AN: West Side Story! Please leave a review! Even if it's negative, I love criticism in all its forms, so do please leave me some, my lovelies :)
Life Doesn't Suck for Everyone
Chris and Darren stood off to the side of the McKinely high school auditorium set, watching the stage hands bumble around with long pieces of piping. The pipes soon started to form scaffolding, which must have been at least 10 feet tall. Chris swallowed fearfully, realizing that he'd be climbing and twisting all over the beast in a matter of minutes.
Standing behind Chris, arms crossed, Darren just stared at the scaffolding. He'd seen Chris practicing some harder parts of the West Side Story audition routine, and he was impressed. The thing that most amazed Darren the change he'd seen in Chris since he first auditioned three years ago. He was a small, scrawny, bony kid, just out of high school, with probably what was the cutest voice Darren had ever heard, but he would never admit to thinking that. Now that Criss was a regular and they'd made it to season 3, the difference was like Chris had been hit hard by the puberty train; his physique had gotten exponentially broader, he now took up space instead of being squeezed into it. His adorable Von Trapp face had turned into that of a downright chaseable man….The all-too-familiar sound of a director's whistle sounded, thankfully breaking Darren out of his reverie. Chris sighed, smiling nervously at Darren, who squeezed his arm supportively, noticing in the back of his mind that he could no longer get his hand around Colfer's bicep. He sauntered out onto the stage, taking his place at the base of the metal piping as the music began. Because it was still the first few times Chris had done the routine in full, they played all the music, including the vocals, so he didn't kill himself trying to multitask.
The music picked up pace, Chris sliding effortlessly in and around the poles, muscles rippling through the tight white costume shirt. Darren watched in awe from the curtain, struck at how easily the taller boy maneuvered through the poles. Darren got anxious as the number progressed, but as always, Chris managed to impress him somehow; easily flipping upside down, hanging by his knees, and somehow dismounting with grace. Criss had worried about that part every time he watched Chris do it, he knew how easy it was to just slip off the bar onto the ground, but somehow the green eyed snake of a boy slid through the move easily. The rest of the choreography was much simpler, putting him back on the ground, right side up, spinning knives furiously. The whole scene looked much more badass than it should have – Chris's intense focus, instead of the flamboyant face of his character, coupled with the vicious knives rapidly spinning round his fingers made for a very conflicted scene, when put with the frolicking music of the number. Darren couldn't help but laugh, drawing the attention of a few stage hands. When the music finished, Chris threw the still spinning knives into the ground with a sprooooooing as they buried themselves into the stage. He bowed to the applauding crew, quirking an eyebrow at the director, his message clear. Suck it. Ryan had been apprehensive giving such a physically demanding number to Chris, but reluctantly did so after many assurances that he could handle it. Leaving the knives wedged wobbling in the ground, he strutted off stage, grinning widely at Darren, who just stood rooted to his spot like an idiot.
"So, what did you think?" Chris was breathing hard, his chest pushing against his shirt every time he inhaled. Slapping himself internally, he forced out a response.
"That was incredible, like, you were incredible!" He tripped over the words, making Chris laugh. "C'mon, I'm done for the day, and I know you just came because you have no other friends." Darren tried to protest, but stopped when he realized Chris was right. Instead, he just fixed a puppy dog face on him. Chris gave him Kurt's very best bitch face, but quickly burst out laughing instead. He wrapped an arm around Darren's shoulder as they walked, who playfully punched him in the stomach. "I hate when you're right."
The pair had been good friends since they were introduced by Ryan, which was a pretty weird introduction, looking back.
Chris was passed out ungracefully on a couch in the green room, thoroughly exhausted after the hardcore dance rehearsal day he'd just been through. Everyone had learned their lines and lyrics early, so they took advantage of the free days to cram in as much dance rehearsal as they could. Couches all over the set were covered in tired bodies. Chris' bench lay in the LA sunlight, which of course relentlessly beat down on the bench. He'd put his shirt over his face to block the sun, normally something he'd never dream of doing on set, insecurity and all that. But it was pretty empty; just the choreographers and New Directions actors.
He was woken up by the darkness being whipped away, letting the sun continue to beat down on his face. Cracking a blue-green eye, he scowled at Ryan Murphy, who just grinned at him.
"Morning, sunshine."
Chris grunted, his body protesting as he stood up, snatching his shirt back and wiping the sweat off his face, his mind lagging behind his body in the whole waking up process. Ryan called to someone around a wall. "There's someone I want you to meet, Chris."
A tall, curly-haired boy rounded the corner as Chris pulled his shirt back on, smiling politely at Chris.
"Chris, meet your new boyfriend."
Chris coughed in surprise, shaking the boy's hand. They were about the same size, although Chris was an inch or so taller. He introduced himself as Darren Criss.
"Excuse me?" The other boy noted how high Colfer's voice was; he found it endearing, along with the way his blue-green eyes seemed to change between blue and green in the sunlight.
Ryan laughed at Chris' reaction; he'd been looking forward to that. "Darren is going to be playing Kurt's boyfriend, Blaine, so I figured it would be good for you two to get to know each other before we start filming your sex scenes next week." Both boys jumped at this, surprise and concern flashing across their faces. Ryan laughed, enjoying his situation. "I'm kidding, don't worry. Y'all will have to kiss at some point, so don't totally discount that. Just get to know each other; Kurt and Blaine need to know each other, so you two need to too." They'd laughed about Ryan's affinity for messing with them as Chris showed Darren around. They'd liked each other from the get-go, which pleased Ryan, as it made for good couple-hood.
There really is no feeling quite like being woken up from boot camp, also known as hell on earth, to be told you're filming sex scenes with another man next week. Even if it was a joke.
AN again: There will probably be more to this….if you have somewhere you'd like to see it go, feel free to leave a review! Those are my favorite :)