A/N: This is a little shorter than the rest! I apologize! I've been really busy! I had a speech to write for one of my college classes. Plus, I've had so much homework! I hope ya'll keep reading because things are about to get interesting. I know Derek is OOC in this chapter, but he's in anguish. Think about him when he started having feelings about- doing the right thing. *cough* Casey. *cough* I've had a terrible cold too! (; Enjoy! Again, please Review! I love reading what ya'll have to say.

xoxo,

Alex!

Casey hurried back into the living room. She could feel herself breathing heavily. She didn't believe that he could've been talking about her. There was no way. How could she just not know that he kissed her? That was something she should know. She was still standing at the counter contemplating this when she heard Derek shuffle in behind her. Her body stiffened. She heard him rummage around in the cooler. He sighed and acted like he wanted to say something, but he didn't. He just slammed the lid to the cooler shut and stormed out the front door.

Derek didn't know what to do with himself. He wanted to act like nothing happened, but the taste of her lips was burnt into his mind. He wished he didn't like kissing her, but he did. She made him feel something. That was new for him. He mostly kissed girls for the hell of it. He never felt that spark. Not like he did with Casey. He took off down the path toward the lake tripping and stumbling over rocks. He looked behind him, almost disappointed she wasn't following him.

Casey looked out the front door contemplating what to do. She wasn't sure if she should go after him. She sighed, biting her lip. She didn't know why everything had to be so complicated. She wanted Derek to pick on her and be annoying. She didn't want this. She wanted everything to be normal. She knew he didn't think that she knew that he kissed her. She didn't know if she should keep it that way or not. If he knew that she knew, maybe they could just get it all over with. Air out all these weird feelings. But it could also backfire. Casey slammed the door and slid to the ground in front of it. She set her chin on her knees and sighed.

Derek looked out at the clear blue of the lake. There were a couple canoes out on the lake, but it was mostly empty. He sat on the pier looking out. The blue reminded him of Casey's eyes. Hell, who was he kidding? Everything reminded him of Casey. He looked down and started to fiddle with his shoelace. He should just tell her that he kissed her. She'd tell him he was gross, and then everything would be over. He could even make up something about it being a lame prank. Then, she could yell at him, and it would be done.

Casey took the trail toward the lake, calling Derek's name.

"Der-ek!" She yelled, "Come on! We need to go get food."

Derek heard Casey calling him and looked over his shoulder. She was standing at the edge of the woods. He waved at her, and he could have sworn she blushed a little.

"We need food." She told him promptly.

He shrugged, "So, go get food."

She looked at him like he'd lost his mind, "You don't wanna come?"

"No," He shook his head, "I'm good."

She quickly put her head up to his forehead.

"What're you doing?" He hissed, smacking her hand away.

"Are you okay?" She asked, seriously. Her big blue eyes filled with concern.

He managed to scoff, "Okay? No, I'm not okay. I have to spend two weeks in the middle of nowhere with your snotty, annoying, keener ass."

A hurt look flashed across her face before she laughed, "What makes you think I want to spend time with you?"

Derek shrugged, "Please! It's an honor to spend time with me."

"Keep telling yourself that." She said, patting him on the shoulder before turning to leave.

He almost stopped her. He almost turned her right around and apologized for what he said, but instead he watched her walk away. He cursed himself as she disappeared into the tree line. Why couldn't he just be open with Casey? Why couldn't he tell her he loved her? The thought scared him. He'd admitted it to himself. He loved Casey McDonald. He'd always loved Casey.

Casey tried not to let tears slip from her eyes as she walked quickly toward the house. She brushed a stray tear off her face, but she could feel the others starting to spill. Why had she thought Derek was going to be different? Why'd she expect him to be sweet to her again? She sighed as more tears ran down her cheek. She didn't know anything except for the fact that she was in love with Derek Venturi.

Derek made his way back to the cabin a few minutes later. Casey was long gone when he got there. He sighed and plopped down in front of the T.V. There were only a few stations that came in on the old thing. He settled on Spongebob which was barely coming in. He laughed at the dumb show wishing that that kind of humor didn't get to him. That was one of the reasons Casey could never know that he loved her. He was too immature. He always would be. She was amazing. He wasn't. Simple as that.

