That night, while Derek was away taking his exam, I waited in the living room for Simon to come home. He was due any minute. His job at the University's art library ended at seven and it was almost seven thirty. Derek left for his text just a few minutes ago. I pulled my legs up close to my chest and wrapped my arms around them. Staring at the door with anticipation, bit at my lip and wondered exactly what I'd say. The sound of a key being pushed into the key hole made my spine straighten. No more time to wonder about how to break it to him. Simon was home.

"Hey, Chlo'," Simon greeted with a lazy salute of his hand. He threw down his backpack and stretched, no doubt about to make his way towards the kitchen to warm up some leftovers.

Before he could take a step in the room's direction, I called out, "Simon—" there must have been something in the tone of my voice—panic, hysteria, desperation—that made him look at me sharply. The muscles around his face had tightened as he waited for me to continue. Taking a breath, I said, "Can I t—talk to you about something?"

Eyes glinting warily, he slowly walked towards my spot on the couch, "Sure." He sat down next to me and angled his body in my direction. I had his full attention. "What's up? Is something wrong?"

"I—I don't . . . know," I admitted. A blush burned its way onto my cheeks. The thing was, I really didn't now if something was wrong. Well, there was something wrong with me . . . I couldn't focus worth a damn anymore—no! Focus, Chloe! Shaking my head to straighten out my thoughts, I continued, "Nothing has really happened yet, b—but I'm worried. Last night . . . last night I saw—well, I'm n—not exactly sure what I saw." I released a hot huff of air, frustrated with myself. "I thought I saw a woman outside our—Derek's and my—window. She was—or, I thought she was—staring in at us. And her eyes . . . they glinted. S—sort of like a—"

"Werewolf." Simon finished for me. I nodded and waited while he processed what I said. It took a while. Simon sat completely still as she stared blankly at the TV in front of him. Eventually though he tilted his head and took in a deep breath and held onto it for a moment before letting it out. "Have you told Derek?"

I shook my head no, "I didn't want to worry him. Especially if it turns out to be nothing, you know?"

He nodded and then dragged a hand down his face. "The thing is," he began, "there shouldn't be any werewolves here. It's too—"

"Urban, yeah. That's what Derek said."

"Right, I mean, they could form a pack here, but it's be pretty stupid to be honest. The nearest forest isn't for miles. But . . . well, if you saw one . . ."

"Think I saw one," I corrected, though my gut twisted, telling me otherwise.

"Well if you see one again—even if you just think you see one—let me know. Immediately. I don't care what time it is or where I'm at—you let me know." He stared into my eyes. Unwavering and unblinking until I nodded. Then, it seemed, some tension seeped out of his shoulders. "Dammit," he mumbled, now aiming his gaze at the ground. "We can't deal with packs again. We just can't."

"M—maybe this time it'll be different. If there's even a pack at all."

"Maybe," he agreed, but still looked highly unconvinced. I stared at him for a few more moments of silence and began to chew on my lip again. Then, as if a switch had been flipped, Simon straightened up and gave me a bright, comforting smile. "Hey," he said, putting a hand on my shoulder and giving it a squeeze. "Don't worry so much, Chlo'. Like you said, it might not have even been a werewolf. Who know," he laughed, "maybe you just have a stalker." He poked me in the ribs until I smiled. A stalker. It would be my luck. "Until we know more all we can do is, "he stood up and walked over to the door and locked it, "be cautious and live our lives. Now, I'm gonna go stuff my face with some freaking awesome tacos. Want some?"

I knew he'd be worried if I declined so I nodded and gave him the best, not worried, smile that I could. "Yeah, that sounds delicious!"

"Great!" He clapped his hands together. "I'll go get those going and in the mean time why don't you channel surf and find something good for us to watch. Deal?"

Grabbing the remote and waving it at him I smiled for real this time. "Deal."

A/N: Shortie but sweetie. Also it's me lying the ground work for the next chapter. Things are about to get intense! Angsty too, probably. Please leave a review! They always make my days better to know someone is out there reading and enjoying the fic. Also, thank you to Icekat-Druid for the review last time and letting me know about Chloe's stutter. I decided to tone it down a bit so I hope I did that sufficiently.