Everybody Has Something to Hide (PART 2)
PART 2
Chapter 7: The Disappearing Act
"Shit," Derek hissed. "No, don't turn around!"
Casey was staring at Derek, wondering if he had gone mad. His eyes were wide with…fear? "What's going on? Who are you looking at?" she asked urgently.
He was taking deep breaths, "Okay, don't turn around, but your mother is waiting in line at that smoothie place behind you."
"My moth-"
"-DON'T TURN AROUND!"
"What should we do?" Casey whispered.
He didn't take his eyes off a spot past her shoulder and slowly answered, "Okay, for starters, we need to get the hell out of here. Follow my lead." He crouched down and grabbed her hand, "Okay, she's ordering now. Let's go." He gave her arm a sharp tug and they quickly began walking out of the food court, not looking behind them.
Casey let Derek pull her along, feeling a thrill of excitement. Somehow Derek always managed to get them in these situations. And she loved it.
"What are you so happy about?"
Casey grinned, "Oh, this just reminds me of the good old days."
Derek raised an eyebrow questioningly, "What are you talking about?"
"Oh you know, like that time we snuck out of the house to go that party…and you crashed the new car," Casey teased.
Derek laughed, "That was so not my fault!"
"Keep telling yourself that, D."
He glanced over his shoulder. "I think we're in the clear."
"So…you want to head home, now?"
Derek rolled his eyes, "Still way too early, Case."
"Well then what do you want to do?" Casey asked, swinging her arm slightly. She stopped short when she realized Derek was still holding her hand. She glanced down and Derek followed her gaze. He quickly looked up again, but didn't let go.
"Um," he looked flustered, "Want to catch a movie or something?"
Casey studied his expression carefully. He looked…nervous? Was she making him nervous? That couldn't be it-this was Derek Venturi. She suddenly realized that he was staring at her expectantly. "Oh! Yeah a movie is fine," Casey said quickly.
"Cool," Derek said, looking inexplicably relieved. Still holding hands, they walked down the stairs and into the connecting movie theater. "So what do you want to see?"
Casey examined the posters warily, knowing that Derek would force her to watch some dumb horror flick if she didn't pick something. There were a couple of rom-coms showing, but that would just be too awkward to watch with Derek, who hated that sort of thing. "Um," she stalled.
Derek was tapping his foot impatiently, "We don't have all day, sweethea-" he broke off, his face reddening.
Casey pretended she hadn't heard. She knew it was a slip of the tongue…the only time Derek ever came to this movie theater was with a date. "Oh I don't know," she said, giving up. "You choose."
"Really?" he said hopefully, his expression identical to one of a five year old child presented with an ice cream cone before dinner.
"Yeah," Casey said, smiling slightly.
He grabbed her arm excitedly, "There's this new horror movie out that I really want to see-" Casey rolled her eyes. This should be interesting.
"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Derek said happily as the credits rolled on screen. There was no answer. "Uh, Case?" He turned to look at her, but her face was covered with his leather jacket. When did I give that to her? He frowned momentarily but quickly poked her in the shoulder. "Case-y," he drawled, knowing it would get her attention.
Sure enough, she poked her head out of the jacket, "Is it over?" she whispered.
Derek sighed in mock disappointment, "You are a failure to the Venturi name, Casey."
"I'm not a Venturi, Derek."
"Not yet," he said automatically. Her eyes widened and he flushed. Geez, he really had to start watching his mouth around her. "Well, anyway," he said quickly, to cover up the awkward moment, "That wasn't too scary…"
"Speak for yourself, D. I've never seen such gruesome-"
"Seen!?" Derek interjected, "I doubt you saw any of it, seeing as how you were cowering under my jacket-"
"I was NOT cowering, Derek!"
He chuckled, "Sure you weren't, Case."
"I was just-just looking for something," Casey stammered.
"Oh?" Derek said, grinning amusedly.
She quickly grabbed his jacket and made to stick her hand in one of the pockets. "NO," Derek shouted, snatching his jacket back.
She let go immediately, her eyes widening in surprise. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"
Derek quickly put on his jacket, avoiding her eyes. No way did he want her to find what he carried in that pocket. "Nothing, you know I don't like McDonalds invading my personal space." He briefly glanced up and saw a shade of hurt cross her face before it was replaced with annoyance.
"Fine," she snapped. "I won't make the mistake of touching your precious Venturi stuff again."
Derek ran a hand through his hair in embarrassment as several people turned to stare at them. "Okay, okay," he stage whispered, "Let's just get home." He made to grab her hand, but she crossed her arms, glaring at him. He rolled his eyes and led the way out back into the mall. He blinked as he stepped into the bright lighting of the mall, his eyes taking a second to adjust from the darkness of the movie theater.
"Do you think my mom went home yet?" Casey said, looking around worriedly.
Derek shrugged, "Depends, how long does she usually spend at the mall?"
Casey looked thoughtful, "Not that long. My mom isn't a fan of those crazy mall shoppers-"
"You mean people like you?" Derek interrupted.
Casey merely rolled her eyes, "Let's just check the parking lot and see if her car is still here."
Derek strolled into the parking lot, glancing around. Since it was the middle of the day, there weren't that many cars there. "I don't see any aquamarine cars, do you?"
Casey's eyes circled the parking lot before she answered, "Nope, I guess she went home."
"Okay," Derek said as he starting walking toward the row where he had parked the Prince. "Remember, Case, no telling Nora what we were up to today."
"I'm not stupid, Derek."
"I beg to differ."
Casey stuck her tongue out at him and he grinned, "Real mature, Case. You know, sometimes I wonder how you even got…" he trailed off, realizing she wasn't next to him anymore.
He turned around and saw her standing several feet behind him, her expression blank. Exasperated, he said loudly, "Pick up the pace, Case!"
She didn't say anything and instead pointed to a spot behind him. He felt his heart rate pick up considerably, "Oh god, is Nora behind me?" he hissed in a panicked voice.
She shook her head no and continued pointing. He turned around but didn't see anything. "Casey, this is why people think you're crazy. You're standing in the middle of a parking lot, pointing at thin air-"
"Look!" she suddenly shrieked, in a shrill voice. "Notice anything, different D?"
He turned around again, completely lost. "Um, no?" he tried.
She walked slowly until she was standing next to him and said in a pseudo calm voice, "Let me ask you this in a different way…Do you notice anything that's missing?"
A sudden thought entering his head, Derek whirled around quickly, his heart sinking when he realized what she was talking about. "Fuck!" he shouted, "Where the hell is my car?"
Chapter 8: Nothing Can Keep Us Apart
Casey stared at the now-empty spot of the parking lot. She didn't believe for a second that anyone would actually want to steal the Prince, especially when the parking lot was filled with much nicer and newer cars. And it certainly couldn't have been towed...She frowned, trying to think of another explanation. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Derek sway dangerously, his face pale. She immediately swung an arm around his shoulders, pulling him closer to her. "It's okay," she said soothingly. She knew that as much as he complained about the Prince, that car actually meant something to him.
Derek groaned, looking sick. "Dad's gonna kill me, Case!"
"It's okay, it'll all be okay," Casey repeated comfortingly.
"How do you know that?" Derek asked, looking desperate.
"Because," Casey said, thinking quickly, "The Derek I know wouldn't sit back and let someone pull a prank on him-he'd get revenge."
"A prank?' Derek repeated dully.
Casey nodded. It was the only logical conclusion she could think of…now the question was, who?
"Buy why would anyone want to play a prank on me?"
Casey shrugged, "I don't know, D. I think the real question is WHO would want to play a prank on you. And leave us stranded at the mall," she added ruefully, looking around at their surroundings.
Derek rolled his eyes, a faint hint of a smile at his lips, "We're hardly stranded, Case," he said, pulling away from under her arm, but grabbing her hand instead. "The bus stop's over there," he nodded toward the back of the building.
"But what are we going to tell our parents!?"
Derek glanced at his watch. "Don't worry," he said, "It's about the time we usually get home from school anyway. They'll never know where we've been."
"Aren't you going to tell them about the car?" Casey asked disbelievingly.
"Are you kidding me?" Derek exclaimed, looking incredulous. "I told you, my dad would literally kill me! I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm pretty sure he values that car more than he values my life-"
"I don't doubt that," Casey muttered. The Venturi men seemed to have unhealthy attachments to inanimate objects. For George, it was the Prince. For Derek, it was the TV.
"So I've been thinking," Derek began, as they reached the bus stop. "Who knew we were at the mall?"
Casey tilted her head, trying to think. "Well, no one really…"
Derek nodded, "Right. No one."
"Well, it's not like they had to know we were already here," Casey said reasonably. "I mean, they could've come here and just noticed your car."
Derek nodded again, "Right. So who do we know that came to the mall?" His eyes bored down at hers, clearly trying to tell her something. Casey stared at him for a few seconds, trying to understand what he was trying to say.
"Wait," she said slowly. "Are you saying that my mom stole your car!?"
Derek winced slightly. "Stole is a harsh word, Case."
"But still!" Casey said indignantly, "My mom wouldn't do that!"
"Wouldn't she?" Derek asked skeptically.
"There'd be no reason…" Casey trailed off, thinking, "You think she did it to teach us a lesson or something?"
Derek shrugged, "Seems like a reasonable idea to me. That's what I'd do to my kids."
Casey rolled her eyes, "God forbid we have little Derek Venturis running around some day."
"As if little keener McDonalds would be any better," Derek retorted.
"Well, at least my kids would be smart!"
"At least my kids would be cool!"
They both looked at each other for a second before breaking out into laughter. Derek chortled, "We could put their brains together, then they'd be smart and cool."
"The perfect combination," Casey said absentmindedly as the bus pulled to a stop in front of them.
"So what's the plan?
Derek snapped out of his daydream (which funnily enough involved little Derek Venturis running around). "Huh?"
"The plan Derek!" Casey said, looking exasperated as they stopped a few feet away from the front door to their house.
"Um, for what?"
"About the car!" Casey hissed
"Oh, right…okay, here's what we're going to do. You go in and distract Nora, and I'll go to the garage and see if the car is there." Casey nodded and quickly went into the house, shutting the door behind her. Derek walked stealthily to the back of the house, where he could slip into the garage through the basement. His adjusting to the dark, he squinted. He frowned when he saw what was there.
He walked slowly back into the house. Casey was waiting for him in the kitchen. "Well?" she demanded.
Derek shook his head, "The Prince isn't there. Neither is the other car."
"Yeah, my mom isn't back yet." Casey said, looking worried. "It's not like her to not be home when we get back from school."
"Well, who else is here?" Casey shrugged. Derek walked to the bottom of the stairs and bellowed, "EDWIN, LIZZIE!" He waited a few seconds, but no one answered. "Huh, guess no one's home yet."
"Doesn't that strike you as a little odd?" Casey asked, looking at him significantly.
"Uh," Derek said, "Not reall-" he broke off as the phone starting ringing. "No, don't answer it!" he said frantically to Casey, who had been reaching for the phone. "Let it go to the answering machine." Casey looked confused, and opened her mouth to say something. But, she abruptly shut it when the answering machine went off:
"Hello. This is Principal Lassiter. I am looking for Miss McDonald and Mr. Venturi as they have both neglected to show up for detention today.
"Shit," Derek and Casey said at the same time.
"…will of course be required to make up the detention after their two week sentence is over. Good day."
"Well that's great," Derek muttered under his breath as he hit the delete button. He sank down tiredly on the sofa next to Casey. She shifted slightly but didn't move away. He slid his jacket off and tossed it behind his head without looking. It landed neatly on the coat rack and Casey gave an amused chuckle, "Nice aim, Derek."
"Thanks," Derek said, not really listening. He was concentrating more on how his knee was touching Casey's. And how he could feel his skin burning. She had to feel it too, didn't she?
