Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Seeing Stars ❯ Chapter 24 ( Chapter 24 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Seeing Stars
By Jason Ulloa
Original story by Moonsong
Continued with her permission.


Chapter 24

Serena gave it a lot of thought last night. The date. Tanya's words. Her feelings. His
feelings. All of these things tumbled through her mind endlessly for hours as she tried to
make sense of it all. And now, this morning, she was standing outside the studio building,
going over everything that had happened and going over her feelings for Shields.

Her confession to Tanya about her loneliness surprised her now that she thought about it.
She didn't want to admit her loneliness to herself, yet she freely admitted it to Tanya
without thinking about it. Then again, Tanya was almost like a sister to her, so maybe it
wasn't so surprising after all.

She now knew that Tanya was trying to fix her up with Shields. She watched her play
matchmaker often enough, so she knew what to look for. She was constantly mentioning his
name around her and talking about him with her just as often. Two telltale signs that Tanya
Cambridge, matchmaker, was at work. She couldn't blame her, though. Tanya had been worried
about her ever since Seiya left her almost a year ago.

She had been dating Kou Seiya for almost two years before that. It was the longest and most
serious relationship she had ever been in. She loved the man deeply and would've married
him if he asked. Well... that was in the past. Another woman - some red-haired whore whose
name she didn't even want to think about - stole him away from her. Damn that....

It took her a few minutes to calm herself. It was probably because of that reaction to the
very thought of that woman that drove away the first couple of potential boyfriends. After
she had finally gotten over Seiya's abandonment, she found that she had already earned
herself a reputation for having a short temper. That, in turn, made it very hard for her to
get a date, since a lot of people were slightly apprehensive of her new-found temper. Of
course, this didn't help her with her temper. In fact, it made it worse. Now she would bite
people's heads off for things that normally she would casually dismiss with an indifferent
shrug.

Months after Seiya's betrayal with... her, her temper and her loneliness began a symbiotic
relationship with each other. Her loneliness would feed her temper which would contribute
to her not getting a boyfriend. That, in turn, would make her more lonely, which would
continue to feed her temper... and the cycle would continue ad nauseam. Sure, she tried to
play it off like she meant to be that way to scare off any arrogant, would-be suitors, but
that was way back when she was still trying to get over Seiya. She had even managed to
convince Tanya to some extent, although she felt bad about that.

Darien Shields.... He was the first person to brave her temper and treat her like a woman
and not like a walking maelstrom, ready to break whatever got in her way. Sure, he was as
nervous around her as the others at first, but he gradually began to grow braver around
her.

The reason why he acts that way toward her was still a mystery to her. He, of all people,
should have the most reason to hate her. She yelled at him, insulted him, got him fired,
and so on. He should want to kill her or something, but not only does he not want to see
her miserable, he feels the exact opposite. He actually CARES about her.

Before, she regarded Shields with utter contempt and disregard. He was just another nobody,
plain and simple. When he landed the role opposite to her, she was furious. A nobody...
playing opposite of a big star like her?!? But she had no choice. However, once she saw him
perform.... It was amazing. For someone with little to no experience with roles of the
caliber he was performing in, he acted as if he had always done roles like that. There were
almost no flaws in his performances whatsoever. She was impressed, which was a hard thing
to do.

With his success in performing, she noticed that his confidence slowly began to grow as
well. He was no longer apprehensive around her, but he was still respectful toward her. It
was almost like the way a junior would speak to a senior co-worker. Well, in a way, perhaps
it was appropriate.

What started the change in attitude toward him was when he first took her to his friend's
place for a quick lunch away from anything and everything that had to do with the actress
Serena Moon. There, she could be just another ordinary woman. No stress, no fans, no
worries. It was a priceless gift that he had given her and he was more than willing to
share it with her whenever she wanted. It was also the first real act of caring and
kindness that anyone had shown to her. Furthermore, he expected nothing in return; all he
wanted was for her to be happy. Not because it would make her ease up on him. Not because
he was trying to earn her favor. Because he wanted her to be happy. Because he cared about
her.

