timeline: right after the Tonys

a/n: 2am here. I had an idea, and I had to write it because otherwise I'd just probably forget it. And I'm writing this on my phone. So, I'm sorry abt the mistakes.


She didn't win. Of course she didn't win... how could she? Ivy was Marilyn. And since the Bombshell's opening night on Broadway, everyone knew it: Ivy would win the Tony.

Karen knew it for a long time, but yet, somewhere along the way, she had hope. Not because she thought she was spectacular. Not because she thought she was amazing. But because someone was always there saying that she was a star. His star.

Or at least, she used to be. Since that night when Karen said to Derek that she was "sort of seeing someone", he changed. He changed the way he talked to her, the way he treated her, and even the way he looked at her.

No more darling, love... not even sweetheart. It was just Karen. Karen I need you on stage, Karen do this, Karen do that.

And she was fine with that, at the beginning. Jimmy and her were having fun. A lot of fun. And while they were having fun, Derek and her were growing apart. But somehow, deep inside, Karen wasn't worried about their distance because she knew that eventually, he would try to get close. And they would go back to the start - they would be friends again.

But he didn't. Instead, two weeks later, she found out he was dating Ivy - special thanks to Bobby and Jessica here.

She tried to pretend she didn't care. To everyone and especially to herself. She tried really hard, acutally. But she did care.

She cared because she realized Derek was getting closer. But this time, she knew he didn't want want her. He wanted what she could give to him.

Karen had never felt so depressed. Derek was treating her like his star, one more time. He discovered her, modeled her. She wasn't his property, but her talent was. And he was willing to do anything to get her on her best side. He needed to take care of his career, and so he was.

He was by her side everytime she needed. He was by her side. And even well aware of his motivations, Karen decided to pretend he wasn't doing that because of his career, but because he cared about her, like he had said to her before the arguing.

"You're a star. And you know it. I know it. Now you just have to prove that to the rest of the world." Beautiful words to such a dirty intention. The present repeating the past. A whisper in her ear, gentle touches on her hips and the protective façade - it was like Boston again, but this time, on Broadway.

That night was supposed to be the best night of her life, but it wasn't. Once the show finished, everyone was cheering and smiling. She wasn't. She wasn't because she saw him with her. And she just felt the most screwed person in the world.

The more they were performing on Broadway, the more they were getting succeded, the more Derek was growing apart. Again. But of course, Derek wasn't her only problem. Her relationship with Jimmy... well, it wasn't a relationship at all. They were doomed to fail since the beginning - she was on the rebound. She should've waited. But she didn't. If only she had realized that before...

"Are you okay, Karen?"

Deeply absorbed in her own thoughts, she didn't realize that Derek was now standing in front of her, in the middle of the street. "You are crying." She was, indeed.

Karen quickly wiped the tears from her eyes, and asked him "What are you doing here? How did you find me?"

Derek grinned. "I followed you. Darling, I had to. The way you stormed out of the party... I... I got worried..."

Karen let a sarcastic laugh escape, and fixed her eyes on his "You don't need to do this Derek." He frowned. And she continued "You've got what you wanted. You've saved your career. You don't need to play with me anymore."

"I don..."

"Your career Derek!" She was yelling at him. "That's all that matters for you! You've moved on, you're with Ivy... Good for you! Awesome! But playing with me to get what you wanted was just..."

"Karen, I..."

"Don't bother." And just like that, she started to run away from him.

With no second thoughts, he ran after her. He wanted to tell her she was wrong. Wanted to tell her he wanted her back, even as a friend. He wanted to talk to her, like they used to do not so long ago. Hell, he wanted to tell that he had just broken up his casual thing with Ivy because of her, because he loved her... But the words were stuck in his throat. So he just grabbed her, and turned her around. They were now facing each other, which made Derek realize that she was crying again. "I'm not a star... Never was." Her voice was just a whisper. She seemed so fragile and desperate, that Derek just wanted to hold her and never let her go away. "You knew that, Derek. You fucking knew that I'm not a star... But you needed me at the top of my game, so you just toyed wi..."

Suddenly, Derek grabbed her arms and started to drag her towards the brick wall of a random building. He fixed his gaze at her eyes, and in a heartbeat, he pressed his lips against hers.

The kiss was intense. Hard. She slightly opened her mouth and their tongues started a fight, both of them trying to take the lead. She moaned, and his body's response came pretty fast - she could feel his hard lenth against her crotch, and the worst was - she needed more.

His hands were trying to map her body. When he grabbed her butt, he lifted her and she straddled him. She started to move up and down, toying with him - Karen was loving his responses and the intensity that everything was happening was just mindblowing.

They continued kissing and licking, touching and sucking until Karen slightly tilted her head. She could barely breath. "Derek, I..." He was kissing her neck, and she couldn't stop moaning.

He slowly lifted his head, and looked directly to her, while she was trying to get back on her feet. There was nothing to be told. There were no thoughts, no regret. But she needed to ask. "What was this about?"

He gave her a grin. Bringing his hands to cuddle her cheek, he simply said "Couldn't think about a better way to make you shut up."