If You Only Knew

Derrik's heart pounded as he raced through the airport. He could almost feel the thunderous steps of the security guards chasing him, but he pushed all thoughts of them aside. There was only one thing that his mind could focus on.

He couldn't let Kelly get on that plane.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kaley's POV

It was two weeks later that he popped the question. No, not that question.

"Hey, Kaley?" he said, pulling my attention away from the words printed across the computer screen in front of me. I turned in my chair to look at where he was lying on my bed.

"Yeah?" I replied, raising an eyebrow at him. Darren didn't usually talk when I was working on my story because he said that he would distract me too easily and he wanted me to be able to finish it. Truth be told, just him being in the same room was a bit of a distraction, but I could never tell him to leave. As much as his presence was distracting, it was also comforting, knowing that he was right there if I needed him.

"I've been thinking," he said slowly, as if still trying to figure out how to word his thoughts. "What would you think about moving in with me?"

"Moving in with you?" I repeated, slightly surprised. "In L.A.?" We had planned that whenever Darren and Chris came to visit me and Leah here in New York, they would usually stay at our place or stay at a hotel nearby.

"Well, yeah," he smiled. "What do you think?"

"Darren, L.A. is on the other side of the country!" I sighed. "I can't just pack up and move in with you! What about the apartment? What about Leah? I can't just abandon her!"

The idea of moving in with Darren was actually more tempting than I could believe, but I couldn't just get up and move to L.A. and leave Leah behind. And it wasn't like Leah would want to move there. Her passion was Broadway and the shows, which was here in New York. Sure, I could write anywhere, but it had been Leah's dream to come to New York and I couldn't take her away from that.

"Well, how about we compromise?" Darren offered. "You come back with me to L.A. during the week and on weekends, we'll come back and stay here. And whenever Leah's not doing shows, she could come with us."

"But again, what about the apartment?" I argued. "I'd be paying for a place that I'd barely be at and Leah can't afford this place on her own. Plus, I was thinking about getting a job to help pay for rent and-"

"I'll pay for it," Darren said, cutting me off. "For all of it. It'd be worth it to be able to have you with me for more than just a couple of times a week. Plus, if you don't say yes, then this would go to waste..." He held out a piece of paper to me, trying to look sad and dejected, but I could see the slight smile sneaking onto his lips. Curious, I stood up and walked over, taking the paper from him as I sat down on the bed beside him.

"What is it?" I asked, unfolding it. A loud gasp filled the room as my eyes fell on the open page. "Darren, did you... Is this..."

"It's for us," he grinned, wrapping his arms around my waist as he nuzzled his face against my neck. He pressed his lips gently against the soft skin there before continuing. "There's even extra bedrooms so Leah and Chris can come stay over too."

I was at a loss for words. In my hands, I held the deed for a large, beachfront residence. It was two stories high with four bedrooms, three bathrooms, a large kitchen and dining room, and even an outdoor heated pool, sided by a large jacuzzi.

"Darren, this is too much," I whispered, still blinking in awe at the paper in my hands.

"No, Kaley," he smiled. "It's perfect. There are plenty of rooms so we'd be able to have our friends and family come and stay with us when they visit, it's in a beautiful location - you know how often you've talked about wanting to live on a beach - and we'd be together. No more of this painful time apart."

"You're crazy," I giggled, turning slightly to lightly peck his lips.

"It's a good thing that you are too, otherwise this would be a very unbalanced relationship," he teased back. I just shook my head and laughed as I looked back down at the paper in my hands.

He really got this for us, I thought in awe. Darren really is serious about this relationship. He really does love me.

I looked back up into his beautiful, hazel eyes and smiled.

"I love you," I said softly, meaning every word.

"I love you too," Darren whispered back, pressing his lips gently to my forehead. When he pulled away, he looked deep into my eyes and I could see the question hanging in his.

"So, does that mean yes?" he asked slowly, almost as if he was afraid that I'd say no. But really, he should know by now that I can't say no to him, especially when he does his adorable, puppy-dog eyes.

