A new chapter. Dudes, I am as freaking shocked as you are.
Natives - blink-182
Chloe POV
"We're moving!" Kit's voice rang out cheerfully in the cramped motel room. All heads snapped up, all ears craned towards the source, straining to hear more. Everyone was in there, all previously focused on their own tasks.
"What?" Tori voiced harshly, her tone demanding immediate clarification.
"I said, we're moving!" Kit declared again.
"And this something to shout about," she said sarcastically.
"Well, we're not just moving," Kit said enthusiastically.
"Oh?" Simon called from another end of the room.
"We're getting a permanent residence!" he exclaimed.
"Oh dear god," I said to myself, closing my eyes and putting my hand to my face, imagining the kind of havoc we'd wreak on a permanent home. I looked up and met Derek's eyes, and saw that he was thinking the same thing. The kind of shit we'd put the adults through…
"Pack your bags, everybody. For the last time!" Kit called in happiness. I stood up from where I'd been sitting against the sofa. I stretched briefly, and then walked over to the closet. Tori had beaten me to it, and she was already taking down all her clothes and her suitcase. I worked around her, making sure that I got every last bit of my stuff down.
I tossed it all on to the bed that Simon had previously occupied, and dragged my suitcase out from the corner. I stuffed everything in there, not that there was really much. When I zipped it shut, I plopped on top of it and observed the remaining occupants of the room.
The guys had all left for their room next door, leaving the girls alone in here. Aunt Lauren was working on her own stuff, though she had kept most of it inside her suitcase, leaving her with little to do. Tori, somehow managing to have a seemingly enormous array of clothing, despite our situation, was appraising her sole suitcase contemptuously, doubting its ability to retain her collection. Rolling my eyes, I left the room and knocked on the guy's door.
When Derek answered, I grinned internally. I grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him down to my level.
"Done packing yet?" I murmured in his ear, to which he nodded almost frantically. I smiled.
"Meet me in the lounge in 5 minutes." I released his shirt, and for all his grace, he nearly stumbled backwards, shutting the door as he went.
I exited the hallway and flew down the stairs, and followed the yellowing plastic placard's arrow indicating the lounge. It was currently vacated, thankfully. There were some chairs arranged around tables, and I picked one at the farthest corner from the door. This meeting, despite our horny teenage minds, was going to be business only, or so I intended.
When Derek finally arrived, I had been waiting a total of 3 and a half minutes. He scanned the room quickly and made his way over to me, wasting no time. I hopped down from my perch on the table. When he bent over to try and kiss me, I put a hand on his chest, stopping him. He gave me a reproachful look, and I had to hide my smile.
"Just business. We don't have a ton of time." He then took his seat in his chair, and I, mine. "Alright. I officially call this meeting of SASDOBKA to order. First order of business: the move. So according to Kit, we're moving to a permanent residence, am I right?" Derek nodded dutifully.
"Alright. Did Kit disclose where we're moving?" A headshake from Derek.
"Did Kit disclose where we're getting the money for this move?" A frown, then another headshake from Derek.
"Well then. What do you propose the motive is for this sudden, hastily decided move?" I could see the wheels inside my werewolf's head turning; adding up, computing, analyzing, completing.
"My best guess would be that a sudden event occurred that convinced either one or both of them that a move is necessary. I'd wager that the event occurred in the last 24 hours."
"And what might that event be?" Derek shrugged.
"To be honest, it could be anything from an Edison Group attempt on their lives to them receiving the shopping bill from this past December."
I sighed. Aunt Lauren had been an unstoppable force of nature this past Christmas. I wouldn't be surprised if the bill had been astronomical. Kit probably had to put his wallet on life support.
"Well, moving on to the second order of business: our pranking. How do you predict this move will affect us?" Derek cocked his head to the side, the beginnings of an evil smirk appearing on his face.
"How do you think this move will affect us?" he asked me, a chuckle permeating his voice.
"I think it'll give us the perfect opportunity to give them even more hell," I confided, leaning in close to him from across the table. Derek's smile was reminiscent of the Cheshire cat's.
"That's my girl," he told me. I raised an eyebrow.
"Who said I was your girl?"
