BreeTico – I know! Derek's so ready to start his life with Emily, obviously, but he's keeping in mind that she is new to the Ace world and not pushing her. If only we could all find a guy like Derek! And Jack's character is, by far, one of my favorites. I'm even thinking about making a spin-off starring Jack as he finds his significant. But that's far in the future, and I've been cooking up another (yes, another) Significance fanfiction. (:

supernatural94 – Yay! (:

Complete Chocoholic – Why, thank you. I certainly do enjoy figuring out how to twist words into elegant sentences, though it doesn't happen as often as I'd like. Just another something for me to work on a little more (; And thank you so, so much for continuing to follow this story. It really does mean a lot!

The Significance Series belongs to Shelly Crane.

14: New Beginning

I woke up with a jolt. Derek's presence had been enough to send me into a sleep-induced haze, but throughout the night I woke up at random intervals, where I'd roll over and try to go back to sleep. In those moments, I'd never really been awake enough for proper thought. But when my alarm went off around nine and I yawned, rubbing crusties out of my eyes, I realized what I'd missed last night.

I love you, Emily. Had he really said that? Or had it just been my own wishful thinking in my half-asleep state? It was… well, it was miraculously scary. I had no doubt in my mind that if he had actually said it, he meant it. Derek wasn't the type of person to throw out heavy words like that just because he could. But the whole point was if he'd even said them. The other question was: if he had said them, what would I have said back? Did I love Derek? I knew that one day, supposedly, I would be so in love with him that I would be blinded by everything else. But I couldn't help but wonder if that had already happened. My mom had said that she'd seen the love in between us, in our relationship. She said that it had seemed stronger than what she'd had with my dad. I bit my lip as I lay there, staring up at the ceiling. I couldn't help but feel like this would have been easier if Id actually known what love felt like. Was it that nervous feeling of a million butterflies? Was it the constant warmth and concern I got from him? Was it the fact that I wanted him near me every second of every day?

What was love, really?

I sat up and looked around my room. I didn't need to think about that right now, not before I'd had some caffeine to get my brain up and running. Derek had taken off my shoes and left them by my closet doors at some point. He'd also taken off my belt and the shirt I was wearing over my camisole, but other than that I was still wearing what I'd been wearing last night. I hadn't even washed my face or taken my hair down. I probably looked like a hot mess.

I climbed out of bed and trudged to the shower, pausing to look at myself in the mirror. My eye shadow was smeared across my face and flecks of mascara clung to my cheekbones. My hair, which had been sleek last night, now looked like I'd been lost in the woods for a week. I groaned and turned on the hot water in the shower. I had to spend an extra ten minutes detangling my hair and scrubbing stubborn makeup off my face. I finally managed to change into a clean pair of jeans and a shirt that was over-sized at my shoulders. I slipped on my sandals and headed down the stairs to find the small cardboard boxes that I was supposed to carry upstairs last night and never got around to.

I was going to be moving into Derek's room, which meant that all I really needed to bring was my clothes and a few of my trinkets and the little things that I wanted to take with me, like my laptop and my makeup. I didn't see my mom in the kitchen and everyone knew that I wouldn't be able to hear her if she was in there, so I just scooped the boxes up and carried them back up the stairs. I threw open my closet doors and dumped all of my jeans and skirts into one box, slowly moving throughout my closet until the only things left were a box of holiday cards and old toys and board games that hadn't been touched since I was ten.

As I moved throughout my room, collecting things that I wanted to take with me and things that I had thought I'd lost years ago, I felt the sudden feeling that someone was watching me. In the old days, I used to be a big fan of horror movies. My eleven-year-old self had seen a load of them. I hadn't watched any since I lost my hearing because a horror movie surprisingly depends a lot on sound, but I still retained what I'd learned from them – mostly how to defeat zombies and what not to do when stuck in an abandoned house with a psycho killer – but one of the things that I remembered was that if you felt like someone was watching you, someone probably was.

I turned around slowly, holding a box filled with my makeup and hair accessories. The only thing in it of true value was the jewelry box my grandmother had kept in her bedroom and given to me when I turned sixteen, just months before she died. But if there was some psycho standing in my doorway, I had the feeling that I could throw the box at him as hard as I could. But of course, I felt like an idiot the moment I turned around.

