A/N: I'm sooooooooooooo sorry for uploading this so late, when I promised it wouldn't take more than a week. The problem was: 2 or 3 days after posting the last chapter, I went skiing and got into a huge accident. I had to remain in the hospital for almost a month, and after that I had a hell of a hard time catching up with university stuff. Finally, this weekend I found time to finish writing this! I hope you haven't lost interest in this story. Thanks for everyone who has been reading & reviewing, and so, without further delay, I give you the last chapter of:
I Dream Of Derek
I'm nervous. Really, really nervous. No, scratch that out. I'm freaking out of my mind! It's really fortunate that Derek is driving, since I wouldn't be able to concentrate at all. I'm going out on a date. With my stepbrother. The guy half the school's population is dying to go out with. A guy I'm in love with. Who has kissed me twice. Hugged once. So, no pressure at all.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Why don't they cover 'How to go on a first date with your stepbrother?' at school? Okay, Casey, you need to stay calm, breath in and breath out, don't think about how sweaty your hands are, don't think about how your heart seems to be enjoying itself on a rollercoaster. Don't…. Waah! This is not helping! Why me! Nonononono! I can't do this! It's too early!
I turn to tell Derek to postpone what would surely be a disaster…but I can't even open my mouth. He looks so… happy. He isn't grinning, not goofing. He's just smiling. And he's relaxed. Could that be because he's going out with me….? No, that can't be it, right? It's only because he's driving. That's all.
"The skating rink at the park near our house opened last week. Want to go skating?"
"Uhm, sure. Should we stop by the house to get your skates?"
"No, we can just borrow some there."
"Okay."
We went silent after that. I am trying not to freak out and make some kind of scene or get into a fight. He seems so…relaxed. Why?!? Isn't he nervous at all? Maybe he thinks I just asked him to go out on a date as step-siblings? No, that'd be really weird, even for us. Waaah! We've arrived! Oh god, please help me, someone please make this go well!
"Here we are. You do know how to skate, right Casey?"
"Sure. I just haven't done it for about 4 years now. But isn't it like riding a bicycle, like you don't forget it?"
"I wouldn't exactly say that, you may want to prepare yourself to fall down a few times."
"Well, then you'll just have to catch me."
At that, he just grins and begins to climb out of the car. Taking a moment to somehow make the furious flush vanish from my face, I get out of the car, too.
We both walk towards the entrance, where an elder woman is selling tickets to enter the skating rink, and where you can also rent skates.
Derek turns to her and asks for the tickets. He also requests skates for the two of us. (Where from does he know my shoe size, anyway?) He even pays for them himself!
"Wow, thanks. Didn't think I'd see the day you would behave gentleman-like."
"Don't thank me, courtesy of Edwin."
"You'll never change, will you?"
We laugh a little, put on our skates and walk towards the frozen lake: It's beautiful! The ice is glittering in the pale autumn sun, making the area shine in a surreal light. I wonder if Derek knew about it and wanted to show it to me. Well, we've been able to maintain a somewhat yelling-free and not-embarrassing conversation, until now. I don't need to destroy this by asking something of which I'm sure that he'll be embarrassed about.
Only few people are here now, so there's plenty of room to skate. Derek immediately starts skating, and I follow him…or at least try to.
"What the…?"
I manage to regain my balance just in time to prevent myself from falling down on the frozen ground, face first. Since when is ice so damn slippery?! I try to skate once more and actually succeed in doing so, for a few seconds.
"Waaaah! Ouch!"
"I knew you'd fall down!"
Grinning, Derek is looking down at me as I struggle to stand up on the ice-of-hell.
"Stop grinning! You were skating right beside me and could have caught me!"
His smile turns a little guilty and he reaches out to hold my hands and starts to pull me towards him.
Nervously, I ask: "Uhm, w-what are you doing? You d-don't need to be holding hands with me, don't you usually stick to your no-PDA-rule? I m-mean it's not like we're boy-and g-girlfriend, but well, we are on a date, right? Or did you only want to go out as step-siblings? Wait that sounded wrong….but you get what I mean, right? And, well it's not like…"
"Relax, Casey! I'm just trying to help you skate. Just let me lead you, I won't let you fall again, okay?"
