Chris ran all the way home to the dorm, locked himself in and dropped down on his bed, spread eagle without even removing his shoes. He wasn't mad at Darren, not even close. He wasn't mad at Caitlyn either to be honest. She just did what he hadn't the guts to do. But he was furious at himself for exposing his heart when he specifically had promised himself not to. He needed to be rational about this. He had to try harder and return to a reality where Darren could be a friend and no more. He would apologize first thing in the morning and pretend that tonight had been a fit of bad mood on his behalf. He would ambush this mess of emotions and focus on a beautiful friendship being born.

Reassured this way, he kicked off his shoes, picked up the laptop from the floor and got settled in bed. "Now where was I," he mumbled in the quietness of his room. His eyes scanned the last lines he had written as he tried to catch up immediately. But what was supposed to be words followed by new sentences, crumbled between his fingers before it could be captured and transferred into anything. Ideas escaped his mind as if a playful wind was catching them and carrying them away. He took a deep breath, centered himself and left everything out until his mind slowly tapped into the world of the TV-script. Stubbornly he worked through every sentence, hard earned, until his phone buzzed with an incoming text. He tried so hard not to look but once he realized it was from Darren he had to; just to give himself a chance to keep working afterwards.

Are you asleep?

Chris shook his head. "Not answering that one," he mumbled to himself.

Chriiiiis, I know you not sleeping, so please, please text me back.

He dropped his head. Would the guy ever give it a rest? He stared at the text again and with a deep sigh he answered.

It's impossible for you to know I'm not asleep!

Ha! I knew it.

Asshat!

I knew that too.

Takes one to know one.

Funny!

You never got to hear my song.

You can always text it.

Really, Chris?!

Lame, I know. I'm tired.

Liar.

Maybe….

I can give you a link to my YouTube channel if you'll give me a minute … or two. I haven't recorded it yet."

So you plan to publish a song that's not finished?

No, it's a private show for you my dear.

With all resilience left somewhere between 2. and 3. text Chris smiled from ear to ear, grateful that no one could see him , especially Darren. He decided to brush his teeth and get ready for bed while he was waiting for the link. He brought his phone to the bathroom ... just in case. Was it stupid - probably. Would he do it anyway - absolutely. Well, back in his bed the link came through. He switched back to the laptop. If the guy had gone through this much trouble to make him hear the song he felt obligated to watch it on a decent screen. When Darren finally appeared in the picture, Chris saw he was sitting on his bed as well, looking casual as if he had been home for awhile. He couldn't have stayed long in the restaurant after Chris had left.

Not that it mattered.

"Hi, Chris, who is clearly not sleeping, even though he probably tried really hard just to ignore me." Chris snorted and smiled at the radiant eyes capturing him through cyber space. "I'll try to play this song for you and you'll probably spot pretty quickly where I'm in trouble." He leaned closer to the camera as if he was confiding in Chris. "It's the place where I suddenly sing na-na-na. That's not a part of the song ... it could be, though. I mean for some songs it's very fitting. I've written na-na songs myself, but this is not one of them. Anyway, you might be thinking that Darren, that asshat, sure talks a lot for a guy who cannot come up with the right words and you're right. So ... now I'm going to sing. Okay, here we go."

Chris couldn't help laughing. The guy was a dork, cute, but definitely a dork. Darren began strumming the guitar as his head bopped to the beat and slowly the dork disappeared and the musician took over, living the song with every expression. He was so very beautiful and capturing in every way, from the long eyelashes that rested on his cheeks when he closed his eyes, to the dark hair that curled around his forehead, the strong jaw and his soft mouth. It was intense to just look at him without being afraid of getting caught.

"What is it about you?" Chris whispered and let his fingers run down the screen. "And why me? What do you even see in me?" He blinked in surprise when the song was over and he hadn't heard a word. He started the clip again and closed his eyes to prevent further distraction. He smiled once more at the silly speech in the beginning and zoomed in on Darren's voice alone. His way of writing was very talkative. He put words together like he would say them and it made the song raw and open; just like Darren was. It was a love song, but without the typical clichés. In many ways it described how Chris felt about Darren this very moment. This bittersweet confusing state where anything is possible and everything is unpredictable. You don't know what's on the other side of the door you just know that your body and soul aches to find out; aches to take the next step, because the attraction is so powerful that it blows your mind and removes any common sense.

The third time he heard the song he finally paid attention to the second verse. He repeated the clip until he could hum the melody on his own, but he was still not sure what to do with it. His phone buzzed with a text again.

I swear to God if you have fallen asleep I will show up in person and yank you out of bed. I'm on pins and needles.

Chris smiled and texted back. You don't know where I live

I'll just go looking until I find you. So?

Chris let his finger hover over the call button for a second before he pushed it with a beating heart. It wasn't picked up right away and he got worried that Darren wasn't that eager to talk to him at all, but then Darren's voice came through.

"Shit Chris you startled me there. I dropped the phone between the mattress and the wall." He laughed. "I don't know why, but I'm scared shitless that you don't like my song. I'm usually not that touchy about the things I write."

"Relax Dare. I … really love it. It's very insightful, actually."

"You think?"

