*I don't own any of the characters in this story. So, uh, if this gets too Dasey for you, I'm sorry. I promise that in the end Noel wins. Promise!
Chapter Eight: Get Out!
For the next two weeks, Derek managed to keep Casey semi-happy and Noel completely out of the loop. It was taking its toll on him, of course. Derek knew that no matter how long he waited, Casey would eventually find out. Like if Noel randomly decided that he was sick of waiting and told Casey on his own. Or if Casey decided she should go visit Noel's mother. And Derek knew that when all of that happened, he just be her stupid step-brother again.
He and Casey were watching a movie on the couch. Lizzie, Edwin, Marti, George, and Nora had all gone out for ice cream. Casey had said she didn't feel like going out and no one questioned her. All though Derek got a few confused looks when he sat down next to Casey on the couch and told her to pick a movie. Casey picked some random chick flick that Derek actually got into, but she couldn't know about that. She also couldn't know about the random glances at her face while they watched the movie. Or about the thoughts…Derek shook his head again. Focus, Derek. While Casey seemed to get better, Derek was getting worse and worse. He felt more and more guilty about lying to her and then there was his sudden attraction. Okay, so it had been there for awhile but he was having trouble focusing now. Casey leaned up against him, her head resting on his shoulder. Derek didn't shrug her away like he would normally. She needed him and he knew that.
"Derek?" Casey turned towards him leaning against the arm of the couch.
Derek raised his eyebrows, staring into her eyes. He had thought she'd fallen asleep. "Yea?"
She bit her lip nervously, "Why have you been so nice to me?"
Derek grinned. "Because you're my sister. I'm turning into a good brother, remember?" He cringed inwardly at his answer.
Casey rolled her eyes. Derek suddenly got brave, "Do you want to know the real reason?" Casey looked back up. Stupid! Derek thought. What are you going to do now? Tell her your plan with Noel or worse tell her about….No! Don't even think about it, Derek! Before Derek could fight with himself anymore, he grabbed Casey's chin and lowered his lips to hers in a quick kiss. Casey pulled back, her eyes wide. She didn't understand what had just happened and she wasn't sure she wanted to. Derek gulped. With one last look into Casey's eyes, Derek bolted upstairs away from Casey. Casey leaned back into the couch, her hand pressed up against her lips.
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Emily didn't know what had possessed her to go to Noel's house. She had been thinking about how hard Casey was taking all this and then she thought about how badly his mom would be taking it. And then next thing she knew, she was outside of his house. Emily rung the doorbell and turned nervously to wait. Noel rubbed his eyes; this sleeping all day thing was getting old. He opened the door, not paying attention to who was standing outside.
"Noel?!?!" Emily gasped. But he was….what…he was supposed to be…huh?
Noel was suddenly very, very awake. "Uh, Emily. I can explain this."
Emily's face clouded over with anger. "How could you? Do you realize how bad Casey's been taking all this? Do you realize Everything you've done to her?"
Noel backed up. "I know. I have Derek keeping me informed."
"Derek knows?!?"
Noel cringed. "Look, Emily, I'm sorry. I didn't think…"
Emily rolled her eyes, "Of course you didn't think! Did Derek inform you that Casey's in love with you? Or how he's spent every single moment with her since your "death"?"
Noel walked over to the nearest chair and sat down. "She loves me?" Emily nodded.
Noel sighed. Why hadn't Derek told him?
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Casey was laying in her bed that night thinking about Derek's kiss when Derek peeked into her room. She hadn't seen him since the kiss. He looked as if he was falling apart. His hair was completely messed up. His eyes were distant. She sat up and Derek sat down beside her. "Casey, before you say anything. There's something I need to tell you." Casey leaned back, her eyes wide.
Derek continued, "Noel isn't dead. He came to me and told me that he wanted you to realize that you loved him. So he pretended to die and I was supposed to keep him informed. When I found out that you loved him, I realized that I couldn't lose you. I realized that I loved you. So I didn't tell him. I figured I would eventually, just not yet. You were smiling again. I made you happy."
Casey stood up and walked over to the door, "Get out."
Derek looked down at the floor, "Casey, I'm…"
Casey shook her head, "I don't want to hear it, Derek. I said Get out!"
Derek nodded and left her room. Casey slammed the door and started crying. How could he do this? How could either of them have done this to her?
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*I told you Noel will prevail. This took me FOREVER to write but here it is. So yea. There's my last bit of Dasey. I'm sad. That's one of the reasons it's taking me so long to update. I'm not really ready for this story to end but I can't drag it on much longer.