Thank's to everyone who's reviewed/ favorites / followed :D

I just want to stress that I know Darren is dating Mia IRL and I think they are perfect together. This story is purely fictional. It's just my imagination running ragged in my head and creating these stories. I don't really ship IRL couples seriously, I just love writing and if I think two people have chemistry between them, I build from there and use it to create a story. Same principle goes for all my fics, I know most of the Starkids are dating different people.

NB: The way in which all characters (Starkids and family members) is completely made up and purely for the storyline.

Please keep reviewing x x x

Lauren couldn't believe it, Summer was almost over and in just over a week she'd be back on the U of M campus. She'd missed everyone... even Joe. She talked to Darren as often as she could but with both of them working, it was difficult to find the time. She could sense he wanted to talk about their prospective relationship and she just wasn't ready to face that conversation. She wanted to get back together with him but she was afraid - afraid of being led down the road of false hope, only to have her heart shattered again.

She pushed the remains of her half eaten dinner around in circles on her plate, trying to distract herself. The past few weeks had been draining and she found herself purposefully avoiding her mother as much as she could. Her emotions were all over the place and the pressure of it all was slowly tearing her apart. She looked up as Mark addressed her,

"So Lo, how are you set for next year? Will you be doing any shows?"

Lauren opened her mouth to speak and saw her mom purse her lips slightly at the mention of shows,

"I don't really know yet," she responded, trying to ignore her, "auditions won't be until September but I'm gonna try out for some bigger parts this year."

"I'll come see you, even if you're only a tree in the background," her Dad pronounced proudly, earning a small smile from Lauren.

She glared and shook her head at Mark, mouthing at him to talk about something else. She could nearly feel her mother's disapproval radiating from her,

"What about Darren? How's he doing?" Mark obliged, chewing on a piece of steak.

Lauren groaned inwardly. Of all things to bring up, he had to choose Darren,

"We…we broke up," she stuttered, suddenly becoming very interested in her plate.

"You never said…"

"We're still friends," she interrupted Mark, choosing to omit the estrangment details.

After that he seemed to sense her obvious discomfort and left things be. She appreciated the effort he was making but right now it seemed to only be making things worse. Her mom was never going to accept performing as a suitable career and Lauren had long ago given up trying to prove to her otherwise.

Once everyone was finished, she offered to wash up, glad to get some time alone, however after a few minutes, she heard the kitchen door open. Her mom joined her by the counter and began drying the cleaned ware,

"So, this boy Darren, you've never mentioned him before?"

Lauren shrugged and continued focusing her attention on the glass she'd been rinsing since her mother had come in,

"You can still talk to me about things," her mom stated, almost offended, "you've become so distant and closed off."

She couldn't believe her ears, "No, I can't talk to you about anything because you don't give a fuck," she retaliated harshly.

"Lauren!" he mother exclaimed, grabbing her arm, forcing her to stop what she was doing, "don't you dare try and make me out to be the villain in all of this. I worry about your wellbeing and when I try to guide you in the right direction, you throw it all back in my face."

"Well maybe you should start realising that my happiness has a lot to do with my 'wellbeing'," she snarled, pulling arm free of her mom's grasp. She could feel the months of contained anger building up. As much as she tried to not care, her mother's lack of interest got to her,

"You haven't seen one show that I've been in or ever asked how my first year in college was going," Lauren shouted, slamming the glass down on the counter and feeling it shatter in her hand. Her mom hardly flinched,

"You're wasting your time doing that ridiculous course. You're intelligent. You could have a proper chance at life but instead you choose to run around playing dress up," her mother roared, her face raging.

"I. don't. care. about. money. When will you get that into your head?"

"Well maybe you'd care about money if you were paying for college yourself. You want the real actor's experience? You can have it. From now on, you can fund your own way through college. I'm not supporting my own daughters self destuction."

Lauren balled her fists, ignoring the pain in her hand as the glass shards from the broken glass pierced her skin,

"Fine, just stay out of my life full stop. It won't be that difficult seeing as your already pretty well rehearsed."

She glared at her mother, only vaguely aware of the sound of her brother and father entering; her Dad stepped between them and placed a hand on Lauren's shoulder. She avoided his gaze,

"Lolo," his voice sounded gravelly and tired.

"Just leave it," she muttered, pushing his hand away and storming past him and Mark and out he front door.

She kept walking until she finally slumped down at the base of a sheltered tree trunk in a park and buried her head in her arms, allowing the tears to fall. Shaking, she pulled her phone from her pocket and tried to dial Darren's number. Her right hand stung with pain and as she unfurled it, she hissed. Her palm was shredded and bits of glass still stuck in her skin, mingling with the blood. She cradled it to her chest as the phone connected and listened to it ring. She was struggling to regulate her breathing and almost cried with relief when she heard his familiar voice pick up,

"Lo?" Lauren what's wrong? Are you ok? Talk to me," he stammered frantically, hearing her sobs.

"Darren," she choked out, "I need you."

"Lo, I'm here. Just talk to me, tell me what's wrong."

She could hear the panic in his voice,

"I just can't take it anymore. Everything is getting to me and I'm constantly angry and... my mom and I had a fight...," she sniffed, thinking how stupid she sounded and immediately regretted ever calling him, "…I'm sorry…you shouldn't have to listen to this."

"NO Lauren! Listen to me. Do not hang up this phone. I want you to talk, let it all out. I'm here to listen, I promise, I'm here as long as you need me."

