Author's Note:





THIS IS NOT A JOKE!!!!


Hey minna! This is Dream-chan with a blazin'
new fic for you, and better yet, it's a sequel!! ^_^ It is so good to be back in the saddle again!
I know some of you probably want to kill me for the
way I ended Dark Epiphany, but the reason is right
here! After writing something that depressing, I
knew that I just couldn't let it end that way (my
WAFF side coming out, I guess). Oh yeah, I think
that the updating of this fic will be a bit irregular
(having a slavedriver as a boss does that), so please
don't be mad at me! ::holds up peace sign in front of
irate fans::


Anyway, I have to give a special thanx to some folks....



Em-chan: Thanx for being the terrific editor that you are.


Kel-chan: Thanx for the encouragement when I thought that I was going to stop writing. So, I dedicate this chapter to you.


Sere & CO.: I miss you guys!!!!!!!! Thanx for being there! By the way, love the websites!!! ^_^






Disclaimer:


I don't own Sailor Moon nor the song. They both belong to Naoko Takeuchi and Janet Jackosn respectively.

However if you want to sue, I have some lovely
student loans that you can take off my hands! ^_^




Before I go, I just want to say that I know this is a little short, but believe me when I say that these chapter are gonna be LONG!!! So, don't worry!! ^_^ Now I will shut up....ENJOY THE FIC


-thoughts
"blah"-dialogue





Better Days


verse i


I used to sit and wonder
would I ever be happy...
life was so bittersweet
so many disappointments
too many ups and downs for me...

when you live a nightmare, it's hard to dream


but sometimes life just isn't fair
so why complain nobody cares
and i don't wanna waste nobody's time
so i.....



Chorus:


i'm 'bout to change my vibe
today the sun gonna shine
'cause i made up my mind
that today would be the start of better days...


leavin' old stuff behind
and move on with my life
the blindfold's off my eyes
and now all I see for me is better days



verse ii


afraid of my reflection
tell me that's not me I see

that's who I wanna be

stuck somewhere in the middle
on half-full or half-empty

waiting for somebody to come and rescue me


can't let that petty attitude
start to jade my point of view
the only thing it does is bring me down
so i'm.....




Chorus

i'm 'bout to change my vibe
today the sun gonna shine
'cause i made up my mind
that today would be the start of better days...


leavin' old stuff behind
and move on with my life
the blindfold's off my eyes
and now all I see for me is better days



Bridge

hurt so many times before
i used to cry, but no more
let it go, and life can be so good
stop living the blues


can't let that petty attitiude
start to jade my point of view
the only thing it does is bring me down
so i....


Chorus

i'm 'bout to change my vibe
today the sun gonna shine
'cause i made up my mind
that today would be the start of better days...


leavin' old stuff behind
and move on with my life
the blindfold's off my eyes
and now all I see for me is better days



-Janet Jackson




Title: Better Days-Chapter 1
Author: Midnight Dreamer
Rating: PG-13
Email: [email protected]
-thoughts
"blah"-dialogue

Editor: Cyperian-chan


"Hello Darien"


Two words have never been so hard to say before.
Serena could only move automatically, to allow him
to pass to the window seat. She turned away, trying
desperately to hold back the tears that threatened to
fall at any minute. She heard him getting himself
situated. Then when he was finished, she felt him
turn in her direction, his gaze trained on her profile.



"Hello Sere..na" he added hastily, not wanting to
aggravate the woman anymore than he already had
by just being there. He opened up the overhead
compartment, placed his bag inside, and sat down,
trying his damnedness not to gather Serena to him
and never let her go.


"So how have you been?" Darien asked neutrally,
wincing at the coldness in his voice.


"Fine, and you?" she replied, just as guarded as he.

I miss you and I'm still in love with you but you will
never believe me....

"As well as could be expected, I suppose," he replied,
dismayed at the dismissal he sensed in her tone.


Darien had to admit that part of this was his own
fault. He was so driven to achieve success, that he
lost sight of the reason he wanted to succeed in the
first place.



Trying once again, Darien said, "Serena....we really need to talk. There are somethings that I think that you need to know. The
question is, are you willing to listen?"


"We already did that, remember? What could you
possibly have to say to me Darien?" she asked coldly,
hoping to stop him dead in his tracks.


Not to be deterred, Darien said, "It's about...what
happened that night...."


The anguish that she carried with her came to the
surface, and she took a moment to shove it back
where she put it.


