A/N: So, I think I kinda rushed something in this chapter. But, they think so too... So haha. Well, if you guys think it's too rushed, don't give up on this story. The drama's not over yet. We're still in an alternate reality, and we're still in the odd stage of getting used to this reality. So, it's not over yet! Stick with me please! lol

R&R, please!

-Jaclyn :)

Chapter Six: I'll Bleed Knowing You Don't Care

Casey didn't know how long she sat on the back-step of her house, but she knew it had been a long time. Her rear end was getting sour, and her legs were itching from staying in one position for so long. She knew that if she were in Derek's position, she would have been just as upset, but she didn't know what to do. She didn't know that her wish would come true and turn out the way it did. If so, she never would have wished it. Never. She sighed and cradled her head in her hands. This had gotten way out of hand. They needed to find away to reverse the wish. Maybe now her idea about being happy at Derek and wishing him back into existence would work now that she could see him.

But it would be hard to happy with Derek, when he was so angry with her. She needed to find him, and she needed to make things right between them, or they would never be able to fix this. She stood up and left the backyard and hurried toward the garage. Luckily, Derek had left the keys to her car in the ignition, when he had stormed up to ask her what was going on. She quickly left the driveway and drove toward the one place that she thought of in her mind: the cemetery. She knew that was where Derek had gone, but she didn't know if that was where he still was, but it was her best bet.

She parked her car off to the side, and saw him sitting in front of Sam's grave. She hurried over, but after she was a good distance away, she started walking slowly toward him, so she wouldn't scare him. As she got closer, she heard sobs. She couldn't help it; she looked around to see if there was anyone else around that would be crying. With all of Derek's talk about how he hates tears, here he was crying, sobbing even. Her face fell, and for the first time ever, her heart went out to him.

She slowly knelt down beside him, and put her hand lightly in his arm. He had his knees to his chest, and his arms wrapped around them, and his head was down and leaning on his arms. He looked up immediately at her touch, and she saw his bloodshot eyes, and the tears on his face. Her face fell even more, and she knew in this instant she was seeing a side of Derek only a few rare people have ever seen. At first he looked as if he was going to pull away from her, but then he decided against it. He shook his head and wiped his face.

"I- I just can't believe he's really gone." He choked out, hating how pathetic his own voice sounded.

Casey nodded, "I know, I know. I miss him too." She said softly, choosing her words carefully so she didn't make him mad again. It was her fault that he had to go through this at all, so she didn't want to cause him any more pain.

He looked over at her, then back to the tombstone, "Casey, why was he drunk? And why was he driving while he was drunk? The Sam I know would never do anything like that."

Casey, despite everything in her past, put her arms around Derek and held him close, and Derek, despite everything in his past, let her, "The Sam you knew had also been your best friend since he was five. He only knew your friendship, because he always had it. Who knows if he even had friends during that time now? He might have got caught up in the wrong crowd early on, and never left because he didn't know anything else. Who knows? We weren't here to see it."

Derek sniffed, feeling pathetic, but he couldn't help it, "So, being his friend kept him from this?" he pointed to the grave.

Casey nodded, "Despite all the tormenting you do to me, I'm starting to realize, that to other people, you were their positive force. You were the reason they turned out alright."

Derek looked at her, "Tormenting? You really think that's what it is? Tormenting?"

Casey bit her lip, she didn't want this to turn into an argument, and she noticed her arms were still wrapped around him, so she chose her words carefully, "I don't know. But it sure does seem like it at times. What do you call it?"

"Playing around. Having fun. Trying to see if you will ever laugh."

"There's that laugh line again. Have you really done everything you've done, just to make me laugh?" she was doubtful, and had no problem in letting him know that.

He shook his head, "No. Only some of it. The other things I've done were just because I liked seeing you get angry. It always made me laugh."

She couldn't help but laugh at the look on his face; it was a face that clearly showed that he couldn't help himself. "Well, maybe I can laugh more…" wait, was she agreeing with him? What was this alternate reality doing to them?

