Chapter 16

Expelling a breath, Serena twisted the tuners on the cello. The close call with Stanton caused a lot of stress. And since she didn't want to bring her own cello all the way to Europe, she had to relieve her stress by a rented one. That part was alright, but the problem was tuning it correctly. When she first got her cello, it took her almost an hour to twist every knob to the point where it made good music, and the tuners stayed the way she set them for years.

Finally satisfied, Serena inhaled, then exhaled, and played. She started off with a soft melody, the sound high, but quiet. Humming along, Serena thought about the events over the past few days. Obviously she and Stanton were getting closer. And that while under normal circumstances she would enjoy that, but now it had become what she'd feared it would be: they were getting so close that they were drifting apart. Physically, they were closer than they ever were. But emotionally, they were drawing away from each other. It was hard to describe what was happening between them any other way. People had a name for it, but she couldn't remember it. If they were going to be like this for a whole month, then shouldn't they at least be able to stay in the same room and have a pleasant conversation? Without ending up squashed against each other?

Lost in her thoughts, Serena hadn't noticed that she was beginning to saw the strings. Groaning, she relaxed the pressure, and changed the note. What could she do about their relationship?

Maybe she just needed a break. Possibly leave the castle by herself for a while. Tilting her head, Serena contemplated the thought. Maybe if she shopped around London a little bit, then she could get back in touch with reality. Even better, maybe she could call Jimena or Collin…or…both, since they would most likely be together.

Standing by her statement, she finished the song she was playing so she could get changed and got to London.

Serena skipped down the stairs, and looked around the main hall. Taking the manual way, Serena shouted, "Stanton!"

The familiar shadow floated about, especially around the banners hanging from the ceiling. It began to fly down towards her, and she watched he materialized in midair, and dropped down in front of her, landing of his feet in a crouching position. Serena had her arms crossed, and a brow rose as he came to his feet. "You yelled, Serena?"

A laughing smile bloomed on her face. "Show off, much?"

He grinned, and put his hands in the leather jacket pocket. "Just exploring the castle some more."

Pulling up the purse strap, Serena explained. "I think I'm gonna go shopping in London. Since there's no other way off the island, I was wondering if you wouldn't mind dropping me off there. You can come to, but I'd just like to go shopping by myself."

Nodding, Stanton agreed. "Fair enough." He put an arm around her as though he was ready to take off right now, but he only started on a walk towards the entrance doors. He turned, looked her up and down. "Nice outfit." He said.

Smiling, Serena looked down. "Thanks." Today, she dressed for simplicity, since she was going to be trying on things a lot. A simple purple tee, with matching purple flip-flops, and black pin-stripe pants with a black purse, that Stanton apparently noticed.

"What could you fit in a purse that small?"

"Um…" Unzipping it, Serena began to file through the contents. "Well, there's my wallet, I know I'll need that; some mints; some perfume should the scent I'm wearing get washed off somehow; a Chap-stick and some gloss, so I can have a shine as well as sun-protection; a couple emergency hair-ties, so I can always repair my hair; some bracelets, if I want to put on some more accessories; a pack of gum, in case the mints don't do their jobs; and normally I'd have my cell-phone, but it isn't charged right now; a pen and a small note-pad, because you never know what you could need those for; a small packet of tissues should my allergies start acting up or I get upset they'll be right here if I need tissues; and---"

Stanton held up his hand. "Sorry I asked," he said, chuckling a little bit.

Serena smiled, and zipped her purse shut. All she had left to list was her pad, and that wasn't exactly girlfriend/boyfriend average chit-chat. Once they pushed open the castle doors, and turned around to close them again, he put his both his arms around her, and she gripped him tight, bracing for flight. As soon as all their feet were off the ground, he sped off, which she didn't expect. Both times they had traveled this way before, he had taken a bit of vertical take-off so she could brace herself a little more. Now this was a bit unexpected.

Serena was slightly losing her grip, and she whimpered to let him know what was happening. He didn't notice at first, and kept on flying. She tried to look at his face, but the wind blurred her eyes. Her fingers were tightening on his shirt, and she felt herself slide in Stanton's arms, her t-shirt sliding up her back as she slipped. The force of the wind was slowly pulling her back. "Stanton!"

He looked down at her, and tightened his grip, which helped a little, but he suddenly sped up, the jerk of the speed forcing her further down so by now she was face-to-face with Stanton's abs, her knuckles white as she gripped his shirt for dear life. Knowing it was against all the advice she ever heard about heights, Serena looked down, and her eyes widened to the size of golf balls, and let out a tiny, scared, "Eep."

She gripped the fabric of the black shirt tighter, though it unfortunately didn't seem like such a good gripping device anymore. By now, her chin was just above his belt. He was holding her arms by now, and though he was holding on tight, it wasn't very reassuring. Serena felt her hands slip, and flinching, she braced herself for the fall.

They came to a sudden halt, and they were vertical once again. Serena blinked, not quite sure she knew what had just occurred. Looking down, she saw a familiar bustling city, along with a tall clock tower. "Uh…that…was quick."

