Kira yawned as she pulled back her covers and turned off the light. It had been a long day, between school and lacrosse and her dad bugging her about homework and telling her to "be a normal teen," she was ready to sleep for a long time. She had just closed her eyes when she heard her phone vibrating loudly on her desk. She groaned and threw off her blankets, dragging her feet over to the desk and answering her phone. "Hello?" she answered groggily.

"Kira? Did I wake you?" Derek's tinny voice asked.

"Nah," Kira replied, "I was just about to go to bed, though."

"Oh, sorry," Derek apologized. "Then this can wait, you can go to sleep."

"It's okay, I'm already up. You can tell me whatever you called to tell me," Kira insisted.

"Well, I… uh, I was kind of hoping you could come over so I don't have to tell you this over the phone," Derek mumbled. "But if you don't want to, I'll just tell you some other time."

"Well, now I'm curious. I'll be there in five minutes," Kira told him before hanging up. Most of the time, Derek was hard to read. A few weeks ago, she could have sworn they had a moment, that Derek might return the romantic feelings she had for him, but he'd been avoiding her ever since. Now he calls her at 11:30 and wants her to come over? She didn't understand him at all.

Kira quickly pulled her hair back into a ponytail, shoved her phone in her pocket and tiptoed down the stairs and out the back door, hoping her parents wouldn't notice her leaving. She disappeared into the bushes beside their house and cut through their neighbour's back yard before daring to walk on the sidewalk. Thankfully, it didn't take long for her to get to Derek's loft. She knocked quietly on the door and was surprised when she saw Derek wearing nothing but low-slung sweatpants.

Derek noticed her eyeing him and put on the first t-shirt he could find. "So?" Kira said expectantly, sitting down on the couch.

"Oh, right! Uh… I don't really know where to start," he gently sat down beside her. "You know that I've... I've been having a bit of a tough time lately. And then when we were alone a few weeks ago and you…"

"Yeah, I remember," Kira interrupted. "I made a fool out of myself and now you think I'm just some silly girl and that's why you've been ignoring me."

"What? No, not at all," Derek insisted, taking her hand between his. "I've been distant because… well because I was scared. Am scared. I think I love you, Kira, but I don't want to get hurt and I don't want to hurt you... I really want to be with you, but I feel like I'm too old... You deserve someone young, like Scott…" Kira interrupted him again, this time by pressing her lips against his.

"I don't care about age," She whispered when she pulled away. "I mean, look at my parents," she laughed. "Scott and I are just friends… and besides, I think I love you, too." She pulled him in for another kiss wrapping one arm around his torso, her other hand on the nape of his neck. She let out a ragged sigh as Derek kissed and nipped at the sensitive part of her neck. "Maybe we should take it slow," she suggested, although that was the opposite of what she wanted, especially since it felt so nice to have Derek's strong hands exploring her body. "Y'know, so we can savour it."

"Of course," Derek smiled, giving her a chaste kiss on the lips. "Do you want to watch a movie?" Kira nodded enthusiastically and he stands up, taking her hand and leading her over to his bed. Partially because his tv wasn't working, partially because he watched all of his movies in bed, and because the bed would let them get closer and more comfortable.

Kira didn't remember the name of the movie Derek picked, it was some old action movie with a lot of really fake explosions and deaths. It didn't really matter though, because they barely got ten minutes in and she had fallen asleep, her head resting on Derek's muscular chest. He tried not to move, but every time he did, Kira would snuggle closer to his side. Before the movie was ended, Derek was asleep too, his arms wrapped around the raven-haired beauty.

/

Kira's eyes fluttered open and she looked around, not recognizing where she was at first. A smile graced her lips for a brief moment before panic took over. She could see the clock on Derek's oven. It was 6:30 am. She'd spent the whole night at Derek's house. "Shit!" she whispered, "oh shit. Derek, wake up." She nudged him in the side.

"G'morning," He mumbled, an adorably sleepy smile on his face.

"I fell asleep. Can you drive me home? My parents didn't know that I left!" Kira said urgently, tugging on Derek's arm. They sped over to Kira's house, stopping a few houses down so her parents wouldn't see his car if they were awake. "I'll text you later," she assured him before giving him a gentle kiss and getting out of the car. He watched her disappear into the bushes before turning around and driving home.

It didn't look like anyone was awake yet, which was a good sign. Kira carefully opened the door, trying to be as quiet as possible. She just started to creep up the stairs when her mother called from the kitchen, "Kira! Is that you?"

Kira winced. "Yeah, mom, it's me!" She called back. She turned around when she heard her mother approaching.

"Where were you?" her mom demanded.

"I, uh… I couldn't sleep so I… went for a walk!" Kira replied. "You know, just to clear my head a bit." She laughed nervously. She knew she was a bad liar, but hopefully her mom wouldn't ask for the truth.

"Okay," her mom responded, putting her hand gently on Kira's neck. "Go get ready for school."

Kira bounded up the stairs and closed her door behind her, sighing in relief. When she looked at her reflection in the mirror before she was about to shower, she felt her face go bright red. Derek left an obvious mark on her neck. Her mom obviously knew she wasn't going for a walk. "Oh, well," she thought, smiling as she turned on the water. "It was worth it."