A/N: Well, I've had a lot of time on my hands today, and I knew you guys were anxious for a new chapter, so here you go. I wanted it to be much longer, but oh well, don't I always. :D So, hope you enjoy! R&R, loves!

-Jacki :)

Chapter Ten: He's Finding the Words

Derek stood outside Casey's door for quite some time, just trying to gather his thoughts. He also thought it would be smarter to give Casey some space after her little outburst. He couldn't hear anything from her room, and he wasn't sure if that was a good sign or not. He leaned his head against the wooden door and took a deep breath. Lizzie stepped out in the hall and grinned as she noticed that Derek was still standing there. She stepped up beside him and looked at his scared face.

"Derek, go!" she whispered, pushing his arm in an attempt to get him in Casey's room.

He smiled down at her, "Thanks, Liz, for everything." It was a real, genuine smile.

He slowly opened the door and walked in. He looked around the room and spotted Casey lying on her bed, near the same position she had been in when he had come to talk to her two days ago. She didn't look up, she continued to lie there, and her eyes were closed. He quietly closed the door behind him and knelt beside her bed. For a second he just sat there and watched her sleep. But as her eyes flickered open, he immensely regretted not saying something at first.

"Derek!?" she cried sitting up and staring at him, not mad, just confused and surprised.

He stood up and looked her in the eye, "Look, Case…"

"What are you doing in here, Derek?"

He couldn't find the right words, and for once in his lifetime, Derek was stammering in front of a girl, "Well, you see, I- um- I wanted to, well, I just, Iwantedtocomeapologize!" he said it all at once so he could get it out.

"What?!" she said, eyebrows raised.

He took a deep breath, "I said; I wanted to come apologize."

"Oh, really? The great Derek Venturi has come to say he's sorry. How convenient." She sounded offended and upset now.

"Oh, come on Casey, you see I was right now! I was just trying to get you to see he was a bad person!"

"So, you did plan it, then?"

"Well, yeah, but…"

She made an irritated noise and jumped up off her bed, "I knew it! How could you Derek! Do you really hate me that much?! Do you like to see me hurt?!"

"Of course not, Case. I didn't want to hurt you…"

She let out a bitter laugh, "Oh, you didn't?"

"NO! I didn't! I tried to warn you about him. I really did, but you were all over him! Just like every other girl! And he knows that! He knows he can get any girl he wants. He takes advantage of it! He's never without a girl. You have to trust me! I've known him my whole life. You've known him for two and a half days. I can't make someone make out with a girl. That was all him. I just arranged the meeting. He did the rest. I swear!"

She glared at him hard, "I don't see why I should trust you. You're just like him. Triple D Venturi. You could get any girl you wanted as well. You're just as bad as he is!"

"I can't get any girl I wanted." He mumbled.

"What?!"

"I can't get any girl I wanted." He said louder this time.

"Of course you can! I've seen you at school all the time, 'Der'." She said the last part sarcastically, "The girls are practically drooling over you twenty four seven. With just one word any girl would give anything to go out with you."

"I don't want any of those girls!" Derek said, his face growing, trying not to raise his voice, but the louder she went, the louder he went.

"Oh, now you're too good for the girls at school. Who are you into now? College girls?" Casey looked hurt now, and Derek could not, for the life of him, figure out why.

"No! She's the one girl I could never be with. It also doesn't help that she hates my guts."

Casey looked over at him, her eyes softening, but when she spoke, her voice was still loud and angry, "And what girl hates your guts, pray tell?"

Derek's face was now extremely red, but he looked up at her, stared into her eyes and said, "You." And without waiting for her reply, he ran out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

Casey stood completely still. Did she really hear Derek say that he liked her? She couldn't believe it. How could she have been so blind? It was like the whole Scott issue all over again. Derek was only trying to show Drew's true colors because he really did care about her. She was so stupid. He had done so much, and what had she given him in return? Blame, guilt, hatred, and a slap in the face.

Seriously, how oblivious can you get?

She needed to talk to him. She needed to tell him how she felt. He needed to know that all his efforts weren't for nothing. She needed to thank him. Apologize. He needed to know that she hadn't been thinking clearly when she yelled at him in the hospital, when she had blamed Marti's accident on him. Nor when she slapped him. She should have believed him from the start, and she was going to tell him. She ran out of the room and looked in his room. He wasn't there. She ran up to Edwin's room to see if he was in there. The only person in there was Edwin, not that anyone could tell he was the only one in there, the room was so messy.

"Look, Casey, I know my room's a mess, don't say anything!" Edwin said, putting his hands up.

She smiled, "Normally, I would say something, but right now I need to find Derek, you wouldn't happen to know where he went, would you?"

Edwin grinned, "Finally, I'm telling you, you both are so blind."

"Ed?!" she cried, impatiently.

"Sorry, Casey, I haven't seen him since we were all downstairs."

Casey groaned and ran back into the hall, where she ran into Lizzie, "Liz!"

Lizzie smiled at the look on Casey's face, "He's downstairs. He's about to leave, so you need to hurry."

Casey looked at her sister, confused, "How-"

Lizzie shook her head, "Just go, or he'll be gone!" she said, pushing her towards the stairs.

Casey smiled gratefully at her sister and hurried to the top of the stairs, "Derek!"

He was at the door and had his leather jacket on. The car keys were in his hand and his other hand was on the doorknob.

"Wait!" she cried and rushed down the stairs and ran into the railing that was facing the door.

He turned around to look at her, his eyes watering. He looked up into her eyes, searching them for what she was about to say. She hurried over to him and looked up at him. She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck. His eyes widened and his eyebrows rose. She nodded up at him and his face brightened as he smiled. He wrapped his arms around her waist and looked down at her smiling face.

"Derek, I'm so sorry. For everything. For not believing you about Drew. For blaming Marti's accident on you. For treating you like dirt. For slapping you when you didn't need it." She took a deep breath, "But most of all, I'm sorry for letting you think that I hate you. Because I most definitely do not."

He smiled, "You don't?"

"Not even a little bit. Just the opposite, really. I like you. Very much."

He leaned in closer and put his cheek on hers, and whispered in her ear, "I like you, too." Then he pulled away and leaned his forehead on hers. She smiled up at him.

He was about to say something again, but Casey leaned in and put her lips on his. He was surprised at first, but then he welcomed the kiss and kissed her in return. When they broke apart, Casey laid her head on Derek's chest and the keys slowly fell from his grasp as began to rub her back gently. They were so into each other that they did not notice that they had an audience.

Lizzie and Edwin stood at the top of the stairs, smiling down at their older siblings. Lizzie turned to him, "Finally. I don't know how much more hints they needed!" she whispered.

He laughed, "I know, right?"

The two laughed silently and turned around and went back to their separate rooms, shaking their heads at the obliviousness of teenagers.