Well, hey thar. Welcome to the first chapter.

It might be a little slow at first, but it will get better. I PROMISE!

Disclaimer: Not much to say here except that I don't own the Darkest Powers and I want a taco.

Foolish

Chapter One

----XX----

An insomniac in my blood,
rises to the fore,
and slips some heartfelt words,
in a rhythmic glitter,
and whispers them,
in the ear of the sleepless night.
----XX----

The smell of the forest outside of the haven that Andrew had led them to smelt more comforting to Derek than anything he had smelled in a good long while. There was something about the space and the freedom of the forest that had both him and the wolf content. There was very little pollution out here and the annoying sounds of cars and their alarms wouldn't dare try to infiltrate this peace.

Derek slowed his pace and leaned his back against a nearby tree, reminding himself not to get too far away from the house. He pushed his limp hair out of his face and leaned his head back so it rested on the bark taking deep breaths and reveling in the feel of his heart pounding against his chest in a fast rhythm of beats. He let a small contented smile worm its way onto his face as he breathed in through his nose, taking in the scent of rabbit.

Andrew had been reluctant to let Derek go out for a run, telling him that it was stupid and dangerous to do that when the Edison Group could be near. Derek had, of course, already gone over most of the scenarios in his mind and knew that it was not the best idea he had ever had. He had planned on going back to sleep.

The wolf was itching, though, angry at being kept from its exercise. So, after a good hour of lying down, standing up and walking off his restlessness, and lying back down again only to repeat the process, Derek was forced to play the role of whiny teenager. And, after a mound of reassurances, he was allowed to go. He just had to stay close to the house and get out of there as soon as he even thought he heard/smelt something wrong.

The very thought was laughable. The way the forest was made it seem like nothing could be wrong. As if to prove him wrong, off to the side his super-hearing picked up the high pitched squeals of an animal in distress. He turned his head towards the sound, sampling the air attentively. The smell of fresh blood came his way, mingled with the scent of cigarettes, but those were old.

He picked his way over the fallen leaves and tree roots that bulged from the ground. He looked over a log and saw a small furry creature that was immediately identified as a vole struggling in a trap, its leg ripped and blood matting its fur. The smell of cigarettes was coming off of the trap.

Derek wasn't stupid, he knew that even if he got the vole out of its trap that it would die anyway. Whether it would get eaten or it would die of blood loss, he did not know. It would be kinder to just let it die faster. Why did he care? An image of Chloe flashed through his mind, her eyes closed lightly as she tried to summon the spirit of the bird.

She was still asleep, no doubt, and he was glad for it, knowing she had barely slept in three or so days. Partially his fault and he had taken as much blame as she had allowed him to take. Which was none, the stubborn and overly nice twit, but he had been guilty. Her fear of leading a zombie army of accidentally summoned animals was the main reason Derek didn't walk away from the creature.

Derek watched the vole struggle a bit more before sighing lightly and reaching down to un-spring the trap. The vole took a few seconds to get it's bearings before darting off into a hole in a tree, limping heavily. He stood looking at the hole it had just disappeared into before turning and resuming his run, this time, heading for the house.

His sneakers crushed the dead leaves underfoot making a crisp crackling sound to accompany the pounding of his footfalls. He followed his own trail back to the temporary dwelling they had set up camp in for now. Derek inhaled and turned just in time to burst out of the trees and onto the driveway. The early morning sun momentarily blinded him, forcing him to slow to a walk for fright that he might trip.

Derek positioned himself so that the large house blocked the sun and he looked up at its glory. It still looked just as ominous as it first had. He shook his head and a flash of light out of the corner of his eye had him looking to the left bottom window where a light had just been flicked on. The silhouette of a man told him that it was Andrew.

He jogged the rest of the way up the driveway and opened the doors as quietly as he could and flinching when one of the hinges squeaked. Andrew walked down the hallway and offered him a smile that was not really a smile. His body language didn't say that he was all too happy, either. His shoulders were hunched forward ever so slightly, but that's all they needed. Andrew refused to meet his eyes, looking at his nose instead. His posture was one of fear.

Derek nodded at him, feeling about three inches tall. Andrew stopped walking a sensible distance away and looked him up and down.

"You look like you had a good time. Did you run into any trouble?" He inquired watching Derek. Derek shifted uncomfortably under his stare.

"Fine." He answered, his deep voice reverberating around the room. Andrew made a humming noise in the back of his throat. They stood there awkwardly. "I…" Derek started, causing Andrew to jerk in surprise and look at him. "Am going to shower." He finished quickly, fighting the urge to take the stairs two at a time as he rushed up their winding expanse. On the second floor he slowed.

