A/N: First . . . I would like to put all of your worries to rest. Reading your reviews (thanks BTW) I saw a pattern. So here's the answer . . . I am a firm believer in happy endings and this story will definitely have a happy ending.

Second . . . I know this chapter is not that good. I had it in my mind, but the end didn't come out exactly as I planned it. It says what needed to be said, but I think it could have been written better. For that I'm sorry. It's the end of the semester and I have a lot of work to do. But the chapter needed to be written, so here it is. If I had more time to work on it, it may have been better, but I wanted to get another chapter out to you guys as fast as possible (to put all the worries to rest).

Third . . . I know things seem repetitive but I am trying to show that Derek and Casey feel the same way, about a lot of things. So Derek will experience it, and then Casey will experience the same thing. They are so much alike and intertwined with the other, that their feelings and thoughts are the same. Sorry if it is too repetitive.

Last . . . I know that the story is kind of long. When I began I only anticipated on about 8-9 chapters. But here we are, up to 14. I think there will probably be about another 3 after this one, but if an idea comes my way, more may be written.

I really appreciate all the phenomenal reviews. And I really hope you all truly like this story.

Enjoy and review.

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Chapter 14: Waiting

Morning came too soon for both Derek and Casey. They didn't want this day to come. They wanted to live in the past, thinking that their feelings would be able to one day come out. Neither wanted a new day to come, a day that held so much heart break, a day that would be followed by more. Both decided that they hated the sun.

The kiss from the night before still lingered on their lips. Casey still felt the warmth against her, Derek's lips on her own, and his arms wrapped around her waist. Derek still felt the hands around his neck, Casey's tongue in his mouth, and the feel of her heart beating against his chest. Both saw the look in the other's eyes. They wanted to relive the night before over and over again, but they knew it could never happen again.

Derek became irrationally angry, he wanted to put a hole in his wall. He wanted to put several holes in the wall that separated them. His heart was begging him to not care about the rest of the world, about his family. No matter how much his heart begged him, Derek let his brain win. His mind would not let him destroy his family, no matter how much his heart would ache.

Casey wished she wouldn't cry, she willed the tears away. The tears fell though, traveling the same path from the night before. They broke her down to a tearful mess on her floor. Leaning against the wall between them, she told herself that she needed to be strong. Although her heart yearned for Derek, her mind told her she couldn't break apart her family. She had to deal with the heart break.

Wiping the tears from her cheeks, Casey got up from the floor and walked towards her door. At the same time, Derek decided he had to be away from that wall, needing to have some distance from it. They left their rooms at the same time, not noticing the other because their minds were fixated on their own thoughts.

Bam, once again. Neither could believe this was happening again. I cannot do this anymore, they both thought. It was getting to be too much. Derek couldn't help but never want to let Casey go, as Casey never wanted to leave his embrace. She loved that he kept coming to her rescue, but she wished that he would just let her fall. And just touching Casey made Derek go insane, wanting to be there to hold her up forever, but knowing that he had to let her fall sooner or later.

When Casey regained her balance, neither made eye contact, afraid of what their actions would be. Derek could not look into the eyes that haunted his dreams every night and Casey would not allow herself to be swept into his gaze one more time.

After a mumbled thanks, both made their way down the stairs. When they entered the kitchen, they realized it was a lot later than either of them had thought. They saw their parent's sitting at the kitchen table, eating fresh pizza.

"Mom, why are you eating pizza for breakfast?" Casey thought her mom may have lost it, because she would never eat anything other than breakfast food for breakfast.

"Honey, it's almost 12:30. We are already having lunch."

George noticed that both Derek and Casey were still standing in the doorway, looking towards the clock. "Do you guys want to sit down and eat?"

Derek and Casey both moved towards the table. Neither seemed to notice that they were sitting next to each other, until they both reached for the same slice of pizza. Almost immediately, Derek got up and headed towards the cabinet. He grabbed a glass and began to pour himself a cup of water. Derek would normally ask to see if Casey wanted something to drink, but he couldn't talk to her, he could barely look in her direction. If he could, he would have gone up the stairs to shower, but he wasn't quite ready to wash her off of him. I'm not ready to let her go yet.

Casey wasn't sure what was wrong with Derek. He usually wasn't so jumpy. She was about to get up and walk away when she saw his hand almost touch her own, but he beat her to it. She knew why she couldn't touch him, but she wasn't sure why he seemed to not want to touch her. She pushed the thoughts away though, thinking that he was just really thirsty. Slowly eating her piece of pizza, she realized that she was getting thirsty herself. But she saw Derek was leaning on the counter by the fridge, so she decided she could wait.

A few moments later, they thought that it was rather quiet in the house. Casey was about to say something, but again, Derek beat her to it. "Where are the kids? It's too quiet in the house for them to be here."

As George began to explain that the kids were all out for the day, no one noticed the small smile that crept on Nora's face as she was thinking of the conversation the family had the Thursday before.

Nora had just hung up the phone with Casey, learning that her daughter and step-son would be returning home for the first time to attend their neighbor's party that Saturday night. She heard the hope in her daughter's voice when they discussed the dinner that Derek prepared for Casey. Nora had hoped something would come from it, but nothing did.

