A/N: This is the last chapter to Animal I Have Become. Any suggestions for the title of Chloe's song fics? Plus- sad story first, or third? And don't worry, this one is pretty happy, considering how sad or angry the rest of them have been. The song title is I Caught Fire by The Used (Obviously, I don't own the song or the characters, just the story idea)
Seemed to stop my breath
My head on your chest
Waiting to cave in
From the bottom of my...
Hear your voice again
Could we dim the sun
And wonder where we've been
Maybe you and me
So kiss me like you did
My heart stopped beating
Such a softer sin
(I'm melting, I'm melting)
In your eyes
I lost my place
Could stay a while
And I'm melting
In your eyes
Like my first time
That I caught fire
Just stay with me
Lay with me
Now
Never caught my breath
Every second I'm without you I'm a mess
Ever know each other
Trust these words are stones
why cuts aren't healing
Learning how to love
I'm melting (I'm melting)
In your eyes
I lost my place
Could stay a while
And I'm melting
In your eyes
Like my first time
That I caught fire
Just stay with me
Lay with me
(Stay with me lay with me now)
You could stay and watch me fall
And of course I'll ask for help
Just stay with me now
Take my hand
We could take our heads off
stay in bed just make love that's all
Just stay with me now
I'm melting (I'm melting)
In your eyes
I lost my place
Could stay a while
and I'm melting
In your eyes
Like my first time
That I caught fire
Just stay with me
Lay with me
In your eyes
I lost my place
Could stay a while
and I'm melting
In your eyes
Like my first time
That I caught fire
Just stay with me lay with me
(Stay with me, lay with me)
In your eyes
Let's sleep till the sun burns out
I'm melting in your eyes (I'm melting in your eyes)
Let's sleep till the sun burns out
I'm melting in your eyes
Derek woke drowsily, confused as to where he was for a moment- then he smelled Chloe nearby. He looked around and realized they'd fallen asleep at the park- he was snuggled next to her, his head on her shoulder. She was sound asleep, smiling a little, her arms still wrapped around him tightly. His breath caught...
She'd been talking, then her voice had started to dip, falling asleep, and that made him fall asleep. He sat up a little against the tree they were at the base of, leaning his back against it. Chloe made a little sound of protest, then turned, wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her head on his smiled.
He wanted to be able to tell her how he felt, but he wasn't a word type of guy. He didn't have poetry or pretty words on paper to tell her how he felt. It was difficult to admit to himself what he was feeling, but telling Chloe? It was terrifying, mostly because she deserved more than a gruff proclamation of love-love? Derek flushed deep red and glanced down at her, but she was still asleep. He relaxed.
Okay. So there was that. And how was he supposed to tell her and let her know he meant it? That when he realized what he was feeling, it was scary and that the only way he knew how to respond was to get angry, because that seemed better than the alternative- getting shot down with a scornful look.
He realized he was stroking her hair, and that was probably what woke her up. She sat up, stretching, and smiled. She tilted her head when he didn't return it, frowning. He took a deep breath and looked around. The park was empty and the sun was still up- Chloe even looked like she had a little sunburn on her cheek from the prolonged exposure.
"Hey." He said, still unsure of what to say. She smiled again.
"Hey. When did we fall asleep? What time is it?" Assuming the first question was more of a statement, Derek answered only the second.
"About four thirty." He frowned, resisting the urge to bite his lip, because Chloe noticed things like that. She always did.
"What's the matter?" She was peering up at his face, head tilted just a little. "You're flushed. Oh. Did you get sunburned? It's just a little bit. Or do you not feel good? You just Changed last night, I thought it was a once-a-week thing..." She babbled, still peering straight at him. His cheeks heated more when she pointed out the blush.
"No, I'm fine." He said, still embarrassed. She started to ask a question, then stopped.
