I really don't own anything here except the idea that came from my head while sleeping about a month ago

Friday

Catie's POV

I hadn't had morning practice that day, but I did have a Biology exam first block then a Chemistry class right after that. I had about an hour break in between then seminar and a Calculus exam after that. I then had about an hour and 15 minutes before about an hour practice. I went to dinner with the team after practice and I talked with my friends about whether they thought I could go to the show with Darren. There was a beat and I added Lea and Chris into the group as well, my friend Alyssa, my fellow Starkid fan, grinned and said that I should just go, that I didn't have any homework from either class that I'd had a test in and that all I had to do was study for Chemistry, which I was just kind of inherently good at. I sighed and said that I'd text Lea and let her know. I was feeling self-conscious and really nervous. I wanted it to be a date, but I wouldn't let myself get my hopes up. He couldn't possibly feel the same way about me. But he had said with me and not with us. I realized it moments after I said that I'd go with all of them. He was seriously the most confusing man I had ever encountered.

Later on that night I texted Lea saying that I didn't really have any homework and that I would love to go with them to the show on Sunday and asked her if she would tell Darren for me since I hadn't wanted to seem to forward by asking for his number.

I got a text back saying, "I'm so glad you can come with us, Catie, but that last part won't be necessary."

I was confused, maybe she didn't need to tell Darren because he had been with her when she got the text and had read it. So naturally I wrote back "… Why isn't it necessary?"

The reply I got made my heart stop, and then restart itself. "Well that won't be necessary, because this is Darren. Haha, and it most definitely wouldn't have been too forward, because I wanted your number too. I guess we just killed two birds with one stone then huh?"

Once I got myself together I replied, "Oh my god! Darren I am so sorry, Lea put this number in my phone and I just assumed it was hers because, well why wouldn't it have been? I promise that wasn't just some weird girl thing to get you to talk to me I honestly did think I was talking to Lea." It took a while for him to respond so after five minutes I wrote "Please don't hate me, I understand if you think I'm weird now for whatever reason and don't want me to go with you guys tomorrow. Just please, please don't hate me."

After that I got a phone call and I picked it up, seriously confused at this point and freaking out a little. I picked up the phone:

Me: Darren?
Darren: No
Me: I'm sorry?
Darren: No, just no. Don't ever think that please. I could NEVER hate you!
Me: Well that's good to hear, but you haven't known me for that long how do you know that I haven't done something in my life that could make you hate me?
Darren: Well have you?
Me: Umm… No I don't think so. Haha
Darren: Well see? Then I could never hate you and of course I still want you to come! I was just caught off guard by your text and was having a little chat with Miss Lea and missed the text before the last one.
Me: I could never hate you either… um anyway, don't be too mean to Lea. I like her a lot and she did actually help us get each other's' phone numbers haha.
Darren: alright if you say so, but she's getting off super easy now. I'll let you go so you can get to bed early. Good luck in your meet tomorrow. Don't worry about the long event. You will be absolutely amazing I'm sure; it's just part of who you are.
Me: I don't think you realize how much that means to me. Not only that you believe whole heartedly that I will be ok, but also that I can tell you actually think that I can do amazing things. And I just want to say Ditto. But then again you have already accomplished amazing things so…
Darren: You're very welcome, and thank you kindly that means a lot to me too.
Me: One more thing before I go. What am I supposed to wear exactly?
Darren: haha well that's a very good question. I mean I guess you could just wear something nice; jeans are acceptable I would imagine. In fact you could wear what you wore on Wednesday. You looked really beautiful and that was pretty well dressed.
Me: Darren, seriously you are making me blush. Thank you for the compliment, and I'll think about it. I'll wear something nice but casual. I really do have to go to bed. I'll see you soon.
Darren: Alright, you're welcome and I only speak the truth. I'd like to say I'm sorry about making you blush, but I'm not. I think it's rather adorable…. Aannnyway, yeah I'll see you soon, sweet dreams, good night.
Me: Good night, Darren, sweet dreams.
Darren: Bye
Me: Bye

We hung up the phone, and my heart sped up so fast I thought it might burst. He'd called me adorable, and amazing, and told me that he could never hate me ever, and just wow. I didn't think I could fall for him any more than I had, but it turns out that maybe, just maybe, I could.

Darren's POV

I spent the day driving around with Lea and Chris, going to all the malls within an hour radius of our hotel. They just had to pick out a great outfit for me to wear to the show. I called it my "date" all day, even though I didn't really know if that's what it was. I hoped it was, but I wasn't sure what she thought about it and I didn't want to assume anything and then have my heartbroken. I decided that I would rather have her in whatever capacity I could than not at all, even if it was just as friends. I had fallen hard and as scared as that made me, everything still seemed so easy. It would have taken a lot of effort to keep myself from falling; because it seemed like the more I learned about her the more I realized that I would continuously compare any other girl to her. When I thought about my perfect girl there were now so many more things on that list and most of them were characteristics of her.

