Delicate

.

A/N: Thank you all so much for the amazing reviews! They mean so much. Okay, I was going to upload this chapter yesterday but some family stuff got in the way, but here it is now! I'm eager to get your feedback on it! Chapter title is an incredibly beautiful song by Muse.

.

.

Chapter Eight: Endlessly

.

.

Have you ever experienced one of those days? A day when all you want to do is forget everything that's happened to you, everything that's happening to you; numb the pain. But yet everything is so clear and vivid, you could recount the story years later, much to your own embarrassment.

I mean, the night wasn't a total loss—it ended completely different from how I expected it to, but still. It was just mortifying and painful on so many levels. Let's just say that I've learned my lesson.

It all started Saturday night. It was a couple of days before Valentines' Day, and so there was this massive Valentine's Day party planned at Ralph's house. I hadn't wanted to go—to be honest, the last holiday I felt like celebrating was Valentine's Day. Love was for suckers and losers. Was I a little bitter? Maybe. But Emily had begged me to go; saying that this was the party of the year… or at the very least the month. Of course I caved; I was in love so naturally I was a sucker like the rest of them.

The most sizeable problem would not be the bitter taste in my mouth; that I could forget about with a smile. It would be the attendance of Derek, with his precious girlfriend Sally. To be honest, I was surprised they'd lasted this long. A couple of months ago outside Smelly Nelly's I'd witnessed a massive fight largely about… well… me, but it hadn't seemed to change things the way I expected. Derek and Sally were still together. Oh joy of joys.

For the first hour I'd been doing a pretty good job of avoiding Derek and Sally; ducking behind people whenever they came near; walking into other conversations in order to avoid speaking with them; and just plain turning around and walking in the other direction if it came down to it. Emily wasn't suspicious; it was normal for me to try to avoid Derek—I had it down to a science. But by the time the second hour approached, she was getting a little weary.

"Hey Case, let's go talk to Derek and Sally," she suggested. "They're right over there," she gestured over to the couple and I reluctantly glanced over. Objectively speaking, they did not look very happy. Both standing in silence, expressions of boredom etched across their faces, their arms crossed defensively over their chests. Very bad body language.

"They look miserable!" I pointed out, feeling a little bit sorry for them. But just a little.

"Exactly, which is why we should go say hi," Emily insisted.

I twisted my mouth in thought. "Nah, you go ahead. I'll get another drink of punch."

"Casey, you know there's alcohol in there right?" Emily asked, cocking an eyebrow in surprise.

"Really?!" I was shocked. "Are you sure? It's pink! And it tastes like raspberry juice and 7-up! I taste nothing even remotely alcoholic."

"Well they do a good job of covering it up then, cause I'm sure of it," Emily replied. "I saw Ralph pour some vodka in there."

I shivered in disgust and placed my half-empty cup on a spare inch of the coffee table. "Ooh a coaster!" I reached for one, placing my cup on top of it. "Why aren't people using them?"

"Since you're not getting anything else to drink, come talk to Derek and Sally with me," Emily offered, pulling on my arm.

"Thanks but no thanks, Em," I shrugged her off with a frown. "I'm not in the mood to deal with Sal—I mean, him tonight."

"Okay," she shrugged.

"Tell them I said hi!" I called over after her, but reconsidered afterwards. Was that a good idea? I didn't want to start a catfight in the middle of the party. Sighing, I made my way over to an empty chair and sat down, looking around the living room. Couples were dancing in a cleared-off section, grinding to some rap. Chancing a glance over at Derek and Sally, I spotted Emily chatting animatedly with Sally about something, but no Derek. Where'd he go?

I felt a light tap on my shoulder and before I even turned my head, I knew. "Why do you always do that?" I asked him.

"Do what?" Derek sat down on one of the arms of the chair.

"Disappear and then come up behind me and tap me on the shoulder. It's spooky. Stalker," I shot at him, offering a slight smile.

"Why aren't you dancing?" he asked me. "You love this stuff."

I shrugged. "No one's asked me. Besides," I added. "This is a Valentines' Day Party and it seems like it's mostly couples. I'm the odd girl out. Again."

"Well we can't have that." He slid off the chair and offered a hand to me. "Dance?"

