Any Man Who Knows All the Answers

Disclaimer: I do not own the Darkest Powers Series or anything pertaining to it. Please do not sue because I have no money and it will disturb the ghosts that live in my wallet.

Author's Note: This is a story that has been rattling around in my head for some time. I wrote it a long time ago and just recently found it on one of my memory sticks. Not sure if I'm going to add more chapters or let it remain a oneshot. That all depends on the feedback I get. Anyways I hope you like it.

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I glanced at my watch for what felt like the hundredth time as I leaned against Simon's locker. He was late...again. Another try on my cell phone ended with the same message.

"The number you are trying to reach is not available please leave a message after the beep."

I glared at my phone for a moment before shoving it deep in my pocket. Yet another crowd of obnoxiously perfumed girls walked by I heard whispers and giggles.

"How did he even, like, get in here?" One girl whispered to her friend. "Like don't you need talent or something? Really, it's like totally surreal."

"Shh he might hear you," Another hissed nervously. The others ignored her.

"I heard one of the teachers say he was in a special math class. You can totally tell he's remedial."

This sent the group into another fit of giggles as they turned the corner.

I hated this school. I mean I REALLY hated this school. Unlucky 13, if I believed in something like luck, AR Gurney School of the Arts located in Buffalo, New York. It was about as close to hell as a person could get without going underground.

I'm not an idiot, despite how I look, but my skills lie in the realm of logic, science and math. Things that actually require a brain. AR Gurney, being an Art school, had no use for such things. Unless you could sing, draw, or act most people here believed you had no place in this world.

Simon of course took to it like a fish to water, acting class, anime club, and everything in between. His only complaint was the lack of a basketball team and he got over that pretty fast when he got a look as some of the girls. If anything my brother was highly adaptable. Sure he would whine and complain at first but he always managed to fit in.

That was something I never really managed to do. With my hulking size and my unnatural strength I seemed to draw attention everywhere I went. Not to mention my razor sharp wit and sarcastic attitude. That didn't seem to be winning me any brownie points.

Also the fact I was a werewolf.

Not that anyone else really knew but Dad and Simon but sometimes I got the feeling that people just sensed it. That I was a predator, a monster.

Like what happened in Albany with that kid. I hadn't meant to hurt him and dad kept telling me it wasn't my fault. Still every time I think about how close I had come, if I had broken his spine instead of his collarbone. I could have killed him, or at least had him in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. It was just to close a call. Far too close.

Shaking my head to clear away my dark thought I checked my phone again. Still late and still no messages.

I was in the process of dialing Simon's number again when I heard a soft rustle of fabric behind me. Tensing I whirled around to face whoever though they could sneak up behind me. Instead of some muscle-bound jock bully like I was expecting I found a tiny blonde girl.

Apparently I had scared her though, because she made a small yipping sound and nearly jumped out of her skin. Clutching her chest she just stared at me with her big blue eyes. Not that I noticed or anything. Taking advantage of her attempts to restart her heart I looked her over.

She was blonde, but judging by the unnatural colour and extremely faint smell of chemicals the red streaks in her hair were dyed. Probably thought it made her look cool or something. She was short without real curves and at first glance seemed too young to be in a high school. Still she was there, with a school bag, and a jacket with the school logo sewn on the arm so chances were good that she went there.

What really threw me was the way she smelled. Unlike most girls her age she didn't smell like hairspray or gag-worthy perfume. There was only the faint smell of flowers from her hair and skin and a sharp mint scent from her lip balm. She wore the barest amount of black around her eyes and that was all. She was pretty, in a breakable sort of way.

She might have been in one of my classes. I never could keep track. I wasn't all that interested. Girls like her didn't go for guys like me. She would probably be Simon's type of girl though. He really had that 'hero saves the damsel in distress' problem.

Finally catching her breath blondie gave me a nervous smile.

"Wow you really surprised me there." She flushed and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Hi I'm Chloe. You're Derek right? Simon's brother."

"Yeah." I grunted wanting to end this conversation quickly. At least she got my name right though unlike most people came asking about Simon. Which was pretty much the only reason I hadn't left yet.

"I have a question about the Winter Semi do you know where he is?"

I suppressed a growl. I knew what that question was.

"Yes, Simon is going."

Chloe blinked and her eyebrows wrinkled in a confused manner.

