Chapter 11: Pull My Head So Close

What would Dad think?

What would Nora think?

What would Lizzie, Edwin and Marti think?

What would Sam think?

What would Emily think?

It's driving me nuts. These questions just keep repeating themselves over and over again in my head.

Since when do I, Derek Venturi, care what anyone else thinks?

Why can't I forget about everyone else and just think about myself? I used to be able to put myself first all the time but now...it's weird.

I feel like Casey, over thinking. God, that girl has to think everything over twelve thousand times.

It's almost like we've switched, she made the first move by kissing me, she was able to forget about everyone and just admit her feelings for me.

"You okay D?"

I look up to see Sam sitting across from me in the cafeteria.

"What?" I ask.

"Are you okay? You've been kind of out of it lately?" he says, looking a bit worried.

I ignore him, my eyes busy scanning the caf for Casey. Finally I spot her heading towards the exit.

Just suck it up and go talk to her.

I get up abruptly causing Sam to jerk back a bit.

Flinging my bag over my shoulder I head toward Casey.

"Talk to you later Sam," I say over my shoulder as I head out into the hall.

I see her making her way to her locker and speed up my pace in order to catch up with her.

Breathe, just breathe, you can do this.

"Casey."

She stops, turns around and looks right at me biting her lip.

"Casey," I say again, out of breath, finally having caught up to her.

She continues to look at me and I suddenly feel very self-conscious. What is it about this girl that gets me so nervous?

"I...uh...I...how are you doing?"

Okay, not exactly what I had planned, but it's fine, I'll just work my way up to it.

She looks a bit disappointed.

"I'm okay, but I have to get going. I have an Amnesty meeting," she responds quickly.

"Oh, okay...have fun," I say weakly.

She begins to walk away and I smack myself in the head.

I cannot believe I just chickened out again.

What is wrong with me?

Stop being such a coward.

"Casey," I call after her.

"I don't have time for this Derek I'm going to be late," she says barely turning around.

Don't back down.

"Wait," I say loudly.

"I can't do this now Derek," she says a bit irritated before quickening her pace.

Just do it.

"I love you Casey McDonald," I blurt out loudly after her.

She freezes, her back still to me.

The rest of the world seems to stop. Everyone in the hall is completely still and silent, including the teachers. They are all staring at Casey and me, eyes wide, jaws dropped.

I ignore them and continue to stare at Casey, who has yet to turn around.

It takes a few seconds but slowly she turns to face me.

There is still a lot of hallway between the two of us making it difficult to read the expression on her face.

"Really?" she asks, sounding hopeful, still at the other end of the hall.

"One hundred percent," I answer confidently taking a step toward her.

I can't tell for sure, but she seems a bit relieved.

She bites her bottom lip before sprinting toward me. When she reaches me she swings her arms around my neck and crashes her lips into mine.

It takes me a few seconds to respond; surprised that sweet innocent Casey would make such a bold move in front of so many people.

My arms snake around her waist bringing her as close to me as possible, my lips move in sync with hers and I want nothing more than to stay like this forever.

Suddenly the hall bursts into applause and cheers bringing Casey and I back to reality.

We pull away slightly, resting our foreheads on each other. I look into her eyes.

In the distance I can hear some snickering and whispering and it is clear that by the end of lunch the whole school will be talking about Casey and me.

I push these thoughts out of my head and focus on the beautiful girl standing before me.

"What do we do now?" she whispers smiling.

I take a second to think.

"We take everything a step at a time, deal with everyone as they come."

She nods her head and I take her hand in mine, lacing our fingers together.

"Now come on, we don't want you to be late for your meeting," I say, winking at her.

She continues to smile as we walk down the hall standing tall—ignoring everyone except each other.

A/N: When I started writing this chapter I had no intention of it being the last, but now that it is finished I can't think of a better place to end it. I know that many strings are left untied but I like it and I hope you do too. Who knows, I may even write a sequel.

This is the first multi-chapter story that I have ever finished and I am surprisingly sad about it. I want to say thank you again to everyone who reviewed and everyone who stuck by it to the end, you don't even know how much each and every review meant to me, and how much they pushed me to continue. Thank you so much.

…Now how about leaving one last review for old times sake?