A/N- Alright guys. This is not my first fanfiction, but it is my first here and for LwD. So, I'm sorry if they seem a bit out of character, but I tried my best. Haha
Let's see... the point of view changes a couple times, I tried to warn with line breaks, so yeah. Aand, the beginning-ish part is a sort of prologue, but I'm sure you could've figured that out. One last thing: please review! I'll only get better with the help of you guys!

Disclaimer- I do not own Life with Derek. If I did, this would be happening on the show.

Something Beautiful

Casey and Derek were fighting. They fought all the time, so there was no reason for anyone to look at them like something was wrong. Their fighting almost never escalated to actual physical violence, so when Derek pushed Casey against the wall with force, she was surprised.

She stopped what she was saying and looked at him with confusion in her eyes. "Derek, what do you think you're-" Casey was cut off with Derek's lips crashing onto hers.

--

She was going on about something that he should probably be listening to, and that was probably important, but he didn't care. Derek stood there watching her with a set amused expression on his face that was just escalating her anger. He watched as she paced around the hallway yelling about who-knows-what, and he couldn't help but concentrate on the little things.

He loved the way her eyes gleamed when she was passionate about something. He looked on at those adorable pigtails that bounced around her shoulders. And those lips! His eyes flickered down upon them as they moved with a practiced speed. Derek swallowed and licked his own lips, and his amused expression almost turned into one of a dreadful panic. And- oh God. She was walking towards him.

"You're not listening to a word I'm saying, are you?" she seethed.

She was getting closer and closer, and Derek had no choice but to back up along with her. Casey had her pointer finger extended, and was pushing it against his chest. He looked down and licked his lips again. He was imagining that hand pressed up against his chest, their lips interlocked. She moans, and he's desperate to give her what she wants…

He fought to snap out of it and realized that Casey was close to pushing them up against Lizzie's door, when she stopped. She sighed and Derek figured that she was probably in that stage where she was being "logical" after one of their fights.

She was still very close to him, and her bottom lip was out in a slight pout. Derek thought that he would lose all control, when, alas. He did.

--

Casey had the feeling that he still wasn't listening to what she was saying, even when she was calmed down a bit.

"Look, Derek, all I'm saying is that we can't keep doing this." She was about to go on, but her step-brother was coming towards her with speed and grasped her forearms with strong hands. She hit the wall with a muffled bump and looked up at Derek, who was looking at her with a strange look in his eyes.

"Derek, what do you think you're-"

She couldn't go on, even if she wanted to. Derek's lips were playing with hers, and rather forcefully. If she was going to finish her sentence, she couldn't have, because all coherent thought left her brain at that exact moment.

Casey was still confused as to why she was up against a wall with a person pressed up against her until she gave in and began to kiss back. The person above her let out a small sigh and Casey smirked against his lips. His tongue flicked out of his mouth and lightly grazed her bottom lip, causing Casey to shiver. She opened her mouth to give him access, and she moaned and wrapped her arms around his neck.

She felt a calloused hand pushing up the bottom of her shirt and resting on the soft flesh around her hip, firmly holding her up as he pushed closer against her. Another one of his hands was cupped on the back of her head, and she could feel fingers playing with her pigtail. Casey moaned again, and then realized whose hands they were.

She turned her neck to pull her face away from Derek's. She turned back to look at him again, and saw his face in a small frown. She looked at his lips, and couldn't help but remember how soft they were against hers. She longed to take them again, but the rational part of her brain had started working again.

Realizing that they both were still pushed against the wall, Casey sighed and gently removed Derek's hands from her hips.

--

Derek was reveling in the feel of her skin against his hand, and thanked the heavens for finally granting him some pity. His expert lips were having their way with Casey's, but he was okay with that.

His joy was cut short when Casey pulled her head away from him. The hand that was playing with her hair subconsciously moved down to her hip. It rested above her shirt. Derek's frown deepened when Casey's hands unraveled from around his neck and moved down to grasp his wrists.

He moved away until he was no longer pressing her up against the wall, and felt disappointment when he wasn't close to Casey anymore. He closed his eyes and rubbed his right eye with the palm of his hand- something he did when he was deeply contemplating something.

Casey was still standing with her back against the wall, and she looked at Derek with a pained expression on her face. "Derek-" she began.

"Casey, stop. Listen to me. I'm only going to say this once, so listen now, or it'll be lost forever." His voice was surprisingly weak, and he looked over at her before going on. He moved over so that he was standing above her once more, but this time he did nothing but take her hand.

He rubbed his thumb gently over the back of her hand as he spoke.

"Casey. I don't know what's happening to me. Before you came here, I walked through life not caring about anything, or anyone, for that matter. All of a sudden, three years ago, you drop on down into this house, and I think of it as nothing but a sick disruption to my 'perfect' life.

"For two years I thought I hated you, just like I hated everything around me. But with you came these twisted feelings, and I wasn't used to them. I thought it was just hate, but what I felt for you was different than what I felt for everything else.

"And then, just recently, I realized something. I care about you."

He paused for the first time in his little speech, and he took the time to study Casey's expression. Her cheeks were still flush from the heat of their time before, but she was looking at him with a new light in her eyes. It almost looked as if she was about to start crying. Derek fought his instinctive urge to run away at the sight of tears, as he always did.

"Casey, even if I come off as an impulsive jerk, I want you to know that I care about you. Deeply. You're the first person I've ever felt this way for, so I'm sorry if I'm a little confused. I am certain that I would do anything for you."

He finished with a small smile and a sigh. He was relieved to finally get that off his chest. Casey was crying now, with tears rolling down her cheeks freely. She sniffled and looked up at him. "Even stand here through my tears?"

Derek laughed through his words as he softly said, "Even stand here through your tears." He brought his free hand up to cup her cheek and used his thumb to wipe a stray tear off her face.

Casey sniffed again and smiled. Derek couldn't help but smile when Casey was smiling, but he also couldn't help hoping that she was done crying. He was still slightly uncomfortable.

He brought the hand he was holding up to his face and kissed it softly. Casey let go of his hand and walked away into her room. Derek was left still smiling, and he could tell that Casey was smiling as she walked away.

He could also tell that they were thinking the same thing: This could be the start of something beautiful.