Hey everyone. Sorry about the delay! I caught what I think was the stomach flu so I've been bed ridden for the past couple of days, I'm still weak and have midterms next week so my updates may still be a bit slow. I'm also working on a D/C one-shot which I'll publish within the next couple weeks. :D
Well, on with the show! ;]
P.S. This chapter is littered with lyrics from the song, so I just decided to use that title. :P
I Should've Been After You
As Derek walked home from the convenience store, he wondered about the laws and justice system within Canada. How many years does one get if you pulverize your best friend? What about your live-in step-sister, does that count as domestic violence?
Try this one on for size: your keener step-sister who you live with and are currently dating, oh and said woman is Casey McDonald. In this case, Derek could most likely plead insanity and get away with it.
Casey was driving him crazy with her planning and strategizing when it came to their relationship. They were still keeping it under wraps after an entire month of being together, but he wasn't so sure if he liked the way things were going. It was classic Casey, the way she over exaggerated plans and the way he just had to lie back and accept it because he didn't have the heart to tell Casey she was a lunatic. Who was he kidding, he called her a lunatic at least once a day but she was too stubborn to listen.
It only served to highlight the stark differences between them; she was so ridiculously uptight to the point where Derek felt like she was giving him a mental wedgie half the time. He was so laid back and nonchalant that it constantly grated on Casey's nerves and she felt the need to constantly bother him to be more proactive. He thought that once he could work his sexy Venturi moves on her, she would calm down a little bit.
Yeah, okay.
She continued to set him up on dates with her friends, some of which she couldn't really classify as friends because they were only around her to get to him. He wondered idly if there were supernatural forces at work which made any dates he had with her friends really terrible, and he couldn't bring himself to date any girls she hadn't set up for him. The one thing he truly didn't have the heart to tell her was that he did want an exclusive relationship but he was treading on thin ice.
But he was never afraid of ice, and he wasn't going to start now.
"Casey, I have a proposition." He said after walking in the door. His cheeks were flushed from the still cold and brisk early March air. He threw down four bags of chips along with a 2 litre bottle of soda on the kitchen counter and Casey's mouth twisted in disgust.
"How can you possibly digest that much fat and cholesterol and sugar?" she asked, turning back to her novel and pretending to read with rapt attention. It was hard for her to focus on anything when Derek was in the room. Whenever he was near her, she itched with anticipation for their next fight, or something else that would make even her mother blush.
"I think your real question is, how can I eat all of this and still be so dangerously sexy." He smirked, and plopped down on the couch next to her, laying his head on her lap. She looked at his long eyelashes dancing over his defined cheek bones and dark brown irises.
"Sure," Casey rolled her eyes, "What's with you and propositions these days?" she shoved him off her lap, crossing her legs and went back to her pretend reading.
He sat up and propped his legs on the coffee table earning a glare from her, and he smiled in defiance. "Look, Case, this whole set-up business is so not working out. It's like the equivalent of living with Teddy." He shuddered, reliving memories he had sworn to himself never happened.
"You mean that weird kid Edwin is friends with?" Casey grinned softly, shutting her book finally.
"And I thought I taught Ed better." Derek shook his head in what seemed like genuine shame but Casey just laughed.
"Well what's going to happen if you suddenly stop dating? I said before I couldn't handle you bringing sluts back to the apartment." Derek mock gasped.
"Casey, watch your language! And did I ever bring girls back here at the beginning of the year?"
Casey grew quiet. "Okay, you have a point. But people are going to wonder why you're not 'macking' on girls," she made air quotes, "And they just might grow suspicious." She said opening up her book again, she didn't want to discuss the issue anymore.
Derek sighed heavily. "I don't get it Casey, no matter what I think, say or do, it makes no difference to you. You continue to set me up... wait a minute, I just figured it out. Oh man, I am so blind." Derek shot up out of his seat, his movements frantic. Casey looked at him as if he needed a straight-jacket.
"Um, did you figure out how to aim properly in the bathroom?" Casey asked casually, her tone bitter. Derek smirked.
"No, something even better than that." Casey didn't like the look at his face as he said that. It was an expression he had whenever he knew he had the upper hand and he would use it to his full advantage.
"Lay it on me, Venturi." She tried to play it off like she didn't care, but her heart was beginning to race.
"The real reason why you set me up on all those stupid and ridiculous dates with your robotic, stinky and masculine girlfriends." He said, making Casey look up at him in an instant. He held his hands behind his back and began to pace in front of her. Her blue eyes wandered in nervousness, and she swallowed. It was as if Derek had morphed into their younger siblings and was currently questioning her on some case they wanted to solve.