"Please...I don't want to go through that again..." she whispered, turning to face the darkness outside the window.


Knowing that it was the wrong thing to do, Darien
continued to push the matter.


"All I'm asking that you listen to what I have to say.
Even though we are not together anymore, you
deserve to know everything. At least this way, I
know that you won't be able to disappear." he said hotly, not wanting to drop the subject so quickly.


Whipping her head back round, Darien was startled to see the fury in her eyes...the fury that was directed at him.

"Why Darien!! Why are you bringing this all of this
back??!? Don't you think I've been through enough
already?"


Feeling his temper about to slip, Darien tried to gain
some control as he bit out, "Like I haven't?!? Believe
me Serena, you're not the only one that has suffered
because of this...."


"Oh, is that because you lost your little whore you
kept on the side?" she snapped snidely, ignoring the curious looks from the other passengers.

Wincing at the retort, he clenched his fists, hoping to keep some semblance of control. "No I've lost the only person that ever meant
anything to me and a child I never knew!"

Feeling the anger drain from her system, Serena relented to the tiredness that was clawing at her body and soul.

"Darien...please....I just want to put it all behind
me...believe me" Serena said wearily, turning to face the dark
night outside the window.

Knowing he was acting like a dog worrying a bone, he just couldn't let up. He had waited so long for this chance and he would be damned if he let it pass it by.

"I want that as well, but it's about time that you know what
really happened."


"Look Darien, I saw what happened. The scene I walked in
on needed NO explanation." she said, as she turned to back to the inky blackness.



Looking forward, he cursed himself for his selfishness once again. Now that he had time to truly look at her, he saw something that made his heart break even more. Instead of the woman that lived life to the fullest, instead he saw a woman that was running on what was pure nerves, which at any moment could fray and break.


All his fault.

Seeing this he made a decision that he would hold off telling her about her best friend's involvement in this whole mess. It was bad enough that he had to deal with his betrayal. She didn't need to learn that another person she cared for hurt her too. Besides, it might do that little bugger good to be paranoid for awhile.


Feeling some a sudden weight on his arm, he looked down onto a silver-blond head leaning against him. Hearing the steady deep breaths indicating sleep, Darien continued to stare at her, noticing the frown that was on her face before being replaced by a small smile.


Taking one finger, he moved a stray hair from her face, reveling in the way she seemed to lean into his light caress. Darien smiled at this, knowing that this one ephemreal moment was all that he could ask for right now.

Feeling his eyes become heavy, he reminded himself that this was not going to be easy, but he refused to give up. Not when everything he ever wanted was so close.

With one last look, he settled back into his seat, and closed his eyes, feeling the one sensation that he had missed for so long.



Completness.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I don't believe it... I simply don't believe it! I mean,
how could I have not known what was going on with
you? I'm so sorry..." Mina cried, as she sat next to
her best friend.

"It's not your fault, Mina. Besides, I did my best to
cover this up as much as possible. I just didn't want
you and the others to know what I was doing..." Raye
said soothingly.


"Yes, it is! I'm supposed to be your best friend. I've
been so caught up in my own life...oh, I wish you
came to me before..." Mina scolded, pulling her
friend into a hug.

"Well, it's too late." Raye replied dully, getting up to refill
the tea kettle.

Once she returned, Mina jumped straight to the point.

"What do you mean?"


"Exactly what I said. We've decided to 'cut our losses'
and go our separate ways..."she stated matter of factly, pouring tea into two mugs.


"But Raye...why?" Mina asked, confusion reflected on her face.


"Because...it wasn't healthy. I mean think about it.
The foundation for our relationship, if you can even
call it that, was sex. Nothing more..nothing less."


"Oh c'mon Raye. There had to be something else
there. You can't lie to me, you know that." Mina said
seriously, pinning Raye with a powerful stare.


"But I learned that there is something else that has
happened..." Raye said, trying to find a way to break this news.


Becoming more concerned about the unusual way her friend was behaving, Mina couldn't hold onto her patience any longer.

"Araiana quit stalling. What is it?" she snapped, sparks flying out her vivid blue eyes.

Hearing her full name, Raye blurted out the words that would change her life forever.

"I'm pregnant."

Absolute quiet reigned for a few minutes, before any
words were spoken.

"Well, what are you going to do?"


"That's what I've been trying to figure out, but I keep
coming to a dead end." Raye choked out, clearly
trying to hold back tears.



