What Casey WantsA/N: Ahh, my stomach hurts! But I need to update so I'm gonna be inspired through the pain! Haha I just watched more new Dasey videos on youtube and I have to say that I LOVED the "attack" one by Inulover4eva! I also saw this video that had what looked like a "whipped cream" scene from the party episode…I've seen that scene in tribute videos before and I'd like to ask all you Canadians what happened in that scene, cuz the US is stupid and didn't show it!! Anywayz, here's the next chapter. Random ideas swimming in my head…let me know whatcha think! You seemed to really like the last chapter! Yay! Thank you guys!
Disclaimer: Michael Seater is MINE. (ok not really tears) Don't own LwD. (more tears) Oh and I don't own the song for the chapter title (by The All-American Rejects)!
Chapter 10: Straightjacket Feeling"Derek" Casey sighed. "I don't know how to say this, but…I think we need some space."
Derek was still leaning in to hear any inkling of a thought. He hadn't realized that he kept inching towards her till he could practically feel her lips brush against his ear. Shivering, he suddenly jumped back realizing how awkward this must be. "Heh, um sorry."
Casey just looked at him weird before grabbing his arm and pulling him toward the house. "It's ok, it's just I think we should get inside. It's freezing out here…and I don't want hypothermia to further damage your mental state" she stuck her tongue out at him and ran inside just in time to duck an incoming guitar pick.
Derek let out a happy sigh before following Casey back inside the house. "So…wanna watch a movie or something?" Casey laughed and Derek just sent her a look as if she were trying to offend him.
"Actually Casanova, I think I'm gonna head off to bed."
"Why? It's only-" Derek took a minute to actually look outside from the kitchen window and realized it was really dark outside. He must not have noticed with all the bright streetlights in the neighborhood. He thought it had been barely 7 o'clock. Then he looked to the microwave for the time and saw the numbers 12:06 AM glaring back at him. 'Whoa. How much time did I spend in the bathroom?'
As if reading his mind, Casey answered "I didn't come to your rescue after that bathroom stunt right away you know. Mom and George came home after work with the kids and after a little while they left. The kids went to their friends' houses and our parents went out to dinner and a movie. They said they wouldn't be back till late."
"Glad to know you took your time and let me inch closer to death!" Derek cried out mockingly.
"Yeah, I thought you'd appreciate that" Casey did her typical eye roll. "Can you blame me for not checking up on you? Even if I had known what happened, I doubt I would've came to help you right away."
"Ouch. But I guess I deserved that." Derek gave a knowing nod. "Wow, our neighbors must hate us. No wonder they were all in their pajamas…"
"Well, what else is new? A midnight concert can only add so much anger when George has already rammed into every parked car on the street."
They both just looked at each other. Then burst out laughing.
Both teenagers woke up the next morning with a smile on their face. Who cares that it was a school day and they had approximately 3 hours of sleep? After Derek's realization of the time frame last night, they each said goodnight and went off to bed, knowing that they would never be able to sleep without replaying the night's events.
Casey rolled out of bed and gathered up her clothes as she headed to the bathroom to get ready for the day. Before her hand was on the knob, she heard someone behind her yell out "Cuts, Buts, Coconuts!" and in a flash, Derek had snaked around her and slammed the door in her face. Casey huffed. "Der-ek!" Some things never change.
"Good Morning", Nora greeted Derek as he came downstairs groggily to join the rest of the family for breakfast.
"It is?" he muttered in response.
'Why did I ever worry about things being different. I'm actually kind of glad Derek is still…well, Derek.'
"Well thanks, sis! You don't want me to return the backhanded compliment, do you?"
"Ha! As if I'd ever compliment you. You're hearing those voices again Captain Space Cadet." Casey laughed awkwardly at Derek's random comment.
"What are you-" Derek was about to ask what game she was getting at when suddenly he heard:
'What's my favorite color today? Hmmm, yesterday was purple day. It's time for orange!'
