Part 7: Starting Summer
Things were weird for a while after Chloe's birthday. Before they knew it, both Derek and Chloe were busy studying for their finals. They would spend some time together, mainly because they could study for their English exam together. Somehow, being sexual hadn't happened much either. Chloe's Dad was sticking around for the rest of the year, in hopes to whisk Chloe away on a family-only vacation for the first two weeks of summer break.
Not to say they haven't done anything. They have kissed and felt each other up in the cemetery and behind Chloe's house, but they haven't had much of an opportunity to go much further.
It didn't help that Derek was struggling to change fully, again. His body would morph about half way or almost all of the way and then would begin reverting back to human form. Chloe was starting to get concerned, but Derek promised that it wasn't anything out of the ordinary. He had been surprised when he changed fully so quickly on his first few times. According to the books that Beth had given him, everyone was a little different when it came to changing, how far you'd change, and how often. Much of it, surprisingly, was also influenced by how you were feeling, your diet and exercise, and of course your status with your mate. Due to being around Chloe but not actually completing the mating ritual, Derek's body was out of whack and out of tune. Beth's warning continued to echo through his mind, but what was he supposed to do? He just wasn't ready to mate with Chloe until he at least got back from California.
Derek was flying out the day after school was officially over and would be gone until the last week of summer. Chloe already had tickets to fly out to him for his birthday. His dad bought tickets for the family to go visit the week after Chloe arrived. He was nervous, to say the least. He worried about his relationship with Chloe. He was worried about his own body fighting against him by not being able to be around Chloe, or be able to just walk/run to her house whenever things were stressful and he needed support. He would barely be able to even text her with her being in Italy with her dad for two weeks.
The last day of school was a half-day. Derek, Chloe, Nate, Simon, Tori, and some other friends were all going to go to a mini-golf course. It was a great way for all of them to be in the same place and be able to hang out before everyone was going their separate ways for the summer.
Chloe and Derek were walking hand in hand into the mini golf course. Chloe had a red put and Derek had a green.
Chloe was also feeling incredibly nervous to be separated from Derek for so long. Despite the fact she knew logically that Derek was her mate and that he would never leave her for someone else, it still lurked in the back of her mind that California would be filled with attractive girls that are much more conventionally attractive than she was. Plus, being away from him for so long just felt… wrong. She knew that things had gotten a little awkward and weird after her birthday, and she definitely did not want that to continue on to their break away from each other.
"Are you nervous about California?" She asked Derek.
He nodded. He refused to try to hide things from her the last few days. There was no point, why hide that he was nervous? Chloe had a great tendency to somehow make him feel much more reassured when he was open about his feelings to her. "I'm worried about changing."
Chloe nodded. "Yeah, that makes sense. Are you still worried about finding the right place to change?"
Derek nodded. "Yes. Plus, I'm just not changing fully. It's been… more painful. I know it's because I'm… resisting the wolf side of me. But, I feel like there has to be something I can do."
Chloe could tell Derek was distraught. The internship in California was weighing on him heavily. Not being together during his time away was going to be a big struggle. Chloe smiled as she looked at Derek; she couldn't help but feel he looked like a sad puppy. All she wanted to do was cuddle him until he felt better. They continued to talk through their worries as they completed the golf course. All while also chatting with the others they were with and everyone was attempting to make plans for when they could throughout the summer.
Chloe pulled Derek away from the large group of kids. She pulled him to the side of the arcade where it was hard for anyone to see from the mini golf course. Derek was surprised. He wasn't sure if something was wrong, or why Chloe was pulling him away. When she reached up on her toes and kissed him, he physically relaxed into her touch. He kissed her lovingly, wrapping his arms around her waist while she looped her arms around his neck. They stood there kissing for a while before Chloe pulled back.
"I'm going to miss you." She pressed her head on his chest. Her voice was soft, and Derek could tell she really meant it, and it made his heart feel warm.
"I'm going to miss you, too."
They stayed like that for a while, holding onto each other. Derek could hear her heartbeat calm ever so slightly, as if she was just as relaxed by his touch as he was to hers. "I'll only be able to email you or send you messages on social media, so you have to actually make an instagram account. No more 'I stay off of social media,' okay?"
Derek nodded. "Yes, okay. I will set up an instagram account."
Chloe didn't realize she was starting to cry until she saw the dark smudges of her makeup on Derek's shirt. It didn't bother him, though. All he wanted to do was hold Chloe, and make sure to never forget what she felt like in his arms.
