Here's chapter 2. I only got 3 reviews for the first chapter, so I changed the description in hopes to get more people to read this! It's going to be good so keep reviewing. If I don't get a lot of reviews on this chapter, I might think about deleting this story. I could be spending my time doing other things, so if you don't review, I wont spend my time on this. Thanks for the 3 people who did review, and all the people who put this on alert. Now, enjoy the next chapter!

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Practically stomping all the way home, Casey was still just as mad as when she left Max standing there. She needed to release some steam. Punch a pillow or scream at the top of her lungs. But, being Casey, she quietly walked in the house and hung her coat up. Her face stung from the cold air and she was on the verge of more tears. She quickly walked into the kitchen, trying to avoid anyone who was going to question why her eyes were red and her face was tear stained. Unfortunately, Nora was sitting in the kitchen, with a large clock on the counter.

"Uh, hey mom. Wh-what's that?" Casey eyed the gaudy looking clock as she got a water bottle from the refrigerator.

"Oh, isn't this a beautiful clock Casey? I went to a garage sale on my way home from work today and picked it up. The woman gave it to me for free! I thought it was odd, but hey- I'm not complaining!" Casey raised her eyebrows.

"Oh, well, it's um…very, well…interesting." She sniffled. "Definitely not something you see every day!" Casey smiled and sat next to her mom.

"Yes, that's what I thought. But, I can't seem to get it to work. I guess you get what you pay for, right? I've got to go pick up Lizzie and Edwin from Lizzie's karate class. Case, do you mind trying to fix it while I'm gone?" Casey merely nodded, but as soon as Nora was gone, all of Casey's anger and emotions flooded back to her. She felt tears rolling down her cheeks, but quickly dried them. Derek was somewhere upstairs, and she did not need any of his arrogant comments right now. She looked at the clock's hands. They read 4:13, about the time she came home. They weren't moving though. Casey aggressively flicked the minute hand, moving it back three minutes. She stared angrily at the clock, deciding whether it was worth getting angrier over. She was deep in angry thoughts about her recent breakup when she heard someone coming down the stairs.

"Oh, hey Casey. When did you get home?" Nora walked happily into the kitchen with a smile on her face.

"Uh, mom? Didn't you just leave?" She pointed to the front door, which she swore she saw her mother walk out of.

"Uh, no. But, listen; I've got to go pick Edwin and Lizzie up from Lizzie's karate class and take them over to Albie's birthday party. Could you watch Marti for me? Thanks, be back in fifteen minutes!" She kissed the top of Casey's head and, for the second time, walked out the front door.

That was weird. I could have sworn she left already. Casey shrugged it off, and carried the clock upstairs. She sat down on her bed and decided to try and fix the clock, so she could make her mom happy. She pushed the minute hand around the clock to any random time, trying to get it to start moving on its own. The hands read 8:32. And yet, they were still not moving. Sighing, Casey laid the clock down on her floor. She went to check on Marti in her room to make sure she wasn't flooding the house.

"Marti, can I come in?" Casey knocked on her door. When there was no answer, Casey went into Marti's room only to find herself standing in total darkness. She turned the light on and found Marti sound asleep in her bed. What is going on today? The clock on Marti's nightstand said it was 8:37 PM. Starting to panic, Casey rushed over to Marti's window and lifted the shade up. Total darkness covered Casey's eyes. Casey had no idea what kind of trick this was, but she wasn't playing games anymore. She went to the one person who could have set this whole thing up.

"Derek. I know you're in there. Let me in!" Casey slammed her fist into his door and yelled as loudly as she could without waking Marti. Still knocking, the door opened and Casey's hand hit Derek's face. "Derek! What do you think this is? Some sort of trick? Well I'm not in the mood!" She folded her arms across her body.

Derek put the back of his hand on her forehead. Casey shivered at his touch. Then he pulled her into his room, seeing as her voice was bound to get even louder. "Are you feeling okay, Casey? I didn't plan any tricks for tonight. Unless you want me to. Then I'll gladly think of someway to-" Derek turned, facing his bed, hoping Casey would leave him alone.

"You're not getting out of this that fast. I'm serious Derek. Why is Marti sleeping? Why do all the clocks say that it's after 8:30? Why is it dark outside? I haven't been sitting in my room that long…" He rolled his eyes and turned to face Casey.

"Yeah right. When you came home, you ran to your room, slammed the door and haven't come out until now. You've been in there all night!" Derek eyed Casey suspiciously.

"Uh, well then. That's good to know." She cleared her throat. She felt her face heat up and knew she was blushing. Man, I must sound like a total moron now. "I'll just be uh-" She pointed to her room and Derek nodded.

Back in the privacy of her room, Casey attempted to do homework, since it got so late in such a short amount of time. Which is the part I'm not understanding. Casey's mind wandered from her French assignment to thoughts about the night's weird events. Casey was almost positive she was not in her room for that long, so why would it be dark out? And, Marti was sleeping, which meant it really was later. Sighing, Casey shut her books and attempted to stop thinking about what was going on.

Within minutes, Casey was in her pajamas and under her covers, trying to fall asleep. Turning over, Casey spotted the clock lying on her floor where she left it. She stared at its ugly features. The black hands on it remained on the eight and a mark right after the seven. I can't stand this any more. Casey sat up, turned her light on and picked the clock up.

"Okay, you big, ugly, stupid clock. You are going to start working right this instant!" Staring at it a few more seconds, Casey twisted both hands around a few times quickly, and when they still didn't start by themselves, she sighed and put it back on the floor. She looked around her room for something to keep her occupied, considering she wasn't falling asleep any time soon. When she heard Derek screaming something from his room, she tiptoed out in the hallway to see what was going on.

Peeking in Derek's room, Casey saw Derek lying on his bed, with the phone to his ear. He was smiling and leaning back.

"No! Listen, I said we're done! No, no way. Just because!" He was rolling his eyes and sighing loudly.

Casey left his doorway and muttered under her breath. It was definitely one of his 'girlfriends' if you could even call them that. And yet, something intrigued Casey. It wasn't like Derek to argue about breaking up with a girl for that long. Usually girls understood Derek moved on quickly. Shrugging it off, Casey went back to her room to attempt to get some sleep. Who knows- it may be time for school sooner than Casey thinks.