"What do you think?" I smiled, wrapping my arms around his neck and bringing our lips together. His arms wrapped around my waist, pulling my body closer to his, as he deepened the kiss. I could almost feel the passion oozing from him.

It was in moments like this that I truly felt loved.

When we finally broke apart, Darren still stayed close, looking deep into my eyes again.

"Say it?" he whispered the small plea.

I smiled, happy to oblige.

"Yes, Darren, I will move in with you."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Darren's POV

It took about a week to move Kaley's stuff into our new place. We didn't move all of her things since she would still be living part time in New York, but we moved enough to make it feel like home.

Home, I smiled to myself as I looked around the living room that I was sitting in. This was our home.

It felt so good to say that. Our home. It wasn't just mine. It was ours.

"I just got the last box unpacked," Kaley's voice preceded her into the room. "I'm officially all moved in!"

I looked up at her as she walked into the room and smiled. She was wearing my Michigan shirt, which looked incredibly adorable on her, and a pair of sweatpants.

"I guess you've gotten past the stage of trying to impress me," I teased, gesturing towards her outfit. She just rolled her eyes as she plopped down onto the couch beside me.

"You've already seen me at my worst and yet you're still here," she pointed out. "Plus, I happen to like wearing these. They're comfy! And personally, I prefer comfort over style."

"Well, I think that you look adorable," I grinned as I pulled her towards me and wrapped my arms around her. She snuggled closer into my side, her head laying gently against my chest.

"Sometimes I just can't believe that this is all real," she whispered softly, almost too quietly for me to hear her.

"It is real," I smiled, giving her a light squeeze. "Despite all of the odds thrown at us, we've made it through. Us against the world."

"But we've barely just begun," she argued, pulling away slightly as she turned to look at me with a serious expression. "All of your fans, they've been speculating about our relationship, and even though they all basically know it's true, no one really knows for sure that we're even dating! Do you realize how much chaos it's gonna cause when we officially come out as a couple? There will be crazy, heartbroken fans acting out in their fits of denial, swarms of pestering paparazzi, people we don't even know judging us-"

"It doesn't matter," I shrugged. "As long as I have you, that's all that matters. I don't care what anyone else thinks or says. I love you, and no one can ever change how I feel about you, no matter how hard they try."

"Ever the charmer, Mr. Criss," she giggled, allowing herself to snuggle back into my side again. "I don't think that I'm ever going to win an argument against you because all you'll do is turn on the charm and sweep me off my feet!"

"Point for Darren," I joked, mimicking the action of checking off a point on a tally board.

"Oh, shush your mouth!" she laughed, clamping her hand down over my mouth. "Or at least put those lips to better use!"

"I can think of something they could be used for," I grinned, pulling her hand away from my mouth before leaning down to press my lips to hers.

"Much better use," she smiled, returning the affection.

"Oh my gosh!" an irritated voice exclaimed. "They seriously do not stop kissing, do they?"

We quickly broke apart, looking up to see Chris and Leah standing before us, Chris with his arms crossed over his chest and Leah with her hands on her hips.

"Leah!" Kaley exclaimed happily, breaking out of our cuddle to jump up and hug her friend. Chris just frowned, pouting his lip slightly as he looked down at himself.

"Yep, I'm here too," he stated. "Nice to know I'm acknowledged too."

"Chris!" I exclaimed teasingly, leaping up in a similar way as Kaley had and giving him a big hug. "It's so good to see you!"

"Sarcasm doesn't become you," Chris quipped in response, shoving me away.

"What sarcasm?" I asked, pouting my lip with a hurt expression. "I was just trying to give one of my best friends a hug and now he's rejecting me!"

Chris just rolled his eyes and shook his head at me before turning his attention towards Kaley, who was watching our interaction with Leah, both extremely amused.

"Ok, how much sugar did you let him have tonight?" he asked very seriously.

"None-" she started to respond, but I quickly cut her off saying, "Four chocolate bars." Kaley just looked at me and shook her head, a small smile creeping onto her lips.

"Point for Darren!" I exclaimed, winking at her playfully as I made another checkmark in the air. Kaley couldn't hold back a giggle that time.