"How many detentions do you think he's going to give us for skipping this one?"
Apparently not. He pressed his leg more fully against hers, willing her to feel the sensation that he was feeling.
"Derek?"
"Hmm?" he said, shifting closer so their arms brushed against each other, enjoying the sparks of heat running along his body.
"I asked you how many-"
"I heard you," Derek interrupted. "I don't know."
"Oh." Casey said, folding her hands in her lap, and staring at them. Derek followed her gaze.
"Nice nail polish," he said off handedly. "It matches your…outfit."
"Thanks," Casey muttered, "It was supposed to."
"Red suits you," Derek said simply, choosing to close his mouth against the stream of thoughts crowding his mind. She looked hot.
He turned his head to catch her lips curve upwards slightly in regards to his compliment. Her cheeks heated to an irresistible pink when she caught his gaze and she quickly looked back down at her hands.
They were already sitting so close to each other that they might as well have been molded together. Derek could feel her warmth radiating all along the side of his body but he was desperate for more contact. Not knowing what he was doing, he put his hand on her knee and left it there, as though daring her to shake it off. She licked her lips and he followed the movement of her tongue hungrily. He was so close to her that he could see every detail of her flawless skin. He turned his head and stared at her neck, feeling a strong urge to lean forward the last couple of inches.
He moved his head forward, completely intoxicated. "You smell like lavender again," he murmured. He could've sworn he heard her heart beating wildly, or maybe that was him-
"Yeah, well, you did toss my other perfume out the window."
Derek smiled to himself and slid his arm slowly around her shoulders, pulling her gently into him. He brushed his lips once against her neck and felt her shiver slightly. Emboldened, he pressed his mouth more firmly against her skin and trailed light kisses along her neck until he reached her mouth. But, he didn't kiss her lips. For some reason, he felt like she had to make the first move there. He let their lips linger centimeters apart until she murmured something and moved forward and brushed her lips against his. "What did you say?" he said, not moving backwards.
"I said, 'what about Kendra'?"
"She's not a problem," Derek said firmly.
"Good," Casey said softly. "Neither is Trum-"
"No," Derek whispered urgently, not wanting her to lie to him. "It's okay, it doesn't matter now."
Casey looked slightly confused but she didn't press the issue. Derek leaned forward again and let his lips be captured by Casey's. He let her deepen the kiss, moving them backwards so that he was lying down and she was straddling him. Her hair fell over her shoulders, tickling the sides of his face. He grinned and pulled apart from her slightly, trying to breathe. "I don't even need air yet," Casey protested, leaning back so that he could sit up. She stayed where she was and curled her legs around him so that she effectively surrounded him. "Now you can't escape," she teased.
"I wouldn't want to," Derek said, breathing in deeply and letting himself drown in her scent. He reached up, playing with the loose strands of her hair. "I love your hair," Derek said absentmindedly. "It always feels so silky."
Casey grinned, "Yeah, but its getting way too long. I'm thinking of cutting it-"
"No," Derek protested immediately. "How am I supposed to play with short hair?"
"But it takes forever to wash long hair," Casey said, rolling her eyes.
"Then I'll wash it for you," Derek said automatically, without thinking. He only realized the implications of what he'd said when Casey's eyes widened slightly with surprise.
"That-that would be nice," Casey said hesitantly.
"Later," Derek said, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her forward so he could kiss her again. She suddenly frowned and started feeling around his pockets. "Whoa," he said jerking away when he felt her hand get a little too close to a certain part of his body. "What are doing, Case?"
"Something's vibrating," she muttered.
Derek suddenly felt his cell phone vibrating. He groaned and pushed her away slightly so he could get up. He struggled off the couch and dug his phone out of his pocket. "Maybe it's my dad," he said, flipping open his phone. Nope. It was a text message from an unknown number. He clicked open. His mouth dropped open in shock.
"What's wrong?" Casey asked, getting up to stand next to him. He wordlessly handed her his phone and she read the text out loud.
Unknown Number: Missing your car, Derek?
Chapter 9: A Tangled Web Woven
Casey kept staring at the text message while Derek paced back and forth furiously. "Think of it this way," Casey suggested, "at least now we know that someone really is playing a prank on you."
"Some prank." Derek snapped. "Pranks are supposed to be funny."
"No, they're only funny to the person actually pulling the prank," Casey disagreed, shaking her head. She stared at him pointedly, "And I'm speaking from experience."
Derek rolled his eyes but smiled slightly. "Well, I guess I have to go find this dumbass and…teach him a lesson," Derek said uncertainly.
Casey's eyebrows rose in surprise until she realized: Derek was usually the one pulling the strings; he'd never been in this position before, and he didn't know what to do. Casey grinned, maybe he'll learn something from all this after all.
"What are you smiling about?"
"Nothing," Casey replied quickly. "What's the plan?"
"Um…"
"Let's take a look at the number," Casey said kindly, taking in Derek's lost expression. He handed her his phone and she clicked to view the number, "Hmm."
"What is it?"
"It looks familiar," Casey said slowly, staring at the screen.
"One of your friends?" Derek asked sarcastically.
"I have plenty of friends," Casey shot back, feeling insulted. So what if she wasn't as popular as Derek? He didn't always have to rub it in…
His expression immediately sobered up when he got wind of her angry tone. "Okay, okay. I didn't mean that," he said hastily. Casey stared at him in surprise. Derek Venturi apologizing…that was strange. Guess he doesn't want to get on my bad side today.
She looked at him suddenly, an idea striking her. "You know, you're gonna need help with this."
Derek nodded, "So?"
"Your problems are my problems," she said firmly.
"Thanks for the support, Case," he said slowly, looking suspicious.
"On one condition," Casey continued.
Derek looked wary, "What's that?"
"You have to tell me."
"Tell you what?"
Casey took a deep breath, steeling herself. Don't back down. "Why did you leave me in bed by myself last week? I woke up alone-" Her breath hitched and she stopped talking, not daring to meet Derek's eyes.
There was deafening silence. Casey chanced a glance up. Derek had stiffened and his jaw was clenched. She could see that he definitely did not want to have this conversation. He met her eyes and she frowned when she recognized the fear in them. What is he so scared of?
"I c-can't…it's not-" he swallowed visibly. "It's not important…right now."
Casey stared at him in confusion. She had never seen him look so uncomfortable. She made her tone cold, "What, did you change your mind about wanting to be with me or something?"
Derek looked horrified, "No! It's not like that, I would never just…stop wanting to be with you." He paused. "I think today proved that," he said, pointing vaguely to the couch where they had been kissing a short while ago.
Casey flushed, but kept staring determinately at him. She needed this answer. "If you won't tell me, then I'm not going to help you," she reminded him.
Derek looked exasperated, "Have you ever thought that maybe it's best for both of us if I don't tell you?"
"What are you talking about?" Casey said, abruptly feeling nervous.
Derek took a few steps toward her and reached out to take her hand, his expression surprisingly gentle. "I promise I will tell you, soon. But for right now, can we just pretend it didn't happen?"
Casey snatched her hand away, tears sparking her eyes. "You want to pretend that the whole night didn't happen!?"
Derek bit his lip, looking nervous. "I meant everything I said that night," he said cautiously, as though he was afraid she was going to blow up any second. "I meant, let's forget the me-not-being-there when you woke up part."
Casey sighed, looking into his hopeful eyes. She could never say no to him. "I'll take your word for it," she conceded.
Derek looked enormously relieved. "That's great, Case."
"But," she warned, "You have to promise that you'll tell me the reason soon."
"I will," he promised, "very soon."
"Alright," Casey said briskly, taking out her own cell phone. "This is what we're going to do-"
"DEREK!"
Casey and Derek both jumped, whirling around at the sound of a slamming door. George was standing there, looking positively furious. Casey stared at him, wide-eyed. The last time she'd seen George looking so angry was when he'd received a phone call from their principal informing him that Derek and Casey were suspected as being involved in the fire alarm incident at school. Even Derek had been afraid to face his father's wrath then. But, what was the problem now?
"CASEY!"
"Mom?" Casey answered uncertainly as Nora came barging through the back door.
"WHERE ARE YOU?"
"In-in the living room," Casey stuttered, hearing the fury in her mother's voice.
"Oh, good," Nora said as she walked in to the living room. "You're all here."
Derek looked back and forth between Nora and George. "Uh, guys? What's going on here?"
"Yeah, mom, where have you been?"
"Don't you ask me questions, young lady," Nora snapped.
"So, Derek," George said loudly, "anything you want to tell me?"
"And Casey, anything you want to tell me?" Nora said, staring pointedly at her daughter.
Oh God, she knows we skipped school! Casey thought frantically.
Fuck, he knows the Prince is missing! Derek thought at the exact same time. This was not good.
"Well until you decide you have something to tell me, you can just go to your room," George bellowed.
"For what!?" Derek shouted indignantly. From behind him, he heard Casey cough warningly. Don't push it. "I-I mean, of course I'll go to my room," Derek said quickly as he starting running up the stairs. He distinctly heard Nora tell Casey to go to her room as well.
Derek slammed his door to show his dad that he was still angry. He heard Casey go into her room and slam the door as well. He waited a few seconds to make sure that neither of their parents followed them up the stairs before quickly slipping out of his room and knocking on Casey's door. "It's me," he whispered urgently.
Casey immediately opened the door and ushered him in. She quickly stuck her head out into the hallway and checked all directions before shutting the door softly. "Paranoid, much?" Derek said, watching her.
Casey shrugged, "Just making sure Edwin and Lizzie aren't out there spying on us or something. Edwin's been acting very strange." She paused, then added, "Stranger that usual, I mean."
Derek nodded thoughtfully, "You know, Lizzie's been acting really weird, too."
"Think something's up?"
Derek shrugged, "One problem at a time."
"You're right," Casey agreed. "I'd say the Prince is our main problem right now."
"What about the parental units?" Derek interjected.
Casey frowned, "Well, I guess they found out about us skipping school."
Derek choked, "What!? They told you that?"
"No…I'm just guessing. What else could it be?"
"They could know the Prince is missing," Derek pointed out.
Casey shrugged, not looking particularly worried. "Well, whatever it is, we'll find out at dinner."
"What are you talking about?"
"Mom said she'd discuss this further at dinner. Before she sent me to my room," Casey said, sounding annoyed.
"Great," Derek muttering, flopping down on Casey's bed in defeat. Suddenly he remembered the last time he had been lying on this bed. He almost sprang back up, but didn't want to make a big deal out of it, especially since they'd both agreed to forget that night for the time being. Forcing himself to stay where he was, he glanced up at Casey. She was staring at him apprehensively-probably expecting him to run out of her room screaming, or something.
"Care to join me?" Derek said nervously, patting the space on the bed next to him.
Casey shook her head. "No, we're not taking a nap, Derek," she said, sounding stern. "We have to find out whose number this is." With that, she pulled out her cell phone and began pressing some buttons, muttering to herself.
"What are you doing?"
"I know I've seen that number before," Casey explained. "So, I'm just going through all the numbers in my address book to see if any of them match up."
"Why don't we just call them back?"
Casey looked incredulous, "Without any sort of plan? I don't think so, D. We have to be smart about this, seeing as how this person clearly knows what he's doing." Casey paused. "Or she," she added, almost as an afterthought.
"Or them," Derek muttered.
Casey looked startled, "What, you think it's more than one person?"
"Could be," Derek said impassively.
Casey blinked a few times then returned to staring at her cell phone while Derek stared listlessly around her room. His gaze landed on a collage of pictures next to her bookshelf. Emily. Sam. Nora. Lizzie. Max. Kendra. George. Marti. Edwin. Noel. Some cheerleaders. Even Truman. Derek scanned the collage again, but didn't see himself anywhere on it. He frowned, trying to ignore the hurt feeling in his stomach. It's just some stupid collage, it doesn't matter, he told himself firmly.
