"Shit."

She feels herself sliding and something being removed from behind her back. "Casey, wake up!" She hears a harsh whisper and then someone shakes her lightly. "The 'rents are coming upstairs!"

Her eyes bolt open as she realizes she's still leaning on Derek, and immediately her reflexes kick in. She practically flings herself to the other side of the couch, and Derek jumps on his recliner. He flips on the T.V. and she stares at it as if the news is the most interesting thing in the world.

George comes in the room rubbing his eyes, still in his pajamas. "Gee, you two are up early…" He looks at Derek. "And dressed already?" Then he turns to her, and her face turns bright red as she realizes- "And Casey is wearing Derek's jacket?"

Derek looks at her, his eyes wide in alarm. She shakes her head, not knowing what to do. And George is staring confusedly between the two of them.

All it takes is a second, and Derek is springing into action. "What?" he says, seemingly angry. "Casey, why are you wearing my jacket?"

He must be rubbing off on her, because she can think of a lie pretty easily. "It was a joke, George. I wanted to see how long Derek would go without noticing I was wearing his jacket."

"Not funny, freak." Derek says, holding out his hand. "Give it back."

"It's a good thing George is half asleep…" she thinks. Her stepfather merely shrugs and heads back into the kitchen, scratching his head as she takes off the leather jacket and chucks it Derek's way.

As soon as George is out of sight, she breathes a sigh of relief and then looks at Derek. His face is pale white and he looks terrified.

"Derek-" she starts, and then he motions for her to be quiet.

"I'm not feeling so good." he says, swallowing. "I think I'm going to… go puke." He runs up the stairs and she's left there, sitting awkwardly on the couch and feeling more lost and confused than ever.


He doesn't avoid her, but he avoids the topic of feelings. Like it's going to kill him if he even mentions the 'f word'…

She doesn't complain, though, because he holds her hand when they go out on drives or for ice cream. (She never orders strawberry, though.) And even though he won't admit how he feels about her, she can tell from the way he acts. He doesn't flirt with other girls or even attempt a second glance at them. And she's grateful, she really is. And happy.

But how long can this last? Just two people holding hands and going on 'dates' together… Neither of them willing to admit how they really feel. No kissing, no touching, no words of true affection. She thinks she just might snap one day.

If he doesn't snap first.


One night her mom asks them to cook dinner for the kids so that she and George can go to the parent-teacher orientation at the school. She happily agrees, but doesn't really understand why her mom thought Derek would be any help.

He leans on the kitchen counter and he's twirling a spatula. "All I know how to make is mac and cheese and cereal! What am I supposed to do?" he says when she takes the spatula from his hands and hits him with it.

She sighs, grabbing a bowl from the cabinet and the eggs from the fridge. "I'm going to teach you how to make pancakes."

"Pancakes for dinner?" he questions, and she raises an eyebrow. "Awesome!" He takes the bag of chocolate chips from the counter and begins to eat them.

She grabs the chocolate chips from him and replaces it with an egg, and then puts her hand over his and attempts to help him crack it. Derek slams down too hard on the bowl and the contents of the egg go flying… all over her.

She gasps, stepping back and examining the damage. "Thanks, Der." she says sarcastically, and goes to get a paper towel. She only turns her back for a second, but that's all it takes… When she tries to resume her egg-cracking duty, Derek is standing there, his fist full of flour, a smirk on his face.

"What… are you doing?" she asks, even though she knows what's coming. His reply is a chuckle, and he tosses the flour right in her face.

"That's it, Derek!" she yells angrily. "You are so going to get it!"

She can barely see, but she manages to find the carton of eggs and she starts chucking them wildly at any moving object she can see.

"Ow! Jeez, Case!" Derek yells in the commotion, and as her vision clears, she sees him grab the bag of chocolate chips and attempt to use it as a shield. She runs over to him, smashing the egg over his head and getting the goop in his hair. She's laughing now as he throws flour on her clothes and she races over to the pantry, disbanding her eggs and grabbing the syrup.

"Oh, no… Not the syrup!" Derek backs up slowly, and she sees a trace of a smile on his face.

"Yep…" she says, a huge grin on her face. "Prepare to get syrup-ed!" She rushes forward and squirts the sticky substance all over him, but in her haste she begins to slip on one of the egg yolks that must have fallen on the floor. She grabs onto Derek for balance and they both land in a heap on the kitchen floor.

