I wasn't planning on updating this so soon, but I'm in the writing mood and this is the story I feel like updating. I'm going to try to make this longer than the last chapter. I'm not sure how far I'm going to go with this chapter, but we'll see.
The answer to the last riddle was the weatherman.
Disclaimer: I do not own The Darkest Powers
What is black when you buy it, red as you use it, and grey when you throw it out?
Chloe's POV
"I'm not so sure about this," Dad said, stopping the car at a traffic light.
"Dad, I'll be fine. It's just for the weekend. Besides, Mr. Bae will be there the entire time," I said. I wasn't actually sure if he would be there or not. I just wasn't about to tell my Dad that.
"But your partner is a boy," he said, "a teenage boy. You can't trust them."
"You were a teenage boy once," I pointed out.
"Exactly," he said, "That is why I know that this is not a good idea."
I shook my head and said, "You're starting to sound like Aunt Lauren."
"In that case, I heartily give my blessing," he said, smiling. I smiled back. It was no secret that Dad and Aunt Lauren didn't like each other. They didn't like each other when my mom was alive and when she died, it got worse. He almost didn't let me go out with her every Thursday until I made some excuse about female time. He instantly folded at that.
We finally made it to the school and he pulled up to the curb. "Now, I trust you to be smart about spending the weekend at some boy's house, but I have to play the concerned father card at least twice a year and this is the best I'm gonna get. When you get to his house, I want you to call and check in so I know you made it there safely. I also want to speak with Mr. Bae. Don't worry, I won't say anything to embarrass you. I want you to leave your phone on at all times so I can reach you. And now that that's been said, have fun."
I rolled my eyes and said, "Check, check, and check. Don't worry, nothing's gonna happen. I'll be home by Sunday."
"Alright," he said. "And I expect you to get an A on this assignment to justify worrying your father."
"Gotcha," I said, "Bye. See ya Sunday."
"Bye," he said.
I got out of the car and opened the back door. I grabbed my overnight bag and my backpack and shut the door. I had no idea what was in my overnight bag. I was a little afraid to look. It hadn't occurred to me until I was lying in bed trying to falling asleep that letting Beth pack the bag that would hold what I wear for the next two days wasn't a good idea. I was definitely afraid of what she packed as pajamas. She had a rather sick sense of humor when it came to dressing me. I was really hoping she hadn't found the pair of pajamas hidden underneath a bunch of jeans. They were a pair from Aunt Lauren when I finally started "growing." I really didn't have anything in the chest department, but she dares to hope. She got them for me as a birthday present. They really aren't that bad…if I'm alone. The top is a tank that dips a little low and ends a little short. The bottoms are shorts which redefine the word. They end about a quarter of an inch from what's under it. They are nice, don't get me wrong, but they're not something I really want to wear in front of anyone, especially Derek. I hadn't even worn them yet because I didn't want Beth to see them. She would totally use them as blackmail.
Speaking of Beth, ever since I told her that I was spending the weekend at Simon's (a.k.a. Derek's) house, she's practically glued herself to my side. Her excuse was that she didn't want to miss anything. I have to question her motive, though, because I had to almost banish her so that I could take a shower this morning. Once I was dressed, though, she was back monitoring my every action. I know I had complained yesterday about her not being around, but I was starting to miss that. She was walking as close to me as she could get without walking through me and it was starting to freak me out. I know she can't actually touch me, but my bubble was seriously being invaded. I think it's time to alert the military.
I walked into the school and was swept up in the flood of students. They seemed to be in a rush to somewhere, and unfortunately for me, it was in the opposite direction that I was headed. I had to elbow a few kids and step on a lot of feet to get through. Beth tried to help as much as she could, but she couldn't really keep them away from me without causing a scene. She did push a kid into the wall, but only because it looked like somebody else had did it. I didn't scold her that time because it actually benefited me. I was almost out of the current when my bag got hooked on somebody and I got pulled back. I almost fell onto my back to get trampled when somebody grabbed my arm and pulled me through. Jake locked his arm securely around me and pulled me to my locker. He let go when he was convince I wasn't going to get sucked back in.
"Thanks," I said, setting down my bag. "What's going on? Why is everybody is such a rush?"
"There was an announcement over the intercom telling everybody to go to the gym," he said. "They didn't say what it was about, but I heard a lot of the kids mentioning the dance, so I'm assuming it has something to do with that."
"Is that really worth almost killing me for?" I said, rubbing my arm wear a bruise was starting.
"Be lucky that's all that happened," he said. He held out his hand, showing a bite mark.
"Holy crap," I said, "Who bit you?"
"Some girl," he said, "I was trying to get to the bathroom and she thought I was getting in her way, so she just chomped down. Hurts like hell, too. Think she might have given me something?"
