A/N: I admit, this chapter might feel a little rushed, but only because I wanted to add more of a plot to it. I have everything planned, but I feel that if I don't cut to the chase, I may never get it out. And one thing I'd like to say is that I will have one OC (you'll know what/who I mean once you read this chapter), but I won't bring her officially up until later. Anyways, thanks to all that reviewed -and read- my story! I appreciate it so much!

Disclaimer: Oh, and I, um... *jeopardy music* I DON'T OWN DARKEST POWERS, OKAY?

"My eyes were open, but I was blind.
Couldn't see your crooked smiles,
Or twisted lies."

As we headed downstairs, my mouth dropped in awe. When we first arrived to the house, I was too drowsy to notice the house's appearance. I failed to note how the staircase wrapped around the living quarters almost as if it was giving the room one of Simon's hugs. I didn't spot how the couches centered around the flat-screen TV seemed to invite you in with fluffy white pillows. And I certainly did not observe how large the house truly was.

The living room was gigantic at the least, and extremely spacious. It held three couches -one full-sized one and two love seats-, knick-knacks galore, and my favorite- a tall, bulky entertainment center with thousands of movies. I'd definitely have to search through the titles after breakfast. One astonishing feature about the room was that the whole area was entirely bathed in the color white, as if someone had taken a paint can and splattered it over everything. For some reason, it had seemed like someone- Andrew, possibly, if he owned the place- was trying to erase old memories, to get rid of all reminders of the past, but maybe I was just over-analyzing my surroundings. I tend to do that sometimes. Overall, it was extremely coxy, something I didn't expect from Andrew. But hey- maybe underneath, Andrew was really a caring, teddy bear-snuggling type-of-guy. I nearly laughed at my mental picture.

The only thing not as welcoming were the bare walls. The blank, bland, white walls. No pictures hanging proudly, or even photos of family. I was almost certain that there would be some of Simon and Derek, since they had made it clear that their father and Andrew were close... at least until the fall-out. I still wondered what that was about, but I was too afraid to ask. Derek and Simon seemed a little upset about what had happened, loosing touch with Andrew, and I wouldn't want to remind them of any discouraging memories.

To be honest, the house looked like something out of a furniture magazine. It was so... neat, something I wasn't used to. It was a Victorian-styled house, with ancient designs and oddly-shaped walls. I didn't need to see the exterior to figure that out. And acquiring that piece of information made me realize that there was probably multiple floors and rooms. When Simon and I got down on the main floor, I notcied a room set off to the side. From what I could see, it held another set of stairs, confirming that there was indeed more than two floors. Note to self: Ask Andrew to make a map of the house so I won't get lost... and elevators wouldn't be too bad either.

Simon and I strode over into the kitchen, which was openly connected to the living room. Inside, Tori and Derek were sitting beside each other, already stuffing their faces, and bickering about Derek's eating habits. I sighed, but was in a way glad to see that even if we moved to a different location, old habits wouldn't change. After all, we could travel to Antartica, sleep on blocks of ice with the penguins, and literally come face-to-face with Hell itself, and these two would still find a way to argue with one another.

I sat down across from Tori, Simon taking his place in the chair beside mine. I was hungry, verging on starving, but I had no clue where the food items and plates were set, so I couldn't get my own food. In a way, I was stuck. I couldn't just get up and demand for food, but I couldn't let my stomach acids burn me inside-out, either. I internally groaned. Why can't you be more like Tori, Chloe? Get up and beg for food? Be a little more independent sometimes. Stop making such a big deal out of everything! Just as I was about to start arguing with myself, Andrew came out from behind a set of double doors and saved the day.

"Good morning, Chloe," he said, his smile warmer than what I thought it would be. He reached into the microwave and pulled out a plate piled with food. He set it in front of me along with the necessary utensils. "I was unsure as to what you liked so I gave you a little bit of everything."

"It's great, Andrew. Thanks," I replied, all of my senses responding instantly. I hadn't had a real, hot meal in weeks. I dug in. Andrew brought up a chair and sat next to Tori.

"So, what do you think about the house so far, Chloe?"

I looked up from my food, swallowing everything in my mouth before I began to speak.

"It's definitely... big."

Andrew chuckled to himself. "You'll get used to it." Andrew's eyes seemed to turn a little distant as they travelled to the floor. I was worried; was he okay? Soon enough, he regained his composure and turned back to me with a smile. It was weak compared to the one he first greeted me with, but it was a smile nonetheless. Silence filled the air and I took advantage of it to scoop up some more food.

He began to speak again, except this time, not to me. "Simon, have you had anything to eat so far this morning?"

"Um, no. I was waiting for everyone to get done to just grab an apple. Why?" Simon replied, confusion seeping into his voice.

"May I speak to you for a second?"

Simon looked hesitant but eventually followed Andrew through the set of double doors. I heard a bit of mumbling but I couldn't make out any words. I could see Derek across the table straining to hear.

"What's he saying?" I whispered to Derek. He put a finger to his lip, motioning for me to be quiet.

