Chapter 96 - NOT HALLOWEEN YET!

It has been two days since Emma woke up from her deep slumber, and Derek had never left her side; always with her, even stopping her by the door of the toilet. Sometimes he carried her; nobody knew why, but she limped sometimes. He didn't let her go to school too.

He had said that she was still feeble and weak for academic stuff, that she should rest more.

But today, she would be going home. And although she was happy to have spent enough time with her new friends, Eva included, and Derek; she still yearned for her the comfort of her own home, her own space.

"Emma.. you're ready?" Derek asked, walking into the room she had stayed in since she woke up in their infirmary.

"Yeah." She replied, standing up from the much bigger bed than the one at the infirmary.

She picked up a scarf which Eva had given her yesterday, stuck it into her denim trousers, actually Maya's, since hers wasn't wearable at the moment. She hadn't even seen it since she had woken up. Melvina had just told her that the pair of her trousers which had worn, and which she couldn't even remember, was too muddy to be used again. She had just nodded. What else could she do? Her memory of some past events was still blocked out.

Taking a nostalgic look at the room for one last time, she took in a deep breath, before turning around and walking up to Derek who stood at the room's entrance, watching her every movement.

"Let's go, Bear." She said, earning a sweet smile from Derek. Of course she knew he looked the new nickname. 'Bear'. She still didn't know why she chose that to call him.

"Aye baby. Leggo." Derek stated, holding her by yhe waist as they walked side by side through the hallways.

"Ohhhh..What do we have here?" She heard Maya call out, when they got to the outer part of the mansion. She turned her neck from side to side, trying to fish out her close friend.

And when she saw her, she bursted in laughter. An action that befuddled Maya. Did she had anything funny on her. She looked down to little Eva who clung to her by her hands. The little girl was trying to hold in a laughter.

What was going on?

"Shane!" She called out to her new buddy, who was also Derek's gamma.

"Yep." Shane replied, resting on Derek's car.

They were supposed to escort the redhead to her place. Derek had told them, he and Clem, about everything that had transpired in the forest. They had been suprised and shocked, but had of course, pledged their support, to whatever was necessary to keep the human safe and sound, even if it meant following her around. Actually, they had proposed that one of them would always be with the human at all times.

"Why are they laughing? Anything I should know about?" Maya asked, still confused on why she was an object of laughter.

" Well, Eva decided that your fave would be a good drawing board for her pictures." Shane said, causing all five of them to burst into laughter.

" E..v...a.." Maya drawled, holding tightly unto the little girl that was trying to loosen her hand from the entanglement, trying to escape.

"What did you do?" She asked, faking a contemptuous anger.

"I was just bored, and wanted to make Emma laugh." Eva answered, looking at her two feet, still looking cute all the way.

"And you decided to do that at the expense of my face?" Maya asked, bitting her lips.

" I'm sorry." Eva said, causing Maya and the rest to smile. They could never get angry at the baby of the house.

" Why didn't you use your big brother?" Maya asked, thinking that since Derek would be the first to see Emma and pick her up from the room, he should be the one with painted face.

"You were the closest around. And you had been sleeping." Eva stated, finally letting her tiny hand free from Maya's clutch.

"Oh" Maya said, lifting up her face to look at her friends and cousin, her eyes lingering on Emma who winked at her, before smiling widely. She wondered what Eva drew on her face. A cup perhaps? She thought, shrugging it off.

"Let's be moving then." Derek said, swiping his keys with his fingers.

"Wait.." A voice called out, causing the whole lot of them to turn, towards the intruder.

It was Claire.

"Hey guys." She said, waving at them with a wide smile.

No one responded, not even Eva. Emma almost felt sorry for her. Almost.

Clem just stared at her inquisitively. He knew his twin well enough. She wasn't here for just 'hey guys'.

"What do you want?" Derek asked, finally breaking the thick silence. He still remembered their last meeting and conversation. He wondered whether she was were to fufill her threat or something else. He couldn't care less tho.

"Well, nothing much. Just want to invite you guys to our birthday party Tomorrow. I didn't think Clem remembered to tell you guys." Claire replied, battling her eyelashes at Derek, which Emma found repulsive.

"And you came to tell us yourself?" Maya questioned, not trusting Claire's statement one bit. They would have known about still, tomorrow even, if she hadn't come; and she knew that. Maya knew that she (Claire) knew that. So what's with the exaggerated courtesy? She thought, folding her arms.

"Yes ." Claire replied, her plastic smile still in place as she turned to face Maya. And when she did, she bursted out laughing.

"What the hell Maya! Halloween is not yet around." She stated, still laughing.

"Well, it is for me." Maya said, keeping her dignity and firm face intact.

"Ohhhh, I see." Claire muttered, before turning back around to face Derek. She almost snorted as she saw Emma whisper something into Derek's ear. Well, the human could enjoy it while it lasts. She thought, remembering the plan that she had put into place with her mother, in the early hours of today.

"We will be there." Shane stated after a while of silence, where he noticed his friend's sister staring daggers at the redhead.

"Okay Shane." Claire replied, staring at all of them once again, before walking away through the same path she had come from.

"Sorry Clem.. no offense..but your sister is weird." Shane said, offering an apologetic glance to Clem, who just shrugged it off.

"I don't like her."  Eva mouthed to Maya, who smiled reassuringly to the little girl that she was there for her.

"Wheew, let's go." Derek said, taking Emma by the hand, not wanting to dwell on the weirdness of his beta's twin.

And so they trouped into the car, one by one, including Eva who had managed successfully to convince Emma to show her, her home.