"It's me," whispered a familiar voice.
"Der—"
Thwack. He stumbled, Liz behind him, a sturdy branch raised.
"Liz, it's—"
She hit him again, a home-run swing between the shoulders, and he went down with an oomph and an oath. She recognized the voice—or the curse—and leaned over, getting a look at him.
(Liz) "Whoops."
(Simon) "I'd say he deserved that, always sneaking up on people."

A whisper of fabric as Derek dressed. Then a hand on my waist, a light touch, tentative. I turned and Derek was right there, his face above mine, hands sliding around me as I titled my face up—
"What the—?"
We both jumped—again. Tori stood there, staring at us, Simon behind her, grabbing her arm.
"I told you not to—" Simon began.
"Yeah, but you didn't say why. I sure didn't expect..." She shook her head. "Am I the last one to know everything around here?"
Liz raced in. "What's going on?"
"Derek's ready," I said. "We need to move."

“I could use the fresh air. I think that put my brain to sleep.”
She pointed at the text as if it was a piece of rotten meat.
“Physics?” I said. “You must need a more advanced text.”
“No, it’s just boring.”
I picked the book up and double checked the title, to make sure I hadn’t misidentified the subject.
“Boring?” I said. “How can physics be …?”
I looked up to see she’d already left the room. Simon pointed at the text, grinned and faked a yawn.
“Hold on,” I said, striding after her. “Physics is not boring. Maybe you just need me to explain it better. Chloe? Chloe!”

“You still taking him for his house-breaking lesson tonight?”
I flicked an eraser at him. He ducked it and threw me a grin.
While I was getting my Changes under control, we’d decided I should try once a week. While Simon was joking about house-breaking, that’s kind of what it was like—take me outside regularly, where I’d attempt to perform a bodily function, and hopefully train my body to do it on a schedule. So far, I felt like a month-old puppy, struggling to control my bladder before it was ready to be controlled.

Simon appeared at the doorway behind Tori and Derek. He waved to me and mouthed "run while you can."
Not a bad idea. I snuck around them and zipped out the door to where Simon waited. Then I glanced back at Tori.
"Don't worry about her," he said. "Probably the most fun she's had in days." He led me into the next room. "Sadly, I can't say the same for Derek, and as soon as he stops arguing long enough to notice you're gone—"
"Hey!" Derek called. "Where are you two going?"
Simon took my elbow and steered me at a jog through the house as Derek's footsteps pounded behind us.