"Twenty more minutes!"

Everyone cheered, raising their glasses, and swayed to the tempo of the LMFAO*s 'Party Rock Anthem' as Ryan Seacrest invaded the 62" television screen. He was on mute, of course.

Dianna plopped herself down on the sofa, tucking her legs underneath her and allowing her sore muscles to sink into the plush cushions. She let her head fall back into the headrest and sighed deeply. She loved New Year's Eve but she was never really much of a drinker. Still, though, that didn't stop her from having a sip every once in a while. Hell, if she thought she could survive through an entire night with her cast and crew while they were drunk and she was stone-cold sober on New Year's Eve.

Dianna opened her eyes after a few minutes of drifting off to see Kevin and Naya shuffing to the beat, their friends all in a circle surrounding them, cheering them on. She smiled, simply in bliss, because there is no group of people on the planet that she'd rather be with right now. Dianna stretched her body, arching her back and lifting her arms in the air, silently mouthing the words to the song.

"Get up, put your hands up to the sound, to the sound…" No matter how overplayed this song was on the radio, it never failed to keep the mood alive. She was just about to rise out of her seat and go join Amber on the dance floor when-

"Oof!"

Something heavy fell onto her lap, weighing her down to the sofa. She looked down to see Darren rubbing his forehead slowly, one eye open and peaking around as if trying to figure out where he was. Dianna giggled, only because Darren was infamous for his drunken state, and was just about to open her mouth to say something when he finally looked up, eyes widening when he saw her.

"Oh…! Well, hi there!" he said merrily, giving her that familiar goofy grin that she had come to love so much, the one where his eyes crinkled and almost all his teeth flashed. That one was her favorite.

"Hello." Dianna said between chuckles, and touched the tip of his very red nose with her index finger. "I see someone's been drinking again."

"So sue me!" Darren said theatrically, shrugging his shoulders and looking off into the distance dramatically.

"So I see you're not the most coordinated person when you're drunk…" Dianna stated, pointing to the way his feet were hanging off of the edge of the sofa where he tripped on the armrest.

Darren scoffed and raised his pointy eyebrows. "Well, I dunno if you've noticed, Di, but I'm not exactly the most coordinated person when I'm sober, either."

Dianna laughed loudly, remembering a specific memory of most of the cast trying to learn the fancy footwork to the Control number in the Sectionals episode. It took 3 hours, and special training with Zach himself before he could finally get it right. The end results, however, were magnificent. There was just something about the way that Darren moved that seemed so effortless, like anybody could just get up and do it.

Dianna came back to her sense when she felt something tugging lightly at the ends of her hair, and looked to see that it was Darren. "I really like your hair like this…when it's curly, I mean. It's really sexy."

There he goes again. Dianna could feel the heat rising to her face, her eyes widening, her jaw falling open slightly. He always seemed to turn her into a speechless mess, and he didn't even know it.

"I-well, I like our hair better when it's curly, too!" Dianna countered, not lying at all. She hesitantly snaked her fingers through his dark curls and started twirling one close to his temple, trying to relax her heart.

"Yeah, I dunno why they keep putting so much fucking gel in. I mean, I feel like it's slowly seeping into my brain or something…" Darren muttered, looking slightly distraught.

"Well, that certainly would explain a lot." Dianna had to bite back her laugh when Darren turned his head up to look her in the eyes, narrowing them jokingly. She couldn't hold back her laugh this time and he continued to stare, savoring the sound until it was gone.

"Five more minutes!"

Dianna looked down to see him staring at her intensely, very similar that day in the dressing room when he'd caught her singing. She felt her face getting hot again, and needed to distract herself from those gorgeous hazel eyes. "Hey, what's been your favorite moment of 2011?"

Darren lightly laughed and let his head fall to the side as he closed his eyes. "Heh…this has sort of been a crazy year for me….well, do you remember when we sat down and watched the first episode of this season after all those crazy hours filming?"

"I'll bet it was watching that hard-earned solo in those red pants." Dianna said slyly.

Darren snorted. "Actually, no."

Dianna raised an eyebrow, trying to recall everything that happened in that episode. She couldn't remember much, though, seeing as nothing else that could have possibly been more significant for him happenedin it.

"Three more minutes!"

Darren shifted his head to the side, watching the crowd raise their drinks yet again. "You know that scene? The one where you come in with…that crazy pink hair? And, you know…that little nose piercing and that…that sexy-as-fuck outfit?"

Dianna stopped playing with the curl in his hair and just stared. Where was this going with this?

"Well, I remember the camera focusing on you from the rear-view, and …" Darren's eyebrows knitting together, frustrated, "and how I couldn't take my eyes off of the way your hips moved like that…and I just remember thinking, " Darren involuntarily licked his lips, "…well, fuck."

Dianna didn't realize that she had been holding her breath until she felt an uncomfortable ache building in her chest. Darren turned to face her with those smoldering eyes and the air hissed out of her like a balloon. She was sure that if she looked into a mirror at this moment she would see that her cheeks would be a bright, hot pink.

"One more minute, guys!"

