Return to normal? Chapter 3: At Least It Wasn't Raining, a darkest powers fanfic

Darkest Powers: Edition 2 By 331

This is what happens after the Awakening by Kelley Armstrong (but not the Reckoning), after they had found Mr. Bae (Simon and Derek's dad), defeated the Edison Group and the Cabal, and gone back to their old lives.

I do not own anything and it all belongs to Kelley Armstrong. I am just using her characters and adding a few of my own.

Chloe's POV

Kit led us away from the fenced area, towards the woods. Derek and Simon walked next to me, until Nate came up and slid in between me and Derek and clasped my hand in his. Derek scowled, and went to walk up with Kit. Simon looked unnerved at the sight of our conjoined hands, and he grasped the one on my other side. Nate frowned at this, but said nothing. Life on the road was going to be fun. Kari and Beth were walking together, looking terrified. Tori was trying to talk to them, but it seemed they wouldn't respond, so she gave up and tried to flirt with Brent. He tried walking faster, but Tori followed. I felt kind of sorry for Brent. But I was still drowning myself in self pity. I had three guys after me, and a guy friend who hated two of the three guys guts. Sigh. Aunt Lauren was walking up with Kit and Derek. I let go of the two guys grasping onto me, who didn't really seem to notice, because they had been having a glaring contest behind my back. I jogged up to kit.

"So, where are we going?" Derek and Aunt Lauren were listening too.

"Well for tonight, we could either crash in the woods, or we could sleep in the van. There's a supernatural's house around here somewhere, but I don't know what it looks like, just the address, and that its apparently a red house. But the people there do know me, so we could ask them if we could stay there, if we can find them. But that could take all night, considering this area is entirely residential, and I have no idea where to start looking." I nodded.

"I think looking for the supernaturals is the best idea."Aunt Lauren agreed.

"Better than sleeping on the ground." We decided to search for the house. We had been walking down a trail made from the tracks of some kind of vehicle, like an ATV or a bulldozer, when Derek said he smelled a trace of supernatural scents off the path to our left, into the woods. The four mortals (what else do I call Nate, Brent, Beth and Kari without listing their names?) thought it was a stupid idea to leave the path (words courtesy of Brent. We hadn't explained the whole werewolf thing yet), but Kit overruled, saying this was the only clue we had. We traipsed off into the forest. Simon, Nate, and Brent kept rushing forward to help me over logs, keep branches out of my way, etc. Frankly, it was getting quite annoying. Finally I just said

"Guys, I can walk in the woods by myself! I'm fifteen for god's sake, not two!" and I promptly tripped on the next root. I fell forward, right in Derek.

"Shiiiiitttt—oomph! S-sorry Derek!" He helped me up, much to the seething of the other three.

"Its fine. Just try not to trip." He went back to walking. Thank fully, Aunt Lauren had though to bring me a change of clothes, and I was not wearing a blood splattered dress and heels. I was wearing jeans and some converse, with one of my favorite tees and a hoodie. Aunt Lauren had grabbed some other stuff for me, and I lent them to Kari and Beth. The clothing was a little small, but they were thankful for anything besides their heels. The boys were still wearing their tuxes though. Simon was in a t shirt and jeans, and so was Derek. Tori was wearing a low cut shirt and some capris, but Brent still didn't care, much to her dismay. And we were all just walking through the woods in the middle of the night. At least it wasn't raining. We eventually saw some houses, and came out of the woods into a cul-de-sac. Kit sent Derek down to the other end of the street to look for the street name, while the rest of us went looking for number eleven. We found a red number eleven, and Derek confirmed the street name to be the one we were looking for. Kit started down the U driveway on the right side, and we followed him onto the porch next to the garage. He rang the doorbell, and we waited. After a minute or so, a girl with shoulder length brown hair, green gray eyes with a little blue in them, tall but slim, wearing a black hoodie and blue, green, white, gray, and yellow plaid flannel pants answered the door.

"Um, hi." she said.

Kit smiled at her.

"Could you, perhaps, be Julie?"

"Yeah. If you want to talk to my parents, my dad's out and my mom's in the shower," (the shower one was probably a lie. She was probably home alone and didn't want to say so) "so you can't really talk to them right now. Besides its like eleven pm." She looked a little uncomfortable talking to us. Maybe she was a little shy, but only her body language showed it, not her voice. I saw a Labrador laying on the floor behind her, and I hoped Derek wouldn't set it off. But it seemed calm. And she seemed impatient.

"What do you want?"

