The Reunion
Disclaimer: I don't own LWD.
AN: Enjoy

The Reunion
Chapter 4:

He dropped his hold on her before slipping passed her to hold the door open like a true gentleman when they reached the front. She tried to keep her eyes from falling out of her head in shock. Derek just didn't seem like the type to open doors for a girl. She brushed it off and led them straight to the lobby where there was a gray haired woman who sat behind a small table full of table cards and name tags.

"Casey McDonald." She spoke confidently, knowing exactly how this worked. She had spent a few hours watching reunion movies, preparing herself for what she may have been in for.

Derek came up behind her but didn't touch her. Not this time. He simply loomed over her like a creeper, but for some reason it worked in his favor. She felt the heat radiating off his skin and she wanted nothing more than to close the gap between them and lean back into his body. But she refrained.

"Venturi," Derek quickly corrected from behind her.

She turned halfway towards him while side-stepping him to add a few inches between them. She was worried about what could happen if she didn't. She dropped a hand on her hip, arching an eyebrow and ready to chew him out for that comment. But he seemed to have sensed her reaction and he slipped a hand to the small of her back, pulling her into his side.

"Remember?" He spoke softly while leaning closer to her ear. A flirty tone lingered in his voice along with a sparkle in his eye.

She gulped before biting the inside of her cheek. She wasn't used to seeing Derek like this. She was never really on the receiving end of those bedroom eyes. But she was his wife now, so she would have to get use to the idea…which wasn't happening now so she pulled herself together and smiled before slipping an arm around his waist. She curled into his body perfectly before laying her head down against his shoulder, her high heels had making it easier. Due to her sudden movement, his hand curled around her lower hip with his fingers splayed across it possessively. She tried not to squirm under his touch like that, but it was hard.

"Sorry, hun. Tag still has my maiden name…to minimize confusion and all that." She replied before turning her attention toward the woman in front of them.

PDA wasn't something Derek particularly liked. At least that's what Casey could remember. There were always rumors about him, but she never saw anything concrete. But boy was she going to find out the hard way how far Derek actually went when it came to PDA. She almost felt guilty that she was excited about it.

She didn't expect Derek to pout though, which was adorable to be honest. Did he want her to wear his name around all night? Honestly she wasn't opposed to the idea. But like she explained to him, it was supposed to minimize confusion.

The women at the desk smiled at the adoring couple before giving Casey her name tag and their table card. Casey hated the fact that she would have to stick the obnoxious "Hi My Name Is…Casey McDonald" tag onto her dress. Especially after Derek had made it a point to explain just how good she looked in it. She felt the tag would cheapen her appearance. Derek being her plus one didn't need a tag because no one knew him. So, his appearance remained flawless, and Casey was jealous.

"Here," he smirked before taking her tag into his own fingers and peeling off the back. He leaned down a bit to place the tag onto the material that clung neatly against Casey's hips. That was the only place that had a clean patch of material for the tag to stick to.

Having Derek's fingertips press against her hip seemed to be a theme so early on into the night. And the fact that she liked it may be another. She simply shot him a questioning glare yet she didn't say a thing.

He shrugged, giving no further explanation. In reality, he just didn't need anymore attention to be brought to her chest.

She rolled her eyes, ignoring his strange antics and let her eyes swim around them. She had already seen a few people she recognized from afar and she couldn't wait to get in and mingle with them.

"Ready?" He asked.

"Ready," she nodded.

He reached out for her hand before he laced their fingers together easily; this surprised her. Wasn't this supposed to be awkward? Why did it feel like they had done this a thousand times before? Her thoughts were cut off when she felt him brush his fingertips against the ring on her finger before she caught him smirking down at her. She took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves before she led them inside the huge double doors.

It was pretty intense to say the least. The room looked like it was prepped for a wedding or something of that caliber. The tables were decorated with white flower centerpieces and small tea candles which added a pretty glow to the room. Silverware and plates full of salad were laid at every table setting. Fletcher seemed to go all out.

Casey led them to their table first, or at least she tried. A few people seemed to recognize her judging by the slow smiles creeping across their lips when they saw her. She smiled back at familiar faces yet she didn't stop to say hi to anyone. No one was actually at their table when they reached it. But empty wine glasses and a few scattered purses gave her proof that whoever else happened to be at the table were already mingling. Casey dropped her clutch onto the table before he eyes flickered around the room, surveying it like a pro. Derek slipped out of his jacket and draped it onto the back of his chair before falling into an empty seat beside her easily.