"Aha!"
Derek leapt up. "You found a matching number?" he asked excitedly.
"Um…yeah." Casey didn't look very happy.
"Well?" Derek asked impatiently. "Whose number is it?"
"Truman's."
Chapter 10: Can't Read My Pokerface
Casey sat resignedly on her bed as Derek paced back and forth, fuming. "I knew it," he growled. "That scumbag-"
"Calm down, Derek."
"I will NOT calm down!" Derek hissed. "Your boyfriend just STOLE my car-"
"Ex-boyfriend," Casey interrupted, feeling her head pound with frustration. "Now instead of wasting time throwing around insults, why don't we try to come up with an actual plan?"
"Okay," Derek said, sitting down next to her. "Okay," he repeated, "We have to remember that Truman is a conniving jackass who would have no problem accidently "losing" my car..."
"A conniving jackass?" Casey said, rolling her eyes skeptically.
"Sure," Derek said dismissively. "Look at how he played you."
Trying not to feel insulted, Casey said in a hard tone, "That makes him a player, Derek."
"But he had to have been smart enough to play you."
Casey turned to him, aware of the surprise etched on her face. "Was that a compliment?"
"Maybe," he replied noncommittally.
Casey opened her mouth to reply but shut it when there was a knock on her door. "Yeah?" she called out nervously.
"It's me."
"Quick," Casey breathed, "Hide in my closet!" Derek shot her a disgusted look but quickly tiptoed to the closet. After making sure that it was closed securely, Casey opened her door, plastering a huge, fake smile on her face.
"Edwin!" Casey said, not opening the door fully. "What brings you here?"
Edwin smiled at her pleasantly, "I was just looking for Derek." He paused, "Do you know where he is?"
"Uh, n-no…why would I know where he is?" Casey stammered, feeling her cheeks flush.
Edwin edged closer to her, obviously trying to get into her room. But, Casey didn't move. "Uh, mind if I come in?"
"Well, the thing is-well, see, I'm grounded right now, so I don't think I can have visitors in my room," Casey said weakly.
"Oh?" Edwin replied, looking at her interestedly. "Want to talk about it?"
Casey frowned slightly. Since when was Edwin so…chatty? "Not really," she replied. "I don't even know why I'm stuck in here."
"Ah, yes," Edwin said, blinking innocently at her. "I believe Nora did say something about a family discussion during dinner."
Casey rolled her eyes, "Well, that should be fun."
"Always is."
She waited a few seconds, but Edwin didn't say anything else. Nor did he leave. Casey tapped her fingers against the doorframe impatiently, "Is there anything else you wanted?"
Edwin looked over his shoulder for a second before turning back to her with a big smile, "Um, so…Since Derek isn't around, I guess I'll have to talk to you."
"About what?" Casey asked suspiciously.
"Um." Edwin looked behind him again before stuttering, "Uh, gi-girl problems."
"Girl problems!?" Casey asked incredulously.
Edwin smirked, "What, you think a stud like me doesn't have girl problems?"
"A stud like you," Casey repeated dully. Man, what was Derek teaching this kid? She slowly pulled open her door, letting Edwin come in. "I'll help you, but only for a few minutes," Casey said sternly.
"Sure," Edwin nodded agreeably, looking curiously around her room.
Casey was watching him, "Why are you acting like you've never been in my room before?"
"Um, it just looks different from how I remember it."
"Oh," Casey said, strolling casually around her bed so that she was standing in front of her closet. She continued, "Yeah, I tried to remodel it a bit at the beginning of the year."
Edwin nodded thoughtfully, "You know, I kinda want to change my room around, too."
"Really?"
"Yeah…maybe something to go with my cool, older guy look," Edwin said, his voice sounding oddly high pitched. Casey's eyes narrowed; she knew how Edwin's voice changed drastically when he wasn't telling the truth. Hmm. But what could he be lying about right now?
Casey tried to smile, "Well, that's great, Ed. I firmly believe that one's room should reflect one's personality-"
"What do you think of Derek's room?" Edwin interrupted.
"What?"
Edwin shrugged, "What do you think of it?"
"It's uh…okay, I guess?" Casey said slowly, wondering what the fuck this kid was talking about.
"Just okay?"
"Well," Casey elaborated, "It's kinda disorganized, but it's not messy…"
"Okay, but what about the actual room…like his posters or the records on the wall?"
"I think it looks cool," Casey replied, without thinking.
Edwin brightened, "Yeah?"
"Uh, yeah…?" Casey was starting to wonder if Ed was on drugs.
"Cool," Edwin repeated happily. Just then, there was another knock on the door.
"It's me, open up!" Nora called, knocking loudly.
Casey gritted her teeth, not bothering to tell Edwin to hide. She swung the door open angrily, letting it bounce off the wall. "Can I help you?"
"Don't take that tone with me," her mother snapped, peering around Casey. "Edwin?"
"Oh yes…hi Nora," Edwin replied uncertainly.
"Where's your brother?"
"No idea," Edwin said promptly. "In fact, I was just in here asking Casey the same thing."
Nora turned to Casey, who felt her face begin to heat up. "A-a-and I told Edwin that I didn't know where Derek was."
"Uh, what are you guys all doing in Casey's room?" Lizzie said, stopping at the door.
"That's what I'd like to know," Casey snapped.
"Casey," her mother said warningly.
Casey threw up her hands in defeat and flopped down on her bed. "…say you're looking for Derek?" Lizzie was asking.
"Yeah, do you know where he is?" Edwin asked, staring intensely at Lizzie. Casey glanced between the two of them, wondering what was going on.
Lizzie returned Edwin's gaze for a few seconds before saying in a smug tone, "Actually, yeah. I think I saw him go downstairs."
Casey's eyebrow rose. What was this? Lizzie was covering for Derek?
Nora sighed dramatically, "Well he better be there. Dinner's in five minutes everyone, wash up." With that, she headed out the door, pausing only to knock on Derek's door uselessly.
Casey sat back up in her bed and coughed loudly to let Derek know that they weren't alone yet. "Sooo, Edwin…Lizzie…"
Lizzie didn't seem to be paying attention and was glaring at Edwin. "What are you doing in Casey's room?"
"I told you. I was looking for Derek."
"Fat chance," Lizzie scoffed. "You're usually the one hiding from Derek."
"I do NOT-"
"OKAY!" Casey shouted. "This is my room, both of you get out!"
"Sheesh, don't have a cow," Edwin muttered.
Lizzie, however, still didn't appear to hear her and followed Edwin out of the room, still arguing about something. Casey stared after them in a mixture of curiosity and exasperation before opening her closet. Derek was slumped on the floor, looking bored out of his mind. "Finally!"
"Sorry," Casey whispered. "But you gotta get downstairs right away before they notice you're not there…"
"Yeah, yeah," Derek muttered, slipping out of the closet and opening her door slowly. "The coast is clear," he said, giving a mock salute. Casey stared after him. He could be so weird sometimes.
She waited a few seconds before following Derek down the stairs. Lizzie and Edwin were already seated at the dining table next to each other, but they were both determinately looking at their empty plates. Derek caught her gaze and nodded slightly toward them, What's going on? Casey shrugged, No idea.
Edwin jumped up when he caught sight of them. "Casey! Let me get your seat," he said, bowing slightly. He pulled out the chair directly across from him and waved her into it. Casey glanced bewilderedly at Lizzie, who was staring at Edwin with an odd expression on her face. "Um, thanks Ed," Casey said uncertainly, taking the seat. Derek muttered something under his breath before throwing himself into the seat next to her.
Nora and George walked in at that moment and took their seats. "So," George began, and Casey inwardly cringed. But, he simply turned to Edwin, "How was your day?"
"It was fine, dad," Edwin said, shoveling food into his mouth, Derek-style.
"Uh-huh…you finish that research project?"
Edwin groaned, "I'm working on it."
"Well you better finish it soon…" Casey tuned out as George continued interrogating Edwin. She glanced at her mother, but Nora seemed to be listening intently to George and Edwin.
Suddenly Derek gave a muffled gasp and pushed his chair back roughly, his expression shocked. Casey turned to look at him, but no one else seemed to have noticed. Lizzie was calmly eating her salad and Edwin was still involved with convincing George that his project was going well. Derek didn't seem to notice Casey and instead looked wildly between Lizzie and Edwin, but neither of them looked at him. Derek slowly pulled his chair back to the table, looking wary.
Casey shrugged to herself and continued eating. She thought about asking Lizzie how school was going but she caught a glimpse of Lizzie's face; it looked like she was concentrating on something. Not wanting to interrupt her sister's train of thought, Casey shut her mouth again. She shifted slightly in her chair so she was closer to Derek and was surprised when she heard his labored breathing. What the fuck was wrong with him? She looked at him from the corner of her eye and noticed that his face was oddly red and his hand was clenched around his fork so tightly that his knuckles had turned white. There was a sound from under the table and Derek suddenly yelped, dropping his fork.
Everyone stopped talking and stared at up at Derek in complete astonishment.
"Uh, Derek?" Nora asked, clearly looking for an explanation. "Is something wrong?"
Derek's eyes were wide. "Um, I f-felt…" he trailed off, gesturing vaguely to the table.
"Felt what, D?" Edwin asked, looking confused.
Derek's face reddened and Casey frowned. She glanced carefully around the table, noticing that her expression of bewilderment was mirrored on everybody's faces…except…hmm. Lizzie still looked strangely calm and was eating her salad as though nothing had happened. How strange.
Chapter 11: If It's Meant To Be
Derek slowly sank back into his seat, very much aware that the whole family was still staring at him. He tried to catch Lizzie's eye, but she didn't look up from her salad. Damn her. "It was nothing," Derek finally said, fully aware of his unconvincing tone.
"Nothing," George repeated. Derek shrugged, not knowing what to say. He glanced up and saw Edwin look at Lizzie inquiringly. Derek couldn't see her face, but Edwin abruptly looked outraged. He stabbed at a piece of chicken on his plate with unnecessary force, and it went flying across the table- and hit Casey in the face.
"Ugh!" she squealed. "Edwin!"
Derek grinned as Edwin's eyes widened with horror, "Oops!" Casey rolled her eyes, looking disgusted. She picked up the piece of chicken and threw it back at Edwin. Unfortunately, her aim was so bad that the chicken hit the vase in the middle of the table, ricocheting and landing on Derek's plate. He shot Casey an amused glance before picking it off his plate and tossing it across the table without looking.
"De-rek!" Lizzie exclaimed as the chicken hit her on the forehead. Derek raised his eyebrows at her, almost as a dare. Want me to tell the family what you just did? She flashed him an innocent smile before calmly picking up the piece of chicken and placing it on Edwin's plate- who glanced between Derek and Lizzie, looking disgruntled. Derek turned to tell Casey that a five year old had a better throwing arm than she did, but decided not to when he caught sight of her expression. She was staring at Lizzie with a mixture of confusion and…hostility?
"That's it!" Nora said loudly. "No throwing food in this house!"
"Yeah, yeah," Edwin muttered. "We know."
George shook his head, "No, Edwin. You used to know. But somewhere along the way, it seems like all of you have completely forgotten basic house rules…which is why we're having a family meeting after dinner."
Derek groaned, "I thought the discussion was supposed to be during dinner."
"Well, now it's after," his father said in a don't-ask-questions voice.
"Alright, alright." Jeez, his dad was being more uptight than usual. Wonder what the meeting was going to be about…
1 HOUR LATER
Derek lounged in his chair, his eyes staring at the blank TV screen. Casey was sitting between Edwin and Lizzie on the couch. Nora and George were both sitting in front of them on the coffee table, looking very serious.
