Disclaimer: I don't own the show Life With Derek, or Eve 6, or the Dashboard Confessional song: Hands Down.
A/N: So, I know it's been like...two whole weeks since I've updated…but here is: the eleventh chapter! It's my Christmas gift to you (my loves, haha). Have a Merry Derekus! I made it extra long just because you guys had to wait. I hope you enjoy it!
P. S.- If you haven't already watched the Fanfiction podcast, please go do so! It's awesome, just what I thought it would be. It makes me so happy to know that Ash and Mike read and enjoy some of the stories written about their characters. And to make a podcast and have a read through of an actual story…they're just AMAZING!
On to the story…
--Beautiful Oblivion--
Chapter Eleven: you kissed me like you meant it
Derek was the first to wake up. Normally he didn't rise from his slumber until at least 11:00 o'clock on the weekends, hardly ever a minute before, but this particular Sunday was a bit different than usual. On this Sunday, he wasn't alone in his bed like usual and that fact was probably one of the reasons why he was currently staring at the glowing red numbers of his alarm clock; either that or he was going crazy. The numbers told him that is was 6:58 in the morning.
Who wakes up this early on a Sunday? he thought to himself.
He groaned in displeasure; it was way too early for him to even begin thinking about functioning and also, for some reason, his right arm felt really weighted down and just a little numb. He tried to turn over only to bump into the form next to him.
"Am I really up right now? Or, am I still dreaming?" he murmured to himself out loud, poking the shoulder of the girl whose head was presently hogging most of his pillow. Her back was what was weighing his arm down.
Her hair was long and brown and it curled a little at the ends and it was everywhere. It was also covering most of her face so he reached over with his left arm and lifted a bit of it with his hand. He knew who she was but the whole situation still seemed really surreal to him.
"I must be dreaming," he decided, carefully pulling his arm out from under her and putting both behind his head, looking up at his ceiling. Casey just curled closer to him so that her head was now resting on his right shoulder, her face pressed up against his chest.
Except, he thought, I know I'm not because I don't usually dream about Casey sleeping with me in my bed. He looked down at her again and he decided he liked the way she looked, curled up next to him. It was a nice picture. And she just looked too darn cute with her hair all messy and all over the place. I'll probably start dreaming about her now, though.
He let out a deep breath trying to steady himself. Then, he pulled his right arm back out from under his head and tapped Casey's right shoulder again. She just wiggled even closer to him, her hands rolled up into two tiny fists, pushed up near his abs, face still against his chest. She was completely unaware of her actions and what she was doing to him. And what she was doing to him was making him want to kiss her right there and then. He only refrained because it seemed that she didn't really like to be kissed while she was sleeping. And also, he wasn't quite sure if they were still kissing each other.
Sure, they were sleeping together, apparently, in the completely literal sense, but he had n idea what was going to happen with them at that exact moment in time.
He raised his eyebrows in blissful amusement when she twisted even closer to him again. She seemed really comfortable, lying there next to him in his bed, under his sheets. He found it bizarre and astounding how things could change so drastically in one day, in just a few restless hours. He also found it funny and a relief that she seemed to be sleeping so well and that she hadn't woken up sometime in the middle of the night to sneak out of his room.
It was the next morning, and she was still there next to him, completely passed out and hogging his pillow when she very well had her own. Strange as the situation was, he liked how it seemed like she was being pulled to him, like he was some sort of Casey-Magnet. Or maybe it was just because she was cold and she craved him touch. The thought hadn't occurred to him until that very moment. He wrapped his arms around her and was pleased that she seemed to fit so perfectly in his arms. Who would have known that he would find the idea of wrapping his arms around his annoyingly wonderful stepsister so appealing?
He liked holding her while she slept. She was warm and soft in his arms.
Jeez. She's making me about the cheesiest person on earth. What the hell? How did this happen?
He raised his eyebrows once more when, out of nowhere, Casey shifted, this time actually turning away from him and lifting her arms above her head in a deliberate, leisurely stretch, yawning quietly as she did so. Derek, unfortunately, was forced to move his arms to accommodate her movements. Her pajama top rose halfway up her belly as she did so, though, and Derek grinned happily in appreciation. His fingers ached to brush across her flawlessly creamy skin, but he figured he didn't want to get smacked too early in the morning so he refrained from doing so.