There was music playing and a few couples floated around the dance floor. A banner hung above it, saying "Welcome Back Fletcher's Academy: Class of 2009!" The bar seemed to be a hot spot yet most were gathered in small clumps of people, catching up.

Being that Fletcher was an all-girl's school, most of the men there had no idea who the rest of the other women were. They seemed to either be at the bar, or at the table looking bored, or at their wife's side as they smiled and pretended to care about all the high school memories the women were sharing with one another.

Derek knew he'd be the latter. He had to smile and be charming and make all her friends envy them. And that was okay yet he wasn't expecting it to happen so soon. They didn't even get to settle down and scope the place out before Angela approached the pair.

"Casey!" She squealed before enveloping Casey into a warm hug. They seemed to sway with each other in the embrace. "My god you look gorgeous!" Angela commented after pulling back to look Casey over properly.

Casey blushed at the compliment. "You look pretty good yourself, Ang."

Angela had a very Jessica Rabbit vibe to her; long reddish-brown locks, big pouty always red lips, killer curves and a small waist that made you doubt she could even be real. All she needed was a red dress with a knee high slip, and she'd look like she's straight out of a cartoon. Not that Derek would ever actually say any of that out loud. He knew Casey would kill him for objectifying her best friend, but it was just so obvious.

"Oh, this?" Angela asked before pointing at her little black dress which exposed her ridiculously long legs. "This was so last minute! I've been so busy planning this thing I forgot about getting myself all dolled up." Angela replied, brushing the comment off.

And suddenly she realized that they weren't alone.

"Derek?!" She asked with her eyes wide in surprise when she realized who Casey's date actually was.

"In the flesh," He replied after getting up from his seat. He pulled her into a quick hug as well. Derek actually saw a lot of Angela during their high school years. She'd stop by every once in a while, for Casey's birthday, or just to catch up. Although they may have not been close, he knew her well enough to be friendly, without his usual flirty side; Angela had always been off limits to him. He was starting to realize why.

"Oh, I knew it would be you two!" Angela squealed while looking back and forth between them in awe.

"You did?" Casey asked while trying not to look too surprised by the confession.

"Oh yeah." She gushed while nodding. "The way you talked about him all the time. And how you'd both go out of your way for each other… Ugh, it was too cute! Plus, you two reeked of sexual tension for years," she shrugged. "I am a little bummed I missed the wedding though," she pouted while actually looking upset about it. But she quickly smiled and grabbed Casey's hand to examine the ring; she clearly approved of Derek choice.

Which, of course, made Derek smirk with pride. He had picked a good one; it was best friend approved!

"It was…" Casey started with a frown, not wanting to lie to her best friend. But she had no choice.

Angela dropped her hand and replied. "No, I totally get it. Small private gathering? Must have been… considering." She stopped for just a beat that felt like an eternity for Angela's norm, "But you've got to show me the pictures at least. Meet up for coffee soon right?" She went on while smiling as usual.

That's the thing about Angela that Casey loved; her bubbly, faster than light energy. She was always talking and conversations were filled with different subjects that it was hard to keep up. But fun, always fun.

"Uh, yeah. Of course!" Casey replied with a beaming smile. Another lie. Just she could deal with that one.

"Cool, okay. I gotta go –" Angela pointed back towards the reunion that she was still in charge of running.

"Yeah I know. Go ahead, well catch up later," Casey promised yet hoping they actually wouldn't. Because Angela saw through her like water, which is why it was so weird how easily she believed the whole Derek-thing so easily. As if it was the most obvious thing in the world. This made Casey think about her relationship with Derek throughout the years and how it had evolved. Was she oblivious? Were there hints that she had clearly been missing for too many years? Although those thoughts momentary clouded her mind, she couldn't really deal with them at the moment. She needed to deal with the reunion.

"Yes, later. It's a must!" She squealed before blowing air kisses at the pair. "I want details!" She yelled before walking away.

Casey breathed out heavily as if she had just run a marathon. That's how it felt when she was around Angela. Like a race. She fell into the seat beside Derek. "Angela is-" she started yet she wasn't exactly sure what she was going to say. Something else. Angela is something else.