"You want to dance with me in the middle of a party?" I stated in disbelief. "Have you been trying out the punch Derek? First of all, won't this ruin your rep? Second, won't people be suspicious?"

"Nah, you're not too lame, and as for suspicions, I doubt it. It just looks like I saw my poor step-sister sitting all alone and decided to take pity on her and ask for a dance."

"Well then," I gave him a fake smile, my eyes narrowed angrily. "No thanks."

"Come on, Case," he insisted. "I don't care what the reason is, just dance with me!"

"I don't want a pity dance," I shrugged stubbornly.

"Do it for me," he pleaded. "You still owe me a dance, remember?"

Damn it.

"A slow dance!" I exclaimed. "Not a fast one."

"Don't worry," he grinned. "I won't dance too close."

I raised an eyebrow. "If I dance with you, will you leave me alone the rest of the night?"

"Promise," he reached out for my hand again, and this time I let myself be escorted to the dance floor. Looking around nervously at all the other couples, I wondered if people noticed us. Psst, look, it's Derek dancing with his step-sister!

But no one paid any attention to us, and as I gazed into Derek's eyes, a slow lazy smile spreading across his face, I couldn't help but match it.

Just as we began to move to the music, it started to fade. The song was over. Another slower one came on instead. Couples around us came together, holding each other tight as they swayed to the melody.

Derek glanced at me, eyebrows raised in permission. 'May I sweep you off your feet?' his expression seemed to say.

Yes, you may.

He placed his hands on my waist as I reached my arms up around his neck, and we moved back and forth to the music, careful to keep a few inches of distance between us.

I could feel the heat from his hands against my satin shirt, as he visibly swallowed, his adam's apple bobbing.

"We can dance closer, you know," he said, his voice deep and thick with some kind of nervousness I'd never witnessed in Derek. He cleared his throat quickly. "If you want," he added.

I nodded a yes and that was his signal; he pushed his palms against me then, bringing me closer to him, as I placed my chin on his shoulder, relaxing against his familiar warmth; smelling his familiar Derek scent. It was home. I watched other couples dancing around us, smiling at each other, cuddling close. It was comfortable for them too. They were in love—did this mean that Derek and I were in love?

Suddenly a familiar blonde entered my line of vision. She threw Derek and I a disgusted glance and exited out the backdoor onto the patio with a slam.

"Sally," I whispered out loud.

"Huh?" he asked, withdrawing from my arms slightly in confusion.

"She left," I said, blinking, desperately trying to return from the dazed state I was in. "Out the back door. She looked angry."

We glanced around for Emily, who was conversing with Ralph and Tinker. "Hey Em," I called as I quickly approached her. "Where'd Sally go?"

"Oh, I don't know… outside I think?" she offered. "She was pretty pissed that you two were dancing together. Even though I told her she didn't have anything to worry about. You guys can't stand each other," she laughed.

"Derek was just trying to be nice, right D?" Sam cut in.

"Uh, right. Nice. I better go after her," he winced and left quickly, heading for the back door.

"Speaking of going, I gotta go… to the bathroom that is," I laughed awkwardly and fast-walked in the direction of the back door as well. Leaning against the side of the screen door, I smiled stiffly at the people around me and strained to hear what was going on between Derek and Sally.

"Sally, please. What's wrong? I was just dancing with her, I didn't even do anything!"

"Have you slept with her?" she asked quickly.

My eyes widened, and I peeked around the side of the door to watch. Sally was standing in the middle of the empty yard, her arms crossed over her chest with her back to Derek as he gestured wildly as he spoke. "Of course not! I wouldn't do that. Okay, Sally, look at me." He placed his hands on her shoulders and slowly turned her around. "I'm not the nicest guy in the world, I'll give you that. But I'm not… I have not cheated on you."

"You haven't?" she asked, her voice softening slightly. "Tell me the truth, have you kissed her?" Derek rubbed her arms soothingly, looking straight into her eyes.

"No," he said with so much sincerity and certainty that Casey began to feel tears starting to form. She blinked quickly to get rid of them.

"But what about when you—"

"Sally, we've been over this before. That was an honest mistake. I don't… I haven't with her. And I won't. She's my step-sister."

