Darkest Powers fanfiction
EVERYONE'S SECRET
Derek Souza/OC: Mary Ralluber

Author's Note: Well, school's started, which means I won't be updating as much anymore, not that I've been doing it frequently lately, but I'm just letting you know that it will be even longer until I get something up. Won't keep you by reading this author's note, so enjoy the chapter and please review! I know I promised a Plastic Promises chapter, and it is in progress right now, so just hang tight, alright? [:

Chapter O1.

Derek pillaged the pantry in hope for something that would satisfy his large appetite, but all he could find were boxes of oatmeal, bags of dried vegetable chips, and cans of soup. He had already been here four months—he should have known better than to find something that wasn't nutritious here at the group home. But his monstrous appetite craved for something that would last until dinner time. As he pushed away some oatmeal boxes, he found what he was looking for, a smile almost appearing his acne-dotted face. He pulled out an open box of graham crackers and pulled out an unopened sleeve. He suddenly turned around to see a much shorter boy with blonde hair worn in spikes. He wore a smirk as he caught Derek red-handed.

"Heard me? Or did you smell me?" asked Simon, Derek's younger foster brother. Derek's serious eyes met with Simon's playful brown ones.

"Both," Derek replied, opening the sleeve. Simon reached for one and Derek watched with slight worry. "Uh … you sure you should be—"

"Relax, bro. I'm not going to pass out from one graham cracker," chuckled Simon. Simon had diabetes and Derek tend to be overprotective of it. With their dad missing, Simon was the only person Derek had left close to him. He refused to imagine what would happen if his diabetes got out of control.

"So you must have smelled the new girl," Simon continued, his voice dropping. Derek's thick eyebrows narrowed and he nodded.

"She probably smelled me too," he replied. Simon's eyes widened.

"What? You don't mean—" Derek nodded.

"She's a werewolf too."

"You're kidding," Simon gasped. "You getting territorial vibes?"

"Nah. It doesn't really seem like she wants to be here," Derek said. He stuffed the sleeve of graham crackers into the pocket of his sweatpants and walked out of the kitchen slowly, Simon on his heels. There were a couple of familiar scents around her: two of the nurses who ran Lyle House.

The boys rounded the wall and snuck out behind the staircase, Mrs. Talbot and Miss Van Dop crowding the view of the new girl.

"She's really pretty," Simon whispered. "But maybe I should let you have a go, since you two have so much in common." The last bit Simon whispered in a teasing way, and Derek rolled his eyes. As if he cared. He didn't like thinking about girls. Not really his thing. If Simon thought she was pretty, then he could chase after her himself. Unless Brady thought the same ….

Finally, Mrs. Talbot and Miss Van Dop moved out of the way and Derek got a clear view of the new girl. Well, Simon wasn't kidding about her being pretty. She was small, well, more like short. There was nothing small about her chest and her hips. Simon quietly whistled and Derek shot him a dirty look. She was dressed in a plain white v-neck blouse and a pair of short cut-offs. Her hair was long and black, and she had the brightest green eyes that would definitely glow in the dark.

Like Derek had said, she looked uncomfortable with her surroundings. Suddenly, he noticed a twitch of her nose and he realized she'd caught a whiff of him. Her eyes immediately averted to his direction, locking gazes with his own. Her eyebrows slowly rose with surprise.

"Let's go," Derek muttered and dragged Simon away from the staircase and into the small living room. They nestled in the old-fashioned couch. Derek snuck a couple of graham crackers out of his pocket and Simon reached for another one as well.

"So, she was pretty, wasn't she?" he asked, munching on the graham cracker.

"I've never met another werewolf, well, other than those pups from the lab," Derek grunted. His eyebrows were narrowed and his face was set in his usual stern expression as he stared out in front of him, reminiscing on the old memories.

"Maybe you can ask her questions about the whole werewolf thing," Simon suggested. Derek truthfully liked the idea, but he didn't show it. Asking someone his own age questions of their species? Kind of embarrassing, wasn't it? And how did he know she was an expert on werewolves anyway? He ignored Simon's suggestion and stuffed his second graham cracker into his mouth.

