Hey guys, me again! Since yesterday's chapter was pretty short, I figured nobody would mind if I uploaded the next one right away :) enjoy!

Disclaimer: Kelley Armstrong owns all the rights to Darkest Powers

Hanging up on Derek hadn't made me feel any better. In fact, I felt worse. The whole situation with my substitute physics teacher was freaking me right out and I was relieved that today was Saturday. Today was also the day of Simon's party. I was still angry with him, but I wasn't the kind of person who went around breaking the promises they'd made.

So rather grudgingly, I made to head back upstairs to my room and pick out an outfit.

"Chloe!" Rita called out. "Someone's at the door for you!"

My heart lurched in my chest and I froze. Who could possibly be at our front door? Quietly, I tip-toed over to where Rita stood, and she smiled when I came in to view.

I was hit with a rush of relief when I saw Derek's hulking figure taking up the entire doorway. "Oh," I laughed shakily. "It's just you."

He grunted and moved to the side. Tori pushed her way into the our entrance way and my relief was quickly replaced with anger. "You brought her here?" I asked angrily. "This is my house!"

Tori snorted and grabbed for my arm. With Derek at my other side, they subtly, but promptly dragged me up the stairs.

I wanted to scream multiple profanities at the both of them and I didn't care if Rita heard. "Derek how could you-"

His hand clamped over my mouth and I struggled as hard as I could. Kicking and flailing as we went.

"You kids have fun!" Rita called up the stairs. For God's sake.

When Derek wouldn't remove his hand, I decided it was perfectly all right to chomp down on his fingers.

Instantly, his hand retracted and he stared at me with wide, shocked eyes. "Did you just bite me?" he asked incredulously.

Tori gave an irritated snort, "Can you two save the kinky stuff for later?"

Derek's cheeks turned pink and he nursed his fingers without looking at me.

I spun on Tori, "What are you doing here?"

Tori brushed past me and plopped herself down on my bed. She looked around my room with vague interest and then flashed me a grin that I could only describe as frightening. "I'm impressed. Your place isn't half bad."

"I asked you a question."

She chuckled, "All right cranky pants. We're here to help out, you can chill now. So tell me, who is our mysterious lobby lurker?"

I glanced up at Derek who merely shrugged and looked away. I guess he was still upset that I'd gone and bitten him. "You told her?" I asked, my tone accusing.

"So what?"

"I think you should let them help Chloe." Ellie had appeared again and was sitting cross-legged atop my writing desk. "Something felt wrong about Mr. Malloy. Sometimes I follow you to class because I miss being around people, and when you walked into his class, his eyes went straight to you. Please don't take any chances. I don't want to be alone again." Tears were streaming down her face now and I wished more than anything that I could go over to her and offer her a comforting hug. Unfortunately, my abilities as a necromancer only extended as far as auditory and visual.

"Please don't cry. I'll be careful." I gave her a reassuring smile and she gave me a watery one in return. She quietly sniffled and wiped her nose with the sleeve of her pyjamas.

"Nobody is crying Chloe." Tori was sneering at me, but she also appeared somewhat nervous. She turned to look at Derek, "Is she crazy?"

Derek stared down at his hand, "I'd say so."

"Shut up," I snapped at the both of them. "Ellie explained that I need to be careful. She said that something feels off about Mr. Malloy."

Tori gaped at me in disbelief. "Nobody told me that the lobby lurker was the hot physics sub!"

I planted my hands on my hips, "Why are you here anyways?"

"Derek said you needed a tech person, so I came."

Derek growled, "Yeah, after you made me promise to pay for your gas for a week."

I snorted, "You? A tech person? Yeah right."

Tori stood up and quickly pulled her hair back into a pony tail. "Right, I prefer to work alone. I'll get the tapes for you, but I'm doing it on my own. Derek?"

He grunted.

"Keep her occupied." With that, Tori marched out the door and headed back down the stairs. I made to go after her, until Derek's figure blocked the door.

"She's going to get caught!" I protested.

"No she won't," he rumbled. "We've done this before. Tori can handle herself."

Rather reluctantly, I stepped back and allowed him to shut my door. "So what now then?"

He rolled his shoulders as if working out a kink and then he shrugged. "We wait."

"That's it?"

"That's it."

I frowned, "Well I'm not very good at sitting still and waiting."

Derek paused and gaped at me for a moment, searching my face for further meaning to my statement. When he was content that I wasn't implying anything sinister, he nodded slowly and allowed a small smile to touch his lips.