"I'm Kit Bae, and I believe I talked to your mother recently, about a month ago, I believe, about how you might be in danger. Did she tell you about this?" her faced relaxed a bit.

"Oh, you're supernaturals. Come in, and you can tell me why your here. My mom said anyone who was named Kit Bae was supernatural and could come in, because you would be coming to tell us something. Do you have to tell us something?" she seemed a little more cheerful now, knowing we were supernaturals. We all traipsed in, and she led us through a tiled front hall down to the left into a family room/kitchen. I sat on the couch, and immediately Nate and Simon sat down on either side of me. Brent went sulking off to a lazy boy chair across the room, while Derek sat in a red lather chair closer to the kitchen. Tori, Kari, Beth, and Aunt Lauren all sat at the kitchen table, while Kit and Julie remained standing. The Labrador went around and sniffed us all, and asked for attention, but surprisingly didn't freak at Derek. There was another, older Labrador asleep on a dog bed over near the TV, opposite from the kitchen. It didn't wake up, just snored a bit. Kit continued the conversation.

"I dunno. My parents freak if I ask if my mom can drive my best home without previous notice of, like, three days. I don't know how comfortable they'll be if I let......how many of you are there? One, two, three,.......ten people I just met into the house at eleven o'clock at night and have them stay over when they're not home. This is the first time they let me stay home by myself over night, and if they come home to another ten people, it will be the end of my new found privileges. And I just got my iPod nano 5th generation, and I really like it."

"Maybe you could call your parents? They knew me previously too, so I don't think they say no," Kit suggested. She grabbed the phone off the counter.

Julie's POV

I really don't like talking to new people too much. Unless of course, I'm switching schools and I need new friends. Which has happened twice, and next fall will be the third time. I was sitting on the couch, watching one of my favorite animes, Soul Eater, while my dogs, Checkers and Layla (both girls, Checkers 11, and Layla 5. My brother chose Checker's name, and Layla came with that one. Great dogs though. Checkers is really nice but a big chicken and doesn't really like snuggling, while Layla's an attention hog and always full of energy, a little territorial, and demands snuggling. Checker's is skinny-ish, while Layla's pudgy-ish. Both have soft ears and never bite except by accident (usually food related). I love them to death. But sometimes they can be annoying, which is why I usually retreat to the living room. They aren't allowed in there, and we have those dog gate things. There's two main reasons for this. One, my dad is slightly allergic, and needs somewhere there isn't dog hair everywhere so his sinuses don't go crazy, and two, there's a cream couch in there, and black haired dogs do not mix with that.), were either sleeping (Checkers) or lying next to the dog gate between the front hall and the living room waiting for me to come back (Layla). I could hear Layla's tail hitting the tile as she wagged it back and forth, panting, watching my every move. Luckily, I had headphones. The second season Soul Eater theme song came on, Paper Moon by Tommy Heavenly6, and I tapped my foot to it on the coffee table, singing along with the Japanese/English lyrics.

I'm falling,

down into my shadow

Iki wo hisomete

Matteiru deadly night

Don't scary,

kimi ga nozomeba

donne sekai mo

Sono me ni utsu seru kara

See you in your dreams yeah

Baby

Kowai yume

Da to

Shitemo

Fairy blue kimi no tame ni

Hoshi wo kudaki

kazaritsuketa

Black paper moon

Shinjite kureta nara

When you're

Lost here

I am

Forever with your soul

Miagereba kagayaku

tsuki no youni

I was watching Soul play the piano in his soul for the first time while Maka, Death the Kid, and Black Star along with thier weapons, Tsubaki, Liz, and Patty (A/N: not Liz the ghost, Liz from Soul Eater. Liz and Patty are DTK's weapons, Tsubaki is Black Star's, and Soul is Maka's) used the piano's sound to soul link and and fight for the Brew, a machine that would give Arachnophobia (evil spider witch and co., not the fear of spiders) the power to take over the world, when the door bell rang. I started freaking out. I don't even like answering the phone, let alone answering the door at ….. ELEVEN PM! WHO THE HELL COMES TO THE DOOR AT ELEVEN PM? I heard Checker's shift on her bed in the other room, and if she woke up, she'd be barking like crazy. Better open the door before it wakes her up. I plucked up my courage, and went to the door, hoping whoever it was would leave before I got there. I looked out the bay window next to the door. No such luck. I mentally prepared myself, and then turned the knob and pulled, making sure to place my body in front of Layla's so she didn't run out the door. She gets excited easily, but is usually quieter, thank god. I opened the door, and there stood a bunch of teenagers, two of the guys in tuxes, the others regularly dressed, and two adults. They were all staring at me. I internally grimaced, and gulped. I hoped they weren't selling anything.