He smiled, as if he knew exactly what she was thinking, "I think this whole, me not-existing thing has gone to your head. Once things are back to normal, you're gonna forget this ever happened, and continue to be horribly offended every time a prank comes your way."

She shook her head, "No. For once, and only once, I agree with you. I am short-tempered with you. I don't know why. It's just always been like that. You spark something inside me and I just get irritated by you. I think it's your cockiness."

Derek shrugged, "Maybe. I can be a little on the cocky side sometimes." Whoa! He just agreed with her, too! What was going on?

Casey released her arms from him, and put her hands in her lap. Derek looked almost disappointed at this movement. But then he cleared his throat, "Okay, just so we're clear, this whole, us not getting along thing, was sort of just a big misunderstanding?"

"Sort of." Casey grinned.

"Alright. So, from here on out, I promise you that I will try to be less cocky, so I won't irritate you as much. But I am not promising no cockiness, that's just crossing the line!"

She laughed, "Deal. And I promise you, that I will laugh more. Because with you not being as cocky, I can probably handle some of the pranks, and maybe, just maybe laugh along with you."

He held his hands up like in surrender, "That's all I ask for. But not all the time. That will take the fun out of pranking you!"

She stuck out her hand, "Deal." He shook her outstretched hand, "Deal." He agreed.

Then their hands dropped instantly, and they both stared awkwardly back at Sam's grave.

"Who knew that it would take me wishing you out of existence for us to finally get along?" she laughed as she picked up a piece of grass and began to play with it.

He laughed as well, "I didn't." he looked over at her, "But I'm kind of glad that it happened." She raised her eyebrows, "The whole us getting along part, not the part where you wished I was never born. Just, getting along with you might make our lives easier. Though, I can't promise that there won't be the occasional fight."

She nodded, "I wouldn't expect you to. I mean, seriously, will we ever stop fighting. Honestly?"

Derek grinned, "Probably not. It would be against who we are."

"Exactly."

They sat there in silence for a few moments, marveling at the fact that they had finally reached an understanding, and could actually sit next to each other and have a civilized conversation. Casey looked at her cell phone to check the time, and noticed that it was almost time for dinner at the McDonald/Venturi house. It then struck her, that Derek would have no place to stay as long as his parents didn't recognize him.

Then a brilliant plan struck her. She stood up and pulled Derek up by the arm.

"What?" he asked, brushing the dirt off his pants.

"We're going home now. For dinner."

"Case, you've forgotten one thing, I don't exist. I don't have a home."

"No, but you do have a step-sister with a plan." She grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the car, "Now come on!"

He stared at her, confused, but followed, curious in her plan, and, although he would never admit it, he was amazed at how good it felt to have her hand in his.

--

"Mom, George, I know it's really last minute, but Derek's been asking all his friends, but no one can take him in. His parents are away for a while with their business, and they don't approve of him staying by himself at his house, and besides, his key's been lost for weeks. This was a last resort, and he hated to ask, but I offered to let him stay here until his parents got back. Is that alright?"

George and Nora looked over at Derek, who was standing at the door, awkwardly feeling like a stranger in his own home. Nora smiled over at him, and looked back at her daughter, "Well, since you apologized for your behavior earlier, and admitted that you and Derek were partnered up for a project, I guess we have no reason to be mad at you anymore. So, that means that Derek can stay." She motioned Derek over, and he hurriedly obeyed, "You can stay as long as you need, as long as you don't mind the couch."

He smiled, "Thank you very much No- Mrs. Venturi." He said, as polite as he could, knowing that if he acted too familiar he might give off an odd vibe to the family that didn't remember him.

As the parents went back into the kitchen to finish dinner, Derek went directly behind Casey and whispered in her ear, "Nice lying. I thought your lying career was over?"

She couldn't help but grin, "I learned from the best. And it seemed only right that I use the skills he taught me to help him out."

He grinned back, and put his hand on his heart in mock gratefulness, "I'm touched, I really am."

"Shut up," she pushed him lightly away, but smiled.