Nora began, "All right, well I think it's time to re-establish a few rules-"
"Like no throwing food at the dinner table," George interrupted, staring at his kids pointedly.
"And more importantly," Nora said, glancing at George, "We would like to remind you that there are no secrets in this house. We want you to feel like you can tell us anything, no matter what it is."
Derek glanced at Casey, Think they're onto us? She shrugged back slightly, looking worried; Sounds like it.
"That being said," George stared intently at everyone, "Is there anything that anybody would like to say?"
Edwin frowned, "Uh, about what?"
"Anything at all!" George said heartily.
Derek had serious misgivings about this whole conversation. He knew very well that Casey was the type to crack under pressure, and, well, an open invitation to share information was just asking for trouble…
The silence increased and Derek fidgeted uncomfortably. "Um," Lizzie began but suddenly Edwin had a coughing fit, and Lizzie fell silent.
"Derek? Casey? Anything you want to say?" Nora asked knowingly.
Shit. Maybe they did know about everything. "No," Casey squeaked.
George narrowed his eyes. "Well then, perhaps you should know that I got a phone call at work today-"
"As did I," Nora added.
Derek sat up straighter in his chair. This did not sound good. He couldn't believe that Lassiter had called their parents at work! "NOW is there anything you want to say?" George asked.
"We didn't mean to!" Casey blurted out and Derek sighed in defeat.
"Mean to what?" Nora asked sharply.
"Uh…"
Derek stood up, "Okay, okay! You caught us…we skipped school today."
"And?" George prompted.
Damn, he knew about the detention, too? "And, we skipped detention," Derek admitted reluctantly.
Nora and George exchanged a look. "Anything else?"
Derek frowned, "Uh, what else is there to tell?"
"Where did you go?"
"The mall…" Derek answered slowly.
"I see," George said. After a short pause, he added, "That's all you have to say?"
Derek was becoming increasingly confused. They had basically admitted to everything-and there was no way he was about to bring up the stolen car, not when they were already in trouble. "Yeah, that's it," Derek confirmed, not making eye contact with Casey.
Nora and George exchanged another look. "So I guess we should discuss your punishment," Nora said.
Derek groaned again. "Isn't having to make up detention punishment enough?"
"No," George said sharply. "Let's see…how about no car privileges for a month? Does that sound fair to you, Nora?"
"Yes, I believe it does. Derek? You agree?"
"Yes," Derek muttered.
"Casey?"
"Yeah, it's fair," Casey said glumly.
"Well, I'm glad that's settled," George said, standing up and stretching. "Oh, and you're both still grounded," he added as an afterthought.
"Great," Derek said sarcastically as he clambered up the steps, eager to be alone. He paused outside his door to wait for Casey to come up. She reached the top of the stairs and he pointed silently at his room, Come in when it's safe. She nodded before going into her own room.
Casey stood inside her room for a few minutes to make sure that no one came upstairs to check on them. When it seemed like the coast was clear, she grabbed her cell phone and tiptoed to Derek's room. She knocked on it lightly and he opened it almost immediately, quickly checking the hallway before ushering her in.
"You didn't tell them about the car," Casey stated, trying not to sound too accusatory.
Derek flopped down on his bed, 'What, because we weren't in enough trouble already?"
"Well," Casey admitted, "Yeah, we were."
'Can you believe Lassiter!?" Derek said indignantly.
"No," Casey replied, frowning. "I didn't think he'd stoop so low."
"Well apparently he did."
Casey sat down in Derek's desk chair and swiveled around absentmindedly. She caught sight of Derek's cell phone, which was sitting on the desk and vibrating. "Hey, I think you have a text message," she said, picking it up and intending to toss it to Derek.
"No, don't throw it!" Derek exclaimed in mock terror. "With your aim, it'll most likely break through the window and land on the front porch."
"Haha, very funny," Casey said idly, examining the phone.
"Just read it out loud," Derek said, waving an arm in invitation.
Casey flipped open the phone. "It's from Kendra," she said, trying to sound normal.
Derek sat up in his bed, looking surprised. "Really?"
"Yeah…want me to throw it to you now?"
Derek raised an eyebrow, "No, you can still read it."
Casey nodded, knowing that Derek was trying to prove to her that Kendra didn't matter to him anymore. "Okay," she replied, clicking on open.
Kendra: hey D. heard about the car. u need any help getting it back?
"You told Kendra about the car?" Casey asked incredulously.
"No!" Derek snapped. "Huh, guess it must've been Truman…"
"Truman?" Casey asked skeptically. "Since when do they talk...?" she stopped, remembering that she had seen them talking outside her math class that morning.
"You've seen them talking?" Derek surmised from the expression on her face.
"Yeah, this morning," Casey admitted.
"Great," Derek muttered. "I bet he's telling everyone about how he pulled a prank on me…there goes my rep."
"What rep?"
Derek blinked, "Uh, my master prankster rep?"
Casey rolled her eyes, "Oh, I thought you might be referring to your 'tough-guy rep'."
Derek laughed, "Good times."
"Or," Casey continued, "Edwin's so-called 'stud rep'."
Derek frowned, "Oh yeah, I overheard him say that to you while I was hiding in your closet. I'm gonna have to speak to him one of these days."
"Maybe you should speak to Lizzie first," Casey said sharply, carefully watching Derek's expression. It turned from amused to wary almost instantly.
"Oh, I don't think so," Derek said, looking nervous.
"What was going on at dinner?" Casey pressed, hating her tone of voice. It sounded jealous, and she knew it.
Derek's face reddened slightly, "You know, I really have no idea."
"Right," Casey said, letting the subject drop for the time being. "Well anyway, we need to come up with a plan to deal with Truman."
Derek nodded, looking enormously relieved at the change in subject. "What do you think we should do?"
"You need to text him back," Casey said firmly.
"Why me!?"
"You need to show that you know who he is," Casey explained. "That's why he sent that text to your phone and not mines."
"Okay," Derek said, getting up and picking up his cell. He typed a few letters into his phone and then showed it to her. "How's this?"
Derek: i know who this is. hand over the car b4 this gets ugly.
Casey shrugged, "Sounds fine to me." She hit send.
Derek sat back down on his bed, holding his phone in his hand. Casey booted up his computer while they waited for Truman's reply. His phone vibrated suddenly. "Got it," Derek announced, clicking open.
Unknown Number: haha get ur sis to help u with this 1 D?
Derek: STEP sis buddy. im not playin around, wheres my car?
Casey rolled her eyes, "He sounds like he's having way too much fun with this whole thing, D."
"It's probably some elaborate ploy to get you back," Derek said listlessly.
Unknown Number: all in good time my friend. who do u think I am?
Derek: quit playing games truman. no one is interested.
Unknown Number: u sure about that?
Derek: ur number matches up with the 1 u gave casey
"He give up the details yet?" Casey yawned.
"No," Derek muttered, tapping his foot impatiently.
Truman: good job D. but i dont hav ur car.
Derek: nice try. i know u have it. hand it over.
"He's denying it," Derek informed Casey.
"Maybe you should threaten him," Casey suggested.
Derek laughed, "I thought you were the poster girl for peace."
"That's only my day job," Casey winked and Derek grinned. It was nice to see Casey in such a good mood. She did have a sense of humor, and he didn't understand why chose to be so serious all the time.
Truman: I don't have it D. honest. I just knew it was missing.
Derek: and how would u kno that?
Truman: I saw it get taken.
Derek shoved his phone at Casey. "What do you make of that?"
Casey stared at the screen for a few seconds, "Sounds like he was at the mall."
Derek: and where was it taken from?
Truman: the parking lot of the mall
"Yeah, he knows," Derek confirmed.
"Ugh," Casey groaned. "Do you think he's telling the truth?"
"Only one way to find out," Derek muttered.
Derek: u sound like a real stalker buddy.
Truman: bet casey doesn't mind. y don't u ask her.
"Truman wants to know if you mind him stalking you," Derek growled.
Casey rolled her eyes, "Let me take over this conversation, D. She quickly pulled out her own cell phone.
"Okay," Derek agreed. "I'm gonna try to get some info outta Kendra."
Derek: hey. thx, actually I could use the help.
Kendra: sure thing d, what do u need?
Derek: tell me how u knew my car was missing.
Kendra: Truman told me. he said he saw it happen.
Derek: so he doesn't have it?
Kendra: not 2 my knowledge.
Casey suddenly slammed her phone shut and Derek looked up, startled. "He's still denying it," she informed Derek. She handed her phone to Derek, who quickly scrolled through her texts:
Casey: no one likes to be stalked Truman.
Truman: caseyyy I miss u baby
Casey: F U wheres the damn car?
Truman: i told ur dear bro, i don't have it.
Derek frowned, "Kendra is sticking with Truman's side of the story."
"You believe her?"
Derek shrugged, "She doesn't have a reason to lie."
Casey nodded slowly and slumped on the bed next to Derek. "This is such a pain in the ass."
"Tell me about it," Derek replied, watching her close her eyes tiredly. "You need to relax," he said, gently rubbing one of her shoulders.
"Wanna help me?" she whispered, entwining his free hand with her own.
Derek froze, letting her push him backwards onto his bed. She climbed on top of him and nuzzled her face into his neck. "You're driving me crazy," he breathed into her ear, feeling his skin start to burn from the heat radiating from her body.
"Good," Casey replied, pressing herself more firmly into him.
Derek swallowed, automatically running his hands up and down her back, "Are you sure this is the most relaxing thing we could be doing?"
"Hmm?" Casey murmured, her soft lips brushing his earlobe. He shivered slightly and subtly slid his hands underneath the back of her shirt. He let his hand rest on her bra strap for a second, almost certain that she was going to push him away…but she didn't. Instead, she suddenly brought her mouth to his with crushing force and he gasped in surprise.
"Slow down," he murmured against her lips, but she either didn't hear him or didn't want to listen. "Slow-." She continued to kiss him, and Derek felt his blood stir with desire. "Casey…" She pressed her lips to his more firmly and he grabbed her hips and flipped them over so that she was lying beneath him. "Listen to me," he said urgently.
Her eyes were bright and her cheeks were flushed. "No," she insisted and grabbed his neck, pulling his lips to hers. Derek held himself above her body, his muscles straining with the effort. Casey stared up at him, looking surprised. Her voice heavy with emotion, she gasped out, "Don't you want this?"
He knew enough about girls to translate her question: Don't you want me? He brushed the hair out of her face, "Of course I want you," he said softly. "Always."
"Good," Casey replied, reaching up again.
"Wait," Derek insisted, trying to pull away from her. He struggled out of her grip and got off the bed, tripping slightly over his rumpled sheets.
"What's wrong?" Casey demanded, scrutinizing his face. "We're both virgins, you don't have to act-"
"It's not that," Derek said immediately, his face heating up.
"Then what is it?"
"I-I have a lot on my mind right now."
Casey stared at him in disbelief, "What?"
"The car, Truman, being grounded, hockey," Derek rattled off, counting on his fingers.
"Are you saying all those things are more important than…this?" Casey said, gesturing between them.
"No," Derek pleaded. "I just want our first time to be…special," he said, cringing at how corny he sounded.
"Right," Casey said, getting up. She looked pissed, and he didn't blame her.
He quickly crossed the room so that he was standing in front of his door. "As long as you're already angry," he began. "Maybe I should tell you what you want to know."
Casey paused, "What are you talking about?"
Derek shifted, staring at his feet. "Don't you want to know the reason I was ignoring you after we…slept together?" he said, for a lack of a better term.
Casey stared at him. "You're going to tell me now?" she asked slowly.
