A/N: AHH, lol. This was supposed to be posted earlier but I had a bad case of writer's block. I had a hard time figuring out the last part. But anyway, I hope it turned out to be okay. More notes at the bottom. How was your holiday? :) Thank you so much for the reviews! I've been reading every single one of them and you guys are seriously making me smile, thanks! I'll try to answer some of the questions later.

Notes: Even though some of the tweets seem long enough to be cut into parts (140 character limit), I chose to put everything into one tweet so it won't be weird. Unless I wanted to make an emphasis. (d) is my sign for Direct Messaging or private DM.

Disclaimer: I don't own LWD, Twitter, or any of the other trademarks. Some of the tweets are directly from LifeWithCasey, DerekVenturi's tweets are mine but inspired by LifeWithCasey and him.

Chapter 6: What I Really Wanted to Say

"What's the big deal anyway, Case?"

Lizzie was sitting on her bed with her head resting on the headboard, watching her sister pace back and forth on the side. It's been an hour already since Casey stormed into her room, claiming that she needed someone to talk to about.. Derek. 'Derek and their bet' to be exact - her older sister was very adamant in inserting that important fact. So, Derek and their bet and how she didn't want to be a homeless person, wandering the streets of Toronto on a cold winter night. She wasn't entirely sure how that tied up to the whole bet situation, but knowing Casey, things could become a little.. well, out of the ordinary. She's poetic, yeah. Not the point though, the point was that she needed to help her sister solve her problems or she'd never get enough alone time.

"Liz! This is a very confidential poem! I don't even know what has gotten into me. I just want this whole stupid bet thing off," Casey exclaimed in frustration, becoming aware that her sister was starting to get less and less interested in her situation.

"Then.. call it off."

"No! Then he'll say I'm chicken. And I'm not chicken!" Casey mentioned with wide eyes, pointing at her sister and putting an emphasis on the last sentence.

"Then.. go with the bet," Lizzie said mechanically. They had been doing this back and forth, and every single time, her sister would produce another alibi as to why she couldn't bail out or why she couldn't continue on.

"I can't! It's too much! This pressure, this.. this.. this.. Derek!" Casey threw her hands in the air and grunted, then tossed herself on the bed, face down. This was definitely something Lizzie would miss - or not miss - seeing when her big sister moves to Kingston.

"Casey, calm down. You're just confused."

Casey turned quickly so that she was now lying on her back, her face still full of worry, "What am I going to do? What if he guesses it right? I am not answering any questions!"

"Well, who's the poem about anyway?" Lizzie finally asked.

Feeling her heart skip a beat from getting caught off-guard, Casey didn't answer right away. She just stared at the ceiling, debating with herself whether she would let her little sister know about this mystery person or not. This was one of those secrets that she could possibly carry to her grave, since she hadn't revealed this to anyone, not even her mother or her best friend.

"No one.."

"Oh, c'mon.. you can tell me. I'm your sister. I won't tell, I promise. And it'll calm your nerves. Just let it out."

She was right. Maybe. Maybe she was right. Casey was beginning to lean towards divulging the name of her secret poem subject. At least it would make her calm down a bit. Right? Right. It would be the best thing to do at this point in time. She needed a confidante, someone who would understand her and not judge her. And she knew her sister would be a good candidate. She was all that she had right now.

"Okay.. okay.. yeah. Yeah.. I can do that."

"Good, so..?"

"So.." Casey assumed a sitting position and faced Lizzie. She breathed deeply and opened her mouth as she thought of the right words. "No!" She quickly threw herself out of her sister's bed and left the room, leaving a confused Lizzie who couldn't do anything but shake her head in disbelief.

