Author's note: Just a reminded XXXX signifies a jump in time. :) Also, sorry for the cliffhanger. It's not suspenseful! ;) This chapter was just getting really long so I split it up into Chapter 11.

ENJOY!

Derek's house was gorgeous. Surrounded by pine trees, it looked like a little oasis in the forest. Except nothing about the house was little. It was three stories, painted white with an eloquent light blue trimming. Everything was huge, from the large full glass window on the right side of the house to the monstrous antique cedar wood door. There were giant rose bushes everywhere. It was easily the most beautiful sight Aurora had ever seen.

"Come on, I'll show you around." Derek said getting out of the car.

Aurora followed him, taking his hand as he led her through the front door. Inside, Aurora had to hold back a gasp. The living room was massive. She let go of Derek's hand to walk over to peer out window she had seen from outside. It started at the floor and shot up all the way to the ceiling, easily eight feet in the air. There were magnificent blue curtains draped back so that any inhibitor of the living room could see the driveway and the beautiful view of the forest. Turning around, Aurora noticed a stunning fireplace on the far right wall. Shifting her gaze back a bit, her eyes landed on the enormous spiral staircase that led to the next level of the house. On the left side of the staircase was a sitting area. A relatively new big screen TV sat on an entertainment center with a vast black leather couch facing it. Two love seats set a part from the couch on either side making a square.

"Did I say 'holy shit'? I meant OH MY GOD!" Aurora exclaimed walking over to the couch. "This place is breathtaking!" She said sitting down.

"Thank you." Derek replied with a smile walking over to her. He stood in front of the coffee table that was placed between the couch and the TV. "I really want to give you the grand tour but first, would you mind if I showered really fast?"

"Not at all." Aurora smiled. "I'll just hang out here." She said laying her body across the huge couch.

"Laura should be home soon. She just had to run to the store." Derek added.

"Okie dokie. Oh, give me your cell phone and I will download that ringtone for you."

"Try not to cause too much damage." Derek joked handing her his phone. "I better not have girly wallpaper like red hearts or something when I come back."

Aurora gave him a wicked smile before he turned and headed upstairs. As soon as Derek disappeared from sight, naturally Aurora's first notion was to set his wallpaper as red hearts. Before she could do so however, a better idea popped into her mind. She took her own phone out of her pocket and went into her pictures. Scrolling down a little bit she found the picture she was looking for. It was of her, sticky notes in the form of red hearts stuck to her shirt and a huge cheesy grin plastered to her face. The picture was taken on Valentine's Day of that year when Elizabeth, as a gag gift, bought Aurora those sticky notes. Naturally, Aurora decided to decorate herself with them and Elizabeth had to take a picture. Sending the photo to Derek's phone, Aurora wasted little time making it his wallpaper. Next, she sat up on the couch to take a current picture of herself to set as her caller id.

'Poor Derek.' She thought. 'He should have never left me with his phone.'

She took a picture of her blowing a kiss and set it as her caller id and then downloaded the ringtone Derek had picked and set that as well. She put his phone down on the coffee table when she was down and laid back down on the couch. She was resting her eyes when she heard footsteps coming from the other room. Sitting up once more, Aurora was greeted by a tall blonde girl wearing a pretty pink sundress. She had similar facial features to Derek and Aurora could tell they were definitely related.

"You must be the gorgeous girl my brother can't stop talking about." Laura said walking over to Aurora.

Blushing deeply, Aurora stood up from her seat on the couch and held out her hand.

"Hi, I'm Aurora. You must be Laura." She said.

Instead of shaking her hand, Laura threw her arms around Aurora and hugged her tight.

"It's great to meet you Aurora." Laura told her.

"Likewise!" Aurora said happily squeezing her back.

"Where is that brother of mine?" Laura asked releasing Aurora and taking a step back.

"Showering." Aurora stated simply.

"Well, I don't know about you but I'm starving. Would you like to come help me get lunch ready?" Laura asked.

