Hey ppl. I am SOOOO sorry I haven't updated in a while, but I was stuck. I finally put it all down on paper, in the computer, and on the site.

Enjoy!

Discloser: I own nothing, except what goes on in my head...

Say Goodbye

Don't say goodbye
Cause I don't wanna hear those words tonight
Cause maybe it's not the end for you and I
And although we knew
This time would come for me and you
Don't say anything tonight
If you're gonna say goodbye

Say Goodbye-Skillet

Where am I? Derek thought as he looked around. All he could see was white. It was just a white room. Suddenly, a figure was in the room with him.

"Derek..."

"Who's there?"

"Derek...why?"

"What?"

"Why did you let that happen, Derek? I thought you loved me."

"Casey? Is that you?"

The figure turned toward him and he saw it was. "Casey," he said as he ran to her, but was stopped by an unknown force. "Wait, what?"

She turned away from him and slowly walked away. "No, Casey come back. Casey...

"Casey!" he yelled as he sat up in bed. It was a dream. No, a nightmare. One of the worst so far. A week had passed since her funeral, and he was still having nightmares about what happened. He sat on the edge of the bed, put his head down, and let the tears fall silently. How was he ever gonna get over this? Casey was his life. His reason for getting up in the morning. And he killed her. Even worse, he walked away with nothing more then a few scratches. He was fine, while she was dead. It was the worst feeling in the world.

After a few minutes of crying, he heard someone come in his room. "Derek?" said a voice he recognized as Edwin, "Are you okay?"

Derek looked up at him and instantly Edwin knew the answer. "No," he said in a raspy voice, "I'm not.

"It's Casey, isn't it?"

He turned his head down and a new wave of tears fell down his face. "I don't know what to do. She was my life. She was the one person - the only person - I wanted to spend the rest of my life with."

"I know. We all cared about her-"

"But I loved her." Derek interrupted, "I was the one who was supposed to protect her, and I killed her."

Edwin sighed, "I know you loved her, but you were not responsible for her. You were her step-brother and boyfriend, but not her husband."

"But I was going to be." Derek added quietly.

Edwin's face turned confused. "Wh-what?"

Derek looked up at his brother, then back to the floor, "It was a couple days before she died..."

It was a Sunday, a rainy one at that. Everyone had gone to the store, except Casey and Derek. They both were on the couch, snuggled in each others arms, watching TV, when Derek decided to put his plan into action. "Lets go somewhere."

Casey looked up at him and cocked her head, "Where?"

"I know the perfect place. But it's a surprise."

"You know I hate surprises."

"Even when they involve me?" he said, putting on his famous grin, which caused her to smile. "Well," she said, "Not always."

"That's what I thought." he said, giving her a kiss on the forehead. "Now, go get ready, doesn't matter what you wear, and meet me down here in ten minutes."

She agreed and ran upstairs. Ten minutes later exactly, she walked down the stairs. Derek was amazed that, after all the time they had been together, she could still take his breath away by simply walking down the stairs. "Wow.."

She smiled, "Now, why do you always do that when I come down the stairs?"

"Because it's like seeing an angel every time I see you."

She blushed, "Oh, thank you."

They got in the car, and Derek told her to put a blindfold on. "Why?" she asked suspiciously.

"'Cause otherwise it won't be a surprise." he said. She obeyed and put it on.

It had stopped raining, but it looked like it was gonna start up again soon, so Derek had to hurry. His plan was to take her to the lake, the location of their first date, and ask her something very important. He had been planning this for at least two weeks, and was just waiting for the right time. And since their one year anniversary was tomorrow, and he really didn't think he would be able to wait another day, he decided that now was perfect.

When they got there, Derek got a picnic basket out off the trunk that he had packed while she was changing, then ran around to her side, opened the door, and helped her out. "When can I take this thing off?" Casey said, pulling at the blindfold.

"Just wait." He said, holding it on her eyes so she couldn't pull it down. As they got to the table, he decided she had waited long enough and said, "Okay, now."

She quickly took it off and gasped at the sight. They had the most beautiful view of the lake. The clouds decided they were done and had started to part, letting the sunlight through. There were even ducks in the water at the time. "Oh my gosh," she whispered, "It's beautiful."

Derek looked at her and smiled. "Yeah."

She turned back to him and kissed him. "I love it." After they had finished eating, he spread a blanket out on the grass, and they sat there talking and watching the ducks. They laughed and talked and laughed some more. Finally, when it started getting dark, they packed up everything and walked back to the car. "This day was perfect." she said as they put everything in.

Derek looked at her and grabbed her hand. "Case, I have to ask you something."

The smile on her face changed to a look that Derek couldn't decipher. "What is it?" she said.

He ran his hand through his hair and sighed nervously. "Casey, we've been together for a year tomorrow, and I know it's quick, but you've made me feel things this past year that I didn't know I could feel. I always thought that love was just something you said to someone, but I never knew it made you do stupid, crazy things you never would have done before. Like getting good grades to impress someone, or acting like a complete idiot in front of you because I can't concentrate when I see you. But, all that has led us here."

He got down on his knee, pulled out a box from his pocket, and opened it, revealing a small, silver band with a little gold infinity symbol on it. She put her hand up to her mouth and gasped, "Wha..."she whispered.

"Casey, I love you, more then anything else in this world, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. We obviously don't have to get married now, 'cause we're still too young, but I want you to have this until we're older and we can. It's a promise ring, meaning we'll always be together, no matter what happens. So, Casey MacDonald, will you promise to be with me forever?"

With tears rolling down her face, she knelt down, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him. When she could speak again, she whispered in his ear, "Yes, Derek Venturi, I promise." They knew they would have to keep it a secret, but not much longer, since graduation was in a few weeks. As he drove her home, he looked over at her and smiled that secret smile that he saved only for her…

"Wow. Derek, I had no idea."

"No one did. We wanted to keep it like that until we were done with high school. Now, it doesn't matter." Once again, the tears came, but this time, Edwin went over to him and embraced him. "It's okay Derek, it's okay."

"I just… I miss her so much." Derek said as he cried. After a while, he stopped and Edwin went back to bed, leaving him there alone with his thoughts. He dreaded falling asleep, cause he knew he would dream of Casey. He hadn't slept good since the accident, so his exhaustion got the better of him and he drifted off.

I don't think it came out as good as it could've, but I was so anxious to get to this chapter. PLEASE let me know how it came out.

Also, thanx a google to jayley, who told me about the promise ring instead of an engagement ring. I got the idea for what the ring looked like from a movie I saw once.

The next chapter might be awhile, since I'm kinda stuck right now. Sorry. R & R Plz.