"Yes. But honestly, I still want it to be your song. I could never catch your style or get the way you write things so freely. It's very unique and honest. I really, really like it. You don't need me to mess around with it."

"That is the longest you have said to me without being sarcastic," Darren said.

The statement really hurt; mostly because it was true. "I know … look Darren, I'm so sorry about tonight. I was being a dick about something stupid and I left you in a bad way. I wish I hadn't."

"It's okay you know. And I was dying to come down and sit next to you."

"You were?"

"You're a lot of fun to hang out with, Chris and I'm just trying to get to know you."

Chris took a leap of faith. "I feel the same way," he said with a pounding heart, knowing that he was being pulled right back into the tornado.

"Oh, and sorry for blabbing so much on the video."

"It was funny though."

"Look, I get what you're saying about the song, but I'd still like some suggestions from you. It doesn't have to be exact and I promise to make it my own somehow."

Chris sighed. "Can I at least get until tomorrow? I'll bring some ideas when we meet in the auditorium then."

"Yes! Thank you Chris. That would really mean a lot."

Chris laughed. "You're putting a lot of pressure on my shoulders. You know that, right?"

"No, I'm not. I just trust you and you shouldn't worry about it."

"Okay."

"See you tomorrow, Chris Colfer."

"I'm so sorry I'm late," Chris said out of breath to Mrs. Nolan as he rushed into the wardrobe. "I overslept and came as fast as I could."

She smiled forgivingly. "That can happen to us all. Everybody has left for their workshops now and I know you and Michael have something in progress, but today you're spoken for elsewhere. Darren said the two of you are writing a song together. He's waiting for you on the stage."

Chris stopped in his tracks."The stage?"

"I think all other rooms were occupied, so the only place left was the one in the spotlight."

"Great," Chris moaned.

"Don't worry, the spotlight is turned off though," she confided amused.

He smiled. "Thanks anyway." Chris stepped into the auditorium without being noticed and caught a peculiar sight of Darren sitting on the floor in the center of the stage. He was playing the guitar with a single earplug in his ear, playing along to something that kept him in deep concentration. It wasn't until Chris walked up the stairs that Darren saw him. His face lit up in a bright smile.

"Hey, I was afraid I had scared you off." He jumped up and pulled Chris in for a hug. It felt warm and welcoming.

"It takes more than you to scare me," Chris stated teasingly.

Darren bellowed out a laugh. "I know, I've never been the intimidating type."

"Um, how did we go from can you help me with a couple of lines to Darren and Chris are writing a song together?"

"Oh, that's easy. If you help me make the song, we are writing it together."

"I don't have any lines for you as I told you yesterday."

"But you can help me to decide where the song should go. So smack your cute ass down on the floor, Colfer and tell me what you get from the first verse; then we'll brainstorm together," Darren said encouragingly.

"Why do we always end up on the floor?"

Darren laughed at the innuendo, making Chris roll his eyes as he fought back a smile. "Sitting on the floor keeps me grounded and it helps me not to fall asleep, even though I tend to do that on the floor, too if I'm out of a bed."

Chris lifted his bag off of his shoulders and sat down opposite Darren so they were facing each other. Once more the intimacy between them flourished out of nowhere and Chris had to brave up to meet Darren's eyes.

"So have you thought about the song at all?" Darren asked.

Yeah, he had listened to it most of the night, that's why he had overslept. "Briefly yes," Chris answered.

Darren smirked. "Liar."

"Am not."

"If you say so," Darren teased. "Anyway, give me your best shot."

Chris collected his thoughts before he began. "In the first verse you write about a very specific moment between two people. There is mutual attraction and thoughts and feelings are spinning out of control. Is it just a random connection - here one moment and gone the next - or … is it a glimpse of a kindred spirit? I can relate to all of this." Darren's eyes softened slightly as he listened. "The intriguing part, however," Chris continued, "is not the attraction in itself, but the aftermath. What happens afterwards? Do you act on the attraction; pursue what's in front of you - or do you walk away? The choice may seem simple, but every choice has consequences and maybe that's the true dilemma of love." Chris saw the confusion in Darren's eyes and kept explaining. "By pursuing you take a chance. What you thought was magic can turn out to be ordinary at best, and at worst, break your heart forever. By walking away, you'll avoid getting hurt, but at the same time you will have to face the risk of spending the rest of your life wondering if it could have been the love of your life. So no matter what you choose you have to be willing to live with those consequences, right?"

Darren listened with his chin rested on his fisted hand. "It still seems to me that the consequences of pursuing will cost less in the end."

Chris looked down. "That all depends, really. You can only take so many disappointments in your life before you stop believing in love and maybe that's a much higher price to pay."

"It's like that movie with Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep. Um, what was it called?" Darren closed his eyes. "Oh yes, The Bridges of Madison County."

Chris smiled and felt much understood. "Yes, that movie for sure deals with the dilemma of love and attraction very beautifully."

"So in your opinion Francesca made the right choice by staying with her family?" Darren asked. "I mean I don't condone being unfaithful, that's not it, but it was something so very special."

"I think she did what she had to do and in some ways she never let go of the memory of Clint. Meeting him still rewarded her and enriched her life."

