The week after Derek's suspension passed at a snail's pace. The school was abuzz on Monday when neither Liam nor Derek showed up and the gossip was insane. Liz and Simon fielded many a question about whether or not Derek was being held in a jail cell. Those were ridiculous. Some people had heard about the second fight and neither Simon nor Liz could answer any of those questions considering neither of them were there when it happened. I didn't offer any insight into the events of that night and apparently it had not gotten out that I was even there so no one even bothered me. It calmed down considerably by Wednesday and people stopped asking questions. Despite Derek not being at school, nothing really changed much, including Mila constantly pestering me about when would I admit to Derek I like him. I didn't tell anyone that we were already dating and neither did he. He was right, after all. It was honestly nobody's business and since no one 'technically' outright asked if we were dating, there was no reason to deny or confirm it. That's not to say we weren't seeing each other during his suspension. He came into the diner everyday after work, which was the best part of my day, but I didn't get much time with him considering it was so late in the day. I walked to work again, no longer fearing being stalked. I still carried my whistle and pepper spray, but the fact that Derek would drive me home was totally worth it.

On Friday, I got off work early and walked home to change, as per Derek's instructions. He was taking me on our first official date and wasn't telling me anything. A family trait apparently. However, unlike my first date with Carter, I was much more confident choosing an outfit for my first date with Derek. Derek didn't do fancy, which suited me just fine. So, when I opened the door wearing a nice pair of jeans and a sweater, which was covered in a light jacket, I wasn't surprised to see him wearing basically the same thing.

He didn't tell me where we were going, but he had a bag strapped to the back of his motorcycle and something told me we weren't going to a restaurant. My suspicions were confirmed as he drove out of the city. I wasn't paying any attention to our surroundings the entire way and was jerked from my daydreams as he slowed down and turned into a driveway that was slightly familiar. As the house came into view, I realized we were at his grandpa's house.

"I can't even begin to guess what we're doing here," I said.

"Good," he said, getting off. "Means I'm not predictable."

I laughed and followed him off. He untied the bag and swing it over his shoulder, reaching back and taking my hand so I wouldn't trip on anything since the sun had long set and the only light we had was the full moon overhead. He led me passed the house and we followed a trail into the forest. I clung to his arm a little as we went further in, apprehensive about walking in a forest at night. I didn't question him, however, and after a few minutes, we broke through the trees and stepped into a small glade with a treehouse in the middle.

"I know it's not a restaurant or anything," Derek said, "But I thought this would be a better view anyway."

I gazed up at the open sky, millions of stars glistening down at us with the full moon bathing us in light. Smiling, I squeezed Derek's hand and leaned into him, tearing my eyes away from the stars to smile up at him.

"This is okay?" he asked, hesitantly.

"Well that depends," I said.

"On what?"

"On what's in the bag," I said, smiling.

He grinned and my breath caught. He let go of my hand and pulled out a blanket, which he laid on the ground, followed by a small battery-powered lantern that he set down on the blanket, lighting up the glade. We sat down and he pulled out tupperware containers.

"I didn't cook anything," he assured me. "Regina packed it for me so I wouldn't kill you."

I burst out laughing. "You're not that bad of a cook."

"There have been times," he said. "Trust me, before Regina started practically living with us, I don't think our stove really ever got touched."

"What are you going to do when you move to California?" I asked.

He shrugged. "I guess I'll just have to get a college girlfriend to move in with me and cook for me."

"You're hilarious," I said, dryly.

"Worried?" he asked.

"Not a bit," I said, smiling.

"That confident in yourself, huh?" he asked.

"More like I'm confident if your ineptitude with women," I answered. "Trust me, you need a lot of practice wooing a woman. And lucky for you, I have a lot of time on my hands to teach you."

He smiled at me using his line against him. "You're not worried that once you start teaching I'm going to use your lessons on someone else?"

"No," I said, smiling. "Because by the time you start learning, you'll be completely and hopelessly in love with me."

He smiled. "Well, I am going to need a lot of teaching. Weeks. Months."

"Maybe years," I said, nodding. "It's pretty serious."

He leaned down and I smiled when he kissed me. I wanted more, but my stomach decided that was the best moment to speak up. He pulled back and smiled at the look of embarrassment on my face. He didn't comment on it, however, and we started in on what Regina had prepared for us. It was nothing fancy, but it was delicious and perfect just the same.

