Discombobulated

Chapter 8

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"How much did I drink last night?" Casey asked feeling her head and then taking a long drink of her coffee.

XO

He was right behind her but he probably didn't even realize that he was so close. "One leg here." he said pointing and one back." He then leaned in closer and tried to get eye level with her. "Goal is there, so you have to look at it straight on and know what your shooting for. Then concentrate on the puck, pull the hockey stick back and just swing." The puck went flying into the net.

"I did it!" Casey yelled excitedly. "Thanks, Derek." she said turning her head to look at Derek, who's was only inches away.

XOXO

Casey's head pounded mercilessly for a couple hours before it leveled up. All day long they had dealt with annoying, wanna-be, aspiring actresses who were melodramatic and turned the story line into a comedy with their bad acting. I mean, Casey should know. She is the original character. It is a movie based on what occurred in her life. The headache came back after her 150th audition and she came to the conclusion that the day would just keep going, like an her very own episode of 'Bored To Tears Even Before The Hour That Would Never End'.

"How's it going, ladies?" asked Chris Durdan who was a camera man, who peeked his head into the room with Derek and Zack Smalley right behind him.

"This is a closed audition, Chris." said the casting director who looked just as tired as the rest of them.

"Bite me, Jane." he said and she rolled her eyes.

"So Naomi, dinner tonight?" he asked. She blushed but didn't hold back.

"Your treat?"

"In more than one way." he said with a flirtacious smile.

Derek and Zack made humorous 'oooo', sounds like they were back in high school.

"You know, Derek." Jane started. "I think that you should read for the male lead."

"Sorry, but I'm not an "actor"." he said, using air quotes.

"Nonsense." she said throwing a script to the end of the table. "Casey, can you read with him?"

"Um…actually."

"Yeah, come on, Casey." Derek said taunting her. "If I have to do this, so do you."

"Yeah, Casey." Naomi said handing her a packet.

Casey and Derek stood up awkwardly and walked infront of the camera where Derek was.

"Start at the top of page 241." Derek gulped and slowly began reading his lines.

"I didn't know it was a secret."

"Isn't is obvious?"

"Just relax. I only told one person." he said looking away from the script and now just concentrated on her face.

"We…kissed." she said awkwardly. "And I'd rather not have anyone know considering the circumstances."

Casey looked up at him and he didn't even need the script anymore.

He had figured it out. The book's secret.

"Screw the circumstances. I just couldn't keep something like this to myself. I think that it's very…greedy of me." he said cockily.

"Ha! Like you aren't greedy all the time? You promised me that we would try and forget it happened!"

"I know! But I can't! I can't just forget what happened! You did something...evil to me. You put a curse or something on me because now you're all I think about and I hate it! It feels like you're this horrible cold that won't go away but I bare it because I like the taste of the cold syrup!"

"Oh, very nice analogy! Thanks for comparing me to a virus!"

"You're missing the point! You cursed me or something because you and the kiss are all I can think about!"

"And scene." Jane said mesmerized by their performance.

"Oh. My. God." Naomi said star struck.

"That was amazing. So, real! Hands down, the best audition I've ever seen. Casey, Derek, you guys have suck chemistry. I think…we've found our leads."

"What? No!" Casey and Derek said at the same time.

"Casey, you sounded so real when you spoke to Derek that it makes the story come alive again. And Derek, has the look and has quick memorizing skills. Case closed. You guys have it." Casey and Derek sighed. "You should be excited! Don't you know how many people would kill for this job?"

Casey crossed her arms while Derek looked surprised.

"I want you two to read your lines together soon. Practice, practice, practice. Casey, get in touch with the character like it's happening all over again and Derek…become the character."

"Oh, it shouldn't be that hard." he said giving Casey a knowing look with an amused smile.

"Great!" Jane replied.

As soon as Casey and Derek got out of the room, Derek gently grabbed Casey arm and dragged her down the hall and through the door that said stairs. The door latched behind them and he looked at her.

"Casey, the story is about us?" he asked knowingly.

"Um…yeah, kind of." she said careful of her reply.