"Oh, you're mine. Trust me."
"Why should I trust you?" I asked coyly, looking up at him. His verdant eyes darkened dangerously, and he moved closer.
"I can think of a few reasons," he murmured just before his lips touched mine.
Tori POV
"Can we freaking leave now?!" I yelled from the backseat of the car. Kit and Lauren had been arguing in the front for at least 20 minutes about the best way to reach our destination. She had a map in hand and was tracing a route on it, while Kit was shaking his head vehemently and indicating a route the GPS had shown him.
"Tori, watch your mouth!" Lauren snapped at me, already turning her head back to argue with Kit again. I opened my mouth to add something, but something nudged me from behind. I turned around to see Chloe mouthing the words, leave it. I scowled, and was about to turn back around when Chloe added, she's PMS'ing. Eyes widening, I nodded quickly and turned back around. Lauren was bad enough even when mother nature wasn't influencing her moods.
Finally, someone won the argument (I think it was Lauren, after she whacked Kit in the head with the map) and the car started. We exited the parking lot and found the freeway. Then the real fun began.
Driving. And driving. And more driving. Even more driving. You get the point. Lots of driving. We passed forests and deserts and mountains and valleys and cities and farms and- shit. You get the point. Again. We stopped a couple times, when Derek's stomach rumbling was audible even over the roar of the engine. It was well in to the evening by the time we stopped for dinner and a rest. Lauren pulled in to a 24 hour diner near a truck stop. Quite honestly, other than the fact that we were somewhere west of Texas, I had no idea where we were.
I got out of the car first, moaning a bit as I stretched my cramped muscles. Simon hopped off the edge of the car, blinking blearily as he took in the scenery. Derek popped the seat forward and let Chloe out first, then swung out himself. We stood in the scarcely lit parking lot for a moment more, then scurried towards the restaurant where Lauren was holding the door open, calling for us to come over.
The adults had picked a large booth in the corner of the room, and we all slid on to the cracked plastic after them. A waitress came by after a minute, snapping her gum loudly and asking for drink orders. When she got them, she walked away, heels clicking sharply on the peeling linoleum.
Heads rested on hands through most of the meal, and Simon and Chloe's eyelids were drooping by the time we finished. I snorted that Derek was going to have to carry the both of them out to the car, and Chloe shot me a venomous, albeit sleepy look.
We trudged out to the car after paying, knowing it was going to be another uncomfortable night in the car. As I opened the door to my prison for the evening, I heard Chloe ask Lauren a question. Lauren murmured something to her, and then called me over. Sighing exasperatedly, I turned.
"Chloe has to use the restroom. Can you go with her?" Lauren asked me.
"She's a big girl, she can go by herself," I responded icily. Lauren glared at me.
"She's not going alone. Now, go." I sighed exaggeratedly, and gestured for Chloe to lead the way.
Her footsteps were quiet on the ground, and I slunk behind her, secretly glad that I didn't have to climb in to that hellhole of a car yet. As we reached the bathroom, Chloe looked behind her surreptitiously, then suddenly grabbed my wrist with surprising strength and yanked me inside, all previous pretense of tiredness now abandoned.
"God, Chloe, what the hell?" I sputtered as she pushed me inside and locked the door. She whirled around and made the shush motion with her hand.
"Look, we don't have much time, so shut up and listen for a minute, okay?" I scowled and opened my mouth, but, surprising me, she slapped her hand over it. "No. Just listen." Eyes wide, I nodded my submission to this newly aggressive Chloe.
"Okay. I don't even need to ask you whether you're good with breaking this stupid ban, right?" I nodded. To be honest, I had forgotten about that thing.
"Fine. I figured that you should know that when we get to our new house, all hell's gonna break loose. I mean, no holding back on the pranking. Derek and I are going full force. I figured you and Simon should know too. Give Lauren and Kit hell, alright?" The urgency in her voice demanded a response from me, so I nodded rapidly, her hand still covering my mouth.
"Good. Glad we cleared that up. Let's go." With that, she turned and unlocked the door, then held it open for me. I walked through, and she let it slam behind me.