An hour later I was snuggled back against Derek as he leaned his back against a tree and had his arms wrapped around me. He had brought an extra blanket, which was now splayed across us as we stared up at the stars overhead and I tried to come up with constellations that made more sense, like the fat squirrel. He didn't say a word as I prattled on and for a moment I was worried I was talking too much, but when I looked up his face, I was relieved to see that he was looking at the stars when a serene look on his face. He noticed I had stopped talking and looked down to see me watching him.

"Cold?" he asked.

I shook my head. "Comfortable."

We stayed like that for a long time, just talking and watching the stars. I honestly never wanted to move, but the temperature began to drop and it was getting really late. Dad was probably getting really worried that I wasn't home yet. As if he read my thoughts, my phone beeped with a text from him, just making sure I was still in one piece. I typed a quick response and helped Derek pack up.

The drive back to the city was too fast for my liking. When we arrived at my apartment, Derek walked me up and kissed me goodnight, promising to come into the diner for lunch tomorrow. Dad didn't comment on me getting home so late, just made sure I got home safe and then went off to bed. I felt a little bad for him waiting up for me so long, but the leftover giddiness from the last few hours outweighed it and I fell asleep still smiling.

Monday morning was absolute chaos as Derek was swarmed with people, half of which I don't think he'd ever talked to. Every single one was peppering him with questions that Liz or Simon had refused to answer. It was so bad I had to wait until Derek left for class to even get to my locker, which meant I didn't get to see him. I couldn't really complain, however. He did have it worse after all.

I yawned through my first three hours of the day and was almost looking forward to lunch, until I remembered the crowds of people following Derek around. Cue my surprise when I walked into the cafeteria to find Derek sitting with Liz and Mila. More specifically, alone with Liz and Mila. No one was bothering him as he sat hunched over what looked like math homework. It must have been pretty important considering his lunch sat untouched in front of him.

It took me a second to catch onto Liz and Mila's conversation and I instantly tuned them out. Prom was coming up and the school was already plastered with posters. It was the Saturday after next, which meant I could expect to awkwardly walk into many a promposal between now and then. Liz was, not surprisingly, completely invested in the upcoming festivities. The last thing I caught before the rest of our lunch party showed up and provided alternate conversation possibilities was something about clashing colors.

I poked at my burger and cringed. I didn't have to even taste it to know I didn't want to eat it. Instead, I stabbed an overcooked carrot and shoved it in my mouth. As I chewed it more than necessary because I didn't want to swallow it, I listened to Liz continue gushing over the dress she had found yesterday for prom. She had an ever-growing list of possible choices and I had to admire her enthusiasm.

"You're actually going to that?" Matt asked Simon, who shrugged.

"Not my first choice for a Saturday night, but it's not like I really have a choice in the matter," he said.

"Mandatory boyfriend duty?" Mila asked.

"Nah," he said. "One of the cheerleaders nominated me for prom king and I kinda have to show up otherwise I'll look like a sore loser."

"Loser?" I asked. "Why would you lose?"

"Well," he said, drawing out the word. "There were multiple nominees and someone else is kinda a shoe-in considering certain athletic victories this year."

He jerked his head to Derek next to him who was completely ignoring us and his lunch to work on what was in fact math homework.

"And when he doesn't show up?" Mila asked knowingly and I hid a smirk.

Simon shrugged. "Not my problem to deal with."

He looked at Matt. "At least you don't have to deal with prom."

Matt winced and I looked surprisingly at Mila.

"You're going to prom?" I asked.

"Is it that surprising?" she asked incredulously.

The entire table, minus Derek, nodded.

"I'm not saying I'm gonna do the whole corny couple photo or getting all nostalgic or anything," she said. "But I'm entitled to one school function that doesn't involve freezing my ass off on a bleacher. Besides, I want to see how fast someone gets caught spiking the punch."

"Do you have a dress yet?" Liz asked.

Mila nodded. "I got it last weekend."

She pulled out her phone and let Liz scroll through her pictures of it.

"You're going strapless?" Liz asked. "That's risky."

"I'm surprised you're not going in a parka," Matt smirked and she threw a carrot at him.

"I'm looking forward to prom," Sam said. "It should be fun."

"You got a date?" Mila asked.

Sam shook her head. "I'm going alone. I don't need a date."

Mila glanced at me. "Picked your dress yet?"

I shook my head and stabbed another carrot. "I'm not going."

"Why not?" Liz asked. "Do you have to work?"

"No," I said, "I just don't want to go."

"No one asked you?" Mila said.

I shook my head. "No, but that doesn't matter. I just don't want to go."

She stared at me for a moment before her eyes lit up and she gave her best Cheshire Cat impression.

