Diamonds and Subtle Stares

Darren's eyes surveyed the carpet, looking for one very late Mr. Colfer. Chris was always late to award shows, though. Darren suspected it was his aversion to prying interviews. It was all a blur- the faces, the cameras, the dresses. It was barely even real. None of this was very real, and Darren suspected one day he would wake back up in his dorm at university.

Everyone was dressed beautifully, himself included. Everywhere he looked there was another legend, but he couldn't be bothered with them at this moment. He didn't even know where Joey had ventured off too. The carpet, full of glistening diamonds and shimmering hair, was missing one thing.

Finally, Darren caught a glimpse of that sparkling blonde hair. Chris was dressed in a very appealing suit, and it was hard for Darren to keep his eyes off of him. The pants hugged all the best places, and his hair was styled perfectly. It was like nothing else was moving, nothing else was happening. Everything was Chris. Chris's lips. His eyes. His arms.

He was staring. He knew he was. There were already a few pictures circulating the internet, claiming his infatuation with the one and only. He really didn't need another one.

Darren could have stared all day. He could have spent the rest of his life looking at Chris, but something caught his eye. Someone.

He had never seen this man before. Maybe he was some new up and coming actor? Darren stood off to the side of the carpet, surveying the man who was glaring at him from feet away. He wanted to avert his gaze, make some sort of apologetic gesture, but he couldn't. His eyes hardened under the stranger's stare, and he was afraid anyone who crossed between them would be cut in half.

This stranger followed close behind Chris, Darren observed. He looked like a bit of a lost puppy, actually. He wasn't being stopped for any interviews or pictures, which was very odd.

Then suddenly, realization swept over Darren like a tidal wave. Chris leaned over to whisper something in this man's ear, causing a laugh to erupt from both of them. Chris had brought the stranger as his extra ticket, and they were standing slightly too close for comfort.

He wanted to run away, to leave the entire event and just cry. He didn't even know why this affected him so much. Chris was just his co-worker.

Glaring at the ground, Darren quickly pushed inside the building, swiftly avoiding any stray cameras just waiting to capture his disappointment.

Darren's mind was a frantic freak show. He had just mixed up the words acorn and actor. Who the fuck does that? This idiot. It was all because of Stranger Boy. As soon as Chris sat down, he introduced his date. Will. Darren wanted to puke. They were laughing, sharing whispered conversations and small smiles. They had the kind of presence that drew everyone's attention. They lit up the room completely, and it made Darren want to hide in a corner. All he was thinking was that could be me.

He wasn't entirely sure why his feelings for Chris had become so strong the minute he stepped into his view this evening. Sure, they had always been there. The second he lay eyes on Chris his first day at set he knew he was a goner. It had never really hindered him in any way. If anything, it helped Blaine become a more convincing character. But tonight was different. Tonight his thoughts were complete jealousy and want and need. He needed that to be his hand intertwined with Chris's.

Darren took another sip of his cocktail, catching Chris's eye. The glint in his eye was happiness, it was infatuation. It was everything Darren wanted to be the cause of.

He knew he never could be, though. He knew his feelings would never be reciprocated. Even if Chris and Will were to flop, it wouldn't change anything. No matter how much Darren cared, no matter how much he wanted it to be, Chris would never catch his subtle stares.