"Um, hi." The man smiled at me.

"Could you, perhaps, be Julie?" OMG, he knew my freakin' name! Why the hell would a total stranger who came to my door at eleven o'clock at night know my name? To hide my internal freakout, I pretended to be impatient. Okay, so it wasn't too hard to pretend.

"Yeah. If you want to speak to my parents, my dad's out and my mom's in the shower (didn't want them to know I was home alone. They could be anyone! I had no idea what they would do to me!), so you can't really talk to them right now. Besides, it's like eleven pm." the guy kept smiling at me. It was starting to creep me out. The others just kept staring. I studied them more closely with my peripheral vision. There was this shortish blond girl that was in the middle, and all the guys seemed to want to be next to her. I felt their auras (A/N: part of her powers, which I will explain later. Her powers are way better than just sensing auras), and it seemed two of them had more of a high school crush on her, while another one thought she was his soul mate, and the last one, the last one was hard to explain. He loved her, exceedingly so, way beyond the other three. He would die for her, but the love was hidden behind doubt and other things I couldn't quite comprehend. On the outside, three of them looked like they just wanted to stand next to her, while the other hung back, unreadable. There were three other girls, two who just looked a little scared and confused. Same with their auras. The last girl, looked annoyed on the outside, but on the inside she seethed with jealousy, directed toward the short blonde. I wondered what had happened. The man's aura was to confusing to go through, so many secrets and feelings and fears that I couldn't quite fit together. The woman's aura was just scared and confused, with a little protectiveness toward the short blonde. And lastly, the short blonde. She didn't seem to notice all the guys, but was staring expectantly at me. It made me especially uncomfortable, those large blue orbs boring into me. Her aura had a little annoyance with all the guys, and she was confused as to which one she actually liked. But near the back, I saw she did love one of them, just didn't really know ityet. She was also scared and confused, much more so than the others. It was like she knew something was going to happen, and she hoped to god it wouldn't. I wondered if she was precognitive. Then I snapped back to the conversation. The man looked like he was going to say something.

"What do you want?" I said before he could talk. He just kept smiling, and it was really starting to annoy me.

"I'm Kit Bae, and I believe I talked to your mother recently, about a month ago, I believe, about how you might be in danger. Did she tell you about this?" Oh, so that's how he knew my name. My mom had had a couple phone conversations with him about a month back, about what I don't know. But apparently she knew him from since before I was born, and that if he ever showed up when her and dad weren't home, I was to open the door and let him in, because he's a supernatural too. She said he would have something important to tell us if he ever came. But danger? I didn't know anything about that. I let myself relax visibly, though I was still wary on the inside.

"Oh you're supernaturals. Come in, and you can tell me why your here. My mom said anyone who was named Kit Bae was supernatural and could come in, because you would be coming to tell us something. Do you have to tell us something?" I stepped back and let them in, my hand on Layla's collar. She really wanted to sniff the new people, but I made her wait until everyone was somewhat comfortable in the family room/kitchen. I made an effort to not seem wary of them, and I felt in their auras that they believed it. Thankfully, Checkers didn't wake up and go ballistic, like I knew eventually she would. She didn't mind werewolves, which was surprising to most people, and neither did Layla. Checkers just didn't like tall men. Or tall men with hats and sunglasses. I mean, once she sniffs you and you're nice to her, she's okay, but at first she barks a bit. Its just how she is. She also just barks randomly at people she doesn't know, but she gets over it quick. I hoped these people would leave and I wouldn't have to deal with that. When everyone was sitting except for me and Mr. Bae, he continued our conversation.

"Well, you guys might be endanger, you especially, but not from the threat I called about. But the most pressing matter at hand right now is that we don't have anywhere to sleep tonight, because of said threat. We were hoping to stay here, if that's alright with you." I frowned. My parents were not going to like this. And besides, who in their right mind would let a guy you just met two minutes ago and his buddies come sleep in your house? Did I mention it was 11:02pm? Even if you're mom knew him before you were born. I didn't let that show, just calmly expressed my thoughts.

"I dunno. My parents freak if I ask if my mom can drive my best friend home without previous notice of, like, three days. I don't know how comfortable they'll be if I let......how many of you are there? One, two, three,.......ten people I just met into the house at eleven o'clock at night and have them stay over when they're not home. This is the first time they let me stay home by myself over night, and if they come home to another ten people, it will be the end of my new found privileges. And I just got my iPod nano 5th generation, and I really like it." Mr. Bae thought for a sec.

