Locked in the Library

Description: Freshman year finals, and all Casey wanted to do was take a nap after studying for hours on end. Derek on the other hand, decided to pull another seemingly harmless prank on her; causing chaos to inevitably ensue. They're locked in after hours, who will kill who first? And will things finally be revealed between the both of them?

Disclaimer / A / N : Life with Derek is owned by Daphne Ballon. Please, review!

It was round one of Finals, which meant the revival of Derek and Casey's pseudo-tradition of all-nighters and binge study sessions two weeks until the exams. Contrary to their parents' wishes, they didn't live together that year; Casey opting for an apartment off campus, and Derek using his athletic scholarship for a dorm close to his teammates. So, between the two of them, the year has been fairly peaceful. Their only squabbles consisted of the times when they'd pile into the Prince and go home on weekends (or special occasions) and inevitably get lost (and at one time find that the car isn't in the best of condition).

Derek sighed, his mind wandering to that horridly comical day.

They were already running late that morning because neither of them specified a time for departure, starting the day with an exasperated Derek tapping his foot at the doorway of a half-dressed Casey's apartment; with her frantically checking up on last minute details. "Derek, I turned off the oven from breakfast, right? Oh gosh I hope the sink isn't running, what—"

"Space-Case! Forget this year's birthday, if you keep at this pace, we'll miss Smarty's 18th!" He closed his eyes, hitting the back of his head rhythmically against the open door.

Suddenly, her voice seemed far away. "I'm already downstairs! Lock up, will you?"

The Prince rolled along as usual for the first quarter of the trip— a brief bicker for radio-control breaking out, an eye-roll acceptance of defeat, (and subsequent peace offering of a snack)— until it violently sputtered to a halt. Both occupants of the vehicle looked at each other wide-eyed.

"De-rek! Did you really forget to get an oil change for the Prince?" A disgruntled blue-eyed brunette leaned out of the window, glaring at her unseen companion.

The man in question pointed a similar look at Casey from behind an open car-hood. "You know perfectly well I don't use this car when I'm on campus, Princess. Besides, that 'Check Engine Light' has always been wonky, hasn't it? Just call dad and Nora, they'll probably be able to pick us up." He slammed the hood closed, wiping his hands onto his jeans.

Casey let out a scream, which slightly startled the boy. He was no longer accustomed to her freakouts. She banged her palms against the dashboard. "THIS IS JUST SO YOU! THE ONE THING I RELY ON YOU FOR, AND YOU BLOW IT."

"Relax!" He held his hands up, leaning into the passenger window from the outside. Running a hand through his hair, he sighed. Gotta lay this one on thick. "Yeah. You're right. You're always right." He avoided her probing gaze. That always got to him. "I messed this one up real bad." Heavily sighing, he continued, "I spend my days actually in class, and my nights practicing alone in the hockey rink even though all my teammates seem to just go out and party. I never really use the car, but I should have just magically known—"

"Oh don't you go guilt tripping me, Derek Venturi!" His eyes flickered up to look at her. Although she said that in a convincing manner, even going so far as to crossing her arms and crinkling her brows, she did it in just a way that— "Do you really not go partying?"

Hook, line, and sinker. He shifted is weight onto his forearms which were resting across the opening of the window. He was telling the truth, after all. "I don't, Case. Believe it or not, I don't. Now please call our parents?"

He drifted back to the present, his eyes gliding from the page they were stuck on, to the girl herself, who was digging around his backpack for a new piece of lead. That's right, we haven't seen eachother since then. It was an unspoken rule. He (for the most part,) stays out of her business, she —his. Just how they wanted it, right?

It was 9pm on this particular grueling Friday; the step-siblings met after their last respective classes of the day at a secluded floor of the library, avoiding any and all confrontation from their peers in order to keep any rumors at bay of their non-existent relationship, as well as stay on task. Casey, who has been up since 7am after pulling an all-nighter on a project, decided to take a break and set an alarm for half an hour on her cell phone.

Derek was in the bathroom when she decided this, and bored out of his mind after realizing she really was going to take a nap, decided it would be funny for him to change the time to 9:30am. He thought he'd get a rise out of her, waking her up at ten, just in time to get one more hour of studying in before the Library closed for the weekend; but he never intended for himself to fall asleep. Really.

Naturally though, he did. And just as naturally, Casey woke up first; her blue eyes shocked at the sheer darkness of the area, realizing both of them must have been asleep for a while so that the motion-detected lights shut off. She sighed, waving her arms dramatically, and relaxed after hearing the comforting sound of the lights flickering back on. Then she looked at the time.

Midnight. Midnight?

Snapping her head toward the direction of a drooling Venturi, she stood up sharply, causing the chair she sat on to scrape across the floor with the sound of a dying cow. Derek woke up with a start, eyes wide at Casey.

"DE-REK!" She screeched, breath hitching.