Despite the fact that they were both rational people and knew they were going to eventually see each other again, it felt like a sorrow filled farewell. "Can we just go back to my house?"
Derek nodded. He pulled out his phone and messaged Simon and Tori that he would be riding home with Chloe and they departed without saying goodbye to the others.
When they got to Chloe's house her Dad wasn't home yet. He had actually made plans with Kit to go out to eat while the young ones were out at mini golf. Chloe took Derek to her room and they laid in bed for a while, holding on to each other.
"Have you packed yet?" Derek shook his head. "No way. You're the type to always be overly prepared. Why haven't you packed?"
"I… think I'm just still struggling with leaving. When my Dad first adopted me, we were moving around a lot. I wasn't used to being in one spot for very long until high school. Then, we moved again to come here. It didn't bother me too much because I never needed anyone else except Simon and the rest of my family. But, now you're a part of that pack and I just can't imagine being away from you for so long."
"I don't want to be away from you, either. I'm excited to see you for your birthday. I can't believe you're going to be 18 and I only just turned 17."
"I know. I'm glad you'll be able to be there for my birthday, though."
Before they knew it, the time flew by. Derek went home to finish packing and say his goodbye's to his family. The next morning, Chloe was at his house early. She would be riding with Kit to drop him off. Despite Kit's protest, Chloe sat in the backseat, holding onto Derek. They rode in silence for the most part. When Derek got out of the car at the terminal, Chloe got out as well and gave him the tightest hug she could manage around his large frame. She had made sure not to wear any makeup to make sure her makeup wouldn't ruin his shirt like it had the day before. Derek leaned down and kissed her deeply. "I'll see you soon." He murmured against her lips and then he hugged his father and walked into the airport.
California was certainly another world for Derek. He arrived at the San Francisco airport and there was someone waiting for him with his name on the sign. He was escorted from the airport to an apartment complex that was two blocks away from the SpaceX HQ. There was an older man waiting at the front of the complex.
"Hello! You must be Derek… Bae, correct?" He said as he glanced at the paper on the clipboard in his hand." Derek just nodded in response. "Great! My name is Ben, I'm going to be you're Housing Manager. I am in charge of all of the living arrangements for the people living in this complex. Most of them will be interns like yourself but for different departments. Some of them live here permanently and are employees of SpaceX. No one in this complex is a stranger, everyone has some affiliation with SpaceX in one way or another.
"Here it says… you're going to be on the fourth flour. You'll be sharing an apartment with three other people. You'll have your own room. Here are your keys." He passed them to Derek before continuing. "One is to get into the building. Quiet hours are from 9pm to 6am. We keep the front door locked during those hours. We will be doing a check of the apartments every night at 8pm to make sure you are in your apartment. You are allowed to leave during the evening as long as you let someone know where you are going, and we prefer everyone to use the buddy system! You are new to the area, so we don't want you getting lost or anything like that. We have a full gym with a pool on the first floor. There is also a game room and a work room. First, let me show you the mail boxes." They finally walked inside of the complex and Ben showed Derek the mailboxes lined up on the wall.
"Mail usually gets dropped off between 10am to noon on the weekdays. You shouldn't be getting much mail. We will be giving you a credit card for your purchases while you are here. Any food, clothes, things for the apartment you can use the card for. There will be a user's guide in your room and the card is already there for you. Over here is that gym I was talking about… Down this way is the game room and the work room just has some desks, computers, printers, and any stationary supplies you might need. If anything isn't working or needs to be restocked, just let me know. My number will be up on your fridge alone with other emergency numbers. Alright, let's head up to your room. One of your roommates is already here, he arrived yesterday. The other two are both arriving in about a week. We will keep you posted on when they show up."
When Derek walked into the apartment, he was amazed. But, he suddenly felt on edge. There was a scent in the room he didn't quite recognize. Whoever was already living here must be some kind of supernatural, because no human had that kind of smell. What were the odds he'd run into another supernatural being so early in his internship. The living room was huge. There was a four seater couch and one recliner, a coffee table, a flat screen mounted to the wall and a small desk in the corner. The dining room had a simple wooden table with four chairs. The kitchen had a large fridge and was pretty empty except for the coffee maker.
"Sam? Your roommate Derek is here!" Ben called out and knocked on one of the doors that led to a bedroom.
Sam, Derek assumed, peaked out the door and immediately locked eyes with Derek. The waft of scent that came from his room made Derek's blood run cold. He was going to be rooming with another werewolf!