"Maybe you could call your parents? They knew me previously too, so I don't think they say no," he suggested. I had thought of that, but I didn't really want to. If I called them, it would sound like I was too young to stay home alone, and I really liked my new found respect from my parents. Plus, I don't think they'd be too happy I let strangers into the house, even if mom knew one of them (he was still a stranger to me). But I knew the fastest way back to my Soul Eater was to call them, so I grabbed the phone off the counter.

"Okay, but don't be surprised if you hear screaming on the other end. And promise me, you will. My parents are all about 'stranger danger' ever since they rented the movie Taken and forced me and my brother to watch it. But if you are Kit Bae, you might be able to stay." I dialed my mom's cell, and waited, counting the rings. The other kids just stared at me, except for one of the guys, the tall dark one, who was staring at Layla, as if he thought she would attack him. He stiffened as she came near, but she just ambled over and rubbed her head against his knee. He sat in shock for a sec, then started petting her head, like he had never done that before. The Asian guy was gaping at that, and so was the short blonde. Mr. Bae just looked surprised, while the woman had gasped like he had just told her that the short blonde was pregnant. The rest were just looking around, glances occasionally catching mine. Only the short blonde was still staring at me. I hoped her supernatural power wasn't something that could tell her I desperately wanted them to leave. Or at least stop staring at me. My mom picked up on the seventh ring.

"Hello?"

"Mom?"

"Julie? What's wrong?" her voice had become strained.

"Nothing's wrong. Well, I hope not, anyway. I mean, people die every second, and there's people being assaulted all over the world right now, and a war going on over in Africa (Pakistan, Irac, Iran, Afghanistan stuff. Oil stuff. (A/N:I don't really watch the news, so if this wrong please tell me)). There's been a couple earthquakes and stuff, and China has all those pollution problems. And the Shugo Chara Party season ended, so I don't know if they're continuing. And Pandora Hearts has been suspended on the One Manga website, so I'm really mad because another chapter could be out and I wouldn't know. And the next 12 Soul Eater episodes don't come out in English until June, so I've had to watch it in Japanese, which I don't mind, cause I love Japanese, but I like the English voices better, and I can't get those episodes on my iPod until they come out in English. And―,"

"JULIE!" my mom yelled.

"What?"

"Stop being a smart ass and just tell me why you called at eleven pm for!"

"Oh, you meant if anything was wrong here! No, I'm fine." she sighed. The others in the room were looking at me like I was strange. I couldn't take them staring at me. So I went behind the counter and sat with my back against the cupboards. I bet they were really confused now, but I get really anxious and uncomfortable when I'm on the phone. Especially when people watch me when I'm on the phone. But for some reason its not as bad with cell phones. So I hid behind the counter and relaxed myself, sitting on the floor, and continued talking to my mom.

"Um, the reason I called was, well, Kit Bae came to the door." I heard my mom gasp, and then silence.

"Julie, stay there, and do what Kit tells you. We're coming home, and so is Aaron (my brother)." her voice was strained again, and was using her "obey or die" voice. I quickly clarified things.

"Wait, Mom, its not like that. Kit and some others need somewhere to stay, and he asked if they could stay here. Like, over night. I said I wasn't sure and called you. So, can they stay?" she paused, thinking. If only she was next to me, I could give her the glance that said 'make them leave', but alas, she wasn't. Besides, if they really didn't have anywhere to go, it would be heartless to send them out into the warm, spring night in a suburb, where there was a stable right down the street. And they could always stay in the gym at Ethel Walker's (A/N: rich all girl school seen earlier. Its their stable, for horseback riding). Or just sleep in the grass. But I suppressed my feelings of annoyance. You see, at my elementary school, I was always picked on or shunned by the popular people. I don't think there was any particular reason, I wasn't ugly, or stupid, or a jerk unless I had to be. I was abnormally tall, and still am, but that's just genetics. I struggled making friends because of them, so I learned to like being alone, and became kind of shy because of it. On my first day at my new middle school, I was so scared I couldn't talk. The entire day. If I'm comfortable around the people, I am outgoing and loud and awesome. But if I don't know anyone, am uncomfortable, or just don't like whose there, I lapse into awkward silence, and try to find other things to occupy myself, the whole time wishing the people would just go away. Or that I could leave. I've learned to put on an outside act when ever strangers talk to me, which is usually polite and cheery, unless I think I shouldn't be talking to them, or that they intend to do something bad. But right then, I just wanted to be alone, because I had gone to a dance the day before, and the guy I liked was there, but so was the girl he just broke up with, and she's one of my close friends. And I was too scared to ask him to dance while she was there, and then when she left, I chickened out and still didn't ask him. So I was down and berating myself for it, and just wanted to watch Soul Eater to help me forget. I didn't need 10 people I didn't know staying at my house. Because its rude to ignore company, says my mom's voice in my head. And I don't know them. I just wanted to go blast Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol while I laid in the grass in my backyard, but I have to watch the dogs, and they get to curious and excited outside, plus, in May, its buggy outside. So, if I haven't expressed this already, I wanted to be alone. I waited for her answer with my fingers spiritually crossed.

