Hey readers!

Wow, two chapters in one week. I am proud of myself. Haha

Anyways, I don't have a ton to say, so I'm just going to cut to the chase…

Here is Chapter 7…sorry if Casey's heart-separators don't show up! I noticed that they didn't in the last chapter, so if you don't see hearts, but simply two dashes, then that is Casey's part of the chapter.

Enjoy!

R&R and please, no flames!

-

Peace, love, & Cheerios!

-degrassichick :)

-¤-

Chapter 7

-♥-

"Morning baby." Andrew says to me dazedly as I step into his room the next morning, "How was Coyote Ugly?"

My heart slightly sinks, but I cover it up, "Would have been better if you would have watched it with me."

He sends me an apologetic smile, "Sorry, Case." He says and reaches his arms out to wrap around my waist, pulling me down onto the bed beside him. He kisses my temple and I can feel him smiling against me, "I love you."

I suddenly remember why Andrew is so perfect for me. It's moments like these that let me know that there is nobody else that I would rather spend the rest of my life with.

I smile and turn to face him, kissing him quickly on the lips. "I love you too."

He keeps his arm wrapped around me and leans back against the headboard of Edwin's bed. "How about we do something today? Just you and me?"

I wince, "I promised Lizzie and Marti last night that I would go to the mall with them."

Andrew nods, "I can do that. I can deal with being 'one of the girls'."

I laugh and swat him on the chest, "Sorry, just us girls."

Andrew laughs, "Okay, I see how it is." He says with mock-offense. "What am I supposed to do today?"

"Bond with my family?" I ask, wincing at him playfully.

Andrew chuckles and smiles at me; nodding. "Okay."

I smile, leaning in to kiss him. "Okay."

Just then, the door bursts open. Do you want to just guess who it is?

…yeah, you're right.

-¤-

"It was the most awkward forty-five minutes of my life, Ames." I say, flopping back onto my bed and groaning.

Amy laughs from the other side of the phone, "Wow, Derek. You sound so feminine."

I sit up quickly, "Take that back."

She bursts out in giggles. "Maybe you should just make a different ulterior motive."

"Meaning…?"

I can tell Amy is grinning on the other send of the line, "Kill them with kindness."

WHAT?

"You're insane." I say, laughing out of shock. "You want me to be nice to Andrew?"

"Yes." Amy says as if I am the stupidest guy on Earth. "How does that phrase go again? Keep your friends close and keep your…I'm sorry, keep your what closer?"

"Enemies." I grumble, rolling my eyes.

She laughs, "Exactly."

"So, what do you suggest I do? Casey is going out with Marti and Lizzie today."

Amy gasps, "Leaving you with the 'other-man'. It's perfect!"

"What?" I ask confusingly. "Ames, how the hell is this, by any means, perfect?"

"I think it's high time you did some 'bonding' with the boyfriend." Amy declares proudly.

"You're clinically insane, Hunter." I say seriously. "There isn't a snowball's chance in July that I am going to hang out with Carlton Banks' biggest fan."

Amy laughs, "First off, it does snow in July in some parts of the world. And second, I love Carlton Banks!"

I roll my eyes, "Amy, I am not hanging out with Andrew. I'd rather not get arrested for manslaughter."

Amy sighs, "Just go do something with him! Just for a few hours, and then I promise I'll show up to rescue you."

My lips purse, which is shocking, seeing as my lips never purse and I sigh. "Promise?"

"I promise!" she says, laughing. "Take him to that Boardwalk Arcade or whatever."

"You mean Broadway Billiards?" I ask. I've been to that place a countless amount of times. Parts of mine and Casey's bet took place at that arcade, as well as countless dates of ours after the bet was over.

"Right, whatever." Amy says, "Just take him there, challenge to a game of Skee-Ball, and then that's it. Andrew thinks you guys are friends for life and Casey's in awe about your sudden shift of emotions."

