The Bachelor
Disclaimer: I don't own LWD
AN: ...Enjoy? At least try to!

The Bachelor:
Chapter 10

It had been a week since the big blow up with Derek. A mere seven days... And somehow in that time there had been exactly four phone calls, two voice mails, five texts, and a colorful bouquet of flowers delivered to her apartment. You had to give it to him, for a guy who hated romance and all things emotional he had been trying. But Casey refused to give him an ounce of sympathy. Why should she?

The way she saw it, he had crossed the line. She was well aware of his emotional state, obviously it wasn't stable. But to blame her for whatever he had done seemed more than unjust. Maybe there was a sting of jealousy... She still didn't know who this mysterious woman was. And a tiny part of her wished it were her. Because it would mean that he, well...loved her, she supposed. And although the idea of loving Derek still wasn't an easy pill to swallow, she'd give anything for it to be a requited feeling.

But the second she let herself think about him choosing her…of him possibly loving her, guilt fell onto her like a pile of bricks. Even if by some miracle he did, then she'd be guilty of everything he accused her of: of ruining his wedding and breaking Allie's heart. Two things she couldn't deal with. So she went with the latter option. It wasn't her. He was simply blaming her because she was simply there to blame.

A knock at the door brought Casey out of her thoughts. She had been spending way too much time thinking about her current predicament. She shook her head trying to rid her frustration from her cloudy thoughts before she made her way towards her door. She had to admit, her heart dropped for a second thinking that maybe just maybe it was Derek. Even though she wouldn't dare open that door if it were, it was a nice thought. However the person on the other side of the door did surprise Casey, just as much as Derek's appearance would have.

"Allie?" Casey asked when she opened the door to the raven-haired beauty. She was genuinely confused. That was the last person she would think would be at her house. They had barely ever held a five minute conversation in the past, when had their relationship escalated to the point of house calls?

"Hi Casey," Allied smiled wearily. It was clear she was trying a bit too hard; her tone was just a bit too cheery to match her expression. She didn't know Casey very well, only the bits that Derek ever bothered to share. And so she wasn't exactly sure how to approach the situation. Or how exactly Casey would react to such a visit.

"What are you doing here?" Casey asked as politely as she could without sounding rude. But having Derek's ex-fiancé at her doorstep wasn't the most comfortable situation. It was hard to keep a straight face; her muscles were cringing simply by the near proximity. She was tempted to slam the door and run under her covers. It was amusing how such a small girl could scare Casey so easily…but it was more about what she represented.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to be rude by just showing up like this. I'll be super quick...I just want to talk to you. Can I come in?" She begged Casey. She knew it wouldn't be an easy sell, but she was going to give it her best shot anyway.

"Oh, sure. Sorry where are my manners? Please, come in," Casey spoke softly, doing her best to smile. She stepped aside to let Allie in, crossing her fingers that her life wasn't in danger.

"Can I get you anything?" Casey asked, hoping to avoid the inevitable for as long as possible.

"No, no, I'm fine. Thank you," Allie denied politely. Honestly she didn't have a lot of time and she needed to just get it out in the open already.

Casey nodded awkwardly having no choice but to have a seat in the living room with her. She sat on the adjacent couch where Allie had sat. "So, what's on your mind?" Casey asked.

"I wanted to talk to you about Derek." Allie stated, unsure of what effect his name would have on Casey.

Casey paled. Of course. "I really rather not." She replied quickly. Anything but Derek.

"Casey... I know what happened between you too." Allie admitted keeping her eyes locked onto Casey's coffee table. It was hard to lock eyes with her. It was too uncomfortable.

"You do?" Casey asked doubtful, her eyebrows knotted together. She didn't think Derek would actual tell her… but then again maybe she was wrong.

"Yeah. And no, I'm not here to yell at you, or demand anything of you. I'm simply here to ask something of you." She pleaded.

"Yeah?" Casey replied cautiously.

"Give him a chance." Allie said this time making sure she held Casey's stare. The brunette needed to be aware of how serious Allie felt about the whole situation.

Casey let out a soft chuckle truly amused by Allie at the moment. That girl was really full of surprises wasn't she. "What?" Casey asked softly.

"I'm going to tell you what I told Derek... I didn't leave him at the church so he could end up with any ol' girl. I left him so he could be with that one girl who stole his heart years before I even had a chance. And that girl is you." She explained with a tear or two in her eyes. She blinked them back, trying not to show any sign of weakness. Derek had taught her that.

Now that just pissed Casey off. "Why is everyone saying that? It's not me." She yelled, her mood changing completely. She wasn't going to sit there and take that. Not from Derek and definitely not from Allie. She was not the one. She was not taking the blame for that one.

