Here's my one-shot! Sorry if it's kind of long, but it is a one-shot…Hope you like it!

CPOV

I opened the box of cereal to see a bloodied severed finger lying on the top.

I screamed, dropping the box and jumping backwards, crunching the cheerios that had spilt out. The finger rolled out a little ways and came to rest on the floor several feet in front of me.

"Yes!" A triumphant voice whooped behind me. "April Fools!"

I took deep breaths, trying to calm my racing heart as I turned towards Simon behind me who was bent in half with the force of his cackling. "That wasn't funny."

Still giggling he bent to retrieve the rubber finger, bouncing it in his palm. "Sorry Chloe, but that definitely was. Your face…" he dissolved into laughter again.

I turned on my heel and stomped out of the kitchen, trying to stifle the ominous feeling welling inside me. I hated April Fools Day. I had almost gotten a heart attack and it wasn't even 9:00 am yet. What was next?

SPOV

"You just missed one hell of a prank." I wiped the lingering tears from my eyes and flopped down on my bed. Derek, lounging on the other with a math textbook in his lap, looked up disapprovingly.

"What did you do to Chloe now?" he sighed. He just didn't understand the value of a practical joke.

"Put this in her cereal." I triumphantly held up the gory rubber finger I had purchased at a local joke store last weekend.

"Ew." Tori, who had been painting her nails on our carpet because she didn't want to risk getting nail polish on her own, frowned.

"You should have seen her face. She screamed," I chuckled at the memory. "Could you hear it all the way up here?"

Derek grumbled an affirmative and Tori nodded. "Even I could," she confirmed.

I allowed myself several more moments of gloating before turning back to the others. "Well, what are we going to do next?"

"Research the Edison Group?" Derek suggested, putting aside his textbook in favor of a packet of papers on the nightstand, creased from being studied so many times.

I sighed at their lack of creativity. "We've been doing that for the past month. Today's April Fools Day- let's take advantage of it!"

"Why are you picking on Chloe so much?" Tori asked absently, not angry about it on Chloe's behalf, just curious.

I sighed again. Why did I have to be the only devious one here? "Because," I spoke slowly like I was talking to young children, "when else am I going to be locked up in a 'safe house' with a paranoid necromancer on April Fools Day? Do you know how valuable that is?"

Tori rolled her eyes. "Haven't you traumatized the poor sap enough?"

"Well what about we-" I had just been about to suggest we preset the shower water to icy cold when a better idea crossed my brain. A much, much better idea.

"I know!" I interrupted myself. "I'll pretend to be dead!"

Derek squinted at me as if questioning my sanity and Tori's eyebrows rocketed towards the sky. "What?" they both said simultaneously.

"I'll pretend I'm a ghost!" I said gleefully.

"And how do you propose you do that?" her eyebrows remained raised.

"You guys will have to help me, of course…" my mind was racing, plotting all the details.

"Why would we?" Tori turned back to her toes, squinting as she painted painstakingly slow.

"You just have to pretend you can't hear me. Don't even look at me." I saw doubt bloom on Derek's face. "Come on, man. That's all you have to do. Ignore me."

"I'm already trying to do that." he also looked away from me, turning to his papers.

It was a struggle not to groan with frustration. "It'll be so funny! Please? I'll just go into the kitchen and announce that I'm going outside. You can be there and argue, like, 'no it's too dangerous' or whatever so she won't know you're in on it. A few minute later I come back and- bam- none of you guys will acknowledge my existence. Chloe, thinking she's the only one who can hear me, will jump to the conclusion that I am a ghost. I'll just be careful not to bump into anything…"

Derek and Tori had both returned their attention to me, curiosity lit for the first time in their eyes. I felt a brief burst of triumph.

"That would work…" Tori said slowly and I could hear gears of her own churning in her head.

"It would be funny," Derek admitted. Inside I felt like singing. "But she'd be pissed."

"No, once she gets over the initial scare that she'll never see moi again, she'll agree it's hilarious."

"Simon…"

"Tori, are you gonna help me?"

She sighed. "Oh what the hell. Sure."

My face broke into a grin. "Cool. Derek?"

Whatever his answer was going to be, it was interrupted.

