A/N: So I really love Julia/Darren and there was a shocking lack of fanfics for these two so I wanted to write one and hopefully inspire some other writers to join me. I think they have incredible potential for storylines and personally I think they are super adorable together. Let me know what you think and if you do write your own fanfic tell me and I will support yours in turn. Thanks for reading!
They were always good for each other, even from the beginning. Julia liked to be organized and did not step outside of her comfort zone before college. When she decided to attend University of Michigan to study the arts, it was a shock for everyone. It was one of the most daring things she 'd ever done and she was so glad she did. All of her friends made that leap of faith worthwhile and it was such a rewarding experience. They had formed Starkid and she had been able to discover much more about herself than ever before.
Darren had always been a naturally spontaneous person. He was so bright and outgoing, you couldn't help but be drawn to him. Julia was no different. They had become friends through their theatre classes and mutual acquaintances but grew very close throughout college. He was always able to make her forget about everything and just go crazy. He knew how she liked to have control and how hard it was for her to just let go sometimes, but if anyone could make her it was Darren.
She had always found him very attractive- how could she not? You'd have to be blind not to notice: his curly, wild hair and contagious smile. She always admired how he was so comfortable with himself and around others. Julia didn't hate the way she looked, she was comfortable with herself all in all, but she knew she wasn't a glamorous, gorgeous, skinny girl who had all the boys drooling. But she was okay with that.
They had always been good for each other. Everyone knew Darren had the tendency to be a little too careless sometimes. While they all loved this about him, it could be frustrating too. Julia was always able to rein him in when he needed it. Her unwillingness to let go and his unwillingness to be serious made them an odd pair. But none the less, they were a pair. They could always make each other laugh like nobody else could and her best memories almost always involved him.
She wasn't sure when she had developed feelings for him. All she knew was that one day during an acting exercise, she and him were partners acting out a serious scene from their friend's self-written work and Darren grabbed her hands and pulled her so close to him she almost passed out. He looked so sincere when he had been "professing his love" and she didn't want to accept the fact that she couldn't breathe. Julia had kept this silly notion hidden for a while, because she knew Darren wouldn't be interested. He had tons of girls at his beckon call and she would always be his friend.
But the impossible happened. Darren, being so suave and confident, just asked her out one day. She almost fell over from surprise, trying to figure out if he was serious or not. She had accepted and he took her to cheesy tourist traps and they took crazy pictures that made all of the visitors look at them as if they were crazy. It was so normal and comfortable and she loved it. When he dropped her off at her dorm, he kissed her and that was when she knew she loved him.
They worked well and dated for a few years. Julia would never tell him this, but those were the highlights of her years at school; just him and here walking home in the freezing weather, but not caring because they were together.
She always pushed him to be the best he could be. He was so talented and didn't even know it. She could tell he would be so successful and that all their silly times of lazing around while he wrote random songs with his guitar would pay off one day. Darren would always tell her that she was the reason he ever got any jobs. She disagreed and said that it would have happened eventually, he was too much of a star to stay hidden forever.
While Darren worked hard when she urged him to, there were those times he would goof off and blow off the things that Julia took so seriously. Every time it happened she would be hurt but try not to show it. He knew anyway and he hated disappointing her- more than anything the one thing he couldn't stand was seeing that look in her eyes when she was disappointed. The worst part was that she never yelled or got angry, but just looked like she knew that he could be so much more and that killed him.
As time passed, these small fights became more frequent and neither of them knew how to fix it. It broke her heart because she still loved him more than anything. He felt the same but in the end they just had to accept that maybe it wasn't meant to be. They agreed to stay close and they did, but their unspoken feelings were always right there underneath the surface.
She was the first person he told when he got the job on Glee, because he knew that he probably would never auditioned if she hadn't urged him to. She was so proud of him, and was genuinely excited but she had that nagging feeling telling her that they would barely ever see him again. She knew as soon as he got the chance he would be so popular and so successful.
It was a bittersweet day, when he left for L.A. She forced herself to keep it together and put on a brave face. He hugged her and said "See you soon, Jules" which she always loved, when he called her that. As soon as he left she allowed herself to cry.
When they watched him on tv for the first time she cried too. She was so proud of him and she couldn't help it. Plus the fact that he played a gay character made her giggle since she knew first hand that Darren wasn't.
He comes to visit every once in a while but never for very long. Each time he has to leave it breaks her heart all over again. He's become such a star and she feels as if he's outgrowing all of them. In the back of her mind she knows that he still loves all of them and he will always come home but her insecurity is starting to get the best of her. She misses him.
When they are on tour and they have to do numbers without him, it's like there is an elephant in the room and nobody wants to address it. On their current tour he had been able to join them for a few shows in New York and other places, and she had been so excited. Since she was in charge of technical stuff she had arranged the whole thing with him and he promised that he would show up a day before the show to practice with the gang and to have some quality hang out time.
But that day before the show, an hour into rehearsal he still wasn't there. It was impossible to hide her frustration. She hated disorganization and he knew this! Every minute he was late the more she became furious- not just because he was late but because he had promised. Promise. That word had hit her hard. Darren did not take promises lightly, he never had. But he had broken one today.
