A/N: So I was able to get something out today! I've been waiting a while to get this chapter out. It's actually the first one that I wrote for this fic ;)

You might like this one.

I do not own Life with Derek, nor any of the characters affiliated.

Every time Derek looked at the clock during class, it seemed to be running backward. The morning was dragging on so slowly, he never thought lunch would ever come. He had a hard time concentrating on his first class, thinking about what he had done the night before, and how Casey wanted to ignore it. And his second class wasn't any better, because it was Calculus, and Casey sat diagonally from him. How was he supposed to get any work done when she was sitting there perfectly, leaning over her desk with her golden brown hair draping over her shoulders? It was a cruel world, and he knew it.

Finally, the bell rang, and Derek shot up from his desk, grabbing his backpack. He passed by Casey's desk quickly, not acknowledging her before he exited the class. He meant to head straight to the gymnasium to rearrange some stuff in the equipment room to make some more space before Casey joined him (they would need it), but Sam and Ralph caught Derek on either side of him and started dragging him out of the building. He forgot: the three of them went over to Ralph's place on Wednesdays for lunch to play a few rounds of Babe Raider before the long haul of three periods in the afternoon.

When they got near the entrance, Derek ripped himself from their grasp and took a step back. "Uh, sorry guys. I can't come today. I have to do something."

Sam's eyebrows knit together. "On a Wednesday?"

Derek shrugged. "I kind of made a plan with someone… I can't really miss it."

"Who?"

Man, someone's curious today, Derek thought, and gave Sam an unimpressed expression that he hoped told him to stop pushing it. "You're full of questions, aren't you?" Derek berated, ignoring Sam's enquiry. "I made a lunch date, and I don't want to miss it," he reiterated, and began to take some steps backward, but Ralph started complaining.

"Dude, we need you for this level! We need three characters to defeat the Babe -"

Derek stopped him. "I'm sure you'll figure out a way to do it without me." He turned away and jogged down the hall before either of his friends could protest again. He dumped his stuff in his locker quickly, and grabbed the set of keys to the gym from his hook, and began making his way there.

"Derek!" someone called out.

He groaned. Could he make it four feet without someone trying to abduct him? He turned around and met Emily. She was smiling as she approached him.

"If you still want to talk to Casey, she usually eats lunch with me," she offered. Well, duh, he mused silently. She's like your only friend.

He sighed. "You sure about that?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at her. "I think Casey made a lunch date today."

Emily narrowed her eyes. "She did? And didn't tell me?" Her jaw hung open.

Derek chuckled. This "date" was something he was sure Casey wouldn't tell anyone about. "That's what she told me this morning."

"Oh, so you did talk to her."

He nodded.

Emily looked to the side, thinking of something to say. "Well, the offer still stands if you want to eat with me…" she offered timidly.

He smirked and put his hands in his pocket. "I'd love to, but I'm actually meeting someone," he explained, and took a step back.

She nodded. "Oh, okay. I guess I'll see you."

Promptly, Derek nodded and turned around, making his way to the gym, ignoring another shout of his name in the process. He made sure no one was watching him as he entered the vacant gymnasium, taking a deep breath to get his thoughts together.

When Derek entered the gym, he was surprised to find Casey already there, leaning against the equipment room door, arms crossed over her chest. As he strode up, she noticed him and said, "I've been waiting forever."

He rolled his eyes. "The bell just rang like five minutes ago. Chill."

Casey checked her watch. "Seven," she corrected, triumphant.

Her correction annoyed Derek, but her expression was cute, which made up for it. "Whatever," he responded, and then grabbed a set of keys from his back pocket and unlocked the equipment room. He opened the door and let Casey enter first, and proceeded to let her scramble against the wall to find the light switch. When the room was illuminated and Casey stepped further in, he entered, too, and cautiously closed the door behind him. His blood was rushing to his ears, and he felt his heartbeat in his fingertips.