"What are you guys all doing in here?" I jumped, whirling to face Chloe standing in the doorway with her arms crossed, suspicion clear on her brow. When she met my gaze, she glared. I internally snickered again at this morning's prank.

"Researching." Derek held up the paperwork innocently. This was typical enough of Derek that she accepted it readily.

"Finding anything new?"

"Not yet." he turned back to study it, flipping through the pages.

"Tori? Is Simon trying to recruit you for some evil scheme?" Shit. Did she know?

"As if I would help him, even if he was," she exaggerated rolling her eyes, playing the part perfectly.

"Simon, I don't even want to know what you're doing," she sniffed disdainfully, clearly still mad at me. Wait till this afternoon, Chloe- hee hee.

"Well, I came up to ask if you knew where Andrew was. I can't find him." Andrew- that reminded me. I'd have to alert him to our plan, just in case he walked in and ruined everything.

"Did you check the basement? I thought he mentioned he was going to go down there to sort through some old boxes." Derek put the papers down and stood up, taking her elbow and steering her down the hallway.

I scrambled off the bed, leaping over Tori to catch up with them at the top of the stairs. I yanked Derek's arm, pulling him back a step. Chloe, oblivious ahead of him, kept going.

"Well?" I hissed, knowing he could hear me. "Are you in?"

He took a deep breath, glancing nervously at Chloe descending the stairs. Finally he nodded. "Yeah. I'm in."

DPOV

This is a mistake. That's all I could think as I sat across from Chloe at the kitchen table, pretending to be reading the werewolf book Andrew had been found in the basement (I was right- he was down there) and he had given Chloe and I both extra books on our given supernatural race to study. Any minute now Simon would walk in here, declaring he was going outside. My job was to tell him no, it's too dangerous.

I took a deep breath. Yeah, I could handle that. It's what I would have said if he really was going outside.

Involuntarily I peeked at Chloe sitting across the table. Her wide blue eyes were studying her necromancer book, her finger unconsciously winding a strand of her long blonde hair around itself. She continued reading, not knowing I was staring.

Would she hate me for participating in this cruel trick? I hoped Simon would be right and the answer would be no, but I couldn't be sure. Chloe's moods could be…unpredictable sometimes. What if it was just my luck and she was PMSing today? Then she'd definitely hate me.

Just as I had decided I wasn't willing to risk it, Simon bounced into the room. I tried to shoot him a warning look with my eyes but he just winked at me, misreading the green eyed glare.

"I'll be outside, ok?" he informed us.

This was my chance to stop it. I could just not answer him. But it was too late, the joke was already underway. "You'll be what?" I let disbelief and annoyance color my words, hating myself for it.

"Outside. You know, with the grass and trees and stuff. Nature."

"You can't go outside. It's too dangerous."

"Nah, I'll be fine, bro." This argument was all part of the little skit we had planned.

"For all we know there could be guys with guns out there!"

"Simon, don't be stupid." Chloe said without looking up from her book.

"I'll be fine." he repeated with emphasis.

"I'm going with you, at least." I stood up.

"Sit. Stay. Good little werewolf." I tried to ignore the werewolf cracks. "I'll be back in a little while."

I grumbled incomprehensively to myself, sinking back into my chair.

"You're just going to let him go?" Chloe raised her eyebrows at me.

"Not like I can stop him." I shrugged, turning back to the book.

There was a hint of suspicion in her eyes but she didn't protest further.

It was silent but for my guilty heartbeat for the next several minutes. Chloe, having no idea what we were about to do to her, was still pouring over her book. The strand of hair went around and around, counting each passing second.

Under the table I wiped my sweaty palms on my jeans.

Tori came in, muttered a hello, and went over to the fridge to pull out cold cuts for a sandwich.

Several minutes later there was the tread of footsteps, so light and careful a normal human wouldn't have heard them. I braced myself to ignore Simon. Show time.

CPOV

"Guys?" Simon's voice was uncharacteristically tentative. Short walk, I thought to myself, but I still turned around to ascertain that he was ok. Going outside was stupid in our current dangerous situation, and I was planning on reminding him of that.

The admonishing words were stopped in my throat as I took in his expression. It was dazed and more than a little confused. "Does anyone else feel kind of weird…like, tingly or something?"

