A/N: This is going to be a little series...but it will probably involve all categories (ones I have ships for) that I write. Each will start with a word and it's definition. The word will have something to do with the story. Anyway here's the first. It's LWD. Dasey. And what not. The word is Radiant...did you know that it's an frequently used SAT word? Isn't that cool? Oh and it's prom, if you didn't notice at first. Anyways. Enjoy! R&R! Thanks! -Mac
Disclaimer: I don't own.
Definitions Of Love: Radiant
Radiant (adj) 1: shining, glowing 2: beaming with happiness 3: transmitted by radiation. Synonyms: brilliant, bright, luminous, lustrous
It was the only word I could think of to describe her in that moment: radiant. She had descended the stairs in an almost slow motion. She was smiling brightly and I feel stupid to say it made my heart skip a beat. I couldn't help but stand staring wide-eyed and open-mouthed up at her. I was just stunned--and she wasn't even my date. She was my step-sister.
Technically she wasn't anyone's date. She was going stag with Emily and bunch of other dateless girls. The funny thing is she could of had a date--Casey I mean--she got at least five offers that I know of. All of them were perfectly acceptable guys for Casey's taste. I didn't understand why she hadn't said yes to one of them.
I wasn't going with anyone either, but I had my reasons. First of all I couldn't choose between the sea of girls who had flocked to me to offer their services as a date. And second, the girl I really wanted to go with, I couldn't ask. I wasn't the kind of guy who could take rejection well. And she seemed to be dishing it out a lot lately.
Casey's voice was what eventually drew me out of my stupor. She said something about it being rude to stare, before moving past me to stand with Emily and a few of the girls she was going with. I sighed inaudibly and moved to sit in my chair. We were currently waiting for the last two girls to arrive. Why was I waiting, you ask? Well I was gracefully forced, by my dad and Nora, into traveling to prom with Casey's group. Because you can imagine how enjoyable it would be stuck in a confined space with ten giggling, prom-crazed femailes. And dinner was a totally different complaint. They even wanted me to take pictures with them.
Finally the doorbell rang and the two girls scrambled in. I was just itching to say something rude about being late, but I bit my tongue. These were Casey's friends, I had to show some respect. At least a little.
It wasn't until Nora started to snap a million pictures that I really wanted to scream. My only soothing advantage is that from where I was then standing I had a clear view of Casey. God, she looked good. She looked amazing, beautiful...gorgeous. You would never catch me saying that out loud. At least not to her face, to anyone really at all. I couldn't. The good thing was I could look all I wanted, even if I couldn't touch or hold or kiss--like I wanted to.
"Now how about one of Derek and Casey together, just them?" Nora asked my dad, tilting her head toward him.
"Sounds good." My dad nodded. He nodded! He agreed to it.
Doesn't he know that we can't get within twenty feet of each other without bursting into some argument or another? Of course he does. Doesn't he know that when I'm close enough to feel the warmth radiating off of her, I get dangerously close to losing control? Okay maybe he doesn't know that, but I do. That's why I try to avoid getting that close to her.
"Dad--"
"Mom--"
"Why do we..."
"I mean really..."
"Just do it." Nora silenced all of our arguments with her firm tone.
I groaned as I walked over to the near vicinity of Casey. The space between us was huge, but I didn't see Casey getting any closer either. I could tell Nora wasn't satisfied right away. It wasn't until she started to make the 'squeeze in together' gestures that I started to inch toward Casey. She moved in a little too, but there was still a considerable gap between us.
I was already acutely away of every move she made, every sound she made. She was too close. But we still weren't close enough for Nora.
"Closer you guys. Come on. Stand next to each other." Nora replied.
"Okay." I sighed. I took a deep breath and came to stand nearly, directly next to Casey--hoping that we could get it done quicker this way.
"Hmm, cute." Nora said with a smile. "But a tad bit closer, look as if you remotely like each other."
