A/N: Hello once again everybody! I'm here with my new story, and I'm almost positive that all of you will enjoy it. Thanks to all of those who have reviewed in the past, it means more to me than you ever may know. Sorry the delay has been quite a while, but I can't post my stories until there perfect. Remember my system, bold is for thoughts, and italics are for flashbacks. Enjoy!
It could never happen. The boundaries were just too thick, too unaccepting to the idea. If it were to happen, society would tear them to pieces. Neither of them had the courage to take a stand, to fight for what they truly wanted. It was too reckless for them to lay themselves out there, revealing to the entire would who they really were instead of who the pretended to be. To society, they were everything and nothing to each other. They were stepbrother and sister, bitter enemies, and yet, so much more inside their own household. The general opinion was that the two hated each other; wild, untamed insults tossed between the two constantly, along with a few pranks here and there. But the population was just naïve. They didn't see the fleeting looks between them, the tension filled arguments at home which usually ended with them in an awkward position. They didn't see the real Derek and Casey; two teens who were meant for each other, but were denied each other by fate.
Derek was the school player; popular, athletic, and had quite a talent at charming the ladies. He had most of the school eating out of the palm of his hand. He could do anything he wanted to and set a trend for others with little to no consequences facing him. He was on top of the world, and yet, in the middle of all his fame and popularity, he was miserable. The one thing he truly wanted was barred from him, by his father and his ill thought decision to marry Nora.
Derek had only just become acquainted with Casey, and knew her far too little when she became his stepsister. When he first met her, he was immediately attracted to the beautiful brunette. He found that she was far more intelligent than he could ever hope to be the first time he conversed with her. She was kind and polite, but fierce when it came to having strong opinions, something that sent Derek over the edge. He idolized her in a sense; she was someone who he had always wanted to be like. She inspired him to strive to make himself a better person. He had found Casey, the girl he knew he was supposed to be with. But he was struck was struck down, when his father announced that he was marrying Casey's mother.
Derek was torn apart at the announcement, never bothering to reveal his true feelings for Casey to his father. He grew bitter once they were married, utterly crushed at losing what he could have had with her. So Derek did the only thing he could think of or handle; he pushed Casey away. He'd rather live with her as bitter enemies rather than develop a sibling relationship with her. So he teased her and insulted her to no end. It killed him inside to do this, but he felt he had no choice. If he didn't push her away, he might do something rash and chaotic, like reveal his feelings for her. So he wallowed away in his own misery, always being so close and yet so very far with the girl he couldn't have.
Casey was the school's overachiever; uptight, smart, and supporting the strictest morals a human being could have. She was extraordinary in so many ways, yet completely ordinary to the school population. They taunted her, berated her because she strived for excellence. She was unique, far too unique to ever be considered normal to the world. So she was labeled and thrown to the side, never given a second glance and who she really was.
When Casey first met Derek, she was overjoyed at how fun and exciting he was. He had the athlete build, a great smile that she melted when she saw, and was charming through and through. She saw something in him that she had always wanted; the easygoing lifestyle with few worries. He was nice, funny, and outgoing; things that only made her adore him. She had found the boy she was supposed to be with, she knew that. But her dreams were shattered when her mother told her she was marrying George, Derek's father.
She fell apart when she heard, concealing from both her mother and her sister Lizzie her true feelings for Derek. She closed herself off after the wedding, where she would sit alone in her room and cry silently. She knew meeting Derek was too good to be true. When she moved into the Venturi household, she avoided Derek at all costs. The more she saw of him, the worse it hurt to let him go. After a while of this routine, she knew she couldn't avoid him forever; so she pushed him away, joining in on the insulting phase Derek had recently become accustomed to. On the inside, she was dying slowly without him, having no other options but to give up any hope that she had any chance to be with Derek.
That is, until one night, when everything between them would change forever…
Casey stood in front of her mirror, checking over every little detail of her appearance. Everything had to be perfect for tonight, or Casey was going to freak.
