A/N: Oh Dear God, I think I've done the worst thing possible. I would explain, but it would take a very LONG time, and it's completely irrelevant to anything you'd ever want to listen to. Which is probably why I didn't need to type any of that, but oh well.

So hey, I just found out there's going to be another book in the Darkest Powers series. (Other than the Reckoning, I'm not that stupid.) I guess it's called The Gathering, but it has nothing to do with Chloe or Derek or Simon or any of them. It's the same world, just different characters.

Don't you love my little pieces of insight?

And just to let you know, this is the last chapter. I'm so sad :( but it also kind of helps me so I don't have to work on so many stories at once.

Songs:

Follow Me Down- 3OH!3 ft. Neon Hitch

It Ends Tonight- All American Rejects


Confused. That's the only way to explain how I felt all of the next week. Tori kept grinning creepily at me, and half the time Autumn would just randomly start bursting out laughing. Simon was either flirting with me or completely ignoring me, which I really didn't get, and I swear that Derek was almost always staring at autumn.

And this is the part where I scream "What the hell is going on" and then get no answer.

Yeah. I tried that. Didn't go so well.

But hey, I got an answer. Just not a verbal one. They all looked at me like I was insane, and they had no idea what I was talking about, so I just rolled my eyes and walked into another room.

Why is it that the only answers I ever get to questions are weird stares?

"Chloe, can I talk to you?" Autumn's soft voice broke me out of my head. I twisted around to look at her.

"Um.....Sure?"

She smiled. "Great! Come on." She grabbed my arm and pulled me up a few flights of stairs.

Is it sad that I'm starting to get used to that?

When she'd finally gotten me to her room, I plopped down on her bed and folded my arms. She laughed at my expression. "Oh, don't be so dramatic, Chloe."

I quirked an eyebrow. "I'm dramatic? Excuse me? I don't think you're being coherent right now, Autumn. And besides, I went to an art school, remember? I think I have the right to be dramatic."

She rolled her eyes. "I guess you have a point." She amended. "But we're not here to discuss dramaticness. Is that even a word?"

"I don't think so, no."

"Well, anyways, I have a question for you." I gestured for her to go on. She seemed a little embarrassed, which surprised me, as Autumn was so rarely fazed by anything. She took a deep breath, as if she was steeling herself. "How much do you know about Derek?"

This was a completely unexpected question, but I hid my shock and answered. "Not too much. Why?"

She blushed and looked away from me. "Because I.....I just want to know."

I raised my eyebrows. "Does this have anything to do with the fact that you can't seem to stop staring at him?"

She blushed again and mumbled, "Is it really that obvious?"

"No, probably not to Derek. He's totally oblivious in those kind of situations." I told her reassuringly.

She breathed out a sigh of relief. "That's the kind of stuff I need to know. Like, is he going to think I'm a complete idiot if I have a blond moment, or is he going to think I'm a daddy's girl just because-"

"Autumn." I cut her off. "He's not going to think you're a complete idiot if you have one idiotic moment. Have you met me? And you live by yourself most of the time, so no, he's not going to think you're a daddy's girl. Relax. Just don't come on too strong, but you have to make it kind of obvious, otherwise he's not going to know." This was starting to get kind of awkward. "Can I go now?"

She rolled her eyes. "Fine, Chloe, be all nervous and awkward and childish."

"Autumn, you skip down the hallways and sing 'I'm A Little Teapot' when you eat oatmeal. So don't even try to call me childish." I teased, half mocking and half serious.

She rolled her eyes at me again. "Just go," She told me, waving a hand in the direction of the door. I laughed and walked out into the hall, closing her door behind me, only to run into Simon.

He smiled down at me, his brown eyes sparkling. "There you are. I've been looking for you."

I gave him a nervous little smile. "Yeah. I've been up here."

"Come on. I want to show you something." He said, holding a hand out.

I hesitantly took it. "What exactly is it that you want to show me?" I asked meekly.

He grinned. "But if I told you, that would completely ruin the surprise."

"I'm starting to learn that surprises aren't generally the best things anymore." I muttered.

Simon laughed as he led me up a small staircase that I'd never seen before. "Yeah, I guess some surprises aren't so fun. But certain ones still are." He said, glancing back at me and winking.

I rolled my eyes and asked, "Simon, where the heck are we going?"

He smiled mysteriously. "You'll see." And then we abruptly happened upon a door at the top of the staircase. Simon opened it and a sudden gust of wind blew my hair into my face. Simon, who still had my hand in his, led me out of the door.

We were on the roof, though thankfully it was about the only flat part of the whole place.

"This is amazing." I breathed.

Simon glanced at me and smiled. "Thought you'd like it. Kind of like that one time we sat on the roof of that apartment building eating McDonald's. Except the view is way cooler here."

It was true, the view was much nicer. You could see the forest stretch on for miles and miles, but you could still see a hint of the city on the horizon. We sat down somewhere in the middle.

"So."

"What an interesting conversation topic, Simon." I teased.

He gave me a nervous smile and blew out a shaky breath. "What's wrong?"

He looked out at the forest, refusing to look me in the eye. "Look, Chloe, I get that I might have freaked you out last week, but if you didn't want me to do it, that's okay, just tell me."

I know that I could have messed everything up at that moment, but I started laughing. More like giggling, really. And when Simon looked at me with an affronted expression, I just laughed harder.

When I finally stopped giggling like a little schoolgirl, I said, "Simon, this is like those pathetic teen movies where someone thinks the other person doesn't like them and the other person thinks the someone is ignoring them when they really just both like each other."

"....Huh?"

I smiled and leaned in to press my lips to his. After the initial shock, he kissed me back. It was a kiss that took my breath away, and I'm not really sure how long it lasted, but I know we sat up on that roof for a very long time.


The next few weeks were almost.....normal. Even though I'm kind of afraid to say that word and jinxing it, it's true.

Except for this one day....

Tori and I had gone to that supernatural store again, (thankfully that little girl wasn't there) and when we got back we couldn't hear anything but incredibly loud music coming from the basement. We looked at each other for a second, shrugged, and started walking down the stairs.

Simon was standing on top of the bar, (When we'd asked Autumn about it, she'd just said that her dad had had it built a few years ago for whenever any of his guests wanted it) and he wasn't wearing a shirt. Now, normally, I'd be okay with that, but the fact that he was dancing like a stripper....That was a little scary.

Tori and I just stood there, too shocked to move. When he finally saw us, he said, "Chloe! You're back. We missed you. Hey, come on up here and let's dance." When he said the word dance, he shot out his pelvis and then started grinding to the music.

I looked over at Autumn, who was sitting on a couch next to Derek. "What did you give him?" I asked a little grimly.

Her eyes widened and she gave me an innocent look. "Hey, I didn't give him anything. He just found his way into the liquor cabinet....He seems to have taken quite a liking to tequila." She added thoughtfully.

I glanced over at him, ("Hey, Chloe baby, come and dance with your papa!") and then sighed as I plopped down on the couch next to Autumn. Tori just stood there, looking at Simon with an eyebrow raised and a disdained look on her face. All she said was, "He's gonna have a killer hangover in the morning."

I know, I know, crappy way to end it. But I did promise you a drunk Simon, didn't I?