"Liar, liar, pants on fire…" Derek sang under his breath as he held back laughter.

Casey's eyes narrowed playfully, "Stop it, or I'll hang you from a telephone wire."

"I'm so scared." He said, with play sarcasm.

"You better be. I have the power to wish you out of existence, don't you think for one second that I can't put you on a wire." She laughed.

"Oh, so now it's this big power that you have. Wishing people out of existence." He was up in her face, but his smile gave him away."

"I'm glad you recognize it."

They both laughed, and Derek was looking right into her eyes, and their gaze was very intense, and for the first time in their lives they felt like they really connected. Not as step-brother and sister. But as two human beings, getting along, and playing around.

They heard someone clear their throat, and noticed Edwin and Lizzie standing at the bottom of the stairs. Casey jumped back away from Derek, and he sighed, the moment was gone. But what the moment was, neither of them could answer.

"Did you want some privacy?" Edwin joked.

Derek was about to make a very sarcastic, big brother joke, but realized that Edwin had no idea that Derek was his older brother. So he settled for looking very awkward.

"No Ed! We were just playing around." Casey said, pulling off the annoyed sister part very well.

Edwin rolled his eyes and went into the kitchen to see if he could sneak any food without his parents noticing. Lizzie stayed where she was, watching her sister closely. She then shrugged and went upstairs to get Marti ready for dinner.

Derek let out a long breath, "That felt like we just got busted for doing something horribly illegal." He laughed.

Casey tried to laugh, but it came out as a nervous giggle. Derek raised his eyebrows at her. "Something wrong?" he asked.

"No. No, nothing." She said, shaking her head, but not meeting his eyes.

He looked doubtful, but did not press the issue. She went over to the couch, and sat down, staring at the blank television screen and trying to figure out why she had felt so disappointed and embarrassed when Lizzie and Edwin had barged into the living room. She tried to rationalize, and say that she just didn't want them thinking that there was something between her and Derek when there wasn't. But she couldn't help but think that there was something there between them, and that she didn't want to think it. She shook her head. Even though, it would be perfectly alright in this reality for something to be there, when reality went back to normal, they would be step-siblings again, and in no possible way would that be okay.

Derek hadn't moved. He was thinking about how close he had been to Casey. And how if he had moved just a few inches closer, his lips would have been touching hers. He shook his head. That was not a good way to think. Because, even if she wasn't his step-sister now in this freaky reality, she was when everything was normal. And there was nothing normal about having feelings for, and wanting to kiss his step-sister. But her being his step-sister had never stopped anything before. He had always loved their fights because that meant he got to touch her. He loved getting her angry because, even if it was negative, her attention was on him. He had always hated himself for it, but he had always loved having her attention. He tried to make himself believe it was just because he liked attention period, and she was the only one who didn't hand it over to him.

But just then, being that close to her, he was forced to realize that he had always had feelings for her. Buried way deep beneath everything that he was, he always had. But he knew that it could never work, and would never happen. Casey was the type of girl who followed the rules. And she would think that dating your step-brother, was against some rule. Though Derek could not think of any rule any where that said anything like that. Well, there was the incest take on it, but they weren't blood-related, and they hadn't grown up together, so technically it wasn't incest.

He had just talked himself into it. He liked her. He liked Casey McDonald. His step-sister. Although, with him apparently not existing, and not being George Venturi's son, he was not the step-son of Nora, and therefore, not Casey's step-brother. If he could just get her that close again… What was he thinking? Casey would never in a million years ever think of him like that. Ever. He sighed and looked over to where she was sitting on the couch. She looked distressed about something. Well, at least they were going to get along better now. Maybe that was all he would ever get from her. Maybe that was all that he could ask for her.

He sighed again and went over to go sit next to her. He could use this getting along thing to work for him, and find out what was bothering her. Because whatever it was, she looked seriously torn, and deep in thought. As he sat down, inches away from her, she didn't even look up. This was more serious than Derek had thought. He cleared his throat.