"Oh. Of course he can. Let him in, but you sleep in our room honey. Your father has some stuff in there we don't need to show company. We'll be back tomorrow, okay? Make sure they don't break anything, and don't go swimming in the pool without Kit watching. And brush you're teeth, or your braces will look bad. Make sure the dogs are let out around eleven thirty." I grimaced openly, since no one could see my face when I was on the floor behind the counter.

"Fine, mom. I'll see you tomorrow. Kit says hi. Bye," and I hung up. I put the phone on my chest and just sat on the floor, looking at the window that was pitch black because of the night. I sighed. So much for my alone time. I never got any time to myself anymore, except when everyone else was asleep and I stole the laptop from upstairs (my parents don't let it downstairs where the bedrooms are. They think I'd never come out of my room if they did. Which is true, but only because they can be so annoying, and in my room I can shut the door, and am still able to look out a window and read and not be bothered by people unless I need food. I sighed again, and got up off the floor, putting on a smile. Here goes nothing. I put on my polite/cheery act, reciting One Step Closer by Linkin Park in my head to calm myself.

"She said you can stay." Kit smiled, and the others looked relieved. Layla padded over and I rubbed her ears, and it helped me relax a bit. I knew if I got too stressed, my control would crack, and my powers would come out, and that's something I didn't need to deal with right now.

"So, um, I guess we should divide up the rooms?" the woman said. I nodded, getting ready to recite the house rules.

Chloe's POV

Julie was explaining the rules to us. She seemed almost put out, like she'd rather she'd still had the house to herself. I hoped it didn't mean she didn't like us. If she did, she was hiding it well. But I hoped things would get easier with a place to stay that wasn't a cramped van.

"Okay, so my mom said not to break anything. Don't go outside until tomorrow, and don't fight. I'll sleep in my parents room, and two of the girls can take my room. There's also my brother's room, a queen sized futon, the guest room, and two regular couches. Take you pick. But I want a full explanation in the morning. Right now I just want to finish the episode of Soul Eater I was watching on my laptop. You guys can use the SNES, the Nintendo64, the Game Cube, the Wii, the regular TV, and the old arcade Gauntlet game. But we only have two TVs for the video game systems, so pick some four player games. And if you need extra clothes, I bet I can fix you up. Anyone want food?" Kit split up the beds, so there would be no fighting. Me and Tori got Julie's room, Simon and Derek shared the Julie's brother's room, Kari and Beth got the guest room, and Brent and Nate would have taken the futon, but they refused to share a bed, so Aunt Lauren agreed to share with it Kit while Brent and Nate took the upstairs couches. All the bedrooms besides the master suite was on the lower floor, or basement (the house was built into a hill, with the front door on the upper level and most of the bedrooms on the lower level. From the front, it looked like a ranch style house, but from the back, you could see both levels). The master suite was down the hall through the living room off the front hall, and a dining room was smushed in between the kitchen and the living room. It was a mostly open floor plan, with arches instead of doors, except to the bathroom and a little office of the front hall that connected to the living room. It sounds extremely complex, but really it isn't. Julie led everyone to their rooms and pulled out some extra blankets for the futon and those on the couches. The guest room was pink, with red carpeting (she said they had the carpet in the master suite originally, and when they redid those rooms, the carpet was still in really good shape, and had been really expensive, so they just moved it into the guest room), and Kari didn't really like it, but obliged because she just wanted a bed. Julie's brother's room was gray and red. She said he had wanted to paint it black but their mother had said no. It wasn't like a goth room or anything, but a typical teenager's room with stuff thrown about, and a guitar in the corner. Simon loved it, and Derek didn't voice his opinion. The futon was big, and it fit Aunt Lauren and Kit quite easily. Then Julie showed me and Tori her room. It was a light purple, and really cramped. She complained about having the smallest room in the house and how she was going to paint it lime green and aqua, but the reason it was so small was because it so damn cluttered. She had pictures of anime characters all over her walls, a desk right as you come in the door overflowing with stuff, the bed right behind, loaded with stuffed animals, and two nightstands up against the wall on the other side. She also had a purple star and moon curtain hanging in front of the little alcove that led back to the door, which made the room look even smaller. She had two big dressers, one with a mirror, a purple bookshelf, a giant inflatable purple alien, and clothes flung about the room. Not to mention the books. Books were sticking out of everything. Her bookshelf was overflowing, both her nightstands had two or three stacks at least a foot high each, and then there were books just miscellaneously placed everywhere else. There were also some really good sketches pinned up next to her nightstand. Five of them were of Yami Yugi or Yugi or both from Yugioh, one was of Yusei from Yugioh 5Ds, one was of Yoru from Shugo chara, one was of Soul Evans from Soul Eater, one was of Link from Legend of Zelda, one was of a dog sleeping, and one was just of a anime like male person. She also had some other random sketches thrown about the floor, and around the other walls, but most were over in the corner with her nightstand. The covers on her bed were ruffled over there too, so I knew where she usually sat when she was in here. There was a big sliding window/door that took up most of the far wall, which made the room seem even smaller. She apologized for the mess.