I arranged my face in a neutral expression as we walked back, though inside I was reeling at both Chloe's attitude, and the fact that she was actually giving me a fair chance at this, considering all the shit I'd pulled on her this past year. Lauren waved us in to the car, and we found that both Derek and Simon were already half-asleep.
Thus began another long night of sleeping in the car. Kit cracked the windows so we wouldn't die of suffocation, but it still felt stuffy. At first, Chloe and Derek lay in the backseat, cuddled up together, sleeping, but when Lauren noticed, she got her prude on. She indicated for me to shake Chloe's shoulder until she woke up. After a minute, she did, blinking tiredly.
"Get out of the backseat," Lauren told her, and Chloe frowned.
"Why? It's not like we're doing anything-"
"Now," she snapped, point-blank.
"Fine, fine," Chloe muttered, clambering over Derek's sleeping body in to the middle seat. "But there's hardly any room here." Lauren roller her eyes, and then leaned between the divider.
"Simon," Lauren said quietly, reaching back to shake his shoulder. But just before her hand touched him, his brow crinkled, and murmuring sleepily, he rolled over on to his side, just out of her reach. Muttering exasperatedly to herself, Lauren leaned over farther in to the middle seat and tried to shake him again, but again he rolled over. Now he was on his stomach, and a loud snore coming from beneath him indicated that he was completely out, with no hint of a trick going on.
"Ugh! Tori, just get in the back," Lauren told me, fed up with trying to wake Simon
"Ew! Uh, hell no!" I told her. She glared at me.
"Don't use that kind of language. I told you to get in the back, so get in the back!" I looked towards the front, where Kit had been, but I noted that he was gone. Probably for a late night dump. Damn, there went my defense. Giving Lauren the most acidic look I could muster, I swung in to the backseat.
Cringing at my sleeping partner for the evening, I tried to make myself comfortable on the small strip of seat left for me. Chloe was definitely better suited for this. After failing at that, I had no choice but to move on to the floor of the car.
"God, that's disgusting," I muttered, flicking away a fallen piece of bread, now hard as a rock, doubtless from one of the many burgers that had been eaten lately. I rolled over countless times, finding no comfortable spot for my long form to fit. Finally, I laid on my back and stared at the ceiling, absolutely sure that I would get no sleep that night.
Sometime later that night, I had no way of telling when, I got frustrated. I needed sleep badly, and that asshat right behind me had the entire seat to himself. I was seriously pissed off.
Sitting up, I noticed that Derek had turned over, and his back now faced the seat. With a bit of maneuvering, I was sure I could squeeze behind him and force my way on to the cushioned seat. Carefully, I climbed over him and wedged my body between his back and the seat. Slowly, he began sliding towards the edge, and finally I felt my side hit the cushion. I gave a silent victory cheer in my mind and closed my eyes, confident that I would finally get some sleep.
Hours later, I felt myself beginning to wake up. I came to slowly, receiving individual senses separately. Hearing came first. I heard Kit and Lauren in the front seat, talking quietly. I heard the engine, and the wind against the car. Next was taste. Morning breath. Yum. Then, scent. My nose crinkled as I sniffed the air. Soap, from clothing, the upholstery, and a slight hint of B.O. After scent, touch. As I regained feeling around my body, I sensed a pressure all along my side and back, along with heat. I frowned lightly; why did I feel that? Then, wait. A light breeze on my shoulder. Okay, time for sight.
I opened my eyes abruptly, and saw the back of the seat. I turned my head slightly back the other way, trying to see what was causing the pressure.
Oh. My. God.
The sleeping face of Derek Souza was nestled in to my shoulder, his body flush against my backside, his arm draped down my side.
I couldn't help it. I screamed.
Chaos erupted in the car. Derek awoke with a snort, saw the position he was in, and scrambled backwards as quickly as he could, gagging and managing an, "Oh, my God!" He tumbled over the seat divider, and fell straight on top of Simon, who awoke with a yell. Kit, when he first heard my scream, reacted with an enormous jerk on the steering wheel. The car swerved violently sideways, caught on the barrier at the edge of the freeway, and spun out. The motion caused Chloe to awake, startled, and Derek, already off balance from his fall, rolled right on top of her. Simon sat up, continuing to yell once he noticed the motion of the car, and grabbed a hold of the headrest on Lauren's seat. I just sat in the backseat, eyes wide open, disbelieving of what was occurring.
