Hey everyone! Thank you so much for reading my story and sweet hug to those who reviewed. So sorry this took forever for me to update, but life has been seriously nuts. In fact, this chapter is much shorter than usual because it's actually half the chapter that I wanted to post, but it would've taken me a few more weeks to update and that's just WAY too long. So, unfortunately, this is more of a filler chapter and not the party - I had such high hopes to write it but it needs to be just right and I didn't want to rush it :'( Also, one reader by the profile name, EmJIndieBaby, has a fantabulous polyvore site that she has dedicated some of her awesomeness to A Rocky Road. Please check it out on her ff profile page or it's www(.)polyvore(.)cgi/profile?id=2021753 when you get a chance. So sweet...

A huge thank you to my betas who rock the house so much, it's scary. To the gorgeous Tweety4be, who beta'd this chapter so fast, it would probably be in Guinness Book of World Records if they had a beta award for that. Seriously, she rocks. And to the lovely Fanpire4000 who offered to beta the shit out of this chapter as an awesome backup, just so y'all can read it ASAP. Let's blow them a kiss, shall we?

Disclaimer: Don't own the Darkest Powers and I hope you enjoy...

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It took a few minutes for Chloe to untangle her brain enough to even call Mila initially. She just stood there, inside her condo, hand still on the knob of her front door. Shock? Maybe it was shock that had her frozen on the spot, her mind jumbling with words and images all pertaining to Derek, who had suddenly became so attractive to her it left her breathless.

Shock. Yes, she was definitely in shock. And confused. Really confused. She needed to sort out her thoughts, feelings and...thoughts. You already said thoughts, Chloe. Oh, hell. I'm talking to myself like I'm another person. Never a good sign.

Releasing the door knob Chloe wandered a bit aimlessly into her home, giving Melinda an automatic greeting before she became annoyed with herself and entered her bedroom. She called Mila who, thankfully, answered and in a babbling daze, Chloe rehashed the entire episode.

"So?" Chloe asked curiously, when she finished.

"I'm really not that surprised," Mila said slowly, like she just came to this revelation.

"Have I—have I been that obvious?" Chloe croaked, feeling nauseous with panic. If Derek suspected...

"No, it's just the way you talk about him," Mila replied. "The way you look when you talk about him, you don't really have that look when you talk about anyone else."

"Th-That look?" Chloe asked, feeling suddenly aggravated with herself for being so oblivious to her own feelings.

"Yes," Mila said thoughtfully. "It's kind of a...softness around the eyes when you mention him."

"A softness?" Chloe repeated, feeling more uneasy by the second. "Do you think—do you think Derek's noticed my—my softness at all...about him?"

Mila snorted softly into the phone. "I can pretty much guarantee Derek hasn't noticed anything at all. Remember, he's a guy who's not a player. I think the only way he'd get a clue is if you pressed all that softness up in his face." Mila laughed heartily. Chloe, of course, blushed on cue. "There's pretty much three things Derek knows in this world and that's football, numbers and being a badass. A girl crushing on him—not so much." Mila assured.

"Really? You think so?" She couldn't hide how desperately she wanted to believe that.

"I'm positive," Mila soothed. "But what's so bad if he did know? I mean, don't you think he'd jump at the chance to be with you?"

"I—I don't know. Maybe if I was his type, I guess, whatever that is." Chloe replied hesitantly. The thought of Derek liking her back hadn't even occurred to her.

"Chloe, you're a pretty girl. That's every guy's type." Mila stated plainly.

It was Chloe's turn to snort. "I think you see me in friend's-colored glasses, Mila," Chloe said smiling at how blindly loyal her friend was. "Derek's type could be some amazon goddess, with big hair and bigger boobs—pretty much the exact opposite of what I am."

"Well, Chloe, there's only one way to find out now, isn't there?" Mila hinted. "I think it's time to bust out those tight-ass jeans for the party."

Chloe gulped. "I, um, I really...Are you—" she started. "But they're so tight!"

"I know! Boys are so simple. Wrap yourself in something tight and voila—we'll see if you're his type real fast." Mila stated triumphantly, then added a little less sure. "At least, that's what my big sister says anyway."

"Okay, but—it's just—but they're so tight!" Chloe repeated shrilly. The thought of strolling around in public with those jeans made Chloe break out into a nervous sweat. And Derek seeing her in them...

"Don't worry, Chloe," Mila said in a calming voice, "You will not look like some slut with a bad make-over. You'll look pretty and hot—in a tasteful way. I promise. Anyway, I have to seriously think about what I'm going to wear too." And just like that, Mila wisely changed the subject, talking about lighter topics that eased Chloe's nerves and had her forgetting about her massive crush, even if it was just for a few minutes.

…...

