DISCLAIMER: I own nothing and no one

Catie's POV

The tour went well and they all seemed, thankfully, to enjoy it and the jokes I made while explaining some of the campus history and some of my fortunes and misfortunes. Of course with the Starkids being present we had to visit the graduate building, fondly known on campus as the Hogwarts building.

I was surprised to find that they were just as interested, if not more interested, in me and my personal story as they were about the campus itself, especially Darren. He wasn't the one asking the questions necessarily, but he seemed to pay extra close attention when I was speaking about myself. They were all excited to hear that my first swim meet was this weekend and they all wished me luck, assuring me that I would be great. I saw a lot of people I knew and I said hi and waved as we passed. I noticed one of my best friends, who I knew was nervous because he was supposed to be getting his International Relations midterm paper back that day. I gave him a hug saying not to worry and that I was sure he would get a great grade. He hugged me back tightly and thanked me; I stepped back and giggled a little nervously as I saw Darren's face. He looked a little bit upset, jealous maybe, but there was no WAY that could be true. He must have noticed something else that caused him to make that face. I said goodbye to my friend and apologized to interrupting the tour that way, but they were all sweet and said that I should do that anytime I felt I needed to. They told me that I was a great friend for remembering and saying that without him prompting me first. I blushed a little, god I'd blushed more today than I had in years, and thanked them and when I scanned the group again I noticed that Darren looked happy again and much more relaxed.

I took them to the DoYo, the arts center on campus, to show them the theater because that's where they would be spending much of their time. It had been arranged that the head of the theater department would be there to meet with everyone so I waited outside the theater until they were finished with whatever it was they were doing in there. At one point Lea Michelle and Lauren Lopez came to get me and I walked in to find them all singing glee and Starkid songs on stage. They urged me to join, but I told them I wasn't really comfortable with singing in front of all of them just yet. They smiled and sat down with me in the front row until the song was over, then they joined in. I was having a blast! I couldn't believe I'd gotten so lucky.

After the impromptu performance I brought them to the Shakespeare Theater that we have on campus. It's a separate entity from the rest of the school but students and staff get discounted tickets. They were all excited to see it, especially the Starkids because they would be preforming there over the summer and in the spring.

The man of La Mancha was being put on and many of the actors decided to buy tickets for the weekend shows some on Saturday evening and some for the Sunday matinee.

Once the tour was over we circled back to commons so that they could all get back to their various vehicles. Before they left for the day, though, Ryan asked if I could give them a tour of the town before they left on Tuesday afternoon. I said that I didn't have lab the next day so I could walk whoever was interested into town at 1:30. They agreed upon the time and began to walk to the parking lot to get into their cars.

I wanted to be excited about possible friendships in the future seeing as they'd be on campus, but I didn't want to get my hopes up. They were leaving on Tuesday and wouldn't be back until Veterans Day, which was about two weeks later. They would probably forget about me by then and make friends with the theater majors rather than a crazy chemist. I was practical; I knew that the chances of things going the way I hoped were not very likely.

Darren's POV

The tour was great. I really loved the atmosphere of the school and the little campus jokes she told us were actually very funny; I felt as if she was already accepting us as part of the school community, but what I loved most was when she eventually opened up and, somewhat shyly at first, answered our questions about her story rather than just the school. Every time she gave us a new piece of information about herself, I found myself wanting to know more and more about her. I couldn't help paying closer attention to what she said when she spoke about herself, even if it was just a comment in passing. We learned that her first swim meet was this Saturday and that she was nervous because she had to swim a 1000, ten football fields she explained, in the meet and that she was not a distance swimmer and so it was her first one. I could tell she was nervous about it, but she didn't say anything more so I didn't mention it, even though I was forming plans to educate myself about what she was talking about and to possibly come and see for myself what a swim meet was all about.

She was so bubbly and full of life and excitement that the Joes, Joey, Lauren, Chris, Lea, and Ryan all told me at different times that we may have finally found someone who could rival my enthusiasm for everything in life. They were right and it seemed like she was a person who others were just naturally drawn to, she said hi and waved to so many people that I would have lost track of the number had I been counting. It still seemed so weird to me that I was getting this attached to her, but I couldn't help it. She saw a few male friends of hers and gave them high fives all except for one who she hugged and told not to worry about his midterm paper grade before walking away. She apologized for interrupting the tour and we all told her it was fine and that she was a great friend.