"I feel like I'm missing out on some sort of inside joke," Chris commented to Leah.

"I'm afraid to think about what happens when we're not around," Leah replied, faking a shudder.

"I'll show you what happens," I smiled, grabbing Kaley and pulling her towards me. I planted a wet, sloppy kiss onto her lips, over exaggerating the whole thing, much like the kiss that Ron and Hermoine shared in AVPM.

"Darren!" Kaley eeked, trying to shove me away. "Gross!"

"Oh, so he's the sloppy kisser!" Leah exclaimed, causing Kaley to playfully bat at her arm. Chris and I exchanged a confused look, obviously missing something.

"Am I the only one without an inside joke?" Chris exclaimed unhappily, crossing his arms as he pouted his bottom lip.

"No, we've got lots of inside jokes!" Leah said, nudging him slightly.

"Like what?" I asked curiously.

"Come here and I'll tell you," she replied, motioning for me to move closer. I took a step towards her and turned my ear towards her to hear her better. She cupped her hands around my ear before leaning in to loudly whisper, "It's a secret!"

"Well, that's no fun!" I pouted, pulling away from her.

"Speaking of fun, what are you guys doing here?" Kaley asked. "I thought that you couldn't make it up this week?" The question was directed towards Leah.

"I got Aron to take my shifts this week so that I could come out and see your new place," Leah explained, naming one of her new coworkers at her new coffee shop job. "This place is amazing, by the way!" She turned in a small circle, looking around the open house. The kitchen was an open one that was visible from the living room, so the bottom floor felt very big and open.

"I know, right?" Kaley smiled. "Here, let me show you to your room." She reached out and took Leah's hand as she started to walk towards the stairs. "We'll let the guys get the snacks and pick out a movie for us to watch."

"I didn't agree to this!" I called out after her as she and Leah bounded up the stairs.

"Too bad!" she called back, her laugh flowing back down the stairs to us.

"Women," I said, looking at Chris as I shook my head. But yet I still found myself heading towards the kitchen, in search of appeasing snacks.

"You are so whipped!" Chris teased, following me over to the kitchen. "You'd do anything for her!"

"I would," I replied seriously, pulling out a bag of SmartPop popcorn. "You'd do anything for the person that you love."

"How are things between you two?" he asked, watching as I opened the bag and poured it into a large bowl. "Now that that "L" word is out there?"

"Great!" I smiled. "Actually, before you two walked in, unannounced, I might add, Kaley kind of mentioned something that I've been thinking about for a while now."

"Oh?" Chris replied, raising his eyebrows. "And what would that be?" I stopped pouring and looked up at him with a very serious and determined expression.

"I've decided that I'm ready," I said slowly. "I'm ready to go public with our relationship."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kaley's POV

The second that we were out of the guys' earshot, Leah almost instantly began battering me with questions.

"So what's it like living with Darren?" she asked, her eyes lighting up excitedly. "Have you guys, you know..."

"Leah!" I exclaimed, blushing heavily. "You know that I'm not ready for that yet!"

"I know, I'm just teasing," she laughed. "What about your story? How's that coming?"

"Great!" I smiled. "I think I'm almost done! Derrik just stopped Kelly from leaving and confessed his feelings for her."

"Did you remember to include the part where I, I mean, Lila slaps Derrik for being such a jerk?" Leah asked with a huge grin.

"How could I possibly leave that out?" I giggled. "Now all I have to do is wrap it up nicely, leaving it with a hopeful ending, but yet still one that leaves you wanting to read more. And then I have to try to find someone who will publish it. That'll be the fun part! And speaking of fun, here's your room."

I opened one of the doors on the right and walked in with Leah following right behind me. We stopped just inside of the door and looked at the room. It was huge, with bright purple and blue walls, and a huge queen sized bed smack dab in the middle of the room. Against one wall was something that I knew Leah would love, an electric keyboard.

"Sorry," I said with a slight smirk on my face as I looked at her wide eyed expression. "We couldn't get the grand piano to fit through the door. I hope the keyboard is okay."