"Uhm, fine."
I wish the ice would just open up and swallow me. I'm surprised it hasn't molten beneath me. My face feels like it's trying to turn into lava! Really, what freakishly unlucky star was I born under that I constantly manage to get myself into the most embarrassing situations?!
Sadly, skating while not concentrating on it is tricky. No wonder I find myself closing my eyes in fear of my second fall, but…
"I caught you!"
Surprised, I begin to take in my situation. I'm lying in Derek arms. I am lying in Derek's arms? I AM LYING IN DEREK'S ARMS!!!!
"Derek! What are you doing?"
"You don't need to be so alarmed, it's not like you're going to catch boy cooties or anything!"
"I can stand perfectly well on my own thank…wait, did you just say boy cooties?"
"Whatever, if I don't hold you, you'll just fall again."
"So not true, I'm okay now, see….waaaah!"
"You're really having a major klutzilla-outbreak, aren't you?"
"Stop calling me that! And if you knew that I wouldn't be able to skate properly, why didn't you warn me?"
"I did! You were the one who told me to just catch you!"
"So you wanted to come here so you could hug me?"
"Uhm, no…well…you see…"
I can't believe it! He's such a guy, ugh! But seeing him stammering and desperately trying to find an excuse is sort of cute. And suddenly I can't help but laugh at the whole situation.
"Why are you laughing?! I'm not the one you has dreams about non-existing guys!"
"Oh please, that was just my subconscious acting up about the whole denying-issue by creating a dream-you who's been bugging me…"
"Whoa! Wait a minute! You mean you were dreaming about me?"
Ooops. I did not say that, right? Right?!? Heck, I might as well tell him the truth now…
"Well, yeah. It's what actually made me believe I …you…well…that I don't like you as a stepsibling but rather, well...like, you know…"
"Like I like you?"
I look up at him and see how kind his eyes seem as they look at me. How soft his features have gotten. They are not showing any signs of sarcasm. I also notice how the smile I'm learning to love has returned to his face. And though there are still a thousand questions in my head, for once, I don't feel the need to say anything. Because I know. I know. So I skate a little closer to him. My left hand travels upwards to cup his right cheek. My left hand rests against his chest, feeling his heart beat. And as soon as he gets over the initial surprise, he puts one of his hands on the small of my back and uses the other to tangle it in my hair. As I lean up he leans down thus meeting me halfway. Slowly, oh so very slowly, I brush my lips against his prolonging the tension…until he just pulls me towards him catching my lips with his own and pressing my body flush against his. The kiss that ensues is like nothing I've ever felt before. His hands hold me gently; his lips engage mine in a bruising dance, making me cling to his chest and neck for support. The feel of it all, so gentle but passionate leave me breathless and shivering, feeling like swarms of butterflies are using my stomach as an impromptu dance floor. Oh god, I think I may just black out now…Hmmm? Why is he stopping? Why is he pulling away?! Oh! We need to breathe…
"That was…"
"Yeah."
Now, though still in each others arms, we just let our foreheads touch, trying to catch our breaths and trying to get our heart beats under control. Slowly, we pull apart, just leaving our hands intertwined. We're both smiling at each other, and I feel so relieved and happy and full of bliss…
"So, wanna tell me what exactly happened in those dreams of yours?"
"Way to kill the mood, moron."
"Oh, come on!"
"You won't ever let me live that down, right?"
"Nope."
Aaargh! There's got to be something I can blackmail him with so that he'll have to wipe that evil grin off his face! Oh! There is something, or rather, someone…
"Fine! Let's make a deal: You don't ever mention that again and I tell Kendra the truth."
"Hmmm, it would be nice to have her quit chasing after me, but to give up such information?"
"Make up your mind already!"
"How about raising the stakes? I'll never bug you about your dreams and you tell the whole school about...us."
"Us?"
"Yes, us. Me and you as boy- and girlfriend. Absolutely not as stepsiblings, because we never have been nor ever will be siblings!"
