anything he could do to keep his second sight secret from everyone but his family, first his parents and then his Aunt, but right now the urge to tell Serena everything was almost choking him.

He was so tired of being alone. He had his Aunt, but still he was alone. So very alone.

Darien knew he could never tell her – should never tell her – but the temptation to do just that was so powerful it was all he could do to clinch his jaw tightly shut to keep the words from escaping.

Oh, but the very idea of finally being able to tell someone who wasn't his caregiver, to confide in someone, was so very seductively tempting.

And it very thought of Serena being that person was staggeringly awe-inspiring. He had watched over Serena for so long, had protected her from the shadows for so long that the idea of Serena finally seeing him was all his dreams come true all at once.

But Darien HAD to protect his secret. Even from Serena.

And besides, Serena would never believe him anyway. She'd think he was insane if he just blurted out to her that he could see through time as he saw fit.

And even worse, if Serena did believe him how else could she possibly act other than to freak out or worse, become scared of him?

He just couldn't take the chance. And what's more, he shouldn't. She had a happy future ahead of her, it would be nothing but selfish of him to risk it.

Darien prepared himself to mentally pull away from her before he did so physically and walked away from her, in all senses of the word.

Serena didn't know what to think. Darien still hadn't answered her but she wasn't going to give up. She didn't know what to think, what to believe, so instead she desperately clung to what she did know. What she did know wasn't much but it was what she had. And what little she did know she needed confirming.

Serena decided to try a different course of action. "True or false, something happened to me on Saturday night, or almost happened, and you stepped in and saved me." She wasn't quite sure why, but that was the most important thing that she needed confirmed right now.

It was almost as if that as long as that one thing was true, then all of the rest of it didn't matter so much.

Very, very slowly, Darien turned around to face her.

Serena held her breath.

Darien was silent for a long moment as he stared back into her eyes. Serena could see him battling with himself and wondered, not for the first time, if he was going to lie to her. She was so certain that something had happened Saturday night that had somehow involved Darien, she didn't know what she'd do it he denied it again – a lie or the truth it would hardly make any difference to her right now.

Then Darien swallowed thickly and answered in the softest of voices, "True."

Serena nearly sagged in relief, releasing her held breath and drawing in another, but other than that she forced herself to hold back any other reaction. She wanted more answers and she feared that if she did anything to break the moment then she would never get them.

"Okay," Serena breathed, taking a long deep breath while trying to steady her nerves. "True or false," she began again, "you drove me to Amy's afterwards."

Again, Darien visibly hesitated, again fighting with himself, but not as much as he had before. It was like he figured that now that he'd let the genie out of the bottle there wasn't any point in dodging her questions any more.

"True."

Again Serena felt relief, powerful relief. The kind on felt when they reached the surface after being underwater for far too long.

And now that Serena was getting her answers she was going to make damn sure that she got them all! The questions just started spilling out of her.

"True or false, you left the water and the aspirin for me."

Darien seemed a little mystified at that this was her third question, but he answered it just as he had those before. Truthfully.

"True."

Huh. Serena forced herself to keep just how much that touched her hidden from him, although she didn't think she was too successful at it.

It had been exceptionally sweet of him. He had somehow known that she'd wake with a headache and had taken steps to ease her suffering. It was . . . way above and beyond the call of duty, as the expression went.

"So something happened at that party," Serena began, not so much asking as verbalising her thoughts as she worked it all out and struggled to accept what had been her suspicions and blurry memories as fact. "And you helped me. You then brought me back to Amy's, where you left the water and the aspirin – thankyou for that by the way." She added as an afterthought even as she considered something that borderline bothered her.

Serena narrowed her eyes, trying to put the pieces together but finding that there were still things that didn't make sense or were out of place.

"But how did you know?!" Serena asked, looking him straight in the eye, her confusion on doubt clear on her face. "How did you know I was in trouble? How did you know that I was staying at Amy's? How did you know what bed was mine? How did you know what to text the girls so that they'd think it was from me? How do you know so much about me?"

Questions that Serena hadn't even considered before came shooting out of her mouth, confusing and concerning her more and more with each one.

