Title: Christmas Prayers
Author: Alicia Blade
Email: Kammi22@sprintmail.com
Hi hi!!! This is another annual Christmas fic by me. Not nearly as long as
"Dreaming…" but I do hope you'll enjoy it as much.
I have to thank dear Stormlight who gave me inspiration and much help with
this one. God bless ya!
This is a song fic, and the carol I used is VERY religious. If you're
offended by these things, don't read it. And do NOT complain to me if you
were offended, okay? Thankies! Merry Christmas everyone!!
"Mary was engaged to Joseph and traveled with him to Bethlehem. She was soon
going to have a baby, and while they were there, she gave birth to her first-
born son. She dressed him in baby clothes and laid him on a bed of hay,
because there was no room for them in the inn."
Luke 2:5-7
Christmas Prayers
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I pray on Christmas
That the Lord will see me through
I pray on Christmas
He'll show me what to do
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I don't want to go…" she whined, folding her arms over her chest and
sinking down into the red bench of the familiar café booth.
"Aw, come on Sere! It'll be fun! What else do you have to do on
Christmas Eve, anyway?"
"Plenty!"
"Like…?"
"I… have to… finish wrapping presents!"
The girls raised their eyebrows in speculation, staring at their friend
unimpressed. "Right… like you'll put that much effort into them anyway. I'm
so sure," muttered Raye beneath her breath, though making sure to be heard.
"Come ON Serena! Why don't you want to come? It's a party! Who in their right
mind would miss out on a party?!"
"And a masquerade at that," included Mina, nodding her head
vivaciously. "You LOVE dressing up! Think of all the cool costumes and
dresses and masks there will be!"
"And all the food," added Amy, smiling mischievously at the blond
across the table. "You wouldn't dare miss that, would you?"
Serena moaned in response, shifting uncomfortably. "Why are all of you
so intent on going to this thing, anyway? And more importantly, why do you
want me to come?!"
"It wouldn't be the same without you," said Lita with a small pout.
"And," said Amy, blushing a bit, "for the guys, of course!"
Serena sighed. "You're all impossible! Forget it, I don't want to go!"
"Why not?"
"Because… for one, I don't have anything to wear. And secondly…
because… well, if it's some of Andrew's long lost family or however they're
related holding this thing, then… you know whose going to be there with his
best friend…"
The girls glanced at each other. "But, Serena… we thought he'd be the
first thing that would make you want to go."
"Yeah, we all know you're so in love with Da…"
"Shut up!" she hissed loudly, looking around the arcade. Her friends
laughed as she finally managed to return her intense stare to them. "Would
you guys be more careful?! He could walk in here at any minute and hear you
all saying how crazy I am about him! Can't you just HEAR him laughing at me?"
"Oh, Serena, calm down. He's not gonna hear it from us. When he finds
out you're in love with him, it'll be from your very own lips."
"And maybe not with words…" said Lita with a wink. Serena's cheeks
tinged bright red and she lowered her head. "Ugh, would you guys lay off
already? He can't stand me! And that's why I don't want to go there. He'll be
dancing with every beautiful girl in the place, leaving me to just sit and
watch him. I don't want to see that."
"But… what if he asks YOU to dance?"
"Oh, I'm so sure! Like he would EVER ask the klutzy, ditzy Meatball
Head to dance at the most elegant ball of the year! Yeah right, in my wildest
dreams!"
"Hm… but what if… he didn't know he was dancing with Meatball Head?"
"What?"
"I've got it!" continued Mina, slamming a fist down on the table as a
huge grin spread across her features. "We'll put you in a glorious costume
that hides your face! He won't have the slightest clue who you are! And I'll
make you look so beautiful that he'll fall instantly in love with his
mysterious dancing partner…"
Raye gasped, her hand flying up to her chest, clutching over he heart.
"And then he'll ask you to dance and realize how incredibly perfect you are
for him…"
"And when he finds out who you really are…" continues Amy.
"He'll finally realize how in love with the Meatball Head he is!" Lita
finishes with a joyful smile. "Mina, you're a genius!"