The two eldest step siblings had been really quiet the entire night that they were with the family, especially at the dinner table. Eerily quiet. They didn't even laugh when George made a corny joke about his co-worker. Well, maybe since it was corny. But that could at least earn a diss from the oldest Venturi child. No, he was busy stuffing his face with food to even look up. Or maybe avoiding the eyes of someone in particular, someone who always sat in front of him during chow time. He didn't understand what was wrong with him. He was supposed to be the intimidating one, not the one who gets intimidated. Wasn't he the one who was cocky enough to wage a bet? Stupid Sam and his stupid big mouth. No, he wouldn't allow this to affect him.

Hours later, when everybody had already gone to the respective rooms, they both logged into Twitter, ready to get on with the bet - or not.

| LifeWithCasey: Can we just... think about this for a bit? I don't know if I can do this. Today... or ever.

Same as yesterday, Casey had been receiving tweets from her and Derek's followers, asking her to either go with the bet or disclose her secrets already. Needless to say, she had been receiving extra pressure from the Twitterverse, because King Derek decided to get his minions to work against her. Or at least, that's how she felt at that time.

| LifeWithCasey: Try to put this in perspective, people. How would you feel admitting something you've been trying to keep in for a really long time... With all this pressure and all of these people trying to get you to give an answer. And not knowing what people are going to think of you... And having to decide what the right time is or who the right person is to tell, and not wanting to mess up EVERYTHING!

| DerekVenturi: Don't mind her. She's a drama queen-ing Space Case. She talks nonsense half the time.

| LifeWithCasey: Shut up, Derek! RT (at)DerekVenturi: Don't mind her. She's a drama queen-ing Space Case. She talks nonsense half the time.

Derek chuckled as he focused his eyes on his timeline, most especially on Casey's last few tweets. Couldn't fit her rage into 140 characters, huh? Clearly, she was getting annoyed at the added stress everybody was giving her. This could work to his advantage. Plus, he felt confident knowing that he was sure about his answer. He already knew who this poem was about and Casey would have to deal with the consequences, i.e. answer the questions he was going to ask.

| DerekVenturi: Yeah, yeah. So, the bet! I already know who this poem is about. ;)

| LifeWithCasey: You.. do?

| DerekVenturi: Oh yeah, prize is in the bag. ;) You're ready for this?

| LifeWithCasey: Well..

No, she wasn't. She wasn't ready at all and she didn't think she'd ever have enough preparation for this. Casey was on the edge of her seat. She didn't exactly know if she even wanted to hear, or see, the name he would mention. She thought of how long she had kept this, and how unsure she still was. She had no clue how she would handle the situation and how she would go about this when everything around her changes. This is it. Goodbye to everything I've ever wanted in life. Her hands shook as she clicked the reply notification.

| DerekVenturi: It's about Jesse, isn't it?

Her reaction went from can't-breathe to what-did-he-say to I-can't-believe-he-said-that. She was still on the edge of her seat, now literally, and she kinda stayed there for a bit. What? She tried to recall the vacation back at the lodge and how she had met one great dancer in the form of Jesse. But did Derek really think he'd be special enough to even flood her thoughts and make her write an entire poem dedicated to him? Still in a pensive state, there were two things that alerted her - the fact that Derek said the wrong answer (on a bet?) and, as if it was the sign of the apocalypse, he actually lost a bet.

| LifeWithCasey: Uh, no.

Derek felt like he was about to get hit by a plane that was about to crash in his room, right above his head. Did he seriously say the wrong answer? He was so sure about it a while ago. The 'recent thoughts', the 'bothering' business. That had to be Jesse. Recent fling, New York, professional dancing vs. university studies? Everything was just screaming 'Jesse'! This couldn't be happening. He proceeded to type, or smash the keys, as his heart pounded loudly and fast. Not only because he made a mistake, but because it wasn't about Jesse. So then, who could it be about?

| DerekVenturi: It's not? Well, that doesn't make sense! Who is it about then?

| LifeWithCasey: Uh-uh. I believe it's my turn to ask the questions around here. You just lost the bet.