I should not have hated this boy the way I did. I should not have been wishing it were me who she hugged tightly and then stepped back from and giggled. I should not have thought about him possibly being in the class I would be helping in and intentionally giving him the hardest assignments possible. But I was. I was jealous, and I hated it. In all honesty he was probably a great guy if Catie accepted him as a friend and cared enough to try to ease his mind, but the only thing I could think was that he didn't deserve her, no one here did. No one in the world did for that matter, not even me although I would spend my life trying to. "Woah, Darren, where did that come from? You just met this girl and already you're trying to deserve her? It's one thing to think that she is amazing and that anyone would be lucky to have her on their arm, but it's wholly another to let your thoughts go that way already. You better watch it, as Ryan said your face is giving you away today." I internally chastised myself for this, but if I were being really honest I knew that it would mean nothing, I felt what I felt. And what I felt was very confusing at the moment.

She took us to the arts building for a meeting with the head of the preforming arts department that had been previously arranged. She went to sit outside of the theater to leave us to it. I noticed that she was very aware of the people around her and was constantly trying to make sure that she was not an intrusion in any way that she would leave if she thought she was not supposed to be involved. As sorry I was that she had left I was glad, because if she had been at the meeting I probably wouldn't have been able to concentrate at all.

Once the meeting was over, being who we are, we decided to sing a little on the stage; Glee and Starkid songs of course. I mentioned to Lauren and Lea that Catie would be sad if she missed this and they shared some sort of weird look and took off running, I assumed to get Catie and bring her in. She didn't come up on stage and looked a little nervous at first, but seemed to enjoy the impromptu show we were putting on.

Next we were brought to the Shakespeare theater that the department head had told us about so that the Starkids could see where we would be preforming during the spring and summer. We noticed that they were putting on the Man of La Mancha, and so we all bought tickets. I talked to Lea and Chris and we formed a plan to get Catie to come to the show with us since she mentioned that she rarely had time to go to shows on campus, which she was actually pretty disappointed about. I bought two tickets for the Sunday show that were in a different row than Lea and Chris and set to work coming up with a way to ask her to come with me and then "show me" a good place in town for an early dinner, which she would hopefully accompany me to.

I decided to ask Ryan if it would be alright to see if she had time to give us a tour of the town before the weekend. I was prepared to have to tell Ryan that I just wanted to know the good local spots, but he didn't ask me why I was suddenly interested in finding out more about the town. I wasn't sure but I think he knew that I was trying to find a way to spend a little more time with her, because he just smiled and agreed.

Once the tour was over we circled back to commons so that we could into our various carpool groups to get back to the hotel. Before we left for the day, though, Ryan asked if she would give us a tour of the town before we left on Tuesday afternoon. I was glad when she said that she didn't have lab the next day and could walk whoever was interested into town at 1:30. We quickly agreed and began to walk to the parking lot to get into their cars.

I was elated and couldn't stop smiling. I noticed Chris and Lea sharing a look with Lauren and Joe Walker but I was so excited I couldn't even care enough to ask them about it at the moment.

Once we got into our vehicle, everyone was quiet and I looked up to see them all staring at me with knowing expressions. "What?" I said smiling innocently.

Chris gave me his "bitch please" face and said, "Are you seriously gonna make us ask you?"

"What, guys? Did I do something wrong? I don't know what you're talking about."

Lea wasn't buying it, and I don't think anyone else did either, and she said "Darren honey, when you're not in character we can read you like a book. You were looking at her like she was the most beautiful thing you've ever seen in your life, and you were staring daggers at that poor boy. You also asked me and Chris to –"

"Ok," I said before she could go any further and disclose my plan for the weekend, "I get it. I like her, but this is weird for me, I've never felt this way this quickly. I don't think it's a rebound because Mia and I split officially a few MONTHS ago and I kind of knew it was over even before that. I'm confused, but at the same time everything just seems to make sense. And I wasn't glaring THAT much…."

"Darren…" they chorused. I conceded saying that ok I may have been a little jealous at that, but that it was only natural. They laughed and moved on to something else.

We parked the car and got out to go check in. We went to our separate rooms to get unpacked. They came to let me know that they were going to the pool for a swim and I said I'd be down in a bit, I hadn't talked to my family in a while and I really wanted my parents' and brother's opinions about this. Chris stayed back saying he needed to talk to me, which seeing as we were such great friends and played on screen boyfriends, wasn't at all out of the ordinary. Once they left he sat next to me on the bed and said, "Ok, I like her and I think that you may have seriously found someone with as much energy and enthusiasm as you have. I want to see you happy, you were so down after Mia, and I think she'll be great for you. So, here's what we are going to do."

AN: I am going to try to go day by day with in the story, but Wednesday was kind of long so I decided to break it up a bit. I will do that with others in the future, but I'll always say when the day changes.

Ihope you like it. Please be nice its my first fanfic ever!