"Sure!" Aurora agreed.

She grabbed Derek's cell phone off the coffee table and put it in her pocket to give to him later. Making sure her own phone was secure; Aurora followed Laura down a hallway from the living room that connected into a huge dining room. The dining room table was adorned with a gorgeous bouquet of multiple types of flowers as it's center piece and could easily has sat twenty people. Walking a bit further, there was a door that opened up to literally the biggest kitchen Aurora had ever seen.

"Wow." Aurora muttered as Laura went straight to the refrigerator.

"Do you like sandwiches?" Laura asked grabbing several different kinds of lunch meats and a couple different kinds of cheese.

"Definitely. A turkey sandwich would be great, if you have it." Aurora smiled taking a seat at the island in the middle of the kitchen.

"Coming right up. What would you like on it?" Laura asked grabbing a loaf of bread from the counter.

"American cheese, onion, and ranch please." Aurora smiled.

"Ranch?" Said a disgusted voice from behind Aurora.

She turned to see Derek entering the kitchen, hair still damp from his shower. Aurora's heart nearly gave out when she noticed that he wasn't wearing a shirt, just a pair of grey sweat pants that clung to his hips.

"Yes, ranch." Aurora said trying not to stare.

"Whatever makes you happy princess." Derek mocked walking over to the island.

"Princess?" Laura questioned.

"Mountain Man insists on calling me that." Aurora joked.

"Mountain Man?" Laura snorted. "I don't even want to know. Hey Der, can you finish making Aurora's sandwich while I go grab some chips from the pantry?"

Derek nodded and Laura disappeared out the door from which they had entered.

"Need any help?" Aurora asked sliding off the stool she was sitting on to walk around to the side of the island where Derek was standing.

"Nah, I'm good." He smiled putting a couple of slices of American cheese on her sandwich.

"Hey! You have a tattoo!" Aurora said discovering the large symbol in thick black ink located between his shoulder blades.

"Very perceptive, Captain Obvious." Derek chuckled.

"Asshole." Aurora said punching him in the kidney. "What is it?"

"It's a triskele. Traditional it represents the sky, the earth, and water." Derek told her.

"What does it represent for you?" Aurora inquired.

Derek fell silent for a moment, all most as if he didn't want to tell her.

"If it's personal, I completely understand. I didn't mean to intrude." Aurora said hoping that Derek knew she didn't mean to offend him.

"No, it's fine." Derek said throwing her a reassuring smirk. "My mother used to wear a necklace with a triskele on it." He explained.

"It's a reminder of her." Aurora said getting close enough to Derek to wrap her arms around his waist, putting her chin on his shoulder. His back was warm against her touch, which suited her just fine because she was freezing.

"Yeah, it is." Derek confirmed.

Aurora had this weird feeling that Derek wasn't telling her the whole story behind his tattoo but she decided to drop it. She figured he would tell her when he was ready.

"Sorry it's so cold in here." He said as Aurora shivered against his body. "My sister and I…"

"Run warmer than most people?" Aurora asked remembering the first night they met.

"Exactly." Derek agreed putting her sandwich on one of the plates Laura had gotten out of the cabinet.

"I'm still not quite sure what that means." She joked letting go of Derek to take her sandwich and go back to her seat at the island.

Derek shrugged.

"You know, I've always wanted a tattoo." Aurora continued taking a bite of her sandwich.

"You? Really?" Derek question as he started to make a sandwich for himself.

"Yeah! Two actually. Since I was thirteen." She said.

"What tattoos? Derek inquired.

"Well, I want my favorite song lyrics on my back, where yours is actually." Aurora told him.

"What song lyrics?" He asked with a smile.

"They are from a song called Lip Glass and Black by Atreyu. There is a part that goes "Aren't you tired of being weak? Such rage that you could scream all the stars right out of the sky. And destroy the prettiest starry night every evening that I die". I want those lyrics in really pretty cursive letters between my shoulder blades." She explained.

"I need to listen to this song." Derek said. "And the other?"

