A/N: So, here's another one-shot from me. This isn't beta-ed, so, yeah.
Disclaimer: It is my pleasure to announce that I have just acquired Mike Seater and LWD, don't ask me how, if I told you I'd have to kill you.
I had you going, didn't I? No? Well, I tried.
OOOOOOOO
Derek had been watching Casey all night. He watched her walk into the party with Sam attached to her hip. He watched her pull him out onto the makeshift dance floor, a.k.a. the living room floor. And, then, Derek watched as they set out to reenact the closing number from Dirty Dancing.
Nobody would ever accuse Derek of being a genius, but he wasn't an idiot either. He knew why she was doing this. And, if he was honest with himself, he knew he had it coming. But that didn't stop him from being a little surprised and more than a little pissed at her current behavior.
Okay, so when Lana Peterson frenched him in the hallway at school yesterday, he probably should've tried to stop her, but he had to keep up appearances, didn't he? Lana was a cheerleader, a hot cheerleader; his typical type. They had been in public; he couldn't have pushed her away even if he wanted too, at least, that's how he'd felt at the time. Derek Venturi didn't turn down free yamps; it just wasn't done. With her friends giggling in anticipation and his friends grinning with a mixture of admiration and approval, he really hadn't felt like he had much of choice.
It hadn't taken long for the story of the kiss seen 'round the hallway to make its way to Casey's ears. So, no, he wasn't that surprised at her current behavior. High school keggers weren't really her style; they were out of her comfort zone. But, Derek reasoned, she was obviously willing to be uncomfortable if it meant she could get back at him.
OOOOOOOO
Casey was uncomfortable, she was uncomfortable as hell. It wasn't that she didn't like parties, it was just that she didn't like being in a room full of people she didn't know, and she didn't like being dressed like this, but it was all part of her plan. She had wanted to look sexy tonight, but she didn't want to look like one of Derek's yamps. So, she had settled on a jean mini skirt and a tank top with a plunging neckline.
Usually Casey wouldn't let Sam dance all up on her like he was, but for once his overly-friendly attitude towards her was actually helping her out. Derek looked shitty, and that made Casey extremely happy. She understood that they needed to keep up appearances, but did that mean that he got to kiss any girl that threw herself at him? She felt like he just didn't respect her; if he did he would've been able to turn down Lana. This was his punishment; tit for tat—he had it coming. He should have to feel exactly how she felt when she heard about the kiss.
In fact, Casey thought, why should she only dance with Sam? He wasn't her boyfriend; he had no claim to her. And, as long as she stayed with Sam, Derek wouldn't really have any reason to fear his position in her life. He knew that she didn't have any romantic feelings for Sam and that she wouldn't let him do anything more than dance with her; her morals wouldn't allow her to lead on someone she knew had real feelings for her. Her forehead creased in consternation, who else could she dance with though?
When the song ended and an even faster one came on, she looked up and noticed more than a few guys looking at her appreciatively. That was something she wasn't used, but something she felt she could use to her advantage. Excusing herself from Sam, she caught the eye of one of the guys who was ogling her, and made her way over to him.
"Hi," Casey said, to the tall, cute, dark-hired guy. "I'm Casey."
"I know; you're Venturi's sister."
Casey inwardly cringed at being referred to as Derek's sister, but she smiled as he continued talking.
"I'm Jason, Jason Landers."
Casey had heard of Jason Landers, but had never actually met him. From what she had heard, he was a poor man's Derek; he was popular, cute, and lucky with girls, but he wasn't as popular, cute, or lucky as Derek was. She also had it on good authority, Emily, who else, that he and Derek weren't crazy about each other. He was exactly what Casey needed.
"So," Casey began, chewing her lip in a way she found silly, but guys seemed to enjoy, "do you want to dance?"
Jason blinked in surprise; this was not the Casey MacDonald he was used to. The Casey he saw at school was bossy, uptight, and prissy, the Casey standing before him, practically batting her eyelashes at him, was hot.
Rather than answer her question, he asked one of his own. "Won't your boyfriend mind?
Casey seemed to choke on her own air. "What?"
Jason eyed her strangely. "Sam. Won't he mind if we dance?"
She relaxed, laughing slightly. "Oh, Sam's not my boyfriend; we're just friends."
Jason began plotting. If how she was dancing with Sam was how she danced with friends, well then . . .
"Well, I'm really not much of a dancer, but maybe we could go talk somewhere?"
Casey wavered slightly, but when she pictured Derek with Lana, her resolve to fight fire with fire strengthened. She quickly glanced over her shoulder to make sure Derek was still watching her, when she saw that he was, she laced her fingers with Jason's, and allowed him to lead her up the stairs.
OOOOOOOO
Across the room Derek's fists were clenched at his sides. He couldn't believe what he'd just seen. Sweeping the room with his eyes, he was relieved to see that nobody else seemed to have noticed Casey's and Jason's departure; the last thing Casey needed was to have her name linked to Jason's. He was such a player that everyone would automatically assume the worst. Some girls liked to be known as conquests of guys like him and Jason, but Derek knew Casey would be anything but happy if she was known as one of Jason's girls.
After about fifteen minutes passed without Jason and Casey returning, Derek's eye began to twitch. He really didn't want to have to go up there; if he did things could only end badly. He searched for Sam to see if he was making any attempt to go get his date. When he saw Sam standing by the punchbowl looking like somebody had just kicked his dog, Derek rolled his eyes in disgust. Sometimes he wondered why he hung out with such a wimp.
