Disclaimer: I don't own Darkest Powers.
Just something that I had in mind, enjoy.

I sat in the crowded room, ear-buds in and eyes trained on the pages of my latest book. I attempted to concentrate on the music in my ears and the words before my eyes instead of the chatter surrounding me. I sat at my usual seat, perched half-on, half-off a chair at the end of the long, plastic table. As always, I sat alone, hoping against hope that nobody would acknowledge the fact that I was alone. Again.

I allowed my limp, dirty blonde bangs to fall into my eyes, and stretched my sleeves to their limits, attempting in vain to fold in on myself. Several pages later, I felt curious eyes on me. Biting my lip, I surreptitiously raised my gaze in the right direction. I was met with the kind eyes of Elizabeth Delaney, who smiled kindly at me. I quickly looked away, ashamed at the pity in her eyes. It wouldn't be long before she returned her attention to her best friend, and uber-bitch, Tori anyway. Liz was a very kind and caring girl, really. She was just somewhat... easily distracted. She would often engage me in conversation, in class, in the hallway, maybe even at lunch. However, it would never be for long. Then she would return to her life of friends and conversations and laughter, and I would have to again return to my awkward existence of silence and disappointment. I was much better off remaining alone, it meant that I didn't get my hopes up, only to have them dashed and end up even more despondent then before.

I'm not quite sure when it began; I've never been the most talkative of people. I've always been quite content with my own company, but only to a certain extent. When I started school, it wasn't quite so bad, there were people that I could talk to, perhaps not friends but acquaintances of a sort. I guess that I just started drifting away from people over the years, perhaps due to a lack of common interest, perhaps due to a lack of effort on my part. Whatever the reason, it just got progressively worse; I gradually drifted away from everyone until they began to forget I was even there. I began to believe it was easier to just allow myself to fade into the background, not make a fuss. As a result, I did; people generally didn't notice me, and when they did, it was just to shoot me a look of pity:
''Oh, look at the poor loner girl. Poor her. Now, back to my life.''
Either that, or what Liz did, talk to me briefly, then leave as soon as someone better came along.

Arcade Fire were interrupted by the shrill sound of the bell ringing and the collective groan that travelled around the room at the thought of class. I sighed and gathered my things, depositing my rubbish in the near-by bin. I then rushed out of the conveniently located doors behind me and made a bee-line for my locker. I collected my books and stashed my iPod and book in my locker. Then, I quickly made my way to class, head down and avoiding eye contact. I grimaced at the thought of Geometry. Maths was by no means my forte, but Geometry hated me, and the feeling was very much mutual. My brain simply didn't work in a way that could comprehend the many shapes that the subject threw my way, no matter how hard I tried in the class, I simply couldn't keep up.

I entered the class and was relieved to note that it was empty, it always was at this stage, everyone wanted a few extra precious seconds of talking with their friends. Not me, I could be early to Geometry every day. And every other single class. Yipee for me! The teacher shuffled into the room, clutching a cup of coffee a folder exploding with worksheets. He slumped in his chair and gulped coffee, and dragging his hands through his hair. He didn't even seem to notice me, which wasn't anything new, if I was being honest with myself.

The warning bell sounded and the room began to fill with enthusiastic students, eager to sink their teeth into some riveting maths. Or maybe not. As disinterested as the teacher seemed in his class, my classmates made him seem positively enthralled by comparison. I placed my notebook on the desk, pen poised, eager to learn. My enthusiasm dwindled and soon died as the teacher began drawing a diagram on the board, and then outlined the questions that we were to answer. I tried to understand, I really, really did; but all it looked like was a bunch of nonsensical squiggly lines, at best. I spent the class frowning at my blank page and cursing my defunct brain. Obviously it wasn't just my social skills that were underdeveloped. Eventually, I abandoned my vain attempt at comprehending the diagram and turned my attention toward the clock on the wall. Thirty seconds until the end of class, twenty, ten, finished! The bell rang and I began to slowly pack away my things, waiting for my classmates to disperse before I exited the room.

''Wait!'', came a voice from the front of the room, and I instantly froze. No, no, no, no, I couldn't handle this today.
''I have your tests corrected and I want to hand them back. Some people have done extremely well... whereas others have a lot of work to do.''
Was it just me being paranoid, or did his gaze linger on me?

I awkwardly waited in line at the door, shuffling from foot to foot, eager to get away, but afraid to get my test back. My palms were sweaty and my heart pounded as I kept my head down, worrying my lip to the extent that I feared it would bleed. I suddenly reached the start of the line and was met with the stern glare of my teacher. The reason for this was made clear when I looked at my paper and was met with an angry red 27.
''Miss Saunders, please stay behind, I would like to speak with you.''
I nodded mutely and dejectedly made my way toward the desk.

''Chloe, this is simply not good enough, do you understand me?''
I nodded.
''You need to work harder, you need to apply yourself.''
I nodded.
''Are you listening to me, Chloe? This is a very serious matter!''
Once again, I nodded.
His voice took on a more sympathetic tone.
''Look, Chloe, I know that you struggle with this subject, I know that you are trying, but I'm afraid it's just not enough anymore. You're really falling behind your classmates.''
I knew all of this, but didn't know how this little spiel was helping.
''I think I might have a solution; there is a new student who is exceptional at Maths and I'm sure he would appreciate the extra credit.''
I could see where this was going and my lip-biting went into overdrive.
''I am going to ask this new student to tutor you, and I'm afraid there's no choice in the matter. You need to improve your grade, Chloe.''
My terror, and objection, must have been written on my bowed head, I knew a lost cause when I saw it and grimly accepted my fate.
''Today, in the library, after school, Chloe. He'll see you there.''
Just like that, I was dismissed. Could this day get any worse?

My classes seemed to pass by in a blur and it wasn't long before the final bell rang. I slowly packed my things away as the teacher and my classmates raced from the room. Once the room was empty, I headed for the door. The hallways were virtually clear and I ventured out toward my locker. My lip returned to its rightful home between my teeth as I contemplated just going home; was it worth the hassle though? Probably not. So with a heavy heart, and even heavier bag, I made my way towards the library.

I pushed open the door and found that the library was, unsurprisingly, almost empty. The tables were empty, all except for one. A hulking figure seemed to take it over, too big for the chair. I cautiously approached him and waited for him to speak, eyes downcast.
''Chloe?'' He grunted.
Not exactly the sociable type, I noted. Not that I could judge. I nodded mutely.
''Derek.'' He grunted and opened his textbook without another word.
I wondered how exactly this was going to work, neither of us speaking. Sighing, I sank into the seat across from Derek and opened my own textbook, turning to the same page. I sighed internally; this was going to be hard.

Don't forget to review. Thanks for reading,
Kate.