'You just lost the bet.' It was like a slap on Derek's face - Derek, who never loses a bet (except that one time with the driving test bet, but it doesn't exist in his brain - i.e. intentionally forgotten); Derek, who always wins; Derek, who gets whatever he wants. His mind was racing and he was beginning to feel sweaty from all this stress. Did the tables seriously just turn? Biting his lower lip, he looked up and stared at his door as his brain went into overdrive. He wouldn't let this happen. Not if he could still change it.

| DerekVenturi: Wait! I'm upping the stakes. One more guess. Loser needs to answer three questions and.. cook pancakes tomorrow morning!

| LifeWithCasey: Ugh, fine. Do your worst..

Finally given another chance, but Derek couldn't bring himself to type anything. His mind was clouded with so many things. It's not Jesse. It's not Truman. This doesn't make any sense. He wasn't entirely sure if he wanted to blurt out the name of that one person sticking out in his head at that moment. He was stuck in this terrible dilemma and he had to make a choice. If the Merriam-Webster dictionary would ever need a definition for 'lose-lose situation', this predicament would be completely spot on. Either way, it wasn't looking good for him at all.

| DerekVenturi: It's about.. your dad?

| LifeWithCasey: NOPE.

"Eff this," Derek stood up from his chair swiftly and launched himself on his bed. Where was that plane when he needed it? Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like UFOs? I really need to be kidnapped right now. Damn.

Casey didn't get another reply from Derek. She was beginning to wonder if he had logged out and left her online. However, moments later, she did receive something, and it wasn't a normal (at) mention, it was a private Direct Message. And it was from Derek. So, what's up with the DM-ing now? All of a sudden, a smirk formed on her lips as her mind proceeded to piece up the fragments. She came up with the conclusion that he was too embarrassed to admit to the whole world wide web that he had lost the very bet that he waged against his stepsister. Ouch? She sneered as she savored the sweetness of her victory over the Derek-kind.

| d DerekVenturi: This is not fair! Show me the poem then so I'd know who it is about!

| d LifeWithCasey: I am not showing you any poem. Just suck it up and admit you lost the bet!

| d DerekVenturi: How would I know if I really lost this bet? What if you're just making it up?

| d LifeWithCasey: Uh, it's my poem? I wrote it. I think I know who the right person is. Just answer my questions, Venturi. Unless you want me to tell your friends that you chickened out of a bet?

| d DerekVenturi: Oh, NO WAY! Fine. Just.. whatever, make it quick.

Oh, wow. It felt like cold water rushing down her body. Here she was, not only winning the bet but also given the opportunity to ask Derek three questions - questions that he needed to answer honestly. This was just too much good, or bad. What could she possibly ask? Did she really even want to ask anything? Oh my god, I don't know. She was lying to herself; of course, she had something that she wanted to ask for a long time. It was screaming right inside her head, and from her lungs, and from her heart, and from her limbs, and from every single part of her body. In fact, it was flowing right to the tips of her fingers, causing her to type things that the logical section of her brain wouldn't want to put in.

| d LifeWithCasey: So... here's my first question: Who do you REALLY think the poem is about?

| d DerekVenturi: I said Jesse, didn't I? You just wasted a question, next.

| d LifeWithCasey: Derek, answer it truthfully. Who do you think it is about?

| d DerekVenturi: That's two questions already. And I've already answered this one, so next. This will be easy.

Casey was getting a heavy feeling in her stomach and her heart from all this ridiculous responses Derek was sending. She was getting more upset by the minute, but in a way she couldn't really blame him. What else would she expect from Derek the feelings-dodger, the tears-evader? It was like talking to a rock, he just wouldn't budge.

| d LifeWithCasey: Derek..

