Disclaimer: I don't own the show Life With Derek, or Eve 6, or the Blink 182 song: The Party Song
A/N: Here's the next installment! It's my longest one yet and hopefully you guys will enjoy it. I'm sure you know how you can let me know… ;)
Last time: Casey and Derek were getting into a serious talk about their feelings but were interrupted when the phone rang.
Read on, dears!
--Beautiful Oblivion—
Chapter Nine: some girls try too hard, but not casey
Of course the phone was ringing. Why wouldn't it ring? It was the most opportune time to ruin a moment. An important moment, too, in which Casey and Derek were both at their most vulnerable, their most honest. Of course it was ringing.
"I should get that," said Casey instantly, hastily moving from her spot on the end of her bed, next to Derek, to grab the cordless phone that just so happened to be sitting next to her bed on the nightstand. As she did so, Derek let out a long breath that he apparently had been holding and put his head in his hands. He was frustrated, no doubt.
Casey herself was just a little worried about who was calling. If it was Sam she would probably freak out.
Oh my gosh Sam, she thought. What am I going to do about him? Her feelings at the moment were very mixed and her stomach felt sick just thinking about the whole situation and what she had gotten herself into.
This is so awkward, Derek thought. He started to massage his temples, then turned and glanced at Casey as she answered the phone. He could tell that she was trying to act nonchalant about their previous conversation as she spoke smoothly into the phone.
"Hello?" she said, and she turned her face so that her gaze wouldn't meet his. "Oh, hi mom." Casey got up off of the bed and went to her bedroom window. "Yeah, it is snowing pretty badly out," she said, nodding. "Wait, what? Oh. Okay. I guess that makes sense. Are you sure you won't be able to…Uh, huh. Yeah, I get it. I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to you guys. Yeah, we'll be fine," Derek, who had been watching the whole exchange from her bed raised his eyebrows when she said this, "Okay, love you too. Bye mom." She nodded her head. "Goodnight."
Casey hung up the phone and sighed loudly. She turned around and caught Derek staring at her, but didn't immediately saying anything.
"Well?" asked Derek.
"That was my mom."
"I got that much."
"She called to tell us that she and George are going to stay over their friend's house tonight because of the storm. I didn't even know they were at someone's house, I just thought they were going out for dinner and a movie…" she was frowning again. Derek slowly started to grin.
"So we're alone?" She nodded to him.
"Kind of like we've been alone all night."
"Yeah, but now we're alone for the entire night."
"Right, what's your point?"
"We're alone in this house together tonight. Just you," he pointed to her and then to himself, "and me, electricity optional."
"And?"
"Well, it's just that, things could definitely get a bit interesting. And with absolutely no distractions to worry about. I'm liking these odds," he said and his smirk didn't falter. She couldn't help but chuckle lightly, albeit uneasily.
"Don't you think the night has been eventful enough as it is?" she asked, and she didn't even try to hide the slight nervousness in her voice. Derek shrugged.
"Hmm, eventful, sure, but eventful enough?" He shook his head. "I'm pretty sure we could do a lot more damage. After all, the night is young." He pointed to her clock. It read that it was past ten. Casey rolled her eyes.
"There are so many things wrong with what you just said."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah. First of all, I'd hardly call 10:15 early—"
"Then you must be lamer than even I thought." She chose to ignore him and continued.
"And second of all, I don't even want to know what you're suggesting," she said as she walked over to her dresser and gently placed the cordless down onto it. Then she turned to face him. "Can we be done here now?" She didn't wait for his answer. "Okay, thanks," she said and made a dramatic motion with her arms that translated into, "I'm kicking you out now, so go."
He walked over to her reluctantly, a slight scowl on his handsome face as if they were both children and she had just rejected his offer of a play date. Which, she kind of was, if in fact Derek's idea to liven up their night involved the two of them…playing with one another.
"Aww, come on, Case. Please don't tell me that you're really just going to go to bed now," he whined as he reached her. She pointed to the exit of her bedroom and kept her face firmly indifferent.
"Please just go, Derek. I think I have a headache, no thanks to you. And yes, I do plan on going to bed now."
"Ouch, and without me?"
"Will you quit it with the sex jokes already!" she screeched at him, losing her composure and shoving him out of her door; he laughed as she did so, enjoying her discomfort. He loved it when she got rough with him. She didn't even care at that point that once again she had let him get to her after resolving that she wouldn't let him. "And don't call me Case!" she shouted as she shut the door in his face.
He waited a half minute before knocking on her door.
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It was 10:35 and they were on Casey's bed.
Together.
At the same time.
She was sitting at the head of the bed with her legs crossed, flipping through the most recent issue of Cosmopolitan, reading about things such as lip gloss and home hair care remedies. He was sprawled out in front of her on his back, trying his hardest to concentrate on the task at hand. Literally. In his hand was a book. Casey's book. The one she had been reading earlier. Pride and Prejudice.