"I told you why, you couldn't keep a girlfriend to save your life and I wanted you to find someone." She said, trying to remember what she had said to him that night in the car. He hadn't let her drive the Prince since then, saying that she was ruining his life.
"Yeah, sure Casey. That seems like a nice sisterly thing to do, but you and I both know that you are nowhere near my sister." He leaned down and placed his hands on either side of her, his face inches from hers. His gaze borrowed into hers, and Casey blushed slightly at his proximity. Whenever he was up close like this, she noticed how handsome he was and it made her a little too flustered.
"Just because I'm not, doesn't mean I can't do a nice thing for a friend." She tried, her smile wavering.
"Hmm..." he said annoyingly, watching her every movement. Casey raised an eyebrow defiantly.
"Well?"
"It's just classic Casey psychology." He began, his tone victorious.
"Did Emily teach you that term? I am going to kill her." Casey said with gritted teeth.
"Emily was no help at all, even when I asked her," Casey bristled. "But now, it all makes sense. You couldn't handle how much you wanted me and you didn't want to lose me, so instead you came up with the stupid idea to set me up. Am I getting warm yet?" he asked. Casey narrowed her eyes and stood up, breaking away from his hold.
"You're off your gasket."
"That doesn't even make sense."
"Jerk."
"Priss."
"Look, this isn't getting us anywhere." Casey huffed, walking over to the kitchen and pouring herself a glass of water. Derek was red hot and as usual, he could unravel her down to her most basic of thoughts.
"But maybe it wasn't such a stupid idea, Case." He said, his voice suddenly gentle. She looked at him then, his sweatpants hanging off his hips, his slightly loose shirt hugging his torso. He looked suddenly uncomfortable standing there by the couch, looking down at the floor. He shuffled his feet, and scratched at the back of neck.
"Who says I even had that idea?" she asked, trying until the very end to deny it.
"Give it up, princess." Casey grew quiet once again.
"Every time I went on a date with one of your friends, they never worked out for one reason or another. But the real surprise was that I found myself comparing every one of them to you." Derek said, his voice shaky. He hated talking about these things, but he felt he had to if he wanted to take the next step.
Casey's breath hitched and she regarded Derek with surprise. Surely he hadn't been interested in her for that long.
"What are you saying exactly?" she said, losing all of the defensiveness in her posture and the edge in her voice.
"I've always known that even though you're a keener princess who has a stick the size of Canada up her ass, that you're a pretty cool chick who I eventually accepted into the Derek Venturi fold." He said, masking his kind words with typical insults and self-importance, making her click her tongue in annoyance.
"I didn't want to think that I was having ... feelings for you, and convinced myself it was because we were getting closer. But going out with all your friends made me realize that I should've been after you from a long time ago, before we got along this well." Derek sat down on the couch then, breathing heavily as if he ran a marathon. Casey knew he was exaggerating with that, knowing he really didn't want to say what he just said. She was shocked at his admission, knowing exactly how he felt.
"Why do you think I did what I did, D? I don't want to lose you as my friend, and I'd rather have you in my life than not have you at all." Casey walked back to the couch, sitting next to him and placing her hand on his knee. He gathered her close, and kissed her hair, cradling her head beneath his chin on his chest.
"So what made you agree to go out with me?" he asked, brushing her thumb on her hand. Casey sighed, somewhat exasperated at the situation.
"Being with you for six years made me realize that taking chances can be a good thing sometimes, and knowing that you felt something for me made me want to jump feet first for once." Casey said, her feelings for the man underneath her welling up and bursting inside her chest. Derek let out a shuddered breath, closing his eyes, feeling the same crazy fluttering and tightening in his chest. He had never felt like this before for anyone, and he was beginning to accept that maybe this was the start of something new in his life.
He didn't want to be hiding his relationship anymore, at least not at Queen's. Their parents were a hurdle they would have to overcome later on, something he wasn't ready to face. But he couldn't stand going out with other people, or seeing her dating other guys once in a while just to save face. It was unheard of when all he wanted to do was be with her, and let everyone know that she was his and no one else's.
"Then take another chance, Case." He urged her, smoothing his hand down her side and pulling her closer to him.
"Oh, is this your proposition number two?" she asked, a small smile on her face.