Derek sighed heavily. He didn't want to bring this up. Stupid Sam and his stupid big mouth. So, he was affected a little. No, A LOT. How stupid was it to intentionally lose the bet just to avoid the subject, only to be driven to where he didn't want to go? Why couldn't Casey just ask what his favorite color is or what's hiding under his bed? Simple questions in life that begged for simple answers. Like, the capital of Ontario or the biggest city in Canada. Wait, what is the biggest city in Canada? Toronto? He slapped his cheek repeatedly, cursing himself for even getting both of them in this mess in the first place. He wanted to disturb Edwin in his sleep to ask for advice. But, that might only encourage the creep to go all Sherlock Holmes on his ass and investigate this, whatever this was. He realized that he just couldn't avoid this anymore, he had to say what had been pounding loudly in his mind for the longest time before he goes insane.

| d DerekVenturi: Fine. I think that the poem is about.. me. Because everything is about me, anyway.

| d LifeWithCasey: Could you be any more narcissistic?

| d DerekVenturi: Yes. Yes, I could.

| d LifeWithCasey: Whatever. Hypothetically speaking, of course, what would you do if I DID write a poem about you?

| d DerekVenturi: Sorry, you've reached your limit. No more questions.

| d LifeWithCasey: What? This is just my second question!

| d DerekVenturi: You've used up all your questions, princess. Why don't you check it?

| d LifeWithCasey: You are really making this hard for me, aren't you?

| d DerekVenturi: What? I'm just following the rules. There's nothing wrong with that.

| d LifeWithCasey: Derek, please. Just... answer me.

He couldn't believe how persistent Casey was. Why couldn't she just drop the whole thing and pretend this bet never existed ever in their lifetime? In fact, it would benefit them both, right? Right? He was starting to feel light-headed, like something was also rushing from inside his stomach, up to his esophagus. He held his mouth with his right hand as he tried to keep it in. He didn't know if he wanted to answer her back. But since she was playing hard ball, what else could he do? He would be plagued with her voice, asking this question in his head, for the rest of the night if he didn't finish this soon enough.

| d DerekVenturi: I don't know... I guess I would want to know what you really wanted to say. There.

Casey's heart fluttered as she read his reply. For once, he actually answered her properly, without any cockiness or the usual Derek-attitude. He was kind of sincere. Kind of. She let out a heavy sigh as she stared at her monitor, a small smile forming on her lips. Heat was creeping on her cheeks and she couldn't help but touch them as she fought a squeal coming out from her mouth by biting her lips.

| d LifeWithCasey: Oh.. well.. then.. the poem was about you...

Derek might have had held his breath at record-breaking time - at least, his record. So, he was right all along. Yes, he knew he was right anyway. But dammit he didn't want to talk about this. He didn't want to acknowledge this, he didn't want to even have this thing plaguing his head and eating up most of his brain cells. He let out a very heavy sigh and knocked his head on the desk three times. He didn't understand why his heart felt like leaving the rest of his circulatory system. He felt his own cheeks heating up from all this - whatever this was.

| d DerekVenturi: Nice try. Haha! Very funny, really. You're getting good at pranking. You're taking it to the next level. I must say, hats off.

Casey's jaw dropped and her heart sank as she began reading his latest message. Did he think this was all just a joke? That she was making things up just because she wanted to get him back? She wasn't that evil and she would definitely not toy with feelings if ever she'd want a 'payback' time. This made her sad and hurt - sad that Derek thought everything was a game, and hurt that she just confessed something very important but he chose to make fun of her.

| d LifeWithCasey: You think this is funny? Why would I put myself through the torture just to prank you? I would not make something like this up... unfortunately.

He didn't reply anymore. Thirty minutes had already passed, but still, nothing. She felt uncomfortable in her position, hanging by a thread, not knowing what was going on inside his head or what he even really thought of her confession. It wasn't like it was that big of a deal, right? She just confessed that he was the subject of her poem. Yeah, right. Who was she kidding? This was a huge deal. 'Thoughts of you seem to bother my mind lately'? Yeah. What's next? 'Can't eat, can't sleep, over the fence, world series kind of thing'? She sighed as she kept her focus on the monitor. She could either let this pass and pretend nothing happened or face the music. She's a dancer, if she would face the music, she'd choose to dance to it. But she was also klutzy, so she could definitely trip and fall.