"Case, what's up, you look like me during a test." He cracked a smile, but she just looked up at him.

"Derek, can I ask you something?"

"Well, we're supposed to be getting along now, so I guess so." He smiled.

"Say, you think there might be something between you and another person. Something like feelings. And say, maybe you liked this person, but you knew that if you were to start a relationship, no one would approve. What would you do?"

"Well, first I would ask, are you asking about yourself?"

Casey sighed and nodded.

"Second, I would ask why no one would approve of the relationship."

She sighed again, "It wouldn't be considered 'right'."

"Oh. Is it like age difference? Is the guy over age, and therefore going out with you, a minor, would be illegal, or something?"

"No nothing like that."

"Then what?"

"Ugh. Just say that it wouldn't be approved of. What would you do?"

He looked right into her eyes, "I would say, screw what people will or won't approve of, and do what you want to. Forget what other people call 'right' and 'wrong'."

Casey nodded, but didn't look sure.

"Does it really matter if everyone approves of the relationship?"

Casey shrugged, "I guess, it really wouldn't. But, I wouldn't feel right."

Derek had let his hopes get up, if she thought that it didn't matter if people approved, then he might have a chance with her. But then she said that she wouldn't feel right. And then he wouldn't be able to enjoy anything with her, if she didn't feel right. He sighed, "Casey, I guess you have to decide. If you really care about this person, then you'll have to decide if you want him, or the approval of everyone else."

"When did you get to be so smart?" she smiled gently.

"Hey, I'm not all looks; I got some brain up here. When I want to."

She laughed and nudged his shoulder with hers. He looked over at her and grinned.

"I guess you're right." She said, pretending to sound defeated.

"About what?" he asked, looking away hurriedly, but then looked back at her to see what she was talking about.

"About the deciding thing. I guess that I will have to decide in the end."

He nodded. And she looked away, and back at the blank television screen, lost in thought again. He watched her out of the corner of his eye, trying not to hope that she was thinking of him. Because getting your hopes up never worked out well in the end, especially if you were wrong.

But neither of them had anymore time to think about anything else.

"Dinner's ready, everyone!" Nora called, as she and George set the food on the already set table.

Derek and Casey stood up and Casey immediately went to her chair, and the other kids sat in theirs. Derek's normal chair was left empty, but, he stood around, waiting to be offered it.

"Derek, you can sit there if you'd like," George offered, seeing how awkward Derek looked.

His face was relieved at once as he settled down into his normal chair, and smiled across the table at Casey. She smiled back, trying to make him feel better for being so out of place in his own house. He then looked at the food, and immediately started buttering up to Nora, complimenting on how good the food looked. Casey grinned and stared down at her plate, holding back laughter. She had never thought that Derek would be a suck-up. But, he had to be nice to the people that were letting him stay in their house. Even if he had normally taken them for granted as his parents.

Derek's foot brushed Casey's under the table, and he grinned over at her, sharing their joke about sucking up. She smiled back and gently kicked his foot. They then began to eat, with Derek's foot periodically touching Casey's, and Casey periodically staring down at her plate to keep from laughing.

--

Dinner had been great, and afterwards, everyone sat at the couch and watched a movie. Edwin was sitting the white cylinder chair, and Derek looked a little put-off that his chair wasn't there anymore. But, he sat happily next to Casey on the far end of the couch. Lizzie and Marti sat beside them, and Nora and George were sitting on a loveseat that had certainly not been there when Derek's chair hand been, but it matched the new armchair perfectly. The movie wasn't all too bad, but it had its cheesy parts. Derek and Casey grinned at each other whenever these parts happened. Derek had resisted making any smart remarks, because he did not want to offend his hosts. This made him laugh even more.

Casey was enjoying the movie. But not because of the plot. Because of how close she and Derek were sitting. Their thighs were touching and if he moved his hand just an inch to his left, it would be touching hers. She smiled at that thought, and her mind went back to their conversation before dinner. He was right, she did have to decide. But she first had to decide if she really had feelings for him. Then decide if she should act on it.