Entering the kitchen, George noticed that Nora looked a little upset. "What's wrong Nora, something happen with Derek and Casey?" He was only asking out of concern, afraid one of them was hurt.

"No," she said quickly. "But I think that's the problem. They have been there for almost 3 weeks now and nothing."

George knew, as well as Nora, that if it were not for them getting married that their children would be together and happy. They had initially agreed on doing nothing. After 3 years they decided to gently push the two together, allowing them to live together on their own. But now, he was pretty sure they would never act on their feelings without a big shove.

"What can we do? I know it's killing them slowly, but like we said, it's not like we can make them confess their feelings." George wanted his eldest son to be happy, but he didn't know how to help.

Nora sat quiet for a few minutes. She wanted her children to be as happy as she was, and she knew that no one would ever make Casey as happy as Derek could, and vice versa.

Suddenly, Nora thought she had the perfect plan. She told George to go upstairs and get Edwin, Lizzie and Marti for a family meeting.

The family gathered in the dining room. Nora and George sat next to each other on one sit on the table, as Marti, Lizzie and Edwin sat on the other side, in that order.

Nora began, looking at the three children in front of her. "I want to discuss Derek and Casey."

"Is this about them loving each other?" Marti asked innocently.

Lizzie gently smacked Marti's arm, "What did we tell you about that?"

"You said I wasn't allowed to tell Derek and Casey, but you never said anything about Dad and Nora."

"Marti . . ." Edwin said, leaning over Lizzie as he glared at his younger sister. Marti let her shoulders drop and looked down into her lap, she knew she did something wrong.

Both Nora and George's eyes were wide, surprised that their children had any idea about this situation. George finally found his voice again, "Wait . . . you guys know? For how long?"

Edwin cocked an eyebrow at his father, "How long have you known dad?"

Nora almost chocked, she hadn't realized how much her family observed. She thought that only she and George had any idea about the feelings brewing between the two oldest children. "Lizzie, you knew as well."

"Mom, come on. Do you really think that Edwin would find out on his own?"

"Hey, we found out together." Edwin said, elbowing Lizzie for making him seem stupid.

Nora was a little intrigued, "how exactly did you too find out?"

"Well, we do live in the same house as them. Anyone could see it. I'm surprised they still don't see it in each other." Edwin nodded in agreement with Lizzie's statement.

The table grew silent. No one really understood why Derek and Casey didn't see how the other felt. It was so obvious to anyone around them, anyone who saw them. But they both were clueless to the way the other felt.

The silence was broken by Marti. "It's because they are afraid they will hurt us," she stated like it was known to the world.

Everyone turned to look at the youngest member of the family. "What do you mean?" Nora asked, seeing as everyone else was too dazed to say anything.

"They probably think that if they love each other we could no longer be a family. I think that they are scared of what we would think." After a few moments of no one responding, Marti continued. "I want them to love each other. They smile more when they are together. I would be happy for them."

No one could seem to say anything. They were all shocked to hear that a 7 year old understood more than any of them ever seemed to. It was so apparent now. Derek and Casey would never make a move because of fear that the family wouldn't approve, because they were supposed to be step-siblings.

They were all broken from their thoughts when Marti asked a question. "Don't you want to be happy for them too?"

"Yes," escaped all of their lips at the same time.

"I have a plan." Nora began, noticing that she had everyone's attention. "They are coming home Saturday to go to the Davis' party. I think that it would be best if Sunday it was only me and George home. I will try to convince them to watch a movie with us, one that I know will bring out some of their feelings." Nora stopped. She looked over at the faces of her family. She saw all of them nod. "And if that doesn't work, then George and I will try and coax them into talking to each other."

All agreed and plans were finalized. They three children would leave early Sunday morning, before Derek and Casey would wake up. They would spend time at their friend's houses, leaving their parents to try and break the shell that surrounded their older siblings' hearts.

Casey moved from the table, going up stairs to get dressed, which in turn allowed Derek to finally sit and eat. Casey made her way into her room, looking through her duffel. She would normally have taken a shower, but she wasn't ready. She didn't want to wash Derek off yet, to finally say her last goodbye. As Casey made her way down the stairs, Derek was climbing them, going to his room to get dressed. He walked past her, looking in the other direction, as did she.

When Derek finally made his way back downstairs, he noticed his father, Nora and Casey sitting on the couch in the living room. He went to sit in his chair, noticing that Casey was on the opposite end of the couch, far away from him. He was grateful that she was not near him, he couldn't deal with being able to breathe in her scent.

Nora finally broke the silence, "Do you guys want to watch a movie before you have to leave to go back home?"

Home, they both thought. It was their home, where they would see each other everyday for the next 4 years. They needed to deal with each other and work together to survive all throughout college. Both decided that they would look into transferring soon, so that they wouldn't have to deal with as much heart ache each day, seeing the one they loved but not being able to do anything about it.

After agreeing, Nora placed a DVD into the player. "Love Actually" began playing and both Casey and Derek inwardly groaned. Of course it had to be a movie about love.