The boy stood up, quickly walking around the table toward her, wanting to placate his step-sister. He found that whenever she was in this sorry state, she was about to turn on the water works. I can't handle crying.

His arms were up, showing defenselessness, as he tentatively stepped toward Casey. "Look Case, the cleaning staff will surely find us, right? It can't be so bad. It's not like they individually lock each floor; we could just go downstairs and open the place from the inside. Or call someone. Breathe, Case. Breathe."

She started pacing, attempting to stop herself from hyperventilating. Running a hand through her hair and biting the nails on her free hand, she tried her best not to look at Derek. Otherwise she was going to explode. Oh hell with it, I'll end up exploding anyway.

With a sudden, dangerous calm, she relaxed, looking at him coldly. "Derek. I've spent quite a while safeguarding myself from this exact situation. I know the schedules of their cleaning staff; I know office hours, and I know closing and opening rituals because I've spent mornings here, and I've spent nights here. And you know what?"

She stepped closer to the boy, blue slits looking at him; causing a shiver down Derek's spine. Lifting a hand, Casey pointed a well-manicured finger to his nose, her eyes glowing that familiarly chilling electric blue. He slightly shook his head at her question.

"No. One. Comes. By. During. The. Weekend." With the same breath she dropped her hand and continued, "They do close each individual floor, because some floors have priceless pieces of art and/or periodicals; and if you haven't noticed," She pointed a finger, counting each of the fingers on her opposite hand, "no texts; no calls; no signal."

Then she roughly shoved him, promptly dropping herself to the ground and hugging her knees. Derek kneeled next to her, eyes frantically searching her form. "Are you serious, Case? We're literally stuck here?" His voice unintentionally rose an octave, as he too crumpled to the ground. "Why the fuck do you make us study so late? Why did you keep your phone out in the open where I could humorously change the alarm time—"

"YOU, DID THIS? OF COURSE YOU'D DO THIS. OF COURSE YOU'D THINK THIS WOULD BE HARMLESS AND FUNNY AND NOT RUIN OUR WEEKEND."

"HEY, PRINCESS; I—"

"GET OUT OF MY SIGHT. GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT" She shoved him harshly with each phrase, knocking the wind out of him as he gave up fighting back; retreating to another corner of the room.

For a while, they stayed like that. Casey sat at the study tables, attempting to read her index cards through furious tears; and Derek calming his breathing down through listening to his iPod. But no matter how high he set his volume, Casey's strangled sobbing somehow made its way through.

He sighed. He couldn't deny it. He had a soft spot for her. Walking over, he surprised her by stiffly wrapping his arms around her shoulders from behind, causing herself to let her guard down and melt into the awkward embrace. He didn't even care that she was sogging up his new jacket, or that she was indeed an ugly crier. Derek set his chin onto Casey's shoulder, messy hair blocking his view of her face, and breathing in her scent.

"Look, I'm sorry. But we need to stop fighting for now. At least while we're in here. ...It'll only be this weekend, Case. We've been through worse. ...It isn't the end of the world. Vending machines are by the elevators, and so are the bathrooms..."

Casey let out a shaky breath, shrugging his arms off of her. She turned to look at him, watery smile gracing her face; using her sleeve to wipe her face. "Yeah, I know. I know. But Derek, you really are a Grade-A jerk."

He breathed a sigh of relief. They'll be okay. At least for the most part. "Hey." He crossed a finger over his chest, "Once we get busted out of here, you're free to let all hell break loose."

Chuckling slightly, she punched him affectionately on the shoulder. "Sounds like a good deal to me."

Straightening up, Casey decided to restart their studying. After all, they were in the library to do that in the first place.

"Okay, Derek. Name all the provinces and territories of Canada."

"Case... It's been two hours. This is the fifth cycle through of your damn flashcards, can we please take a break?"

"Fine." Derek stood up, pulling change out of his pocket. She started rifling through her bag, "Get me something out of the machine, too."

He gently pushed her hand back down, before walking away. "Don't worry, I'll cover for you."

"Oh... uh thanks!"

They kicked their shoes off by their backpacks and shifted away from the desks, sitting between two high shelves. Popping something chocolate into his mouth, Derek asked, "Hey, what books are on this floor anyway? Maybe they'll be interesting."

Casey pulled out a book, reading the title aloud. "History's Escapists" They shared a look, as Derek silently urged her to pull out another. "Canada's Secret Past: Prisons and Convicts and Who Disappeared...?" She cleared her throat uncomfortably. "Uh... Derek..."

"Yeah, we shouldn't read any of this stuff." Quickly, he crawled over to snatch the book out of her grasp and shove it back into its place.

"Let's just... let's play a game." He smirked mischievously. She knew that look, and visibly gulped, yet feigned confidence. "Two truths and a lie."

Turning her chin up to look him straight in the eye, she scoffed. "Oh come on, Derek. We've been living with eachother for so long, you don't think we'll end up in a tie or something?"

"Scared you'll lose?"

"Fat chance."

