First-Day-of-School Jitters
Chloe woke up to the sound of a door slam echoing in her ears. 'Probably Tori,' Chloe thought to herself. She slowly got out of bed, stretching the kinks out of her back and rubbing her sore muscles. She hadn't really thought about it, but the phrase 'on the run' was quite literal. Chloe had done a lot of running the past couple of weeks while hiding from the Edison Group, and now she was feeling it in every one of her muscles. Chloe walked across her spacious room to the door. 'One good thing that came from being in hiding,' Chloe thought, 'is getting my own room.' The previous day, they had arrived at the safe house. Simon, Derek, Chloe and Tori had sluggishly walked straight to whichever room they could find with a bed and fell right asleep. They were all exhausted.
Today though, they would be meeting other supernaturals that were supposedly going to be teaching them how to use their powers. Chloe didn't think they could help her at all; her powers were so out of control and she was still summoning in her sleep. But then again, she could be wrong. She hoped with all her heart that she was and someone would be able to help her. Then she would finally get a good night's rest, and be able to fall asleep without waking up every hour.
Chloe stepped out into the hallway to see Derek emerging from the bathroom looking clean and refreshed. A shower looked really good right then, but it would have to wait. Her stomach was competing for her attention at the moment, and it was winning.
"Good morning Derek," Chloe said, smiling at him.
"Morning Chloe," Derek murmured, running his hands through his wet hair, making Chloe's heart give a little jump. Chloe had finally figured out her feelings for Derek. All those times she and Derek had locked eyes, and her heart started beating a mile a minute, and her mouth went dry gave her a clue. It took her awhile though.
"How did you sleep," Derek asked.
"Really well, actually. It's so nice to sleep in a bed!"
"Yeah it is," Derek said chuckling at her enthusiasm.
I decided to leave out that I woke up every hour to make sure I hadn't raised any zombies. What he didn't know couldn't hurt him, right?
She and Derek headed towards the stairs, pausing at the top to talk some more.
"Ready for the other supernaturals to get here?"
"Yeah, I guess. I'm just a tad nervous though," Chloe said.
"Oh yeah?" Derek replied, studying me intently.
"Yep. I guess I'm just worried that my powers are totally uncontrollable and that I'll be raising the dead in my sleep till' I'm old," Chloe said, giggling halfheartedly.
"It'll be ok Chloe," Derek said reassuringly, "We'll figure it out."
She looked over at him. He was gazing at her with a gentle expression on his face. For a guy who has no experience in comforting girls, he was definitely making Chloe feel better. Chloe then recalled a memory from when she was little.
"Hey Derek, will you help me get over my nerves?"
"Yea sure, what can I do?" Derek asked.
"Well, when I was little, me and my mom would run down the stairs as fast as we could, laughing the whole way down. It would always help me get over my first-day-of-school jitters. Would you run down the stairs with me?" Chloe asked hopefully.
For a second, she thought he would say no. He had a weird look on his face, and she couldn't decipher what it meant.
"Sure Chloe," Derek said after a little while. 'Yes!' Chloe thought excitedly. She held out her hand shyly, willing him to take it. He did. She did a little happy dance inside her head.
"Ready?" Chloe said. Derek nodded slightly. "One, two, three---"
And then they were off, tripping and falling over there feet. Chloe was giggling and Derek laughing his deep rumbling laugh. His grin grew wider each time she tripped, almost falling down the steps, and hoisted her up by their joined hands so they could continue running. Then, on the last couple of steps Derek tripped, bringing Chloe down with him. He twisted to his back so Chloe would fall on top of him instead of being crushed under his weight. They lay there breathing fast and laughing loudly at what had just occurred. Just then Simon arrived at the top of the staircase, looking at them curiously before asking, "What are you two doing?" which only made them laugh harder. Simon gave them a 'you're crazy' look, but his expression was tinged with jealousy. He then headed toward the bathroom, leaving the sounds of Chloe's giggling and Derek's deep rumbling in his wake.