"No date, huh?" she asked. Looking over at Derek, who was still ignoring everybody, she said, "Hey, Derek, I'm surprised you're not going to prom. You were nominated as prom king. That's totally an honor."

I rolled my eyes and poked my burger again. Derek didn't answer her and I wasn't sure if it was because he didn't hear her or because he just didn't care enough to answer. She pressed on.

"I mean, you're probably gonna win and that's gonna be super embarrassing for the prom committee when you don't show up to accept your crown," she said.

He still didn't say anything.

"And clearly you don't have a date," she said. "And Chloe doesn't have a date. You guys should totally go together. As friends, I mean. It's one of those high school experiences you kinda legally have to experience."

I rolled my eyes again and shook my head, not bothering to look at her. Derek still didn't answer.

Mila gave an exaggerated sigh. "I guess Chloe is just going to have to sit at home alone in her pajamas watching some horrible Hallmark movie, gorging on cookie dough, and wishing she could be at the prom enjoying herself with her friends."

"Guess so," he said, actually answering but still not bothering to look up as he erased what he just wrote.

She huffed in irritation.

"Are you done?" I asked.

She gave me a look, questioning if I seriously thought that was it.

"You know, Derek," she said. "You must have really high standards. You could have any girl in the school after winning the championship game and still I never see anyone draped over your arm. What's the deal?"

He was back to not answering and I had to bite down hard on the fork in my mouth to stop from laughing.

"Are you just not into high school girls?" she asked. "Do you have a thing for older women? Do cougars do it for you?"

Simon and Matt each barked out a laugh and still Derek continued not to answer.

"Or is it the BDSM thing?" she asked. "Can't find anyone hardcore enough?"

Simon and Matt looked like they were going to pop something with how hard they were trying not to laugh. Liz was smiling behind her hand and Sam was giving Mila a disapproving look.

"I have a hypothetical question for you," she said. When he didn't answer, she took it as encouragement enough to continue, not that it would have stopped her anyway. "If some girl walked up to you right now and asked you out, would you say yes?"

He didn't answer.

"For instance," she said, and I knew she was diving in. "Let's say... who do I pick? Chloe! Let's just use Chloe because she is just sitting right here."

I rolled my eyes and started to collect my stuff on my tray as the first bell rang. Derek shoved his math homework into his bag and swung his leg over the seat to prepare to stand up.

"Let's say Chloe were to walk up to you in the hallway and ask you out," Mila said, not moving to get up. "Would you say yes?"

He stood up and picked up his tray with his untouched food. He turned away from us and started walking toward the trash, but not before nonchalantly saying, "Yeah."

Her smile froze on her face and the entire table just stopped as Derek walked away. I kept my face blank as I made sure nothing would tip over on my tray. I felt five pairs of eyes on me as I adjusted my fork on my tray.

"We're gonna be late," I said, acting as it nothing had just happened.

"Are you freaking kidding me?" Mila asked, snapping out of her shock first. "Go after him!"

"Why?" I asked, feigning ignorance.

"Why?!" she almost shouted. "He just said he'd say yes if you'd ask him out!"

"And?" I asked.

"And what?" she said. "Go ask him out!"

I shrugged and stood up. "That would be kinda pointless."

I walked away as Mila was sputtering an answer. I smiled as I walked out of the cafeteria, everyone still in shock at the table. Despite the first bell having run, the halls were still vacant as students finished up in their classrooms and finished their lunches. Derek was finishing up at his locker when I got there. He glanced down at me and shot me a look.

"What?" I asked innocently.

"She's your friend," he said.

"I can't help it she's direct," I shrugged. "She really wants me to date you."

He shook his head and started walking away before stopping and turning back to me. Hesitating, he asked me, "You don't want to go to prom, do you?"

I smiled. "If I wanted to go to prom, I would have mentioned it earlier. Besides, if you won prom king, you'd have to dance with the prom queen and I probably would have clawed Amber's eyes out if she won prom queen."

He smiled at the idea. "I would have paid to see that."

"You would have paid," I said. "Just not in a good way."

"I've been warned," he said, leaning down and kissing me before leaving for his class at the community college.

I watched him leave, smiling, and turned my head to see Liz standing down the hall, her eyes wide and a shocked look on her face. She had clearly been coming to talk to either Derek or me and had caught the show. People flooded the hall around us and she snapped out of her shock when Simon walked up behind her and touched her shoulder. She turned to him and then to me, not knowing who she should be concentrating on. I would have stayed to confirm what she had seen, but I didn't want to be late for study hall. Instead, I smiled back at her and headed to class. I wouldn't be surprised if Derek was about to be flooded with a million texts from Liz.