Darien was staring at her helplessly, as if he had absolutely no idea how to answer her. He looked so lost, so rabbit-caught-in-the-headlights startled, that Serena knew that he wasn't going to answer her.

This just didn't make sense.

Unless . . .

And just like that it did make sense.

"You watch me?" Serena gasped, not knowing how to feel about that at all. She should have been outraged and a little scared of him, but the fact is that she wasn't. She was secretly a little flattered that Darien Shields was a little stalkery with her for some unknown reason, but mostly she was mystified.

How long had he been watching her? How had she never seen him? Why would he want to watch her? She was nothing special.

"How?" Serena asked him bewilderedly, incapable of anything more than that one worded question.

Darien knew that he'd let this go too far. He should have walked away, he should walk away now, but he couldn't. He just couldn't.

It was all or nothing. He was in for a penny, he might as well go in for the pound.

"I've watched over you for as long as I've lived here in Hadenswell," Darien told her softly, feeling such relief and a sense of release at finally being able to spill what he'd kept bottled up inside for more than half of his life. "But I've seen you ever since I can remember. I've known you almost all of my life, Serena, long before we even met."

Darien bowed his head and closed his eyes, seeing the events his words described play out in his mind's eye as he told them. If he was going to do this, then he was going to tell Serena everything, she deserved that.

Darien WAS NOT going to let Serena think he was a deranged stalker – she might still, but at least his conscience would be clear because he'd told her the truth.

"My parents and my brother died in a car crash when I was six years old." Darien told her, emotionally. "My father and my mother were so in love, so much so that my father never cared that my mother was . . . different."

Here it was. His secret. How was Serena going to take it? Would she even believe him? Was he risking everything telling her?

"She had a gift," Darien explained tentatively. It all came pouring out of him, the dam that was the wall he'd kept his secrets behind since boyhood had finally well and truly burst open. "One she called Second Sight. She was able to see things, things that had happened in the past, things that were happening in the present and things that could possibly happen. That was my mother's gift, and that is my gift. I inherited it from her but my mother's gift was never as strong as mine has become. There were things my mother couldn't see, couldn't predict, that I can. The decision of one choice in particular that eventually led to their deaths was one." He drew in a deep shaky breath, not going into that part of the story any more than he already had. At least not now.

It was far too painful. Maybe one day he would, but not today.

Darien bowed his head, unable to look Serena in the eye. "The night my parents died, while I was alone in the hospital, was the first time I dreamed of a little girl with eyes as blue as the sea and hair of golden sunlight."

There was nothing Darien could do to keep the small affectionate smile from his face. It was the same one that always came to his lips when he replayed one of Serena's early childhood memories in his mind's eye.

"I knew that we'd never crossed paths before, not even in passing on the street, but I saw this little girl as clearly as I'd ever seen anything before." Darien raised his eyes and looked up into her radiant sky blue depths that hadn't changed since that first time he'd seen her. The smile fell from his lips, a seriously intense and emotional expression taking its place.

"I was six years old, hurt and alone in a hospital but when I slept I dreamed of her." Darien stared into Serena's eyes, pleading with her to understand just how important that little girl still was to him. "At first, I was convinced that she was only a dream my grieving mind had created for comfort. I mean, how could she be possibly be real? A little girl with hair of golden sunlight and eyes as blue and as depthless as the ocean beneath that radiant blazing sun, who was always surrounded by love and laughter."

"When I dreamed of her, for a brief time I didn't feel alone or abandoned, or grief-stricken. So it wasn't surprising that within a matter of days I was seeing her even while I was awake; it was after my third vision of her while I was awake that I knew with certainty beyond that of a six year old boy that she was real, that somewhere a small angel made of sunlight and love was calling out to me."

Darien had closed his eyes again, replaying the moments in his mind, unaware that that smile had returned to his lips. "From that beginning barely an hour passed that I didn't hear her melodious laughter in my ears, see her glittering eyes before mine, or feel the love and joy that radiated from her like heat from the desert sun. Such a young tiny girl, but she had a heart of gold, open, bright and generous, especially with her smiles."

Opening his eyes, Darien once again turned his dark blue intense gaze back to Serena. "It was impossible for me not to fall in love with her. First I loved her as a dear friend or cherished sister, but it wasn't long before that love grew into something far stronger, something more."

