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Derek was gone. I couldn't process it.

Five minutes later, it finally sunk in.

Derek's gone.

I quickly pulled out my phone, and hit 4, my speed dial for Mr. Bae.

"Hello?' he answered, his voice casual.

"Derek's gone!" I blurted out. There was silence on his end for a second. "Wait…what?" he asked.

"He's gone. I went to the store-well, he made me go to the store and then I came back and-"

"Did he leave a note?" He asked, his voice raising. I tried to calm myself down.

"No," while I said this I walked through the apartment, checking though the living room especially. "Not one that I can see." I said quickly. My eyes grew wide as I thought of what could have happend to him. Nerveously, I ran a hand through my hair and paced through the kitchen.

"Could anyone have kidnapped him?" he asked, his voice in a rush.

"No," I said automatically. It was pretty much clear now. He had set me up.

And I was stupid enough to fall for it.

"No. He practically begged me to go to the store, and…" I thought about that last I love you he had called out to me.

"He left. He left…" I paniced.

"Alright, we're coming." He said. I heard a weird ruffeling sound on his part, like he was holding his phone to his chest. I heard a muffeled "What do you mean he's gone?" from Simon in the backround.

I sank down on the floor. I couldn't believe Derek would leave. In all the chaos….

But some part of me could believe it. Derek, who had always thought less of himself than of all of us. Though he meant the most to me.

I tried to sum up where he could be, what he could be trying to do.

Go after the Edison Group? No. Not by himself. He would know better than that…he's way to smart to go alone.

Could he be getting help? Possibly. But where would you go to get help for a situation like ours?

My head was spinning. I couldn't take it. Not without Derek.

I buried my head in my knees. This was all we needed.

When the door opened, my heart hammered, hoping it was Derek. But it was just Mr. Bae, Tori, Simon and Rae.

Rae. Some insticecnt yelled at me to get her out.

Simon instantly ducked down next to me. "What happened?" he asked, his face in a total state of disbelief.

I had to take a deep, shuddering breath before I could speak. "He made me go to the store. I should've known." I shook my head sadly. "I'm so stupid!" I wailed. Simon turned to Mr. Bae.

I noted he didn't disagree with me.

"He left on purpose? Why would he leave?" Simon asked, his tone harsh.

"Knowing Derek," Tori said, " He went to get help." Her face twisted, and she sat down next to me. I noted her belly was noticeably bigger compared to yesterday. How does that happen? I wondered. She looked back up to Mr. Bae. "Should we let him go?" she asked.

Simon furrowed his brows in astonishment. "How-He's my brother, Tori!" He stood, and looked back at Mr. Bae. Mr. bae looked kindly down at me. "Simon, Derek's a pretty smart kid. If he didn't want Chloe around when he left, it must be something he wouldn't want for any of us. Maybe we should just let him do we he needs to, and-"

"No." I interupted. Everyone looked at me, including Rae, who had been suspiciously quiet.

"No. We can't let him kill himself over…over all this drama…" I said quietly. I doubted anyone heard me until Tori said, "This is all my fault."

"No it's not." Rae finally spoke. I turned to her with questioning eyes, and she quickly added "Who knew you're baby's daddy was a total pycho?" She raised her eyebrows, and put her hands on her hips.

Tori ignored her. "It's okay. He'll be fine." She said. Mr. Bae nodded in agreement.

Simon looked like he was going to kill someone.

"Jeez, Simon. Take a deep breath. It's okay to breath." Rae rolled her eyes. Simon and I glared at her.

"Rae, Shut up." Simon barked.

My head was whizzing. I felt like I wanted to cry. I took another shuddering breath.

"So were giving up?" I said remorsefully.

Mr. Bae sat crouched down to my height. "Were not giving up. Give Derek a week, and if he's not back…" he left the sentence hanging there. His tone wasn't sure.

I knew none of us were. What was the right thing to do? I knew Mr. Bae was trying to be reasonable, but I knew a part of him wanted to go after him.

Reluctantly, I nodded.

Simon looked carefully at me, and then agreed with a sigh. "Fine. A week."

Surprised, I looked up at him. His face was twisted with anger.

"Derek's smart." Tori said. Normally, It would be hard for her to admit to that, but under the circumstances she probly thought she was entitled to.

"Everything will be okay." Rae said in a worried tone. I didn't know if anyone else caught it, but her tone….it didn't sound worried at all. It sounded too worried, almost forced.

Mr. Bae let out a breath an stood up. "I'll be right back." He stated, and left for the bathroom.

Rae sat down next to Tori, and smiled at me. It was meant to be a reassuring thing, but it was anything but.

I looked up to Simon. He was wandering into our bedroom.

After five more minutes, I stood up.

"What's wrong?" Tori asked.

"I…I just need a moment." I lied. Tori hesitated, as if she was going to get up, but then nodded. Rae muttered something I couldn't hear, and Tori turned to hear, her eyes wide.

I slowly walked into my room, not looking back.

As I suspected, Simon was in there, sitting on the bed. He turned quickly when I approached. I sat down next to him.

"Hey." He said dully. I didn't reply, and he looked away.

"You're gunna go out and look for him, right? You're not staying here." He asked, quietly. I opened my mouth, then shut it and just nodded.

He nodded, like it was nothing. "How soon?"

I looked down at the floor. "Three days, I figure." I answered.

I looked to him. he had a worn expression on his face. "I'm coming with you."

Sorry guys, it took my a while to write, considering I was excited that next week is the LAST WEEK OF SCHOOL! :D Have a good memorial day!

PS: My next chapters will be short, because they will count as days. And now with Derek gone, it will be a little more boring but the good news is I can update faster.

So…what do you think? Any predictions of what will happen? Where's Derek? What's up with Rae? And what will happen if Chloe and Simon leave to find Derek?

R&R!