Author's Note: This little piece was slightly influenced by a Clueless scene (the movie). So it might seem a tad familiar to some of you!
(20-02-08) Made some minor editing changes btw…

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Something in Between

Though spring had finally reemerged, it was a bit chilly. She hated to admit it but the empty street was starting to make her feel uneasy. She had walked a few blocks down but still hadn't mustered the courage to call someone for a ride. She fingered the phone in her pocket, but it was like she was physically incapable of bringing it our. She rubbed her hands, trying to keep her body from convulsing dramatically from the cold.

"Freakin boyfriend of hell," she muttered to herself, wondering how in God's name she ended up in this particular predicament. She was cold, she was tired, and she was seriously contemplating walking home barefoot.

Half and hour earlier…

Her boyfriend was proving to be a handful at the moment. Like any other athlete, it seemed like a wild beer bash was the only way to celebrate a victory.

Ugh, joy. And she just had to be dating an athlete.

Casey huffed in irritation when she was shoved unceremoniously by her boyfriend's cronies as they attempted to dance.

Yes, Sean was drunk. Her stupid freaking boyfriend was drunk. She hadn't expected him to remain sober the entire night, but honestly, need he drink so much?

There was a beer possessively clutched in his hand and its content was sloshing dramatically out of the bottle. At least what was left of it. She made it a point to stand further away; she absolutely refused to arrive home smelling like she'd been dumped in a tank of alcohol. It was bad as it was.

Exhaling in defeat, she looked around the jam-packed room. The question remained: how was she going to get home? Sean had been an absolute jerk the entire night. She wasn't very well going to wait until he decided the party was over and be oh-so-graciously offered a safe ride back home.

Let him fend for himself, she thought bitterly. She officially withdrew from any girlfriend duty. They were done as far as she was concerned. Over. A thing of the goddamn past. And she wasn't going to wait for his approval, and certainly not for a lame apology either.

Derek had been right. "Only you would end up with such an idiot," he had said.

In any case, the last part had been right. Casey felt her eyes sting but tried not to let the offending comment get to her again. She had spent a whole afternoon moping after the comment had been made.

Sometimes Derek didn't know when to stop. Then again, a mean remark was always followed by an out-of-the-ordinary nice gesture. In fact, she had recently concluded that it was his way of compensating.

Derek felt guilty.

And so she decided to humor him by never bringing it up. At least now she knew his snide comments weren't necessarily genuine. The realization had made all the difference.

She heard her name being called out. "Spacey, where are you?" Actually, it was a distortion of her name.

Ugh. Her boyfriend-now-ex had no right calling her by that particular nickname. The only person she remotely tolerated it from was Derek, no one else. She merely glared at him in response.

"What's wrong, baby?" he cooed, putting an arm around her shoulders. She pushed him off.

He grabbed a beer bottle and much to her dismay, handed it to her. "It'll help you lighten up. Being uptight isn't cool at a party." He whispered the last sentence, as if it would put some sense into her.

"Sean," she started, moving a step back. Upon his frustrated expression, Casey shook her head in disgust. He was unbelievable. "You're such an ass."

She spun on her heel and made to leave but was halted by his hand. "How are you gonna go home?" he taunted knowingly, gesturing to the keys in his pocket. A cheeky smirk formed on his lips and Casey couldn't help thinking how infinitely better Derek looked with a similar smirk. Probably because her stepbrother's intentions weren't primarily soiled with sexually perverted ideas.

"You can come get them," he suggested, taking a step closer.

"I think I'll pass," she shot back in repulsion. What had she seen in this guy?

The idiot had the gall to huff. "Stop being a bitch, Case."

Casey gaped at him. "You know what, Sean? I'm not gonna stand here and take your crap. You're the piece of shit here, not to mention a complete waste of my time." Her words sounded biting and harsh, exactly the way she intended them to. It must have surprised Sean because he visibly recoiled. She didn't wait for a response, just stormed out angrily before he could catch up.

Presently...

And that's how she ended up walking alone on some unknown street, at one o'clock in the morning. All she had to do now was call someone to pick her up. And soon. Her bare legs were starting to protest against the wind and her feet were starting to ache from he heels.

Casey thought about the possibilities for a while, trekking her way slowly on the suburban sidewalk. Her parents were definitely a no go. They weren't really aware that she was at a party with her boyfriend. She could have told them the truth, but they were never too keen on Sean. Playing it safe seemed like the best thing to do. Instead, they thought she was sleeping over at Emily's. It would have looked awfully strange then if she suddenly called them up and asked them to meet her three miles away from home.

As for Emily, well, Emily would have been ideal if she actually had a license. But she didn't. Noel popped into her head, but she quickly brushed it off. Of course, Noel would have gladly conceded to her request, but she feared he might have still been harboring feelings for her. She didn't know how he'd take being her hero-of-the-night after she had spent the last few months avoiding him.