"Derek, if something's wrong, you can tell me, you know that right? I mean, you know I love you, so it's not like you have to hide things from me." She said it so simply. Derek's chest seized, his breath shortening. How can she say it so simply? he thought in panic. Because, silly, she doesn't have trust issues, like you. The voice sounded suspiciously like Chloe's, but he didn't know for sure. I trust Chloe! I do! he thought frantically, with panic only someone in denial or fear could have.
"Chloe..." he mumbled, steeling himself against any fear he had. He squared his shoulders. "You know what? When I first saw you after escaping the Edison Group lab the first time, I swear, I was on fire." He said slowly. so she understood; she just nodded, starting to didn't understand what he meant. "As in, furious." He corrected, seeing where her thoughts might've gone if he didn't correct her. She frowned, bottom lip jutting a little. "Mostly because, I, uh, didn't understand why I was feeling what I was feeling for you, especially worry, so I just did what came naturally and snapped at you."
"Derek..." she said quietly, not wanting to be reminded of their Edison Group days. But he had to get this out, so she would understand.
"Plus, I could see how much Simon liked you, so I was trying to be a good brother and keep you at arms length, which was not fun. I mean, I hated it... Plus, every time you got hurt, or close to getting hurt, I was so scared for you that it scared me. I didn't like it." He said with a sharp head shake. Chloe was starting to look a little torn- between hurt, confusion, and flattery. "Then we got stuck together, every- single- time- we got separated from the group. It was like punishment for something!" He shook his head and smiled, then grinned. "You put me in my place so many times." Her chin jerked up.
"Good! Nobody else did." She smiled hesitantly, unsure where this was going.
"You were also the only person who could make me feel stupid."
"What? What does that mean?"
"Not only did you notice things that I missed, but you also made it hard for me to be mean to you, to push you away, when you were so nice to me all the time. You didn't treat me like other people treated me- like they were afraid I'd just start beating them for no reason. Or, at least, you did whenever I didn't make you angry. When you were mad at me, it hurt. Plus, whenever you looked at me the way you did, sometimes, I couldn't talk, or talk right. Which made me feel stupid. And I rarely feel stupid, Chloe. Ever." He gave her a look, to let her know he wasn't finished, but that she should know that was monumental. He was babbling, he knew, and he knew these weren't necessarily the words he wanted to tell her, but maybe it was better.
"Okay." She whispered, still looking at him confusedly.
"And then, after awhile, the stupid, tongue tied feeling I got or the fiery anger I felt around you turned to me wanting to tell you everything, to talk to you; and then I wasn't on fire, I was melting when you would do something so sweet or innocent or brilliant without even noticing yourself doing it." He took a breath without looking at her. "And I just wanted to tell you that, because, you know, I love you, too. And I just- I don't have the words to spell it out for you, romantically, like other guys might be able to..." And there are the tears... Her eyes had filled, but a smile lifted her lips, which confused the hell out of him, which he was sure was how all guys felt when girls cried and smiled...
"Derek...that's sweet." She said finally, and before he could say anything, she pounced at him, kissing his cheeks and face and then his lips. He found himself pressed to the tree, Chloe smiling against his lips. "You're so sweet and you don't even know it."
"What are you talking about?" he mumbled, though he wasn't really paying attention- she was distracting him very thoroughly.
"You always think you don't know how to make me happy or how to say the right thing, but you don't realize how adorable you are when you're all protective or awkward, or really thinking, trying to say just the right thing without realizing that you already have." She breathed, eyes glittering. Derek smiled hesitantly.
"I, ah, did say the right thing, then?"
"Yes, stupid boy." She rolled her eyes. He took a breath.
"Good. That's good." He pulled her closer, breathing in her scent. "You're seventeen and a half, right?" She huffed.
"More than a half! I turn eighteen next week, Derek!" She snapped, but the flash of temper didn't douse her happiness. Derek stood up, pulling Chloe with him.
"Okay." He rubbed a hand over his jaw. "Alright. Hey, I have to go. I'll see you." Her eyes widened.
"What? Where are you going?"
