AN/ Well, I've started a new story, and unlike my other stories, I plan on finishing this one. I have chapter 2 done already, but I'm not posting 'till I get enough reviews. I'm not sure what 'enough' is yet. But I'll know it when I see it. SO, without further ado, I give you…
A DISCLAIMER! (lol)
I've never really done these things before, so basically, If I owned LWD I'd be rich and happier and life would be better general. So, I obviously don't own it….The End, or rather,
THE BEGINNING!
Life Couldn't Get Any Better
There he was. Stuck 'babysitting' just cause he was 'grounded' while Nora and his dad were at dinner and Casey was out at the party he was supposed to be the life of. Life couldn't get any worse.
"Marti! BED!" "NO! DRESS-UP FIRST!" Yup, life could not get any worse...
--
Though parties were not normally her scene, Casey had to admit that this was one of Emily's better ideas. Sure Emily had left her ALL ALONE to chat up a 'hottie at 12 o'clock' And SURE she knew only a few people, but life was great! Not a Derek in sight. Plus that cute boy in the corner of the room was TOTALLY just eying her, and there was no way she could embarrass herself when Derek wasn't near. You know what? Casey was gonna take a risk and strut casually to that corner. Yup, and she was gonna look good doing it. She walked across the dance floor, but of course there HAD to be a rug on the floor, and her foot just HAD to get caught in it, and the music just HAD to pause at that time so that everyone would witness the huge crash. Oh look, the cute boy was laughing. At her. Yup, life could not get any better...
--
He had finally gotten Marti to bed when the phone decided to ring. Thank god Marti was already fast asleep. He ran to the phone as quickly as he could, so it would stop ringing. And there on the other line was...
"Casey?"
"Umm, Derek? Do you think you could pick me up? I don't know where Emily is and I REALLY wanna come home."
'Man she sounded desperate' Derek thought with an evil grin. Adopting his most innocent voice Derek responded.
"But Casey, what about the CHILDREN?"
"I'm sure they're responsible enough to take care of themselves for 15 minutes...at least Lizzie is. And Marti should be sleeping, right?"
"Yeah, but I don't know Casey. It's quite a drive, and I was just considering going to bed myself...you know, since its just SO late..."
"Derek, you're not fooling anyone. Especially with that last comment, its only 10 and you know it. You just like seeing me miserable."
"Well I can't SEE you, but you got the gist of it. Congrats, OK, bye!"
"NO, Derek...please? Just help me out this once, I need you."
Wow, maybe she was more desperate than he thought.
"Alright, you owe me..." Defeated, he hung up.
"Lizzie, Edwin, don't burn down the house while I'm gone." Derek said, referring to the two preteens sitting on the couch.
"Where are you going?" asked Lizzie
"And how much are you paying us?" asked Edwin
"I need to pick up Casey from the party, and the only pay you're getting is the promise that I won't pound you for even suggesting I pay you. Got it?"
The two nodded their heads dumbly.
"Great. Be back in a few."
--
Casey was sitting on the front porch of the huge house when she saw the Prince coming down the road. Derek parked in the driveway and Casey practically ran to meet him. But Derek had other plans. He came out of the car and shut the door behind him. Casey was confused.
"Umm, Derek, where are you going? Let's just leave."
"Nope. I'm already down here, might as well enjoy myself. Hang out a bit."
"But you're grounded!"
"And you owe me. Now if you really want to avoid the party, you can stay in the car."
"FINE! But I warn you. If you leave me here, the car and I will be on our way home."
"You wouldn't dare."
"Try me."
Derek turned around and began walking to the porch. Casey considered leaving, but then realized Derek had the keys. She really didn't want to go in, and she was now locked out of the car. Derek turned to her, smirking.
"You coming?"
Casey looked at him with her sad blue eyes and didn't respond. She simply shuffled over to him. She reached for the doorknob and now Derek had this strange heavy feeling in his gut.
"Casey?"
"Huh?"
"Let's go home."
--
They couldn't believe it.
