If You Only Knew

Kelly smiled as Derrik's fingers laced through hers. She gave his hand a light squeeze as she looked up at him, realizing with certainty that as long as she had Derrik by her side, she was ready to face the future. She didn't know what that future would hold for them, but she was sure of one thing. No matter what happened or what obstacles they faced, they would face them together, side by side, hand in hand. Because it was when they were together that they were the strongest.

Hit us with your best shot, world, Kelly silently challenged. We're ready for you.

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

Kaley's POV

It was a Wednesday when I got the call.

"Hello?" I said as I answered my phone.

"Is that my award winning author of a daughter?" I heard my dad's voice filter through the phone.

"No, Dad," I chuckled, rolling my eyes. "I haven't won anything yet. I haven't even been published yet!"

"But you will soon!" I could almost see the proud smile that echoed through his voice. "There's no way that they'll turn your story down! It's amazing!"

I couldn't help but blush at his praise. I had emailed my parents a copy of my story a couple of days ago and already my dad was shouting to the world about how amazing it was.

If only he knew that it was based on my life. I don't know if he'd been singing the same praises.

"Many good stories are turned down all the time," I argued. "It's all up to what the publishers are looking for, the next big thing. Like I bet that I could write a vampire love story and it'd still get picked up! And before you say it, no, I am not going to write a vampire love story. They're so overdone!"

"Yeah, I mean who wants to read about dead things falling in love anyways," Leah commented as she passed by me, snatching the bowl of popcorn that was sitting on my lap on her way.

"Hey!" I exclaimed, holding the phone to my chest to talk to Leah. "I was eating that!"

"Not anymore!" she smirked, purposefully popping a piece of popcorn into her mouth right in front of me. I proceeded to stick out my tongue at her, promising her a full out war once I was off the phone, before returning the phone to my ear.

"-so proud of you," my dad continued saying. I guess that he didn't realize that I had pulled the phone away from my ear and hadn't been listening. The last part sounded good though.

"Oh, um," thanks, Dad," I replied.

"You're going to great things, Kiddo," he beamed. "I just know it."

"Only cause I had such a great dad growing up," I teased, smiling proudly.

"I know," he replied. "Aren't you so lucky?"

"The luckiest," I chuckled.

"But seriously, when can we expect to see our daughter's name on the bookshelves in Coles?" my dad asked.

"Hopefully soon," I smiled. "I sent out a few copies to a couple of different publishing companies. Hopefully one of them will pick my story up."

"They will," my dad replied confidently. "So does that mean that you're in New York right now?"

"No, I'm actually in L.A.," I replied. "A few of the publishers that I submitted my story to live here in L.A., so I thought it might be best to hang out here for a while. Plus, Leah's up for the week, so I've been spending time with her."

"What about the boyfriend?" my dad questioned seriously. He wasn't very happy when he found out that I was living with Darren in L.A.. He just barely accepted it until I told him that me and Darren had our own rooms.

What I didn't tell him was that I hardly ever slept in mine, or if I did, it was never alone.

Once you've experienced having a loved one share a bed with you, it just wasn't the same sleeping alone. You felt like a piece of you was missing and you wouldn't be able to sleep comfortably until you had that piece with you again.

"Darren and Chris are both filming this week, so they're on set most of the time," I explained. "So it's just me and Leah hanging out here at the house."

"That's good to hear," my dad replied, making me roll my eyes. "I'm still not comfortable with the idea of you living with someone when I haven't even met them yet."

"I already told you," I sighed. "Darren has a lot of filming he was to do for the show right now, so we aren't able to come up to visit. But Darren has time off for Christmas, so we'll be up then to visit."

"So you won't be home for Thanksgiving then?" my dad sounded unhappy.

"I don't know, Dad," I sighed. "I'll have to see how things are here when the time comes."

"We'd really like it if you were home for Thanksgiving with us," he pushed. "Since you missed Easter with us this year." I winced at the hurt in his voice. I had opted out of going home for Easter this year, choosing instead to stay in New York with Leah, since she wouldn't be going home as her parents were gone away on a cruise. I'd feel bad leaving her alone at the apartment, and bringing her with me didn't really seem like the best option since my parents didn't really like her and she didn't really like my parents. So instead, I broke tradition and stayed with her.

"I'll try my best, okay?" I sighed.

"Alright," my dad agreed. "I love you, sweetheart."

"I love you too, Dad," I replied softly. "I'll see you soon, okay?"

