Author's Note: Hey everyone! I'm glad people are liking this fic. Sadly, this is the last chapter... maybe, anyway lol. I might write one last chapter as an epilogue... I have an idea for one... so maybe! Anyways, yes... I know. Icky Vicky. I hate her too. Although that kiss between her and Derek was kinda hot! I just wish it had been Casey instead haha! Well, anywayyy, on to the story!
The doorbell rang, and Casey ran down the stairs quickly so she could answer it before anyone else did. She was expecting Sam… he was a little early, but she didn't care. She was glad that he was early, actually. It would give her more time to spend with him… and less time to think about her stepbrother.
Why had he kissed her? And why had she actually… sort of liked it?
Casey shook her head to rid the thoughts of Derek and patted her hair down, making sure there were no flyaways before answering the door. Her face fell when she saw who it was.
"Hello, Casey," her cousin flashed a huge, fake smile, waltzing right past Casey and into the house like she lived there.
"Vicky?" Casey asked, completely confused. "What are you doing here?"
Vicky sat down on the couch, crossing her legs and lifting her nose in her own snobby manner. "What, your delicious stepbrother didn't tell you? He's taking me out tonight," Vicky smiled, taking out her compact mirror and making sure her lipstick was on smoothly.
Casey's jaw dropped. "You mean… like, on a date?"
Vicky raised a perfectly-arched eyebrow up at her cousin, giving her a "gee, you're slow" kind of look.
As if on cue, Derek came bounding down the stairs. He saw Vicky and gave her a warm greeting, "Heyyy, Vicky!" he said and she stood up with a huge grin. "You look hot," he added. And she did.
But not as hot as Casey…
Derek mentally kicked himself at that. No more thoughts about Casey. She's annoying and too clean and proper for him. He had been upstairs thinking of a million ways why the two of them would be so wrong together. Number one being incest, of course.
But he found himself counteracting every con with a pro for why they could be together…
That was when he threw the list out in the trash. And promised himself that he would stop thinking about Casey that way. And think of her more like he did… Lizzie. Like a stepsister.
God, she looks good in that dress. Where was Sam taking her? She was dressed up. He was probably taking her somewhere nice, somewhere expensive. And Derek would end up taking Vicky to some greasy spoon and a movie at the cheap theatre. Not that she would mind. Knowing Vicky, Derek knew she wouldn't want to watch the movie anyway.
Vicky had her eyes set on Derek and Casey looked away, hating the feeling of jealousy that was creeping up on her. And her mind went back to that kiss…
"So, where are you going, cousin of mine?" Vicky peeled her eyes away from her date and looked over at cousin pathetically.
"A date," Casey was quick to answer.
Vicky looked slightly surprised. "With a guy?"
"No, with a monkey," Casey shot back.
"You got that right," Derek snorted
Casey narrowed her eyes at her stepbrother. "Derek, he's your best friend, how can you say that?"
Derek shrugged like it was no big deal. "I just did."
He heard her mutter something about him being a jackass and then she left the room without another word. Vicky slithered closer to him.
"So… where are we going, sexy?" she batted her eyelashes at him.
Casey couldn't believe that Derek was actually taking her COUSIN out on a date tonight. She should have known that that kiss had meant nothing. That Derek was just being the dumb player that he is. She had thought that she had felt something there between them in that split-second, but she must have been wrong.
She had to be wrong.
The doorbell rang again not long after she heard Derek and Vicky left, and she was so glad to see that it was Sam when she answered it.
"Hi," Sam said uncomfortably, shoving his hands into his pockets. "You, uh, ready to go?"
"Yeah," Casey tried not to let her smile falter. She had been expecting a compliment or at least a little acknowledgement about the way she looked… she had gotten all dressed up for him. It had taken her hours to get ready.
Oh well.
She got into Sam's nice new car and they drove in an awkward silence to a restaurant where Sam had made reservations.
Meanwhile, Derek and Vicky were at some rib joint. Vicky, who was a vegetarian, was trying not to look miffed while Derek messily ate like a caveman. He didn't bother with small talk, so she kept talking about her favourite subject—herself.
"And then I said… of course, I'll get both the blue one and the orange one. Those colours are so in style this season," she rambled and Derek pretended to listen to her.
