LWD

I do not own Life With Derek.

Chapter 16-------------------------------

"Ow." Derek winced. The stinging sensation on his lip was not helping.

"Sorry." Casey mumbled before lightly placing her handkerchief back on the cut. She ignored his indrawn breath and continued her actions as she systematically put more spirit on the cloth and then moved on to the deep cut near his hairline.

Derek watched her silently for a few seconds, while she tended to his injuries as they sat on the front steps of the auditorium. "You okay?" He asked softly.

"Yeah, I am." She gave him a small smile then. "Thanks to my Ivan Hoe."

"Yeah, well.. I aim to please." He smirked.

"You two alright?" The night guard questioned as he suddenly appeared near them.

Casey nodded. "Yup. Thanks so much, Dave." She handed the bottle of spirit he loaned her.

"You're welcome." He replied politely while taking the bottle from her. "Now, shouldn't the two of you get going? Your parents might get worried."

"They're always worried." Derek grinned. "But you're right, we better get going." He stood up and extended his hand for Casey to take it.

After a quick wave to the night guard, they headed towards the Prince.

"That wasn't how I expected to be greeted when coming home." Derek said humorously as he buckled his seat-belt.

"Neither did I. I wanted to do something more.. special." She said casually as she turned on the radio.

Derek raised his eyebrows in question. "Special?"

Casey grinned before she leaned forward and kissed him fully on the lips. Feeling the pinch of the seat-belt, Derek quickly snapped it open and leaned towards his girlfriend, pulling her as close as she could get. Their arms surrounded each other, exploring the bodies they had missed touching for the past few weeks. With all the excitement surrounding that jackass, as Derek thought fit to call Simon, he had forgotten the real reason he couldn't wait to get his hands on her. He missed her, and in true male fashion, his current mentality consisted of lustful thoughts that only Casey could fulfill.

Derek knew that all he could hope to get from her was a steamy make-out session before they had to go home. Which was why he wasn't surprised when she pulled back, but was extremely surprised when she threw him a mischievous grin and moved to the back seat. "So? You joining me or what?" Her grin was contagious.

Derek didn't think twice before following her lead between the car seats and practically pouncing on her. "How do you keep surprising me?" He asked while nuzzling her neck. It was getting increasingly hard to keep his hands off her.

Casey grinned back. "I guess it's in me." She kissed him, and he wasn't one to complain. Who would have thought that Casey McDonald, the most proper of all proper, would have sex in a car?

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"You okay?" Derek asked, for what felt like the fifteenth time that night.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Casey smiled softly as she closed the book she had been reading.

Derek looked at her suspiciously. "Really. Because hanging out in the kitchen at two in the morning kinda constitutes as something being wrong."

"Everything's fine." Her smile felt strained.

Derek sighed. He hated it when she wasn't truthful with him. Taking a seat opposite her at the island, he fixed her with a stern look. "Spill."

She smiled brilliantly at him. "You worry too much. Everything is fine." She repeated.

He noticed the book that was inconspicuously hiding under her crossed arms. Without much warning, he grabbed it from under her.

"Derek! Give it back!" Casey made a desperate plea as she tried to get back the book unsuccessfully.

Derek felt his breath hitch as he read the title. "University of Alberta Admissions?"

Casey looked down, as if embarrassed. "I just wanted to check if there was a good literature programme."

"There isn't." Derek said softly. "Believe me, I checked."

"But they do have drama." She stated hopefully. "And you know how much I love being on stage."

He looked at her pointedly. "Your major is lit."

"Majors change. It's no big deal."

"It is a big deal. I want you to come with me. You have no idea how much. But.." He placed the book slowly on the counter. "I don't want you to sacrifice this scholarship for me."

"I wont be sacrificing anything." Casey whispered, as she placed her hand on his.

He smiled sadly at her. "You're right, because you will be going to UoT." As her jaw dropped in protest, he interrupted her. "I mean it. I'm following my dream, there is no reason why you shouldn't follow yours." He lifted her hand to his lips.

"Derek.." But really, there was nothing that she could say. He was right. Standing up, she moved around the island towards him. Derek placed his arms around her and pulled her against him. "What do we do?" Casey whispered as she snaked her arms around his shoulders.

"I don't know. But we have a few days until we need to decide."

"But the play! It'll take up all of my free time."

He shrugged. "We can work around it. I'm free remember? Maybe I can come and watch some of the rehearsals or something."

"You're kidding right? You? Coming to drama rehearsals? Willingly?" Casey let out a small chuckle. "I'll believe it when I see it."

Derek looked at her, offended. "Hey! I can stand drama." Casey looked at him pointedly. "Sometimes." She raised her eyebrows at him. "When I'm drunk enough."