Derek nodded, "Yeah, I'll tell you now."
Chapter 7: The Disappearing Act
"Shit," Derek hissed. "No, don't turn around!"
Casey was staring at Derek, wondering if he had gone mad. His eyes were wide with…fear? "What's going on? Who are you looking at?" she asked urgently.
He was taking deep breaths, "Okay, don't turn around, but your mother is waiting in line at that smoothie place behind you."
"My moth-"
"-DON'T TURN AROUND!"
"What should we do?" Casey whispered.
He didn't take his eyes off a spot past her shoulder and slowly answered, "Okay, for starters, we need to get the hell out of here. Follow my lead." He crouched down and grabbed her hand, "Okay, she's ordering now. Let's go." He gave her arm a sharp tug and they quickly began walking out of the food court, not looking behind them.
Casey let Derek pull her along, feeling a thrill of excitement. Somehow Derek always managed to get them in these situations. And she loved it.
"What are you so happy about?"
Casey grinned, "Oh, this just reminds me of the good old days."
Derek raised an eyebrow questioningly, "What are you talking about?"
"Oh you know, like that time we snuck out of the house to go that party…and you crashed the new car," Casey teased.
Derek laughed, "That was so not my fault!"
"Keep telling yourself that, D."
He glanced over his shoulder. "I think we're in the clear."
"So…you want to head home, now?"
Derek rolled his eyes, "Still way too early, Case."
"Well then what do you want to do?" Casey asked, swinging her arm slightly. She stopped short when she realized Derek was still holding her hand. She glanced down and Derek followed her gaze. He quickly looked up again, but didn't let go.
"Um," he looked flustered, "Want to catch a movie or something?"
Casey studied his expression carefully. He looked…nervous? Was she making him nervous? That couldn't be it-this was Derek Venturi. She suddenly realized that he was staring at her expectantly. "Oh! Yeah a movie is fine," Casey said quickly.
"Cool," Derek said, looking inexplicably relieved. Still holding hands, they walked down the stairs and into the connecting movie theater. "So what do you want to see?"
Casey examined the posters warily, knowing that Derek would force her to watch some dumb horror flick if she didn't pick something. There were a couple of rom-coms showing, but that would just be too awkward to watch with Derek, who hated that sort of thing. "Um," she stalled.
Derek was tapping his foot impatiently, "We don't have all day, sweethea-" he broke off, his face reddening.
Casey pretended she hadn't heard. She knew it was a slip of the tongue…the only time Derek ever came to this movie theater was with a date. "Oh I don't know," she said, giving up. "You choose."
"Really?" he said hopefully, his expression identical to one of a five year old child presented with an ice cream cone before dinner.
"Yeah," Casey said, smiling slightly.
He grabbed her arm excitedly, "There's this new horror movie out that I really want to see-" Casey rolled her eyes. This should be interesting.
"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Derek said happily as the credits rolled on screen. There was no answer. "Uh, Case?" He turned to look at her, but her face was covered with his leather jacket. When did I give that to her? He frowned momentarily but quickly poked her in the shoulder. "Case-y," he drawled, knowing it would get her attention.
Sure enough, she poked her head out of the jacket, "Is it over?" she whispered.
Derek sighed in mock disappointment, "You are a failure to the Venturi name, Casey."
"I'm not a Venturi, Derek."
"Not yet," he said automatically. Her eyes widened and he flushed. Geez, he really had to start watching his mouth around her. "Well, anyway," he said quickly, to cover up the awkward moment, "That wasn't too scary…"
"Speak for yourself, D. I've never seen such gruesome-"
"Seen!?" Derek interjected, "I doubt you saw any of it, seeing as how you were cowering under my jacket-"
"I was NOT cowering, Derek!"
He chuckled, "Sure you weren't, Case."
"I was just-just looking for something," Casey stammered.
"Oh?" Derek said, grinning amusedly.
She quickly grabbed his jacket and made to stick her hand in one of the pockets. "NO," Derek shouted, snatching his jacket back.
She let go immediately, her eyes widening in surprise. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"
Derek quickly put on his jacket, avoiding her eyes. No way did he want her to find what he carried in that pocket. "Nothing, you know I don't like McDonalds invading my personal space." He briefly glanced up and saw a shade of hurt cross her face before it was replaced with annoyance.
"Fine," she snapped. "I won't make the mistake of touching your precious Venturi stuff again."
Derek ran a hand through his hair in embarrassment as several people turned to stare at them. "Okay, okay," he stage whispered, "Let's just get home." He made to grab her hand, but she crossed her arms, glaring at him. He rolled his eyes and led the way out back into the mall. He blinked as he stepped into the bright lighting of the mall, his eyes taking a second to adjust from the darkness of the movie theater.
"Do you think my mom went home yet?" Casey said, looking around worriedly.
Derek shrugged, "Depends, how long does she usually spend at the mall?"
Casey looked thoughtful, "Not that long. My mom isn't a fan of those crazy mall shoppers-"
"You mean people like you?" Derek interrupted.
Casey merely rolled her eyes, "Let's just check the parking lot and see if her car is still here."
Derek strolled into the parking lot, glancing around. Since it was the middle of the day, there weren't that many cars there. "I don't see any aquamarine cars, do you?"
Casey's eyes circled the parking lot before she answered, "Nope, I guess she went home."
"Okay," Derek said as he starting walking toward the row where he had parked the Prince. "Remember, Case, no telling Nora what we were up to today."
"I'm not stupid, Derek."
"I beg to differ."
Casey stuck her tongue out at him and he grinned, "Real mature, Case. You know, sometimes I wonder how you even got…" he trailed off, realizing she wasn't next to him anymore.
He turned around and saw her standing several feet behind him, her expression blank. Exasperated, he said loudly, "Pick up the pace, Case!"
She didn't say anything and instead pointed to a spot behind him. He felt his heart rate pick up considerably, "Oh god, is Nora behind me?" he hissed in a panicked voice.
She shook her head no and continued pointing. He turned around but didn't see anything. "Casey, this is why people think you're crazy. You're standing in the middle of a parking lot, pointing at thin air-"
"Look!" she suddenly shrieked, in a shrill voice. "Notice anything, different D?"
He turned around again, completely lost. "Um, no?" he tried.
She walked slowly until she was standing next to him and said in a pseudo calm voice, "Let me ask you this in a different way…Do you notice anything that's missing?"
A sudden thought entering his head, Derek whirled around quickly, his heart sinking when he realized what she was talking about. "Fuck!" he shouted, "Where the hell is my car?"
Chapter 8: Nothing Can Keep Us Apart
Casey stared at the now-empty spot of the parking lot. She didn't believe for a second that anyone would actually want to steal the Prince, especially when the parking lot was filled with much nicer and newer cars. And it certainly couldn't have been towed...She frowned, trying to think of another explanation. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Derek sway dangerously, his face pale. She immediately swung an arm around his shoulders, pulling him closer to her. "It's okay," she said soothingly. She knew that as much as he complained about the Prince, that car actually meant something to him.
Derek groaned, looking sick. "Dad's gonna kill me, Case!"
"It's okay, it'll all be okay," Casey repeated comfortingly.
"How do you know that?" Derek asked, looking desperate.
"Because," Casey said, thinking quickly, "The Derek I know wouldn't sit back and let someone pull a prank on him-he'd get revenge."
"A prank?' Derek repeated dully.
Casey nodded. It was the only logical conclusion she could think of…now the question was, who?
"Buy why would anyone want to play a prank on me?"
Casey shrugged, "I don't know, D. I think the real question is WHO would want to play a prank on you. And leave us stranded at the mall," she added ruefully, looking around at their surroundings.
Derek rolled his eyes, a faint hint of a smile at his lips, "We're hardly stranded, Case," he said, pulling away from under her arm, but grabbing her hand instead. "The bus stop's over there," he nodded toward the back of the building.
"But what are we going to tell our parents!?"
Derek glanced at his watch. "Don't worry," he said, "It's about the time we usually get home from school anyway. They'll never know where we've been."
"Aren't you going to tell them about the car?" Casey asked disbelievingly.
"Are you kidding me?" Derek exclaimed, looking incredulous. "I told you, my dad would literally kill me! I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm pretty sure he values that car more than he values my life-"
"I don't doubt that," Casey muttered. The Venturi men seemed to have unhealthy attachments to inanimate objects. For George, it was the Prince. For Derek, it was the TV.
"So I've been thinking," Derek began, as they reached the bus stop. "Who knew we were at the mall?"
Casey tilted her head, trying to think. "Well, no one really…"
Derek nodded, "Right. No one."
"Well, it's not like they had to know we were already here," Casey said reasonably. "I mean, they could've come here and just noticed your car."
Derek nodded again, "Right. So who do we know that came to the mall?" His eyes bored down at hers, clearly trying to tell her something. Casey stared at him for a few seconds, trying to understand what he was trying to say.
"Wait," she said slowly. "Are you saying that my mom stole your car!?"
Derek winced slightly. "Stole is a harsh word, Case."
"But still!" Casey said indignantly, "My mom wouldn't do that!"
"Wouldn't she?" Derek asked skeptically.
"There'd be no reason…" Casey trailed off, thinking, "You think she did it to teach us a lesson or something?"
Derek shrugged, "Seems like a reasonable idea to me. That's what I'd do to my kids."
Casey rolled her eyes, "God forbid we have little Derek Venturis running around some day."
"As if little keener McDonalds would be any better," Derek retorted.
"Well, at least my kids would be smart!"
"At least my kids would be cool!"
They both looked at each other for a second before breaking out into laughter. Derek chortled, "We could put their brains together, then they'd be smart and cool."
"The perfect combination," Casey said absentmindedly as the bus pulled to a stop in front of them.
"So what's the plan?
Derek snapped out of his daydream (which funnily enough involved little Derek Venturis running around). "Huh?"
"The plan Derek!" Casey said, looking exasperated as they stopped a few feet away from the front door to their house.
"Um, for what?"
"About the car!" Casey hissed
"Oh, right…okay, here's what we're going to do. You go in and distract Nora, and I'll go to the garage and see if the car is there." Casey nodded and quickly went into the house, shutting the door behind her. Derek walked stealthily to the back of the house, where he could slip into the garage through the basement. His adjusting to the dark, he squinted. He frowned when he saw what was there.
He walked slowly back into the house. Casey was waiting for him in the kitchen. "Well?" she demanded.
Derek shook his head, "The Prince isn't there. Neither is the other car."
"Yeah, my mom isn't back yet." Casey said, looking worried. "It's not like her to not be home when we get back from school."
"Well, who else is here?" Casey shrugged. Derek walked to the bottom of the stairs and bellowed, "EDWIN, LIZZIE!" He waited a few seconds, but no one answered. "Huh, guess no one's home yet."
"Doesn't that strike you as a little odd?" Casey asked, looking at him significantly.
"Uh," Derek said, "Not reall-" he broke off as the phone starting ringing. "No, don't answer it!" he said frantically to Casey, who had been reaching for the phone. "Let it go to the answering machine." Casey looked confused, and opened her mouth to say something. But, she abruptly shut it when the answering machine went off:
"Hello. This is Principal Lassiter. I am looking for Miss McDonald and Mr. Venturi as they have both neglected to show up for detention today.
"Shit," Derek and Casey said at the same time.
"…will of course be required to make up the detention after their two week sentence is over. Good day."
"Well that's great," Derek muttered under his breath as he hit the delete button. He sank down tiredly on the sofa next to Casey. She shifted slightly but didn't move away. He slid his jacket off and tossed it behind his head without looking. It landed neatly on the coat rack and Casey gave an amused chuckle, "Nice aim, Derek."
"Thanks," Derek said, not really listening. He was concentrating more on how his knee was touching Casey's. And how he could feel his skin burning. She had to feel it too, didn't she?
