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Starting at the Beginning	By : Katma Category: Singers/Bands/Musicians > Savage Garden Views: 2042 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. I do not know the members of Savage Garden. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

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Darren woke up with a sense of well being he hadn’t felt in a long time, despite the persistently annoying buzz of the alarm clock. He slapped viciously at the clock until it fell silent, then lay back down. It took him a moment to remember why he felt so good, but then a huge smile spread across his face. Danny had accepted his apology! Darren certainly hadn’t expected that to happen, although he had hoped Danny would. Although the pair had a long history of friendship, they had also managed to fill the last two years with a lot of angry words and pain. Darren was just glad that their friendship had triumphed. He hadn’t been kidding when he told Dan he’d missed him. There
had been a huge, gaping hole in his life for the past year. Last night had gone a long way towards
filling it, and the singer was sure tonight would do the rest. He wished he had more time here, but Danny had said he wanted to see him again, so goiack ack on tour wouldn’t be quite so bad.

Darren glanced lazily at the clock and then did a double take. It couldn’t possibly be that late, could it? He couldn’t have slept through the alarm for that long. With a small yelp of panic, Darren shot out of the bed and headed for the bathroom, pulling off his t-shirt as he went. He quickly stripped off his boxers and hopped into the shower. The singer took probably the quickest shower in his life, then returned to the room before he was fully dry, a towel wrapped around his waist and another slung over his neck. He picked up the phone and quickly dialed.

“Hello?” came a female voice from the other end.

“Hi, mum!” Darren said cheerily.

“Darren, do you know what time it is?” his mother asked.

“Um, almost noon?” Darren answered meekly.

“And what time were you supposed to call?”

“10:30ish.”

“So what happened?”

“I slept in, mum! You can’t give a guy a break for jet lag coupled with extreme emotional stress?”

Darren could hear the repressed amusement in his mother’s voice as she responded with, “Well… normally I wouldn’t, but seeing as it’s you…”

“Do you still want to go to lunch?” Darren asked, laughing.

“I’d love to, but you’re going to have to pick me up. I lent my car to a certain someone,
and now I don’t have a ride.”

“Not a problem. I’ll be there soon, ok?”

“Good. And then you’re going to tell me how things went last night, you hear?”

“Yes, mum, I hear,” Darren laughed.

“Bye, dear,” said his mother, and hung up. Darren smiled as he gently set down the receiver. He was glad his mom still wanted to meet. He had been dying to tell someone about last night, and who better than his mother? He also hadn’t had time to just relax with any of his family in a long time. One of the downfalls of living on a different continent and having a career with a busy touring schedule was how that separated him from his family. Well, this trip is turning out to be productive on all fronts, isn’t it? Dar Darren thought happily. He rummaged through his suitcase for something to wear, then pulled up short, a pair of jeans and a black button-down dangling from his hands. He didn’t have anything to wear for tonight!

Darren sighed, then grinned mischievously. He couldn’t go out in the clothes he had with him, so he would just have to buy some he could go out in. With that happy thought in mind, Darren quickly pulled on his clothes and shoes. He took his wallet, room key, and car keys from the bedside
table. Quickly he ran an eye over the room, making sure that he hadn’t forgotten anything important. Grabbing his light jacket, Darren stepped outside his door and hurried down to his car.

* * * * *

A short while later, Darren was sitting with his mother at a table in a small restaurant not far from his family’s house. The food had just arrived, and Darren looked eagerly at his salad. The salad,
complete with grilled chicken, pecans, mandarin oranges, and dried cranberries tossed with a light vinaigrette dressing, had sounded intriguing on the menu, and looked even more so sitting in front of him. He barely managed a bite, however, before his mother started the interrogation. She certainly seemed less interested in her sandwich than she was in wrangling information out of her son.

“So?” she prompted.

“So what?” Darren responded, playing dumb. He took another bite of his salad. It was really quite good, he noticed. His mother rolled her eyes.