Derek leaned against the doorway, holding a large drink that had to be some sort of soda. I was never a big fan of coffee, but caffeine and I were tight. It was partly the reason that when Xavier made a run to the coffee shop, he got me some sort of pastry, never a coffee. Derek, of course, knew that. With a heavy sigh I sat the box down on the end of my bed and walked up to him. Derek held out the soda to me as he stood up a little straighter, kicking off from the doorway. I wrapped my fingers around the cup and stood up on my toes to kiss him. "Hi," I said, pulling back to take a sip of my drink. "I didn't hear you come in." I couldn't help but smile at my own inside joke. After I'd gotten over the depression of losing my hearing, I'd found humor in the fact that common sayings like that no longer applied to me. But in this case, it sort of worked. I didn't hear Derek's mind as he came into my room.

Your mom let me in. I turned to set the drink down on the edge of my desk as he surveyed my bedroom. Those are just your clothes? He asked, looking down at the two large boxes I'd already packed up. I thought it had been pretty good, since it was my summer and winter clothes, not to mention my collection of shoes and belts. But then again, Derek was a guy, and unless he was suddenly metrosexual, I didn't expect him to understand.

"I'm a girl. Girls love clothes. Just ask your sisters." I told him, patting my palm on his chest as I pushed one of the boxes aside and opened up my desk drawer. After I earned my diploma and my mom had packed up all of my school books and stuff for the attic, the desk had become less for paperwork and more for storage. I had accessories in almost every single drawer, from clips to pins to bottles of nail polish. Most of my jewelry, including my ring and bracelet that Derek had thoughtfully slipped off and set on my bedside table by my cell phone last night, were already tucked away in my grandmother's jewelry box, ready for transportation. As I continued to pack, Derek sat down on my bed and looked through the box that was still open. I ignored the fact that he was digging through my sets of nail polish and my hair accessories. He picked up a can of hairspray as I started packing up my books. I had more than enough books to fill the entire bookshelf in Derek's room, so I only took my favorites, the ones that I could see myself reading again if I ever got bored enough to do so.

I was about halfway through packing my bedroom when my mom entered the room with two plates. Both of them had sandwiches and a handful of potato chips. She'd even brought up two cans of soda, despite the fact that Derek had brought me a giant one earlier. In the one hour that he'd been here, Derek had taken off his shoes and gotten comfortable on my bed, leaning back against my pillows. It looked like he'd found one of my old photo albums. My grandmother had always had a penchant for photography; she used to tell me stories about when she worked as a news reporter back in the fifties and sixties. Every year on my birthday, she gave me a photo album that starred our family. I had at least five of them, if not a few more, in my bedroom alone. The rest of them were dispersed throughout the house. Derek kept himself preoccupied with flipping through them, smiling to himself and telling me how cute I was when I was eight. When my mom walked in, he dropped the book and jumped up to take the plates. She said something to him, punctuating it with a smile as she set down the soda cans on my desk. She was all smiles right now, but I could tell by the slight redness around her eyes that she was truly upset about me growing up and moving out.

I thought about saying something to her, but she just continued talking to Derek. She and I were alike in the way that when we got nervous and didn't want to let it show, we started talking and talking and talking. It was sort of like a knee-jerk reaction, as if babbling would make people think that we were okay, just fine, completely dandy. She said something else and touched his shoulder lightly. At least she wasn't taking this out on him. She gave me a quick smile before exiting my room. I stood up and brushed my hands off on my jeans. Derek handed me one of the plates and we both perched on my bed. Derek stole chips from my plate while I worked through my sandwich.

Eventually, I was fairly confident that I had packed up everything that I wanted to take with me. And it wasn't like I couldn't come back and grab something if I found out that I'd wanted it and had left it here. Derek carried two boxes down to the Trans Am while I followed behind with one. My mom didn't leave her bedroom, where I was sure that she had locked herself. I had been so sure that she would have come to talk to me before Derek came over, to give me her last few words of advice before I started a new chapter of my life. But she hadn't, and I still couldn't figure out why.

