You're probably going to groan at their conversation in front of the Disney Store. But I couldn't resist :) Enjoy!

--Brandi

Disclaimer: Remember when Buttercup got abducted by aliens at the end of The Princess Bride? Remember when Al Gore got elected president? Remember when the Baldwin brothers all won Oscars at the same time? Remember when the U.S. declared war on Greenland? Remember when I got awarded the rights to everything I mention in this chapter, including Life with Derek? Yup, me neither.

Chapter 12: It Blinks, It Tilts, It Rings…

Dennis, Derek, and Casey cut through Central Park to Fifth Avenue, where they took their time heading towards the fancy stores.

Casey could look at the Park now and her heart didn't beat more rapidly, and Derek was calmer too. They kept catching each other's eye and grinning.

Finally Dennis couldn't stand it anymore.

"What is wrong with you two? First you're fighting, then you're okay, then you're fighting again, now you're happy as can be? Am I missing something here?" he asked in confusion.

"No, Dad, that's just how we are," Casey said vaguely, and Derek nodded in agreement.

"But…" Dennis trailed off. "Okay, whatever you say," he sighed in resignation. That's what he got for trying to understand teenagers.

"Don't worry about it, Dennis, we're not fighting now and that's all that matters," Derek told him.

They reached FAO Schwarz again and Derek asked to go into the Apple Store, which was right next door. They shopped there for a little while, then crossed the street to hit Bergdorf Goodman (Casey went over to an enticing handbag display, but quickly backed up when she looked at one of the price tags), Prada (ditto), and Henri Bendel (ditto again).

"Okay, I think that's enough shopping for things I'll never afford," Casey told her dad, and he laughed.

"Let me just get that suit I need at Brooks Brothers," he requested, and they headed there so Dennis could make his purchase.

"I bet you'd look really good in one of these," Casey told Derek, as they waited for Dennis by a rack of relatively inexpensive suits.

"Couldn't pay me enough," he teased her, but he saw she was serious.

"I want to see you in that suit," Casey instructed, pointing to a dark gray number.

Derek rolled his eyes. "Fine. There's nothing better to do in here anyway," he said as he took the suit off the rack and headed into the fitting rooms. Casey followed closely behind, and he eyed her strangely.

"What are you doing?"

"Oh, nothing," she said unconvincingly. "I'll need to tell you how it looks, so I have to come in, right?"

Alone with Casey in a tiny fitting room…with a lockable door? He was so there.

Apparently that had been Casey's idea as well, for as soon as he pulled open one of the dressing room doors she shoved him inside and slammed it shut.

"I think my dad's a couple stalls over, so don't use names," she whispered.

Derek was taken aback. Who is this girl? Certainly not the Casey I know, he thought. Not that he was complaining.

She shoved him against the mirror, the suit forgotten on the floor. He wrapped his arms around her and she placed both palms on his cheeks, looking into his eyes. Then she kissed him so fiercely his head hit the wall with a thud, and they both cringed.

No one seemed to have heard, so they continued their little romantic interlude, until they heard a stall door open.

"I think that's my dad," Casey whispered, pulling away from him; she smoothed out her clothes and tried to fix her hair.

Derek stood there in shock, still plastered to the mirror. "What…was that?" he choked out.

Casey smirked at him, enjoying his confusion. "Didn't think I was capable of something like that? You have a lot to learn, boy," she told him with a wink, and he looked at her with so much admiration he thought he would burst.

Derek was obviously not ready to move yet, so she pulled him up from the wall and began fixing his clothes for him. He seemed to come to his senses then, and Casey stopped, gesturing to the suit and whispering, "I'll go first; you count to sixty and then follow me, and don't forget the suit."

Derek nodded, and Casey left, after rubbing her thumb across his bottom lip lovingly for a second.

He did as she said, and left the dressing room about a minute later.

Casey was admiring the ensemble her dad had picked out when Derek joined them. They agreed to cross the street again and go to Tiffany's. Casey had been dying to go there ever since she had discovered Holly Golightly, and even Derek was sort of excited to see what it was like inside.

So they headed back the direction they had come, and stopped outside the Disney Store.

"Should we go in here for a minute?" Dennis asked, and Casey and Derek peered into the window. Hannah Montana merchandise covered the shelves as far as the eye could see, and there were piles upon piles of High School Musical towels, t-shirts, mugs, and posters.

