Author's Note: Okay, I know, it's been a long time since I've updated any Darkest Powers stories, but I swear I have a good reason. If anyone checked my profile, you'd know this, but I'll reiterate for those who don't know: In August, I bought a MacBook Air, because I didn't need that retina thing that MacBook Pro offered, so I got a 13". Anyway, I have a 32 GB USB, which crashed when my computer updated itself. On that USB, it contains all of my fanfiction stories and a couple of school projects. Any chapter I had partially written was deleted and lost, so I was trying to work on my Twilight story, because I KNOW I OWE THEM A CHAPTER, but I'm still trying to think of awesome pranks, but anyway, time went by and exams came up and I'm taking a break from studying to write this chapter for you. So I also realized my other story, So Sneaking Into A Movie Star's Trailer Wasn't The Best Plan of Action, hasn't been updated in like, 2 years, but really, it took a backseat in comparison to my other stories. So here's the deal: I'm trying to make up for the non-existent chapters of Twilight, and my summer's coming up. I'm also in the process of rewriting a bunch of original stories and read all of Sherlock Holmes (4 novels, 56 short stories. Anyone who can tell me why I want to read Sherlock Holmes will get a virtual hug and some other really cool gift once I can think of one. Hint: it's because of an anime). This summer is going to be packed so I will be busy both writing and reading and trying to maintain a social life. I don't want to update So Sneaking Into A Movie Star's Trailer Wasn't The Best Plan of Action until I'm done Twilight so that my updates on that story can become regular and I'm thinking of rewriting that story anyway, since my writing has developed a lot since then. So I'm sorry for the lack of activity on my part with the exception of a couple of one-shots because those are honestly the easiest things to deal with. I'm also trying to work out the next chapter for Her Werewolf With Windswept Fur, (I just realized the word was "in", I should probably change that). I don't own the Darkest Powers and if you didn't notice, this chapter is written slightly differently from the others. I think I've just put a bunch of run on sentences in here and I omitted using names as much as in the past, but I hope you still like it! Once again, sorry for so much inactivity!

Useless

Simon Bae is a perfectly capable person.

He's good at sports, he's smart, he's funny. He's a social butterfly, makes friends easily, knows the perfect words to say, is dependable. He's loyal and respectful, kind and caring. He knows just what to say to brighten up your day.

Except now, it seems, all of those skills are of no use.

He runs every day now, metaphorically and physically. His marks pale in comparison to his brother's. His jokes are merely brushed off. There's hardly anyone speak to and he can't make any solid friends if he'll be gone within a few weeks. Words seem to be failing him recently and he never seems to be there when he's needed. He's kind of thinking of dropping Tori off on the side of the road and feels a growing disdain for her. He's snappier lately, more than he means to be. It's only because he's short on sleep, but that's not his fault.

Correction: Simon Bae was a perfectly capable person.

Because while Chloe goes for ice cream with him and lies in the grass and points out funny shapes in the sky, her mind is always elsewhere. He's not sure if it's on the Edison group or if it's on a certain werewolf.

No, he knows it's on a certain werewolf.

Because every time he asks her to join him outside, she'll glance across the table towards him, as though asking for permission before nodding and leaving with Simon. Whenever he asks her about the comic book they plan on writing, she gives him a small smile and goes into depth about what she thinks the layout should be, where the text bubbles and such should go and yet she keeps looking over her shoulder. It's not the kind of look that one has when checking to make sure no one is coming, it's the look of someone anticipating a certain person's arrival.

He always gets the feeling that she's distant, even though she's right across from him, eating her ice cream with a smile on her face, her eyes are far away, off in her own world, one that probably includes a certain emerald eyed boy with a tendency to overreact. And it's not as though it's impossible to tell that it's happening.

Originally, he remembers she was careful. Her glances towards the woods were less often, her gazes subtle. But eventually, as time goes on, she becomes careless. She doesn't care if he knows that she isn't actually here for him, she doesn't care if he knows she harbours feelings for his brother.

And Simon feels utterly useless in these moments, when he can honestly see why Chloe prefers Derek over him.

Derek is strong and dependable. He's a rock that everyone leans on and is, without a doubt, the strongest of them all. Physically and mentally, he's their strong point. He's their sturdy post that refuses to be wavered.

Simon remembers when Derek was awkward. He's still awkward, but now he's trying more. He's trying to talk more, he's trying to get along with others. And when he thinks about it, perhaps it's because of Chloe that he's taken this step forward. He used to glare at everyone, used to stand on the sidelines awkwardly and bite his tongue but now it seems as though he's actually conversing, actually- dare he say it- socializing. And it's wonderful and it's great and it's amazing that she's able to do this to him but …

He can see him closing in on himself. He's his brother, as if he wouldn't figure it out. He's hiding things, he's shutting himself in, he's hiding everything and he thinks, though he's not sure, he can hear small whimpers through the paper-thin walls of Kit's home.