"Case, you look good, don't worry" Emily said, watching Casey reapply her lipstick for the fourth time. She sat on the bed in her own light blue dress with her curly hair in a perm for the big night. Casey sighed, throwing the lipstick down on the dresser.
"Sorry, I just need everything to be absolutely perfect for tonight" Casey looked herself over on last time before turning to Emily. She was wearing a very pretty black dress that stopped just above her knees, her hair ending in curls just above her shoulders, and wearing a dazzling necklace that her mother had bought her several months before, which had become her trademark accessory cascading along her neckline. Emily gave her and approving smile.
"I think Sam I going to be more than impressed tonight" she said cheerily, giving Casey a small hug. Casey gave Emily a confused look.
"You know, Sam? Your prom date?" Emily asked as if the most obvious thing. Casey snapped out of her stupor, "Oh, right….Sam" she said, trying to cover her fumble as much as possible. Emily gave her a suspicious look.
"You feeling alright?" she asked, thumbing her charm bracelet that she hadn't bothered taking off. Casey slowly nodded.
"Yeah, I'm fine, just a bit distracted" Casey said, brushing her hands through her hair.
"By what exactly?" Emily questioned. She was curious to what could possibly be distracting Casey on the biggest night of her life.
"Nothing really. Just small matters" Casey replied, reassuring Emily with a small smile. Emily still didn't fully believe her, but decided to leave her be. She didn't notice Casey's beaming smile as she walked out of the room.
"Tonight is gonna be fun as hell!" Derek said excitedly from his recliner. He and Sam were wearing matching black tuxedos while Trevor was wearing a midnight blue tuxedo, standing near the doorway to the Venturi\Macdonald household.
"What time do you gotta pick up Kendra at?" Sam asked, feeling rather uncomfortable already in the tux.
"Eh, doesn't matter. I'll pick her up in a bit. Besides, the leafs' game is still tied, I can't miss the end of that!" Derek said, his eyes going wide as the maple leafs' center took a shot at the net.
"Dude, just go pick her up. You don't wanna piss her off before the dance even starts, do you?" Sam pestered.
Derek glared daggers at Sam; he was always one to do things his way on his own time. He lost all thought or anger, however, when his eyes fell upon Casey. She slowly strode down the steps, her dress sweeping silently above her knees. Her dark brown hair shimmered and her blue eyes glistened in the dimly lit living room, highlighting every feature of her. Derek couldn't help but stare, his moth slightly parted. Casey caught his gaze, smiling nervously. Sam hadn't noticed her presence in the room yet, so Derek took this opportunity to memorize every part of her. Emily followed Casey downstairs in her blue prom dress that matched Trevor.
"Ah, the beauty arrives" Trevor said with a smile on his face, as he offered Emily his arm. She happily took it and laid her head on his shoulder.
"Don't you look cute tonight" Emily added flirtatiously, a wide smile upon her face.
"Hey Casey. You look good tonight" Sam said casually, once he noticed her downstairs. His compliment went unheeded though, as her attention was elsewhere at the moment.
Dammit, she is beautiful, Derek thought as his gaze on Casey finally deterred and focused upon the ground. It was driving him nuts seeing Casey like this and trying to control himself, let alone Sam no t giving Casey the recognition she deserved.
"I'm gonna go pick up Kendra now, see ya later" Derek said quietly as he headed for the door.
"See you at the dance, Derek" Casey responded, causing Derek to halt in his tracks. He turned to glance at Casey, who had an anxious and almost sad look on her face. He nodded and proceeded out the door.