"Nah," Casey and Derek said together, and then smiled at each other.

"I hate how Disney only promotes certain shows, and half of them aren't even very good," Casey remarked, and Derek nodded his head in agreement.

"I know. They air that Hannah Montana junk like five times a day and leave the good shows with the crappy three o'clock timeslots."

"How would you know?"

"Marti, of course. She lets me watch my shows, so I have to sit through hers sometimes. The one about the kid from the future is okay, but the twins in that hotel? Without Ashley Tisdale in that short little skirt it'd be terrible."

"Der-ek!" Casey cried, but she was smiling.

Dennis just stood there while Derek and Casey debated the Disney Channel. "Uh…you two done?" he finally asked, and they both looked up at him guiltily.

"Sorry, Dad, let's go," Casey said, and Dennis just shook his head. Was he ever going to understand those two?

They finally arrived at Tiffany & Co., and Casey practically ran inside. She took her time examining each jewelry case. Dennis wandered over to the watch section, and Derek just roamed around, admiring the sparkly diamonds.

He was gazing absent-mindedly at a shelf of relatively inexpensive necklaces, when something caught his eye.

It was a silver necklace with a sterling silver butterfly pendant; the butterfly's antennae were diamonds and its wings had been painted a vivid sky blue.

Derek didn't really know what he was doing; the next thing he knew he was at the cashier, pulling out most of the money he'd saved up as emergency cash, and paying for that necklace.

He didn't know what made him do it; maybe it was because he wanted to give Casey something to show her how he felt about her, so she would know he was sincere. Maybe it was because their first kiss had occurred in a room with butterflies all over it, and just seeing that necklace brought him back to the night before. He didn't know. And he was pretty sure he would have to pick up extra hours at Smelly Nelly's for the next month just to pay for it, but it was so worth it.

He managed to hide the necklace bag in his pocket before anyone spotted him, and he joined Casey and her dad looking at engagement rings.

His heart stopped for a second as he gave her a hard look. "Case, what are you doing?"

"Just looking, Derek, just looking," she told him lightly, not realizing how much the sight of an engagement ring and Casey in the same line of vision was affecting him.

If he had had any money left he probably would have bought one for her and proposed on the spot. But he shook those thoughts from his head pretty quickly. They weren't even done high school yet; he could wait a few years. But he knew he wanted to get her one of those beautiful rings one day. Maybe he'd even take her back to the city to propose…

Get a grip, Venturi, he scolded himself. You're turning into a sap.

Casey and Dennis startled Derek out of his daydream with a suggestion to get going.

"It's almost dinnertime. I think we should go back to the apartment to change," Dennis said, and they got a cab outside of Tiffany's.

"What's that?" Casey asked, squeezing in next to Derek and seeing the bag sticking out of his pocket.

"Oh, nothing," he told her mischievously. She pouted, but he just shook his head and replied, "You'll see."

This got Casey wondering what in the world it could be. She guessed she'd have to wait until they were alone to find out.

The cab stopped outside of Dennis's building and the three of them went upstairs to get changed for dinner. Dennis told them to dress nicely; Casey had brought a little black dress for the occasion and Derek wore a borrowed dinner jacket from Dennis, as well as one of his ties.

He stood in the doorway watching her brushing her hair, and she caught him smiling to himself.

"What's up, handsome?" she asked.

Derek simply walked up behind her and opened his fist; the butterfly necklace fell out of his palm and he fastened it around her neck.

"Derek…" Casey breathed, awestruck.

"I found it in Tiffany's. You like it?" Derek didn't know why, but suddenly he was feeling kind of nervous.

"Oh, I love it!" Casey squealed, putting his fears to rest. She brought her finger up to gently trace the outline of the butterfly, and said, "Thank you. But it must have been so expensive."

"Don't worry about that. It was on sale," Derek, waving his hand as if that was the last thing on his mind.

"Well, it's gorgeous."

"Just like you," Derek said, and they both wrinkled their noses at the cheesy line. Cheesy, yet effective, since Casey went over to him and pulled him into a tight hug, kissing him quickly.

They heard Dennis's door open and jumped away from each other. Derek left Casey to finish her hair and he joined Dennis in the living room, where they got in some quality time with the digital cable while waiting for Casey.