"How many detentions do you think he's going to give us for skipping this one?"
Apparently not. He pressed his leg more fully against hers, willing her to feel the sensation that he was feeling.
"Derek?"
"Hmm?" he said, shifting closer so their arms brushed against each other, enjoying the sparks of heat running along his body.
"I asked you how many-"
"I heard you," Derek interrupted. "I don't know."
"Oh." Casey said, folding her hands in her lap, and staring at them. Derek followed her gaze.
"Nice nail polish," he said off handedly. "It matches your…outfit."
"Thanks," Casey muttered, "It was supposed to."
"Red suits you," Derek said simply, choosing to close his mouth against the stream of thoughts crowding his mind. She looked hot.
He turned his head to catch her lips curve upwards slightly in regards to his compliment. Her cheeks heated to an irresistible pink when she caught his gaze and she quickly looked back down at her hands.
They were already sitting so close to each other that they might as well have been molded together. Derek could feel her warmth radiating all along the side of his body but he was desperate for more contact. Not knowing what he was doing, he put his hand on her knee and left it there, as though daring her to shake it off. She licked her lips and he followed the movement of her tongue hungrily. He was so close to her that he could see every detail of her flawless skin. He turned his head and stared at her neck, feeling a strong urge to lean forward the last couple of inches.
He moved his head forward, completely intoxicated. "You smell like lavender again," he murmured. He could've sworn he heard her heart beating wildly, or maybe that was him-
"Yeah, well, you did toss my other perfume out the window."
Derek smiled to himself and slid his arm slowly around her shoulders, pulling her gently into him. He brushed his lips once against her neck and felt her shiver slightly. Emboldened, he pressed his mouth more firmly against her skin and trailed light kisses along her neck until he reached her mouth. But, he didn't kiss her lips. For some reason, he felt like she had to make the first move there. He let their lips linger centimeters apart until she murmured something and moved forward and brushed her lips against his. "What did you say?" he said, not moving backwards.
"I said, 'what about Kendra'?"
"She's not a problem," Derek said firmly.
"Good," Casey said softly. "Neither is Trum-"
"No," Derek whispered urgently, not wanting her to lie to him. "It's okay, it doesn't matter now."
Casey looked slightly confused but she didn't press the issue. Derek leaned forward again and let his lips be captured by Casey's. He let her deepen the kiss, moving them backwards so that he was lying down and she was straddling him. Her hair fell over her shoulders, tickling the sides of his face. He grinned and pulled apart from her slightly, trying to breathe. "I don't even need air yet," Casey protested, leaning back so that he could sit up. She stayed where she was and curled her legs around him so that she effectively surrounded him. "Now you can't escape," she teased.
"I wouldn't want to," Derek said, breathing in deeply and letting himself drown in her scent. He reached up, playing with the loose strands of her hair. "I love your hair," Derek said absentmindedly. "It always feels so silky."
Casey grinned, "Yeah, but its getting way too long. I'm thinking of cutting it-"
"No," Derek protested immediately. "How am I supposed to play with short hair?"
"But it takes forever to wash long hair," Casey said, rolling her eyes.
"Then I'll wash it for you," Derek said automatically, without thinking. He only realized the implications of what he'd said when Casey's eyes widened slightly with surprise.
"That-that would be nice," Casey said hesitantly.
"Later," Derek said, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her forward so he could kiss her again. She suddenly frowned and started feeling around his pockets. "Whoa," he said jerking away when he felt her hand get a little too close to a certain part of his body. "What are doing, Case?"
"Something's vibrating," she muttered.
Derek suddenly felt his cell phone vibrating. He groaned and pushed her away slightly so he could get up. He struggled off the couch and dug his phone out of his pocket. "Maybe it's my dad," he said, flipping open his phone. Nope. It was a text message from an unknown number. He clicked open. His mouth dropped open in shock.
"What's wrong?" Casey asked, getting up to stand next to him. He wordlessly handed her his phone and she read the text out loud.
Unknown Number: Missing your car, Derek?
Chapter 9: A Tangled Web Woven
Casey kept staring at the text message while Derek paced back and forth furiously. "Think of it this way," Casey suggested, "at least now we know that someone really is playing a prank on you."
"Some prank." Derek snapped. "Pranks are supposed to be funny."
"No, they're only funny to the person actually pulling the prank," Casey disagreed, shaking her head. She stared at him pointedly, "And I'm speaking from experience."
Derek rolled his eyes but smiled slightly. "Well, I guess I have to go find this dumbass and…teach him a lesson," Derek said uncertainly.
Casey's eyebrows rose in surprise until she realized: Derek was usually the one pulling the strings; he'd never been in this position before, and he didn't know what to do. Casey grinned, maybe he'll learn something from all this after all.
"What are you smiling about?"
"Nothing," Casey replied quickly. "What's the plan?"
"Um…"
"Let's take a look at the number," Casey said kindly, taking in Derek's lost expression. He handed her his phone and she clicked to view the number, "Hmm."
"What is it?"
"It looks familiar," Casey said slowly, staring at the screen.
"One of your friends?" Derek asked sarcastically.
"I have plenty of friends," Casey shot back, feeling insulted. So what if she wasn't as popular as Derek? He didn't always have to rub it in…
His expression immediately sobered up when he got wind of her angry tone. "Okay, okay. I didn't mean that," he said hastily. Casey stared at him in surprise. Derek Venturi apologizing…that was strange. Guess he doesn't want to get on my bad side today.
She looked at him suddenly, an idea striking her. "You know, you're gonna need help with this."
Derek nodded, "So?"
"Your problems are my problems," she said firmly.
"Thanks for the support, Case," he said slowly, looking suspicious.
"On one condition," Casey continued.
Derek looked wary, "What's that?"
"You have to tell me."
"Tell you what?"
Casey took a deep breath, steeling herself. Don't back down. "Why did you leave me in bed by myself last week? I woke up alone-" Her breath hitched and she stopped talking, not daring to meet Derek's eyes.
There was deafening silence. Casey chanced a glance up. Derek had stiffened and his jaw was clenched. She could see that he definitely did not want to have this conversation. He met her eyes and she frowned when she recognized the fear in them. What is he so scared of?
"I c-can't…it's not-" he swallowed visibly. "It's not important…right now."
Casey stared at him in confusion. She had never seen him look so uncomfortable. She made her tone cold, "What, did you change your mind about wanting to be with me or something?"
Derek looked horrified, "No! It's not like that, I would never just…stop wanting to be with you." He paused. "I think today proved that," he said, pointing vaguely to the couch where they had been kissing a short while ago.
Casey flushed, but kept staring determinately at him. She needed this answer. "If you won't tell me, then I'm not going to help you," she reminded him.
Derek looked exasperated, "Have you ever thought that maybe it's best for both of us if I don't tell you?"
"What are you talking about?" Casey said, abruptly feeling nervous.
Derek took a few steps toward her and reached out to take her hand, his expression surprisingly gentle. "I promise I will tell you, soon. But for right now, can we just pretend it didn't happen?"
Casey snatched her hand away, tears sparking her eyes. "You want to pretend that the whole night didn't happen!?"
Derek bit his lip, looking nervous. "I meant everything I said that night," he said cautiously, as though he was afraid she was going to blow up any second. "I meant, let's forget the me-not-being-there when you woke up part."
Casey sighed, looking into his hopeful eyes. She could never say no to him. "I'll take your word for it," she conceded.
Derek looked enormously relieved. "That's great, Case."
"But," she warned, "You have to promise that you'll tell me the reason soon."
"I will," he promised, "very soon."
"Alright," Casey said briskly, taking out her own cell phone. "This is what we're going to do-"
"DEREK!"
Casey and Derek both jumped, whirling around at the sound of a slamming door. George was standing there, looking positively furious. Casey stared at him, wide-eyed. The last time she'd seen George looking so angry was when he'd received a phone call from their principal informing him that Derek and Casey were suspected as being involved in the fire alarm incident at school. Even Derek had been afraid to face his father's wrath then. But, what was the problem now?
"CASEY!"
"Mom?" Casey answered uncertainly as Nora came barging through the back door.
"WHERE ARE YOU?"
"In-in the living room," Casey stuttered, hearing the fury in her mother's voice.
"Oh, good," Nora said as she walked in to the living room. "You're all here."
Derek looked back and forth between Nora and George. "Uh, guys? What's going on here?"
"Yeah, mom, where have you been?"
"Don't you ask me questions, young lady," Nora snapped.
"So, Derek," George said loudly, "anything you want to tell me?"
"And Casey, anything you want to tell me?" Nora said, staring pointedly at her daughter.
Oh God, she knows we skipped school! Casey thought frantically.
Fuck, he knows the Prince is missing! Derek thought at the exact same time. This was not good.
"Well until you decide you have something to tell me, you can just go to your room," George bellowed.
"For what!?" Derek shouted indignantly. From behind him, he heard Casey cough warningly. Don't push it. "I-I mean, of course I'll go to my room," Derek said quickly as he starting running up the stairs. He distinctly heard Nora tell Casey to go to her room as well.
Derek slammed his door to show his dad that he was still angry. He heard Casey go into her room and slam the door as well. He waited a few seconds to make sure that neither of their parents followed them up the stairs before quickly slipping out of his room and knocking on Casey's door. "It's me," he whispered urgently.
Casey immediately opened the door and ushered him in. She quickly stuck her head out into the hallway and checked all directions before shutting the door softly. "Paranoid, much?" Derek said, watching her.
Casey shrugged, "Just making sure Edwin and Lizzie aren't out there spying on us or something. Edwin's been acting very strange." She paused, then added, "Stranger that usual, I mean."
Derek nodded thoughtfully, "You know, Lizzie's been acting really weird, too."
"Think something's up?"
Derek shrugged, "One problem at a time."
"You're right," Casey agreed. "I'd say the Prince is our main problem right now."
"What about the parental units?" Derek interjected.
Casey frowned, "Well, I guess they found out about us skipping school."
Derek choked, "What!? They told you that?"
"No…I'm just guessing. What else could it be?"
"They could know the Prince is missing," Derek pointed out.
Casey shrugged, not looking particularly worried. "Well, whatever it is, we'll find out at dinner."
"What are you talking about?"
"Mom said she'd discuss this further at dinner. Before she sent me to my room," Casey said, sounding annoyed.
"Great," Derek muttering, flopping down on Casey's bed in defeat. Suddenly he remembered the last time he had been lying on this bed. He almost sprang back up, but didn't want to make a big deal out of it, especially since they'd both agreed to forget that night for the time being. Forcing himself to stay where he was, he glanced up at Casey. She was staring at him apprehensively-probably expecting him to run out of her room screaming, or something.
"Care to join me?" Derek said nervously, patting the space on the bed next to him.
Casey shook her head. "No, we're not taking a nap, Derek," she said, sounding stern. "We have to find out whose number this is." With that, she pulled out her cell phone and began pressing some buttons, muttering to herself.
"What are you doing?"
"I know I've seen that number before," Casey explained. "So, I'm just going through all the numbers in my address book to see if any of them match up."
"Why don't we just call them back?"
Casey looked incredulous, "Without any sort of plan? I don't think so, D. We have to be smart about this, seeing as how this person clearly knows what he's doing." Casey paused. "Or she," she added, almost as an afterthought.
"Or them," Derek muttered.
Casey looked startled, "What, you think it's more than one person?"
"Could be," Derek said impassively.
Casey blinked a few times then returned to staring at her cell phone while Derek stared listlessly around her room. His gaze landed on a collage of pictures next to her bookshelf. Emily. Sam. Nora. Lizzie. Max. Kendra. George. Marti. Edwin. Noel. Some cheerleaders. Even Truman. Derek scanned the collage again, but didn't see himself anywhere on it. He frowned, trying to ignore the hurt feeling in his stomach. It's just some stupid collage, it doesn't matter, he told himself firmly.
