Author's Note (Eletha Landon): Alright, how's it going guys? So xSweetEternityx and I thought it would be fun to try and work together on a short story as a collaboration of some sort. You guys should know her pretty well. She wrote Never Alone, an amazing piece that she put a lot of work and time into and if you haven't read it yet, shame on you. You're truly missing out. She's currently working on Amnesia which I'm starting to feel is ten times as extraordinary as Never Alone and it deserves a lot of love. :D
Anyways, we're going to mash-up our writing styles together and see how that works out, for fun of course. This will only be four chapters in Derek's POV. I'll be writing chapters 1 and 3 while Sweet will work on 2 and 4. It's AU/AH with no powers before a hundred people try to ask. :P
Other than that, bear with us and we'll see how this goes!
Enjoy!
The Conspiracy
Part 1
I trudged down the stairs, absently rubbing at my eyes to shed the last of early morning grogginess from my vision. Grimacing as the action had a minimal effect, I strode across the entryway before passing through the swinging door that led to the kitchen.
My first stop every morning.
"Bud, why aren't you dressed?"
I glanced over the kitchen counter that separated it from the dining room and found Dad sitting at the dinner table, cup of coffee in one hand and the daily newspaper in the other. He was looking at me as if I had just been caught with my hand in the cookie jar after he had explicitly told me I couldn't have any more cookies. Of course, I wasn't five. I was seventeen and this reaction from my dad confused me.
I glimpsed down at myself, clad in nothing more than a pair of old, school merchandise sweats. Considering I lived in a house with only my dad and my brother Simon, none of us really cared if we walked around shirtless before getting ready for our day. Or after Simon and I had gone for a run or kicked around a ball in the backyard. I always came downstairs for breakfast like this.
"Geez, Derek, did you just wake up?" Dad huffed, his tone slightly exacerbated.
"Yeah?" My gruff response came out as more of a question, perplexed as to why he seemed so frustrated. "It's Saturday."
At least I was always up at a decent time on Saturdays. It was nearly eight. Simon could easily be dead to the world until two in the afternoon.
"You forgot, didn't you?" Dad deadpanned.
I scrunched up my brows, jogging my hazy brain to life in order to figure out what the hell he was talking about. Finally, it came to me and I groaned before turning away from Dad to rummage through the fridge in hopes that a debate over this wasn't about to brew.
"Right. Carnival day." I mumbled in a mockingly cheery voice.
My dad-or, if I were to be all technical about it, my foster dad- was a lawyer and a damned good one. He was pretty popular with his firm and one of his co-workers passed off four tickets to the nearby amusement park- some six-flags knock off of some sort- for him and his three kids. Dad thought it would be a good opportunity for me, his son Simon and his half-daughter Tori to spend some 'quality family time' together considering that Tori lived with her mother and we didn't see her much other than at school. Dad had to opt out, though, as he opened a new case in the last week that needed a lot of his attention.
I wasn't very gung-ho about the idea. Especially if it involved Tori. She was the only thing that made me grateful to be the foster kid of the family because it meant I wasn't biologically related to her. It was too bad for Simon because he possible couldn't stand Tori more than I did and they were blood related.
I pulled out a carton of eggs and some orange juice. As I served myself a glass Dad sighed and set down his paper, giving me a wary look. It seemed like he didn't want to argue about me going either. But we both knew that the debate was inevitable.
"It's not a carnival, Derek. It's an amusement park. You and Simon used to love going there."
"Yeah, when we were ten. We don't really like amusement parks anymore."
Dad's brows bunched together as he replied, "That's strange. I wonder why Simon seemed so excited to go."
I rolled my eyes. "Alright, I don't really like amusement parks anymore. Too many people, screaming kids everywhere and-"
"-and we've already had this discussion, son. You're going. Besides, it'd be awful rude of you to cancel and leave Chloe to deal with your brother and sister all by herself."
I choked on my orange juice.
As I regained my composure, I met Dad's suspicious amused grin with no doubt an incredulous look.
