Okay, Okay! I heard you! *mutters 'you guys have no appreciation for snails or tortoises'*

Anyway, I guess my filler chapter didn't really do it's job in giving me extra time to work out the kinks in this chapter so here you go. Now go apologize to my F-f-feelings readers for the lack of progress on that fic :P

Finally, thank you to bonniereads for reading over this when I was still biting my nails over posting it. She's great, and if you get the chance she has some LWD fics on here for you to read. :)

Disclaimer: I don't own LWD (I suspect that this site being entitled 'fanfiction' makes the disclaimer somewhat pointless, but it's always an excercise in creativity trying to make make it a little less boring to write/read)

Chapter Twenty-Eight

I lay in bed the next morning (five am still counts as morning) clenching my hands in the sheets and going over mental visualizations to prepare me for the day.

This was it.

After last night I couldn't take it anymore; the not knowing, the extremely high chance that Derek would find someone before I got the courage to tell him how I felt (although maybe not the full extent of how I felt; I wanted him to stick around, not run a mile), the way my mind conjured and analysed every single moment I'd spent with him to find what Emily and Cher saw... I was going out of my mind.

I pictured telling him outright; a simple 'Derek, I really like you and was wondering if you would consider dating me'. I pictured asking him if the coffee shop mornings counted as dates. I even pictured just grabbing him and kissing him. Even imagining it was making me nervous, and it was inevitable that an epic klutzilla moment to outstrip even my worst moments was going to occur. But that was okay, I convinced myself, because Derek already knew that about me and apart from a few bouts of fairly vicious teasing, he was fine with it.

The minutes rolled by and even though the crawling time was grating on my fragile nerves, all I wanted to do was stay there safe in bed when the moment came that I had to get up and leave. I picked up my phone and texted Emily (I had promised after all) to tell her what I was going to do today. The message sent, I sat and stared at the screen a minute. There was no going back now. I turned off my phone to avoid Emily's reply and left my dorm room.

Standing outside the coffee shop I spared myself a small self mocking laugh at my new habit of lurking around outside, before pushing the door open and sitting at the table most out of the way of passing staff and customers. The less collateral damage of my impending klutz attack the better. I forced myself to relax back into the chair and allowed my eyes to rest on the door.

I didn't have long to wait.

Derek pushed through the door and cast his gaze around the room, stopping when his eyes met mine to give me a greeting smile and nod before he walked to the counter to order.

I focused on breathing, my attention so caught up that I didn't notice Derek sit down until an amused voice asked what the hell I was doing. I looked up, my breathing already become erratic again. "Nothing."

He gave me a confused look. "Okay. So, time for my crazy step-sister to call in and get me an extension." He passed me his phone, already open on a contact. "This better work or I'm screwed." The anxious look from last night returned to his face.

"It'll work." I assured him, the phone already halfway to my ear and the dial tone already sounding.

After a moment an exasperated voice answered. "Save it, the assignment deadline is final."

I floundered a second before a glance at Derek's worried expression set me back on course. "Hi, this Casey McDonald, Derek's step-sister."

"Oh, hello. I'm sorry for the abrupt greeting, but I can only assume this call is about Derek's assignment due tomorrow morning?" The tone grew a little less snappy and a little more weary.

"Actually it does, but I was hoping you would just hear me out? Derek has a really good reason for needing an extension." I waited a beat.

"Go on."

"I assume he's made you aware of my recent... Difficulties?" I asked, not really intending on waiting for an answer this time. "I've been having a really hard time with stress and anxiety lately, and with the rest of the family back in London... Well, Derek's the only person I can really go to with any of this. I'm afraid I may have taken advantage a little these past couple of weeks, and I'm really sorry, but the whole thing is my fault and I was really hoping you could see your way clear to giving him just an extra few days? I promise not to make him neglect his studies again, I was just really having a hard time."

The voice at the other end was quiet, probably taking a little while to decipher my strange, ranting speech. When he finally answered he was a little unsure. "He's already had several extensions..."

I took a breath to start talking again. It was time to bring out my greatest weapon; incessant talking. "I know, I know, but it's not right for him to suffer for helping out family. He was just being a good step-brother and-"

"Alright, fine. He has until monday morning at the latest. No more extensions. I don't care if his aged granny is on her death bed; everything had better be in on time from now on." He cut me off.

I smiled in victory. It had taken much less than I'd thought it would. "Thank you so much."

He grumbled an incoherent parting sentiment and hung up.

"You've got until monday." I grinned.

Derek gave me a look like I'd just brought his puppy back from the dead.

"What? No thank you?" I teased.

"I said thank you last night." He raised an eyebrow.

I blushed a little as the memory of him kissing my hair crowded my mind and I remembered what my goal for the day was. I opened my mouth to talk but nothing would come out. I cleared my throat and tried again, the second attempt only succeeding because of Derek's expectant expression. "I... Uh... Derek?" I managed after a few seconds.

"Yeah?" He drew out the word, exacerbating my mortification at my present lack of lingual skills.

"Is this... I mean, are we..." I broke off to rally myself.

Derek's eyes became scrutinizing.

"Would you ever consider..." I stopped again, this time without meaning to, wondering quite when I'd become so nervous asking people out. It'd been fairly bad before but this was just ridiculous. But then this was Derek.

"Case, breathe. It's not that hard." Derek instructed, clearly trying not to laugh.