"Kind of?" he asked turning away and rubbing both hands through his hair.

"Okay, so the whole thing! What happened between us was epic taboo like Romeo and Juliet!"

"Yeah, but Casey -" he said looking at the ground shaking his head trying to clear it.

"I left your name out of the book, at least!"

He sighed and turned to face her.

"This is going to be awkward, isn't it?"

She looked down.

"Yeah, probably."

"Imagine if they left in that part…of us…in my car…" he said remembering that very good night. "But, even that is too intense for people to see." he said proud of the memory.

She looked up.

"Derek…" she hesitated. "They um...they decided to leave that in."

"Oh, God." he said tilting his head back and letting a hand run through his hair. "We shouldn't be forced to do this in a movie." he said turning back around. "I mean we're step-siblings, after all."

"Derek, first of all I'm pretty sure couple pairings have been far worse than ours. Secondly, it didn't stop us the first time." Casey smirked and turned around, opened the door and walked back into the hall.

"Yeah, but this time, it's in front of people!" he yelled down the hall. She just smiled and kept walking.

"Do I really look okay?" Naomi asked back at the hotel.

"Naomi, you look amazing. You are going to have a great time. I think this is good for you."

"Thanks, Case." she said smiling warmly. "Wait, what time is it?"

Casey looked at the clock on the bedside table.

"7:40."

"Oh, my God! I'm suppose to meet him at 7:45! I better go!"

"Okay, have fun and remember tell me everything when you get back!"

"Try and have fun with Sally."

Casey smiled and Naomi left with a quick but excited wave. Casey got ready and took a cab to Pete's Bar and Grill to meet Sally for dinner.

"Hey!" Sally greeted. Luckily, she had already gotten a table by the time Casey go to the restaurant considering there was a long waiting list to get one now.

"Hey!" casey said sitting down.

"How are you?"

"I'm fine. How are you?"

"Good! So, Derek told me about the whole movie thing. I couldn't believe it! He's actually going to be an actor. But I can only imagine how awkward this whole thing is going to be for you. I mean besides the fact that it's Derek; your stepbrother, it's going to be really awkward to film those intense romance scenes infront of people. By the way, you never told me who the real guy is." Sally said sipping her iced tea.

"Oh, um." Sally waited patiently. "Max!" I mean Casey couldn't honestly say Derek and have it be okay.

"Max? Oh, my God! He is so romantic!" she said. "I mean all the sweet things he said to you is mesmerizing. I wish Derek was as sweet."

"Hahaha." she laughed nervously. "Yeah, if only."

"My favorite part would still have to be the car. I felt the heat immensely as I read it.

"Wow…great! That's what…was intended!"

"It must have been the best thing you've ever experienced."

Casey thought for a second.

"You know…it was." she smiled.

"Well, those football muscles are there for a reason." she said laughing. Casey so wanted to change the subject and finally Sally did. "So, when are you going back to Ontario?"

"My flight is Wednesday at 9."

"Awe! That's only a few days from now!"

"Yeah, but then I'm coming back the week after for two months of filming. Lucky me, right?"

"Uh, yeah! Try and enjoy it. I would give anything to spend all that time with Derek and get paid to kiss him."

Casey nodded slowly as Sally talked.

"Well, since I'm leaving for Chicago tomorrow morning, you and Derek have the loft alone to read your lines for the entire weekend."

"Wow, all weekend."

"Yeah, I bet it'll be fun."

"I hope so."

XOXO

Derek sat in his loft watching a repeat hockey game of The Pittsburgh Penguins against the Toronto Maple Leafs. He sat in his lounge chair trying to concentrate on the game, but it was hard considering Sally was still out with casey.

That set him over the edge a little bit. He got out of his chair and proceeded to the kitchen for s snack, that would keep his focused; so the entire fridge would do for the time being. As he stood in the kitchen absentmindedly eating chips, he wondered what Sally and casey were talking about. Sally probably bribed casey into telling her every secret about the book. For all he knew, Sally could have figured out it was him in the story and not Max. He shuttered at the thought. The idea of his love for Casey, spread to the person who unintentionally ruined everything.