I didn't understand what this woman wanted from me. But I complied. I took the last step closer to Casey--until her dress began to skim across my legs. Unsure of what kind of consequences it might have, I slipped my arm around her waist, and rested my hand on her hip.
"Adorable!" Nora exclaimed as she started to click pictures of us and I fought back the urge to cringe.
I just smiled and waited for it to be over. But it wouldn't end. I mean, how many times is she going to push that damn button?
Nora finally stopped when my dad announced that the limo had arrived. I pulled away from Casey abruptly and straightened my jacket. She gave me an odd look at my behavior, but I shook it off as she followed her friends out the door.
I had refused to sit by the other girls in the group, not realizing what kind of position that put me in. All the other girls slid in down the long side seats, leaving me and Casey to sit very close together on the short end seats. I tried to lean away from her to avoid any contact with any part of her body.
"Am I really that appalling?" Casey whispered to me after a couple of minutes of my uncomfortable leaning.
"What?" I asked at first confused, at what she meant.
"I spent a lot of time to look this good, I feel good, I'm really excited but there must be something incredibly wrong with me for you to go to such drastic measures to avoid touching me." Casey rambled quickly. "What is wrong with me?"
"Absolutely nothing." I answered almost immediately. "I'm just uncomfortable."
"I bet more so when you have to press yourself almost completely against the door to stay away from me. Really, Derek do you have to ruin this night for me?"
"Casey, I wasn't trying to..." I started to go on, but the limo had come to a stop.
"We're at the restaurant." Casey whispered to me, then opened the door before our driver could and got out.
I sat there for a moment thinking about what had just happened. I let all of Casey's friends out before I slipped out myself. It was the most awkward dinner I had ever experienced. I was stuck sitting across from Casey, and she wouldn't look at me. When I made to say something she cut me off. It was almost as if I didn't exist--I didn't like that feeling.
Finally as everyone esle was heading out to the limo, Casey excused herself to the bathroom and I followed. I stopped her in the hallway that contained the bathrooms and pay phones.
"Casey, hear me out!" I exclaimed.
She rounded on me. "As if you could explain."
"I can." I murmured, taken aback.
"Well go on then." Casey crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow.
"You look amazing tonight. I thought so since the moment you came down the stairs tonight. It isn't about that at all. There is not a single thing wrong with you." I explained myself as best I could. "I can't really say much else, just know that it's not that at all."
"Okay." Casey said simply and slipped into the woman's bathroom.
I just sighed and headed back through the restaurant. It wasn't long before Casey got into the limo beside me. This time I didn't lean away. I just sat back and tried to ignore the sparks that flew through me everytime her knee or shoulder brushed mine. The time seemed to slow making the trip to the hotel banquet room, that Prom was to be held in, feel twice as long.
This night was starting to become unbearable. I was on my last nerve, and I could barely hold it in anymore. If we didn't get to prom at that next second, I would have snapped.
We all crowded out of the limo, once the door was swung open. We walked into the hotel along with a couple of other groups of people. The signs placed around the hotel lobby directed us to the correct banquet room.
The music was pounding. I could hear the chatter of the people already inside. We searched out a couple tables to accomidate us. As we passed the dancefloor, there were a few couples dancing. I spotted Sam with his date, a girl I had dated not long back. It didn't bother me all that much. Ever since he and Casey broke up, I hadn't cared much about who he dated--as long as it wasn't her. There were a few other guys from the hockey team who had come alone. I gave them an acknowledging nod as I passed but didn't do much else right then.
We gathered around a table and the girls dropped off their things. Some of them instantly set off toward the dance floor. Both Emily and Casey sat down at the table. Unsure of what I should do, I ended up taking a seat next to Casey. We didn't talk, we didn't look at each other; it was as if neither of us were even there. And that was okay for awhile, until a guy I had seen around school once or twice came over and asked Emily to dance. She accepted as some soft music began to play, and left Casey and me alone.
