AN: Thanks for all the reviews, over ten for the last chapter! Heck yes! You guys are great, really, you all rock.

Disclaimer: I don't own LWD, XBOX 360, iPOD and iTUNES, the Toronto Maple Leafs or the Pittsburgh Penguins, I simply borrow.

Chapter Title: "We Are one Tonight" by Switchfoot. Its just kind of about all the things Derek and Casey have been through, and even if the whole world doesn't understand, that they still love each other and consider themselves as one.

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xXx Chapter 4 xXx

It had been three days since the party. Casey had spent most of the time doing her summer reading for her advance senior lit class, occasionally taking a break to spend time with Derek in the comforts of his room. They discussed the possibilities of George and Nora knowing about them already, after the nice speech Derek gave, but neither of them had been questioned, so they were really worrying about it. Maggie had called from Harbor Creek, apparently things were fine in the states and as much as she had missed her home, she was missing London too.

The conversation with Maggie had brought back memories to both Casey and Derek. If it wasn't due to her prodding, they probably would still be pretending to hate each other. It all really started sophomore year, Maggie had just moved here from Harbor Creek, and she was now the new girl, and Casey no longer lived with that title. She was kind of out there, with her crazy colors in her hair, to her piercing and tattoos. Unlike all the other girls in school (with the exception of Casey), she never fawned over Derek. He tried, of course, to get her to go out with him, but she flat out refused, saying she couldn't date someone who was so clearly in love. She had only been in school a month, but she noticed how Derek looked at Casey, how he talked about her, how he seemed to know everything about her but insisted that he hated her.

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"I don't get what you mean by "in love" Maggie." Derek whispered to her in their Chemistry class. Seating was alphabetical, so they ended up sitting with each other.

Not wanting to get caught, she decided to write him a note instead of talking in class. It was easy enough, it actually looked like she was taking notes like they were supposed to.

Derek, hello! I've only been here, like what, a month, and I can clearly see that your not interested in me. If you have yet to realize it, its because your too scared to admit it to yourself. -Mags

Reading the note in confusion, he quickly wrote her back.

Mags, I have NO IDEA what your talking about, much less who. What do you mean I'm scared? I'm Derek Venturi, I'm never scared. -D

Maggie giggled at this, rolling her eyes. Derek was a lot of things, and stupid wasn't one of them.

D, Denial doesn't look good on you hun. You know WHO I'm talking about... c'mon think about it. She's stands about 5'6, long dark brown hair, bright blue eyes, you talk about her all the time... I'm not stupid hun, neither are you, so quit playing it. -Mags

As Derek read that note, his face turned a deep shade of red. Okay, so maybe he had SOME feelings for Casey, but she hated him, and made it very clear. Sure, he was the who started all their fighting, mainly due to the fact that he knew he couldn't have her. She was the one girl who he couldn't have, and he hated it. She was smart, beautiful, kind, funny, everything the perfect girl should be, and he had found her. The only reason he never went after her was because of the fact their parents were married.

Mag, I am not in love with Casey. What the hell gave you that idea? Even if I was, it would never work, our parents are married, don't you see something wrong in that?-D

Giving him a slight smirk which turned into a bright smile, she handed him the note back. It was plain, simple and to the point.

Der, stranger things have happened. Just because your parents got married doesn't mean you cant have your perfect ending too. This isn't the time or place to talk about this. You have my cell number, call tonight and we'll talk. -Maggie

Derek read and reread the note several time before he actually called her. It was pretty late, but she didn't mind. Maggie knew that he needed someone to talk to, someone who wasn't going to judge, someone who would listen to whatever he had to say, and she never minded being that person.

Over the next two weeks, they would have their late night conversations nearly every night. They weren't always about how he felt about Casey, sometimes they were just about school, music, movies, and even hockey (Maggie was a Pittsburgh Penguins fan, much to the dismay of Derek.) Whenever Casey would get brought up though, it was always the main topic of the night. Maggie had convinced him to lay off a bit, not to try and be such a jerk to her all the time. Casey had started being nicer too, until she thought Derek and Maggie were dating, and she went back to her being mean.