By the time Derek arrived to the dance hall, the place was packed with all of his classmates. Derek made his way to the floor, getting high fives from his hockey teammates, and fawned over by the majority of the senior girls, much to their dates' dismay. Once he was in the middle of everything, Kendra immediately started to grind against him, urging him to join in as well. He danced unenthusiastically with Kendra, only to keep the air light between them. While dancing, Derek's eyes were diverted to the same girl from earlier that night that had mesmerized him. Casey danced in Sam's arms, enjoying herself immensely, but not because of the boy in front of her. Casey caught Derek watching her, smiling widely in his direction. She continued to spy him with his full attention on her throughout the entire night, despite the desperate blonde in front of him.
After hours of dancing, laughing, and enjoying themselves, the DJ finally called for the end of the dance. Everybody started filing out of the hall and spreading off to their own groups. Casey followed Sam through the parking lot as he led her over to a bunch of his hockey buddies and their dates, including Derek and Kendra.
"Hey Sam" Jason, one of his hockey teammates called, "We got ourselves a hotel room. You gonna come party with us or what?"
Sam looked in Casey's direction, "You wanna go with?"
Casey shook her head, letting out a yawn. "You go on ahead; I'm pretty tired; I think I'll just go home."
Sam gave her a worried look before he nodded, "Thanks for coming with me tonight, Casey".
Casey gave a quick nod before she silently walked away from the group. She didn't notice Derek watching her the entire time, or the disappointment that flooded him when she walked away.
"Thanks for the ride, Emily" Casey said, as Emily pulled into the driveway of her home.
"No problem Casey. Me and Trevor are gonna take a ride down to the beach. See you later!" Emily shouted, backing out of the driveway. Casey watched as Emily sped off down the street before she strode down to the sidewalk. She thought a nice walk was in order for her. She walked through the dark streets until she came upon a small playground. She sat down on a swing, and slowly swung back and forth, low enough so her feet stayed on the ground. She continued this, lost in her own thought until a young man silently came up beside her.
"Decided to go for a midnight swing?" he asked, causing Casey to slightly jump. She physically relaxed when she saw who it was and continued her swinging motion.
"Why aren't you with your friends?" Casey asked, giving the young man a curious glance.
"Eh, it's just not where I wanted to be tonight" he said, sitting himself down on a swing next to Casey.
"Mr. Venturi not with his friends on prom night? Seems very "un-Derek" like to me" Casey joked, earning a smile from Derek.
"Once they left for the hotel, I started walking home until I saw you here" Derek said slowly.
"And here we are" Casey said, smiling to herself. Derek smirked, standing up from the swing and holding his hand out to Casey.
"May I have this dance, Miss Macdonald?" he asked politely. Casey blushed slightly, taking his hand, rising up from her swing. He placed his arms around her waist, while Casey put her arms around his neck. They silently swayed back and forth in each others arms until Casey spoke up.
"Derek?" she said softly.
"Yeah?"
"Did you really mean what you said earlier?" she asked, pulling away from him slowly to look him in the eyes.
Derek was sitting in the computer chair playing PC games when Casey barged into his room, looking quite flustered.
"What the hell is this doing here?" Casey asked in a demanding tone, holding up a condom still wrapped in the package.
"Where did you find that?" Derek asked, knowing full well how stupid his question was. He knew he had put it on the bottom shelf of the bathroom cabinet and that Casey was exactly the type of person to rummage through that spot.
"Why does that matter? The better question is what were you planning on doing with this?" she asked angrily, her eyes plotting death to the boy in front of her.
"None of your fucking business!" Derek snapped getting more irritated with every second that went by. He wasn't ready to have a talk about his sex life with anyone, especially with Casey.
"Are you really thinking about screwing that skank, Kendra?" Casey asked, as if the accusation was that he had committed murder.
"Why the hell do you care? You've never given a shit before!"
"That's not true and you know it!" Casey belted, obviously offended by the accusation.
"Name one time" Derek said, calming down ever so slightly.
"Remember when you needed an A on that English project in order to pass the class?"
"What about it?"
"I helped you with that you numskull!" Casey yelled, her frustration growing exponentially. This conversation was going nowhere quick.
"True"
"What about when your band needed a lead singer?"
