Chapter 2 Waking Up

Casey sat in the library in a world of her own, feeling like the words of the book she was reading was going over her head. Her mind was just warped, completely overwhelmed. She couldn't sleep a wink the night before, Derek hugged her, twice. For years Derek barely let her touch him, would always evade hugs as if he was scared of her contaminating him, but last night something was different about him. Something must have happened at the party, because he came back to her all sweet and attentive. He didn't insult her once, and those hugs felt intimate, warm, and just…..nice. Too nice if she was being honest. Hugging him was comforting, but at the same time, it caused her to head to spin. His warmth and being enveloped by his closeness sent a humming shock of pleasure go through her entire being, as if her soul took a breath.

When she called him last night, it took all of her courage to ask him to come back for her, she couldn't get any work done when he was so upset with her. She was not expecting to see him so rattled, as if he'd seen a ghost, and while he smiled for the rest of the night and teased her, something was underneath the surface. She knew Derek too well, and for the first time ever she couldn't figure him out.

Casey didn't see him that morning, he was still sleeping when she left. She needed to collect her thoughts, because she didn't know how to act around him now. She was certain he would act like his usual self, she rationalized his behavior to drinking a little. She took her time going back home. It took her a moment to absorb the sight of him, he had all her books out and was working on her project. He looked exhausted, his hair was a little wet from his shower, there was a slight paleness to him as if he was getting sick. This tenderness went over her, and she fanned that feeling away in a flicker and cooled her expression before he looked at her.

Derek smiled a little, but he barely gave her much of a glance. "About time you got back, I have read more about the judicial system than I'd ever like to know. I'm bored out of my mind, no wonder you're so unhappy all the time, I'd be hitting my head against the wall."

"You're so dramatic Derek," she laughed, and put her stuff away. She studied him discreetly as she cut up some veggies.

When she sat down he said without even sparing her a glance, "Casey, I think you should cheat for the first time in your life."

She was taken back, cheat? Her heart drummed wildly as the only thought that went through her mind, was him suggesting she cheat on Jacob, and with who? Probably at the shock on her face he laughed, "I don't hate Jacob that much, he's a little annoying but from that to you thinking I'm suggesting that is hilarious. I'm giving you the rare opportunity to take the day off, and for once let the slacker do your homework. I think I could be a nerd for a day, what do you say?"

Casey stammered, there was some mischief on his expression, but he actually looked genuine. "Are you serious?"

"Yup, and I already called Emily to get you out of here. You left everything so organized, typical you being all perfect. So all I have to do is type stuff up, even I could handle it."

Casey was surprised, he was offering to do her homework, why? Maybe he wanted to honour his promise, but he didn't want to be around her. She could tell he hadn't slept well either. "No Derek, I can't just let you do my homework, I am a perfectionist. Either we do it together, or I can do it by myself."

Derek rolled his eyes a bit, "Casey would it kill you to be a little less of a control freak for once in your life? It's one day, and you need the break. You think I don't notice that you're basically a zombie as of late? If you don't want to hang out with Emily, fine, but you are always here. Go blow off some steam, and let me die by myself."

"Why are you being nice?" she demanded. It was too weird, as if Derek's mind had been warped.

Derek laughed, "You're complaining about me being nice? Just stop questioning, I won't always be this generous. Please," he said as a last resort."Go be a slacker for once in your life."

Casey sighed, as much as she wanted to be stubborn, he was right. She was a zombie as of late, maybe having time to get some pampering would be good for her. She ended up flashing him a smile, she couldn't help it. "Wow, thank you Derek. That's so sweet of you."

He just waved his hand, "Go before I change my mind." And he turned his attention to the assignment. She got up slowly, completely in shock mode. Anytime she came over to peek over his shoulder, he would give her a glare and tell her to stop being so obsessive and controlling. As sweet as it was, it annoyed her that he wanted to get rid of her so badly.

Within an hour, Emily was at her door, "Come on, we're going to get our nails done," she said excitedly. She said hi to Derek, but he wasn't his usual charismatic self, just said a simple hello and turned back to her homework.

Emily ended up taking her for nails, and they had sushi for lunch, "I thought it was funny Derek asked me to take you out, he even sent me money for us to do something, in his words, "wild" because you've been a crank for weeks."

Casey tried her best to look unaffected, why was he always doing nice things for her in secret? "I am a little thrown off, he is at home doing my homework as I speak. He asked me to be a cheater for once in my life, he's up to something Em."

Emily snorted from a laugh as she noticed her frosty expression as if it was completely irrational for her to be upset about it. "Have you considered he's just being nice?"