He lifted his hand to examine it closer. "We can stop and see what Aunt Lauren thinks. At least she didn't break the skin."
I turned to my locker and twisted the lock until it clicked open. I swung open the door and shoved my overnight bag in first. I tried to shove it as close to the bottom as possible. Next I put my backpack in. I didn't bother unpacking it because I was going to the gym anyway. It almost didn't fit, but Beth held it up while I shut the door. I twisted the dial to make sure it was locked and then followed Jake to the nurse's office. All the kids had went past and now the halls were completely empty. Even the classrooms were empty. Guess the announcement included the teachers.
When we got to Aunt Lauren's office, I was glad to see the door was open, meaning she was still there. She always locked the door whenever she stepped out, even for a second. She didn't want to risk students sneaking in and taking anything. We walked in and into her personal sanctum. She was sitting at her desk filling out paperwork. When she saw us, she motioned us in and then held up a finger, signaling to wait. So we each took a seat and waited for her to finish.
When she did, she looked up and said, "So why aren't you two in the gym?"
"War wound," Jake said, holding up his hand. Aunt Lauren took one look at it and said, "Who were you fighting? Girl Scouts?"
She got up and walked over to her cabinet and grabbed some disinfectant and a cotton ball. She walked back over and kneeled in front of Jake to get better access at his hand. She poured some of the disinfectant onto the cotton ball and rubbed it over the tooth marks.
"She was just some girl in the hallway," Jake said. "She thought I was in her way."
"Well, she has an odd way of saying excuse me," Aunt Lauren said, getting back up and throwing away the cotton ball. She grabbed the bottle of aspirin and offered him two. He swallowed them and thanked her.
"Why aren't you in the gym?" I asked.
"And miss out on all this fun paperwork?" she said, sarcastically. "I would be there, but I have to get these delivered by three and I have too many to waste time going to some assembly."
"What are they for?" I asked.
"They're forms for the new shipment of supplies. I wouldn't usually stress over supplies, but they contain the new flu shots."
"Didn't you get those last week?" I asked.
"No," she said. "I got what was supposed to be flu shots. Instead, I got vaccine for chicken pox."
"Well, they're practically the same thing," I said, standing up.
"Luckily, I hadn't administered any doses," she said.
"Well, if we see any chickens, we'll send them your way," Jake said.
We walked out of her office and headed for the gym. "You do know that chicken pox doesn't actually turn you into a chicken, right?"
"Course," he said, "Everybody knows that it turns you into a turkey."
I just shook my head and continued walking. We weren't far from the gym, so it didn't take long to get there. Finding a seat, however, was another thing. The entire gym was packed. Some kids were even forced to stand along the walls. I looked around and saw a small empty place in the middle of the bleachers. I wondered why they were open until I saw who was sitting next to them. Standing on top of the seat waving her arms frantically was Liz. Jake and I exchanged a look and then made our way up the steps to everybody. And everybody it was. Like I expected, Liz, Maggie, and Rae were seated together, but so were Simon and Tori. It surprised me for a second before I noticed that Derek wasn't with them. He's gone again?
"What took you guys so long?" Liz asked. "I wasn't sure if I could keep these seats much longer."
Jake held out his hand and Liz gasped.
"How did you manage that?" Maggie asked.
"Got in a fight with a pit bull," he said, "I almost didn't make it."
Maggie gave him a look and he said, "Some girl bit me in the hall."
"Were you hitting on her?" Rae asked.
"For once, no," he said.
"What do you think the assembly is for?" Liz said, back to her excited self, complete with bouncing in her seat.
"Probably more news about the dance," Jake said.
"Do you think they've decided to reschedule the dance?" Liz asked, "I bought a new dress and everything."
"Well I for one hope so," Jake said, winking at me.
I just rolled my eyes and turned my attention to the man currently tapping on the microphone. Mr. Davidoff was standing there waiting until everybody became silent and then he began.
"I didn't make it around to everybody's classroom on Wednesday, so I would like to begin by introducing myself," he said. "My name is Marcel Davidoff and as many of you know, I am your new principal. I know we've gotten to a rocky start by my decision about the dance, but I would like to assure you that I am not here to make your high school experience as horrible as possible." He paused for awkward laughter before continuing. "I know many of you think my decision was unfair, but it was necessary. On a brighter side, I have decided to repeal my decision. The dance will be rescheduled and as the saying goes, "the party must go on."
The entire gym erupted in shouts of joy and unfortunately for my poor eardrums, most of it came from the excited blond next to me. I winced and covered my ears. On my other side, Beth was making just as much noise and I was the only one who could hear it. All in all, I might need a hearing aid in about five minutes.