"What the hell happened?!" Kit yelled once the car stopped moving. Everyone was now wide awake, looking around, wondering what had happened as well. I continued to sit there, thinking about what had just happened.
I had woken up. I had waited to open my eyes. I felt something. I opened my eyes. I was spooning with Chloe's boyfriend.
I felt an awful churning in my stomach, and suddenly felt dizzy. After another moment, I knew what was about to happen.
"Move it! Out of my way!" I scrambled over the seat divider and wrenched open the door, Simon nearly tumbling out with me. I thanked God that I had picked the door next to the freeway divider, instead of the one that opened in to oncoming traffic. I managed the couple steps to get to the dirt side, hand clapped over my mouth, and then I deposited the contents of my stomach on the ground. I heaved for a couple minutes, unable to rid myself of the feeling of spooning with freaking Souza. Every time my mind conjured an image of his face, I retched again.
I heard someone get out of the car and approach, but I waved them off violently. "Go!" I commanded. I could hear some cars starting to stop and people coming over, trying to see what had happened and if anyone was hurt. When there was nothing left to come up, I straightened out, wiping my face on my t-shirt. Chloe was standing a few meters away, obviously ignoring my previous command. She tossed me a water bottle, and I accepted it gratefully. I rinsed out my mouth and spat on the ground.
"You okay?" she asked, coming over to stand next to me. "What happened?" I just shook my head. Frowning slightly, she guided me back to the car.
I climbed inside again, purposefully avoiding looking at the spawn of Satan now sitting in the middle seat. Lauren was sitting in the front, looking shell shocked, asking the boys if they were okay. Kit was around front, checking the damage on the front fender. As I climbed in behind Chloe, Lauren turned to look at me.
"What happened?" she asked. I frowned.
"Got sick."
"Why did you scream?"
"I, uh, saw a bunny. Trying to cross the road." Lauren frowned at my weak excuse, but didn't comment. I turned my head to face the window as Kit got back in the car.
"We're all good out front. It was just a small dent, thank God." He turned the key in the ignition, and it came to life quickly, rumbling underneath our feet. "All systems are go."
As we continued on our merry little way, I retreated to the farthest corner of the backseat, hugging myself, trying as hard as I could to forget everything that had happened since I woke up.
Chloe POV
When we finally arrived at our destination, we had been driving for what felt like years. As we pulled up to the house, I took in the scenery. Or, moreover, the lack thereof.
"Here we are!" Kit called, waking up anyone in the car who could have possibly been sleeping.
"Why are we in the middle of freaking nowhere?" Tori drawled, sprawled across her seat, a foul look on her face as she lobbed the question at the adults. Lauren didn't even have the energy to give her a reprimanding look, but just said, "Montana." Tori cocked an eyebrow, and snorting, turned to face out the window. The car slowed to a stop in the driveway, and I was the first one out of the stuffy car.
"Thank God, fresh air!" I said as I took in several deep breaths. Some of the people in the car were in serious need of a shower. But then again, we hadn't really been given the opportunity or the luxury. I faced the house apprehensively: I had never seen it before in my life.
"So, whose house is this?" I asked Aunt Lauren, and she smiled tiredly at me.
"The house used to belong to an old friend of mine and his wife, but both were killed in a tragic fire in the barn years ago. I contacted my friend's daughter, and she said it'd be alright for us to stay here for a while.
"What about rent?" I asked her, and she shrugged, smiling.
"She said we could stay for a very small sum of money per month."
Through the next couple of hours, I could see why. The house… was terrible. The indoor plumbing sucked so bad, it was like it almost didn't exist. However, there was a convenient well that we could use for… everything else. I felt like I'd been thrown back in to the 1700's. The décor, however, was tastefully 70's, and created a nice atmosphere in the place. Yeah, right. Much to our surprise, however, the home had been fitted with solar panels recently, and being paid off, we had energy at no charge. What we could use that energy for, though, was beyond me. The only thing we paid was the plumbing, as apparently the plot of land had been in the family for almost a century.