Casey made herself laugh, something was off with him and she would get to the bottom of it. "Please it's Derek we're talking about, he always has a hidden reason for doing things, how many times in the past did he appear to be doing something good, but ended up being a total selfish jerk?"

Emily giggled as she picked a colour for nails. "True, but this is Derek we're talking about, he is doing your homework. He hates school work, what secret agenda could there be to that?"

She was stomped, "I don't know, but whatever it is I'll figure it out. Derek Venturi isn't ever sweet to me to my face, it's suspicious."

At that, Emily paused and studied her intently. "Why are you living with him again? I'm just so confused, I could make 50 books worth of the number of times you complained about having to live with him. Why oh why would you choose to live with him again?"

Casey quickly rambled for an explanation, "We're family, and it makes me anxious to live with someone I've never met before. I'm used to Derek, there's no real surprise of how things will go. And even if he's annoying 90% of the time, well, I like having a state of homeostasis."

They went on to have a lot of fun, but she couldn't stop thinking about Derek. She looked at her watch several times, anxious to get back. When she finally got through the door, she saw Derek pacing around the apartment, he was talking to someone on the phone in a frantic note. As soon as he saw her, he hung up abruptly.

"Hey," he said cooly, and approached her with a look of annoyance. "Back so soon? You suck at this, you were gone for three hours at most."

"Well I just had to come back, make sure you're not overwhelmed," she said as an excuse. Casey went towards the table, and realized with surprise he got a lot done.

He laughed , "Me, overwhelmed? I'm not you, but go ahead, tear apart everything I did."

Derek did get a lot done and she couldn't find anything to criticize. Instead she just sank on the chair with surprise, "Wow…..this is really good, I'm impressed. I think you're secretly smart."

Derek smiled a little, but it didn't reach his eyes. Something was really off as he just shrugged off her compliment and moved away from her. "Well, glad I could help. Anyways, I'm going to go chill out, I'm tired." And without another word left her and closed the door of his bedroom.

Casey had seen Derek in many different moods: cranky, angry, upset, cheerful, jokester. But there was one word she'd never thought of labeling him with, he was quiet, and that was weird. At times it felt like she was living by herself. He'd greet her in passing, make a joke here and there, but when they were working together he was focused on the task. He didn't try to tease her, or try to get her to take breaks, she might as well have not been in the room. It got to the point where even Jacob coming over didn't phase him, and that was weird because he'd always at least roll his eyes and throw out sarcastic comments, but he barely acknowledged his existence.

One night she heard him shouting, and she got out of bed in a panic and burst in his room. He was turning and tossing, having quite a nightmare as he spoke in frantic sentences. He was groaning as if he was in deep pain, and kept saying : "I didn't mean to….no, don't leave."

She quickly went on the bed and shook him awake. When he woke up, he seized her waist in a tight grip, and pulled her down on him in a frantic haze. She scrambled to move off him, but the feel of his hands on her lower back made her shiver immediately and it halted all movement. Her breathing spiked as his gaze locked on to her. He stared up at her with a frightened expression, and blinked a few times. His breathing was rattled, she could feel the warmth of his body, his heart was racing against her. She tried to come up with words, but for a moment they were in a weird trance. Time slowed down, she was trapped by his closeness. He slowly let go of her, groaning loudly and she bolted off him, apologizing over and over again, but she couldn't look him in the eye.

He sat up and turned on the lamp beside him, "Casey, you scared the crap out of me, what the hell were you doing?" That fright was still in his eyes.

She couldn't help but get a little distracted by his forearms as he crossed his arms, almost in a defensive motion. She blushed deeply. "You were freaking out, I've never know you to sleep talk like that, are you alright?"

Derek just let out a whooshing breath, and after a long pause he just laughed but avoided eye contact. "I'm fine, I don't even remember what I was dreaming about. Still no excuse for coming into my room like that, what if I had been... indecent?" he said with a little smirk, "Believe me, you're lucky I was cold tonight."

Casey just fidgeted nervously, trying to block the thoughts he just threw into her mind, "I uh wasn't thinking, I thought you were actually hurt."

He smiled a little, and pulled the sheet up against him. "Well, I'm clearly fine, now get out."

Casey couldn't help herself, she needed to find out the truth. "Der….I know I've been quite busy, but um clearly there's something bothering you. You know I'd be there for you if you needed me, right?"

Derek smiled at her, and for a moment she thought he would confide in her. "Yeah I know. Believe me, I'm not worried about myself…..I'm worried about," and he looked away, "something else. Just don't sweat it, it was just a dream."

"I'm not talking about the dream, you've been really strange the last couple days, did I do something?" She kept kicking herself, why did she care anyway? She was getting peace and quiet and he wasn't annoying her, this is what she always wanted.

