Derek woke up at two in the morning, hearing the very familiar ring of his cell phone. He groaned, but answered it.
What greeted him was slightly vulgar; the same sounds, but also a new addition. Buzzing. Buzzing, like insects. He felt like a moron, being disturbed by sounds.
Sounds anyone could find and record. But he also remembered Alan, the way he'd backed off without so much as a farewell.
Derek knew whoever this was, he wasn't playing a prank. This was real.
o-o-o
Alan felt like a total asshole. That was the perk of drugs; compassion and other annoying emotions didn't exist.
But when the effect wore off, and reality set in, it always seemed worse than before.
Exiting his room, he ran into his mother, who looked exhausted. She looked at him like he was a stranger. Of course, these days, they pretty much were.
While they'd never done the cheery Brady-Bunch togetherness before, after the Green incident both his mother and father regarded him as a permanent guest. A burden.
"Alan," she said, her eyes oddly unfocused. She was on her tranquilizers again. Like mother, like son, he thought wryly.
"I got a call from the school today. Were you sick?" Of course, she knew damn well what was up. She was simply asking him so she could fill her good-parent quota for the day.
"Yeah. I left early."
His mother nodded. "Okay. I'll write you a note." And then she left him there alone in the kitchen.
He had to get out of here. Grabbing his jacket and the keys, he bolted out of the house, planning to return only when his mother was sound asleep. These days she went to bed as early as eight; simply living had taken all the energy out of her.
Alan pulled into the Smellie Nellie's parking lot. He entered, took a booth, and waited for the basic human interaction of the waiter.
"What can I get you?" His green eyes flickered to the boy standing next to him. Ebony-haired, slightly muscular, with light eyes he imagined could pull off a wicked pout, Alan had to admit he was gorgeous.
"Ah…a chocolate malt. Please."
He received the milkshake from the waiter, who regarded Alan nonchalantly. After handing Alan the malt, he headed out the door. Alan eyed his exiting form, and then decided he had a really nice ass.
After that thought, his worst nightmare entered the restaurant. Derek stopped in his tracks when he saw him, and Alan froze, frantically trying to think of a way to leave quickly.
"Alan," Derek began, "Hey. I've been looking everywhere for you."
If he wasn't so freaked, that comment would have made Alan melt. He got up, brushing past him. "Gotta go."
Derek caught his arm, and dragged him outside. "You need to tell me what's going on, man."
"I need to tell you no such thing."
"Alan," His hazel eyes searched his blue ones, and dammit, why did he have to be so fucking gorgeous? "Please. There's no one else I can go to."
Alan eyed him for a moment, then sighed. "Fine. But it ain't gonna be pretty. Meet me downtown. The St. Issac flea market. Six."
Alan turned on his heel, heading to his car. Derek watched, and Alan refused to meet his eyes.
o-o-o
Derek got to the flea market at five-forty-five. He wasn't risking letting that guy slip away again.
Alan found him at six.
He took his arm and dragged him past the small crowd of tourists, pulling him into a secluded alley.
Derek crossed his arms, clearly waiting for him to speak. Alan took a deep breath, and told him the things he'd never told anyone.
In retrospect, Derek handled the news fairly well. Sure, he looked a little green, but at least he wasn't spazzing out.
"You can see now why I said you had to go to the police," Alan said quietly, after Derek had stayed silent for a good amount of time.
Running his fingers through his hair, Derek sighed. "Yeah. But what are they gonna do? They can't do anything. They won't do anything."
Alan shrugged. "We sure as hell can't do much, either,"
"We can do more than they can. Come on, Alan. Don't bail on me now."
And he took one look at those hazel eyes. Alan sighed.
Derek smirked. "Good."
Alan rolled his eyes. "This doesn't mean I think you're a likeable guy or anything."
Derek ignored his comment. "You should come to dinner tonight."
Alan was surprised. "What? Are you delusional?"
"Oh, come on. It's tofu night. The more people who come, the less leftovers we'll have."
"Derek, don't feel you have to be nice to me in order to keep me around. I mean that. It's creepy."
If creepy meant anything like the stirring in his chest, that was.
Derek leaned against the wall, standing next to him. "You have a tendency to run off. If I invite you over, you can do you magic on my computer and we can maybe track down this guy."
