Disclaimer: Wow. The Dasey fans are not happy! Well, I warned ya, and I appreciate you continuing to read the story. I'm not guaranteeing anything, however, so please keep your displeasure to a dull roar.
Chapter Thirty-Five: Derek and Casey Come Clean – Sort Of, Not Really
'No-body knows . . . the trouble I've seen . . . no-body knows my sor-row . . .' Derek sang drunkenly in his head. He was in his room sipping out a bottle of Vodka that he had found in a cabinet in the kitchen. "Fucking Casey and Edwin," he said.
Derek knew this would happen, was scared shitless of it, really. He knew that Edwin wouldn't let this opportunity pass to try to get closer to Casey. Derek wasn't sure how he knew, he just did. There was something about being away from home, in a romantic setting, that made women lose their heads. At least that was what his dad told him on more than one occasion. George had proposed to Abby, Derek's mom, on a trip to Niagara Falls, which isn't exactly an exotic location, but for two college students on a budget, it worked pretty well.
Derek took another swig from the bottle. He also knew this: Being away from home, away from his loving girlfriend; put in more close quarters with the girl who drove him all kinds of crazy – not conducive to his mental health. Derek knew that the feelings he harbored for Casey would rear their ugly head sooner or later. That's why he was trying so hard to get out of going. "Fuck." He whispered. 'This is not good.' He took a big swig and almost choked, Vodka running down his chin and onto his shirt. "Story of my life." He said morosely, staring at the wall.
Everyone else was in bed and Casey was restless. She tossed and turned, trying to get comfortable, but nothing was working. After what happened between her and Edwin today, her mind was having a hard time shutting itself off. Edwin declaring his feelings for her, his gentleness, the look in his eyes before he kissed her . . . Casey's head was spinning and her heart was racing. 'Not helping!' she thought to herself.
Sighing loudly, she sat up and swung her legs off the bed. 'I wonder if Derek is still awake.' Casey wanted to talk to him about what he knew and if he was going to keep it quiet. She looked down at herself to see if she should change before going to confront him. She was wearing a pair of shorts and a pink tank top. Even though it got cool up in the mountains at night, the air inside the cabin was toasty warm. She approached the mirror and looked at herself. Her hair was a bit straggly, so she grabbed a hair tie and put it up in a messy ponytail. She scrubbed her hands over her face and declared herself ready to go.
After a quick trip downstairs to grab a bottle of water, Casey found herself in front of Derek's door. There was light coming from underneath it, so she assumed he was awake. She looked around before lightly knocking.
Derek was in the middle of a rousing rendition of "99 Bottles of Vodka on the Wall" when he heard a knock on his door. 'Shit!' he thought, quickly capping the Vodka and hiding it under his covers. Shooting up off the floor, he glimpsed himself in the mirror. His eyes weren't too red, so he could pass it off as just being tired. He sniffed his breath. He had to do something about the alcohol fumes. "Just a minute!" he called before racing to his knapsack in the closet and rummaging around for . . . there they are! His favorite mints. He popped three of them into his mouth and swished them around. The knock sounded again, and he heard Casey's voice. "Derek? It's me. Can I come in? I want to talk to you."
"Figures," Derek said to himself and proceeded to spit the mints out in the trash. He walked to the door and cracked it. "Yeah?" Casey stood there, shifting from side to side. She looked nervous. They stared at each other in silence until Derek said, "Well, as fascinating as this conversation has been, I'm busy."
He went to shut the door when he heard, "Derek, wait." Her voice flowed over him like a wave and in his drunken mind his knees went weak. 'Snap out of it, Derek. Remember your girlfriend? You know, Sally?'
"Spacey, why do you always wait until I'm ready to go to sleep to spring these convos on me?" he asked, trying to sound annoyed. His eyes ran over her figure, taking in the way the tank top hugged her curves. She wasn't wearing a bra, he noticed, and her legs . . .
Casey's voice snapped him back. "Can I come in?"
Well, they had to get this over with sooner or later. "Alright. But just for a minute." He stood back to let her in before leaning out the door and looking around. Seeing nothing, he ducked back in and shut the door.
Casey took a seat in the chair by the window, while Derek perched himself back on the bed, his hand reaching to clasp the bottle underneath the covers. The sooner she left, the sooner he could continue to drown his sorrows. He would only allow himself this once, because continuing to pine for his stepsister was out of the question. He just couldn't do it. 'Sally, Sally, Sally,' he chanted in his head, while his eyes roamed up Casey's legs, which were crossed, one foot bobbing up and down anxiously. "Oh, the hell with this," he said, grabbing the bottle.