"What the heck do you mean Chloe will have to 'deal with them by herself'?"
He shrugged and opened up his newspaper again. "Simple. I suggested that Simon invite her and give her my ticket since I can't make it."
"Why would you do that?" I sputtered out before I could stop myself. Dad reacted by sneaking a coy look my way.
"Well, she's been in town for a couple months now and her aunt expressed that she was concerned about Chloe making friends. I assumed that the two of you were friendly enough now that there would be nothing wrong with inviting her along. Is there something wrong with that?"
Was there something wrong with spending the entirety of the day with Chloe Saunders? Yes. Yes there was. Chloe had moved into the neighborhood just a couple months ago. Dad knew her father from college and had done some work with her aunt some time before Simon was born. So he had this asinine idea of going to greet them and catch up, bringing Simon and I along just to be polite. That's when I met her.
Back then, Chloe was just this short, plain-Jane sort of girl who barely looked older than fifteen with doe-like blue eyes and long strawberry-blonde hair. Sure, she was cute, but that merited for Simon to instantly pounce on her and turn on his charm. They immediately hit it off and I thought 'Great. Another girl for Simon to dump in two weeks.' Not that Simon was a bad guy when it came to dating girls. He just had a knack for attracting a certain type. Shallow. And he usually lost his interest pretty quickly.
However, it hadn't been anything like that whatsoever.
The next week at school I walked into English and found Chloe in the seat next to mine. We were a year apart, but I was the one in 11th year English because, well, I sucked at English. Math and science were more my thing, whereas English I found to be a complete and utter waste of time. But that was aside from the point. Mr. Bissell paired the two of us together for some sort of Shakespeare analysis type project that we'd be working on for that week and, to say the least, Chloe and I butt heads. A lot.
What surprised me though, was that when I usually didn't go out of my way to play nice as Simon constantly badgered me to do, it just caused people- girls pestering me only to get on Simon's good side mostly- to scurry away, not wishing to bother big, bad Derek Souza again.
No dice.
Chloe was back with a retort without even blinking an eye, as if she wouldn't put up with my crap. I could admit that I was somewhat impressed, but that didn't mean that I was starting to like her. Quite the contrary, in fact. Even Simon could tell that we couldn't stand each other. To say that was the longest week of my existence would be an understatement. Once it was over I thought that I wouldn't have to deal with her anymore.
Until she approached me the next week.
"Listen, I know we don't particularly get along but, I wanted to ask you a favor."
"You're asking me for help?"
She ignored my sarcastic tone and pressed on.
"Mr. Sandbeck told me about your scores in math and that you're already in college courses."
"What about it?"
"Well, I'm not particularly great at the subject and I wanted to ask you to-"
"Wait," I interrupted. "You want me to tutor you?" This time, I was genuinely taken aback. However, Chloe gave me a pointed look and replied, "If you help me with math, then I'll help you with Mr. Bissell's English course. Think about it and meet me Monday after school at the library."
At first, I was apprehensive and almost turned down her deal. How the hell were we going to get any work done if neither of us agreed with each other? Yet, I really did need to pick up my grade in English if I wanted my transcript to look good for the colleges I was applying to and I couldn't keep having Simon do my homework for me. If getting myself accepted into the colleges of my choice meant sucking it up and trying to be civil with Chloe Saunders, it was worth a shot.
Shockingly enough, this girl had a talent for catching me off guard. When we met up in the library the following Monday for our first study session, she caught my eye from across the room where I sat at one of the back, quiet tables and she smiled. It was strange really because she informed me as soon as she got to the table that she really hadn't expected me to show up and though I had rolled my eyes in response, I couldn't help but notice the weird motion my chest took when I met her soft and sincere grin.
That's when things started to get complicated. Our study sessions became a regular occurrence every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. Over the course of a couple weeks, our arguments occurred less and less whereas casual conversations I normally didn't have with anyone other than Simon or my dad replaced it. I'd see Chloe outside of class and study hall around the school, like at lunch or during assemblies and she'd toss me a smile before returning to whatever it was she was doing. I even once saw her on one of my runs.