"Well, I think the offer is sweet, but totally unnecessary."

"Oh! I think it's necessary as long as that jackass still exists."

She grinned. "You need not worry about him. He wont dare touch me after what you did to him."

"No one touches you." He smirked. "But me."

She giggled. "And I wouldn't have it any other way." Leaning down, she kissed him, having no intention of following his wishes.

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"So, what do you think?" Derek asked anxiously.

Sam let out a low whistle. "Wow! That is more than a little pickle, my friend."

Derek rolled his eyes. "I knew that, Sherlock. What I need now is a solution."

Sam nodded. "Two words, man. Long distance."

Derek scrunched up his face. "See? I refuse to admit that. There has got to be another way."

"The other option is you moving to Toronto, or she moving to Edmonton. Take your pick."

"You're not funny."

"I'm not laughing."

Derek sighed. "I don't want to break up."

"Then don't."

He scoffed. "Yeah, sure. Do I seem like the commitment kind of guy to you?"

Sam's face scrunched up. "Is that a trick question?"

"You are not helping." Derek said in a frustrated tone as he stood up and started pacing around Sam's bedroom.

Sam sighed. "Look. You like her right?"

"Er.. yeah.." Derek threw a confused look at his best friend.

"And you want to see how far this thing goes?"

"Yeah."

"And does that mean that you can see the two of you together?" The pause that followed worried Sam. "Dude! Do you see the two of you together?"

"I don't know." Derek replied slowly. "We're just so different."

Sam really wanted to smack his best friend. Really, really badly. "Then you have your answer."

"Huh?"

"You guys will have to go your separate ways." He said matter-of-factly.

Derek leaned against the wall defeatedly. "You're right." At least his brain knew that. But he didn't feel like admitting it.

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Casey was beaming. Not only did she receive glowing reviews from everyone she met, but she was gifted with five bouquets, one from Derek of course, and three boxes of her favourite chocolates. It felt like valentines day, and she was loving it.

"Derek!" She squealed as she ran towards him, her arms immediately enveloping him in a tight hug. "You came!"

"Obviously. Have you ever known me to miss an after party?" He smirked at her.

"No. Now that you mentioned it." She grabbed his arm. "Come on. I want to show you something."

"Um.. okay.." He let her drag him across the packed room to the backyard, where maneuvering expertly through the crowd, she led him to a waist high fence. Grinning at him, she opened it and pulled him after her, away from the crowd as they entered another backyard.

"Isn't it beautiful?" She sighed contentedly.

He was suddenly very confused. "What am I looking at?"

She rolled her eyes. "The house, silly."

"The house...?"

"Cant you see it? Right there." She pointed at the corner wall.

"Um.. See what?"

"Derek! I drew something on the wall." She looked at him excitedly, while he gave her a blank look. "I just committed vandalism."

It suddenly dawned on him that Casey had committed a felony. He grinned. "That's great, Case. But I don't see anything."

Letting out a frustrated breath, she grabbed is arm and pulled him closer to the wall. "See?" She gestured.

"Er.. " Derek's face scrunched up in concentration as he tried to find this invisible writing.

Rolling her eyes, she bent down, and pointed to a tiny scribble on the wall. "Now do you see it?"

He couldn't help it. The fact that she thought that tiny scribble would amount to vandalism, that she was so excited by the concept of it, made him burst out laughing. He really couldn't help it. The whole situation was just so.. cute.

"Derek! It's not supposed to be funny." She said in a frustrated tone. "I just committed a crime. I thought you would be proud of me." She pouted.

"No, no." He gasped in the middle of his laughter. "I'm proud." He saw her pout and burst out laughing once again. This was beyond hilarious.

"Derek!" She whined.

"Okay, okay." Derek took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. "I'm proud okay? That is.. definitely.. something." He grinned at her, and was happy when she sent a small smile his way.

Casey took a step forward and placed her arms around his shoulders. "I knew you would be."

He kissed her. Which seemed like the most natural thing to do. Until he remembered the conversation he had with Sam. He pulled back, feeling a sense of panic rise up in his chest.

"What's wrong?" She looked at him, worriedly.

"We need to talk." He winced. He knew those words were used in every chick flick for a reason. He waited for her nod before he continued. "I'm leaving in two days." He wasn't saying something new. He knew it, and she knew it. But by saying it, he was asking her to open up the forum to a forbidden topic that they had been avoiding for the past two weeks.

She dropped her arms from around him. "I know." She said softly, sadly.

"We need to talk about it." He said slowly. He didn't want to talk about it. And he wanted her to object.