A couple seconds later, Tori got up and put her empty plate in the sink. She let out a long, exaggerated yawn before she announced that she was going upstairs to get dressed. I nodded whereas Derek sent her a look for interrupting the silence. Tori raised her eyebrows in protest, but finally headed upstairs.

I watched Derek intently, trying to find any expressions on his face that gave away what Andrew and Simon were discussing. The only sign I could make out was when his face scrunched up, forehead creased, in confusion. I leaned in closer and struggled to see if I could hear anything to the point where my head started to hurt. I decided that it would be better to just ask the guy that could hear later to get the scoop. You know... if he wasn't still mad at me.

I still didn't get why Derek was angry in the first place. It was a joke, we were just kidding around. Heck, I even knew that Derek had a comical side now-and-then. I had learned that on the way to Andrew's house. Sometimes I wished we could go back to that -the goofing around and friends thing- but it seems that Derek will never let his gaurd down, even if we are in a safe house in the middle of nowhere.

I turned my attention back to the kitchen when all-of-a-sudden, the door slung open and out came Simon, Andrew closely following. I couldn't catch any apparent emotions flickering around, but Derek and Simon had a prolonged stare-down. Derek's eyes then moved to bore into Andrew's, disgust clearly showing on Derek's face. Andrew put a hand on Simon's back, still staring at Derek while doing so, and guided him over into the living room. There was one emotion I did pick out of Andrew's eyes before he turned his head the other way: hate. I longed for the warm and bubbly Andrew from before, greeting me with such a welcoming smile. Now, it felt like there was a barrier put up; a wall not meant to tear down. Maybe it was just my ignorance speaking, but I was under the impression that Derek and Andrew were split into two teams. The prize? Simon.

I could feel the tension in the air, weighing me down. It rested on my shoulders and wrapped around me, like a cool cardigan. On instinct, I rubbed my arms free of anxiety and got up to put my plate in the sink. Suddenly, I wasn't so hungry anymore.

After breakfast, I quickly headed upstairs to change into decent clothes. While the stench of yesterday's shirt was one reason that attributed to my getting ready, just wanting to get away from Andrew was another. I couldn't explain why Andrew acted in such a manner, but after thinking about, I figured that it was merely just something between Andrew and Derek. Maybe Andrew wasn't used to the big, "dangerous" Derek and found him... intimidating? I simply couldn't tell because, well, I had only known Andrew for one day. And I'm sure knowing what style of furniture he has isn't going to tell me what he's like as a person.

When I got to my -or should I say my shared- room, I tossed on a green shirt from Lyle House and a pair of jeans that were covered in stains. To top if off, I slung on my burgandy jacket that has been ever-so kind to me these past couple of days. Tori would sneer at my clothes in disgust. Right now, though, I picked comfort over style.

I was just about to exit our room when I remembered that I was going to check under the bed again to search for my necklace. I quickly slid under the bed and began to rummage through some of the stuff. Except for a couple of dust bunnies, I ended up empty-handed. I was slithering out from underneath the bed when a document caught my eye. I knew that it was none of my business, but the name on it caused me great suspicion.

It was addressed to Marcel.

I grabbed the paper in my hand and came out from underneath the bed. I tip-toed to the door to lock it, not wanting to get caught sleuthing. If anyone was to want to get in, my excuse would be that I was changing. Simple as that. But, why did I still feel like I was committing a crime?

I shakingly unfolded the paper to find that it was actually a letter. And a short one at that. Whoever it was that wrote this certainly wanted to keep it brief and to the point. Inside the letter, it said:

Marcel,
You are making a huge mistake. I apologize for my biased opinion, but you can still turn back now before it's too late.
Think of the ones that love you and only want you to make the very best decisions. Think about all of the goods times we have had. You wouldn't want to throw that away, would you?
It may all be black-and-white to you, but I'll never forget.

Love,
Sarah

I read and reread the letter, but it just didn't make sense. This couldn't be Marcel as in "Marcel Davidoff", could it? If so, how would it end up here? And who's Sarah? A lover?

Footsteps coming down the hallway cut my thoughts from flooding in. I waited a second to figure out if they were coming in my direction or not, and turns out they were.

"Chloe?" A voice called out, and I quickly recognized it as Andrew's. I responded to let him know that everything was okay- when in reality, my heart was about to leap out of it's chest.

"H-h-hold on, Andrew. I'm ch-changing. I'll be there in a second." I hurriedly shoved the letter into my pillow and ran to unlock the door. When I opened the door, Andrew was standing right there, as close as he could get to my room. When my door was shut, he must had been pressed up against it.

I put on my best counterfeit smile and looked him straight in the eye, my heart not slowing one bit. In return, he smirked at me, one I wasn't sure of its purpose.

"How would you like to come downstairs and take a look at the movies? Simon informed me that you were highly interested in them."

I nodded my head and Andrew moved aside to let me by. I half-walked, half-ran to get down the stairs. Andrew, on the other hand, didn't follow. Instead, I heard him enter my bedroom, and I just knew that he suspected me of something. Maybe, just maybe, I told myself, he was doing the laundry today and wanted to gather the sheets? Oh, great, I thought. Now he's going to find the letter hidden in my pillowcase. That's not suspicious at all.