However, after the first 'date' with Shields, her feelings toward him changed dramatically.
She saw a side to him that she had never seen before. She was almost sure that it was a
side of him that he had never shown anybody else, which made it all the more special. It
was the first time in such a long time that she truly had fun and enjoyed herself. She
found herself looking forward to the next time she could do that with him again. And the
next. And the next. Work was more enjoyable as well, because of him. Perhaps Tanya had hit
it on the head; perhaps she WAS falling in love with him.

The feelings that she was starting to have for Shields was similar to those she had for
Seiya, whom she knew she had loved. But, there were different feelings as well. There was
something there that she had never felt for another man. It slightly terrified her because
she didn't know what it was, but it was also slightly exhilarating at the same time. There
was only one thing that held her back, though. She didn't know him all that well. How did
he feel about her? Sure, Tanya thought that he might have feelings toward her, but she
wasn't sure. Exactly how deep was his feelings for her? She wasn't about to risk her heart
on another Seiya. She didn't think she could survive it.

"Something wrong, Serena?" she heard a voice ask behind her. She turned around to see Amy
giving her a concerned look. "You look like you've got a lot on your mind this morning."

"Oh, hello, Amy," she said absently as she turned toward the director.

Amy blinked in surprise. Serena had always refered to most people by their last names, so
it was a surprise to hear her call her by her first name. Perhaps there was something on
her mind. She was about to ask when Serena spoke again.

"How are you and your boyfriend doing?" she asked as turned away and stared skyward
thoughtfully. "Jason... was his name, right?"

"Yes, Jason Evans," Amy replied, nodding slowly. "We're doing very well; thank you for
asking." She paused for a moment as she gave her a curious look. "Why do you ask?"

"I don't know, really," Serena admitted as she looked at Amy again. "I've been doing a lot
of thinking lately, though, and I guess I was just curious about how the newly formed
couple was fairing. By the way," she began slyly, "Tanya tells me that you and Jason have
already become very... intimate very quickly." She grinned widely as she saw the blue-
haired director blushing. "Oh, so it's true? Wow, I never would've expected it from you!
I mean, you don't seem like the kind of woman that has sex on the first date."

"All right, already!" she exclaimed as her face turned a brighter shade of red. "Must we
discuss this? My having sex with Jason isn't exactly a topic for public discussion."

"Right. Sorry."

"If I may ask, how are you and Darien fairing?"

"What?" Serena asked as she blinked in surprise.

"Don't evade," Amy said firmly. "You asked me about Jason, so I'm asking about you and
Darien."

"Me... and Darien?" she asked with a slight frown.

"Don't play ignorant, Serena. If you've been paying attention to the rumors floating around
the set, you would've known by now that most of the crew believes that you and Darien are
a couple now." Her expression softened as she smiled encouragingly. "Can I ask you a
personal question, Serena?"

"What is it?

"I know that things have been hard for you lately," she began softly. "I think, in a way,
I might've been in almost the same situation you've been in."

"Be that as it may, I know that your situation wasn't as similar as you might think it
was," Serena said flatly.

"You may be right," Amy agreed. "Nevertheless, I want to ask you this: How do you feel
about Darien?"

"How do I feel?" she asked, frowning questioningly. "Why do you ask?"

"Don't answer my question with a question. Please answer the question. If you cannot answer
it, or if you don't want to answer it, I won't push you."

Serena was quiet for a long time. "I'm not very sure of it myself, but I think...."

"Yes?"

"I think that... I might... be falling in love with him," she finished in a rush. "I just
don't know."

"Are you unsure because of the whole Kou Seiya thing that happened to you a year ago?" Amy
asked. It was the kind of break-up that made the top stories of entertainment news shows
and periodicals, although it was something that she had a feeling that Serena would've
preferred to have kept quiet. "I can understand that you would want to avoid another event
like that, but you can't let things like that inhibit you. You'll lose out on the love you
could've had otherwise."

