Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ How About A Cup Of Coffee? ❯ Chapter 1- Spilling Coffee... ( Chapter 1 )

How About a Cup of Coffee?

PG-13Chapter 1

Author's notes:

I was stuck in the sweltering sun, writing this. You had better review.

DISCLAIMER: I own only the characters that you've never heard of. Danyelle and Alison belong to me. The obvious people do not. I don't own Starbucks or any of the drinks, but if anyone wants to give me a lifetime supply of Frap's, I'd be more than willing to accept.

REVIEW.

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The sun was very bright that day as it beat down on the black leather seats. The man in the black, 3-piece suit was almost sweating. In fact, had it not been for the car's excellent A/C, he probably would have lost some of his- "I've-just-showered-and-smell-damn-good" look.

Most people that led lives remotely like his agreed that he was crazy. Only one thing drove Darien Shields out of bed at 5 AM, to shower and be on the road at quarter of 6.

Black Coffee.

Second only to his passion for women and cars, coffee was his soul, his life force; his core being. It was the only thing that woke up the business fiend inside that he had become.

And as such, being a coffee connoisseur, he knew-from experience-that that only place to get good, decent coffee was Starbucks.

The only problem with that, the 24-year old thought, was the swooning girl at the cash register.

He was pretty used to it, having been a model in what was now his own company for 2 years. There was another Starbucks he frequented, by his office, closer to work, as a matter of fact, but there was this force driving him to get to this Starbucks-one he was powerless against-and I'm not talking about the car.

Of course, being the machoistic man that he was, Darien didn't allow himself to think that anything was out of his hands. So he simply thought he was going to this location because he wanted his coffee and he wanted it now.

He absentmindedly ran a hand through his hair, gave a deep sigh, and locked his black Porsche.

Then, he stretched and walked towards the door.

***

Serena Cohen had hit the snooze button one too many times this morning, and that was apparent by the way she had two near-collisions while driving this morning.

In fact, so oblivious to the world around her, she didn't even notice the one collision she couldn't avoid.

Heading directly for the side door of Starbucks-the one nobody ever used-she ran right into another person heading for the same exact entrance.

"Oof."

That someone cushioned her fall, but they landed rather awkwardly on the cement outside of the coffee house; she, sprawled ungracefully on top of him. Hastily, she scrambled off, embarrassed that she was 22 and just had had a 'klutz attack,' muttered a "sorry," and ran inside her work, sparing him not a single glance.

An older man walking into Starbucks at the time had seen the collision; and offered the shell-shocked man a hand.

"Some people will do just about anything for their coffee, eh?" He asked Darien, chuckling.

The businessman glared darkly at the receding form of the blonde and sullenly agreed.

***

Serena jumped over the counter and tied on a green apron.

"Dany?" She yelled over the coffee machines, to her friend.

"Yeah?" The tall girl answered, unfolding from the underside of the counter gracefully, and amazing Serena once more with her Amazon grace. "The machine needed an attitude adjustment." She winked.

Serena paused to smile. "Can you do drinks this morning? I woke up late, and I need my own Frappachino before I can mix any thing. Putting me near a coffee maker this morning would not be a good idea."

Danyelle laughed. "Sure. You look a little rushed today, Serena. You sure nothing else's bothering you?"

What do you mean, besides the fact that I nearly crashed-twice-already this morning? And-oh yeah-I had one of my infamous klutz attacks from junior high just outside the door? Sure, everything's just peachy.

She glared at her noisy friend, who gulped and went back to work.

After serving three of their regular and most understanding customers, and a very nice old man who left a large tip, Serena was just about ready to switch positions with Danyelle.

Turning her back for jut a second, she heard, "Excuse me. Miss?"

There was a feral gleam in her eye as she answered the customer through her gritted teeth. "Yes, sir?" Embarrassment flooded through her as she recognized the man from outside. She hoped he didn't recognize her.

If he was intimidated, he didn't show it. With mock cheerfulness that he was certain would annoy her, he told her what he wanted.

"Venti traditional-black."

She grimaced at the order, but wordlessly rung it up and gave Dany the command. Dany was so lost in her work that she didn't realize who the order was for. The drink was ready as Mina, their other co-worker, took over at the register.

Serena handed the drink to him, making sure the lid wasn't completely secured. "Venti traditional!"

Darien flashed her a grin, but she had turned again, and she still hadn't caught her eye. He had recognized her and wanted to embarrass her slightly for it. "Thanks."

He lifted the drink to his mouth and yelped in surprise as the coffee ran all over his suit and white shirt.

Serena turned, before he could ask for another coffee or complain and asked-"Will that be all, sir?" Then, the wicked gleam returned to her eyes, and triumph danced inside.

Darien finally met her eyes and was shocked. Aside from the victory that was blatantly being displayed, she was one of the most beautiful creatures he'd ever seen. And then, a hot liquid distracted him on his chest, so the awe was rapidly replaced with anger.

"No, you dumb blonde-that will not "be all!"" He yelled, starting to attract even more attention. "You didn't put the lid on my coffee correctly, and now I have a board meeting that I'll probably be late for; because it begins in 20 minutes."

She leaned over the counter and motioned for him to come close, as if she was telling him this very dangerous secret.

"Then I guess you'd better… HURRY UP!" Serena yelled, directly into his ear.

Darien, clutching his ear in shock, stalked out the door and got in his car-floored it, and head for his penthouse.

But it was Serena who wore the slightly gleeful; "I-got-you-this-time-mister!" smile as she watched the irate man leave. Turning to Mina, she slapped her a high-five and realized how gratifying the applause from the other customers was.

Only Danyelle remained moodily silent.

"Yo, Ricechek. What's up?" Mina asked, her lips still twitching with barely suppressed laughter.

Serena was back at the register, but cocked an ear to hear what her friend had to say.

"That was Darien Shields." Danyelle spat.

The blonde at the register was so flustered, that she dropped all the money in her hands and shrieked.

Mina, recovering gracefully, did a rapid damage control. She carefully handed the nice lady her change, plugged in the next order, and smacked her cousin on the arm.

"Get with it girl! What's gotten into you?"

Serena was visibly shaken when she answered. "All the time Dany was talking about "Mr-Shields-this" and Mr-Shields-that," I never assumed that it was Darien Shields. Mina," She grabbed her friend's arm. "Mina, you remember Darien from home-he was awful! Forever teasing me about my grades and constantly torturing me!"

Mina was about to butt in, when Serena held up a hand to silence her.

"And I don't care what you and Andrew think, because Darien doesn't like me! Nobody is that heartless."

"Andrew was Darien's best friend. Who else would now how to read him??" Mina demanded, in the defense of her caring boyfriend.

Serena stubbornly shook her head. "And I moved to America to get away from that jerk!" She wailed.

Mina put a comforting hand on her shoulders. "Chill, Sere. I'm sure he didn't even recognize you."

Serena neglected to tell her of the earlier klutz attack-why bother? She hadn't had one in about 4 or 5 years-it was like Darien drew it out in her, or something.

The morning resumed, Danyelle shooting death glares at the two blondes, Serena completely klutzing out, with Mina picking up after her.

***

End Chapter 1.

Wow. Just finished, and it's 1 in the morning. Gotta spell check so all you lovely peeps can read it.