Derek opened up the back door so I could slide my box across the seat. He went to go get the remainder of my boxes and I took the moment to go see my mother. He took the stairs up to my bedroom while I headed in the opposite direction. I knocked on her bedroom door just for courtesy before trying the knob. It was unlocked, so I stepped inside. My mom had the TV on one of those crime dramas that she absolutely loved. The lamp on her bedside table was on, and she was sitting in bed with a binder propped up on her knee. It looked like she was filling out paperwork or something for the shop.

"Mom?" I asked. She looked up, and I could tell underneath her reading glasses that she'd been crying. Or maybe not crying, but her eyes had definitely been watering. I went to the other side of her big bed and climbed up, scooting all the way up to her side. She sighed and set the binder and the paperwork down, reaching up to pull off her reading glasses. She held them in her hands for a moment, looking down at them before setting the frames aside.

She signed, "I know, I'm just being an overdramatic mother. When you told me that you were moving out, I'd already known that it was coming. It's just one of those things that you can see. And I know that you're nineteen and old enough to be moving out. I moved out when I was eighteen, right after graduating high school. I just didn't think it was going to be this sad."

I threw my arm around her, leaning my head on her shoulder. "It's okay, mom. It's just another chapter in my life. It's not like I'm never going to come around ever again." I told her. "You're still my mom, and I'm not going to pretend like nothing existed before I met Derek."

She laughed and wiped a finger under her bottom lashes, catching whatever tears had managed to break free. "I know that, honey, but it's just so… bittersweet." I thought about the fact that my dad had used the same word to describe it. Was it just a parent thing? They raised a little newborn for eighteen plus years and then sent her out to canvass the world. That was what parents usually did. I'd been prepared for them telling me that I couldn't go, but I hadn't expected them to tell me that I could go, only to have them (or, specifically, my mom) cry about it. "Don't worry about it, honey. I'll get over it. You're older than I was when I left home. It's time for you to stretch out your wings and fly." She leaned over to kiss the top of my head and rubbed underneath her eyes again. She sat up a little more and signed, "Are you all packed up?"

"Yeah," I replied, leaning back to give her the room she obviously wanted. I felt a little guilty about this whole ordeal, but she had to know that I wasn't saying goodbye forever. Even if I was leaving home, she was my family, and I would never just leave without giving her a second look. Even though the Aces said that once a woman imprints she's supposed to leave her family, I wasn't going to follow that rule. I hadn't grown up as an Ace. My parents had no idea about Aces or abilities or imprints, and I wasn't going to follow some stupid rule just because someone said I had to. I was going to see my parents as often as I wanted. "Derek's putting all of my boxes in the car." I told her.

She nodded and got up out of her bed. I scooted over to the opposite side and followed her to the kitchen and to the living room. Derek was coming back down the stairs without any boxes; I assumed he'd returned for one last trip to make sure that he had everything. He gave me a bright smile as he saw me waiting at the bottom. He hesitated in his step when he saw my mom, though. Derek wasn't so dense that he couldn't see the fact that my mom was slightly upset about this. If he was that clueless, he could have easily picked the information up from my mind.

He slid an arm around me when he reached the bottom of the stairs. My mom said something to him, and I felt the rumble of his voice as he answered. I looked up at her face in time to see my mom say, "Take care of her, okay?" Derek's mouth was in a straight line and he gave a nod, his hand rubbing up and down my arm. My mom reached out to hug me and I slipped out from Derek's arm to hug her hard. She let go of me and, to my surprise, reached out to give Derek one of her classic mom hugs. Derek had to bend forward a little bit, but he patted her on the back and said something else to her. She nodded, wiping at the fresh wave of tears. I gave her a smile as Derek and I headed for the front door and out to the car.

I'd managed to hold myself together without a lot of thought. I just didn't think that I'd cry over being able to leave. When I was sixteen, I'd wanted to get my driver's license so badly, but my mom said that it was dangerous for me. I wouldn't have been able to hear car horns or police sirens, so she immediately stamped a "not allowed" across it. When I was eighteen, I was sort of ready to start my life. My mom had still held on to me, though, and in the end I didn't really care all that much. In truth, I needed her, because there was no way I was going to be able to cut it on college, and even on the pay that I got for working at her store I would have only been able to pay rent on a crappy apartment at best. She'd taken a step back and given me a little bit of room, but she was still there, hovering.

