A/N Okay people, I am BEGGING you! Please, please, please, PLEASE review!
Disclaimer: I do not own Darkest Powers.
Chloe's POV
My heart skipped a beat. No matter what Simon thinks, I like him, not Derek.
Then why couldn't you say so?
Unable to answer my own question, I turned my attention back to Andrew.
"...but he'll have to get stitches."
"S-sorry, what w-was th-th-that?"
"I said that he's fine, other than that, but he'll have to get stitches." he turned his sorrowful smile to me.
"B-but we can d-do that here, r-right?"
"Of course."
A door slammed, and I jumped about a foot in the air. Even before I heard the heavy breathing, I knew who it was. And, apparently, so did Andrew.
"I guess I'll have to tell him, too." he muttered. He stood to leave, but paused by the door, his expression pleading. As I searched his face, I found a hint of fear. He was afraid to tell Derek about Simon. I got to my feet.
"I-i-i'll tell him." I said. He nodded his agreement, and I left.
I found Derek at the foot of the stairs. When he saw me, he paused.
"Where's Simon?" his bloodied face was dark with concern.
"He's in Andrew's room." I managed without stuttering.
"Is he okay?" he asked. I considered saying 'Yeah, he just needs stitches', and letting him find out about the werewolf thing for himself, but one look at him told me not to. He was limping slightly, and his clothes were ripped in multiple places. You could barely see his skin through all the blood. I could only hope that some of it was Ramon's. Yet, even in his current state, he was worried about his brother. The least I could do is tell him the truth. So I did.
"H-he's fine. A-a-andrew says that he need stitches...and...um...he's a w-w-werewolf." I hated being so blunt about it, but there was really no other way to say it. A brief wave of shock passed over his face, but he seemed to remember that Simon was bitten by a werewolf, and his expression turned as sorrowful as Andrew's, maybe a bit more so.
"Can I see him?" his voice was barely louder than a whisper, and I couldn't help but feel sorry for him.
"S-sure. I w-was just a-a-about to g-go. W-want to c-come with me?" He nodded, and we walked upstairs together.
Simon's POV
I heard them coming up the steps. I smelled them too. Derek and Chloe. And blood. Lots of blood. I recognised them almost instantly, even though I had never smelled them before. Well, of course not. That would be weird. I heard them stop by the door. Chloe pushed it open just a bit. Seeing I was awake, she stepped in, and Derek followed her. His emotions have never been more open. He looked so sad, so guilty. I wanted to comfort him. Tell him it wasn't his fault. Chloe looked guilty, too, but she made a greater attempt to hide it.
"A-a-are you o-o-okay, S-simon?" she stuttered. I smiled.
"Sure. Once I get stitches, I'll be perfectly fine. You know, being a werewolf isn't that bad." Derek snorted, and my smile grew.
"G-g-good." she said. After that, silence fell. An awkward one, too. I wished I could get up and give them both a hug. Or at least start a conversation.
"So, uh, where's Tori?" I finally managed. They both looked relieved, and Chloe smiled a little.
"In our room with Andrew. I think it was the first time she looked so concerned...well, in front of me, at least." She glanced at Derek. "The second time was when I told her you were fighting a wolf." Huh. She cares. Good to know. Another silence fell, and I noticed that they were both still standing by the door. I pushed myself up with one arm so that I was sitting, and shuffled over a bit, making room for them. They still stood there.
"Well? Come sit!" I grinned. Chloe smiled, and walked over to sit beside me. Derek stayed put for a few seconds though, sniffing the air. I guess it bugged him that I was a werewolf, but he eventually sat on the other side of me.
"You've lost a lot of blood." he murmured.
"So have you." I countered. He glared at me, and I shrugged. "It's true." I took a breath, and overwhelming scents flooded over me. Derek's blood was the strongest, though. I closed my eyes and inhaled again, trying to get past the metallic scent to Chloe's more comforting one. When I opened my eyes, Chloe's head was cocked slightly to one side, her eyes darting between me and Derek.
"I finally see the resemblance between you two." she teased. I laughed. Derek glared at her, though, and I felt a sudden sense of anger surging through me. A low growl rumbled in my chest, and for a split second, I wanted to rip his head off, but I cut it short, surprised. They both stared at me as if I had just grown a second head or something. I sighed.
"Sorry, bro. I-"
"No problem." He smiled, but it was forced and I saw the sadness in his green eyes. Luckily, I heard footsteps pounding around the corner, and soon, Tori flew through the open door, her eyes searching my face before moving on to Derek's.
"Are you okay?" she asked. I could tell the question was directed at both of us, but Derek kept silent.
"I'm fine." I told her.
"Come sit." Chloe said, inching closer to me to make room for Tori. She quickly sat down, glancing at me and Derek every so often.
"Well, someone looks worried." I joked.
"You almost got your arm ripped off, and wolf-boy over there looks like he just took a bath in a tub of blood. Who wouldn't be worried?" she snapped. I lifted my one hand in a surrendering motion.
"No need to get snappy." I said, earning myself an intense glare.
"I don't even know why I came here-" she started.
"I do. You care about us." I cut her off, my voice mockingly sincere. Tori opened her mouth to say something, but Chloe cut in.
"And that's a good thing. So before somebody ends up with his other arm injured, I say we drop it."
"Not a chance. I'm a werewolf now, remember." I smirked at Tori, and again, she opened her mouth to say something, but again, someone cut in. It was Derek this time.
"Which is why you should drop it." he said sharply. I know how he felt about stuff like that. After all, he did end up in a group home for accidentally crippling a kid. I said nothing, and no one else did either. The room was enveloped in yet another awkward silence.
"Well, um, I'm going to take a shower." Derek rumbled, before getting up and briskly walking out of the room. Tori muttered something about no-one caring about her being here, and stormed off. That left me alone with Chloe. A wave of joy rushed over me, but I quickly saw the look of sadness on her face, and my mind rushed back to the forest, when I had kissed her. After I accused her of liking Derek, her face bore the same expression. I had wanted to take my words back, and tell her I was sorry, that I knew they weren't true. But they were. And she couldn't argue, because she knew they were. But my gut still twisted at the thought of not having her with me. She must have known what I was thinking, because she spoke up softly.
"Can we still be friends?"
I smiled sadly. "I would like that." I told her. She smiled too, and threw her arms around my neck, careful not to touch my injured arm. She quickly pulled away, though, her face bright red.
"S-s-sorry." Before I could respond, she continued. "I-I'm going to find T-tori." And with that, she rushed out the door. I would have to fix this later. They were all too awkward around me. I sighed, and lay back down, trying to figure out how to get past the still lingering scent of Derek's blood in order to think.
A/N Well? What'd you think? PLEASE REVIEW! Anyway, that chapter was really fun to write...I'll try to update within the next week, but I'm begging you to review! PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE!