Chapter 7

Casey

For the entire time she hurried to her room, Casey's heart slammed in her chest and her pulse throbbed in her neck. My neck… Reaching her room and entering, she brought her fingers back up to the skin where Derek had—had— It felt tender. She glanced in her vanity mirror and gasped, outraged. He'd given her a hickey! Unbelievable. She glared at her reflection, unsure if she was more annoyed with Derek or with herself for allowing the last forty-five minutes to even occur.

Sighing, Casey dabbed some cover-up on her neck. She had to put a stop to this big, crazy mess. It was too risky for more than one reason. Their parents were married; they lived together; they were stepsiblings. There were boundaries between them that couldn't be crossed. Casey stood up and walked into the hallway, trying to suppress the sudden lead feeling in her chest, and pretending that the melancholy that had come over her was simply due to her lower body temperature.

Derek

There was a knock at Derek's door. He'd dealt with his dad's annoyance at him for being too loud (and had made up some excuse about why he was soaking wet). Turning off his iPod, he called, "What?"

Casey entered, prompting a groan of annoyance from Derek. Great. "Whaddyou want?" he snapped, angry that his heart hammered faster at her entrance, as if in anticipation for something. What was wrong with him?

For a moment she didn't speak; she seemed to be steeling herself against an unpleasant task. "Listen," she finally said, "We need to talk."

"Spill. And make it quick, I was enjoying some peace and quiet before you barged in."

She rolled her eyes, "I knocked. Can we just talk?"

"That's what we're doing now, isn't it?"

"Derek, you know what I mean."

"Apparently I don't."

"Ugh, just listen, ok?" Casey sank into his desk chair, picking at a piece of fuzz that had come loose from the cushion of the armrest. "I… I think we've let things get a bit too out of hand."

Derek sighed. This wasn't going to be a fun conversation. Anytime Casey wanted to get serious, he usually ended up compromising and sacrificing his authority. "Ok," he said, taking off his earphones. "Why do you say that?"

She took a deep breath. "I think we're starting to cross boundaries that—that shouldn't be crossed."

"Like what?" Derek asked, putting on an innocent face just to tease her.

"You know what!" she hissed, standing up. "Ever since that stupid rumor was spread, you've been acting all weird around me. And it's made me do…weird things around you." She refused to meet his eyes, staring off to the side instead.

Derek stood up and leaned against the desk in front of her. "I thought we were done talking about your—"

"—If you make one more reference to my fantasies," Casey interrupted, leaning into him, "I'll smack that smirk right off your face."

"Oh yeah? With what? Your athletic skill?"

"No, doofus, with my fist."

Derek laughed. "If Klutzilla ever managed to hit a target, I'd personally congratulate her."

"Well, be prepared, because the day isn't far off." She pursed her lips, and Derek found himself staring at how red they were when she huffed in annoyance.

He leaned closer, smirking. "Is that a threat?"

She raised an eyebrow. "It's a challenge."

"Well, Casey, I'm prepared to take you on, as always, and I'm prepared to win. As always."

"Oh, really? I wouldn't be so sure."

He placed his hands on her shoulders, about to steer her around to direct her to the exit. "See that's the thing, you always seem to forget who you're dealing with—"

"I don't think so," she said softly, staring up at him with wide eyes. Derek swallowed.

"Well, I guess I should have known, figuring how slow you are sometimes." He felt like he was moving through molasses; almost like he had forgotten why he'd put his hands on her shoulders in the first place.

"You're kind of slow yourself sometimes."

Derek blinked, then laughed. "In your dreams, Casey. Oh wait, maybe I should call them your fantasi—OOF!" Casey had swung her hand and slapped his mouth. It hadn't really been a punch in the mouth, but it still hurt. "God dammit, Casey! OW!" Derek rubbed his mouth. "Was that really called for?" he snapped.

The look on her face was serious, yet her eyes crackled with an intensity that he rarely saw. "I told you I'd wipe that smirk off your face." She smiled, her eyes narrowed in victory. "And I did."