"What. The. Frick," Tori declared eloquently, plopping back on the queen bed, sending up a huge cloud of dust as she did so. She and I had unwisely been marked to share a room, considering our history of a strained relationship. I shrugged as I continued to put my stuff away in the closet.
"It's not that bad. I mean, on the bright side, we have electricity."
"No, not that. There's just a huge-ass spider in the corner glaring right at me."
I sighed and continued to unpack. When I had gotten all my stuff put away, I went out and looked for Derek. As I walked around the old, creaky house, I peeked in to cobweb-encrusted rooms and musty, stale-smelling closets. I frowned to myself - when was the last time this house had been inspected? Hell, when was the last time this house had seen Lysol?
I finally found Derek outside, standing in the middle of the weedy, overgrown garden. The wind was cold against my face, and despite the fact that it was 2 in the afternoon, there was frost on the grass. I approached him, knowing he heard me the minute I opened the door to outside.
"What do you think of the house?" I asked him, wrapping my arm around his waist. He raised one shoulder.
"It's okay, I s'pose. But you're never gonna guess what I found out here."
"What?"
"It's this little trail. It leads a ways out in to the woods, and at the end of it there was this clearing. It was the strangest thing- there were a bunch of pieces of wood sticking out of the ground, and they all had names inscribed on them, and-"
"Derek, do you think I don't recognize Stephen King when I hear it?" He caught my eyes at this point and grinned wryly, bending down to kiss my forehead.
"You caught me. Not that I didn't expect you to understand the reference within the first sentence."
"Please. A path in the backyard of an old house, leading out in to the woods in to a cemetery? Hardly the most original plot development ever. King, however, would be proud to hear you use the reference with the wonderful opportunity given to you. But God, did he roll in his grave when they cast that absolute moron to play-" Derek stopped me mid-sentence with a hand to my mouth, his eyes widening.
"Did you hear that?" he murmured insistently, to which I rolled my eyes.
"Again, please. I've directed this crap. And, if I may, your grip on me should be more insistent, hinting at the danger to come. But then again, if I were a terrified heroine, I'd be-"
"No, seriously! Did you hear that?" I shut up for a moment, listening carefully. I was about to sigh exasperatedly and continue to tell Derek off, when I heard a faint wailing. I furrowed my brow and cocked my head to the side, listening harder. The noise grew imperceptibly louder, and I shot an alarmed look at Derek. He narrowed his eyes in concentration, listening, waiting…
"BOO!" Simon screamed, jumping on my back. I screamed even louder than him and flipped out, falling on to my face and managing to kick him in the nuts simultaneously.
"Simon, what the hell?!" I screeched, dragging myself forward on my forearms and rolling in to a sitting position. He merely gasped for breath and went prone on the floor, caterpillaring his body as he gripped his doubtless aching crown jewels. Derek just merely shook his head at his idiotic brother. I rolled my eyes, and as I did, I caught sight of Tori hanging halfway out our bedroom window. We locked eyes, and then she quickly disappeared back inside the room, slamming the window shut.
"Found the unearthly wail," I muttered under my breath, climbing to my feet. I nudged Derek, indicating that he should follow me. We left Simon writhing on the floor, ignoring his moans. I paused, realizing something.
"You could hear Simon sneaking up on us the whole time," I accused, eyes narrowing. Derek backpedaled, hands coming up, fighting furiously for speech.
"No, no, I didn't hear him, I couldn't- I mean,"
"DEREK SOUZA, YOU LYING, SCHEMING BASTARD!" I screamed at him, hands curling in to fists at my sides. "YOU CAN JUST GO STRAIGHT TO HELL AND ROT THERE,GODDAMMIT!" I turned and stormed away, heading back inside the house. I passed the kitchen, where Aunt Lauren was beginning to make dinner.
"That's right, you tell him Hun!" she told me proudly.
"SHUT UP!" I yelled at her, heading back up to my room, seething with rage and fickle teenage hormones. I didn't even register her shocked gasp, much less the thump that quickly followed, presumably her hitting the floor in a dead faint.
I walked in to the room I shared with Tori and slammed the door loudly, huffing a sigh and plopping on to my side of the bed.
