A/N. Thanks to the wonderful wonderful bsloths for going over this for me…. This is the end….
Disclaimer: I had threatened and begged…but all in vain.
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The next time it happens Derek Venturi stops blaming it on anyone…There really isn't any need…Because the fact that he has gone from revolting at the mere sight of her cleavage to actually waiting till she passes him on his kissing technique is beyond him.
He is standing outside her door, totally unsure of when and why his feet have decided to carry him right there…he has learnt to give up on his motor skills quite some time ago…they have this uncanny habit of changing sides whenever Casey is in vicinity…
Surprisingly enough (who is he kidding? The only thing surprising about this is that he still hasn't figured out that she has magical abilities…And that telepathy is just one of her many powers…) Casey seems to know why…She opens her door, gives him one bored look and declares in what could only be described as a tone you use on a three year old,
"No. No. Not now Derek…Not until you have that list… Until that time you can go and practice on your pillow."
It takes him a minute to actually register her words. "Pftt…As if. Wish-full thinking Spacey. I wasn't waiting for that."
Too late though. Casey has already slammed the front door on her way out.
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He can hardly believe that her lame poetry club could actually be so lame…
And to top it all Mrs. Woods actually expects him to recite something…(he has a feeling that telling her that he was here only to talk to Casey was not going to go well with her.)
"Uh…Baba Black Sheep…" The class sniggers and Casey sends him a disapproving glance before breaking into a smile.
Uh...Oh...This is not going to go well.
"Actually Mrs. Woods, Derek has been working on this wonderful poem…I wonder if he would like to share it with the class…"
And then she leans in close and throws in the last punch …Right into his ears…
"If you do this right…I'll take you on that test…And grade you with an A plus." her hands brush against his sides, unnoticed by anyone else… (Frankly, at the moment he would rather concentrate on breathing than be bothered about being caught with his step-sister running her finger tips up and down his arm.)
"Oh. How nice. What is it all about?"
Casey drops her hand. "It's a lyrical list of reasons… Describing how he feels about this girl he kissed at the parking lot two days ago…"
Thankfully though the purples of his face are rightly mistaken for a severe bolt of nervousness and he's finally let off the hook, the class resorting instead to hear Casey compare her life to a Giant Wheel or something.
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He was going to pay her back for this. For all of it.
And that's why he is sitting on her bed waiting for her to show up. (Seriously.)
She barely registers him as she walks inside and starts settling the huge pile of books on her table. "You have the list?"
"No."
"You can get out then."
"You really want your entire poetry club to know why I kissed you?"
"No. Enlightening me would be enough."
Her back is turned towards him and he walks up behind her.
"Why are you so fixated with that idea anyhow?"
She turns around to face him and for the first time he notices that her hands are shaking (as well) and that her eyes have lost all their earlier mirth…
"Because I don't want you playing around with me."
So this is what's bothering her. Idiot.
"What makes you think I'm playing around with you?" So much for family trust…(Yeah like that's what he needs to focus on at the moment.)
Casey throws him a disbelieving glance and he can almost hear her say, 'oh please.'
"You have reasons?" she asks.
"No." Because he has tried but hasn't been able to come up with any honest answer…. Except for one…But he refuses to rush in where angels fear to tread…(and this is what two years with Casey have led to…He has his phrases right for once.)
"Fine then. Consider the entire deal off. It was a stupid thing anyway." She has the door open for him.
"Has it ever occurred to you that I kissed you because I've wanted to do it ever since I laid eyes on you?" .Shit.
Casey raises an eyebrow in question. "It's true," he answers. "Ever since I was Ralph and you had braces."
This was news even to Derek but somehow the nerve connecting his brain and mouth has decided to play dead as he continues to gush. "So yeah. That's your reason. I kissed you because I wanted to. Is that enough for you?"
"But you don't have a list. That was part of our deal." Casey pouts.
"Part of your deal. I have been driving myself up the wall just trying to figure out why you didn't respond. The possibility that you didn't feel the same way…." And he knows that he has gone way too far…
"Feel?" Oh please Casey. You can wipe that triumphant smile off your pretty face. I'm still not giving you any list.
"Whatever." He back tracks. Except that Casey has closed the door and is moving towards him.
"Really?" she asks. When exactly had their faces gotten so close?
"It's not like it's going to last long or anything…simple infatuation…girl-boy…" not that he ever gets to finish that sentence because Casey suddenly swings her arms around him, crushing him into a kiss.
He's so (pleasantly) shocked by her forwardness that it's minutes later that it hits him…Casey McDonald had jumped him. This was all his fantasies combined into one…
"You don't think it's going to last?" she asks somewhere in the middle of twirling her fingers through his hair…
"Huh…What?" Derek leans in forward for another kiss.
"I asked if you think this will last."
"Nah…it's crazy. We hate each other," he reminds her.
"Yeah." She agrees. Even though the tone of her voice tells him that she doesn't.
But who's got the time to measure tones when she is arching her throat for better access.
So? How long till they do realize that this is a huge mistake?
Option 1. Just this one time. The moment they step outside the room the weirdness of the situation would hit them. (Except that Casey kisses really well. (Who could have guessed?)So the possibility of himnot wanting anymore of this is quiet nil.) (Crossed out)
Option 2. Okay, so a few more kisses. Perhaps the second base. Maybe third. And that's it. (This was Derek Venturi after all. You don't have him give third base to a girl and then not expect her to stay till home run.) (For the sake of his peerless talent, crossed out.)
