Casey:
"Come on, Casey." Elizabeth whined, looking up at her best friend from the bed as the brunette observed herself in the mirror. "You'll be moving to London soon, I leave for my dad's tomorrow and I'll be gone the entire summer, and then I'll probably never hear from you again." Casey snorted and rolled her eyes.
"Have you met me? Of course we'll keep in touch." It was Beth's turn to roll her eyes.
"You say that now, and sure we will… for a while. We'll have phone calls, we'll write letters, maybe even e-mail and eventually you'll be too busy with new friends, new boys, and your new school—public school, I might add—you won't have the time to call me."
"You're being overly dramatic and throwing a guilt trip on top of it." But She'd learned from the best.
"Is it working?" the girl asked, managing to keep an amused smile from playing across her features. Casey rolled her eyes, yet again, but she was smiling as she turned from the mirror to face Beth.
"Yes, and you know it is and that it would." Beth squealed and clapped her hands together as she jumped from the bed where she had been perched and ran over to Casey's closet.
"I have been dying to take you to a party for years, Case." She murmured as she started throwing random articles of clothing onto the bed. There were shirts, skirts, dresses, and pants. Casey wasn't sure what she was supposed to be trying on with what so she sat there, staring in mild amusement. She wasn't even sure where her reluctance stemmed from. It was summer. She had no homework. She'd done the required summer reading for her new school. She certainly had the time and luxury to relax some. Beside, Beth did make a valid point. Who knew when they would be able to hang out again? The drive just from the edge of Toronto to London was a little over two hours. If you factor in traffic and include the distance from house to house… it was a long drive and not one either of their mothers would be willing to make frequently.
She just wasn't much of a party person and most of her knowledge regarding the subject came from what she's seen on other TV shows and if they're anything like the real thing, it's not really her scene.
Beth had moved from the closet to the pile that had formed on Casey's bed. Now she was picking up things, examining them and laying them out in various outfits. Occasionally she would look from the bed to Casey and back and throw an article of clothing (and sometimes an entire outfit) to the floor. It was too late for Casey to protest about the treatment of her clothes at this point. "Here." The girl suggested, finally, as she picked up a long, flowing skirt and a blouse coupled with a cami. "Try this. Simple, but cute." It was something Casey might have picked for herself and the brunette relaxed.
"Do we even know who is throwing the party?" Beth shook her head.
"No, but my brother does and he said he would drive us." Casey shook her head, too, but didn't bother trying to argue. Instead, she changed into the clothes picked for her and waited for Beth's approval. Of course her friend was no longer paying any attention and had returned to searching Casey's closet. "Wait, what about this?" From the very recesses of Casey's closet, Beth had found a dress given to her by her cousin, Vicky. It was absolutely something Casey never imagined she would wear and it was a little too revealing for her taste. She hadn't been able to throw it away, though, because her mom would find out and so, just as Vicky was forced to buy something for her least favorite relative, Casey was forced to keep it and shoved it to the very back of her closet.
It's not that it was unattractive; Aunt Fiona wouldn't have allowed that. It would look really nice on someone… it just wasn't meant for Casey, who preferred to be covered. Casey shook her head. "No. Absolutely not." Beth pouted.
"Elizabeth." There was a warning note in her voice but Beth paid no mind.
"Come on." The blonde was whining again. "It's not like you'll ever see these people again-they're all complete strangers! At least try it on?" Her lips turned out in a pout and her eyes opened wide and Casey let out a sigh.
That was how she ended up wearing the black mini dress with cap sleeves that zipped from bottom to top in the front and Beth ended up wearing the white skirt and pink top with the cami that Casey had originally tried on (which, was totally unfair in Casey's opinion but Beth had argued that she wasn't the one who needed to loosen up). She'd done her make-up out of style, too, opting for a slightly more dramatic look to go with the dress. Why not have a little fun, look a little different? She'd never see these people again… except for maybe Beth's brother, Steven, who winked at her and said she looked hot when he saw them.
Derek:
Derek was leaning against a wall. There was some shitty pop song playing and he could feel the vibrations of the music on his back. It didn't matter, though, because leaning on his arm was a tall and leggy blonde (It was always a blonde, although they never lasted long). Her hand was gripping, rather possessively, his upper arm and she was whispering in his ear about some story. It didn't matter what she was saying with the way that she was saying it and Derek had the distinct feeling that the story didn't matter to her, either, she was happy to just to be murmuring low in his ear. Her breath tickled his ear. She was a little older, but it's not like she knew that he was only a second year in high school and he wasn't about to let her in on that fact.