He laughed, and pulled her up by her arms until they were facing each other again. That made her more comfortable, since she wasn't dangling from him anymore. He was smiling, as if laughing at her. Looking down again, Serena pursed her lips, and said, "Would you mind putting me down?"

The smile still plastered on his face, Stanton flew down, and gently set her on the ground. "I'll be on the other side of town. Just use telepathy whenever you're ready." He kissed her on the cheek, and flew off.

Before she could respond, he was a shadow, slithering off into another place in the city. Looking around her, she realized that Stanton had dropped her right in front of an exclusive clothing store. Grinning, Serena walked in, and the first thing she saw was a blue sweater halter. Holding it up to herself, Serena's grin widened, and as her eyes tried to view the entire store, she said to herself, "This is my kind of store!"

Serena peeled the wrapper off her muffin, and took a bite. She let out a satisfied moan, discovering that it was freshly baked. The blueberries were sweet and warm, while the muffin itself was soft and moist. Licking her lips to get a crumb off her lips, she examined the surroundings. She was at a phone booth outside a café, her five shopping bags guarding her place in the booth. Balancing the phone on her shoulder, she was busy tossing wrappers into a waste basket while she munched on the muffin. Perhaps a bad time to start eating it, but it smelled too wonderful to resist. Taking another bite, she considered asking for the recipe.

"Go ahead miss Killingsworth."

Excited, Serena brought her hand to the phone again, and tried to talk over the muffin. "Mm! Frank you!"

"Hello?"

"Jimema?"

"¿Excuseme?"

"JIMEMA! It'sth meh!"

"…Serena?"

"Veah!"

"Oh! Hola chica!" Her voice rang with happy surprise. "I didn't know that place had a phone! Why didn't you call sooner?"

Serena nodded while taking another bite. "Vell it doen'nt! I'm---"

"Chica?"

"Mm?"

"What are you doing?"

She finally swallowed, and answered with a light laugh. "I'm sorry. I was eating a muffin. And the castle doesn't have a phone Stanton and I are in London. I've been shopping all day!"

"Great! You two been…feliz?" Her voice took on a low and sultry tone.

Serena scoffed, "Yes, but not in the way you're thinking."

Jimena sounded skeptical. "Oh yeah?"

Serena sighed, and fell back onto the wall of the little red phone booth. She stared at the muffin as she asked, "You got a minute?"

Between eating, Serena explained the basics of what had been going on with her and Stanton. It took her the whole muffin, and the entire berry staining on her fingers before she finally said, "Do you and Collin have this problem?"

She could almost hear the shrug on the other end of the line. "No relmente."

Serena's voice rang with hopelessness. "Well, what do I do? I want to be able to talk to Stanton without anything sexual clouding our conversation. But I don't know how!"

There was a pause on Jimena's end. "Hey, chica? How would you feel if we came over there?"

Serena stood up again. "Huh?"

"If you and lover-boy really want to talk without getting sexual, then what else would help more than having your friends around to keep you from getting in the mood?"

Agreeing, Serena looked out at the London sky, realizing that she should probably get back to Stanton. Perfect! She could ask him if her friends could come. Maybe it would help if she told him Rachel and Tymmie could come too. "You know, that sounds like a good idea. I'll ask Stanton. Speaking of which, I should probably get going so I can ask him. I'll get back to you soon with the answer, I promise! Tell everyone I said hi! Thanks for helping me Jimena."

"Hey, I'm your amiga. That's what I'm for."

Smiling, Serena said her goodbyes and hung up. After collecting her change from the pay phone, Serena gathered up her bags, all the while saying mentally, 'Stanton? If you're ready, I'm all set to go.'

'Alright, don't break this link and I'll be right there.'

Within ten minutes, Stanton was standing in front of her, a small black bag in his right hand. She smiled, but it disappeared when his eyes grew wide enough that she could see the white all around his iris. "What is all that?"

Opening her mouth, Serena bent down. "Well, there's this cute orange---"

"Nevermind! Nevermind!" Stanton said, and came over to help her with her bags, taking three of them. "I learned my lesson last time."

Serena laughed, and stood, pulling the hair out of her eyes. "Um…Stanton?"

His brow rose. "Yes?"

Taking a deep breath, Serena quickly explained. "I know that we've had a lot of close calls lately, and I think that the only way we can do that is to get a break from each other without getting a break from each other you know? And Jimena thought --- I just gave her a call by the way --- that if they came over, then we'd be able to stand it a little better. Rachel and Tymmie can come if they want, I don't really mind, that part's up to you. I was just hoping that you could understand the problem we've been having, and hopefully we could fix it this way, and hopefully not ruin the trip."

He had remained completely still while she explained her case. "Is that it?"

Serena held her elbow. "Um…yeah. So…do you mind?"

His reaction wasn't what she expected. He kissed her forehead, and put an arm around her. "Not at all. I think it's a very mature solution. Why don't you call Jimena and tell her that whoever wants to, can come?"

Serena smiled broadly, and threw her arms around his neck in gratitude. "Thanks Stanton! I will!"

As she entered the phone number, Serena realized it would be a good few days until everyone arrived. As she glanced over at Stanton's chiseled body, slightly tanned face, and windblown hair, she began to wonder if two days was going to be enough for them to keep their hands off each other.