Title: I'm Falling For Your Eyes (But They Don't Know Me Yet)

Author: CherryFlavouredPoison

Beta: Mags (on tumblr)

Paring: mild Chris Colfer/Darren Criss (RPF)

Written for the Secret CrissColfer Unicorn Gift Exchange. Gift for Robert (Overcaustically). Title taken from Ed Sheeran'sKiss Me

Enjoy!

It was a sunny afternoon in Anaheim, California, and Chris was nervous. Nervous and pretty much feeling lost in the throngs of people unknown to him, who were filling the Anaheim Convention Center on this particular day.

Around him, various people, young and old (though the majority of them seemed around twenty-something), men and women, were bustling around in a very loud crowd. Chris had expected a lot of people, but not this many. Never this many. After all, it was just a convention in southern California.

Okay, maybe not "just a convention." It was the annual VidCon – the place where any and all people who dabbled in making online videos could meet. Also, it was a great place for those who wanted to meet some of their idols in real life.

But to Chris it was something more than that. It was the first time ever his parents allowed him to out of town by his own. Their doting upon him was overwhelming, if a little bit irritating, at times. After all, he turned eighteen this year – he shouldn't be seen as some snotty-nosed brat anymore. No. He was an adult now.

Still, he could put himself in their shoes pretty easily – last year was also the year when he returned to school after two years of being home schooled. The whole situation at school was slightly better now, though the bullying hadn't stopped completely, and what helped him get through it were not only the thoughts of going to college (most preferably somewhere far, far away from Clovis) but also some of what he found in the Internet.

YouTube offered a variety of distractions for someone who was looking for escape. There was almost everything there – from adorable cat videos through tear-jerking coming out stories to song covers. The last ones were usually the ones that captured Chris' attention the most. There were so many talented people there, that's true, but the one that Chris liked the most of all was Iclemyer.

Iclemyer was a young man, probably in his twenties, who made covers of almost every song known to mankind and played, quite possibly, every musical instrument ever created. On his channel you could find absolutely anything: Disney, show tunes, top 40, indie, you name it. For some reason, though, he was not as successful as some other people on YouTube. Sure, he had a nice amount of ten thousand subscribers, but that didn't exactly make him a well-known person. Nevertheless, he was still among Chris' favorites, with his mellifluous voice and his easy smile with which he began every video. Not to mention those gorgeous black curls...

Chris felt his cheeks heat up. It wasn't like he had a crush on him. That would just be silly. He did, however, appreciate Iclemyer's talent, and the fact that he was handsome was only an added merit.

He must have gotten lost in his thoughts while walking down the corridor, because the next thing he noticed was someone bumping his arm in passing, breaking him out of his reverie. He knew he probably shouldn't space out in places like this, but it was his very first convention ever. He was still a little dizzy because of the experience. And the idea that he had the chance to meet one of his favorite singers in real life made him simply elated.

Yes, Iclemyer was attending VidCon, too. That's at least what he said in his last cover video of Ed Sheeran's Kiss Me. And if Chris wasn't excited to attend the convention before, he certainly was now. He might have squealed a little bit after finding out.

Anyhow, there he was, in a midst of rowdy tweens bustling around him and chatting loudly about things he couldn't quite make out. He thought it had to do with the next talk that was due to begin in a short while in the large hall located at the end of the main corridor. He moved himself a little to the side of the corridor, not wanting to be run over. There were truly a lot of people gathered here today. It didn't increase his chance of finding Iclemyer in the slightest.

He leaned against the wall, his spirits falling slightly. He really wanted to meet Iclemyer, but if he didn't find him now, he wasn't sure if he was going to get the chance later. Chris didn't have the luxury of being able to spend the full three days here. It was fortunate enough that his parents let him come for even one day. He was about to let this sudden spell of depression swallow him when he spotted a familiar mop of curls in the crowd. Could it be...?

That boy bore an uncanny resemblance to Iclemyer – he had curly, black hair and even from afar, Chris thought his face was the one he has been looking for the entire time. He was dodging the swarm of people carefully, trying not damage the large guitar case strapped to his back. It must have been him. Chris straightened rapidly and made his way towards him. He was about a foot from him and had his hand reached out towards Iclemyer's shoulder, when someone had pushed past him, rather roughly, causing him to stumble, and then fall straight to the floor. So much for luck. Thank god he decided against wearing his glasses today and opted for contacts.