From his spot toward the back of the room, Derek could see the front door and when it opened admitting two new girls. His attention was diverted from the blonde on his right to the one standing just inside the doorway who was definitely worth admiring. Following the blonde, though was an older brother who looked like he could break Derek's neck with two fingers. Deciding to stick with the leggy blonde who didn't have family in the immediate vicinity, he started to tune back into the girl on his arm-whose name he had forgotten by that point (but with the noise he wasn't even sure he had it right to begin with), but then the second girl, who had come in with the blonde and her brother, turned to scan the room.
He hadn't paid her much attention at first, choosing to take in the blonde over the brunette, but for a moment, he was absolutely captivated by the most amazing pair of blue eyes. And the dress she was wearing hugged a body that he definitely wouldn't mind getting to know. He was starting to wonder if maybe there was something he'd been missing with brunette women. She followed after the blonde and the older brother and his eyes followed them. Ralph, his best friend, leaned in on his left. "Avert your eyes." He suggested.
"Huh?" Derek answered, sounding completely eloquent. Not. And then he felt someone pinching his arm. Hard. "OW!" he yelped, turning to face the blonde. Diane? He tried that and she made a face.
"You ass." She muttered, stomping away. Derek looked confused and turned back to Ralph who laughed.
"You got caught staring." Was all he said, but Derek had been sure he wasn't staring that hard… right? Then again, if Ralph of all people noticed, then maybe so.
He scanned the room but he couldn't find her. He could write off the other blonde, her nails had started digging into his arm, but he wanted to flirt with the brunette a little. Beside, she looked closer to his age anyway and older girls were overrated. Ralph mumbled something about leaving and how he'd catch Derek later like his friend wouldn't notice that Ralph had left about the same time as his secret boyfriend like they'd been doing for the past year (Derek was just waiting for Ralph to come out and tell him). Derek nodded and waved his friend off; he was still looking for the blue eyed girl. It didn't matter to him that she wasn't blonde; he never actively sought after blonde women, anyway, it had just always happened that way.
He spotted the blonde that she'd come in with. She was talking to some guy with her brother watching out of the corner of his eye a few feet away. There was no sign of the other girl so he wandered into the kitchen to try his luck there.
She was leaning back on the counter, a cup in hand, one ankle crossed over the other as her bright eyes scanned those talking closely in a corner. She looked vaguely amused at whatever the couple was whispering about, but then her attention on them didn't last long. She noticed Derek standing, blocking the doorway where he'd yet to move from. He realized he'd been staring. Again. Apparently, obviously. "Hi." He said, lamely.
She looked him up and down, carefully. "Hi." She said back eyes flicking back to the couple, seeming uninterested. That took him by surprise; he usually didn't have to work very hard to get someone interested. He flicked a smirk in a girl's direction and they generally were smiling and giving them his number. He found that same smirk forming on his face now as he moved to lean on the counter beside her.
Looking back up at her she was looking at him and he thought, ah-ha, but she rolled her eyes and looked away. "What?" his demand was harsher than he intended. He just… wasn't used to this, he wasn't used to having to try so hard.
"You look like the type who expects girls to fall at his feet and praise his existence." She said, after a long sip of what looked like water. He felt himself smirk more. He'd more or less just been thinking that.
"I can't help it if that's what always happens." He heard himself saying. Lame, he admonished himself but he thought he saw the corners of her lips twitch.
"I'm sure it does, but not this time." Derek put a hand to his heart at these words, and grinned—no longer a smirk, but a grin.
"Why is that?"
She finally looked at him more fully, leaning away to appraise him better, "Leather jacket, shaggy hair, cocky attitude, and to top it off an arrogant smirk; you're a walking cliché."
"You wound me." That was kind of a bigger blow to his ego than her seeming uninterested. Derek Venturi was one of a kind, or so he had thought.
"I'm sure you'll live." She intoned turning her attention from him.
"I don't... think I'll... make it much... longer." He gasped, like it was his last few breaths, sliding to the floor. He realized he was acting ridiculous to get this girl's attention when he would have to do a lot less work to get the blonde from earlier to forgive him, but somehow he was enjoying this. The brunette watched him, one eyebrow raised, as he melted like a puddle at her feet and then he let his body go lax. This time he was positive that her lips twitched upward in a smile, but he gave her credit because it was only for a second before the apathetic expression returned.