"Sorry about the mess. I can move all the stuffed animals off the bed, and clear the floor, and change the sheets, and you guys will be fine. And if you see a book pile about to fall over, catch it and move some of the books somewhere else." She started clearing a way through the mess, and then began to strip the bed. The reason the books weren't on her bookshelf (there were some, just more thrown about the room) was because there were so many sketch pads. I think I had just found Simon his soul mate. Julie picked up all the stuffed animals save a couple and moved them to the top of the pile of clothes at the foot of her bed. She then put some pink sheets on the bed, and let us settle in.

"If you need anything, just ask. The bathroom is down the hall, the first door on your right, about 2 feet from here. Just don't go in the closet, its a mess." she grabbed some shorts and a tight t shirt (and those couple stuffed animals she had saved), saying she was hot. When she came out in them, and I think Nate and Simon were drooling. She was slim and had some curves, but they weren't all the way there yet, like mine. I asked how old she was, and she said fourteen since march. She also said her brother was sixteen. Great, another boy to watch out for. She went to watch Soul Eater in the master suite upstairs. Aunt Lauren and Kit went to watch a movie on the giant TV upstairs, and Derek went looking for food in the kitchen. Tori, Nate, Simon, and Brent went into the playroom (Julie called it that, but it was more like a bonus room. It had two TVs, a pool table, a workout machine, a desk with a dated computer, some video game systems, the futon, a game table [air hockey, ping pong, Foosball, etc all in one], a random table under the stairs, and a mini bar with a small fridge and sink. There was some soda in it, but Julie said we shouldn't drink it, it had probably been there for years. This room was to the left of the stairs on the lower level, but snaked around under the stairs and came out on the right side of them back into the hallway. The three bedrooms were all on the outer wall, while the bathroom and the real basement slash laundry room was towards the center of the house.) to play on the Wii on the large TV, while Beth played Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess for the Game Cube on the smaller one. That left me with nothing to do, so I went out onto the back deck off the living room. The night was peaceful and quiet, and I could see the stars. There was also a pool, a large hill, and some more forest down beyond the house. It was a nice backyard. I sat at the top of the stairs from the deck onto the ground, and just watched the stars, thinking. We were safe, for now. But what we're we going to do about Aerona? And what was she going to do it us? So many questions, and no answers. At least it wasn't raining. I felt a hand on my shoulder, and for the first time in my life, I didn't jump.

"Hey, Derek." he grunted, and sat down next to me, a sheath of crackers in one hand. He opened it and offered me some, and I took one and nibbled it. It was Ritz, and was okay for a cracker.

"What's up?" I though for a minute. Should I tell him about my dream? Probably best. I heard him growl.

"Chloe,"

"Okay fine. Its just, that woman Aerona. I've seen her before." Derek growled, more menacing this time.

"What! Why didn't you say anything. This is really important! Where did you see her?"

"Um, sh-she was in my d-dream. Every night this p-past week." I explained the whole thing, through which he was silent.

"This is bad. If she can get into your dreams, she's more powerful than we thought. We have to be careful." He was frowning, as if he didn't notice the whole other problem this presented.