"I cant believe your dating Maggie." Casey groaned loudly one day at the breakfast table. Derek hadn't even heard about this, but decided it be best that he didn't deny it too quickly.

"Maggie? The one you talk to all the time Derek? Why didn't you tell us?" His father said, eyeing him suspiciously.

"I didn't think it would last much longer then a day, but I guess I was wrong." Derek said, sitting across from a visibly angry Casey.

"You had to go and date the one girl besides Emily that I have actually been able to really get along with. Why?" Casey said huffily.

"I don't know Casey. Why do you even care?" Derek shot back, not angry, just intrigued.

"I... um.. I don't. I could care less." Casey said before she got up from the table and headed to her room. Today was Saturday, so they didn't have school.

Derek got up too, and followed Casey to her room. Just as he was about to knock on her door, his cell phone went off in his pocket. Looking at the id, he saw it was Maggie, and decided to go to his room and answer it.

"Hey, Maggie. Um, since when have we been dating?" Derek asked, confused about the whole ordeal.

"I called to ask you! Why would I date you? Your in love with Casey, remember?" Maggie asked, kind of laughing.

"I don't know who started this. But I'm slightly pissed. Now Casey wont talk to me!"

"That's not good lover-boy. Just go and talk to her now, tell her we aren't together." Maggie suggested.

"How do you suppose I'll get her to believe me?" Derek asked, hoping Maggie wouldn't give him the answer he half expected to hear.

"What have I been telling you the past two weeks? Just tell he you love her, doll. Don't be mean about it, be nice and kind." Maggie answered, Derek could tell by her voice she was smiling.

"I don't think so. Any other ideas?" He asked.

"Yeah, one." Maggie trailed off.

"What?" He asked anxiously.

"Kiss her." Maggie said before the line went dead.

Derek sat there in disbelief. If this is what it was going to take, to finally get Casey, it might just work. He silently thanked God for Maggie and her wonderful ideas before heading out of his room. Pausing before he knocked on Casey door, breathing in deeply. He put his fist up to the door, but before he got the chance to knock, Casey opened it, looking like she was ready to go somewhere.

"What do you want?" She as quietly, try to avoid his gaze.

Grabbing Caseys arm and shoving her back into the room, he shut the door behind himself.

"What the hell Derek? I need to leave, I have plans with Emily." Casey said, reaching for the door.

"Casey, I have something to tell you." Derek yelled, making Casey jump.

"I don't have time for your little issues Derek, I have-" Was all she managed to get out before Derek had pushed her up against her door, crashing his lips into hers.

A first Casey was in shock. Her eyes were wide, and every muscle in her body was telling to push him off of her, but she couldn't. She melted in the kiss, not even realizing what was going on. Derek pulled away first, looking into her eyes.

"What the hell was that for Derek?" Casey asked, confused.

"I've been wanting to do that for a long time. I guess I just needed to, I'm sorry if it freaked you out a bit." He said, moving away a bit.

"What about Maggie?" Casey asked, still confused but missing Dereks body being so close.

"We were never going out. We just talk a lot, she gives great advice."

"Oh really? Like what?" Casey said, smiling mischievously.

"She told me to do this for one," He said as he gave a small kiss before continuing. "she also helped me realize this. I should have told you a long time ago Case, I should have told you every day since we met. I love you Casey."

"Wow. That's a lot to take in in one day..." Was all she could say before her voice trailed off. It was heartbreaking to Derek, he just laid his everything out there and she didn't feel the same. Sighing heavily, he pulled away from Casey, shaking his head in a effort to tell her never mind. Pulling him back to her, she smiled at him.

"Where do you think your going?" She smiled, before kissing him deeply. They stood there, pressing into the door, making out for a few minutes until they couldn't breath anymore.

