"Ever heard of knocking?" Derek cried indignantly.

"Oh, like I'm the only one to break that rule! Plus, we never finished our conversation from earlier."

"And which conversation would that be?"

"The one about you and your horrid ways in tricking me about football!"

"Well, Max came, didn't he?" He said it nonchalantly, but if one listened closely, there was a hint of bitterness and jealousy there. Casey, however, didn't listen that closely.

"Well, yes." She said it in an almost overdone giddiness, but Derek lost in his own thoughts, didn't detect it.

"So what is the problem then?"

"You shouldn't have done it in the first place!"

"But I'd been too nice lately, I couldn't just let you go on believing I had changed." It was a poor excuse and he knew it. Apparently, so did Casey.

"You nice?!? Haha! Why does something tell me that's not the reason?"

"Well it IS." He said it a bit too defensively, and she pounced.

"No, fankly, I don't buy that."

"Then, why, pray tell, would I want to ruin your date with your perfect Max?"

"See, I believe your jealous!"

"Me, jealous? That's a good one Case." He laughed derisively, and yet, there was fear in his eyes.

"Yes, of someone else being happy. Someone else going on dates in this family. Someone else getting attention."

"Yeah right. I just don't want to see your reputation improve over its current lackluster status. And again, why do you even care? You have Max now!"

Their yelling had grown to epic proportions, and they had gradually inched closer to each other, getting redder, the fight more passionate and heated. Derek looked at Casey, knowing he had to back away. Otherwise he would do something he regretted. And so he stepped back.

"Yes." She spoke. This time, there was no hiding the hint of sadness in her voice and eyes. The instant she said it, she regretted it. Now he would ask her why she was sad, and after much prodding, he might guess the reason. She didn't want to be with Max. Max was a distraction and a tool. Someone she was focusing on to get her attention of someone else. Someone now standing in front of her.

Derek looked at her eyes, and saw the mixture of emotions there. He couldn't speak. And in that instant, she turned away.

A million thoughts were going through Casey's mind. Why had she been so stupid? She hadn't exactly put her heart on the line, but she had hinted at it. She knew he had seen. She had to get out of here.

Derek looked at her retreating form with pain. There was something there, he knew. Maybe…? But no, he couldn't allow himself to hope. He would make a fool of himself. But why then was Casey turning away full of sadness. She didn't want Max, that he was certain of. Did she want someone else? Did she want…? No! That couldn't be it. But he knew now that that hope was there, he couldn't let it go again. He had to find out, one way or another. If she hated him, then so be it. He would move on. It would be hard, but it was possible. Maybe it was time to take a chance. It was now or never. Maybe it was time to put his heart on the line.

He walked swiftly toward her and held the door closed before she could escape. She looked up questioningly and defiantly.

"Derek, let me out! I just want to go!"

"No."

"And why not?"

"You see, I have a confession to make. You were right."

"I usually am," she said with a smirk. Then her face became serious. "About what?"

"I was jealous."

"I thought I already established that."

"Yes, but not the reason."

"I named the reason or reasons."

"But none of them were true."

"Then why?" She asked softly. Her heart was pounding. Maybe there was hope.

"I hate to see you with Max. I hate to see you with anyone else. Truth is, I'd hate to see you with anyone but me." There. He had said it. She was silent. He panicked. So, he had been wrong. He knew it had been a stupid idea from the beginning. Putting his heart on the line, what was that? That only happened in movies. The happy endings, he meant. He turned away.

Casey saw the panic in his eyes. She saw that he took her silence as rejection. And yet, she wasn't upset in the least. She was floating on air- walking on sunshine as the song goes. He couldn't have just said what she thought he said. Did he really say everything she had wanted him to? His turn brought her back to reality.

Derek felt a tap on his shoulder. He looked back, for the ultimate and final insult. But he didn't get it. Instead, when Casey kissed him, he knew that putting his heart on the line had an even better ending than in the movies.