Study hall was no longer a stressful hour for me with Liam behind bars and no longer watching my every move. Amber was still a slight problem, but since there weren't any prominent sports going on with it being so close to the end of the year, she wasn't really vying for anyone in specific and thus I wasn't a huge threat at the moment, not that I really ever was. Though, with prom coming up, I wouldn't be surprised if her crazy made a reappearance as she tried to get the best arm candy. I felt so much better knowing the one guy she'd been extra serious about obtaining this year would be spending prom night with me on a couch with a mountain of takeout and a good movie. Or something along those lines. It didn't really matter what we did. Our first date was a picnic and stargazing after all. It didn't get more perfect than that.

Simon didn't hound me with questions during art, which meant that Liz had not told anyone she saw Derek and I kiss in the hallway. He didn't even bring up asking Derek out, which honestly did surprise me. He was, after all, one of the leading advocates of Derek and I getting together. The only thing I could think of was he must have made a deal with Mila about who should attack who. I'm guessing that meant I would be hounded by Mila after school.

When the final bell rang, I said a quick goodbye to Simon and started for my locker. The instant I turned the corner, Mila pounced. I had to practically drag her just to get to my locker. Luckily Derek had already left for the day so only I had to deal with her.

"I cannot fucking believe you," she said, crossing her arms and giving me her best disapproving look.

"About what?" I asked, not even trying to sound convincing.

"Derek practically announces to the entire lunch table that he wants to date you and you just walk away?!" she demanded. "What the hell is wrong with you? You've been falling for this guy since last year and now that he's literally within your grasp, you just walk away?!"

I shrugged. "It's not really a big deal."

"Seriously?" she said. "This entire year has been you constantly bitching and whining about wanting him!"

I stopped packing my backpack. "When did I bitch?"

"And now it's a sure thing that he'll go out with you and you don't do squat," she continued, ignoring me. "Clearly I need better friends because you are just depressing me."

Shutting my locker, I said, "If you want to continue your tirade, my shift starts in half an hour and you'll have to order something. If not, I'm gonna be late for work."

"Just answer me this," she said. "Are you going to ask Derek out?"

"No," I answered.

"Why?"

"Because it would be redundant," I said, walking away and leaving her there confused.

I was out of the building and halfway to work when someone grabbed my arm and jerked me back. I was ready to swing my bag at them when I saw it was only Mila, who was out of breath and grinning like an idiot.

"I'm not going to ask," I said. "But I will recommend cardio."

"You're dating," she said, still grinning.

"You followed me all the way here just to tell me that?" I asked, "I already knew that."

"You are dating," she said, practically bouncing.

"Yes, I am dating," I said. "A lot of people our age date. Are you going to stalk them, too?"

"Stop avoiding the topic!" she said. "You and Derek. You're dating, aren't you?"

I smiled and put my hands on my hips. "It took you over a week to figure that out. You're losing your touch."

She squealed and I flinched, never hearing her make a noise like that before.

"Did you just squeal?" I asked. "You? The cynic?"

"Why didn't you say anything?" she demanded.

"Mostly to avoid this," I said, shrugging. "I wanted more time alone with Derek before everyone started freaking out."

"How long have you been dating?" she asked.

"Look, I'm really going to be late for work," I said, checking my phone.

"Answer the question or I'll drag you home and handcuff you to my bed until you talk," she demanded. "You should be pretty used to that by now."

I rolled my eyes. "Since the day of the fight. Derek and I were going to his house to celebrate Liam getting expelled and then the fight happened. We got back to his place and were cleaning up and it just kinda happened."

"It?" she asked. "You mean-"

"No!" I said. "What do you take me for?"

"An emotionally unstable teenager."

"Anyway," I said, "Apparently I owe you a bit of an apology because I guess Derek has liked me for a little while."

"How long is a little while?" she asked, knowingly.

"Since before my birthday," I sighed, shaking my head at her smirk.

"And if you had just unwound your panties you could have been rolling in Derek's sack by now," she said. "I hope you've learned your lesson."

"Sure," I said. "Next time I fall for a guy, I'll tell him first thing even if it creeps him out."

"For how hard we all worked to get you two together, there better not be a next guy," she said, crossing her arms.

"How hard you all worked?" I asked. "I spent months just trying to get Derek to talk to me. Where were you then?"

"Buying my last ticket to sanity," she said. "It was a short trip."

"Well thanks for all your support," I said sarcastically. "Glad to know I can count on you."

