AN: Okay, so here's our flashback chapter.
Takes place 7 years ago. Derek and Casey are leaving for College the next day. So it's Derek and Casey's going away party.
FFN is weird, so now I'm going to be using -- as my separator.. yup. Okay, I'm done.
Disclaimer: I don't own nuffin.
"Ugh. Why in the world do I have to share a party with you?! You steal all the attention anyway so it's basically your party!" she screeched at Derek.
"Stop crying, Princess." he laughed at her, "You should be glad your name was even considered being on the invitations" Casey screamed in frustration and Derek smirked at her.
She marched over to her mom, "Mom! Why couldn't you just give me and Derek separate parties?!"
"I'm sorry sweetie, but we couldn't afford two separate parties. This Rec Center was expensive and you and Derek are both leaving tomorrow so it made sense to just join them together."
Casey relaxed. She felt terrible for taking her anger out on her mom, "You're right. It's just Derek is so annoying and he loves to rub it in my face that most of the people are coming for him."
"Well..." Nora said reluctantly.
Casey realized what her mom was going to say. She sighed, "Yeah. I know it's true."
"Casey, cheer up." Nora offered her a smile, "We'll make the most of it."
"Fine." she put on a smile, "I guess I'll just help set up."
"Thanks, Case."
Casey went over to the tables and started to spread the table clothes over them. She looked over at Derek who was just sitting there text messaging on his phone. It made her angry that everyone was doing the work and he just sat there expecting everyone to do it for him. He wasn't helping at all and she knew it was on purpose. She had enough so she huffed right over to him.
"Why don't you get up off your ass and actually do something!"
He was annoyed with her presence, "Why don't you stop yelling at me and go back to the corner you came from."
"You must think it's fantastic to let everyone do everything for you, huh?"
"That's the dream, Casey." he sighed looking back down at his phone.
"So whose going to clean up after you when you go to University?" he didn't answer and she laughed bitterly at him, "That's right. No one will. You're pathetic, Derek." she muttered.
He stood up in front of her. Face to face he let it all out, "I'm pathetic? Really, Casey? I'm not the one who has been crying all morning about zero friends coming to their party. Or whining about how I'm gonna be stealing the show because all the people coming tonight are going to be here to wish me a goodbye, not you. You should have been used to this by now, Casey. You aren't cool. You never were! You only had mild popularity because you dated Max, but that went to shit. So look at you now. Taking all your anger out on me because you can't have what I have and you're going off to college still a loser. A loser, Casey. Get it through your head and learn to accept it. Now shoo." he sat back down in his chair and stared back at his cell phone.
She stood there in shock. Speechless. She nodded slowly to herself, trying to accept it. Deep down she knew everything he just said was true but it hurt to hear it. Especially from Derek. She reached up and wiped the lone tear that fell. Derek took a quick glance at her but didn't let her know. She softly walked away and finished up the tables she was covering. Thoughts ran through her mind.
"Hey, Casey. Could you give me a hand with the banner. I can't really get it up all the way without it being straight." Lizzie laughed. Casey didn't answer as she was just staring into space. Lizzie waved a hand in front of Casey's face, "Casey?"
Casey snapped out of it, "Yeah, Liz? Sorry, I was spacing out."
"I was asking if you could help me hang the banner?"
"Oh sure sure." They walked over near the wall where the banner was to be hung. Lizzie laid out the banner that read "We're gonna miss you Derek and Casey" on it. Casey read over it. "Hold on one sec, Liz." Casey made her way over to the banner and ripped off the "and Casey" part.
"Casey! What are you doing?!" Liz stared at her crazy.
"It's Derek's party, Liz. I'm just making it better for him. Come on let's hang it."
Liz shook her head in disbelief and got on the ladder to help hang it. "Mom and George are going to have a fit, Casey."
Casey shrugged, "Oh well." she said blankly.
After they hung it, Derek walked over and saw it. He looked at both of them, "Nice work, Ladies. That's what it should really say." he looked at Casey, who didn't battle back in any sense. It seemed as though she just gave up. "Right, Casey?" still nothing.
Casey ignored him and went back to her table set up. Lizzie sighed, "I guess I gotta throw this out now."
Derek looked at her, "What?"
"This." Lizzie held up the ripped off part of the sign. She was about to ball it up.
"Wait!" Lizzie looked at him. "I'll throw it out."
She raised an eyebrow, "Okay?" she handed it to him, "Here."
"Thanks." he walked away.
--
The party was as expected. Literally a party celebrating Derek's goodbye. Only a third of the people there knew who Casey was, it was sad. She sat down the whole time, observing the room full of people. She kept telling herself how pathetic she really was. She would give the occasional nod to those who actually did acknowledged her. She wished Emily was there to comfort her, but she had left for Vancouver already. So that really did leave zero friends for Casey.