"Yes, yes, I realize that this is news worthy of excitement, but I still have another announcement to make, so if you could please quiet down," Mr. Davidoff said. It took another minute, but eventually the gym went silent. "Thank you. Now, as I was saying, I have another announcement. As you all know, next week is the last week before the holidays. I am well aware that many of you just want to forget about school for two weeks. However, the state of New York is going to be participating in a nationwide test to determine where the states are academically. These tests will occur directly after the holidays. Studying is necessary, so please take a little time to go over your studies. That being said, you are excused to your first class."
The news about the test might have been enough to make a few kids groan, but the fact that the dance was back on was enough of a distraction. Liz was definitely excited, evidenced by the death grip on my arm and her bouncing up and down. If Beth could grab my other arm, I'm sure she would. Behind me Rae and Maggie were back to discussing outfits for the dance. Rae was saying how we had to go on a shopping spree and get the perfect outfits. I didn't have the heart to tell her that I already had mine and so did Liz. Maggie didn't though, and as much as I love her, I'm not willing to go into a mall with Rae anytime soon. She was a little like Beth when it came to picking out my outfits. Except whereas Beth would go for the clothes that were revealing, Rae would go with the ones that screamed expensive. She couldn't afford them herself, but she claimed that she lived fashionably through me. I would have preferred she use Liz as her Barbie doll, but I was the only one with a debit card and a rich father.
"If you ladies are through breaking my eardrums," Jake said, "I don't really want to be late. I've given Carnahan enough reason to give me detention as it is."
"I'm with him," Maggie said, in hopes of distracting Rae. When Rae didn't seem to take the hint, she gave me a pleading look. I held back a smile and grabbed Rae's arm, saying, "We better go. I think talking about the next test and who know how Mrs. Washington is. She won't start until everybody is there and she won't let anybody go until she is done."
"You're right," she said, "and I don't want to be late for biology."
"What's happening in biology?" I asked.
"Apparently Mark is in my biology class," she said.
"Don't you mean Mike?" I asked.
"Nuances," she said.
I didn't comment at her remark. Instead, I followed her out of the gym and to her locker. When she opened the door, I was surprised she hadn't been crushed yet. Her locker was full to bursting. She located her history book and yanked it out. I was expecting everything to fall out, but it held. I looked at the door and saw that it was just as packed. The entire surface was covered in pictures. Most of them were of her family but there were some of her friends, too. I recognized a few from when we went to the beach and others from when we Aunt Lauren took us all the New York City for the day.
"Now onto your locker," Rae said.
I nodded and we started walking down the hall. When we turned the corner, I saw the boy that was in Aunt Lauren's office last week. I think she said his name was Liam. He was standing by a group of lockers. I didn't really think anything of it, except he was just standing there. He didn't even open any. And then he did something that weirded me out. He sniffed the air. Not the casual deep breath through the nose, but a full on sniff. Then he did it again. What is he smelling for? When he turned around, he saw us. He gave us a creepy smile and said, "Ladies."
Rae smiled back, but I kept my face straight. When we had finally past him, I relaxed. He creeped me out. The smelling was weird enough but that smile unnerved me. It reminded me of a serial killer. I know it was ridiculous to get so worked up over some guy, but my instincts screamed trouble. When I glanced over at Beth, I saw that she was watching behind us. Her eyes were glued on Liam. I felt safer knowing Beth was watching out for me.
When we got to my locker, I unlocked it and opened the door. I pulled out my bag and unloaded my science stuff and replaced it with my history book. My math and English were already in it. I tried to keep the door straight so that Rae couldn't see into my locker, but my elbow accidently hit it and it opened farther. She saw the bag on the bottom and said, "Where are you going?"
"I'm staying at my aunt's for the weekend," I lied. It wasn't that I didn't want Rae to know I was going to Simon's. It was more I didn't want to hear what she had to say about it. Rae has an opinion about everything and doesn't know when to keep something to herself. She isn't as bad as Amber when it comes to rumors, but she is bad enough. And the last thing I need is another rumor about me and Derek. It would only take a second for the school to think we were sleeping together. I didn't need the attention and something tells me that it would be just as unwanted to Derek. He had enough eyes on him as it was.
When I had finished packing my bag, I closed my locker and we made our way to the history room. Only half of the students were there. I glanced at the clock and groaned. I was going to be late for math. I wouldn't mind skipping math all together, but there was no way I was going to understand it if I wasn't there.