"Just as gorgeous as I remember," Derek finished the sentence for her with his smirk in place.

Her eyes narrowed. "Der-ek!" She hissed while slapping his arm playfully.

"Sorry Hun," he chuckled before wrapping an arm around her shoulder. He leaned in and pressed his lips against the shell of her ear. "Don't worry, your still the only one for me," he whispered before pulling away to press a soft kiss against her temple.

"You're good at this," she spoke softly with her eyes fluttering due to the warmth of him pressed up against her in that way.

"It's easy," he shrugged before leaning back into his chair yet keeping a possessive arm wrapped around her shoulder.

"Too easy," she thought before leaning into him. "What do you think she meant? She knew it would be us?"

"I don't know... Maybe we looked like..." He trailed off.

Looked like what? A couple? "No. No, we hated each other in high school," she tried to argue. "I kind of miss it to be honest." She admitted with a shrug.

"You miss us hating each other?" He asked her with a doubtful look.

"No." She shook her head. "I miss fighting with you. Really fighting; getting red in the face, yelling, all of that. It was very therapeutic," she smiled.

"I'll make a note of that," he replied, amused by her confession.

She sighed heavily. "Guess I should go show you off now, huh?" She asked after a moment.

"Maybe we should go to the bar first though," he suggested. Liquid courage always helped.

"Oh god yes!" She replied before jumping out of her seat. She definitely needed a drink first!

After getting themselves a drinks the mingling started.

Diana asked them about kids. Casey started explaining that they were still young and that they still had time. Derek added that he wanted to enjoy her all to himself before he had to share her.

Mandy gawked at Casey's ring, and asked where she could find a nice rich hockey player before she asked about their wedding. Derek said he'd keep an eye out for her. Casey explained the wedding.

"It was only a few months ago. It was extremely small and low key. I just wanted to marry him already," Casey beamed while looking up at him.

"No wonder. You still have the newlywed glow!" Tricia replied which threw Casey off.

Everyone was buying it…and so easily too. But Casey couldn't stop to think about why. She simply smiled it off like a pro.

All the mingling meant that the touching had increased. It was either a lazy arm was draped around her shoulder or he had a protective hold on her that kept her tucked into his side. Or sometimes he'd wrap an arm around her middle which eventually distracted her from everything around her when he'd start to drum his fingertips against her hip. Or there was this one time when he came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist which resulted in her back being pressed to his chest tightly. She couldn't stop herself from jumping that time, but she covered it up easily by covering his clasped hands that rested on her stomach with her own. She smiled and nodded along to whatever story her friends where saying while Derek hid his smirk in her hair.

But it didn't stop there.

Casey's old classmate, Amanda, couldn't take her eyes off of Derek the entire night. Derek didn't want to point it out to Casey since he didn't want her thinking that he felt smug about it or anything. But Casey noticed right away and took it upon herself to take care of it.

So on top of all that touching, Casey started kissing Derek…not on the lips of anything, not that he'd oppose, but on other places. It started off simple. He barely noticed when she brought their interlaced hands up to her mouth before placing a kiss on his knuckles. Or when she beamed at him before leaning in and pressing her mouth to his cheek. Or when he tucked her into his side and she reached up to kiss his neck, which didn't end there because Casey felt possessive all of a sudden. She bit and sucked on his neck, the soft spot right below his ear, until there was a visible mark…while standing in the middle of a room surrounded by all her old classmates and Derek let her. In fact he had to bit his lip to stop himself from moaning. He had dropped his head to her shoulder at one point so she could work her magic. It was borderline being not suitable for work material, but neither complained.

Amanda however…well eventually she got the hint.

They were standing at the bar all wrapped up in each other when Derek and Casey heard someone call her name.

"Casey McDonald?!" A deep voice called from the right of the couple.

Casey turned as best she could with Derek wrapped around her, to see who the voice belonged to, and she was pleasantly surprised to see an old familiar face.

"Sean Williams?" She asked while taking a step away from Derek's grip. She pulled Sean into a friendly hug before he could even answer.

Although the hug was strictly friendly to her, Derek had a whole different view on it. He didn't like the smile on her face, or the way she lit up when she realized who had called her. He watched her rise on her tippy toes, to wrap her arms around this Sean guy, and he didn't like it. It's just not a good look to have your wife jump out of your arms and into another man's arms, even if it was only to greet them. It just wasn't right!

