Twice in a Lifetime

Chapter Ten

Nunda

/A.N./ Wow, so this is it. The final chapter. Thanks to all those who've kept reading and sending me encouraging messages! (You know who you are!)

For those of you who wanted your treat, you'll have to wait 'til the end. No cheating.

Disclaimer: I own the Life With Derek show. 'Tis true. And if you believe that you don't need to be on a website for fanfiction. :)

Lyrics are from, Dashboard Confessional's "Stolen"

.oO00Oo.

Waiting downstairs, Derek glanced nervously at his watch. What if she'd changed her mind? What if going to the Valentine's Dance with her step-brother was not her idea of a fun time? What was taking so long?

The doorbell rang and Derek jumped to get the door. It was Emily and Trevor. Emily was wearing a short gray and black gothic-inspired dress with hot pink trim. Her hair was pulled back with a few wispy curls hanging down in front. Derek was impressed—Trevor was bringing out the best in her.

"Where's Casey?" Emily asked.

Derek shrugged. "She's been locked in her room for hours now."

Emily immediately charged upstairs, leaving Derek to make small talk with Trevor. Trevor was wearing all black, of course, but at least he had on a tux. Even if his wallet chain still hung by his side.

"You rented the limo, right?" Derek asked.

"Yeah, man. It should be on the way."

Nora and George walked up the basement stairs and entered the living room. Nora was carrying a camera.

"Casey's not out yet?" Nora asked.

Derek shook his head, "I guess beauty takes time."

Nora frowned.

"Not that she's not beautiful before all that make-up stuff." Derek said quickly. "I mean, I've seen her at seven o'clock in the morning and I'm still willing to be seen with her in public."

"Derek, you're digging it deeper." George said.

"Dude." Trevor shook his head.

"Maybe I should go up there." Nora said with a furrowed brow.

"Emily's up there now." Derek said. "If she can't get her to come down then I'll just leave without her."

.oO00Oo.

"Casey, you look perfect." Emily said for the fifth time since she barged through Casey's bedroom door.

Casey swiped a shimmery eyeshadow over her eyelids and stepped back from the mirror.

"What are the kids at J.S. Thompson High going to think when I walk into the dance with my step-brother?" Casey inquired.

"That it's about time." Emily said. "The very few girls that Derek hasn't dated yet will be pissed because they still think they have a shot."

"He has dated a lot of girls, hasn't he?" Casey sat down on her bed.

Emily sat next to her and grabbed her hand.

"I've known Derek for a long time. " Emily said. "And I've had a crush on him for just as long. But I can tell you, I have never seen him look at another girl the way he looks at you."

"What do you mean?" Casey asked with a smile on her lips.

"The way Trevor looks at me. It's a mixture of happiness and being scared." She replied.

"Scared?" Casey echoed.

"Yeah, scared that he could lose you. That another guy could sweep in and steal you away. That he is not worthy of your affections." Emily stood up and held her hand out to Casey, "Are you ready to go?"

Casey took a deep breath. "I guess so."

She took Emily's hand and they walked downstairs together.

"Casey looks like a princess!" Marti said, bouncing in the room. Lizzie, who'd been entertaining Marti with a round of Go Fish with Edwin, raced in to wrangle the rambunctious six year old back into the dining room. Nora had requested that all the younger children let the older ones have some space.

Nora snapped photos while Derek stood in a stunned silence. The socially awkward girl that he'd once called Klutzilla stood before him as a beautiful woman. The light pink dress fell to her knees in an A-line skirt.

"You're gorgeous." Derek whispered so only Casey could hear as he slipped on the corsage on her wrist.

"You're not too bad yourself." She whispered back. She'd almost expected him to be wearing a tuxedo T-shirt. Even though his hair looked like he'd just rolled out of bed, in that sexy bed-head way, he was wearing a nice black tuxedo with a black vest underneath. The vest had tiny pink dots on it that matched Casey's dress and his tie, of course, was the same shade of pink.