Now, I was leaving her here and moving elsewhere. I was starting my life, just like I'd wanted. But I'd never imagined how hard it was going to be. Derek walked with me all the way down to the Trans Am, opening the front door so I could slide in. Once he made sure all of my limbs were in the car, he shut it behind me and headed around the front to the driver's side. He slid into his seat and gave me a look that was halfway in between wishing that I wasn't hurting and halfway ecstatic that this day had finally come. I felt the same way as he turned the key in the ignition. Are you okay?

I'm fine. I said back, giving him a smile to back up my words. And I was. I was excited about all of this. But my parents had both been right. It was bittersweet. I turned to look out the window and waved a hand to my mom as Derek put the car in drive and we started rolling down the street. The place was now solely my mom's house. I was going to my new home – it wasn't really the Stantons' house, directly. It was more like wherever Derek was was my home.

And so I was headed home.

# # #

Jack greeted us at the door. I'd already learned the patterns of Derek's family. Robert, Victoria, and Carissa went to work in the morning. Zach headed to school early like Xavier and came back mid-afternoon. Madison was at the high school until it let out at four, and Jack took his mornings off and went to classes at night when he could actually be prompted to show up. As it was, Jack was the only person at the Stanton household when Derek and I pulled up.

My significant parked the Trans Am in the driveway so we could more easily unpack the boxes. Jack joked and teased me while Derek and I started carrying my boxes inside. We set them on the end of his bed, and when all of them were unloaded, Derek went to move the car and Jack sat at Derek's desk while I opened the first box. Derek had shoved all of his shirts to one side of the closet and had obviously bought new hangers. The packages of them were still boxed up, waiting for me to open them. I picked up one of them and tore off the cardboard packaging, pulling out my shirts and methodically hanging them up in color order. My mom had always done her clothes like that, and I guess some habits you just pick up from other people. Jack kept trying to peek in my boxes while I made quick work of hanging up my shirts. Next came my skirts, which Jack pretended to pant after as I slipped them onto the hangers and hung them up and the end of the closet.

Derek had found a dresser that matched the rest of her furniture somewhere. I imagined that he had gone out and gotten it just for me. I would have dumped my underthings into the top drawer, but I couldn't bring myself to do it when Jack was in the room, watching everything that I did. I just stuffed my jeans into the second drawer and my socks into the third. I pulled out a small mirror that lit up and had two sides, one normal and the other magnified. It was so I could put on my makeup. The dresser was just tall enough that the mirror could sit on the top perfectly. My makeup always stayed in its own little bag, which I tucked behind the mirror. I had just reached for my jewelry box to set on top of the dresser when Derek stepped into the room. He'd been gone for nearly thirty minutes. I'd picked up a steady stream of disjointed thoughts, which sometimes happened when I wasn't really focused on him, so I hadn't really worried about him. It looked like he'd been in the kitchen, since he was bringing me a milkshake in a tall plastic cup.

He made a face at his brother as he handed me the glass. He'd even dropped in a bright pink straw that twirled and twisted into funky shapes. I put it to my lips and took a long pull on it before setting it down on the desk. Jack looked down at it, like he was debating on whether or not he wanted to drink after me. I decided to take the rare moment to tease him and said, "I wouldn't drink that if I were you. It would technically be like swapping spit with your brother." Jack made a horrified face. Derek's laughter broke through my mind. Sometimes I thought that I liked his laugh more than I liked his voice – warm and rough, it made my skin tingle. I took another drink of it just to make a point and Jack shook his head, standing up from the desk. He headed towards the door as I turned around to put my jewelry box on top of the dresser. I ran my thumb over the lock as I did. Derek sat down on the edge of the bed, and I took the moment when he wasn't looking to arrange my underthings in the top drawer, doing my best to block the image of them from Derek's mind. Just because he was my significant did not mean that he got to see all of that just yet.

