A/N: Hey babes, I'm starting off with an apology cause I didn't think that school would be so hectic that I couldn't even write this. I made my schedule so that I would have free time and I've been going nonstop for weeks. And now I'm doing exams and I'm super stressed, but the one tomorrow is somewhat easy so I pumped this out while I had the need to write. It took like two hours longer than usual and IDK if you'll like it as much or what you were expecting, but here it is :P But enough about me and my Uni stress, onto the replies because y'all deserve replies.

Replies:

JDrummond - I'm glad that you liked the chapter, I hope that you like this one too! Mila has always been one of my favorites too

Guest 1 - Please tell me that you've kept your excitement all this time cause I love that you loved the chapter. And Chloe will be dealing with Derek very soon

SME 13 - I know, I'm super late but can you forgive me? I hope your heart's okay, cause there's going to be some serious drama in the next few chapters

HetaliaGirl-21 - I love that you love it! Like your review really made my day when I read it so thanks so much for leaving it!

Huntsman-in-the-snow - Next chapter is ready for you and I hope it lives up to your expectatations

Guest 2 - I'm glad that I make you feel so many emotions! That's what I aim for so I'm glad that I'm doing it somewhat right :)

geekgamergirl - I don't think I could drop this story, I'm as invested in seeing the ending as you guys are :) But I'm super stoked that you think my chapters kick ass

Guest 3 - I'm sorry! The update is here, let the torture stop

starfire31803 - The universe believes in Chlerek as much as we do

Quick Warning: Keep the story summary in mind when you read this chapter. Chloe's a bit OOC in this story. I made her a little less soft spoken and a little rougher around the completely, but remember that I said 'even worse attitude'. Meaning Chloe does have a bad attitude.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Darkest Powers

The Boys

"Chloe!"

Chloe jumped and let out a, thankfully, muffled yelp from behind her sweater as she looked over at Tori. The girl in question had ripped Chloe's earbuds out of her ears none too gently and was staring at her with annoyed almond eyes, Chloe blinked back at her in confusion, rubbing her ears slightly as she stared back at Tori. "Ow. I think you ripped out a piece of my ear with those."

"Chloe, what's your problem?"

Chloe frowned at Tori, tilting her head as she put on her wide eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Don't give me that bullshit," Tori snapped, glaring at Chloe again. "Liz and I have both noticed how off you've been for the past few days. What's going on with you?"

Unconsciously, Chloe's shoulders tensed as her gaze shifted from Tori to where Liz was watching her with a look of concern. Chloe glanced away from the girls to flit her eyes around the library, a feeling of dread settling in her stomach. Tori was right. Over the past few days, Chloe had been acting strange. She had been distancing herself from the group of them and she knew that she had somehow gotten even jumpier than she used to be. It was all just a result of what had happened in this very library less than a week ago. After overhearing the conversation between Derek and Simon, Chloe didn't know who she could trust anymore. She had no idea if the girls were in on it or if it was just the boys to watch out for or it they weren't even involved to begin with. She just didn't know, and that was the thing that had left Chloe on edge for the last few days. Not to mention that Mila had disappeared to go find out if they were really involved and was supposed to come back to see her that night. It had been four days since that happened and she still hadn't heard anything from Mila. It wasn't exactly making Chloe feel warm and fuzzy inside about the place. Actually, if she was being honest with herself, she was scared out of her mind for what might have happened to Mila, and what might be coming for her. The thoughts she had absorbed from Mila's head had started appearing in nightmares for Chloe after she was no longer passing out into an exhausted sleep at night. The only reason that she had agreed to go to the library with Liz and Tori was because Chloe thought that there would be minimal talking and she didn't want to look suspicious. But apparently, neither of those things were happening for her.

"I-I-I…I'm fine, just stressing over my project with Derek," Chloe said as smoothly as she could with her stuttering. "I'm not very good at partner projects."

"Really?" Tori asked skeptically and Chloe nodded slowly. "You're worried about a project?"

Chloe nodded. It was the first idea that came to her head and an act that she played well. Looking innocent, playing dumb, and acting like she was the damsel were the things expected of her. Chloe was definitely going to use it to her advantage today. "I mean, yeah. I get nervous and I start stuttering. Plus, I don't think that Derek likes me very much. I don't think he's even said ten sentences to me since I've gotten here."

"Oh, Chloe don't take it personally!" Liz said quickly, leaning across the table to grab Chloe's hand. "Derek just doesn't like to talk a lot. He doesn't hate you!"