One of Derek's cds was playing quietly in the background. It was a collection of some of his favorite songs from the nineties. As Casey read about what shade of eye shadow was best for her complexion this winter, she softly sang along to an old Blink 182 song called The Party Song. When it came on and she surprisingly seemed to know all of the lyrics, Derek paused from his reading. He couldn't help but watch her for a few seconds; it was after all a pretty tough song to sing along to, not to mention the fact that the lyrics were crude and rude. It was so not a song he would ever picture Casey singing, yet there she was. He smiled. Maybe he had rubbed off on her more than he knew. When he caught himself smiling at her he inwardly cursed and went back to his book, her book.
They had been like this for about ten minutes.
"Okay, done!" he exclaimed suddenly, sitting up and turning to face her. She stopped singing and gave him a confused look.
"What do you mean you're done? You just started reading."
"Yeah, I know!" he grinned, obviously feeling pleased with himself.
"Okay…" she said, her eyes still questioning his excitement.
"I just finished the first chapter!" Casey just stared at him for a moment. She didn't know whether to laugh in his face or pry her favorite book from his fingers and hit him repeatedly over the head with it. She decided to spare her book from the physical damage it might go through when connecting with Derek's head.
"Derek," she said his name slowly, "the first chapter is less than three pages long," she told him and even held up three fingers for him to see. Now he seemed confused.
"And…?"
"And…?"
"Yeah, what are you saying?"
"I'm saying that finishing the first chapter in ten minutes is hardly an accomplishment!" Derek made a blowing sound with his lips that sounded like somewhat like, "Pssh."
"Oh come on, Casey. What do you expect me to do, read the whole book in one sitting tonight?" He tilted his head at her and his skeptical facial expression made her want to laugh, but she kept a straight face.
"Well, no, not exactly but you could at least try to read a few more chapters before getting all proud of yourself," she managed to get out without even cracking a smile, though the thought of Derek staying up all night reading Pride and Prejudice did make her want to burst out in giggles.
"Are you serious? You think I feel proud of myself right now?" he asked her incredulously. She merely stuck her tongue out at him. He shook his head. "Oh, now that's mature."
"Whatever, Derek. It's your choice," she said, and continued to read through her magazine. She was now reading an article a tad bit racier than using olive oil on dry, split end induced hair: "The Blended Orgasm." She didn't even care that Derek was right there next to her and might be able to see what she was reading. It was a fairly interesting article after all.
A few minutes later Derek interrupted their fairly companionable silence—save for the music, with back to back overdramatic sighs. The first one Casey could ignore. For all she knew he was just, sighing. Mr. Darcy could do that to a person. She ignored the second one as well, but after he had sighed four times in a row, she finally put her magazine down and glared at him.
"What is it, Venturi?" He pointed his gaze at her and grinned from ear to ear.
"I'm sorry, is there a problem here?" he asked innocently.
"I think you know," she responded.
"Oh, the sighing?" She made a face at him that obviously meant "Duh," and he laughed and elbowed her thigh lightly, jokingly. "Ah, nothing," he said. "I was just getting so into this book."
"Yeah, right," she said.
"Oh all right, you caught me." He sat up on his elbows and turned so that he was facing her.
"I'm hungry."
"Then go get something to eat."
"I don't want to."
"Then why are you complaining?" He just looked at her. She stared back at him. He made a face at her and she knew that he wanted her to do something. She just shook her head. He stuck out his bottom lip and made a sad face. Finally she rolled her eyes and gave in. "What do you want?" His expression immediately changed into a big smile.
"I thought you'd never ask!" he said happily, then, "Well, I wouldn't exactly mind if you went and got me something eat." He batted his eyelashes at her. She looked at him like he was crazy.
"Yeah, okay, sure. I'll get right to it," she said, not making any attempt to move from her spot.
"Come on, Case. I want a cookie!"
"Casey. And you know that we didn't finish baking so there are no cookies. Plus, I am so not getting up to go get you some food. Why can't you just go yourself." He made a face.
"I'm way too comfortable," he complained and wiggled around, moving back to his original position on his back, head closer to the left side of her leg.
"Well then you're just going to have to suck it up because I'm not moving either."
"But I'm hungry."
"Please stop talking."
"Fine."
"Fine."
They both went silent. Casey went back to her magazine and Derek grudgingly picked up his, her book and started to read chapter seven. Jane was being invited to dine with the Bingleys and her mother was being even more annoying than usual, concocting a ridiculous plan for her to arrive on horseback so that she wouldn't be able to ride back because of the inevitable rain. He couldn't help but scoff at the idea and express his thoughts out loud.
"It's not a good idea, Jane," he said and Casey looked up from her reading, surprised. She raised her eyebrows when she realized he was talking to the book. He knew she was listening and said his next statement even more dramatically. "Don't do it! No good can come from this!"