The smile vanished slowly, and suddenly he looked tormented, "I wouldn't know where to begin, but right now I'm cranky, haven't slept in days and I'm not in the mood for your questions. Just let me sleep, alright?"

Casey moved closer, and she wasn't thinking clearly. She reached for his hand, and he reacted as if she'd burned him, but she couldn't move away. "You're stressed, is there anything I could do for you?

He looked caught off guard, and a sudden vibrant tension catapulted between them. He slowly shook his head, and snapped his hand back. He looked tormented. "Just leave, I'm not in the social mood okay? Please just back off," he said gruffly. "Since when do you care so much what I do or feel? Just focus on your precious boyfriend and don't worry about me. If there's something for me to talk about, I will."

She knew Derek wasn't lashing at her because he was being a jerk, he was lashing out because he didn't want to tell her whatever he was going through. The fact she knew something as intimate like that about him startled her. So she just stood up, and simply said, "Well if you change your mind, I'm here."

The next day, after Derek continued that annoying silence all morning, she snapped. She was determined to cheer Derek up. He did something nice for her by helping her homework, maybe she could do something to give back. It was the least she could do. She went to the mall and looked for it. He talked about that video camera for months now, and she noticed he was more and more pulled into media arts. She had saved a lot of money over the years, and well, she just wanted him to be happy. She couldn't understand why she was doing all that just for him, but she liked homeostasis, or so she told herself. Something was wrong with her world when Derek was withdrawn, sullen, and quiet, she needed his laugh, his jokes, his sarcastic comments, anything but that silence. She knew it was over the top, but maybe that hug had a little bit more magic than she'd ever admit. She asked the salesman a million questions, until she got the camera he'd been wishing for. She put it in a box and took her time selecting the perfect wrapping paper.

When she was happy with it, she went back home. Derek was playing video games, and briefly glanced at her, but went back to his game. She couldn't hold back the bubbly excitement. "Hi Derek," she said with a smile, "I have something for you."

He paused the game with surprise, as she approached him. He saw the box in her hand and his gaze locking in on her, clearly surprised. She felt a little drowsy as he smirked, "Oh can't wait to see what kind of prank you've pulled off. You are totally giving me the look you give me when you're about to win."

Casey laughed, and tried to contain the fidgeting to a minimum. "I am about to win, in a different way. It's my way of saying thank you for well, giving up your march break to help me with my stupid assignment."

Derek was clearly taken back as he took the box, "You actually got me something?"

She grinned, "I can be sweet once in a while, just don't get used to it." He just sat there, staring at her with an unamable expression. His eyes became shadowed, as if the reason for his silence went over him like a dark cloud. "Come on Der, open it, please," she didn't recognize her own voice.

He sighed, and slowly opened it, her heart was beating anxiously. As he took the box out, his entire face lit up, looking at it with so much awe it made her heart burst. "You….got me the camera?" His voice was shaky.

Casey nodded, she couldn't say anything to justify it. Suddenly she realized just how big of a gesture it was, how abnormal of a cheer up response it was, but she didn't regret it. He just stared at her, and that smile overwhelmed his face, "I helped you with homework. Homework I deleted to begin with, how is this payback?"

Casey shrugged shyly, felt a rush go through her at seeing him smile like that. "You also have had to live with me and mood swings. I know how much you love being behind a camera, and well I was able to talk the guy down and got an amazing deal. It's no big deal."

Derek looked rattled as he took the camera out of the box, "Case, this is too much…..even with a discounted price this must have cost you thousands."

She nudged him, "Well then don't anger me by rejecting it, you better use it." They looked at each other for a long time, his gaze was so soft. She pushed herself to speak. "And now I'm not expecting anything back, I just think maybe this is more than just a hobby to you and you should explore it more. Look at it as an investment into your future, this isn't a gift. I think you have some talent and you shouldn't just squander it. This is a total business transaction, don't look too much into it." I wouldn't know how to explain myself if you did, I just wanted to make you happy.

Derek laughed, his eyes lit up like a glowing candle. "How do you manage to suck the fun out of everything? Investment, really Case?"

"Really. Come on give it a try," she said it excitedly.

He grinned at her and then looked at the camera with extreme excitement. "Well, thanks for being such a nerd about my future. I feel wrong keeping this Case, but I know you're infuriatingly stubborn and won't let me give it back, will you?"

"Nope, not a chance."

That weird sadness went over his expression again. "Well I won't hold my breath, I'm sure I'll give you a reason sooner or later to demand it back."

She reached for his arm, touching him softly until he looked at her again. "Nope, don't worry I'm sure you'll bug me again any moment now, but I'll never ask for it back."

