Because I Love You
A/N: A special shout out to random-k: look, something where Steve is happy (and I'm not just pouring misery and salt in an open wound)! I hope everyone has a happy Valentine's Day or at least enjoys the day after, the Best Day for Purchasing Chocolate. Please read and review!
Disclaimer: I don't own The Darkest Powers or Darkness Rising series.
Jennifer looked at her reflection again. She wanted to look perfect tonight, not because it was Valentine's Day but because her gut told her it was something more. She didn't know why, she normally didn't have hunches, but she felt that tonight was special.
The doorbell rang and her heart rate raced.
She grabbed her purse, shawl, and cast one more look into the mirror. She had a good feeling about tonight.
"Please tell me that you two will be normal for a change," Tori groaned.
Chloe rolled her eyes. Tori hadn't been as shocked as Simon when they discovered that Chloe and Derek had stopped celebrating monthly anniversaries. She had been shocked when they didn't exchange gifts at Christmas. Simon was certain that Derek had doomed himself to misery by letting it happen, despite that it was Chloe's idea in the first place. Now that Valentine's Day was tomorrow, Tori had been pestering her for details.
"You aren't going out on a double date either," Tori warned.
"I don't think so. Derek said he had a surprise planned."
"Oh. Do you think Liz will-"
"I already tried. She said I have to be patient."
"Ugh," Tori groaned. "I have to live vicariously through you and dog boy. They seriously need to bring in more guys."
"There is always Ash-"
"Not even going down that road. I ... he turns into a cougar. He licks himself. I can't. Once you find that out about a guy, you can't get past 'shouldn't his tongue be scratchy'. Just, no."
"Our tongues aren't scratchy when we're human," Maya mumbled.
"So you have made out with him," Chloe replied.
"It was once and like I said, I couldn't. I don't even know how you mess around with Derek."
"We haven't messed around!"
"Right."
"We haven't!" Chloe insisted, blushing.
"So all of those 'walks'," Tori exaggerating the air quotation marks, "that involve him getting naked in the woods, alone, with you, for hours at a time, late at night..."
"I-I, no, geeze. We haven't even been dating for a year. And he's not naked for hours."
"So you're waiting for a year? That'll be here in a few months," Tori grinned.
"No. I, I don't know. We haven't really talked about it."
"Please tell me that you've at least sneaked a peak."
Chloe's face turned scarlet.
"You dog!" Maya yelled.
Jennifer couldn't believe that Steve managed to get them tickets to the museum's gala. Steve had told her to dress her best but this wasn't what she was expecting. She was expecting a quiet dinner followed by maybe a late show or an impromptu trip somewhere. Steve brought out a side she never knew existed. She was spontaneous, carefree, and open to a world of possibilities that she normally didn't even consider.
Steve was currently talking to the museum director. He had asked her to remain here, whispering that he only needed a moment.
He was back at her side before she could miss him. He looked so handsome in his suit. His blue eyes glittering, hiding a secret.
"Come with me," he whispered in her ear, sending shivers down her spine.
He led her away from the party.
"Let me fix your hair," Maya said. Chloe fidgeted again, pulling at a strand that had come loose.
"I'm not as good as Tori, but I think I can salvage it," she muttered as she tucked the strand back into place.
Chloe had received instructions to wait at Maya's house. Tori had tagged along and was riling Ash up in the living room. By the end of the evening, maybe Tori would see if she still had her cat aversion.
Chloe had distracted Tori from her sex life, or lack thereof much to Tori's disappointment, by suggesting that they play around with some henna hair dye. She had picked some up the last time they went to Vancouver. She had picked up some red and black varieties.
Tori insisted that she could handle this because she used to dye her friends' hair all the time. Chloe wanted red streaks on the top layer and some black streaks on the underneath. They had spent all afternoon in Maya's bathroom, or more specifically the shower after seeing how dark the dyes were. Tori's experience was not with henna, they quickly discovered.
Tori had claimed the leftover black dye for her, dying her black hair even darker. According to the instructions, it would give black hair a slight blue tint if left in long enough.
Luckily they had only melted a portion of the red dye. Tori and Maya were certain that they wouldn't use it as soon as they put it in Chloe's blonde hair.
She still hadn't seen the end result. There was still a bit of dye setting in. It seemed as though they were waiting until the last possible moment to rinse it out.
"Do you remember our last night under the stars?"
Jennifer, now blindfolded, smiled. "Last summer. It was one of the operas but I can't remember which."
"Good, because I can't remember the name either," Steve laughed. He led the blindfolded Jennifer through the museum, taking care to make sure she was disoriented. It would ruin the surprise if she could figure out where they were going.