I felt kind of bad just thinking of Catie as her, but in my head that held more significance than her actual name. It wasn't just "her," really; it was more like "HER" in my head. I tried to explain that to Walker and he nodded patronizingly, but when I talked to Chuck about it he understood. Her name would always be one of the most important words in my vocabulary, but it seemed like my world was now centered around HER; her physical being, her name, her voice, her scent, her laugh, her mere presence. Just being around her made me feel more happy and comfortable than I could ever remember being. Things just made sense when I was around Catie, and I really didn't want to lose that feeling any time soon.

That being said, I missed her all day, which in itself was a change after what I went through with Mia. So when I was at dinner with Lea and Chris and I got a text saying, "Hey, Lea, it's Catie Randall! I just wanted to say that I don't really have much homework this weekend. So, I would love to go to the show with you, Chris, and Darren. I never got his number because I thought it might be too forward to ask for it, so do you mind letting him know for me?"

My heart started racing and I quickly put myself together and wrote back, "I'm so glad you can come with us, Catie, but that last part won't be necessary." Then I looked at Lea and asked her what the hell she did that for. She was confused to I showed her the text. She told me that she thought I might need a little push and that she may have had a little plan of her own. I wanted to be mad at her, I really did, but I was just too elated, knowing that I got to talk to Catie today, after all, to be that mad.

Catie, obviously confused by the whole situation, wrote back asking why it wasn't necessary. I shot a glare at Lea for complicating things and told her that it was actually my number that she had. I also told her that I had wanted her number, too, so she shouldn't worry about having been too forward.

I read her next message and then shoved my phone at Lea. She read it aloud to Chris, "Oh my god! Darren I am so sorry, Lea put this number in my phone and I just assumed it was hers because, well why wouldn't it have been? I promise that wasn't just some weird girl thing to get you to talk to me I honestly did think I was talking to Lea." I was getting upset because of how self-conscious and flustered this situation was obviously making Catie and that Lea was the cause of it. I let her know as much and we argued, in hushed tones about how I could have gotten her number on my own and that as glad as I was that she wanted to help, it wasn't fair to put her in a situation like this.

I got another text in the middle of our little squabble, and it almost ripped my heart out. "Please don't hate me, I understand if you think I'm weird now for whatever reason and don't want me to go with you guys tomorrow. Just please, please don't hate me."

I had forgotten to reply because I was so upset about the situation, which actually probably wasn't as bad as it seemed at the time, and had made her think I was upset with her. I put my portion of the bill on the table and said I needed to make a call. I knew a text wouldn't be enough to quell the fear she had that she had upset me.

She answered her phone, seemingly surprised that it was me calling. I let her know that I could never hate her and that the reason I hadn't responded right away was because having a talk with "Miss Lea." She asked me not to be too hard on Lea and I told her I wouldn't be. I told Catie it was her request that saved Lea from my wrath, but really it was the fact that I was now actually talking with her over the phone, that kept Lea safe. This was her doing after all. I looked at my watch and realized that it was pretty late and she sounded tired. I knew she had a meet in the morning, which I was secretly planning to go and see, so I told her I'd let her get to sleep. I knew she was nervous about the 1000 she was in the next day and said, "Good luck in your meet tomorrow. Don't worry about the long event. You will be absolutely amazing I'm sure; it's just part of who you are."

She said that she really appreciated that and it sounded like she meant it. I wondered why she sounded so surprised, if I had known with her before this I would tell her all the time how incredible she was. I wondered if many guys had ever said things like that too her before and hoped I was wrong when I guessed that they hadn't. As embarrassed as I was to have said that I decided that I would make sure to start telling her how special she really was. I was sure her close friends must tell her that, but I wanted to make sure she knew it. She had asked about what to wear; and I told her to look nice, but that I thought she could still wear jeans. I suggested that she wear the outfit she wore to give of the school tour telling her that she looked very nice in it. I was getting more and more embarrassed as I kept talking because I seriously needed to stop being so obvious, but her reactions were so sweet that I just couldn't help it. When she said I was making her blush, I told her I thought it made her look adorable, and then froze. Oh my god, did I actually just say that out loud? And to HER? I quickly went on to tell her good night and it seemed like she grudgingly hung up the phone after we both said goodbye in two different ways. I smiled at that, hoping it was a good sign.