…,,,…
We got out of history fifteen minutes late. When I finally got to math, I just walked in and found my seat. Mrs. Washington hadn't given us a note, but Mr. Stang understood and didn't comment on me coming in late. Instead, he just continued with his lesson and I got out my stuff. Maggie passed me a packet and I saw it was a review packet. However, there were things on it that we hadn't even covered yet. I gave her a questioning look and she shrugged. I turned my attention to Mr. Stang.
"I can tell by your faces that you are wondering why I gave you this," he said, holding up a packet. "With the rather sudden decision to participate in the national academics test, I've decided to put off our unit test until after the holidays. Instead we're going to focus on preparing for this other test. I know that many of the concepts in this packet are very foreign to you, but our goal is to cover as much of it as we can before the break. I don't expect you to learn this by yourself during the break, but I'm hoping you will at least study what we do cover. I encourage you to get into groups during the break and working on this packet. You may even find that some of the new stuff makes sense. Now, if everyone could open the packet to page one, we'll begin.
I turned the page and groaned. It was what we had covered at the beginning of the year. He expects me to remember how to do this? I looked at Maggie and saw an almost similar expression on her face. However, I know that she understands it whereas I have no clue. Maggie isn't a math genius, but she does pick it up a lot faster than I do. She might not remember it now, but once Mr. Stang starts to explain, she'll know what to do. She's tried tutoring me before, but it just turned into watching movies and ingesting more sugar than the human body can manage.
…,,,…
After math, I headed to English with Beth at my heels. She knew that Derek wasn't going to be there, but she still followed me there. She didn't say anything because Maggie was walking with me and she didn't want me risking accidently talking to her in front of Maggie. Though Maggie knew about me, I wasn't really comfortable talking to myself in front of her.
Walking into English, I made my way to the back and sat down. I didn't bother taking out my stuff yet. I used my foot to subtly pull out the chair next to me. When it was out enough, Beth sat down. I set my backpack in the seat to make it look like I wasn't going crazy. Beth didn't mind the bag as long as she didn't look down.
Ms. Wallus walked in and immediately started talking. "I am well aware that the national test covers English but I see no point in stopping our unit to prepare for the test. Either you're ready or you're not. Now, I want everyone to take out your notes for your novel so I can see how far you are."
I reached down and unzipped my bag. Grabbing my notebook, I re-zipped the bag and sat up. I opened the notebook to the right page and waited for Ms. Wallus to check it. While I waited, I flipped the page and wrote,
I wonder where Derek is.
Beth looked down at the paper and said, "Maybe he's sick."
He was gone yesterday too. Simon said he went to Albany with their dad.
"Maybe it was a two-day trip," she suggested.
I stopped writing and flipped the page over when I saw Ms. Wallus coming my way. She glanced at my paper and wrote something down. She looked down at the "empty" seat next to me and shook her head. She moved onto the next row and I waited to make sure she wasn't going to turn around.
I think she has something against him.
"Against who?" Beth asked.
Derek.
"Why?" she asked.
She was really mad that Mr. Davidoff wouldn't suspend Simon and Derek.
"How do you know that?" she asked.
I overheard them talking. She and Ms. Tuppern wanted him to suspend them. Mr. Drake was Davidoff's side.
"Has Derek even met Tuppern?" she questioned.
She and Ms. Wallus are in charge of the dance committee.
"Maybe she was mad that the paint got spilled," she said.
I was the one to spill it.
She didn't comment at that. Instead she just shrugged. I turned toward the front and gave my attention to Ms. Wallus, who was currently talking about how lazy the majority of the class was with their notes.
"Who did she sleep with to get this job?" Beth asked. I looked over at her and glared slightly. I rested my chin in my hand at tried to stay awake. This is gonna be a long hour.
…,,,…
Once English was finally over, we made our way to lunch. Liz and Rae were back to discussing the dance, completely ignoring us when we sat down. Maggie took that extra time to eat as many of her fries as possible before Rae noticed them. I took my time eating. Fruit cups weren't exactly popular with Rae. I would have liked to get fries or something one of these days but I'd prefer to eat my lunch, so healthy it is. Liz and Rae were whispering to each other, so I was only able to hear every other word. I wasn't really listening to what they were saying until I heard my own name. At that I looked up. Their heads were still together. Why are they talking about me? I glanced over at Beth, who gave me a thumbs up and walked over to their other side to hear better. I watched her facial expression for any sign that it was something bad. I saw surprise flash across her face and then that evil smile I'm so used to. Oh crap.
"So, Liz," Maggie said, "What does the dress look like?"
Liz looked up and said, "It's a green strapless that goes down to my knees. Brady's gonna love it!"
"What shoes are you wearing?" she asked.
"I still haven't decided. I'm torn between my flats or these cute heels at mall," she said. "I want the heels, but they're kinda expensive and if I buy them, I'm pretty much broke."
