Four Simple Words
A Darren Criss story :)
A/N: Why hewwo there evwyone! Thanks for actually reading this! I just wanted to warn you that there is a POV switch in the middle of this story. It's gonna be marked, so you'll know. But I tried writing it all in the same POV and it just kinda felt and sounded weird…so yeah! Ooh! Also, there are some pretty big time jumps that are marked too…so yeah! That's about it! Hope you enjoy :)
Love,
whether newly born or aroused from a deathlike slumber,
must always create a sunshine, filling the heart so full of radiance,
that it overflows upon the outward world…
-The Scarlet Letter
July:
The Starkids sat around one of their temporary homes in Ann Arbor, relaxing and playing games together until one of their best friends returned home. It was a few months after graduation, and Joe, Lauren, Allie (who had been stage manager for a few of their productions) and some of the others were relishing in the fact that they were done with school, while Joey and AJ completed a few summer assignments. They were all anxiously awaiting Darren's return from visiting his family, but none more so than Allie, who had practically been attached to Darren's hip since their first year of college together.
Brian Holden sighed as she moved her miniature Captain Hook the wrong way around the Sorry board again before glancing at the door for the 32nd time that past hour. Allie was definitely the most excited for Darren to come home, and Brian was sure it had something to do with the blush that appeared on her face whenever Darren's name was mentioned. He knew Darren felt the same way, and hoped maybe this time he would actually pluck up the courage to tell her. It would be so simple, but then again, when was Darren ever simple?
Just then there was a knock, and the game of Sorry was long forgotten as Allie (not-so) gracefully leapt across the room. She yanked the door open, and didn't even hesitate to leap into Darren's already-open arms. As he spun her around and they squeezed each other breathless, Brian couldn't help but smile. They were so in love, and they didn't even know it.
After many hugs and 'welcome homes', the gang decided to watch Spiderman. Darren sat down in the big recliner and as the lights went down, he pulled Allie down to cuddle with him.
"I missed you Dare." Allie whispered.
"I missed you too, Al. My family said to tell you hey! And that you should come with me next time I visit!"
"I definitely need to! I miss your parents and Chuck!"
Darren grinned and pushed her dirty blonde hair out of the way before kissing her nose affectionately, before settling them both down to watch the movie.
Later:
Darren sighed and looked down to the face of his beautiful best friend, fast asleep beside him.
One week apart from her during the summer had been enough to take a toll on his heart. But how was he supposed to tell this girl, the one he secretly loved, that he was leaving for Los Angeles for who knows how long? He couldn't… he shouldn't. But he had to. Even if it would break both of their hearts. And as Spiderman and Mary Jane kissed on-screen, he looked down at the love of his life, and wished that they could do the same.
September:
Time passed too quickly, and before Darren knew it, it was the day before he was leaving for LA.
And he still hadn't told Allie.
He knew it was wrong. But he also knew he wouldn't have been strong enough to have her know, and to not be able to say everything he wanted to before he left. He would do it now, he decided, before he chickened out.
He found her in the living room with Brian and Dylan, and was at once jealous at how easily they talked to her. Why didn't they babble like idiots? Why didn't they turn red and get millions of butterflies in their tummies when her beautiful smile lit up her whole face? And why did all this happen to him?
He sat down beside her and lightly began to stroke her back, just how she liked it. Her smile brightened when she turned to face him, but faded when she saw his face. Without a word, she got up and followed him to her room, where he shut the door before turning around to face her. Allie noticed how uncomfortable he looked, and she began to dread what he was going to say.
Darren ran a hand through his unruly hair. Hair that'll be gone soon, he remembered.
"Allie, we're best friends, right?"
"Of course Dare!"
"And we tell each other everything, right?"
"Yeah… Darren what's going on?"
Darren sighed. "Well I haven't been totally honest with you. I'm leaving… for LA."
Her silence shocked him more than anything else.
"Oh," she said, trying to sound excited for him. He saw right through her. "When?"
"…tomorrow…" he mumbled.
"…oh…"
And there was the disappointment.
"I'm- I'm really sorry Al! Really I am! I- my- my agent called a while ago and- and I got some good auditions and I- I just wanted to have fun with you for a while before I- I mean before-"
"Dare, it's fine! I'm excited for you! Really…excited." She smiled a sad smile.
Dear God she's incredible.
Darren gave her a huge hug and left her room, suddenly feeling a little bit better.
Later:
Darren was walking back to his shared room with Joe after a guy's goodbye moment in the kitchen. He sighed happily, feeling lucky that he had such great friends.
It was as he was passing Allie's room that he stopped, and his heart broke into a million pieces. And as he slowly opened the door, it broke even more.