"Yeah, but…"
"And when your business needed running when you were sick?" Casey asked, her eyes starting to water.
"Um…"
"See what I mean!" Casey shouted, on the verge of tears, "You make me seem like the most heartless bitch on earth! When in all reality, I do care about what happens to you Derek!" she broke down at this point, sobbing with her face in her hands.
Guilt spilled through Derek as he watched Casey cry. He sighed heavily, walked over by Casey and wrapped his arms around her. He held her in his arms until her crying subsided.
"I didn't mean to make you feel like that Case. I'm sorry" Derek said, pulling away from Casey once she was alright. Casey nodded.
"So was that what you were planning to do?"
"Do what?"
"Screw Kendra?!" Casey asked, giving him a look like he was stupid.
"Of course not"
"Then why do you have it?"
"I don't know"
"What the hell else could it be for if not-"
"It wasn't for her, alright!" Derek shouted, cracking under Casey's pressure.
Casey paused, staring at Derek like he was a lost little boy. Derek knew what her next question would be.
"Who was it for?"
"You don't want to ask that question" Derek stated plainly.
"Why not?" Casey asked, a confused look on her face.
"You won't like the answer"
"I don't care, just tell me who it is!" Casey shouted. She had a way of always getting the truth out of him one way or another is she persisted.
"It's
you"
Casey faltered, taking a few steps back, shock and disgust
evident upon her face. She stood silent, just staring at Derek with a
worried look before she spoke up.
"Derek, that's sick! I'm not one of your skanks you could just expect to fool around with!" Casey shouted once again.
"It's not like that"
"Really?" she said, unconvinced of his motives.
"Yeah" Derek stated innocently.
"Then what is it like?" she asked, accusing him for not the first time today. Derek stood there silent, not attempting to give her an explanation. Casey repeated herself before frustration got the best of her.
"Sometimes Derek, you can be one stubborn pain in the ass!" she said, before turning to leave. She never made it through the door though, as Derek had grabbed her arm, turned her back around, and planted his lips on hers. Casey was still in utter shock and a feeling of euphoria when he pulled away.
"It's not like anybody else because I love you Casey" Derek said softly.
Casey's hand shot up to cover her mouth, her eyes going wide, as she backed away slowly, not knowing what to do. She walked backward a few paces as Derek just stood there, before she broke into a sprint for her room. Once she reached her domain, she slammed the door and leaned her back against it. She slowly slid down the door until she hit the ground. There, she buried her face in her knees and began to cry.
She had no idea why she was crying. Maybe it was the fact that no boy had ever said that to her before. Maybe it was because she didn't feel the same way. Or maybe, just maybe, she was crying because she did feel the same way about him, and she had known it all along.
"Did you really mean what you said earlier?" she asked, pulling away from him slowly to look him in the eyes. Derek smiled a bit as she asked this, his grip on her waist tightening a bit.
"Every word" he whispered into her ear, earning a huge smile from the beautiful girl in his arms. She reached up and brushed her lips softly against his before she leaned her head down in the crook of his neck, swaying once again slowly with Derek. A thought crossed her mind as Derek softly rubbed her back.
"What will everyone think?" she asked, closing her eyes and leaning further into Derek's frame.
He smirked, "It doesn't matter. All that matters is us" he said, almost as perfectly as if taken from a book.
Casey relaxed herself once he said this. If even he, Derek Venturi, could take a stand for what he truly wanted, then surely Casey could do it also.
Maybe fate didn't have control of their lives. Maybe it was just their minds telling them that society wouldn't accept them. Maybe the population knew what they were to each other the entire time. Or maybe, just maybe, fate had destined them to be together all along.
It was all a matter of time, and of course, a midnight dance.
End
A/N: Thank you all so much for reading; I've been working on this for a long time trying to perfect it to my liking. Now do me one more favor before you go, and leave a review, it would be most humble of all of you! And my second chapter for Fatal Romance should be out within the week. Thanks again!