"Okay," he said. "Make sure you call me and let me know the second that you find out when you're getting published. I want to be the first person to buy your book."

"Alright, I will," I smiled. "I promise. Talk to you later. Bye."

"He still on you about Easter?" Leah asked, plunking down on the couch beside me as I hung up my phone.

"Yes," I replied, snatching my bowl of popcorn back from her. It was almost empty. "So you'd better be thankful that I did that for you."

"Meh, I'd have been fine without you," she shrugged.

"Jerk," I laughed, lightly shoving her away from me.

"You know that I'm thankful that you did that," she grinned. "You have to admit though, we made a pretty dang good Easter turkey dinner."

"Yeah, I actually got to help make more than just toast!" I teased, sticking my tongue out at her.

"Hey, your toast is amazing," Leah replied too seriously to be real. "You are probably the best toaster in the world."

"Oh, shut your mouth!" I giggled, shoving her again.

"Fine, don't accept my compliment," she huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "See if I ever praise your toast-making skills ever again!"

"Like you actually would," I teased, grabbing one of the couch pillows and smacking her with it.

"Oh, it's on, Grant!" she declared, grabbing one of the other pillows and smacking me with it. I quickly grabbed another pillow and chucked it at her, all the while using my first pillow as a kind of shield to block her attacks.

We were so engaged in our fight that we almost didn't hear the doorbell ring.

"Time out!" I ordered, making my arms create a T shape as I moved towards the front door. Our epic battle had taken us across the room and through the kitchen so we were no longer in the living room.

As I hurried towards the door, something soft but solid hit me square in the back of the head.

"Leah!" I exclaimed, turning back to her with an angry glare. "Cheater!"

"Hey, all's fair in love and war," she grinned. I stuck my tongue out at her before turning back to the door and opening it.

"Package for a Miss Kaley Grant?" the man standing there said. He was wearing a light blue postal service uniform.

The mail guy, I realized with a smile.

"That's me," I replied, accepting the package from him.

"If you could just sign here please," he said, holding out a clipboard. I quickly filled out the required paperwork and then bid him a good day before closing the door and looking at the package in my hands.

"Ooo! What's that?" Leah asked, coming up beside me.

"I don't know," I replied, turning the package over in my hands. I looked at the return address and gasped.

"It's from one of the publishers!" I exclaimed.

"Kaley, that's awesome!" Leah exclaimed as well. "Well, what are you waiting for? Open it!"

She didn't have to tell me twice. I quickly tore open the package, though I was quickly surprised to find my story in my hands. Attached to it, was an envelope. I slowly picked the envelope up and opened it.

The letter inside read:

Miss Grant,

We thank you for your submission, but at this time we cannot accept your story. We feel as if it is too underdeveloped and not yet ready to be printed on a wide scale. Once you have re-edited your story, you may submit it again for possible acceptance.

SilentPages Publishing

"Well?" Leah asked eagerly. "What does it say?"

"They turned my story down," I replied sadly. "They said that it's too underdeveloped."

"That's a load of bull!" Leah exclaimed. "Your story is one of the best stories I've ever read!"

"Leah, you hardly ever read," I argued.

"Exactly!" she agreed. "Cause I only read the best stories and that's why yours was one that I read!"

"Thanks, Leah," I sighed. "But just because you think that doesn't mean that the publishers will."

"Kaley, that was just one stupid publisher," Leah argued. "A publisher who wouldn't know a good story if it smacked them right dab in the face! Your story will get picked up, trust me."

"It's hard to believe that," I sighed. "Getting rejected like this takes a real toll on one's confidence."

"Just you wait, Kaley," Leah grinned. "Soon those acceptance letters will be flowing in and this publisher will be regretting the day they ever let you slip through their fingers!"

"I hope you're right," I said softly.

"Of course I am!" she exclaimed. "I'm your best friend! I'm always right!"

Unfortunately, Leah wasn't right this time. As the next couple of days passed, more and more rejection letters came and I got more and more depressed.

"Look at this one!" I exclaimed, thrusting a letter at Leah. "Your work is unoriginal and unimaginative! Like are you kidding me?! This is based off my life! How is that not original!"

"Settle down, Kaley!" Leah hushed. "They don't know what they're talking about."

"Maybe I'm not good enough to be a writer," I sighed, slumping down on the couch in defeat.

"Don't you dare even say that!" Leah exclaimed. "All of the best writers were rejected at some point! Look at J.K. Rowling! She was rejected plenty of times before her stories got picked up! And now look where she is! She is a household name!"