"Amy...."

"Listen. I almost let my worry over how gossip would affect my relationship with Jason
prevent me from pursuing that relationship. Once I threw away that worry and actively
pursued my feelings for him, I found that not only did he not care about gossip, but he
would always be there for me, regardless of whatever anybody said about him, me, or us as
a couple. I now have his love, which I never would've had if I let my worries continue to
hinder me.

"If you think you might be falling in love with Darien, pursue those feelings and find out
for certain. Don't let your apprehensions stop you. Remember, Darien is not Seiya."

Serena turned around again and stared down at the ground. "I know he's not Seiya," she
replied. "I just hope he never does become another Seiya."

"He won't. I'm almost certain of it."

"How can you be so certain?" Serena asked pointedly. "Can you see into the future?"

"No, but I can tell that that kind of selfishness isn't in his personality," Amy countered.
"Give him a chance. Give your heart a chance. You may just find love, like I did with
Jason."

Serena sighed as she gave her a slow smile. "Thanks, Amy. I appreciate this."

She smiled gently at Serena as she placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm glad I could help."
She paused for a second, then nodded as if she was answering a question to herself. "If I
may say so, you've become a much better person since you've been seeing Darien. You don't
get angry as often as you used to."

Serena glanced back at Amy as the blue-haired director turned to go inside. She gave some
thought to the last few words that Amy told her. She might've been right; now that Shields
had taken away some of her loneliness, she wasn't as irritable as she used to. She didn't
really care about all that, though. What she did care about was whether Shields actually
had feelings for her the same way she was starting to have feelings for him.

At any rate, today was as good a day as any to find out.

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

Darie n was standing by the craft services table, nursing a cup of coffee as he mulled over
the conversation that he and Jason had yesterday. The stuntman had some very interesting
observations that help to alleviate some of the reservations that he was having as of late.

Jason said that there was a kind of chemistry between himself and Serena that he could
sense whenever they acted together. A strong chemistry. Well, to his untrained eye, he felt
that his acting performance seemed to complement her's very well. His complete mental and
emotional transformation into the character Jack Terrance was the perfect counterpart for
her training and experience in professional acting. But all of this was just professional.
Were there any real feelings for him, Darien Shields, from her, Serena Moon? Or, was it
just the acting emotions of the character Diane Silver for his character, Jack Terrance?

He had already asked the actress out on one date. Sure, she had fun and enjoyed herself,
but that wasn't enough for him. He could do that with any friend, but he wanted more. The
only indication that he actually had to support the hope that she might return his feelings
for her was that one moment when she kissed him on the cheek and called him by his first
name.

That one kiss.... He wanted more; no, needed more. But, would it happen again? He prayed
that it would, but he wanted her lips not to touch his cheek, but his own lips.

He may've been bold enough to finally ask Serena out on a date, but he didn't want to go
too far. After all, she didn't like overconfident people, especially overconfident actors.
What to do...?

"Here you are, Shields."

"Serena?" he said as he turned around to face the blonde actress. "Good morning."

"You, too, Shields," she replied amiably. "Do you have some time? I wish to talk with you
in private." She gave him a teasing grin. "And away from the craft services table, as well."

He chuckled to himself as he finished off his coffee and tossed the paper cup into the
trash bin beside the table. "Certainly, Serena. Lead the way."

Serena led Darien toward her trailer, opened the door and gestured for him to follow her
inside. As soon as he stepped inside and closed the door behind him, he took a look around.
It was well-kept inside; no mess whatsoever. All of her makeup was placed neatly on her
vanity and all of her wardrobe clothing was neatly kept on hangers, clean and without any
signs of wrinkles.