Casey sighed. Honestly, she was damned to hell. The faiths had apparently aligned against her. She vaguely wondered what she had done to deserve such bad karma. It seemed that Derek was the only reasonable option she had left. And last she remembered, he was at another party with Ella, probably doing something other than enjoying the music.

A car speeded through the street and jostled her out of her thoughts as it zoomed past her.

"Might as well do it now," she mumbled in resignation, flipping her phone open. Derek answered on the fifth ring, right when she was about to give up and call her mother instead.

"Casey?" he said a bit agitatedly into the phone. There wasn't a lot of noise in the background. She groaned inwardly when she realized he was probably alone in a room with Ella. Her thoughts were confirmed when Ella's high voice chipped in. "What's wrong with her?" She sounded a bit annoyed, and though Casey didn't like her very much, she couldn't really blame her.

"Um," Casey uttered, not entirely sure how to explain herself. She should have run the conversation through her head before dialing. Stupid Casey.

"Where are you?" Derek asked in suspicion. He must have noticed the lack of noise on her end too.

"I'm not really sure," she admitted honestly. She heard shuffling and an exasperated sigh from Derek. She shook her head. Damned to hell, she was.

But she was surprised when Derek told Ella off instead of her. "Be quiet Ella." He quickly came back to her. "What do you mean you're not sure?" he continued, talking over Ella's whining. A door shut on his end.

"I think I'm on Chauvin street," Casey recalled the street the party was at.

He let out a relieved breath. "That's where Brad's house is, I know. Isn't that where you're supposed to be?" His voice turned mildly irritated now that the initial concern was gone.

"I'm not exactly on Chauvin Street," Casey confessed hesitantly, not quite knowing how to word her situation.

"Okay…" Derek's tone was attentive but slightly skeptic.

"I'm a few streets down, or up. I don't know." Casey bit her nail.

"Case," he said gravely. "Please don't tell me you left with that half-witted monkey somewhere without knowing where you're going. You can't be that brainless."

Did she mention she was damned to hell? His taunting and insulting remarks had been getting to her lately.

She couldn't help it, the comment hurt and her response was momentarily stumped. The night had unfolded horribly. A biting remark from Derek was the last thing she needed. Her breath hitched involuntarily.

"Case, did he do anything to you?" he said urgently, probably having heard her breath catch. She tried not to think much about the obvious concern in his voice.

"No," she managed quietly, keeping her composure in check and the tremor in her voice undetectable. "No, he didn't. And he didn't take me anywhere."

"Oh," he said, taken aback. "Then where are you?"

She heard a door click on the other end of the line once again and an irritated, "you're still talking to her?"

"Hold on, Ella," he dismissed easily before turning his attention back to Casey. "So where are you?"

Casey walked the few steps to the street sign. "Haven street and…" She moved to see the adjacent street name and finished, "Falpine."

"Wait, are you alone?" he quipped incredulously, as if he just made the realization.

Casey swallowed audibly. "Yes…"

Derek let out an aggravated sigh. "Casey," he whined. "Why?" He exhaled again, albeit this time in defeat.

"Sorry?" Casey offered timidly.

"Just stay put, alright? I'll be there soon." And then he hung up.

She was surprised he hadn't asked why her boyfriend hadn't driven her back. But then again, Derek never thought highly of Sean; he must have assumed Sean wouldn't have been much help anyway.

It was a couple of minutes before a familiar car pulled to a stop near her. She glanced at her watch. Derek must have gone over many speed limits to reach her that fast. She noticed Ella sitting in the passenger seat, looking incredibly sour and pissed off.

Casey gently opened the backseat door and hopped in noiselessly. Derek gave her an once-over with his eyes and as soon as he was satisfied, resumed his driving. Instead of dropping Casey off and returning to his party like she assumed he would, he made a turn to where she figured Ella lived.

Casey felt Derek's gaze on her through his rear-view mirror, but blamed the feeling on her own guilt-ridden imagination. Was he watching her?

When the car came to a stop in front of large white house, Ella didn't even wait for the engine to turn off. She slammed the door shut behind her and trudged up to her door.

"Excuse me," Derek said quickly to Casey and followed Ella out. Her heart constricted at the fact the he was so quick to follow Ella. Casey couldn't make out their words because they were whispering, but she could tell that Ella was angry. Derek looked almost unfazed. Almost because a small frown was etched on his features. The argument didn't last very long. She didn't know whether that was a good or bad thing.

He started the engine soon enough and stayed quiet for the remainder of the ride. She watched him carefully. His eyes were focused on the road and there was a contemplative expression playing on his countenance.

What did Ella tell him?

Casey didn't even notice they had reached their own house until Derek pressed the lock button, preventing her from moving out of the car.

"Are you gonna tell me what happened or do I have to force it out of you?" Derek said, almost casually as he turned his body to face her.

Casey bit her lip. She didn't really want to tell him what happened. She really didn't want to endure his obnoxious I told you so's. But realizing that resisting would be futile, she briefly retold the night's events.