Marti was skipping around the kitchen without a trace of audible dialogue, which was completely understandable since her mouth was stuffed full of a breakfast PB&J sandwich.
Derek's face fell and the bacon he just shoved into his mouth fell back onto his plate. 'Not. Again.'
His house was once again a swirling headache of girl thoughts. Before he lost what little food he had managed to get down, he scurried out of there and headed off to school with barely a whisper to the rest of the family. 'How is this possible? I was there last night. Casey was thinking and I heard nothing.'
Derek mentally retraced his steps as he approached the school. When he walked in, he was so distracted he didn't even notice that everyone was looking in his direction. Not that it was too unusual, he is Derek after all.
"Hey, Derek." Sam greeted his friend in a voice almost filled with fear. "Look, before you blame me for this, I didn't say a word. I mean, it was just a joke, right?"
Derek blinked at Sam as if he were seeing him for the first time. Then he registered that Sam was actually speaking to him. "What? Blame you? For what, what are you talking about?" He had a lot of thoughts to mull over, now wasn't the time to beat around the bush with anything.
"You mean you don't know?" Sam took a deep breath as if he were about to tell a cancer patient how many days they had left. "Well…it might be possible that a small rumor is circulating about you and your, um…ability to read girls' minds." Sam winced as if expecting a blow to the head.
"WHAT?!" Derek didn't even wait for Sam to say more. With a look to kill, he stalked straight to the guidance office.
"Does student-teacher confidentiality mean anything to you?!" Derek yelled as he shoved the door open. Miss Peterson was in mid-bite of her turkey sandwich, which was quickly dropped as she leaped out of her chair in fright.
"Oh. Hello, Derek. What seems to be the problem?"
Derek let out a laugh that didn't contain a trace of humor. "What's the problem? Hmm, let's see. The whole school thinks I'm insane, becausesomebody, who shall remain nameless" Derek pointed an accusing finger at her and coughed loudly, "told the entire student body that I'm CRAZY!"
"Ok! Let's just take some deep breaths and talk about this. I didn't mean to-"
"You didn't mean to what? Knock over my entire reputation with an insanity bulldozer?!"
His tone was so threatening she began to back away only to run into her desk with a startling thump. She sat against her desk, trying to think of something to say. 'Ok, just tell him it slipped. I mean, if I tell him I purposefully brought it up in a staff meeting for jokes and the staff told all the students, I'm pretty sure he'd chop my head off.'
"You told the staff?!"
"Oh wow. I forgot you could hear that."
Derek shot her an obvious 'uh DUH' look before yelling exasperatedly "Well gee, that's kind of what this ENTIRE situation is about!"
"Listen young man!" Anna sat up straighter trying to regain authority. "I don't appreciate your hostility! If anything, I've raised the bar on your popularity level! Who wouldn't be interested in a guy that can read girls' minds 24/7?" She hoped the subject of his status would lighten him up a little. Derek did love his reputation after all.
"That's beside the-" Derek stopped short. He remembered last night when he couldn't hear the thoughts anymore. It also reminded him of the time when he was lying in bed trying to sleep and Casey's thoughts had stopped abruptly. "Wait a second. Wait a second! I think I figured it out!"
"Um, congratulations?" Anna would say anything to divert the anger away from her.
Derek rolled his eyes and hurriedly explained. "Last night, I couldn't hear Casey's thoughts! I thought I was cured, but then this morning I wake up to 'color coordination' this and 'PMSing that'. At first I thought there was no sanity left, but now I realized there's a common element in all of this!"
'Spit it out kid!' Anna made an impatient motion as if to say "Well?"
"Midnight! Every thought I can hear vanishes at the stroke of 12!" Derek suddenly looked as if he might hurl and plopped himself into one of the chairs. "Oh my God. I'm Cinderella." 'Talk about insulting my tough guy rep. Is my fairy godmother due to show up now?'
"Eeep!" Anna let out a little squeak and leapt off of her desk.
