If he was being honest, Derek only half-believed Clara and was taking her offer with a grain of salt. If she did have interesting stories to tell, they were either fictional or she was too trusting and therefore a liability to keep at an arm's length, in his opinion. But then, Derek had trouble trusting anyone these days, including the people he already knew he should.
But...Isaac was right. His normally hidden charm was just as much his ticket to stability in this place as the self-defense class and the more people had on his side when the group inevitably found out what he was, the better. Isaac was absolutely right on the money and Derek hadn't really thought about it very much until after the kid had said it — if Derek played his cards right, by the time the rest of Defense found out he wasn't human, he could have a line of women throwing a fit if he didn't get to stay. Clara was easy on the eyes, like Caitlin; that could be two. So play nice and listen to her stories. If nothing else, it'll be more entertaining than staring at a wall that's less attractive and tells no stories at all.
Derek's class was heading out and he lifted the bottom of his shirt up over his stomach and chest to wipe the sweat from his face as they departed, before letting it drop again. Normally, he'd have peeled the sweaty thing off by now, but that might be pushing his luck a bit too much. He'd seen her coming in as he'd let his shirt back down and Derek wiped his hands on his sides, offering her a small smile.
"Clara, the story teller," he announced her entrance to no one in particular. "I wasn't sure you'd really come."