"I heard you yelling at-"
"YOU SHUT UP TOO!" I screamed at her, but she took no notice.
"Just wanted to let you know that Derek deserved that. I watched Simon sneak up on you from when he first stepped outside."
"But weren't you making that wailing sound?"
"Nope. That was Simon."
"Huh. I totally thought you were in on that."
"Nu uh."
There was a period of silence that was neither awkward nor companionable. It was odd, to say the least.
"You know, I'm pissed enough at Derek and Simon right now that I'm willing to prank them both."
"Is that so?"
I sighed. There was no beating around the bush on this one.
"Do you, you know, wanna do a… prank? With me? Against them?"
Tori sighed and set aside the magazine I hadn't noticed she'd been reading. "Sure, why not. It'd break the monotony. Got any ideas?"
"Actually, yes."
Simon POV
I wandered in to the kitchen around 6 o' clock, hurtin' for some food in my stomach.
"Lauren, what's for-" I stopped dead in my tracks. Upon the table was the most succulent, juicy-looking ham I had ever seen in my entire life. I approached it cautiously, then walked around the counter, examining it from all sides. The sides glistened, and I could see steam rising off of it, indicating that it was fresh out of the oven. I hardly took notice of the other food items on the counter, which seemed dim and tasteless in light of the amazing piece of meat in front of me.
I sniffed delicately over the ham, wafting the scent towards me, absorbing it the way one does a fine wine. It smelled positively divine, as though it were ambrosia. I surreptitiously glanced around the kitchen, ensuring that I was alone. I leaned in very close to the ham, and took a quick lick. The flavor exploded in to my mouth, and I was brought to my knees from the extraordinary flavor of it.
"Mother of God," I murmured, eyes screwed shut, disbelieving that anything could taste as good as that freaking ham. I curled in to a ball, barely restraining myself from pouncing on to the table and devouring that sucker in one enormous gulp.
"Simon, what are you doing?" I heard a voice ask, and I scrambled up from the floor, looking around frantically. I caught sight of Lauren coming in through the connecting door from the dining room. I grinned sheepishly and my hand went to the back of my head.
"Just, uh, checking the floor for ants! Can't have any ants getting to the food in here!"
"Simon, it's the dead of winter."
"Still, what if there were ants? What would happen to the food then? Wow, gee, look at the time, I'm gonna-" I left my sentence in midair, racing out the swinging door and ignoring the strange look Lauren had given me on the way out.
I stopped at the wall next to the stairwell and put a hand to my chest to calm my racing heart. That was a close one,I thought to myself, shaking my head to rid myself of anymore sinful ham-related thoughts. Later, I consoled my rumbling stomach. Our time will come, and nobody, including Lauren, will be able to stop us.
Derek POV
To celebrate our moving in to our first permanent (for any length of time) house, Lauren prepared a magnificent dinner of a ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, and green beans. We commenced our meal at a quarter past 6, gathered around our new "family table," as Kit so eloquently dubbed it. The room was lit by the candles on the table and all around the room, and gave it a very welcoming, happy feel. So, to sum it up, my evening was going great: good food, good atmosphere, just feeling good in general. Ignoring the argument (or rather, 5 second screaming match) I'd had earlier with Chloe, it was a pretty good way to start my first day in the new house.
After dinner, I retired to the room I shared with Simon. He was currently downstairs, enjoying a game of Parcheesi with my father. I reclined on my bed, planning on relaxing with a book for a while. There was no use going to talk to Chloe this soon after fighting: I was fairly certain it was that time of the month again.
I had barely gotten past the first page in a new novel I was anxious to start in on when the door to my room slammed open. I looked up to see Chloe standing in the doorway.
"Derek, I-" she began.
"Hm?" I asked, prompting her to go on. She scowled at me, taking it as an interruption.
"I just wanted to ask you…" Her sentence drifted off, and she just stood there for another minute, hands twisting uneasily in front of her. Her mouth was twisted downwards, and there was an overtone of almost, nervousness in her eyes. I tilted my head to the side, beginning to get concerned for her. I set my book aside and leaned forward.
"Chloe?" I asked, and she jumped, startled out of her silence.