I moved to his bookcase and managed to shove a few romances next to his horrors on the shelf, laughing to myself at the oddity of the whole thing. Once I was sure that my things were in place, I flopped back onto the bed. It was sort of obvious that the side closest to the closet was mine while Derek took he side that was closest to the door. It was unspoken between us, but understood. I closed my eyes, still tired despite the fact that I'd gotten a little bit of sleep on the hammock with Derek last night. I'd just never truly slept well, and after spending a single night with Derek, it was even worse without him there.

I felt him lay back on the mattress with me. I reached out for his hand, intertwining my fingers with his. Take a nap. Madison needs to be picked up by four, but you've got about three and a half hours until then. He said quietly. I'll even set my alarm so we both wake up with enough time to get there.

I was suddenly overwhelmed with sleepiness that I didn't even try to muster the strength to move to curl up into his side. It turned out to not be required, since he rolled towards me, his arm draping over my side, his knees fitting behind mine. I could feel his breath on my hair as our hands stayed clasped together. I felt him moving and figured that he must be setting the alarm on his phone. It didn't take long for us to settle there, and I let my eyes close and drifted off into sleep.

# # #

Derek jerked awake so violently that it scared me. I jumped awake, running my fingers under my eyes to collect any mascara that had smeared during my nap. I ran a hand over my hair and let out a slow yawn. When I'd fallen asleep, I hadn't really expected to sleep for the upside of three hours, but apparently I had. Derek nudged me in the arm even though he could already tell that I was awake. I looked over at him and he gave me a big grin. I'm just saving this memory in the very back of my mind so I can keep it forever. He told me. I snorted in laughter despite the fact that it was one of the most romantic things he'd ever said to me. He started to lean towards me as if he was going to kiss me. I ducked away from him and rolled off the side of the bed, just barely missing him. I gave him a smirk, daring him to come after me, as I slipped my sandals on and ran my brush through my hair, giving myself a good look in my mirror. Derek just laughed before going to lace up his boots, but there was a promise floating over his thoughts: that he was going to get me back for it, eventually.

I grabbed my purse and opened the door, leaning against it. Derek's name was printed, in his handwriting, right across the whiteboard attached to the door. I glanced over at him before reaching for one of the markers in the tray hanging from it. Uncapping the marker, I made an and sign underneath his name and signed my own with flourish. It felt good. Really good. I dropped the marker into the tray and viewed our names together. Derek and Emily. I liked it. It sort of showed who we were, even. His handwriting was strong and manly, all the letters capitalized and quickly written, but the D was larger and slightly curved. My name, written underneath his, was in my messy cursive. Still readable, but much more girly.

Derek took my wrist as he bent forward and pressed a kiss to my cheek, pulling back to grin at our names on the whiteboard before pulling me into the hallway, closing the door behind him. We hurried out to the Trans Am, which was his favorite vehicle aside from his bike. We drove to Derek's old high school in relative silence, only speaking to each other in our minds.

We pulled up in front of the high school where there was some sort of circular drop-off/pick-up lane. Despite the fact that it was nearly four on the dot, we were nearly to the very front of the line. I figured that it was because half of the school had driven their own cars hear and didn't need to be picked up. That would be Madison next year. But as of now, we were her set of wheels. Not that I could really ridicule her for it – I still needed other people to drive me around.

Derek rolled down the front windows and shut off the engine to wait. I leaned back in my seat, closing my eyes. I sort of felt like I had days of sleep to make up for. It didn't take long for my seat to shift a little bit, as if someone were moving next to me. I opened my eyes and caught Derek sliding across the bench seat, abandoning the wheel. A smile crossed my face as I immediately moved to dodge him. He caught me, though, an arm on either side of me on the door, where I'd shifted. He leaned closer to me, balancing on his knee on the seat, leaning above me.

I told you I would get you back. His voice slid through his mind like cold water on a hot day, completely soothing and just what I needed. A slightly evil smile crossed his face. He was definitely feeling a little devious.