That was like a punch in my stomach. I clutched my side, my face twisting up in pain and held-back tears.

"But… but I see the way she looks at you, Derek. And the way you were dancing with her tonight?"

"I was just doing her a favour. She was all alone. I felt bad for her… she is my step-sister, after all. She doesn't have a lot of friends, you know? And maybe she does look at me in a certain way… maybe she has a crush on me, I'm not sure. But don't blame me for how she feels. I can't help that."

I knew that it was all a lie; he was just saying this to Sally to make her feel better. What was the alternative? Tell the truth, and then have everyone freak out and put so much pressure on us and our tentative feelings? Derek was doing what he had to do to protect us.

But this reasoning, no matter how solid and logical it was, didn't take away the pit of hurt in my stomach, gnawing away at my insides.

Sally nodded in response then, grabbing Derek and hugging him tightly. Pulling back she stood on her tiptoes to kiss him deeply, running her fingers through his hair.

I felt sick. Turning away, I headed straight for the kitchen.

"Casey?" Emily called after me as I passed her, without a word. "You don't look so good. What's wrong?"

She followed me as I came across the kitchen table. Grabbing a cup of the mystery punch, I took a big gulp; and then continued drinking it down like I had just finished a 10 km run. I slammed down the empty cup with a satisfied gasp. Grabbing another cup of punch, I turned to Emily with a smile. "Isn't this punch great, Em?"

"Uh… sure. Casey, do you really think it's a good idea to down it like that? You remember what's in it right?"

"Uh huh," I nodded, as I licked my sticky lips. "Sweet numbness."

……………………

A couple of hours later and I was really feeling it. Feeling fantastically amazing that is! The punch was yummy, the people were a lot friendlier and I was having the time of my life! I was a party animal. So what if I hadn't seen Derek the entire time? So what if he'd spent most of the past two hours outside with Sally 'talking'? I didn't need that kid anyway.

"Hey Em! Psst, Emily!" I waved her over and Emily approached, an awkward smile on her face.

"Yes Casey?" she asked.

"Have you tried the punch?!" I exclaimed, taking a large sip of cup number… something or other in my hand.

"Yes Casey," she sighed.

"Em, you wanna know something?" I asked, stretching my free arm around her shoulders.

"Uh, sure?"

"You're my best friend," I grinned at her. "And I love you."

"Oh… um, thanks Casey," Emily laughed nervously, ducking under my arm. "You too. I'm going to be right back okay?"

"Sure," I grinned. I turned to Ralphie and Sam. "Sup," I nodded at them.

"Hey Casey," Ralph grinned at me, in a somewhat comical manner.

"Casey, you feeling okay?" Sam asked in concern. "How many cups of punch have you had?"

"Oh, I lost track sometime after twelve-teen," I giggled.

Ralph laughed along with me. "I like her," he said to Sam, as he pointed in my direction.

"Hey guys! Remember that one time when I played in D-Rock! Good times right? Am I right?!"

"Sure, Casey," Sam agreed with an awkward smile. "That was… cool."

"And… and remember the time you guys threw a whole tray of sugar-packs at that nerdy guitar player guy at the open mic night?! Remember guys? Remember?!" I threw back my head and laughed.

"Ha, that was awesome," Ralph grinned.

"Ooh! And Sam, remember when Derek didn't want us to date cause of a stupid male code and you guys were wrestling? How stupid was that?! I don't think there even is a male code! I bet he was just jealous." I giggled.

Sam turned to Ralph and raised an eyebrow. "Sure, I remember that."

"Hey!" Ralphie exclaimed. "Casey, remember when Derek was depressed and we all came over for a game of spin the bottle? And you and I totally kissed!" he finished off enthusiastically, looking around for acknowledgement.

"Oh," I grimaced. "Yeah."

"She's right over there," Emily said, pointing at me.

"Here I am!" I announced happily. My smile dropped when I saw who Emily was speaking to. "Oh. You. Ew, no yucky step-siblings at parties, puh-leeze. It totally ruins my buzz."

"Please stop her," Emily sighed, pushing Derek in my direction.

"Casey," he said calmly, approaching me slowly. His eyebrows, as well as his hands were raised in caution, an expression of worry mixed with amusement on his face. "I'm going to take you home now, okay?"