"What?" Derek appeared overwhelmed with grief to his new epiphany and wasn't aware of what was going on.
"Ok I'll tell you as long as you promise not to whack me."
Derek's face took on the exact look of when Casey told him that she told Sheldon he failed grade one.
"I…accidentally sat on the intercom button." Anna watched as the color drained from Derek's face until he just turned into a vegetable staring at the wall.
After a good hour of therapy to get him out of his state of shocked reputation-shattering embarrassment, Anna was able to push him out the door so he could begin his walk-of-shame to class.
"Hey Cinderella man" and snickering was heard left and right as Derek shamefully held his binder over his face and slumped pass his once-worshipping peers.
Just as the last bell rang and people laughed hysterically as they emptied out into their classrooms, Derek felt a firm hand grab his wrist and yank him into a janitor's closet.
"Ow! Case, you made me hit my head on the mop bucket!"
"What the hell is going on? What is this stupid rumor going around school? Please tell me it's a joke." Something told Derek that Casey wasn't about to apologize.
As much as the cliché 'honesty is the best policy' made Derek want to ralph, he had no choice since he was clearer than glass in Casey's eyes. "I really wish it was at this point, but…you think I'm crazy don't you?"
"Of course not! I hear guys get to the mind reading phase eventually. It's kind of like a continuation of puberty!" Casey yelled in a whisper. They were skipping class and this is the last place she wanted to get caught. "If you're testing out some new popularity gimmick, you should really approach it from a different angle. But what the heck! I'll humor you, Der. What am I thinking right now?"
Derek wondered for a second if he should feign innocence and tell Casey it was this year's big prank, but before he could fully think it over he slipped out "Dad didn't hit the Davis' car the fourth time, that was actually an incident during your first driving lesson."
Casey's mouth fell open in shock. "Oh my gosh, Derek, please don't tell Mom or George! I swear, it was in my blind spot and-" realization suddenly dawned on her face and she looked severely hurt. Derek couldn't understand why. He thought she might feel anger for invasion of privacy, but he never expected her to think what she did next.
'Was this all some sick joke? Derek has probably been manipulating me this whole time! Oh God, you stupid, stupid girl…'
"Casey, what are you saying? …I mean, thinking. I mean-" Derek let out a sigh and tried to compose his thoughts. 'How could she seriously even think such a thing? I don't reenact love songs everyday on the street!'
"Ugh, stop it! You've heard enough from me I'm sure! Did you have a good laugh, huh? Well, I hope the test results of your little experiment worked out well."
"Casey, what the hell?! Why the hell would I "manipulate" you? I really care about you!" Derek's own eyes bugged out at this. Did he just say that out loud?
At first Casey looked hopeful at these words, when she remembered the situation. "Care? Derek, you would have to have a heart to care about anyone but yourself. Oh, and congratulations by the way. Not only did you succeed in the prank to end all pranks against Casey McDonald, but I'm sure you can use my pathetic little "crush on Derek" story to add another notch to your popularity belt. Don't forget to mention the ending where I never want to see or talk to you again."
And with that kick in the face, she turned as harshly as she could in such a confined space and slammed the door in Derek's face as she had numerous times over the past year.
For once, Derek was speechless. Pulling up a bucket to sit on, he thought and thought hard. He had to get out of this mess. Even if a certain someone was jumping to conclusions and none of this was his fault. He had told her he cared about her. Did it really mean that little to her? He wanted her to jump at the words and tell him how much she cared back, even if he had already heard it. Of course, that was just a fantasy now. Damn that guidance counselor.
Derek stayed in the closet mulling over his confusing thoughts and continued to stare off into space even as the final bell rang.
Who's the
jerk now? Haha so typical of a girl (especially Casey) to jump
to conclusions! And you guys thought the story was ending because
Derek "lost his powers". Tsk tsk! You should know better! Haha…I
have a pretty good idea for the next chapter, which I'll try and
put up ASAP! Review my wonderful people! Review!
xo, Christina