"Yeah, forget all this shady business. I think you're prepped enough to go public with me anyhow." He grinned, but it faltered when he felt Casey stiffen for a second.
"So, you want to be exclusive then?" she said bluntly, looking at him under her eyelashes that drove him crazy.
"I'm really sure about this, I've thought about it a lot and there's just no one that can compare. Your little matchmaking frenzy proved as much." He leaned back on the couch, taking in a deep breath to ease the feeling in his chest. Having her this close to him was intense at times.
"Yeah but Derek... are you ready for something like that? You haven't really proved to me at all that you can stay with one girl for a long time." Casey wriggled out of his grasp, feeling chilly from the lack of warmth. Derek frowned.
"Casey, I've been with you for a month, and I've only been out with girls you set me up with. So what's your excuse?" he felt his mood shifting to bitterness, and he couldn't look at her for a moment.
"Don't you get it?! I can't go out with you, one because my friends really want to go out with you and if they find out I've been dating you, they'll hate me. Two, once everyone else finds out, some may not be as accepting because we're stepsiblings. And most importantly, our parents would kill us if they ever found out. Is that good enough for you?" Casey felt her voice wavering, and Derek regarded her with a dirty look.
"Don't even start crying, McDonald. As much as you're pissing me off right now with your silly ideas for why we can't go out in public or even be exclusive, I should be completely honest with you." He said before taking a breath, and waiting until she calmed down. "I've pretty much liked you from the start, before all of this stupid matchmaking shit, before we moved in here, hell, before we even got to Queen's."
Casey laughed bitterly. "Yeah, right."
"This isn't a prank, although it would've made a pretty good one." He defended, slumping slightly in his seat.
"So what does that mean then?"
"It means to hell with everything else, I'm tired of waiting and I want you. You should be able to comprehend that, right?" Derek said hotly, running his hand through his messy hair.
"Derek..."
"Don't 'Derek' me. Look babe, I get why you're scared. You don't want to lose me on top of everything else should everyone freak out about us, but you won't lose me." He said, reaching out to her, but she got up before he could lay a hand on her.
"Yeah, because you have a great track record of talking to girls after you break up." She retorted with a sarcastic lilt.
Derek laughed. "Are you sure you're not fishing for compliments? You're not like the other girls I've dated, in fact you're kind of like the opposite of most of them."
"Whatever, all I know is, I can't trust that I won't lose you and I can't trust that you won't cheat on me. So, I guess we've come to a standstill." Casey put her hands on her hips, looking down at him with a condescending stare.
Derek stood up and crossed his arms.
"You're gonna have to choose then, is it me or them?"
Casey huffed. "Quit being childish Derek."
"No, I'm dead serious. We can just be friends and you can be little miss perfect Casey." Derek sneered.
"But I—" she exclaimed, but he cut her off.
"Really want me? Oh, I know. How about we make a bet? How long can you go without being able to touch me, have sleepovers in my room, see me in all my glory, and all the other awesome shizz you can do when you're mine." Derek proposed, watching for her reaction. As expected, she didn't like it.
"You must be insane if you think I'm going to participate in something that stupid and so... so... Derek-like!" she screeched in typical Casey fashion.
"How creative, making up adjectives that describe me perfectly." He said sarcastically.
"Ugh! Why did I think I wanted to go out with a gross, idiotic and unhygienic guy like you? I'm fine being just friends, it's really not worth the trouble to go through with more." She said, and Derek was surprised to find that it had actually hurt but he didn't let it show.
"Fine! You'll be regretting this, McDonald. Don't come crawling back when you realized you messed up." Derek said turning, and beginning to walk away to his room.
"Oh, I most certainly didn't mess anything up Venturi. Don't be so cocky." Casey laughed in that haughty way she did whenever she was nervous about something but wanted to cover it up. He had her down to a science really.
"I know you feel it Casey, because you're the only one who understands us. So continue sitting there being all nervous and uncertain. You'll be doing my laundry when you figure out you can't stay away from this." He gestured to himself with a sly smirk, and shut his door.
Casey stared at his door and fell onto the couch, surprised and overwhelmed. After an entire month of going out it was suddenly over, and she didn't like it. She was ridiculously happy being with him in ways she never had been before, and he made her feel like she was on top of everything and she felt she could do anything. But now that they were over, it hurt and she realized maybe it was safer this way. They were still in each other's lives, and the world hadn't ended.
It was most certainly, positively, and absolutely better this way.
So why did it feel like she was about to throw up at the thought of doing Derek's laundry?
tbc.