She stepped over him in some black heels and he got a nice view of her legs. He's always been a leg man and he could appreciate the dancer's muscles she had. He took a moment longer to appreciate them some more before looking up at her where she was peering down at the dead mess he'd pretended to become, "Well now," she drolled, "look who is falling at my feet." He laughed out right at that. She was quick, unlike most of the girls he tended to pay attention to.
He managed to get up rather gracefully from the floor and offer her his hand, "Derek." She looked at it for a moment before taking his hand in hers.
"Casey." And finally she smiled.
Casey:
Casey finally allowed him a smile as she gave Derek's hand a gentle shake. The smile that he returned was… something else. It made her feel special. She'd almost caught a glimpse of it a moment ago when he'd been grinning but this was a genuine real-deal smile, and it warmed her to him; it was much better than that smirk he'd had going on when he first sidled up beside her.
"That's a lovely name." The line sounded so practiced, that she laughed.
"Thanks, I picked it out myself." The look on his face made her laugh, "Beside, I'm sure you tell that to all the girls." He only looked mildly guilty at being caught.
"Yeah, but this time I mean it." The sound of his own sincerity seemed to catch him off guard and she wanted to laugh again.
"I'm sure." Casey deadpanned, eyes rolling. She didn't know where this flirty nature was coming from. She supposed it was the dress. It hadn't looked as bad as she thought, and it gave her confidence she'd previously lacked.
"I do. You know how I know?" and he leaned in like he was going to tell her a secret, still holding her hand. She let him. Why not, they were never going to speak after tonight. "I'll actually remember your name." he murmured, close to her ear and she could almost see him grinning, although she had the vague impression that he didn't generally remember names. She laughed.
"Well, I'll never know if that's true or not." She told him when he finally leaned back and returned her the use of her hand. "I suppose I can take your word for it, this once." He smiled like a boy who had won a prize at the fair.
"You have a really genuine laugh." He said, sounding surprised. Then again, judging by her assessment of him, which she'd figured to be pretty accurate by his reaction, he was probably used to girls laughing at anything he said regardless of its humor.
"Explained by the fact that I tend to only laugh when something is funny."
"You think I'm funny?" He looked cocky again and she couldn't resist knocking him down a peg. Again.
"Well, I have been looking at your face for the past few minutes." He looked surprised, again, but pleased at as he pretended to look offended. She wondered if he was enjoying their verbal sparring as much as she was. Then he gave her that real smile again, and she couldn't help but feel like there was nothing in the world but them.
They spent the entire night at that party talking and laughing; he never once put his hand on her after their initial handshake, but he was definitely flirtatious-as was she. When Beth finally came to collect her to go, he took her hand to shake it again but kissed her cheek gently and murmured "I'd like to see you again." Casey chewed at her lip and, on a whim, grabbed a pen writing his e-mail address on his arm.
They spent the rest of the summer e-mailing. He told her jokes, and she shared poetry of which he had intelligent things to say. They each talked upon their parent's divorce and didn't touch on family beyond that except to share that neither were an only child. They talked about their friends at school; she told him about Beth ("Oh, the hot blonde with you at the party?") and he told her how he felt about the fact that his friend still didn't trust him to come out. They talked about life, in general: hopes, dreams, ambitions (everyone thinks that he wants to play hockey but he really wants to make documentaries). He shared embarrassing stories about himself and she did the same. He told her that he was sharing things with her that he'd never told anyone. She was telling him things she'd never told anyone, even though she couldn't be sure he'd meant what he said. They never did get a chance to meet over the summer when they realized the distance (she never did tell him she'd be moving closer, though), but they e-mailed several times a day.
Toward the end of the summer, Derek told her he loved her and she returned the sentiment.
Then summer was almost over and she was moving to her new home in London. She had to meet the man to become her stepfather (he actually turned out to be quite nice). She met her new stepsister, Marti; she was a character and Casey wondered if she would be able to handle the creative kid who had wanted to wear a purple boa to the rehearsal. She met Edwin, who seemed rather intelligent and gifted. Then there was the final addition to the family; she met the eldest son of George: Derek Venturi. The same Derek who she met at the party early in the summer, the same Derek who she had shared her most personal thoughts and feelings with, and the same Derek who had said he loved her. Her heart broke as his eyes went wide in surprise and then cold and unfeeling as he pretended to introduce himself to her at their parents rehearsal dinner.
Her heart broke further when at some point during the reception he'd been found kissing her cousin on the dance floor and George-who Casey was sharing a dance with-whispered to his son, "What happened to the girl you've been going on about all summer?"
Derek wouldn't meet her eyes. "Oh, her? She's just a girl; nothing special."