She motioned for him to take a seat in one of the chairs while she took a seat in the chair
in front of her vanity. "I must tell you something, Shields," she began quietly. "This
isn't going to be easy for me to do, so bear with me."

"What is it, Serena?" he asked earnestly.

"I know that it's something that happened in the past and that anything I say now won't
change anything, but I want to apologize for my behavior on the 'White Rose' set. I had no
call to force Osaka to fire you like that." She paused for a second as if to gather herself
for what she had to say next. "Can you forgive me for what I did to you back then...
Darien?"

He sat there for a moment as his mind raced. It was almost like an opportunity had just
opened up for him. He had to do this just right. One mistake could blow everything, but for
what was at stake, he had to go for it.

"Serena...," he began softly as he stood up and walked up to her, then kneeled down beside
her chair. "You don't have to ask me for forgiveness. As far as I'm concerned, I should
thank you for what you did."

"Thank...," she began in astonishment. "Why should...?" She was cut off as he placed a
silencing finger on her lips.

"Please, let me explain," he said as he looked earnestly up into her eyes. She nodded
silently and gave him a look, urging him to continue.

"At first, being fired from my job at the 'White Rose' set did hit me hard," he began.
"However, the manner in which I was fired was partly responsible for the reason I was hired
to play the role I have now. This is one of the three reasons why I am grateful to you for
what you did.

"Since I've come to work here, I've met and worked with people whom I never thought I would
have a chance to work with considering my previous job status. Some of those people - Amy
Anderson, Tanya Cambridge, Melvin Van Holst, Jason and Lita Evans, and Molly Osaka - I now
consider my friends. This is the second reason why I am grateful to you for what you did.

"Finally... there is you," he said as he reached out and took her hands in his. "At first,
you were cold to me, but as I worked with you and got to know you, you slowly warmed up to
me. I have a great respect for you as an actor and as a woman and I consider working
alongside you to be a great honor. This is the third reason why I am grateful to you for
what you did." He paused as he visibly gathered himself for what he wanted to say next.

"There is more?" Serena asked as her breath seemed to catch in her throat.

"Yes," he said with a firm determination, although his voice seemed to tremble slightly.
"When we perform together, I can almost feel as though it's more than just us acting as
professionals. I know that we haven't been working together for a very long time, but to me
it feels as though I've always worked with you. We complement each other that well."

"Yes...," she said as he paused to gather his thoughts. "I think I know what you mean...
Darien. For the longest time, I have never worked with anyone who balances me as well as
you do. I don't know if it's because of natural ability or not, but it doesn't matter to
me anymore. Nor does the fact that you're probably going to become something of an
overnight star because of this movie," she added. "Maybe you deserve it because of your
abilities. But, this I do know for certain: There is no one I'd rather have playing
opposite of me."

'Yes, Amy was right,' she thought to herself. 'He is no Kou Seiya. I have nothing to be
afraid of.' She swallowed as she stared down into Darien's brown eyes. 'I'm going to do it.
And heaven help me if I'm wrong....'

'I might as well dive right in and say it,' Darien told himself with some slight
trepidation. 'Even if she doesn't return my feelings, I can still try to win her over. At
least she'll know where she stands with me. Well, here I go....'

"Darien...," Serena began almost hesitantly.

"Serena...," Darien said at the exact same time as they both said the exact same thing in
perfect unison.

"I love you."

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

"So, here you are, my blue-haired beauty," Jason said as he snuck up behind Amy and hugged
her from behind. "I've been looking for you everywhere."

"Oh?" she asked, as she turned her head around just enough so that he could bend down and
kiss her without too much discomfort. "Well, you've found me now."

"I know," he said as he released her, but kept one arm around her shoulders. "I wanted to
let you know that G.Q. sent me to find you. He, Melvin and Molly are going over the final
script revision. He said that he wanted to get your input on some of the key changes that
he wanted to implement."

"All right, then. Let's not keep them waiting."