"Derek," she called out to him softly outside his door.

No answer. She decided to knock, but not too loudly, since she didn't want to wake the rest of the siblings on the same floor.

"Derek," she repeated.

Finally, the door opened to reveal the mystery person in her poem. His face remained blank but his eyes were saying a thousand words - oh, if only she could understand what they were telling. She wasn't entirely sure but she thought she had seen that expression in his eyes already before. Yeah, the 'brother-stepbrother-same difference' conversation they had after graduation. Only now, he didn't bother blinking that expression away, it kind of stayed there. His eyes were like two pieces of cold magma, staring at her, piercing her own with both coldness and heat. She didn't know what to do or what to say. They were in that state for what seemed to be forever before Derek went back to his position on his bed, leaving the door open as an invitation for Casey to enter. And she did, then closed the door behind her.

He was now hiding under the covers, surprisingly not starting an argument or a heated debate about their previous topic or any topic under the sun. He was just there, under the sheets, breathing softly, which made Casey unsure if he had already fallen into a deep slumber or if he was still awake. He was lying still, looking so peaceful - or maybe because she couldn't see what he was doing under his blanket.

"'What I Really Wanted to Say' by Casey McDonald," she started as she unfolded the piece of paper she was holding, hands shaking.

"I-I've been thinking for quite a while.. thoughts of.. you seem to bother my mind lately," she continued on, stammering a bit and glancing over at Derek who was still unresponsive, although he did shift and face his body away from the side where she was standing. "And the words in my mouth taste like bile.. the condition we're in is just… hazy."

"How do I confess something I've tried to hide? I know that you must not agree," she read on, gripping the paper tighter than necessary. Her mind was telling her to cease reading already and get out of his room that instant, but her body just wasn't letting her do that. It was like being controlled by a different set of neurons, and wherever the impulses were originating, the control center was definitely not her brain.

"That.. that feelings are being bottled up inside.. and the truth is just bursting to be set free," her heart throbbed a little as she the word 'feelings' escape from her lips. Here she was, making a fool of herself, talking to a person who was probably already dozing off and not paying attention to whatever she was saying, and her actions weren't even resulting into anything remotely positive or neutral, at least. She couldn't help but feel heavy with defeat.

"Case.." Derek uttered huskily, shifting from his position to face her and pulling the covers off his face.

"D-do you want me to stop?" Casey asked, voice cracking a bit from hearing him utter her name in an unfamiliar tone.

"It's just that.." He moved himself upward to a sitting position and inched closer to the headboard to lean against it, staring down and removing his gaze from her.

"What?" She tightened her grasp on the edges of the paper she was holding, which was still held up at chest level.

"I don't.." He did his own tight-grasping, but it was the fabric of his blanket that was crumpling within his fist.

The silence in the room was beyond deafening. Not one of them even dared to say anything, but their heads were screaming a lot of things. And even Derek, who was being begged by the situation to add more vocabulary to his sentences, sat on his bed in complete reticence. His breathing was erratic, probably because his heart had been racing so fast from experiencing such a heavy rush of stuff that he couldn't explain - or didn't want to explain. Why had this been a daily occurrence for him lately? It was so hard for him to get a good night sleep. And what was so different and nerve-racking about this night was that the person in his thoughts wasn't just in his mind, she's standing there in the flesh inside his room, with him - the two of them together, alone. At least when she wasn't there, he could still smack his head or slap himself and usually that would do the trick. But not now, he didn't want to look like an idiot in front of her. He shut his eyes tightly and rubbed his temples with the edges of his palms then brought his hands behind his head and sighed.

"Say something..." Casey was the one who broke the silence. She was still standing on the side of the bed nearest the door, where she had been all along since she came inside. She didn't dare to move an inch, just in case her movement would create a greater problem. Because she knew what she wanted to do at this point in time, and it wasn't to hit her stepbrother with a stick. It wasn't to slap a towel in his face, nor was it to dump garbage on his head. No, she wanted to be closer. How close, she didn't know. But she wanted to just reach out to him. And touch him. Maybe even just the edge of his fingernail or an inch of his hair strand.