"Oh! Sorry. Erm, I was just, uh, never mind. I, um, I wanted to know whether you had a, a, um, a book." I sat back, now confused.
"You want to know… whether I have a book?" She waved her hands in front of her, shaking her head.
"No, no. Not just any book. A book on, uh, necromancer stuff, that I could, uh, borrow." I nodded cautiously, still curious at her sudden change in attitude.
"Yeah, I guess I do. Why the sudden change in attitude, though?" I asked as I got up, going to my box containing the rather small remnant of the collection of books I'd had before. I looked up in time to catch her grimace.
"Well, I just, uh, I guess I shouldn't have said some of that. I was just kinda pissed, and well, it's that time-"
"Anything on necromancy in particular?" I asked, purposely cutting her off. She looked relieved, but then the anxiousness came back.
"Well, uhm, ghosts." The last part was said so quietly that without my werewolf hearing, I'd have been unable to hear her. I cocked my head to the side as I looked at her, eyes narrowing. I handed over the asked-for book, frowning.
"Any reason in particular?"
"Nope, just, uh, normal curiosity stuff kaythanksbye." She was out of the room so fast, only the whirling dust devils left in her wake gave me any indication that she'd been there at all. My brow furrowed even more, and I leaned out of my doorway just in time to see the white of her tennis shoe disappear up the stairwell. I shook my head to myself and laid back down, recommencing the reading of my book, but finding it unable to hold my interest for very long.
Later that night, I was readying myself for bed, selecting the thick flannel pajamas. I could see the beginnings of snow outside and shivered to myself.
"You want the bed tonight, or what?" I asked Simon, who shrugged.
"Bed I guess. You sure you don't just wanna share?" I looked dubiously down at the twin bed in question, and shook my head.
"Nah bro, I'm sure. Night." I flicked off the light switch and made myself comfy on the pile of blankets on the floor. None of the other rooms had been deemed healthy to stay in for more than 30 seconds, let alone overnight, so it was the floor for me that night.
I laid awake for a few hours, unable to get to sleep. I tried counting sheep, not that that ever works, and (not surprisingly) found myself awake after 400. I tried mentally reciting the periodic table, but got stuck after radium. I then attempted to translate the United States Constitution in to French, and was on the second article when I heard a strange noise echo through the house. Eyes closed, I tried to identify the source. It had sounded like it came from above me, and my mind jumped to the girls' room before writing it off: they were doubtless sleeping by now. What else was up there…?
I nearly jumped out of my skin as I heard a loud thump. Maybe they weren't asleep. Silently, I rose from my Derek nest and crept towards the door. I opened it slowly, and when I caught sight of a shape behind it, I jumped backwards, my heart stopping for a moment.
With my night vision, I could see that it was Chloe. I put a hand to my heart and panted for breath, managing a, "Goddammit Chloe, you nearly gave me a heart attack!" She just stood there as I regained composure, a blank look on her face. I leaned in close, aligning our faces.
"Chloe?" I asked, willing her to break the blank stare and look at me. When she did, I wished the opposite. Her gaze was blood chilling, and raised the hairs on the back of my neck. Her luminous blue eyes were huge and watery, bloodshot. She took in a shallow breath, sounding almost like she was holding back a sob. She began to shake her head very slowly, anguished eyes never leaving mine.
"I- I tried, Derek. I, I thought-" She choked, squeezing her eyes shut and shaking her head back and forth. "He was- t- t- too strong, and I- I knew I should have- have, g- gone for help, b- but-" At this point, she gave a strangled sob and collapsed. I was beneath her in a second, holding her up, willing her to continue.
"Chloe, what? Who was too strong? What happened?" I pleaded, dying to understand. Her eyes rolled up to meet mine, languid and hopeless, and she drew in a slow, shuddering breath. My blood froze in my veins.
"It's over. He's coming." At this point, she sagged completely in my arms and I knew she had gone unconscious. I laid her gently on the ground and then sprang to my feet, looking up and down the seemingly endless hallway for whoever "he" was. My adrenaline was pumping throughout my veins like lightning, and I could feel my heartbeat in my temples, my vision sharpening so I could see the details on the tapestry at the end of the hall.