"Casey, I just told you that I love you, and all you do is kiss me. I know I'm a great kisser and all, but I'm not going to just let you kiss me without having some sort of commitment. I know, I'm Derek Venturi, I don't have girlfriends, but I care about you more then all the other girls... and... I sound really stupid right now." Derek said, laughing.

"Derek. You never gave me a chance to even finish what I was going to say." Casey said, looking a bit hurt.

"Okay, Case, what is it?" Derek asked, still holding her waist in his hands.

"I love you too. I always have." Casey said, giving him a small kiss.

"Really?"

"Yea, really."

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Maggie had truly been a life savor. She even agreed to pretend to be Derek's girlfriend, mainly so Nora and George wouldn't be able to catch on easily. They "dated" until January of their Junior year, and even went to prom together after their "break-up". She had easily became a very important person in the MacDonald-Venturi family, being Dereks first long time "girl friend", and Caseys new best friend. Maggie had spent holidays with them, gone to diners and parties, all the things girlfriends should do. She never got too into it though, just hand holding and cheek kissing. The only time she ever kissed him on the lips was at a holiday party at Dereks aunts once, and that was due to them getting caught under the mistletoe. They tired to make it look convincing, like they really enjoyed it, and both were blushing desperately when it was done. Everyone took this as a sign of love, but it was actually major embarrassment. What's worse then kissing your best friend who is totally in love with someone else who is standing in the room? Not much. Derek did manage to make it up to Casey later, at home in the privacy of her bedroom later that night.

Casey never hated Maggie for pretending to date Derek, because she knew if she didn't have to, she wouldn't. It was great though, because she was friends with Maggie and she knew she would never try anything. Cameryn was great too, when Maggie first told him about the whole Casey and Derek thing, he asked how he could help. He wasn't even mad that Maggie was pretending to date Derek, he found it rather amusing actually. It was even his idea about the prom thing.

Senior/Junior Prom, the highlight of junior year. It was being held in some ballroom in a hotel, and it was supposed to be perfect. The only problem was how Derek and Casey would be able to spend the whole night together, do all the couple things, and not let their parents find out. It seemed impossible, until Cameryn stepped in.

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"Guys, it simple really. I'll go with Casey, Maggie will go with Derek. Or at least that's what we tell your parents. We show up to your house, do the whole picture thing, and leave together. Once we leave, and we are safely a way from your parents, we switch dates. It couldn't be any more simple." Cameryn told them, two days before prom. Maggie and Casey already had dresses, and they were sitting in the Tuxedo Shop in the mall, the guys going through finale fittings.

"I don't know Cameryn. I mean, don't you think it will be a little obvious to Mom and George when the picture get sent back and there of me and Derek... not me and you?" Casey asked, slipping her green tea.

"Casey, Cameryn is right. We'll just have to be careful. Get two sets of picture, one of you and Cameryn, and one of you and Derek. The ones of you and Cameryn can get sent to your house, while the ones of you two can go to mine. I'll just give them to you, no problem." Maggie said, inspecting her newly manicured nails. She wasn't one for getting her nails done, but it was prom.

"Case, it will work. Trust the man, would you!" Derek said, coming out of his changing room. He was going to get the classic black tux, but after much consideration, and a few threats from Casey, he decided instead of the traditional white shirt, black vest and tie, to go with black shirt, black vest and white tie. It looked classy, and if he said so himself, pretty damn hot.

"Okay Derek. We'll do it. But if we caught, I'll kill you." Casey said, trying to look mad, but instead coming off as completely harmless.

Prom night was finally here. Casey and Maggie spent the better half of their day at the salon, getting their hair and make up done. Derek spent his day with Cameryn, playing some XBOX 360, doing "guy" stuff, and trying to avoid the girls. It wasn't until Casey and Maggies got the MacDonald-Venturi residence that Derek was even aloud home. The girls were locked in Caseys room, dressing and doing last minute prep. Derek and Cameryn were already dressed and down stairs, watching a hockey game, waiting for the girls to come down stairs.

