A/N: Wow wow wow I'm super sorry that it's been so long for a chapter update! I just realized I haven't updated since September! I'm sorry for the long wait :O. I promise I haven't forgotten about you all and I will desperately try to update faster. Thanks for all of the patience and sticking with the story. Hope you enjoy the long awaited chapter :) xxxx
Joey was surprised to see Darren not in the room when he woke up at 6:00 for class. They knew each other's schedules, and as Joey recalled, Darren didn't have class until the afternoon. He looked around the room and noticed that Darren's guitar was gone too.
Typical Darren. When Darren wanted to lay he had to play. He was just being considerate to leave the room as to not wake Joey up. But what a strange hour it is to be playing music.
Joey wondered as he jumped in the shower how long Darren had been awake, for he didn't remember Darren falling asleep before he did. But then again, he was pretty pissed at him when he got home for bailing everyone at the theatre, not to mention that he had to ask Jaime for a ride home, even though she claimed that she didn't mind. He felt so bad for asking Jaime, he was determined that Darren would feel the same guilt.
"Well, look who it is: Darren, the biggest prick in the world." Joey said as soon as he entered the room. Darren was on his bed.
Darren started to get up to apologize. "Look, Joey, I'm sorry that I-"
"No, i really don't think you are." Joey interrupted. "Why the hell did you do that? Not only did you make me ask Jaime to take me home, but you really hurt Lauren's feelings." Darren winced at the mention of Lauren. Joey noticed.
"Look, if you have your personal issues with this Peter guy she likes, that's your problem, but did you really need to-"
"Shut up Joey! Just drop it, okay?" Joey could see that Darren was getting ticked off at the mention of Peter and that he just wanted to be left alone, but Joey didn't drop it. He could read him like an open book. He knew exactly what was really going on through in Darren's head and he had to talk about it.
"I know you love her." There was a silence in the room for a couple of seconds.
"Come again?" Darren replied.
"Don't play stupid, Darren. I know you love Lauren."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Joey rolled his eyes. "Come on, Darren who are you trying to fool."
Darren started to get even more irritated. Joey had no idea what he was going through. "Look Joey, all I know is that Lauren is dating the very single guy who I despise the most on campus. You're confusing jealousy with anger. I'm sorry that I left early, but please, just leave me alone." And with that Darren turned his back on Joey and went back to his bed. Joey huffed and laid down on his bed. Why does he have to be so seclusive from everyone? Joey thought. He started thinking deep about everything that had happened that night until he finally closed his eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep.
Joey suddenly remembered now as he was drying off that there was something unusual about Darren's facial expression when they were talking. Not only did it show anger, but something else that got Joey thinking. He could swear there was a hint of fear in his eyes. But what could Darren possibly be afraid of in this situation? He wondered and he continued to get dressed. I should probably call him later after class to check if he's alright. And with that Joey left his dorm for his morning biology class.
"Thank you ma'am" Darren said to the blonde counter girl as she passed two small pink bags over to him.
"My pleasure! That will be five dollars, please." She replied sweetly. Darren dug into his pocket to find a crumpled up five dollar bill. He straightened it out and passed it over to her. She put it in the cash register and handed him a receipt.
"Thanks." He said as he took the receipt and the two bags.
"Sure thing, but if you don't mind me asking, why are you buying desserts this early in the morning?" Darren had to admit it was odd to be the only customer in the vacant store.
"It's for a friend of mine. She absolutely loves your gluten free cupcakes. She could eat them any time of the day, so I just figured I'd buy her one because she has a morning class today." Darren explained.
"Oh." She replied shortly. "So, you like this girl?" Darren became wide-eyed.
"Huh? What? No!" He spit out. He then realized that he seemed a little edgy so he added "I mean, we're just really close friends."
The girl laughed softly. "Well, she's lucky to have a friend like you." Darren noticed how she emphasized the word "friend" and tried to understand why.
"Well, i'm lucky to have a friend like her." His eyes then became slightly unfocused. "I couldn't imagine what i'd do without her. I think I would be a completely different person."
"I'm glad you guys have each other. Have a good day sir!"
"Thanks, you too!" He replied and then walked out of the small shop and started to walk over to the tree where he was sitting at before. He sat down and pulled out from one of the pink bags a chocolate chip cookie. He started to munch on it slowly, sinking his teeth into the warm center. It was so fresh and delicious that he couldn't help but gobble it up in no more than two minutes. He then began to mess with his guitar and waited for the hour to pass.
As he was playing, more and more people began to show up in the park. Friends met up for study groups, couples met up to say hi and share a kiss. It was actually a popular spot for the students on campus to hang out.
When it was about 9:00 Darren started to head to the building that Lauren was coming out of from her calculus class. He waited until he saw the door open and people coming out of the building, then he started searching for a familiar small petite girl.