Oh my god! He just confessed! Well, sort of, but with Derek I guess this is all I'll get for now. And I'm sure as hell not going to complain!
"O-okay."
"Nice. So I suggest you tell the school on graduation day, you're the valedictorian, right?"
"Uhmmm, what?"
"You did not actually forget what I asked from you in return for my silence, did you?"
Damn! That totally slipped my mind after he referred to me as his girlfriend, why am I such a sap?!?…
"Wait a minute! You can't really expect from me o do such a thing, I mean what will they think?"
"Why should we care? After graduation we won't have to see those people again. And if our friends, Sam, Ralph, Noel and Emily, those people we actually want to see, reject us, then what sort of friends are they?"
"Actually, Emily already knows…
"So does Sam."
"And Lizzy."
"And Edwin."
"And Paul."
"And, of course, Marti. See, it won't be that difficult, and I think that several people have had their suspicions by now."
"Okay, fine, I'll do it. But only if you'll stand by my side."
"I promise, I will."
"And what about Mom and George? They need to know it before then!"
"I think they've had their suspicions too, did you see how they looked at us this morning?"
"Yeah. Do you…I mean, do we want to tell them today?"
"Okay, but let's go on skating for now."
"Sure."
So he pulls at my hands, which he has been holding all this time, and we begin to skate silently. Occasionally we glance at each other, smiling and/or blushing at each other. But we're both too happy and so full of thoughts and bliss that neither of us wants to break the peaceful silence. Well, at least I am…
"So, since your part of the deal hasn't taken place yet, mind telling me about your dreams?"
"Der-ek!!!"
Later…
After spending hours in the park we finally decided it was time to go home. So now we're standing here, in front of our house. And for my part, I'm terrified to go in.
"Casey, you alright?"
"Just a little scared…"
"Oh, come on, we've been over this for at least a dozen times, we'll be just fine!"
"I know. I just need to calm down a little…"
"Fine."
And just like that I find myself in Derek's arms for the umpteenth time today.
"Just relax, okay?"
"You really like to hug me, don't you?"
"Shut up!"
I just laugh and lean up to give him a quick kiss to thank him, but…
"What…?"
Just as our lips touch each other, we both are blinded by an intense white light. As we part from each other to look for the source of the light, or rather flash as it turns out to be, we see something that leaves us frozen on the spot.
"George! How could you forget to turn off the flash?"
"I'm sorry Nora, but if I had done that I wouldn't have been able to take the picture in time!"
"Oh, come on Dad! After making me and Lizzy run for the camera through the whole house, you just had to ruin everything!"
"Well, if Lizzy called me to the window when they were already hugging, there wasn't much time left to do anything but just take the picture!"
"Dad, Nora, Edwin, Lizzy! What the hell were you thinking? Give that camera right now!"
"Oh come on, Derek! It was the perfect opportunity!"
"Edwin! Give me the camera right now!"
"Edwin, run!"
"Stop right there!"
"Kids, stop running through the house!"
As I watch my family running and crying like mad through the house, I can't do anything but stand by the open door and just stare. I'm speechless. Literally speechless. I just watch as Derek chases after Edwin and Lizzy, which are trying to save the camera from him. Mom and George are trying to calm them down, but really, they are just laughing and cooing about how cute Derek and I look together and how much our kiss reminded them of their own first kiss. And just as I think that things couldn't possibly get any worse:
"Dad, Nora, Derek, Casey, Edwin, Lizzy, I'm back!"
"Hi Marti! Guess what? Casey and Derek just kissed in front of the house and Dad managed to take a picture of it!"
"Yaaaaaaaaay!!!!!!!!! I knew they love each other! So, when's going to be the wedding?"
Okay, I'm now officially admitting that our family is the craziest thing that has happened to this planet. Ever.
"Hey Space-Case! Stop daydreaming and help me out here!"
"Waaaaah! Der-ek! Stop calling me that already!"
The End!
A/N: Finally, it's completed! I hope you enjoyed it and please, tell me what you think and what I could do better! Thank you!