Casey slowly opened her eyes and squinted up at his ceiling, not yet turning to face him. Derek watched with enjoyment the thoughts and emotions that seemed to run across her still drowsy features. He could just imagine what she was thinking.
"Morning, Case," he said somewhat cheerfully, almost fully awake now. Her face twitched in his direction and he laughed at her surprised and rather confused look.
"Good morning?" she said back to him, but it sounded more like a question.
"Yes, it is," he replied, and reached over to pull her back close to him. "Did you sleep well?" She nodded into his chest.
"Yes, I'm pretty sure I did." A moment went by when none of them said anything.
"Are you freaking out right about now?" he finally asked. She nodded again.
"Um…just a little bit."
"I kind of am, too," he admitted. She turned her head up to look at him. After a few seconds she raised an eyebrow at him and he thought that her eyebrows were perfect.
"You don't seem to be freaking out," she declared. "You seem pretty calm right now, actually."
"Yeah?" he asked. She shook her head. "Well, I guess I'm better at acting than either of us have ever admitted," he said quietly and Casey couldn't help but giggle a little.
"I'm sorry, but this is just weird. I mean, here we are, having a normal conversation, well, sort of normal conversation, and we're not fighting, and we're not mad at each other, and it's just, weird," she said. "I can't believe I came here last night. I am so not acting like myself, right now." She was still letting him hold her, and he thought that this was a good sign, despite her bewilderment.
"This is true," he replied, "but I can't say I'm not happy that you came to visit me last night. I mean, if you hadn't come over to cuddle with me," she shoved him a little when he said this, "I'd definitely still be pissed off at you and then we'd never be able to…" he trailed off. She leaned in closer to him.
"We'd never be able to…what?" she prompted, her blue eyes wide with hope. He moved his face even closer to hers and just as she was about to close her eyes and lean in towards him to cover the rest of the distance between them, he pulled away from her and said, "I'm hungry. Let's go eat!" In a second he was up and standing, looking at her pointedly.
Casey's body immediately fell into the spot that Derek had previously occupied before he practically jumped out of his bed. She made a sound like, "Oof," and then quickly sat back up, not even attempting to hide her glare, her cheeks slowly reddening as she aimed it at him. He just gave her a sheepish, albeit somewhat nervous grin and shrugged. She narrowed her eyes at him.
"You're strange," she finally said and then slipped out of his bed as well.
"You think it's strange that I'm hungry?" he joked as they walked out of his bedroom. She made another face at him.
"Not exactly, no."
They both decided on their own not to mention their almost kiss. They were both slightly embarrassed, but for entirely different reasons. Casey was embarrassed because she had let herself believe that he had been intending to kiss her and Derek was embarrassed because he had chickened out at the last second, and he had no idea why.
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"So, what are you going to make?"
"Cereal."
"That's not really making something, though, now is it? All you do is pour the cereal into a bowl and then add some milk."
"So? I don't care. It's what I'm hungry for."
"Seriously? That's it? Are you sure you don't want to added some, let's say…scrambled eggs, a little sausage and some chocolate chip pancakes to that list of things to…make?"
"Actually, no. I think I'm content with my selection. But you feel free to cook that very appealing sounding meal. I'm sure it will be absolutely delicious."
"Yes, it will be…if you cook it for me. Pretty please?"
"Derek, why do you constantly think that I'm just going to act like your maid, or in this case, your personal chef? My answer remains the same. I'm not going to cook you breakfast and I'm not going to serve you. Just like I wouldn't get you food last night. There are some things that even you can handle on your own." He pouted at her, but she was determined not to let his face affect her. Just because she couldn't help but find his expression and the way his hair was sticking up every which way because of sleep completely adorable didn't mean that he was just going to get his way.
"But you almost made cookies last night, I know you like to cook," he protested.
"Yes, that's true, I do like to cook, but that's beside the point. Plus, you were supposed to be helping with the baking of the cookies."
"Yeah? Well, we both know what happened with that," he stated squarely.
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Twenty minutes later, Derek was sitting contentedly at the counter with a plate stacked with four chocolate chip pancakes, four pieces of sausage and an overflowing amount of scrambled eggs on his plate. He covered everything with maple syrup and left a small space to fill with ketchup by his eggs.
