Summary: You know how they say it's easier to apologize than to ask permission. And Casey has always been one to never ask Derek for permission for anything.
Disclaimer: If I owned Life With Derek, I wouldn't have to make money by agitating rooting agar. Now there's a novel concept…
Being single after such a long relationship sucked. It was official, he should have gone to Vancouver, screw the consequences. He knew that his dad and Nora didn't deserve having to deal with him running away. It was the only reason he hadn't bought that bus ticket. Dammit, he missed Sally.
That was how he got stuck in his room. He couldn't use Edwin's head like a bongo; he had already told the family he was fine. He couldn't even play his music loudly, because Casey would come in like the keener step-sister that she was and attempt to make him cheer up. Which was not on his list of things to do.
He had been glaring moodily at the ceiling for a couple of hours when she barged in with that god forsaken Twilight book in tow (doesn't she know how dangerous not knocking could be? He could have been in his…underwear, or something!). She had plopped down on the floor with her back to his bed before he could so much as protest. With a decisive flick of the wrist, the book was open and she began reading.
Derek stared incredulously at the back of her head before giving it a poke, "Umm, excuse me, ugly step-sister? What gave you the idea that reading in here was okay?"
With precise placement, Casey's elbow connected with his rib which had been stupidly put in range by him leaning over to look at her. "What gave the idea that I care? Look, Der, this is just getting to the good part. Do you mind?"
"It's my room! Take your stupid keener cooties and your stupid girly book and read in your room," why of all times, did his voice have become whiney right then?
Casey snorted as she turned a page, "Don't be ridiculous, Derek. I don't have cooties. Besides, your floor is as good as any place to read." Flapping her hand in clear dismissal, she added, "Now hush, Edward is about to reveal why he can't be in the sun."
A light bulb went on in his head at precisely the moment Casey neglected to inform him of how disgusting his floor was. She was up to something, and three guesses on what it was.
"I don't want to talk about Sally, Case," he grumbled.
Casey only shrugged her shoulders, "Good, neither do I. Honestly, don't you know the meaning of 'hush'?"
"Casey," his voice became dangerous as he reached over to pull her head back by her ponytail to look at her upside down, "Leave. Don't you know the meaning of suffering in silence?"
She sent him a withering look before tugging her hair out of his grasp, "Then suffer in silence and let me read my book!"
He couldn't believe it. He just didn't have the energy or the will to kick her out. So for once in the three years they had known each other, Derek let her be (he vowed to have his dad take him to a shrink in the morning).
His (traitorous) hand reached out hesitantly to touch her shoulder (barely. Not at all. He didn't want appearances to be skewed) and asked quietly, "So…why can't Edward be in the sun?"
A small grin crossed her lips as she flipped yet another page, "Wouldn't you like to know."
And so they stayed for the rest f the evening, Casey reading and Derek making a point of flicking her in the ear or tugging her hair every couple minutes. He didn't attempt to move her either, even after her head had dropped until her chin was propped against her chest and the book had slipped to the ground. Despite his insistence that he didn't care about the Sally thing, deep down he admitted to himself it was nice not being alone. Of course, it might of also had something to do with the distinct possibility that she would wake up with one hell of a crick in her neck. He wasn't too picky on his reasons.
(In the morning, he would attribute the bedspread that had mysteriously been wrapped around her during the night to the house fairies, a rare and distant relative of the platoon of army elves who had been fighting off the monsters in Marti's closet since she was two.)
A.N. I had fun with this one. We're always reading about Derek helping to make things better for Casey after her breakups, but there are barely any "fix Derek" fics. I liked Sally. Just not with Derek. At the end, I couldn't resist some tiny, barely there Dasey. They keel me!!! Hmm… now I might be actually able to finish chapter three of Covert Operation. I have so many plans for Heath…
Well, I hope my writing isn't too embarrassing for you guys to read. I can never tell… ^^