Lizzie ran down the stairs, prepared to make the announcement that the girls were ready. Following slowly behind her were Maggie and Casey, looking stunning.

Caseys dress was a deep emerald green. It was halter cut, with crystals and sequins lining the neck and v-cut of the dress, heavy around the cut, but fading as it went out. The skirt was your typical Cinderella skirt, only it was as dramatic as most people would do. Her long hair was in an up do, all sorts of curls pinned up with bobby pins that had green gems on them. She wore her make up dark, to match dress. The jewelry she wore was all black fake diamonds, but they looked beautiful.

Maggies dress, on the other hand, the polar opposite. Most people would never consider it a "Prom" dress, it was the least traditional dress ever. It was an orange-pink strapless floor length dress. The bodice was fitted, and it had black beading on it. Just to make it more Maggie, she had a zebra stripped waist altered into the dress. The skirt, flowy with a slit up the side, continued the black beading along the bottom. Her hair had a billion braids in it, some were lose, some were tight and curled, They were all pinned up, making her hair look very dramatic. She wore white plastic jewelry, and looked completely untraditional. Her make up was just as unexpected, her eyes were covered in bright pink shadow, heavily lined with black eyeliner and mascara. She looked like she was going to some crazy party at a club, not her junior prom, but she was Maggie, so it worked.

The guys stood their in awe, jaws gaped, eyes wide. They handed their "dates" their corsages, and posed for pictures that Nora readily took. After a few minutes of picture, they easily got bored, and decided to leave for diner.

The rest of the night went perfectly. Their plan worked fabulously, and Nora and George were none the smarter about their eldest, once again.

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It was getting closer to Caseys birthday. They actually had in mostly planned how they were going to tell Nora and George. The plan was to let them know at the diner they were going to before Casey's party, that way they really couldn't cancel the party, and they would be alone.

The were prepared for the worst though, Derek had already talked to Sam about moving in there, and his parents were more then willing to allow him if need be. Sam had six sisters, five of which were either married or in college, and one was still home, only because she was still in high school, so they had open room. Sams parents knew about Derek and Casey, and they supported them whole heartedly. They even said that Casey could move in too if she needed, but Derek insisted that would not be necessary.

Casey had made plans too, she had been helping teach classes at the studio, and was getting paid rather well for it. She figured with all the money she had saved up over the past few months, that if they needed to, they could get an apartment somewhere here in London. They could both continue to work, and finish up their senior year in high school. Then they would both go to college, seeing that they could manage scholarships and grants. Casey had it all planned out, it every detail. If this was what they were going to have to do, then they would do it.

And then there was the least likely of plans. Nora and George would be completely okay with it, and they would continue to live at home, and go about their lives normally. They would finish their senior year, go to college, and eventually, someday probably get married. It seemed highly unlikely that this would work out, but they never knew until they tried.

Lizzie and Edwin knew about their plans, and they were very insistent that Nora and George would be supportive. It was obvious that Casey and Derek loved each other, and if they couldn't see that, they must seriously be blind. Maybe it was because they thought that Casey and Derek had yet to figure it out themselves. Or it could be that they were just be in denial about it.

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It was Christmas Day, Casey and Derek were juniors in high school. Derek had been dating Maggie Wolcott for over a year now, and George and Nora were so proud that he was finally maturing in his relationships. A few days ago they were at a Christmas party, and Maggie and Derek had been caught under the mistletoe, Derek may hate PDA, but he kissed Maggie anyways. It was sweet, and they both were undeniably blushing after it happened.

The time was 9:30, and they had all just finished their traditional Christmas breakfast of waffles, bacon, eggs and sausage. Now they had settled around the Christmas tree, passing out their gifts. Maggie had shown up, and was sitting on the arm of Dereks chair. She had become a major part of the family in the past year, and she had gotten the whole family gifts. Derek sat in his chair, waiting for his gifts, while Casey sat on the floor in front of him, leaning on his knees for support. The three were in some sort of conversation, while Marti, Lizzie and Edwin exclaimed excitedly about their many gifts. This year Derek and Casey both asked for not so many of the small little things, just something nice and a little more expensive, something 17 year old would enjoy. Both of them got their wishes, Derek receiving a new DVD camcorder, while Casey got a new digital camera. They both received $150 dollar gift cards for iTUNES, seeing that they both got iPODS for their seventeenth birthdays.

