AN: aaaaaand here's the next chapter! some intensity, some hair-pulling on the reader's side, and some "Jimminy Crickets" are making their way into the story if you get my drift.

Chapter 13

" where are we going?" Derek asked again when they were out in the hallway.

"Do you remember that movie RENT that you watched with me and you absolutely loved it even though it was a musical?"

"Uh, correction; yes, I did love it. I loved the dedication Mark the photographer/filmer put into his work even if he was too involved in it he was proven genius, but that was an unconventional musical. It was modern music and not happy go wacky stuff." Casey giggled at Derek's word choice, but he ignored it. he could be geeky and he knew it.

"It's a Broadway play that's leaving Broadway September 7th, and I got us tickets," she said holding up two tickets in all their glory. Derek's eyes got really wide and his mouth was gaping open.

"Oh my God! Are you freaking serious?!" he exclaimed. Casey beamed. Somehow she knew he liked it more than he let on. "How did you get Dad and Nora to say yes?"

"Well, I just told them that Marti, Edwin and Lizzie would probably enjoy the night tour more than us and that we could go somewhere I knew we would enjoy a lot more."

"That's amazing!" he said. He couldn't help himself. It was an amazing production, edgy, modern, raw, everything a production should be. He gave Casey a bear hug and lifted her into the air spinning her around. She wrapped her arms around his neck for security and laughed. He stopped spinning and slowly put her down, but didn't let her go. She looked up at him and the world seemed to stop turning. They were frozen in the middle of the deserted hallway. He took a step closer to her. She stood still. He leaned forward a bit. Move, Casey thought to herself, You can't do this. Mom and George would freak. Move! You can't! but she didn't. she stayed there, her feet rooted to the ground.

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Derek stopped short. He wasn't going to let himself get carried away. He and Casey were getting along. He didn't know it could happen so fast, but it was. it was some kind of weird, other dimensional kind of happening that he could only explain as Hollywood, but he liked it the way it was now. He couldn't ruin it. They stood there as if frozen. You can't do it, he thought to himself, she's your step sister and it would just be awkward if it didn't work out. What about Marti? What would she think? How would she understand that? What about Edwin and Lizzie? What about the pressure? What about Casey? It would effect her probably the most. She'd regret it. You know she has a conscience that works on overdrive and even if she has the slightest bit of affection towards you, you're her step brother. She would regret it no doubt. Be responsible for once and don't try anything. It stung for him to think like that, but he knew he was right. He dropped his hands down by his sides and cleared his throat.

"Ready to go?" he asked softly. She dropped her arms from his neck to her sides hastily.

"Yeah," she said, "Lets go." she looked at her feet, not paying attention to her surroundings. They silently walked into the elevator. It seemed like there couldn't be anymore people jammed into the elevator, but they were wrong. Great, claustrophobia is taking a toll, they thought. Derek got squished into a corner and Casey against him and the wall. As the door closed, Casey felt the little box of a room shrinking. Instinctively she reached for his hand and gave it a tight grip. To him it was like she was saying "promise me you'll stay with me no matter what happens."

It could be taken in two ways, but the way he wanted to think of it he didn't allow himself to think. He just gently and reassuringly returned her grip. She relaxed and he turned his face away.

Casey looked at him, soaked in every detail of him just like he had soaked in the view of New York. She looked along his jaw line, up to his hair line, the delicate curve of his lips, the detailed angle of his nose, the shape of his eyes, his brown pools that reflected his fears, his joys, his depression, his pain. She drank in his expression. There was something odd about it. there was uneasiness, obviously because of the small space he was in, but also some kind of reserved pain. He glanced at her and she quickly turned away so that he wouldn't see the longing she knew her eyes betrayed. She didn't know what it was about Derek Venturi, but she wanted to be with him. She didn't know why. She usually spent most of her time avoiding him at all costs, but then again, maybe the whole time she was avoiding him it was because she subconsciously had always known one day with him would make her act like this; ridiculous. It was the most ridiculous way she had ever felt. She told herself over and over again as the elevator made it's way slowly down that he was her step brother, she his step sister, he didn't think of her like that and it was something she just had to accept so she could move on. She told herself that all the way down, hoping she would feel different once they reached the ground floor, but her feelings betrayed her. They apparently had a mind of their own.

The elevator stopped at the first floor and they ran out onto the sidewalk. They crossed the street and walked to the theatre. They went in and found their seats. They sat down and the show began.