"You're blind Casey." Allie spoke softly, shaking her head. She knew the girl was stubborn, but she didn't think she was dense.

Casey scoffed. This was going very bad very quickly. "I'm not! It's some other girl but he's blaming me like it's my fault. Typical Derek." She said rolling her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest defensively.

"Casey...he's not blaming you. You haven't done anything. It's not like you made him fall for you years ago. You can't control that stuff. It simply happened. You need to accept that. You know...you're just as stubborn as him." Allie noted with a soft smile. Maybe those two were meant to be. She felt like she was fighting with Derek.

"This is ridiculous." Casey hissed annoyed.

Allie ignored the comment. "He sent you those, didn't he?" Allie asked with a genuine smile, eyes looking passed Casey and onto her dining room table where the bouquet laid.

Casey was startled for a second. How could she have known that? Unless... "You saw him again?" Casey asked accusing her roughly, hostility evident in her voice. She wanted Allie to stay as far away from Derek as possible. She wasn't sure why but being around her wasn't good for him.

It was clear that Allie sensed Casey's aggression. She understood it to an extent but didn't think Casey had the right to accuse her of such a thing. "No, I didn't." She deadpanned. "Not since that day..." She trailed off. It had been a very hard day for her as well. She cried for two days straight with memories that she'd rather not dwell on. It hurt that she was being accused of something she hadn't done. And honestly, so what if she had done it? Was she not allowed to see Derek anymore? "You don't know everything about me Casey," she started, hoping Casey could understand. "I use to help my family run a little flower shop." She smiled softly. She was awfully proud of it actually. "It's not ours anymore, but it's the only place he'd ever buy flowers, I'm sure of it." She explained as to how exactly she knew.

Casey instantly felt ashamed. She was well aware of her bitchy attitude. She couldn't even say anything in a reply.

"You know, he doesn't do flowers." Allied mentioned fiddling with her fingers nervously.

"I know," Casey mumbled under her breath.

"I got two bouquets in five years." Allie added.

"Flowers mean nothing." Casey shot back. So he sent her flowers. Big deal. He was only trying to get on her good side.

"If that's what you want to believe." Allie shrugged. Of course she was biased. She knew the meaning behind every flower type and its color.

She knew that the lilacs Iris' meant first love, the pansy orchid meant loving thoughts, the white roses meant purity and yellow tulips which mean helplessly in love. It was a beautiful colorful arrangement that meant a whole lot but of course she wouldn't bother explaining that to Casey.

"Casey... I know this must be difficult for you. But I'm not here to tear you down, to yell and blame you for everything. I came here to let you know I'm leaving. I'm off to travel for a bit. I won't be around to see Derek or even talk to him. Or threaten your relationship with him. But I hope that you start a relationship while I'm gone." She spoke genuinely.

"Why? Why would you ever want that?" She asked. Why did she really want Casey and Derek to be together? She didn't know them or their true dynamic. They were mostly a recipe for disaster.

"Because he's in love with you." Allie shrugged. She dropped a white envelop on Casey's coffee table before gathering her stuff up to go.

"So why are you going away?" Casey prodded, needing more details. Even if it were true, why did she feel the need to leave, to travel, to be far away from them? Didn't she say she was okay with it, and encouraged it even?

"Because although I just want him to be happy, it pains me to know that I was not enough to do it. I just need a little time for myself. To think, to get away from everything that reminds me of him. I have got to move on sometime. Why not now?"

Casey let the words register. She wasn't even mad or hateful about it. Maybe Derek did pick a nice girl after all… "What's that?" Casey asked, taking notice in the forgotten envelop on her table. It was plain except for her name scrawled onto the front in Derek's unmistaken writing.

Allie shrugged. "It was on your doorstep when I arrived. I recognized the writing." She winked before walking out of Casey apartment, and Derek's life.

An: Ok, so when I mentioned Allie was coming back you guys weren't thrilled. But she was only coming back to talk to Casey- to be that break through. But I did take your opinions into consideration. She hasn't seen Derek since ch. 8. So, happy medium? :)

I hope you felt the awkwardness of having these two lovely ladies in the same room together. And I know Casey was a bit OOC, but you have to understand how awkward and uncomfortable this was for her. She wasn't sure if she should try to be nice or be a full on bitch (because well this girl destroyed Derek in a way,) or be scared that Allie wants to kill her for messing everything up. You know?

I totally googled flower meanings. I can't even fathom what that bouquet would look like, but I think colorful and diverse. It can work. I think...

Anyway, I'm so sorry for the delay in update. I started school again. Excuses, excuses I know. There's not much left of this story, its coming to a close. I'm surprised it's this long really. It just started with my idea for Casey to be Derek's stripper at his bachelor party, haha.

Review is you still love me?