I tried and tried to sleep, but just couldn't. I didn't know if it was because of the new environment, because of the vision of aunt Lauren, or because of the week I had spent sleeping only when I had the time, and having to watch my back all of the other times.

I didn't really know my way around this huge house very well, but I thought it was worth exploring. At least it would be better than staring at the white plaster ceiling and listening to Tori snoring in her sleep.

So, I gently rolled the cold doorknob and creaked the door open. Thankfully, Tori's a pretty deep sleeper, and she didn't even flinch. I made my way to the end of the long hallway before I got a glimpse of movement out of the corner of my eye. I whipped around in time to see a bald, elderly man coughing into a black and white checkered handkerchief. As he lifted his face away from the cloth, I saw blood splattered across it. He coughed again, yet made no sound. That was a signal that he wasn't really there, just his memory. I shivered as I remembered the girl in the woods being murdered, and I quickly turned back around and started down the staircase.

It was pitch black and I found myself nearly stumbling a few times. I could just barely see the outline of the old dining table I had passed, yet not really paid much attention to only a few hours earlier. As I squinted into the darkness, I lost my grip on the smooth mahogany railing. I let out a small yelp as I prepared myself to hit the stone floor.

Suddenly, I felt two large, warm hands grasp me right below my shoulder and steady me on my feet. I recognized Derek's touch. I breathed a sigh of relief as my toes gripped the cool floor. I tried to wriggle out of his grasp, but he held me firmly. I looked up into his green glowing eyes until I saw a glimpse of recognition and her released me.

"Looks like you scared me for a change." Derek chuckled, his piercing green eyes staring down at me.

"Me? Scare you?" I tried to act casual, though I knew he was, yet again, in only his boxer shorts. Even though it seemed to become a pattern, it still made my cheeks redden.

"What are you doing down here?" I asked as I felt along the wall for a light switch.

"Oh, nothing." Derek said with a deep yawn. I knew that when anyone said they were doing nothing at two in the morning, they were lying.

"Are you changing again?" I asked, concern now creeping into my voice. I knew that, though he'd probably deny it, he really needed someone to be with him when he was going through that.

"No, no. I just…couldn't sleep. Too many thoughts. Besides, someone needs to be up to stand guard." He said, turning to his left and walking towards a white refrigerator with a light-up icemaker. The light looked eerie, but I was glad to actually be able to see where I was going.

"C'mon, Derek. When was the last time you got some sleep?" I tried to coax him, but it was all in vain.

"That doesn't matter. I'll be fine." He answered dismissively as he opened the fridge and started looking through its contents. As he did, the light showed on his tan face, and I realized that he really wasn't as ugly as I had thought when I first met him. His strong chin complimented his high cheekbones, and those eyes…there was just something about those eyes…

"So, what's keeping you up? You didn't see or hear another ghost again, did you?" Derek's deep, husky voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

"No. I guess I was just starting to get used to sleeping in forests and on buses." I lied, tucking my cold hands under my armpits. He probably had enough on his mind without me complaining about my little ghost scenarios.

"So…were you thinking about our next move?" I asked, walking a little bit closer.

"Huh?" Derek grunted as if caught off guard. He turned around with a gallon of milk in his right hand.

"You said you were thinking. Were you thinking about a new plan or something?" I repeated.

"Oh." He shrugged as he closed the door to the fridge. "No, just…thinking." He got a glass down from one of the wooden cabinets and started filling it with milk. He grabbed a second one and made a motion asking if I wanted one too. I nodded and he filled the second one.

"You can tell me. My mom always used to say that problems can come to light if you just share them with someone else." I said as he handed me the glass. I didn't really expect him to share, but I thought it was worth a shot.

"Nah, it's not really a problem." He said, putting the jug back and taking a sip from his glass. I watched and tried not to laugh out loud as his Adam's apple bounced up and down with every gulp he took. "What color are you planning on changing your hair to this time?" he was obviously trying to change the subject, and I decided I'd leave him alone.

"I'm not all too worried about it." I said. Derek leaned back on the counter, studying me.

"Are you sure? Tori's probably gonna get back on your case again." Derek rolled his eyes. I took a sip of my own milk before answering.

"I don't let her get to me." I said.

"You're a lot better at that than I am." He said, slowly sloshing his remaining milk around in the bottom of his cup. There was silence for a little while, and I almost considered going back up to bed when Derek finally started talking again.

"I was thinking about how Andrew looked at me." He said, his voice cutting through the dark silence. I was startled by the answer to my question I thought I would never get.