And suddenly, he could feel someone's presence and hear a voice above him. A voice he had heard a thousand times before.

"Whoa, man! Are you all right?"

Then, there were someone's hands helping him up. Very nice hands, if not a bit rough and calloused. And then he is standing up, looking at the person, who helped him back on his feet. It was Iclemyer. Great. He's such a klutz that he couldn't even help himself from falling, face-first, in front of his quasi-idol. Just... awesome. After a moment, he remembered that he was being asked something.

"Um... yeah," Chris answered hesitantly, still somewhat embarrassed by his earlier tumble. "I'm fine. Thanks for helping me up."

"No problem at all," Iclemyer responded. And then added, "Is this your first time here? Otherwise you'd know that you need to be careful with those masses of people swarming the place." Said mass of people seemed suddenly aware of their existence in their midst and simply stepped around them.

"Yeah, I'm kind of a con newbie," Chris smiled a little sheepishly, looking down at his shoes, missing the soft, warm smile that appeared on Iclemyer's face at that statement.

"Well, maybe you would want a guide or something?" The other boy offered unexpectedly. "I know my way around here," he added with a mock-lascivious wink.

Chris was certain that he was gaping for a split second, before collecting himself. Iclemyer was offering to spend his time with him? No way! Yet, before he even had a chance to blurt out something crazy or even partially creepy, the rational part of his brain took over. "Thank you," he said, "That would be nice."

"Awesome," Iclemyer answered with a smile of his own, before offering his hand in greeting. "I'm Darren."

"I know," Chris replied before he could stop himself, and momentarily slapped his hand over his traitorous mouth. "I mean... shit. What I meant to say is... My name is Chris,"

"Nice to meet you, Chris," Iclemyer – no, Darren – said, apparently ignoring his outburst."You a music fan?"

Chris nodded enthusiastically. "I love your videos," he blurted out, and promptly blushed almost to the tips of his ears.

"Seriously, man? That's, like, awesome. Super-mega-awesome!" Darren's smile was now positively infectious. "To tell the truth," he said, leaning in conspiratorially, "You're the first person to say that to me."

They stood in silence for a brief moment, smiling at each other, before Darren asked, "So, how about that tour? Maybe you could tell me where you've been already, so we can avoid going to the same places twice?"

"Well, I was actually wondering... do you know what this talk gonna be about? The one that's due to start in..." Chris cast a glance at his watch, "Five minutes, actually."

"Oh, that's John Green's Q&A. He has one each year. But, this being your first con and all, is an absolute must for you. If we go now, we might be able to even find some seats. Come on!"

Before he could even say something there was a warm hand grasping his and pulling him forward. That stopped Chris' train of thought abruptly. There he was. At VidCon. Holding hands with a boy he knew for less than ten minutes. And that boy was none other than Iclemyer. Well, that's certainly a turn of events he hadn't expected.

Having felt slight resistance, Darren turned towards him, earnest surprise on his handsome features. Then, he noticed that they were holding hands. "Shit, I'm sorry," he apologized, stopping in his tracks and loosening his grip on Chris' hand, but not letting go completely. "Is this too much? I apologize, I'm a handsy fucker."

Chris' initial shock over the hand-holding debacle was replaced by some sort of warmth, curling in his chest. "No, it's fine," he said, softly. "I'm just a little... overwhelmed, I guess,"

Still seeing puzzlement on Darren's face, he squeezed the hand holding his lightly. "Seriously, it's alright. Now, let's go, or there'll be no seats left,"

The smile that appeared on Darren's face at that could rival in brightness with the sun.

Chris was positive his jaw was still slack by the time the lecture had finished. Aside from answering general questions about videos and video making, John Green also gave some tips to people who were trying to publish their work and have started sharing it over the Internet. Just as if he knew that it was Chris' dream to write his own book and have it published, and wow... it was just so... amazing.

"Told you it's a must, right?" Darren said, lounging on the steps next to him (by the time they arrived, there weren't any free seats). "John Green knows his shit."