Walking through school Friday morning, Chloe realized life wasn't much different now that she was aware of her feelings for Derek, than when she wandered through life clueless about them. The thought of seeing him still made her nervous, still made her jumpy and distracted—pretty much how it was before, now she just knew why she felt that way. And strangely, she was torn between wanting to see him and wanting to avoid him. What's that about? God, crushes are confusing.

For a thrillingly, nauseous moment she thought she did see him between her second and third period class, his dark hair towering above the crowd of the other students and Chloe debated on bolting through the next door she saw before she bitched herself out and hazarded a glance in his direction. He wasn't there. And she wasn't sure if she felt more relieved or disappointed. Yep. Whoever said liking someone was fun, needs to be punched in the face.

And so that's how she went through her day, eyes darting around desperate and scared to catch a glimpse of him, knowing that, inevitably, she was going to see him in History anyway. Maybe I should take the control of the situation. She was pretty sure he still spent his lunch in the library and she wondered for a crazy moment if she should swing by, maybe say a quick hello to him. The thought had her so anxious, she was gasping like she ran a mile. Okay, I won't say hi, I'll just go in there and...what? Lurk between the bookshelves and stare at him? She thought to herself sarcastically. Maybe I can jump out and tell him I'm thinking about his hands again! Wouldn't want to mess with my track record at embarrassing the hell out of myself in front of him.

Chloe's conflicted mindset continued in this way for the next couple hours and with the combination of her anticipation at seeing Derek in class, she was jumping at the slightest noises. She just wanted the day over, so she could run away and hide under her covers in bed and watch bad TV until she passed out. That sounded like heaven.

"It sucks doesn't it?" Mila asked quietly, while walking Chloe to History. She had sweetly offered to accompany Chloe to class, knowing the internal freak-out Chloe was experiencing. "A big crush—it's like the guy just takes up residence in your mind and you can't get him out, no matter what you do."

Chloe nodded her understanding and looked at her friend with sympathy. She really did understand now; she had, of course, experienced crushes before, she even dated Brent Hendrickson last year, although briefly since the guy had the grabbiest hands, but nothing—none of those guys compared to this. This was a flurry of overwhelming feelings. It was disjointing, uncomfortable...exhilarating and Chloe felt completely lost in it.

What do I do now?

If she was one of those fearless, forward girls, she probably would've thrown caution to the wind and pursued Derek to the end of the world. But she wasn't. The thought of...coming on to him—had her so nervous she thought she might lose what little lunch she ate. And even if she decided to pursue him, which she so wasn't, how would she even do it? Grab a step ladder and try and kiss him? Oh, my stomach...Maybe attempt to tell him? She could only imagine what a disaster that would be considering her mouth had a tendency of going absolutely AWOL around the guy. And even if he managed to tell him her feelings, what would his reaction be? No matter how Chloe tried to see the situation at a different angle, she had a hard time believing he could feel the same. Derek was much too stoic, too hard and strong to experience something so trivial as a crush. She just couldn't see it happening. So, Chloe could only predict a rejection as the result of revealing her feelings.

And how would he turn me down? Would he just scowl and blow me off? Or would he wear that blank expression while he told me, under no circumstances, did he feel the same way for me? Or worse, would look at me with pity—

"Chloe, we're here," Mila whispered, as she stopped in front of Chloe's class. Mila quickly peeked inside the classroom. "He's not in there, yet." Giving Chloe an encouraging pat on the arm, she said, "Don't worry, everything will be fine. Okay? I gotta go. Tell me if anything happens?" Then, with a swift wave of goodbye, Mila hurried to her class before she was late.

Quickly making it into the room, Chloe took to her seat, trying to appear busy as she pulled things out of her bag, but soon she had nothing to do but glance compulsively at the door a few times a second. The wait was killing her, soon Derek would walk through that door...and then what? She'll blush and try and act like she hadn't obsessively thought about him as she tried to fall asleep last night or that he was the first thing she thought of when she woke up this morning.

She glanced at the door for the hundredth time, her apprehension growing as each second slowly ticked by, her heart now beating so hard she could feel it in her fingertips. Mila was right, this so sucks!

Then he strolled in, and in Chloe's crush-addled mind, it was like he was moving in slow motion—like in the those cheesy movies, all smooth and strong looking. Oh, God. It's even worse today than it was yesterday! It was like her entire body flushed at the sight of him. Holding her breath, she tried her best not to gawk but when the hell did he get so...so...Ugh. I'm in so much trouble.

He stopped in front of her desk, looking at her with that concerned look on his face.