"Then wear the flats," Maggie suggested.
"But I've worn them to every other dance," Liz protested.
"Too bad it's not spring," I said.
"Why?" Liz said.
"You could go barefoot," I said. "That would solve your shoe problem."
"Do you think they'd let me?" she asked.
"Probably not," I said. "Health issues."
"I'll figure it out eventually," she sighed.
…,,,…
When I walked into biology, Simon was already at our table. Tori was at hers, too, and they were talking about something. It was probably the first time I had seen Simon with a serious face or Tori talking to him like he wasn't dog crap on the bottom of her shoe. When I got within hearing range, Simon saw me and smiled. Tori turned to see what he was smiling at and rolled her eyes, turning her chair back to the front. I ignored her and took my seat next to Simon.
"Ready for the weekend?" Simon asked.
"I'm not going to get hurt, am I?" I asked, jokingly.
"Nope," he said. "Consider it a Simon Bae guarantee."
"Are these guarantees usually trustworthy?" I asked.
"We'll find out," he said.
"So what's the plan?" I asked.
"Well, we'll meet at the doors for the parking lot after school and then Tori will drive home," he said.
"Tori?" I asked.
"Don't worry," she said turning around, "I'll only kill him. I'll make sure you're just mortally injured."
With that she turned back around. I honestly didn't know if she was joking. It really didn't sound like she was joking. She sounded serious.
"Don't worry," he said, "She wouldn't dare crash the car."
"Why not?" I asked.
"It's Derek's car," he explained, "If she do much as scratches it, Derek will kill her."
"That's good to know…I think," I said.
"So, I thought once we get there we spend an hour working on our project and then blow it off until tomorrow. How's that sound?" he asked.
"Sounds like a plan," I said, smiling.
"I sent Derek out to find dead things when I left this morning. I'm not sure if he actually did it. I guess that fact that he made no move to do it is discouraging," he said. "Oh well, I'll talk Dad into making him."
"Why can't you find them?" I asked.
"Derek's better at it," he said.
"Is finding dead things a talent of his?" I questioned.
"One of many," he said. "He can also brood for two hours straight. I've clocked him."
"Exactly two hours?" I asked.
"Well, my watch died at two hours," he said.
I laughed and said, "Did you get a new watch?"
"I had to," he said, "I kept missing my shows."
"Poor Simon," I said, "That must have been horrible for you."
"Terrible," he said, "I was depressed for weeks."
"As long as you're better now, that's the important thing," I said, patting his arm.
After a few minutes, Mr. Drake came in and started class. He spent the first half of class talking about the national test. He wasn't too pleased about it. It screwed up his presentation schedule. The class wasn't too happy about it either. Now we have to present our projects before we go on break. I guess it was a good thing that I we're working on our project this weekend. When he finished talking about it, he decided the most productive use of the rest of the hour would be to play hangman. I didn't complain.
…,,,…
I don't know what Ms. Wang has against substitute teachers, but she was gone again and again didn't get a sub. That left me with an hour to myself in the back of the library. Well, to the average person I was by myself. To necromancers, I was in an interesting conversation with a ghost which consisted of me trying to get information and her withholding it.
"And why won't you tell me what they were talking about?" I asked, keeping my voice down.
"Some people are entitled to their privacy," she said, pretending to check her nails.
"Says the girl who tried following me into the shower this morning," I said, crossing my arms.
"Hey," she said, "I was concerned for you safety."
"And how is taking a shower dangerous?" I questioned.
"You could get soap in your eyes and then while your gasping in pain, you could blindly slip in a fallen bar of soap and fall backward into the curtain which is too thin to support your weight so you hit the floor while your head hits the counter, and splits open and you bleed to death while your brain is dripping onto the floor," she said.
I just stared at her dumbly for a minute before answering, "Thinking about that long?"
"Just since math," she said. "I fell asleep in history."
"Do you often think of how I'm going to die?" I asked, kinda wierded out.
"Of course," she said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "If I don't consider all the possibilities, how am I supposed to prepare myself for when I have to save you?"
"Why is it that everybody thinks I'm going to hurt myself?" I asked.
"Cause you normally do," she pointed out.
"Hey, I haven't tripped up the stairs in a while," I said.
"Well, don't come crying to me when me when you get yourself killed," she said.
…,,,…
My last class went by normally. Because the national test didn't include theatre, we didn't have to listen to another lecture. Instead we got into groups and acted out scenes to different plays. I have to wonder if I'm the only one who notices how random Mr. Benson is. One day we do trust exercises, the next we act in groups. Don't get me wrong, I actually prefer this to an actual schedule, but it starts to get confusing after a while.