"Doesn't mean that I'm going to be," I argued weakly.

"Seriously, Kaley?" Leah huffed. "Do I have to smack some sense into you?" She held up her hand in warning, making me instantly bring my arms up to hide my face.

"No," I moaned.

"You're impossible!" Leah sighed, slumping down on the couch beside me. I peeked out at her and saw that she was typing away on her phone.

"You aren't texting Darren, are you?" I asked hesitantly. Darren had been so busy with work this past week that he hadn't really noticed my change in confidence. I had made Leah swear not to say anything about the letters to him and since he had been so emotionally strained from shooting, he was too tired to notice how upset I truly was.

"No," she sighed, rolling her eyes. "I'm just texting Chris."

"You're not-" I started, but she quickly cut me off.

"No, I'm not telling him, don't worry," she said. "I'm just seeing when they're home tonight. I'm sorry, but you're really not the best company right now."

I opened my mouth to argue with her, but the words fell short of my mouth. She was right. I probably wasn't the best company right now.

"I'm gonna go up to my room," I told her, standing up and moving towards the stairs.

"Ok," she replied, her eyes still on her phone. "Call me if you need me."

I slowly made my way up the stairs to my room, where I instantly flopped down on my bed, face first. I knew that it was silly of me to get so upset over a few rejections, but it hurt so much to see something that I had worked so hard on, that had so much of me put into it, get rejected over and over again.

I suddenly heard a soft buzzing sound and slowly pulled my head up to look for the source of the sound. That was when I noticed my phone sitting on it charger, the alert light for texts flashing on it. I sluggishly reached over and plucked it off its stand. Apparently I had almost missed a couple of calls and had a few voicemails, as well as a couple of texts, which were all from Darren.

Darren: Hey Kaley, just wanted to see what you're up to. This scene is so brutal right now. I can't wait till you get to see it!

Darren: I'm guessing that you left your phone in your room again haha :-p that's ok. Just check your voicemail when you get this, ok? Love you! <3

I smiled as I read his texts. With only a few words, he was able to help cheer me up a bit. Not forgetting about what he had said, I quickly went to my voicemail. There were two messages, the first obviously from Darren.

"Hey, Kales," his voice flowed into my ear. "Just wanted to see how you were doing and say that I miss you and I love you. Man, I love saying that. I love you, babe! I'm supposed to be off tomorrow, so I was hoping that maybe I could take you out for lunch or something? Finally take you on that first date that we still haven't had yet? Anyways, I've gotta get back to set soon, so I guess I'll see you when I get home then? Have a good day! I love you! Bye!"

I can't deny the fact that I felt significantly better after hearing his voice. And the promise of finally having our first date definitely helped too.

Even if I don't become a successful writer, at least I'll still have a boyfriend who loves me, I smiled to myself as my phone continued on to the next voicemail.

This one was not from Darren.

"Hello, Miss Grant," a voice I didn't recognize came through the phone. "My name is Sheilah Robertson and I represent SkyRocket Publishing. We have received your story and we have found it very intriguing. I was able to read it myself and I was pleasantly surprised by it. We would like to meet with you to discuss the possibility of us publishing your work. If you could please call me back at-" She went on to give callback information, but it all went in one ear and out the other. All I could process was the fact that she wanted to meet me. To publish my work.

"Leah!" I nearly screamed. She was up to my room within seconds.

"What?" she gasped. "What's wrong?"

"I've got a meeting!" I squealed. "I've got a meeting with a publisher! I'm going to get published!"

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

Darren's POV

Work had been especially brutal the past couple of days. We had been shooting some emotional scenes in which Blaine was feeling ignored by Kurt, which in turn made him do something stupid.

Man, Kaley is going to flip when she sees this episode! I thought with a slight chuckle as I opened the door to our place. The lights were all off except for a single glow coming from the dinner table where a tall candle was sitting.

"Hello?" I called out into the darkness, setting my bag down as I slowly walked towards the table.

"You're home!" Kaley's happy voice came out of the darkness, followed soon after by Kaley herself. She quickly stepped towards me and wrapped her arms around my neck, pulling me down for a kiss.

"I missed you," she whispered as she touched her forehead to mine.

"I missed you too," I whispered back. After a couple of seconds, I pulled away and looked back at the table before us.

"What's all this?" I asked curiously.

"I made supper," Kaley grinned proudly.

