A/N: Stop hating on me people I promise everything's gonna work out! (Maybe lol.) ahhh so It's 9.30 am okay I need to sleep. If this has no sense, blame my lack of sleeping. We are getting kinda close to the end which makes me sososo sad. However I hope you enjoy the chapter! Tell me what you think :)

Warning: mentions of sex!

Chapter 20: Do you trust me?

Darren stopped at a liquor store before going back to the house. He wasn't planning to get drunk, no; but he needed something that could distract his brain cells that were going at the speed of light for a while. He even bought a packet of cigarettes too; but he put them away before the lighter touched the tip of the first cigar. He only smoke during a short period in college, and he thought it was a disgusting habit, but he guessed some nicotine in his body couldn't do more wrong. But then he regretted it; and just served some bourbon in his cup. The alcohol helped him to stop overanalyzing for a moment, and he was thankful for that. His thoughts were going too fast and he couldn't stop it. Not to mention the tying pain on his chest didn't help.

It seemed a lifetime after when Lauren opened the door; and he noticed she was smiling and her hands were grabbing her purse in an excitement gesture, and he felt like shit because he didn't want to ruin her day. But unfortunately he had to. He stood up and walked to her first, greeting her with a kiss. Lauren threw her purse in the couch. She frowned when felt the alcohol taste in his lips, suddenly pulling a little away, and then glanced to the bottle of scotch in the table.

"Are we celebrating something?" She asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Not really." He answered. "How was the first rehearsal?"

She seemed to be waiting for that question, because she replied full of excitement. "It was amazing! Everyone was so nice to me. The director loves me, and the cast is really great. They're full of ideas. The guy who plays the Doctor is hilarious."

Darren wet his lips. "I'm so glad." He said softly, caressing her cheek. It was breaking his heart to be the one who had to tell her the news that day, but it was something he couldn't postpone. "Listen, we need to talk." He added, sweetly, grabbing her hand and dragging her to the couch.

The serious tone of his voice concerned her. "Is everything okay?"

Darren didn't know how to answer that. He just held her hands between his, and looked straight into her eyes. "You know I love you and I'd give up anything to be with you, right?"

"Dare, you're scaring me. What's happening?" She asked, confused, wondering what could that speech lead to.

Darren had to breathe for a few seconds to respond. He knew those words could lead to absolutely any kind of reaction; and he was worried she'd get hurt, upset or angry. Any reaction could mean no good. And he was too scared of losing her. But he had to say it, and he had to say it now. He breathed deeply. "Mia's pregnant."

He could disguise the exact moment when her expression changed. Her eyes widened and her lips trembled; the shock on her face was heartbreaking. Then she stopped looking at him, she turned to the front of the couch and covered her face with her hands; her eyes were watery, but she didn't cry. She couldn't believe it. It was simply impossible. After the disaster they left behind, they were finally putting the pieces back together again. But this changed everything. Darren was going to be a father, he was going to have a child. With another woman. That couldn't get into her head. It not only made her feel betrayed but also totally out of place. A home wrecker. Her breath started to get difficult, mainly because the shake placed on her jaws wouldn't stop.

"Honey, are you okay? Do you want water?" Darren asked, extremely concerned. The way her face turned pale in a matter of a moment was scary.

Lauren thought she wouldn't be able to say a word, but she did and in a tone of voice so loud it echoed in the entire house. "No, I am not okay! I am not okay, Darren!" She yelled, putting her hands on her lap, and now looking at him. Then she added, quieter. "What are you going to do?"

He knew exactly what she meant with that question. "We are not getting back together." It was the first thing he said. He understood Lauren's biggest worries. "She knows I'm with you now and even with everything that happened she respects that. We wouldn't make it work that way. I'm going to help her with all the studios and everything she needs to make it through the next months. She said she'll update me with the medical studios and how is everything; and once he or she is born… We'll both take care and raise them as we can… One week will be me and…" He wasn't sure how to explain it. They didn't really discussed a lot about what's going to happen once the baby is born; except for that they were going to switch their periods by how their schedule was changing. He didn't think the right way to raise a child would be having them switching homes and parents every few days, but raising them in a house beholden in lies would be a million times worse.