"Liz is right. Derek really isn't one to talk much. It's the way he's always been," Tori replied, leaning back in her chair to really look at Chloe. "Is that seriously why you've been acting so off? Worrying about Derek?"

Chloe had to fight not to roll her eyes. Of course not! I couldn't give a flying fuck whether he likes me or not, I'm worried about whether or not you're all planning to kill me! Looking from Liz to Tori, Chloe tried as hard as possible to keep her innocent look and tried to be as truthful as possible. "Yes. I mean, I've always felt kind of weird around Derek. But I feel like it's different somehow. We were partnered together on Monday. It's Friday and he hasn't even approached me with anything involving the project yet. It just seems like I did something to upset him."

"Don't worry about it, Chloe, really!" Liz patted her hand reassuringly. "I'm sure this is all a big misunderstanding."

Chloe gave Liz a small smile before turning back to Tori. "Can I have my earbuds back now?"

Tori handed her back her earbuds with a calculated look that put Chloe slightly on edge. She was sure that Liz was fooled by her semi-lie, but she couldn't be sure about Tori. The girl was smarter than she let on, being one of the school's top programmers and hackers. Tori had brains and she saw through bullshit, Chloe wasn't sure that Tori believed what she was saying. But she couldn't let on that it was a ruse. So Chloe placed her earbuds back in and went back to working on her laptop, counting down the moments before the time together with them would pass.

A sudden shock pulled Chloe out of her head, shooting up her arm and through her body, much like it had on the first day. Inhaling sharply, Chloe clenched her teeth together against the sudden sensation. It wasn't bad. Actually, it felt almost refreshing. It was like she had just gotten hit with a lightning bolt from the energizer bunny. Instead of it hurting, it felt like she had gotten recharge. After the whole mind melding situation with Mila, Chloe had felt like she was under the weather constantly. At any type of physical activity, it felt as if she couldn't catch her breath. Just walking up the dorm stairs would have her wheezing. But now she felt like she could go on a marathon. Head rush.

Her mind was still jumbled as a shadow fell over her and she found herself looking up into the blank face of none other than Derek Souza. The sight of him sent her heart racing and she found herself holding her breath in fear. But that was absurd. For all she knew, Derek didn't even know she had overheard his conversation with Simon on Monday. He probably was leaving the library and saw her leave her book on the table. That was all. He didn't know anything, and she shouldn't worry. At least, that's what Chloe was going to tell herself so that she didn't panic. Plus, they were in the middle of a crowded library. There were too many people here for him to be able to abduct her.

Blinking up at him, Chloe found herself mesmerized by the swirl of Derek's green eyes, noticing how they seemed almost cloudy as they stared back at her. This was the first time that she was really looking at him since Monday, and it seemed as if the irises were shielding his emotions behind two curtains of opaque green. However, the longer she looked into them, the more she was able to see annoyance poking its head through the curtain. Tearing her eyes away from his, she realized that Tori and Liz were staring at her expectantly. Looking back at Derek, she could see the same expectancy on his face as well as unmasked annoyance.

Pulling out an earbud, she tilted her head to the side. "What did I miss?"

Derek's face flashed with annoyance and he folded his arms. "What's the topic?"

"What?"

"The presentation," Derek rumbled slowly as he pulled out a strip of paper from his pocket and put it on the table. "What is your topic?"

The way that he said that made Chloe's jaw clench. In less than ten words, he had managed to make her feel insignificant and stupid. Subconsciously, Chloe straightened up slightly to stare back at Derek with a blank expression of her own. Chloe recognized the paper that he had put down on the desk. It was from class. Mr. Karavan handed out theme cards earlier today. She wasn't stupid and she would not tolerate being treated as such. "Paranormal."

Without another word, Derek snatched up both of the papers and left. Chloe stared after him for a moment before turning to the others for an explanation. Tori just shrugged, looking back at the clothing website she was surfing on while Liz gave her an apologetic smile. "That's just Derek. Sorry, Chlo."

Chloe frowned, staring after the dark-haired boy well after he had left her line of sight. If there was one thing that she definitely knew about Derek, it was that he didn't care about social graces. That one thought seemed to spread through Chloe's mind as she packed up and left Tori and Liz in favor of going back to her dorm room. It was a thought that seemed to swirl around her head, just like the thought of being Derek's partner had seemed to swirl through her head for hours after she had found out. She was so wrapped up in her thoughts, that she didn't notice Simon heading her way until she literally ran into him. She stumbled back and managed to steady herself before she fell over.

