Evening
Casey's POV
"I need you to write me a song, Keener," Derek said, barging into my room.
"Der-ek!" I screeched. "Have you never heard of knocking?" He just continued as if I hadn't spoken.
"See, Sally said I have to write a love song for her, or we're over." He looked me in the eyes. I gave him a look that clearly said 'And this is my problem how?', but he just narrowed his eyes and continued, "The thing is, I can't seem to be able to do it. But I also can't break up with Sally. I mean, come on!" he exclaimed, throwing his hands up in indignation.
This should've made my blood boil—it was exactly the chauvinistic thing I would expect Derek to say—but something in his eyes stopped me.
Was that emotion? Was Derek actually (*gasp*) afraid or something?
"Der?"
He just shrugged. "So, will you write the stupid song or not?"
There was a long, tense pause, and then I surprised us both.
"Sure." Did that really come out of my mouth? No! I meant no! No, no, no!
His eyes widened, almost as if he too didn't expect me to agree so easily, but he recovered quickly.
"Great!" he smirked. "I'll need it by tomorrow!" Then he turned around and left me standing, open-mouthed in my room.
Just when I was starting to think this whole situation couldn't get any worse.
"Der-ek!"
Derek's POV
"Der-ek!"
Ah, music to my ears.
I couldn't believe Casey agreed so easily, but I wasn't going to question it. Sure, I didn't love Sally—I was in (I still choke over the word) love with someone else—but Sally was probably as close as I was ever going to get to the real thing, and I wasn't about to let that go. After all, second place is better than nothing, right?
Right?
Later that Night
Casey's POV
It was quiet in the house—almost eerily so. Everyone else (including Derek—that idiot) was sleeping, but here I was, still up and staring at a blank sheet of paper. I was up trying to write a love song for my step-brother's girlfriend while said step-brother slept soundly across the hall.
Stupid Derek, stupid Sally, stupid song, I thought. Stupid, stupid Sally.
I surprised myself with the venom of this thought. I liked Sally, didn't I? Didn't I?
But, I mean, come on! She has Derek, the most amazing, talented, caring, handsome, dreamy, loving, big-hearted man a girl could ever ask for. Why the hell did she need a song?
Then something caught my attention.
Wait just a damn second, I physically froze in place. Did I just think of Derek as amazing, talented, caring, dreamy, loving, and big-hearted? No, I couldn't have. Because I don't! I've made sure of it!
Shaking my head, I focused on the paper, but I couldn't force my thoughts from my irritating step-brother.
As the memory of our first meeting played in my mind, I knew the first lines of the damned song.
The way you move is like a full on rain storm
And I'm a house of cards
You're the kind of reckless that should send me running
But I kinda know that I won't get far
A half-grimace/half-smile overcame my face as I remembered meeting "Ralph-who-was-actually-Derek". I'd fallen head-over-heels.
God, I made such a fool over myself when I asked Emily if Ralph had a girlfriend. It was kind of funny, in retrospect, but it sure wasn't at the time. As soon as I realized that Ralph was Derek and Derek was Ralph…. Well, let's just say there was a reason for the way I act around Derek. The memory of that moment of realization was inspiration for the next few lines
And you stood there in front of me just
Close enough to touch
Close enough to hope you couldn't see
What I was thinking of
I paused.
What was I thinking of when I first met him?
I knew if I was going to write a damn love song, it was going to be about him. I was already resigned to that fact. Maybe, by some act of God, it would be a good thing.
Maybe this will be what I need to get over this… thing I have for him. Yeah, thing. It's not… feelings… it's a thing. A thing is safer. I almost laughed aloud at the ridiculousness of my thoughts. Thing it is.
So, back to the issue at hand: What was I thinking…?
I knew exactly what I was thinking—what I had been thinking so many times since I'd met him—because there had been tangible sparks the moment I'd met him. And just like that, I had the chorus.
Drop everything now
Meet me in the pouring rain
Kiss me on the sidewalk
Take away the pain
Cause I see Sparks Fly
Whenever you smile
Get me with those green eyes
Baby as the lights go down
Give me something that'll haunt me
When you're not around
Cause I see Sparks Fly
Whenever you smile
Writing the last line of the chorus caused me to smile. Damn, just thinking about his smile made me feel all gooey. Not his signature smirk—though that was weak-in-the-knees-worthy too—but his real, genuine smile; the kind I only see when he's playing with Marti, or—only a few times—when we stopped fighting long enough to…. And that's why I had to write the stupid song. These feelings—I mean this thing—have got to stop.
I just wish my mind could remember that when he's around, I thought. I picked up my pen again.
My mind forgets to remind me
You're a bad idea
You touch me once and it's really something
You find I'm even better than you
Imagined I would be
Maybe that's why I'm so scarred, I thought. Maybe I know that if…. No, I'm done dwelling on the 'if'. This is stupid.
A picture of us, covered in shampoo and sitting on the bathroom floor flooded my mind. I couldn't stop myself from answering his questions honestly that night, nor any other time he asked me anything seriously. It's strange to think that he's the person that I trust most in the world, but it's the truth.
I'm on my guard with the rest of the world
But with you I know it's no good
I could wait patiently but
I really wish you would
Drop everything now
Meet me in the pouring rain
Kiss me on the sidewalk
Take away the pain
Cause I see Sparks Fly
Whenever you smile
Get me with those green eyes
Baby as the lights go down
Give me something that'll haunt me
When you're not around
Cause I see Sparks Fly
Whenever you smile
I closed my eyes and allowed myself to imagine what it would be like to be with him… kiss him…. It was a place I never allowed myself to go, and going there was a combination of scary and wonderful. So wrong, but so, so right.