"Can I move in now?" Leah asked breathlessly, staring around the room in awe. I had to admit, Darren had really outdone himself with this place. He was the one who had insisted on getting Leah the keyboard. I had said that it was too much, that buying the house and offering rooms to Chris and Leah was already enough, but he insisted. And I just couldn't resist him when he wanted something. Darn those adorable, puppy-dog eyes!

"You know that you're always welcome here," I smiled, watching as Leah crossed the room and gently dragged her fingers across the keyboard's shiny new keys.

"So, I forgot to ask," I said, hopping onto the large bed. "How's your new job going?" Leah turned and looked up at me with a huge smile.

"I love it!" she replied, walking over and hopping onto the bed beside me. "I've been able to play the Grand twice now and Aron has been so sweet in showing me the ropes and-"

"Aron, eh?" I smirked, giving her playful wink. "I haven't heard much about him yet. What's he like?"

"Gay," Leah replied, laughing lightly. "Very gay. Besides, he's not my type."

"Since when is gay not your type?" I asked. "If I remember correctly, Exhibit A of your type is waiting right downstairs..."

I was not ready for the sudden pillow assault to my face.

"Leah!" I exclaimed. Though pillows were usually soft, they did still hurt a bit when hit in the face with one.

"Opps, did I do that?" she replied innocently.

"Oh, it's on!" I declared, grabbing a pillow.

That fight would go down in history as being one of the most epic pillow fights of all time... At least in Kaley and Leah time it would. I pitied the imaginations of the men waiting on the floor below us, who would have heard lots of thumping and screaming coming from the floor above them.

"I win," I huffed, out of breath as I laid on the bed, facing the ceiling.

"Nuh uh!" Leah objected from her spot on the bed beside me. "I won, thank you very much!"

"It's a good thing you have a pillow," I smirked. "Because you could've only won in your dreams!"

"Are you two quite done yet?" Chris' amused voice came from the doorway. We both looked up at him and blushed. "Darren and I have been waiting for you two for fifteen minutes now. The movie's ready."

"To be continued," I whispered to Leah, tossing my pillow at her as I stood up. I quickly dodged the pillow that she threw back at me as I slipped out of the room. The pillow just barely missed hitting Chris.

"Hey! Innocent bystander here!" he exclaimed. "...Nice room, by the way." I didn't hear Leah's response, because I was already at the stairs. I could see Darren sitting on the couch alone, a large bowl in his lap.

"Sorry we took so long," I apologized, dropping down onto the couch beside him. I instantly cuddled into him before moving the bowl from his lap to my own. As if on instinct, Darren's arm moved to rest across my shoulders, allowing me to cuddle into his side better.

"It's okay," he smiled. "Me and Chris got a chance to talk while you girls were... having fun."

"Oh?" I replied, popping a piece of popcorn into my mouth. "About what?"

"Just stuff," he shrugged. "You know, guy stuff."

"Okay then," I chuckled. A couple of seconds later, Chris and Leah came down the stairs.

"Took you long enough!" I teased as they sat down on the couch beside us.

"Sorry, I was cleaning up the mess you made in my room," Leah replied, sticking her tongue out at me.

"Do I need to get the pillow again?" I challenged playfully.

"Only if you're ready to lose again," she remarked.

"Oh, it's on!" I declared, moving to stand up, but Darren held me down.

"Later," he laughed. "Right now, it's movie time."

"Alright," I sighed, glancing over at Leah. "Temporary truce?"

"Temporary truce," she agreed.

"So what movie did you guys pick out?" I asked, turning back to Darren again.

"One of our favourites," he grinned, pressing play on the remote. Curious, and a little annoyed that he wouldn't give me a straight answer, I turned my attention on the huge, flat screen TV in front of us. The second that I heard Zachary Levi's voice starting to narrate, I recognized the movie.

"Tangled," I sighed happily, snuggling closer to Darren. This definitely was one of our favourites.

I loved saying that. That things were ours. Tangled was our favourite movie. SmartPop was our favourite snack. Cuddling was our favourite pastime. And those were just the beginning of the things that would become ours.