Casey strolled up and down the aisles of the small grocery store, searching for something for Derek. She didn't know what to get. She looked in the cart. She had a few snacks picked out, but most of the stuff was healthy. She threw a couple candy bars in there and decided that if he wanted something bad enough he could go get it. He was the one who refused to come with her anyway. She pushed the thoughts of the pier out of her mind again. She wasn't going to let him get to her. He was the one who kissed her. He could figure that out by himself. She needn't be involved. She couldn't figure out who she was trying to convince. Herself or Derek.

Derek sighed when the phone rang. He contemplated not answering, but he knew that Nora or his dad would just get worried. He glanced at the caller I.D. It was Nora's cell phone. He sighed again, but picked it up quickly.

"Hi," He said slowly and softly, hoping his voice would fade out, and she would think she dropped the call.

Her bright voice rang clear though, "Derek? Derek, honey? Is that you?"

"Yep," He said, cursing himself for picking up.

"Where's Casey?" She asked, nervously.

"At the grocery store." Derek explained, "She should be back soon-"

"Oh no! That's okay! How are you guys doing?" She asked cutting him off.

He considered confessing everything to Nora, hoping that she would immediately let them come back. He decided against it though, "We're fine."

"Fine? Well, that's good," She said slowly.

"Yeah!" He agreed, "I should go help Casey! Bye!"

He hurriedly slammed the phone down, so she couldn't answer. He breathed a sigh of relief. Nora could talk for hours, and he was happy that he got out of that conversation as quickly as possible.

"Der-ek!" He heard Casey call from outside.

After they finished unloading the groceries, Casey started dinner. Derek sat in a chair peeling potatoes as she had asked. He was just realizing how used to this he could get when he noticed Casey staring at him.

"What?" He asked, making her turn away quickly. He saw her cheeks flush.

She cleared her throat, "Just making sure you were doing that correctly."

"No faith, women. No faith," He muttered and went back to peeling.

Casey mentally smacked herself. How could she be so stupid? He'd caught her staring at him. She almost asked about the kiss, but she stopped herself. She didn't even know what to say. She didn't know how he would react. He'd probably tell her she'd been dreaming or something. She wasn't sure that she hadn't been to be honest. She wasn't sure what she'd heard. Hell, he could've been talking about someone else. She shook that thought from her mind. She didn't want him to be talking about anyone else. She started to chop the onions more furiously.

"Damnit!" Casey suddenly shouted, startling Derek.

He got up quickly, "What?"

"I cut my finger," She mumbled almost inaudiably.

"Huh?" He asked, "I didn't catch that."

"I cut my finger," She sighed loudly.

He smirked a little, "Let me see."

"No!" She said squirming away from him.

He sighed, "Casey, just let me see."

She looked at him with disgust for a moment, but then she held out her finger. There was a small slice in her thumb.
"It's not that bad," He said, meeting her eyes. He couldn't help but think about how beautiful they were. He found himself staring for a moment longer than necessary, and she looked down.

"I'll be fine," She told him softly, pulling her hand out of his.

He shook his head, "You need a Band-Aid."

"It's okay," She said being difficult.

He grabbed her arm, "Just give me your damn hand."

She complied and he drug her to his bedroom, rummaging around in his duffle bag for a bandage. She stood quietly as he held her hand. She wondered if he could hear her heart pounding. He finally pulled the bandage out. He look at her while he placed it around her thumb, but she refused to make eye contact.

"Derek," She whispered, "why did you kiss me?"

Derek took a deep breath. He obviously hadn't expected that.

"I didn't," He said, simply.

"I heard you talking to yourself this morning," She told him, meeting his eyes.

"Not everything is about you, Casey." He told her harshly before leaving the room. He didn't expect her to follow, but she had.

"Don't lie to me," She said, dangerously low.

He managed a smirk, "Why would I kiss you?"

She looked down, "I heard you, Derek."

"You heard wrong!" He said, getting closer to her.

She looked straight into his eyes. Her blue eyes meeting his chocolate brown ones. "I know you kissed me."

"How?" He asked, his breath hot on her face.

"Because-" She stuttered for a minute.
"Because what?" He asked, his arm slithering around her waist.

"I heard you in the living room!" She shouted, poking her finger in his chest.

He couldn't control himself. He pulled Casey into him and kissed her hard. She was startled for a second, but her eyes slowly fluttered shut. He felt her kissing him back and smiled against her lips.

"Now, I kissed you, Casey." He smirked, mumbling into her.

A/N: Thanks for reading! Please review. Like now. There's a cute little box. Just do it! Please.