First it's the vacant look in his eyes. The day Simon comes back from playing some basketball with her, Derek turns away and stares out the window instead. He says something in a gruff voice about needing to help Kit with something before leaving. The next morning, his eyes skim over her as though there's nothing but thin air before him. Doesn't even acknowledge her.

Next is the way Derek doesn't seem to hear. Whenever Simon speaks to him, he seems distant, in a far off place and Simon wishes he could enter their minds just for a moment to know what their fears and worries were and try to fix them but he's too scared of what he'll find. Calling his name once, twice, perhaps even thrice and still, he doesn't seem to hear. As though he's turned a deaf ear to him.

Simon's his brother, he knows that something's not right. And she can see it to.

And suddenly, their fun times at the ice cream parlour are filled with her worries, about what she's done wrong, how she's made him mad at her. But Simon knows why Derek's acting cold. He knows why but he also knows it's not his place to say anything and his escape from the reality of being runaway genetically modified subjects becomes focused on the topic of his brother and how she's wronged him, even though Simon knows it isn't her fault.

It's his.

It's his fault but he can't make himself stop because when you're on the run and you have nowhere else to go and your bitch of a sister is the only thing you have left to cling onto you're only option is to find someone else and since your brother's an introvert, you can't go to him and so you need to look for the sunshine and smiles from the blonde beauty that feels ignored by the bitch and the angry brother. The angry brother who's only mad at himself for something that Simon's done.

He's a horrible brother. He knows it. He can see him hurting, can see it in his eyes as he tries to hide it with his curtain of hair and yet he can tell he's close to breaking. She isn't any fun anymore, but he's worried for her. Thinks she'll do something drastic and he needs to be there for damage control. But being with her hurts too, almost as much as watching her and his brother go around in circles.

Because being with her shows how useless he is. He can't protect her, he can't make her happy. He can't make her feel passion and fury and everything so very fully as Derek can, but he's taking her away from him because she needs to distance herself from the problem until they can both get their act together to solve the problem that he himself has created.

For the first time in his life, he wants to hurt his brother.

Derek's tearing her apart, while self-destructing himself. It might be Simon's fault in the first place that he's shut himself in, but it's also his own fault for causing her to worry, which then causes both brothers to worry horribly while one is oblivious and the other knows but can't say a thing because it's not his place and he feels useless that the one thing he can actually manage to do he can't because that's interfering and they haven't quite reached the point of needing an intervention, but they're so damn close to it that he's preparing himself to hit his brother and tell him to get his shit together and actually do something about the girl they both care about so deeply and fix this damn mess.

All the while that bitch who's actually his sister remains oblivious. This is tearing him up on the inside, breaking his heart and he's sure that he's breaking too. Both brothers suffering as well as Chloe and in this case, there's no one who's actually at fault because really, they all are.

Simon needs an escape and she provides it.

Derek can't stand to see it and shuts himself in.

Chloe can't stand that he's retreating back into his shell and becomes overly worried.

Simon can't stand to see her suffer.

It's a domino reaction and admittedly, it's probably avoidable but it's already started and now it's a snowball rolling down a hill and it doesn't seem like the end is anywhere near in sight. And he knows Chloe hates playing damsel in distress but at this point, they have no other option because Derek is stubborn and Chloe can't talk without stuttering and Simon feels guilty but can't seem to get words to form and leave his lips.

During dinner he can see Derek's legs brush against hers gently, subtly (since when did he learn the art of subtly?). During the night he can hear her silent cries and her feet moving against the floorboards. They stop at the door, but it's not his that she enters. It's his. And he thinks that's better because Simon is as much of a wreck as she is and he'd certainly be of no help, not in a situation like this.

And then one day, the touches stop and they're more brief and every time the two of them interact, there's pain in both of their eyes but Simon doubts Derek sees it. He's realizing Derek's numbing himself, he probably lost his sight a long time ago. And she can't see it because her vision's too cloudy with unshed tears.

Simon misses the days when he was useful. When someone had a problem, they'd go to him and he'd smile and in a few minutes, that problem was gone. He likes making people smile but it seems like all he's doing is causing a household of misery. He can't deal with that weight on his shoulders, watching her and his own brother go through pain and suffering because of his own selfish needs.

And that stupid bitch who doesn't even seem to notice, Simon hates to admit it but he envies her. She's able to forget about it even existing. She doesn't notice these things since she's too wrapped up in herself and her latest pedicure or whatever that shit is that girls worry about.