"Sweetheart, everything will be fine...don't worry.
We will all be here for you no matter what!" Mina
said, as she pulled her friend into a comforting
embrace, letting the other woman release her anguish
and fear. Soon the deep sobs turned into sniffles and
finally tears that made their way silently down her
porcelain face. Holding back tears of her own, Mina rocked her friend back and forth, crooning the phrases that everyone does to make another feel better.


Once she was sure that Raye hand calmed down, Mina decided to broach the one topic that was at the core of this. "I know that you won't like what I'm going to say, so
I'm only going to say this once. You need to tell him."


At that Raye, pulled away and stood up, walking towards the balcony doors. "So he can resent and blame me for this...no thank
you. Besides..I was the one that broke it off."


"You can't tell me that all that time you were together
that you didn't feel anything more than lust. I know
you Raye...there was more to it than that. You just
don't want to admit it."


"No! I will not do that to him or the child. I knew
what the consequences were when I got involved with this mess..." she said, her violet eyes showing the inner conflict she was going through.


"So, are you going to tell him?" Mina asked again, hoping that her friend would reconsider.


With a derisive laugh, Raye dimissed that with a wave of her hand. "Yeah right. Can you really see imagine Chad, playboy extradonaire, becoming a doting father. I think not."


"But Raye, you have to at least give him chance. He deserves to know."


"No. I'm not going to set myself up for a fall, because that is exactly would happen."


"Raye..."


"I said no Mina. End of discussion" Raye proclaimed with finality.


With a sigh, Mina conceded the argument. For now.

"Alright. I'm not going to say anything else on this subject, but now I want you to promise me something."


"What is it?"


"If you ever need anything, please let me and the other girls know. We love you Raye and we will be there to support you in any way that we can." Mina said, pulling her friend into another hug, hoping that it hoped to alleviate some of the pain that the other woman was feeling.



"I know Mina...I know" she whispered, taking solace in her friend's arms.



As Mina comforted her friend, she couldn't help to feel that Raye was making a huge mistake. A mistake that would have hurt far more people than she could ever realize.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Seiya looked at the front door of the James' residence
for a solid five minutes before finally getting the
courage to knock on the door, praying that the person
he was looking for was inside.


I have to get to her before Reece does was all he could think as he rung the door bell, tapping his foot impatiently on the landing.

Hearing footsteps grow nearer, he put on a fake smile
and waited for the door to open. A moment later, he
was greeted by a cheery hello from Mrs. James and
led into the house.


"Why hello Seiya! It's so nice to see you! Where
have you been hiding lately?" she asked as she ushered the young man in.


Since this was like a second home to him, Seiya relaxed somewhat, before getting to the real reason for his visit. "Just busy...ah, I was wondering is Serena over
here?"


"Why no...she was supposed to be staying here this
weekend since her brother is coming home from
university, but she had to take a business trip to
France. She didn't tell you this?" Illene asked, looking confused as to why her daughter didn't mention this to her supposed best friend.


Adopting a sheepish expression, he replied, "She probably did, but I've been so bogged down in work that it likely slipped my mind......"

With a smile, Illene accepted this. "Oh well. Do you want to stay for dinner then? I've
made more than enough..."


"I'm sorry Mrs. James, but I have a dinner
appointment. I just wanted to talk to Serena since we
seem to be playing phone tag."he replied politely, inwardly seething with rage.


"Oh..I'm sorry to hear that Seiya. I'll let Serena know
that you want to talk to her when she calls later."


"Thank you...can I get a rain-check on dinner?"


"Anytime...Goodbye Seiya" Illene yelled, watching from the doorway


"Goodbye Mrs. James," Seiya cheerfully waved, as he made his
way to his parked car.


Getting in, he slammed the door shut and took off, banging his hand against the steering wheel in frustration. Now he had absolutely no idea where she was. Racing through the chilly London night, he prayed that wherever she was, it was far away from Darien Reece as possible.



Unfortunately, his prayers came a bit too late.









to be continued.........


So, how was that? I feel a little shaky about this chapter, since I haven't been able to write as much as I wanted to, so this is probablt not up to the standard that you're used to getting from me, but I will try to make it up next time. Anyway, please let me know that this was worth it, k? I hope that it was worth the wait!!!!!





Remember, FEEDBACK is an author's BEST MUSE!! ^_^


ja ne minna