Hey! I just want to start off by saying I am a college student, and I have recently gotten back to school which means my updates are going to be less frequent. I'm sorry, and I really wish I could write all the time but it's going to be a little harder. I'm taking 18 credits this semester so I'm going to be super busy. I hope you all understand. I will however update whenever I can because I really enjoy writing this story, and I really want to share it with you. I've also started writing THE chapter, so I'm super excited. Anyway this chapter is still in Darren's point of view. Expect the Julia/Darren chapter to be in about 2 updates. Without further ado I give you chapter 7. Also the organization of Darren chapters wont go in the same order as Julia's. Just a heads up.

May 17, 2007

Darren was sitting on the plastic mattress staring at the sheet music in hand. Julie, why cant you see, what you're doing to me. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He was in love. He knew the feeling slightly, but it was more overpowering than any love he had felt in his 20 years of life. He was without a doubt in love with Julia Albain, which scared him to say the least. He wanted her to know how he felt but he feared it would scare her away. In the fall they were going to be living in the same apartment, he wanted so badly to stay in each other's rooms tangled in a mess of limbs and sleep. Make love, kiss, and sleep together. She was perfect and wonderful, and all he needed to do was collect the courage to tell her.

Darren walked through the parking lot to find Julia's parents helping her pack the car. Thankfully she hadn't left yet.

"Jules!" he called, trying to get his friend to turn around. "Jules!"

Julia turned around to find Darren running towards her. His curls flapped in the wind and he pushed them out of his eyes when he got to her.

"Hey Dare. What's up?" she asked pushing a piece of hair behind her ear. She was stunning. Her blue eyes captivated him, he wanted nothing more but to stare into the two pools of blue.

"I didn't want you to leave before I got the chance to say goodbye…" Darren finally said. He had already said goodbye at breakfast that morning, but it wasn't intimate enough. He couldn't proclaim his love to Julia in front of the guys. Now he didn't know if he could do it in front of the Albain's.

"Dare, we said goodbye before…and you guys are coming to Cincinnati in a few weeks right? After you guys shoot Little White Lie?" He couldn't wait until the filming was over. All he wanted was to take the drive from Ann Arbor to Cincinnati and curl up in to the arms of his best friend. He wanted to kiss her and sing to her, and prove to her that he was here for the keeping.

"Yeah." He ran his fingers through his hair. The curls were getting long, he knew running his hand through them made them frizzy but he was too nervous to care.

"Cool." Cool? That's all I get? Cool. Maybe this is a bad idea. He thought his mind quickly racing "So I'll see you in a few weeks." She smiled and turned around to pick up the last of her boxes.

"Wait…" Darren said lightly taking her arm in his hand and turning her around so she faced him again. This is your chance kiss her.

"What…" she said almost inaudible.

It took a few seconds for him to build up the courage. When he gathered all the courage he could muster he leaned down and gently pressed his lips to hers in a soft kiss.

Right as his lips touched hers he felt the fireworks. Fireworks he had never felt before, fireworks he was convinced didn't exist. She kissed him back and gently wrapped her arms around her friend's neck.

A few moments later Darren pulled away but only far enough to leave a few inches between their lips. "I want to take you on a date." He whispered. "I want to kiss you goodnight." He placed another soft kiss to her lips, but this one was almost a peck. "And I want to walk you to class and sneak a few kisses in between them." He gave her another short kiss. "But more than anything I want to be yours, and I want you to be mine."

Darren's heart pounded as he waited for her reply. The longer it took her to answer the harder and faster his heart pounded. She finally nodded, smiled and pressed her lips firmly to Darren's. Their kiss grew in passion were tongues and teeth met, and the heat of their bodies intensified with every smack of their lips.

Neither one cared about the scene they were making, they just new it was going to be the best summer ever now that they had each other.

October 12 2021

Darren hid his face in his hands as he thought about everything that has happened in the past 14 years. She was everything he ever wanted, everything he ever cared for. He finally spoke after a few minutes of silence. "Um is she dating, has she you know—"

Joey shook his head and finished off his beer. "From what Lauren has told me it's just her and Matthew. And I don't think she's dated in awhile. I don't know why. She's fun to be around. Maybe she just hasn't found the right guy yet."

Darren sighed. He hated the thought that Julia's true love could quite possibly someone other than him. He knew he screwed up by letting her slip through his fingers but a part of him always believed it was what she wanted, that Darren didn't mean all that much to her. "Hey Joey…" Darren started looking up at his best friend.

"Yeah D? What's up?"

"Can I talk to you about something, you can't, you can't tell anyone because I never told anyone this…"

"Dude, I'm your best friend. You can tell me anything." Joey sat up and placed his feet on the table beside Darren's.