"I know…" she smiles happily. Immediately, the girls were washed into
conversation on Serena's costume and plan of future love. The blond only
rolled her eyes, letting her head fall into the palm of her hand. Sometimes
they just got too carried away…
Her eyes drifted over the occupants of the arcade and café. As she let
her gaze flow toward the counter, her lips parted slightly when she saw the
young man sitting at the front, leisurely drinking a cup of coffee. She
hadn't seen him come in. His black hair fell messily over his eyes, though
she could still see their endless blue depths wavering over a newspaper he
held in his free hand. His pale lips were turned down into a relaxed frown,
his chiseled jawbone set firmly against the palm of his hand. He looked so
cold there, if it hadn't been for the single tint of azure in his navy stare,
adding the slightest touch of pure innocence to his masculine features.
As her eyes were endlessly attached to him, never wanting to look away,
she saw him furrow his brow and turn slightly towards her. Serena's lips
opened a bit wider in confusion. His gaze turned to the floor and for the
first time Serena noticed a small girl, about five years old, standing just
below Darien's stool. She was holding an ice-cream come, but with her new
chocolate ice-cream firmly planted on the marble floor. One small tear had
already fallen down her rosy cheek. A small smile crossed over Darien's lips
and he set down his paper, reaching for a small napkin before kneeling down
before the girl and wiping the cloth over her cheeks. She sniffled looking up
at him. He only grinned wider, before waving a hand at Andrew, the tall blond
who worked at the arcade.
"Two triple scoop chocolate sundaes, Andy!" Serena heard him order. She
giggled as Andrew retrieved the orders and gave them to his best friend.
Darien handed one to the small girl, lifting her up on the stool before
reclaiming his seat and they ate their dessert together. The girl looked more
than happy, licking away and chattering to her new best friend.
Serena could feel her eyes go soft, her heart melt like it did when she
watched dramatic romance movies.
"So then we guess you'll be joining us at the party?"
Instantly, Serena's attention was drawn away from the scene and she
looked back at her friends, smiling at her slyly. She heaved a longing sigh,
letting her chin fall down to her chest.
"You really think I'll have a chance with him?"
"I'm positive. I'll make you irresistible!" proclaimed Mina happily.
The blond licked her lips, letting her eyes drift up once again. "Fine. I'll
go."
She felt a warm hand on hers and looked over at Raye, her fiery eyes
glowing joyously. "We'll make this the best Christmas you've ever had,
Meatball Head."
"To be followed by a very happy New Year," added Lita with a wink.
Serena couldn't help but smile.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I pray on Christmas
He'll help me understand
And I pray on Christmas
He'll take me by the hand
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Darien frowned slightly at the sight before him as Andrew came rushing
up to the tree he leaned against. "Where have you been? This thing started
half an hour ago."
"I know, I know. Rita decided to make some last minute adjustments to
our costumes. You know how women are."
"Hm… I was wondering about the get up."
Andrew looked down, rubbing his sleeve over the metal chest plate to
shine up a smudge he hadn't noticed earlier, before grinning widely at his
best fiend and striking a heroic pose. "Honestly, can you think of anyone who
would make a better knight in shining armor?"
Darien laughed, folding his arms. "Not one, Andy, not one."
"Didn't think so. Now… what are you? A tux with a cape, creative man."
Chuckling, Darien reached into his pocket, pulling out a white mask and
placing it over his eyes. "Ever heard of Tuxedo Mask?" With that, he also
pulled out a large top hat from somewhere behind him, holding a pose as well,
though much more relaxed than Andrew's had been. The blond laughed slightly,
shaking his head.
"Oh, is that it? Well… lose the hat, okay?" He reached up, pulling off
the hat as Darien laughed along.
"Alright, we're set. Eh… where IS Maid Marian, anyway?"
Andrew shrugged, beginning to walk toward the entrance of the grand
building where people had been filtering into for some time. "She said she'd
meet me here. I imagine she was gonna fix up her own costume a bit too. Dunno
why though, I though she looked perfectly gorgeous in that princess hat of
hers."
"Oh, yes, dunce caps bring out the soft curves in her cheeks," Darien
joked in a soft French accent. "Dude, you would think she looked perfectly
gorgeous in a reindeer costume."
Andrew laughed. "Ever seen her in one?"
