Filling the Emptiness

Author: MoonStarDutchess

Chapter 1: Empty

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon

AN: Here's another Serena and Sapphire fic. I hope you enjoy it. There will be around six to ten chapters for this. Please review!

Empty

Serena sat against a tree in the park looking out at the lake. It had become a normal action for her to sit at that spot and think. In the past few months she'd found that she'd been thinking more and more. Events and circumstances were changing so quickly that she didn't know if she could keep up. Life was speeding by and she felt as if she was at a stand still.

She and Darien found themselves growing further and further apart since the Starlights left. It was slow in the making, two years in fact, but it was happening. He would work late, cancel their dates at the last moment, and read when they actually had a date. She hadn't felt sorry or sad that he canceled in the slightest. She would go see a movie on her own. They both realized at the same time that they really had nothing in common. He and she had a talk and thought it best to end it. They were still friends but she couldn't help but feel empty.

She wasn't feeling that way because they weren't together. She didn't love him the way she did before, if it was love at all. The more and more she thought about it the more she realized that maybe she only made herself believe that she loved him. Maybe she did this because it was "destiny" or because her past self loved him.

Now those lives had no bearing on the course of life that she led. That scared her a bit. She thought that when she turned eighteen that she'd marry Darien and that entire, "ice age" thing would happen. Her entire life had been planned for her and now she was stuck with what to do. She sighed and watched teenagers as they skated down the sidewalk enjoying the summer away from school.

School, she grinned at not having to go back to high school ever again. Not even three weeks ago, she'd graduated high school and took pride in her 3.0 that she'd earned by the skin of her teeth. Her finishing high school was also part of her problem. In school, all she had to worry about was passing exams.

Now she had real life decisions to make and those decisions determined where the rest of her life took her. She didn't have a clue what to do now . . . Well, college was a given but she didn't know what she wanted to be.

She was foolish when she was young and never thought of anything as she grew older. She had these naïve ideas of a fairy tale life. Then when she met Darien, she thought it would come true. Now she didn't want that. She believed that one could be happy in life, she believed in fantasy but she no longer believed in fairy tales. Those only occurred in books.

She stood and walked to the lake. She stared down at her reflection and reached up to touch her eyes. They were just like Queen Serenity's now. The changes were subtle at first then suddenly it seemed as if the change happened overnight.

They were now cobalt blue instead of the deep blue they once were. Her hair was turning lighter as well. She wondered if it would change to the silver that her mother had.

She raised her arm and glanced at her watch. "Three o' clock," she muttered. She was supposed to be at the temple for a meeting at four but she really didn't feel up to going. She wanted some time to herself. She made the decision to skip the meeting, go to the mall, and look around. Maybe she'd go to the coffee shop as well. It was nice and relaxing there.

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The mall wasn't as crowded as Serena thought it would be and she easily made her way to the coffee shop after looking through various stores. She ordered hot chocolate and a piece of cheesecake and sat down in a booth after choosing a book from the shelves. She chose the latest worldwide smash that everyone was talking about by author SJ Stone. There was only one copy there; the other books had four or five copies littered around the shelves, a testament to what a hit SJ Stone's books were. The waitress brought her order and left after asking Serena if she needed anything else.

Serena took a drink of her hot chocolate and a bite of her cheesecake. She opened the book and began to read. She was absorbed with the first words that she read. She reached down and took her fork. She cut her cheesecake and brought the fork up to her mouth without taking her eyes off the book. She sat it down and took another drink from her mug.

"That must be an awfully interesting book to get your attention," a familiar voice said. She looked over her book to see Darien standing there. She nodded and went back to reading.

"This seat taken?" he asked.

"Is there a dish sitting there?" she asked.

"No," he replied, rather confused at the question.

"Is there anyone occupying the seat at the moment?" she asked.

"No," he replied, even more confused.

"Now, do you see anyone in this coffee shop that isn't all ready seated at a table other than yourself?"

He narrowed his eyes. "No."

"Then use your powers of deduction. If that is the case then no, the seat isn't taken. The proper question would be. May I sit with you," she said.

He sighed in frustration.

"May I sit with you then?" he asked.