"You'll excuse me for not properly congratulating you right away," Derek said.

"Hm. You're excused."

"I was being sarcastic," she drawled. "Maybe you should try it sometime." Despite his best efforts, he felt a smile twitch at his lips. Some of his witty attitude must have rubbed off on Casey, and it amused him to no end.

His smile grew, and Derek started laughing; he couldn't help it. This whole experience was so ridiculous, what with their new brand of one-upping each other and all.

"What's so funny?" demanded Casey.

"You!" Derek guffawed. "You've picked up some of my wit."

"I have not!" she insisted, but Derek caught a slight tremor at her own mouth.

"It's a compliment, Case," he grinned. "They don't come often from me, so accept it gracefully."

She returned the smile. "All right, all right. Thanks, D."

"No prob," he replied, and his body felt warm and tingly, but in a different way than it had before. "Hey, do you have a weird feeling in your chest, too?" he asked.

Casey snickered. "It's called 'warm fuzzies,' and they usually follow a friendly interaction between two people."

"Oh, so this is a Kodak moment, then?" he asked, the grin back in place. Casey laughed.

"Not so bad, is it?" she wondered.

"Definitely bearable."

There was a moment of comfortable silence. The warm fuzzies inside Derek's chest turned into something else; if he'd been around Marti he might have called it 'affection,' but this was Casey and it was different with her. He reached out to brush a lock of hair from her face, and he saw her breath catch. "Derek…" she breathed.

"Mmhmm?" he murmured, his fingers touching the smooth lock on her forehead.

"You—we—not good—" she trailed off.

Suddenly he realized how close his lips had moved to her own. "What?" he said, unsure of what he was asking. Her eyes fluttered closed and he felt her gentle breath, smelling like caramel (he loved caramel), tickling the skin on his cheek. He moved closer, glad that he hadn't kicked her out yet, and closed his own eyes, barely aware of what he was doing. All he knew was that those warm fuzzy things felt all the better the closer he moved to her soft form, cupping her face with his hands. He heard a distant bell and wondered if he was dreaming. Their lips met, and Derek felt a rush of electricity and warmth surge through him. She shifted beneath his lips, opening her mouth to deepend the kiss and reaching up to tangle her fingers through his hair.

"CASEY!" Edwin's voice called from downstairs. "It's for you!"

They broke apart, breathing hard and unable to look away from each other. Derek realized that the bell he'd heard had been the doorbell. What time was it, anyway? Almost 11pm? It was pretty late for a Sunday.

He looked back at Casey, and his chest clutched as he realized how beautiful she looked when she was flustered. Her cheeks were flushed, her lips red and slightly swollen, her eyes wide. It almost looked like she was… glowing. With a great deal of surprise, Derek realized that he was shaking. Trembling. This had never happened when he'd kissed any girl. Not with Kendra, not with Sally. No one.

"I—I—" stammered Casey, licking her lips. Derek took a deep breath, willing himself not to rush at her and continue where they'd left off. "I guess I'd better…" she trailed off, brushing her fingertips across her lips. Derek wondered if they tingled as much as his own did. "Um…" She spun around, opened his door, and left.

Casey

Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, Casey's brain screamed. What just happened? Her lips were on fire, her head was spinning, and she felt like she was going to fall down the stairs because her knees didn't seem to want to work anymore. She clutched at the railing, hoping to make it down safely.

Derek just kissed me! she cried happily to herself. Her pulse hammered in her ears and in her chest. She got downstairs and saw that Edwin was staring at her with a funny look on his face.

"Why're you grinning like that?" he asked.

"What?" she murmured in confusion, then realized that she was grinning. Forcing the smile from her lips, she replied, "Oh, no reason. I just found out I…uh…got high marks on my reading assignment."

"Hmm," said Edwin. "Well, look who's here."

Casey turned her attention to the visitor in the doorway. Immediately, she froze, her mouth falling open in horror.

It was Truman.


A/N: Another evil cliff-hanger, sorry!! I'll update soon, I promise. Don't forget to review, I love feedback. Thanks, everyone. :)