When theatre was over, Liz followed me back to my locker. She needed my copy of the math notes because she was gone during her math class. When I opened my locker, she saw my overnight bag, but she didn't say anything, which is actually normal for Liz. While Rae has to always be in your business, Liz actually knew when to keep quiet. She can be totally oblivious to most things, but she respects privacy.
When she had my notes, she said goodbye and left. I was left alone with Beth, who was overly excited. I didn't see what she was so excited about. We'll be working all weekend and I probably won't even see Derek. Not that I'd complain if I did. I was actually kind of hoping that I'd be able to talk to him. I needed to tell him that I knew about the colored pencils and break-in, but I wasn't sure how to tell him. I also wasn't sure how I was going to make it relevant. I mean, just walking up to him and saying "I know your secret" and then walking away is kinda weird.
Shaking my head, I grabbed my bags and shut my locker door. Lifting my backpack onto my shoulder, we starting walking toward the parking lot. When we turned the corner, Simon was already waiting at the doors. When he saw me lugging my overnight back, he rushed forward to grab it.
"What a gentleman," I joked. "But where's your hat? Every gentleman needs a hat."
"It's at home with my cape," he said.
"As much as I love watching the two of you flirt," Tori said, coming up behind us, "I want to get home and I'm not waiting for you."
With that, she walked past us and toward the car.
"Oh, this is going to be fun," I said.
"She'll be at her partner's house for most of tomorrow working on her project," he said, "I'm kinda wishing she gets lost on her way home."
"But then who will bug you?" I asked.
"I'll find something," he said. He held out his hand, motioning that I good go ahead of him. I took him up on his offer and walked outside. The wind instantly went through my jacket. Is it my imagination, or is it getting colder? Simon noticed too, because he rubbed the hand holding the bag with his empty one, trying to warm it up. When we got to the car, Simon and I got into the backseat and Beth got into the empty passenger seat, not that anybody noticed but me. Looking around, I was reminded of the last time I had been in Derek's car. Except, I was in the front seat and certain boy was driving.
After a half hour, Tori pulled into a long driveway. We drove down it for a minute before a house came into view. And it was a big house. Not mansion big, but it certainly was larger than the houses in town. Tori stopped the car and shut it off. She grabbed the keys and her bag and she got out, completely ignoring us. Simon looked over at me and rolled his eyes. We got out and I grabbed my bag from him. I followed him to the door and walked in. From what I could see standing at the doorway, the house was pretty empty. Simon kicked off his shoes and tossed his jacket onto bench. I did the same and dropped my bag. I kept my backpack and followed Simon. We walked through the living room and into the kitchen. He dropped his bag next to the counter, and motioned for me to do the same. I looked around the room and saw a lot of boxes.
"Sorry about the mess," he said. "We're still in the process of unpacking."
"That's fine," I said, "It doesn't bother me."
"Want something to drink?" he asked.
"Sure," I said, "Water's fine."
He nodded and grabbed a glass. Then, going to the sink, he filled the glass and gave it to me.
"Well, I guess we should get started then," he said. He picked up his bag and walked over the table, where he pulled out a chair and sat down. I followed him over and sat down with my back to the door. We took out our notes and started comparing and making a list of questions that had to be answered for the presentation.
"Okay," he said, grabbing a blank piece of paper and his pencil, "What are the five stages of death?"
"Death or dying?" I asked.
"Death, then dying," he said. "Or should we do dying then death? I mean, dying happens before death right?"
"Well I have death first in my notes, so let's start with that," I said. He nodded at wrote something on his paper. Then he looked up, waiting for me to read my notes. I looked down and found where I had written it and grimaced at my bad handwriting. I could barely read it. "Um...the first stage is…fresh."
"They couldn't have come up with a better name?" he asked, looking down at his paper while he wrote.
"Apparently not," I said. "The second stage is…bloat. Ew."
"I'm with you there," he said, "Alright, next."
"Um…," I said. I couldn't really read it.
"Active decay," a deep voice said behind me.
Surprising me, I yelped and jumped. Unfortunately, when I jumped, my knee hit the bottom of the table and my glass jumped too, causing the water to fly all over the table and over our notes. Simon jerked back when the cold water hit him and his arms flew up in defense. My hands flew to my mouth when I saw our notes. Simon's arms fell down and he started laughing. I looked over at him like he had gone crazy.
"Nice one, bro," he said in between laughs.
I had completely forgotten about the voice behind me and I turned around quickly. Behind me, Derek was leaning against the counter with his hands in his pockets, completely relaxed. When he saw me looking, he said, "Do you spill everything?"
"I wouldn't have spilled it if you hadn't snuck up on me," I said, getting angry.