Casey just shook her head at his ridiculousness and went back to her articles. Derek continued to read. And he was right. Jane Bennet got very ill and ended up having to stay at Netherfield for longer than even her mother had expected. In a way, though, Derek couldn't help but commend Mrs. Bennet on her sneakiness since overall; her plan has worked out just as she wanted. It did in fact seem as though Jane and Mr. Bingley were truly falling for one another.
I cannot believe I am reading this, he thought. And actually understanding it and even, oh jeez, enjoying it? He shook his head, but then started to read it some more.
An hour later, he had gotten halfway through the book when he decided that his neck was cramping. He had been in the same position for way too long. As he began to adjust himself, he looked over at Casey and was surprised to see than she apparently had fallen asleep. He was so into his reading that he couldn't even tell how long she had been that way. Her legs were still crossed but she was leaning all the way back on her head board and her magazine was still open in her lap, but her eyes were closed and she was breathing slow and evenly.
Sitting up completely, he turned so that he was facing her and crossed his legs as well. Curious to see what would happen, he poked her arm. Nothing happened. So he poked her again. She still didn't move or wake up. He was about to poke her again, but then stopped at the last moment.
She looked so content, so peaceful. And pretty; she looked really pretty. Her long brown hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail but most of her bangs had already escaped and were now messily framing her face. Before he knew it, he was reaching over and gently placing some of the loose bangs behind her right ear. And then, instead of removing his right hand, he moved it again so that he was now cupping the side of her face. To do so he had to lean in closer to her and it wasn't exactly the most comfortable position but he didn't care at the moment. He liked the feel of her skin. It was soft, her face free of blemishes and since she had taken a shower she wasn't wearing a trace of makeup. She looked better than just pretty, he thought she was beautiful.
And Derek couldn't help what he did next. He leaned in closer and closer and soon his face was right in front of hers with just about an inch of space in between them. He had moved his hand so that it was now in her hair at the back of her head.
He moved even closer and the moment his lips touched hers, her eyes opened wide, and when he realized that he was looking into her deep blue eyes he was so shocked that he immediately pulled away. He moved away so fast in fact that he basically gave himself whiplash and ended up crashing to the floor on the left side of the bed. Casey was shocked herself and when he looked up at her from his spot on the floor, he watched as she traced the outline of her pink lips with her left pointer finger.
She wasn't looking down at him. She was looking off into the corner of her room and for some reason Derek was having trouble deciding whether or not he should get up and off of the floor. Neither of them had said anything yet and frankly, he was scared of what she would do if he did move, or speak. No, it was better for him to wait and see how she reacted first. So far, all she was doing was avoiding his gaze.
Oh man, what did I just do? Why did I kiss her? Why isn't she saying anything? Why won't she look at me? Derek's thoughts were racing. He was so confused. It had been about five minutes since he had stopped reading and now, more than anything, he wished he hadn't stopped. If he had just kept reading he wouldn't be sitting on the floor right then, waiting to get yelled at.
A minute later he couldn't stand the silence anymore and needed to know what she was thinking and if she was mad at him. He clumsily stood up and said her name.
"Casey…"
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An Hour and Forty-six Minutes Earlier
He waited a half minute before knocking on her door. Unlike the last time, her music wasn't blaring so she heard him right away.
She opened the door a few inches so he could only see her face and she looked livid.
"What?" she yelled exasperatedly. He didn't even blink, just put a bright smile on his face.
"I was just feeling a little lonely. You know, it's just the two of us all alone in this big house with a snowstorm going on outside and the electricity has already cut out once, who knows if it will again and I was just thinking that maybe it would be better if we stuck together. It might even be fun." He waggled his eyebrows at her and she narrowed her eyes. Then, clapping his hands together he said, "We could have a slumber party!"
"Yeah, right," she finally replied. It was the first time he had allowed even a second for her to say something. "We are so not sleeping in the same room tonight." His eyes widened at her phrasing. "I mean ever. Not just tonight."
"Oh come on, at least let me come in then; just for a little while. We could just hang out. I bet you wouldn't want to be alone if and when we lose power again." He knew how scared she could get sometimes.
"I'm pretty sure I would be fine by myself if and when we lose power again. It's not like I need you to protect me."
"You sure about that?" They stared at each other for a few more seconds and then she made a face and he knew that she would let him in. She let out a frustrated groan and opened the door wide enough for him to pass through.
"Fine. You can come in. But we're just hanging out. No funny business. And it's my room so we do what I want to do; you have no say." He strode into her room and sat on her bed as she ranted. "Are you listening to me?"
"Yeah, yeah. What are we going to do then?" She shut the door and grinned for the first time.
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A/N: Well what do ya know! Derek made the move this time! Whoo! Please review! I really appreciate it! Thoughts, dislikes, ideas on what's gonna happen next…?
Oh, and I don't know if anyone noticed but this is the first time I've made the chapter title be anything but exact lines from a song. I added the "but not casey" part. Haha. And the line I chose is actually from The Party Song, which is the song that Casey was singing in this chapter.