"Aha!"
Derek leapt up. "You found a matching number?" he asked excitedly.
"Um…yeah." Casey didn't look very happy.
"Well?" Derek asked impatiently. "Whose number is it?"
"Truman's."
Chapter 10: Can't Read My Pokerface
Casey sat resignedly on her bed as Derek paced back and forth, fuming. "I knew it," he growled. "That scumbag-"
"Calm down, Derek."
"I will NOT calm down!" Derek hissed. "Your boyfriend just STOLE my car-"
"Ex-boyfriend," Casey interrupted, feeling her head pound with frustration. "Now instead of wasting time throwing around insults, why don't we try to come up with an actual plan?"
"Okay," Derek said, sitting down next to her. "Okay," he repeated, "We have to remember that Truman is a conniving jackass who would have no problem accidently "losing" my car..."
"A conniving jackass?" Casey said, rolling her eyes skeptically.
"Sure," Derek said dismissively. "Look at how he played you."
Trying not to feel insulted, Casey said in a hard tone, "That makes him a player, Derek."
"But he had to have been smart enough to play you."
Casey turned to him, aware of the surprise etched on her face. "Was that a compliment?"
"Maybe," he replied noncommittally.
Casey opened her mouth to reply but shut it when there was a knock on her door. "Yeah?" she called out nervously.
"It's me."
"Quick," Casey breathed, "Hide in my closet!" Derek shot her a disgusted look but quickly tiptoed to the closet. After making sure that it was closed securely, Casey opened her door, plastering a huge, fake smile on her face.
"Edwin!" Casey said, not opening the door fully. "What brings you here?"
Edwin smiled at her pleasantly, "I was just looking for Derek." He paused, "Do you know where he is?"
"Uh, n-no…why would I know where he is?" Casey stammered, feeling her cheeks flush.
Edwin edged closer to her, obviously trying to get into her room. But, Casey didn't move. "Uh, mind if I come in?"
"Well, the thing is-well, see, I'm grounded right now, so I don't think I can have visitors in my room," Casey said weakly.
"Oh?" Edwin replied, looking at her interestedly. "Want to talk about it?"
Casey frowned slightly. Since when was Edwin so…chatty? "Not really," she replied. "I don't even know why I'm stuck in here."
"Ah, yes," Edwin said, blinking innocently at her. "I believe Nora did say something about a family discussion during dinner."
Casey rolled her eyes, "Well, that should be fun."
"Always is."
She waited a few seconds, but Edwin didn't say anything else. Nor did he leave. Casey tapped her fingers against the doorframe impatiently, "Is there anything else you wanted?"
Edwin looked over his shoulder for a second before turning back to her with a big smile, "Um, so…Since Derek isn't around, I guess I'll have to talk to you."
"About what?" Casey asked suspiciously.
"Um." Edwin looked behind him again before stuttering, "Uh, gi-girl problems."
"Girl problems!?" Casey asked incredulously.
Edwin smirked, "What, you think a stud like me doesn't have girl problems?"
"A stud like you," Casey repeated dully. Man, what was Derek teaching this kid? She slowly pulled open her door, letting Edwin come in. "I'll help you, but only for a few minutes," Casey said sternly.
"Sure," Edwin nodded agreeably, looking curiously around her room.
Casey was watching him, "Why are you acting like you've never been in my room before?"
"Um, it just looks different from how I remember it."
"Oh," Casey said, strolling casually around her bed so that she was standing in front of her closet. She continued, "Yeah, I tried to remodel it a bit at the beginning of the year."
Edwin nodded thoughtfully, "You know, I kinda want to change my room around, too."
"Really?"
"Yeah…maybe something to go with my cool, older guy look," Edwin said, his voice sounding oddly high pitched. Casey's eyes narrowed; she knew how Edwin's voice changed drastically when he wasn't telling the truth. Hmm. But what could he be lying about right now?
Casey tried to smile, "Well, that's great, Ed. I firmly believe that one's room should reflect one's personality-"
"What do you think of Derek's room?" Edwin interrupted.
"What?"
Edwin shrugged, "What do you think of it?"
"It's uh…okay, I guess?" Casey said slowly, wondering what the fuck this kid was talking about.
"Just okay?"
"Well," Casey elaborated, "It's kinda disorganized, but it's not messy…"
"Okay, but what about the actual room…like his posters or the records on the wall?"
"I think it looks cool," Casey replied, without thinking.
Edwin brightened, "Yeah?"
"Uh, yeah…?" Casey was starting to wonder if Ed was on drugs.
"Cool," Edwin repeated happily. Just then, there was another knock on the door.
"It's me, open up!" Nora called, knocking loudly.
Casey gritted her teeth, not bothering to tell Edwin to hide. She swung the door open angrily, letting it bounce off the wall. "Can I help you?"
"Don't take that tone with me," her mother snapped, peering around Casey. "Edwin?"
"Oh yes…hi Nora," Edwin replied uncertainly.
"Where's your brother?"
"No idea," Edwin said promptly. "In fact, I was just in here asking Casey the same thing."
Nora turned to Casey, who felt her face begin to heat up. "A-a-and I told Edwin that I didn't know where Derek was."
"Uh, what are you guys all doing in Casey's room?" Lizzie said, stopping at the door.
"That's what I'd like to know," Casey snapped.
"Casey," her mother said warningly.
Casey threw up her hands in defeat and flopped down on her bed. "…say you're looking for Derek?" Lizzie was asking.
"Yeah, do you know where he is?" Edwin asked, staring intensely at Lizzie. Casey glanced between the two of them, wondering what was going on.
Lizzie returned Edwin's gaze for a few seconds before saying in a smug tone, "Actually, yeah. I think I saw him go downstairs."
Casey's eyebrow rose. What was this? Lizzie was covering for Derek?
Nora sighed dramatically, "Well he better be there. Dinner's in five minutes everyone, wash up." With that, she headed out the door, pausing only to knock on Derek's door uselessly.
Casey sat back up in her bed and coughed loudly to let Derek know that they weren't alone yet. "Sooo, Edwin…Lizzie…"
Lizzie didn't seem to be paying attention and was glaring at Edwin. "What are you doing in Casey's room?"
"I told you. I was looking for Derek."
"Fat chance," Lizzie scoffed. "You're usually the one hiding from Derek."
"I do NOT-"
"OKAY!" Casey shouted. "This is my room, both of you get out!"
"Sheesh, don't have a cow," Edwin muttered.
Lizzie, however, still didn't appear to hear her and followed Edwin out of the room, still arguing about something. Casey stared after them in a mixture of curiosity and exasperation before opening her closet. Derek was slumped on the floor, looking bored out of his mind. "Finally!"
"Sorry," Casey whispered. "But you gotta get downstairs right away before they notice you're not there…"
"Yeah, yeah," Derek muttered, slipping out of the closet and opening her door slowly. "The coast is clear," he said, giving a mock salute. Casey stared after him. He could be so weird sometimes.
She waited a few seconds before following Derek down the stairs. Lizzie and Edwin were already seated at the dining table next to each other, but they were both determinately looking at their empty plates. Derek caught her gaze and nodded slightly toward them, What's going on? Casey shrugged, No idea.
Edwin jumped up when he caught sight of them. "Casey! Let me get your seat," he said, bowing slightly. He pulled out the chair directly across from him and waved her into it. Casey glanced bewilderedly at Lizzie, who was staring at Edwin with an odd expression on her face. "Um, thanks Ed," Casey said uncertainly, taking the seat. Derek muttered something under his breath before throwing himself into the seat next to her.
Nora and George walked in at that moment and took their seats. "So," George began, and Casey inwardly cringed. But, he simply turned to Edwin, "How was your day?"
"It was fine, dad," Edwin said, shoveling food into his mouth, Derek-style.
"Uh-huh…you finish that research project?"
Edwin groaned, "I'm working on it."
"Well you better finish it soon…" Casey tuned out as George continued interrogating Edwin. She glanced at her mother, but Nora seemed to be listening intently to George and Edwin.
Suddenly Derek gave a muffled gasp and pushed his chair back roughly, his expression shocked. Casey turned to look at him, but no one else seemed to have noticed. Lizzie was calmly eating her salad and Edwin was still involved with convincing George that his project was going well. Derek didn't seem to notice Casey and instead looked wildly between Lizzie and Edwin, but neither of them looked at him. Derek slowly pulled his chair back to the table, looking wary.
Casey shrugged to herself and continued eating. She thought about asking Lizzie how school was going but she caught a glimpse of Lizzie's face; it looked like she was concentrating on something. Not wanting to interrupt her sister's train of thought, Casey shut her mouth again. She shifted slightly in her chair so she was closer to Derek and was surprised when she heard his labored breathing. What the fuck was wrong with him? She looked at him from the corner of her eye and noticed that his face was oddly red and his hand was clenched around his fork so tightly that his knuckles had turned white. There was a sound from under the table and Derek suddenly yelped, dropping his fork.
Everyone stopped talking and stared at up at Derek in complete astonishment.
"Uh, Derek?" Nora asked, clearly looking for an explanation. "Is something wrong?"
Derek's eyes were wide. "Um, I f-felt…" he trailed off, gesturing vaguely to the table.
"Felt what, D?" Edwin asked, looking confused.
Derek's face reddened and Casey frowned. She glanced carefully around the table, noticing that her expression of bewilderment was mirrored on everybody's faces…except…hmm. Lizzie still looked strangely calm and was eating her salad as though nothing had happened. How strange.
Chapter 11: If It's Meant To Be
Derek slowly sank back into his seat, very much aware that the whole family was still staring at him. He tried to catch Lizzie's eye, but she didn't look up from her salad. Damn her. "It was nothing," Derek finally said, fully aware of his unconvincing tone.
"Nothing," George repeated. Derek shrugged, not knowing what to say. He glanced up and saw Edwin look at Lizzie inquiringly. Derek couldn't see her face, but Edwin abruptly looked outraged. He stabbed at a piece of chicken on his plate with unnecessary force, and it went flying across the table- and hit Casey in the face.
"Ugh!" she squealed. "Edwin!"
Derek grinned as Edwin's eyes widened with horror, "Oops!" Casey rolled her eyes, looking disgusted. She picked up the piece of chicken and threw it back at Edwin. Unfortunately, her aim was so bad that the chicken hit the vase in the middle of the table, ricocheting and landing on Derek's plate. He shot Casey an amused glance before picking it off his plate and tossing it across the table without looking.
"De-rek!" Lizzie exclaimed as the chicken hit her on the forehead. Derek raised his eyebrows at her, almost as a dare. Want me to tell the family what you just did? She flashed him an innocent smile before calmly picking up the piece of chicken and placing it on Edwin's plate- who glanced between Derek and Lizzie, looking disgruntled. Derek turned to tell Casey that a five year old had a better throwing arm than she did, but decided not to when he caught sight of her expression. She was staring at Lizzie with a mixture of confusion and…hostility?
"That's it!" Nora said loudly. "No throwing food in this house!"
"Yeah, yeah," Edwin muttered. "We know."
George shook his head, "No, Edwin. You used to know. But somewhere along the way, it seems like all of you have completely forgotten basic house rules…which is why we're having a family meeting after dinner."
Derek groaned, "I thought the discussion was supposed to be during dinner."
"Well, now it's after," his father said in a don't-ask-questions voice.
"Alright, alright." Jeez, his dad was being more uptight than usual. Wonder what the meeting was going to be about…
1 HOUR LATER
Derek lounged in his chair, his eyes staring at the blank TV screen. Casey was sitting between Edwin and Lizzie on the couch. Nora and George were both sitting in front of them on the coffee table, looking very serious.