"Nice to know you had an ulterior motive. Besides, if I use your computer, the thing'll crash."
"So, we'll stop at your place and get your laptop."
"Or I can just go home and you can feast on tofu by yourself."
In the end, Derek got his way. Alan promised to meet him at his house, and they parted for the second time that night. To say he was unnerved was an understatement.
Going to Venturi's house was very possibly one of the stupidest things he'd ever done. Stepping into enemy territory wasn't exactly recommended, after all.
Alan could just imagine his family's reaction when he came over. There would be an awkward silence. Oh, what had he gotten himself into?
o-o-o
When Derek announced that he had invited someone over for dinner, everyone expected a girl. A bimbo that giggled inappropriately and sneered at the food offered to her.
So when Alan Wright appeared at the door, Casey's expression of shock was expected.
"Come in." Derek called from his seat, and Alan obeyed, plopping down on the couch.
"Derek, can I talk to you? In private?" Casey asked with gritted teeth, dragging him up the stairs and into her room.
"Is this your idea of a joke? Alan Wright?" Casey asked, borderline hysterical. "What, are you playing some kind of prank on him? I swear, Derek, if you hurt that kid somehow, you will never, ever have Derek Jr."
Ah. That was Casey. Thinking of others.
Though her worries were warranted, Derek glared at her. Was that what she really thought of him? As someone who would do that?
And then a little voice whispered in his head, you could have stopped it and you didn't, you didn't, you didn't, because you were too afraid of the consequences.
He swallowed hard, looking away.
Then flicked his eyes back at her, giving her an answer that didn't ease her concerns in the slightest, giving into the easy way out, thinking of himself. "Never threaten the existence of Derek Jr."
She rolled her eyes, but remained quiet for a moment, gazing at him in that way, that soft Casey way that dropped all the pretenses, that made him feel things, that made him think…
Derek snorted, pushing the line of thought away. "Like I'll tell you, Grubby."
He breezed past her, going downstairs to rescue Alan from the stares of his siblings.
While Edwin and Liz appeared warily curious, Marti plopped down next to him, cheerily telling him the story of the time Smerek wore a feather boa and make-up.
Alan looked amused, his eyes regarding him jovially, and Derek scowled in response.
But secretly, he was glad at least one of the members of the household was treating him like a person. Even if Derek was the joke. Alan's face didn't usually contain the warmth he saw.
Meanwhile, Casey sighed, plopping down on her bed with an expression of worry. She let that one thought leak into her head.
What if Derek had feelings for Alan?
That was non-Derek-like, and it was highly unlikely, but she couldn't help but wonder…
o-o-o
"Pass the broccoli." Derek said, mouth full. Alan was staring at his plate like it was the most interesting thing he'd seen, well aware of the pairs of eyes on him.
Nora forced a smile on her face. "So…Alan. What are your plans for college?"
Alan looked at her, searching her nervous expression for an inkling of compassion. Casey's expression was of pure pity; at least he had one ally on his side. Well, aside from Marti, who was sitting beside him and glaring at her vegetabes.
"MIT. I'm going into computer science as well as engineering." He lied.
He found it easy to give them something to 'ooh' and 'ahh' over. Took the edge off, distracted them from the elephant in the room.
No one uttered a word of approval, though. Damn, hard crowd. Too busy staring at him.
Except for Casey. She smiled a genuine smile and commented that he was on the right track, and that she wished more of her peers took their futures more seriously. Alan forced a smile and stared at his plate.
That riled Derek up, however, jealousy tinging his voice, his eyes narrowed. Neither one of his parents seemed to find it odd.
Well, there was no doubt Derek Venturi found his stepsister attractive, and vice versa. Alan smirked at the thought, but kept the sarcastic remark he felt bubbling up in his throat down.
Neither of them were aware of the attraction, and it made it that much more tantalizing to watch.
Derek muttered, between bites of bread, that Alan was a complete nerd and that he and Casey should get married, they certainly seemed compatible.
She sneered at him, telling him that he shouldn't be jealous that she and Alan were smarter than him, it was his own fault he hadn't taken his schooling seriously.
"Because I have a life, Grubby." Derek pointed out.
Alan watched this exchange with relief, glad that the focus was on the bantering teenagers rather than him.