I glared at him and refused to say anything else.

"Wow, I don't know whether to laugh or be flattered." Derek grinned, a big, wide, open grin. He took in my flustered glare. "It's okay Case, I know."

My heart stopped and my jaw dropped. Was I really that obvious?

"I mean, I wasn't sure, not after that 'date' turned out to be a figure of speech. Or maybe a freudian slip." He looked askance at me, but gave up when all I managed was a small squeaking noise. "But come on, you just lied to a teacher for me." He grinned again. He watched me for a moment as I tried to get myself back under control. A small amount of anxiety showed in his eyes when I still proved speechless. "That was what you were talking about, right? I'm not just making an idiot of myself here?"

I was stuck on whether to nod or shake my head, the answers to those questions being two different things.

"I could have misread everything, but you-" He cut himself off. "Casey, you better say something."

I swallowed. "Do you-"

He cut in before I could finish the question. "Do you really have to ask?"

I nodded.

He laughed and shook his head. "And people think I'm dumb." He shot an amused glance in my direction before continuing. "Casey, I've been in love with you since that stupid dinner with our parents when we tried to break them up. Why'd you think I hated you so damn much? Come to think of it, why do you think I was so against them getting married?"

My mouth was so far open any onlooker would think my jaw was dislocated.

"I mean, sure, it took me a little while to figure it out, but even my Dad knew when you started dating Sam. I guess it was fairly obvious when I wrestled my best friend to try and stop him asking you out." He scratched his head in remembered embarrassment. "Though Edwin only caught a clue when you went out with Scott and I couldn't help outing the guy."

"Everyone knew?!" I managed, my nerves and mortification quickly morphing into annoyance and incredulity.

"All the Venturi's at least." He shrugged. "I'm not exactly a subtle guy."

"Marti?!" I asked, still hung up on the whole last person to know thing.

"She was the first one to figure it out." He said proudly, though his mouth twitched in a fight between annoyance and a smile a moment later. "I'll never forgive her for that comment about you marrying Sam. Little traitor."

I looked aghast, wondering if there was a single person who hadn't figured this out before me.

"If it helps, I'm still not sure about Nora." He offered.

It did help a little. "Why did you never say anything?"

He shrugged again, the nervous look returning to his eye. "I never really thought I had a shot until you started hanging out with me in college. I was close to telling you when we visited your Grandma, but between New York and Jesse... Well, sticking around with me and helping me make it through college didn't really compare." He looked embarrassed by this admission, but didn't attempt to take it back. "Not to mention you did kinda call me your brother not all that long ago."

I grimaced at the memory, wondering what had possessed me to say that. Even before I recognised my feelings for Derek, I sure as heck knew he wasn't my brother.

After a moment a thought occurred to me. "Did Paul know?"

"Seriously, Case, I don't know for a fact who knew so quit asking me and try telling me whether I got it right." He just looked annoyed now. "I'm kinda out on a limb here, doing the whole feelings thing for you. Least you could do is tell me if I've got a shot."

Only then did I realise the extent of what Derek had just admitted. He didn't just say he liked me, or he thought I was hot, or he had a crush on me, he said... My eyes widened and my jaw threatened to drop again. "Did Derek Venturi seriously just make a love declaration?"

"Casey!"

"Sorry, it's just a bit of a shock." My mind refused for a second to get past the little fact of Derek saying the 'L' word.

"Seriously, if you don't say something in the next ten seconds I'm outta here and we are never talking about this again!" Derek warned.

I summoned up my inner Derek. "You really have to ask?" I taunted.

Derek took a second to process, and then he was half over the table, his lips pressed to mine and his hands firmly grasping my shoulders. He broke contact and looked down when a tinkling noise sounded.

His coffee cup had been knocked over and had rolled onto the floor, it's contents flooding the table and soaking into Derek's shirt.

I laughed. "Wow, you just did a me. Do I get to call you klutzilla now?"

"Shut up." He glowered, his lips twitching as they tried to smile.

"Man, I wish somebody had recorded that." I continued to tease. "Who would've thought? The Derek Venturi, secret klutz and romantic. Next you'll tell me you write poetry in your spare time."

He snorted. "In your dreams. Actually, no, not even there."

"But you did say you love me, and you protected my honour from Scott and rescued me from Truman, and you took me to prom." I pointed out.

"I did not take you to prom!" He denied, mopping at the spilled coffee with the small, clearly inadequate wad of paper napkins on the table.

I smiled at his unease. "Yes you did. You even said you were taking me to prom."

"You were there with Max. And I was there with Sally."

"Then there was the time you danced with me on national television." I carried on, ignoring the Max and Sally comment.

"Only 'cause I screwed it up for you in the first place! Same reason I came back to get you and give you that dress for prom." He defended.

"Admit it, you're a big softie." I smirked.

"Am not!"

"Are too."

"Am not!"

"Derek, you're the sweetest guy I've ever known." I said it like the insult it was.

"Oh, you are so getting it now!" He threatened.

"You wouldn't do anything, you love me too much." I gloated.

"Wanna bet?" He leaned forward menacingly.

I mirrored his position. "Bring it on."

There you go. A kiss, a love declaration, a rescue from scary teachers and some banter. What more could you ask? :P

Let me know what you think, 'cause I have to admit to still being a little nervous about posting. :)