I could tell Casey really wanted to dance--the expression on her face was screaming it at me. I couldn't just let her sit there. This was supposed to be one of the biggest nights of our high school careers. I felt almost obligated.
I stod up in an instant. I took a deep breath and offered her my hand. But she was looking the other way. I cleared my throat to get her attention. When she looked toward me, I gave my hand a little shake to draw her gaze to it. She stared at my hand as if she had never seen one before. She turned her head up to meet my eyes, looking confused.
"Do you want to dance, or what?" I replied.
"Derek, you don't have to." Casey mumbled.
"Look, I know you really want to. Just stand up and come dance with me." I said but Casey hesitated. "Don't make this harder than it has to be. It's really not that complicated."
"Okay." Casey nodded and took my hand.
We walked out toward the dance floor, our hands still laced together. As we faced each other, Casey clasped her hands at the back of my neck and I held her by her waist. There was still a considerable amount of space between us, but I comtemplated how much of a mistake this might have been. We swayed to the music, but we barely looked at each other.
"This is a bit awkward, isn't it?" Casey responded quietly.
"It doesn't have to be." I shrugged. "Why do you feel awkward? It's just a dance."
"You don't find this awkward at all, I mean with our situation?"
"Not really. What's our situation?" I questioned frowning.
"Well, we're just...we...nevermind." Casey shook her head. "It doesn't matter."
"It's not important." I added simply.
"Not at all." Casey agreed, her eyes locking onto mine.
Keeping my eyes on hers the entire time, I pulled her closer, tightening my hold on her waist. She tightened her grip around my neck. Casey turned her head away, before resting it against my chest. We moved slowly together to the music until it started to fade away into the next song.
As a faster beat picked up, we slowly pulled apart. Casey smiled gently at me before heading for the table without a word. I stood there for a moment before I started toward the table as well. When I sat down next to Casey at the empty table, I took her hand in mine.
"Derek..." Casey started. "What are you..."
"Just shut up already." I smirked before I leaned in and captured her lips in a chaste kiss.
"Why did you do that?" Casey asked quietly, her hand flying to her lips.
"I wanted to." I shrugged. "I've wanted to for a long time now."
"Really?"
"Yeah, Casey. This was why I wanted to stay clear of you tonight. It didn't really work though. I kept getting closer and closer." I explained. "I was afraid I would lose control too soon and you would be offended or hurt or pissed off. I didn't want that. I don't really like the feeling of rejection."
"You thought I would reject you?"
"You aren't?"
"No." Casey answered simply. "Do you think I would just let you kiss me like that if I didn't want you to?"
"I just didn't think that..." I trailed off when Casey began to talk again.
"Did you think I would come to Prom alone--when I've gotten plenty of offers--if I didn't have a reason?" Casey continued.
"I'm sure you had one." I nodded.
"Of course I did!" Casey exclaimed. "You!"
"Me?"
"I couldn't go with any of those guys, because...well, I wanted to go with you." Casey lowered her voice near the end. "I didn't think you would--could--ever want to go with me. So I found a way to spend the night with you anyway, even if it was against your will."
"We're a bit pathetic, aren't we?" I laughed lightly.
"Just a little, yeah." Casey smiled.
"So what does this mean for us?" I asked, giving Casey's hand a little squeeze.
"For me it means, I like you Derek." Casey responded. "Simple as that."
"I like you too." I agreed, "Simple as that."
Casey smiled and I kissed her once more. When we pulled away she gave my hand a squeeze before letting it drop to her lap still laced with hers. My thumb caressed the top of her hand as we sat there quietly.
I pulled her hand up to my lips and pressed a light kiss to it. "You look radiant tonight."
"Radiant?" Casey giggled.
"Hey, it was the first thing that came to mind when I saw you." I defended myself.
"Radiant, huh? I kind of like it." Casey leaned in close to whisper that to me, before kissing me lightly on the cheek.
She pulled back, but before she got too far I pulled her back to get a proper kiss. What a wonderful night, it had turned out to be. Simply radiant.