"Jesus Case, do you even age?!" Sean asked after pulling away and giving her a clear once over.

Sean looked like Prince Charming, which made Derek dislike him even more. Maybe it was the perfectly blonde hair, and the blue eyes that matched Casey's and the way his eyes lingered on her is what bugged him.

"No, she simply grew into her shoes." Derek replied before holding a hand out to Sean. "Derek Venturi," he spoke smugly.

Sean nodded while reaching out to shake Derek's hand. "So McDonald got married, huh?" He asked with a chuckle.

"You sound so surprised." Casey scoffed yet clearly offended by the comment. Derek took the opportunity to tuck her into his side protectively with his arm wrapped around her waist once more. And she took it upon herself to lay her head against his chest, which eased his discomfort with Sean.

"I just never thought you'd find a good enough guy." Sean admitted while scratching the back of his neck awkwardly.

"I'm sorry... how do you two know each other?" Derek had to ask because he had to make himself a part of this conversation. He was not to be ignored.

"Sean was in Fletcher's Academy For Boys the same year as me. We ran into each other at school functions," Casey explained.

"And prom," he smirked while giving Casey a knowing look, a look that Derek wanted to know the reason behind.

Casey rolled her eyes. "Ahh yes, prom." Casey blushed against her better judgment.

"That was a blast." Sean confirmed before looking up at Derek; Sean's look was a bit too smug for Derek's taste.

"Who are you here with?" Casey asked quickly changing topics. She must have felt the hostility between the pair.

"Uh... Olivia," he spoke, almost embarrassed.

"Olivia Martin? You two...really? How cliché!" Casey laughed.

"Head cheerleader and quarterback," he commented for Derek's sake.

This only reminded Derek of Max, which only pissed him off further.

"We did have a reputation to keep." Sean replied to Casey.

"That's insane." Casey commented.

"Seems so. What about you…how did this happen?" He asked while pointing between the pair.

"We meet in high school, after I transferred." She beamed while looking up at Derek like he was the gravity holding her in place. Spacey's anchor, so to say.

"Well, you must be one hell of a man to have stolen Casey's heart. Trust me, every guy in the boy's academy would have killed to go out with her."

"Oh really?" Derek asked, clearly intrigued in the possibility of Casey having guys just fall at her feet.

"Not every guy," she blushed again before hiding a bit into Derek's side.

Derek liked the way she was shy and embarrassed about this new information. He moved his arm up to her shoulder, pulling her into a half hug.

"So, where's your other half, Casey?" Sean chuckled.

He couldn't see her face given their stance, but he felt her stiffening up against his side. "Other half?" Derek asked while looking at Sean since he wasn't sure if he meant another guy.

"Vicky." Sean replied.

"It's Victoria now," Casey shot back almost immediately.

Casey almost forgot all about Vicky when she started thinking about the reunion. But a much needed trip to her old yearbook reminded her. She was about to call the whole thing quits until she realized that Vicky would not be attending the event. In fact her exact words were "I have so much better things to do than go back and see the people I hated." With that being said Casey felt confident that Vicky would not show up, and her plan continued.

"Of course it is." Sean mumbled while sounding unimpressed.

"She's around. Paris last I heard, munching on some guy's millions," Casey shrugged while sounding uninterested.

"Must be nice."

"I'm sure it is," Casey replied dryly.

Derek noticed her discomfort and offered her a way out. He leaned down towards her, "Let's dance," he whispered through her hair yet loud enough for only her to hear.

She nodded before excusing herself quickly from Sean. She left her drink at a random table before Derek pulled her to the small, nearly empty, dance floor.

"Let's give them something to be jealous about," he offered with that twinkle in his eye shining bright again.

He slipped his arms around her before pulling her flush against him. If only there were less layers of clothing between them. Her hands wrapped around his neck as they rocked to the rhythm of the music.

Suddenly he remembered how good of a dancer she was. The things she could do with her hips were beyond dangerous. And getting worked up on the dance floor was not on his to-do list. But then again...

"Did you sleep with him?" He asked after a while with his fingers pressing into her hips again. He couldn't help it, he was possessive about his wife.

"Who?" She asked, knitting her eyebrows.

"Sean Williams," Derek mimicked the blonde's voice.

"No. We just... Hooked up a few times is all."