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

There was complete silence in the trailer for almost five minutes as Serena and Darien
merely stared at each other in complete disbelief. Both minds were in complete shock at
what had just occurred.

"You... love me?" they said, still in unison.

Darien was the first to speak after that. "Yes, Serena. I love you. Your strong spirit and
perfect beauty have stolen my heart. I know that you have been lonely in the past. I want
to be the one to end that loneliness."

"You...," she murmured as a small smile started to spread across her face. "You were the
first person who wasn't nice or kind to me just because they were afraid of my temper. You
cared about me as a woman and not as a temperamental actress. You love me as me, not as
a famous award-winning actress." All the pain and sadness that she had held inside since
Seiya left her was now coming out as she began to cry. "All this kindness and caring that I
don't deserve...."

"Shh...," Darien said as he stood up and gently pulled her up to her feet as well as he
embraced her tenderly and slowly rocked her back and forth to ease her pain. "No one ever
said that you don't deserve happiness, Serena. You deserve to be happy just as much as any
ordinary woman and I plan on doing whatever I can to make you happy."

"Darien...," she murmured as her crying slowly subsided and she looked up into his eyes.
She slowly closed her eyes and leaned forward, meeting him halfway as they both met in a
kiss. It was a deep, passionate kiss that lasted for a very long time as Serena let herself
melt into his arms. She moaned slightly as she felt her loneliness and misery wash away as
she drank in the kiss like a person dying of thirst. Her pulse was racing faster than she
had ever felt it before. She needed this... needed him.

After what seemed like an eternity, they finally ended the kiss. "That was...," she said
in a breathy whisper as she waited for her pulse to slow down. "Wow."

"Yeah...," he murmured in a tone just as breathless. "Wow, indeed."

They were just about to indulge in a second kiss when a knock at her trailer door
interrupted them. "Serena, are you in...," Tanya began as she opened the door and walked
in, then halted as she took in the scene. "Holy...! Oh, wow! Darien and Serena! You go,
girl! You go, boy!"

"Tanya...," Serena muttered in chagrin as she grimaced and shook her head. Darien just had
an embarrassed look on his face, but neither one was backing away from the other.

"Oh, did I interrupt anything... interesting?" she asked, smiling extremely wide.

"As a matter of fact, yes, you did," Serena said in a mock-angry voice. "Now, if you'll
excuse us, we'd like to get back to what we were doing."

"Oh, sure thing!" Tanya said, nodding as she backed out of the trailer. "I'll... just
talk to you later, then. I'll just be sure to leave a 'Do Not Disturb' sign on the door
for you two. Have fun!" With that, she closed the door behind her.

"Now...," Darien said as he smiled down at her. "Where were we?"

"Let me give you a hint," Serena said as she leaned into another kiss.

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

"Her e we are," Jason announced as he and Amy walked into the conference room. G.Q.
was there waiting for them, along with Melvin, Molly, and Lita.

"So, you have the final revision ready for us to review?" Amy asked as they all took
seats around the big table.

"I've already gone over the changes with Molly and Melvin, but I wanted to get your
input as well before I make this revision final," G.Q. told her. "I also wanted to have
Jason and Lita here so they can go over how to coordinate how they want to do these
new stunts as well as changes to already existing stunt scenes."

"All right then, what do you have for me, G.Q.?"

"First, there are very few scenes that should be redone for greater effect," he began
as he pointed out each of the scenes in question. "I have kept all of the original
dialogue of the scenes that have already been shot in place, mostly because there is no
need to change them. However, there have been a lot of changes after the Nijizuishou
scene in Vancouver.

"Some of the Tokyo scenes have been kept as is, but I've added some scenes and changed a
few more. As for the Hong Kong scenes, I've made a very big change there. Instead of
having Jed just take the crystal and leave, I'm having Michiru Kaiou confront Jed and
try to stop him. I've debated on whether or not to kill her, but I've finally chosen to
have her live, but get seriously wounded, almost like Ryoku did.

