Pheromones: A Darren Criss Fanfic

CHAPTER TWO

        "There's nothing more beautiful than a sunset in Arizona," I read off my script as Darren, Mr. Cipriano, and I sat in the meeting room. "Have you ever seen anything like it?" 

        "Like this? No," Darren read. "But I have seen something just as beautiful. Maybe even more beautiful." 

        I looked up at him, laughing. "Not possible."

        Darren looked into my eyes. I felt a tingling sensation low in my stomach as I looked back at him. There was so much passion behind those eyes and I kept having to remind myself that he was just an actor who was very good at being convincing. "It is possible, though."

        Blinking a few times to remove myself from the trance his eyes were putting on me, I said, "Oh, yeah? And what could possibly be more beautiful than this?" 

        He bowed his head slightly and looked up at me through his lashes. His brown eyes glistened and I saw a light in them that I had never seen before in my entire life. A smile played lightly on his lips. "You." 

        For a moment I forgot that we were doing a scene and I broke character. I didn't smile like I was supposed to. I just stared. My mind was going all fuzzy and I was having trouble focusing. Hearing those words coming out of Darren's mouth so smoothly that they almost seemed real. It was as if he was telling me all these things, not his character telling my character. 

        "And scene!" Mr. Cipriano called. "That was really great guys, but, Caroline, you need to put a little more feeling into it. We don't want you looking like a deer in headlights on camera, now do we?" 

        Darren pressed his lips together and tried to hide his smile as he looked down at the floor. 

        "Um, no, sir."

        He stood and started walking towards the door, shouting over his shoulder, "And what did I say about calling me sir? That's all for today. I want to meet back here tomorrow for one more day with just you two and then we'll start meeting up with the rest of the cast." 

        "Sounds good," Darren tried to yell as Mr. Cipriano left the room. 

        I looked down at my hands. I felt that it was going to become a habit to have pink cheeks beaming through my foundation. I knew that every second I was even in the same room as Darren that I would find a way to embarass myself. It was going to be a long four months. 

        "So," Darren began. "I think that that was great."

        I sat down and pulled myself close to the table. "Really?"

        He raised his eyebrows. "Yeah, really. It's a fantastic script. One of the bests I've ever read."

        "Oh, ha. Yeah." I knew he couldn't have meant my acting. I was horrible and doing all these scenes with him wasn't really helping. Him talking to me and looking at me as if I was everything in the world to him made my knees go weak. Even just a glance from him gave me butterflies. I had never felt like that before. 

        "But..." Darren looked at me, one of his eyes squinting, his eye brows pulling together. "I think that we need to work on our chemistry. I feel like we aren't really convinceable as a couple. So...I'm going to take you out for coffee and we are going to get to know each other a little better."

        W-What did he just say? Was he asking me out on a date? No, no he couldn't be! There was no way on the planet that that's what he meant. But was it? Maybe he really did like me. Maybe this was some sort of miracle that a guy like him would be interested in a girl like me. "Oh?" 

        "Yeah. If we become good friends than it will be easier to do scenes like this. That way we can always joke about it afterwards." His voice was lighthearted, but the words hit me like a million knives right into my heart. 

        I shook my head softly as if to shake out the horrible feeling and keep what I was thinking from showing. I plastered a fake smile on my face, trying to be convincing. "Yeah. That's a great idea. Perfect, even." 

        A huge smile shown on his face, his bottom teeth showing slightly from smiling so big. I loved that smile. "Good. Then let's get going." He stood up and grabbed my hand, leading me out of my chair. The way his hand wrapped around mine made me feel dizzy. 

        "Right now?" I was able to squeak out. 

        Darren turned around, his face a little too close for comfort. I could feel his warm breath tickle my skin as he spoke. "Right now."