AN: Once again, thanks for the reviews! They give me the motivation to keep writing. I've actually never written more than two chapters of any fanfiction because they never got noticed before. I'VE BEATEN A PERSONAL RECORD, WOOHOO.

To clear things up a bit (though no one has asked), Darren is telling their story to the StarKids, but I'm not writing it as if he's telling it. I'm writing it as if we were in that time period (same way I write 2010). If I wrote from Darren's point of view, it wouldn't be as interesting because we wouldn't get the relationships between other StarKids, plus Darren would leave out the bad parts (later to come)… I just write things in an unusual way, I guess.

Before things get too weird, confusing, or spoilerish… Chapter three!

oOo

-2005-

"Brian fucking Holden, will you get up already? It's Thursday and you have your class thing, or whatever, in twenty minutes."

No need for the wake-up call since I was already up all night, you moron. Brian thought to himself, as the person addressing him started tapping his feet impatiently from where he stood in the doorway to the bedroom. Even still, Brian still didn't remove himself from the warmth and safety of his bed, causing an irritated noise to escape the other young man.

"I refuse to let you miss another class! This is for your BFA and you need to start taking it seriously."

"Alright, fine, will you just shut the hell up? I was already awake." The muffled voice snapped through the blankets. He pulled the covers off himself and sat up, blinking as his eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness of the morning sun that streamed through the window, "Why do you do this every damn week? Go away or I'll switch roomies." Brian shielded his eyes from the sun, trying to glare at his friend in the doorway, but failing miserably. The friend turned to leave, but had to get one last comment in before doing so.

"Twenty minutes, just remember that. I honestly don't know what you'd do without me," he said on his way out.

"Yes, mother dearest." Brian mocked him, false sweetness practically oozing from each of the words he had spoken. When the door shut behind his roommate, Brian let himself fall back onto his pillow. I'm not in any rush, really… After all, it's Wage. He's never pissed at anyone. Especially not me.

After about five more minutes of just lying there and staring at the ceiling, Brian rolled off his bed and into a pile of clothes he had been too lazy to put away. He sat on his haunches as he dug through the pile, looking for something nicer to wear to class than his boxers.

Pulling out a wrinkled tie, his most un-stained collared shirt, and a pair of his best dress pants, he silently hoped that what he had was good enough to wear for his monologue today. The last thing he needed was Wage taking points off his score for his clothing being in a poor state.

Brian pulled his clothes on and tied a knot in his tie, trying to flatten out the wrinkles in everything as best as possible. He left his room and ignored his friend, the same one that offered a rude wake-up call a few minutes ago, who was currently offering him some leftover pizza as a breakfast substitute.

Next thing he knew, he was already standing in front of the door to the auditorium. The walk to get there was a blank in Brian's mind, but he shook it off, not caring that he hadn't paid attention to the trip.

He had gotten to the auditorium five minutes late, but hesitated before entering. If you don't do well, this could affect your chances of receiving your BFA in the future. Brian contemplated this for a while, and when he finally walked in, he was surprised to see his instructor speaking with another student. Blatantly showing no consideration for their conversation, he walked over to them and spoke loudly as to get their attention.

"I'm here and ready to perform, Wage. Who's this kid?" Brian watched as the other student shifted his weight uncomfortably.

"This is Nick Lang. He is one of the other students that I coach in one-on-one classes similar to yours. I've mentioned him a few times before to you." Mr. Wage, who seemed completely oblivious to the fact that Nick was uncomfortable, continued on excitedly, "I would like you to skip your monologue for today, Brian. Perhaps you two should get to know each other a bit? You will be working alongside Nick, his brother, and another student of mine named Darren Criss to bring back the Basement Arts program to this school. Have fun bonding! And play nice, Brian, will you?"

Mr. Wage left in a hurry, eager to leave the two young men to their own devices. Nick opened his mouth to speak, but Brian cut him off immediately.

"Look, I don't really like you already. In fact, I don't like anyone in this goddamn place. I'm here to get my Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, graduate, and get the hell out of here. It's nothing personal. You're just unlucky enough to have been caught in the middle of my vendetta with life. If you expect me to open up to you right now and share everything about that life, then you've got another thing coming."

Without another word, he turned around and strode to the exit. Brian left Nick standing there alone, save the echoes of the door slamming against it's frame that reverberated off the walls of the empty auditorium

"Nice to meet you, too." Nick sighed.

oOo

AN: Sorry this was so short, as well. I didn't want to include any 2010 in this one because there's a lot more of that coming soon. Also, I apologize for the slow updates. School's a bit overwhelming at the moment.