That night I lay awake thinking about the conversation I'd had with Andrew. I had been trying not to all day but I didn't have much choice when there was nothing to distract me. You'd think that someone who'd known Derek as long as he had would understand that, yes Derek was different, but he was still human…with some wolfy tendencies. None of it was bad unless you count loyalty, protectiveness, curiosity and super human senses as bad. Admittedly he does have a bit of a temper and a tendency to break backs, but its only when someone he cares about is in trouble. He knows that that is something he needs to work on and he's trying to overcome it. Just like I'm working on my stutter. His problem is a bit more intense than mine but I still think that makes him just as human as the rest of us genetically altered freaks.
After the little tirade in my head I eventually drifted off into a light doze. I was tired enough to sleep fully but I guess that my subconscious was still too afraid of nightmares and the undead to let me do any more than doze. That was fine with me. Any rest was good rest.
Because I was only half asleep, when I was being shaken gently by a fiery hand I became quite disoriented and unsure of whether or not I was awake.
"Chloe." A deep rumble finally roused me enough to realise what was happening. Derek sat on the edge of my bed, his eyebrows pulled together and his hair plastered to his face with sweat. I blinked quickly, confused, trying to shake off the last remnants of sleep.
"You told me to come get you." It took me a moment to understand what he meant but then I noticed his green eyes glittering with fever.
"Give me a minute to get dressed. Wait outside."
He didn't say anything, just got up and dragged himself out of the room.
I grabbed the clothes closest to my hands, preying that they weren't Tori's and darted out of our room, yelping when I flew right into Derek. He put a hand over my mouth, shhing me.
He led me through the house several steps in front of me walking too swiftly for my little legs to follow. Derek kept growling and giving me 'the look' when I couldn't keep up. He forgot that I didn't have night vision like he did, so, blinded by the darkness, I banged my hip loudly on a table that I didn't know was there. He sighed, grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the backdoor propelling us both outside and into the forest.
Once we were out I took advantage of the moonlight to glance up at him. I could practically see the tension rolling off of his body as strongly as I could feel the heat from his fever burning my hand where he still held onto me. Derek looked down meeting my gaze and stopped walking.
"Chloe," he let go of my hand and turned to face me. "Chloe if you want to go back just do it. I can understand if you do. Just follow the path back to the-"
I cut him off. "I don't want to go back. I'm staying with you." But his words wormed through my heads, taking on new meaning. "U-unless you want me to go?"
Derek blinked, startled. "No. I didn't mean that." He ran his fingers through his hair, "I likehaving you there, its just I didn't know whether you wanted to be. I wouldn't have woken you up if I'd rather be alone."
I exhaled with relief "OK, now that's all cleared up, lets go. You look like your about to collapse." I grabbed his hand and started walking before he could argue. After a few seconds he took the lead and was walking really quickly again, not even bothering to glare when I tripped and struggled to keep up.
We reached the clearing and he dropped my hand. I felt strangely cold when he did, but it was a different cold, running deeper than the chill that danced across my skin.
Derek was so near his change that he began to tear off his clothes without even turning away for decency. I tore my eyes away from his perfectly sculpted body and resisted the urge to impersonate stripper music while making a mental note to tell him off later for cutting it so close. My anger was short lived though. Derek collapsed to the floor writhing in pain as his back arched, vertebrae cracking.
I fell to my knees beside him waiting for the first wave of convulsions to pass before trying to encourage him onto all fours. Between panted breaths I heard him mutter "thanks". I just took hold of his hand and massaged between his shoulder blades. All I could do was watch as his skin writhed and spasmed, his body flexing in multiple directions at impossible angles. He whimpered in pain and I felt like crying. I had to quickly rearrange my face when he turned his distorted head towards mine, his eyes wide with terror. I tried hard to keep my expression even so as not to scare him or make him think that I was uncomfortable or freaked out. Derek seemed to be satisfied with what he saw because he lowered his head again to concentrate on his change. He convulsed and emptied the contents of his stomach across the clearing until every branch and leaf had been completely coated with the spray, but even then his body kept trying, dry heaving with loud gagging noises. I mumbled reassurances as I watched his face elongate into a muzzle, ears rising to the top of his head, brow receding. The hair sprouting from his skin pushed against my palm, growing and softening, feeling more like fur.
With one last whimper from Derek, it stopped.
Damn.
He was so close to finishing.
Derek panted, more canine than human for a while but didn't have long to relax before he changed back painfully slowly, his hands…claws digging into the grass. At the end of it he dropped to the ground and rolled to face me. I still had hold of one of his hands and his other one was covering his face. I waited for a moment then asked "You OK?"
He grunted "Yeah." Derek looked up at me through his fingers just in time to see me shiver. He shifted so that he was blocking most of the wind. He rubbed his face with his hand and let it fall. This allowed me to see the dark shadows beneath his eyes.
"You look exhausted. Do you want to get some sleep before we go back?"
He thought for a second before answering "Nah. We should go back before the others wonder where we are." He yawned. "Lets go."
~~wiggly lines~~
"Thanks for coming with me." Derek was standing outside his and Simon's door, just in front of me. We stood there in silence for a while. Not companionable silence. Awkward silence. I felt like we'd just been on a first date or something and we were both trying to say goodbye to other but didn't know what to do. Like I said.
Awkward.
"So…you going to invite me in for coffee, or what?" I grinned to let him know it was a joke.
He frowned for a second, unsure what to make of that. Then laughed. "I'm not really that kind of guy. I like to take things slow." His eyes caught mine, all traces of humour gone. I got a funny feeling in my stomach. Like butterflies but different, not as unpleasant. Or was it unpleasant? It felt kind of good now that I thought of it. We were leaning in pretty close, I could feel his breathe on my mouth and I shivered, licking my lips. That caught his eye. He stepped closer, almost no gap between us.
And dipped his head towards mine.