Maggies gifts were very nice. She gave Marti a stuffed giraffe that was bigger then her, which made everyone laugh. Edwin got a book of songs to go along with the guitar he had gotten from his father and Nora. She gave Lizzie passes to a major league soccer game, which Maggie insisted her father had gave her, but she knew Lizzie would love them a whole lot more. She gave Casey a very pretty jewelry box, which had her name inscribed on the top, and her first piece of jewelry to go inside of it. It was a necklace that had ballet slippers on it, and her birthstone was in it. It was very beautiful. Dereks gift was really nice too. She gave him tickets to a Toronto Maple Leafs game (and they were playing the Penguins, so Maggie got a laugh out of it...), and she also gave him a 100 dollar gift certificate to the sports apparel store in the mall. Nora and George got tickets to an upcoming show at the theater in Toronto, which she knew Nora would love because she had been talking about it for months.

Everyone thanked Maggie for her generous gifts, and insisted that she had spent entirely too much on them. Maggie was very insistent that they all just except the gifts, after all they ha done for her in the past year, it was the least she could do.

After all the gifts seemed to be handed out, their still lay three small boxes underneath the tree. One said "To Maggie, Love Always, Derek.", and George handed it up to her. Maggie opened the box, and smiled when she saw it was a necklace that had a Husky on it. She giggled slightly, seeing that back in Pennsylvania, her schools mascot was a Husky, and she dearly missed Harbor Creek, even though she had been in London for over a year at this point. It was also nice, because when she was a child, they had a husky dog named Sophie, but she died from cancer when Maggie was 13, and she had loved that dog so much. No one else, besides Casey, got why her necklace had that dog on it, but it was special to her.

The other boxes still laid underneath the tree, the next one was from Casey to Derek. As he opened the box, he saw a small pendant on a gold chain. It was crossed hockey sticks with a puck behind it, his number, 18, was in the middle. He smiled fondly at Casey, before reaching down and giving her a huge hug, kissing her on the cheek quickly before anyone noticed. Finally it was down to one box, Dereks gift to Casey. The box was slightly bigger then Maggies, and she was full aware why. She actually helped Derek pick out the gift, after he insisted he had no idea what to get her. Inside the box was a set of very small diamond earrings and a matching necklace, on a simple silver chain. Caseys jaw dropped when she saw what was in the box, and turned up to Derek, telling him he shouldn't have gotten her this.

"It's no big deal, Case. You deserve them, so just take them." Derek said, waving his hands no as she tried to hand him the box.

"Oh Derek." She managed to force out before jumping up and giving him a hug, suppressing the need to kiss him in front of everyone.

"Seriously Casey. I knew you would love them, so I had to get it for you." Derek laughed, his voice muffled by being squeezed to death by Casey.

After all the gift paper was cleaned up, and everyone had been fully enjoying their gifts, George and Nora snuck into the kitchen, and started on a simple lunch. They ended up in a interesting conversation during this process.

"I cant believe Derek. Caseys gift must have cost somewhere around $300 dollars." Nora said, pulling out the bread from the breadbox on the counter.

"If not more. It was defiantly more expensive then his gift for Maggie though. Odd, isn't it? He spent more on his step sister then his girlfriend." George said, helping Nora make some sandwiches.

"Well, that doesn't mean anything George. Maybe its just his way of apologizing for being so awful to her the past few years."

"Well, I know my son, and he doesn't part with money that easily. Unless it is something very important to him."

"What are you getting at George? Do you think..." Nora trailed off.

"That Dereks cares a lot about Casey? Well, I'm not sure. It is a possibility, have you ever noticed they way he looks at her, or how he talks to her lately?" George responded.

