Life's Choices
Chapter 36
Finished Project
AN: Thanks for the reviews, hope you enjoy I own nothing. Second part to the Art project.
Penelope finished the drawing she'd done in two days, it had gotten late Friday to finish the other three, but they'd gotten the one she didn't want to do out the way, but afterwards she'd gotten Derek to change his mind about cuffs in the future. She only had one part left to do and that was the paper. She had written it Saturday night, but she wasn't sure if she liked it.
"Hey, what's the matter?" Jamie asked, Penelope was sitting at the kitchen island trying to do the paper over, but she didn't like it even now.
"I'm supposed to write one to two page paper that goes with this, but I can't do it, I don't want Derek to hate me, and I don't know how to do this," Pen said.
"Can I see the drawing?" Jamie asked.
Pen opened the notebook turning it around to let Jamie see it, "It's in four stages, it's supposed to show a struggle or something like that," she said.
"You did great job, Pen, damn I didn't know you'd gotten this good," Jamie said flipping the page, "Wow," the first one had Derek sitting in chair with his hands behind his back cuffed, with the cage's door locked around him, and the last one had him freed from the cage.
"I like that one," Pen said, "When he's free," she said with smile.
"What's the problem, you did great job with this," Jamie said giving the sketches back.
"I know, but I gotta write what it's supposed to be telling illustrate the store, but I can't do that, and I can't ask Derek, I just won't do it," Penelope said, "I'm going to the diner see if Ruth needs some help," she said.
"Penelope just ask him, you never know," Jamie said.
"I'm not going to ask him to do that, no way, I'll just turn the pictures in, I'm going now," Pen said before going to get her stuff for work putting the sketch pad back on her bed.
Derek had left with Desiree and his mom that morning for church like every Sunday and since he'd left she felt like she couldn't do the project any more. She tossed it on the bed with her book and the assignment paper before getting her book bag; she had some chemistry to finish. Nick and Derek had finished theirs and Derek had given her all the answers, but she had to copy the work since the teacher required the work to be shown.
The art project wasn't due till third period the next day she could figure something out at lunch.
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"Where was the wedding?" Jamie teased when Derek walked in the apartment at one that afternoon. He was dressed up with dress pants, shirt and a tie on. She was used to seeing him in regular clothes jeans, t-shirt, and boots or sneakers, he even had on dress shoes which had her smiling, "Where did you put the other you, the seventeen year old that my niece about dies over?" she joked.
"Don't you start too," Derek said, "Where is Penelope at anyways?" he asked.
"Diner, she said she was going to see if Ruth needed some help and finish her chemistry homework," Jamie said, "Got question for you," she said handing Whitney her lunch.
"I didn't do it," Derek said.
"I'm not talking about something bad or anything; I was talking about Penelope's art project, she's been trying to write the paper for it all morning, but she couldn't," Jamie said.
"I thought she finished it last night," Derek said, "She told me she did," he said.
"She put it in you all's room, I was looking at it earlier, and found this in the back the book, it's what she wrote, but she didn't finish it, if she asks I didn't show it to you," Jamie said handing the paper over to Derek before she took Whit over to the living room table so they could watch the movie and eat.
Derek went to the bedroom he was sharing with Penelope and after he changed into more comfortable clothes he sat down at desk that was in their room. The first page was all she had the rest she'd put huge x through, but Derek could read it. He had picked up her art book and notebook finding the assignment list, and at the bottom of the page had a note about entering the art to win a scholarship for thousand dollars to Northwestern University.
He knew she wanted to work with computers, but she was excellent artist, and the scholarship could be used for class, or books. He wasn't letting her pass this up; he just didn't know why she hadn't done it. Derek went over picking up the phone calling Nick, he had the same art class maybe he could help him with this.
After talking to Nick, Derek figured out where Penelope had faltered, he took the papers, and the drawings and went up stairs, he knew that Jeff had the day off and the paper had to be typed up and sent in professionally so he needed to borrow the computer they had. It had belonged to Melody but she'd gotten another one leaving this one behind and Ruth had no use for it. It didn't have internet, but it had the word program that he needed to type the paper up.
He wasn't going to tell Penelope yet, he knew that she'd be pissed at him, but she deserved to have this opportunity. It was about him, and he knew she was having trouble writing the paper, but she'd chosen this, and he'd finally given in he knew he was her hero. Even if it didn't feel like he was a hero.
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Penelope was sitting in the diner finishing her Chemistry when Derek came in with Nick and his dad Lee with them. The three of them sat down, Derek beside Pen and Nick and Lee on the other side the table.
"Hey, you not finished yet?" Nick asked.
"No I've been doing that art thing all weekend," Penelope said, "What you been doing?" she asked.
"Same thing mostly, hanging out with dad too," Nick said.
"They were coming in when I was so told them they could join us," Derek said, "Think you can break for some dinner?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm starving, Cameron's working and he was back there I swear he was insane or something, he brought me a plate full vegetables and fruit like hour ago, he's driving me insane, told me he was told I had to eat it, ha," Penelope said.
"Did you eat it?" Derek asked her.
"What do you think?" Pen asked, "He stood there till I started eating it, but I only ate the fruit," she said.
"Baby girl, do I have to dip them in chocolate or something?" Derek asked her.
"You're the one that told him to make me eat?" she asked, "I should kick your ass right here," she replied.
"Damn you are abusive," Lee said looking at her.