"How is that even going to work when you live in different states?" Lauren snapped, and she looked upset. Darren hated to admit that she was right, it'd be a chaos.

But he breathed deeply and said the same thing he said to Mia a few hours before. "We'll make it work."

Then Lauren's glance avoided his, and she seemed so confused and groomy he didn't know what to say. Her eyes were full of tears, and her lips were still shaking.

"Laur, I didn't plan any of this." He breathed. It was true, after all. "If I ever had a child, I'd want it to be the other way around. With the right person, in the right time. I didn't want this to happen in the way it happened. I hate that I put you in this position, and I hate that this kid is going to grow in a situation like this. Hopefully I can make put the best of me in making this the least horrible that can be. I can't – I can't leave them."

It was true, all of it. He didn't expect to have a kid at 25 years old; he was utterly focused in his career and his friends and he didn't think he'd have to settle down at that level until he could fulfill certain part of his life which was far away yet. But it happened and he had to be responsible now. And he hated to ask Lauren that question, but he had to.

"I still want to be with you more than anything in my life. I really don't care about what anyone else thinks about this. I don't want to go through this without you. What do you say?"

When a tear slimmed down her cheek, he couldn't believe that her next words fit so well.

"Of course." She replied, her voice was broken because she was trying pretty damn hard to hold her crying. Darren felt the biggest relief off his shoulders when he felt Lauren's arms clasping around him. He hugged her back instantly; it was a tight, long hug. They were craving to morph into one soul, one person, with the same thoughts, pains and struggles. It was different than any hug they shared before.

She gently pulled a little bit away, but her arms were still on his chest and he didn't let her go. In the middle of her tears, (caused by sadness, by happiness and by confusion at the same time) she smiled slightly, but strangely with a frown up her eyes, as if she was just truly confused about what she was feeling.

"You're going to be a dad." She whispered. She couldn't believe it. Her eyes met his. "Are you scared?"

"I've never been more scared in my life." He replied, shaking his head.

Lauren laughed, but then she took a deep breath and her expression changed into a serious face. "I think you're going to be great."

Darren was surprised by her confession. As the thought of having children hadn't crossed his mind until that point, he sort of assumed hers neither. He loved her so much. He wished things could've gone differently. He wanted life to flow easy and smoothly for her. He wanted to love her right. He wanted to make her life as the fairytale she wished when she was little; but it was something he couldn't give to her. That's why he asked her if she was ready to stand by his side. If she decided to go away, he'd have understood her. But she decided to stay instead, and that made him incredibly happy.

One week later, Darren started to film for the TV show he was offered to. At first, the shooting was really chill and they only called him for his scenes, but it wasn't long until it turned sort of tedious and long. Sometimes he had to be on set early in the morning and he wouldn't shoot until late in the night. The director wasn't really accessible and he couldn't ask for a regular schedule, and there were times when he got home so utterly exhausted he didn't even eat something, he'd just plank his body between the sheets, trying to wait until Lauren got out of the bathroom, but when she did, he was already asleep, and she'd just caress his hair and fix the sheets around him with a smile on her face.

Most of the cast was a little younger or a little older than him, he got along with them but he couldn't make actual friends with anyone, except a guy called Peter. He was in pretty much the same position as Darren; his thirty seconds of fame passed by and at the moment he was only trying to survive. They met during one of those long awaits, Darren was freezing due the cold wind one night outside his trailer, and Peter walked to him out of nowhere and offered him to share his flask of whiskey with him. Darren commented he was his guardian angel because he appeared when he needed it the most, and Peter laughed. They became friends right away. Peter was the kind of guy that would always walk around with a lit cigar hanging from his fingertips and a double meaning joke waiting to come out from his lips.

