AN: Ok, so I'm typing this chapter while sewing myself a new pencil case. My old one got stolen at school last week. But anyways, I hope you guys like this chapter.

Sally woke up to find her leg stuck between Casey's. She turned her head to read the 8:34 on the clock. She tried to move her leg without waking Casey, but failed in the process. "Yeah Mom?" Casey groaned in a daze.

"Sorry, didn't mean to wake you." Sally said while turning onto her back.

"Oh, that's ok Sally." Casey said while moving hair out of her face. "What time is it?"

"8:35." Sally said.

"How is it so early?" Casey asked while pulling the covers away. Sally just giggled. "Well now I'm not falling back asleep and that probably means you won't either."

"Probably, whens your mom supposed to have breakfast ready?" Sally asked while stretching her arms up.

"Usually around 9:30. That reminds me, I forgot to give you something last night." Casey ran over to her closet and pulled out a bag with a bow around the top. "You're parents wanted me to give you this." She handed it over.

"A homecoming present? That's so sweet of them." Sally pulled the tissue paper out to reveal some lip gloss, a pair of fuzzy socks, a book, and a gift card to her favorite store. "This is so cool." She said delightedly.

"I threw the book in there." Casey said with a giggle.

"Well it's very thick." Sally said, eyeing the book.

"923 pages." Casey kept giggling. "It's pretty awesome."

"We'll I can start working on this when I'm on the plane." Sally put it back in the bag.

"Cool. So what's on our aggenda for today?" Casey asked while putting her hair up in a messy bun.

"I was just about to ask you the same thing." Sally said. "How's senior year going?"

"Pretty good, I'm so nervous about getting letters back from colleges." Casey said.

"Don't worry, you're super smart." Sally encouraged. "You'll go someplace great." A sound coming from Derek's room alerted them that he knocked something over.

"I bet you can't say the same for him." Casey laughed while lying back on the bed.

"I know he doesn't seem that way, but Derek is actually very clever." Sally told her.

"Clever isn't the same as smart." Casey pointed out.

…...

After breakfast Sally went to play with Marti and Lizzie in the backyard while Derek bugged Casey.

"No Derek, you can't come with us." Casey said while trying to push Derek out of her room.

"Why?" Derek took her hands from her shoulders. "College girls dig me."

"Oh please." Casey scoffed.

"It's true, I just have to tell them I'm unavailable so they don't drop out to date me." Derek stated while taking a seat on her bed.

"Didn't I tell you to get out?" She crossed her arms.

"Yes," Derek stood up. "But don't come crying to me when there's some guy there trying to take advantage of you and I can't come to the rescue because I'm not there." Derek started to walk away before being stopped by his laughter. "What am I saying? No guy is gonna wanna rape you."

Casey was highly offended and quickly shot back. "Oh yeah? How would you know? There'll be plenty of guys there that could be interested in me, maybe even some girls. I could find my soul mate and you'll be sitting in your chair for the rest of your life, alone." She said before shutting her door.

"Temper, temper." Derek said before returning to his room.

…...

"So Casey tells me you have a crush." Sally said while sitting in the backyard with Marti.

"Yeah, but it's no big deal." Marti said while looking down.

"Why would you say that?" Sally said while stoking Marti's hair.

"Because he doesn't like me back." She said while looking up.

"What makes you think he doesn't?" Sally asked.

"That's what he told me." Marti explained.

"Well, maybe he's just shy. Sometimes boys don't want to just come out and say they like you." Sally walked her over to some flowers in the lawn. "Sometimes a relationship grows slowly, like this flower here." She pointed to a little bud. "But with a little time and care, it can grow into a beautiful flower." She pointed to a fully bloomed daisy. "I'm a big believer in friends first, which is sort of like a middle ground sometimes." She pointed to a flower that was between the other two in the growing process.

"I get it, like how you and Derek are friends." Marti smiled.

"Sort of, but Derek and I aren't gonna be dating anymore." Sally explained to her.

"I know." Marti frowned.

"But that will never change how I feel about you, or anybody else in the family." Sally got down to her level. "Just because Derek and I aren't dating anymore doesn't mean we don't like eachother anymore, we just don't like him that way anymore."

"Ok, that sounds more fun anyways." Marti said before walking back towards the house.

…...

Later that night Casey and Sally were getting ready for the party. "So how to I look?" Casey asked while turning away from her mirror.

"Wow! You look so cute." Sally said while putting one of her earrings in.

"You think?" Casey pulled some hair behind her ear.

"Totally, you will definitely have someone flirt with you tonight." Sally said. "What about me?" She asked about her purple top and skinny jeans.

"So cute." Casey squealed. "I'm so excited."

"I'm glad." Sally said to her friend. "Almost ready to go?"

"Yeah."