The next night, Derek sat in his recliner. He absentmindedly looked at the T.V., his thoughts elsewhere completely.

The rest of the family had insisted on a movie night. With him and Casey leaving home next month, Nora and George were adamant that they experienced a few more of those feel good family moments that Derek hated so much.

The glow from the television was the only light that provided him a clear view of Casey's profile. She sat stiffly beside him; the rest of the family squeezed together on her right. He desperately wanted to reach over and touch her, even if it was to graze her arm with his fingertips and let her know how sorry he was…how much he actually cared.

Derek knew that his words from last night had been out of line.

Sometimes when a man is stopped in the middle of the act, the mouth speaks without thinking. The second he said it, he had regretted it.

Casey had every right to tell him no. She owned him nothing.

Derek knew what her problem was, and he felt that it had very little to do with their parent's and her respecting house rules.

I love you, Derek.

Those words continued to haunt him, though it had been the sweetest sound he'd ever heard. But Derek Venturi didn't do 'I love yous.' It freaked him out just as much as tears did. And aside from Marti, he never said those words. Honestly, he couldn't remember the last time he had even said it to his little sister.

Did he actually love Casey?

He knew that the likelihood of him feeling this horrible over what happened would be slim to none if he didn't.

But those weren't words that a person could just throw around without seriously pondering over it first; even if those words would fix this whole fucking situation.

He continued watching Casey's profile, her lips pursed tightly together.

The sound of laughter broke his concentration as Marti's shrill voice echoed throughout the room; the rest of the family followed suit aside from himself and Casey. Derek took the opportunity to lean towards his step-sister, bracing himself for a physical assault.

"Can we go somewhere to talk?"

He could see Casey's breathe hitch and her body stiffen to unnatural lengths as he whispered in her ear. She didn't acknowledge him, but continued staring ahead with a blank stare.

"Please, Case."

With the desperation in his voice, she finally looked at him. However, she shook her head no and once again looked away. Derek had to admit that that one action made him feel slightly better because her eyes softened considerably when she allowed herself to fully look at him.

The bags beneath her eyes were troubling however, indicating that she probably hadn't slept since she told him to get out of her room. Derek sighed and sank back into his recliner once again, feeling at a loss.

She was so close, yet so far from him. It was difficult to gain her attention and work through their issues with five other people in the room ready to observe their lovers spat. With Casey and Derek not speaking throughout the day, no one thought much of it. They were supposed to hate one another. The family was use to them going through spells where they would scream and then give each other the silent treatment.

But this was the first time that Derek felt it may take more than chocolate chip pancakes and cereal with soy milk to fix the situation.

He smiled at the thought. That's how he and Casey always made up over the years. It was a way of saying 'I'm sorry' without actually saying it. But this time, a real conversation would be required to fix the hole he had dug himself into.

He didn't do feelings.

Now he would have to.

Derek took another chance, slowly reaching out to graze Casey's arm in an attempt to soften her towards him once more. Backfiring, she bolted out of her seat and rubbed at her arm furiously in the spot he had touched. The rest of the family looked at her strangely, expecting an explanation for her sudden behavior.

"Spider," she said quickly. "There was a spider on my arm…I freaked out. Anyone want more popcorn. I'll get more popcorn."

Casey grabbed the bowl of popcorn that was nearly full and raced towards the kitchen in the darkened house.

"Since when is Casey afraid of spiders?" Lizzie asked curiously. It didn't take long for everyone to once again settle their attention back to the television. They didn't even notice when Derek quietly slipped out of his chair over the side, avoiding the noise of putting down the footrest.

He made his way to the kitchen, watching Casey make another bag of unnecessary popcorn.

"Will you stop running away from me?" he said in a loud hush so that no one aside from the two of them would hear what was being said.

"Can't you take a hint," she hushed back. "I don't want to talk. Just leave me alone."

"Why? Because we had one stupid fight last night? We always fight, Casey. What's the big fucking deal?"

"It's what we fought about, moron."

"Don't call me a moron, bitch."

"I hate you."

"Well, the feelings mutual."

They both seethed at one another, their chests rising simultaneously at the anger they both felt. It was happening all over again. The time spent alone together was long gone and they were thrust back into reality.

Derek rubbed his temples in an effort to calm down. He knew that he was making the situation worse. Calling her a bitch was probably not a very good of choice of words in order to make his point.

"I didn't come in here to fight, Casey," he began as calmly as he could muster. "I'm sorry…about last night."

Casey turned to him sharply. "You mean when you tried to make me feel guilty for not sleeping with you under our parent's roof? Sorry isn't going to cut it, Derek."

"Then what am I supposed to say? And I wasn't trying to make you feel guilty. I was just surprised, that's all."

"Surprised? So you're surprised when I don't feel like having sex with you - since you're so irresistible and all?"

"You and I both know that it has nothing to do with dad and Nora. Stop trying to act like the perfect daughter and admit what this is really about."

She crossed her arms, challenging his words. "And that would be…?"

Derek crossed to her until their faces were only inches apart, choosing to speak between his teeth.

"You're just pissed because I didn't tell you that I love you back. Five days, Casey! It was five days. How could you expect me to say those words?"

"Four years," she whispered. "It's been four years, Derek; not five days."

Derek took a step back, freaking out over the crack in her quiet voice and the realization that she was right. Shit.

"So you're saying that you've been wanting to tell me that you love me for four years? Why do I find that hard to believe?"

She shook her chestnut hair vigorously. "Not four years, but close. I guess after this past week, it just felt right to finally tell you. I'm sorry that I did."

When she turned her back on him, Derek caught her by her elbow, spinning her around. He caught her lips in his own, instantly grateful when she chose to kiss him back instead of pushing him away.

When they finally broke the kiss, Derek turned his head to the side, suddenly aware of where they were. Grateful that no one seemed to notice what was happening in the kitchen behind their back, Derek turned his attention back to Casey, realizing that her eyes had never left his face.

He bent down and captured her lips once more.

"Don't be sorry. Don't regret it." Derek found that the words were caught in his throat. Her blue eyes continued to search his dark ones, needing to hear the words. Why did she need hear them so badly? However, this was his Casey they were talking about. Of course she needed him say it. He loved how neurotic she was like that.

"I lo…" he cleared his throat. "I love you, Casey. I really do, and I'm sorry for being a dick about it."

The smile that spread across her face was worth every minute he struggled to say the words. It wasn't that he didn't want to tell her that he loved her, but the words were so foreign to him that he wasn't sure he was capable of saying them.

But the words came out of his mouth, and in that moment, they saved his life. And his life would always be Casey.