"Sorry," she mumbled. "Didn't see you there."

"No worries." When Chloe looked up, Simon was looking down at her with a carefree smile. It was one that she had become accustomed to the longer she was with him. It always left her so relaxed, unlike how on edge she felt whenever Derek was around. "I was actually coming to look for you."

Chloe's eyebrows rose. "Well, you found me. What's up?"

"Uh, are you heading back to the dorm now?" Simon asked, frowning. "I thought you were studying with the witch and Liz."

"I was studying with Liz and Tori," Chloe emphasized. Simon's smile only widened and he shoved his hands into his pockets. "But we were kind of interrupted so I left."

"So Derek did find you." Chloe felt herself bristle slightly and she nodded. "Was he rude?"

Chloe frowned, thinking back on their interaction again. "Not exactly. He's just... very straightforward."

Simon nodded, a crease appearing between his brows. "Yeah, that's Derek. He doesn't really see the point in conversation. If you have something he needs, he'll just straight up ask for it. He doesn't really leave room for mistakes."

"Yeah, I noticed," Chloe muttered with a slight scowl. "Is that why you wanted to talk to me?"

"Uh, no…." Simon's voice trailed off as he seemed to catch sight of something behind me and he frowned, deep enough that he looked years older than he actually was. "I have to… go. But I'll talk to you later, right? We've barely said two sentences to each other all week."

Simon touched Chloe's shoulder before taking off the way she had come into the library. Frowning to herself, she glanced behind her to find the way clear other than the few kids who had decided to take out books themselves. Are all the people in the Bae family weird? Chloe wondered to herself as she walked out of library and down the hallway that lead to her locker. Weird and attractive. Chloe didn't know where the thought had come from but it was true. It was something genetic because both Simon and Tori turned heads wherever they went in school. It was like day and night. While Simon was the classic heartthrob with the varsity jacket and the poster boy smile, Tori was almost gothic in her custom style and had boys basically drooling over her when she walked by.

Opening her locker, Chloe quickly shoved her science textbook back in her bag and swapped it for her math textbook. She hesitated slightly before pulling out the next math book. She hadn't touched the library book Derek had left on her desk apart from when she had thrown it into her locker. But with her midterm coming up in two weeks, she couldn't really risk holding out on it. As Chloe placed the last book in her bag, her locker door suddenly slammed shut, narrowly missing her nose by a breath.

"Switch partners with me."

Chloe's wide gaze shifted from where she was staring at her locker to the girl standing beside her. The girl had long red hair that cascaded over her shoulders in waves, hanging in front of the red and black cheerleading uniform that she was wearing that showed a little too much skin. She held herself tall, and even with Chloe standing up straight, she still found herself at least three inches shorter than the redhead. The girl had her manicured hand resting against Chloe's locker and Chloe could only assume that it must have been her to have slammed it close. Racking her brain for a name, Chloe remembered seeing her on the first day surrounded by guys in the cafeteria. Amber Long.

"What?"

"I said, switch partners with me," Amber repeated as her cold blue eyes stared into Chloe's. "It's obvious that you don't like Derek, so just let me be his partner."

Chloe frowned, tilting her head to the side. "Mr. Karavan doesn't allow partner switches."

"Oh, please, Karavan doesn't give a rat's ass if we stay with our partners or not as long as we do the presentation." When Chloe just frowned at her, Amber gave her a fake sweet smile as if it would sell her. "Come on, Cleo. What's the harm? You take my partner and I take yours. Everybody wins."

Yeah, but what's the catch. Chloe thought as she stared at Amber. There was no way that the 'It' girl was coming to her for something without an alternative motive. "How does everyone win?"

"Well, I get Derek and you get away from him. It's obvious that you don't like him. Plus, you and Liam seem—"

"Malloy?!" Chloe interrupted incredulously. And there was the catch. Amber wasn't coming to her to help Chloe. She was coming to her because Liam wanted her to. "You must be out of your mind. I'd take Derek over Liam any day."

Amber's eyes flashed but she kept her smile pasted on her face. "Yes, but I'm asking you to switch."

"And I'm saying no."