I was jogging through the park near our neighborhood one evening and saw her sitting cross-legged on a bench writing in some sort of journal. It hadn't been dark yet but the sun was setting and I remember how seeing her there all alone had made me so angry. Why the hell was she sitting at a park at night all by herself? Wasn't she aware as to how dangerous that was?
Before I knew it, I was looming over her. I startled her of course because she thought she had been alone, which meant she wasn't paying too close attention to her surroundings. Which, naturally, made me even more furious with her.
"I could have been a total stranger, Chloe. I'd have you across this park and into my van in less than ten seconds if I were some sick freak kidnapping kids all alone at playgrounds. Or worse-"
"-I didn't come out here completely oblivious, Derek," She interrupted before holding up a small can of pepper spray that she had clutched in her left hand. "You should be the one considering yourself lucky that I couldn't mistake your angered tone for anyone else, or else I'd have sprayed you."
"And you think that would help you?"
"It'd give me time."
"Chloe," I growled. She knew I was right, but she just had to be so damn stubborn and challenge me.
We stared at each other for a good long minute and when it became obvious that she wasn't going to break, I sighed.
"What are you doing out here anyways?"
At that she blanched and glanced away.
"Just getting some air?" Her statement trailed off as if it were a question. So she had no real reason to be out here by herself? I had to clench my fists to keep from snapping at her again.
Instead, I took a deep breath and murmured, "Come on. I'm walking you home."
She protested the majority of the way but finally fell into step beside me as well as remained silent. Sulking, no doubt, but after a few seconds the spring breeze cut through us and the quiet was almost peaceful. Comfortable even. She didn't say goodbye without a remark that sounded something like 'I can take care of myself.' However, I hadn't paid too much attention to that as she left me on the sidewalk with a reluctant but seemingly grateful 'thanks' and I released a breath of relief that she was home and safe. At that point, I knew I was in trouble.
Two weeks later and I find myself eager for Monday to come so that I can see for myself that she's at school, unharmed, safe, healthy, smiling, happy- it didn't really matter what excuse I tried to come up with as far as my adamant desire to see her each week.
I liked Chloe Saunders. I cared about her. And now my previous suspicions that my family was onto me and my little secret was confirmed as Dad's smirk grew upon the expression on my face. Before I could answer his question, however, and prepare to beg my way out of going so that I could save myself from having to deal with these weird feelings I had for Chloe, the kitchen door swung open with the sound of Simon's voice following suit.
"-and now we're back in the kitchen. I apologize for my crummy tour guiding skills. I hope I didn't bore you to death- Oh. Hey bro."
Simon's grin faltered as his eyes assessed me, no doubt gearing to ask the same questions Dad had asked just a minute ago about why I wasn't ready to go yet. That wasn't what caused me to tense up, though, as lo and behold, Chloe Saunders was on Simon's tail, sliding into the kitchen behind him. Her bright blue eyes bounced up to mine as Simon greeted me before she also took in the sight before her. Her cheeks reddened and she turned away, a ghost of a smile touching her lips.
Right. I wasn't fully clothed.
"Dude, don't you know what time it is? Tori's going to be here any minute and you're just rolling out of bed?"
Dad chimed in before I could reply and said, "He merely slept in and is actually on his way upstairs to get ready now."
I met his gaze, willing him to change his mind and let Tori, Simon and Chloe go on the trip on their own, but he was unyielding. The more I wanted to argue against it, the more I had to remind myself that Chloe was here and finding her blue orbs again I could see that there was no way I was getting out of this.
Grumbling in defeat, I placed my glass in the sink and left the orange juice and eggs on the counter for Dad or Simon to pick up because, hell, I was feeling particularly bitter. I pushed past Simon and Chloe without meeting their gaze and dragged myself up the stairs.
