He turned and left without waiting for a reply from either of us- giving orders, after all, was classic Derek behaviour, but I found myself fuming over his lack of consideration. I knew that he was generally condescending, bossy, and incredibly rude, but I expected more from him because I'd seen the real Derek- the one who was thoughtful, loyal, and kind. I didn't understand why he couldn't be that Derek all the time. It was so frustrating- whenever we started to get close, he'd pull away; and whenever I was ready to write him off completely, he'd do or say something so incredibly sweet that I'd get sucked right back in. Why did boys have to be so confusing?
"... stopped using that two-in-one. Hello, Earth to Chloe! Are you even listening?" Tori said with irritation while snapping her fingers in my face.
"Huh? Sorry, I was just thinking. What were you saying, again?" I asked sheepishly.
"Uh-huh. Like I can't guess what you were thinking about... or should I say, who?" Tori smirked at me.
Another blush- why couldn't I have been born with olive skin like hers so that my emotions wouldn't be so painfully easy to read? "I-I-I have no idea what you're talking about," I said with as much dignity as I could muster.
Tori looked amused, which is always a bit frightening. "I'm talking about Derek, your almost-boyfriend, of course. The person you spend all of your time with, who makes you blush whenever he looks at you, or whenever somebody mentions his name? And he's always trying to watch over you and protect you- he keeps that pervy-looking sorcerer from sitting anywhere near you at meetings, and he always makes certain that you're served at dinner before he takes anything to eat. The two of you are so cute, in an immature, socially-challenged sort of way... or you would be, if it was anyone other than Derek."
This wasn't happening. After everything I'd been through, from being falsely diagnosed with schizophrenia when I'd started seeing ghosts, and finding out I was a necromancer who could accidentally create zombies, to being pursued by a group of murderous mad scientists who'd altered my DNA before my birth with my parents' and aunt Lauren's permission; discussing my feelings for Derek with Tori was the still the cruellest, most horrible thing I could imagine.
Misinterpreting my mortified expression, she continued, "Don't get me wrong- when he's around you, he's much less of a jerk than he really is, and between his finally being able to get enough exercise, being under less stress now that we're away from Lyle House, and having finished Changing, his acne and B.O. have really improved. And since I gave him that lecture on why people who have naturally oily hair should never, ever use a two-in-one and bought him that clarifying shampoo, it looks like I can tell Greenpeace we don't need them to clean up the oil slick on top of his head after all. In a few months, we might be able to upgrade him from complete troll to almost-human."
"Tori," I managed to grind out, "we're not going to sit here and talk about boys. And we're definitely not going to discuss Derek and me. N-n- not that there's anything to discuss, or that I w-want there to be anything to discuss." I glared at her as she laughed. "Our lives are in danger, remember? The last thing that any of us need is to be distracted by dating."
Tori gave me one of her lazy, superior smiles. "Right. Keep telling yourself that. You're not attracted to Derek, and even if you were- which apparently, you're not- you're both far too responsible to allow your feelings for each other to interfere with our mission. I'm so glad I not as noble as you two are, or I'd never have any fun."
She looked at her watch then got up and dusted off the back of her shorts. "I'm going in to set stuff up and get ready for tonight- I'll let you know if I need anything. If not, I'll see you after dinner when we get to commit a few cybercrimes." She gave me an evil grin as I waved her off and opened my book to try actually reading it this time.
Part way to the house, Tori, turned around and said "Oh, and Chloe? A piece of advice- if you wait until everything's perfect to start a relationship, you might end up waiting forever." With that, Tori went inside and left me alone to sort out my thoughts.
Is it cruel to stop here and make you wait for the next chapter? Don't worry, I'm working on it-things start to get really interesting in Chapter Five! Oh, and I absolutely love reviews... they make me write faster, too (hint, hint).