A/N: I've been working on this since waaaaayyy before the Christmas episode for season 3 premiered. I think it was just after they released the songs for the Christmas album. I had no idea Dianna was gonna get a solo in 'Michael!' Also, for some reason, this was incredible difficult to write. It's SO much more difficult when you're writing about the actors, not the characters! I tried, god I tried to keep it as realistic as possible…I hope that it shows? Btw, LOOKING FOR A BETA.

Follow me at lepommes on tumblr! :)

"Later on we'll conspire…" Darren sang softly as he packed his sweatshirt into his backpack and slung it over his shoulder, finally making his long-awaited exit from the studio, "as we dream by the fire…"

Darren ran a hand through his unruly curls, making them even shaggier than before. He'd just finished recording a particularly difficult song and was on his way back to the apartment for a much anticipated nap, even though it was only just past noon. To be fair, he had just recorded two songs for the show, not to mention the fact that he'd woken up at 6 AM this morning. He was exhausted.

He walked through the choir room set and around cast and crew members, yawning and stretching as he did so. Apparently, they were getting ready to shoot a scene with Naya and Heather, but he didn't pay much attention because all he could think about was his warm, inviting bed back in his apartment.

He casually waved his goodbye towards the crew as he walked through the doorway, yawning yet again. "Bye, guys!"

"Hey, see you on Tuesday! Remember, we're rehearsing that big number of yours."

"Got it!" He called from the hallway, walking off set and towards the area with the dressing rooms. He could see the sunlight streaming through the exit doors and was just about to push through them when he heard-

"Santa baby, a '54 convertible too, light blue…"

'Woah,' Darren paused on the spot, narrowing his eyes, 'who…?'

"I'll wait up for you, dear, Santa Baby…"

Darren furrowed his brows in confusion. He couldn't think of anybody else that was due on set today other than Heather and Naya, and he had just seen them on set a few moments ago, shooting a scene. So who was left singing in the girls' dressing room?

"So hurry down the chimney tonight…"

Darren smiled, raising an eyebrow and walking down the hall towards where the main dressing rooms were. The voice was soft and tremulous, very old-fashioned and sultry, and he almost mistook it for the original but there was no instrumental playing in the background…

"Think of all the fun I've missed…"

Darren neared the room towards the very end of the hall, peeking his head through the doorway from which the remarkable voice was coming from.

"Think of all the fella's that I haven't kissed."

And then Darren finally saw the source of the voice, and a slow, but wide, grin made its way across his handsome features. He leaned against the doorframe casually and arched an eyebrow in intrigue. It was Dianna.

"Next year I could be just as good…."she sang tenderly as she elegantly twisted the front of her hair to the side, pinning it in place, "If you check off my Christmas list…"

Darren crossed his arms, grinning mischievously and patiently waiting for her to take notice of his presence. He didn't mind, really. Her voice was heavenly on his ears, and it gave him a good excuse to openly observe for once as opposed to his usual little peeks between filming scenes. He really had to stop doing that. It was getting sort of obvious.

Dianna wasn't like many other girls. Even the way she dressed differed, especially those in Hollywood. She was just so…modest. Today she wore a simple white button-down, sleeves rolled up to her elbows, with just the right amount of the neckline un-buttoned. Just enough to keep the imagination running, and it was working. Her legs were adorned with a simple, flowy baby-pink full-length skirt. Darren had always been a firm believer in 'less is more,' and Dianna had never been one to disprove his theory.

"Santa baby, I want a yacht and, really, that's not a lot…"

Darren snickered a bit at this line, for it had always been his favorite. This did not fail to capture Dianna's attention, however. She whipped her head around to his direction, eyes widened in astonishment.

"Oh my…Darren!" He briefly closed his eyes at the sound of his same, humming inaudibly. His name was nothing special, but he loved the say it sounded when it came out of her mouth. Her tiny hand was on her heart, a gesture of utter surprise, and she said a little breathlessly, "I had no idea you were-how long have you been standing there…?"

Darren grinned charmingly. "Long enough to enjoy the all-too-rare musical stylings of the very lovely Dianna Agron."

She giggled softly and turned back around to the mirror, continuing the task of fixing her hair before saying, "Well, I'm glad you've enjoyed yourself. Though, I wouldn't get too attached…"

"Oh?" Darren cocked his head to the side questioningly, knitting his eyebrows together.