Allie was curled up in her bed, dressed in one of his oversized t-shirts, completely bawling her eyes out. As quietly as possible, Darren pulled off his shoes, and slipped into bed behind her, pulling her close. She turned towards him, burying her face in his chest as he silently stroked her soft hair. They stayed like that until the both finally fell asleep, dreading the next morning's arrival.
Morning:
The next morning came way too quickly for Allie, and pretty soon she and the other Starkids were at the airport to see Darren off. Allie and Darren walked arm in arm with the others not far behind. No one was ready to say goodbye. All too soon they reached the gate, and Darren and Allie found themselves smushed together in the most awkwardly hilarious group hug anyone had ever seen. As the group broke and the individual goodbyes started, Allie stayed towards the back and watched everyone else.
Brian walked over to her and gently nudged her shoulder.
"Aren't you gonna say goodbye to your Dare-bear?"
She didn't have the heart to punch him as she locked eyes with Darren over Joe's shoulder. She shook her head quickly and forced the tears back.
"We already said goodbye."
A voice overhead called for Darren's gate to board, and with a goodbye nod to everyone, he turned and walked to his gate. He had just had his ticket scanned and was about to board when Allie lost control.
"Darren!" She called as she sprinted straight at him.
And almost like clockwork, he turned around and caught her. Her hands wound around his neck, his around her waist and in her hair and they both started crying, leaving the other Starkids at a loss for words. They pulled away slowly, eyes red and puffy, and Darren quickly kissed her forehead and her nose before turning and boarding the plane.
February (Allie's POV):
"Come one guys! Darren's gonna be on TV!"
"Oh yeah guys, shut up! Allie can't miss her not-so-secret lover being on TV!"
I didn't even try to throw something at Brian's head. I was too immersed in Ellen as she introduced Darren, and then sat memorized as he danced his way on stage.
"Hey, Darren's hobo fro is gone!"
And gone it was. His hair was way shorter than normal…but I liked it! He just looked so…dapper.
Man is he cute or what?
We watched the whole interview, amazed at how popular and charismatic our little Harry was! We laughed when he laughed, got embarrassed when he did, and whooped and pretended to get emotional when he mentioned Starkid. We were so excited for our best friend, and were about to text him and congratulate him when Ellen pulled him back for one last question.
"Now Darren before you go, I have to ask one more question. And I'm sure all your fans are anxiously awaiting your answer."
She paused as the crowd cheered.
"You don't have to tell me, but are you currently seeing anyone?"
I held my breath and felt everyone staring at me. On screen, Darren laughed uncomfortably.
"Umm, no, I don't have a girlfriend."
We laughed as the audience cheered even louder and Ellen smiled.
"Oh come on Darren! A charming, handsome guy like you? There's gotta be some girl that has your heart!"
Again I felt everyone looking at me. I, however, was watching with bated breath, anxious to hear what he would say.
"Well actually, there is one girl that I've kind of been in love with for a few years now. Her name's Allie, and she's my best friend."
The audience 'awww'ed, and I felt myself smile, a real genuine smile. Ellen however continued.
"Does she know?"
Darren shrugged. "She does now."
I wasn't aware that Ellen was ending the show. I wasn't aware that all my friends were trying to talk to me, or that my phone was ringing off the hook. The next thing I knew, I had purchased a plane ticket to California, and I was on my way down the hall to start packing. I had half of my suitcase filled with whatever random crap I had thrown in it, when everyone burst in my room. And before I knew it I was bombarded with questions. I rolled my eyes at my friends, knowing they meant well, and went back to packing.
"Look guys, I'm going to see Darren. I'm leaving tonight, I'll be back soon. I just have to see him."
They all looked at each other, some coming to a silent agreement.
"Then we're coming with you." Brian said.
I shook my head. "You guys don't have to-"
"But we want to!" Lauren interrupted.
Joe nodded in agreement. "Plus we can't let you go on a plane by yourself! Remember last time?"
"Hey! It was a big airport! Plus how did that duck even get through security?"
We all chuckled at the memory. Brian looked at me.
"Seriously though, I'm going with you."
"Well I am too!"
"Me too!"
So about an hour later, Brian, Joe, Dylan, Lauren and Jaime had all purchased plane tickets and were packed, and we headed to the airport.
A few hours and a whole bunch of boring airport stuff later (plus a whole lot of teasing…stupid duck!) we were finally in the air! I was sitting with Brian, with Lauren and Joe behind us and Dylan and Jaime across the aisle. We were in the air for about 15 minutes before I really started freaking out. What if he only said that for publicity? What is we couldn't find him? What if we couldn't get on the Glee set? Once again, Brian seemed to read my mind. He grabbed me and pulled me in for a friendly hug.
"Hey look, it's gonna be fine. We'll find him, and you guys will magically fall in love and fly into space and get married."
I grinned. "With a wedding on Pigfarts?"
"And Rumbleroar as the priest." Brian chuckled. He gave me his usual kiss on the nose and I laid my head on his shoulder, trying to rest after the crazy afternoon I had."