Derek smiled and for the next hour she watched as he played around with the settings. He was so excited, talked about all the short films he had in mind. Her heart was full, this was what she going for, and she truly didn't expect anything in return. "Do I look like a director or what?" And she watched with wonderment as he turned the camera in her direction. "It only seems fair my first video be of you."

"No," she giggled, "Don't you dare, I'm not camera ready," and she stood up but he followed her, already had the camera in her face.

"Wow," he said softly after a moment of silence. "Man, this camera makes you look good, that means it's high tech if it can make you look that perfect."

She bushed, "Are you saying I'm hideous without the crazy settings?"

He laughed silkily, and heard him clicking to record. "You know what, just for today I won't insult you. Anything you want to say?"

Casey beamed at the camera. "Well, I'd like to have it on record that you're an idiot, annoying, obnoxious, and you take up all the hot water." He chuckled as he zoomed in on her, "Der, what could you possibly be trying to get from that close?"

"Director never shares his secrets," and then he surprised her, "Thanks for the camera Case."

"You're welcome, " she said airly. Even with a camera in the way, she felt breathless. She attempted to smile, "Now turn that off or else."

She could hear him laughing quietly. "And that's Casey McDonald, most of the time she's just annoyed with my very existence, but you just got a rare sighting of her being human which happens once in like every hundred years."

Casey just shot him a mock glare, "De-rek!"

He winked at her over the screen, "And with that iconic line, I think that's a wrap." He stopped the recording and smiled so charmingly. He moved in awkwardly, and pulled her into a side hug. Normally it would have made her day, but after the hug she wanted it again. But she would take his smile and a side hug over the strange way he was acting. "Mind if I take off for a bit? I have some stuff I have to do, and well I'm going to shoot some stuff around campus."

Casey smiled, "Have fun."

Before he left though he looked at her with complete seriousness. "When I come back, we will probably need to talk about something, and Case….I want to give you the heads up that it's big. I know you don't like surprises." He didn't wait for her to answer, just left leaving her with her heart pounding. So his upset was about something he needed to tell her? She tried not think of the worst, but knowing he was worried just screamed that it wasn't going to be good news.

36 Hours Earlier

Derek couldn't sleep, no way, when he was in the throes of a dilemma. He tried to make up excuses in his mind, maybe Misty was all in his mind, but when she started texting him, it made it all real. Misty mentioned the smart thing was to try to get Casey's birth certificate and compare the paperwork. It honestly made sense. He shouldn't be the one to talk to Nora, Casey and Misty deserved that right if it was true. He needed to make sure they were actually twins and it wasn't just all one huge coincidence that he met Casey's doppelganger. He had to come up with a way to get her to leave the apartment. She was always around, and without school to keep her busy, so he needed to mastermind a plan to get her to leave. It was the only way to get a chance to look for her birth certificate.

He spent all night wide awake, until the only idea he had was to ask Emily to take her away, and to convince Casey to let him do her homework without her. Casey had a hard time giving up control, but this was the only chance he had, and with Spring Break, she wasn't going anywhere. He wasn't surprised she put up a fight, but clearly she realized for herself that he was right. Casey was exhausted and needed a break, and he was proud of her for cheating. He waited until she left before he went into her bedroom. He looked around her room for a moment, feeling guilty that he was snooping.

"Sorry Case, I swear I wouldn't ever invade your privacy like this, but I have to do this."

As he looked through her room, he opened boxes, hoping to find her documents. He came across a weird one, to his surprise the box had some things he lost in the past. There were a couple of his old shirts, a guitar pick with a little skull, his favourite one, the lyrics to the D-Rock song they sang together, the Christmas gifts he'd given her all those years, all ridiculous joke gifts and without sentiment, but she kept them. He was thrown off by it, but it made his day. Why would she keep a box like that? He told himself it was probably just random junk she decided to keep, but as much as he tried not to care, it made him happy. Finally, he found what he was looking for. He tried to put everything back exactly how he found it.

He went back to her homework, but man it was dull but he needed to push past it. Misty called him, "So did you find it? We can meet up the day after tomorrow if you want."

He needed the nightmare to end, "Yeah, can't we meet sooner? You're asking me to act cool for two days when all I want is to tell Casey the truth."

"I can't meet sooner, I'm working and have some family stuff to attend to. What's Casey's birthday? Just knowing that fact will be enough to know If there's a reason to meet."

"March 10th… so in two weeks, please tell me yours is different." Please tell me I kissed a lookalike, and not Casey's sister.