"He certainly does," Chris admitted, collecting himself slightly. "Thank you for forcing me to come here," he added softly.

Darren smiled. "So, what shall we see now? You have something particular in mind? Since we have a couple hours left, I figure we should start with something small, and leave the rest for tomorrow and the day after that-"

"I... I actually am not here tomorrow," Chris interrupted him. "I'm just here for one day."

Within seconds Darren's smile slid from his face. He wasn't frowning, but there was something in his eyes - sadness?

There was silence. It wasn't the easy kind of silence in which they stood when they first met. It was tense.

Chris desperately wanted to reach out to Darren, to maybe put his hand on his shoulder and comfort him. Before he could do that, however, the other boy turned over to him, braving a smile, and said "Well then, we should better start with something huge, so the whole experience will be worthwhile. C'mon, let's go and see if we can meet someone famous."

They both reached their hands towards each other, meeting in the middle. With an almost bashful look, Chris let himself be hoisted up from the ground, and when they were both walking towards the exit, threaded their fingers together shyly. Darren squeezed back, and Chris thought that whether they had three hours or three hundred, he would not trade this feeling for anything else.

Even after browsing around the Center for almost two and a half hours, they hadn't managed to meet anyone remotely famous. However, during that time, they kept talking to one another, exchanging little titbits of information – Chris was even surprised that he managed to go open about himself to a completely unknown boy. Side effects of not really having friends earlier, he supposed.

They talked about all sort of things, ranging from school ("I'm a sophomore at USF," Darren said. "Musical Theatre student.") to hobbies ("I do a little Community Theatre," Chris admitted shyly, watching Darren beam at him. "But my real passion is writing.") and other things of interest. They bonded over the fact that they both were huge nerds who loved Harry Potter and Star Wars.

Yet, the more time they spent on talking together, the quieter Darren grew. Chris supposed that it was because they would be parting their ways soon. And who knew when they would see each other again...

As the watch on Chris' wrist signalized eight PM, the time Chris was due to leave, they were both fully silent, just gripping their hands tightly. Darren spoke up first.

"Do you really have to leave?"

Chris smiled sadly, before nodding. "I'm sorry, there's an almost three hour drive before me." Seeing how Darren's forlorn expression hadn't changed, he asked, "Can you walk me to my car?"

Darren nodded, sighing sorrowfully. They exited the still overcrowded building and began walking down the sidewalk, by which a multitude cars of the convention-goers were parked. Darren looked up at him, with a questioning look, asking Chris mutely about the direction in which they were supposed to go. Chris just squeezed his hand and tugged on it lightly.

Only ten minutes later. they were standing in front of a beat-up Saab which belonged to Chris' parents. Darren turned them so they were face to face. They stood in silence for a long moment, so similar to that time earlier today when they had just met. Chris really wanted to ask Darren for his cell number because he really wanted them to meet again. He wasn't sure if he could, though. He knew that they spent almost the entire day holding hands, but that didn't have to mean anything.

He was already opening his mouth to ask for the number, but Darren had intercepted him.

"Can we exchange numbers? I'd... I'd really like to keep in touch."

Chris nodded, glad that Darren was thinking of them continuing what today had started. He took out his phone out of his pocket and traded it with the one Darren was holding. He entered his contact information under Chris from VidCon.

They swapped phones, and once more stood in silence, just looking at each other. After a while Chris managed to finally say something. "So... I guess this is goodbye?" He said, a little hesitantly. He didn't want it to be.

Darren seemed to be deliberating something, before sliding a little more into Chris' personal space. He leaned closer and... Holy shit.

He stood up on his tiptoes and pressed his lips to the corner of Chris' mouth. It was soft and slow, with a tiny spark of passion. Chris breathed lightly through his nose, overwhelmed by the sensation, before griping the hem of Darren's tee in his hand tightly, and tilting his head slightly so that their lips could touch more fully.

Now that... that was one hell of a kiss. Though gentle and hesitant, as first kisses tend to be, it was absolutely perfect.

They pulled apart after a few glorious seconds.

"It's a see you soon," Darren said cheekily.

And for the first time in forever, Chris smiled in earnest.

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