I waved away the thought and continued downstairs into the living room. Simon was sprawled out on the couch, an apple in hand, and was watching TV. He grinned when he saw me and I suddenly felt bad for intruding.

"Mind if I join you?"

"Considering everyone else shot up and left when I reentered the kitchen, a little company wouldn't hurt."

"Good." I beamed back at him, but didn't feel too comfortable sitting on the couch, so I just took my place on the floor, in front of the gazillion movies. My eyes scanned through them one-by-one. Unsurprisingly, I recognized most of them. The main genre was quite strange, though. Judging by the ones I had seen and the titles of others, the predominant classification was psychological science thriller. There wasn't much variety to them. I was a little dumbfounded by the discovery, but I figured that Andrew, or whoever it was that owned this house, was just a huge fan.

"Did you find anything interesting?" Simon called out. He got up, switched off the TV, and then came to sit beside me on the floor.

Not wanting to start something that probably wasn't true, I just replied with, "Not really."

I rose and stood, unsure of what to do next. Sadness wavered in Simon's eyes and I suddenly felt remorseful for leaving him on the floor. He didn't think I was avoiding him, did he?

Just as I was about to apologize, something caught my eye. As if I hadn't done enough snooping already, I walked over to the door I saw earlier- the one with the stairs- and tugged on the doorknob. It was locked. But wasn't it open widely this morning? Why would Andrew lock it if it was just ajar earlier, gaping for everyone to see? My mind was suddenly caught in a frenzy, going through every possibility. Maybe Andrew doesn't know it's locked? What if he accidentally closed it without unlocking it first? ... What if he's hiding something?

"Chloe? Is everything alright?" Simon asked, worry clearly showing in his voice. He came over to stand beside me.

"Wasn't this door open this morning?"

"I- um..." I could see Simon going through the events that happened earlier in his head. "I... I think so. But, after you left to change clothes, Andrew went down there to retrieve something. I was too busy watching TV to notice what he was doing. Why?"

Oh... so Andrew had been down there and most likely did lock it... by mistake, I guessed. I suddenly felt like an idiot for doubting Andrew.

"No reason." I replied, guilt hanging in my words. I was about to leave the subject alone once and for all when something else crossed my mind.

"Simon, what did Andrew want with you this morning?"

Simon seemed to be taken aback by my questioning, but answered with a solid, "It was a diabetes thing. No big deal."

That made sense, but it still didn't explain why Derek was so upset. Speaking of Derek... "Do you know where Derek is?"

"He... uh, went upstairs to our room."

"Great. Thanks." And just like that, I trudged up the stairs, leaving Simon alone once again in the living room.

Once inside Derek and Simon's room, I found that it was the same layout of the room I shared with Tori, except the furniture was reversed. It reminded me a lot of Lyle House, a place I wanted to forget so desperately.

Derek was sitting at a small desk whilst working on a Mac laptop. He must have borrowed it from Andrew. On the journey here last night, I thought I saw a briefcase that could have held a laptop, but I wasn't certain. Andrew must have carried it with him, well... everywhere. Just like how my pendant is to me. Which brought me to why I was here...

"Derek?"

He swiveled around in his chair to face me. I was surprised that he didn't jump, even just a little bit, when I called his name, but then again, he does have bionic hearing.

"Yes," he answered plainly, letting no emotions escape into his words. "What do you want?"

I peeked outside in the hallway before shutting the door to his bedroom. "This morning. I didn't get to finish talking to you."

There was a protracted length of silence, as if he was taking the time to contemplate whether he wanted to talk to me or not. Thankfully, he didn't decide against it.

"About your necklace."

My eyebrows rose and my eyes widened. What-

"H-How did you know about my necklace?"

"You haven't been wearing it. I knew something was up. You usually have it on you at all times."

He was the only one to notice that it was missing.

"I woke up this morning and it was gone. I could be over-reacting. It could easily be in with the laundry. But, for some reason, I fear t-t-that-"

"That someone took it?" Derek knew exactly what I was going to say. Now that the words were out and drifting in the air, I felt like a fool for thinking that someone in the house had stolen it. But, it was the best solution I could come up with.

"Yeah. If someone did take it, I just wish I knew why they would want it. It's of no use to them. I only keep it because of personal purposes, and the occasional incentive that..." I let my words fade and hang in the air. Realization smacked me in the face... hard. That was exactly why someone would steal it. My pendant didn't only give me comfort, but I believed - no, I knew- that it helped ward off the ghosts, helped me control my powers. Derek seemed to have came to the same reasonings.

"Someone took it so you would lose all domination over your powers..." Derek's eyes squinted and I could see that he was lost in thought. He opened his mouth, then shut it, going against what he was about to say. He had a verdict I could tell, but I had some of my own. Some that I hated for thinking of. Some that I honestly had no proper motive as to why they would do it, but the events of the morning so far backed it up perfectly. Some that I feared to say out loud, but did anyway.

"What if it was Simon?"