They KNEW that Derek was the type to use Casey as an excuse to go to the party. And when Casey and Derek came into the house only 20 minutes after Derek left, they were speechless to say the least. And when Edwin TRIED to speak he could only muster up some garbled gibberish (AN/ Redundant, I know. But I couldn't help myself ). Casey herself couldn't believe it, and their trip home was almost silent as she mulled over what just happened. She was surprised her head hadn't exploded yet. She muttered a quiet 'hi' before excusing herself to her room. She collapsed on the bed and thought 'Derek just missed the opportune moment to go to the party of THE YEAR. Because of me. And he didn't say anything about it. Didn't even mention the fact that 'she owed him' Why? Why?'
"Why?"
Casey found herself in his room asking the same question she had asked herself just moments ago.
Derek removed the headphones from his ears and placed them on the table.
"Care to knock?"
"Why?" she repeated
"Elaborate..."
Casey didn't even make a sarcastic remark about how his vocabulary was growing, she simply explained.
"You were inches from the party of the year. You convinced me to come with you regardless how I felt, and then you left. YOU decided to come home. So I'm asking, why? All the times you've played cruel pranks on me and now you've decided to respect my wishes?"
"Are you wishing I hadn't? Because I can take you back."
"No, I don't. I just want to know why."
"How do you know it was out of 'respect for your wishes', for all you know, I did it for myself. Maybe I didn't feel like going."
"When seconds before you were positively set on going? I don't think so, and I'm not leaving 'till I hear the real reason." replied Casey, planting herself on Derek's bed, crossing her arms and growing more confident with every word. But the look that Derek gave her at that moment washed it all away, and suddenly she was very nervous. Almost scared.
"Oh really?"
"Umm, Y-ye-a"
And before she even had time to process what was going on, he had slung her over his shoulder and was walking casually to her room, ignoring her kicking, screaming and other protests.
He dumped her on her own bed and turned to walk away, before closing the door he turned around to face Case, who was sprawled on the bed belly up.
"Don't expect me to do anything for you if you continue questioning my motives," then lowering his voice to a whisper he continued to say; "because sometimes, I don't even know why I do the things I do." With that he shut the door leaving Casey, again, to her thoughts.
--
When George and Nora came home an hour later, the house was incredibly quiet. They went upstairs to check on the kids. Nora found Casey fast asleep, fully clothed and laying on top of all her covers. George found Derek asleep at his desk, head resting against his arms. George gently nudged Derek awake, and Derek stumbled to his bed, not even bothering to cover up. George chuckled to himself and left the room, quietly closing the door behind him. He found Nora in the hallway watching her sleeping daughter. He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. How good it was to have found love.
--
The next morning Casey woke to the sound of a bird chirping by her window. She found herself in the clothes from the night before and tried to remember what had happened. A sudden realization hit her and she recalled her last thoughts before going to sleep; just how much has Derek changed since the first time I met him?
Casey picked out an outfit, took her towel and went to take a shower.
--
Derek woke up around noon, wiped the drool from his cheek and went downstairs. Nobody was home. They were kind enough to leave a note on the kitchen table;
We went out for pancakes and didn't want to wake you guys.
Won't be long, don't kill each other.
-Nora
"You guys?" he questioned. Just then, Casey walked down the stairs, drying her sopping wet hair.
"Oh, hey." she said, reaching into the fridge for orange juice.
"Hi?" He was incredibly surprised at the civility.
Casey was too. She poured herself a glass, while Derek watched, his head cocked to one side like a curious puppy.
"What?" she asked, "You want some?"
Derek simply nodded and took out another glass, which Casey took from him and poured OJ into.
"Thanks..." he mumbled. Casey shrugged, grabbed her glass and made her way to the living room, sitting on the couch. Derek followed and sat on his chair. They reached for the remote simultaneously and froze in mid-reach as their fingers brushed against each other. Derek recovered sooner and continued his reach for the remote, eventually turning to his favorite sports channel. And even though Derek had begun watching his hockey game, Casey made no protests and simply sat there, contemplating the strange feeling in her stomach, and why her fingers were still tingling from Derek's hand. Little did she know that Derek had felt it too.
--
AN/ Hope you liked it! I liked writing it…feedback is lovely. I'm waiting! Hurry up and review, don't read this pointless note, REVIEW!
Well? What are you waiting for?