"But what am I going to do? I'm scared to go to sleep, because she might be there! But I can't just not sleep! Its physically impossible to never sleep!What if she does bad things to me?" I was freaking out. He looked like that part hadn't actually dawned on him, and was now understanding my pain. Great, even the college level smart kid didn't know what the hell to do. I was so going to die. If not from Aerona, from being smothered by too many boys. Or if Tori killed me first. I sighed, leaning my head onto something hard, not really caring what it was. I was dozing, looking up at the stars, when my hard something moved. I sat up quick, realizing that in my exhaustion, I had laid my head on Derek. My face was burning.

"S-sorry," I stuttered. I couldn't really see his face in the light.

"s'fine," he said. I was unable to gauge his reaction from the tone of his voice, and I sat there in embarrassment. We sat out there for a while more, just looking up at the stars.

"We should go in, it's late," Derek said. I nodded, and he offered me his hand. I took it, and he helped me up. We were walking toward the house, when Nate opened the sliding door and stepped out.

"Chloe. I'm glad I found you. I need t―," and then he saw Derek. If Nate could have growled he would have. I grimaced. Here it comes.

"What are you doing out here with my girlfriend?" Girlfriend. Why did that word all of a sudden sound so dreadful? Derek actually did growl.

"Why should I tell you? It's not like you need to know." I really wanted to slap them both. Instead, I created a distraction.

"Um, guys, I don't feel so good. I think I'm gonna go lie down." They both turned their attention to me. Nate slipped his arm around my shoulders and led me back to the door. I looked back at Derek and smiled. He smiled back briefly, and then resumed scowling at Nate's back. At least I had stopped a fight. One point for Chloe, ten thousand for the god of dating, who seemed to hate me when it came to men. I let Nate lead me inside, and then told him I was going to go to the bathroom, and he left to go set up his bed for the night, the family room couch. I slipped past the bathroom, through the office, through the corner of the living room, and headed towards the master suite. I knocked gently on the door. I needed outside advice, from someone who didn't know anyone, or had any previous opinions. And there was only one person here with that luxury. I heard a sigh.

"Come in," I pushed open the door and walked in. the master suite had another doorway into the bathroom, a small wall, and then the door to a large closet, there was a large dresser with a mirror, and a king sized bed. The whole room was sea green. There was a forest green chair with a pile of woman's clothes on it, and the bed was connected to a large built in with wardrobes on either side of it, and a mirror as a headboard with a wooden mantle thing on top connecting the two wardrobes. All of the wood, dresser included, was stained dark brown. Like dark chocolate brown. There was another small closet on the other side of the dresser. In the middle of the room, Julie was on the bed, watching Soul Eater on her laptop. She looked disgruntled.

"Need something?"

"No, I just wanted to talk."

"Oh," she clicked something on the computer screen, and it immediately went dark, and she closed the laptop and took her earphones out. I walked over and sat down on the side of the bed.

"So, what do you want?" I contemplated on how to start the conversation, when she spoke again.

"oh, its boy trouble, and you want an outside opinion." I looked at her. Her irises had turned a deep shade of purple, while her pupil had disappeared. I jumped off the bed, and her eyes went back to normal.

"Sorry, I was just looking into your aura. It told me you had boy problems. Sorry if I startled you, I did it when I opened the door too, but then it wasn't as deep of a search, and I wasn't as stressed, so I could hold the illusion of regular eye color." I warily sat back down.

"So, what's your name?"

"Chloe." she nodded.

"Cutesie girl needs a cutesie name. It fits your aura. Probably picked out by another supernatural. So, what's your power?"

"I'm a necromancer. What are you?" She frowned.

"I probably shouldn't explain until my parents get back, but I'm all for not listening to them. Even so, it would be fun to let you wonder. Its decided. You're wondering until tomorrow. Onto you're problems. Only two of them actually love you, while the other two have more of a crush on you. You can probably tell which ones too. The crushes are usually more straight forward about it, and will try to date you, while the ones that actually love you will just get jealous when you date and try to protect you from everything. They probably won't come out and tell you unless they feel like its their last chance, or that they know you love them back. So look out for the signs and dump the ones that just have a crush. They'll bounce back and be after another girl in hours. But make sure to steer them in the right direction first, like if he likes me, steer him in another direction, like toward that really jealous black haired girl you're rooming with. She really likes the tall brunette. Not the really dark tall one, the medium-ish one."

"Brent?" She rolled her eyes.

"I'm not gonna know his name! Just describe what he was wearing when I opened the door!"

"Oh, um, the tall guy with the tux?"

"Yeah. Him. The short tux and the Asian kid are the crushes. Take what you will from that." If Nate and Simon were just crushes, that left Brent and..........WHAT?

"Wait a minute, two guys cannot love me. I'm me. Brent is probably just a really strong crush, and I know for a fact that Derek does not feel that way."

