Chapter 6

Those little details

Thanks for all the reviews and I'm glad you all liked the twist I added! That motivated me to write more! ENJOY!

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It was Monday and everyone was preparing for school that day. No one could even tell that anything had occurred or secrets had been revealed. Derek fought with Casey, Casey fought with Derek, and the whole family watched in amusement. And, like everyday, Derek drove Casey and Anna to school and Edwin, Lizzie, and Marti took the bus.

The drive to school was relatively quiet except for the random yet quiet cuss words uttered by Derek being that he was such an aggressive driver. Once at school, Casey and Anna walked several steps ahead of Derek to make sure he couldn't hear them, while at the same time, he was straining his ears for stray words

"So how long have you known?" asked Casey as they made their way through the doors.

Anna looked to her feet and then straight ahead.

"A few days after the incident, that's why my parents kicked me out. All I know is the virus hasn't taken hold yet, I'm still functioning properly. But my immune system is really weak and…" she paused briefly and looked at Casey, "They aren't entirely sure how long I'll have but all I know is I want to spend it with the people who mean the most to me." She smiled weakly and Casey held back tears as they both made their way to the office to pick up Anna's locker assignment, class schedule and books.

Meanwhile, Derek was already at his locker trying to sort out the random words he had just happened to catch, "how long.." "incident" "parents." That was pretty much all he could make out and he was frustrated he still couldn't put together the pieces. Sam walked up just then, "Hey, just caught Anna and you're right, she is hot! You make a move yet?"

Derek hesitated a moment, "Yeah, butsheturnedmedown." He said quietly.

"What?" asked Sam.

"I said she turned me down, and don't you dare tell anyone or say anything! She said she wants to be 'just friends' or whatever, but there's something else to it I just know it and she's not telling me! But I know Casey knows and of course she sure as hell won't tell me so it's up to me to find out cause no one can turn down Derek Venturi. And sue me if that sounds lame but it's true and this whole problem is making me fall apart!" exclaimed Derek as he slammed his locker shut.

Sam stood wide eyed then gained back his posture, "Wow, didn't know she means so much to you, you must really like her."

Before Derek could react, Anna was approaching with books in both hands and backpack on shoulders. Sam then took the hint that he should leave and walked away.

"Well, guess we're locker buddies." He smirked towards her.

"Yeah I guess we are." She replied. She loved that smirk. "Hey do you mind holding these books while I get my locker open?" Derek obliged but was shocked by the weight of the books.

"Whoa, how much do these weigh 500 pounds are all these required classes?"

She smiled briefly to him before taking the books to put in her locker, "I'm taking on a larger work load so I can get more credit for college. It's always nice to be prepared you know!" she said to him rather factually but with a hint of playfulness in her tone.

Derek smiled warmly before continuing, "And hey, if you need help with anything around here just ask, I sorta run this around here." He adjusted his collar and Anna laughed at his suave attempt which made him smile.

Just then, Casey approached from behind Anna to join the conversation, "Gee Derek that's so nice of you after you were so gracious to me when I first got here!" Casey added sarcastically and turned to Anna, "Come on, we can meet up with Emily and get to class." As Casey turned and started walking away, Anna turned back to Derek, "Thanks Derek, maybe I'll meet up with you later?" Derek nodded in agreement before Anna turned to catch up with Casey and Emily.

As it turned out, Anna had 2 classes with Derek, English and the Drama elective class, which he took upon himself to find a seat right next to her, and lunch together. In both classes they passed notes back and forth with Derek answering her questions about school and making each other laugh occasionally. Yet he still couldn't figure out how she still managed to answer every question in class correctly each time though seeming partially distracted. As their classes progressed, Derek started noting different details about her. How she would always tuck her hair behind her ear when she attempted to answer a question, how she would sometimes drum her fingers on the table nervously and other things. Mostly, how quiet she was during class but always smiling and politely optimistic in class, how she always took it upon herself to help people if they were stuck, especially Derek, who asked a lot, and her ability to make him smile all the time and keep her patience with him to not treat him like some dumb student. He liked that a lot.

It was only one half of the school day, but already, he felt like this was one of the best days. And at school! And during the rest of his classes he constantly felt the rush to want to be with her and making her smile just like she did for him. To Derek, this feeling was indescribable and he couldn't wait for lunch.

What is wrong with me? He thought to himself before the bell rang. He bolted out as fast as lightning to the cafeteria.