Derek's chest started to heave. It was getting harder to breathe. He wanted to say something to her, but he just couldn't figure out what. Or if he even did, he couldn't figure out how. All he wanted to do was disappear, along with the stuff that was happening to him at that moment. He didn't want to stare at Casey, because he was afraid. Afraid that it would make him move and his movement would create a greater problem. She seemed so close, yet so far. As always, as it had always been for years. And somehow it made his heart ache. She was there and he didn't want to set his eyes, which look like every single conundrum in life rolled into two round, brown irises, on her because he didn't want her to see right through him.

"I don't want to talk about.. f-f.." He slowly built his words up, but somehow failing to say the most important part. "Yeah."

Casey felt a stab in her heart as she stared at the person whom she had spent many nights thinking about. What was she thinking, coming into his room and reading him this lame poem? She just made a complete spectacle of herself. And the sad thing about this was that, it didn't end up the way she wanted it to end in her heart. If only her body was entirely made of logical, common sense, she wouldn't be this embarrassed. She knew he didn't have to finish it, she could figure out what he was trying to say. He was rejecting her, yes, he was. She wanted to scream but she didn't know where to draw the strength from.

"Okay.." She said softly, getting teary-eyed from the piercing pain building up in her chest.

She advanced towards the door and reached for the knob, aiming to leave the room as soon as possible.

"You.. just irritate me a lot.."

Surprised at his sudden release of words, she turned her head to where the voice came from, eyebrows scrunched and mouth gaped from a mixture of hurt, confusion, and disbelief. It was as if what he said before wasn't enough to hurt her. How insensitive could he be?

"Excuse me?"

"..and fight with me every single time."

This time, she fully turned her body to face him, eyes now squinted. Derek moved from his leaning position and slid to the side of the bed, feet landing on the floor, eyes still focused downward. He sat there with agitation and helplessness written all over his face - in fact, his entire body. He was having a hard time trying to formulate the right sentences, the right words and phrases.

"You.. tried to take my room, you.. tried to girlify the whole house," he raised both his hands, fingers splayed in emphasis.

"And you.. are like this.. thing that I can't.." His words faltering as he went on trying to put his thoughts into a language that hopefully both of them would understand. "You.."

"I.." He winced and tightened his lips as he curled his fist into a ball. "You.. are destroying my tough guy rep!"

"And.. I guess.. what I want to say is.." He stopped for a while in hesitation, lips trembling, then inhaled deeply and released as much air as he could.

".. I'm okay with that."

"What are you.." Casey looked at him with questioning eyes. She drew a little closer to the spot he was occupying.

"Yeah, I think that's it. I think. It's better than.." Derek continued, as if not hearing her inquisitive words, still not looking up to meet her eyes.

"Not.. seeing you there," he finished his sentence in an almost inaudible voice. Almost too faint to be heard. "So. Yeah."

"What?"

"Didn't you hear what I just said?" He quickly looked up, slightly irked.

"I.. I did, but.." Casey cleared, but not wiping the puzzled look off her face. "Why?"

She slowly made her way in front of him and knelt down on both her knees so that their faces would be at each other's eye level. Derek wasn't looking directly at her, but he was staring at the shirt that was sloppily lying on the floor. She reluctantly inched her fingers to touch the arm that was resting on his thigh. Her touch was like freezing ice on his skin, making him gasp and causing him to meet her eyes with such intensity that he had not yet shown before. She was waiting for him to fend her hand off, but it didn't happen - he didn't do anything. He let her keep her grasp on his arm even though goosebumps were forming on his skin.

"Why is it better than.. not seeing me?"

"Because.." Derek started, staring at her intently, eyes filled with both longing and sadness, "I need you."