"You wouldn't," I challenged, though I couldn't fight the smile threatening to break free. He leaned forward to slowly brush his lips against mine. I reacted, pressing up against him, my hands on his chest. I felt a rumble underneath my palms as our kiss turned from teasing to feverish. He leaned back a little bit, and instead of pulling away I followed him. My hands slid up his neck and into his hair while his fingers gripped my sides almost roughly. Whenever I was with Derek, it was like my world was him and only him. I was hardly even aware of the fact that I was pushing up against him as our mouths moved together. He leaned back, maybe to breathe or to tell me that he needed a moment, but for some reason I could force myself to stop.

As our mouths met again, I realized that I could really feel Derek, like we were one in the same, two halves of a whole. His mind was warm, like a cocoon, spilling out concern and passion and, yes, love. I wondered if he could get a read on me that easily. I was aware of the fact that I was making some sort of sound as Derek leaned into me. I could feel my back pressed against the dashboard of the car, his fingers pressing against bare skin where my shirt had come up about an inch above the waist of my jeans. Derek's mind seemed to suddenly change, almost has if something from the outside world had encroached on us. But he didn't pull away from me, just made a noise that said he couldn't be bothered. After another second, he pulled away from me.

I felt my stomach plummet when I saw why he'd pulled away. Embarrassment flooded over me, staining my cheeks red. Derek took a hold of my chin brought my face to his for a short, light kiss. His thumb brushed against my cheekbone as we both turned to look at his sister standing next to the passenger door, peering in the window. She was smiling, so we couldn't have been in that much trouble. "You two are making a scene," she said. She glanced over her shoulder, and I caught the sight of a bunch of girls tittering together on the sidewalk. There were even some guys leaning nonchalantly against the stone benches, but I could tell that they were amused. "Hey, Derek, you remember Jenny?" He glanced around his sister again, but Madison continued without an answer. "She's pretty much fuming. She's so in love with you." She punctuated her words with a smirk. I rolled away from Derek, back to my seat. He sneered at his sister as Madison laughed, opening up the back door and sliding into the Trans Am.

Let's go home. Home.

# # #

Madison hadn't mentioned the thing at her school to anyone, which I was thankful for. Jack would have a party with it, teasing me until we were so old that we wouldn't be able to remember it anymore. And I definitely didn't want to hear another joke about how Victoria and Robert weren't ready to be grandparents.

Hearing that once was mortifying enough.

Madison had some friends over to use the pool before fall set in and it got too cold. I recognized some of the girls who had been standing with her on the sidewalk when we picked her up from school. I was embarrassed, but Derek wasn't bothered in the least as he and I stretched out on the couch. Jack had just gotten back from his classes and wanted to put in a comedy movie. The Stanton family loved their movies and had a huge collection of them hidden away in the entertainment center's cabinets. It was sort of ironic that out of all the people Derek could have imprinted with, he imprinted with a deaf girl. Movies generally require hearing. Derek had told me that he planned to just put on the subtitles when Madison burst into the room, towel wrapped around her. Her hair was soaked; it looked longer now that all of the curls had been straightened out.

Zach had retreated to his bedroom to study and Carissa had gone out with some of her friends. I had sort of been shocked that she was going out clubbing. It wasn't because she wasn't the type to party, she certainly was one that looked like she'd rather enjoy that scene, but it was because I had no idea what she was going to do at a club. Alcohol was poisonous to Aces, and it wasn't like she could pick up a date at a bar. Well, she could, but it would be completely against the rules. She'd be considered a pariah for doing so. And even though I could tell that Carissa wanted to be able to enjoy life, she wasn't one to cast herself down as a lowlife. She would be just as stingy with the rules as her brother had been before he met me. That left the two boys and Madison, and it looked like she wanted more people to hang out with.

"Do you want to come outside and sit with us?" She signed to me. With one glance out the window, I could see that the two friends that hadn't left yet were looking inside expectantly. I thought I recognized them as girls that had been on the sidewalk and seen me and Derek that afternoon. Since that was embarrassing, I told myself that it was just because they hadn't seen me hanging around before, and I had the feeling that Madison had friends over often. I wasn't sure if there was any rule against Aces having human friends that weren't in the know, but I figured that it was sort of strange that Madison had her friends over. Derek only ever talked about his band mates as friends. Carissa had her fair share of friends but I'd never seen any of them at the house; she'd always gone out to meet them. Zach looked like most of his friends were books (it was kind of cruel, but true) and Jack, the comedian, had never mentioned any buddies. Aces were just so set around family that brothers and sisters and cousins were the basis of friendships. They didn't technically need anyone else.