Derek and Tori ignored him, probably as annoyed with him as I was. Still, I couldn't shake the feeling of wrongness that suddenly permeated the air.

"Simon, are you ok? You seem…" I faltered, not having the right word.

Tori and Derek looked up sharply at me then followed my gaze to Simon before returning to rest on me again.

"Oh, is he back?" Tori stood up and moved to peer out of the kitchen doorway. She passed within inches of Simon but her eyes didn't even flicker towards his.

That's when I started getting truly scared.

Simon also must have been mildly concerned because he frowned. He stepped forward to stand parallel to Tori, waving a hand in front of her face.

She frowned too, but showed no other sign of disturbance. "Chloe? I don't think he's back yet." Tori turned to me, planting her hands on her hips with disproval.

"Chloe?" Derek's voice was strained with anxiety.

"Yeah, he's standing right there." I said in my best 'duh' voice, pointing to accentuate.

"Yeah, I'm standing right here." Simon echoed me, worry swimming in his eyes. He was glaring at Tori and Derek alternatively.

"No one's standing there, Chloe…" Tori was chewing on her bottom lip.

"But he is there…" I trailed off as I realized what this meant. There was only one group of people no one else could see or hear…ghosts. One of my best friends (granted, the most obnoxious one, but still one of the best) was dead. I screamed and passed out.

SPOV

Her reaction was even better than I could have expected, she screamed even louder than at breakfast and then passed out. Ok, admittedly I could have done without the passing out part, but it was still hilarious.

I was having trouble breathing through my laughs as I had to lean against the doorframe for support. "That…was…amazing!" I guffawed.

Tori was snickering slightly, staring at Chloe. We were the only two who thought it was funny.

"Look what you made her do!" Derek snarled at us from the floor where he knelt next to Chloe, checking her pulse.

"Oh, she'll be fine, bro." I dismissed it with a wave. "But did you see her face?" I dissolved into giggles again.

"That was pretty funny," Tori agreed, hardy chuckles erupting from her mouth.

"No, it wasn't." Derek insisted, but, as he realized Chloe was going to be ok, the corner of his mouth turned up in the subtlest smile.

"See, she's waking up now," I pointed out. It was true, her limpid blue eyes were gradually fluttering open.

"Derek…?" she slurred, fumbling to push herself to a sitting position.

"Sh…" he put an arm around her shoulders to help support her until she stopped swaying. "Take it easy. You just passed out."

"What hap-" she broke off as horrifying realization flooded her face. It was almost funnier the second time. "Oh god, Simon, he's…he's…"

"A ghost?" Tori chuckled, leaning over Chloe with amusement.

Instantly Chloe's eyes flashed steely suspicion, such a drastic change of emotion my laughter doubled. "What's going on?" she demanded, probably realizing at about that time that it was a prank.

"He's alive!" I proclaimed, using a creepily deep Dr. Frankenstein voice.

"Then why-" she fell silent, deep in thought for a minute. Finally she sighed. "I guess you can say 'April Fools' now." I willingly obliged. "And you two were in on it?" she turned her icy glare to penetrate Tori and Derek.

"Yep." Tori admitted shamelessly, still laughing to herself.

Derek just ducked his head guiltily, neither admitting it or denying it. I felt the smallest twinge of guilt at getting my brother in trouble with his girlfriend, but it was so worth it.

"Great. Just great." I don't think I had ever seen Chloe this mad. Her puny height was more than made up with the force of her accusatory stares. Vehemently she shoved away from Derek and pushed herself to a standing position, tearing out of the room before any of us could stop her.

"Chloe, wait-" Derek leaped to his feet and would have followed her had I not placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Let her cool off a moment, Derek."

"Yeah, because you have so much expertise with angry women," Tori rolled her eyes at him. "Just let me go talk to her." She stalked from the room.

"See? Tori'll handle it." I patted his shoulder reassuringly.

"No." he ripped away from me. "Thanks to you, she hates all of us."

"Hey, wasn't it worth it?"

"No."

"Come on, it was funny. You know it was."

"No." he repeated, adamant.