At the word, Amber's demeanor changed. Her smile dropped and her face hardened. It seemed as if she didn't hear the word no a lot. "Listen, you're new so you don't know the rules. When I say I want something, I get it. If I ask you for something, you give it to me because you want me to be happy. Because when I'm not happy, I can make your life a living hell here. You'll learn that you want to stay in my good graces, it just makes everything so much easier."

Chloe couldn't help herself. She laughed. Not only did she laugh, but she laughed hard and she laughed a lot. It wasn't as if she meant to. It had just been a very tense week and this girl was the last thing that she needed, yet what she had said seemed so funny to Chloe that she couldn't stop her laughter. She dissolved into giggles mere moments after her outburst, the only thing that brought her back from the edge of her almost hysterical laughter being the look of outrage on the girl's face. Honestly, Chloe found the look so completely ridiculous that she nearly dissolved into laughter again. But she managed to contain conceal it behind a cough.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to laugh in your face but you can't be serious," Chloe said after a moment. When Amber just stared back at her blankly, she shook her head. "I mean, I don't know you and being in your good graces isn't on my to-do list."

"You should watch your tone, Cleo." Chloe's eyebrows rose and she stared into the ice blue eyes of Amber. That was the second time that she called her Cleo. "You think because you are buddied up with the Vicky Bae, you can do whatever you want? Newsflash, I control this school. It's easier to just give me what I want now, before I have to force you to."

Chloe nodded slowly, zipping up her bag. She had been to enough schools to recognize Amber's personality type. The queen bee. She had people kissing her ring, head cheerleader, and always felt oh-so-important. It was enough to make Chloe sick. Actually, it was enough to make her mad. She hated when people thought that she was pushover. Just because she was small and blonde didn't mean that she couldn't take care of herself. Quite the opposite. But Amber was going to find out just how little she tolerated bullies.

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name," Chloe said quietly as she zipped up her bag. "Why exactly do you want Derek as a partner?"

"I don't have to explain myself to you," Amber spat and Chloe quirked an eyebrow. "But if you must know, it's because he's about to be the 'It' boy of the school. He's starting quarterback and Liam's only the second string. Every star in the school needs to have their personal cheerleader. And when football season is over, I'll be on his brother's arm again, just like last year. Not the only thing that I'll be on though."

Chloe's cheeks flamed, whether from annoyance at her tone or from embarrassment over what had been said to her, she wasn't sure. Either way, she wanted to end this conversation now, and she planned on doing so. This girl needed a serious reality check.

"Okay, so I've come to the conclusion that you're not only delusional, but slightly sociopathic," Chloe began in a hard voice. "Reality check, sweetheart. First of all, I'm pretty sure Derek doesn't even know that you exist. Derek is in a world of his own and he doesn't talk to anyone outside of his family other than Liz, and that includes me. I've said less than twenty sentences to the guy and I already know that he wouldn't be caught near your fake ass. Secondly, Simon? Way too fucking good for you. You're a grade A bitch who's going to amount to nothing if all you have under your belt is how much control you have over the student body. Lastly, and most importantly, my name is Chloe. C-H-L-O-E. Not Cleo. But I'm sure you already knew that because if you planned this with Liam, who I'm sure is almost if not more psychotic than you are, I'm sure he would have told you what my name is already. You know why? Because just like you, he's obsessed with something that he isn't going to get. If I haven't made it clear, I'm not going to switch partners with you, but thanks for closing my locker door. My hands were full and it was very thoughtful of you."

Chloe shoved past the redheaded girl sharply, walking briskly away from her. Chloe knew that her temper had gotten the best of her and that she shouldn't have been so quick to the draw but after years of being put down, she wasn't going to just take someone talking to her like that lying down. Just thinking about what Amber said had made her blood boil. The reason she had pretended not to know her name was because Chloe knew that it took away her power. Amber was the queen bee, well known around the school. Her reputation always preceded her, reaching new people before she did so that she never had to introduce herself. Taking that away took some of her power away, something she had learned a few years back when she had encountered a rude child who thought that everyone knowing her name meant she was 'badass'. God, it was always the same. Stupid girls and their stupid cliques and their stupid obsession with being all powerful. Fucking bitches.

"Jesus, I thought you had an attitude before but what did that girl do to you?"

Chloe startled slightly, tripping over her feet and lurching forward. After regaining her balance for what seemed to be the millionth time today, she turned her head to glare at the dark-haired ghost standing beside her. "Mila, your whole 'disappear for days on end' thing is seriously starting to grate my nerves."

