Thank you, everyone who has reviewed! I love you guys! This chapter is dedicated to you. :) It's probably going to get a little wordy...I think this whole fanfic is going to be wordy and whatnot. But, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Life with Derek. I swear, I've typed that more than 50 times...ugg.

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"Dude, prom is a week from tomorrow. You got to ask someone!" Sam frantically told Derek, flailing his arms about. They were sitting at their usual table for lunch. Derek, strangely enough, wasn't in the mood for eating. He just couldn't eat. Sure, Sam had eyed him suspiciously when he first saw Derek with no food, but then just shrugged it off to continue on his ramble about how Derek didn't have a date to the prom, yet.

Derek sighed and propped his head up on his hand. "I don't know, Sam. I just-"

"Hey, Derry!" An overly excited blonde said, bouncing out of nowhere and appearing next to him. He jerked his head towards her in surprise. He shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

"Ummm, hey..." Derek said, not knowing the name of the bouncy blonde. He tried smiling, but it came out as a grimace. For once in his life, he wasn't in the mood for all these girls that he would have pounced on and took out on a date, then "hang out" at their house afterwards. He couldn't bring himself to go back to his manwhoring ways. There was something bugging him, bringing him down. He was on the verge of figuring it out, but it couldn't completely come to him.

"So," she said. "Have you asked anyone to the prom, yet?" Real suttle. Derek shifted once again in his chair.

"Umm, I was thinking of not going," he said uneasily. Her face dropped at his answer and she nodded sadly, replacing the smile on her face a moment afterwards.

"Well, okay! Bye, Derek," she said, skipping off before he could answer her. He groaned, turning back to Sam and dropping his head back onto his hand. Sam stared at him, clearly appalled by what just happened. He pointed at where the girl once was, then back at Derek, his mouth slightly agape.

"Dude...you...you just passed up a perfect oppurtunity," Sam nearly shouted. "And what do you mean you're not going to the prom? You said you were!" Derek's eyes shifted across the lunch room to a certain brown-headed girl who had been on his mind for what seemed forever. When she wasn't really suppose to be stuck in his mind, she wouldn't seem to leave, and he just couldn't shake her. She was talking cheerily to Noel, her date to the prom. Derek cringed at the sight of Noel. Sam waved his hand in front of Derek's face and when he didn't get his attention, he tried looking for whatever Derek was staring at. And then, he saw. He saw what Derek had been paying attention to - and ignoring him - for a couple of moments.

Sam's mouth hung open as he glanced back at Derek, then back over at Casey. He shook Derek's shoulder. The shaking seemed to bring Derek back and he looked over at his best friend with a questioning gaze.

"Dude, what is up with you staring at Casey like that?" Sam asked, surprised that Derek was getting closer to figuring out what he already knew. Derek shook his head, glancing over to only meet Casey's eyes. Their contact held for a while before she broke it and turned back to Noel, nodding her head and smiling even more. Derek glanced down at the table.

"Sam, I think I'm pissed at Casey for going to the dance with that guy," Derek said quietly as Sam smirked in response. Sam shook his head and patted Derek on the shoulder.

"More than you know, man, more than you know," he said. Derek looked up at him, shooting a questioning look. He scrunched up his face in confusion.

"What?" He sputtered out, still confused by all the things Sam had been saying lately. It all seemed like a freakin' riddle that he just couldn't figure out. Or one of those riddles that are impossible to figure out, for that matter. Sam simply shook his head, taking a swig of his coke.

"Nothing, man," he said.

--

After much pacing, Derek groaned and gripped his hair frustratingly. "What the hell is wrong with me?!" He screamed, but was drowned out by his music that was blasting quite loudly around him. He continued to pace his room, shoving scattered clothing, books, and who-knows-what-else aside to clear a path for his pacing. His pacing subsided a little as Casey hurriedly shoved open his door, walked across his room, and shut off his music. Derek kept his grip on his hair and paced a little slower than before. He was still just as confused and frustrated as before - maybe even more so, since Casey had abruptly barged in.

"What's with you and blasting your music every single day you get home?" Casey asked, putting her hands on her hips. When Derek didn't answer her, she gripped his arm to stop his pacing. He glared at the ground as she tried to find his eyes. "What is up with you lately?" Derek jerked from her grip and lifted his glare to her.

"Why would you care?" He spat out. Her face flickered pain momentarily before turning red in anger. "Leave me alone, okay? Just go! I don't even want you here anyways!" He shouted, pointing towards his doorway. Her face dropped completely, looking utterly sad and hurt. Something bubbled inside of him and he felt like reaching out and comforting her, but he held back and just watched her trudge out of his room, slamming the door behind her. He pulled on his hair once more.

"What is wrong with me?" He asked again, but this time it was a whisper. "I'm so angry. I thought I was angry at her...but, I feel like I'm angry at myself," he continued and plopped down on his bed. "What is wrong with me?" He continued to question himself. "She's going to the prom with Noel. So what?" He asked, falling backwards on his bed. "That shouldn't matter to me...but, it does," he couldn't stop. He was having an epiphany and wanted to get to the bottom of things. He felt a churning right below chest cavity. It was fire hot and right above where that bubbly feeling he got every time Casey smiled, laughed, touched him. The churning was hate. A big ball of hate. That was directed towards him. For not being a man and doing what he really wanted to do.

Go to the prom with Casey.

He shot up in his bed and gripped an hand over his mouth. He rushed out of his bedroom, knocking Edwin aside in the hallway, and ran into the bathroom. He closed the behind and scurried to the toilet. That's where he heaved bile out of his system and into the bowl. He gripped he sides of the toilet and ran a hand over his wet brow. He sat back and flushed the toilet.

"Oh, God. I'm such an idiot," he muttered, closing his eyes and smacking his head.

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Okay...that was really odd...the end didn't turn out the way I planned it to...it has a mind of its own! OH SNAP! Lol, reviews are my crack. I want my crack!! Thank you! -smiles innocently-