"Hey, Casey. You okay?" Edwin and Lizzie came over.
She smiled at them, "Yeah. I'm fine. You guys having fun?"
"Sure, Derek's friends are hot!" Edwin stared at the crowd. "But not the guys! I mean the girls are hot." he looked at them.
"We kinda figured that Edwin." Lizzie looked over at Casey, "It would be more fun if you were having fun, Casey."
"I'm having fun!" Casey assured her. Lizzie gave her a chided look, "Okay fine. I'm miserable here, Liz."
"Why?" Edwin and Lizzie said in unison.
"Because I'm pathetic." she shrugged sadly.
"You're not pathetic, Casey." Edwin told her.
"Do you need a hug?" Lizzie asked smiling.
Casey laughed, "Sure."
Lizzie gave her one, "Edwin get over here!"
"Fine." Edwin joined their mini hug and quickly pulled away, "Are you feeling better now?"
"A lot better. Thanks guys."
"No problem." they said in unison once more.
"I'm gonna go take the car and head out of here. Can you guys ride with Mom and George?"
"Yeah, sure. Where you heading off to?"
"I'm gonna go clear my head a bit. Spend my last few remaining hours here in peace." she pity laughed.
"So that means some place far from Derek." Edwin joked.
"Yes, sir." she got up and hugged them. "Tell Mom and George I'll be home later, alright?"
"Will do."
Casey grabbed her keys and her bag and headed to the car. She started the engine and was about to back up until a person stood behind her car. She pressed the break immediately. She squinted in her mirror and realized it was Derek. "Ugh." He went over to the passenger side and tried to open it, but it was locked. He knocked on the window. Casey lowered it down, "What the hell do you want?" she asked annoyed.
"Leaving our party so soon?" he mocked sadly
She rolled her eyes, "Don't you mean your party?"
He sighed, "Come on, Casey. Are you really still mad about that?"
"I'm fine. Now could you please leave me alone so I could get out of here?"
"Where ya going?" he grinned.
"Why do you care?"
"I'm curious as to why you're leaving our party so early. That is all." he said politely to annoy her. "Can't I be concerned with the well-being of my favorite step-sister?" she snorted. He laughed, "So where?"
She groaned out frustrated, "I'm going to the pond, okay? Clear my head a bit. Then I gotta finish the last of my packing. I told you, now can you go?!"
"Pond, huh?" he nodded to himself then looked at her, "I want to come."
She shook her head, "You don't want to come and you aren't coming." she demanded.
"Yes I do and I am." he reached his hand in the window, unlocked it from the inside, and opened the door. He sat in the passenger seat and looked at Casey, "See. I'm ready to go."
She couldn't believe him, "Derek you got guests in there and our parents know I'm leaving, not you. Get out!"
"No, Casey. I want to clear my head too. Let's go!" he commanded.
"You are so difficult, you know that?" she restarted the engine and started to back up.
"That's what you tell me." he grinned.
--
After a silent ride there, they finally made it. Casey made her way out of the car and went straight to the edge of the pond and sat silent. Derek watched her; he slowly got out of the car holding his handy camera. He quietly approached her and found a great angle and snapped his image. He quickly put his camera away and sat next to her.
They sat in front of the pond for a while. Casey was quiet as she tried to absorb the peace. Derek on the other hand was getting a bit bored without Casey talking.
"So..."
She turned to look at him. "What?"
"So this is where you go to be quiet..." he raised his eyebrows; nodding.
"Yeah. It's peaceful here." she stared back ahead, "If you're bored, we could just go." she shrugged.
"No. No, you wanted to come here and I'm not going to take it away from you."
She snorted. "Right. I'm slowly waiting for you to do something." she heard him mumble a 'huh', "I'm waiting for you to throw me in the water or steal the keys and leave me here or something."
"Hey!" she looked at him, "Although Casey, those are terrific ideas..." he laughed, "I'm not that mean."
She scoffed, "Not that mean..." she mocked him.
"See you are still mad about earlier! I knew it."
"What did you think I would forget about it in 2 hours?" she snapped at him.
He shrugged, "Maybe."
She shook her head, "It's sad because everything you said to me was true, Derek." her voice was low.
He sighed, "Casey, I didn't mean any of it."
"You did. You always know how to push my buttons. Congratulations because you really did it. And for good this time. I am pathetic. I know that now. I'm just glad I'm leaving tomorrow and I'm able to get away from here. Maybe I can get back some of my dignity when I go back to Toronto."
He frowned. He didn't know she was hurting this bad, "I didn't know you were really that pissed about what I said."
"It's because you don't care about how other people feel, Derek. You care about you and if anyone pisses you off, you'll give it to them straight. It doesn't matter if you hurt them a million times worse, as long as you feel okay again."
He nodded to himself. She slowly got up and wiped the dirt off her butt. He looked up, "Where are you going?"