"I didn't ask—"

"I was taking the shortcut."

I knew I was being rude cutting her off. I didn't really care though. I was getting more than a little tired of girls bothering me to get to Simon. If they liked his so much they could go bother him.

Seeing Chloe gearing up to say something in response I decided to cut her off. A quicker end to the conversation I hoped.

"And before you ask, yes he is going with someone and no I don't know who."

To be honest I didn't know for sure if he was going with someone. Simon had been talking about asking some girl today. I forgot her name, But since no girl ever turned Simon down there was good chance he did indeed have a date.

My response seemed to surprise Chloe though and a small frown formed on her tiny face.

"He didn't mention that this morning."

I shrugged.

"Are you going too?" The question caught me off guard and I stared at her for a moment. "Well you said Simon's going so are you going too?"

At first I thought Chloe was making fun of me but she just continued to stare innocently. Unsure of what to say I just blinked. Seeing she wasn't going to leave until I gave her some sort of response I sighed and nodded.

Apparently accepting my nonverbal response Chloe smiled and continued talking.

"That's cool. Well anyways I need to talk to Simon about the dance. It's really important. Do you know where he might be?"

I stifled a snarl. This girl was persistent. Did she really think that just because she acted all innocent and friendly that I wouldn't figure out her ploy? Seriously, did I look like an idiot? Still it didn't look like this Chloe was going anywhere fast until I gave her the information she wanted.

Time to pull out the big guns.

"Look, I don't know where Simon is but I told you already he's got a date already." I paused for effect, "But you asked if I was going. I am, and I don't have a date yet, so if you're interested . . ."

I trailed off fully expecting her to head for the hills. Chloe on the other hand just blinked at me wide-eyed. A slow flush spread from the tips of her ears and across her nose and cheeks. She stood stuttering for a moment before she was able to string a sentence together.

"O-okay. Sure I'll go with you."

It was my turn to blink. That was not the response I had been expecting. Screams of terror? Totally expected. Running in fear? Par for the course. Actually agreeing? I had no plan for that.

Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on how you look at it, someone a ways down the hall called Chloe's name, distracting her. Quickly Chloe turned and waved before smiling at me.

"I'll meet you Friday at eight outside the gym okay? I'll be wearing a red dress."

With a small smile Chloe turned to walk away. She only made it about three steps before turning around again.

"Hey if you see your brother tell him to call me."

My inner wolf snarled. The female had chosen me as a potential mate so why was she still after the beta male? I immediately squashed the voice. It was a school dance not a proposal of marriage. Still I was a little ticked.

"I've been looking for him all day." She continued oblivious, "He was supposed to bring the banners the art club made for Semi to the gym but I guess he forgot. Please remind him if you see him."

And with that Chloe was off down the hall. Then it hit me. I knew where I had seen Chloe before. She was at that meeting for the Winter Semi-formal preparation. Decorating committee with ... Simon.

Now I felt like a bit of a jerk. She wasn't looking for a date she was trying to do her job. Whoops.

"WHAT?"

A loud shriek echoed through the hall. I turned to see Chloe and some other girl. Chloe appeared to be trying to quiet the other girl. For a normal person they would be too far away to hear but I was able to hear every word.

"Mattie, shut up." Chloe whispered. "Do you w-want him to hear you?"

"Are you out of your head?" The other girl, Mattie, hissed back. "What were you thinking when you agreed to go with him?"

"Well he's new and all. I know what it's like being the new kid and trying to make friends."

Mattie shook her head and placed her hands on her hips.

"The reason he has no friends," She drawled, "is because he is rude as hell with a scowl to match."

"You should know better than to judge a book by its cover." Chloe replied quietly, shooting a reproachful look at the other girl. "Just because he's huge doesn't mean he's a bad person."

I had to raise an eyebrow at this. If they thought I was scary now they should have seen me about six months ago before my acne and radioactive B.O. had decreased. Still with my long hair and baggy clothes, not to mention my size, I still look off putting.

"I wasn't talking about his looks and you know it." Mattie sighed and rubbed her forehead. "I'm just saying he's not going to win any Mr. Congeniality contests that's all."

Laughing she slung an arm over Chloe's shoulder.

"You are a better woman then I, Chloe Saunders, but someday it is going to get you into trouble."