Nora began, "All right, well I think it's time to re-establish a few rules-"
"Like no throwing food at the dinner table," George interrupted, staring at his kids pointedly.
"And more importantly," Nora said, glancing at George, "We would like to remind you that there are no secrets in this house. We want you to feel like you can tell us anything, no matter what it is."
Derek glanced at Casey, Think they're onto us? She shrugged back slightly, looking worried; Sounds like it.
"That being said," George stared intently at everyone, "Is there anything that anybody would like to say?"
Edwin frowned, "Uh, about what?"
"Anything at all!" George said heartily.
Derek had serious misgivings about this whole conversation. He knew very well that Casey was the type to crack under pressure, and, well, an open invitation to share information was just asking for trouble…
The silence increased and Derek fidgeted uncomfortably. "Um," Lizzie began but suddenly Edwin had a coughing fit, and Lizzie fell silent.
"Derek? Casey? Anything you want to say?" Nora asked knowingly.
Shit. Maybe they did know about everything. "No," Casey squeaked.
George narrowed his eyes. "Well then, perhaps you should know that I got a phone call at work today-"
"As did I," Nora added.
Derek sat up straighter in his chair. This did not sound good. He couldn't believe that Lassiter had called their parents at work! "NOW is there anything you want to say?" George asked.
"We didn't mean to!" Casey blurted out and Derek sighed in defeat.
"Mean to what?" Nora asked sharply.
"Uh…"
Derek stood up, "Okay, okay! You caught us…we skipped school today."
"And?" George prompted.
Damn, he knew about the detention, too? "And, we skipped detention," Derek admitted reluctantly.
Nora and George exchanged a look. "Anything else?"
Derek frowned, "Uh, what else is there to tell?"
"Where did you go?"
"The mall…" Derek answered slowly.
"I see," George said. After a short pause, he added, "That's all you have to say?"
Derek was becoming increasingly confused. They had basically admitted to everything-and there was no way he was about to bring up the stolen car, not when they were already in trouble. "Yeah, that's it," Derek confirmed, not making eye contact with Casey.
Nora and George exchanged another look. "So I guess we should discuss your punishment," Nora said.
Derek groaned again. "Isn't having to make up detention punishment enough?"
"No," George said sharply. "Let's see…how about no car privileges for a month? Does that sound fair to you, Nora?"
"Yes, I believe it does. Derek? You agree?"
"Yes," Derek muttered.
"Casey?"
"Yeah, it's fair," Casey said glumly.
"Well, I'm glad that's settled," George said, standing up and stretching. "Oh, and you're both still grounded," he added as an afterthought.
"Great," Derek said sarcastically as he clambered up the steps, eager to be alone. He paused outside his door to wait for Casey to come up. She reached the top of the stairs and he pointed silently at his room, Come in when it's safe. She nodded before going into her own room.
Casey stood inside her room for a few minutes to make sure that no one came upstairs to check on them. When it seemed like the coast was clear, she grabbed her cell phone and tiptoed to Derek's room. She knocked on it lightly and he opened it almost immediately, quickly checking the hallway before ushering her in.
"You didn't tell them about the car," Casey stated, trying not to sound too accusatory.
Derek flopped down on his bed, 'What, because we weren't in enough trouble already?"
"Well," Casey admitted, "Yeah, we were."
'Can you believe Lassiter!?" Derek said indignantly.
"No," Casey replied, frowning. "I didn't think he'd stoop so low."
"Well apparently he did."
Casey sat down in Derek's desk chair and swiveled around absentmindedly. She caught sight of Derek's cell phone, which was sitting on the desk and vibrating. "Hey, I think you have a text message," she said, picking it up and intending to toss it to Derek.
"No, don't throw it!" Derek exclaimed in mock terror. "With your aim, it'll most likely break through the window and land on the front porch."
"Haha, very funny," Casey said idly, examining the phone.
"Just read it out loud," Derek said, waving an arm in invitation.
Casey flipped open the phone. "It's from Kendra," she said, trying to sound normal.
Derek sat up in his bed, looking surprised. "Really?"
"Yeah…want me to throw it to you now?"
Derek raised an eyebrow, "No, you can still read it."
Casey nodded, knowing that Derek was trying to prove to her that Kendra didn't matter to him anymore. "Okay," she replied, clicking on open.
Kendra: hey D. heard about the car. u need any help getting it back?
"You told Kendra about the car?" Casey asked incredulously.
"No!" Derek snapped. "Huh, guess it must've been Truman…"
"Truman?" Casey asked skeptically. "Since when do they talk...?" she stopped, remembering that she had seen them talking outside her math class that morning.
"You've seen them talking?" Derek surmised from the expression on her face.
"Yeah, this morning," Casey admitted.
"Great," Derek muttered. "I bet he's telling everyone about how he pulled a prank on me…there goes my rep."
"What rep?"
Derek blinked, "Uh, my master prankster rep?"
Casey rolled her eyes, "Oh, I thought you might be referring to your 'tough-guy rep'."
Derek laughed, "Good times."
"Or," Casey continued, "Edwin's so-called 'stud rep'."
Derek frowned, "Oh yeah, I overheard him say that to you while I was hiding in your closet. I'm gonna have to speak to him one of these days."
"Maybe you should speak to Lizzie first," Casey said sharply, carefully watching Derek's expression. It turned from amused to wary almost instantly.
"Oh, I don't think so," Derek said, looking nervous.
"What was going on at dinner?" Casey pressed, hating her tone of voice. It sounded jealous, and she knew it.
Derek's face reddened slightly, "You know, I really have no idea."
"Right," Casey said, letting the subject drop for the time being. "Well anyway, we need to come up with a plan to deal with Truman."
Derek nodded, looking enormously relieved at the change in subject. "What do you think we should do?"
"You need to text him back," Casey said firmly.
"Why me!?"
"You need to show that you know who he is," Casey explained. "That's why he sent that text to your phone and not mines."
"Okay," Derek said, getting up and picking up his cell. He typed a few letters into his phone and then showed it to her. "How's this?"
Derek: i know who this is. hand over the car b4 this gets ugly.
Casey shrugged, "Sounds fine to me." She hit send.
Derek sat back down on his bed, holding his phone in his hand. Casey booted up his computer while they waited for Truman's reply. His phone vibrated suddenly. "Got it," Derek announced, clicking open.
Unknown Number: haha get ur sis to help u with this 1 D?
Derek: STEP sis buddy. im not playin around, wheres my car?
Casey rolled her eyes, "He sounds like he's having way too much fun with this whole thing, D."
"It's probably some elaborate ploy to get you back," Derek said listlessly.
Unknown Number: all in good time my friend. who do u think I am?
Derek: quit playing games truman. no one is interested.
Unknown Number: u sure about that?
Derek: ur number matches up with the 1 u gave casey
"He give up the details yet?" Casey yawned.
"No," Derek muttered, tapping his foot impatiently.
Truman: good job D. but i dont hav ur car.
Derek: nice try. i know u have it. hand it over.
"He's denying it," Derek informed Casey.
"Maybe you should threaten him," Casey suggested.
Derek laughed, "I thought you were the poster girl for peace."
"That's only my day job," Casey winked and Derek grinned. It was nice to see Casey in such a good mood. She did have a sense of humor, and he didn't understand why chose to be so serious all the time.
Truman: I don't have it D. honest. I just knew it was missing.
Derek: and how would u kno that?
Truman: I saw it get taken.
Derek shoved his phone at Casey. "What do you make of that?"
Casey stared at the screen for a few seconds, "Sounds like he was at the mall."
Derek: and where was it taken from?
Truman: the parking lot of the mall
"Yeah, he knows," Derek confirmed.
"Ugh," Casey groaned. "Do you think he's telling the truth?"
"Only one way to find out," Derek muttered.
Derek: u sound like a real stalker buddy.
Truman: bet casey doesn't mind. y don't u ask her.
"Truman wants to know if you mind him stalking you," Derek growled.
Casey rolled her eyes, "Let me take over this conversation, D. She quickly pulled out her own cell phone.
"Okay," Derek agreed. "I'm gonna try to get some info outta Kendra."
Derek: hey. thx, actually I could use the help.
Kendra: sure thing d, what do u need?
Derek: tell me how u knew my car was missing.
Kendra: Truman told me. he said he saw it happen.
Derek: so he doesn't have it?
Kendra: not 2 my knowledge.
Casey suddenly slammed her phone shut and Derek looked up, startled. "He's still denying it," she informed Derek. She handed her phone to Derek, who quickly scrolled through her texts:
Casey: no one likes to be stalked Truman.
Truman: caseyyy I miss u baby
Casey: F U wheres the damn car?
Truman: i told ur dear bro, i don't have it.
Derek frowned, "Kendra is sticking with Truman's side of the story."
"You believe her?"
Derek shrugged, "She doesn't have a reason to lie."
Casey nodded slowly and slumped on the bed next to Derek. "This is such a pain in the ass."
"Tell me about it," Derek replied, watching her close her eyes tiredly. "You need to relax," he said, gently rubbing one of her shoulders.
"Wanna help me?" she whispered, entwining his free hand with her own.
Derek froze, letting her push him backwards onto his bed. She climbed on top of him and nuzzled her face into his neck. "You're driving me crazy," he breathed into her ear, feeling his skin start to burn from the heat radiating from her body.
"Good," Casey replied, pressing herself more firmly into him.
Derek swallowed, automatically running his hands up and down her back, "Are you sure this is the most relaxing thing we could be doing?"
"Hmm?" Casey murmured, her soft lips brushing his earlobe. He shivered slightly and subtly slid his hands underneath the back of her shirt. He let his hand rest on her bra strap for a second, almost certain that she was going to push him away…but she didn't. Instead, she suddenly brought her mouth to his with crushing force and he gasped in surprise.
"Slow down," he murmured against her lips, but she either didn't hear him or didn't want to listen. "Slow-." She continued to kiss him, and Derek felt his blood stir with desire. "Casey…" She pressed her lips to his more firmly and he grabbed her hips and flipped them over so that she was lying beneath him. "Listen to me," he said urgently.
Her eyes were bright and her cheeks were flushed. "No," she insisted and grabbed his neck, pulling his lips to hers. Derek held himself above her body, his muscles straining with the effort. Casey stared up at him, looking surprised. Her voice heavy with emotion, she gasped out, "Don't you want this?"
He knew enough about girls to translate her question: Don't you want me? He brushed the hair out of her face, "Of course I want you," he said softly. "Always."
"Good," Casey replied, reaching up again.
"Wait," Derek insisted, trying to pull away from her. He struggled out of her grip and got off the bed, tripping slightly over his rumpled sheets.
"What's wrong?" Casey demanded, scrutinizing his face. "We're both virgins, you don't have to act-"
"It's not that," Derek said immediately, his face heating up.
"Then what is it?"
"I-I have a lot on my mind right now."
Casey stared at him in disbelief, "What?"
"The car, Truman, being grounded, hockey," Derek rattled off, counting on his fingers.
"Are you saying all those things are more important than…this?" Casey said, gesturing between them.
"No," Derek pleaded. "I just want our first time to be…special," he said, cringing at how corny he sounded.
"Right," Casey said, getting up. She looked pissed, and he didn't blame her.
He quickly crossed the room so that he was standing in front of his door. "As long as you're already angry," he began. "Maybe I should tell you what you want to know."
Casey paused, "What are you talking about?"
Derek shifted, staring at his feet. "Don't you want to know the reason I was ignoring you after we…slept together?" he said, for a lack of a better term.
Casey stared at him. "You're going to tell me now?" she asked slowly.
Derek nodded, "Yeah, I'll tell you now."