Kit probably sees something. He's probably worried about them, but he knows that it isn't his business and Simon wonders how Kit deals with feeling so useless because Simon certainly can't take it. Hopefully, it'll sort itself out on its own and then he can grovel and apologize like a proper person and then maybe he'll just spend his time in the library, reading up on that old summer reading list from Browns which he never did complete anyway.

And then it happens.

She kisses him.

She probably doesn't see Simon in the shadows, but he can see her. He sees it and it leaves something bittersweet in his throat. From the angle he's at, it's awkward as hell. Derek doesn't know what to do with his hands, Chloe's too short, it's very strange. Nothing like those kisses in the chick flicks she claims not to watch.

And it's like watching a transformation before his very own eyes, watching as they part and the look in Derek's eyes when he looks down at her. He's still awkward as hell, that will probably never change, but he looks so alive. So very alive.

His eyes are bright, a smile beginning to form on his lips. He can see it. However many of his senses disappeared, Simon knows that he's no longer numb. Not anymore.

And yet Simon still feels useless because really, when you've created a problem you should solve it but it seems like, even if he hadn't caused this problem, another one would've come up. And those two would've solved it on their own, with no need for him whatsoever.

He's an unnecessary variable in the equation, the one that they could function perfectly without and while that hurts, the fact that all three of them will no longer be in pain anymore helps ease it a little.

The Earth will keep spinning, the sun will rise the next day and perhaps, eventually through this endless cycle, Simon will find his worth again. But for now, he'll wait on the sidelines, taking the place that Derek left behind because eventually, he knows, he'll meet someone like Chloe Saunders and he won't have to feel so useless anymore.

He'll be patient and he'll wait for her.

But God, he hopes that day comes soon.

Author's Notes: So now it's time for the thank-yous!

Hanna: Thank you, I like to try different writing styles and be diverse in terms of writing so that I can develop my own style of writing in each genre and in each different way (first person, second person, third person), thank you! I don't get that many compliments at my own home since my parents think writing is a waste of time, so it really means a lot to me that you like it!

Moleking: Thank you! Honestly, I tried. I'm not trying to sound modest or anything, it's actually pretty hard.

Jabc4: I think making people feel what I feel when I write something is what everyone strives for in terms of writing. I know it's why I started. To be able to teleport people into different times using only your words to bring out so much emotion is my goal!

Kaitgirl: Basically, each chapter is kind of like the same thing that happened in the first chapter, but it's from a different person's point of view, I'm glad you liked it!

Saunders2: I've honestly never been in love before (with someone that wasn't fictional), so I just tried to make it different from those people who think love is great and amazing because I imagine it hurts like hell, but you stick around anyway for an unknown reason and I guess that reason is love. I also like getting into other character's minds a lot and trying to keep them in character, regardless of how different the story is from the original.

Guest: Thank you!

Sharkmm: Thank you once again!

Jessibarrios: Well, here you go. You've got Simon. What did you think?

Guest: Thank you so much! And it's basically a collection of oneshots that all revolve around the exact same thing happening, but told by different people so even though the events are the same, you learn how very differently people see things.

Okay question: next is another character, remember, each thing ends up with suffix "less" at the end. Can you guess what the word will be? And should I do one for Kit?

LAST BUT NOT LEAST: IF YOU COULD NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT SIMON WAS TALKING ABOUT: HERE'S AN EXPLANATION

Okay, so here's the deal: Simon is a very carefree person, yes? Well the thing is, I feel as though, yes, he does like Chloe genuinely, he also uses her as an escape, so he can keep his sanity. But because he's doing this, Derek is shutting off his senses so he doesn't have to deal with the fact that Chloe "favours" Simon over him. Because Derek is retreating into himself, Chloe starts to get worried and the carefree conversations that Simon and she have become more centred on Derek and so Simon feels completely at fault for what he did, but he needs a way out of the crazy-ness because there's no else he can turn to.

CHALLENGE: Read this story aloud. Try to read it exactly where all the comas and periods are, taking pauses only when written, not when you need to breathe. Read the whole story, starting from Senseless to Useless, and see if you can do it without getting passionate about it at the end cause I read Clueless and Useless aloud in my room while reviewing it and I ended up making hand gestures, screaming, taking huge breaths and scaring the life out of my cat. Also, when I write down these stories like this, I imagine someone reading it as I write it, which is why there are random short sentences or sometimes really long ones. Sadly, I think I've made some sentences too long for anyone but an opera singer to say fully without taking a breath. Honestly though, read it aloud and see if you can read it without getting really into it and end up screaming at the end. I think it reads like spoken word poetry, but that could just be me! Tell me what you think! Please review, it helps my feeble ego.