Mila held up her hands, taking a step away from her. "Hey, calm down, Chlo. I'm sorry I was gone for so long, but I was having a hard time following the boys. I'm basically drawn to you because of your power, which makes me able to stay on this plane. But when you're not around, it's almost impossible just to be on this side of the plane, let alone be somewhat corporeal. A few hours following them around the school and I was basically drained of energy. I needed to go regroup."

Chloe felt some of her anger wash out of her and she frowned at herself. It wasn't like her to get so angry so fast. Glancing over her shoulder, she gulped. She couldn't let her temper get out of control with her powers. Bad things happen. "Yeah, all right. Let's get back to my room."

"Yeah, I got something to show you."

Chloe silently made her way back to her dorm, taking the steps two at a time. Her brain was back on what she had said to Amber. She had just gotten so mad so fast. Chloe remembered how her Aunt used to describe her as the sweet, innocent girl that looked so much like her mother. Not anymore. Aunt Lauren probably knew better than anyone else how hot Chloe's temper ran after what happened in Buffalo. But she didn't want to think about that. It was over now, there was no point in thinking about it.

Closing her door behind her, Chloe turned to look at where she presumed that Mila was sitting on her bed. "What did you..."

Chloe's voice trailed off as two shapes started forming behind Mila. Unlike how Mila could appear and disappear at random, these ghosts seemed to have trouble maintaining their forms as their bodies seemed to flicker in and out of form as if they were smoke in the wind. Eventually, though, they seemed to solidify into two boys standing on either side of Mila. The taller, and older one from the look of the other boy, had dark hair and a scowl etched on his face the moment that it appeared. His brown eyes flitted around the room and narrowed as they rested on Chloe for a moment before going back to scan the room again. The other boy was smaller, in height as well as build, with blonde hair and bland blue eyes that lacked enthusiasm. His face was neutral as he looked around the room, widening slightly as his eyes came to pass over Chloe. Eyes glued on her, he whispered something to Mila and she smiled, nodding absently as she watched Chloe.

"Chloe, this is Peter Ricci and Brady Hirsch." Chloe's eyes widened slightly at the names and her eyes met Mila's. An understanding passed between them and Chloe knew why Mila had brought them to her. She was looking for more information about the murders. And who better than other victims. "Guys, this is the girl I was telling you about."

"Her?" the dark-haired boy said with disbelief before turning to address Chloe. "What even are you?"

"A necromancer. I talk to the dead."

The dark-haired boy snorted, shaking his head. "Mila, you're insane if you think that this little girl could ever help us. She'd sooner get herself killed. Plus, she looks like she's the same age as Peter! Have you even hit puberty yet?"

Chloe glowered at the dark-haired boy, but before she could say anything, Mila stepped in. "If you're stopped running your mouth and actually looked at her, you would see that she is more powerful than anything that you've ever seen before. And that's with the school dampening her powers. She's a fucking strobe light, Hirsch. The stronger they are, the brighter their glow. And this girl is literally a homing beacon. Do you understand how much untapped potential is lying in this room?"

"Obviously. I'm in here."

"I'm pretty sure that she said untapped potential, not enormous buckets of narcissism," the blonde boy, Peter, added in. "Brady, please stop insulting the people who try to help us. The last time you insulted someone that wasn't me or Mils, you ended up dead."

Brady scowled at the boy, but he seemed to hesitate before looking back at Chloe. The three seemed to have a silent conversation in front of her and she narrowed her eyes at them as he turned back to her. "I'm… sorry. I'm just… a skeptical person and I don't see how you can really do anything."

"Aww, you almost managed to apologize to someone," Mila said sweetly before turning her attention back to Chloe. "Okay, now ask us whatever you need to. Between the three of us, we probably have some good information."

Chloe sighed, feeling the toll of the week pressing on her. There had been too many things that happened for her to process them all. She had so many questions and not enough answers. But after the past month and a half at this school, she couldn't help but hope that the people that she found herself getting close to had nothing to do with. Chloe couldn't help but hope that Liz and Tori were actually her friends and that Simon and Derek weren't plotting to kill her. But she had learned by this point that the only thing that hope really did was breed misery.

Sooo, what do you think? Not enough drama? Too much of it? Chloe too outspoken? I want your thoughts and your opinions. Feedback is my best friend, okay?

I would just like to say your reviews are lovely and your support is the best. This fandom is awesome, no lie. R and R if you please, I love you alllllllllll.

Tootles, Brii :)