Lauren continued with her rehearsals. They started to finish a little later, so Darren drove to the theater from the set to pick her up and waited fifteen minutes until she finished and walked to the car. They weren't as hard as her other practices, so she was managing her schedule very well and chilled out. There were times when she had days off and other times she almost spent twelve hours rehearsing; but that was something she could deal with easily. But what was the hardest thing was to coordinate her schedule with Darren's. They stopped planning to go out and have dinner at a restaurant, because most of the times one of them would text the other announcing they were staying until late in job and it'd be impossible to get in time. Instead, they stopped at a near takeaway and bought a pizza before staying in bed and commenting each other how their day was before falling asleep. It was probably their favorite moment of the day. Just lying in each other's arms, whispering lowly as they gave soft caresses to each other, between giggles and a few kisses while Morpheus took control over them.

That one Thursday, the company started rehearsing with the band playing live. At first, they were still learning their lines and lyrics so it wasn't until that point when the play was settled down enough to have live music. After they went through the whole play for the first time, the couch gave them a break. Lauren jumped from the stage to the floor and sat down in the first line of seats, drinking from her bottle of water. After a few minutes, she disguised something that called her attention. The band preferred to rehearse at the side of the stage instead of the pit yet; so Lauren observed them and she quickly squinted, wondering if her eyes were fooling her.

Lauren stood up and walked to them, still doubting her own action. The guy was crouched into his guitar and his eyes didn't spot her so far.

"Brad?" She asked, not very confident of that question.

The brunette guy lifted his gaze up, and he looked surprised as he identified Lauren. He left his guitar at one side, greeting her with a kiss on the cheek. "Hey, Lauren, what a surprise!" He just commented. It wasn't a lie, he knew she was living in Los Angeles now but the subject of her current job never touched their few talks.

"It is! What are you doing here? I didn't know you played in shows."

"It's actually the first time I do this." He clarified, "I'm kind of not sure of what I'm doing yet."

Lauren laughed. "You're fine. This group is great, and the director too." She calmed him. As soon as she said those words, the director announced the break was over and they were going to practice again certain scenes. "I have to run." She said to Brad. "See you later."

That night, she and Darren ordered tacos from the takeaway store. After they finished eating, Lauren took a quick shower, and when she got out of the bathroom she found Darren sitting on the bed with the laptop over his lap, apparently browsing for something online.

"You won't believe who I ran into in the theater today." She commented, hanging the towel on the wardrobe and putting on her pajamas.

"Who?" Darren asked, barely lifting his gaze up from the screen.

"Brad." She replied, sitting down on the bed, next to him.

"Brad, you mean Brad…"

"Yeah, your band's Brad." She explained. "Did you know he was working in there?"

Darren shook his head. They weren't what you could tell close friends, but they did talk enough often to keep updated with each other's lives, and it was weird not to know about that. He didn't think it was important though, maybe he told him about it and Darren just forgot. Resting importance to that matter, he looked at Lauren and grinned.

"Look at this." He called. He opened another window in his laptop, and a mostly black image appeared on the screen. A semicircle with the curvature pointing at the top was in the bottom of the picture, and under it you could distinguish white spots. "Mia sent me this today." Darren explained, and then pointed one of the white spots with his index finger. "That's my baby."

If Lauren was one hundred percent honest in that moment, she would have said she didn't actually think she spot correctly the fetus; if she did, it obviously didn't have a human form yet. But what she could be honest about, was that she felt a weird tingle inside and she couldn't help but to grin instantly. Darren was staring at the screen with a silly smile on his face too.

She looked at him. "That's your baby." She repeated his words. She didn't feel exactly happy about it, (She still had mixed feelings about it) but he was happy and that made her happy. Lauren grabbed his arm, resting her lips against his cheek. He closed his eyes for a second, feeling her breath on her skin. Then he opened them again, and his gaze met hers. She whispered, "I hope he has your eyes."