Casey's eyes widened when she saw Derek pull out a bottle of Vodka, open it and take a huge gulp. "What the hell? Derek, where did you get that?"
Derek swallowed, then spoke. "Found it in the kitchen. I guess dad's boss does know how to party."
"Oh my god. You're drunk. Derek, we're on our family vacation, and you're drunk?" Casey stood up and moved toward the bed, towering over him with her hands on her hips. "What is the matter with you?"
Derek looked up at Casey, with the stern look on her face, hands on her hips and her foot tapping like a disapproving parent, and busted up laughing. He almost spilled the contents of the bottle on himself as he was howling with laughter.
"Shhhh. Derek, be quiet! Do you want to alert everyone that you're loaded?" Casey said nervously.
That sobered Derek up a bit, and he quieted down. He continued to giggle, though, as Casey sat down next to him, putting her hand on his shoulder. "Derek, what's wrong that you're in here getting drunk by yourself?" Her tone annoyed him.
"Why do you assume that there's something wrong? Maybe I just felt like getting drunk." He said, the effects of the alcohol hitting him hard. His vision swam and his head spun. "Casey, stop moving, it's making me dizzy." He slurred, leaning forward.
"Give me that." Casey said, ripping the bottle out of his hand. "You've had enough." She capped it and set it aside.
"Aw, are you my mom? Cuz I already have one." Derek said, looking up at Casey. His eyes changed and he blurted out, "Have a drink with me, Case. Let's hang out." He leaned over Casey and grabbed the liquor, opening it and offering it to her.
Casey eyed the bottle for a moment before shrugging and taking it from him. She sniffed it before taking a drink, her face screwing up at the taste. This made Derek laugh again and he fell back on the bed.
"Shut up, Derek!" Casey said, smiling. "Just because I'm not a lush like you . . ."
Derek sat up. "Yeah, whatever, lightweight." He nudged her with his shoulder.
Casey took another drink and got serious. "I want to talk to you about what you know."
Eyeing her, Derek said, "I know a lot of things, Case. Just what are you referring to?" He held his hand out for her to give him the Vodka. She did and he took a swig, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.
Casey rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean, Derek. Edwin told me that you know."
Derek looked away for a moment, thinking about how he wanted the conversation to go. "He thinks he's in love with you." He said softly, still not looking at Casey.
She snagged back the bottle from him and drank, the taste not bothering her now. "And what do you think?"
Derek's head snapped back to Casey. "What do I think about what? About his feelings? If I believe him or not? What are you asking?"
Casey was taken aback by Derek's forcefulness. "Well, yeah. Do you think he's really in love with me?" she paused, then added, "Ed also told me that you don't think him and I getting together is a good idea. I guess I can figure out why."
Derek panicked. 'What does she mean by that?' He took a deep breath to compose himself and spoke. "I don't know if he's really in love with you or not. But he's only 15, Casey. He's never even had a serious girlfriend, and now he thinks he's in love with his stepsister?" Casey wondered at the similar nature of this conversation to the one she had earlier with Edwin. He continued, "As for my feelings on it, well, the way I see it, you and Edwin becoming a couple? Nothing but trouble." He stopped and studied Casey's face before grabbing the bottle and taking a drink. "Imagine it, Case. Imagine the looks on George and Nora's faces when you sit down and tell them that you and Edwin are together." Just saying it made Derek's expression go sour. He wasn't finished. "And what about school, huh? The looks from people in the halls as you and Ed walk hand-in-hand to class." His chest hurt now, and he closed his eyes. Opening them again, he fixed them on her. "Is it worth it? Is it worth destroying everything and everyone around you because you want to be "wild" and your hormones are out of control? Think about that, Case. Please think about it before you do something that you can't undo." He was pleading now, but he didn't care.
Casey stared slack-jawed at Derek. "What is it with you Venturi men and blurting out their feelings today?" She shook her head. "I'm so confused . . ."
Derek shot forward, leaning into Casey's space. "Does Edwin know?" His breath hit her and she instinctively moved back.
"Does he know what?" She asked nervously.
Derek smiled ruefully. His voice dropped. "Does he know about us?" The way he said it made Casey shiver.
"There is no 'us', Derek. You made that perfectly clear to me a few times." Casey shot back snottily. She was starting to feel a buzz from the Vodka.
