Well I met him on a Wednesday (A Darren Criss Love Story)

by catiedid

A college student is asked to give a tour of her campus and the group she encounters is one she never expected. And when one particular member of the group takes an interest in her, her life gets turned all around. Darren Criss story. With Starkids and Glee Cast members. Rated M just to be safe, not sure what may develop in later chapters.

6. Shopping Trips and Anticipation

Here it is! DATE NIGHT! Sunday is very long, so I split it up.

I still really don't have ownership of anything other than the story here.

Sunday (Part

Catie's POV

I woke up before my alarm that day. To say I was excited was an understatement. It turned out that the matinee show was actually at like 5pm rather than 2 or 3 like I expected. Lea and I had decided that rather than leaving for the mall at 8 we would meet at the bagel shop at 8:30 this allowed me to wake up at a reasonable hour and get a shower in before leaving campus. I had planned on taking a shower before bed, but my attention was otherwise occupied. My priorities were changing very quickly now that Darren had made himself a larger presence in my life. It was weird, never before had I skipped a shower at night to talk to anyone on the phone, especially not a guy. I liked to think that I was a pretty logical, practical person, but meeting Darren Criss and having him actually notice me and be so friendly had made me crave that attention. Sure I liked him, of course I liked him, but he made me feel so comfortable in my own skin all the time that I finally started to believe all of the things he and my friends had been telling me. I didn't believe it all and I didn't believe it all of the time, but I was changing in that way and it felt really good.

Lea texted me saying that she was going to be driving past campus to go to breakfast anyway and offered to pick me up. I said that would be wonderful and that I was ready whenever she was. She said she'd be leaving the hotel in 15 minutes and that Darren and Chris both said hi! I smiled at that, and told her I'd be ready, to text me when she got to campus, and to tell Chris that I said hi back. She said Darren pouted a little and I told her that, "Darren could have texted me himself if he really wanted to say hello that badly because he has my number. Chris doesn't so it's ok for you to relay messages to and from him as long as you don't mind doing it." I knew this would get a rise out of Darren and that I was being a little outrageous, but I really couldn't help it. Flustered Darren was adorable and I could just see his face as he heard or read the text. I was sure Lea would be relaying the message.

She didn't write anything back from either boy, just said to make sure I was wearing clothes that I could easily change into and out of and that I was prepared for clothes of all styles. I told her that I was and that I thought I was helping her pick out clothes, I didn't have a lot of money and she said she would take care of it. I told her that she didn't have to do that and she said it was a thank you for giving them the tour. That had been Darren's excuse for giving me the extra ticket too. So, I asked her if everyone was going to use that excuse with giving me things, she replied with a winky face telling me that she had "no idea what I [was] talking about"

Darren texted me about five minutes after Lea and I had stopped talking. It was sweet and pretty simple "Good morning, swimming champ! Sorry I kept you up last night, but I really enjoyed learning so much about you and just talking with you."

I told him not to worry about it and that I had enjoyed our chat just as much and for the same reasons. He replied that he was glad I felt that way too and that he couldn't wait to see me later, he asked if I had plans for after the show and I told him that I was free as a bird. He simply said ok, and that Lea should be picking me up soon. He told me to have fun and that he'd let me go so I could watch for the car. I said I couldn't wait for the show and that I'd seem him later. I told him to try not to be too bored without me and he said it would be difficult, but that he would do his absolute best.

I smiled at that and then got a message from Lea telling me she was out back behind my dorm. I got into the car and we headed off for our "girls day," as she called it.

Breakfast was good and we were quickly making our way to the mall. I don't remember the name of the store Lea dragged me into, but she started grabbing so much clothing and talking so fast that I could barely keep up to answer her questions. It turned out that this shopping trip was to buy me a "super cute outfit for [my] date!"

I replied, "What date Lea? Aren't I seeing this show with you, and Chris, and Darren? It's not just me and Darren. Plus I didn't really think I was making it that obvious that I like him and I'm sure he doesn't feel that way about me anyway."

"Honey, you're like the exact OPPOSITE of obvious, except to me. Chris has an inkling, but Darren is almost as clueless as Blaine when it comes to noticing other people's feelings about him. Lucky for you, though, he recognizes his own feelings much better and much faster than Blaine does. I don't know how far gone he is, but it's pretty far, I assure you. Keep in mind that he pretty much doesn't stop talking about you at all. His face lights up at the mere mention of your name, and I haven't seen it light up that way in a while. Now, let's knock his socks off!"

I giggled and agreed. She had already told me to leave my wallet in the car, except for my school ID in case we could get discounts. She had an armful of dresses which I eyed warily. "Do I really have to try those on? I, like pretty much, never wear dresses, or skirts for that matter, EVER."