“You know what. How did things go with Daniel yesterday? I assume it must have gone pretty well, seeing as you are here and alive and I didn’t hear anything on the news this morning about Daniel being found murdered.”

“Well, if you already know that much, what’re you bothering me for?” Darren asked with a disgruntled glare at his mother. He didn’t appreciate the crack about the two of them killing each other, although he had to admit it had certainly seemed like things between them were going to eventually get to that point.

“I’m just teasing, sweetie. Don’t get so mad,” his mother said with a laugh. “And I want to know what exactly happened, and I know you really want to tell me.”

Darren pouted briefly, but then a sunny smile suddenly appeared on his face.

“You know me too well!” he exclaimed. “Although, I suppose that’s your right as my mother, hmm?” He waited for his mother’s assenting nod, then continued on with his story.

“It went much better last night than I could ever have expected. I was so afraid Danny was going to slam the door in my face, but he let me in almost right away. And then, we’re in his living room, sitting across from each other, and I couldn’t think of a single thing to say!”

“You??” Judy Hayes gasped in feigned disbelief. “My Darren, speechless?” Darren just rolled his
eyes and continued.

“So Daniel finally asks what I came to see him for, and I managed to get it all out. How I felt bad about what happened, and how I wanted us to be friends again. He was kinda mad, and we
got into it a little bit over whose fault it was that the band broke up. But I think we both realized that neither one of us was either completely guilty or completely innocent. So, he accepted my apology. And he apologized, too. And then he and Kathleen invited me to dinner, and Dan said he wanted me to come back over my break in touring so he could show me Meridienmusik, and he and I have plans for tonight, and everything’s back to normal,” Darren finished in a rush.

“What’s Kathleen like?” Judy asked curiously.

“Uh… I don’t really know,” Darren confessed. “She didn’t talk much last night.”

“She didn’t talk much last night, or you two didn’t let her talk much last night?”

“Well, probably the latter,” Darren said with a blush.

“Oh, Darren! That poor girl! That was probably the worst dinner of her life. The way you two get when you’re together… I feel sorry for her.”

“We didn’t mean to!” Darren protested. “It’s just… we had so much to talk about. All that time to make up for. It wasn’t like we were deliberately ignoring her, it just happened!”

“I know, but it most likely was not pleasant for Kathleen. She hasn’t even had time to get used to you two being close again.”

Darren just shrugged and took another huge bite of his salad. He did feel kind of bad for Kathleen now that his mother had pointed out how their behavior had most likely affected her, but not badly enough to regret the closeness of last night. If he had his way, this closeness would continue, so she would just to to get used to it at some point. Darren was sure she would. Everyone else had, eventually. Judy noticed the closed-off look in her son’s eyes and decided to change the subject.

“You said you had plans with Daniel this evening?” she questioned, watching as her youngest lit up again with excitement.

“Yup,” he confirmed. “Dan says he knows a good club we can hang out at. Which reminds me. You up for a shopping trip this afternoon?”

“Always. What did you have in mind?”

“Well, I didn’t bring any clothes suitable for going out in, so I need to pick some stuff out for tonight.”

“Sounds good,” his mom answered. “Just let me finish my sandwich and then we can go.”

“You don’t have to hurry. We have time.”

“Darren, you forget. I’m your mother. I know how you shop. If I want to get home to make dinner for your father tonight, we need to leave here soon!”

“Ha ha, very funny,” Darren retorted, but turned to his salad with renewed vigor. His mother wasn’t exaggerating his shopping abilities by much, Darren was honest enough to admit.

* * * * *

Daniel turned off his sound equipment, finally satisfied. He stretched, feeling the
vertebrae in his back popping. He glanced at the clock and smiled. Darren should be calling soon to confirm their plans for tonight. Daniel couldn’t deny the frisson of anticipation that rushed through him at the thought. Life had gotten predictable without Darren around. Although the guitarist loved the stability and routine he had managed to establish for himself, he did admit that it was
also slightly boring. Something vital had been missing from his life.