Taking a drink and then offering the bottle to Casey, he snorted. "So, he doesn't know about the night when you asked me to get you off. Or the night when you asked me to take your virginity. He's totally clueless, isn't he?" Derek tapped his chin with his finger. "Hmmmm, I wonder how he would feel if he knew that?"
Casey was scared, and starting to feel a bit angry. "Derek, you're not going to tell him, are you? Because I thought we decided that was behind us, remember?" she said, leaning into Derek. Her eyes widened in revelation. "This isn't about that night at the party when I fake-threatened to tell mom and George, is it? Cuz I was just angry and annoyed, I would never . . ." She didn't get to finish.
"Zip it, Case. I'm not trying to blackmail you. I just want you to think about everything that's going to come up if you decide to get involved with Edwin."
"Come up?" Casey cocked her head quizzically. "And just what is going to come up?" She laughed when she realized how that came out.
Derek stared at her hard. He raised his hand and played with her hair that was falling out of its restraints. Not quite looking at her face, he said, "Are you going to tell Ed that you and I are 'intimately' acquainted?" he breathed. 'Warning! Danger!' sounded in his head but he ignored it.
Casey closed her eyes at his implication. She was at a loss, and hell no, she wasn't planning on telling Edwin anything. In her mind – and Derek's insistence – it meant nothing and was in the past. "I'm not going to tell Edwin anything about what happened in the past. It would only hurt him, and I don't want to do that."
Derek moved back, hanging his head. "Yeah, it would." He said softly. Standing suddenly, his body swayed and he almost lost his balance. "Well, I think that's enough chatting for tonight." He reached down and grabbed Casey's hand, dragging her up and toward the door. "We're done."
He opened the door and waved for Casey to get out. She didn't move, however, standing there staring at him with an unnerving look on her face. He was losing his patience, and in his fuzzy state, his self-control. "For God's sake, Casey, can't you for once just listen to me and get out?" He realized the volume of his voice and toned it down. "Please?" he pleaded.
Casey blanched. "OK, Derek, if that's what you want." She paused, then added, "But I want you to promise me something, OK?" She said earnestly.
Derek sighed. 'Here she goes again, always wanting something from me.' "What?"
"Well, there are multiple things . . ." Casey started, making Derek groan. She ignored him and continued. "First, I want you to keep what happened between us to yourself. It does no one any good to know about it. Second, I want us to go back to how we were before anything happened. I want to be your friend. You know, hang out, go to movies, stuff like that." Derek stared at her, saying nothing. "And third, I want your blessing." Casey stopped and glanced at Derek for his reaction. He looked confused. She sighed and clarified. "I want your blessing to move forward with your brother." She said softly, looking down at her feet.
Derek threw his head back and looked at the ceiling. The sudden movement made his head spin, and he grabbed the door jamb to steady himself. At his movement, Casey snapped her head up and looked at him, waiting for an answer. He sighed and spoke. "Case, I can't give you something that I don't agree with. I just can't."
Casey felt the sting of tears reach her eyes. She didn't know why it was so important to her to have Derek on her side, but it was. "Derek, please. I need to do this, otherwise I'll always wonder . . . I'll always wonder if I made a mistake by not acting on it." She reached her hand out and grabbed his. She lowered her voice and leaned forward slightly. "Derek, your opinion means a lot to me, and if you tell anyone I said that I'll deny it." She added, hoping to make him smile.
Looking into her eyes, Derek was lost. He knew it. He reached forward and snagged Casey around the waist, pulling her to him. Burying his face in her neck, he took a deep breath, savoring the smell of her skin in his nose. 'Strawberries and the outdoors', he thought idly as his arms encircled her tightly.
Stunned, Casey didn't know what to do except hug him back. Just as quickly, Derek moved back but didn't relinquish his hold on her. Looking at her seriously, he said, "Do you really care about Edwin, Case? You're not going to hurt him, are you? Because that would crush him, and I don't think I would be able to take seeing that."
Casey thought for a moment. She didn't know what the future held, but she did know that at this point in time, right now, she had no intention of hurting Edwin. She wanted to make him happy like he made her happy. She knew he deserved that. "I'm not planning on hurting anybody, Derek." She said levelly to him.
Derek looked at her for a moment before letting her go. "Well, all I've got to say is 'go for it', then. I hope you and Edwin are very happy together." He tried to say it without sounding sarcastic. He didn't quite succeed.
Casey sighed at his statement and tone of voice. "Well, if that's as good as I'm gonna get, then I'm going to have to accept that." She moved forward and hugged him again. "Thank you, Derek."
Moving back, she turned and walked into her room, smiling at him briefly before shutting the door.
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