He led her into the planetarium.
With some creative angling and spell work, Tori managed to get the extra dye out of Chloe's and her own hair.
"Did he tell you anything? How are you supposed to get ready if you don't know where you're going?"
"I'll call him in a minute. Did Daniel tell you anything?"
Maya grinned. "Oh, you know, we're having food and a movie brought in. Nothing big."
"Boring," Tori snorted.
"I'll call Derek," Maya said. "I might be able to get something out of him, although I bet Daniel knows."
"If Simon doesn't know, why would Daniel?"
"Because Daniel can keep a secret?"
"Oh yeah, the great drama of Christmas."
Chloe laughed. It was nice having girlfriends again, even if Tori sometimes pried a little too far.
"Can I take it off now?"
"Just a little bit longer," Steve assured her. They had painstakingly navigated the steps that led down into the planetarium.
"Just stand here, I'll be right back and then you can take it off," Steve answered and gave her a quick kiss before disappearing.
"If I knew I was going to be blindfolded, I would have worn flats," she laughed. She noted that her voice echoed.
"I'll be sure to tell you the next time I plan to abduct you," Steve laughed and slowly took off the blindfold.
She gasped. They were under the stars.
"Normal clothes," Tori repeated.
Maya nodded.
"Chloe, you're either a saint for putting up with him or ... I don't even want to know."
"I don't buy into society's pressures and cultural fascination in regard to certain holidays or significant personal days?"
"I think we need an intervention," Tori looked to Maya. "She is even starting to sound like him."
Chloe laughed.
"I'm all about doing what you want, but there are certain things that ... it's a holiday for a reason," Tori reasoned.
"Card and flower companies needed a holiday in February," Maya suggested.
"You're so not helping."
"Besides," Chloe began, "its Friday. He has to Change tonight so it won't be anything too late."
"Yuck," Maya replied. "I'm glad mine isn't like that. I take a nap, I'm a cat. Repeat and rinse."
"Don't tell him that. I ... its better," Chloe said. Derek didn't like her talking about his Changes with the others. He had noticed that they had treated him differently. He didn't like it, so he had asked her not to share.
"He can't push it back a day?" Tori asked.
"Only if you want him in a bad mood tomorrow."
"His moods get worse?" Maya asked.
"Was that why he was also so pissy with everyone before?"
"I don't think so. I think that was the whole stress of being at the house. But you remember how he was when Kit and Simon sat out with him when he was first working on controlling his Changes."
Tori grimaced.
"There is no way it was that bad," Maya said.
"I…" Chloe started.
"It was, oh my god, it was, ugh. You just looked at him and he about took your head off. Forget about even talking to him. I asked him to move so I could get past him and my ears rang for hours afterwards," Tori said.
Maya looked over to Chloe. She only shrugged in response. "But it's still not like that, right?"
"We haven't tested it. I'm … not sure how well that would go over. It seems to help. I'm sure eventually I won't need to be there but it seems to help for now, so I'm there."
"The next time Chloe takes a vacation, I'm avoiding dog boy. I don't care if he's thirty. I am taking the next plane, train, car, buggy, whatever out of here," Tori said. By the look of her face, it looked like Maya agreed with her.
She wasn't how long they danced. It wasn't the opera they danced to that summer night but it didn't matter.
She felt like she was floating. She rested her head against Steve's chest. She felt a lump and her breath caught in her throat.
Chloe had finally escaped from Tori and Maya. Maya was now on the receiving end about Valentine's rituals. Normally she would have felt bad but she felt relieved. She needed a break.
She guessed by her stomach rumbling it was evening. Where was Derek?
She headed towards the house she shared with her Aunt Lauren. She hadn't planned on spending the entire afternoon dying her hair. She thought she would have had time to come back and change before heading back to Maya's house. She eyed the closet in her room. The eternal question of what to wear plagued her. Having Tori here would be helpful but even her expertise may be tested by "normal". "Normal" normal, on the road normal, going out on a date normal? She sighed in frustration, grabbed a shirt and jeans at random and changed.
She finally caught a glimpse of her hair in the mirror. She gasped. It had turned out much better than she hoped. It helped her not look as young. A young girl wouldn't have this look but a teenager would. She would even go as far as to say early twenties could wear this. She felt more grown-up seeing her reflection. She was doing a teenager thing; she was waiting for her boyfriend to surprise her on Valentine's.
She looked at the clock. It was already past six. Where was he? Was he already waiting for her at Maya's? She went out the front door, looking to either side.
He came jogging out of the woods with an annoyed look on his face.
"This isn't Maya's house."
"I had to come home and change."
"Why?"
She rolled her eye and pointed at her hair. In the rapidly diminishing light it must not be noticeable.