He heard a deep sigh, and he knew it, there was no waking up from this. "There's two ways I could play this, I could lie to make both of us feel better and we can just pretend you never met me, or um we accept that Casey is probably my twin. Which one do you want? I honestly don't care either way."

Derek groaned loudly, and paced around frantically. "There's no choice Misty. I can't pretend you don't exist because unfortunately for me I have to see Casey like every day, I can't hide this from her." He jumped as he saw Casey come in through the door. "I uh got to go, but we are meeting, end of story," and he hung up.

He was nervous as hell as he showed Casey the work he did, and when she seemed pleased, he just took off. He was freaking out, for many reasons. He was worried about how she'd take it, the drama this would create in the family. And the one reason that kept tormenting him over everything else was Casey finding out he kissed Misty. She would hate his guts, he knew it, but he couldn't defend himself because he couldn't ever admit that he was kissing her, not Misty. He was oh so screwed, stuck between a wall and a knife.

Derek felt like he was in a weird hell, he'd never been this worried sick before. Any chance he got, he'd look at Casey for a moment when she wasn't paying attention, damn it she had no idea that her life was about to change forever. The knowledge that he had to be the one to break it to her made him sick. At night, he kept getting bombarded with the same dream.

Casey found him kissing Misty. He heard her yelling at him, and he pushed Misty away frantically. He tried apologizing, but Casey told him to drop dead and to never speak to her again. She turned away and ran away, he chased her but she wouldn't let him near her, "Case I didn't mean to kiss her!"

And she shouted, "how could you have confused me with her? I'm nothing like her! You knew deep down it wasn't me, you lived with me for years, how could you?"

Derek reached for her, trying to pull her to him, "I didn't want to believe it was you! You scared me, I was worried about you. And when she kissed me, I just …..couldn't think, but I wasn't kissing her...I was kissing you. Case, please don't leave."

She just snapped away, hellfire in her gaze. "Never talk to me again, I knew you were a jerk but I never thought you'd hurt me this way."

When he woke up with Casey in front of him, he nearly had a heart attack. He felt frantic, the thought of Casey hating him was making him crazy, and next thing he knew she was on top of him. He was instantly confused, aroused, and as he took her in and realized it was real he just wanted her closer. Wanted to kiss her so badly he was shaking, and he was close to pulling her into him madly, but thankfully she got off him before he could snap. Damn it, what was wrong with him?

And then she just had to get him that camera, and now he was even more confused than ever. As he waited for Misty, he just sat there in total agony. Casey got him the camera, the one he had been talking about all year. Why? He just couldn't believe it, he thought for sure it was a joke. She spent her hard earned money on him, and all because he helped her with homework, she was clearly crazy. He was the reason she had to redo her assignment in the first place. She was being too nice, maybe she was coming down with something. If he felt the need to kiss her before, now that feeling was taking control of him. He felt awful, she got him the best gift ever, and he was paying her back by giving her a heart attack, just great. The timing of it sucked because he couldn't fully enjoy it or thank her properly.

Derek couldn't stop thinking about her, he reached for his camera and watched the video with a stupid grin on his face. He managed to catch a bit of their banter. He zoomed in on her face, trying to discern her unique aspects because he refused to confuse her with Misty ever again. Casey had a little scar over her eyebrow, her face screamed of innocence, and complete intelligence. The way she was smiling just kicked him in the chest, detected her shyness at him thanking her, the way her eyes blazed with sweetness. Those moments were so rare. He felt a tightening in his gut, he didn't understand anything but lately it felt like everything about her was new to him, and he found himself rewinding it over and over again. How could she sit there and look so…beautiful? She looked different to him, more irresistible than ever.

"Derek Venturi. Oh my god, you just get hotter every time I see you," Misty's voice broke through, and he nearly dropped his camera.

He looked up at her, and for a moment felt frozen. She was wearing a red halter top, the tightest jeans he'd ever seen and high heels. She looked rich and glamorous as her gaze roved over him with complete bluntness. She had an air of confidence about her, the way she posed with a little pop of her hip. He could only thank god that Casey had never looked or spoken to him that way, or else he would have lost his marbles a long time ago. "Looks like a stunned you, mission accomplished," she teased.

Derek smiled politely as she sat across from him. It was hard to get past the initial shock of seeing her. She wasn't Casey, but physically it was like two water drops side by side, and it was hard not to have some kind of reaction. He knew that reaction wasn't for Misty though, yes she was hot, but all he could think of was Casey.

"Hey Misty," he would not flirt, no way would he give her any indication that he was open to any fooling around. "Can we get to the chase please? I have been cranky as hell trying to keep myself sane waiting for this."

