A/N: Thanks to sheteego, Balyndaba, DC2012 and shyesplease for the reviews and rainbowsherbert927 and ML143 for the follows!
Chapter Seven: We Act So Shameless
Casey blinked. And then blinked again. "My… what?"
Derek rolled his eyes, exaggeratedly. "Oh come on, Case, you're a bit socially inept, but I know you're not deaf. Besides: it's been a while since I got to be Coach Derek."
"You mean when you worked Lizzie until she hated your guts?" She couldn't help the snarky reply – and she'd been trying so hard to keep herself in line.
He smirked. "You mean when I coached Lizzie into scoring her first goal in hockey and you failed to turn Edwin into a date-worthy candidate? …You're only strengthening my claims here, Spacey: I'm better at coaching, and you're bad at guys."
She pursed her lips, but opted to take a sip of the drink instead of reply.
Derek, looking even more full of himself than he had been, took that as a sign to begin. "Well, first thing's first: stand up."
Casey raised an eyebrow, challengingly.
"I need to evaluate your abilities, Case, and the first thing a guy notices is looks." He was speaking in a voice that almost mocked sincere regret. He shrugged, 'helpless.' "I gotta see how you interpreted the 'dress sexy' request."
She shot him a flat look, jaw clenched. "I am not one of your bimbo fangirls, Derek!" Her voice was lower than the usual shrill protest, almost a growl. "And-"
"Woah, woah, calm down, Princess!" He raised his hands, in the universal signal of 'I'm backing off.' "If you don't want my help getting a date with Wes, I won't keep offering. Just know that you've already cashed in your debt, and anything you try to replace it with has a set value." Before she could ask, he added, "-A decidedly lower value. You understand," the words were spoken with a smirk that might've qualified as wiley.
She bit her tongue, pausing to attempt to collect herself. She let out a last, "Der-ek!" in protest before pouting at her loss. Because she did want his help. He knew guys. And, more importantly, he knew Wesley. And she wanted to know Wesley. Badly.
He waited a beat. "Now then, are you done throwing your little tantrum?"
She glared, but managed a curt nod.
He leaned back, face smeared with that audacious grin – ugh! He was infuriating.
"Whenever you're ready, Princess. I'm waiting."
She imagined glaring at him so hard he started to choke. Or maybe set on fire. Or some other horrible unfortunate accident that she could never be traced to. But she stood, reluctantly, and did a small – halting – spin.
"Sans my jacket, if you please." If she looked up 'smug' in the dictionary, Casey was pretty sure there would be a full collage of pictures of Derek Venturi's face.
She dramatically pulled the jacket from her arms and held it out at arm's length, dropping it unceremoniously and beginning her turn as Derek jerked forward to catch the article of clothing before it hit the ground. As he leaned back – slowly – into the couch, she could almost feel his eyes working their way up her body, from toes, to hips, to… hips… to waist… to… chest…
Uneasy couldn't even begin to describe how she felt when his eyes finally met hers. "Not exactly sexy, but it'll do." His eyes were sneering, but he kept his lips tame.
Casey crossed her arms over her chest, cocking a hip out as she sent him a withering glare.
He cracked a smile, shaking his head. "Casey, Casey, Casey…" he stood, and thoroughly invaded her personal space, his eyes a good five inches above hers, copying her crossed-armed-stance. She could practically taste the cinnamon of his breath. Tilting his forehead down, he extended his neck to enter further into her bubble. His voice was low and patronizing. "You're doing it wrong."
Her brow furrowed in confusion, and then outrage as he grabbed her arms and pulled them down, adjusting them to go under her cleavage, forcing her breasts up and out.
"Now that-" He punctuated his words by flicking the next button of her blouse open, "-is how you get a guy's attention." Seemingly unable to stop himself, he glanced down, "Ooh, red; trying to impress some-?"
"Der-ek!" She slapped his hands away, and tried to step back, needing some kind of distance. …Unfortunately, a distressed Casey often lead to certain lapses in memory or judgment or-
She shrieked in surprise as her knees hit the chair, and she plopped into it, her momentum tipping the chair over as she flailed helplessly. Derek was laughing out loud before she even hit the ground. Which she did, promptly. And hard. She groaned in frustration, limbs splayed around her as she rubbed the back of her head, gingerly.
Her stepbrother interrupted his own – apparently uncontrollable – laughter with an astute observation as his eyebrows raised: "Oh, and it's a matching set-"
"Derek!" He shifted out of the way of her well-aimed kick, looking devilishly delighted as she tugged her borrowed skirt down between her legs. She really didn't need his comments on her… erm… lingerie.
She fumbled around until she managed to get back on her feet. She may have been flustered, but she'd made a commitment. And she intended to stick it out. For Wesley.
Derek was still snickering. Casey glared at him. "Are you done?"
He pursed his lips, but managed to stop his laughter, eyes still alight with what Casey was sure was some sadistic gleam. "Come on, Case, it's not like I haven't seen your underwear before."
She felt the telltale tingle of a blush creeping its way over her (again?! How many times was this happening today? She was so off her game!) and her lips thinned. "Right, 'cause you've always been a perv."
He took another step closer to her, threatening to immediately repeat the last incident, but this time Casey held her ground, stiffening. "Not a perv, Case," he smirked, "Just innocent teenage curiosity."
She snorted. "Like you were ever innocent-" she jutted her own chin into his personal space, "-ha!"
For a second they were both quiet. Casey felt the hair standing on the back of her neck as the tension grew. She was sure any second she would just… strangle him. Yes, that's exactly what she would do. Because he was Derek. He was the worst, and the least attractive and most jerk-ish of anyone she'd ever met. Totally.
"And if you want me to keep protesting your innocence, you better start coaching, D." Her voice was low, and dripping with sarcasm. But it worked. He leaned back, letting out a short huff of breath, and the tension was broken.
But Casey had a feeling it would be back eventually. With them, it always was.
A/N: I'm so glad I decided to write some Dasey. Endless scenes of UST. Lovin' it. XD
After a few different options for this chapter, I went with Charli XCX's 'Famous.' "Come on, let's lose control!" ;D Muwahahaha.
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