"A rose. I want the stem to start at my right hip and the actual flower to be in the middle of my side." She told him, pointing to the exact location on her body.

"Why a rose?" Derek asked between bites of his sandwich.

"It's my middle name." She smiled.

"Aurora Rose. That is so gorgeous." Laura said walking back through the kitchen door holding three bags of chips.

"Thanks!" Aurora beamed.

"So, little brother. How would you like to make your favorite sister a sandwich?" Laura asked putting the chips on the island. She gave Derek puppy dog eyes as she took a seat next to Aurora.

"You are my only sister." Derek grumbled finishing his sandwich.

"Please?" Laura pouted.

"Oh shut up." Derek joked grabbing the bread.

"Nicely played." Aurora teased high fiving Laura.

"Thank you Der!" Laura said sweetly.

"Hey, random question. Where are Isaac and the others?" Aurora asked taking the last bite of her sandwich.

"Isaac went for a run, he should be back any minute. Lydia, Jackson, Erica, and Boyd went on a double date. Lydia text me a couple of minutes ago saying they would be home around three, probably. And Hailey, as far as I know, is upstairs in her room." Laura told her.

"Oh, joy. Hailey is the only one home." Aurora muttered sarcastically under her breath.

Laura gave Derek a look Aurora couldn't quite determine the meaning of but Derek just shook his head.

"When we are done eating we should watch a movie." Laura stated changing the subject.

"Sounds good." Aurora agreed. Hailey was the last thing she wanted to talk about.

XXXX

As it turned out, Laura's suggestion of watching a movie was the worst idea ever. Trying to pick a movie between the three of them was like pulling teeth.

"What about The Notebook?" Laura suggested from her seat on the far left side of the big leather couch.

Derek cringed.

"How about I just shoot myself instead?" He said sarcastically.

He and Aurora were sitting in the middle of the couch, Aurora with her feet tucked under her body and left arm around the front of Derek's waist. He snuggled her tight, knowing she was cold, placing his left arm around her, resting his hand on her lower back.

"Let's watch The Avengers!" Aurora said looking up at Derek with a smile.

"I've seen that so many times." He complained.

"So have I! You can never see the Avengers too many times." She told him.

Before Derek could argue Isaac walked through the front door.

"Isaac!" Aurora shouted jumping up to hug him.

"Hey Aurora!" He said squeezing her tight.

"Would you like to watch The Avengers with us?" Aurora asked releasing him.

"Sure! I just need to take a shower really fast." Isaac beamed.

"Great! Chop to it Mr." Laura said.

Isaac did as he was told, sprinting up the stairs. Aurora resumed her place on the couch next to Derek who automatically put his arm back where it had been.

"I guess our debate is over?" Derek teased.

Aurora smiled wide.

XXXX

When Isaac came back downstairs he was accompanied by Hailey.

"Awesome." Aurora muttered darkly.

Derek leaned closer to her so that he could whisper in her ear, "Be nice."

Aurora wanted to argue but didn't.

"Hailey wants to watch The Avengers too." Isaac said with an adorable little smile as he sat next to Derek on the couch.

Aurora couldn't stay mad.

"If you don't mind." Hailey said looking straight at Aurora. She didn't seem as hostile as she did the first time Aurora met her.

"Not at all." Aurora told her.

Hailey took a seat next to Isaac so that the couch was full. Derek rubbed small circles on Aurora's lower back, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you." He whispered.

"You know, the others should be here any minute. Should we wait for them?" Laura asked looking at the clock hanging on the far left wall. It read 3:10 p.m.

"We might as well." Derek huffed.

XXXX

"Oh, actually Jackson and I were hoping to watch Gossip Girl. I taped it in here because I have too many other things taping on Mondays to record it in our room." Lydia explained.

Jackson cringed at the words "Gossip Girl" but didn't say anything.

"I love that show! I haven't seen last Monday's episode either." Aurora said sweetly smiling at Derek.