"Maybe, but I could never walk away from a love that big and profound and return to something less. I think I would die inside."

"Choosing differently would have hurt her family deeply," Chris reminded him. "She had obligations. In her situation it was a family, but it can be anything really. Obligations come in many forms."

"But then you stop being true to yourself, don't you?" Darren asked. "And if you're not true to yourself, then what are you?"

Chris blinked. "I know. But at the end of the day you do what it takes to survive."

Darren's amber eyes looked right through him, like he was discovering something important for the very first time. Chris shifted uncomfortably. "How about you?" he asked to break the contact. "Would you always pursue?"

Darren squinted. "I think I'm too curious not to pursue if the attraction is mutual, but it depends. I mean there's magic and then there's MAGIC."

Chris bit his lip. He felt out of breath. "Yes," he admitted quietly. "There is a difference."

Caitlyn suddenly tackle hugged Darren from behind and ran her hand through his hair. Behind her came Anna, who smiled welcoming to Chris.

"Are we going to finish up on that song, Dare Bear, or are you just going to be a lazy ass," Caitlyn uttered.

For the first time annoyance was sensed from Darren. "I'm finishing it up with Chris now. I told you I was stuck." He moved her arm from his shoulder.

Caitlyn suddenly found time to glare at Chris before her focus shifted back to Darren. "You're only stuck because you wouldn't listen to any of my good ideas the other day. I could easily have written a verse and a bridge if you'd only let me."

Darren just shrugged. "It didn't feel right." His eyes found their way back to Chris. "Sometimes you just have to wait until it feels right. And then it will be worth the entire struggle."

Chris blushed and looked away, hoping that the girls hadn't picked up on the double meaning.

"Come, let's take you guys for lunch," Anna said and offered them both hands to help them get up from the floor; and the four of them went to the dining hall.

While they were eating two things became very obvious to Chris. Caitlyn viewed Chris as a competitor for Darren's attention, and Anna was funny and smart.

After lunch Chris spent the afternoon with Michael to catch up with their project. First they bounced a lot of ideas and as always they laughed a great deal more than they wrote. Then Michael started pacing the floor, juggling a tennis ball and babbling a lot, while Chris caught the things that were usable and wrote like a maniac on the computer. And after a couple of hours they had agreed on a frame and a theme they could build their sketches into. Late in the afternoon, while Michael was taking a break, Darren came by.

"Guess what I have behind my back," he asked excitedly.

Chris squinted. "Um, a goat with laryngitis, riding a bike," he suggested.

"You're sooo close, but no! Give it another shot."

"Um, a letter of recommendation from your mom, saying that she always knew you were one of a kind and that you one day will become President."

"Funny, and for that snarky remark you've just lost your last guess."

Chris pursed his lips. "Now that upsets me deeply."

Darren ignored his sarcasm and revealed two certificates. "These are gift certificates for the most amazing dessert place in LA. Whatever you order they guarantee that it will melt on your tongue and find its smooth way down your throat until it reaches its destination in your tummy, making satisfaction a word you only thought you knew," he said dreamily.

"A dessert place?" Chris stated and tried to calm down the bubbly joy inside. "What do you get before dessert then?" he asked.

"Another desert, that's the magic of it all!"

"That sounds almost ungodly."

Darren nodded. "To your body, yes, but to your soul, it is healing in edible form. And you, my young master Colfer have a soul that screams for dessert. Your aura needs sweetener. So I have decided to take you with me." Darren handed him one of the certificates, smiling from ear to ear.

Chris looked at it. "Shouldn't you save this for a special occasion?" he asked hesitantly. "I can always sweeten my aura with the chocolate chip cookies my mom just sent me."

"This is a special occasion." Darren's eyes laughed like they always did when he knew he would get his way. "I'm making my last dinner invitation up to you and this time I promise that I'll sit across the table instead of far away."

"You don't still feel guilty about that, right?" Chris frowned. "I was in a - even for me - unbelievably bad mood yesterday and it had nothing to do with you."

"You don't get to decide over my guilt and please, please say you will go. It will be so much fun and I don't want to be the only one with a visible tummy tomorrow."

Chris caved in completely of course.

He had a smaller crisis about what to wear, which burst into a full forced panic attack ten minutes before he had to leave. It was not a date. That had at least not been verbalized between them. But how casual are you supposed to be at a dessert place? Is it fancy, is it low key or is it all you can eat with obese people standing in line, trying to beat some sort of record? He decided on a short sleeved button down blue shirt and a pair of black jeans. It was more than denim and a t-shirt, but not too much.

Darren however did look like a date. He had definitely made an effort and it was hard for Chris to take his eyes off of him. He thanked himself for not just showing up in the t-shirt he had worn all day.

The place was everything Darren had promised it would be - and the hardest part about the evening soon turned out to be choosing between the ridiculous amounts of desserts on the menu.

They both got bolder with the lingering eye contact as the evening passed by and when Darren accidentally brushed his fingers against Chris' hand it felt like the earth was moving. Maybe it was time to face reality and admit that he had feelings for Darren, feelings that couldn't be willed away, no matter how hard he tried.