Chapter 10: Distractions

Casey sprawled on the couch victoriously, flipping through the TV channels. Unfortunately, her high from defeating Derek was very short-lived. There was nothing on TV that could catch her attention, and her mind kept wandering to Truman.

She felt conflicted. Her feelings for Truman had been real, and they still lingered. Casey never told Truman…but she had been falling in love with him. She trusted him. But, Truman showed his true colors, and Casey hated the Truman she saw at the party. He wasn't who she thought he was.

Casey had feelings for a person who didn't exist. Her eyes stung with tears.

No, Casey thought, I need a distraction. As if it were on cue, Casey's phone vibrated. She pulled it out.

47 unread texts?! Casey was not that popular! She opened a few. Most were from numbers she didn't recognize. She also had texts from people she knew from school.

?: Are you ok Casey? Trumans a pig.

?: Damn girl shit got real last night FUCK THAT GUY !

?: OMG Truman is the worst he won't be dating ANYONE anymore! Everyone hates him and he got what he deserved

?: lmfao what did you do to t-man? crazy party lol whole skool is talking about it

?: Ur friend is a BADASS! can u send me her number? also hope ur doin ok…

?: U single now? Let me show u how a real man treats a lady ;)

Casey scoffed, putting her phone down. This was all too much to deal with right now. She needed to focus on the war she had just initiated with Derek.

Derek would retaliate…and soon. Casey knew that he would steal something from her, and she would steal something from him, and the cycle would continue to escalate from there. But, this was a war Casey knew she could win.

Derek constantly stole from Casey—she was used to it. But Derek was incredibly protective of his things. The thought of getting a rise out of him made Casey giddy with excitement—she was ready to turn the tables.

She already had a few ideas in mind, but she needed back-up. She went up to her room to call Emily.

"Hey Casey!" Emily said, answering on the first ring.

"Hey Em." Casey started pacing, "I have a favor to ask you…"

"Of course! Anything."

"Well, I know you and Derek are together, but does that mean you would be totally opposed to helping me prank him?" Casey bit her lip in anticipation. She really needed Emily's help for her plans to work. She was worried Emily would refuse to get in the middle of a dispute between her best friend and her boyfriend.

"Wait…" Emily chuckled, "The reason you're calling me is because you want me to help you scheme against Derek? Really?"

"Well…yeah?"

"Interesting…" Emily sounded suspicious. "I'm on my way!" She announced.

Casey breathed a sigh of relief "Thanks Em, you're the best!"

"Oh…there is one thing though." Emily warned.

Casey stopped pacing "…What is it, Em?"

After a moment of silence, Emily sighed. "Derek and I broke up this morning."

Casey's jaw dropped. "WHAT?!"

"Bye Case! See you soon!" Emily rushed, dodging Casey's freak-out.

Casey knew it wouldn't last! She knew it was only a matter of time before Derek would hurt Emily. This was unacceptable. They hadn't even been going out for a month!

"Der-ek!" Casey shrieked, stomping out of her room. She banged on Derek's bedroom door. "Come out Derek! I need to talk to you, right now!"

The bathroom door opened down the hall and Casey stomped over as Derek came out. When she reached him, she noticed that his hair was wet. She looked down and noticed that Derek was wearing nothing but a towel around his waist, with another towel draped over his shoulders. She wasn't expecting to see Derek in such little clothing. Her mouth fell open in shock.

The words Casey had been planning on screaming at Derek were lost for a moment.

"Seriously, Case…" Derek laughed. He took the towel from his shoulders and tousled it through his hair. Casey felt drops of cold water hit her as Derek shook the towel through his dripping locks. "You want a camera or something?"

Casey's face went beet red, and she found her voice again. "You dumped Emily!" She accused.

"Uh…" Derek laughed, defensively, "Nope." He brushed past her.

Casey went after him. "Emily said you broke up!"

Derek shrugged, entering his room. Casey followed him inside.

"What did you do, Derek?" She demanded.

Derek sighed, turning around. He was annoyed. "What makes you think I did anything?"

Casey crossed her arms. "Because you're you."

Derek rolled his eyes. "You weren't exactly thrilled about me dating your best friend in the first place. Aren't you glad I'm not anymore?"

"It was already weird enough when you were her boyfriend!" Casey exclaimed. "It's going to be even weirder now that you're her ex-boyfriend!"

Derek groaned. "There's zero weirdness between me and Emily." He narrowed his eyes. "Trust me."

"As if I would trust you, Derek." Casey scoffed.

"Then trust Emily." Derek challenged. "Now, if you don't mind…" He threw his hair-drying towel across the room onto a pile of clothes, leaving only the towel around his waist. "I'm going to get dressed. I'm sure you'd love to stick around to watch, but I'm going to have to insist that you leave."

Casey spun on her heel, casting Derek one last dirty-look as she left. She went down the stairs just as Emily was knocking at the front door. She welcomed Emily inside.

Emily was excited. "So, what's the plan?" She asked, quietly.

"Well, first…you are going to tell me everything that happened this morning between you and Derek." Casey insisted, "And then, when Derek goes out for band practice..." She looked over her shoulder to make sure Derek wasn't listening in. "How would you feel about a little heavy lifting?"

Casey grinned mischievously. This is going to be good.