Less than five minutes later, I was applying an extra, unnecessary layer of deodorant and brushing my fingers through my mop of black hair, noting that it was due for a cut when I heard Tori's voice downstairs. I pulled on my best shirt- a simple black one that was just a bit less baggy then the rest of my wardrobe. I already got enough upturned noses from my size, I didn't need many people knowing that it had nothing to do with being overweight. But Chloe wasn't like that as a matter of being any sort of judgmental so I didn't mind toning it down a bit with the exaggerated selection of clothing I had. On top of that, I never really did a double take in the mirror hanging on the wall beside the door to my bedroom for I didn't necessarily give a damn whether I appealed to anyone else's standards as far as how I looked. Aside, of course, from intimidating them and having them think I was a full grown man instead of a seventeen year old kid just barely crawling out of the crater known as 'puberty smack down.' Today, though, I just seemed to be doing a lot of things I wouldn't normally do.
My face had cleared up quite a bit in the last year and I was grateful that I didn't need to take the extra shower this morning even though I had taken one the night before. I shook my head when I realized that I was doing all of this just because of some girl and left my bedroom. If I had to say, I suppose I was somewhat satisfied with my appearance.
"We're waiting on Frankenstein?" Tori's voice trailed up the stairs from the entryway. "Wow, I guess there's a first for everything, isn't there? Ten points for team Tori since it's usually me being waited on."
"There's a difference between waiting a couple minutes and being able to take a nap in the time it takes you to get ready for anything, Tori," I rumbled, coming up behind her once I reached the bottom of the stairs. I caught Simon snickering and Chloe cracking a smile when Tori threw me a glare over her shoulder.
"Oh, I'm so sorry that I have standards and wanting to look nice." She sneered.
This is why Dad had to force Simon and I to spend time with Tori. Otherwise, we went out of our way to avoid her attitude.
I rolled my eyes and muttered, "Whatever, let's just get this over with," then turned for the door, grabbing my keys out of the bowl sitting on the entryway table in the process.
"Have fun guys," Dad called after us. "Don't come home until one in the morning, have a few drinks despite the age restriction, get arrested for some sort of public disturbance and force me to pay bail- you kids know the rules." He teased.
I couldn't help but crack a small smile and shake my head at my dad's antics. It was disturbed by the sound of a giggle beside me that nearly made me jump out of my pants just because I wasn't expecting it. I glanced over to see Chloe in step with me, laughing.
"Your dad seems really cool," She said, looking up at me with that damn enticing smile of hers.
I grunted a noncommittal response as we approached my Ford Explorer sitting beside Dad's small sedan in the driveway. Chloe went to the door behind the driver's side before Simon piped up, taking hold of Tori's shoulder to keep her from taking the shotgun seat.
"Why don't we let Chloe sit up front? She is our guest after all."
"Why?" Tori asked, giving Simon a weird look.
"I don't mind sitting in the back," Chloe said.
For a second, Simon gave Tori a look that I couldn't quite decipher, though, the jerk of his head in my direction had my brows furrowing in suspicion. Tori glanced from me to Chloe, then shrugged and muttered, "Alright."
Now that was definitely weird.
Chloe and Tori switched seats and soon we were pulling out of the driveway. I stole a glimpse of Simon through the rearview mirror, hyperaware of Chloe sitting next to me and met his eyes, questioning him with my own. He smiled innocently enough but, as I was looking away, I could have sworn his expression turned devious and he winked.
Somehow, knowing Simon as well as I did, I had the feeling that he was up to something. I huffed, fearing that this was going to be a long and uncomfortably awkward day.
Hnnnnngh! Had trouble writing. Most of this just spilled out of my brain looking similar in consistency to that of alphabet soup. I thought 'Meh, good enough,' and labeled it as 'quality writing.' :p Hope you guys enjoy this first part and look forward to xSweetEternityx's writing as the second part is hers. :D Don't forget to leave some reviews!
Also, happy late Canada day and Fourth of July!