Darien almost chuckled at the look on Serena's face. Her bright red blushing wide-eyed face.

She was so beautiful, so amazingly angelically innocent. She was everything that he wasn't.

How could anyone not love her?

Realising that he'd wondered off track – and needing relief from the awkwardness that had grown between them from the intense moment and the inadvertent less-than-subtle confession of feelings – Darien cleared his throat and lowered his gaze from hers and continued on with his sad life's tale.

"It took them six months to find my only living relative, my Aunt, my mother's sister." Darien needlessly clarified. "She didn't have my mother's gift; she had no idea what had happened to the sister she hadn't spoken with in over five years. There was some bad blood between them." Darien added as a brief explanation.

"During those six months I lived in an orphanage. It wasn't pleasant, but I had her, I had you and I knew I wouldn't be there long. I knew my Aunt would soon come for me and take me away. I didn't fit in with any of the other boys because it was obvious even at the sage of six that I was different," he shrugged nonchalantly as though it didn't matter to him at all, "so I made use of those six months to learn to control my gift. It didn't take more than a few months. I was motivated by my own personal little angel and love for my mother. I swore I would never act without first knowing the consequences of my actions; I swore that I wouldn't die as my family had. A promise I have kept." He swallowed thickly. "Until now."

And Darien looked up into her eyes and Serena gasped silently at the weight and meaning of his words. She could feel the truth and the intensity of his words, of his feelings for her that he was indirectly confessing.

Serena's mind failed her. She was speechless in words as well as in thought. What was she supposed to say to THAT when she couldn't even wrap her mind around everything else that he'd just revealed to her?

He could see through time?! He had watched over her for years?! HE HAD FEELINGS FOR HER?!

"My Aunt did come for me, just as I had seen, right down to the date and hour I had already foreseen." Darien went on, his tone much more clinical that it had been before, as if it were all such a little inconsequential thing. "She didn't waste any time. The moment my Aunt learned about her sister's death she had come for me and had sworn on their memory that she would raise her sister's sole surviving son the best she knew how. To nurture my gift and love and protect me every which way she could. My Aunt kept her word. She brought me here to Hadenwell, told me never to tell anyone about my gift and she raised me."

Darien looked up into her eyes again, staring straight into her, his tone changing entirely to one of great significance. "I was only in town a week before I saw you with my own eyes. I couldn't believe it. There you were, toddling down the street holding your mother's hand and sucking on a lollypop. I could barely breathe. There was the tiny angel who'd helped me survive the loss of my family. I followed you all day, watching with my eyes. I couldn't take my eyes off of you." He grinning fondly at the memory. "Even then you were enchanting and completely captivating."

Serena blushed at the compliment that he so unabashedly gave her.

It was all so surreal. Serena was struggling to absorb everything but at the same time she could and didn't doubt that everything he'd just told her and everything she suspected about him was true.

And then there was the so much more. Honestly, Serena didn't know what was harder to believe. The seeing through time thing, that he had been her secret guardian angel for years, or that he cared about her so much deeper than she comfortable exploring at this very moment.

Which was the more impossible?

Serena's mind was just too stunned and overworked to decide right now.

There was nothing else Serena could do but put it all aside and deal with it later. Her mind couldn't take anything else right now.

She needed time. Time to think about all of this and try to absorb it all.

But first . . .

"Okay, let me get this straight." Serena said with a long deep breath. Her voice was deceptively calm and casual, while inside her heart was pounding and her stomach was filled with quivering fluttering butterflies. "So you've been watching over me for years, had feelings for me for even longer, and you have the ability to see things that most other people would never believe."

"Correct." Darien answered simply, eyeing her carefully as if he well and truly had no idea how she was going to take and/or handle all of this.

There was nothing else that Serena could do. The simple truth was that Darien had saved her – the details were still unknown but she had a reasonable idea – and how else could she reward that but with faith and a little bit of trust?

Maybe all of this would hit her later and that was when she'd completely freak out, but for right now Serena felt calm.

And a tiny little bit mentally numb and dazed.

Serena looked up into Darien's terribly vulnerable eyes and calmly asked, "So what do we do now?"

Chapter End Notes:

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