Never Let Me Go: A StarKid Fanfic

Chapter 7

Well, as usual, work was hell. I swear I was going to slap my ridiculous boss upside the head one of these days. She was that irritating. The only thing that made work bearable were the thoughts of Darren and his friends. They were all so funny and nice. Especially Joey. I couldn't get him out of my mind. And even after my crazy work schedule of that day which resulted in me getting home at 10 o'clock, I wasn't tired in the least. I just wanted to spill my guts to Natalie about the day's events.

I'll be out until 11! Love you! a note said on the counter, the scrawl messy. I sighed. Natalie out again. How was it that she could go to work from 9 to 5 each day, come home, and then party until God knows when, was beyond my comprehension. I changed out of my work clothes and into an old University of Maryland t-shirt and boy shorts. I turned on a old episode of Doctor Who and waited for Natalie to show up. At 11:01 she showed up, her appearance less disheveled than usual.

"Wow, punctual, sober, mildly presentable...who are you and what have you done to my party girl best friend?" I teased. She dropped her purse on the floor and smiled.

"Well I came home early to see how your day went!" she replied excitedly, "So what happened? Who did Darren bring? Was Joe there? How about Dylan? Oh god, are they as hot in person as they are on the Internet-?"

"Nat, breath," I said, cutting her off. She exhaled deeply and closed her eyes.

"Ok, just tell me what happened."

-oOo-

"Oh. My. GOD!" she exclaimed once I had finished, "I can't believe Joseph Schwartz Walker fake hit on you!"

"Yeah, it was pretty funny," I said, my mind wandering, "He certainly is a good actor."

"Is someone else on your mind?" she asked, noticing my blank expression. Damn her attentiveness.

"Well, yes...and no," I answered cryptically, "Two someones, actually. It's just, Darren is so hot and kinda gives me this bad boy/mystery vibe, ya know? And he also seems to have this great personality. But then there's Joey, who's super sweet and friendly and inviting. And he's cute too! And the problem is I can't get either of them out of my head."

"Can I give you some advice?" she said, her blue eyes unreadable. I nodded.

"I think you just need a break from guys," she continued, "I mean, you just broke up with Ian yesterday. And yes, I know, both those guys are supermegafoxyawesomehot--trust me I know--but you shouldn't get too ahead of yourself. You gotta give your heart a break."

I swear Natalie might've been the biggest pain in the ass sometimes, but boy did she know just what to say. She was my pain in the ass. Who just happened to have a telepatic connection to my exact thoughts of earlier in the day.

-oOo-

DARREN'S POV

"Back so soon, are we Richter?" I heard Lauren say at two-thirty that afternoon. I was going over the reprise to 'Kick It Up A Notch' with Brian one last time when Joey came sprinting into the theatre.

"I am on time, Lo," he said pointedly. I shot a small smirk over to Joe, who wiggled his eyebrows playfully in return.

"Well you were having so much fun with Bernadette that we thought maybe you forgot that we had our first tech rehearsal tonight." she fired back, "Glad to see your priorities are in order."

Just then Matt came out, clearly running on a steady drip of coffee and two hours of sleep. Gotta love tech week. Now they knew how I feel during Glee.

"Ok guys, we're gonna start our first tech rehearsal, so get on your opening number costumes and get into places in 10," he said, jumping off the stage and sitting in the front row next to Nick. That was Matt for you; Always managing to be professional and child-like all at the same time.

I went backstage with the rest of the cast, hoping to catch up on the rest of Joey and Bernadette's afternoon. I didn't know why I cared so much, but for some reason I couldn't get her out of my mind. She was...different.

"Hey man," I said to Joey, who was changing into his black t-shirt and hoodie for the opening song.

"Hey, Dare," he replied cheerily, "What's up?"

"Well um, I was just, uh wondering if-"

"You want to know about me and Bernadette, don't you?" he asked, a smug little smile spreading across his face. I nodded. We knew each other too well.

"Dude, she's great," he said, putting on his mic. "She's funny and really cool and all but...you don't need to worry about anything. We're just friends. And besides, we just met her! For all anyone knows  she could have a boyfriend."

I smiled sadly. I knew what Joey was trying to do. He didn't want me to rush into anything like my last relationship. The last thing I wanted was to get my heart broken again.

"You're right, Joey," I said finally, "I guess I'm still trying to get over Mi-"

"You don't have to explain anything, ok?" he said, his smile sincere, "And hey, maybe she is the girl for you. Just give it some time."

"Places!" I heard Matt call from the house, "Places everyone!"

Both of us groaned.

"And so begins hell week," he muttered under his breath, causing me to stifle a laugh, "See ya later, man."

"Yeah..." I said, trailing off as he made his way onto the stage, "See ya."

I made my way to the house and sat down next to Matt and Nick, my mind going over every encounter Bernadette and I had shared over the past two days. We had done a lot of flirting, sure, but was she into me? I mean, why wouldn't she be? 

Because until today, she had no clue who you were, my brain shouted, stop acting like everyone should know who you are.

God, my brain was such an asshole. But it was right. She was just treating me like a regular person. I guess I just wasn't used to that.

But I was about to. Because I was going to meet her again. And this time, I wasn't going to need some silly bet.