"You're right. I'll walk you home, but I have to go. Really." She blinked, hurt flashing across her face. "It's okay, and I know you don't understand, but I have to." He was still sort of massaging his jaw, as if imagining getting hit there. Chloe probably wasn't far from hitting him.
"Fine. I can walk myself home, thank-you-very-much." She yanked her hand away and stalked off. Derek followed her at a distance, just to be sure.
One week Later
Derek wasn't SURE if he was invited to Chloe's birthday celebration- he hadn't seen her since that day in the park a week ago. He just...had to do something. He was feeling ridiculously reckless, since she hadn't laughed when he told her that so why not this? He walked across the street to her, Lauren, and Tori's house, with his brother and dad. They were both smiling, because they'd been invited. Dad gave Derek a look, though.
"Go ahead, Simon. We'll be there in a minute." Dad waved him on. Simon nodded, jogging ahead. Derek slowed down, keeping instep with his father. He was smiling just slightly, which he'd been doing all week. Dad seemed to think it was weird. "I don't know what is going on, but Lauren said that Chloe's been very upset all week." He narrowed his eyes. "Did you have anything to do with that?"
"Probably." Derek said, the smile still not leaving his face completely. "But I had to. So now I'm fixing it. Don't worry."
"I won't...buy Lauren will, you know that." Dad shook his head and started toward the door again.
Derek went through the motions of Chloe's birthday without really focusing. He was too excited to really participate much. Plus, Chloe was giving him the studious silent treatment. It stung a little, but he accepted it, because he deserved it. He'd just been so intrigued by the idea that struck him that he couldn't pass it up. Or let himself chicken out.
Finally Derek cornered Chloe in the backyard, after everyone had gone inside. She stared at him, then sighed heavily, wiping at her eye and mumbling something about pollen. Derek's heart thumped and he felt an even more painful sting at the tears in her eyes that she was hiding. He grimaced.
"Chloe, I didn't mean to just walk away at that moment, exactly, but I'd had an idea, and I really wanted to see it through before I got nervous." She nodded, but didn't seem ready to forgive him. "I had to go shopping." He explained. Now she looked shocked.
"Shopping? You- you walked a-away from me to go shopping?" Now she really did look hurt. "I'm not worth more than new clothes or some snacks or something?" Her lip trembled.
"You," he said seriously and in a slight bout of temper, "are worth more than anything." Her cheeks flushed a little, and the trembling stopped.
"Then why...?"
"Like I said...I had to go shopping. I had to, Chloe." He pressed, then held his arms out hesitantly. She moved into them, snuggling against him, sighing.
"Alright. Whatever, it must've been important." He flinched infinitesimally. Okay, he deserved that. He took her hand, and she laced her fingers through his automatically. She stiffened, then, after a moment of him playing with her fingers. "Derek, what's- is that- what is that?" She pulled back, but Derek kept her in his arms.
"Marry me?" he asked very quietly. Then he let her go so she could look at the ring. The band was silver, two small emeralds on the left and right of a diamond, two small sapphires on top and bottom. She stared at it for a moment, swallowing and breathing irregularly. Derek's heart was pounding. She's going to say no...he thought. He'd paid with every bit of money he'd saved up, with some money he'd borrowed from Simon.
"Of course." She said with a small laugh. "Of course, I will." She breathed. She laughed again. "That's why you were asking how old I was- so that Lauren couldn't tell me what I can or can't do." Her face was radiant, the smile on her lips lighting up her eyes. Derek's face felt like it was glowing, too, he was so happy.
"Thank you."
"Oh, you silly boy." She shook her head. "I love you, of course I'd marry you."
"I love you, too." He replied. And took her tightly into his arms, kissing her until they heard laughter from the house.
"I knew it." Tori huffed, but she was smiling.
So how was it? Sappy? Crappy? Tell me in a review, please. This is the DEFINITE last chapter of Derek's- the last one I wrote that in was an accident, I thought I was on chapter eight (eight's my favorite number). So, um, yeah. Please review. And comments about what Chloe's title should be would be great.