The next morning, when Lauren brought breakfast to bed, (muffins and hot cocoa) she realized Darren looked sad. He was trying to hide it, but she noticed. The first time she asked what happened, when she was placing the tray on the bed, he said nothing, grabbing one of the muffins from the plate, and saying how delicious they were after one bite. The second time she asked, when he was getting out of the shower and she was brushing her teeth, he said nothing and kissed her, getting toothpaste all over his mouth. The third time, when he was at the door of the house with the keys in his hand, and she ran to him to say goodbye (but dared to pronounce the same question one last time), he breathed deeply and wet his lips. But he didn't say nothing this time.

"I want to go to New York. For a few days." He finally admitted. Lauren couldn't reply to that. She just blinked a few times, trying to understand. "I want to see the echography in person. I want to see if Mia is fine. I know everything is okay, but I want to check, this feels unreal. I want to do things right." He explained. He was leading with an internal struggle and Lauren realized that. "Can you take some free days from practice?"

Darren's concerned face was enough to worry Lauren. She guessed that would happen eventually, that Darren would need to check that things were alright by himself, but she didn't think that was going to happen so soon. There were still seven months left.

"Darren, I can't take days off in my first play in the company." She answered, tacitly apologizing.

He nodded, but she saw the disappointment clearly drew on his eyes.

"Sure, it doesn't matter. It's okay, I understand." He quickly added. Lauren wanted to say that he should go alone, it was his kid after all the one that was in sake and if he wanted to make sure it was fine he should get the chance to do it, but something stopped her from saying those words.

Darren kissed sweetly her forehead. "I love you. See you tonight." He said.

Lauren wanted to say something but she couldn't react back to anything for a moment. The feeling of his lips on her skin burned for a few seconds. She didn't want to think about that anymore because she was scared of the conclusion she could get to. She focused on getting distracted with her practice right away. During the walk to the theater, she put her headphones in and tried to hit back any thought buzzing in her head.

But during the rehearsal, it seemed that feeling of confusion and that bad taste in her mouth wouldn't go away. Actually, it was getting worse every moment. What started as a feeling of forfeiture turned into an intense desire of crying, and the weird tang became nausea hard to stand. As soon as the couch gave them a break for lunch, she ran through the front door of the theater, outside. It was the parking for the theater so it was completely desolated. She felt the wind whipping her off; and she breathed deeply several times trying to catch some sanity, but that familiar pressure in her chest was forecasting she was going to burst in tears. Thinking she'd lose the balance, she sat on the cement column in the wall of the building. She couldn't hold her sobs anymore, so she just covered her face with her hands and left them took control of her body for a moment; maybe it'd be better that way.

She couldn't exactly tell why she was crying. She was scared. She didn't know what thought scared her more; if Darren leaving her, or Darren being unhappy with her. What if he just wanted to give his relationship with Mia another chance, to give the baby a normal family, to have a regular life? It was reasonable. But Darren would never say that to her. He'd never admit it. He did love her, she believed that, but would he spend his life with her? Fuck, she felt so insecure.

Her relapse couldn't leave room in her senses to notice a shadow approaching her. Someone walked out of the theater too.

"Lauren?" A voice called sweetly, and she heard a few steps near her. Then the voice sounded closer, next to her. "What's wrong?"

It was Brad. She could recognize him through her watery eyes. She wiped the tears falling shamelessly on her cheeks with her hands, trying (without accomplishing it completely) to hold back her sobs.

Lauren shook her head, even though trying to pretend she was fine would be useless. "It's just all the stress, I guess."

He sat down on the column too. "You are lying." He commented, as if that was the most normal thing to say in that situation.

Lauren looked at him with a frown on her face, surprised. The fact that he seemed even amused was practically offensive. She'd tell him to shut up if it wasn't because her body was still slightly shaking due her blunt crying.

"It's fine, you don't have to tell me." He added, ignoring completely her reaction. "Let's go, I invite lunch." He stood up.

She shook her head again. "I'm not in the mood, but thanks."

"Come on, I'm not going to leave you here alone." Brad insisted. "Besides, you owe me a date."