"Not no, but hell no." Derek stated flatly.

"Come on Derek!" Erica whined.

Aurora had been introduced to her and her boyfriend Boyd when they arrived back at the house from their double date. She had only known Erica for ten minutes, but Aurora could tell from her low-cut mesh shirt and her leather hot pants that she was a badass.

"I'm dying to know what is happening with Chuck and Blair!" Erica continued.

"They need to be together, like right now." Laura chimed in.

"I want Dan and Serena to get back together already." Hailey added.

"Me too!" Aurora said smiling over at Hailey, who surprisingly smiled back.

"Why do I feel like a just got a shot of estrogen?" Boyd asked making the other boys in the room chuckle.

"You like Gossip Girl, don't you Jacks?" Lydia asked narrowing her eyes at Jackson.

"Let's just watch it guys. There are some pretty hot chicks." Jackson said in a 'just learn to deal with it' voice.

Derek let out an exasperated noise and Lydia clapped her hand in triumph.

"I'm gonna grab a blanket really quick and we can start it." She said as Erica and Boyd sat down on the love seat closed to Laura.

"Oh my gosh! Could you grab me one too?" Aurora pleaded.

"Of course!" Lydia said as she ascended the stairs.

Jackson took the other love seat, sitting down with a sigh.

When Lydia got back to the living room she tossed a blanket at Aurora who grabbed it and immediately wrapped it around her body. Between the warmth of Derek's body and the blanket she was finally able to make her teeth stop chattering. Lydia then picked up the remote on the top of the TV and headed over to Jackson, wrapping the a blanket around herself before snuggling into him.

"We can watch The Avengers afterward." Laura told the room.

"Oh hell yeah!" Jackson said enthusiastically.

XXXX

"That was torture." Derek complained when the show ended.

Aurora giggled into his chest.

"You survived! You're so tough." She joked giving him a short kiss on the lips.

"I like that Chuck guy. He's got class. In a conniving, manipulative sort of way." Isaac said.

"I like that Chuck guy too." Hailey added seductively.

"Amen!" Aurora said as Laura and Erica nodded their approval.

"That guy is a dick." Derek argued.

"I'd do him." Hailey said.

Aurora was going to agree but stopped when she saw the murderous look on Derek's face.

"Time for The Avengers!" Jackson shouted jumping up to put in the DVD.

When the movie started, Aurora nuzzled into Derek's chest as he rubbed her back. It was long before her eyelids became heavy.

XXXX

Aurora woke up to a silent room. Lifting her head a little bit off of Derek's shoulder, she looked around to see everyone had passed out too. Erica and Boyd were laying on the love seat wrapped in each other's arms, Lydia and Jackson the same way. Laura was slouched over the arm of the couch leaning on her hand. Hailey had curled up into a ball, her back against Isaac. Isaac had leaned to his left and was sound asleep on Derek's should, snoring lightly. Aurora had to bite her tongue to keep from saying 'awww'.

"Hey sleepy head." Derek whispered.

"Hey, did you get any sleep?" Aurora asked groggily.

"No, but it's okay. I watched the movie." He chuckled.

"What time is it?" Aurora asked quietly sitting up to stretch.

"Six fifteen." Derek told her.

"Oh my God! I've got to go!" Aurora said jumping up. "I was supposed to be back at Elizabeth's by six."

"Isaac, wake up buddy." Derek said shaking Isaac softly.

Isaac's eyes fluttered up.

"What's wrong?" He muttered.

"Nothing bud, I just have to get up." Derek reassured him with a ruffle of his hair. "Why don't you go get in bed."

"Okay." Isaac smiled. "I think that run wore me out."

"Bye Isaac." Aurora said taking a break from her panic to hug him.

"Bye Aurora, see you later." Isaac told her sleepily.

When Isaac started to make his way up the stairs, Aurora and Derek headed out to her car. The sun was going down and a shadow started to creep over the woods.

"I'll see you later." Aurora told Derek wrapping her arms around him.