Throughout the movie Nora and George made comments, talking about how amazing it felt to be in love and letting your feelings off your chest. They made a statement about every couple in the movie, analyzing every emotion shown. Nora and George discussed all the different types of love that were displayed in the movie, from friendship to romance.

When the movie finally ended, Derek and Casey had still said nothing. It killed them a little to watch the movie, to feel the love in the air coming from their parents. They couldn't break the love they shared, they couldn't rain on their parade.

Casey was about to speak to Derek for the first time since last night, besides the small thanks she uttered to him this morning. She wanted to go back to their apartment. She was slowly suffocating with all of the talk of love, it was slowly squeezing her heart. But before she could open her mouth to speak a word, her mother cut her off.

"I think the best story line of the movie was between the married couple and the best friend." Nora said, repeating the beginning of the conversation she had practiced with her husband the night before.

"I know, I love that situation. That couple, I think it was Peter and Juliet, seemed like the perfect match." At the mention of the name Juliet, both Derek and Casey winced. That name would haunt them forever. Neither would be able to read the play or watch the movie again without thinking of that night. They knew that whenever the song would play, they were going to change the station.

Nora continued with the planned conversation, "It is very sad though. The best friend is so in love with Juliet, but it is a love that can never be." Nora saw the look on faces of Derek and Casey. Their expressions were so distraught and solemn, like they would never smile again. "What was the friend's name again?"

It was George's turn to continue the conversation, but before he could answer the question, both Derek and Casey answered softly.

"Mark," quietly exited both of their lips. Hearing the other's voice made their heads shoot up, but they refused to look in the other's direction. They knew they couldn't avoid each other forever, but they would try to for as long as possible.

It wasn't a surprise to Derek and Casey that they, themselves, knew the name of the person who had the forbidden love. Each had watched the movie before, several times actually, but always alone. They both felt that the Juliet/Mark relationship was the best in the entire movie. It kind of mirrored their own love. It was unattainable and not approved by the world. Mark could never have a relationship with Juliet, because she was the wife of his best friend. Derek and Casey always felt for the Mark character. He put his heart out on the line, even though he would never have the love he felt returned. Although the other was not married, Derek and Casey thought that the forbidden love was the same as what they had. But neither had the courage to admit their love to the other, neither wanted to admit their feelings and then be able to move on. They always held on to the hope that something may one day happen between them.

But, as of last night, all hope was gone.

George and Nora were shocked that they knew the name of the person. Neither thought that their children had seen the movie or paid enough attention to catch the person's name.

"Yeah . . . so Mark. I really feel bad for him. He is in love with the one person he shouldn't be in love with." George paused, noticing the expressions on Derek and Casey's faces. "But I think that it was nice that he was able to let it out, so that one day he can finally move on. I just wish things worked out differently for him."

"I know what you mean. I would never want to see someone I care about go through so much pain. No matter who it is our children love, I will support them." As Nora said this, she looked over at Casey, who was staring at her mother with disbelief.

"Yeah, so will. I would never hold them back." George said looking over at Derek, who had the same look on his face as Casey had.

Derek couldn't take it anymore. He thought his head was about to explode and his heart was going to break through his chest. He couldn't believe his father seemed to be so understanding. It was like he was speaking about his love for Casey, as if he was giving him permission.

"Derek, do you think we can get going? I really don't want to sit through hours of traffic." Hearing Casey's voice, Derek was brought out of his thoughts.

He just nodded at Casey and followed her up the stairs. When they both entered their respective rooms, they grabbed their things and placed them into their duffels. When Casey was almost done packing, her eyes fell on the wall that was between them. She had the feeling that her mom knew about her secret feelings towards Derek, and it sounded to her that she was giving permission to voice them.

Casey walked over to her closet, just as Derek was walking over to his own. They both found the items they were looking for, the items that they swore the other would never see. But, maybe tonight I'll show it. I'll show everything and deal with the consequences later.

When Derek turned around to put the drawings into his bag, he saw his father in his doorway. George quickly shut the door and leaned against it, blocking Derek's only escape. There was something that needed to be said and George was going to make sure Derek was going to hear it, knowing that Casey would be hearing the same thing from Nora at the same time.

"You know that the whole family loves you right?" Both parents said. Waiting for a nod from Derek and Casey, they continued. "We want you to be happy. And no matter who makes you happy, we will support you."

Derek and Casey didn't say a thing. They didn't want to put their family through the turmoil of supporting something that was wrong.

As if reading the minds of their children, Nora and George went on with their speeches. "And it's not wrong. We cannot help who we love. I'm sorry if my actions have deterred your own. I fell in love and I wouldn't take that back for anything. I just wish you the same happiness that I found. But no matter what happens, I want you to know that I will not be disappointed in you."

Hearing those words, both Derek and Casey felt the tears in their eyes. It was what they waited so long to hear, but never thought they would. Casey went to her mother and wrapped her into a hug, whispering "I need to get going, Derek's been waiting."

After hearing the same thing from Derek, George and Nora both said, "Longer than you know honey, longer than you know."