At first Lauren didn't have an idea about what he was talking about. Then, she remembered back in the first day they met, when they recorded the song for Darren's album, and Brad kind of flirted with her. He asked her to have a coffee one of those days, but she answered she was going back to Chicago but that she'd definitely call him if she was around other time, which she didn't.

"I promise Darren won't get mad." Brad added, smiling. She noticed he was playing funny to cheer her up, seeing the state she was in.

"Okay, fine." Lauren finally agreed, kinda upset, standing up.

They walked to a fast food store one block and a half away from the theater; none of them were in the mood for fancy restaurants. Lauren bought a tiny sandwich and water (her throat seemed still tied inside out), and Brad a burger with fries. They took a table near a window.

"I think it's great what you're doing with Darren." Brad commented out of nowhere, after they sat down. Lauren almost choked with her food. She guessed the guy knew about the current situation they were dealing with, but she'd have never thought someone could find it great. Strange, fucked up, yes. Even disturbing. But not great. "Didn't you feel upset when you find out?"

Strangely, that question annoyed her more than the previous comment. "Well, it wasn't something I'd ask for, but he's my boyfriend. I'm gonna support him. We didn't ask for this, but it happened and we're going to take care of it. I'm not going to leave him now." She snapped. She surprised herself of saying those words. She should actually believe them.

"But you were crying."

Touché. "What are you, my therapist?" She spat, annoyed.

Brad giggled slightly. "Actually, I have a degree in psychology from Stanford."

Lauren took a bite of his sandwich. "Well, that explains a lot." She said. Then she sighed, looking down for a minute. "If I tell you, you promise you won't analyze like a smart douche everything I say?"

It was true that she didn't have someone to talk to lately. She called Julia at least once a week, but they had so many things to say to each other she couldn't deeper thoroughly into things like that. And she couldn't talk with someone like Joey or Dylan because they were too close to Darren too. Brad wasn't in his closest circle, so he'd probably be safe.

Brad put his left hand over his chest, pretending to do a conjure. "I promise."

Lauren's expression turned really serious, but she looked to the window, because she wouldn't be able to talk about it staring into someone's eyes. "I really want to be here for Darren. I know he needs me, but I don't know if I'm going to be strong enough for this. I have the constant fear that he doesn't really should be with me anymore, that I'm just a minor part in all this mess. When we moved in together, I thought everything would be different. That we were going to start a new life after that, and that we were going to have a normal, happy life. But this came out, and I feel totally left out. Things are not so different from what they were. He's having a baby with another woman. I'm not a part of this. At all. In fact, I'm in the way. I just want to support him in everything. But he still has a part of his life that doesn't involve me, and it's always going to be more important than me. " She wished her eyes didn't become watery as she finished talking. She hated the way her words sounded, she sounded so selfish, jealous and winy. But it was the way she felt right then.

Brad was indeed, staring at her during her speech. But instead of throwing an angry lecture, he said. "You really don't realize, don't you? Darren is crazy about you. You know what absolutely any other guy would do in a situation like this? They'd break up with any other girl to be with the future mom of their kid, they'd marry her by commitment. It'd end up in a divorce within two years, but they'd do it because it's the easy way. But Darren didn't even consider that for a second. He wants you to do this with you, and he doesn't care how hard it will be. He can't be apart from you, Lauren."

There were a few seconds of silence as Brad's words sink in. He was really wise to be that young.

"Wow," Lauren could feel even closer to tears after that. "I've never seen it that way."

"I am good in this, I know." He joked. Lauren nodded, she had to admit it by then.

"God, I am the worst for being jealous of something that I don't even know what it is." She complained, palming her forehead with her hand.

Brad laughed again. "It's normal to be confused when things like this happen. It's just important to know that the same thing that makes you want to get away from someone it's the same that makes you want to be with them."

"And what is that?"

Brad answered with his mouth full of burger, giving a funny landscape. "You'll have to figure it out by yourself."