But Madison and Carissa were both social butterflies, so I guess it made sense.

I glanced up at Derek for a moment. I really didn't want to go hang out with a bunch of sophomore girls who I couldn't hear or understand. I think Madison just wanted to push me into a world outside of my books, my mom's music shop, and Derek. But I wasn't willing to step into it, not yet. With a smile, I said, "No can do. Besides, Derek told me that the blonde one is Jenny, and she looks pretty pissed at me."

Jack, sitting just inside of my peripheral vision, cracked into a fit of laughter. Did everyone know about this poor girl's crush on my significant? Even though I knew Derek found Jenny's crush slightly awkward and completely unappealing, he laughed, too. Madison cracked a grin, and she looked about two seconds from saying something else to me, but Derek stopped her. She rolled her eyes at her older brother and turned away, sashaying back out to the back porch. The two girls sitting outside snapped to attention. With a yawn, I stretched out my arms and said, I think I'm going to go to the room and read a book.

You want me to go in there with you?

What, so you can watch me read? I'm a big girl, you know. Stay here and watch a movie with Jack. I said back, placing a kiss underneath his chin as I got up from the couch and bounded down the hallway. I was just about to push open the door to Derek's – our – bedroom when Zach's door opened. He glanced over at me, and I met his gaze with a smile.

In all my time of knowing him, I hadn't realized how much he and Derek did and didn't look alike. Zach was only one year older than Derek, but in a way he looked like he was the younger brother. His mop of black hair was about the same shade as Derek's, and his green eyes were bright but they lacked my significant's golden hazel flecks. He didn't look babyish, but there was a sort of boyish charm about him. And out of all the Stanton boys, he was the smallest in both height and broadness. I would go so far as to call him slightly bookish. But he was just as handsome as the rest of them, just in a less manly, I-can-beat-you-up way. He and Jack were more alike in their narrower shoulders, but Jack was lanky and tall, maybe even an inch or two taller than Derek. "Hey," I said, giving him a smile.

Zach nodded. He still hadn't said a word directly to me despite the fact that Derek and I had been imprinted for more than a week. I guess he was just the shy type, maybe even overshadowed by his brothers. Jack was all over the place, and Derek had no problem standing on a stage in front of a crowded room. Even his sisters were more socially there than he was, with Carissa on the way to being a miniature socialite and Madison well-adjusted into her own crowd. He stepped past me and into the bathroom. With a slight sigh, I slipped into the bedroom that I now shared with Derek and went to change, pulling on a pair of sleep shorts and a camisole. I was going to have to go to the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth, but I would do that later. For now, I was going to curl up under the covers and read my new book.

I had finished about a third of it when Derek walked into the room. I looked up and caught the grin that was spreading across his face. You have no idea how good it feels to walk in here and see you sitting there. I snorted and reached for my bookmark, shoving it in between the pages and dropping the book onto the bedside table. I didn't have a lamp or a clock, so I'd just laid out my cell phone, my book, and a water bottle.

"Is anybody in the bathroom?"

Not yet. If you don't hurry, though, Madison's going to take a shower and be in there for the next decade.

I crawled across the bed and grabbed my bag of toiletries, darting across the hall. I tied my hair back to the point where it was almost sitting on top of my head, pulling my bangs out of my face so I could wash it. I splashed water onto my face, brushed my teeth, and smoothed moisturizer over my cheeks. I leaned forward to look at the mirror, blinking a little bit at my reflection. In the bathroom light, my hair looked less shiny than it did in the sun, but it was as black as night. My eyes were the same stormy gray as my father's, the outer ring a different shade of dark gray-blue. I'd inherited my mom's slightly darker complexion, but the smattering of freckles across my nose (that were so light they were almost invisible and were virtually undetectable when I wore makeup) were my father's. Derek had told me that the ascension would change me physically; not so much that I would look like a different person, but enough that I would be changed. I let out a heavy sigh and turned to rush back to the bedroom.