Misty drank her coffee slowly, eyeing him with a little nervousness for a moment. "I know what you mean, I have been off my game ever since I met you. I knew I was always a little different than the rest of my family, but to question if I was ever meant to belong with them just threw me for a loop. I went on a drinking phase."

"Believe me, it's no picnic for me. More so when I live with her."

Misty gasped, as if that was the craziest thing she'd ever heard. "Wait, you live with your step sister? That's…..kind of strange," she said with lightness. "And you tell me you two don't get along? Why would you want to live with someone who drives you crazy?"

Derek shrugged, because as much as she drives me crazy, I like living with her. "Well, we're family, and well yes she's annoying at times but, she's…fun once you get to know her."

Misty's eyes lit up, as if hearing about her maybe-twin brought her intrigue. "So she's a dork? Oh I'm going to have fun with her then."

Derek laughed, he couldn't help it. "Casey is many things, smart, driven, a control freak, intense. Yes she can be a dork at times, but she pulls it off."

Maybe he was smiling too much, because Misty smirked. "Is she aware of your little crush?"

Derek's smile fizzled away and scrambled. "Misty, you're mistaken, that night I drank a bit. Believe me, I would have never kissed Casey soberly, just please let it go. "

She studied him, and he was terrified of her going and telling Casey he was obsessed with her or something. I'm NOT obsessed with her, he tried to scream it in his mind, but even that sounded like a lie. "Fine, only because you were sweet and rescued me from that guy, and well I happen to like you. Should we get this thing going then?"

Derek waited with his heart in his throat as Misty handed him her birth certificate. She moved to where he was sitting, and they both stared at the details. Same birthday, minutes apart, same hospital but registered under different parents. It was mind boggling. "Damn, this is crazy," even with the evidence in front of him, he couldn't believe it.

Misty looked affected, that confidence she walked in with, was nowhere to be found."Look Derek, I didn't tell you this because I was in shock. But my parents, well my adoptive parents passed away in a car accident when I was ten years old, I live with my aunt and her family. I was so thrown off, so I asked my aunt some questions about my birth and I found out that apparently I had severe health issues, almost didn't make it. But I just don't know how ….did Nora leave me behind? Maybe she couldn't handle the thought of having a sick baby."

Derek quickly shook his head abruptly. "That can't be true. Nora is sweet and loving, there's no way she would walk away from her baby, there's gotta be some mistake here."

Misty just sat back, and wiped away emotions from her face with a sardonic smile. "Well, everyone has a past, maybe I'm her dirty little secret."

His mind was spinning as he tried to connect the dots. "Hey, um, I'm sorry. I hate to be the one to be the link to all this. What do you want to do?"

She laughed, "Honestly I want to erase this entire week out of my memory. You know what, I'm quite happy as I am. I'm a little...well crazy, your family would just die of mortification, I'm not the daughter anyone would be proud of. Why shake up everyone else's entire life, when I was clearly meant to be on the outside for a reason?"

He just knew there had to be more to the story, felt it. He needed to convince her to at least meet Casey. "Well, our family is kind of unique, you'd be surprised we are all kind of crazy, but accepting."

Misty leaned forward, "Prove it."

"Nora is fun and cool, not sure how my dad got her. You have a younger sister named Lizzie, she's quite smart and sweet. Your dad is legit the coolest guy I know. While I'm sure Casey would be shocked at first, I know she'd love and accept you because that's just the way she is. Then there's the Venturi side, my dad is laid back and chill, Edwin would go a little nuts, but he's not as awesome as me. Marty is my little sister, she's a firecracker, but loving. We're honestly an odd family, but I love them." He never thought he'd ever feel that way since he was so resistant to them taking over his house, but now he just couldn't remember life without the McDonalds. Couldn't remember life without Casey in it, and that was a rattling thought.

Misty smiled a little, but chewed on her lip in thought. "I don't know why Nora never told us about you, but I have to believe that this is all one big mix up. Just think about it, and when you're ready I'll help you meet Casey."

Misty looked down, "That sounds too chaotic and crazy, but also you make it sound so nice. I don't know. "

Derek was desperate to convince her. "I cannot keep this secret from Casey, I really can't. If she found out that I knew and didn't tell her, well you don't know her but she has quite the temper, and she'd hate me even more than she already does. I'll give you time to digest the bomb, I know it's a lot. And I'm sorry about your parents. Do you have siblings?"

She smiled sadly, "Yes I do, I have an older sister named Poppy, she's a fashion designer. We are close, so it's not like I'm totally alone, and well my aunt and cousins are awesome."

He tried to make light of the situation, "Poppy? Your parents were really cool, they came up with strange names."

