A/N: I have no idea where this came from. Seriously. I was just sitting here in front of my computer and all the sudden I started writing. I should actually be reviewing other things, but I couldn't bring myself to read. I had to write something, and, with the mood I'm in, I couldn't have written in HttN, because it would've ruined the story. You'll understand when you read this.

So, what I'm saying here is that I don't know if this sucks or not, and I'm sorry if it does. And the way I constructed it makes it look like it maybe should've ended differently? I dunno. But I hope you like it, regardless. :)

"How could he do this to me?" Casey cried, her voice coming out strangled and broken. "Everything was so perfect. I love him. Isn't that enough? Aren't I enough?" She looked at her frazzled companion, who seemed completely thrown by her ranting. She sat down on his bed and sighed, burying her face in her hands.

"Casey," he said, but didn't know where to go from there. So he gingerly approached her and placed his arm around her shoulders.

"I thought he loved me," she whispered, fearing she would scare the man away if she spoke too loudly. She leaned into his side and grabbed his shirt, balling it up in a tight fist. She felt his hand rub her back in an effort to soothe her, to fix her breaking heart. It only made her cry more.

He sighed, almost to the point of frustration at not knowing what to say, and simply decided that it would be best if he just let her cry it out and rant later. After all, ranting is what she does best.

Minutes later, she spoke again. "I thought I'd surprise him. It was our eight month anniversary and I wanted to spend the day with him," she said, sighing. "And I know it's stupid to celebrate every single checkpoint, but I just... I just wanted to be with him, you know?" She looked up at him with an imploring expression, but got no response and continued. "Anyway, I caught him his ex-girlfriend. It's not like they were making out or groping or anything, they were just holding hands, sitting there."

The man almost laughed, but decided against it. "Casey, is that all?" At her indignant face, he quickly carried on. "Not that that's not skeezy of him or anything," he amended, "it's just that it seems like maybe it could've been nothing."

Casey attempted to scoff, but it sounded more like a strangled sob. "I know that. He was just giving her this look, one that I'd never gotten before. And it hit me that he was giving her the You're the One Look, the I'm Never Going to Love Anyone Like I Love You Look. His eyes were lit up, like he'd never been so happy. Not even with me..." she muttered, trailing off and fighting back more tears. "What hurts the most is that I thought he was the One. I gave him that look."

He looked down at her, then, and finally decided that it was time she faced the truth. "Casey, I know what you're going through, okay? But you have to realize that maybe he wasn't the One, maybe he was just practice. Frankly, you should be happy for him. He's found that true happiness, that bliss, that only comes from loving someone with everything you've got, body, mind, and soul. And, even though he hurt you in the process, he's given you the best gift he could ever give you: the freedom to go out and find the one for you without any interfering on his part," he said, and hoped that she wasn't going to explode on him for the way he chose to explain things.

Casey nodded, her head moving against his chest. "I understand," she said, and pulled away from him. She stood up and awkwardly rubbed the tears off her face. "Thank you for this, Edwin. I really needed to hear that." And then she was gone, out the door and down the stairs to her room.

O.O

Hours later, Casey still couldn't sleep. What Edwin had said really helped her understand, but it didn't make it hurt any less. She still had the gut-wrenching feeling of not being good enough. The feeling that she been screwed over by Cupid, again, and that maybe she would never find the One. Maybe she was destined to a life of lonely nights and a broken heart.

She threw her covers off and got out of bed, deciding that tossing around in bed was just making it worse. She soon found that even pacing wasn't going to help her, so she grabbed a book and went downstairs for a late-night snack.

Choosing to go with a jar of peanut butter and spoon, she carried her assorted effects and made herself comfortable on the couch. She was startled, however, when she heard footsteps on the landing at the stairs. Only, this time, she couldn't bring herself to narrow her eyes and begin screeching at him (and not just because it's 2am and everyone is asleep). She couldn't do this because he spoke first.

"Hey, Case," Derek said, and walked over to the couch and sat beside her. "I heard about what happened."

"Okay?" she said, wondering if maybe he was going to pick on her about it. But this time seemed different.

"And I wanted to tell you that Edwin's right. He wasn't the one for you." He smiled and let out a small laugh. "It's funny, you know. How we both always end up with the wrong person. It's almost like we're going out of our way to find someone who can never love us completely." He looked down at his hands, twiddling his thumbs and sighing heavily.

"Yeah, it's so hilarious. My favorite pastime is definitely getting my heart broken. Oh, and it's especially funny when it happens over and over again," she bitterly replied, shoving the spoon in the peanut butter and getting a mouthful.

"You know that's not what I mean," he said, but he couldn't find it in him to roll his eyes. "I don't think it's fair that, no matter how hard we look, neither one of us has managed to end up with someone we love."

Casey looked hard at him, studying his face. His head was bowed slightly, mouth set in a frown, brow furrowed. This was completely out of character for him to confiding in anyone, especially herself. But she wasn't about to try and stop it; it was nice, talking to Derek without her guard up. "No, it's not fair. But who meets the One when they're seventeen?" she said, a nervous laugh emitting from her without her consent.

Derek looked at her, then, meeting her gaze and straightening up. There was something in his eyes that she couldn't identify, and she was scared that if she thought about it long enough she would figure it out. "Some people do," he said, and then he looked back down at his hands.

And then it clicked. Derek had looked at her. Derek had looked at her, and his eyes had lit up. Derek had given her The Look.

"Derek?" she said, confusion and anxiety laced in her voice.

"Don't worry about it, Casey. You're not ready for this, or you would've realized it by now. But I'll wait for you. I'll wait for you forever," he said, and got up. He kissed her on the forehead and retreated back to his room.

Casey's mouth formed a small "O," and then she let her head fall back on the couch. Who knew love could be so complicated?

Okay, so it's both cheesy and weird. And I'm not sure how I feel about this one. I was tempted to just delete it, but I thought I'd let you guys give it a run-through first. Lemme know what you think! Or, don't. Whatever floats your boat.
Oh, and, on a side note, thanks for all your reviews for "Revelations"! I wasn't expecting a response like that, so you guys completely rock!