Lauren snorted, upset. "Okay, Nietzsche. Enough philosophy for today." She took a sip from her water, analyzing him with squinted eyes. "What about you? What do you do of your life now? Besides giving lessons to random people crying alone, of course."

"Moreover the play," Brad explained "I'm also working in the recording of Dylan's album."

"I didn't know it was going to release so soon!" Lauren cheered. "I'm so excited."

"Yeah, it'll release in like a month I think. It sounds pretty cool."

"And what else? Are you seeing somebody?" She kept asking, curious.

"I met a girl that works in the recording studio. We only went on a few dates, but I have my hopes up." He shrugged.

"Well, I wish you the best of luck." She replied honestly, and she finished her sandwich.

Darren picked her up that night, they had dinner and went to bed. She was wearing her pajamas and he was already between the sheets, yawning. She snuggled close to him, whispering:

"Listen, you should go to New York if you want. I can stay in the house alone for a few days. It'll be fine."

He looked at her, surprised. "Are you sure?"

Lauren nodded, and then rested her head on his chest. Darren gently ran a hand through her hair, and she closed her eyes, sleepy. Brad was right. She could do that, she just needed to understand him. Supporting him would mean to have to give up a few things. But right then, he was caressing her hair and the rhythm of his breath helped her to sleep, and that was enough.

After a little bit of thinking, Darren decided to go to New York just for a weekend, the first week of the third month of Mia's pregnancy. The night before his plane was going to arrive, he went to pick up Lauren from the theater, as usual. But this time, she was taking longer than usual to come out. He started to get worried after he accidentally fell asleep and gave a butting above the horn of the car and a loud beep made him jump on the seat.

Darren glanced at his watch. Just half an hour late. It was probably taking longer because the opening night was close, but just in case, he decided to call her. He rested his back on the seat of the car, as the phone rang one, two, three, six times. She didn't answer. He was going to fall asleep. Just to be preventive, he got out of the car and walked into the theater. As soon as he checked they were still rehearsing he'd be out of there. He carefully opened the door of the auditorium and poked his head inside. He didn't want to interrupt the practice or to have someone noticing he was there.

There were four people onstage. So far no one noticed his existence, he was away enough to slip past but close enough to hear them. Two women were lying on the floor on the left proscenium of the stage, pretending to be sitting on a sofa (the scenery probably wasn't ready yet), and Lauren and a blonde actor were occupying the center of the stage. Lauren was talking in a confessing manner, taking the blonde's hand, who seemed a little dumb. He realized instantly what scene they were going through, The Rocky Horror Picture Show had been his favorite musical for a long time after all. But it wouldn't probably be his favorite after this. Lauren started to sing, at first quietly and shyly, the very-well known lyrics of the song. But then, her expression changed as she placed her hand on the guy's pectoral and rubbed it all over his chest. Even with the stupid, brainless character the blonde was portraying, he seemed about twice huge as Darren and at least three times fitter. He only realized then.

Lauren placed then both of her hands on his chest, while she continued singing the completely sexual lyrics of the song, running her hands all over the skin of the guy. Lucky they were wearing clothes in the practice, but what about the actual play? Lauren was going to spend half of the show in underwear. Lauren, his girlfriend, was going to be seen almost naked by an entire audience. He felt a really annoying burnt in his chest. When Lauren squatted and stood up quickly, in a truly sexual movement; he could be sure he definitely wasn't enjoying this. He hadn't felt that sensation since she was dating Zack and he had to stand seeing her leaving with that douche instead of him. When Lauren started to sing the chorus of the song, she grabbed Rocky's hands (or the guy who was playing it) and placed them on her breasts, who obscenely and stupidly played with them. That's when Darren closed the door with an angry flip, without even caring if anyone heard it this time. He couldn't stand that anymore. He was so upset he got in the car within ten seconds. He closed the door shut and remained silent for a few seconds, biting his thumbnail. Then he grabbed the package of cigars he didn't smoke the last time from the box next to the steering wheel. He put the first one between his lips, but unlike the last time, he did light it.