As expected, Derek answered in pure Derek fashion. "What did I tell you? Was I not right? Sean is a jerk when it comes to girls."

"You make it sound like you're not," Casey muttered grumpily. Derek's sequence of girls was rather extensive and definitely not something to be proud of.

"No," Derek said adamantly, shifting further to face her. "You don't get to tell me that."

The serious expression playing on his face caught her off guard. She frowned questioningly. His gaze diverted back to the front. He took a deep breath and turned back to her. "My intentions are clear. Girls know I don't do commitment. I don't lead them on when I don't mean to stay."

She regarded him thoughtfully. He had a point. She turned her head away and looked out the window, not ready to admit she was wrong. Again.

"I'm nothing like Sean," he added in a tone she couldn't decipher, finally unlocking the doors and stepping out. She was quick at his heel, a surge of guilt compelling her.

"I'm sorry, okay?" she apologized as they reached the door. Derek dug in his pocket for his keys but remained quiet. "You're right. You're nothing like him. Sean is a jerk. I should have listened to you." He paused in mid-process of opening the door. The lock clicked but he didn't push the door open. He looked up at her.

Her face was earnest and he instantly softened. She carried on. "And I really appreciate you bringing me home. You have no idea." She bit her lip in a nervous habit and didn't miss it when the gesture caught Derek's gaze. When their eyes connected again, he seemed to have realized where he had just been looking at and hastily made his way inside.

It was weird. How a simple, probably involuntary gesture, ignited such an intense feeling. Granted, she had been harboring a particular attraction towards Derek for a while now but she never imagined that the feeling might be mutual.

She followed him up the stairs and stopped him before he entered his room.

"Thank you," she added, not knowing what else to say.

But he only nodded and moved to go to his room again. "I hope Ella isn't too angry with me."

His hand was on his doorknob when he stopped. His forehead fell on the surface of his door. "She's not," he answered softly. "She's angry with me." He banged his head a couple of times on his door.

"Why, 'cause you helped me?" Casey said, suddenly angry herself at Ella for being so inconsiderate and causing this... distress within Derek.

"Go to bed, Case," Derek grumbled tiredly.

"She's totally not worth your time if she's gonna be such a bitch," Casey persisted. "Honestly, you could do better."

She didn't understand why he continued banging his head on his door. "What's wrong with you?"

He let go of the doorknob, turned to face her and took a few step forwards. He stopped merely a foot away from her. His eyes darkened. "You're wearing a dangerously short skirt. You've been biting your lips the whole ride and Ella just accused me of having feelings for you."

Oh. So he had been looking at her through his rear-view mirror after all.

"So unless you plan on kindly letting me do wildly inappropriate things to you, then I suggest you just go to bed," he finished in a near-whisper, rubbing his palms roughly over his face in frustration.

Casey didn't budge, rendered frozen by his words. "You want me?" she said stupidly.

Derek gaped at her. "Of course I want you, you idiot," he groaned exasperatedly. "I really fuckin want you."

Oh.

He wanted her.

It took about half a second after that to react.

Because really, who was she to deny him?

She closed the distance between them in record time, and swallowed his surprised gasp. His hands flew to her waist as hers eased into his hair. After recovering from the initial shock, Derek responded in kind. Casey kissed him fervently, pressing her body close to his.

He moved them backwards and finally pushed his door open, Casey's body practically molded to his. He gently kicked the door shut behind him. Casey didn't pause in her ministrations, her hands gliding deliciously up and down his back, propelled by the newly discovered reciprocal feelings. He pushed her onto the wall and slipped his hand under the hem of her shirt, resting his palm on the skin of her waist. She pulled back to take a breath.

"Oh wait," she said through a small laugh as Derek kissed her jaw. She pressed her lips back to his and pulled back again. "You don't do commitment." She didn't let him respond, just kissed him harder. He gave back as much as he got. He smirked when she moved her lips to his jaw and then behind his ear.

She was right, a smirking Derek was infinitely better.

He growled when she kissed a certain spot, and Casey almost went slack in his arms at the sound. One of his hands traveled down to her leg and up to her thigh. "You don't do short-term," he whispered as he latched onto her neck. She giggled. "No, I don't."

"So how about we find something in between?" he said seductively into her ear. She shivered at the contact.

"How exactly does that work?" she asked breathlessly. He came back up to her cheek until he reached her lips.

"I don't know," he admitted sheepishly, his mouth inches away from hers. His smile was contagious.

"Let's just try and see where it takes us then," Casey suggested coyly, earning herself a deep chuckle from Derek.

He dragged them both onto the bed where Casey quickly divested him of his shirt. Her nails grazed at his chest and his head fell back in pleasure. He hurriedly grabbed her waist as she straddled him and brought his head closer to hers. "I'm sure it'll take us somewhere," he added playfully.

Casey's laughter was muffled by Derek's mouth. She wasn't able to form a decent sentence until much later that night… or morning, depending on how one would look at it.

Derek made sure of that.

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Author's Note: Kind of random, I know. But did you like it?!?