He was really trying hard not to think about Casey and how she was on a date with his best-friend right at that exact moment. He wondered if Casey liked Sam because he was everything that Derek wasn't. And he wondered if Sam would give her a goodnight kiss.
Suddenly not hungry anymore, Derek tossed a tip down on the table and stood up, indicating to Vicky nonverbally that he wanted to leave. She continued speaking the whole way outside and across the street to the movie theatre.
And a tortured Derek wished that he had stayed in that night.
Casey found that she and Sam did not have much to talk about. She asked him about hockey three times over their meal and he just asked about the linguini she was eating.
But Casey still tried to make the most out of it. That is, until Derek came into the conversation. Sam was telling her about some penalty shot that Derek had made recently and Casey's mind flew back to that kiss. THE kiss.
"I'm sorry," Casey interrupted him. "Can we just not talk about my obnoxious stepbrother tonight?"
Sam only laughed and nodded in agreement.
"So…" he cleared his throat after. "Uh… how's the linguini?"
At the same time across town, Derek had found that the only way to shut Vicky up was to kiss her. She was eager to respond, getting really into the make-out session they began having in the back of the movie theatre. Derek closed his eyes, trying to focus on Vicky's lips and tongue, and the way she was stroking his upper arms, but all he kept thinking about was Casey and how much he wished he was kissing her.
Vicky was not Casey, no matter how much they looked alike and shared the same blood.
Derek broke the kiss, pulling away from Vicky quickly.
"What?" Vicky asked, utterly confused by her date's lips pulling away from hers.
"I just, uh," Derek wiped his lips swiftly, as if trying to rid himself of Vicky's taste. His lips didn't tingle like they had when he kissed Casey. "Uh… I gotta get home," he finally said, standing up.
Vicky looked at him, stunned and then enraged. "How DARE you!" she exclaimed, jumping up and causing the few people in the theatre to shush at her. "Don't you 'shh' me!" she glared at them all, and they quickly turned back around at Vicky's intimidation.
She growled at Derek. "NOBODY refuses VICTORIA!" she exclaimed with a scream and slapped him hard across the face.
Derek's hand flew to his cheek. It was the first time a girl had hit him. He was, after all, ladies' man Derek Venturi.
But, as Vicky stormed out of the movie theatre on her own, Derek realized that he had refused a girl for the first time. And he knew why.
Damn that stepsister of his.
After dinner, Casey said that she was tired so that the date would end early. Frankly, Sam had bored her. He was a nice guy and all, but he just had no… passion. No spunk or spontaneity. He didn't make her stomach twirl. And, when he gave her a chaste goodnight kiss on the lips, her heart sank. No tingles.
No twirling. No tingling.
Nothing like Derek.
"Goodnight," she gave him a half-smile as Sam turned, leaving her at her doorstep. Casey went into the house and gave a heavy sigh. She replayed the awful date in her mind as she pulled off the heels that were killing her feet and ambled up the stairs in the dark. It was early, only 9:00, but everyone seemed to be in bed already.
And, of course, Derek was out with her cousin.
She let out another sigh of frustration as she walked down the hall to her room. She halted suddenly along the way. Derek's door was open and his light was on. Curious, Casey padded over to his room and looked inside. There was Derek, in his pajamas, sitting at his computer. Alone. At 9 PM.
"What are you doing home?" Derek heard someone say behind him. He turned to see Casey, gorgeous and barefoot, biting her lip with curiosity in his doorway.
"Sucky date," he told her honestly, too wrapped up in ogling her up and down to lie. "Why are you home?"
"Sucky date," she gave him a small smile.
They shared a somewhat understanding look. Casey broke out of the strange staring match first, looking away. "I'm, uh, gonna get to bed," she said, careful not to meet Derek's eyes.
"Yeah," he swallowed, hoping that he didn't have a lusty look on his face. But he looked at her as she turned around. "…Case?"
"Yeah?" her eyes met his slowly.
"I just wanted to tell you that, uh, you look really nice tonight," he said, not as awkwardly as he thought he was going to sound.
Casey felt her stomach do that twirling thing. And she smiled.
"Thanks, Derek."
He smiled back at her. And they both realised that they were beginning something. Something that would seem taboo to some people. Something that would have people talking. But they didn't care.
Because even though parties didn't last, sometimes things that began at parties were meant to.
the end ;-)