"Sure," she said. She laughed behind her book. She enjoyed getting him flustered for once. He sat his coffee down on the table.

"It's been awhile since we talked," he said.

"Yea, two months," she replied. It was silent for a few minutes then Darien spoke.

"Serena, have you decided what you are going to do now? Now that we aren't. . ."

She laid down her book and looked at him. "Why do you want to know?"

"Would you stop doing that," he stated.

"Doing what?"

"Asking questions to answer my questions," he said.

"Darien, I only wanted to know why you are inquiring about my decisions."

"I was just trying to make small talk," he said.

"Small talk is talking about the weather. That is a personal question that doesn't warrant an answer to you."

He smiled inwardly. Serena started amazing him since she'd begun her junior year. She'd really buckled down and studied. Even though she was no Ami, who could make those marks unless they were a genius like her, she'd done very well. Her speaking was excellent as well. The way she worded things was brilliant. It was as if she'd gone to a finishing school for language.

"All right, I am sorry," he said.

She picked up her book and began to read again.

"It's all right," she replied. He looked down at his watch.

"It's about time to get to the temple for the meeting." He stood up. "Want to walk with me?" he asked.

"I am not going," she said.

'What? We are all supposed to meet there," he said.

"I never said I was going to though," she replied.

"Serena, this meeting is important, you know that," he said. She looked up at him.

"Why?" she said. "Absolutely nothing has happened since the Starlights left."

"We have to be prepared," Darien said.

She stood and took the book over to the cashier. The book had caught her attention so much that she'd decided to buy it. Darien followed her. "Serena, you aren't taking this seriously," he said.

"I am busy this evening. I am not going to cancel my plans for a useless get together."

"Plans? You shouldn't have made plans tonight in the first place," he said. Serena turned to him, rather annoyed at his badgering. She got enough of that from Rei.

"I don't need you bothering me. Why don't you go away," she said, bluntly. She took the bag that the cashier handed her and got her change. She put a tip in the jar and walked away from him.

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She signed as she stared at all the movie posters. She'd seen most of the movies playing and the ones that she hadn't seen didn't interest her. She walked away and began her trek home. She would sit on the couch and read her book. That sounded like a nice evening to her.

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"What in the hell do you mean she's not coming?" Rei said.

"She said she had plans," Darien replied.

"She knew that the meeting was today! Why make plans? Why didn't you make her come?" Rei asked.

"What did you want me to do Rei? Throw her over my shoulder and carry her hear. Or, I know, drag her kicking and screaming. Maybe I could tie her up and throw her in the trunk of my car," he snapped.

Rei sighed. "What has been wrong with her lately? She's been so distant."

"You noticed too. I called her Saturday to tell her about getting in the dance school and asked if she wanted to go out for ice cream to help me celebrate. She turned me down saying she was busy," Mina replied.

"Yea, Ami and I went to visit her at her house and no one was home," Lita said.

"You said your break up was a completely mutual decision right Darien?" Rei said.

"Yea, I don't think our breakup has much, if anything, to do with the way she's acting," he replied.

"I am worried. Maybe we should go and see her tomorrow."

"Yea!" they all say.

"It's settled then. We all see Serena tomorrow."

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Serena arrived at her house, unlocked the door and went inside. She was staying alone for the summer while her parents and brother were gone to the US. Her father had a huge meeting there that, if it went well, meant a huge pay raise and promotion for him. She knew he would do well so she wasn't worried for him.

She fixed herself a cup of tea, grabbed her book, went in the living room and sat down. She sat her tea on the side table and opened the book, her attention instantly going back on it. She wasn't taken with too many books because they seemed to be all the same but this one connected with her. The main character in the book reminded her so much of herself.

The character in the books surroundings were changing so quickly it seemed like everyone was moving and so confident about their course in life except him. She noted how he seemed lonely and it was then that it hit her. She was lonely as well. She had friends and didn't really ache for a boyfriend. What she wanted was a friend that understood her. She meant really understood what she felt, not someone that would only listen to her.

She heard the grandfather clock in the hall chime ten times and realized that she'd been there for five hours. It had only seemed like five minutes. She closed the book after marking her page with her bookmark and stood to go take a shower. Soon after, she crawled into bed and fell asleep.