Glancing around one last time, Derek made sure nobody was watching him, before heading up the stairs in search of Casey.
OOOOOOOO
The first four rooms he tried were a bust; he'd seen two couples, and he now knew way more about his team's goalie than he had ever wanted to, but there was still no sign of Casey and Jason. They had to be behind this last door, but Derek was suddenly nervous; he didn't know what he would do if they were making out, or doing something worse. Pressing his ear to the door he could hear noises, he could barely make it out, but Casey's laughter was unmistakable, and Jason, well, he seemed to be . . . moaning?
Derek swung the door open, sending it crashing back into the wall. "Get the hell of my g-sister!" Derek said, stumbling over the word.
"Who are you talking to?" Casey asked in confusion.
Trying to get his bearings and taking in the scene before him, Casey and Jason sitting on the floor playing cards, Derek adopted his own look of confusion. "I thought you two were, um . . . you know," he said sheepishly.
"What? Fooling around?" Casey snapped. "Unlike some guys I know, Jason isn't all about getting a girl to put out. He can be a gentleman."
That comment had both Jason and Derek raising their eyebrows. Was she for real?
"Well," Derek said rolling his eyes, "would the 'gentleman' please GET THE HELL OUT!"
Casey started to tell Jason to ignore Derek, but when she caught sight of the murderous glare Derek was sending him, and knowing that the two of them getting in a fight would only create more problems, Casey thought better of it. "Jason, maybe you should go."
Adopting a look of remorse, Jason nodded solemnly, while inside he was thanking God; he had been bored out of his mind.
When he got to the door Derek grabbed his arm.
"You tell anyone that you were alone with my-with Casey in a bedroom, and it's your ass," Derek whispered in his ear.
"Dude, we were playing cards. If I told anyone, my reputation would be ruined," he whispered back grinning, before leaving the room and closing the door.
Casey threw down her cards, preparing to leave the room and Derek behind. But, when she got to the door his left hand shot out, grabbing her arm and pulling her back in front of him.
"What were you two doing?" he bit out. It was obvious from the look on his face that he was beyond pissed.
But, Casey was far from happy too. Throwing a long look at the cards that were strewn about the floor, she said, "You caught me, Derek. We were about to have sex, playing speed was just our idea of foreplay," she deadpanned.
Derek tightened his hold on her arm. "If you knew how I felt, you wouldn't be making jokes right now," he said, voice dangerously low.
"And, if you knew how I felt, you'd back off and remember that you're the one who cheated, not me," she shot back.
Knowing she was right, he released her arm.
She was attempting to leave again, when she heard him say, in a voice no louder than a whisper, "I'm sorry, Casey."
She let go of the doorknob, cursing herself as she did so. Casey had never actually heard Derek apologize before, at least not like he'd meant it. She knew this was a big step for him, and she appreciated the gesture, but she needed more.
Moving back in front of him, she looked into his eyes. "That's not good enough, Derek. The fact that you kissed Lana hurt, but what hurt even more was what the kiss implied."
When he blinked, she rolled her eyes and continued. "It was like a slap in the face, Derek. It was like you were saying I was replaceable, like I didn't matter any more than any of your other girls," she said, wiping at the tears that were now falling from her eyes.
"Casey, I felt trapped, I swear that's the only reason I kissed her," he explained. "I promise it won't ever happen again."
Casey just continued to weep, staring crossly at the floor.
"And," he continued, "as far as you being replaceable, nothing could be further from the truth."
"Really?" she scoffed, looking up.
"Look around you, Casey. I came upstairs with the sole intention of kicking Jason's ass; I didn't even want to open the door, because I was afraid of what I might find. I even waited to see if Sam would come up here, because I knew that if I saw you two messing around I'd do something stupid."
Casey sighed. "What's your point?"
Derek growled in frustration. "Think about it Casey, when was the last time I gave a damn about what one of my 'girls' was doing? I've gotten into plenty of fights, but never over a girl; I have never cared enough to, before you."
"Don't I feel special," Casey mumbled sarcastically under her breath.
Derek sighed, throwing up his hands. "What do you want me to say?"
"I don't know," she responded, her voice near whining.
Derek's mind was racing with explanations, he needed to convince Casey that she was special to him; he had to convince her not to leave him. He was just coming to the conclusion that he was probably going to have to beg; Derek Venturi didn't beg, it just wasn't done, but he'd do it for her. He was just about to suck it up and swallow his pride, when her voice broke through his thoughts.
"We're not okay."
When she didn't instantly elaborate, his brow furrowed. "Umm . . . okay?"
She ran a hand through her hair, unsure of what she was about to say. "We're not okay, but I want to forgive you. I want to trust you again."
Derek met her eyes, still too afraid to hope. "What do you want me to do? Name it, and I'll do it."
Casey chewed her lip for a moment, before surprising them both by launching herself into his arms. "Just hold me. We'll figure it out tomorrow."
THE END
As Always Reviews Are Welcome!
A/N: This was hard for me to end, so if the ending seems weird, that's why.
Since my disclaimer was a joke, I guess I should officially disclaim. So, I disclaim.
"Yamp" is like my favorite word right now, so if it seems like I use it a lot, that's why lol
