Hey, still thankin u all for the reviews! You guys are beyond awesome! SO SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG! I'll try to go faster from now on. haha And I still don't own this show, or its characters, or anything like that. Damn, I don't even own a calculator, just ask my math teacher. When it comes to owning stuff, I definitely fall into the category of pathetic. Lol Keep reviewing! Hope u like this next chapter: )

Emily was surprisingly easy to take care of. Derek used the excuse that he usually gave his friends when he hooked up with an ugly girl (he really did secretly put personality before looks).

"Well, you see Emily, I mean, obviously we were both totally hammered."

"Hammered?! Derek, you screwed your step-sister!"

"Okay, so there were some drugs involved… I didn't even realize it was her until you came in."

"Casey doesn't do drugs."

Derek scoffed slightly, trying to be convincing. "Not that she knows of."

"What?! You drugged Casey?!"

"I didn't, but you know Tyson from geometry? Yeahh… I found her just before he was about to… um… take advantage of her." Derek mentally laughed at his own words. "It's actually lucky I was there… But you know, it wasn't long before I was higher than, uh, Mount… Everest, that's it. And from there, it was just… We're just trying to forget about it. Would be good if you could, too."

"Oh, well, I guess…"

"Oh, by the way, I wanted to ask you if you wanted to grab a burger with me tomorrow."

"Huh? Really?"

"Well, yeah, I mean, I like you Emily. And, I was hoping I could trust you, too."

After that, Emily pretty much seemed to forget that she ever walked in on them, especially after Derek suffered through the lunch date with her. What's worse was that he would have to go through many more dates like that in the future if he wanted to keep things the right way. The right way still seemed wrong to him, though.

Now it was late on a Friday night. Derek and Casey were babysitting Lizzie, Edwin, and Marty while their parents were out for the night. It had been almost a week since the party. At first, Derek and Casey had tried to avoid each other, but after realizing that this was pretty much impossible, they decided to just try to get along. Whenever they were together, they would just try to make some comfortable small talk. It was actually working very well.

Casey was really enjoying just being able to talk to him for once, but Derek missed fighting with her. It was those fights that he enjoyed most. He loved her most when she was flustered and full of energy, just wanting to pounce on him and beat the crap out of him. Of course, the beating the crap out of him part was the downside.

They had just put the younger kids to bed, and were now sitting on the couch quietly.

"Hey," Casey began, trying to break the silence. "Remember when we had those really good grapefruits?"

Derek smiled at the randomness of her question. He shifted his position on the couch to look at her. "Uh, yeah… Yeah, those were good weren't they?"

"Yeah, who woulda thought that the best fruit ever would come from Lizzie's soccer team fundraiser? Haha."

"Casey?"

"What?"

"This has all been really… awkward…"

"That's life, Derek. But can't we just forget about all of th-"

Derek stood up. "Damn it, Casey, no! I don't want to forget!"

Casey's breath caught in her throat. Their eyes met. Casey saw anger for a fleeting moment in his eyes, but then a deep sadness. It broke her heart. "Oh. Derek. I…" Casey was at a total loss for words.

"It feels right with you, Case. It- It… It's weird, but…" Rolling his eyes, his blew out a slow breath from the side of his mouth. He ran his fingers through his hair. "God, Casey, don't make me explain this."

"No, I won't. It's okay."

He moved down to kiss her, but she turned away.

"What's wrong?"

"Derek, I can't."

"Can't do what? Case, we've already been all the way, it's not like a kiss is so wrong after that."

"Derek-" Her eyes began to water. She bit her bottom lip. "I can't do this. That was a mistake. I don't know what came over me. I can't do this with you. I know you, Derek. You're not a good person to get involved with… Especially for me. I'm sorry."

She got up and ran upstairs, leaving him standing there, dumbstruck. He tried to call after her. "Ca-". Her name caught in his throat, and his voice cracked. A small whimper escaped his throat. Feeling pathetic, he sat down on the couch. He wanted to throw something, but instead he found himself holding back tears. "Damn it, what the fuck is wrong with me?!" he half yelled, half whispered. He lied back on the couch and put a pillow over his head. He didn't even want to think anymore.