I think the reviewers for all of my stories will be officially titled The Feedback Monkeys. It just fits so well:

Tarryn and The Feedback Monkeys.

I may even start opening for positions of head Feedback Monkeys. Like Feedback Monkey Number 1, Feedback Monkey Number 2, and so on. Lol.

It's because I love you all so much. I swear.

The marriage proposals are still out there, I just have yet to hear an 'I do'. (:

Enjoy!

x—x

Casey rested her forehead in her palm, and let out a small groan before looking up at the clock again.

This is what the slackers must feel like when they're waiting for class to end. God! This is how Derek must feel, all the time.

She quietly shifted in her seat so that she could rest her chin on her desk, with her arms hanging by her side as she continued to watch the clock. It was driving her crazy that she only had a few more minutes until her lunch, and the clock seemed to be going so slow, it could possibly have started to move backwards.

A piece of hair hung in her face and she absentmindedly blew it away, and tried to fight her urge to bang her head against her desk. She was so exhausted, frustrated, bored, and worried that she could hardly stand it. She barely knew how to handle herself.

Her head tilted over and her cheek rested on the desk, as she willed the clock to move faster.

By the time the bell rang, Casey had begun to bang her chin quietly against the desk. But she immediately bolted up, grabbed her bag, and bolted from the room with a temporary energy that faded as soon as she was out the door. She walked slowly, heading in the direction that she hoped was the cafeteria.

She then felt herself be unexpectedly pulled, and she almost screamed, until she saw that it was Derek that had pulled her aside by the back of her shirt.

"Geez!" She said, "What are you doing?"

Derek's eyebrow raised, and he smirked, "Oh, only stopping you from knocking yourself unconscious."

Derek pointed beside them at a locker door that was opened, it's owner a few feet away, chatting with some friends.

"Oh." Casey said quietly.

"You didn't see that? Because it sure looked like you weren't going to walk around it," Derek chuckled, "Maybe you're already unconscious."

Casey shook her head.

"You alright? I know we weren't able to talk this morning." Derek asked.

"Of course we couldn't. Mom and George would hardly leave our sides." Casey shrugged.

"I repeat my question; are you alright?" Derek asked.

Casey shrugged again, "I dunno. I'm just really on edge. And I couldn't sleep last night, either. But then, I don't even know if I would have wanted to."

Derek studied her for a moment, "Maybe we need to stop defying my dad and Nora, and actually stay home when they want us to. With everything that happened yesterday, and all."

Casey sighed, "I know, but through all this heavy fog around me, my gut still told me that I should be here."

"The grubbiness never ends, does it?" Derek asked jokingly.

Casey gave him a small swat on his shoulder.

"Come on, Case, let's go to lunch." He said, putting his arm around her, and leading her through the halls.

When they walked into the cafeteria, Derek, somewhat reluctantly, removed his arm.

Whispering had followed them through the halls, partially because of their accidents, and partially because they were getting along. People stared at them as they got their lunch. Some people avoided them as though their problems were contagious, including several people they knew, such as Sheldon, who detoured to supposedly find Emily, and Tinker, who's eyes became the size of teacups, and almost broke out into a run when he saw them.

"Are you sitting with us?" Casey asked, when Derek continued with her once they had gotten their lunches.

"Yeah." Derek said.

"Your fan club joining us?"

Derek smirked, "No, today's the club's meeting. I'm not allowed to participate."

x—x

Marti's somewhat gappy smile shined over the short fence of her school playground, her fingers curled over the top of the fence. A man stood in front of her on the other side of the gate in the alley, talking to her. Whatever he was saying must have made Marti feel comfortable, since he was obviously a stranger, and yet she was talking to him.

None of the children seemed to notice that Marti was talking to the man, and the teacher's aids were huddled at the opposite end of the yard, talking, hiding, badly, that they were smoking. Marti and the man continue to talk, but after a moment, Marti's smile disappears. She looks as though she was going to walk away from the fence, but before she can move, the man covers her mouth stifling any possible screams, and quickly lifts her over the fence. No one notices as he runs down the alley, gripping Marti close.

--

The room is dark. Marti is dirty, and bound. Tears continually run down her already tear stained face. A shadow moves into the room, and Marti begins to fight violently against her binds.

Everything goes black, and the only noise heard is Marti's terrified screams.

--

The bell rang, and Casey jumped from her seat, screaming loudly, drenched in sweat. Everyone in the class turned to look at her, surprised. She had fallen asleep in her class after lunch.

"Casey, what's wrong?" Emily asked, worried.

But Casey ignored her. Leaving all of her stuff, she tore through the room, knocking over several chairs, and burst from the classroom, and began to run down the hallway. She broke through groups of people walking down the hallway, pushing her way through, not even noticing that she was crying.

She felt a hand grasp her arm, pulling her back. It was Derek.

"What happened?" Derek asked, fear in his eyes.

But Casey yanked herself from his grip and continued to run.

She passed everyone, running through the school doors, and through the parking lot until she was out the exit, and then she turned on the sidewalk, and continued to run, without thinking.

She ran for several blocks, until she turned the corner she was aiming for and saw Marti's school. Running around it, she aimed near the playground and the alley.

The man had Marti in his arms, and was pulling her over the fence.

"MARTI!" She screamed loudly as she continued to run, "LET HER GO!"

The man turned at her screams. It was him. She knew it. He had Marti over the fence, but he quickly dropped her to the ground, and took off, tearing down the alley way. The commotion had alerted the aids, who were rapidly stamping out their cigarettes. Casey reached Marti, and scooped her up in her arms. They were both sobbing, Casey also trying to catch her breath.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Derek streak past her, running down the alley, but then running back, knowing that it was too late. He was gone. Derek rushed up to Casey and Marti, throwing his arms around them both, panting.

"Who the hell puts a kid's playground next to a dark alley?" Casey cried before becoming completely enveloped in Derek's grip, and Marti's sobs.

x—x

Hmm, this didn't turn out exactly how I envisioned it, but it brings across what I was pretty much trying to convey. It could have been better, but this will do. I hope you guys liked it. (:

Plus, while writing this, I had a major plot revelation! Also, I expect the next chapter to be fairly, to extremely short and fluffy. Nothing much some interesting-ish stuff that leads to the big bang.

Review, loves.

-Tarryn