Yay, some new pps reading the story! Hey!!! well, this chapter should be interesting. Lots of Chlerek. The next few chapters will be dripping in it. I'm sad to say, there won't be too much Xavier in here. So far he's a hit. That makes me happy, since my OCs usually aren't. a

Summer: I couldn't reply to your review, and replying to every review is really important to me. Thanks so much. I'm glad you liked it. I definitely plan on writing more. I don't plan on stopping anytime soon. Thanks again for the review!

Yay, more faves, more alerts. I'm so excited! Some super special thanks too::::: JamieKayHuntt, CrimsonFury73, Vero Diaz, Summer, and Midnight KATO4 for all the love! I hope you guys are big Chlerek fans because I'm totally milking this Change for everything I can get out of it.

Well, I really like the near- end of this chapter so, I shall start typing now!

Knight in Shining Armor

Chapter 6

I sat in bed awake, watching the clock. Simon kissed me. was he crazy? Honestly? And tonight, when I have enough on my mind with Derek's possible up coming change at some random time in the night that might not happen? He hadn't looked sick or ferverish, but the only time I'd ever seen him skip dinner was when we had no food or he had a change. And we had plenty of food. I watched as the clock slowly ticked away the seconds, replaying Derek's last changes, Simon holding my hand, the look on Derek's face when he saw it, Simon kissing me. I wanted to scream. If I didn't have to make sure Derek stayed asleep I probably would. I planned to leave around midnight, knowing that Derek could try to go early to get past me. I wouldn't stay sane if I had to stay here doing nothing until midnight. I got up quietly and packed a duffle bag with two blankets for me to stay warm in, along with a washcloth. I thought about what else Derek might need, and reached for the package of waterbottles that sat on the chest of drawers. I stuffed two in, then zipped it. I went to change into some sweats, pulling on a pair of shorts underneath them instead of my sleep pants. I yanked a jacket on over my sleep shirt, and closed the drawer again, not nearly as quietly as I'd hoped. In the last inch it let out a squeal of sticking hinges, and Tori woke up. I knew without a doubt that Derek would have heard it too, if he hadn't left already. So there goes my plans. Great.

"What?" she asked groggily, sitting up. "Chloe? Where are you going?"

"Nowhere. Go back to sleep." I muttered, pulling on my shoes. I tied them tightly with double knots.

"Are you going out to meet Derek?" she asked, waking up more.

"It doesn't matter where I'm going. Just go to sleep. I don't want to wake anyone up."

"Ok. What's the duffle bag for?"

"Tori, it doesn't matter." I snap- whispered at her again.

"Derek has a change again tonight, doesn't he?"

"Possibly. And I think he's mad at me, so unless I beat him out there he won't let me help him. But he shouldn't be alone, either. So I've gotta just go down and wait, ok? Now he's probably awake and listening for me. Great."

"Ok. You seem angry, though, Chloe. Did something happen?" she asked. She sounded like she meant it. Did talking earlier form some sort of unspoken truce between us?

"Simon kissed me. I've just got a lot to think about. I need to figure out how to get him to stop. But this is more important, and 'm just getting distracted."

"Ok. Don't worry, he won't be mad if you tell him he needs to back off. You go help Derek. have fun staying up all night."

"Yup, I'm really looking forward to it..." I said as I left the room. I shut the door behind me.

I tiptoed downstairs, making as little noise as I physically could. I grabbed a zip bag and put some food in there for Derek. I shoved it into my duffle bag, and sat on the couch. My strawberries and sugar still sat there, and I quickly dumped them out into the trash. I looked at the time. 11:38. Close enough to midnight. I grabbed my extra two blankets I kept under the couch for these nights, and went out to the clearing in the woods. I set up all the blankets fod Derek and me, and put the bag of food and water bottles on his. I threw the duffle bag in a corner. I curled up on my blankets and waited.

At least an hour later I heard quick footsteps and Derek appeared in the clearing. "Chloe?" he asked, shocked.

"Hello. Didn't think you could sneak around me, did you?" I asked, sitting up against the tree.

"What are you doing here?"

"You showed up, so now I know why I'm here. Go on. I'm not leaving." I said, looking up at him, squinting to see him through the dark. he scowled at me. "Don't give me that look. You won't scare me away."

"Chloe, go back to the house. Go to bed. You haven't slept at all tonight have you?" he asked, looking down at me, growing frustrated.

"An hour or so."

"How long have you been out here?"

"What time is it?"

"3:00 in the morning."

"Oh. well, three and a half hours then. Come on, I've spent over three hours waiting to be here for you, in case you actually did come, I'm not going to just let you send me back to the house. I'm staying here. So go get ready because I doubt you have the time or are willing to spend the effort forcing me back to the house." I replied, standing up to look at him more closely. "So, choose. Force me back in the house kicking and screaming, or just get it over with?"

"You are so..." he started, but never finished. "Fine. I'll be right back." he disappeared, and I smiled, proud that I actually convinced him to let me stay.

He came back in his boxers, and sat on his blanket and got ready. It didn't take long for his back to pop with a sickening crack and him to start vomiting. I watched in fear as his body shivered and snapped, the bones grinding and the muscles losing control. I rushed to his side, one hand massaging between his shoulder blades and the other on his arm. he paused for a moment, and I ran my fingers through his hair. He was breathing heavily, until suddenly his back jacknifed and he went back into fits of pain. I could feel his bones breaking and melding, then breaking again. Hair started forming on his back, turning into fur. It slowly went back, then appeared again. Slowly he calmed back down, and I ran my fingers over his back in a light massage.