"Well, first and foremost, I probably should have told you this when it happened but, I had sex with Julia the night of your wedding…"

June 18, 2016

Darren helped his best friend with his bowtie. After years on Glee Darren was a master of tying a bowtie. "You nervous?" he asked Joey as he straightened out the tie.

"Well I wasn't, but now that you brought it up, I'm going to shit in my pants." Joey replied as he gripped the chair. "What if our marriage doesn't work? What if we're only meant to be best friends?"

"Joey, I know you and Lauren are meant for each other. If I could be in half the relationship you have with Lo, I could die happy. You two are perfect for each other. I knew that the moment you called me to tell me you two were dating. And that was four years ago."

"I think you should talk to Julia." Joey said looking over his shoulder to his best friend. "I think you should tell her you and Mia are over, and that you love her. You bought that ring when you were a senior. She needs to know the truth. And I think you should tell her tonight.

Darren nodded. "I think you're right."

Darren stood beside Joey trying hard to pay attention to the ceremony but he couldn't. Julia looked stunning in her bridesmaid's dress. He didn't really know what kind of material it was, or the designer but either way she looked flawless. Julia's hair was pulled back and her eyes, her eyes looked breathtaking. Darren fixated on her eyes. He smiled. They were gorgeous, and he always thought so. They were his favorite, besides her smile. God. Did Julia have a smile. His best friend was beautiful. And he needed to tell her the truth.

The ceremony was flawless from what Julia paid attention to. The reception hall was decorated beautifully with Laurens favorite color; sparkle. Mr and Mrs Joseph Michael Richter danced to Charlene and Darren's Dress and Tie and the whole UMich Starkid gang was together for two of their best friends happiest day. Darren sort of rushed through the song so he could see Julia. He ran off the stage but people kept stopping him, he didn't want to be rude but all he wanted was to talk to Julia. He looked around the room and found her standing by the open bar.

"You look beautiful." Darren said as he sauntered over to her

"You don't look too bad yourself." Julia smiled.

"Darren looked down at himself and chuckled. "Oh this old thing? I just threw it together last minute." I actually tried on every goddamn tuxedo hoping to find the one you'd like the best. Julia laughed. Hopefully she believed it.

"How's Mia?" Julia asked. Darren knew she was going to ask this question. He hadn't really vocalized their split yet. But he knew he had to.

Darren bit his lip. "We're actually not together. Things were getting crazy for the both of us so we parted ways. She's actually touring so; she couldn't make it to the wedding. But enough about my relationships, can the best man and maid of honor take a shot together?" he asked. He needed alcohol in order to tell her. He needed alcohol pronto.

"Dare," Julia laughed. "This isn't college."

He shrugged. "I know. That's why we'll only take one." He handed her a small glass and clinked it with his own. "To many years of friendship, and to Mr. and Mrs. Richter."

Julia clinked her glass back and shot the liquid down her throat with Darren simultaneously.

The guests were leaving and Darren could hardly see straight. He had been taking shots with Julia in the back of the reception hall for a few hours. After about four Darren's hands started to travel to Julia's waist and his lips met her neck a few times. He needed her, he was convinced he wasn't drunk off of the liquor but off of Julia. He needed to kiss her and to touch her. He needed to be in her. As he was getting ready to leave he whispered against her neck. "Come back to my place."

Julia nodded and they took a car back to Darren's apartment.

It took him about four tries before he could open the door successfully. Once they were in Darren's lips met Julia's and he was slowly backing her towards his bedroom. His tux jacket was thrown over the couch in the living room, his bowtie ended up in a vase, and the shirt hung over the doorknob almost as a precaution to anyone who could possibly show up.

Darren unzipped Julia's dress and it fell to the ground next to his bed. Darren took a minute to admire her beauty. Everything about her was stunning and there she was in front of him half naked and ready to move forward with him.

Once all of their clothing items were removed Darren slowly entered into his ex-girlfriend. Their bodies tangled together as they became one. With each thrust he felt himself becoming whole again. He knew she was the only girl he could ever have sex with. The only girl he could make love with. As they hit their climax simultaneously they curled against each other unaware of what the future was going to hold, and what Darren was going to find out with no help from his baby mama.

October 12, 2012

Joey shot up and his feet hit the ground with a thud. "You what?! And why didn't you tell me this the next day? Darren, you don't keep this kind of information from your BEST FRIEND."

Darren bit his lip. "I know. I should have told you but here's the thing, after it happened I was going to ask her out, and tell her everything. But she left before I could do that. And then Mia showed up. And everything became royally screwed up."

August 18, 2016

Darren stared at himself in the bathroom mirror. "Today is the day. You're going to go over there and tell her you love her. Tell her everything you've been hiding since senior year. You got this. You can do this. It's been exactly a month since you two had sex. It's about time you tell her."

