Never Let Me Go: A StarKid Fanfic

Chapter 17

JOEY'S POV

Fuck.

I knew this was a bad idea. Remind me again why I ever listened to Lauren? I knew from the moment our eyes met that Bernadette was not expecting me to be the one who sent her the mystery note, which was, again, a suggestion from Lauren. I was gonna kill her 5-foot-tall ass.

"Bernadette," I muttered, still clutching the lily I bought for her. She told me it was her favorite the first night we hung out.

"Joey," she breathed right back, "Wha-uh, what are you doing here?" I opened my mouth but no words seemed to want to come out. I stood there, frozen, like a moron, while Bernadette looked at me inquisitively. Say something, you idiot! my brain shouted.

"I, uh, I just...wanted to give you this," I said, giving her the flower. The lily was almost as white as the snow that swirled around us, and Bernadette grasped the stem tightly, "I guess, um, you were...you were expecting Darren, huh?" She nodded and my heart sunk to my stomach.

Not that I had expected anything different. Everyone always paid attention to Darren 'Perfect' Criss anyways. I mean, he was my best friend, but sometimes his fame gave him something of a big head.

"Green," she mumbled, fiddling with the flower I gave her.

"Green?"

"The notecard." she stated, "It was green. Your favorite color." I felt a small twinge in my chest. At least she remembered, I thought, smiling to myself.

"So...the note said that you needed to ask me something?" she asked innocently, the snow drifting more lightly as the storm lulled. If I wasn't nervous before, I sure was nervous then.

"Well, uh...I um, w-wanted to know if-"

"Joey, just spit it out," she said, playfully cutting me off. I let out an almost inaudible chuckle.

"I was just," I took a deep breath and sighed, "Wondering if you wanted to go out. On a date. With me." Instantly her eyebrows shot up past her blunt bangs and blinked a few times.

"Oh," she said, acting surprised, "That was...not what I was expecting." I raised an eyebrow.

"Really?" I replied, a smile playing on my lips, even though I felt as though I was ready to vomit. She bit her lip and shook her head.

"I mean, I expected it, just not...."

"Not from me, huh?" I answered for her. She nodded slightly. It was weird seeing Bernadette all reserved and nervous.

"Joey, you really have been a great friend these past weeks," she said as we both sat down on the bench, the snow covering the unsalted sidewalk, "Really, I'm so happy that I lost that stupid bet with Darren. You and your theatre group have been so kind and amazing, and I can't believe how talented you all are..." I could sense a 'but' coming, "but, I don't want this friendship to fizzle out. You're great, Joey. I've never had a guy friend who's as open and honest and funny as you are. I don't want to lose that. I hope you'll understand." She rested her hand on my bicep tenderly and looked into my eyes with sincerity.

"I get it," I said, my heart feeling heavy, "I mean, uh, yes, yeah I understand." She giggled at my incessant babbling and I ran my fingers through my hair yet again. "I just mean...you're a great friend too, Bernie." She smiled at the pet name only myself and Natalie used.

"Thanks, Richter." My mouth twitched into a smile.

"Welcome."

-oOo-

BERNADETTE'S POV

"Why in god's name did you not say yes to that boy?"

"Nat, what exactly did you expect me to do?" I answered after recounting the night's events, "Weren't you the one who was all gung-ho about me being with Darren in the first place?"

"Yeah, but think about it, Bernie," Natalie said, criss-crossing her legs onto the sofa, "You could have a.) long, cold, lonely, sexless nights with nothing but your thoughts and Doctor Who or b.) Joey Freakin' Richter. Believe me, I'd take choice 'b'."

"He's my friend, and that's all," I said with finality, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have internet to browse." I got up from the couch and grabbed my laptop from the kitchen counter.

"Well can you at least tell me what happened after you so brutally rejected our young Mr. Richter?" I sighed and plopped onto the couch again, laptop in hand. An old episode of Supernatural played quietly on our TV.

"Nothing," I answered, feeling rather annoyed by the barrage of questions, "We just...left the park and went our for coffee, and then he took me home and that was it." Natalie frowned slightly.

"Not exactly the enthralling drama I was anticipating, but I'll take it," she said, stretching her legs out over my lap.

"Sorry it was such a disappointment for you," I laughed, logging into Tumblr.

Natalie had gotten me hooked on the blogging site back in junior year of college. I followed mainly fandom blogs, so the first thing on my dashboard was a picture of Darren on an episode of Glee. Natalie switched positions so her head was now in my lap, looking at the computer screen with me.

"And there's your knight in shining armor now," she said, a hint of sarcasm in her voice, "I thought you didn't even watch Glee anymore." I shrugged.

"I don't, but I still follow all the blogs," I said, scrolling. I passed a few hipster photosets, text posts, and Doctor Who gifsets. Nothing out of the ordinary.

"Whoa, whoa whoa, wait," Natalie said, pressing her fingers to the screen. I rolled my eyes. I hated when she did that.

"Yes, I know Christopher Eccleston is your favorite Doctor, Nat," I said, exasperated, "You've only told me a thousand times. It was just a pic-"

"No, not that!" she replied, "Scroll up!"

I followed orders, still confused as to why her freak out was necessary. "Stop." I looked at the screen and felt my heart in my chest.

It was Darren in a photoset, looking gorgeous in a suit at some premiere, but that wasn't what made my stomach drop. It was the girl standing next to him.

She was drop-dead gorgeous. With a slim physique, perfect dress, and movie star smile, this girl outshone me any day. She was about an inch shorter than Darren, and her brown hair flowed almost down to her midriff. Darren looked content, his arm around her waist and a smile plastered on his face. They both looked so...perfect together.

The caption of the set read, Darren Criss and his girlfriend, Mia Swier, at last night's movie premiere.

"Please tell me that doesn't say 'girlfriend'," Natalie said, her mouth agape. I swallowed hard.

"Believe me, it does."

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Dun. Dun. DUUUUUN.

So what does everyone reading think of this? Is Darren an asshole? Is it all just a misunderstanding? Is Tumblr the root of all evil?!!? Comment your thoughts!

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Thanks to everyone who's still reading! You're totally awesome :)

Natalie. You know da drill.

-Maria