"No, no, no." I say, "You've got it all wrong. Casey will know exactly what I'm doing. The girl can read me like a book."

"Just do it, okay, Derek?" Amy asks. "I'll show up at this arcade place around three. It's noon now, so you don't have that much time that you have to deal with him. Okay?"

"Fine." I mutter, "Fine, fine, fine."

-♥-

"Derek!" Andrew says surprisingly, nearly pushing me off of him as he jumps up on the bed. "What a surprise!"

"Yeah, it is." He says, grinning.

Grinning?

"So what brings you to this-here neck of the woods?" Andrew asks, smiling at him happily.

Derek runs a hand through his hair. God, do I love his hair.

Snap out of it, Casey!

"Seeing as Casey has other plans today with Lizzie and Marti, I was thinking maybe you and I could go down to Broadway Billiards…"

Oh my God. Did he seriously just say Broadway Billiards?

Andrew's whole face lights up at the thought of this.

I laugh to myself, he's such a dork, but I love him.

"Like, an arcade?" he asks happily.

"Uh, yeah." Derek says, "Skee-Ball, basketball, air hockey, video games, mini golf…"

Andrew laughs joyously, "That sounds great, D!"

I see Derek's face tighten as Andrew calls him 'D'. But he brushes it off, "Uh, yeah. It should be a real…hoot, A. So, meet me downstairs in, say, ten minutes?"

Andrew nods happily, "You got it."

Derek nods and retreats out of the bedroom. Andrew face holds a dumbfounded, happy expression.

"Andrew?" I ask calmly.

He smiles, "He called me A. He gave me a nickname! Do you know what this means?"

"He thought Andy was too childish?" I guess.

Andrew shakes his head. "Nope, it means we're bonding." He laughs, "Isn't that great?"

I shoot him a confused expression, but laugh despite myself. "Uh-huh."

-¤-

"Hey D." Edwin says, brushing past me as I walk into the kitchen.

"God, first Andrew, now you?" I ask frustratingly.

Edwin sends me a frazzled expression. "Now I what?"

"D. You called me D." I grumble, flopping down onto a stool at the island counter.

"Oh." Edwin says calmly. "Okay. Sorry, Mr. Venturi."

I roll my eyes.

"What crawled up your ass and died?" Edwin asks, sitting down beside me.

"I'm bonding with Andrew today." I declare annoyingly.

Edwin laughs loudly, "Seriously? Why?"

"Because Amy told me to." I mutter.

Edwin chuckles, "And what the fiancé says, goes?"

"She's not my fiancé, Ed." I say quietly.

"Yeah, I know." Edwin replies. "Why did you tell everyone she is?"

I shrug, "I just-"

"You're trying to make Casey jealous." Edwin cuts in, nodding in understanding.

I nod my head once, "Yeah."

"Think it's going to work?" Edwin asks, turning to look at me.

I don't get a chance to reply, for Andrew appears in front of us. He's wearing a tee shirt sporting the New York Yankees logo and a pair of cut off khaki shorts. He has on a backwards baseball cap on and a pair of Adidas sandals.

Dear God, the boy looks normal.

"Ready to go?" he asks, smiling like a little kid.

Edwin grins, "He sure is." He declares, slapping me on the back before standing up from the stool and starting to head out of the kitchen.

Note to self: Kill Edwin.

Actually, I think I know just how to do so.

"You know, Edwin was really bummed that he wasn't going to get to go with us…" I say slowly towards Andrew.

Edwin stops dead in his tracks and turns to face me. "I was?"

Andrew grins, "The more the merrier! C'mon Edwin! You can hang out with the big dogs today!"

…the big dogs?

Edwin winces. "I prefer to hang out with the little dogs…puppies, actually."

Andrew laughs, slapping him on the back. Even from where I'm sitting, it looks painful. "You and your brother are such riots!"

I can hear Edwin muttering in the background. "Little beagles, cocker spaniels…labs…golden retrievers…"

"Oh yeah." I agree, "We're total riots."

