Chapter 5: The Anniversary.
"I love you Casey MacDonald"
The words that came from his mouth were a bit nauseating to Casey, but ironically it too made butterflies in her stomach. It wasn't the first time in the bizarre few days that Derek had told her this, but the ambiance was different this time. They were in their supposedly second year anniversary. It was dark outside, they were looking over a 34 stories city view, and there were candles in the middle of their table. He was wearing a tux, and she wore one of her dresses—one of the few that she found on her closet. These all made the 'i-love-you' much more serious that what it sounded the couple of times before.
She puckered her lips and forced herself to reply those three words back at him. She wondered if it sounded sincere. She hoped it did. She wasn't too fond on lying, especially about matters as sensitive as love, but given the situation, the action would seem to be most appropriate. Or maybe she wasn't really lying. After all she had grown to tolerate him. Or was that too an understatement?
She had to say though that they had a great time. Derek knew how to make a girl happy. She woke up to find him all dressed up, holding a cup of milk for her, asking her to drink up and dress up to go out for breakfast. They went to one of her favorite place, and he even had pre-ordered meals for her. Little things that Derek did were nothing too extreme, but it did made the difference between sweet and cheesy. She doesn't particularly like the little things Derek did. Especially when it made the butterflies in her stomach run wild.
They spent the whole day walking in one of the famous outdoor market half an hour away from their place, talking, laughing, telling stories about, well, apparently everything. She was glad she founded the journal. At least now the memory gap went smaller. She had her mind all wrapped up in the question of why this Derek didn't seem out of place at all even when he become so much more... affectionate. And yes, there was also those little things.
Now she noticed all the little things he did.
Although he sometimes mocked her, he never took his eyes off when they were talking. He was simply listening to everything she had to say. When walking with her, he always walked in the side of the pathway nearest to the street. She tried to switch position, and he would subtly change the topic of their conversation and somehow ended up in their original position. She don't like being ordered around, or actions that somehow undermine her and made her seem weak, but feeling protected like this she could tolerate—and yes, this was an understatement, even she fully understood that now.
He would tease her, every now and then, but never in a way that really hurt her feelings. Whenever he was being kind to her, he would tell of some joke, or some statement, to made it seem like he had an ulterior motive to his actions. All those little things just made him more adorable. Now her mind went back to her Derek. He was like this too wasn't he? She ruminated for a while, and nod with a big smile in her face.
Yep. This Derek and her Derek wasn't that much different.
He was holding her hand all the while, telling her that she'd probably wondered off somewhere to shop or look for food. And he just doesn't want her to spend too much money, or gain too much weight. She'd laugh at his animated voice when he was mocking her, and she too playfully tried to look angry and annoyed. She'd smacked him on the shoulder, but still kept her fingers entwined with his.
She wondered if this is why they were together. Did the future Casey felt the same way?
Was she the one who started their relationship?
She wanted to ask him, or elude him to answer, but by the time they went home to change for a dinner reservation he made, it all doesn't matter anymore. She just wanted to enjoy the moment.
By the time they finished the three-course meal, she was happy. She thanked Derek for everything and told him that it was a blast. She gave him a peck on the cheek, a genuine choice she made out of appreciation.
"Casey, dear. That's not what you call a kiss. Haven't the two years we've been together teaches you that?" He replied. She chuckled—and gulped. And cursed under her breath.
He smirked. She knew it too well that he was about to do something. He pulled her into his embrace and carried her to his car.
"Did you just get heavier?"
"De-rek!" he let out a big laugh while she struggled in his arms.
"I'm just kidding Princess." He opened the door of his car using his fingers and lay Casey on the passenger seat. He looked at her straight in the eyes and lowered his body. She closed her eyes, naturally to cover the panic of not being used to what she knew was coming up. He pressed his lips onto hers and it took her a few seconds to realize that his tongue had found its way in her mouth. She was too tired to explain should she shove him off, and running the night wouldn't do her any good either.
So she went with the moment and response back to his kiss. She pulled him closer to her and put her arms around his neck. And heck, it was better than good. She just had to give in to this particular moment. She could feel his hand supporting her body, and his touch on her waist. His lips were strangely soft and moist.
She opened her eyes once their kisses started to level off and found his eyes staring right back at her. His forehead was pressed onto hers.
"That is what you'd call a kiss, Princess."
And yes. She knew. Little things could lead to big changes in life. She just hoped that love wasn't too much of a funny thing because she'd be dammed if it were to come from too crazy of a place.
A/N: here's a very late update guys. I have been trying to wrap my mind on this future Derek and Casey and was re-reading the chapters. I had to watch a couple of the series one more time to decided that my Conservative Casey was not that OOC after all.
I can't say thank you enough to those who pressed the button and spend a few minutes writing me a review. Or those who pressed the favorite/alert story button. You guys rock my world :)