A/N: Hi :) I just wanted to say that this may be a little lame. I think there aren't nearly enough explosions, but it is what it is. This was meant to be a one-shot, but when I started writing it, it went on for far too long. So this story will have about 3 or 4 chapters, all still relating to the initial song "When I Was Your Man" by Bruno Mars. Italicized phrases are Derek's thoughts. Constructive criticism is always welcome. Thank you so much for clicking on my story and I hope you enjoy it :)

Disclaimer: Y'all know Kelley Armstrong owns the Darkest Powers series and Bruno Mars (and associates?) own the rights to the song "When I Was Your Man" :/

DPOV

I flip onto my other side again, seeking comfort I know won't be there.

Ever since Chloe left me, every night is like this. I try to sleep, but I can't. All I can do is feel the empty space beside me and remind myself how incredibly stupid I was to have let her go. And how big of an ass I am to have been the reason she left.

Chloe and I had been fine for a long time. After we caught up with dad and ran into hiding, we became a real couple. We held hands, we laughed, we made out once in a while (and always got caught doing so.) For three years we stayed at each others side, through thick and thin. Yeah, we fought constantly, but we were smart enough to make the best out of all the bad situations the Edison group would put us in. And even after the government's Secret Bureau of Supernatural Tendencies took down the Edison group and its affiliates once and for all when I turned nineteen, we stayed together.

I planned on going to school for Mathematical Sciences, and of course Chloe dreamed of studying film. Once the bureau pulled some strings to straighten out our high school transcripts, we could easily be excepted into any college we dreamed of. But even so, we wanted to stay together. Well, I wanted us to stay together. I couldn't let my pack separate from my protection (and yeah, I regretfully mean Tori too.)

So we opted to go to the school that serviced all our interests, including Chloe's desire to stay near her dad's general work area. When we could at last come out of hiding, Chloe had explained everything to him, and after hours of the two crying and apologizing to each other, every detail had been ironed out. He began calling her every day, which she said he'd never done before. It was nice to see her so happy whenever she talked to him.

When we realized NYU was the school for us, I asked Chloe if she wanted to live in an apartment with me instead of sharing one with my dad, Simon, and Tori. She immediately jumped on the idea, agreeing we could always use some uninterrupted alone time. And it was great living together. For two years we went on through our college lives without fault, me working as an assistant in a biology lab and her working as a waitress at one of the top restaurants in the area. It was almost perfect.

That is, until I screwed it all up.

I roll over one last time. Yeah, I'm not sleeping tonight. I let out a frustrated sigh and sit up, rubbing a rough hand over my drooping eyelids. I glance at the clock. 5:43. No point in trying to sleep now.

I roll off the right side of my bed, standup, and reach upwards, cracking what feels like every muscle in my body. As I slowly make my way towards the adjacent bathroom, I glance at the calendar, registering what day it is.

Damn. It's not here already, is it?

I've been dreading this day more than I've dreaded anything, which is saying something for a guy who's body shifts into a werewolf's every week. I just can't believe it came so quickly. I would be lying if I said I didn't think of just not going at all. Not showing up would save a lot of heartache and pain for myself. But it would only hurt her.

Suddenly my radio blares, shocking me out of my stupor. Was it really six o'clock already? I had seriously stood here twenty minutes? Jeez. I stumble towards the right-hand side table to turn the damn thing off, but freeze mid-step as I realize the song it plays.

"For a, daydream believer and a, homecoming queen…"

I nearly stop breathing when I hear it, afraid of uttering out an embarrassing whimper, even though I'm all alone.

That was our song. I mean, yeah, it was her and mother's first, and I would never take that away from her. But that was still our song. The song that brought us closer together when we were separated from the others way back when. The song that I would hum to her whenever she was awaken by a ghost, and the song she would sing to me whenever I would start a Change. That's the song that described everything about what our relationship was. Not in the words, but in the music itself.

And I hated it.

I quickly reach forward and grip my radio alarm tightly, ripping it's cord from the wall and slamming it into the wallpaper. I can't do this. I can't do this. My breathing quickens, and my throat begins to close. I'm suffocating. I know I am. I can't do this. I can't do this. I try to control my heart rate, but it just speeds on, almost erupting from my chest. How in the world did I expect to show up today? This would only happen again! I can't do this. I can't -

Suddenly my phone vibrates from the side table, and I rush to grab it, directing my attention to anything but my current thoughts. I slide my Smartphone's bar to answer, letting out a quick "Hello?" through shallow breath.

"Whoa, Derek. You okay bro?"

Simon.

Thank god. "Yeah, Simon. Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay. Yeah." The words stumble off my tongue before I can even think.

"Derek. Calm down. Breathe in," I boisterously do as I'm told "and breathe out."

As Simon repeats his instructions multiple times, I slowly drift back into thinking rationally. I'm okay. I'm okay.

"Now are you okay?" I hear Simon ask through the receiver.

"Yeah. Much better." I reply exhaustedly.

"Good." He replies, then pauses as he seems to think something over. "Considering that little anxiety attack I'm guessing you remember what day it is."

I breathe out some stifled air. "Yeah."

I'd been having panic attacks like those ever since Chloe left me. Three years now and I still can't quite make it without her. She was always there to calm me down, and not having her with me freaked me out. I feel like a part of me is just gone, missing from it's designated space. There's no way I'll ever fill that void. I'm not even sure I plan to.

"Just remember," I hear Simon say through the phone. "it's for the best." But he doesn't stop without adding "It's what Chloe wants."

Yeah. It's everything she wants in one. A future. A stable home. And me, gone.

It's for the best.

"Alright dude, you better start getting ready." Simon says. "Dad wants you over here in an hour for breakfast. So I'd hurry."

I sigh in frustration. "Why does he need me to come so early anyway?" I ask.

"Well, considering how I just caught you giving yourself a heart attack, I'd say he probably wants to prep you for today." Simon replies, yawning loudly in my ear. "And he needs help with the favors. He still hasn't finished putting them together."

"Why can't you help him?" I bark a little more harshly than I intended.

"Hey," I can picture him raising his hands in surrender. "I have to work a little this morning. Apparently I didn't clean up my desk last night at the studio, and Cassie's so pissed at me." Then he adds, "She's hot when she's angry."

"Simon," I say, praying my words will get through his thick head. "She's your boss."

"Yeah," He replies, as if his conclusion is obvious. "And she's hot. And I'm thinking about maybe asking her to come today."

"Why? It's not like you can sit with her." I swear, sometimes Simon just doesn't think things through.

"I was thinking of flirting it up with her from the front. You know, give her a little eye wiggle."

"I can't believe you just said that."

"Well I'm full of-"

"Just tell dad I'm jumping in the shower, then I'll be right over."

"Whatever." He replies in haste. Probably wishing I would have let him finish his lame line. "Just don't forget your tux."

As I hang up and make my way into the bathroom, I think back and realize just how much sympathy Simon's voice seemed to hold.