Darren heard the doorbell right as he was about to get in the shower. He put a towel on and wrapped it around his waist. As he opened the door he immediately regretted it.

"Hey sexy." Mia said as she walked into Darren's apartment. "I missed you." She pressed her lips to Darren's and he quickly pushed her away.

"Mia, I need you to leave. Come back another time. But I'm busy right now and I don't need you here.

"Oh hush Mr. Grumpy Gills. Take your shower. Relax. I'll just wait for you here." She bit her lip. "Or maybe I'll meet you in the shower."

Darren rolled his eyes as he walked towards the bathroom. "I'm serious. You need to be gone by the time I get out of here."

Mia ignored Darren's request and started to look around the apartment. What caught her eye was a small worn velvet box that sat on the counter of the kitchen. It looked like it had been open and closed for years. She opened the box and sitting inside was a very small circle cut diamond engagement ring.

Mia smirked and whispered. "He's going to ask me to marry him." She slipped the ring on her finger and stared at it. She was hoping it would have been bigger but she figured he'd had it for awhile, and she'd just have him buy a bigger rock once they were married.

A few minutes later she heard a knock on the door. She opened it and staring back at her was Darren's ex Julia ready to tell Darren she was pregnant.

"Where's Darren..." Julia asked as her voice cracked.

'Shower. I'm actually about to join him so this is really bad timing." Mia smirked and shrugged. "Sorry sweets."

Julia cleared her throat. "C-can you tell him I stopped buy it's important that I—" before Julia could finish the door was slammed in her face and she was staring at the door of her baby's father's apartment.

"Who was that?" Darren asked as he walked out of the shower. "And why are you still here?"

"Oh it was some guy trying to sell house wear. " she smiled and stuck her hand out. "Baby why were you hiding this from me?"

"Mia…where did you find that?" Darren's voice was deep and demanding.

"You can't leave diamonds on the kitchen table Darren. But even though this isn't the way I imagined it, yes."

"Yes what?"

"Yes." Mia said. "I'll marry you."

October 7, 2008

Darren knew he was late, and he knew it wasn't the first time but this was the fifth jewelry store he had gone to and he knew this one was it. This was the ring he was going to buy Julia.

The jeweler pulled out the case and Darren pointed to the small round cut diamond ring. It wasn't much, he couldn't afford much but it was a beautiful ring.

The jeweler handed Darren the ring as he spoke. "The band is 14 carat white gold. The diamond in the center is half a carat, and the diamonds around make up a fourth of a carat. I'll give it to you for $1450 if you like it."

Darren really didn't want to go more than a thousand but he knew that was nearly impossible. It was beautiful, the prettiest ring he had ever seen. He knew once he saw it he'd know, and he knew this was the ring he needed to ask Julia to marry him.

Darren was late. So incredibly late. But he needed to play it off. So Darren sauntered onto the stage like he was right on time. "Hey babe." Darren said walking up to Julia to give his girlfriend a kiss. His heart was racing and the ring in his pocket felt like a thousand pounds.

"No." she put her finger up against his lips. "Do NOT 'hey babe' me Darren. You are two HOURS late. Do you even understand the concept of time?! I can't run through my show when my Judas is not here!" He felt like shit, but he knew she'd understand once she saw the ring.

"I'm sorry. I had a thing." Darren replied coolly. My thing was buying an engagement ring for you. And working overtime just to afford it.

"Yeah Darren. You did have a thing. Your thing was to be here. Two hours ago! I am stressed enough as it is and you being 120 minutes late is not making this easier for me!"

"Jules, it wont happen again." He reached out to place his hand on his girlfriends shoulder but she pulled away. She couldn't do this. Not after he just spend 1500 dollars on a ring.

"Darren! This is the third time this week you're late, twelfth time this month. You'd think if you loved me like you say you do you'd be on time for this. This is really important to me Darren. I don't know why you can't understand that." I do love you. And that's why I'm late.

"Julia, can we not do this now…" Darren looked around the theater and all of their friends just stood around motionless, afraid to hear what Julia could possibly say next. He just wanted to get her alone, to show her the ring and tell her everything was going to be perfect. That they could be engaged for awhile, move to New York together and eventually get married.

"When do you want to do this Darren? When it's convenient for you? The world doesn't revolve around you Darren." Darren watched as Julia started crying. He then got a bad feeling in his stomach, and the feeling was intensified when he heard her say the words he couldn't hear. "I'm done. We're over."

And with that Julia turned her heel and walked out of the auditorium without looking back. Darren watched her leave as the ring felt like an anchor in his back pocket.

I know this one is super long and all over the place but I figured since I was going to be updating less you deserved a longer chapter. Please tell me what you think! Reviews make me feel good! Haha until next time!