A/N: Okay, re-uploading this and I'll be re-uploading my CrissColfer ones later and a couple of Dameron drabbles so watch out! :)
The contenders sat anxiously awaiting the guest mentor, the theme of this week was 'pairability' and they had rehearsed their rendition of 'Need You Now' ready to perform for the mystery mentor.
Suddenly the room became quiet as two figures strolled in; they were none other than Darren Criss and Chris Colfer. Lindsay's smile grew impossibly wide as she saw Darren was back as a mentor, Alex eyed Chris appreciatively, everyone was just completely starstruck at these two men.
"Hey guys!" Darren called out cheerily, a chorus of "hi's" echoed in the room, Darren grinned wide.
"Now I know that you guys have met me" he turned to Chris "but it's Chris' first time and he's harder to impress than I am!" Darren laughed which made Chris elbow him in response. Chris rolled his eyes and turned to face the kids.
"He's joking. I'm sure you'll all do great! I've been told you're a talented bunch!" Chris exclaimed, the contenders smiled back at him thankfully. He clapped his hands together.
"Okay, so I hear that this week's theme is pairability? You have Darren and I as judges because we have performed duets together successfully." He eyed Darren who was nodding at Chris' words. "To perform a successful duet you have to make it look believable, you have to convey your emotions clearly to the other person whether you are showing love, hate, a challenge it doesn't matter." The contenders listened carefully and took in Chris' words of advice.
"Now that we've got the boring advice out the way let's see what you've got!" Darren said excitedly, earning another eye roll from Chris.
Chris watched each contestant carefully, admiring the pure energy each of them had. He laughed appreciatively at Alex and Matheus' awkward display of affection yet they somehow pulled it off, Chris found himself clapping along to the beat.
Darren looked over at Chris and winked before turning his attention back towards the kids and joining in with Chris' clapping.
The performance finished on a dramatic note with Cameron and Marissa. Chris and Darren clapped excitedly and the contenders smiled cheerily and moved to sit back down.
"First off" Darren began, grinning at the confidence of the kids. "Matheus and Alex, I know how hard it is to pull off a two guy duet and you guys impressed me!" Alex grinned confidently while Matheus shyly smiled in disbelief at the compliment.
"Damian and Hannah" Chris said, the Irish boy looked up sharpish at the sound of his name "You guys had a more cheerful outlook on a relationship; I especially loved when you held her hand Damian, very cute." Damian blushed and nodded in appreciation.
"Lindsay and Samuel, you guys rocked!" Darren carried on "you both had this moody aspect about you, you were so convincing." Lindsay grinned wide and looked over at Samuel who smiled back at her.
"And finally Cameron and Marissa, wonderful. Your expressions seemed so sincere; my heart was breaking for you guys." Chris finished off; Cameron's eyes widened at the compliment, Chris Colfer just complimented him.
Darren and Chris caught each other's eyes as it was time to announce who won the challenge, no words needed to be said, both the men knew straight away who the right choice was. The contenders looked in awe as the two guest mentors pretty much read each other's mind to reach a unanimous decision.
The mentors looked back at the contestants, everything slowed down suddenly as Cameron caught the eyes of both Chris and Darren, his mind went blank and he couldn't register anything until Darren spoke.
"Cameron, your expressions were perfect, your voice was awesome which is why you've won the challenge." Cameron blinked, what? He actually won? Damian turned around from in front of him and did an enthusiastic thumbs up.
"Because you won you and your partner get a one on one session with me and Darren" Chris carried on from Darren. Cameron looked over to Marissa who was beaming excitedly at him. "However, you're all changing partners but you get the choice Cameron, you can stay with Marissa or you can choose another partner." Cameron sat still in thought for a moment, he looked at Marissa who was still smiling warmly at him as if to say she didn't mind who he picked.
Cameron looked around the room until his gaze settled on Damian's, the hopeful eyes of his best friend. That was all the reassurance he needed. He turned to look at Chris and Darren.
"I'd like to have Damian as my partner if that's okay." He asked, slightly nervous at Chris raising his eyebrows. Damian continued to look at Cameron in shock; Cameron wanted him to be his duet partner? Cameron chose him over someone like Marissa? Why?
"Okay then, so it's settled Cameron and Damian you'll both be singing" Chris looked at his sheet and smiled softly to himself. "Baby It's Cold Outside" He recited, casting a warm glance at Darren who smiled affectionately back at Chris. The contenders were starting to get used to Darren and Chris' unspoken moments, they seemed to happen often.
As soon as everyone was assigned songs to sing they each went off in their pairs to start rehearsing. Damian and Cameron were due to have their session with Chris and Darren in an hour.
"What?" Cameron asked, laughing slightly. Damian had been staring at him for a while now, as if he were trying to figure something out.
"Why me?" He asked, carefully observing Cameron's calm facial expression.
"You're my best friend, we'd have a lot of chemistry in the video therefore more of a chance of not facing the bottom three" Cameron shrugged, it seemed a plausible enough explanation. Damian decided to let it slide for now.
"Who'd have thought we're gonna be having a session with Darren and Chris" Damian said, awestruck at the techniques they'll be able to learn as both men were exceptionally talented actors.
"I know, we've got to win this thing." Cameron replied, determined. Damian nodded in agreement. He understood how important it was to Cameron for them both to be in the finals. It was sort of like an unmentioned agreement the two shared.
Chris settled next to Darren by the keyboard, they were both going over the song and what advice to give Cameron and Damian before the two boys arrived for the session.
"It's weird that Cameron picked another boy for a duet" Chris spoke up, casting a glance at Darren who was currently sorting out sheet music. The curly haired man mumbled in agreement as he flicked through the sheet music.
"Normally a boy of his age would choose a girl, especially since the girls are as good looking as those girls were." Chris carried on, still baffled by Cameron's duet partner choice. "I seriously thought he'd stay with Marissa"
"Well maybe after their session it'll become clearer to you" Darren suggested, still wrapped up in the sheet music. Chris clicked his tongue, stood up and started to pace around the room. He stopped once more in front of Darren and leant casually over the piano.
"We haven't performed this song in a while" Chris stated, his voice soft and tender, Darren smirked at the tone of Chris' voice. Brown eyes met stunning blue as he responded with just as much enthusiasm.
"Maybe we should." Chris smiled favourably and nodded.
"It wouldn't hurt to practice so that it'll be fresh in their minds." Chris remarked. Darren grinned widely and stood up from the piano; he did a little twirl then waved his hand to Chris for Chris to begin.
Oh yes, Chris thought, they hadn't done this in a while.