Disclaimer: I don't own anything but this plot!

Chapter Two: Pefection

(No, that's not a mistake… you'll understand once you're done reading!)

Hermione was bustling around on light feet, cleaning. Her father was in his bedroom, presumably sleeping. Sebastian was on the couch.

Hermione dusted the mantle, cleaned the bathroom, and had just begun the dishes.

"Hey, Mya, someone's coming," Sebastian stated.

"Okay, hon," she dashed to he door, opening it quietly and peering out.

Derek appeared as if he was posed for a picture. He was mid-sigh with his arm raised, prepared to knock.

"Hey," Hermione smiled. He closed his mouth. "Come in. I'll just take a few minutes." He nodded. "You can sit with Sebastian and watch TV," she offered. He nodded once more and headed for the couch.

Hermione bolted to her room on tiptoes. She dressed in ultra-low rise hip-huggers and a white tee. She expertly lined her eyes with eyeliner, creating a dark, accented look. She placed a clear lip-gloss on her lips, which turned the dark look to one of supposed innocence. She applied a sheer, smoky gray eye shadow and a few sprays of her Vanilla Body spray. She slid on her old heart rind that lost more color each day. With a quick mirror check on her hair, she walked gracefully into the living room.

Her brother, sensing her arrival, turned on the couch, as did Derek. Sebastian just smiled while Derek gazed in utmost awe.

"Sebastian, can you be good or do you want to go to the Carski's?"

"Carski's, please!"

"Okay, come on," she held out her hand. Sebastian got up and took it. "Let's go, Derek."

Hermione led them through the grass to the neighbor's door. She lightly rapped against the hard wood.

The door swung open to reveal a short, plump lady who had some noticeable wrinkles. The lady's eyes sparkled as a smile lit her warm face.

"Hola, señorita. ¿Es Brandon a casa?" Hermione asked, speaking fluent Spanish.

"Sí, un momento," she waddled down the hall.

Sebastian turned to face Hermione. He motioned for her to kneel down to his level. She complied. "You like him," he stated matter-of-factly.

"No, I don't. That's preposterous."

"Sure. Promise me though, you'll be careful. There's something about him," Sebastian eyed Derek over Hermione's shoulder. "I can't place it. He has a lot of… secrets. He's like you."

"And, you can't read me like a book, I know. That scares you in others. I'll be careful, hon. Promise me you'll have fun."

"I will," he laughed.

Brandon jumped around the corner. "Hey! What's up?"

"Hey, you feel like playing with Sebastian?"

"Totally!"

"Cool, you're a rockin' ten-year-old, you know that, Brandon?" she ruffled his hair.

"It's what all the ladies keep telling me!" he laughed.

"Yeah, add me to that list. Anyways, I have to leave. I'm showing the new kid our ropes," she winked.

"Slide down and burn," Sebastian and Brandon said simultaneously. The three cracked a smile at their inside joke. (A/N: You're prolly thinking, what an idiot. I know, I was probably tired when I wrote this. Corny jokes are allowed. It's explained later.)

"Of course," she nudged Sebastian inside. "Have fun you two!" she grinned and left with Derek beside her.

"Slide down and burn?" he queried.

"Yeah, this is such a small town. Everybody knows everybody. It's one of our inside jokes that someone was probably drunk when they thought of it. So, if you slide down a rope, you get burnt. We leave the rest for others to figure out. It's fun and quite entertaining."

"Oh, okay."

Hermione turned onto a dead-end road.

"Where are we going?" Derek wondered.

"The prettiest place in town that only Sebastian and I know the way to."

"Cool."

She led him into the woods, turning here and there at obviously memorized spots. The hidden trail led to a lake surrounded by trees all around. The lake reflected the morning sky with careful perfection. The sun's reflection dragged across the surface, glimmering and winking at its twin above. You could hear the birds tweet and watch the guppies swim in the shallow bank.

"It's beautiful," Derek said softly.

"Yeah," agreed Hermione, "it is."

There was a long and comfortable silence that spread over the area as the teenagers stared at their surroundings.

Derek broke it, "So, there's this water and a pond by the park?"

"Yeah."

"Oh."

"You don't like silence, do you?"

"No, not really."

"Me neither, unless I make it."

"I guess."

"Um… why'd you move here?"

"I had to."

"Okay…."

"What doesn't your brother like about me?"

Hermione could tell a question of this sort had been plaguing his mind. "Can you hear us when we talk?"

"Yes," Derek nodded as if to say, "duh!"

"Mmm…."

"So?"

"I really don't know," she looked at him, disliking the way his incessant stare made her feel. For the first time, she noticed a light gray attempting to shine through his eyes. As fast as she noticed it, it was gone. "He can't, per say, read you. Other people are open books. And then, there's, in his words, you, me, and him. Our eyes are unreadable or filled with so much that it's unidentifiable. (A/N: Yes, there is a difference between unreadable and unidentifiable… I just don't know it… lol.) There is so much on our minds and in our hearts. We aren't as hollow as others, I figure."

"Yeah, a lot. Too much."

"That covers it."

"That's sad!" Derek exclaimed suddenly.

"What is?"

"That 'too much' covers our thoughts. I'd rather have the median or below where you have to explain each one to show amount rather than say 'too much' or anything else."

"I agree, but I'll live with what I have. I'm happy, content. Perfection without the r."

"Pefection?"

"It's not perfect anymore, is it?" she smirked.


Author's note: Okay, sorry it took so long but guess what, I wrote all the way to chapter five. I started chapter six earlier today and after this weeked, I'll have a ton of time to post everything cuz of Christmas break. I'm loving it! This chapter was longer! Thank you to those who did review Chap. 1... do it again please!

Please review! The button and I want you to!

Happy holiday to all.

Love you all,

Heather