A/N: Oh, my, god. I'm so sorry. It has been so long...I've been so busy. Please forgive me. Pretty please? I'll give you...well, something sweet and steamy. ;)

As the week trailed on more and more students went home for the autumn holiday. Including Jade who had left Casey with no more than a note on her desk that read "Please, don't touch my things." Across campus however, Robin and Derek were having a more complex goodbye. Robin's eye was still a revolting purplish color and Derek was still on edge about he left things with Casey. He hadn't left her dorm until well after visiting hours closed. She sat on the bed, he sat at her desk, and they talked like adults were supposed to talk. About school, hockey, dance, their family, their friends, and their newly separated lives. Derek admitted to dating Matilda to get closer to her. Casey told Derek that she was actually quite lonely without his ever nagging presence. When Derek walked into his room at three in the morning Robin was on his computer scrolling his blog. He turned around to look at Derek with sad eyes that were rimmed with red. Derek hoped it was allergies because punching an already crying man was low even for him.

"How is she?" Robin asked. Derek clocked him in the face so hard Robin's chair was pushed back and the air was knocked out of him. It took a minute of the two boys standing and staring at each other before Robin said anything else. "I expected that."

"Good." Derek said. He took off his shoes and pants and got into bed without another word. The afternoon Robin was leaving the boys hadn't said much more to each other. Derek was reading an article in a car magazine and Robin was shoving more laundry in a duffle.

"Hey, man." Robin finally said, as he pulled a chair over to Derek's bed.

"What?" Derek didn't look up from his magazine.

"I'm sorry. Look, I don't really know what I did...but I didn't mean to step on any toes. You two really are meant to be. I don't get it. I don't think anyone does or ever will. But you have a week by yourselves. Make it count. And when you get really good and close to her...look in the bottom drawer of my dresser." Robin stood up and pushed the chair back to the desk. He was about to leave the dorm when Derek's words caught him. "I was saving it for something...but it doesn't matter now."

"Sorry, I punched you, man."

"We're cool."

Not even an hour later Casey was knocking on his door. They hadn't spoken more than a few texts since their late night together three days ago. When he opened the door she was holding a giant dish of mac n' cheese and a six pack of root beer.

"Hey, uh, happy almost thanksgiving." she was hesitant, half expecting another girl to be in the room.

"Um, yeah. Cool. Thanks, come on in." He let her moved past him. Suddenly his insides were twisting like he was slow dancing with the cutest girl in 8th grade at the fall formal. Not about eat mac n' cheese with his step sister whom he has known for six years. Casey sat the bowl on the desk and produced two spoons from her pocket. She rigged a soda lose and tossed it to Derek.

"So what's up?" She sat down at his desk and pulled on foot up and under her and crossed her other leg over her bent knee. She looked so casual and gorgeous in her tights and oversized hoodie. How did girls even sit like that? Didn't it hurt like hell? "Uh, Derek? Who's being a space case now?"

"Oh, what? Nothing. Nothing's up. Robin just left."

"Oh, Jade too. But it's not like she is ever there anyways." Casey shrugged and took a large bite of mac n' cheese.

"What a dream. I'm so tired of seeing Robin's underwear on his bed."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure Jade doesn't even exist. I might have just made her up." Casey giggled in that intoxicating way only she could.

"Well, that doesn't surprise me. You're kind of insane." He walked over to her and took a giant bite of Mac n' Cheese. "This so so good, Casey. Really. I can't remember the last time I've eaten something that wasn't kept warm under a lamp."

"Thanks. I make it the only way you'll eat it. Two cheese packets and extra milk." She shrugged like it was no big deal that she special made his food. "So, you wanna watch a movie?"

"Yeah, of course." Derek smiled at Casey and something inside of her lit on fire. A piece of her she wasn't even sure existed anymore.

Around eleven o'clock that first night they had watched three movies, played two games of L.I.F.E. Casey had directed him on how to properly do his laundry instead of just haphazardly tossing it all together. They were laying on his bed binge watching an old sitcom online. Derek had his head in her lap and she was lazily twirling his hair. The pair didn't remember how they found themselves in this intimate of a position but neither had said anything in about two episodes.

"I'm so bored." Derek moaned. He rolled over and pushed his face against Casey's stomach and began growling and biting her belly gently.

"Derek, knock it off!" she laughed and pushed him away, not willing to admit how precious he was.

"Uggghhh, Casey. I'm bored!" he rolled off the bed and landed on the floor.

"Let's go play pool. In the rec room." Casey suggested.

"You hate pool." Derek countered and pulled himself up to look at her.

"No, I hate that you always think you're better than me at pool." Casey said haughtily.

"Fine, let's go. I'm going to kick your ass and you're going to hate yourself for suggesting such an activity."

"Oh whatever." Casey reached out her hands and Derek hoisted her to her feet. The two trailed down to the rec room and both were rather stunned by the silence. Usually the dorms, especially the male dominated ones, were always extremely boisterous and...well, disgusting. With nearly four fifths of the campus homeward bound the rec room was eerily quiet and there were not soda cans, food wrappers, or socks lying around. Derek went to the information desk to check out the supplies from a doughy upperclassman named Janet who hadn't left for the holidays. Derek technically shouldn't have even been allowed to be doing so, seeing as he had already lost four foosballs and popped the volleyball. But as usual, his Venturi charm got him what he wanted. Casey racked up the ball and after Derek insisted on age before beauty she cracked the triangle and sunk three balls.