"Who's there?" I called, low, as a breeze whistled through the hall. All my hair was standing on end, and my teeth were clenched so tightly, I swore they were seconds from cracking.
Suddenly, a huge flash of light lit the hall, and again, my heart stopped. I yelled, loudly, again, "Who's there?!" Simon sat bolt upright in bed behind me, judging by the rustling bed sheets. I was trembling so hard, I was surprised the floor wasn't breaking apart. Then, suddenly, there was another noise from upstairs.
One. Leaden. Footstep.
Ghosts don't make noise, ghosts don't make noise, I repeated to myself in my head, willing my mantra to deny the evidence I heard in front of me.
But zombies do.
But that's ridiculous! Chloe said he was coming, she asked for a book on ghosts, doesn't that mean it's a ghost?
A ghost with a body.
"Chloe? Chloe!" I hissed through my teeth, nudging her without looking down. She stirred at my feet, mumbling something unintelligible.
"Did you put a ghost back in his body?" She whimpered at my harsh question, shuddering.
"Not in his body," she murmured, sounding close to tears.
"Chloe? Whose body?" I hissed, the footsteps getting louder. She sobbed quietly.
"He- he forced me! I couldn't- stop it, and he, he-" She segued in to uncontrollable sobbing, curling in to the fetal position. My eyes widened in horror as I contemplated the horrible possibilities. She could have put him in any body, like Kit's, or Lauren's, or…
Tori's.
Her figure was illuminated at the end of the hall by another flash of light. I screamed at this, as did Simon, who had crept up behind me.
"Derek! Derek, that's-!" He tugged at my shirtsleeve like a small child, unable to clear the gaping look off his face. My teeth clenched, and my whole body tensed. The figure advanced with shuffling footsteps, head lolling to the side. I dropped to my knees, shaking Chloe's shoulder roughly.
"Chloe, Chloe come on. You have to defeat him. Get him out of Tori. Come on, you can do it." She just shook her head, moaning.
"He's- *hic* he's too powerful. And he's got Tori's powers. I- I tried, but he- oh God, Derek, we're gonna die!" She screamed the last part of the sentence, arms locking around my neck in a chokehold. She continued screaming, a series of hysterical, staccato notes: the screams of a girl who has not yet lived, condemned to die. I felt my heart shred itself in to pieces. There was nothing I could do. Chloe was the only one who could save us, but she was unable. I was going to die here, tonight, with the girl I loved in my arms. My life flashed before my eyes, moments and scenarios and dreams and aspirations-
When I looked up, I was shocked to find that Not Tori was already in front of me. Her head lolled to the other side and she pointed at me, a ball of witch fire already forming on her fingertip. Her teeth were bared in a grin of pure evil, the witch fire reflecting off of her glassy eyes and casting sinister shadows on her face. I shut my eyes tightly for the last time, grip tightening in Chloe for a moment. A tear slipped out of one eye as I said my goodbye to the world.
And then light flooded my eyes.
I'm such a bitch. I come back after a 9 month hiatus and leave it on a semi-cliffy. Goddammit I'm evil ;D
Dudes and dudettes, I am so TERRIBLY sorry for my absence, really and truly. I left with no warning, even leaving promises to continue the story very quickly. Well, to be honest, I'm surprised if you're a watcher and you're reading this right now, seeing as I've been away for so long. I really want to thank you all for not giving up on me or this story. Just, thanks.
I get the feeling that I make Simon seem really idiotic in this fic. Well, in the series, he doesn't really come off as moronic (mostly), but I tend to lean towards him being a little more "blonde," so to speak. Not to offend any blondes out there ^-^; Remember, this is a comedy fic, and I specifically mention in the description that it's "a little OOC (out of character)." I don't consider added, uh, stupidity, to be a lot OOC, because for the most part, I feel I maintain his character pretty well despite that. You know, hardheaded, outspoken, friendly, etc. So sorry to any mega-Simon fans out there. I just feel like this fic needs a character who can be slightly stupid sometimes, and it happened to be Simon. So, yeah… derp.
Again, thank you so much for sticking with me this long. Drop a review or, if you're reading this for the first time, a favorite/watch to let me know that people haven't actually given up on this fic. :)