Up here familiar and unfamiliar scents mingled with each other. There was Andrew, Simon, Chloe, and Tori's scents, but there were slightly faded ones that made them almost indistinguishable aside from their gender.

Derek walked into the bathroom and closed the door behind him, the slight sound seemingly louder in the tile-lined room. He took in his reflection in the large mirror. His windblown, acne covered cheeks, dull hair, hulking size. He leaned closer curiously. He had to admit that he looked better than he had in a while. Not that he looked good; he just figured that he looked better.

He shook his head and turned on the water to let it get warm while he stripped down and hopped in quickly. The warm water crashed onto the top of his head, wetting his hair and sliding down his back, warming him and releasing the tension in his muscles. He swung his head up to look into the water, pushing his hair back out of his face.

He reached behind him carefully, the small shower not offering much room for movement, and felt around for the shampoo. He grabbed onto a bottle and swung it around to make sure it was actually what he was looking for. It was. He popped the top open with a crack and squeezed some of the quickly depleting supply into his hands.

He cleaned himself almost robotically, thinking about Andrew. He missed the good old days when he was not intimidating. When Andrew almost treated him like a son. Not that Andrew was rude to him, he was perfectly nice, but he was wary around him. Nervous.

He tried not to let it bother him and repeatedly told himself that it was really no big deal, that he should be used to it by now. Everyone treated him like that. A sharp knock sounded on the door and Derek's eyes flicked to it, curious who was up as early as him.

"Who's in there?" A familiar voice asked, muffled by the thick door, and causing the wolf half to do something that he still didn't have a name for, but whatever it was, it caused his heart to leap. He turned off the water and grabbed a towel before stepping out of the shower.

"It's me." He responded, securing the towel around his waist before grabbing a smaller one to dry off his hair with. "I'll be out soon." He made sure to raise his voice a little so that she could hear him through the door.

"Oh, no, there's no rush." Chloe quickly answered. He knew she was lying. That was one of the draw backs to this huge house; there was only one bathroom. Tori had thrown a good fit when she found out, violently cursing the architects on their stupidity. Derek was completely fine with it, making a mental note to get in and out quickly.

"Nah. I was getting out anyway." He answered as he ran the towel over his body swiftly, reaching down with the unoccupied hand to grab his clothes. He tossed the towel to the side and dress quickly while Chloe tried to assure him that she really didn't need the bathroom.

He swung the door open and looked down at her through wet strands of hair. She looked back up at him and offered him a small smile, delicate blue eyes shimmering in the faint light. He remembered the fascination that Liam had with her eyes and he knew why. They were a captivating thing. The saying; "Eyes are the windows to the soul." Coming to life with her. If her eyes were that beautiful it was no surprise why she was so kind.

He moved around her carefully. She nodded and said a quiet thank you as she moved to close the door. Derek turned to move down the hallway to his room before he heard her ask him to wait. He turned around to look at her, the light from the bathroom behind her casting a yellow rectangle on the floor.

"Wait for me. I'll be out real fast." She said, waiting until he nodded before shutting the door and turning on the water to the sink. There were some splashing noises and then the water shut off abruptly. Twenty seconds later she reemerged, smiling when she saw him.

"What's up?" he asked her, still a bit cautious of the wolf's reaction. Chloe cleared her throat and stepped up to him. He resisted the urge to lean back away from her. She fiddled with the hem of her shirt and seemed to be choosing her words.

"I… I never said thank you for saving me from a speeding bullet." She said nervously. He inhaled her scent and looked down at her. The way she said it was telling him that she didn't originally want to say that and he was curious as to what it was but shrugged it off.

"No problem. I wasn't going to let you get shot." He said, shifting his weight. She looked up at him with those eyes. She smiled at him and nodded.

"Have you eaten breakfast yet?" Derek blinked, his stomach taking the cue and starting to ache for food.

"Not yet." He responded. Chloe nodded.

"Wait here. I'll go get a sweatshirt and then you can escort me downstairs for breakfast." And then she ran off, leaving him standing there in the dark hallway. The wolf side urged him to follow her and he smashed down the feeling of possessiveness that had both bothered and confused the hell out of him. He didn't get it. He couldn't get it.

He was afraid that he would get it.

He wanted her to stay with him at all times, so he could watch her and make sure she didn't hurt herself. He surprised himself that when Simon had held her hand he had wanted to snap his wrist. It wasn't really hard to understand why he had growled at Liam, but the feeling of keeping him away from Chloe at all costs had caused his brain to blip out and only have the wolf snarling at the man.

"Derek!"

He jerked and looked down at Chloe, his scowl softening. She was looking up at him with a confused expression. "C'mon." she said walking away and waving with her hand for him to follow.

Wanna know the weird thing?

He did.

Did you like it?

Please review.