The door made an ominous 'click' as he pulled it tight. He had to take a deep breath to steady himself, and he didn't want to turn around. Something about the entire situation was very provocative - meeting secretively in a secluded spot - and Derek could feel his control slipping away. If either of them made one false move, Derek knew the lunch period would end even more awkward than it began. In fact, he bet it would. He was excited, but also terrified.

"So," Casey started, but Derek stayed facing the door. "I did some… Derek, you okay?" Her voice trailed when she realized Derek was standing very awkwardly at the door, unmoving.

He made contact with his forehead against the door. "Yeah. All good."

She scoffed. "Why won't you turn around?" He could hear her take a step closer to him, dangerously close. Derek's neck tingled when she said, "what? Are you afraid I'll bite?" in a taunting voice.

"No," he responded. But I might, he thought, finishing the sentiment in his head. Slowly, he turned his body until his back was leaning against the door. The room felt smaller than it ever had before, and he didn't think it was because of that big bin of basketballs. It had everything to do with the girl standing before him with her perfect skin and shining eyes and soft looking lips. He quickly tore his eyes from her and searched for a way to make some needed space between them. Without much thought, he leaned down and grabbed a basketball from the bin beside them, tossing it at Casey. She nearly didn't catch it, and she flinched as it hit her arms.

"What was that for?" she chastised, ready to throw it back.

Quickly, he grabbed another basketball and held it in front of him, between their bodies, like Casey. This way he could keep his hands occupied, and there would be at least two feet between them at all times. Derek bit his lip, and he guessed Casey got the message because she clenched her mouth closed and hugged the basketball tight to her stomach.

Clearing her throat, Casey restarted, and brushed a stray hair behind her ear. "So, I did some thinking about what you said about George." She phrased it like a question, unsure of herself. "He's supposed to be upset. That's why we made up this whole idea, right?"

Derek nodded. He didn't want to open his mouth because he didn't think anything intelligent would come out. She really affected him. Usually he could handle himself calmly in any situation, but he was actually at a loss for words.

"I'm sorry if I made it seem like I was really happy that George is angry. I was just kind of excited. We're one step closer to getting our parents back on speaking terms. Because maybe George will take the first step, now… and it kind of needs to happen soon."

That concerned Derek. "What happened?"

"Mom put an offer on that apartment she saw last night," Casey spat, her eyes turning a threatening shade of red. Uh oh, Derek said. Please don't start with the tears…

Derek swallowed a lump in his throat, but it didn't help. "So she's really serious?"

Casey nodded. "Really serious. And this morning she pretended like we didn't even go out together last night. She just asked me how my date went, and then left for work."

That was bad. Very bad. It was like Nora was ignoring the whole situation. Didn't she care that her very-recent step-son was making a move on her daughter? "Okay, this is a whole lot worse than I thought," Derek muttered, and inhaled sharply.

Neither of them said a word for what seemed like an eternity, and Derek didn't want to be the one to suggest what their next move should be. He handled the basketball tentatively in his hands, turning it over and tracing the lines with his fingertips. Casey began doing the same thing, fumbling the ball around between her arms, awkwardly.

"Dererk, about last night," she stammered, grasping the ball tightly again.

Hearing her say his name made his heart flip. "I thought we weren't talking about that," he reminded.

She shrugged. "I thought I could ignore it, but I did a lot of thinking about that question you asked me."

Derek swallowed. Damn lump in his throat wouldn't go away no matter how hard he tried. "The brother thing," he offered, and let his eyes linger on Casey's. She was struggling. "So what were you thinking about it?"

She licked her bottom lip, and Derek bit his own. "I came up with an answer," she admitted. Her eyes stayed low, not meeting his. It took her a moment before she said, "sometimes."

He was puzzled. "Sometimes?" he repeated for clarification. "Feel free to elaborate."

