Mature Love
Chapter 6
Disclaimer: I still don't own it
Enjoy

A few years later...

He stepped out into the backyard. It was close to midnight and the cold was unbearable. But he didn't feel it. He was practically numb. He took a big gulp of his beer and stared up at the starry sky. Sighing he took a seat on the steps setting his mind adrift.

She noticed his appearances. Of course she did. She noticed every move he made once he step into the Venturi/McDonald house. She noticed he had had 5 beers so far and knew it would only continue to something stronger once all the beer was gone. She winced at the thought. She knew he would soon become reckless and that soon George would notice.

She followed him out and regretted it the minute she stepped foot outside. It was freezing. She was definitely going to get sick for this. For him.

"We promised them Derek," she finally said breaking the silence. She tried to keep her voice calm as to not give away to everything else she was feeling. "We said that it wouldn't affect we wouldn't let our decisions break our family we'd be civil."

He tried smirking but it didn't look the same. Instead it just came off as a sad smile. "They always thought I'd be the one to hurt you." He muttered before taking another sip of his beer.

She rubbed her arms in hopes of warming herself up. "Given you're passed its not that hard to believe." She whispered.

She finally turned towards her and looked into her eyes. "Case I – "

she cut him off. "They're gonna notice our absence. Soon the cops will show- they'll think we've killed each other." She said trying to lighten up the mood. "Come inside Der. Put down the beer and try to be civil. I'll be gone by morning." She shrugged hopping to bargaining with him.

He shook his head. He wasn't going inside. He could only pretend for so long. She should go inside. She didn't have to fake a smile like he did. She was fine, he thought.

She figured the point was mute. She couldn't drag him inside, and he was borderline drunk, she couldn't fight him on it.

"Ok," she said sitting on the step next to him. He looked at her confused.

"10," they heard there family count in the background as they remain silent.

"Nine." They continued to count as Casey stared at Derek who stared back.

"Eight…Seven…Six"

"Five" she whispered, "Four."

"Three." He joined in.

"Two." They all said.

"One! Happy New year!" screamed everyone but Derek and Casey.

They looked at each other and for a second he let his guard down. He stopped being the pain in the ass jerk he had recently become. He let her see what she had done. And it hurt. She never wanted to hurt him. Hell- she did it for him after all. She wanted him to be happy. Just like in the beginning. She always wanted him to be happy. With or without her. And she knew. Hell she was threatened. So she told him she had moved on. It broke his heart, but he tried not to show it.

But now it was a new year and she couldn't go on knowing he hated her for hurting him. "Do you remember what you read in my diary? Way back when. I wrote. 'Immature love is wants the other to be happy with you. Mature love is wanting them to be happy, period.' "

He nodded. Of course he remembered. It was what started their relationship.

"Well," she sighed. "That's why I broke up with you Der. I was trying to protect you."

"Protect me? From what?" he asked

" I got a call a few weeks before we broke up." She said looking down at her lap. "All they said was how your career could be at stake if the public found out about us being step siblings. I brushed it off but I realized that the scouts might take that into consideration and not sign you. So I did what I thought I had to do. I couldn't tell you obviously. You wouldn't care but once the story hit public, you would have lost your shot. And I wanted you to be happy Der."

He started at her for a few seconds analyzing what she had said. She put him, his happiness and his career before her own happiness. Obviously this was the girl he fell in love with. She was so selfless even though her plan didn't work as planned, she had good intentions.

"Do you honestly think I give a damn what anyone has to say about us? I mean come on Case, I risked losing my family for you. You think I care what the media thinks about us?" he asked slightly upset.

"No. I know you wouldn't care Der. Don't you get it? I wasn't trying to protect you from the media or from the people. I was trying to protect you from yourself. From doing something stupid and risking your future for me."

He sighed pulling her shivering body closer to his. "When will you get it? Nothing means anything if I'm not with you." He finished leaning his forehead over hers.

Her heart dropped. There close proximities where enough to make her dizzy. And his words…well they sounded as if they came straight from a romance novel. But they didn't. They came from Derek. She would pinch herself to see if she was dreaming but from the smell of his breath and the mental beer count she kept in her head, she knew this was real.

"Der…" she barley whispered before leaning towards his lips.

It physically hurt him to do, but he knew he had to; he pulled back from her. He instantly saw the rejection glaze over her blue eyes. "Case, your drunk. Don't do this. I'm not strong enough to say no to you. Go inside. Your freezing." He declared.

She couldn't help but laugh. "I'm drunk? Say the guy who's had that many beers? I haven't had one drink tonight Der. You however should probably start sobering up." She demanded.

"Case, I'm drinking Budweiser. You know it takes more than a few a few of these. Hence why I been drinking so many." He said with a smile.

She bite her lip and nodded her head in acknowledgment. She did know this. She also knew that she had to kiss him. It was a little past midnight and she still hadn't gotten her new year's kiss!

He helped her up and lead her towards the door, suddenly he was feeling the January cold hit him like a pile of bricks. He was opening the door when Casey who was behind him, pushed him into it. He slowly turned around, an eyebrow arched. Did she really want to start a fight now?

She smirked deviously and slammed him into the door once more before claiming his lips. He suddenly caught on and melted right along with her. They couldn't stay apart. They would be breaking their own hearts.

AN: I actually started written in this as a oneshot until I realized that it fit perfectly for this story. I also then realized that its slightly similar to my other stories. Which sucks but is because I had no choice but to follow the plot because I can't leave a story unfinished! I however actually enjoyed this ending. So there we go, this story is officially complete! Reviews?