"Now, as for the Sydney scene, do you have any objections to what I have written here,
now?" he asked as he handed her his newest copy of the script.

Amy grinned to herself. Considering Serena's current feelings for Darien, she knew that
the blonde actress would have no objections at all to that scene. In fact, she would
probably be all too willing to do it. Her grin widened slightly. She might even demand
to do the scene over and over again until they 'get it right'.

"No, but I do have a suggestion to make. Instead of a far shot and panning away, how
about we do a close shot, but with just enough lighting to make silhouettes."

G.Q. nodded thoughtfully. "Not a bad idea. I'll change that right now." He wrote a few
words down on his copy of the script and crossed out a few others. "Now, as for Hotaru
and Ryoku, I've decided that, instead of having the two kids rescued, I'd have Ryoku
try to fight his way out along with Jack and Diane. That would set up a three-part
final confrontation at the end of the movie: a firefight between Diane and Jed, a fight
between Jack and Zed - Blondie, in case you don't remember - and a martial arts battle
between Ryoku and Mel - the silver-haired man. I think it'll prove very interesting."

Jason glanced at the script over Amy's shoulder, then glanced over at Lita. "What do you
think, Lita?"

"I took a quick look through the script while you were out looking for Amy," she replied.
"Some of these stunts are easy enough, but I think we can jazz some of them up a bit.
Hey, you wanna go over some fighting techniques with Darien and talk with the kid who'll
be doing the fight scene for Ryoku?"

"Sure. I think I have something in mind for those scenes, but I wanna go over them with
those two, just to see what they're capable of. If I can teach them a little more, I
might be able to bring the fight choreography up a level or two. I've found that the more
complex the fight choreography, the more visually interesting it is."

"Good. Any questions or comments about the rest of my changes?" G.Q. asked.

"No, I think that about does it," Amy said. "Melvin? Molly?"

"We've already given G.Q. our comments and approval," Molly told her.

"So, this is it?" Melvin asked eagerly. "The final revision? We have our final script?"

"After I put in the changes, yes, it will be final," G.Q. replied with a nod. "I'll have
the blue final revision finished for all of you by tomorrow."

"Excellent," Melvin said happily. "G.Q., we all appreciate the good work you've done on
this script. Thank you."

"Not a problem," he replied with a grin. "By the way, I hope you don't mind if I stick
around to watch the rest of the movie being made. I don't have any other projects at this
point in time and I'm very interested in seeing how this particular movie turns out."

"I have no problem with it," Amy replied. "Melvin?"

"I'm fine with it if you are," he replied with an indifferent shrug.

"Thanks," G.Q. said with a grin. "Well, now that we're done here, how about we go finish
up this movie?"

"Sounds good to me," Lita said as she stood up. "Let's go." Everyone else stood up and
followed her out of the conference room.

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

To Chapter 25

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

Author' s Note: Okay, I know I said that I'd bring Raye back into the story in this chapter,
but this seemed to be a good a place as any to end the chapter. On another note, it looks
like I've brought Serena and Darien together sooner than I thought I would. Oh, well. I
guess now is as good a time as any. Just to let you all know, I don't plan these chapters
ahead of time. I just sit down and write whatever comes to mind. It's almost like I'm
watching the story unfold as I write it. It certainly makes for an interesting fic, don't
you think? Next chapter: Jack and Diane travel to Vancouver; Jed makes plans for his next
aquisition; and Raye finds out about Serena and Darien.

Disclaimer: All original materials belong to their respective
owners. Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko Takeuchi and a bunch
of big companies. No copyright infringement is intended. This
story belongs to Moonsong and myself, and I would appreciate
you emailing her or myself for permission before posting it
anywhere else. Thank you.

Prologue Copyright © January 24, 2000 Moonsong.
Other Chapters Copyright © August 12, 2000 Jason Ulloa.
All Rights Reserved.