"You got grass in your hair? It smells like grass," Derek said as he walked up to her.
"No, I dyed it. The dye isn't supposed to smell as, well, chemical, is the best way to explain it."
"Huh."
"Um, do you like it?"
"I can't really tell. I'm sure it looks good," Derek said.
"Thanks?"
"C'mon," Derek said, grabbing her hand. "I have something I want to show you."
Time somehow managed to slow down and speed past her at the same time. They were dancing, as they had been before, but sometime they stopped. She wasn't sure when it happened.
"Jennifer," Steve muttered in her ear, his left hand entwined with hers, his other hand on the small of her back, guiding her through the dance once again. "I have something I would like to talk to you about."
She pulled back and stared into those memorizing blue eyes of his. She had always loved his eyes. It was the first thing she noticed about him. They captivated her then just as they did now.
"Hmm?"
"You see," he continued, "I have a crazy, crazy idea, and I would like your opinion on it."
She swallowed.
He continued, "Are you happy?"
"I couldn't be happier," she gushed.
His face broke out into a wide smile, eyes glittering. "Hearing that makes me so happy. But," he paused, licking his lips, "I was wondering if I could do something to make you happier."
He let her go and reached into his suit jacket and pulled out a small box.
"Please tell me you had help setting all of this up," Chloe said, looking at what Derek had done to their usual spot in the woods. It was decorated with a seemingly endless amount of lanterns, providing enough light to see across the space clearly.
"Simon," Derek sheepishly admitted.
"No," Chloe gasped. "But Simon can't keep a secret!"
"And I was counting on you knowing that, so he was the best one suited for the job. But you like it?"
"It's wonderful," Chloe grinned. In addition to the lanterns, Derek and Simon had brought out a table, chairs, and Simon even used a spell to create strings of lights in the trees.
"Good," Derek said, pulling her close to him. He ran his fingers through her hair. "I like your hair," he said softly.
"You better," she said, kissing him.
Jennifer pulled Steve off his knee. She didn't know what she was doing. She was happy, she was crying, she was talking, she was trying to gather her thoughts.
Steve kissed her, deeply, passionately. Her world stopped spinning and centered. The sensation of a ring was new to her. She didn't normally wear jewelry. She could make an exception for this. She would always make an exception for this.
The kiss ended and Steve wiped away the tears on her face. She blushed. She never thought she would cry. She never thought she could feel so many things at one time.
"You didn't have to go through all of this trouble, the gala, this," she gestured to the planetarium.
"I wanted too," he replied. "I would do this and a million other things because I love you."
She smiled and kissed him.
They had finished dinner and had proceeded to other, fun activities. Chloe broke apart first.
"Don't you need to Change tonight?"
"It can wait a bit longer," he roughly replied, bringing his lips back to hers.
"I didn't get you anything," she gasped, pulling back suddenly.
He gave her a bewildered look.
"You went through all this trouble to set up this and -"
"Chloe, I don't care if you ever give me a gift, being with you is better than anything," he replied, kissing her again.
She gave herself up to the kiss.
Derek pulled away first, the next time. "I have one more thing for you," he said softly.
She leaned forward, her forehead touching his. She was breathing heavily. "You really don't need too. This was more than enough."
"I … I want too," he said, standing up. "I have to Change first, but … you'll understand when I bring it to you. I just want you to remember that it's because I love you."
"I love you too," she responded, smiling. It felt so good to hear and say that. Her curiosity was piqued by what he had planned next.
He took off his clothes, showing off certain aspects of his physique before crouching down. She was facing opposite him but had her hand on his. It was quiet few moments before she heard the first crunch and felt hairs prickle her palm.
She turned around and began rubbing his arm, then his shoulders. His Changes were picking up in speed but they still looked as painful as the first. He collapsed onto his belly, fully Changed. She scratched behind his ear. Despite whatever he said, he enjoyed it, otherwise he wouldn't lean into it.
He stood up on all four and circled her a few times, becoming familiar once again with his four legged body.
He huffed at her once. She raised her eyebrow. "You want me to stay here? Hide and seek again?"
He huffed again and tore off. She didn't know why he even bothered. His 'hiding' was pathetic. Last week he stood in a bush and let his tail hang over the trail, wagging even.
She heard rustling in the bushes and rolled her eyes. Hiding right by her? That was a new low.
"Derek, if you're not even going to try, I'm not going to hide," she laughed.
Derek came out of the bush and jogged over to her, tail wagging. He dropped a tennis ball at her feet.
"Oh my god," she gushed. Her face light up as she reached down and grabbed the ball.
She threw it and Derek took off into the forest.