"Speaking of support," she said. "I'm not gonna support you when you get fired for being late."

I gasped and looked down at my phone. Without saying goodbye, I hightailed it to work and managed to clock in with thirty seconds to spare, though I did look pretty scary from the effort.

Derek hadn't said anything about Liz knowing when he came into the diner, so I assumed she hadn't texted him. Mila, on the other hand….Well, let's just say that it wasn't her buns that were made of steel. By the time I got off work and could check my phone, I had so many messages from numbers I did know and numbers I didn't that you'd think the world was ending. At least she could look back and pinpoint now as the moment she developed carpal tunnel of the thumb.

Derek practically steered me as we walked to my place. I was too busy staring down at 118 messages. Only a handful were from people who were in my contacts, so I honestly had no idea who the rest were even from, or how they found out that I had "snagged the quarterback." Most were along the lines of "way to go!" or "so jealous!", however there were a few that had me reaching for Derek's hand. The message which was comprised solely of a knife emoji, for instance, sent a shiver down my spine. I highly suspected Amber of that one.

"You okay?" Derek asked, pulling me to a stop.

"Can we go back to keeping us quiet?" I asked, "At this rate, I might not live to the end of the school year."

"Just ignore them," he said, pulling my phone from my hands and hitting delete on message after message.

"How can you be so blase about everything?" I asked. "I'm getting messages from people I've probably never met before and probably don't even know what I look like."

"Then what are you worried about?" he asked, throwing me a small smile.

"That I'll wake up on fire or something for my audacity of even thinking of dating the star quarterback, not to mention that I've made out with him, quite often, and can actually run my hands up his abs when I want to, and-"

He put his hand over my mouth. "Take a breath once in a while. You're overreacting."

"Knife emoji!" I said, waggling my phone at him.

"It'll die down," he assured me. "Trust me. I've been through this crap before. Prom is just around the corner and they'll have something else to blather on about. Besides, it's not like we're gonna be making out in the hallways and sneak off during class to have a quickie in the locker room, so they won't have anything to fuel the gossip."

"There goes my lunch plans," I said, sighing dramatically.

"So just take a breath and concentrate on something a little less stressful than what these idiots are saying about your boyfriend and his apparently irresistible abs," he said, that cocky grin making me blush and look at me feet.

"I didn't say irresistible. They're tangible."

"Got it," he said. "Can you kiss your tangible mouth now or are you still freaking out?"

"Still freaking out a little, but a kiss might calm me down."

He leaned down until I could feel the barest hint of his lips against mine. "If my kisses calm you down, I'm not doing something right."

I wrapped my fingers around the collar of his shirt and pulled myself against his chest, hard against soft. His hands moved down my back and I let out an appreciative sigh as he gripped my butt and pulled me against him completely. I brushed my lips against his for the smallest taste and murmured,

"You're doing everything right."

His lips came crashing down on mine and I shuddered. Releasing my hold on his collar, I wove my fingers through his hair and pulled his head down with as much force as I could muster. He released a groan that came out more like a growl and one hand moved off my butt and wrapped around my waist as if there was even space left between us. I opened my mouth to gasp for air and his tongue came into play, deepening the kiss and making my knees weak. I gripped his shoulder just to keep myself standing, though if my feet were touching the ground anymore, I honestly couldn't tell.

A sharp, double-honk as a car drove by jerked us back to the present as someone leaned out the window and let out a wolf whistle. I sucked in oxygen until I no longer felt light-headed, still clinging to Derek.. Looking up at him. I let out a breathy laugh and he grinned down at me.

"I suppose Dad's ready to send out the armed guards to make sure I'm okay," I said. "I've tried bribing them, but they didn't go for my leftover burgers from work."

"Idiots," he said. "They clearly don't have taste buds."

"Burned them off in their graduation ceremony from the spy academy."

"They were ready for you."

I smiled and leaned up for one more quick kiss before releasing my iron grip on his shoulders and lowering myself back down on the soles of my shoes. "See you tomorrow?"

"I'll pick you up," he said. "Can't let you face the wolves alone."

"I'll slather you in peanut butter and pushing you at them to distract them."

"Why peanut butter?"

"Cause it'll take them forever to lick it off you, I'll have all day to plan my next move."

"I'll never look at peanut butter the same again," he said, cringing at the thought. "I'll have to live on salads dating you."

"Not after talking to Sam," I said.

"I'm not going to ask."

He pulled my phone from my pocket and switched it to Do Not Disturb.

"Just ignore them."

"You make it sound easy."

"It is easy. Just takes practice."