Derek unplugged his earphones from his iPod and placed it in a bowl (previously filled with paperclips) to amplify its music and take up the silence.

"Who's first?"

Casey shrugged nonchalantly. "You, I guess."

"I have a birthmark shaped like Mickey Mouse. I wear boxers. I'm a virgin."

"Hah! I'm the one with the birthmark, Derek." A look of surprise overcame the both of them. (Derek didn't realize that's where his lie came from, and Casey... well Casey couldn't stop herself from saying what comes next). "Wait, how would you know about that birthmark? And— and you're a virgin?" She didn't even try to stop her jaw from dropping.

His smirk grew at her reaction. "You try getting laid with six other people in the house. Oh wait."

She made a movement to tackle him, but his reflexes were too quick, and using her momentum, he pinned her to the ground. She writhed beneath him, his knees locking hers, and her wrists wrapped by his larger hands, he looked down at her quizzically.

"What, Case. You really thought no one knew about that?"

"De-rek." Her voice was low, he was treading dangerous ground. Never mind the fact that this game was supposed to be lighthearted. Never mind the fact that this was all caught on camera; Derek needed to shut up. And she needed to do it quick before he made her relive the most embarrassing moment of her young adult life.

She gritted her teeth. "Forget what you saw."

"But Princess, that's an impossible feat. After all—"

"I'm still a virgin."

He sputtered a bit, loosening his grip, as she fought against the boy. "Wait— I know what I saw and—"

She winced at his renewed pressure. "Yeah well, because of what you saw, I didn't go through with it." Her voice changed to just above a whisper. "And I probably won't for a long time, thanks." Tears were threatening to seep out from the corner of her eyes, as she looked away from him. Quickly, Derek backed off of her as if he was burnt.

He never understood where the line was with her. Granted, he always threatened to cross it, and most of the time he honestly didn't care of its existence; but this was purely unintentional. He was expecting a blush, or a freaked out scolding, maybe even a tumult of punches. But tears? No, not again. I cannot do tears.

She blinked them back, though. He made her relive the embarrassment again. The shame, the look on Derek's face when she first found out he knew; knowing he didn't really know.

Taking a deep breath, she looked him square in the eye. "That's right, Derek. You ruined probably my only chance of uh..." She blushed slightly, her façade faltering. "...relations before marriage."

He glared at her, slightly offended at her accusation. "You just found out I'm still a virgin, what's the difference?"

She completely turned away now, intently staring at the pattern on the carpet. "You're not a keener, that's the difference. You probably just have to go to one party, and it wouldn't take that long for you to have your arm around some sleaze of a girl." Sniffling slightly, Casey looked up once more at him, who seemed to look back at her with a mixture of hurt and disbelief.

He shook his head, chuckling sardonically. "What kind of guy do you think I am?" She broke eye contact. "No, look at me." She shook her head, refusing to; but he continued. "Do you seriously still think of me as that person you met? That kid whose hormones took over his morality? That I'll let any girl in my bed? Because if you do, those years we've spent under the same roof apparently never proved you differently, no matter how hard I've tried."

He stood up, stomping away; leaving the music that was playing the whole time to resonate between their emptiness.

Casey was just shaking her head. Just shaking it, slowly and quickly; as thoughts flitted around in her conscience. My favorite song is playing. This is Derek's iPod. Did he download it because it's my favorite song, or did he like it before I came along? ...What am I thinking? I've just insulted this man's ethics, and all I'm thinking about is myself? Shakily, she stood up, breath shallow as she scanned the room for him. She silently moved by the elevators, finally seeing him attempting to punch a stuck potato-chip bag from the vending machine.

"Derek?" She called out, voice heavy with regret. "I... I'm sorry. I should know better about your character. I should be more conscious about how much you've changed..."

He stopped his ministrations, slumping his head against the machine's glass. Casey slowly stepped over, gently placing her hand onto his shoulder and moving in to hug him from behind. They stood like that for a moment, before he straightened up and turned himself around within her arms, engulfing her within his embrace.

Derek's cheek rested atop her head, as she listened intently at his heartbeat. She started speaking again. "Did you really... did you really change for me?"

"...Nah. But I changed... because of you. Geez Case, you're so egotistical."

She let out a small laugh, pushing him slightly to look into his hazel eyes. Her face softened when she finally had a good look at him, slightly moving his hair from his forehead. Before both of them knew it, they shared the softest of kisses.

The Library's manager found them that morning, snuggled beneath the study desks, away from the miniscule amount of light that peaked through the high windows. After receiving complaints from passerby's of a single floor's activated lights during most of the night, he felt as if he needed to investigate.

This wasn't the first time a person was locked in after hours; but it was definitely the first time he had played a part in someone else's love story. The man himself wasn't much a romantic though, opting to wake them up by slamming the doors open between the main room and the elevator hall, yelling Yugoslavian threats at the two intruders.

Oh well, at least that night was another of those shared adventures the two of them can put under their belts.