"Yes you most certainly do have to try them on. And why not? You will look amazing in them. Sweetie, you really are beautiful. Darren has been worrying about this so I have to ask; have any boys ever told you that before? And do you believe it when I tell you that you are pretty and/or beautiful?"

I blushed, and ducked my head. "Umm, well two have. Frodo does sometimes… and now Darren at least once a day, haha. I'd like to believe it when you and my friends say that kind of thing to me, but it's still kind of hard for me to believe. I just don't think that about myself. Hearing Darren tell me that, it makes me want to sing and cry all at the same time. I don't think that I'm ugly per say, just not pretty or beautiful. I am starting to believe it more, though, I guess and with Darren telling me almost every day that he thinks that is helping, but I'm still not completely convinced. Whenever my friends talk about this kind of stuff I feel like I need to tell them, and you now too, that when I say this kind of thing I am, sincerely, not trying to fish for compliments. I am just honestly telling you all how I feel."

Lea smiled at me, but I could see tears in her eyes. "Well in that case, I hope he never stops telling you that. I believe it too you know, but more than that. You are truly beautiful inside and out and your humility is just like Darren's. I can see why he is so drawn to you. Even if you may not believe it all just yet, tell yourself that you are beautiful because even if you can't see it right now, other people can." She gave me a huge hug and then shoved the dresses at me and closed the dressing room door.

I lost count of the number dresses I tried on after 53 and there must have been about that many more outfits. It was kind of funny to see Lea running around and getting so excited, but then as we walked out of the last store she mumbled to herself it sounded kind of like, "…Knew Chris should have taken her, Darren can dress himself, plus Chris already laid out the possibilities for him last night… stupid boys…" I was a little confused, but I figured this was part of a plan Lea, Chris, (and maybe Darren too?) had come up with and I was having fun so I just kind of let it go.

It seemed that when it came to Darren I could just let things go and everything would be fine. That had never happened to me before; I knew I was usually incredibly guarded when it came to this sort of stuff, but this was different I felt like if I let go I would be ok.

I was thinking about that as she tugged me into the final store. She found a beautiful dress; it was casual but somewhat dressy at the same time. She made me try it on and I actually felt pretty in it. She told me it was Darren's favorite color on me and I blushed. Darren had a favorite color on me?! That was new. And the more I thought about it, the more I liked it.

Lea insisted that I go back to the hotel with her to get ready, but she said Darren was not allowed to see me yet so we could go back to my dorm and get what I needed. It seemed a little odd to me that I couldn't see Darren until the show, but I let it go as my excitement rose. As far as I knew it was just hanging out and watching a show together and nothing more than that, but Lea, it seemed, wanted there to be more between us. I wouldn't allow myself to get my hopes up, even though I hoped more than anything that he would like me the way I liked him.

Lea's room was beautiful and huge. When we walked in she ushered me to a large mirror in front of a large desks. She told me to set all of my stuff down there and then grab my dress and put it on while she went to get Chris. Apparently he would die if he didn't see it before the show. Lea took my phone because she didn't want Darren trying to convince me to give him hints about or pictures of what the dress looked like. She was determined that it to be kept a surprise. I heard the door click shut and I walked to the bathroom to get changed. About a minute later I heard the door open and Chris and Lea walked in. I asked to make sure it was safe to come out and they laughed and said it was.

Chris's reaction was great. He just stared for a moment, and then told me to spin. He came over, gave me a huge hug and whispered in my ear, "Darren is going to die when he sees this. He literally will not know how to respond. I can't wait to see DARREN CRISS speechless!"

I just stood there and looked at him silently asking him if he was serious and if he was I was questioning whether or not he was sane at the moment. He just smiled and nodded then led me to the big desk in front of the mirror again and Lea went to work.

I was pleasantly surprised that she had not put much make up on me. I still wanted to be myself even if I did want to look really nice. Being a swimmer any make up I'd put on would be washed away within a span of about 6 hours so it really wasn't worth it to do much in that respect. Lea understood that when I told her and she said that they all liked me for who I was no matter what, that she was just trying to show me how beautiful I really was.

I nodded and we walked to her car. She dropped me off at my dorm and I was going to wait there until about 4:30 when I would make my way over to the theater on campus.