"I'm stripes." Casey boasted and flounced around the opposite side of the table. "And only four months older than you, so it hardly counts."

"As long as we're admitting I'm more beautiful." Derek muttered as he tried to aim up the tricky shot his counterpart had left him.

"Oh, yes, Derek. You're gorgeous. Stunning. Put some mascara on you and wriggle you into a dress, you can be our homecoming queen."

"Oh, stuff it McDonald." Derek laughed as he managed to slip a solid into the pocket. The two played and bantered their way through two and a half more games. It wasn't until Casey produced and window shaking yawn that Derek even bothered to look at the clock on the wall. It was half past three in the morning. Most of the balls were off the table and Casey was leaning against the table and resting her head on the pool cue. Her pony tail and long ago left, leaving her hair in loose waves surrounding her sleepy face. Derek's stomach was doing the fluttery thing again as she wiped her eyes. He was standing a few feet away from her put it felt like she was electrocuting him.

"Damn, Derek…" she sighed. "Haven't you realized I can kick your ass at pool yet? I've won like..three games…"

...five seconds of insane drunken idiotic courage is all you need to change your life…

Derek closed the distance between them.

Casey's head instinctively lifted to look into Derek's eyes.

Blue met hazel and the electric shocks transformed into a lightening storm.

Derek put a hand on Casey's jaw.

It might have only been half a second but as he moved his lips on to hers time ceased to make sense or even exist. He expected her to push him away. Run off to her room. Call George and Nora. And never speak to him again.

Instead...she breathed a single word...that sounded oddly like his name…

Their lips met and were frozen with fear at first….they've made it this far...what happens next? Casey, always the dominant figure made the next motion. She parted her lips ever so slightly to get a better angle. Their lips moved in sync their tongues grappling for dominance in the way only Casey and Derek could manage. Macaroni, root beer, and various candies had never tasted so good on another human's mouth. Derek moved his strong athletic hands from the small of her back to her waist and hoisted her onto the pool table. Casey wrapped her long dancer's legs around his waist and buried her hands in his hair. The kisses had gone from timid to torrid in a matter of a minute. Hands were melting flesh and lips were coaxing clothes to shed. Derek pulled off Casey's hoodie to reveal a small blue tank top that hugged every curve of her body.

"When did you get those?" Derek panted, while looking at her firm round breasts.

"Probably around senior year...the same time you began ignoring me." She was winded but continued placing flaming kisses on his neck and jaw.

"Shit….Casey…" Derek moaned and glanced at the information desk. The light was off and the desk was empty. They were alone…totally alone….Derek gently pushed Casey on to the pool table and Casey tugged Derek's shirt off his broad shoulders. He was even more defined than high school...college work outs had done him well. Suddenly...Derek stopped…

He pulled back from Casey and looked at her….really looked at her for the first time in such a long time. She wasn't that little girl that used to annoy the piss out of him but he would dream about in long showers. She wasn't an insufferable know it all so much anymore. She wasn't unattainable or forbidden. She was right here….writhing under him...looking up at him with those giant blue eyes that could melt every part of his soul. When had Casey grown up? When had he?

"Derek...what's wrong? Did I do something wrong?" Casey tried to keep her voice from warbling and tried to keep her brain from thinking this was an elaborate prank just to humiliate her.

"No, nothing." His voice was soft. He reached out and brushed a stray hair out of her face. "I was just thinking...about how beautiful you are right now…"

"Oh," she sighed with relief and wonder at how this giant man on top of her had changed in six years. He hadn't put itching powder in her underwear drawer. He hadn't spread viscious rumors about her. He gave her flowers when she danced at the homecoming game. And bought her cough drops because she said her throat was sore. Who was this gentle man that had grown out of that asshole cocoon of the boy she once knew?

"Yeah." he leaned down and kissed her again, pressing the play button on their commencing actions.

It was seven in the morning when Casey woke up on the rec room couch. She had on her panties and Derek's shirt. Derek was squeezed in behind her in just his boxer briefs. He was still fast asleep. His mop of brown hair was still damp with sweat and his snores were more of exhausted snuffles. Was it two...or three times that they did it? Casey shook her head to clear it just a bit and looked around the room. The morning autumn sun was pouring in the windows and the room was a bit….distraught. The pool table was mildly wet and stained. The chair cushions were askew. And clothes lie around the floor haphazardly. Casey, being Casey, straightened up the room then went over to Derek.

"Hey, Derek." she shook him lightly. "Let's go upstairs."

"Huh, Princess?" He kind of leaned up but was still asleep.

"We need to go upstairs before the cleaning crew comes around." she tugged his arm and he slowly got up. The two trudged back to his room and the exhausted pair crashed onto his bed and slept well into the afternoon.

A/N: Again….I am so sorry. Life is crazy but I hoped this made up for it! I love all of my readers and your opinions. So, let me know what's up. Much love, Little Crickett