Darren persisted in trying to calm her down, reassuring her that he wasn't going anywhere. He didn't know much about Lauren's home life but it seemed that the barrier she put up was crumbling. The more he got to know Lauren, the more he realised how broken she was and he was determined to put her back together,

"I can't go back and face her," Lauren sniffed, closing her eyes and tilting her head back.

"Wait, where are you?" Darren asked after a few hours, his voice panicked, "What time is it there?"

"I'm in a park…I'm fine, don't worry."

Darren took a deep breath and looked at his watch, calculating the time difference. It was like 2am in Michigan and he could just visualize her vulnerable figure alone.

"Lauren, don't worry. You two will overcome this."

Lauren made no sound and Darren listened to her breathing. Her voice came broken and resigned when she finally spoke,

"I don't think we will this time. We both meant everything we siad…."

Her phone beeped a warning and the screen went black. No battery. Lauren threw it to the ground in frustration. She heard a twig snap behind her and froze as she saw a tall shadow approaching.

"Lauren?" Marks voice called out and she relaxed as he came into view and spotted her. He knelt down beside her and pulled her into a hug and she felt the tears resurface, "ssshhhh, it's okay."

"Lauren, why the fuck didn't you answer any of our calls?," Mark said seriously, gripping her arms and searching her face,

"I'm 19, I can handle myself just fine," she sniffed.

Mark didn't look satisfied with her argument but let it go. In that moment he was reminded of the times he'd looked after growing up. She was an adult now, but to him, she'd always be his little sister and his protectiveness over her would never diminish,

"C'mon, let's get you home," he picked her up effortlessly and she didn't argue, allowing him to carry her to his car. As they drove home, Mark's phone began to ring. He answered it and looked across to Lauren, who had her head resting against the window pane and her eyes closed,

"Hello?... Ya she's okay, she's with me now….I'll let her know, thanks Darren, night."

Lauren opened her eyes, "Darren?"

"He rang to let me know where you were. I think he was relieved to hear I'd already found you," Mark smiled.

Lauren nodded and fell silent, watching the suburban lights flash by,

"Going home doesn't feel right, almost foreign," she said quietly. Mark tightened his grip on the stirring wheel and sighed. He missed when things were simple. Lauren and his mother used to get along perfectly and now it felt that every interaction they had required him to choose sides,

"She loves you Lo."

Lauren coughed out a bitter laugh, "She'd a weird way of showing it."

Darren stood outside her apartment door and took a deep breath before knocking. Lauren had rang the following morning and told him she was going back to college early and so after talking to his parents he'd decided to follow suit. He smiled as the door opened and her shocked face looked up at him,

"Darren," she breathed, throwing herself into his arms and wrapping her arms around him. He held her to him like his life depended on it,

"What? How?" she mumbled into his shoulder,

"I was worried about you," he answered honestly

He placed her down and frowned as he saw her heavily bandaged hand and held it gently,

"It's nothing," she insisted, pulling it away from him and leading him inside. He followed her through to the sitting room and sat down alongside her on the sofa. She rested her head on his chest,

"Thank you."

"How long have you been bottling up all this stuff between you and your mom?"

"It's been tense all year but spending so much time with each other over the summer only worsened everything. We haven't really spoken since the other night."

"You know you can talk to me about anything, right?" Darren said softly, playing with her hair which had grown long again.

"Same goes for you," she said, lifting her head

Darren stared at her. She was strong, no doubt about it, but he knew there was more to her than met the eye and he knew that only time would allow him to fully understand,

"You said, months ago, that you had to try and forget something that happened to you before college. Were you talking about your mom..."

"NO," she said lowly, her voice quivering, "that's… no that was nothing to do with my mom."

Darren frowned and Lauren raised her eyes to meet his, "It was just this guy."

The way she said it made Darren curious and he found himself asking questions he'd once thought he knew the answers to, "Lo, are you… a virgin?"

She swallowed and bit her lip before shaking her head. Darren couldn't help feeling a little hurt by this revelation. For months they'd gone out and he'd never pressured her, presuming that she just wasn't ready when really she'd long ago given up that part of herself,

"Did you not trust me?" he asked, hurt.

"No no Dar, I did…. I do trust you. It's just that my first time isn't exactly something I'm proud of. I don't even remember most of it."

"Who was it?"

"One of Mark's college friends. I got drunk at a party and we ended up in a bedroom. I didn't even know what was happening until it was too late."

"Does Mark know?"

"No, and he'll never find out," she said hurriedly, "swear you won't say anything."

Darren felt sick, "Lauren, that guy took advantage of you."

"No, I should've stopped him…"

"You were a teenage girl, clearly very drunk and unable to give consent. That guy knew you had no idea what was happening."

Her eyes were watering, "just promise you won't say anything to anyone. You said I could talk to you and I am. You're the only person I've told. Please just… let me handle it my way."

Darren looked at her and found himself nodding despite his gut instinct, "fine."

"But you should know you deserve better than that," he whispered into her hair and kissing her head.

Lauren sat up and placed her bandaged hand to his cheek. Slowly she leaned in and kissed him, allowing herself melt into the kiss as he pulled her into him. Their two tongues entwined with one another and their hearts beat together as a unit. Finally they broke apart, breathless,

"Can things go back to this?" she asked

Darren kissed her tenderly again and smiled, "I've really missed calling you my girlfriend."

Thanks, please review x x x