"Hey, are you feeling better?" he rumbled. "I was wor—wondering if you, you know, were feeling better." He seemed to fidget slightly as he spoke, his fingertips playing with the edge of her desk. Chloe's eyes zeroed in on them, almost hypnotized, as she watched them drag slowly over the smooth corner—

"Y-Yes! I'm fine, thank you," she answered hastily. She needed to focus! "It was very...sweet...considerate of you to drive me home yesterday. Thanks again. For that," she added awkwardly, craning her neck to meet his eyes. She struggled to keep her face casual and not have that goofy, dreamy look on her face Mila had been teasing about her wearing all day. "I hope you got home okay?"

He shrugged in a way that told Chloe it wasn't a big deal. "So, I was wondering if..." Stalling, he cleared his throat. "If you were still coming over on Saturday? I, uh..." His voice trailed off.

"Of course I am," Chloe said, hoping she dulled some of the excitement from her voice. "I'm looking forward to it and so are my friends. I hope it's okay that I can still bring a couple of people?"

Nodding, he added, "Of course. It'll be pretty mellow, so...Do you still remember where I live?"

"Yes, I'm pretty sure I do," she replied back, like she hadn't burned the memory of his house in her brain forever.

He opened his mouth to respond but just then Mr. Rosen entered the classroom, calling attention to the class and Derek moved over to his seat. The hour went by quickly, with Chloe stealing glances—all involuntary—at Derek for most of the class. For one ridiculously hopeful second, Chloe thought he may have glanced at her as well when she looked over at him as his eyes seemed to look quickly away, but in her current state of mind, she knew she couldn't entirely trust her observations as being objective. Thankfully, class was over and Chloe was more than a little worn out. All of this was incredibly draining and she was contemplating on transferring to an all girls school just to avoid all this drama. Shoving her books and papers in her bag, she watched with wistful disappointment as Derek left the classroom, sending her a side-long glance as a goodbye.

She let out a loud breath and ambled out into the hall, nearly jumping a foot when she felt a soft touch on her elbow. Her eyes darted upwards, locking onto...

"Derek?" she gasped, her heart beating so hard, it felt like it was making a serious attempt to escape through her throat and it wasn't just from surprise.

He held up his hands in surrender. "I didn't mean to scare you. I just wanted to give you my address since you sounded a little unsure when I asked." Pulling out a scrap of paper from his back pocket, he handed it to her. They stood there in silence for an awkward minute before Derek finally said, "I'm assuming you're heading to your drama class?"

His tone sounded like a dismissal and Chloe tried fight the sudden pang of hurt. "Oh, yeah," Chloe managed. "I should probably get going," she added with a weak smile and waved the paper he gave her. "Thanks for this." She turned, heading to the theater and it took her a couple seconds to realize Derek was walking next to her.

That hurt feeling instantly dissolved into pure, girlish delight and she couldn't help grinning when she asked, "Aren't you going to be late to your class?"

Returning her smile with a small one of his own, Derek replied, "Nah, it's my math class but it's more of an independent study since the curriculum is specifically designed for each student."

"Specifically designed for each student?" she repeated, glancing up at him. "So, what you're telling me is, you're so advanced in mathematics, that the school doesn't have a class high enough for you?" Chloe replied, smiling.

"Yep," he said dryly, "that's exactly what I'm saying."

"Wow, must be nice being such a smartypants," she teased, then blushed when she realized she was attempting—in her own sad, sad way—of flirting with him.

"Smartypants? Are we in kindergarten now?" Derek replied.

"No," Chloe sputtered in annoyed embarrassment. "Smartypants is just a nice way of saying...of saying—"

"That someone's a giant nerd," he finished, smiling widely now.

Chloe stared, his crooked smile stunning her stupid as she narrowly missed walking into the wall. "Y-Yes," she managed, "that's what I—exactly."

"Easy there," he said, steadying her, his hand warm against her shoulder blade. Chloe had barely resisted the urge to melt into his touch before he added, "you're bouncing around like a Mandelbrot fractal."

Chloe blinked. "A mandible-what?" To her surprise, she thought she saw his cheeks redden slightly.

"It's nothing. Just a math thing," he muttered, clearing his throat. "Isn't that your friend over there?" Derek nodded over at Mila, who was standing near the entrance of the theater, fiddling with her phone.

"Huh? Oh, yes," she uttered, still reeling from his reaction. By now, Mila had noticed them, her eyes wide with curiosity.

"Okay, so I'll see tomorrow night then," he said quickly, then without another word, he turned and walked away.

Watching his retreating form, Chloe could still feel the warmth from his touch on her back. Mila sidled up next to her and sighed, "I must say, he really is nice to look at," she nudged Chloe gently and grinned, "especially from this angle." Chloe responded with a small smile. "Come on," Mila prompted, "let's find a seat so you can tell me everything."

Chloe followed her friend into the darkness of the theater, with one insistent thought bouncing around her head like Mandolin friction...or, whatever.

Giant nerds are hot.

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