By the goofy grin on her face right now, just because she was sitting close to him, she could guess that she really did like him. Now, to decide whether or not she would act on it. She slid her hand closer to his, slowly. He saw the movement out of the corner of his eyes, but he didn't look over at her, although his smile did widen, and he slid his hand closer to hers. Soon, their hands met, and Derek slid his over hers. She flipped her hand over and laced her fingers in his. Neither knew what was going on in the movie. But they were both staring at the screen, with goofy grins, as they held hands.

--

It was almost midnight. Casey was lying in her bed, waiting to hear silence, so she knew everyone else was asleep. Finally, the last of the footsteps stopped, and the whispering was over. She jumped out of her bed, and crept out of her room, quietly. She ran down the stairs, not caring that she was dressed indecently. She went over to the couch to see if Derek was asleep. He wasn't. He had been staring up at the ceiling, his hands behind his head, as he lay there on the couch, smiling.

He sat up instantly when he saw her and smiled brightly, pointing to the spot next to him on the couch. She flopped down next to him and grinned.

"So, I have a question for you." He said, as he took her hand in his.

"Shoot."

"So, earlier today, were you talking about you and me?"

She stared down at their interlocked hands, and nodded, "You know when things go back to normal they're never going to accept this."

Derek sighed, "Way to bring a guy down. So, I guess this means you decided?"

She nodded once more, "Yes. I figured, why don't we enjoy the fact that they don't know you're in the family, while we can, and be able to be accepted. Then, when things go back to normal, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it."

"Good plan."

"I just can't believe this. It's all happening so fast. First, you and I agreeing to get along. And now… this?" she motioned to their joined hands, "Where did it all come from?"

"You know what, I was just thinking about that. I think that something between us you were talking about, I think it was always there. We just didn't know it. And whenever we suspected it, we pushed it away, and denied it. Trying to make ourselves believe it was something else. Because, we knew from the beginning that it wouldn't be seen as 'right'."

Casey thought about it for a moment, and then nodded, "I guess you're right."

Derek then wrapped his arms around her, "Now, we just get to enjoy the fact that we don't have to be anything but boyfriend and girlfriend, and not step-siblings."

Casey had wrapped her arms around him in return, but pulled away and looked at him, "Is this your odd way of asking me to be your girlfriend?"

Derek grinned, "I can't believe I'm saying this, but yeah. Casey, will you be my girlfriend? Wow, I never thought I would ever say that!"

Casey giggled quietly, "And I never thought I would say this, but yes, Derek, I will be your girlfriend."

He grinned broadly, and kissed her forehead, "As happy as I am right now, I've had a long day. I was confused, then really mad, then really sad, then really, really happy, and I think I need to sleep."

Casey giggled again, "Alright. Good night, Derek." She whispered, and kissed his cheek, surprising herself at how quickly she had gotten used to this. She then hurried back to the stairs, and walked up them quietly, feeling Derek's eyes on her the whole time. As she hurried back into her room, and lie back on her bed, she realized how truly happy she was. What could be better than coming to terms with feelings about someone you never knew you had?

Nothing. Nothing was better than what she was feeling right at this second.

Though Derek would beg to differ; what he was feeling right now was the best feeling in the world.

He really liked how he felt right now, but he wished he didn't have to not exist for this to happen. He rolled over onto his side and closed his eyes. He knew that he wanted to be with Casey. But he also wanted to exist again. He just hoped when the time came, he wouldn't have to choose between the two. He sighed and pulled his blanket up higher, he didn't want to think about it, but the thought kept running through his mind. What would he choose? Being Casey's boyfriend, or existing.

If he existed, Sam would still be alive, Ralph wouldn't be depressed, Kendra would still be in school, and not pregnant. And who knew what else had changed without him there? But being Casey's boyfriend had made him happier than he had ever been, even if it had only been for a few minutes. He was confusing even himself. He groaned and rolled back over. He hated this.

It should be a happy moment.

Too bad it had to have such suck-ish timing.