"I should have known this party was going to be lame," Derek murmured as he surveyed the apartment they had just entered – a classmate of Casey's. There weren't many people there, just a few small clusters of people gathered around talking, while holiday music played quietly in the background.

Casey rolled her eyes, ignoring Derek's complaints. She hadn't actually invited him to join her, but he had been at her dorm when she got the text and tagged along. And although the party wasn't what she was expecting either (it resembled more or less a study group), it was still very festive. Plus, they were leaving for London the next morning for the Christmas holiday and that long journey could do without the hangovers you'd expect from a typical college party.

"Are they seriously whipping out Candy Land?" Derek whispered to her incredulously. "Seriously, Marti could have come to this party and had a ball," he joked.

Casey turned fully to her stepbrother, hands on hips. "You can leave if you want, Derek," she told him. "No one is forcing you to be here."

His lips slid right into his renowned smirk. "Do you want me to leave?"

She knew what he was doing. If she said 'yes,' he'd stay in spite of her. If she said 'no,' then he'd tease her relentlessly for wanting his presence. "I don't care what you do, Derek."

He laughed, like he knew she would say that. Casey groaned internally. She hated how well he knew her.

"I'm gonna see if they have any good grub or drinks," he said, already backing away to the presumed direction of the food table. "Don't party too hard now," he mocked with a wink before going into the next room.

Casey shook her head. Her stepbrother was too much for her to handle sometimes, and so rude!

"Casey!" she suddenly heard from behind her. She turned and saw Jenn, the girl who had invited her over, approaching her happily. "I'm so glad you could make it!"

Casey smiled back. Jenn was a really sweet girl, and very studious. She was a great study partner for their shared math class. "Thank you for inviting me," she said politely.

"No problem," Jenn let out. "We should catch up later, but right now I have food in the oven I have to look at," she brought up, already turning to walk away. "But make yourself at home. There are plenty of games and music and movies and such to play!"

Casey nodded her head, watching her friend until she disappeared into the kitchen area. The oldest McDonald then looked around at the party-goers. There were a few that she recognized around campus, but no one that she ever talked to before.

Sighing, she mucked up enough courage to see what everyone was up to. One group actually was playing Candy Land, but there were still heavily involved in their game with no room for new players just yet. Another group was gathered nearby, but they looked like they were made up entirely of the Sheldon Shlepper variety, so she kept her distance. The last group, while they looked friendly, were talking about Harry Potter, and while she had read the first few books and watched the movies, she hadn't had the slightest clue as to what they were talking about in such great detail.

Consequently, Casey found herself being a wallflower.

"Bleh," Derek let out as he walked up to her. "Your friends are serious prudes. There's not even alcohol in this eggnog," he complained, setting the drink down on a random surface nearby.

Casey sighed. "You were right, Derek," she stated miserably, frowning. "This party is lame. With a capital L."

Derek snorted, but then his eyes flickered above her head, momentarily distracted. "Hey, Case. Look," he said, pointing to the green plant hanging above their heads.

"Derek, that's-" she started but was cut off by the pressure of Derek's lips on hers.

Knowing who was kissing her should have been enough to push him away, but oddly enough the feeling of his mouth on hers wasn't at all off-putting as she thought it might have been. She kissed back, reveling in the feeling at a different level, loving how he maneuvered his lips over hers – a mixture between tender and ravenous.

After a minute, the pair separated but stayed close, breathing in each other's air and cautiously looking into the other's eyes.

"Derek, that wasn't a mistletoe," Casey softly pointed out, her breath still labored from her previous activity. "It's holly."

His eyebrows peaked and his eyes widened in genuine surprise. "Oh," he breathed out, and if he wasn't Derek Venturi she would have even said he looked mildly embarrassed.

"Yeah…" she lamely added, biting her lip as she looked behind his long lashes and into his magnetic brown eyes. "But I'm going to kiss you again anyway."

Derek enthusiastically nodded, readily accepting her lips when she closed the small distance between them. This party may have been lame, but at least this wasn't.

A/N: And it's that time of year again! I hope you guys enjoyed this and please remember to review. As always, I am taking suggestions for future one-shots - so if you have an idea, don't be shy! :)