"You can tell me goodbye when we get to the camp site." He laughed but returned the hug.

"What? I'm not letting you walk back here in the dark." Aurora protested.

"Aurora, I'll be find. Do you remember what I was doing the first night we met?" Derek chucked.

"Derek! There are wolves out there." Aurora said pointing to the ominous woods. "And trust me when I tell you from personal experience, not all of them are as friendly as Silky."

Derek made a face but didn't comment.

"Do you really want to drive back by yourself in the dark?" He questioned.

Aurora let out a long sigh.

"No. Promise me you will text me as soon as you get back." She said.

"I promise as long as you promise to text me when you get back to Liz's." Derek said walking over to the passenger's side of her car.

"Deal." Aurora agreed getting in the car and starting it. "Oh! Speaking of texting. Here is your phone." She said handing Derek his cell.

"RED HEARTS?!" He shouted looking at his wallpaper.

"You like it. Shut up." Aurora teased. She decided to check her phone before they left and didn't like what she found.

"Oh no. I have two missed call and a text from Elizabeth." Aurora said in horror.

She opened the text.

To: A

From: Lizzie

Where the HELL are you?! My parents told me to tell you dinner is almost ready. I lied and said you were almost done with your project. GET HERE NOW!

"Oh Lord. Elizabeth is going to murder me." Aurora said putting her car in drive.

XXXX

Aurora got to the camp site in record-breaking time.

"I'll see you later Mario Andretti." Derek teased.

"Don't forget to text me." She said smiling over at him.

"Got it." He said.

After giving Derek a quick kiss goodbye, Aurora made her way to Elizabeth's house. She decided she should call her best friend to assess the damage. Elizabeth answered after one ring.

"Please tell me you are walking up the front steps." Elizabeth seethed.

"Not quite. I'm driving to your house as we speak." Aurora said apologetically.

"Aurora! We had a deal! No later than six, remember? It's a quarter till seven!" Elizabeth yelled.

"I'm so sorry Lizzie! I fell asleep." Aurora explained.

"I'm going to strangle you when you get here." Elizabeth threaten, but Aurora never heard it.

"OH MY GOD!" Aurora yelled swerving to the right before slamming on her breaks.

"Aurora! What happened? Aurora!" Elizabeth shouted through the phone Aurora had drop on the floorboard.

"Jesus Christ." Aurora said between taking large gasps of breath. "Lizzie? You still there?" She asked picking up her phone before pulling her car over to the side of the road.

"Yes! What just happened?!" Elizabeth asked in concerned.

"I don't know. Something just ran across the road in front of my car. It came out of nowhere!" Aurora said trying to make her body stop shaking.

"What the hell was it?" Elizabeth inquired.

"I'm really not sure. It was huge and brown. I think it was a…" Aurora trailed off.

"A what?!" Elizabeth asked.

"I think it was a wolf." Aurora told her as she pulled back onto the road.

"What? A wolf in the neighborhood? What is going on these days?" Elizabeth asked in disbelief.

"No idea." Aurora answered in shock. "I'll be there in like five minutes." She said hanging up the phone.

When Aurora got to the Walker's she bolted up to the door and let herself in.

"Aurora, is that you?" She heard Mrs. Walker called.

"Yeah, it's me. I'm so sorry I'm late for dinner." Aurora said entering the kitchen where the Walker's where sitting at the table patiently waiting for her to arrive.

"No problem, sweetheart. Elizabeth told us you had trouble with your project." Mr. Walked said as Aurora sat down.

"Yeah. Dylan wasn't any help so I basically had to do it all on my own." Aurora told him, which really wouldn't have been a lie if she had to do a project with her ex.

"That boy has never been the brightest bulb in the box." The sheriff teased.

Aurora smiled weakly, still reeling from her near accident.

"Did you at least finish your project?" Elizabeth asked to make their story seem legit.

"Yeah, thank goodness." Aurora said fixing herself a plate.

TO BE CONTINUED