I bolted upright in bed, gasping as the nightmarish haze drifted away and reality set in. My covers were dampened with sweat and the moon was casting an eerie light through the drapes. I looked across the room at Tori, who was sleeping soundly in her nightmare-free bliss. As she snored softly, I replayed the nightmare I had been having for the past few days, always the same, not one detail faltering. As my thoughts came to a close, I shuddered. I would have to talk to someone about it, but for now I had to satisfy the needs of something else- my grumbling stomach.

I threw the covers off of myself and swung my legs over the side of the bed. A chill shot through my body as my toes came in contact with the cold floor. Damn old houses and their stupid, cold wood floors. As I stood up and took a step, the floor protested with a groan. Make that 'damn old houses with their stupid, cold and creaky wood floors'! By the time I got downstairs, I was pretty sure I had woken the whole house up. Though, as I entered the kitchen, I realized that someone else was already awake.

Derek was hunched over, rummaging through the fridge, most likely satisfying his endless hunger. I started tip-toeing towards him, hoping to have a little fun, until one of the floorboards groaned.

"Hi Chloe." Derek grunted, not even looking in my direction.

"Stupid floor." I muttered quietly.

"Nope. I smelled you when you started down the stairs. Plus, you walk almost as loud as Simon," he retorted as he turned to face me. "What are you doing up so early?" he asked, shoving a slice of deli meat into his mouth.

Walking over to where he stood, I leaned against the counter. "I had a nightmare and couldn't go back to sleep, so I came down to get something to eat."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"About what?"

"Your nightmare."

"Umm, yeah, I guess. Only if it's okay with you." I said, sighing.

"Why not." He said, shrugging his shoulders.

"Okay. Well, basically, it starts out with me in the middle of a forest. It's dead silent. Then suddenly, this screeching sound erupts from all around me. Then, hordes of zombie animals come out from the bushes, limping toward me, and I just know they're screaming at me to release them. As the noise becomes unbearable, the scene changes and I'm in another forest, sitting beside you as you're Changing. Then, I look up and see the ghostly images, only, it's not the same people. I get up and movie closer, and I realize the guy with the knife is actually Liam, and he's kicking you across the forest floor. I see that familiar glint of silver, and then I realize that I can hear you crying my name for help. But by the time it registered that you weren't a ghost, it was too late. You were k-killed right in f-front of my eyes and I never did a t-thing about it!"

By the end of the story, I was stuttering profusely, only this time it was because I was sobbing uncontrollably. Derek had his arms around me and he was whispering words of reassurance into my ear.

"It's okay." He said softly.

"No! It's not okay! What if it means something? What if it's a sign that something bad is going to happen?" I proclaimed.

"Well, when that time comes we'll figure something out. But until then, don't worry about it." He said, drying my tears and tucking a stray piece of hair behind my ear.

Disregarding his sometimes ill-tempered demeanor, Derek could be a really sweet guy. Plus, ever since he'd started Changing, puberty wasn't being so harsh on him. His acne was almost gone, his hair was hardly oily anymore, and he didn't have to worry about wearing so much deodorant. He still intimidated some with his height and muscular build, but he couldn't help that, seeing as he was a werewolf and all.

Our eyes met and I smiled, feeling a twinge of…of… well, I don't know, something good for sure. He tore his eyes from mine, and turned around to rummage in the fridge some more. Taking that as a cue, and having lost my appetite, I went back upstairs and tried to unsuccessfully go back to sleep.

I woke up the next morning with a massive headache. I had only slept for about an hour. Tori's bed was empty and I could hear faint murmuring from downstairs. As I stepped out of my room, the bathroom door down the hall swung open and Derek stepped out, hair wet, dangling in his green eyes. His head jerked up as he noticed me standing there.

"Shower's open." He grunted, turning around and walking down the stairs.

I did what I needed to in the bathroom and then followed suit. As I entered the kitchen the smell of eggs and bacon engulfed me, making my mouth water.

"Chloe! Come get something to eat. Andrew cooked us breakfast!" Simon said exuberantly.

"Good morning, Chloe" said Andrew.

"Morning," I said stifling back a yawn.

I took a seat between Tori and Simon. Across the table, Derek was practically swallowing his breakfast.

"Geez, wolf boy. Chew much?" Tori said with her usual snarky attitude.

A growl erupted from across the table. "I told you not to call me that!" Derek yelled as he pushed his chair back violently and stormed outside.

"What's got his tail in a bunch?" Tori said with a snort, "I am on a ro-" she cut off when she saw Simon and I glaring at her.

A few minutes went by, the tick tock of the clock drumming in my ears.

"Andrew? What do you think is wrong with Derek?" I asked.

"Oh, he's probably just close to Changing again. Sometimes werewolves tend to get moody beforehand." He said.

He walked out of the room leaving me wondering what was to come.

Later that afternoon I ran into Derek in the hall. After a jumble of "Excuse me's" and "I'm sorry's" and stepping in the same direction to let the other person pass, we gave up, sighed, and started laughing. Derek spoke first.

"Look. About your nightmare. I really don't want you worrying about it. It's not a burden you need to carry." He said.

"I mean, I have a right to be at least a little bit scared by it all."

"Yes, but if it really is a sign or something was going to happen to me, it's not like you could keep it from occurring. Besides, it's not like your life would be worse without me." He stated.

If only he knew how wrong he was. Just then I heard Simon call my name followed by his loud footsteps coming up the stairs. I turned to look at him.

"There you are! Do you want to work on the comic book?" he asked.

"Yeah, sure. I'll meet you downstairs in a second. I just have to finish talking with…" As I turned around, I heard a door close. "…Derek." I said defeatedly as my shoulders slumped.

"Sorry, Chloe. I don't know what's with him. He's been acting like that for the past few days." He said quietly.

"It's okay. Let's go." I said, heading downstairs.