"Well I'm not as veteran as you are, I'm gonna have some minor freakouts tomorrow."

"I won't bring you coffee then," he said. "Go up and go to bed. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Good night," I said, practically peeling myself from him and forcing myself into the building. I wasn't going to get any sleep tonight.

Walking into school the next day was nerve-wracking. I had turned off my phone overnight and only turned it back on this morning to get Derek's text of arrival. My phone then proceeded to ding with incoming messages until Derek finally reached over and put my phone back on Do Not Disturb and gave me a look when I tried taking it off. So, when we walked into the school, I had to force myself to keep my head up and ignore the whispers and glances. I know I should be a little pissed that it was so surprising the Derek Souza finally started dating someone and he chose me. I'm a fun person, thank you very much.

We turned the corner to find Simon leaning against our lockers with this thumbs flying over his screen and his eyebrows knitted together in what was quite possibly the most he's ever concentrated on something in his life.

"You okay?" I asked, stopping in front of him.

"Shh," he said, not tearing his eyes away from his phone.

"You're blocking the lockers," Derek said, "Move."

"One sec," Simon said.

Liz popped up between us. "Ignore him, he's trying to win concert tickets."

"I'm going to win concert tickets," he argued, still not looking up.

"In the meantime, you're two seconds from losing your thumbs," Derek threatened.

Simon sighed dramatically and look a sidestep away from our lockers. Derek rolled his eyes and opened his locker. I exchanged a look with Liz over Simon and followed suit. As I swapped out my homework for my first period textbook, Liz and I chatted while Simon and Derek ignored us. As soon as I closed my locker and turned around, Liz said,

"You realize that now that you guys are dating, you are expected to go on double dates with us."

"Why can't you just take Mila and Matt?" I asked. "They'd be so much better company."

I glanced at Derek's back and Liz smiled.

"We'll triple date then," she said. "Group dating without the swinging."

"What's the fun in that?" Matt asked, walking up behind me and leaning his elbow on my shoulder. "We've got the making of a good orgy going on."

"Yeah, and you're close to being single again," Mila threatened as she lifted his elbow off my shoulder and twisted it the wrong way.

He winced and shot her a sheepish smile.

"What'd your dad say?" Mila asked me.

I shrugged. "Nothing really. He should just be happy I told him in advance this time."

"Yeah, it would be super embarrassing to have him walk into a makeout session," Simon said, still without looking up.

"I'm assuming you know by experience?" I asked, smiling knowingly.

"Nah," he said. "I'm not allowed to bring girls home."

"Yeah, I go over as Tori's guest," Liz said, laughing. "She just isn't always there."

"I don't know what he's so worried about," Simon said. "I'm not the one who had sex in the backseat of my car. I had to get it steam cleaned."

Liz's eyes went wide. "What? With who?"

"Dick for brains," Derek said, shutting his locker and pulling his phone out of his pocket. He scowled down at it and shoved it back into his pocket.

"How does everybody know this but me?" Liz asked, incredulously.

I was a little confused myself that Derek knew about it, but then I remembered the morning he came into the diner with Tori. She must have confided in him about it, which just goes to show just how much it affected her if Derek was her confidant.

"I heard it from Chloe," Simon said.

Liz looked at me and I held up my hands. "Don't look at me. I don't ask about these things, I just somehow get stuck in the middle."

"Yes!" Simon cheered, throwing up his fist.

"Get some?" Matt asked.

"Must have won the tickets?" Liz asked.

"Hell yeah!" Simon said. "Two tickets for Saturday night. Got date night covered."

The ringing bell signalled the end of the conversation and dissolution of our group. I waved Mila on and told her I'd meet her in class as Derek's phone dinged in his pocket and he scowled again.

"What's up?" I asked. "Work hounding you or something?"

"Nah," he said, shaking his head. He paused and then said, "Do you work Friday?"

"Surprisingly, no," I answered. "Why? Did you have something planned?"
"Dad's birthday is Friday," he said. "And Regina is throwing a small shindig."

"Shindig?" I asked, cocking an eyebrow and smirking.

"Not my word," he said and I just nodded for him to continue, still smiling. "Anyway, Dad's gonna grill and Regina's even making a cake and my uncles are coming, along with my cousin Nate and Fuckface."

I resisted the urge to laugh at that one.

He averted his gaze and said, "And Regina invited Nicole."

My smile turned sympathetic. "And you'd like me to come. Be an emotional support girlfriend."

His lips twitched and he gave me a small smile. "Something like that."

"I wouldn't miss it," I said, smiling as some of the tension in his shoulders dissipated.