She smiled weakly. "Derek, there are so many different emotions I feel toward you, that it's hard to pinpoint exactly what I feel at one given time," she began. "There are a lot of moments when we're with our family and I feel so close to everyone - including you - and it's like that's how it's always been, and how it always should be." She met his eyes. "And there are other times when you make me so angry, and I never want to see your smug face ever again." Her expression was irritated, like it was one of those times. "And in those moments, I do feel like you're my real brother."

Derek looked away and sighed. Of course she felt that way. He was a fool to think otherwise.

"But then there are these other moments that completely turn me on my head, and I find myself… looking at you differently."

A knot began forming in the pit of his stomach, not because he was nervous, but because he was stunned at what he was hearing.

Casey continued. "You take me by surprise, Derek. Just when I think you're this immature jerk whose only goal in life is to make me miserable, you pull out this really sweet side of you, and it makes me feel different. Because even though you make me angrier than anyone else in the world, you've also consistently been there for me when it truly matters." She smiled at him, her basketball lowering with every word. "Like when you saved my prom night and brought me my dream dress… Ugh, and when you ruined my sweet sixteen. I was so angry at you, but then you made sure you were at the hospital when I woke up and pulled out this video for me that you put effort into, and… it made me happy. And at the party in Toronto when you confronted Truman for me…"

Derek lowered his head and looked up at her. "Case, what are you saying?"

Meeting his gaze, she answered, "I'm saying that sometimes I don't see you as a brother at all."

That comment pretty much did him in, and when neither of them looked away, he couldn't stand it anymore.

With a loud 'thump!', the basketball that he had been holding hit the floor, and he grabbed Casey's arm, pulling her toward him. He kissed her, his lips unmoving. He felt her whole body tense. It felt awkward and stiff, and Derek struggled with his own body as his shoulders began to tighten. He didn't get it. He was usually so good at kissing, but he felt like he was doing it for the very first time.

When he pulled away, Casey's eyes were wide, like she was a deer and he was a semi-truck. She didn't move a muscle as he let go of her arm, and distanced himself as much as he could from her, his back straight against the door. Her eyes didn't stray from his, and that was the worst part. As he studied her face for a reaction, he regretted everything. He regretted making this stupid deal with her, he regretted holding her at the movies, and he regretted letting his dad marry Nora in the first place.

When he had first met Casey, the thought of being with her had never even crossed his mind. She had been so… nerdy - bangs, retainer, the works. He never in a million years would have guessed she would become so gorgeous when her hair grew out and her braces came off. Now, he felt all too different.

He should have looked his father in the eye four years ago and said, "my way or the highway." Now he was stuck in this never-ending loop of avoiding the inevitable, and he just managed to break the cycle, whether Casey liked it or not.

"Would you just do something already?" he shouted at her, exasperated that she hadn't even blinked since he let her go. It was like he broke her. Maybe I did, he puzzled. Maybe she's been an automaton this whole time bent on ruining my reputation and my life in the process.

Absently, or maybe impetuously - Derek couldn't tell which one it was - Casey let her basketball fall to the ground, and it bounced a few times. Derek watched it come to a stop and then roll away. Before Derek could look back up, Casey rushed forward and pressed her lips to his with so much force that Derek bit the inside of his cheek. He didn't care, though. The pain only enhanced the sensation.

She began to pull away, but Derek caught her elbow and gently yanked her back toward him, and he caught her in a tight embrace - one that she mirrored, her arms finding his neck, fingers tangling in his hair, her hips pressing shamelessly against his. Everywhere that her body met his was on fire. She felt good - better than he had ever imagined. Her waist was satisfying in his hands, her stomach pleasingly flat and firm under his thumb, as he began to trace the hem of her shirt.

Her lips tasted sweet, and they moved with ease against his. All of the awkwardness that had dominated their first kiss seemed to melt completely away. It felt right, like his lips were meant for hers… he decided they always would be.

From that moment on, Derek Venturi belonged to Casey McDonald. He didn't care what kind of hoops he would have to jump through - they could all be on fire and it wouldn't have mattered. He was going to do everything in his power to be with Casey, and he didn't care who would disapprove.

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