Casey felt the sudden need to inhale sharply. She wasn't expecting those words at all. He needed her? It was still open-ended and unclear, but he admitted the vitality of her existence in his life. Whatever force had caused him to make such a surprising revelation, she didn't know. But it was a shock for her to hear those emotion-describing words from him.

"I mean, it's.. it's hard to be the only older sibling in the house," he added quickly.

"Yeah.." Casey croaked. Oh my god, did he just imply.. She removed her hand from his arm and supported her trembling body as she stood up slightly and sat beside him on the bed. She wanted to clutch her pounding chest tightly but she needed to end this conversation properly. "I mean, the pranks.. the fighting.. the cocky attitude.." She tried to say whatever words seemed needed to be said, whatever would seem reciprocal to what he had chosen to admit.

"I'm okay with that, too," she concluded.

"Just so you know, I don't hate you," Derek said, glancing at her. "I don't know what makes you think I do, but I don't."

Casey put all her energy into her lips as she weakly smirked and said, "I know. You're just infuriating. But you're a good guy, Derek Venturi."

"Yeah, shocker," he rolled his eyes and smirked, nudging her lightly after, to which she responded with her own eye-roll and a faint smile.

"Does this mean we're going to have our 'feel-good family moment'?" She jokingly asked.

"Hah, no. But high five is good," he responded with a quick nod.

"Yeah, high five is good," she replied and nodded in agreement.

"High five?" Derek faced her, lifted his hand up quickly, palm forward, and smiled.

"High five," Casey rolled her eyes and obliged to the hand gesture by slapping her own palm onto his, smiling back at him and shaking her head.

She didn't exactly know what to feel or how she should be feeling. But she should be okay, right? At least she knew how important she was as a part of the McDonald-Venturi household. At least he was fine with her around. She was fine with him around. They were fine with each other around. They were fine. Everything's fine. Everything's okay. Who was she to be hurt about things being okay? This was how things were supposed to be, how they had always been, and how they're going to stay. She sighed and smiled weakly to herself as she stood up and prepared to leave.

"Oh, and Derek.." She glanced back at her stepbrother who had already went back to lying comfortably on the bed.

"Hmm?"

"I like my pancakes not burnt."

Derek groaned as he covered his face with his pillow. He had totally forgotten about that.

A/N: Haha, sorry for the drama. I know, I was also annoyed when that happened. Well, actually this was a little more dramatic than the original story, since they were actually happy after that 'cause they realized they're okay with each other. But I don't know, mine turned out to be sadder. Eeek. :s I intentionally left out Derek's thoughts towards the end, 'cause the chapter would be longer. But yeah, he kinda knew that Casey was hurt, that's why he nudged her as a way of saying 'it's okay'.

Also, I've made some of the tweets as DMs since I figured that Derek would be embarrassed to say the rest of the convo in public. I also added the pancake part because I skipped that in the original timeline. So yeah, this is different from the original Twitter timeline/story but some aspects are still similar to the plot. Especially the next chapter. ;)

AHH, I'm kind of iffy about this chapter 'cause of the sad end, but I hope I didn't disappoint. :s

Dark-Supernatural-Angel - You're welcome! Haha, don't worry, snare drums shouldn't be heavy for Ralph. He was carrying one in the episode 'Casey and Ralph?'

MermaidMidna - Girl, thank you so much! That means a lot! I was seriously scared to post this before because I thought it wouldn't be that okay. Haha! I've read so many fanfics but this is my first time trying to write one. I'm super glad you're enjoying it!

Frogster - Thanks for the chapter reviews! I'm laughing at your 'birds and bees' comment! OMG that is so true, eh? LOL! And about Truman and Vicky - since they're like.. versions of Derek and Casey, wouldn't their kissing be an implication of Derek and Casey kissing too? Hehehe.

Credits: LifeWithCasey for the poem lines at the end of the story (slight edit) and response to Derek (from 'I mean the pranks' to 'I'm okay with that'), DerekVenturi for the response (starting from 'you just irritate me' to 'I'm okay with that')