This made her mind overwork and think that if he broke this promise, what's to say he won't do it again? He'll never come to visit and they'll never talk on the phone or skype. By the time he had showed up an hour and a half late, Julia was so upset and freaked out she couldn't even talk to him. She saw him walk in and apologize loudly to everyone saying he got caught up. She knew he had things to do since he was so busy and that they weren't the only thing that mattered in his life, but she didn't want to be rational. She just turned to go backstage and cool down, but before she did she just looked at him from the wings and they locked eyes and she gave him her look of disappointment before walking away.
That was where she was now. In her dressing room she shared with Lauren, Meredith and Jaime. She was trying to pull herself together and get rid of the anger that sat on her chest. She was mentally calming herself when she heard someone knocking on the door.
"Yeah?" she called out. She pinched her nose-bridge trying to alleviate the tension. She really didn't want to see anybody.
"Jules? Can I come in?" Uh-oh. She knew that voice. She was caught. She stood and opened the door.
"Hey there." He grinned that adorable smile and she felt herself start to give in, but then she remembered every time she had looked at her watch for that long hour and a half and all her fears resurfaced.
"Hey there? That's all you can say to me?! Darren, you promised you'd be here! Does a promise mean nothing to you?! Is this going to be a continuous thing? Do you know how worried I was? You could have called or texted or something! Not just leave me here waiting for you looking like an idiot while everyone else counts on me to handle everything! An hour and a half! Jesus, Darren do you even care about us at all? Why did you agree to do this if you didn't even want to do this?! Well we don't need you, if you have better things to do then you can just forget about the show!"
By this time tears were coursing down her face, she could already tell her makeup was smearing and she looked terrible. He was looking at her with an astounded look, he had never heard her scream at him before. He was bewildered and didn't know what to say.
She couldn't hold it in anymore, she knew she didn't mean any of those things she said but she didn't care. She was tired of not getting angry. She didn't wait for him to reply but just brushed past him while she swiped at her tears and ran to the bathroom.
That night when the whole cast went out to catch up and relax, Julia told everyone she didn't feel well and was going to stay in. They were concerned but she reassured them she'd be fine. She just wanted to mull over everything that happened today. She felt horrible but didn't know how to make it better. What if he really ditched the show?
Her phone rang and she saw it was Lauren. She answered and talked to Lauren who had called to check up on her.
"You must have given whatever you have to Darren. He was here for a little bit then said he wasn't feeling well either. I swear we're going to have to isolate you two. Can't have you getting us all sick!"
Julia laughed but felt the blood drain from her face. Darren had left the gang? Why? Was he leaving?
After she hung up with Lauren, she hear a knock on the door. When she opened it, Darren stood there. With his new haircut and tan (must be the California sunshine) he looked even better than she remembered. "H-h-hi…" she stammered. "What a-a-re you doing here?"
His brow furrowed and he just stood there. "Can I come in Jules?" he said quietly. She nodded and let him in. Oh god…. Was he here to tell her that he wasn't doing the show, that he wanted nothing to do with her? He turned toward her and rub the back of his neck. "Jules….. what's going on? Is there something wrong? Do you really want me to leave the show?" he looked so vulnerable and scared that she broke down.
"Oh god no, Darren. I'm so sorry, I'm so so sorry! I don't know what came over me! I just… I don't know. I got so excited about seeing you again and you had promised and I thought that things could be how they used to, even if it was only for a few days and I wanted that so badly. When you didn't show up I thought you had changed your mind and you didn't want to see us. My mind got carried away and all I could think about was how you would never see us again and how nothing would ever be the same and I just missed you so much… I'm sorry please don't leave the show!"
She was sobbing already and was mortified to be doing this again. She tried to turn away and hide the hysteria, but Darren grabbed her shoulders. He pulled her closer and he hugged her and kissed the top of her head. "No Jules don't cry… Shhh…" he soothed to her like a small child. She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tighter.
"Why would you think I would never see you guys again? I'll always come to visit. I'm sorry I was late for rehearsal, there was a ton of traffic and I had overslept and I just messed up. I'm so sorry Jules. I thought you hated me, when you looked at me with that look where you look so disappointed. That always kills me. Did I do something to make you think I didn't want to be here or see you all?" He pulled back and made her look at him.
She sniffed, and said "No it's just that you've become so successful. Don't get me wrong, I'm so proud of you, you have no idea. I always knew this would happen but I was just unprepared for how fast and how much I would miss you. God, I miss you. And I just kept feeling like, with your new life and friends and fans that what merit could the gang and…. me hold in your big new life? It just scared me to think that I wouldn't be part of your life anymore." She ducked her head during the last part, not wanting to look him in the eye.
He tipped her chin up. "Julia Albain, I would never have my career if it wasn't for you. I owe you everything. You're my motivation. When I can't keep going, I always think of you and how much I don't want to disappoint you. I could never leave any of you, ya'll are my family. Especially you. I miss you more than you know Jules. I still have feelings for you, I think about you all of the time."
Julia couldn't believe what she was hearing. She looked up at him, and stared at him. He lowered his eyes and blushed. " I understand if you don't feel the same…" but he never had time to finish that sentence. She grabbed his neck and brought down his lips to hers and she kissed him, reveling in the feel of him. She pulled back and opened her eyes. They both smiled at each other and Julia thought to herself, they work well together.