Darren collapsed to the floor, his back pressed against the wall of his hallway and his head lounging on the closed door. The day had been crap, and he had barely been able to hold it together long enough to make it home without crying. The door had only just shut when Darren gave up and let the tears fall. He really hoped Joey was home to make him a hot chocolate and to watch Mulan with him, before tucking him into an already warm bed: the perks of living with your best friend.
Darren forced himself onto his feet and stumbled towards the kitchen, ripping off his many layers of clothes as he did so.
"Joey? Are you home?" He called desperately, running from room to room trying to find his friend. But the house was empty, and Darren couldn't find Joey's trainers or wallet. He'd obviously gone out for the afternoon, especially since Darren wasn't meant to be due home until much later that night. Realising this, Darren fell to the floor again and curled his legs into his bare chest. He closed his tired eyes and sobbed uncontrollably for a few minutes, feeling lonely and sore. Once his legs started to lose feeling and his face felt heavy with tears, Darren shifted into a sitting position and fished his phone from a pile of clothes on the floor. He ignored the texts from Dianna and Harry and instead dialled Joey's number, holding the phone weakly to his ear as he started to weep again.
"J-J-Joey! Where the fuck are you, you bastard! You're never fucking home when you need to be you little shit, and you call yourself a 'friend'. Well that's obviously bullshit; you didn't even leave me a note saying where you'd gone and how to warm up some soup in the microwave! Just because you want to go and shag Jaime, doesn't mean you can leave me with no fucking explanation!" Darren yelled down the phone as soon as he heard Joey pick up, not stopping to think about his words or his tears. There was a minute of silence and then a simple:
"I'll be there in five." Darren dropped his phone and curled up again, resting his curls onto his dirty jeans, and fell asleep immediately.
"Oh my God, is he naked?"
"Lauren, stop it, you've seen it all before, we all have."
"Yeah, I know, but still: it was quite a surprise!"
"Quite a nice one though, right?"
"Dylan, shut the fuck up."
Darren wearily opened his eyes and groaned loudly when he saw the whole of Team Starkid crouched over him.
"Hey buddy, how're you doing?" Joe Walker smiled down at him and offered a hand to help him up. Darren took it gratefully and was pulled onto his feet. Lauren slipped under Walker's arm and thrust a dressing gown at Darren, averting her eyes.
"Can you please cover up Dare? It's very hard to talk to you otherwise." Darren gave her a soft smile and pulled the gown over his shoulders, tying the cord loosely around his middle. Lauren eventually looked back at him and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into a familiar hug. He held her close, breathing in her smell and relishing the closeness of his friend.
"Alright, alright, stop hogging him!" Darren turned to the sound, and saw Julia Albain standing in the doorway, her eyebrow raised and her hand on her hip. Darren grinned and headed towards her, lifting her into his arms and kissing her hair. She hugged him back and whispered in his ear,
"It's been way too long Dare, stop trying to avoid me." Darren laughed and put her down, grabbing hold of her hand instead. They followed the rest of the group into the living room and picked a comfortable seat by the fire, which someone had kindly lit. Once everyone was settled, Jaime stood on the coffee table and cleared her throat.
"Right, plan is Darren for you to go have a shower: Brian's offered to help seeing as no one else wants the chore of seeing you naked. You will then come back, all clean and scrubbed and clothed, and Joey will have made you some of his special Thai noodles. We will then eat and settle down to watch your favourite Disney movies until you fall until a dreamless and welcomed sleep. We will stay with you for as long as you need, and we will leave as soon as you ask. Okay?" Jaime gave him a toothy smile and sat back down confidently. Darren laughed at her speech and leaned into Julia's chest.
"Starting right now?" He asked.
"Of course!" Brian Holden shouted, sweeping Darren off the floor and running with him to the bathroom, giggling all the way.
"Darren, you are way hairier than a normal human being." Brian laughed, sitting on the toilet lid as Darren showered. Darren laughed too, flicking soap at his friend.
"Just because you're incapable of growing body hair does not mean you can be jealous of my hairy self." Brian pouted and jumped up, grabbing a hairbrush from the shelf, and started singing Darren's own song 'Jealousy', making up ridiculous dance moves to go with the lyrics. Darren laughed and laughed, falling to his knees and knocking over a whole collection of shampoo bottles in the process.
"Can you guys please stop messing around in there!" They heard Meredith Stepien call from outside, accompanied with loud raps on the door. Brian crawled over to the door and opened it, making Meredith fall into his lap with a loud yelp. Darren laughed even harder and turned the shower off to prevent any injury. He grabbed a towel and quickly covered himself up before Meredith noticed how naked he was.
"Stop it Brian you shit!" Meredith giggled, pushing Brian away and running down the hall towards the kitchen. "Dinner's ready when you are!"