"Awesome," I grinned as well, allowing her to lead me to my seat. I watched as she walked around to the other side of the table to her seat. There was a light, happy bounce to her step.

"It's nice to see you happy again," I commented. "I haven't seen you this happy in a few days now."

"You noticed?" she blinked in surprise.

"Of course I noticed," I replied honestly. "How could I not noticed when the girl I love is upset?"

"Then why didn't you say anything?" she asked.

"I didn't want to pry," I shrugged. "I figured that you'd tell me when you were ready."

"Well," she took a deep breath. "The reason I had been so upset was because I had gotten a few responses from some of the publishers..."

"And they weren't positive?" I guessed softly.

"They weren't," Kaley sighed, shaking her head. "But, today, after I heard your voicemail, which made me smile, I got another one. From a publisher."

"And?" I pressed. I could feel my heart starting to beat faster, getting excited for her.

"I've got a meeting with a publisher!" she exclaimed. I leapt up out of my chair, went around to her, and hugged her tightly, gently lifting her up into the air as I did so.

"Kaley, that's so awesome!" I exclaimed. "That's amazing news! I'm so happy for you!"

"I still can't believe that this is actually happening!" Kaley grinned, hugging me back.

"Wow," I smiled as I set her back down. "I can't believe that my girl is going to get published! This is definitely news worth celebrating!"

"Yeah, about that," Kaley sighed. "The meeting is tomorrow, around lunch time, which means we won't be able to go out for our date."

"That's ok," I shrugged. "I'll take you out for a celebratory dinner instead. Our first date will also be a date to celebrate your success! It'll definitely be a date to remember!"

"Any date with you is a date to remember," she said shyly. I leaned down and gently kissed the tip of her nose.

"I love you," I said softly.

"I love you too," she replied.

There weren't any other words needed. We just stood there, holding each other in our arms, letting our bodies do the talking as the light from the candle slowly died down to a tiny, flickering flame.

"Let's go up to your room," I whispered softly, taking her hand in mine. She didn't say anything. All she did was gently squeeze my hand, allowing me to lead her away from the table and up the stairs. And as we left the room, the light from the candle slowly went out. But though that one went out, the ones in our hearts were still blazing.

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

Kaley's POV

"Hey, I'm heading out!" I called out, grabbing the keys from the ledge by the door. I glanced out through the window and saw that the sun was shining brightly, promising a good day.

"Where are you going?" Darren asked, hopping off the couch and coming over to me.

"I told you, silly," I smiled, stepping closer to him and giving him a light peck on the lips. "I'm meeting with the publisher today. I think that there's a good chance that they're actually going to publish my book!"

"Kaley, that's amazing!" he exclaimed, picking me up and swinging me around. I let out a small squeal as he spun me, which made him stop and put me down. "I'm so happy for you." He leaned down and kissed me softly.

"I really have to get going," I laughed, trying to break out of his hold. "I don't want to be late. That's not a good impression to give a possible employer!"

"Alright," he sighed, reluctantly letting go of me, but not before placing one last kiss on my lips. "Be safe. Oh, by the way, I'll be at Chris' later, so come by there after to let me know how it went? And then we can go from there to dinner."

"Of course," I smiled, heading towards the door. "I'll see you later. I love you."

"I love you too, Kaley," he smiled, leaning back against the door frame. "And I always will."

"I hope so," I whispered softly as I slipped out the door, closing it gently behind me. I hit the unlock button on the car remote and hopped into the sleek, black Mercedes that we shared. As I put the car into drive, I could help but feel so happy and blessed. It seemed like things were finally all working out.

Maybe fairy tales got it right, I smiled to myself. Maybe there really are 'happily ever afters'.

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

Chris' POV

I looked up at the clock on the wall and sighed. Darren was late. Again. Whenever we'd make plans to hang out, he'd always show up late, usually because he was doing something with Kaley, which wasn't a bad thing. I was glad that things were finally working out for them, but it was a little bit frustrating that Darren couldn't keep his word on being on time.

Maybe I should call him and remind him that we're supposed to be hanging out, I thought, starting to pull my phone out of my pocket. Suddenly, it started ringing. I looked at the name on the Caller ID and smiled.

"Hello," I said warmly as I answered the phone.

"Chris," her voice was filled with panic. "Chris, I need you here. Now."

"Why?" I asked, starting to feel slightly worried. "What's wrong?"

"Chris," she sounded like she was about to cry. "Chris, there's been an accident."

To be continued...