"You mean back in the woods?" I asked, though I already knew the answer.

"Yeah. He stared at me like he was scared of me or something. This from a man I've known since I was five." He shook his head as if to blur the image of Andrew's startled face from his head. "I know I'm…bigger now, but…it's still me."

"He knows that. He was just…surprised." I said, walking over and setting my now empty milk glass next to his. Derek sat for a moment in thought before scooting a few inches away from me. "What?" I asked, wondering if I smelled weird or something.

"I—I don't have any deodorant on right now." He mumbled, turning his head away. In the dim light given off by the fridge's icemaker, I could see his face turn pink. I fought the urge to giggle. I didn't think Derek was embarrassed about anything, let alone something that wasn't his fault.

"Don't worry about it. It's not that bad." Ok, it had been pretty bad, but I wasn't going to kick him when he was down. "Anyway, unless you count that scrub down you gave me, I haven't had a bath in days." I said with a warm smile. He chuckled slightly.

"Not that bad, huh? Tell that to some of the people I went to school with back in Albany." He shook his head.

"Oh, please. Body odor is not really that mortifying compared to some of the things that I've done." I said.

"Haha, sure." He said disbelievingly.

"I'm serious!" I thought for a second before continuing. "Like this one time I was with this guy I liked and my friend Kari. Kari told a joke, and I was so nervous, I started laughing so hard I wet my pants! I never lived that down." I said. Derek gave yet another one of his throaty laughs. "Ok, now you tell me one." I said, starting to feel a much lighter mood come on.

"Tell you one what?" he asked, pretending like he didn't know what I was talking about.

"Horror stories of course." I said. When he turned away and started walking towards the front door, I followed him. "C'mon, I told you mine! It's your turn." I pestered playfully.

"I'm gonna have to refer you to Simon on stuff like that." He answered.

"C'mon, I won't laugh, I promise. Just tell me--"

"There's nothing to tell, ok?" He finally snapped at me. We looked at each other for a moment before he turned away and leaned his left arm against the glass door that looked out on the front of the house. I was silent for a minute as I felt the old, secretive Derek crawling back.

"I'm sorry." I finally said. He merely gave a shrug in response.

"It's no big deal. I don't need a girl to make me happy. I have Simon, that's enough for me." He said as his eyes locked on a large oak tree outside of the house.

"So…you've never even kissed a girl?" I asked. I saw him wince at the personal question, and I instantly regretted asking it.

"No." he said. I suspected to hear venom in his voice, but he said it as if it was a question on a test.

"That was out of line…if it makes you feel any better, I haven't really gone any farther than the holding hands stage." I apologized. He looked at me for a moment before grunting and turning back to the window.

"Simon is really crazy about you." Derek said after yet another dark silence. I was startled by the sudden change in subject. When I didn't answer, he kept talking. "I think it's because you're not like the other girls he's been with. You're not so shallow, you don't whine about anything if you can help it, you actually care about other people... and Lord knows you're stubborn." Derek rolled his eyes and gave a lop-sided smile, showing off one of his fang teeth. "He usually goes for girls like Tori. Mean, but pretty." I slightly shuddered as I imagined Tori in his arms.

"Sorry by the way." He said, snapping my bizarre vision from my head.

"For what?" I asked. If anyone should've been sorry, it should've been me for being so nosy.

"Walking in on you and Simon. I didn't mean to…interrupt." He said, his slight smile morphing into a scowl.

"It wasn't your fault…I wasn't really ready to go that far anyway." I admitted. Derek's eyebrows rose, and then knitted together.

"Not ready? What's that supposed to mean?" he inquired.

"Well…Simon's sweet and all, but…I just feel like I don't know him well enough yet to want to…" my voice trailed off as the half-moon came out behind the clouds, bathing both of us in a white light. "Don't tell him I said anything, ok?" I said, now worrying what Simon would say if he knew that his feelings for me weren't completely mutual yet.

"Don't worry about it. It's not my business anyway." He breathed in deeply. As he inhaled, his chest seemed to soak in the light from the moon. "The sun's going to start coming up soon. You might want to get some sleep while you still can." I nodded in response and made my way up the stairs.

I fell asleep just as soon as my head hit the pillow. I dreamed of Derek fighting Liam, of how he held my shoulders and pushed me behind him when the two werewolves started threatening me. But, most of all, I dreamed of the tender glint in his eyes that he had shown as he wiped away Liam's blood from my chin.