Darren was that something. Life with Darren as a friend was never boring. The singer flung himself wholeheartedly into everything in life, riding both the highest highs and the lowest lows that
were thrown at him. That way of life was too exhausting for Daniel, but he had to admit it was exciting to live vicariously through Darren. The older man’s impact on the people he cared for was incredibly intense, and Daniel had missed the vibrancy that Darren had brought into his life. Tonight promised to be quite an evening.

Thoughts of Darren brought back memories of last night, and Daniel felt a pang of guilt. In retrospect, he and Darren really had completely ignored Kat all evening, even after she had gone to all that trouble to make dinner for them. Although Daniel knew he probably could not have acted differently, he still couldn’t help feeling bad for Kat. She certainly wasn’t used to the way he and Darren could be with each other. Daniel knew that his closeness with Darren had sometimes even irritated Colby, and she had been used to their behavior. Since Kat had no basis for comparison, he could see where this would make her slightly angry. He wanted to do something to make it up to
her. A wide grin suddenly spread across Daniel’s face, and he jumped up. He had the perfect idea for tonight, but he’d have to get ready quickly. Kat would be home soon, and he wanted to be ready before she got back.

Daniel took a quick shower and headed back to his bedroom. He stood in front of the closet for a moment, debating on what he should wear. Finally, with a shrug and a sigh, he chose some random clothes out of his closet. He knew he’d be overshadowed by Darren in the clothes department, but when wasn’t he? He yanked on a pair of dark khakis and a deep green shirt.
Daniel was in the process of brushing his teeth when the phone rang. Grabbing the phone, Daniel pushed the toothbrush to the side of his mouth.

“’Lo?” he said, voice muffled by the toothbrush and paste.

“Danny?” came Darren’s hesitant voice.

“Yeah, hang on a sec,” Daniel responded. He quickly removed the toothbrush, spat, and rinsed.

“I’m back. Sorry ‘bout that. I was brushing my teeth.”

“Are you busy? Should I call you back?”

“Nah, I’m good now.”

“Ok. So… how was your day?”

“Good. I got a lot of stuff done, so it was good. How was yours?”

“Mm, good. I had lunch with mum today. She wanted to make sure we hadn’t killed each other last night.”

Daniel laughed. “That sounds like your mum. Gave you the third degree, did she?”

“Yeah, just a bit. But it was good to hang out with her. I haven’t had much time to just be with my family lately.”

“Yeah,” Daniel said quietly. He remembered how he had hated being away from his family when Savage Garden was touring. It was one of the major reasons he had wanted the break. Darre~ bs obviously thinking the same thing, because there was a short, awkward silence on the line.

“Well,” Darren finally offered, his voice deliberately bright. “We still on for tonight?”

“Yeah, of course,” Daniel returned, grateful for the change in topic.

“Good. So what time are we going?”

“Probably around 11. Kat and I are going out to dinner first, and anyway, things don’t get interesting until later.”

“True,” Darren responded. “And Mum wants me to stay for dinner tonight, so that works. Hey, where’re we going again?”

“It’s this new place, kinda hard to find unless you know where to look. I’ll just come pick you up.
Where’re you staying?”

“Um, the Holiday Inn.”

“Really? That’s not that far from the club, only about three blocks."

Kat walked in at that moment with a cheery greeting. Daniel smiled at her and mouthed “hi” while gesturing at the phone. She grinned and nodded, walking over to him to kiss him on the
cheek. Then she slipped away to the kitchen to get something to drink. Daniel turned his attention back to the phone.

“How do you think parking’s going to be?” Darren was saying.

“Uh, probably bad. It always is at these places.”

“Do you just want to park here at the hotel? If it’s really only three blocks, we can walk there.”

“You don’t mind? Cuz that would be great.”

“Nah, I don’t mind. Could use the exercise after eating at my mum’s. She always makes so much!”