"I didn't sneak," he said. "I walked."
"Well, then you should have announced you presence," I said.
"You want me to announce when I'm coming into my own kitchen," he asked.
"Yes," I said, not realizing how stupid I was sounding until after he said that.
He looked at me for a second longer before shrugging and turning away. I watched him walk to the fridge and grab two bottled waters. He walked back to me and set one of them in front of me. Then he turned around and walked out, calling over his shoulder, "I am leaving the kitchen."
"I'll get a towel," Simon said, standing up.
"I'm so sorry," I said, picking up the glass.
"It's no big deal," he said, "It was kinda funny though."
"Funny? Our notes are ruined," I said.
"Not ruined exactly. Just…complicated," he said.
I picked up a soaking wet sheet and tried to read the running ink. "I think I can make out the word denial."
"Well, that's a start," he said, walking back to the table and pressing the towel to wet notes.
"Whoa," Tori said, walking into the kitchen, "I know that your project blows, but that doesn't mean you have to cry all over it."
"Go to hell, Tori," Simon said.
"Already there," she said, walking past us and grabbing an apple. Then she leaned against the counter and proceeded to eat that apple while watching us clean up the mess, occasionally making rude remarks to Simon about his method of soaking up the water. Eventually he had enough of her and said, "Leave, Tori!"
"Make me, Harry Potter," she said, giving him an arrogant smile. Harry Potter?
"Go fu-" he said before being interrupted.
"Alright!" a voice said. All eyes turned to the doorway, where a man stood. He looked like an older version of Simon with Tori's hair, meaning he was probably their dad. "Now, I don't think yelling at each other is the right way to make our guest feel welcome, do you?"
He turned to me and said, "You must be Chloe."
I nodded and he said, "I'm Christopher Bae, but you can call me Kit."
"Oh!" I said, sitting up sharply. I had totally forgotten to call Dad. "I have to call my dad. He told me to call him and he asked if he could talk to you."
Kit smiled and said, "I like his parenting style. I'd like to talk to him. Maybe I can get some parenting techniques."
He pointedly looked at Simon and Tori. I smiled and fished my phone out of my pocket. I thumbed through the phone book before I found him and clicked call. He answered on the second ring. "Hi, Dad, just checking in."
"I trust you made it there safely?" he said.
"Yes, Dad," I said.
"Is Mr. Bae there?" he asked.
"Yes he is," I said. I handed the phone over to Kit and let him talk. I turned back to Simon and Tori, who were having a glaring contest. Instead of getting in the middle of it, I just picked up the towel and picked up where Simon had left off. I tried to salvage as many of the notes as possible, but it didn't look promising. Simon's notes were all written in pen, which was now running down the page. My notes were written in pencil, which was now faded and disappearing with every pat of the towel.
"We're doomed," I said.
Simon turned to look at me and said, "Maybe we have time to redo them."
"Maybe," I said.
"I know!" Simon said. "Let's forget this for a while. How are you with video games?"
"What kind of video games?" I asked.
"The best kind," he said, "Mindlessly shooting at things."
"Well, I guess we'll see," I said.
I set the towel on the table and followed him into the living room. I sat down on the couch while Simon walked over to the TV and set up the game. He grabbed the two controllers and walked back over to me. He handed me one and then sat down in the chair. We waited until it was loaded and were instantly bombarded with zombies. I reacted on instinct and pushed a button, blowing off one's head.
"Nice shot," Simon said.
"Thanks," I said. I pushed the button again and arm came off. I really had no idea what button did what, but so far I was killing things, so apparently I was pressing the right ones. After a half hour, each of us had died many times. I felt the couch dip next to me and looked over. Derek was sitting next to me, his eyes glued on the screen. It took me a few seconds to get back to focus. When I turned back to the screen, a zombie was eating my arm. I tried a button, but it only switched my weapons. I felt a hand on mine and I jumped. I looked down to see Derek's hand over mine and my breathing hitched, my heart beating dangerously fast. He fit his hand perfectly over mine and when he pressed his finger on the x, mine pressed under his. On the screen, my character's right fist shot up and decked the zombie under the chin, sending his head flying.
"Hey," Simon said, "No backseat killing."
"If it was backseat killing," Derek said, "I would have told her which button to push. I didn't say a word."
I was still too shocked to say anything. The only thing I could hear was my heart pounding in my ears. It didn't help that Derek's hand was still over mine. When he turned to speak with Simon, his hand had slipped a little and was now slightly curved around mine. I was trying desperately to keep my breathing under control. What's wrong with me? Derek and Simon were currently arguing over what was considered helping. Derek obviously had no idea that he was technically holding my hand. I looked down and studied his hand. It was big and lean. And really warm. The heat from his hand was oddly comforting. I felt Derek shift and I was snapped out of my daydream.