The pair was still laughing as they turned the corner. Frowning I crossed my arms and leaned against the lockers. Well at least now I knew that Chloe hadn't agreed to go with me as a joke.

Suddenly my mind ground to a halt. I had just asked a girl I didn't even know to a dance. I hated dances. In fact I hated dancing. There wasn't even a way of getting out of it since I had asked HER. God Dad and Simon were never going to let me live it down.

As if on cue a small beep came from my phone. Flipping it open I found a text from Simon. It said he was in the Cafeteria. Not even bothering to respond I shoved the phone back into my pocket and headed to the Cafeteria.

I found him sitting at a table near the back. Surprisingly he was by himself. Cheerfully Simon waved me over.

"Hey bro, sorry for not meeting you at the lockers. The teacher asked for my help after class."

I shrugged.

Almost immediately Simon started into a rundown of his day. Sliding onto the bench beside him I nodded half-listening. Noticing a plate of fries sitting on the table I glanced at Simon. Shrugging he continued on with his story.

Making an executive decision I chose to remove the temptation and began to devour the offending potatoes. I had to make sure Simon was eating healthy.

"So this guy in my second period class was talking about asking this twelfth grader to Semi and I told him..."

At the word Semi I jerked up-right. The situation with Chloe flooding back. I guess I looked pretty surprised because Simon noticed immediately.

"What up bro? You look like you saw a ghost."

"Some girl named Chloe was looking for you." I mumbled.

"Oh Chloe." Immediately Simon's face brightened. "You remember her right? She was at the Semi meeting and she's in our creative writing class. She's the one I was talking about yesterday."

I felt a lump in the pit of my stomach. This conversation was heading in a direction I really didn't like.

"Yesterday?"

"Ya I was telling you about how I'm thinking of taking her to Semi." Simon chuckled. "Geez at least pretend to listen."

For a minute I couldn't think of anything to say. It was like my brain had come to a complete stop. What do you say to something like that? Suddenly Simon's cell phone went off. Flipping it up he read the message before gaping at the screen.

"She's going to Semi with someone else." Simon sputtered and slammed his phone down in disgust.

"Huh" The most intelligent response I could muster.

"Chloe," Simon stood up and started pacing, "somebody asked her to Semi first. Everyone knew I was going to ask her. Who would do that? Who?"

"Me?" The word came out before I could stop it.

For a moment there was silence. Simon just stared at me and I felt this surreal jolt run through me. Did I really just say that or did I imagine it?

All of a sudden Simon started laughing. No just normal laughing but body-shaking bone-rattling laughter. Gasping for breath he grabbed the table for support.

"You're kidding right?"

Silently I just stared at him. After a few minutes of trying to compose himself Simon collapsed back onto the bench. Finally subsiding into small chuckles. The look on my face must have shown how amusing I found the situation. Answer, not at all.

"So not you're kidding," As he started to chuckled again I gave Simon a withering look. "Okay how did it happen?"

I managed to get through the whole story with Simon only interrupting twice with his obnoxious laughter. By the time I had finished he had his head on the table and he was holding his sides. I guess he got a cramp from all that laughing. Good, I hope it hurt.

"So let me get this straight," Simon muttered breathlessly from his face-down position. "You asked the girl of my dreams out on a date...by accident?"

Blushing furiously I only managed a grunt in response.

"Wow, bro only you could pull off a move like that."

When Simon lifted his head off the table I was relieved to find him smiling.

"I can back out," I suggested, "then you can ask her instead."

Even as the words left my mouth Simon was shaking his head.

"Man, you have a lot to learn about girls."

I just stared at him blankly. It seemed like a perfectly reasonable plan to me. Simon on the other hand looked at me in a pitying way.

"You asked her to the dance," He pointed at me then himself, "I am your brother. If you ditch her there is no way in hell she would go to the dance with me. In fact I would be lucky if she ever even talked to me again. So, no that is a bad idea."

I spent the next half hour trying to come up with a plan to foist Chloe on my brother. Every single one was shot down. After he shot down the 26th idea I finally gave up and faced the music.

I was going to the Winter Semi-formal with Chloe Saunders whether I liked it or not.

...

There we go all finished. I hope that was okay, I'm never really confident writing male characters. Sorry for any spelling errors that is my greatest weakness. Anyways if you like it tell me so and I'll add more chapters...So ya that's it. TTFN