"Great," he said, nodding.

"Does she need any help setting up?" I asked as we walked toward my class. "I can stop by after school on Friday."

"I'll let you know," he said. "For now she just needs a head count."

"Well you can consider yourself a plus one," I assured him.

I walked into class and sat down next to Mila. My mind was so focused on Derek inviting me to his family thing that I didn't even notice the stares. That is, until Mila turned around to a whispering pair of seats and said,

"Unless that sentence ends with "and they lived happily ever after," I'd zip your lip, unless you want me to sew it shut."

I smiled. I really shouldn't have been worried about being hounded by gossipers with Mila around. With a friend like her, right? Enemies had nothing on her. Now just to keep her around me for the rest of the school year….

On Friday afternoon, Derek and I parted ways after school so I could get ready and he could help with party setup. At five o'clock on the dot, Derek picked me up even though I told him I could drive. I'm guessing it had everything to do with limiting his time with his family. I was a little apprehensive the closer we got to his house. I'd met a lot of the people there, but this was basically Derek's whole family, including his mom who was probably the reason Derek looked like he was going to be sick. Plus, my ex-boyfriend who I hadn't seen since we had our little heart to heart in the pouring rain like some Nicholas Sparks novel.

Derek seemed almost hesitant to enter his own house and I didn't rush him. When we finally did enter, the voices seemed to be coming from the back of the house, which turned out to be the backyard as Zack was heating up the grill and talking to a large man with dark hair. They turned to look at us when we stepped outside and I was met with the same green eyes as Zack and Derek. He looked nothing like Carter, so I took a guess that this was Zack's older brother.

"Oho!" the man said, looking at me. "So this is the girl who finally got Derek to date. Thank god, we were starting to get a bit worried."

Derek rolled his eyes and muttered something under his breath.

"Chloe, this is my uncle Nick," he grumbled.

"You don't have to be so formal," Nick said, walking over and slapping Derek on the back. "We're practically family."

Derek opened his mouth to argue, but an arm swung around Nick's shoulders and a familiar blond head came into view.

"Yeah, after all we're basically brothers," Ben said to Nick.

"See," Nick said. "She's already my niece."

Ben frowned and gestured between the two of us. "That makes this slightly incestuous. That's unacceptable. You're going to have to break it off. We can't be having seven-toed kids from the two of you."

"Already had a few I see," I said. "We're gonna have to cut you off. Did you drive here? I'll take your keys."

"Not a problem!" Ben said, "Amy is the keeper of the keys and I am free to make a complete jackass of myself."

"Here here!" Nick said, pulling Ben away.

"I think we can just agree both our families are weird," I said, looking up at Derek, who nodded.

A shorter man with Carter's coloring wandered over.

"Bet you're glad school is almost over," he said to Derek.

"Getting there," Derek said. "Chloe, this is my uncle Charlie."

"I know about Chloe," Charlie said. "If I recall, she dated Carter for a while."

My smile faltered, worried he was going to pass some judgement or something.

Instead, he leaned down and said, "Trust me, you made a wise decision. Derek's the better choice."

"Hey!" Carter said defensively from where he was sprawled out in a chair with a beer in his hand.

Derek smirked and Carter scowled. I smiled and let Derek drag me away, his arm around my shoulders. I knew it was some sort of masculinity thing by which he was laying his claim and flaunting it before Carter, but I just let him have his moment. Out of all the ways he could stake his claim, this was definitely the tamest...and the cleanest.

He pulled me over to where Zack was closing the lid of the grill.

"Need a hand, Dad?" he asked.

"Nope," Zack answered, picking up his soda and taking a drink. "Just needs to heat up."
"Happy birthday," I said.

He grunted a thanks and lifted his can again as a hand came around behind him and settled on his arm. He glanced behind him as Regina stepped into view and his face softened ever so slightly.

"Hey, can I get a hand quick?"

He tossed his can into a nearby bin and followed her into the house.

"Your dad seems really happy that Regina moved in," I commented.

"Yeah, and that I'm moving out in a couple months."

I elbowed him lightly. "He's not happy you're moving out. He's gonna miss you."

Derek shrugged. "All the same to me. Personally, I'm okay with moving out."

"Getting crowded?" I asked.

"It's not that," he answered. "Just that with Regina now living here, they don't have her apartment to escape to."

My face heated as I caught his meaning. "Ah. Yeah. I could see how that would be awkward."

"Does her face normally resemble a firetruck?"

I looked over to see a man I've never met walking over to us with a beer in his hand.

