Casey MacDonald liked control. She wanted control. She liked control. If she could one day she would marry control. Why did some people insist on deny that we all needed control to survive. Was chaos really the true path people wanted to follow? She didn't understand people who wanted this. People like Derek.

How could she forget the flippy thing her stomach had done when she'd first seen Derek glowering at her across the room. The hurt that had come when she'd learned the hate he held for her. Why was it whenever he was around Casey had no control?

She sat contemplating these ideas as she stared blankly at her laptop's screen. A creative writing course, what had she been thinking? Why had she thought it would be an easy course? Today it was just an essay on the greatest thing in the world from your point of view. Why couldn't she do it? Why couldn't she write down 'control' or 'family' and be done with it.

Was there something more important to her? Was it friendship? Was it freaking chocolate chip cookies? Desperation clung to her as she tapped out a foreign tune with her nails. Motivation was what she needed. Maybe she should look up historical pictures on Google and get motivation from that.

World War II pictures always reminded her that sometimes you needed to take control in order to restore control. But the pictures usually made her cry and wish she had been there.

Maybe she should write about the military. Sure, she didn't agree with war or killing but they were still there, dying for a cause they believed it. Pride and confidence were important.

"Caaasseeeey." Casey's eyes narrowed involuntarily at the long drawl of her complete opposite, her most hated rival, her evil stepbrother, Derek Venturi. Why was he bothering her? Didn't he have some homework or something to do? She still couldn't believe how he could just brush off homework without a second glance. That was just so…wrong.

"What?" Casey smiled victoriously to herself at the perfect edge her voice had to it when she spoke to him. It had used to be quivery and weak. Now she could slice him in two if she wanted to.

"Caaasseeeey." His drawl was more of a whine now and growing ever closer. She heard footsteps outside of her door.

"Derek, so help me God if you walk into my room and disturb me while I'm…" A large warm hand clamping itself on her shoulder made her stomach burst into flutters…of anger. Nothing more.

She spun her chair around to face him and found her stomach bursting into spasms of butterflies as she glared up at him. He was smirking down at her with an arrogance that only he and the male models Emily had on her walls seemed to posses.

"What?"

Her anger only seemed to heighten his good mood. She ground her teeth into each other and her hands clamped into fists. Was it only two years ago she'd been a happy teenager? How long the past two years with Derek had been.

"I was wondering if you'd seen my new CD. Carrie wants to borrow it," he replied glancing around her room like he was searching for something changed. He always did that. His possessive little mind couldn't handle it if Casey even put a poster up with informing him first. God forbid she put up a Jonas Brothers poster. She'd tried that once and had found it shredded in the downstairs garbage can.

"No I haven't," she replied turning back to her laptop. "And even if I had it wouldn't be in here. I hate your music."

This was a lie.

His CD was sitting in her stereo and the case shoved under her mattress. She had planned to listen to it while he was out on his date tonight and then replace it once she'd discovered whether or not she liked the music. But knowing his latest girlfriend wanted to listen it made decide she was going to hold onto it for a little bit longer.

Derek sighed loudly and stomped out of her room. Casey took a few deep breaths to calm the nervous spasms that her stomach was having. It was because she had lied she told herself. And it had nothing to do with Derek standing so close to her, still smelling fresh and damp from his shower.

She walked causally over to her door and shut it, muttering to herself. Derek never could quite close a door properly unless it meant he wouldn't be cold or he was angry. The smell of Axe body wash lingered in the air and she stood in the middle of her room breathing it in.

Maybe she should write that cleanliness was the greatest thing in the world.

()()()()()

Derek tripped down the stairs in his desperation to get out of the house. He ran his hand through his hair a couple times and almost ran into his date. Carrie was glowing when she was with her but Derek couldn't help but think that her glow wasn't nature. Not like Casey's.

Fuck.

He'd done it again. He'd compared the vision that stood in front of him to his god damn step-sister again. Carrie was beautiful by all respects. Her hair was long, dark and wavy and her skin was like porcelain. Her lips looked like little red bows and her eyelashes were so long it scared him a little.

So why did he keep thinking about the golden brown haired girl upstairs who was hiding his CD in her stereo? He knew she had it. He'd watched her take it from his room and nervously place it in her stereo.

He wasn't angry because he'd bought it because it reminded him of her and for some reason he thought that maybe it would make her think about him. God knows she didn't do that enough.

"Hey Derek," Carrie whispered and bit her lip in an absolutely adorable way. Had Derek been on a date with her a year ago they wouldn't have made it out the driveway before he mauled her.

"Hey Cas…Carrie." Derek felt vomit rise up the back of his throat at his slipup. What was this? He begged whatever force was out there that Carrie hadn't heard his slip up.

She hadn't. she was too busy staring at him in an adoring puppy dog way. Derek felt disgusted.

"Der-ek!" His whole body perked up at Casey angry call and he turned with more enthusiasm then than he would feel all night he was sure. When Casey didn't appear at the top of the stairs he shrugged and led a still giddy Carrie out of the house.

She smelled good, kind of like watermelon candy but it was nothing like that god damn, man trap vanilla spice Casey wore. Under her jean skirt Carrie's legs were smooth and hairless. Casey had shaved hers this morning too.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuckety. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

He shouldn't notice these things about Casey. He just shouldn't. But he did. He knew she shaved her legs every three days unless she was going out then she would shave them the day of as well. He knew she didn't pluck her eyebrows but used manicure scissors to cut away the hairs into perfect shapes because she was too chicken to have hairs ripped off her face.

He knew things no one else in the world but Casey knew and it made him feel closer to her.

He watched her so that he knew exactly what to do to make her angry or to make her smile in that way that made him melt.

"Derek?" Carrie's voice was soft. "do you want to just skip the movie and head over to the park?" Derek looked over at her in complete shock but smirked.

"sure babe. What my girl wants is what she gets."

Maybe this would get his mind off Casey, after all there were a few things he had yet to learn about Casey.

I don't know about this. Review and tell me what you think, please.