About three and a half hours later Brian was waking me up and we were landing in LA. After calling a couple cabs and driving around, we finally found a cheap (but nice) hotel and booked a room for us. After finding the room, the girls called dibs on the bigger of the two rooms, and forced the boys to take the smaller room and living room. I put my stuff down and turned to go into the living room when Lauren and Jaime closed the door and forced me to sit down on the bed.
"Okay Allie, we need to talk." Jaime said before Lauren took over.
"Yeah we do! So how long have liked Darren, and how long have you guys been in love?!"
I blushed. "Well I've liked him since freshman year-"
They both squealed so loud I think people might have gone deaf in Scotland. And then they both started in.
"And why didn't you tell us?"
"You guys could've dated!"
"You didn't say anything!"
"I know I didn't say anything! Cause I liked Darren and I thought he like Julia and then I thought I liked Brian, but then I realized I always liked Darren!"
"You could've told us!"
"Yeah, we could've helped you!"
"And Julia would've backed off! She wasn't going to go out with Darren 'cause she thought you liked him!"
I groaned and fell back on the bed. Jaime sighed and started stroking my hair.
"Oh don't worry sweetie. Tomorrow you guys will work everything out. And you guys will magically fall in love and fly into space to get married on Pigfarts!"
"With Rumbleroar as the priest!" Lauren added.
"Whoa, de ja vu!" I exclaimed, which earned me an odd look from both the girls.
"Well I'm going to say goodnight to everyone and go to bed."
I went to the living room and hugged all the boys goodnight. Two of them whispered encouragement in my ear, while Joe just made a sex joke about me and Darren. I shook if off and went to bed, hoping that this time tomorrow I would finally by in a relationship with the boy I loved.
I didn't really sleep that night. Every dream I had turned into some nightmare about us not finding Darren and him not loving me anymore. All of this only made me nervous. After a quick breakfast (which I barely ate) and finding a map of the city, we all loaded into a taxi and headed to the Glee set. As I say in the back with Brian, mentally cursing myself for not thinking my plan through, Brian slid a piece of paper with a drawing on it. As I looked closer I saw that I was a picture of me and Darren's 'Pigfarts Super Fantastic Wedding Spectacular' (or so he called it). I turned it over to see a short note.
He's always loved you.
Only four words. Four simple words. And yet they gave me enough hope to know that everything would work out.
Meanwhile (Normal POV):
Darren sat in a room on the set of Glee. He, Chris and the other Warblers were on break, a long break by the looks of it. As the other boys laughed and joked around, Darren checked his phone again, wondering why none of the Starkids had returned his texts or phone calls.
No, he corrected. Wondering why she, his best friend, hadn't answered.
Darren sighed. This girl, the love of his life, wouldn't answer her phone when he missed her the most. Of course she had seen his interview. She promised him she would watch it! He wondered what she thought about what he said, what her reaction was. Darren's thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. One of the security guards poked his head in.
"Mr. Criss, you have a few visitors."
He was confused. Hadn't he just seen his parents last week? And Chuck wouldn't just show up like that!
The door opened and Darren's heart stopped. There she was. Was it his imagination? Was he dreaming? Her hair looked longer and darker, some of her natural brunette showing under her blonde highlights. Her blue eyes still sparkled like he remembered, and the smile she had on lit up the whole room. Before he knew it she was in the familiar spot in his arms, just where she fit perfectly.
Darren was about to ask her, to see if she knew, and how she got here. But as he pulled her head up to see her face, she crashed her lips onto his and tangled her hands in his curly hair. He had one hand on her waist and pulled the other up to cup her face, gently stroking her soft skin. After awhile they both pulled away, struggling for breath. Darren kissed her nose before resting his forehead against hers and sighing in content. Allie looked up into his beautiful eyes before whispering the four simple words he had only ever imagined her saying to him.
"I love you Darren."
He kissed her passionately before tilting his forehead against hers.
"I love you too, Allie. I always have."
Just as they were about to kiss again, they heard a rather loud and obnoxious chorus of 'awwww's from their right. They turned to see the Starkids, Warblers, and most of the other Glee cast members that had shown up, all looking at them.
"Well it's about time!" Brian yelled.
All the other Starkids nodded in agreement. Amber Riley just laughed.
"You're telling me! Darren here hasn't shut up about Allie since he got here!"
Allie laughed as Darren blushed. "Oh he has, has he?"
Darren didn't answer, just blushed again and kissed her hair, forehead, and nose, before finally meeting her sweet lips for another kiss. When they pulled away, Darren was still blushing.
"So maybe I talked about you a lot. Is that a problem?"
Allie smiled. "No, not at all."
She buried her face in his chest, breathing in his familiar scent.
Yeah, she decided. I could get used to this.