Continuously joking, they headed up the large marble stairs, revealing
invitations as they walked inside, immediately met with the scene of dancing
couples in ballroom dresses, tuxedos, costumes and masks. Crystal chandeliers
provided splendid lighting; the scents of colognes and gingerbread hung on
the heavy warm air. All around the room were boughs of evergreen limbs, red
berries, tinsel, and mistletoe. "They did a great job decorating this place,"
Darien mumbled as they headed inside, down another flight of red carpeted
stairs to float against a wall out of the way of dancers. After there had
been a moment of silence for each of them to analyze the surroundings, Darien
cleared his throat, preparing what he had meant to ask Andrew days ago.
"Hey, Andy…" he choked out, instantly catching his friend's attention.
"Yeah?"
"Do… do you by any chance… know if… Serena's gonna be here?"
Andrew stared at him for a moment, before letting a sad smile pull at
the corners of his lips. "Honestly, I have no idea. I never did get the
chance to talk to her about it. I wouldn't be all too terribly surprised
though. I mean, Lita said that SHE would be here, and you know all those
girls are joined at the hip, but… but I honestly couldn't tell you for sure."
Darien sighed, nodding his head. "Alright, I understand. I just… I had
this dream last night where she showed up and… and I asked her to dance and
then… well, you know the whole happily ever after bit. It just kinda got my
hopes up, I guess."
Andrew grinned, patting his friend on the shoulder. "Listen, I want you
to promise me that if she DOES show up, you'll ask her to dance."
"What? Andrew, you know I couldn't…"
"Ah!" scolded Andrew, holding up a finger to instantly silence Darien's
protests. "Just promise. We're not even sure she is gonna be here, but if she
is… it's about time you stopped running from your feelings. Come on, Darien,
what's the worst thing that could happen?"
"She laughs at me."
"Which wouldn't happen. You know Serena would never do something like
that. And… what's the best thing that could happen?"
Darien stared into space for a minute, before a blush came over his
cheeks. "Alright, alright, I get your point. IF she shows up… I'll ask her to
dance. But if she says no, I'm blaming it on you!"
"Fine by me," grinned Andrew. "Hey, I think I see some candy canes over
there. Come on, let's to get high on sugar!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I pray on Christmas
That the sick will soon be strong
I pray on Christmas
The Lord will hear my song
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Darien sipped at his punch, watching as a very in love couple danced by
him. The party had gone smoothly, but with no sign of his Meatball Head
anywhere. He had almost lost hope of her showing up, and in some way was
grateful that he wouldn't be risking his heart to be torn to shreds, but in
another way… he'd been looking forward to asking her. He sighed, mindlessly
listening to Andrew and Rita, who had joined them not long ago, as they
talked on and on about the magic of the holiday season. Darien remembered the
days when he had hated Christmas and everything that came with it. But the
last few years, with Andrew's friendship and company, the season had grown on
him. The previous months he had even found himself looking forward to it. A
wry grin lifted his lips.
"Ooh la la…" mumbled a man to his side. Soon, he heard another man
whistle beneath his breath and Darien looked over at the group of guys
hanging out mostly around the bar, just next to the snack table. He furrowed
his brow, letting his gaze follow theirs, and froze.
"Wow…" he mumbled to himself upon seeing the vision before him.
Five veiled girls stood at the top of the stairs, all quite beautiful.
A princess in pale yellow, a genie in burning red, a sprite in sky blue, a
Greek divinity in pastel green, and… a goddess in shimmering gold. His eyes
attached to the goddess, standing at the top of the stairs, in the middle of
the other girls, looking down over the room. Her dress was white satin,
hanging upon her curves, flowing loosely down to the floor. Gold tinsel
decorated the base hemline, and the top of the shoulder-less gown. On her
arms were high gloves, with more gold trimming, and over her face was a sheer
material, making it impossible to see her features, and her hair was
completely covered by a white veil that reached to the floor, trimmed at her
forehead with more spun gold. Only cerulean eyes glimmered down, searching
for someone.
"Yeouch…" whispered a voice now directly behind Darien and he
immediately recognized Andrew.
"She looks like Serena…"
After a moment, Andrew laughed, placing an arm on Darien's shoulder to
balance on him. "I guess in your mind she would."