She was one of the last few out. She wore a converse, leggings, and a bright red sweatshirt that was a little too big on her. Darren smiled. He started walking over to her when he realized he had no idea what he was going to say, but somehow he knew that all he needed was to be with her. She was on her phone so she didn't see him approaching her. Darren took this as an advantage.
He swiftly creeped his way behind her so that she couldn't see him, and then stealthily approached her. When he was directly behind her he slowly leaned over her shoulder and got right next to her ear before whispering a spooky "Boo".
Lauren, being the wuss she is, jumped forward and shrieked a tiny bit. But the moment she saw Darren chuckling, she gave him her upset face. He knew she was the easiest person to scare, so when saw an opportunity, he took it.
She was not pleased.
"I'm sorry Lo, you know I can't resist." He said and smiled. Lauren still didn't break her stone expression.
"Oh, come on, I said I was sorry." Darren gave his best puppy eyed face.
"What happened yesterday Darren? Why did you leave the theater right after I told you Peter asked me out?" She asked with crossed arms.
Darren passed a hand through his curls. "Look, all you need to know is that we just have bad history."
"But why, Darren?" She asked, demanding answers.
Darren breathed out loudly. This wasn't easy for him, but he tried to remain his cool with Lauren. "I don't like to talk about it a lot. Maybe I will someday, but not today." He looked at her hoping that his answer would be enough.
Lauren could tell he was having a difficult time explaining his feelings and she realized pressuring him wasn't helping anything. She knew that she wouldn't be getting any answers from him soon, so she decided she'd let him go for now, but she was still expecting answers for the future.
"What's in the pink bag?" she asked deciding to change the subject. Darren had completely forgot about it until she noticed it. His mood went back to his normal self.
"This is my apology," He handed her the bag. She raised her eyebrow in a questioning matter. "For being a douche yesterday."
She opened the papered bag. Her eyes went wide and her mouth dropped.
"You didn't!" She said in disbelief.
"I did." He replied happily.
Darren suddenly felt Lauren's arms around his neck, hugging him. He smiled, grateful for her, then wrapped his arms around her, hugging her back.
"Thank you." She whispered softly against his skin.
Darren felt the hairs on his back of his neck stand up. His insides felt warm and fuzzy and he felt his heart starting to beat faster. "This is new" he thought.
As they were starting to break apart Lauren heard in the distance a group of girl voices. "Darren!" the voices said. Lauren turned around to see a group of girls a few feet away in skin tight jeans and reveling blouses, calling for Darren. She rolled her eyes. Great, here comes the fan party. But to her surprise, Darren didn't even give the slightest recognition to the group of girls. He continued to look straight at Lauren.
She didn't know why, but that gave her a lot of pleasure, and she grinned wickedly in her mind. The girls continued to call Darren, but he still didn't turn their way. She assumed he wanted her ignore them too, so she did.
"So did you wake up this early just so you could give me a cupcake?" she teased and Darren's eyebrows rose
"Why are you saying 'just'? I thought you loved those cupcakes!" He said to her in playful offense. The girls in the background were still trying to catch his attention but he continued to ignore them.
"Oh I do!" Lauren nodded in agreement. "But you could have of given me this at any point of the day. Why now?" The group of girls had gotten completely irritated for being ignored and they started to stomp away. Lauren smiled inwardly at the success.
Darren ran a hand through his curls. "Oh no particular reason, I guess I just thought the sooner the better." Darren tried innocently.
Lauren knew it was a lie. "Come on Dare, what's the real reason? Why couldn't you give me this later today, why now?"
Suddenly Lauren heard her a familiar voice in the distance. "Lauren!"
Lauren turned around to see Peter in his tennis uniform walking towards her, and she had to admit, she liked what she saw. He was in blue shorts and a tight white muscle shirt that complemented his body and made his skin look like it was glowing. He smiled a dreamy smile at her.
Her heart melted.
That's why. Darren thought in his head, answering Lauren's questions.
"Hey babe, I'm about to go to practice. Want to come along and watch me play? You can hand me a towel if I break any sweat." He said charmingly.
Now it was Darren's turn to roll his eyes. He looked over at Lauren to laugh at what a complete idiot this guy sounded like, but to his surprise she was falling for it and nodding rapidly.
"Okay, sure!" She replied happily. Darren's jaw dropped.
She turned towards Darren and gave a quick hug. "I'll meet up with you later, okay?" Darren just stared at her, not believing what was happening before his eyes.
Lauren then turned away from him and took a hold of Peter's hand, and he started to lead her to the tennis courts.
Darren sighed as he watched the guy he hated most hand in hand with the girl of his dreams. "Why do I even try."