"Most of the time," Derek said. "I'm surprised you're drinking. I thought you'd be stuck as designated driver."

He gestured to where Nick and Ben were drunkenly trying to throw empty cans into the recycling bin, which was really ambitious considering the lid was still on the bin.

"Nah," the man said. "I didn't carpool with Dad this time. I got stuck driving the charity case."

Something hard struck him in the back of the head and we looked down to see an unopened beer can on the ground. The source of the can was scowling in our direction.

"You should take it easy on those beers," the man, who by context I had figured out to be Derek's cousin Nate, said. "That almost hurt."

Carter scowled deeper.

"What crawled up his ass?" Nate asked.

Derek smirked. "Oh, he's just in a bad mood cause Charlie sent an embarrassing text this morning gushing about Carter graduating from community college yesterday."

I perked up at the news and glanced over to where the scowl on Carter's face could have put Death Valley to shame.

"No shit?" Nate said. "What do you know? We have a first college grad in the family. I guess we aren't as dumb as we look."

"I don't know," Derek said. "His face isn't winning Jeopardy."

Carter stood up and stormed off into the house.

"If you don't let up, he's going to kill you in your sleep," I warned.

"I'd be surprised if he waited that long," Nate said.

Derek shrugged and he turned his head towards the door, tensing up. I looked over to see Nicole carrying stacks of paper plates and cutlery to the table set up on the far side of the yard. I sent a sympathetic smile up at him and squeezed the hand hanging off my shoulder.

"Must be weird," Nate said. "Having your mom here. Though I'm sure it's worse for Zack."

"At least Dad has Regina to make it slightly less awkward," Derek argued.

"Hey, you've got an emotional support girlfriend, too," I reminded him.

He squeezed my shoulder and smiled down at me. Nicole turned around and saw us standing together. She looked slightly surprised. I guess no one told her that Derek had a girlfriend or that his girlfriend was the one barely passing her class.

"Be useful," Zack said, walking passed us toting a large cooler. "Grab the other cooler."

Derek dropped his arm off my shoulder and walked into the house. Zack carried his cooler over to the table where Nicole was standing and organizing to make room. Zack said something and she hit him with a paper plate, smiling. Regina carried out a large bowl and also smacked Zack lightly after Nicole said something to her.

"They seem to be getting along," I commented.

"As much as Zack can get along with anybody," Nate said. He gestured to Derek walking from the house and cutting off Carter. "Like father, like son, huh?"

I smiled. "Derek's different. He just doesn't give a damn."

"I'm glad you guys are dating," Nate said. "Don't tell Derek I said this, but I honestly didn't think he'd ever get a girlfriend."

"Why?" I asked. "Too antisocial?"

"Nah," Nate said, shoving his hands in his pocket. "Just that he's never been overly motivated to branch out. That's why we were all surprised when we found out he was hanging out with you."

"Well, I can't really say he much of a choice in the matter," I laughed. "I was rather annoying."

"Keep it up," Nate said. "I like this Derek better."

He wandered off and Derek returned from helping lug stuff from the kitchen.

"So, no pressure or anything," I said. "But are you just going to ignore your mom for the rest of your life?"

"That's the plan," he said, dropping down into a chair and pulling me down between his legs.

I nodded. "Solid plan."

We sat in silence for a few minutes before I spoke.

"Just do one thing, okay?" I asked. "Don't shut her out completely. Someday you might regret it."

"Thank you, Dr. Chloe," he said, turning my face up to his. "This isn't a therapy couch."

"I'm serious," I said, grabbing his hand. "I'm not saying you have to even be close. Just don't ignore her. She is trying. She did call your dad after your fight, after all."

He sighed in defeat. "Fine. If she says hi, I won't give her the silent treatment. Happy?"

"Ecstatic," I said, sarcastically. "Now pay up."

"For what?"

"For the therapy session. I don't work for free."

He smiled and leaned down. His lips hovering over mine, "You know, I'm gonna need a lot of therapy sessions when I go off to college. I'm going to be in a lot of debt when I come home for breaks."

"Gonna have to build up your credit score before you go," I said, smiling. "We've got three months to get you into excellent."

"That's not a lot of time," he said.

"Fortunately for you, I'm willing to go the extra mile for my clients," I said. "I'll meet every day if I have to."

"Twice a day," he said, his lips brushing mine.

"I might just need to move in for the summer," I agreed. "Your dad won't notice. I'm here every day anyway."

"What's the difference really?" Derek said, closing the difference and sucking all the air from my lungs.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and smiled. I just loved our therapy sessions.