"Yeah," Dianna sighed, fishing a bobby pin from the open drawer and pinning her hair in place, "I mean…you know-not to sound ungrateful or anything, but…" She bit her lip and looked at him through the mirror, dropping her hands in her lap, a little frustrated.

Darren pushed himself off of the door frame and casually sauntered to where Dianna was sitting on her vanity, seating himself cross-legged next to her feet on the floor.

"You were hoping to get more of a voice this season, huh?" Darren questioned, looking up into her green eyes, his hazel ones laced with concern.

"Yeah, I…"she continued, chewing on her bottom lip self-consciously. Maybe she didn't have the best voice of the cast, but she hadn't been given a solo since season one. She just patiently waited until the writers saw it fit to give her another. But she would be graduating McKinley soon, and that meant her leaving the show. That didn't leave much time for anything else, judging by the rate things were going…

"Then why didn't you ask Ryan to give you Santa Baby? I mean, you'd obviously kill it." Darren asked, propping his elbow on the end of her bench and leaning his jaw against his knuckles casually. Dianna tore her gaze away from his, deciding it was already difficult enough to form coherent sentences when in such close proximity to him.

"I…well-you heard him. He said he needed someone …sexy. That's why Naya sang it, I mean…"

Wait-wait…Dianna," Darren said softly, bringing himself to his knees and leaning his weight on the bench fully with his hands, looking at her in disbelief. Was she actually implying what he thought she was? "You don't think you're sexy?"

Dianna began to fumble with a stray thread on her pink skirt, trying to busy herself and maybe avoid answering that question altogether. She had been told she was beautiful for as long as she could remember, and it certainly helped her low-confidence when making her way into Hollywood. She had been called many things over the years, but not once had she ever been called sexy and believed it. That is, until very recently.

"I, uh…I saw that interview of you recently…thanks." Dianna forced herself to look up from her lap and meet his hazel eyes. She smiled shyly and said, "That was very sweet of you to say."

Darren chuckled lightly and lowered his eyes, raising himself off of the ground to sit by her side on the bench, and sighed. "Yeah, that interview…"

"It must've been pretty difficult answering a question like that about your cast mates." Dianna whispered, twiddling her thumbs.

"It was pretty easy, actually."

Dianna's finger ceased their fidgeting and she raised her eyes to see the reflection in the mirror and instantaneously felt her cheeks flame up. Darren's eyes were fixated on her and he was giving her the most intense look she had ever seen across his striking features.

She slowly turned her head, facing him, but kept her eyes low. She couldn't look him in the eye because she didn't know what would happen if she did, and she didn't trust herself very much either.

"Dianna…"

She raised her eyes, but only to his lips. She was so close, close enough to see the faint stubble that was forming on along jaw line and over his cheeks. Close enough to see the soft curves of his parted lips. Close enough to feel his hot breath against her cheek. Close enough so that if she just leaned a little bit further, she could taste-

*beep-beep-beep*

Darren jumped, and then let out a long, withheld breath of dejection as Dianna let her head drop in frustration, more aggravated that startled. She quickly turned to grab her bag off of the desk and fished out her cell phone, tapping the green button and bringing it to her ear.

"Hello?" She couldn't help but keep the irritation in her voice as she spoke through the receiver.

"Hello? Di?"

"Lea?"

"Di, hey! I was wondering if you could do me a tiny favor? I'm so scatterbrained; I've left my aviators in our dressing room. Do you think you could run by on your way home and drop them off?...Pleeeeeease?"

She signed, "Yeah, sure, no prob." She chanced a glance at Darren; he was rubbing the back of his hair awkwardly, looking in the opposite direction. She turned back, but something caught her eye in the mirror. There was a very faint, nigh untraceable spread of pink across his cheekbones. Was he…blushing? "I'll, uh…see you in a bit. Bye."

She tossed her phone in her bag and grabbed the Ray Bans sitting on her dressing table. "Hey…?" There was an uncomfortable atmosphere in the room now, and she temporarily detested Lea for it. "I, um…gotta get these to Lea, so…"

Darren turned to her, still evading her eyes. "Yeah, no, I…" Then he looked at her, eyes hopeful and wide. "Well, I'll see you on New Years, yeah?"

"Yeah," she smiled tightly, itching to run through the doorway as fast as her body would allow, "Saturday?"

He smiled genuinely, "Saturday."

If you wanna know what Dianna might sound like look up Marilyn Monroe's version of Santa Baby on YouTube, it's lovely! :)

Oh, and I've got, like, 3 more chapters written. I just need a beta REALLY BADLY.