My roommate was out so I was just sitting on my bed waiting. It was 3:30 when Lea dropped me off. I went next door to Alyssa room and she told me how pretty I looked and that she was so happy that I decided to go to the show and to hang out with Lea that morning. She wished me luck and took some pictures that she promised to send to me saying that I had to show my mama how purty I looked. I thanked her and then walked back to my room. I had successfully calmed down enough to relax and lay down on my bed when my phone went off. I assumed it was from Alyssa, having sent me the picture. I was pleasantly surprised to see Darren's name flash onto the screen. He was telling me how excited he was for the show, and that Lea and Chris were torturing him, by talking about how gorgeous I looked. He said that he really wanted to know anything, even what color I was wearing but they wouldn't even give him that. I told him that I was sworn to secrecy so as much as I may or may not want to give him a hint I couldn't. He sent me a picture of him pouting and I sent him a smiley face icon saying, "good try but you're not getting a picture that way."

He just sent a pouty face again so I said that I would be seeing him in less than an hour, surely he could wait that long. He said he might die, but that he'd try to hold out. Then he told me he had to go because Lea and Chris had just descended on him. I giggled and told him I'd see him very soon.

Just then I heard a knock on my door it was Frodo. He was looking to see if I had quarters for laundry. I said yeah and got up to give them to him and he stopped mid-sentence and just stared. I looked at him and said "what? Is something wrong?" my mind immediately went to its self-conscious place again and, because he still hadn't said anything I said, "I look horrible don't I? He's going to think I'm a big joke, I'm such an idiot. I knew I should have just worn jeans…" I turned and he grabbed my hand and spun me back to face him. He had a strange look on his face and he said, "No, nothing is wrong and don't ever think that. I was just caught off guard. You look beautiful, and if he is the guy Alyssa was talking about before, Darren Criss right, he is going to be blown away. Don't worry about how you look because no one in their right mind will have anything negative to say about you. Also, I know that you worry sometimes that you look too dressed up when you wear dresses, but you don't. I think it's perfect for going to see the show with your friends tonight. Thank you for the quarters, I'll pay you back when you get back. Enjoy you're date… Don't try to say that it's not," he smiled, "they wouldn't have gone through all this "trouble" if it weren't." I thanked him and he said he was simply telling me the truth. Then he walked out of the door and downstairs to do his laundry.

Well that was weird! I knew he liked me well enough as a friend, but he seemed so sad when he mentioned Darren and saw what I was wearing. I had really liked him when we first met, but I saw that nothing was going to come of that, at least for now, so I kind of pushed it from my mind and remained his friend. He had called me beautiful before so that wasn't a surprise, but his stunned silence was just kind of weird. I couldn't figure it out and it was almost time for me to get going. So I went back to Alyssa's room and we talked a little about what had just happened. She said that maybe he hadn't realized what he was missing and I said maybe, but I really wasn't so sure about that. She said she'd try to find out if he was upset about anything else that could have affected his behavior before. Then she wished me luck, told me to have a good time, and shooed me out the door.

Darren's POV

I was going insane! I had a date with Catie in a little less than 9 hours and she would be with Lea almost all day. I was informed by Lea, while I was at breakfast with Chris, that I was not going to be allowed to see her until we met at the theater before the show. She was texting Catie and we told her to say hi from both of us. Lea said that she said hi back to Chris, just Chris. What? I was confused, was she upset with me? I pouted and I saw Lea tell her that I had. Lea laughed when she read what Catie had sent her then she showed it to me and I laughed as well. I couldn't believe this young woman. She wrote, "Darren could have texted me himself if he really wanted to say hello that badly because he has my number. Chris doesn't so it's ok for you to relay messages to and from him as long as you don't mind doing it." Was she really flirting with me through Lea? She must have known how I'd react; she'd done it on purpose. Chris laughed out loud when he saw my expression and I just stuck my tongue out at him.

A few minutes later I realized that I had never actually sent her a text saying good morning. So I decided I'd ignore somewhat ignore the flirting through Lea and wrote, "Good morning, swimming champ! Sorry I kept you up last night, but I really enjoyed learning so much about you and just talking with you."

She said not to worry about it and that she had enjoyed our chat just as much and for the same reasons. I said that I was glad she felt that way too and that I couldn't wait to see her later! I asked if she had plans for after the show and was told that she was free as a bird. I wrote, "Ok, and Lea wants me to tell you that she just left and so will be picking you up very soon. Have fun! And I'll let you go so you can watch for the car."

She wrote, "I can't wait for the show! I'll see you later, and try not to be too bored without me."

I grinned and quickly responded, "It will be difficult, I won't lie, but I will do my very best not to!" God, I was completely enraptured by this woman. She had such an easy way about her, she could switch between serious, joking, and flirting at the drop of a hat and I loved it. She really was like no one I had ever met before, and I would keep her in my company for as long as possible and in whatever capacity I could. There was a bit of an age difference between us and I think that may have been intimidating to her, but age is merely a number and I don't really act my own age much anyway.