Casey sat next to him eating her bowl of Lucky Charms. Every once in a while she would turn to look at his concoction and grimace a little. They ate in an oddly comfortable silence.
Still, neither of them had the guts to further discuss their "almost" moment nor all of the other moments that had happened the night before.
For some reason, Casey and Derek were acting shy around one another. It was like they were just tiptoeing around the fact that they liked each other and even the fact that they had both already practically admitted it.
But maybe that was part of the problem. Maybe they were both scared that the other was having second thoughts, possibly regretting the actions of the aforementioned night before. Either that or they both just cowards.
Sure, they were in a sticky situation, but when had talking ever been a problem between them? It was their number one tool of communication and yet, for some reason, they were both finding it hard to speak; at least about touchy subjects like scorching kisses in the upstairs bathroom, and on Casey's bed and an overnight snuggle in his.
In one night, their relationship had drastically changed and they didn't seem to know where to go from there.
It was Sunday. That meant that their parents would be arriving home sometime that night and their siblings, too, at different intervals throughout the day. That also meant that they only had a few precious hours alone to sort things out. To figure out what they were going to do about their…situation.
And what were they going to do?
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"Derek, you can't make me." Her arms were crossed over her chest and she gave him a pointed look.
"Well, technically, I can. I'm pretty strong. I could pick you up easily and just carry you out." He flexed his arm for her and she rolled her eyes.
"You wouldn't…"
"I would," he confirmed.
"Well, just because you drag me out doesn't mean I'll stay."
"And just because you try to go back inside doesn't mean I'll let you."
"But…" she paused, and looked out the living room window. "It's cold," she whined and this time he rolled his eyes.
"Yeah? We'll you'll get over it. Plus, that's why it's called bundling up, so that you stay warm." She still didn't look convinced. "Come on, Case. It'll be fun. You can't hate the outdoors that much."
"It's not that I hate the outdoors, or even the snow. I actually really like the snow. It's really pretty. I just…I don't know. I just kind of want to stay inside and finish my book. Make a cup of hot chocolate maybe."
And basically just avoid you, she thought.
She hated thinking it, but she was scared that spending more alone time with Derek would make her feel even more attached to him than she was already feeling, and she knew it wasn't a good thing. It couldn't be.
"Are you serious?" he asked. She nodded. "No way. You have to be joking with me. You'd rather sit inside all day when you could be outside right now, running around in all of that perfectly new and fluffy snow?" His eyes were shining with delight and she couldn't help but laugh at his childish excitement.
"How old are you?" she asked. He grinned.
"Six."
She stared at him, trying to keep a straight face. He did the same. They just looked at each other for a few seconds but then, she cracked. She started to giggle. He was so ridiculous sometimes.
"What? I love the winter," he said after she had stopped laughing.
"I can tell." She still wasn't saying yes. He didn't like it.
"Casey, you might as well just agree right now, because you're coming out with me no matter what and we are going to go sledding and we are going to make a snowman and you are going to have fun."
"And?"
"And…I guess, if you come, I'll make you a nice hot cup of chocolate when we get back inside. But only if you get your little butt upstairs right now and change," he declared.
"But—"
"No buts. Go get changed. You're right. It is cold out." She was about to protest again but he was already pushing her out of the living room and up the stairs. She tried to stand still but he kept his hands planted firmly on her back.
"De-rek!"
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Ten minutes later, Casey was stepping outside into the back yard. For some reason, Derek had convinced her to bundle up in long underwear, a sweater, snow pants, a winter coat, scarf, mittens and her favorite pink winter hat with earflaps and pom poms included.
She felt bloated.
When Derek saw that she had finally found her way outside, he debated whether or not he should immediately let her know where he was. After thinking it over for a moment, he came to his decision.
After being outside for a full minute and seeing no sign of Derek, Casey was about to call out to him, when a snowball came out of nowhere and hit her squarely of the side of her head. She turned in the direction it had come from and found Derek, all bundled up himself, bent over, laughing hysterically.
She glared at him.
"You did not just do that," she stated, taking a few unsteady steps towards him. It had really snowed a lot and it wasn't exactly easy maneuvering her way over to him. He continued to laugh.
When she finally got close enough to him, he was surprised when she shoved two hands full of snow into his face and neck area.
"Daamn!" he shouted, wiping his face, just a little bit impressed with her efforts. Now she was doubled over laughing. He hadn't noticed her scooping up the snow as she paddled towards him.
