After going through and marking on a calendar when I updated every chapter from every story, I realized something. I only updated this story one time last year. Just once. I'd like to say that I plan to update more frequently to make up for it, but I don't expect to update much at all. I have decided to make a short sequel to the last one-shot, though. A very short one. And I have decided that this will be my last update for this story. Ever.

Disclaimer: I do not own The Darkest Powers

Chloe's POV:

I could feel myself waking up, my surroundings becoming clearer. I fought against it. I didn't want to wake up just yet. I was too comfortable under the warm blankets. They clung tightly around me, holding in the heat. And the heater next to me was on a comfortable setting. Funny, though, how it felt like someone's bare skin against mine. And I didn't remember having a heater when I went to bed last night. Wait…last night…Derek's change….My eyes snapped open to meet a very familiar bare chest. A very close chest. The tip of my nose was touching, skin to skin.

I tried not to breathe too deeply and I kept my movements to a minimum. There was no way I wanted Derek to wake up until I thought of some way to get myself out of this. I just realized I like the guy and this was definitely moving much faster than I had hoped. I was most definitely not ready to be in bed with a naked guy, especially one with such a broad, manly chest.

Okay. Think, Chloe, think. You can do this. Just slip out of the bed nice and easy. I tried to back up and I realized it wasn't the blanket that was clinging to me tightly. Derek's arm was securely wrapped around me, preventing any farther movement backward. And to top it off, when Derek's arm felt me going back, it pulled me forward and trapped me against his body with much more contact that before. With more contact, I did a mental check of where exactly my body parts were located. My head was just under his chin, my hands were safely away from any of Derek's…extremities, and while my chest was snug against his own, I didn't think anything was touching. I tried moving my foot a little to unwind it a little from the blankets. When I did, my foot ended up shooting out into the open air. I didn't expect it to be that cold and out of pure reflex, I pulled it back under the blankets and accidently kneed Derek in the thigh…hard.

I mentally cursed myself when I heard him grunt and then felt him wake up. Keeping my eyes squeezed shut, I kept as still as possible. I waited for him to explode and jump out of bed. When it didn't come, I peeked an eye open, but I could only see chest. I felt Derek lift his arm off me and he pulled away as he turned over on his back. Because of the tight fit, I was still lodged against him. I slowly lifted my head and saw him wiping the sleep from his eyes. He looked down at me from the corner of his eye and I lowered my head a little so I was a bit more hidden, not that it accomplished anything. He ignored my awkwardness and lifted both his arms over his head in a stretch as if waking up naked in some girl's bed was the most natural thing in the world. He groaned as something in his back popped and then he sighed as he lowered his arms back down.

"Morning," he grunted.

"Uh, morning," I answered. "You're taking this rather well."

"Well, it's not like I can do anything," he said. "I can't exactly leave the bed until you do."

The fact that he was completely naked came back into my mind and I realized why he wasn't jumping out of bed. His boxers were lying on the other side of the room, with the rest of his clothes. My cheeks flamed as I carefully backed away and out of the bed. I looked around for my own clothes. Finding them on the chair next to the door, I excused myself from the room and found the nearest bathroom so Derek could dress in peace.

As soon as I shut the bathroom door, I leaned my back against it and slid down onto my butt. That was the most embarrassing thing I had ever been through. It was even worse than anything Miranda had put me through back at school. And what's worse is that I don't have the luxury of just hiding in the back of the classroom away from the source of my embarrassment. I had to live with this one and there was no way I could avoid it.

Taking a deep breath, I picked up my clothes and set them next to the sink. I quickly searched for any kind of soap for a quick shower. When I only discovered a small bottle of shampoo that was almost gone and half a bar of soap, I grabbed the bar. Might as well leave the shampoo for Derek. He'd probably appreciate it.

After my five minute shower, I dried off as best I could and donned my jeans and t-shirt. I looked around for my sweatshirt and realized that I had left it in the bedroom. Grabbing my pajamas, I opened the bathroom door and headed to where I had slept last night. I didn't even think about knocking. When I opened the door, Derek was buttoning his jeans. Sputtering an apology, I started to back out.

"You're fine," he said without turning around. "I'm decent."

He grabbed his shirt and pulled it over his head before turning around to look at me.

"I just came for my sweatshirt," I said. "I'm sorry. I should have knocked."

"It's no big deal," he said, walking around me.

I watched his back as he disappeared down the hall. His mood seemed different from normal. He was much more laid back about me walking in on him dressing than I would have thought. Maybe he's distracted. Or maybe he's just happy that he finally completed his change. Whatever the reason, I wasn't exactly sure what to make of it. If this was just a temporary change, how long until he changed back?

Walking into the kitchen, I said hi to Simon as I walked over to check the fridge. When he didn't say anything back, I looked over to see he was giving me a funny look. He seemed to want to ask me something, but he looked reluctant.

"Is everything okay?" I asked. "You look like you want to say something."

"Uh…" he looked around awkwardly.

"Is it about last night?" I asked. "Our date? Because it's okay."

His eyes went wide and his words came out an octave above normal. "Oh yeah. That was totally what I was going to say. Well, phew. Glad we're okay. See ya later."

He then proceeded to flee the kitchen as fast as he could. I stared after him for a minute before turning back to the fridge. Both boys were acting strange. If I walk in on Tori dancing in a tutu, I'm checking for drugs.

The fridge proved to be a great disappointment. Upon closing it and shutting the door, I took a step back and hit something hard. Looking up, I saw that I had ran into Derek. Blushing, I quickly stepped forward and a good couple feet away from him.

"Um, the fridge in empty," I mumbled, looking anywhere but at him.

He grunted and instead reached for the plastic tray of muffins that I didn't even realize were on the table. I watched as he pulled out two and left the room without so much as a word. Apparently this morning hadn't even affected him in the slightest, while I could hardly keep myself from resembling a red delicious. Sighing, I took a muffin and went in the opposite direction that Derek had gone. This awkward phase might last a while.

So, that ending kind of sucked, but oh well. And as I noted in the author's note at the top, this will be my last chapter of Bus Ride. I am officially retired it.

Also, I started a blog on tumblr so that I can post updates on my story statuses and so you guys can ask any questions you might have. The link is tumblr blog/murrey2012 (Just add the .com between)