"Well done, everyone. You can go home." The director announced, giving a few distant claps.

Lauren laughed. She couldn't help it. That scene always made her awkward and ashamed. She high fived the actor who was playing Rocky (If she was correct, his name was Ted) and she walked to grab her purse. Luckily, that part was every time a little less disastrous. The first time, she could scarcely touch his chest with her fingertips (It was just too weird, they didn't know each other at all!); but now it was closer to what they were supposed to portrait. She needed to seem a horny desperate girl, despite Ted's bad breath and how uncomfortably tall he was for her. She waved her hand to Brad and some other of her work buddies, then put on her coat and left the theater.

"Hi." Lauren said as she got into Darren's car. She was going to kiss him when she turned to him and realized the car was abundant in smoke. But she didn't wave her hand to shoo it. "You're smoking."

Darren didn't reply a thing. His eyes were staring at nowhere through the open window of the car. He inhaled the nicotine from the cigar once more before throwing it out and starting the car.

"What's wrong?" Lauren asked. He didn't even look at her.

She didn't insist after Darren started driving. She had only seen Darren smoking once and it was during college, while he was struggling a little bit too much with exams. The entire drive home was completely silent. Darren waited in the car while Lauren ordered the food; she put the bags on her lap, they were hot because of the recently baked food.

It wasn't surprising either that he barely had a bite of the dinner. Lauren had no idea what could be wrong; and why he could be mad at her, if that was what was happening. As she did the other day, she asked what happened once more without getting a response. And as he did the other day, he replied by the third time.

"It's just that I didn't have such a great time as you in work today." Darren replied, with a sarcastic tone, pushing the plate away from him on the table. Lauren frowned, looking at him from the other seat.

"What do you mean?"

"You were taking too long to come out, so I walked into the theater. And I witnessed some of the fun you were having." The jealousy in his tone of voice was so clear that Lauren got confused.

"What? Are you serious?" She said, and she stopped eating too. "The play goes like that, Darren, you know it. I don't even know who that guy is."

"Well, it seemed like if you two really get along." He raised his eyebrows, annoyed, in a condescend gesture. He couldn't stop picturing it. Every day, when she went to rehearsal, she'd have to act out scenes that involved her romantically and sexually with various persons.

Lauren never thought jealousy was cute. It wasn't in friendships and less would be in relationships. That was one of the reasons things between her and Zack could've never worked out. But, strangely, in Darren, it didn't annoy her so much. In fact, she had to hold a grin to remain upset.

"You know this more than anyone, Darren." She continued, trying to maintain a cold tone of voice, deep connected into her character. "I mean, I had to watch you make out with several people one hour every Thursday at 8 pm. Was that fun for you too?" She snapped, with a tilt of her head.

"That's… that's completely different."

Darren covered his face with his hands, frustrated, realizing that he was being completely absurd. Lauren was such a great actress that anyone could immediately think she had chemistry with someone in the role of her partner. He knew the acting he saw in the theater was that, just acting, and that any other assumption was just in his mind; and he still couldn't help but to be insanely jealous. The truth is that, fictional or not, he didn't want that blonde dude or anyone else touching Lauren's boobs. But how could he explain that without having her thinking he didn't trust her?

He was so submerged in his thoughts, that the sound of a loud laugh almost frightened him off. When he put his hands away again, he saw Lauren shaking from laughter, looking at him. Darren didn't understand.

"What are you laughing of?"

Lauren had to make an effort to stop laughing and speak. "Of you, silly!" She just said, and continued laughing. Darren was confused. Lauren leaved her own seat to lean close to Darren's face, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. "You're jealous? Do you want me to talk like that to you? Do you want me to…" She whispered in his ear, "talk dirty to you?"

Darren snorted to hold his laugh and pretend that question wasn't hilarious or interesting at all. She was messing with him. But he wouldn't let her win so quickly.

"Get off, Lopez." He replied, standing up and breaking free from her grip. He tried really hard to remain serious, but Lauren hugged him from behind, clasping strongly her arms around him and pressing her hands on his chest.

