I spoil you, really. I wasn't going to update SO soon but I got so excited and, well, a big ass roach just crawled from behind my computer so…I'm WIDE AWAKE NOW! Number 8 is my favorite integer…and I know you all will like it too e_,e

Disclaimer: I don't own Life With Derek. I'd share it with all of you if I did!

Ooo

The Eighth time she asks to see him, he finally lets her, because she pulls out some shit about how she's missing out on the world and mostly because she just kicked Truman's ass. Well not really, but she did send one good uppercut to his jaw after she found out he kissed her cousin Vicky (Victoria, we know).

The idiot was dumb enough to do it in public where people could talk about it and eventually reach Casey's ears. When she called Derek on her cell to find him, Casey muttered something about not feeling well as she sniffled back tears. Derek spotted her across the room during their argument on the phone and shut the device closed as he walked towards her.

He was pissed when she told him the truth. No doubt in his mind he was angry at that asshole. It was like Scott all over again. The fact that she couldn't see and was cheated on because they assumed they wouldn't get caught.

Derek was yelling at Casey's boyfriend now. How he got there, he didn't know but the next thing he knew after seeing Casey's pupil-less eyes water, was Truman's face before him as people gathered around them. Casey, who he now realized must have taken a hold of his shirt to follow him out, was pulling at his shoulders to get him to stop, saying Truman wasn't worth it.

It wasn't until she finally got him to turn around, Truman in the process of saying something stupid as he tried to make Casey turn to face him, that she sent her small fist up to his jaw.

The kid's head jerked up as he stumbled back, the crowd of teens gasping at the scene. Derek didn't know what to do at first, kick Truman's ass for that comment or gawk at Casey. He chose the latter, eyes on her angry face as she told off her now ex-boyfriend. He's never seen Casey like that before and he was secretly proud of her (emphasis on secretly).

So when she came down the stairs later that night with a bruised left hand, he couldn't help but smile, thanking the stars that she couldn't see it.

"Well if it isn't George ' Rush' St. Pierre," he smirked, watching her feel her way to the island he was currently sitting in front of eating leftovers.

Casey then strolled to the refrigerator as she rolled her eyes, pulling out the juice carton and making her way to the cabinets where she felt her way to the cups on the lower shelf. He always wondered how she got around like that. She, at first, would always take slow cautious steps while in the house, but now she has the place mapped out in her head. Lizzie had told him that with Casey, it was a matter of steps. With enough memorization, Casey knows exactly how many steps it takes to get to a certain place in the house. But it's only for small destinations, he's noticed, because she still needs to take a hold of someone or use a wall for guidance to travel from room to room.

After filling her cup, finger at the rim to measure, Casey walked back to the fridge

3 steps he thought

and then headed towards the island next to him.

4 steps (and yeah, he knows how many it takes. Hell, he even knows how many steps it takes her to reach his room from hers).

"Hello, Derek?" she said, waving a hand between them. It was then that he realized she had been talking to him this whole time.

"What?" he asked, only then realizing that it probably wasn't a smart comeback. Casey just sighed but repeated herself anyway.

"I said that St. Pierre is not famous for his punches. That's Chuck Liddell. Besides, UFC is mostly MMA and grappling," she replied, taking a drink from the cup. His mind was split between ' you grapple with me all the time' and ' what the hell, Casey!'.

" What is this? Lets-surprise-Derek day? How do you even know this stuff?" Derek asked, turning in the stool to face her as he eyed her in disbelief.

" Finding out the moon ascends at night and disappears during the day is enough to surprise you Derek," she snorts into her cup.

"We have a moon?" he asks with fake astonishment as his palms press against the countertop, ready to bolt for the window to search for the celestial body.

"And besides," she adds quietly, blushing as her eyes move around the tile of the counter. " Its hard to ignore the T.V when my father watched the fights on full volume," Casey muttered as she placed a fallen lock of hair behind her ear, a sight he was always fascinated by.