"No!" I snapped. "I'm having fun! You were having bushels and bunches of fun outside," I recounted sarcastically. "And now it's my turn. So go run off with your petite amie…hah," I laughed to myself. "That's French for girlfriend. I'm so bilingual." Derek continued his slow approach as I chattered on to myself. "Huh… kind of weird don't you think?" I remarked to Ralph. "Petite amie… it literally means 'little friend', but what if you're not dating someone little? What if you're dating a basketball player? Do you call him 'grande amie' then?" Complete silence. I looked around at everyone in confusion. "What? Don't you people speak French? This is Canada for goodness sakes!" I turned to Emily. "This is Canada right?" Suddenly I felt strong arms encircle me. "Hey!" I struggled. "Let go, Derek! You're not the boss of me!"

"No can do, sis," Derek smirked as he shuffled along towards the front door, with his arms around me, pushing me along.

"You are so lame," I rolled my eyes. "Bye party people!" I called over my shoulder. "Until next time! Peace in!"

"That's 'peace out'," Derek remarked under his breath to me.

"Whatever."

…………………………………

Ten minutes later, I was lying in the backseat of the Prince; dizzy and completely incapable of forming entire coherent thoughts. I hadn't said a word to Derek since he gently pushed me into his car with a sigh. I'd said a very loud "You suck," but since then, nothing. I didn't even know what to say to him. A part of me wanted to yell at him, and a larger part just wanted to cuddle with him and have him whisper in my ear how special I was to him. I sighed happily. Oh yeah, I could go for that.

"Feeling sick yet, rookie?" Derek asked from the front seat.

I sat up quickly, and then feeling queasy, thought better of it. "I'm not a rookie. I'm a natural," I said matter-of-factly with a yawn.

"But this is your first time drinking right?"

"No," I sniffed. "I had a glass of wine at my second cousin's wedding two years ago."

"Oh wow, forgive me," he replied sarcastically. "I had no idea you were such an experienced woman of the world."

"Whatever," I snapped. "This is all your fault anyways."

He wasn't fazed. "It usually is with you," he replied. "What'd I do this time?"

"Many things," I informed him. "Starting with ignoring me all night for Saaally," I drew out her name mockingly.

"Hey, I did not ignore you," he insisted. "Besides, you ignored me first."

"I did not… okay, I did at first cause it was awkward!"

"Uh, yeah and that's why I ignored you later."

"Liar," I hissed. "You were comforting your petite amie."

He paused, and I could see him arch an eyebrow in the rear-view mirror. "How much did you hear?"

"Enough," I shrugged, and grabbed my purse, using it as a pillow. "But, it's okay. I'm over it. That's my new motto. Over it."

"You know none of that was true, right?" he asked calmly.

"Y'know, D, I don't really know what I know anymore."

"Casey," he said in a warning tone, almost as if he was scolding a petulant child.

"Derek," I replied, mocking him in a lower voice.

He sighed deeply, and steered the car into the driveway. We were home. "Shh," he hushed, as he came around to the backdoor, opening it to let me out. "We have to be quiet. We can't let Dad and Nora see you like this."

"I'm surprised you even care," I replied sarcastically as he helped me out of the car.

"Case, come on. Don't be…" he paused, as I fell to my knees, throwing up suddenly in the bushes.

………………

"You held my hair," I said softly as he tucked me in, pulling the comforter up around my neck. "You rubbed my back." He smiled kindly then, smoothing my hair back with the palm of his hand, gently rubbing my temple with his thumb. "I'm sorry I went all crazy crazed super crazy Casey on you," I whispered. My thoughts still weren't clear and I wasn't very articulate, to say the least.

"It's fine, Casey," he replied quietly. "I'm the one who hasn't been treating you right. Or, well, anyone really…" his brow furrowed.

"Getting a conscience, Venturi?" I asked.

He smirked. "Not a chance," then he paused. "Well… maybe, just a small one," he admitted. "Stranger things have happened right?"

"Yeah," I agreed. "Like you and me… who would have thought."

"Yeah," he replied and then made his way to the door. "Well… goodnight."

"Wait," I said quickly. "Where are you going? We always sleep together. Well… not like that, I mean," I laughed. "Not sexually. But like, in the same bed, you know?"

He grinned and shook his head. "Yeah, I know. I was there, remember?"

"Come here," I beckoned him over. "No, really. Please?"

He sighed and reluctantly walked over, sitting beside me on the edge of the bed. "What's up?" he asked.

"Sleep here?" I extended my bottom lip into a pout. "Please? I'll feel so lonely without you." I reached for his hand and held it in between both of mine.

"I thought you were mad at me," he reminded me. "Not mad anymore?"

"I don't know if I'm mad or not. I'll figure it out later. Too much thinking. Maybe mad's not the right word. Maybe more… concerned." I smiled up at him. "But I'm not mad now."

"No?" he raised his eyebrows as his thumb traced lines in the palm of my hand, my heart fluttering in response. "What are you now then?"

"Tired," I whispered. "And happy. Well, kind of. And confused. And," I paused, looking into his warm familiar eyes. "And many other things."

"Oh really?" with his other hand he reached up and smoothed back my hair again, brushing through it with his fingers.

"What are you thinking right now?" I asked him, almost without thinking. I couldn't really form thoughts; everything was so muddy, I could only say whatever came into my head—no contemplating involved. It was different. It was kind of scary and weird, but almost… freeing in a way.

"I'm thinking," he mumbled, his voice low and gravelly. "I'm thinking that you're the most important person in my life," he said with so much sincerity, I felt my insides liquefying. "And I wouldn't want you to feel like I'm putting someone before you, whether that's true or not. I want you to realize how special you are to me," he insisted, squeezing my hand in his. "And I don't think you do."

"Well," I said quietly, desperately fighting to stay awake, but failing. I was getting sleepy. "Thanks for telling me."

"What are you thinking?"

"You don't want to know," I whispered, my eyelids growing heavy.

"Sure I do," he insisted with a grin. "Tell me."

"No… I… I can't." I yawned. "Sorry. Maybe later?"

He sighed heavily, still smiling as he stood up. "Okay. I'm going to go brush my teeth. I'll be right back." He turned and walked towards the door, and I nodded though he couldn't see me in the semi-darkness.

"Derek?" I called, half-awake.

"What, Case?" he asked, turning around.

"I love you," I said softly, and drifted off to sleep.

………………………

The hours following, I drifted from unconscious to semi-concious. I only remember bits and pieces, because I only managed to witness bits and pieces but this is what I caught;

Derek pacing around my room, speaking softly into his cell phone. "Sally?" he said. "I'm really sorry I ditched you at the party, but Casey needed me. Can you call me when you get this message? Or in the morning, I guess. We have to meet tomorrow. I need… we need to talk." Then I drifted back to sleep.

Another time, I felt Derek's warm lips press against my forehead. My eyes fluttered open.

"Derek?" I whispered groggily.

"Shh, Case, go back to sleep," he replied softly. I fell asleep almost instantly, to the comforting sensation of Derek stroking my hair.

The last time I woke up for a moment, it was dawn and Derek was sitting on the bed, a box across from him, as he scribbled something in a notebook. "What should I say to her?" he mumbled to himself. "Should I tell her 'I'm into my stepsister'? No, she'll be pissed and tell the world. I guess I'll just have to dump her the normal Venturi way, though it's a shame. She was a nice girl."

That was the last thing I witnessed, before I drifted off into a deep sleep. It's unsurprising, really, that every moment featured Derek. He was becoming the center of my world. Ah, who was I kidding? He always had been.

………………

Next chapter: It's Valentine's Day… perfect for Casey and Derek to finally share their first kiss, right? Wrong. After her little adventure in alcohol, Casey's sick with a flu. Kissing is out of the question. What horrible timing. But will Casey be able to stew in her own misery? Not when she's dealing with Derek Venturi. The day might not be a total loss afterall.

…

A/N: Well, I hope you guys enjoyed it! Was a bit long, but you guys like long chapters! Right?! The next chapter should be pretty fluffy so I'm hoping you guys will enjoy it. Savour it all now because soon there will be more angst! Bwahaha. Reviews are very much loved, so please review and make my day. Thanks for reading!