She moved away from him, and took a seat on the back-steps of the house they were examining five minutes ago. She waited while he took a seat beside her. "You want to break up." She deadpanned, her gaze falling on the party-goers in the neighbouring yard.

"I think it's the right thing to do." No! His brain screamed. Say 'No'!

She nodded, her eyes still not meeting his. "Okay." She said softly.

His head snapped towards her. "What?"

"Okay." She repeated, a bit more strongly. Taking a deep breath, she raised herself off the steps and started walking back.

"That's it?" He called after her. Standing up in anger, he followed her. "You are that okay with ending it?"

"No." Her voice quivered slightly. Turning around, she allowed him to see her eyes tearing up. "I'm not okay with it. But you are, so who am I to argue?"

He felt like shaking her. "I'm not okay with this."

She sniffled. "Could have fooled me. You had no problem coming here and telling me you want to end it, without so much as a discussion as to how we could try to make this work. Never mind that we have known each other for three years, even though we had been dating for only a few months. Never mind that our whole family is okay with this once in a blue moon situation. Never mind that I was willing to jump cities for you, while you couldn't care less where I go." She felt a tear run down her cheek, but ignored it. "So, yeah. I'm sorry that this is it. But the way I see it, this is a one way relationship that had to end. You don't love me. You'll never love me. And never mind that I do. But you know what? I'll get over it. It might have taken me close to four years to fall in love with you, But I'm sure it will take less time for me to fall out of it." Her voice broke, as she realized what she told him. Turning on her heel, she left hurriedly. Leaving Derek slack jawed, in addition to feeling like a stupid, stupid man.

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"You are seriously not going to say goodbye?" Emily stared down her friend who was hugging 'Brady Bear' really tightly. "Casey! He's leaving in two hours!"

"I cant see him. He knows how I feel about him. I cant face him." She said in a panicked tone. "Why did I tell him that I loved him?" Casey whined.

Emily looked at her sympathetically. "He might be feeling the same way about you."

Casey looked at her friend as if she had suddenly gone mental. "Are you crazy? Of course he doesn't feel the same way. He's Derek! The King of Anti-love. Ugh.. I hate my life." She groaned and buried her face in the teddy bear's head.

"Emily! Derek's here to see you!" Mrs. Davis yelled, causing Emily and Casey's heads to snap up in surprise.

"I'm not here." Casey whispered, panicked.

"Casey.." Emily tried the stern tone. But her friend just shook her head rapidly. Why couldn't she control her best friend from acting spastic? With a sigh, she closed her bedroom door and headed downstairs.

She found Derek in the living room as he nervously shifted from one foot to the other, his hands deep in his pant pockets.

"Is she here?" He asked urgently.

"I'm not at liberty to say." Emily said slowly as she nodded her assent.

"I need to talk to her."

"She doesn't exactly feel up to talking."

"I'm leaving in like, five minutes. I need to talk to her. " He pleaded.

Emily bit her lip, the dilemma forming in her mind. "Upstairs, third door to the right."

He grinned. "Thanks."

Just as his foot hit the first stair, a thought occurred to her. "Derek! Wait!" She rushed to the kitchen and pulled a key off a hook. Returning back, she tossed it to him, who caught it effortlessly. Derek looked at the key in confusion. "My mother had an extra key to my bedroom made just in case I ever locked myself out or something." She blushed. "It happens a lot."

He looked at her gratefully. "Thanks."

Emily watched him as he took two stairs at a time to reach his destination. No one ever told her that she would be sitting in the front row to a soap drama.

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Derek tried the door knob, but it didn't budge. "Case, I know you're in there." He heard a crash from the other side. "You alright?"

"..."

"Case?"

"...."

"Can you please open this door? This is ridiculous."

"...."

"If you don't open the door, then I will have to open the door for you."

"...."

"Fine! Have it your way!" He inserted the key, and sent up a silent prayer, when he heard the lock click open. He opened the door, and found Casey frantically trying to open the window as a means of escape. The room looked like a mess, even with as less stuff as there was. The only thing Emily hadn't shipped off to her Aunt's place were her clothes, which were strewn all over the floor. He also observed an overturned stool, which was probably what created the crash.

"Case!." She froze, and slowly turned towards him. She seemed like a deer caught in headlights.

"What are you doing here?" She asked calmly. It always amazed him how she could have such a cool exterior after panicking.

He was suddenly nervous again. And his dry laugh showed it. "Didn't you want to say goodbye?"

"We already said goodbye." She said dryly.

"That note was not a goodbye." He argued.

She shrugged. "I thought it was enough."

"Well, it wasn't."