He walked back to his chair and jumped in it when he head the front door being unblocked.

"Hey, Sweetie!" Sally said closing the door.

"Hey. How was it?" he asked trying to act casual and not anxious.

"It was great." she said coming over and pecking him on the lips before sitting on the sofa next to the lounge chair. "We had a fun time. It's been forever since I've hung out with casey. I mean for some reason, I had this weird feeling, like she was mad at me or something."

"Oh?" Derek asked trying to sound interested.

"Yeah, but it's irrelevant so I'm going to change." she said getting

"How was it?" both Casey and Naomi asked when they saw each other later that night.

"You first" Naomi demanded.

"No, you!" casey replied letting Naomi in her room.

"Okay, so he took me to this adorable restaurant overlooking the river and then we went and got some ice cream and then he kissed me and he walked me home." she blushed.

"Are you guys going out again?"

Naomi smiled.

"We have a lunch date, tomorrow."

"Awe, congratulations, Nay!" Casey said eating a pringle.

"How was your night?"

"It was…better than I thought it would be. We went to this bar and grill and caught up. She told me about work and about how one of her paintings is in the art show this weekend."

"Did something happen between you two in the past?"

"What gives you that idea?" Casey asked looking away as she dug in the can for another pringle.

"At the bar the other night, you were hostile when she showed up and you didn't want to hang with her tonight. Sorry, that I assumed there were some unspoken words there." Casey nodded slowly.

"Well, a few years ago…she actually took an old flame of mine. She took him like she owned him. But the worst part is that she unintentionally did it, so I can't even be mad at her for it."

"Well, don't worry about it anymore because you got to experience the most romantic love story, with the perfect guy who came after your old flame. And her and Derek are good together. " she said sincerly.

"Right…her and Derek are good together…"

XOXO

The family got home around 8pm that night.

"I have to call, Emily!" Casey yelled racing for the phone.

"Uh, wrong! I have to call Sam." Derek said throwing down his hockey gear. Edwin, Lizzie and Marti walked upstairs in the process.

"Casey, Derek please don't fight tonight." Nora said taking her jacket off. "And I mean it!" she said opening the basement door to proceed to bed. Casey held the phone away from her as Derek tried to grab it.

"Casey, Derek! Knock if off! I agree with 100% with Nora. You two need to work out your problems." George agreed as he shut the basement door behind him as he went down to his bedroom.

"Great job, Derek! My mom is stressed enough at work!"

"Then give me the frickin phone!" he said grabbing it away from her. She smacked it out of his hands and the two scrambled to the floor to find it.

"Derek, please!" she said desperately as she held back. Derek continued to keep the phone away from her by sliding it under the couch.

"What's so desperate that you need to call Emily about?" he asked looking her straight in the eye. The two were only a foot apart.

"Um, I needed…to ask her about…my English homework."

"Case, it's Christmas break." he said with a cute humorous smirk. "So…why do you need to call her?"

"It's non of your business." she said standing up. Derek grabbed the phone and stood up as well.

"I'll just use my cell phone!" she said taking it out of her back pocket. "Even though, I have NO battery left!" They both stood there awkwardly.

"Here!" he said throwing her the phone.

"Thanks." she said quietly.

"Don't mention it…ever!"

She smiled as she turned around and ran upstairs. Derek quietly snuck upstairs when he heard her door close. He went into his room, closed his door and picked up the other house phone. He clicked the talk button and smirked when he head Casey on the other side. Oh, boy this was going to be good…

A/N-This chapter is dedicated to my friend Brandy, who sadly died in a house fire this morning; 1.30.09. She was only 17. Only 17. She will never get to graduate. She will never get to go to college. She will never get married, have kids and watch them grow up.

I guess we never really think about what's going to happen to the people around us, until it does. Don't take life and the people around you for granted. You never know when you're going to see their face for the last time.

Please give her friends and family your blessings to help them get through the rough time. Thank you.

Brandy-R.I.P