"It's weird seeing this side of you." He admitted while looking down at her. He pushed the hair out of her face with one hand.

"What side?"

"Casey McDonald: the girl wanted by every guy in the boy's academy."

She rolled her eyes but didn't deny it. The guys in the boy's academy were different. They actually wanted a smart girl. Regardless of her braces! "You jealous?" She teased.

He wanted to mention Amanda, and how she was jealous about that, so much so that she had overstepped possible boundaries between them to stake her claim. But he didn't because he really liked that hickey.

"Nah. I'm the one that got to marry you." He said with a smug smile.

She narrowed her eyes at him before turning around and grinding her back into him. And wow, he really wasn't expecting that, it was hot. It wasn't silly and fun like it used to be. Not like this. It was nothing like he remembered way back when. It was the complete opposite.

His hands brushed over her curves, and his hips rocked deliciously against hers and it was good. So good that he forgot where they were and why they were there. But they were doing something right because by the time they were done a lot more couples were grinding on the dance floor as if they just remembered how fun it used to be back in high school. And a few more simply stared at them…which made Casey flush with embarrassment. But hey… it was nice.

Eventually it got to be too much and they needed a break and some fresh air. Derek led them back towards their table. He fell into his seat while she stole her clutch before heading to the bathroom to freshen up. That left Derek alone at the empty table. He didn't mind too much. It was nice to have a minute of clear oxygen to breathe.

He pulled out his phone for the first time since they had gone in. He had a few emails, texts from the kiddies to answer, and a missed call from his coach. Nothing that couldn't wait till tomorrow, he convinced himself.

"Excuse me," a voice called to him from his right.

Derek looked up from his phone to see what looked like another husband who was dragged to the reunion.

"I don't mean to bother you but…you're Derek right? Center for the Leafs?" The guy asked awkwardly.

A fan. Derek could deal with fans easy. "Uh, yeah. Hey," Derek smiled before offering a hand for the man to shake.

"Jeremy. Sharon's husband," He clarified while shaking Derek's hand.

"Oh, I think I meet her... at some point." Derek replied. "I've meet a lot of people tonight," he admitted with a shrug.

Jeremy nodded understanding. "I guess even big shots like you have to come along to these kinds of things, huh?" He laughed while stuffing his hands into his pockets.

Derek laughed while shaking his head. "I guess so."

"Which one of these lovely ladies is yours?" Jeremy's asked before looking towards the crowd of women gathered around.

"Casey. McDonald, or well, Venturi." Derek clarified with a smirk. "She's in the restroom."

"Wait…you're married?" Jeremy asked. He must have seen Derek's ring and put the things together.

Derek nodded and he found himself liking the sound of it. Why hadn't he thought about marriage before? "Yeah," he replied.

"Wow, man, Congrats! Here I thought you were the playboy of the team!"

"It was a small ceremony, wanted to keep it out of the press." Derek shrugged.

"Oh, I get it. There always talking about you in the press man. Some nasty stuff too."

Derek nodded; he didn't really keep up-to-date with the stories. His PR rep took care of everything. Most of it was never true. And the few rare true stories were about him buying a new car, or going on vacation, or when he was doing press and had to travel.

"Alright, well I think I'm being summoned." Jeremy replied after looking passed Derek to a woman at the bar that was beckoning him over. "Keep up the good work. Hopefully we'll see the Stanley Cup this year with you," Jeremy added.

"Thanks man," Derek nodded, accepting the compliment. He returned to his phone once more.

Casey appeared moments later, looking refreshed and good as new. "What did I miss?" Casey asked after slipping into the empty seat next to Derek.

Derek shook his head. "Nothing at all."

The rest of the night continued with the similar theme. When the party had dwindled down Casey said her goodbyes, exchanged a few numbers and emails (that he knew she'd never use), and they were finally ready to go. He slipped his suit jacket over her shoulders before taking her hand and leading her out.

"That was nice of you," she smiled while letting him lead the way.

"Don't say I never did anything for you," he teased before sticking his tongue out at her playfully.

She rolled her eyes as she braced the nightly breeze as they walked hand and hand through the parking lot.

AN:

By far the hardest chapter to write. I had to come up with multiple characters, especially when they are pointless really. But this was the basis of the story! So yeah... Hope I did okay. Cause that was hard. Also, I watched 3 HS reunion-eque movies to prep for this chapter! So yeah...

Review?