"Tori won't stick around once she's made copies of the tapes, and being the nosey little brat she is, she'll want to watch them before you."

"Why is my substitute teacher creeping around my lobby such a big deal to you guys anyways?" I asked skeptically.

He strode over to where Tori had first sat, and sit himself down just as she had done. I blushed when I realized that this was the first time I'd had a boy in my bedroom, let alone on my bed. This past few days had been an entire series of firsts.

He rolled his shoulders and shifted himself until he was more comfortable amongst my blankets. "When you're a supernatural, you have to be careful about everyone who enters your life."

My eyes narrowed, "Is that why you were so determined to make me go away?"

He nodded slowly, "Yes."

I responded with a small hmph. "What do we do now then, Mister Man With the Plan?"

Derek smirked at that, "I heard you promised Simon a party."

My arms crossed over my chest as I huffed my annoyance, "I promised to show up, I didn't promise the length of my stay."

"Come on, you can't stay angry with him forever. Go get dressed, I'll wait." As if to prove to me his determination, he laid down and let his eyes fall shut. Before I could move, he spoke again, "And don't think about trying to make an escape. I'll hear you."

I wanted to throw a tantrum and howl my rage, but I knew that he'd only find it amusing to watch me unravel. Instead, I grudgingly decided he was right. I had promised to go to Simon's celebratory party, and I couldn't stay angry at him forever. It just wasn't like me.

The only party attire I had was a black dress that stopped just above my knees. Lexi had bought it for my birthday, almost a year ago now. Why she had thought of me when she saw it, was completely beyond me. It was definitely not what I'd like to be caught dead wearing. Grumbling to myself, I hurried to the washroom and ignored Derek's questioning gaze.

I tugged off my joggers and sweatshirt, increasingly aware of Derek's presence just outside my door. Thank goodness I'd thought to lock the door behind me, even if Derek didn't seem like the type to creep on changing girls. No, that was Royce. That weasel had been skipping school ever since he'd been busted for harassing me. I had been too scared to go to a teacher, but with Derek nearby, I doubted he'd be quick to try anything else.

I smiled to myself at that, it was comforting to have Derek as a protector. At first he had been large and rather intimidating, but now I found myself seeing him as more than that. If I could get him to be a little bit nicer, we'd be a pretty great team.

The dress slipped on easily, and clung to my hips a bit tighter than I was comfortable with. I made every attempt to stretch the dress past my knees, but anymore and I would end up ripping the straps that were holding it up. The fabric was made so that I didn't have to wear a bra, and I felt somewhat naked without one. Puberty had done a number on my chest, and I no longer looked like the child I had through most of my high-school years. It was senior year now, and I'd filled out. If I had grown up with some self confidence, I might even call myself attractive, or curvy. But I hadn't, and all I saw was someone who was trying too hard.

I pushed back the thought and went to work on my makeup, keeping it to a minimum. When it came time to apply my eye liner, I was hesitant. What if I really did end up looking like I was trying too hard?

"Go for it." Ellie had appeared in the bathroom with me. She was grinning from ear to ear now. "You look amazing, Chloe."

"I don't feel amazing," I answered, barely keeping the sadness out of my voice. "I wish my Mom was here. She'd know exactly what I should wear, what time I should arrive, who I should hang out with, and everything else that I couldn't keep up with."

Ellie nodded knowingly, "I had a mommy once to. She'd braid my hair every morning before school and tell me how pretty I looked. Then one day, she got really sick. It didn't take long for her to become too sick to braid my hair anymore. Daddy called it Cancer. When she died, I was sad for a long time. Daddy didn't get sad, he just got really mad. He hated me, Chloe. He said it was all my fault that mommy was dead. One day he got angrier than he ever had, and I ended up here. He hated me so much, that he didn't want me to ever be safe from him, so he followed me here. You can't let death consume you forever Chloe, you have to live."

Tears had sprung to my eyes has Ellie spoke. She may appear young, but her voice was filled with a pain that extended beyond her years. I wanted nothing more, than to be able to reach out to her and give her a hug. Maybe it wouldn't make her fix the past, but maybe it'd help to erase some of her pain.

"Ellie, if he's still here, I'll help you get rid of him. You know that right?" It was the least I could do after she'd shared her story with me.

She smiled again, her same toothy grin. "I know you will, Chloe. But later. Right now, you have a party to get to."

Despite the flow of emotions, I managed to laugh. "Yeah, I suppose I do."

Before she faded away again, she called out a small, "Good luck."