"The peace is gone from this place." she said sadly looking over the pond. "Let's get going. I'll drop you back at the party. They are probably looking for you."
"Yeah."
She gave herself a pity laugh, "I didn't even get to dance at my own goodbye party." she shrugged, "Oh well." He got up and wiped himself too. He held his hand out for her to grab it, "What?"
"Just take my hand." he chided.
She took it and they went back to the car. "You know, Derek, I could have walked to the car myself. I didn't need you to hold my hand."
He glared at her, "Open it up really quick." She did and he went searching for something.
"What are you looking for?"
"Do you have any decent CD's in here?" he muttered.
"Yeah, I do. I have my Coconut Records CD in there. It's in the glove compartment."
"Oh you mean my Coconut Records CD?" he looked at her. She smiled innocently; shrugging. He put it in the CD player. He turned it to track 7 and turned it extra loud so they both could hear it. Then he closed the door and stood next to her again. "Let's dance." he offered; smiling.
She arched her eyebrows; smiling too, "Really?"
"I wouldn't be asking if I didn't mean it. Now come here." She awkwardly wrapped her arms around his neck and he pulled her tighter around the waist. "Relax, Casey. It's just a dance."
"Right." she assured herself. They slowly swayed to the gentle guitar strums of the song.
Slowly we're dancing underneath the pale moonlight
Slowly we're talking underneath the pale moonlight
She was my fancy underneath the pale moonlight
She rested her head on his shoulder, "This is probably my favorite song on the whole CD."
"Uh," he chuckled. "It's probably my third favorite." he nodded, "Yeah third." he repeated. They both laughed, "I'm really loving it now though." he said a bit quietly.
"I could totally do without the last minute of the song. Yuck." she muttered.
He laughed, "I know! I really hate that part."
Sweetly she's singing a three part harmony
Softly she's speaking something good to me
She was my fancy underneath the pale moonlight
"It's funny because I really wanted to dance to this song at my wedding..." she laughed lightly.
He tensed, "Why is that funny?"
"Because..."
"Because what?"
Uh huh
Underneath the pale moonlight
And now it's up to you to say
What is gonna come my way
I will put my heart in your hands
"Because I can't see it being anymore perfect than the way it's being used now." she quietly admitted.
And now it's up to you to say
What is gonna come my way
I will put my heart in your hands
"Derek?"
"Yeah?"
"You know, you picked the right time to be wonderful." they both quietly laughed. Silence ensued.
Slowly we're dancing underneath the pale moonlight
Slowly we're walking underneath the pale moonlight
She was my fancy underneath the pale moonlight
He held her tighter, "So you won't use this song at your wedding?"
"No." she confirmed.
Uh huh
Underneath the pale moon
Underneath the pale moon
Underneath the pale moonlight
He pulled back to take a good look at her, "Good."
He instantly leaned forward and kissed her. She was shocked but quickly closed her eyes as she kissed him back. It was just right.
She pulled back, looked at him and smiled, "I still hate you, Derek."
He laughed, "Don't worry, Casey. I still hate you too." He kissed her again and pulled back. "Let's get out of here." She nodded.
They got into the car and she started the engine. She looked over at him, "Do you still want me to drop you off at the party?"
He grinned, "Do you want to drop me off at the party?"
She mirrored his grin and shook her head, "Nope."
--
They hurried home. Thank goodness everyone was still stuck at their party. Derek grabbed her hand and led her to his room.
After a bunch of heated kisses, they ended up sleeping together. It was just right.
Casey rested her head on his chest, "Derek?"
"Yup?"
"I don't love you," she said seriously. "Even after this."
He shared the seriousness for a second, "I don't love you either, Casey. Far from it." she nodded slowly.
She leaned up and gave him a kiss, then brushed it with her thumb, "I better get the rest of my stuff packed."
"I better start packing."
She looked around the room and realized his remaining clothes were still in place. "Jeez, Derek. You better get to work!"
"Yeah, yeah. Get out of here" he joked.
She got up and grabbed her things, "Good luck" she shut the door.
She dropped on her bed and smiled like an idiot. Derek did the same.
--
"Bye, Casey." he hugged her.
"Bye, Derek." she smiled.
His flight was a bit earlier than hers. He said his goodbyes to the rest of the family and left Casey for last.
He whispered in her ear, "I'm sorry about all the things I said yesterday."
"It's forgotten, Derek." she assured him with a smile.
He pulled back and nodded, "Good. I'll miss you, friend."
She laughed, "Me too, friend." she confirmed.
He left.
Song was Slowly by Coconut Records. It's kind of cute if you listen to it during that part of the reading. I did hah.
But as Derek and Casey both said, the last minute totally sucks lol. It really just wasn't necessary. Oh well. That's the end of my mini rant.
So there it is..