Just as he swallowed his graham cracker, Mrs. Talbot, Miss Van Dop, and the new girl walked into the room. The nurses were giving her a tour and Derek wondered why she didn't have a guardian with her. Usually the patients had family come to go through the tour with them and reassure them that they were going to like it here, like they were being dropped off at a new school.

The new girl widened her eyes again when she spotted Derek, then narrowed her eyebrows, as if concentrating on him. He shifted in his seat. Mrs. Talbot beamed at the boys just as she was about to open her mouth and introduce the room.

"Boys!" She clapped her hands together, producing a wide, grandmotherly smile. "We have a new addition to our family," she said. She gently pushed the new girl out in front of her by the shoulders, Miss Van Dop giving the two boys her usual hawk-like stare. "Mary, this is Simon and Derek. They're brothers. Boys, meet Mary."

Mary's concentrated face twisted with puzzlement as she looked from Derek to Simon, trying to figure out how this big, dark-haired white kid could possibly be related to the smaller, blonde-haired Korean boy.

"We're stepbrothers," Simon explained, as if he'd read the girl's mind. He stood from the couch and extended his hand. "I'm Simon. That's Derek. You should probably get to know him. I'm sure you have lots in common with him."

Derek shielded his face with the palm of his hand, looking away, embarrassed. Mary stared at Simon, taken aback as he just grinned playfully at her. Mrs. Talbot giggled.

"What a splendid idea, Simon. I'll leave you here, Mary, and perhaps Simon and Derek could show you the rest of the home." Mrs. Talbot and Miss Van Dop nodded their goodbyes to the kids and left the room.

The three were quiet, Derek still hunkered in his seat while Simon and Mary stood facing each other. It was Mary who broke the silence.

"Well, this is awkward. So, you know what I am," she said, crossing her arms and looking up at Simon. She stole a brief glance from Derek as well.

Simon chuckled and scratched the back of his head. "'Course. I've got one of my own." He jerked his head back at Derek. Derek narrowed his eyebrows and stood, joining Simon's side. Mary had to tilt her head back to see his face. Her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates when she fully realized his size.

"Not here," Derek grunted in Simon's ear. "And not now, either." Mary narrowed her eyebrows and, taking one last glance at her, Derek passed the both of them and sulked back to his room.

"Sorry. He gets like that," Simon said, stuffing his hands into jeans pockets. Mary scoffed and tightened her arms across her chest.

"I would know."

"Right."

Derek passed Brady on his way to his room, not muttering a word, as usual. It was Brady who stopped him in the hall.

"Hey, Derek. Have you met that new girl?" he asked, a smirk spreading on his face. Derek's bored expression didn't change. "She's hella hot. You should check her out. But, back off; I call dibs. Although," He popped his collar and smirked again, "I don't think she'll look for anyone else now that she's met me. And, I don't think she'll look twice at you, pal." He laughed and clapped a hand on his shoulder. Derek looked at him, his eyebrows ever so slightly narrowing. He shrugged Brady's hand off violently and continued to his room.

Brady was the only other patient at Lyle House. He'd come a couple of months after Simon and Derek had arrived. Derek had never really clicked with him, but then again, Derek never really clicked with anyone. It was Simon who was outgoing and friendly. Derek was almost the opposite.

Derek secluded himself in his bedroom, laying on his bed, counting the cracks on the slanting wood ceiling. He could still smell Mary's scent. It was odd and completely different than the average human. He figured it was because she was another werewolf, but didn't it make more sense to have a more comforting scent, since it was so familiar to his own?

Questions began to fill his brain about the lycanthropy. How much did she know about werewolves? Had she gone through the Change? If she had, could she answer questions he had about it? Like, was it as bad as he thought it was? Being a werewolf meant being half human and half wolf, and Derek struggled to maintain that human half, so it only made sense to resist the Change. Maybe Simon was right. Maybe he should talk to Mary about werewolf things. After all, he's never had anyone to really talk to about it, no one with experience. This was his chance. A chance to really know about himself. He was just too afraid to take it.