I went back to my room with Chris and he praised the outfit I had chosen for the date tonight. I tried to correct him, but who was I kidding. If I had my way it would be a date and I hoped she felt that way too. Chris and I played Mario kart for a while because he knew I was antsy and excited. Then he got a text saying that they had finished and were coming to the hotel to change into their clothes. My heart raced, would I actually be able to see her before the "grand reveal" at the theater?

Of course not. Lea came to my room, with Catie's cell phone in hand. She got Chris and told me that I was not allowed to pressure her into showing me or telling me anything
about the outfit they had decided upon. Chris texted me a little under an hour later and he told me that I was in for a wonderful surprise, then Lea texted me about 35 minutes after that and demanded that I show her what I was wearing so that our clothing would "mesh alright." I assured her that I would and that she and Chris could come down once they were ready.

I had been texting Catie in the meantime and she really had been warned against showing me her clothing, it seemed, because even when I sent her a picture of my puppy dog pout face she simply sent me a smiley face icon and said nice try. I just sent a pouty face again. So she said that I would be seeing her in less than an hour, and that surely I could wait that long to see what she was wearing. I wrote, "I think I might die, but I'll try to hold out as long as I can." Then about 45 seconds later I heard a knock and Lea and Chris waltzed into my room. So I told her that I had to go because Lea and Chris had just descended on me. I could almost hear her laugh when she wrote, "Hehehe ok, I'll see you very soon Dare."

She wrote Dare, not Darren. A nickname, my heart soared. I was willing to bet that she hadn't even realized that she had done it. I liked that and thought about how I had been making a conscious effort not to write or say "Cate" to her in the past couple of days when I used her name. I decided that I'd use it a few times tonight and see how she reacted. I was pretty sure Catie was short for something anyway, but I kind of liked the idea of having my own nickname for her.

Luckily I didn't have to change anything about my planned outfit but the shirt and I changed quickly and we were out the door.

Catie's POV

On my way to the Shakespeare Theater I realized how nervous I actually was. All the insecurities I had been feeling before were starting to come back to me. What was I thinking; Darren wouldn't actually think this was a date. I felt stupid for dressing this way, I never wore dresses or makeup and while I thought I looked nice I really didn't think Darren would. What if he thinks I'm just like every other girl; too worried about her looks to actually have substance. I wanted to run into the bathroom and scrub every last inch of it off my face, and this dress? God I wanted to run back to my dorm room and hide.

I started to calm down a little bit, and judged myself on how crazy I had just been. Lea had told me to keep telling myself that I was beautiful and that Darren and she, and "other people" in general thought that I was as well. I took a deep breath and tried to think positive thoughts. Chris and Frodo had been stunned and both said that I looked amazing. Chris had even said he thought Darren would be speechless, and that never happened. I was still nervous, but I had calmed down a little as I reached the front steps of the building.

I realized that they had never told me where to meet them so I sent Lea a text and she said that they were already inside. My heart jumped into my throat as I started to walk slowly up the steps. I took a deep breath and walked through the doors.

Darren's POV

I could not sit still in the car on the way over to the theater. Not sitting still wasn't abnormal for me, but I was pretty much bouncing in my seat because I was so excited. We had gotten there early so that we'd be there when Catie walked over. As we walked up the steps I became more and more nervous. I wanted her to feel the same way about me, and I wanted to make this night fun and special for her. I was a little worried about how she would react to the fact that she and I were sitting away from Lea and Chris. I realized that I really had planned it like a date and I hoped to dead wizard god that she liked it and wasn't upset by my surprise.

Lea got a text after we'd been there for about five minutes. I saw that it was from Catie and I immediately thought Oh my god, she is going to say that she's not coming, that she doesn't think it's a good idea and I'm gonna look so stupid!

That wasn't the case, it turned out, and she had just been asking where to meet us. Lea told her that we were already inside and my eyes found the door and stayed there while I waited to see her walk through. My heart was beating so fast, and every time the door opened it sped up a little more in anticipation. I couldn't wait; it was like I was on a blind date or something, even though I'd already met her and learned so much about her. This was our first date, if she would accept it as that. The first of many I hoped. Lea and Chris had assured me that I wouldn't be disappointed when I saw what she was wearing. Lea had to go to the bathroom and insisted that I go with her because, a) she didn't know where the bathrooms were and b), and most importantly I was sure, she didn't want to miss my reaction when I FINALLY saw Catie. I went with Lea and I came back to find that Catie had already arrived.