Casey paced the room frantically. Derek lounged on her bed and watched her carefully. She was like a caged animal, desperate to get out.
"Casey, will you stop that. You'll wear a hole in that carpet."
"You're not helping!" she snapped.
"I wasn't trying to help. Just sit down, alright?"
She huffed and sat down at her desk.
"That's better. Now calm down."
… "Shut up Derek."
Derek sniggered. They sat in silence for a while, sighing at odd intervals.
"So." Derek said.
"So." Casey sounded thoroughly bored.
"Why didn't you tell me your door was broken?"
"Because it was none of your business."
"It bloody is now!"
"I said was!"
Silence lapsed again. A few more sighs.
"Look, I'm sorry Derek. I really should have told you about it. Then we wouldn't be in this mess."
"Then why didn't you?"
"Because we never talk about anything. And you never pay attention to me."
Derek opened his mouth to speak, searched for the thought that wouldn't come, and closed his mouth. He couldn't deny it, because it was almost completely true, and he couldn't agree without sparking a big argument. For once he had the sense to keep quiet and not put the match to the fuse. They were probably going to be stuck in here for a long time, and he didn't want to push his luck. Casey was a bit of a nutjob anyway but trapped in a room for an insurmountable amount of time would probably mean that one of them would be guilty of murder before too long.
"Why don't we ever talk about things?" Casey asked. "You talk to Lizzie no problem. And I can talk to Edwin easily. But not you."
"Well, Lizzie's like me. The girl version of a jock. Edwin is pushing the boundaries of being a girl. He's clever like you are."
It was Casey's turn to pause and feel her brain cells fuse together. "Did you just give me a compliment?"
"No." he said a little too quickly.
"I never thought I'd ever hear you compliment me."
"I didn't."
"I'm not going to argue it with you."
"Sensible girl." Casey glared at him. "What? That barely counts as patronising."
"I'm surprised you even know the meaning of the word."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Casey looked at Derek carefully. "Can I ask you something? And I'm not expecting you to know the answer." Derek glared at her. "Do you know what's up with Max at the moment?"
"Yeah. I do."
"Are you going to tell me? Or would that be breaking your precious guy code?"
"It's only important to me if I like the guy. And the girl."
"Two compliments in five minutes? Where did you put the real Derek?"
"Do you want to know what's up with Max or not?" Casey nodded. "He's not being honest with you. He's seeing other people."
"More than one?"
"Four."
"You've got to be kidding me. I'm not actually surprised anymore. You know Sam cheated on me?"
"He did?"
"Yeah, with Kendra."
"Why aren't you surprised?"
Casey sighed. "I don't love Max. I love someone else. So in a way we were cheating on each other."
"Dare I ask who?"
"No. You don't."