"I wanna be dirty! Thrill me chill me fulfill me, creature of the night!" She chanted jokingly, repeating the lyrics from the song of the play. That's when Darren lost it and just burst into laughs from the absurd and amusing of the situation. Only she could make his bothers disappeared in so little time and with such a little action.

They both laughed for a long while. When Darren turned back and looked at her, her face was still red.

"I'm sorry." He said lowly, pulling gently her hair behind her shoulder with his hand. "I'm being stupid."

"Yeah." She replied sweetly. She grabbed his neck and kissed him softly. "It wouldn't be the first time."

Darren raised his eyebrows. "Well, thanks." He replied ironically, and Lauren laughed shortly. She already forgave him for the way he acted, but there was another thing in her head. She wanted to ask him why he was smoking earlier in the car and if that was the first and only time he had done it, but she decided to leave that talk after he came back from New York. She didn't want to be upset with him when he leaved.

Ten minutes later, they were making love on the kitchen's table. Some cutlery ended up on the floor until the next day, when Lauren accidentally stepped on a fork, cursed, but immediately smiled when she remembered it fell to the floor due the table shakiness. The sex was intense, fierce, even rough at times. They knew they wouldn't see each other in a few days and that made it more vivid. Darren's arms had to hold her really tightly to keep her still. She breathed heavily, repeating his name; his lunges were as hard as a quake on the table, and his lips kissing her neck occasionally left some bites of his teeth on her skin.

"Darren. Fuck." She cursed, holding him tighter and pulling him closer. His thrusts were so deliciously good she thought her inside would melt at any second. His breath was heavier too.

"Darren. Fuck." She repeated. But this time, the scenario changed. They were on the bed, Darren was sleeping, and according to the clock, it was 7am. The plane would arrive in an hour. "Darren!" She yelled, sitting up and slightly shaking his body, that seemed dead weight.

They practically had to run to get in the airport in time. Lauren insisted to go with him to the airport; she said it was fine, she could catch a taxi to go back. She quickly fixed his hair and coat, as if she was a mother leaving his son at the school entrance. She grinned when she saw two huge dark spots under his eyes. They had a bumpy night, after all.

"Call me if anything happens." Darren said, his voice was still a little bit hoarse.

"You too. Good luck." She replied. The expression of his face wasn't very confident, so she added. "It's just three days, Darren. We'll be fine."

He nodded slowly, "I know." He grabbed her hand and kissed it gently. "See you soon."

"See you soon." Lauren repeated, and they shared a goodbye kiss before Darren walked to the departure lounge with his unnecessary big bag.

She waited to see his plane taking off through the airport's window. Then she walked to a grocery store to distract herself with something to eat while she toured the airport, wasting some time until it was appropriate to catch her taxi and go to rehearsal. The airport wasn't really crowded due the early time of the day it was, but still while she was leading to the exit, a girl accidentally clashed to her and made her lose balance for a moment. She thought it was purely rudeness from her part, but when she turned back she realized she was crying. She was standing alone in the middle of the place, crying comfortless. Lauren thought she should do something, but a guy walked from the same place the girl appeared from, calling her. As soon as he approached the girl, he tried to hug her, but she pulled him away, screaming. She kept pointing at the luggage he was carrying and she looked angry. Lauren said to herself it was probably just a bad goodbye, and she walked outside the airport, starting to search for a taxi. But that encounter remembered her an old quote she wasn't sure where she heard of. It said "Airports see more sincere kisses than wedding halls. The walls of hospitals have heard more prayers than the walls of churches." That phrase probably came to her mind due her tired brain from lack of sleeping and the fact she wasn't one hundred percent awake yet.

And it was probably thanks to the same reason, but in that moment, Lauren remembered Brad's words too. The same thing that makes you want to get away from someone is the same that makes you want to be with them. What did he meant? She laughed. Nothing. He probably had no idea about what he was saying.