Derek was flicking through his closet, wearing only the pajama pants that I'd seen on him before. I'd never seen his bare back before, so I was a little shocked to see the inked black dragon that rested between his shoulder blades. It was hot; extremely hot. I did my best to clear my mind about his tattoo and set my bag down on the desk, going to pass by him and crawl underneath the covers. But I was so focused on the muscles moving on Derek's back as he pulled an undershirt over his head that I missed the fact that my shoe was blocking the way.

And like the graceful ballerina I am, I tripped over it and nearly went tumbling. Derek turned around to catch me immediately, his hands grabbing me around the waist. The skin of our arms touched, and something shot through me. My heart immediately started pounding harder as my veins froze to ice and my skin burned with fire. Where had I felt that before?

Suddenly, I knew. My imprint had felt just like this, but at that time I'd been too blocked by the visions to be able to really feel what it did to me physically. This could only be one thing. The ascension. I was suddenly giddy. This was exactly what Derek had been looking forward to his entire life. He'd just had to find me first. I could feel the excitement coming off from him like it was a tangible, physical thing. It was rolling in waves off of me, too. After this, I would have the chance to see if my hearing could be returned to me. Never mind the fact that I was about to be gifted with some sort of ability.

I had the time to stand there and think about how ironic this all was. Derek and I had met at my mother's shop and imprinted over a five dollar bill, but the first time we'd really touched was when I slipped on a piece of paper and caught me. This time, our ascension came when he caught me after I'd tripped over something. It looked like, for once, my natural clumsiness had worked in my favor.

We held onto each other so tightly that it almost hurt. When we pulled away, I felt different. There was a part of me that felt like something had changed on the outside, but the feeling rested more on the fact that something had changed mentally.

It has. We've ascended. We're more in tune with each other than ever before. Now, we can literally press into each other's minds and look on each other from a distance. We are… we're two parts of a whole, Emily. His voice was warm and excited at the same time. He grabbed a hold of me, and I felt my skin rippling, like he was doing something to me. He pressed his forehead to mine, and I closed my eyes immediately, breathing him in.

He took a step back, and I noticed something different about him physically. He looked slightly taller and a little broader, if that was even possible. He looked a little bit older, his jaw more chiseled. He just looked slightly different. I was supposed to look different, too. I wondered how that had worked out. I had to work to keep myself rooted to the spot and not running to the mirror. Because there was something else that was more pressing at the matter.

I opened my mouth, and Derek stood there, waiting for me to say something. I stood there as still as possible and strained my ears. Derek's clock was electric, so there was no ticking. Neither of us were moving, and I couldn't hear anybody else in the house. I stood there for a moment, closing my eyes. I had to mentally prepare myself for the chance that it hadn't worked, that despite our theories our ascension hadn't actually healed me.

I opened my mouth without any thought as to what I was going to see. Only one word slipped out. "Derek…." I froze, my eyes growing the size of disks. I had heard myself! My heart shot off like I was in a race for my life. "Derek." I said again, with more conviction. A slight smile started up on his face as I stood there, my muscles locked. My voice was sort of how I remembered it from when I was a kid, but it was older, more professional. It was still sweet, though, almost musical.

I think it took me a moment to fully realize it. I moved ever so slightly and gently kicked at my shoe. It skidded across the wooden floor and hit the post on Derek's bed. I'd heard the sound of the rubber on the sole sliding across the floor, the smack as it hit the bedpost. I could hear again!

Just like that, it was like my muscles unlocked. With a scream that I heard, I jumped forward. My arms went around Derek's neck as his arms encased me in a hug. My legs wrapped around his waist as I took a hold of his face. "You healed me, Derek." I said excitedly before planting a kiss right on his lips.

This was a big moment that I wasn't really sure how to write. I wanted suspense, I wanted excitement, I wanted I-can't-believe-that-just happened. Hopefully, I managed to achieve that.

Thank you all for reading, and please do take a moment to leave me a review in the box below. Thanks! Peace (: