Casey leaned back in her chair as Mrs. Parks turned sightly around and smiled. Casey was usually pretty bright, but this letter thing was still bothering her. If they were learning about a person differently, then wasn't that a lie? She picked up her pencil, its graphite end hovering over her blank sheet of paper. Would she not like the Sammich Man in real life? This part made no sense to Casey. She liked her friends very much and she didn't need to write out simplistic letters to realize it. Besides, when a relationship gets serious at all, there has to be actual physical interactions, right? Without another philosophical thought Casey began her next letter attempting to match the assignment as best as possible.

Dear witty and full of themselves,

Some of the lesser important things that I have experienced this week are as follows. Friday I had a really good pasta dinner that my best friend made. Saturday was rather boring because I was anxious. Same with Sunday. On Monday I accidentally walked into the guys bathroom and was mocked by this guy that I'd rather not want to like or be attracted to. And now it's Tuesday.

Sincerely confused and anxious

Happy with her correctly written letter Casey turned it in and returned to her seat for the rest of her lecture. She felt a little weird about enclosing the bathroom dilemma in her letter, but it was Sammich Man, and even if he got a good laugh out of it, he wouldn't be able to go around telling people that Casey MacDonald did it.

On Wednesday Casey finally got the courage to go back to the pool around 8:00 pm and thankfully stayed focus as she neared the bathroom area. It was nearly empty since most people usually had better things to do at night, but not Casey. The water was relaxing and Casey for the billionth time was glad that College wasn't too stressful. After 10 minutes Casey was the only one there except for a small group in the hot tub. Swimming to the deeper end, Casey grabbed the wall and pushed off across the pool. Lap after lap, Casey swam, coming up for water every four strokes. Every time she neared the wall she'd do a flip turn and push off again if great amounts of force. She hadn't felt this great in a while and she was experiencing rushes of energy every time she sprang off the wall. Finally she switched from free style on her stomach, to back stroke with her eyes staring up at the ceiling and her arms swinging by her like a paddles. She was about to flip over and into another flip turn when a massive amount of pain shot up from her head and everything went black.

As her vision started to un-fog, she saw the ground at least five feet below her and the back side of some guy. Her arms were around his shoulders, limp and wet and his arms were holding her up around her torso. When she started to twist her head around the guy holding her rushed over to the benches at the side of the pool and put her down carefully.

"Thanks." Casey began to mutter out before she fully saw her savior. "Oh."

"Yeah, I couldn't let my step-sister drown." Derek ruffled his hair as he faced Casey and sat down beside her.

Casey just nodded, still a little woozy after hitting her head on the side of the pool.

"So I should probably take you to the ER to make sure you don't have a concussion. Like the time when I hit the wall hard in hockey and I blacked out for like, a minute."

"Its okay." Casey said standing up. "I can go myself"

Derek blocked her path and pulled her gently back down onto the bench. "Uh. No you can't. You could crash the car or get into an accident like this. I am taking you to the hospital."

"Derek!" Casey almost shouted as she looked up at him. He was in his regular clothes and was soaking wet. "I don't need to go to the hospital, plus you are soaking wet."

Derek still looked unchanged and not thinking about any other options considering Casey's argumentative state, he lifted her up again, this time holding her legs up with one arm and her back up with the other. Casey started squirming, but Derek was too strong to wiggle out of his grasp, plus the thought of falling on the concrete again, was much less than appealing. With one swift motion, Derek lifted her gym bag of the floor with his right foot and tossed it in the air landing in Casey's lap.

"I think that's everything." Derek said looking around to see if he had forgotten anything else of Casey's. "Have anything else here Case?"

Casey just scowled and shook her head. "What about your crap?"

Derek continued walking towards the doors and turned to Casey. "I'll get it later."

Letting her down outside of his car, he opened the passenger door and ushered her in. Once both were inside Derek started up the engine and then backed out of his parking space. "You comfortable?" He asked glancing at her quickly before turning out onto the main road, slight worry and sympathy in his eyes. Casey breathed 'yes' and he returned the quiet and slight irritated answer with a soft rub on her shoulder.

The car ride to the ER was about five minutes since there was a hospital right off campus near the main sports stadium. Casey kept staring at Derek like he was an alien and finally spoke. ""You okay, Derek?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be, you're the one with the pretty big bruise on your forehead." He replied brushing his finger lightly up Casey's forehead as to move her hair out of the way and get a better look at the bump protruding from her head.

"You just don't seem like yourself, that's all." Casey said a little nervously, not wanting him to return to his usual cocky and full of himself attitude. Derek was about to reply when the hospital came into view and the car turned into the ER section entrance.

As the two stepped into the medium sized waiting area, Derek in now soggy clothes that wreaked of chlorine and Casey wrapped in a towel with gym pants on, they saw how empty the place was. The girl behind the counter was almost excited to see them as she was probably quite bored.

Derek insisted on filling out the paper work as Casey sat in the chill Emergency room wondering how Derek wasn't even shivering. Within a few minutes, a nurse called Casey back as Derek followed close behind.

"So, lets see here. Possible concussion? Pool accident?" Both Casey and Derek nodded yes. "Tell me what happened?" The nurse asked again, this time directing her attention to Casey.

"I was swimming laps and I went to do a flip turn on the wall and I guess I banged my head into it." Casey stammered.

The nurse made a pained expression before speaking to the two again. "You're lucky your boyfriend was there to pull you out. It's sad how many accidents like this end horribly."

Derek just stood there nodding while Casey looked around in disbelief. "He isn't my boyfriend." Managed to escape her lips.

"Sorry." The nurse apologized, I just inferred.

Marking things down, the nurse went through each step to see if Casey received a concussion. It was both nerve wracking for Derek and Casey. All the nurse would mutter were sounds like 'uh huh' and 'Mhm'. Finally for what seemed like ages and ages, she smiled up happily. "Casey here, does not have a concussion, just a nice big bruise. Just ice it when you get home and I'd say you're fine."

Both of them sighed in relief as Derek thanked the nurse and led Casey out of examine room four.

Derek drove back to the pool where Casey's car was in silence. When he pulled up and unlocked the doors, Casey didn't budge.

"Thanks for that Derek, I guess you sort of saved my life." Casey wasn't sure of his reaction. Partly expecting him to get all full of himself like usual and partly, hopefully expecting him to just smile and say 'you're welcome'.

Instead Derek did neither as he pulled her into a hug. A little confused, Casey sat there, arms limp by her side before reaching over him and patting him on the back. After the hug, Casey awkwardly made her way out of his car and over to her own. In her short drive home in silence, Casey couldn't quite understand his switch in behavior. It had to be the life or death situation right? But the Derek she saw that night, was not the Derek in the boy's bathroom.

Happy to be back in class on Thursday, Casey took her seat a few rows back. Mrs. Parks smiled at all the students and asked them what their thoughts were of the assignment. Almost simultaneously they all replied back with mixed 'okays' and 'alrights'.

Rolling her eyes, Mrs. Parks handed each student back their next letter and left the students to their work.

Casey's next letter was very short since the pen ink that leaked through the page could only be seen on a couple of lines. Flipping it open again she expected another witty quip from the Sammich Man, when instead she saw the following.

Dear Wonderful in ways you can't see yourself,

I hereby relinquish my title of 'Sammich Man'. Hoping that soon you you will call me by a whole different name in itself. While this hope of mine seems far off, I have a strong feeling that college will bring us together, while life at home has teared us apart.

Hopefully never a brother or a step-brother in your eyes again,

Your friend and much more, Derek (Oops, no names :p)