Andrew laughs, "Awesome. I'll meet you two outside." He says before cutting through the laundry room and stepping outside.

Edwin narrows his eyes at me, "I'll kill you." He seethes.

"Ah, so you hate the Beav as well?" I note.

Edwin nods, "Just call me Eddie Haskell."

-♥-

"Derek's hanging out with Andrew today." I say as Lizzie, Marti, and I step into the mall.

Marti and Lizzie both send me awed expressions. "Seriously?" they ask in unison.

I nod. "I don't know what he's trying to pull, but I can read him like a book, so I know that whatever he's doing, it isn't good."

Marti shrugs, "Maybe he's just trying to bond with his future brother-in-law."

Lizzie laughs, loudly. "Do you seriously believe that, Marti?"

Marti laughs, "Not even a little bit."

Lizzie smirks and glances around the mall, suddenly her face falls.

"Liz, what's wrong?" I ask, following her gaze.

My heart falls to the pit of my stomach at the sight of what's in front of me.

Emily Davis.

She is standing at the Orange Julius counter, talking to one of the employees and smiling.

The last time I saw Emily Davis was on Derek's bed, with him on top of her. It's a memory that I wish would forever be erased from my mind. It's never slipped past my mind for longer than a day, however. Not a day goes by when I don't think about what those two did in my bed, and how the hell Derek could do that to me.

Marti gulps, "Maybe we should go to the other side of the mall." She suggests.

But, it's too late.

Emily turns her head and instantly, her eyes meet me.

Her eyes widen and she says goodbye to the Orange Julius employee, making her way towards us. "Casey!" she says, "Hi."

"Hi." I say tightly.

Emily gives me a small smile, "How have you been?"

"Casey's getting married." Lizzie answers for me.

"Wow." Emily says, smiling. "Congratulations, Casey! So who's the lucky guy?"

"Not Derek, obviously." Marti answers, glaring daggers at Emily.

Emily runs her tongue along her lower lip, her eyes lowering towards the ground.

"His name is Andrew." I say softly. "Andrew Wilder."

"She trusts you with his last name." Lizzie says tightly. "Probably because you're not invited to the wedding, so she won't have to catch you two making out in the dressing room before the wedding."

Emily's face falls, "Casey-"

"We should probably be going." I say softly, trying to end this conversation as quickly as possible without coming off as a total bitch. "See you around, Emily." I say before the three of us brush past her and farther into the mall.

"Casey!" Emily calls after me once more.

Marti's eyes hold a cold expression. "I hate her."

Lizzie nods, "Me too."

Marti glances towards me, blinking her eyes at me slowly. "But I don't hate Derek."

-¤-

"Did I mention to you how I'm going to kill you?" Edwin asks grumpily, as we watch Andrew shoot the Skee-ball into the 500 ring for the tenth time.

I shake my head boredly, "No, not yet."

"Oh." Edwin says, "It'll be very painful. I was planning on jamming a Skee-ball down your throat. Well, after I jam five down Howdy Doody's over there."

Andrew pumps his fist into the air before turning towards us and smiling. "Man, I love this game." He says, collecting his tickets. "I'm buying Casey the biggest teddy bear in this whole arcade."

Edwin smiles at him, "Great Andrew! She'll love it, I'm sure." he says before turning towards me. "Perhaps Casey will come to her senses and suffocate him with it." He grumbles.

I laugh and stand up, heading over towards the Prize counter, checking out all the prizes that can be won.

"Sup my man?" a beefy guy working the counter asks.

I smile at him out of acknowledgement, "Just checking out what you guys have here."

"Chuck hates majority of this stuff." The man gruffly mutters.

"So sorry to hear." I say, glancing up at him. I notice that his nametag reads Chuck.