Well, she shall pay, he thought.
"What?" she asked, still laughing. "You thought I was just going to stand there and let you throw snowballs at my head? No way, Casey doesn't roll that way." She was shaking her head and motioning wildly with her mitten-clad hands.
"Yeah, well Derek doesn't just let weak little girls shove snow in his face," he said as he stepped closer to her, bunching up snow in his fists as he did so, carefully shaping his next snowball.
"Weak little girl? Is that really all you've got?" she asked him. He was still making his snowball when she threw her own at his chest.
She squealed after she did so and then proceeded to run away from him in the opposite direction. He just scowled and chased after her, dropping the snow in his hand in the process.
"Oh no you don't!" he shouted, mere seconds behind her.
She kept running, making her way around their house until she ended up in front yard. From there she decided to continue her round and started to make her way back to the back of the house, when suddenly Derek caught up with her.
He ambushed her from behind, wrapping his arms around her waist, ignoring her many protests, and lifting her up into the air, fully intending on dropping her nicely into the deep snow in front of him.
"Derek! What are you doing? Put me down!" she yelled, squirming around in his grasp. He just continued to walk forward until he found a nice pile of snow. Then, he neatly dropped her into it. She yelped and he smirked.
A second later, he found himself face down in the snow beside her. She had launched herself at his legs, and he had lost his balance.
"If I go down, you go down," she stated, jumping on top of him. He vaguely wondered what her intentions were as she straddled his waist, but all thoughts left his head as she repeatedly shoved snow into his face.
"Oh, not cool, Casey! Not cool!" he hollered. She just giggled excitedly. That's when he decided that enough was enough.
He grabbed her wrists and before she understood what was going on, they had changed positions. Suddenly, she was the one lying on her back in the snow, and he was the one straddling her. She complained but he continued to hold her wrists down.
"There is no way you're getting away with that, Case. No, now you owe me."
"And what exactly do I owe you?" she asked. He stared down at her and she looked up at him. Her cheeks were flushed from the cold and her hair was splayed out all around her head, wet from the snow. She looked so gorgeous to him in that moment that he couldn't help or even stop to think about what he was about to do as he slowly moved his head down towards her, this time fully intending on kissing her.
She realized what he was doing right away and her eyes widened in anticipation. The situation was so ideal. A sweet kiss in the snow. What girl didn't dream about this?
Right as his lips were about to touch hers, though, she moved her head, causing him to get a face full of her neck. He groaned. But then, unexpectedly, she was moving underneath him, and since he wasn't paying too much attention about keeping her pinned down anymore, she easily removed herself from him. Then, before he knew what was happening, she was on top of him once more.
Before he could question her actions, she was ripping off her mittens, throwing them haphazardly behind her, and then her hands were on either side of his face and she was kissing him.
She crashed her lips onto his over and over again and there they were, in the snow, on the side of their house, kissing passionately for all to see, if anyone was looking, that is. But no one was, and Derek was sure that he wouldn't have been able to stop kissing her even if his dad himself showed up right next to them and yelled. At that point in time, it was just the two of them and it was a perfect moment.
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A few minutes later, Casey tore her lips from his and was about to say something, but was distracted when he just moved his mouth to her neck, grabbing her scarf and throwing to the side, away from them; it was in the way. Then he turned them over again so that she was beneath him once more and she let him. She let him kiss her for a while but then remembered her thoughts.
"Derek," she mumbled. It was hard for her to speak when she was so out of breath.
"Yeah?" He didn't remove his lips from her neck. She moaned.
"Um, I think we need to agree on something, um, before we continue."
"What's that?" he asked as he moved back to her face, kissing her clumsily on her jaw and then the side of her lips and then back again fully on the mouth.
"Uh," she said between kisses, "I think we need to agree on, um, no regrets," she finally got out, and this stopped him. He paused, lifted his head and then gave her a questioning look.
"No regrets, huh?" She nodded, and he loved the way her mouth looked so…kissed and kissable. So red and raw. He bent down to kiss her again. "No regrets," he repeated, this time as a statement, an agreement.
A few seconds later, it started to snow lightly.
They stayed outside for a while.
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A/N: Yay for Dasey!!! Please tell me what you think…I'd love to hear from you!