Darren pulled on a faded University of Michigan tee and some joggers as quickly as possible and followed Brian back into the living room. All of his friends were there with their bowls of noodles and Darren gratefully took his own. Though he'd never admit it to his face, Darren loved Joey's food more than anything in the world. He took a seat next to the fire with Dylan and tucked in.
"So which film is first?" Jaime asked as she fiddled with the DVD player.
"MULAN!" All of Starkid yelled. Jaime laughed and grabbed the old yet loved case and everybody got ready for the opening credits.
"So Darren, what's up?" Julia asked once the food had been eaten and a number of films had been watched.
"I've just had a super shit day, that's all." Darren answered non-committedly.
"Come on Dare, tell us everything. That phone call was really scary." Joe continued.
"And can I just add: Joey does not want to 'shag' me. That's not true at all." Jaime said, making Joey nod vigorously.
"I know, I'm sorry about that, it's just all the filming is getting to me. I mean, eleven hours ice skating for one stupid song is ridiculous. I love Glee, and I'm not complaining that their work style is wrong, but I just feel like I need a break, you know?" Darren sighed.
"Oh, the woes of someone who works too hard… I genuinely don't think we can help guys, we're far too lazy." Lauren winked at Darren and continued playing with his hair.
"Just think man, it's two weeks until Christmas! Then you can go visit your family and live like an absolute slob for a week before we come and kidnap you to spend New Year's Eve with us." Dylan reassured him.
"It'll give you a chance to recharge your batteries to start with work again." Meredith added.
"And despite how you're feeling now, you love Glee and it's such an excellent thing for you." Brian had turned serious, even though he was wearing a light up Santa hat.
"Yeah, please don't quit, you're my claim to fame!" Joe smiled.
"Too right, I live with Darren freaking Criss, and he's beautiful." Joey remarked.
"And I'm on first name terms with Chris Colfer!" Lauren laughed.
"That's because you were in his film, you dumbass, not because of Darren." Jaime shoved her friend.
"I'm only in his film because of Darren, you poop." Lauren shoved her back and they fell to the ground, play fighting.
Darren watched his friends bickering with a smile on his face, which immediately turned into a big yawn.
"Uh-oh, Darren Bear is a tired boy!" Julia cooed, interrupting the fight, "What's the cure Nurse Brian?"
"Hmm, now my training hasn't taught me medicine as detailed and complicated as this, but I'd say he must get to bed a quickly as possible!" Brian frowned, stroking his chin and prodding Darren.
"Huzzah!" Dylan concluded.
Darren reluctantly let his friends carry him to his bedroom, insisting it wasn't necessary and that he hadn't actually lost the use of his legs, but was met with swears and shouts. They finally reached his room and dropped him from a height onto his bed.
"Fucking hell you're heavy." Joe muttered.
"You have a filthy mouth." Darren retorted, laughing when Joe's lower lip stuck out.
"Good night Darren-poo! Tomorrow, tomorrow, I'll love you, tomorrow, it's only a day awaaaaaaay!" Lauren sang, dancing enthusiastically around the room until Brian threw her over his shoulder and carried her away.
"Night fella, see you in the morn." He called as he left. Joe and Dylan quickly followed, saying they didn't trust Brian and Lauren not to break something. The rest of the group soon went too, leaving Julia alone with Darren.
"How are you feeling now?" She whispered, stroking his hair of his forehead. He closed his eyes and leant into her touch.
"A lot better, thank you so much, I love you guys more than anything." Darren replied truthfully.
"Good, I hate to see you sad."
"Jules, I wasn't completely honest about why I was upset." Darren blurted out. Julia momentarily paused playing with his hair, "No?"
"No, it's because I read on twitter that you're spending Christmas with your ex-boyfriend."
"If you're going to give me a lecture about how he will hurt me again, then I've heard enough from Jaime-" Julia snapped but Darren interrupted her.
"No, this is about me being in love with you and not telling you until it's too late."
Julia nodded and moved closer to Darren, tucking her arms around his waist and resting her head on his shoulder.
"Jaime told me you loved me, but I thought she was making it up." Darren shook his head, deciding to ignore the fact that Jaime had given away his secret. "I love you too Dare, I really do. Let's see how Christmas goes, eh? And who knows what will happen in the New Year." She lay his head down on the pillow and tucked the blanket closer around his body. "Now why don't you have a nice sleep and I'll see you in the morning."
Darren settled down and immediately felt his eyes starting to droop. "Good night Jules."
"Good night Darren."
Thank you for reading! I love Starkid and I hope you do too. Obviously I don't know them personally, sob, but as a fan I've simply guessed what their personalities are like. Don't take this literally or whatever, it's just my imagination. Anyway, I hope you liked it! Please review and tell me whether I should write a follow up or some more Starkid one shots or whatever - I'm open to anything. Thank you, Alice x