"Well... yes I have noticed, but George. Think about it, they are step siblings, and even though there is technically nothing wrong with it, its not something looked very well upon." Nora said, looking at her husband.

"All I'm saying is that they are hormonal teenagers, Nora. And I know my son better then you think, I can tell when he cares about someone.■ George insisted.

"George, your not saying you would condone them, are you? Because if anything ever did happen, it could be really messy around here if it didn't work out."

"I'm not saying I would condone it. I am saying that if it ever happens, we would have a lot of thinking to do. We just can't tell them they can't date each other, because it would just drive them to sneak around behind our backs. But Derek is dating Maggie, and they are very happy, so lets not get all worked up about this right now. If it ever happens, we will deal with it there and then. So lets not get all worked up over something that hasn't even happened, okay?" George told Nora.

"Okay dear. I just can't help but think..." Nora said before George cut her off.

"Stop worrying about them, they're good kids with good heads on their shoulders, so don't worry." George said as he ushered his wife out of the kitchen, plate of sandwiches in hand.

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So Nora and George weren't completely clueless, but they just chose to deny the signs. Even after Derek and Maggie broke up, and Derek and Casey started hanging out a lot more, they never really thought much more about it. Maybe it was wishful thinking, that Derek and Casey had finally come to see that no matter how much fighting they did, that they were still going to be living together in this house as a family. Even though the parents knew that neither one of them thought of each other as a sibling, even if they were stepsiblings. They knew that Casey thought of Marti and Edwin as her stepsiblings, and Derek thought of Lizzie as his stepsister, but to each other, the other was just the other 17-year-old that lived in the house. They were more of friends then siblings anyway, they hardly even called each other brother or sister, and when they did it was really sarcastic, like they never really meant it.

Casey was soon going to be 18, like Derek. Her party was going to be a lot smaller then Dereks, she didn't want it to be made a fuss of. Some of her friends from Toronto would be coming, and about 20 or so kids from school would also be coming. Seeing that it was then when they were letting George and Nora know, they didn't want a huge raging party, just a lot of their close friends who were very supportive of their relationship. It was sort of a way to play the sympathy card, but they were unsure if it would actually work.

Casey was in her room, going over the newspaper, looking at apartment ads, just incase their parents weren't so understanding. Derek walked into her room, shutting the door behind him, and laid down on her bed with a big sigh.

"What's wrong Der?" Casey asked, setting her paper down, her eyebrows furrowed in trying to figure out Derek's sullen demeanor.

"Have you ever thought that Dad and Nora might already know, and they don't want to say anything until we tell them?" Derek asked, his voice was completely serious.

"Of course I have. But that's so unlike my mother, she likes to know everything I have going on in my life. I'm sure she would have questioned me about it before now." Casey said, moving to lay her head on Dereks chest.

"I know, my dad's the same way. Maybe they want to give us some type of privacy." Derek sighed deeply again. This was so confusing.

"Maybe." Casey said, leaning up and giving Derek a small kiss.

"Well, after what all I said at my party, I'm surprise they didn't bombard us then and there." He laughed.

"I think we might be underestimating them Der. They might not be as objective to this as we think they would be." Casey said softly.

"Well, we'll just have to wait and see." Derek said, before he gave Casey another kiss. "I should get going. Don't want to look suspicious."

"Okay. I'll see you at diner." Casey said, sitting up and refocusing her attention back to her paper.

"Yea, I'll see you then. I love you." Derek said, walking to the door.

"I love you too." Casey said, looking up at him, smiling brightly.

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A/N: That's freaking 11 pages. And just over 5,000 words... that was my goal, 5,000 words. Sorry there wasn't much Casey and Derek interaction, but a lot got explained through the use of flashbacks... See, Nora and George aren't completely oblivious, just slightly. At least they have noticed how they treat each other, and how fond of each other they are. They just haven't completely pieced it all together yet. Hehe. Its great, I know. lol. Do your part and review!!!! THANKS!

Bexx