Misty laughed, "yup, I miss them a lot." She was looking at him with a smile, and she gave him that saucy look again. "I need to say this, I haven't stopped thinking about you. I'm nothing like Casey, I can tell you that right off the bat. Do you think you'd ever get past the twin shock and consider getting to know me?" Her bluntness was definitely the difference.

Derek just laughed awkwardly. Her personality was different, and maybe he could see her as a different person eventually, but there was no way he could ever have something with her, way too complicated. Not to mention Casey would kick his ass, if she couldn't handle seeing him with random bimbos, he could just imagine the rage knowing he was with her sister, way too weird. Plus, it would put to question everything, people would see it as him trying to be with Casey through a different person, it was disturbing. And he could never have sex with her and not think about Casey, the physical aspect alone was too much for him. If he was honest, Casey came to mind with mostly every girl he went off with, as much as he tried to push it away. It would be insanity to expect having a fling with Misty wouldn't just be him constantly thinking of Casey.

He needed to set her straight, "While I can't blame you for wanting me, I sort of have that effect in general, I just can't. I'm just trying to help here, I'm not hitting on you. We are sort of a family now, it's weird and even I have limits. Nothing can ever happen now that I know you two are sisters, Casey would kill me."

She was definitely charming though and he'd have to be careful. "Why would she kill you though? We didn't grow up together, unless she has a claim on you? Does she like you?"

Derek just sputtered nervously, "No she doesn't have a claim on me, she's just intense about everything. I can't ever be with you, and she can never find out about the kiss. Please, it would freak her out and I live with her, that's just asking for all the rage."

"Baloney," she said with a laugh, "you have a weird dynamic, just accept it."

Derek didn't want to hear what other twisted thoughts were going through her mind, so he just got up, "I think we're done here, if you change your mind you know where to reach me."

Misty immediately stood up and reached for his arm, "Okay, fine you win. How should we do this?"

Derek stared at the camera in his hand and smiled, "I think I have an idea."

Casey's stomach had been in knots all day thinking about Derek's mysterious departure. She ended up reading one of her favourite books, but even that couldn't distract her enough. She kept looking at the door, and hours went by in a slow crawl, until finally Derek came through the door. He looked worn out, and that paleness was back. Everything in her was terrified as he looked at her with an intensely serious expression. "Hey," he moved slowly towards her.

She could smell a little bit of alcohol. "Are you drunk?"

Derek smiled a little and sat beside her, "I wish, but no I just needed to get a bit of a kick so I could get through this. We need to talk."

Casey sat up alertly and held in her breath. He was shaking, she'd never seen him like that before. "Derek, you're scaring me. You haven't be yourself, and I thought maybe after the camera you'd be a little happy, yet you look like you've seen a ghost."

He looked at her with remote softness, "Trust me, it made my day. It's just…..this is big Case. And I'm worried about you."

"About me?" she asked with surprise, he just nodded. Aw, the thought that he could be so worried about her to the point he was shaking was just so out of character sweet, but also petrifying if he had bad news. "That's sweet of you. I know I've been stressed out of my mind, but there's no need for this sympathy pain you've adopted on my behalf."

He let out a little laugh, for a moment his eyes came back alive. "You are funny, no I'm not suddenly an emotional guy just in touch with your emotions like a total dweeb. It's serious."

Casey's pulse was frantic. "I think I know what you're going to say.…...you want to move out don't you?"

He shook his head and nudged her playfully, "You wish, but no that's not it at all."

"Then why have you been so withdrawn?" she looked away, scared to reveal that the thought of him leaving was hurting her.

And to her total surprise he reached for her hand, the warmth of it went through her in spikes. "I need you to to try to stay calm Case. You've been a little crazy lately, I don't want you to get worse. The thought of you even more crazy is a little scary."

She took a deep breath, letting herself lock in on his eyes. It seemed to bring her peace, "Tell me, I'll try to stay as calm as possible."

Derek just took a deep breath, he looked like he was moments away from bursting. "Case, that night when I went to that party, I met someone."

Casey shot him a look, feeling a sick wave go over her. He hadn't been serious about anyone. "As in you have a girlfriend?"

"Case, just let me talk, before I pass out, please," he said desperately.

Casey anxiously squeezed his hand, "Sorry, go on."

He moved a little closer to her, the eye contact was intense. "I met a girl named Misty Dawn Remington. Yes that is her real name," he said with a little laugh. "Um, I was just hanging out when Ralph and Sam came to tell me that you were at the party, and they told me you had gone wild, as in party girl wild. So I went to check it out, not believing for a second that it was you. I remember thinking that my friends were just so stupid."