She's on top of him and they're both laughing and out of breath. She looks down at him and smiles.

"Ha, you have a chocolate chip stuck to your face…" she stretches out her hand and picks it off, popping it into her mouth. He gives her these wide eyes, and her cheeks turn crimson as she realizes what she just did.

"Yeah… well you have flour all over yours." He reaches out and brushes her cheek with his hand. And then he squints, looking closer at her face. "I've never noticed that you have freckles before."

"I… get them during the summer." She's breathless as she answers, her lungs not seeming to function properly. "And you… have these hazel specs in your eyes…"

Derek stares at her, and their faces seem to move just a little bit closer until- "And you're… kind of crushing me right now."

She looks away from him and sees that he's right. "Oh, sorry." she says softly, and she quickly gets up, brushing off her pants… though it doesn't really help. "I'll go get some wipes." she offers, although she doesn't think they could possibly compensate for the mess they've made. The kitchen is a wreck.

She steps over the giant pile of flour and grabs some wipes from the pantry, handing one to Derek. They both clean their faces in silence. Supremely awkward silence.

"Oh, you missed a spot." she tells him when they're done, and she takes her wipe and gently swabs his face with it.

He just stares at her intensely and she stops wiping his face, her hand falling to her side and her body moving towards his. She takes a step forward-

"I'm… going to go take a shower." Derek says. "…get the egg out of my hair." He motions to the kitchen door, and then he's gone. Again.

And she's left to clean up the disastrous kitchen. And wonder what the hell just happened.


It's only a few days before they head off to Queen's and… something happens. She's almost done packing, (of course) when she goes into the bathroom to retrieve her toiletries. Normally she knocks. It's just a habit one picks up after living in a family of seven. But for some reason it doesn't cross her mind this day… and of all the days…

Derek is standing there in a towel, bare chest and all. Her breath hitches in her throat and she turns around to leave, but it's too late. He's already seen her, both of their eyes are wide in shock, both of them quickly turning crimson.

She pretends like nothing happened and goes about her business. "I'm just… packing some stuff." she says casually, and maneuvers her way around her half naked stepbrother. It was bound to happen eventually, living in a house together for four years… but she's freaking out even more than if she would have found him in a towel a few years prior. Because they never said it aloud, but she knows that they have both come to the conclusion that they want each other. Badly.

Whether they are waiting for some romantic moment, or until Derek finally grows some balls, (or however long he can get away with not admitting anything), she doesn't think she can take it anymore. She needs to leave before she does something… crazy.

She grabs her things from the bathroom cabinet, spinning around and making for the door as quickly as possible. But she sees him just staring at her, stuck in the same position, and her heart starts pounding.

"Casey…" he says slowly, and she's dropping all of her crap on the floor, running over to him and taking his face in her hands. Their lips crash together hungrily and he wraps his arms around her waist, deepening the kiss. She can feel his bare skin on hers and she gets goose bumps up and down her arms. His tongue begs for entrance into her mouth and she grants him access, her hands sliding down his bare chest.

Then he breaks from her, breathing heavily. She stares at him confusedly, her head spinning out of control and her heart working overtime.

"Case… I can't do this." he whispers. "Not now." She feels her heart sink. He leaves without anymore words, and she feels her knees getting weak. She puts the lid down on the toilet and sits there, shaking.

She's stupid. So stupid. He's half naked for god's sake…. and she just… jumped him. In their bathroom. Their unlocked bathroom with their parents and siblings home and… oh god, she's so stupid. She couldn't even wait for an appropriate moment- until they confessed, or got to Queen's, or something at least. She's never one to make irrational decisions or act on an impulse… but Derek…

She's snapped.

She puts her face in her hands and just cries.


AN: Sorry it took me so long to update! I was super busy this weekend. But I was really inspired to write this chapter as there are NEW Daseys on twitter, and they are super awesome! I totally stole the whole pancake fight and dialogue from them, so all credit goes to ScrappyVenturi and Keenerzilla on twitter for that. ;) I hope you guys liked this chapter, and I hope you're all excited to see what comes next! Please review if you have the time. I love hearing from you!