The room erupted in a roar or cheers and hoots, yet both Dianna and Darren were unfazed. Dianna had no idea how Darren was able to say something like that so bluntly and not show the slightest hint of shyness while she was trying her absolute hardest not to cover her face with the nearest decorative pillow. 'Huh,' she thought, 'I guess they call it liquid courage for a reason.'

"Thirty seconds!" Lea shouted, pumping her fists in the air energetically while moving towards the area where the television was showing the famous Time Square scene, "come on guys. The ball is dropping! Twenty-six! Twenty-five! Twenty-four…!"

Everyone, like sheep following their herder, flocked through the doorway and around the television, counting down in unison. Dianna and Darren, however, stayed rooted to their spot, their eyes fixed on the others.

Finally, Darren said, "We should…uh…" He began to gradually rise from his position, his only support from his elbow on the armrest.

"Probably go…" Dianna whispered, unable to stop herself from slowly leaning in as his face progressively came closer to hers. It was as if a rope was pulling her downwards, the same thing that was keeping her eyes locked onto his…

"Eight, seven, six, five…!"

"With the others…"Darren was inches from her face, and his hazel eyes were flicking every so often to Dianna's lips, his own just slightly parted. Dianna could only just make out his breathing, hot, ragged and uneven. Her own breath hitched when he drew close enough that she could feel his shallow breathing against her lips.

"Four, three, two…!"

"Yeah…" Dianna's eyes were fully concentrated on how soft his lips looked up close, how utterly kissable… "We should…"

It was simple at first, the kiss; soft, tender, and sweet. Though, not exactly how she'd imagined it would be…it was better.

Darren was the first to pull back, but just a few centimeters. He snaked is hand around the side of her neck and pulled her forehead flush against his own, his dark, enviable lashes fluttering open faintly to stare at her lips longingly.

Dianna didn't dare breathe, which did not help the dizzying sensation in her head in the slightest. She licked her lips slowly and bit the bottom one, trying desperately to recall if what she thought had just happened in fact did occur.

This seemed to bother Darren because immediately after she bit her lip, he let out an asphyxiated groan. Before she could register what was even happening, he went in for another kiss, but this time it was much, much needier. His fingers found his way into her curly blonde locks, tangling in them to get a better grip as he look he took her bottom lip in between his teeth and bit down.

Dianna gasped into his mouth, pulling back slightly in surprise, but Darren had a steady grip on her. He pulled her closer, sucking on her lip between his own. Dianna moaned in response, maybe a little too loudly. Her hand came up to his collar and fisted the fabric in her small hand, yanking it towards her desperately. Nothing could be heard but the distant shouts and hollers form the next room over, the faint sound of Ryan Seacrest wishing everyone a Happy New Year, and the catcalls-

"Looks like everybody get a kiss this year."

Darren and Dianna tensed almost immediately, their hands falling from their tangled positions and rapidly, but reluctantly, pulled apart, only to see Kevin leaning across the doorway, a smug look on his face. There, alongside him, stood Naya, looking a little too happy for her own good, and Cory, desperately trying, and failing miserably, to stifle his laughter with the back of his hand.

Dianna stared in absolute horror, frozen and unsure of what to do next. Thankfully, Darren made a move, untangling his hand from her hair and steadily lifting himself off of the couch. He stood awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment, then his lips.

"Uh…well…I'm-I'm gonna…goodnight, guys." He said, averting his gaze and making his way through the very, very slim path Naya and Kevin left for him to walk through. Now they were just being cruel.

"I'm sure it was." Cory snorted, hand still muffling his uncontrollable laughter.

Dianna frowned, massaging her temple with her fingers. As if the situation wasn't bad enough without Cory's 'subtle' insinuations.

Darren groaned quietly, hand sliding down his reddening cheeks, as he tried to shift his way in between his two so-called friends and out the door. The space was impossibly narrow, and at one point he was face-to-face with Naya and he could no longer avoid eye contact. She had a mischievous twinkle in her eyes, and she was giving him an I-know-what-you-did-last-summer look.

Darren dropped his head on her shoulder, defeated and moaning. "Naya, please…!" he begged desperately, "Have mercy on me…."

Naya bit her lip, shaking with withheld laughter. "Alright, alright, Darren. Let's get you home, ya mess..." She said patting the back of his head maternally, sighing dramatically. "Come on."

Darren whined as Naya peeled him off of her shoulder and pulled him along, out of Dianna's sight. She let her head drop into her hands, elbows proper against her thighs and grunted loudly. Her heart was still beating at an abnormally quick rate. What had just happened?

Kevin cleared his throat loudly, unmistakably reminding her that she was still not in the clear. Dianna looked at them through heavy-lidded eyes, clearly annoyed.

"I would say Happy New Years, but…" Cory snickered, eyes shining playfully, "It doesn't seem like you need my help with that."

"Ugh!" Dianna grabbed the nearest black-sequined pillow and chucked it in the direction of Cory's head. He ducked, unfortunately, and caught it, laughing loudly. Kevin was giving her a suggestive look, waggling his eyebrows teasingly. "Cory-you're dead!"