"All with the names again! I don't know their names! Describe them!"

"Oh, um, Simon's the Asian kid, Nate is the short tux, Brent is tall tux, Derek is dark and tall, Tori is dark haired girl, Kari has long curly golden blonde hair, and Beth had straight auburn hair. The woman is my Aunt Lauren, and you know Kit. And I'm Chloe, the short strawberry blonde."

"That helps. You know my name. This makes things easier. Simon and Nate are the crushes, and Brent and Derek are the loves. I know you love one of the four, just not sure which one. Tori likes Brent, not all love yet not all crush. Kari and Beth are so scared and confused that they're blocking any other emotion until they relax and find out whats going on. Your aunt is worried you'll get pregnant, and Kit is, well, Kit is hard to explain without knowing what's going on with him." I sat there gaping. She knew all that? And I loved someone, but didn't know who? And Brent and Derek loved me?

"Correct."

"Stop reading my mind!"

"Technically, I'm reading you're aura. There's a big difference. You're aura is more the emotion and how you see and feel life and how you live, like your soul energy, where as you mind is just you're thoughts straight out. I get a lot more info from your aura, plus I can't read your mind. I don't work like that." I sighed. I think this talk just made things more confusing.

"At least it isn't raining."

"we're inside."

"Well, yeah, but that's what the positive side of you is saying. It's trying to find the good side in things. I don't see much what the point is, but I'm not you. I'm content with Hershey's chocolate and some anime. Or manga, basically anything Japanese that has a storyline and animated, like video games. But that's just me. I only have a third of an idea what you like, since your senses and your mind are the other two factors in the like equation, and I can't read those. I hope I helped." It seemed she had dismissed me. All she had done was that for every question I asked, she gave me the answer, and then another four questions. At least it wasn't raining. Dammit, she was right. I heard her chuckle.

"Stop reading my aura!"

"I'm not, your face just looks funny." I walked out. She followed me.

"Sorry, my aura reading kinda lets me forget the whole 'other people's feelings' problem. I swear I won't read you until tomorrow." Brent was already asleep on the living room couch, so we tiptoed past. Kit was asleep on the family room couch, and Aunt Lauren was dozing in the lazy boy. That meant Nate had probably moved his stuff to the futon. Julie followed me downstairs. I checked the clock, and it was 1:00. No wonder I was exhausted. Nate and Simon were playing super Mario smash bros brawl on the Wii, and Julie rushed to join them. Beth and Kari had gone to bed, they told us, and they said Tori and Derek had gone down in the direction of their borrowed rooms earlier, and were probably asleep by now. I watched Julie kick their asses with toon Link's special move about six times, and then she switched to Sheik and put on sudden death, and every time they regenerated she would kick them with Sheik's special karate kick, and they would go flying. They were swearing and mumbling they hadn't played in a while, while she laughed evilly and crushed them. When they finally turned it off, she said that when her brother got home tomorrow, he would kill them all. Compared to him, she sucked. But she could whip his ass in Mario Kart, which she agreed to have a tournament with them in tomorrow. As I watched, I saw Simon and Nate both drooling over her, and I knew what she had said was true. It didn't make things any easier, but at least I knew which ones not to pick. Of course now, I still had to figure out the other two. Simon stayed out there with Nate on the futon, knowing that if he went in to sleep with Derek, he'd just wake him up. Julie walked with me back to her room, where we found Tori snoring. She said that there was pajamas in the bottom drawer of the larger dresser that might fit me. I pulled out some flannel pants with clouds and moons and star all over them, and found a yellow tank top to go with them, and put them on. Julie went back upstairs, and I crawled into bed next to Tori. At least we had beds. I let myself doze off, thinking random things.

At least it wasn't raining.

Hey guys! I know this is early, and for you guys who was waiting for the other story, I'm sorry! I was so excited to introduce new characters, I couldn't write about the other one! but that's what I'm doing next. Right after I study for my math final and my french final. And do my English homework. Bleh! I hope you guys like it, I made it especially long just for you! Read and review!

P.S. Julie's house is my actual house. My room really is that small and messy, and I do have that many Nintendo systems. And the arcade gauntlet game literally has the whole box thing you put quarters into. But we have the key for the little doors to the money, so we just reuse the quarters. But my real brother's name isn't Aaron. I just like that name. He really is good a super Mario smash brothers, melee, brawl, and 64. and my house is that cool. Its just really a lot smaller than it sounds, because when I write it up, it sounds like a mansion. And its really not. Review!