Option 3. So he was going was going to have sex with her and then break it off. Once and for all. To get the entire virus out of the system. (Not that easy though. Casey would make his life hell. You don't do her and dump her ...He lives with her, the nagging would be constant.) (Crossed out.)
Option 4. would make this work. Turn days into years, get married, have a future. (No point even considering this one. The very idea is hilarious.) (Just before he can have this crossed out, Casey's 'you so deserve an A plus' distracts him.)
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Seven years later.
"You really expect me to wear one of these to my wedding?" Casey asks in a very calm and even tone. Apparently it's all part of her Zen classes before the big day. "I think so." Derek says holding the magenta and fluorescent green dresses for display. "I think it would bring out the red in your hair and the green in your eyes."
Casey sighs in resentment and takes a couple of huge breaths before continuing, "I hate to break your fantasy Derek, but I have brown hair and blue eyes."
Derek does a whole pretence of peering into her eyes and falling back with shock, muttering something about being bewitched for life, while Casey puts in two weeks worth of mediation classes in ignoring him. "And in any case, I have to wear white. It's tradition."
"But there's nothing traditional about this wedding. Wait till you see what I'm going to wear."
"What? Your Superman costume?" Casey asks tiredly.
"No. Even better. I have decided to borrow Max's baby blue tux from his junior prom."
"De-rek!" she shrieks.
Good. He had finally gotten her to lose her cool a bit. She was taking the entire thing way too seriously anyhow.
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"Relax. It's just a best man's speech. How can you mess it up?"
"Wait till you have to give one of these," Sam says, shifting nervously from one foot to another.
"Something I never have to worry about. Your track record of rejections is pretty impressive."
"De-rek."
"Oh great. It's contagious now," Derek says, shuffling out a few DVDs from his bag.
"Here," he says, handing them over to Sam. "With a little help from Marti, I have collected all those chick flicks which have great best man's speeches…There's Serendipity, My Best Friend's Wedding, Four Weddings…So on and so forth…take your pick… Do it right and you may just be able to pick up a lay after the reception…"
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"So I understand that you don't like the dresses Casey has picked up for you?"
Three disappointed heads nod in affirmation.
"It's lavender. Why couldn't it be blue or perhaps black?" Lizzie whines.
"It's not lavender enough." Marti complains next. "I wanted it to be purple."
"It's too long." Emily sighs. Women.
"Shh…Here is the thing." Derek indicates them to sit. "As the maid of honor and the bride's maid I truly understand that you girls are upset with your dresses, but the fact remains that you're called maids for the very reason that you have to follow what the bride says." And then almost as an afterthought, "And the best thing about these dresses is that you can always shorten them and wear them later."
Emily and Lizzie gawk in shock as they look at Marti for explanation.
"27 Dresses," the girl explains.
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"I beleive that it's a gift to be the best man. They say that once in your lifetime, someone comes along whom you're absolutely meant to be with. Everything feels great, stars are aligned, body and spirit are in balance. For my friend, Derek Venturi, that person was me." Sam declares as a few giggles mingled with a few gasps pass the hall.
He continues unperturbed, "But as you know, Derek and I were simpatico. We were brothers from another mother. We were friends since first grade. I watched him go out with woman after woman, and he'd always come crawling back to me..."
"He's so not getting laid today." Derek says almost to himself even though Casey hears it and throws him a disapproving glance as Sam still continues.
"But then one night he came home and things were different. His dream of becoming a documentary filmmaker was a thing of the past. He hardly responded to my playful yet tormented flicks of my fingers against the soft part of his skull. And that is because he had found her. The woman he was meant to be with. And if anyone is qualified to know when he met his soul mate, it would be me, his first wife. She's smart, she's funny, and she's beautiful. In short, she's the kind of woman that any man would dream about. And I think we all have. So it is with sadness...and fond, fond memories...that I raise my glass to the new Venturi. I'll tell you something. My friends, if I had to lose Derek to anyone, I can't imagine a more perfect woman than Casey. Cheers to both of you." Sam raises his glass as he finishes his thoroughly rehearsed best man's speech.
"How drunk is he?" Casey asks Derek.
"It isn't the alcohol," he answers. "It's Serendipity. He forgot to alter the speech a bit."
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"It's perfect." Casey whispers to him. And this is all what he had been waiting for.
"Wait till you hear the orchestra. I have them playing our song."
"Our song? We never had a song Derek."
"Yes. But I thought we should. So I chose a beautiful track for you. Don't worry you'll love it."
Casey smiles at him in utmost pleasure, "I can hardly wait," she gushes.
"What song?" Sam whispers from the other side.
"Survivor from Rocky." Derek grins making sure Casey doesn't hear him. Sam laughs and then looks at Casey thanking guests around her. "Seriously, though. How did you two ever get to this? From almost killing each other to married to each other?" he asks.
"Casey seduced me. She would wear these outrageous Babe Raider clothes all the time. I was just roped into her big plan." Derek laughs but sobers up as he watches Casey talking and laughing with friends and family.
Casey McDonald Venturi. He could hardly believe that it all had ultimately led to this.
"Frankly Sam, It was the only option."
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AN…I think Derek trying his best to get the wedding just right for Casey is super adorable…So …That's it for this fic…I do hope it has met your expectations…Now, I'll work on the other two….Please please review….