“Ok, it’s settled then. I’ll see you at 11, then. Meet me down in the lobby?”

“I’ll be there. Have fun at dinner tonight.”

“Yeah, you too. ‘Bye!”

“See ya.”

Daniel hung up the phone, a small smile playing around his lips, and then followed Kat into the kitchen. She was leaning up against the counter, drinking a glass of water.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hey,” she responded with a smile. “You look nice. You dressed to go out with Darren already?”

“Sort of. You busy this evening?”

“Hmm, I dunno,” Kat teased. “Depends on what you have in mind.”

“How about dinner?”

“Are you buying?”

“Of course!”

Kat laughed. “Then just give me a few minutes to get ready, ok?”

“Take all the time you need.”

Kat paused on her way up the stairs. “You know, you should never say things like that to girls.”

“Why not?”

“Because we take advantage of people giving us all the time we need.”

“Well, then, if you take too long, I’m going without you,” Daniel said with a chuckle. “I’m starving.”

“I’m moving, I’m moving,” Kat said as she disappeared into the bedroom. A surprisingly short time later, she emerged.

“You look nice,” Daniel echoed her comment from before.

“Thanks,” Kat responded as she stepped down the stairs. She had changed into a pair of black slacks and a warm blue cashmere sweater.

“So, where are we going?”

“Uh…” Daniel stopped short. He hadn’t quite thought that far in advance. Kathleen stopped as well and studied Dan’s face. Then she burst into laughter.

“Forgot that part, huh?”

Daniel blushed a bit, and Kathleen laughed harder.

“Well, since you didn’t have anything else in mind, how about we go out for Italian? I’ve been craving fettuccini for a while now. That ok with you?”

“Yeah, it sounds great,” Daniel said, still a little red. “Let’s go.”

The drive to the restaurant was relaxed and casual, as was the conversation while waiting for the food. It seemed that Kathleen had gotten over her anger at being ignored, which made Daniel feel much better. He hated fighting, and he didn’t want to be at odds with Kathleen over Darren.
Their still-slightly unstable friendship didn’t need that strain on it now.

“So,” Kat began as the waiter brought their food out. “When are you and Darren going out tonight?”

“Around 11,” Daniel told her.

t lat late?” Kat asked.

“Clubs don’t really start to get interesting until around then.”

“True. It’s been so long since I’ve really been to one I’d forgotten.”

“God, I went to so many of them with Darren… there justjust some things you don’t forget.”

“Yeah, I guess.” Kat looked slightly uncomfortable at the reminder of her boyfriend’s closeness to Darren. “How long do you think you’ll be gone tonight?”

“Not that long, I guess. Darren’s still probably goingbe jbe jetlagged, and it’s been a while since I’ve really been out all night. I should be back before it really becomes morning.”

“Ahh, ok,” Kat said, her expression betraying a slight bit of relief. As unreasonable as she’d convinced herself that her fears from the night before were, she still felt a bit of unease at the thought of Daniel spending a great deal of time with Darren. There was just something about the dynamic of the two together that set off warning s ins in her head.

“So,” she said, switching topics completely. “Tell me about your day.”

The rest of the evening continued in that light vein. Dinner was delicious. Kathleen was thrilled that Daniel had thought of this. It managed to lay some of her fears to rest. They returned home, and passed the rest of the evening talking and watching television. Daniel glanced up at the
clock and turned back to Kat.

“Hey, I’ot tot to go pick up Darren. I’ll see you later, ok?”

“Yeah, ok,” Kat responded. She stood when Daniel did, and walked him to the door. He kissed her goodbye lightly, then turned to leave.

“Have fun, and don’t stay out too late,” Kat couldn’t resist saying.

Daniel rolled his eyes. “Yes, mum,” he called over his shoulder, not even turning around. “’Night, Kat.”

“Night, Dan,” Kat answered, then closed the door behind him.
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Starting at the Beginning