"Fine," Simon said. He turned back to the TV and restarted the level. I had no idea what was going on. Next to me, Derek shifted closer to me and turned so that he had one leg bent and the other like normal. His hand moved and I looked down. His hand moved back over mine. His other arm came around my other side and his left hand mirrored his right. My breathing was becoming an issue again. I felt his hot breath on my ear as he leaned down to speak into my ear.
"Stay behind Simon until the zombie missing his left hand appears," he said. "He is the hardest to take out. You're going to need all your ammo. Let Simon use his on the other ones. It'll rack up his points, but defeating the one with the missing hand wins you the level."
I nodded and let Derek navigate me away from the incoming zombies, skillfully keeping me away without alerting the zombies. Simon didn't seem to notice as he blew a lot of heads off. I had to wonder why Derek was doing this. Obviously he was doing all the work, so why have me hold the controller? I wasn't about to point this out to him, though. For some reason, I couldn't let myself tell him because that would mean his hands would go off mine. After ten minutes, Simon was almost out of ammo and the zombies were thinning. When he killed the last one, the one missing the hand appeared. Simon took a few shots and the zombie didn't even flinch. One more shot and the gun clicked, signaling that he was out of ammo. The zombie killed him in a second. After killing him, the zombie was headed straight for me. Even though it was only a video game and I couldn't actually get hurt, I started panicking. I felt Derek shift so that he was closer to me and his hands tightened over mine. I focused on the pressure of his hands as he pressed my fingers on the buttons. I watched as he aimed for individual sections of the zombie. He shot the right hand off first so that the zombie couldn't grab me. Then he shot through the left knee cap and the zombie went down. I had to admit, Derek was really good. He knew all the weak spots. I watched him blow off more bits and then the zombie stopped moving entirely. The game seemed to pause for a second before flashing that we had won. I smiled and looked up at Derek, who was closer than I thought. He looked down and his eyes locked with mine. We just watched each other for a minute before I remembered Simon. I looked over to discover Simon was gone. I looked around the room, but he was nowhere in sight.
"He's in the kitchen," Derek answered my unspoken question. My hands still gripped the controller and his still gripped mine. I could feel a lot of heat radiating off of him and all I wanted to do was lean my back against him and bask in it. I heard someone clear their throat and I jumped, hitting my head on Derek's chin, earning a grunt from him. His hands dropped mine and his arms came from around me. He looked at me questionably and I looked over his shoulder to see Beth, smiling like she knew the biggest secret in the world. I looked up at Derek and started stuttering a response, having no idea what to say. Luckily for me, that was the time Simon chose to reenter the room and Derek sighed, getting up and leaving the room. I glared at Beth before giving my attention to Simon.
"So Dad wanted to know if pizza was okay for dinner," he said.
"Pizza's fine," I said.
"Cool," he said. I followed him into the kitchen and watched as Kit called the pizza place and argued with Simon over the type. I wasn't really sure with what he settled on because there was too much confrontation. But eventually, he made the order and hung up, saying it should be here in half an hour.
"So, how about a tour of the house?" Simon suggested.
"Sure," I said.
We walked around the ground floor first and he showed me where the bathroom was and his dad's office. Then we moved onto the upstairs. He showed me the other bathroom and Tori's bedroom, which he didn't show me the inside because she would kill him. He wouldn't take me into his room either, but I guessed he didn't want me to see the mess. The last room he showed me was Derek's. We didn't go in, but I kinda wanted to know what Derek's sanctum looked like.
…,,,…
A few hours later, stuffed with pizza and falling asleep on the couch watching movies, we finally declared it time for bed. I was to sleep on the couch. Kit apologized for it, but they didn't have any of the guest rooms made up yet. I didn't complain. I grabbed my bag from the doorway and went into the downstairs bathroom. I kneeled down and unzipped it. Looking inside, I got confused. Beth had packed two pairs of pajamas. One was the exact pair that I didn't want her to pack, but the other the normal ones I wear. Namely, a pair of sweats and a tank. I chose the second option and got dressed.
Fifteen minutes later I was curled up on the couch, wrapped in a blanket and falling asleep thinking about what had happened between me and Derek.
Okay, so I know I told a lot of you that this would be up by Friday, but things came up and this took me longer than I thought to write. I don't think any of you will complain about this being too short. 20 pages single space and 8,373 words. The longest thing I've ever written. Anyway, to see who actually reads these and as a reward for my loyal reviewers, there will be a special treat if you review this chapter. This is one time thing. However, the conditions are that you have to review and you have to sign in. It won't work if you don't sign in.