Chapter 3: What Are You Doing Here?

I managed to stay calm until we exited the book store, but the second the door closed behind us, I burst into hysterical laughter.

Darren stood back, just watching for a minute with an indulgent grin, realizing I needed to get it out of my system. He eventually pulled me away from the door to sit on a bench beside the building and waited.

Finally, I was only giggling occasionally and wiping my eyes with the backs of my hands. Darren asked wryly, "All done?"

I nodded and apologized as sincerely as I could manage. Then I asked, "Can I ask YOU some questions?"

The smile remained, so I knew he was expecting this. "Anything."

"Anything? Really? That's a dangerous promise." He cocked an eyebrow, so I quickly continued, "I'm just kidding. But, REALLY...what in the WORLD are you doing HERE?" I splayed my hands, indicating it was more likely for an extraterrestrial to show up in the book store parking lot.

"I'm traveling with the Glee tour, and we were at the Kohl Center last night."

"I know. I couldn't afford a ticket, so I'm waiting for the DVD."

"We'll see what we can do about that. Anyway, there are some breaks in the schedule, so we can have a day or two off once in a while. Our next show isn't until Tuesday night near Chicago, so we're not leaving here until late tomorrow afternoon."

"But...what are you doing HERE?" I asked more emphatically, indicating the book store.

"Most everyone else likes to sleep on their days off. I don't need a lot of sleep and I can only watch so many movies in a nondescript hotel, so I usually end up exploring on my own. I caught a taxi and asked the driver to take me to the nearest book store that had decent coffee. It took about 15 minutes to get here. And then I remembered Abby's birthday, and...that's the story."

"Amazing," I replied, shaking my head in disbelief.

"Rhi..." Darren started in a much more serious tone. "I'm just a guy who happens to have a job that lots of people know about. I hope that we can still...get to know each other better. I would really like to start calling you Rhiannon," he finished with a shy grin.

"Darren," I smiled back at him. "I would like that too, but you have to understand this from my point of view. I go to school, I go to work, I have a cat, I rent a house, I don't quite own a used car. That's my life. Then DARREN CRISS, my favorite actor from my favorite TV show, appears out of nowhere. It's just taking me some time to...process everything."

"I'm really your favorite on Glee?" Darren asked with an uncertainty that I wouldn't have expected.

"How could you not be? I love Blaine! The way you bring him to life...some of the scenes you have with Kurt are stunning...I mean, Chris..."

He chuckled at my correction. "It's okay. I know what you mean."

"I just don't understand why YOU haven't been nominated for an Emmy. You are so natural, your emotions are so honest...it's like you're not acting...it's like you really ARE Blaine! So can you understand how this is freaking me out?"

I looked Darren in the eye again after he didn't respond, and realized he was starting to tear up. "Darren? Are you all right?" This time I grabbed his hand.

"I'm fine, Rhi. That's just the nicest, most genuine thing anyone has said to me about my acting. Most people think of me as the short guy with the weird hair that sings and dances on Glee. No one really sees me as an actor first."

"They're stupid!" I spit out, perhaps a little more emphatically than I intended. I took a deep breath and continued, "Anyway, the fact that you would want to have anything to do with me is just a bit much to take..."

"Rhi," Darren began, "You're funny, clever, smart, sweet, and cute." I automatically scoffed when he listed the last adjective, but Darren put a finger up to my lips to stop me from protesting. "Why shouldn't we spend time together? Or do you have a policy against hanging out with customers?" he asked as his grin returned, gesturing toward the book store.

"Unh, no, nothing like that. In fact, it's never really come up before."

"That's surprising. How about this? It's dinner time. I'm hungry. Are you hungry?"

I nodded slowly.

"Great! Do you know a good place close by where we can get something to eat and just chill? We can even split the bill, so there will be no question as to what's going on." He grinned hopefully at me.

How could I resist the famous Darren Criss charm?

"Okay, but I am paying for myself. There's a little diner up the street. It's not much to look at, but they have the best food, and their milkshakes are to die for."

"Perfect! I realize I'm responsible for you missing out on that smoothie. I wouldn't want you to hold it against me." He wiggled his eyebrows at me again...no one was ever going to believe this!

Darren grabbed my hand - how many times was that? - and said, "Lay on, MacDuff!"

He quoted Shakespeare too? What was I doing here?