"Chuck's sister thinks everything in this arcade is cheap. Chuck agrees. Chuck only works here to get through college so he can stop living with his sister, Tiffanie. Chuck-"

"-can stop referring to himself in third person at any time." I cut him off, rolling my eyes.

Chuck's eyes widen at me in surprise. I'm guessing I shouldn't have pissed off the Big Kahuna of all things stuffed and-or plastic with the occasional whoopee cushion.

"Chuck recognizes you!" he exclaims.

He does?

I shoot him a confused expression, "You do?"

I sure as hell don't recognize him. I'm not sure that I have ever met a guy named Chuck before, not that I ever knew on a personal basis, at least.

Well, there was that total basket-case that Casey went out with who had the sister who belonged in a padded cell. His name might have been Chuck…I think?

But, other than that, I don't think I've ever met a Chuck.

Chuck sends me an angered expression. "You're that punk that stole my girlfriend."

"Excuse me?" I pipe up. "I'm not sure I've ever dated anybody that's appeared on America's Most Wanted."

"Caitlin!" Chuck exclaims, "You stole my Caitlin!"

"Who the hell is Caitlin?"

Wait a second. The freak that Casey went out with kept referring to her as Caitlin. That guy's name was Chuck.

Oh, dear God.

This day just keeps getting better and better.

-♥-

As we are at the check-out counter at Rue 21, a loud laugh escapes from Lizzie's mouth.

Marti begins to laugh, shooting her a puzzled expression. "What's so funny?"

Lizzie shakes her head, laughing. "It's just a text message from Edwin. It says 'SOS: big guy Chuck after little man Derek'."

Big man Chuck?

I hand the cashier my credit card and turn to face Lizzie, "What?"

Lizzie shrugs, "I'm guessing some big guy at the arcade is all over Derek."

Marti raises an eyebrow, "Should we go check it out?"

"I don't want to see him beaten to a pulp. How would any of us explain it to Amy?"

Marti snorts, "Amy would laugh."

Lizzie smirks, "You're right, she probably would."

Shrugging, Marti replies, "I think we should go check it out."

Yes…because I am just dying to go help out Derek.

Lizzie nods, "I agree." She turns towards me, her face holding a doe-eyed expression, "Casey? Can we?"

Rolling my eyes, I reluctantly agree.

-

Ten minutes later, the three of us are entering the very familiar Broadway Billiards, a place I haven't been to since my senior year of high school.

"Seriously!" I hear a very familiar voice, one that belongs to a certain Derek Venturi.

I turn my head and see Derek standing in front of a beefy guy who looks to be in his late-twenties.

"I'm not dating Caitlin." He explains, "I don't even talk to Caitlin anymore. But, I'd be more than happy to feed you that blonde pole over there; it goes by the name of Andrew. He's with the Caitlin in question, actually."

I see Andrew in the distance, not even paying attention to his surroundings, just strategically playing Skee-Ball.

Yes, he is a dork. But he's my dork.

"I don't care." The man explains, "You stole my Caitlin from me."

Caitlin? What? I'm not sure Derek's ever even dated a Caitlin, not that Hulk Hogan over here would know at least.

Wait a second…

Oh. My. God.

Edwin called him "Big man Chuck".

I went out with a guy named Chuck.

Chuck thought my name was Caitlin.

OH MY GOD.

It's the demonic, twisted creep that fell in love with me.

Oh God.

Derek's eyes cast over towards me for a second, and then they widen.

"Y'know, Chuck…Caitlin is right over there." Derek says coyly, grinning towards me.

My face pales, and my stomach knots up.

No.

No.

No!

He did not just say that.

-¤-

Ta-da! So what'd you think?

I decided to update earlier this time! Aren't you proud? ...lmao.

Anyways, I definitely used a lot of vintage references in this chapter (Beav, Howdy Doody…haha)

I will try to have at least one more chapter up before my friend comes next Thursday!

So, R&R and please, no flames!

-

Peace, love, & Cheerios!

-degrassichick :)