I run my fingers through your hair
And watch the lights go wild
Keep on keeping your eyes on me
It's just wrong enough to make it feel right
And meet me at the staircase
Won't you whisper soft and slow
I'm captivated by you, baby
Like a fireworks show
Drop everything now
Meet me in the pouring rain
Kiss me on the sidewalk
Take away the pain
Cause I see Sparks Fly
Whenever you smile
Get me with those green eyes
Baby as the lights go down
Give me something that'll haunt me
When you're not around
Cause I see Sparks Fly
Whenever you smile
Sparks Fly
Oh baby smile
Sparks Fly
I smiled, and started to hum a melody. It just came to be, and humming soon turned into full-on belting it out, quietly of course. Everyone else was still sleeping.
As I sang the last line, I began to panic. Then I began to pace. There was no possible way I could give this to him. He would know the second he read it—
"Case," I whipped around to see a sleep-ruffled Derek leaning against my open door. I hadn't even heard him open it. "Is that the song?"
I felt myself tense up at his question. What the hell was I supposed to say to that?
"Uh, well I uh… I don't know. Well, what I mean to say is, um… well, it's not finished," I couldn't look at him as I said this. If he'd heard it, he would be able to tell that it was, clearly, finished. I didn't know how much he'd heard. Did he know about the… thing? Would he say anything if he did?
"Well, I think it's nice," he said. My head snapped up at the compliment. He couldn't know; he just couldn't.
"You do?"
Derek's POV
I woke up suddenly, having had a terrible dream, and my mouth was drier than a desert. Sighing at the inconvenience, I threw back the covers and got out of bed. As I passed Casey's room, I noticed the light peeking out from under her door, so I went over to see what she was doing.
I heard her voice coming through the door. She was working on the song I'd asked her to write.
Momentarily, guilt held me in place. She was up at three in the morning writing a song for my girlfriend while I was sleeping.
Nice Venturi.
Eventually, curiosity overwhelmed my guilt, and I opened the door.
"My mind forgets to remind me," she sang, "you're a bad idea. You touch me once and it's really something. You find I'm even better that you imagined I would be."
Damn, I thought to myself. She has an amazing voice.
I wanted to go to her and see what else she had, but her next words stopped my breath and held me in place.
"I'm on my guard with the rest of the world, but with you, I know it's not good. And I could wait patiently, but I really wish you would drop everything now! Meet me in the pouring rain. Kiss me on the sidewalk, take away the pain. Cause I see sparks fly whenever you smile. Get me with those green eyes, baby as the lights go down. Give me something that will haunt me when you're not around. Cause I see sparks fly whenever you smile."
Her voice changed as she went into what I assumed was the bridge. And she finally choked on the last words, "Sparks fly…"
She bowed her head, then snapped it up again so quickly that I was sure she'd seen me in her doorway. She hadn't. Suddenly, she was pacing the room, muttering something under her breath that I couldn't understand.
Did she not like the song? I sure did. Though it reminded me a little of…
"Case," I said before I could actually think about what I was doing. She whipped around so fast she staggered a little. Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw me, and I let out a small chuckle at how cute she looked. "Is that the song?"
She visibly tensed. "Uh, well I uh… I don't know. Well, what I mean to say is, um… well, it's not finished…" she stuttered, looking down at her feet. She rocked back and forth—her unconscious, nervous habit. She never stuttered, but it was three in the morning. I guess some allowance had to be made, even for Casey.
"Well, I think it's nice," I was saying before I made the conscious decision to. She looked as surprised as I felt at the comment.
"You do?" she asked warily.
"Yeah, well, uh," now I was the one stuttering awkwardly. "You should get to sleep," I finished lamely. She narrowed her eyes at me.
Man, she's hot when she's mad at me.
"I've been up writing a love song for you, and this is how you thank me?" she screeched. Then she looked around and lowered her voice, suddenly remembering the time. "Really, Derek? Really?" she whispered. I stepped closer to her and smirked my usual 'you're-Casey-and-you-have-no-idea-what-you-just-admitted' smirk.
"So you wrote the song for me?" I teased her, glad we were back in familiar territory. Safe.
She staggered back as if I'd struck her. "Get out Derek."
Or maybe not familiar. Maybe not so safe.
"Wha—what?" I barely managed to get out before she shoved me out the door.
"Out," she commanded, then slammed the door in my stunned face.
What just happened?
Casey's POV
"So you wrote the song for me?"
I froze.
Time seemed to stop, and his words ran through my mind about a million times in the half a second it took me to realize that I was far, far, far too close to him. Feeling slightly unsteady on my feet, I staggered backward away from him.
It wasn't far enough. He needed to be farther; he needed to leave.
"Get out Derek."
He looked surprised. "Wha—what?"
I didn't stop to listen. Placing my hands on his chest, I shoved him out my door.
"Out," I repeated. Then, I quietly slammed the door on his stunned face and quickly turned the lock.
He would think I was just mad at him. There was no possible way he could guess my real reason for freaking out. He couldn't know about my… thing.
Slowly, I sank to the floor leaning against my door. I didn't even realize I had tears falling down my cheeks.
Now that he'd heard the song, I'd have to give it to him. And watching him sing my song to Sally—the song I'd written about, well, us—well…. The thought just wasn't bearable.