"Well then, that explains the uppercut to the bastard's face," Derek said, turning slightly to his abandoned plate and pushed around its contents with the fork.

"I refuse to be associated with that excuse for a sport. Its violent and I was never fond of it. However, under the circumstances, Truman did deserve that hit," she explained, eyes relocating to his plate.

"Although I didn't think it would hurt this much," she continued and his brown orbs went immediately to her bruised knuckles on her left hand curled around the cup.

Yet that wasn't the only hurting done to her, he knew that. He's witnessed it in the car drive home and the reason he was down here was because he couldn't handle hearing her cry through the vent they shared. Derek doesn't do tears, especially Casey's. And her dark milky gray-blue pupil-less unseeing eyes surrounded by salty tears that made her lashes stick out so beautifully added to that reason.

"Nice blow by the way…for a keener like you," he stated, breaking the silence to prevent Casey from thinking about Truman, which would cause her to cry all over again.

"Hmm? Oh, um thanks…I think?" she fumbled to spit out. He could tell her mind was still in space.

Such a Space Case he thought.

" You're never going to let me see you, are you?" Casey suddenly states, tilting her head a bit to the side in wonder. He blinks and clears his throat before replying.

"You're still with that? Honestly Case when you ask to touch me, you sound desperate," He smirks, folding his arms onto the counter in front of him and turning his head to face her. He watches her roll those blue pupil-less eyes as she groans in annoyance (he tries not to look at her lips).

"I'm missing out Derek! In case you haven't noticed, I'm blind! It isn't fair you know," she started as her blue orbs stare past the left side of his head. He always liked how she could never get the right position of whom she was talking to (ask him and he will deny it) because it made it seem less inappropriate to study her expressions.

"I don't do fair McDonald, you should know that by now," Derek stated smoothly, watching her features turn into a scowl.

" It's been years since we met and I still don't know what you look like. I can only assume that, with that ego of yours and the numerous girls, you have a nice face," Casey stated.

"Is that a compliment Princess?" he asked; smirk appearing on his lips as he crossed his arms. Her eyes moved closer to his place on the stool, but not quite reaching him fully.

"I can't say. Don't know what to compliment if I can't see it," Casey opposed, crossing her arms as well.

"Say what you will, I'll take it as a compliment," Derek retorted, leaning a bit forward in his seat.

"Der-rek!" she shouted, swinging her good hand to swat where she assumed his arm was. She hit his chest instead with the back of her hand. It was quiet for a moment as Casey scanned the air around him with unseen eyes. Derek watched her, thinking about how true her words were (yeah he admits it, but only in his mind). She was exposed to the world around her, him included, and he was able to watch her expressions and actions while she was forever held in a dark world. All she asked was to 'see' him. To know what she was missing. And the little voice in his head, the part that insisted on control, was giving him the ok to let her pursue the action she wanted.

Slowly, Derek took her right wrist and brought it to his face. The expression on Casey's face changed from irritated to astonishment, her blue eyes widening in the process. As he placed her fingers on his cheek Derek let go, putting his hands back on his lap and prepared himself for what she was about to do.

Casey began to trail her fingers down his cheek, sliding the other hand up his shoulder to guide her to the other side of his face. She traced the contours of his nose and moved her way up to his eyelids, where he closed them in response. The feel of her fingertips was something he's never felt before. She was calming and gentle, much more caring then the grasps of those girls he's been out with.

