Here it is chapter 12! Thank you all for sticking with this story, I hope you're still enjoying it. Please leave a review if you can x x x
Text from Darren: I'm outside your door. Lemme in x
Lauren quickly read the text and ran to unlock the apartment door, turning off the radio on her way. Darren's beaming face dropped as he saw her guiltily biting her lip,
"What happened?" he moaned, sensing a disappointment.
"Dar, I'm sorry but I'm gonna have to bail on tonight," she apologised, "I still have so much packing to do. I know I said I'd come out for a drink with everyone... but it turns out I've a lot of crap."
Darren looked over her shoulder and smirked. True to her word the apartment was in chaos and Darren released a low whistle as he remembered Julia texting him to make sure Lauren didn't leave her end of year packing until the last minute. Looked as though he'd overlooked that warning. Julia had had to leave a few days earlier due to a family occasion and she had clearly foreseen the disorganised mess that would become their apartment in her absence. Clothes were strewn everywhere, suitcases and boxes cluttered the floor and personal items had just been bundled into haphazard piles here and there. He grinned, noticing a purple lace bra that was hanging from a door knob and picked it up,
"I can see your dilemma."
Lauren's cheeks flared red as she grabbed the bra from him, flinging it into the nearest open suitcase,
"Okay, so I'm a little behind schedule," she snapped, "Ugh, I hate packing. Why can't I just live here for the summer?"
She brushed a stray hair out of her face and sighed. Darren spread his arms out and pulled her into a hug, smiling as he felt her cuddle into his chest, her head only barely reaching his chin,
"How about I stay and give you a hand?"
Lauren shook her head and mumbled into his shirt,
"But, you'll miss the night out with the guys? I can manage…"
"Ssshhh. No, you look exhausted and I'd rather spend my last night as a freshman with the most important thing this year has given me."
Lauren pulled back and smiled, her eyes watering with gratitude. She laughed and bowed her head dabbing her eyes dry,
"Sorry, the tiredness is making me all emotional."
Darren nodded and grabbed an empty box,
"I am at your service," he said bowing dramatically, sending Lauren into a fit of silent giggles before closing the door and leading him into her personal Aladdin's cave.
"Okay, shift your weight to the left a little. Ya, okay … got it," Lauren panted, pulling the zip closed and examining the clearly over-packed suitcase on which Darren was sitting.
He stood up and looked around at the now seemingly sparse apartment. Everything had been packed away. Lauren looked around sadly, feeling the overwhelming nostalgia of it all. She'd missed her roommate's presence over the last few days. It had been so quiet, and with everyone else packing and heading home, the majority of her friends had been too busy trying to sort out their own end of year departures to be able to hang out. She turned to Darren,
"Thanks for staying tonight, I don't think I would have managed without you," Lauren admitted flopping down on the sofa and curling her legs up beneath her. Darren joined her and relaxed as she immediately snuggled in under his arm. They'd started to get closer again over recent weeks and despite the fact that Darren knew it was purely platonic, he was hopeful that over time she would let him be more than that again,
"Lo…. I'm sorry for all the shit I put you through this year. It pains me to know that I hurt you."
Lauren stayed silent as Darren searched for words to say,
"You didn't deserve that. I'm just grateful that I didn't lose you completely because those weeks… without you… were the darkest weeks of my life and…"
Lauren sat up,
"Let's not talk about this Darren," she said pleadingly, "I think it's better we just forget they ever happened."
Darren nodded although he knew the emotional strain of being separated from Lauren would forever be imprinted on his heart. He jumped up suddenly, determined to lighten the gloomy mood,
"Wait here," he said, rushing out and returning a moment later with a bottle of wine and two glasses, "It's only fair we should celebrate the end of our first year of college in an appropriate fashion."
He set the glasses down and poured out the deep red liquid before holding a glass out to Lauren. She looked at it dubiously for a moment, reminded of her body's low alcohol tolerance. However after glancing up at Darren and seeing him pouting at her possible refusal, she succumbed and accepted the glass,
"Where'd you find this?" she asked, taking a sip.
"It was at the back of one of the cupboards. I was looking for a beer but you had none so I decided we might as well go classy."
Lauren shrugged and looked up, eyes sparkling, "hey, let's put on a movie."
She walked over to one of the nearest boxes and pulled out a few covers, shaking her head as she went through them,
"Sappy…. Boring… Too long…"
Darren rolled his eyes. She was the fussiest person when it came to movies. He looked over, hearing her pause and noticed she was holding the special edition DVD of Beauty and the Beast that he'd given her for Christmas. She seemed to be thinking as she held it in her hand and Darren felt his heart drop a little when he saw her add it to the rejected pile without commenting,
"Ugh, Julia took all the good ones," she groaned, returning to his side and sitting down.
"Why don't we just chat?" Darren smiled, reaching forward and grabbing a blanket to wrap around the two of them."
"Ya, that sounds good," she yawned, cradling the wine glass with both hands.
"I wish we could go back and do it all again," she said quietly, "It went by so quickly."
"Am Lo, we do get to do it all again, for another three years," Darren laughed
"Well ya… I guess," she admitted.
They spent the next few hours giggling like little kids and talking and it wasn't until Darren noticed Lauren's words starting to slur together that he realised how late it was and more importantly, how much wine they'd managed to get through. He downed the rest of his own glass and carefully prised Lauren's glass from her hand as she leaned against him sleepily. Adjusting her weight in his arms he stood up, holding her to his chest and carried her into her room. As he went to put her down on the bed she grabbed the front of his shirt giving him no other option put to allow himself be pulled down with her,
"Lo, it's time to sleep," he spoke softly, wrapping his fingers around her closed fist.
"Stay here tonight," she whispered, her eyes fluttering open, "I don't want to be here alone."
"Okay, I'll camp out on the couch so if you need me I'll be just out there. Okay?"
"No, sleep here, with me," she insisted, rolling over and making space for him.
Darren hesitated. He didn't want to cross any lines, especially considering they were still rebuilding a very fragile relationship. It was hard to tell if she was speaking as sober Lauren or drunk Lauren. Her voice sounded so certain and sincere but the empty wine bottle told a different story,
"Please Darren. Just sleep, nothing more," she clarified, now looking entirely focused.
Slowly he found himself climbing in, cautious not to invade her personal space. However as soon as he was lying down he felt her shuffle closer to him. It felt right to be back lying by her side. He lifted his arm and wrapped it around her,
"Goodnight Lo," he whispered into the darkness
"Night Dar," she replied sleepily, "love you."
It took him a minute to register what she'd said before he found himself able to form a coherent reply. He felt his heart stutter but managed to keep his voice perfectly steady as he whispered the words, a smile lingering on his face as his eyes closed,
"Love you too Lo."
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