She was tearing up again. "Why wont you just leave?"

He took a step towards her. "You want me to leave?"

She crossed her arms, and fixed her gaze on the floor. "You know I don't want that."

He took another step. "Then why are you pushing me to go?"

She looked at him then. "And why are you pushing me?"

"I don't want to go." He confessed, taking another step forward.

Casey scoffed, although it sounded more like a hiccup since her throat was all closed up. "Well it's too late for that."

"We could try the long distance thing." He said desperately.

She shook her head. "It wont work." Her voice cracked, causing her to take a deep breath. "And you know it." She smiled at him, which was weird, since her eyes were still glossed over. "It's okay, Derek. Really. Now.." She wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "I better go check what Em is up to. She promised to bring me some ice cream." She made a movement to go past him, but he grabbed her arm.

"We're not done." He said softly.

Casey pried her arm out of his grasp. "I don't think you realize how completely embarrassing this is. So, I'm leaving. Because I'm done being the exposed, humiliated one."

"How are you humiliated?"

She scoffed again. "After what I inadvertently told you last night, I don't see how I could not be humiliated. Look, I get it. You are, Derek Venturi. You make girls fall in love with you, and you never fall yourself. You keep yourself detached. I envy you, actually."

Derek made a disbelieving noise. "Believe me, I'm not as detached as you think I am."

Casey looked at him in question. "What do you mean?" She tried to stifle the little hope that rose within her.

He gestured to the room around him. "I'm here aren't I? Isn't that enough?"

She shook her head. "It's not. I need someone who feels the same way that I do." She said softly.

Derek looked at her silently. His mind contemplating the pros and cons of what he was about to tell her. "And just because I don't say those words, it means that I don't feel the way you do?"

Her breath caught at that very thought. "Well.. do you?"

He began to panic. "I'm not.. " He gestured widely. "I'm not good with this sort of.. stuff."

Casey nodded sadly. "I know. But you didn't answer my question. Do you? Feel the same way about me?"

"What do you think? I'm about to leave, and all I could think about is how much I hate that you're not coming with me. Honestly, I don't know how I feel." He took a step towards her and grabbed her shoulders. "I don't want to leave." He said seriously, looking straight into her eyes.

"And what do you want me to do about it?" She asked him sadly.

Derek let out a frustrated noise. "I don't know. I just.." His hand snaked up her neck to cup her face gently. He moved closer.

"Derek.." Casey protested weakly. But she didn't stop him when he bent down. Or when he grabbed her lips with his. Instead she responded, pulling him closer, and reveling in the feeling of having his arms around her. He kissed her chin, her cheek, her neck, then pulled her tightly against him, as he buried his head in the crook of her neck. They stayed that way silently as her hands moved across his back, shoulders and hair in a soothing fashion. It was a way to say goodbye.

"I love you."

Casey's eyes widened. He didn't say what she think he said, did he? It was mumbled against her neck, but she couldn't be sure. "What?"

He chuckled. His voice sending a shiver through her body. Pulling back, he smiled at her. "You heard me."

This was too confusing for her. "Why would you tell me that when you're about to leave?" Part of her wanted to jump up and down, squealing, while another part of her wanted to slap him for telling her something so important now.

"Because, we get a three week break for Christmas, that I thought I could spend in Toronto." He said seriously.

His meaning couldn't be more clear. "So, then.. we're doing this?"

He nodded, pulling her closer. "We're doing this."

Casey grinned, her eyebrow rose in question. "You do realize that you wont be able to date anyone while you're in Edmonton, right?"

He let out a laugh. "Yeah, kinda got that."

"And you will have to call me every single day...?"

"Sure, when I'm not knocked out from practice."

"And, gifts are required for my birthday, Christmas, valentines and our anniversaries?"

"Um.. kinda hard if.. wait.. we have more than one anniversary?"

She grinned. "I'll fill you in on all five of them when we repack your stuff." She pulled him after her.

"Repack?" Dread was apparent in his voice.

She turned around to face him. "Did you even fold your clothes?"

He shrugged. "They were crushed anyway."

"Come on. You can never go wrong with my system." She said excitedly.

"Grrreeeeaaaat." Derek mumbled half-heartedly as he followed his once off, now back on girlfriend. Things were finally how he wanted them to be.

Note to self : Never listen to another guy about breaking up with Casey. Ever!

The End.

A/N - Okay, this was seriously a very cliche chapter. And I apologise for it. Unfortunately, there was no other way for my brain to come up with a conclusion for this story. But I do hope that cliche and all, you enjoyed my last chapter, and hopefully, my characters actually stayed in character.

Please review and tell me your thoughts :)