Casey starts to tail down his cheeks and reaches his lips, where Derek suddenly snaps his eyes open. Her fingers trace them and he subconsciously parts them. Casey's right digits cup his chin, thumb running over his bottom lip. He tries hard not to kiss it. Her left hand trails down his neck, fingers lightly pressed to the hollow of his throat. The digits then trace his collarbone, moving to the back of his neck to play with the locks of hair. The hand on his chin glides along his jaw and to the side of his head, fingers running through the burgundy strands. At that moment, Derek couldn't help but close his eyes in bliss. He was glad Casey couldn't see the look on his face, because he knew he had broken the barrier he put up a long time ago. His heart rate was increasing and he wondered if her enhanced hearing could pick it up. Casey's fingers moved to the front part of his hair, taking some of the long locks that fell over his eyes in her fingers. Derek's half opened eyes swept her face, taking in every detail of her lovely features. The way her lips were parted, the way the corners of her mouth twitched in a quick smile, and the way her blue pupil-less eyes were surrounded by thick black lashes as they fixated themselves over his right shoulder. She didn't seem to notice the way his breathing became deeper.

Finally, Casey ended with her hands cupping his cheeks, Derek leaning into one of them. He wanted to place his hand over hers but fought against it. Instead he opened his eyes to look at her face. To his surprise, she was smiling, eyes shinning brighter than he's never seen before.

"Not bad Venturi," she stated, lightly patting his left cheek before dropping her hands. He doesn't know why, but suddenly he feels cold.

"You can take it as a complement. Just don't expect anymore," she continues, eyes to the left of him and staring at the counter. Derek watched her smile fade as she stops to think.

"Casey..." he begins, unsure why he called her. But as soon as she flicks her eyes a bit to his direction, he knows why and suddenly it doesn't seem like a good idea (yet).

"... Good to know you gave in. The Venturi charm never fails," he states, smirking for affect even though she can't see it. He watched her roll her dark milky gray- blue eyes as she gave him a smirk of her own.

"Uh- huh, yeah. Coming from the only one who believes it," she retorts, standing up from her seated position on the stool. Derek stands up as well, waiting for her next move. As soon as Casey puts her hands out in front of her to search for the wall, he understands that she's trying to make her way back up the stairs.

"And that's coming from the girl who can't see all the proof," he counters, taking a hold of her right hand and leading her out the kitchen to the stairs. Just like that, they were back to bickering. Yet in the back of his mind he knew something changed between them.

"What? Your one-week girlfriends? I suppose so, if that's what the Venturi charm if for. Thought you held yourself bit higher than that," Casey replied as they ascended the stairs, her left hand sliding against the rail for support. She did, however, note that Derek had yet to let go of her hand. All the times he had helped her up the stairs, she was forced to hold onto his elbow or grip his shoulder. Never had he entwined their fingers as he led her to the second floor.

"Are you calling my taste in women cheap?" Derek gasped, faking the hurt in his tone. If she were, he thought, then she'd be surprised that she was in his field of women.

"You could say that," she teased, left hand reaching the wall at the top of the stairs.

"You're just jealous now that you know what I look like," he stated, stopping in front of her room to open her door, releasing her hand in the process.

"I should have never let you keep the compliment. I just added more air to that head of yours," Casey mumbled to herself, feeling her way into her room. Without thinking, Derek made his way past her doorframe and stood before her. He couldn't push out the feeling of her fingers on his face. It was like running an ice cube against hot skin on a summer day. Fresh and chilling, leaving bumps to trail after it. Keeping his hands in his pockets, Derek leaned forward and pressed his lips to Casey's forehead. She didn't speak nor push him away. And as he pulled back, the expression on her face was, as he predicted, shock. Her eyes were staring at his left shoulder in big round orbs. He looked down at her; a smile displayed on his face before it curved into a smirk.

"Night Princess," he said, watching her eyes flicker to his cheek. She was getting better at this finding his eyes thing.

"Night Derek," Casey whispered back, too confused by his actions as her hand slowly came up to the spot his lips touched. Right after he closes the door to his room, he realizes what he did.

"Shit"

So much for control. Stupid teenage brain.

Ooo

Oh Crap! He let her see him! Sorry if I bored you with the UFC stuff but my dad's a big fan so I hear that crap all the time. Not a big fan myself, but I know some stuff thanks to all the screaming guys in my living room! Anyway, next chapter is the romance! Thanks for reading!