"Just admit it," I coaxed, expecting him to crack soon. I was right.

"All right, all right!" he threw up his hands in surrender. "Yes, it was funny. Hi-freakin'-larious."

"You're still mad," I observed, noting his sarcasm.

"Really?" Even more of the named substance marred his words.

Tori tripped back into the kitchen, cool and unruffled. "She won't talk to me," she announced, helping herself to an apple on the counter.

"Let me try." This time, I didn't stop Derek.

DPOV

"Chloe?" I called tentatively through the closed door of the room she and Tori shared. I rapped lightly on it with my knuckles but received no answer so I tried the handle. Locked, of course.

"Chloe? I'm really sorry," I tried. Still nothing.

"Open the door, please?"

This time there came a muffled thud from the door, accompanied by a fearsome clattering. I didn't even want to know what she just threw at me. "Hey, please open the door?"

She did, for about two seconds. "No." She slammed it back in my face. Those two seconds were enough for me to take notice of two things: A) she was crying, and B) She was still really mad.

"Chloe, I am sorry. You know I feel bad…" She was back to distributing the silent treatment.

Discouraged, I plopped down on the carpet in front of her door. She'd have to open up sometime.

While doing that I thought about ways I could make it up to her. This act of pranking was going to require some major sucking up. But what to do…

I could ask Andrew to go to the store and buy some flowers for her, but that was too typical. I'd need to be more original. There was also always the option of a romantic dinner for two, but that wouldn't be quite right either. No, something truly special would be better.

Then it dawned on me, the perfect apology gift. I ran off to find Andrew.

CPOV

I lay flopped on my bed, not crying anymore but still wallowing in the betrayal, when there came another knock on the door. This was the first time in nearly an hour someone had been brave enough to try, but I had already decided I wasn't going to answer.

"Chloe?" It was Derek. I sat up and scooted myself up to sit against the headrest, glaring at the door. I already knew Simon was an obnoxious jerk and Tori was a bitch, but what I hadn't expected was Derek's participation in the prank. I had been so scared that Simon really had been dead, it was a joke that had far surpassed the acceptable line.

"Chloe, I know you don't want to talk to me, but please read this. Then you can decide whether or not to come out." A pause and then a soft crinkling as a folded up piece of paper was pressed beneath the door.

Curiosity spurring me forward, I stooped and retrieved the note, tugging it the rest of the way out from under the door. There was the barest sigh of relief from the other side as he saw I had taken it.

I stood up and leaned against the wall, unfolding it with fingers that trembled slightly. Something glinted metallic and slid out, landing on the floor with an indignant clattering before I had time to catch it.

I bent over and scooped up what I realized was a thin gold chain. I held it up to further study it, admiring the way the light shone off it in glittery waves as it twisted back and forth. It was with a start that I realized it wasn't your typical gold chain; the individual links were not mere rectangles, but tiny sparkling hearts intertwined.

I cupped the necklace in the palm of my hand and turned my attention to the note itself. Five small words were scrawled there.

Here. Since I broke yours.

I gingerly placed the suddenly valuable scrap of paper on the bureau and opened the door.

He was pacing back and forth up and down the hallway, muttering under his breath, but he stopped upon realizing I had fled my sanctuary. His green eyes, as luminous as ever, were filled with hope as they met mine.

"Thank you." I said stiffly.

"Well, I am the one who broke your old chain. Sorry you've had to use that ridiculous ribbon for the past month." he pointed at my throat where my pendant hung on the so-called 'ridiculous ribbon'.

"Well, thanks." I repeated, for lack of anything better to say. This unexpected act of kindness had, at least partly, made up for this afternoon.

"If you want, we can go down to the TV room. I rented a movie for you. Us. To watch. Together. If you want, that is." Derek's uncharacteristically choppy speech alerted me to the depth of his nervousness and regret. He really did want the chance to make it up to me.

I found myself nodding, subconsciously having decided to forgive him already. "Yeah. Let's go."

Sorry I made Simon so obnoxious in this story…lol. But anyway, please, please, please review! I really want to know what you thought and anything you think I could have improved upon!

Also, if you liked this one-shot, I also wrote a one-shot called The Beginnings…or you can check out my other two stories if you want ;)