"That's their normal banter, she loves to be spanked though," Nick said with laugh before Pen glared at him.
"You keep talking Nick Wells and you won't be having kids, and you tell Cameron to make me eat again, you will be having blue balls for month, because you won't be getting any," Penelope said.
"I was going to say the same thing about you, baby girl, because…" Derek started before moving to whisper in her ear, "I'm spanking you tonight for that stunt you pulled, the art project," he said.
"I didn't do anything," Penelope said.
"He called me today, why didn't you tell him about the scholarship offer?" Nick asked.
"What you talking about I don't know…"
"I found the paper, baby girl, you been bad girl again, but don't worry I'll fix that later," Derek said with grin before giving her a kiss. Nick had told him to just tell her, since he had said he was going to put the paper and drawings into the contest.
"Nick, I told you not to tell him, and you said you wouldn't," Pen said.
"No, I said sure whatever you say," Nick said, "He's not mad at you, why would he be mad at you for thinking of him as your hero?" he asked.
"Its long story, before you got to town," Pen said, "We need have a talk about privacy later," she said.
"Well it was about me, so I got full access to it, and seeing as how you were going to throw it away I turned it in," Derek said.
"It's Sunday the schools not open, mail don't run, you got no way of sending it off or turning it in," Penelope said.
"Mr. Hanes is friend my dad's remember," Nick said with smile.
"That's why you three are together, come tomorrow morning I'm going to see him and get it back," Pen said.
"Sorry, but I had talk with him, I told him that you can't have it back, that I'm entering it, for you, since you wouldn't," Derek said, "And when we get in the apartment we're having a talk," he added, "I'm going to see if Cameron needs some help, love you baby girl," Derek said giving her a kiss.
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Penelope was lying on the bed when Derek walked into their bedroom, she knew that the project had been about him, but she wasn't going to put certain things in it, but since she didn't know what he'd gone and done she didn't know what it was like now.
"You can't just go and turn my…"
"It wasn't trash, I read what you had, Sunshine, it was great, sure writing that down wasn't something I ever wanted to do, and I didn't do the graphic shit, I kept it simple, but you should have just asked me, I wouldn't have gotten mad at you," Derek said.
"It's not for me to say, I should have just gone with…"
"Would you stop and listen to me, Pen," Derek said, "I'm not mad at you, if I hadn't wanted to do it I wouldn't have gave your teacher that, I got Jeff make a copy and I was going to give it to you, but since you want to yell at me, you don't get to see," he said, "I'm going to sleep, I gotta help Ruth in the morning before school," he said.
"Derek, I'm sorry, I just didn't want to spread it all over the world, it's not mine to share, it's yours," Penelope said.
"I know that, but the way I see it, I got two options here, bury it inside me and forget it ever happened, or use it and let it make me a better person," Derek said.
"You are that person, you are my best friend, and you are my hero, Derek, that's why I did that project on you, I just could turn the essay in on it for the contest, because it's not mine to share, and I didn't want you to get mad at me," Penelope said.
"I never told you this, but month after you killed him, they tied him to this murder a year before," Derek said, "I found that kid there, and he did it, he killed that boy," he said.
"What kid?" Pen asked.
"Vacant lot near the apartments, I was going home from school with friend, back before we weren't friends any more, found this kid's body two years back, Jeff told me today, Buford killed him, I always wondered, they still can't find out who he was, but at least I know why that kid died," Derek said.
"You never told me," she said.
"I thought with your snooping skills you would have been trying to find out about stuff," Derek said, "I mean you hacked into Jeff's computer down at the station and went through my damn record, you are becoming a mins you know that," Derek said with smile before he kissed her moving his hand up to her bottom before he spanked her.
"Hey," Pen yelled out pulling away, "What you do that for?"
"You printed the damn thing off, Jeff saw the print job on his computer, you better be lucky that nobody else saw it or I would spank your ass good," Derek said, "That is not for you," he added.
"What you going to do about it, hot stuff, you going to spank me some more, because you know I enjoy that," Pen said.
"I'll do this," Derek said before he picked her up off the bed moving to the wall beside the desk, "You're getting a time out," he teased before spanking her couple more times, "You keep hacking into stuff and you will find yourself in this position more often," he said moving away from her.
"Hey, you leave me and I will…" she started but Derek moved back to her pushing her skirt up before sliding a finger in her see if she was wet, "Derek," She moaned out before he replaced his finger with his erection thrusting into her.
"You going to hack again?" he asked.
"No," Pen said with giggle.
"You going to be bad again?" he asked which was followed by a yes, "You get yourself into trouble with this and I will do this again," Derek said, "But I want be doing you, I'll just spank you," he added before bring his hand down, he knew she liked it, it wasn't real punishment, but the noises she made turned him on, he'd made her face the wall looking at it.
"I promise I won't get caught, please, don't stop," she moaned out.
"You hack again and you will be going without do you understand me?" Derek asked.
"Yes, I do," she moaned.
"You swear you won't?" Derek asked her.
"I swear, I won't hack again unless I have to," She added at the end knowing that Derek was trying to look out for her, but his type of punishment wasn't punishment, it made her wet as hell. She moved back against him as he spanked her again.
"NEVER," Derek growled into her ear before the both came.
TBC
AN: hope you enjoyed, and Pen's already becoming a bad girl hacking, good thing that Derek's keeping her on the straight and narrow.