Then, she saw him and their eyes latched together. Her blue stare
widened tremendously and Darien felt his jaw fall. Were his eyes playing
tricks on him? Her gaze looked exactly like his Meatball Head's. The same
life, the same depths, the same shade… But never had his angel looked so… so…
voluptuous!
Darien cleared his throat, running a hand through his hair, his heart
thumping painfully against his rib cage. "Andy, tell me I'm dreaming."
"Well, let's see. A beautiful girl has just entered the room, made eye
contact with you, and is now being dragged our way by four other equally
lovely feminine creatures. I'd say this is a dream."
In the back of his mind, Darien thought he could hear Rita smack Andrew
on the arm, who laughed and kissed her, reassuring that he had only eyes for
his glorious fiancé. But meanwhile, Darien had more important matters to
think about. Andrew was right, the four women accompanying his goddess were
now heading straight towards him, with the gold-laden girl in tow as she
struggled against their combined strengths.
Choking suddenly, Darien turned away, gulping down the last of his
punch and wishing it were spiked.
'What on Earth is going on? Who is that girl? No matter how much she
looks like her, it's most definitely NOT my Meatball Head, so why do I feel
this way? My goodness, I'm reacting the same way I do around Serena… this
can't be happening to me. I will not betray my feelings… it's just the
resemblance that's getting to me. That's all.'
"Oh, look at these perfectly delicious looking pastries!" exclaimed a
British accent beside him. He looked from the corner of his eye to see the
pastel princess randomly throwing desserts onto a plate. "Oh, could you be a
doll and hand me some of those truffles, darling?" she asked suddenly. It
took Darien a moment to realize she was talking to him, and finally snapping
from his reverie, grabbed the nearest plate of chocolates he could find and
held it out to the girl. He saw that the others were beside her now, all
strangely hovering around a very shy looking angel with her head bowed, the
dainty white veil cascading over her bare shoulders. "Oh, girls, would you
like any of these?"
The maiden in the center shook her head then gasped as the red genie
jabbed her in the side with her elbow. She yelped quietly, before
straightening her posture and letting her gaze fall on Darien. Again, he was
found motionless, staring into her glimmering eyes. They were startled,
boiling with fear and nervousness as she looked up at him. Darien gulped,
unsteadily setting the forgotten treats back on the table.
"Have… we met before?" he managed to stutter, taking a step closer to
her.
"Oh me, oh my, are those eclairs I see? Come on girls, let's go to THAT
end of the table," cheered the Greek goddess, locking elbows with the sprite
and genie before dragging them away. The main focus of Darien's attention
first tried to follow them, but he quickly reached out a hand to tie around
her upper arm gently. She froze before turning to face him again.
He smiled kindly, gradually drawing his hand back. "You didn't answer
my question."
She gulped, obviously hesitating, before tilting her head to the side
and her eyes twinkled a bit with a forced smile. "I… I don't BELIEVE we have
met, kind sir." Her voice reminded him of bells, light and fanciful, and he
loved the sound, but couldn't keep a tiny frown from dragging down his grin.
She sounded nothing like his arcade angel.
"I see. Well then, you must remind me of someone I know is all."
She nodded, dropping her gaze to the floor. Her gloved hands tied in
front of her stomach, twiddling briefly.
"You're beautiful."
Her eyes widened and she looked up to see a slightly pink-faced Darien
as he turned his head away to look up at the Christmas lights above the
windows. "I mean… I'm sure you're gorgeous without the costume as well, but
right now, you are a true vision." Finished, he cleared his throat. It took
him a while to regain his breath before returning his sight to her. She was
surprised, but almost instantly, her blue eyes brightened to the palest, most
joyful blue, and he could almost see her smile. In his mind, her smile would
be like Serena's.
"Thank you," she whispered.
Darien smiled at her, willing the blush to disappear as he drew his
gaze away to look out at the crowds. His heart began to whisper commands,
'Ask her name', 'Kiss her hand', 'Sweep her off her feet', or 'At least ask
her to dance!'
"Um, would you…"
His mind quickly put a stop to that. 'What if Serena comes in while
your dancing?' 'What if she sees you?' 'What if you completely lose your
chance?!'
"Would I…?"
"Huh? Oh, uh… would you please excuse me for a minute. There are some
things I forgot to do…" Inhaling sharply, Darien breezed past her,
practically running from the crowded ballroom.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I pray on Christmas
That God will lead the way
And I pray on Christmas
He'll get me through another day
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Another ten minutes and Serena was stepping cautiously through the
crowd, sniffling to herself. She refused to let herself cry, holding back the
tears with an incoming headache. 'So what if he didn't like me? So what if
I'm still not good enough? Oh, I should have known this wouldn't work. Darien
doesn't care about looks. He would fall in love with a girl because of her
personality, her attitude. Darien would go for a girl who was sophisticated
and mature, not a ditz, like me…'
Sighing, Serena politely brushed off the four guys who asked her to
dance before finally finding an empty seat by the wall and flopping down
before burying her head in her hands.
"But why does he have to be so perfect?" she groaned to herself, biting
hard on her lip.
"Serena?! What are you doing over here?"
"Yeah, why aren't you dancing?"
"Where's Darien?"
Slowly, Serena raised her eyes to see Mina, Raye, and Amy gather around
her, joined by Lita moments after.
"Hey, girl, what happened?"
Sighing, Serena rubbed at her eyes, slumping down completely. "Oh, you
guys… you all tried so hard and you all did so much for me, and I thank you.
But… but… he wasn't interested."
"What? Are you crazy girl? First of all, you are the most gorgeous girl
in this room, and he noticed!"
"You saw the way he was looking at you when we first walked in!"
"And when we were talking around the table earlier."
"Of course he was interested! Come on, tell us what happened."
She turned her head to the side to down at the smooth marble floor.
"After you deserted me, we talked for a little while, and then… he just… just
left."
"Oh, Serena…" Raye whispered, kneeling down in front of her and taking
her hands into hers. "We're so sorry. We honestly thought that he would… that
you would…"
"I know, I know. You guys were only trying to help me, and I love you
so much for that. But let's face it. I'm not Darien's type. I don't deserve
him. He's so above my level, I can't imagine how I ever even dreamed that
someday he could feel the same way."
"Don't say that. Maybe… maybe he's just shy around new girls…"
"Please, don't try to get my hopes up."
Gulping, Raye nodded, leaning forward to pull her best friend into a
close hug. "You're wrong, you know," she whispered. "If anything, he doesn't
deserve you."
"Raye's right. He doesn't know what he's missing."
Darien stared up at the moon, barely shining through the white clouds
covering the sky. It was like a single beam of light struggling to break
through the strangling darkness. He could see his breath rise up in puffs of
smoke before him, and he was becoming quite cold. If there were
precipitation, it would be snowing, he knew.
'I wonder what Serena's doing… Sleeping, with visions of sugarplums
dancing through her head?' He chuckled, picturing her body curled up beneath
warm blankets, snoring soundly with little rainbow candies do the tango on
her headboard. 'Why couldn't you have come here tonight?'
"Hey, bud."
Darien raised his eyebrows, looking over his shoulder to see Andrew
taking the last steps off of the staircase. "What are you doing out here?"
He shrugged, throwing his hands in his pockets. "Needed some fresh air.
It's awfully warm in there."
"I guess. But I thought you'd be dancing with the prom queen by now."
Sighing, he turned to look up at the moon again. "She's too much like
her. I was about to ask her to dance, but then I started thinking… what if
Serena comes in or… or what if I actually start to believe she IS Serena?"
"Darien, it's past nine o'clock. If Serena's not here yet, she's not
coming. And… what would be so wrong with letting yourself believe you were
dancing with your Meatball Head? I mean… I hate to say this, and I'm not sure
so don't jump down my throat… but… what if you never do get the chance to be
with Serena? At least… at least this way it'll FEEL like you were with her.
Maybe it'll be good enough?"
Darien chuckled wryly, closing his eyes and shaking his head. "I don't
think you understand, Andy. It's either Serena, or it's not."
"But what if it's this girl or nothing?"
(
geocities.com/tokyo/spa/Spa) (
geocities.com/tokyo/spa) (
geocities.com/tokyo)