Casey was confused as to where he was going with this, but the depth of anxiety he was showing was the kicker. "And then I saw her. I thought it was you. She looked just like you and um well she was just doing things you'd never do, so I just freaked out. I thought you were drunk out of your mind, so I took her out of there, trying to um well take her home. The longer I talked to her the more scared I was, her personality was just so different. I thought you were trying to prank me. It wasn't until you called me that I realized she wasn't you….."

Casey felt winded, the words crashed into her like a tsunami. Derek looked at her with sudden protectiveness and felt his hand on her back, rubbing gently. "What are you saying Derek?" she knew what he was about to say, but she couldn't fathom it, there was no way….

His voice cascaded around her, his words seemed to slow down as her mind tried to process. "Casey, you have a long lost twin. I know it's a lot to take in, but it's true. I had to steal your birth certificate to make sure it was real, she shares your birthday, minutes apart and in the same hospital. You have a twin."

Casey looked at him with an inscrutable look, "Derek if this is a prank…"

He put his arm around her, his touch became a life source, she was shaking like a leaf. "No, I swear it isn't. I'm telling you the truth Casey. You gave me that camera, and again I want to say thank you, but it was a good tool for me to use. I showed her the little clip I took of you, and after a lot of persisting, I got a video of her. Do you want to see it?"

Casey felt faint, all she could do was nod. Derek handed it to her and played it. The girl in the video was wearing a red top, sunglasses on the top of her head, and a lot more makeup than she'd ever wear. Her heart rattled as she took her in, it was like looking into a mirror. A mirror of a stranger.

"Hey Casey, I'm Misty. I'm probably the cool twin," she said with an infectious laugh. " I know this is weird, and you should take all the time you want to deal with this. I went through four boxes of cigarettes, four guys, and well a really convincing speech from Derek to get me to the point of wanting to meet you. If you ever want to meet, I'll be around. You better believe I'll get you a little tipsy, because girl, you're going to need to relax a little to unpack whatever the hell happened to us. Also, don't be angry at Derek for keeping it to himself for a couple days, he wanted to make sure it was real, and well he was a total sweety." She heard Derek's voice on the background, "I'm not sweet, you'll give her the wrong impression of me, " and Misty laughed, her eyes sparkled as she looked up at him. Why is she looking at Derek that way? she couldn't help the franticness that overcame her. "Anyways if you're up to meeting let me know."

A shade of white paleness went over her, and she was breathing erratically. "This has got to be a dream, I have a twin….," and she went into an anxiety attack. Derek pulled her close, and she was dimly aware of his hug, but she couldn't process or enjoy it. She was babbling, "That can't be true, no…no….wait…mom?" she spoke in a series of cut off words.

Derek's gentle voice brought her back, "I know it's a lot. I'm sorry I hid it from you, just...I knew how big a deal it would be to you."

Casey moved back, she felt tears coming out, too many emotions without names scattered through her. "I wish you had told me right away, but it makes sense why you were acting so weird, oh my god...how did this happen?"

"Your mom has some explaining to do," he said with a slight chuckle.

She had a million questions, and the only one she could think of asking was: "Is that why you asked me about the belly shots?"

Derek nodded, smiling cautiously as if he wasn't sure how much to reveal. "Yeah, I was mortified, and she was making out with a total jerk, another reason I had to get you- I mean her out of there. And get this, she was drinking beer, that should have been my first clue that it wasn't you. Trust me I'm still confused."

Casey breathed in and out as she tried to figure everything out. Derek saw Misty , thought it was her, and clearly was worried about her. She couldn't be angry at him. It was so sweet to know he went to that length to protect her, even though he didn't know it was Misty. She felt so confused by the emotions, and for some reason she felt jealousy knowing she wasn't even the recipient of his sweet protectiveness. Misty got to see the part of him that she rarely got to see right out of the bat, no wonder she looked at Derek with such clear admiration. The confusion hit deeper as she realized that hug meant nothing. Derek had been upset, he wasn't himself, and she felt sadness overwhelm her. She wished she could stop thinking about it, but that hug changed something in her.

"Take the time Case, but I think you should meet her." As she stared at Derek, it felt like a pressure was going over her, making it difficult to breathe. She had a sister, a twin sister. Casey felt a drowsiness consume her before she fell back onto the couch as faintness consumed her. She closed her eyes, aware of Derek trying to talk her out of it, but the news was too much for her to bear, and she slipped into unconsciousness.

Author's Note: Hi! Hope you enjoyed this chapter :) I had so much fun writing the mutual concern Casey and Derek had for each other throughout this chapter. I'm also enjoying writing Misty's character, but oh she's about to shake everything up. Please let me know if you're enjoying this 3