"Thanks for arguing with me." he got out through rasping breaths.

"I'll hold this over your head next time you tell my to leave." I replied, digging my nails into his back to try to get the muscles to relax. "Calm down. It's ok if you can't change completely tonight. You don't need to rush it. It'll happen eventually, ok?"

"Right."

I got the wash cloth and dabbed the sweat from his head, and he smiled weakly at me. He looked tired, And finally slumped down onto his side. I ran the rag over his head, which was also dampened with sweat. My own fingers trailed behind, playing in his hair a few moments after. He got up slowly and went ot put his clothes back on. he came back a minute later, dressed, and sat back down next to me.

"Do you feel better?" I asked, looking into his eyes.

"Yeah."

"Good. There's food if you want it. And water."

"Maybe in a few minutes. I'm exhausted. I haven't slept either."

"Ok. You can lay down I brought extra blankets for a reason." I said, getting them. I pulled it around him, and he slowly laid down on his side. "Good?"

"Yeah. So, you and Simon..." he trailed off, and turned to look at the sky.

"No." I finished, looking up at the sky too. I hadn't lain down, just propped myself up on my elbows.

"No?"

"No. I'm still thinking about it. I need a way to let him down gently. I don't want him mad at me. He's still one of my best friends, even if he is trying to be more. I just... don't want that from him. But I was more worried about your change, so I haven't thought about it yet."

"Ok then."

I laid down and turned away from him. I pulled my blanket over my shoulders. "Wake me up when you go back in. I'm gonna doze."

"Sure."

...... ZZZZZ..... oopsie. morning!!.........

Light filtered in through the window, and I pulled the covers up more to keep it away. I huddled further into the warmth, against the wall. My pillow felt hard, and I turned to try and make my head more comfortable. It still felt harder. My bed felt really hard, too. I hit it, which just sent pain flaring into my wrist. That was new. I felt soft nuzzling in my hair, and a warm breath of air on my neck. Finally a bird flew overhead, and it finally hit me where I was. I tried to sit up, but a heavy arm on my waist kept me still. It tightened, and pulled me further against what I thought was once the wall of my room. Stupid, considering my bed wasn't against the wall. A hand wrapped itself in mine. My stomach pretty much exploded with butterflies and giggles.

"D-d-d-d-derek, enough c-c-cuddling. It's morning!" I snapped, forcing the words, and elbowing him. He woke with a start.

"What? Shit... What time is it?" He asked, sitting up. He didn't let go of my hand until I pulled it away.

"I don't know. You were supposed to wake my up when you went back to the house." I snapped, cleaning the place up in an effort to hide my red face. He just stretched. "A little help would be nice."

"Sure. In my defense you cuddled me first."

"Don't even try. It takes two to cuddle so this isn't solely my fault. I was asleep. Since you know it was me who went first, you must've been awake. So you could've stopped me, woken me up, and we could've gone inside. the question is, why didn't you?"

"I was pretty much asleep.I wasn't making it back to the house." he answered. He still didn't explain why he didn't move me.

"Ok. How do we get back in before they notice anything?" I asked, throwing everything into the duffle bag.

"Just leave that here. You go inside. I'll come in in about a half hour. Say I went out for a jog. I was helping you practice a little bit if they ask why you're out here. Sound good?" he asked.

"Yeah. Thanks."

"So... How'd you sleep?" he asked, busying himself with folding a blanket. I fought an attack of blistering heat theat fought its way onto my cheeks.

"F-f-fine. You?"

"Good."

"Thats good."

It fell back into awkward silence. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to leave or if he wanted me to stay. "So we're planning a day trip? To the pool? And dinner?" he asked. That answered my question.

"Simon and I were talking about it. he said maybe go to the pool. I mentioned dinner because I miss italian food."

"You like Italian?"

"We had this maid. She'd bring left overs.... I have never eaten such good food. And those were the left overs." I said, blushing. He smiled, making my blush harder.

"Ok. Well, you should probably go in..." he said, after a few more moments of silence. "Try to keep this from getting to Tori or Simon, ok?"

"Like I'd tell either of them. Just worry about Xavier because he gossips with Tori. If he knows, well, expect Tori to know. I'll make sure she stays quiet though."

"Ok. See you later."

"See you."

I turned and left the clearing, thinking about waking up next to Derek... I'd never find another time I felt so stupid for thinking the ground was my bed and he was a wall. I'd never get sleep like that again, either. As awkward as it was, it made me feel safe... Theres those butterflies again. I couldn't take this. If this happened every time I see Derek I might just have to go blind to fix it. Running away wasn't going to solve this problem. I quietly went into the house, and made it upstairs. I opened the door to my room, in the final stretch to safety. Tori sat on my bed, Xavier next to her.

"So, Chloe, have anything you want to tell us?" She asked.

"... Um...No?"

So, I think I might have overdone it a little. maybe. Let me know.

Haha awkwardness! won't that be fun next chapter! hehe a daytrip? At a pool? and dinner? with all of them, of course, but we happen to have a very deviant necro- demon ghost and living conniving witch, who happen to major in awkwardness. Won't this be fun!!!! lol

Don't worry the plot will pik back up, I'm working on chracter development. Too many things at once and I'll start messing things up. Writing by chapter isn't my forte. Going back and forth isn't fun...

Sorry if it was OOC, I tried my best to get it right while still pumping in tons of Chlerek.

I hope you liked it! Maybe drop a review? tell me what you think because this has been edited a lot! lol thanks for reading. ~Amanda

ps- plz don't hate me if it turns out it sucks!