Casey was very impressed with his color-matching abilities.

"Let's get a few pictures of the couples together." Nora said.

The four teens posed for an impromptu photo session.

Outside, a horn honked signaling the arrival of the limo.

"Time to go!" Derek yelled.

The teenagers all piled outside.

"A limo!" Both Emily and Casey squealed.

Derek and Trevor high-fived and piled into the limo after the girls.

Derek opened a bottle of sparkling white grape juice and poured four champagne glasses.

"To the best night ever." Emily toasted. They all clinked their glasses and drank the light, fizzy liquid.

…
And from the ballroom floor we are in celebration
One good stretch before our hibernation
Our dreams assured and we all, will sleep well, sleep well
…

Derek rode with his arm around Casey all the way to the school.

"Are you ready for this?" He whispered to Casey as they pulled up to the gymnasium.

"Absolutely." Casey said.

Derek and Casey fell behind Trevor and Emily as they walked into the gymnasium. Derek still had his arm tightly around Casey's waist.

They were stunned at the transformation of their gymnasium. The dance committee had hung tiny white lights everywhere and filled pink, white, and red balloons in little clusters all over the gym.

Immediately upon entering, Derek was asked to dance.

"No thanks." He said, grabbing Casey's hand. "I've got a dance partner."

Casey watched as the girl's jaw hit the floor. Casey smiled at her apologetically before Derek dragged her over to his circle of friends.

Casey listened in boredom as they talked about hockey terms that Casey didn't understand. Casey held onto Derek and listened as Derek laughed with his friends. So this is what it was like in Derek's world. This is what it was like at the top. The other girlfriends eyed Casey with envy.

She glanced across the room for Emily. She found her on the dance floor, cuddled up to Trevor.

"Let's dance." Casey whispered in Derek's ear. Derek nodded and slapped a few high-fives and secret handshakes.

"I'm not really good at dancing." Derek said once they got out of earshot from his friends.

"Don't worry about it." Casey said. "Follow my lead."

…
I watch you spin around in the highest heels
You are the best one, of the best ones
We all look like we feel
…

Casey wrapped her arms around Derek's neck and instructed him to wrap his arms around her waist.

"You smell nice." Casey said as she leaned her head on his shoulder.

"You smell like strawberries." Derek replied.

Casey laughed, "That's my shampoo."

"I know." Derek said.

"Is there anything you don't know about me?" Casey demanded in a playful tone.

"Mmmm…nope." Derek shook his head. "See that's the advantage of living with your girlfriend. You know all her secrets."

"First of all, you don't know all of my secrets." Casey said with a twirl. "And secondly, since when did I become your girlfriend?"

"Since right now." Derek said, lightly kissing Casey's perfect mouth.

Casey pulled back and looked into Derek's dark brown eyes. She was stunned at the amount of electricity that raced through that one kiss.

"Come on," Derek said pleadingly. "Let's make them a little more jealous."

Casey stopped moving and leaned into Derek for another kiss. This time it was deeper as Casey ran her hands through the back of his hair.

"Ahem" They heard behind them. They unlocked lips and looked up. The principal was standing with his hands behind his back.

"You know the rules, Venturi." He said. "No making out on the dance floor."

"Or what?" Derek challenged him.

"Detention for a week." Principal Harrison raised his eyebrows.

"I'll take it." Derek said as he pulled Casey in for another kiss. Her eyes went wide as she reluctantly pushed him off of her.

"I can't get detention." She hissed.

Principal Harrison walked away, shaking his head. The kid had guts; he had to give him that. He only wished he could've been a little more like him in high school.

"Let's walk outside for a minute." Derek said, lacing his fingers with Casey's.

They walked out to a gazebo in the picnic area that also was adorned with the white twinkle lights. It was dark outside so the lights blended in with the stars in the sky. It was very beautiful and romantic in Casey's opinion.

"How do I know you're not going to cheat on me?" Casey said, voicing the concerns weighing on her mind.

"Casey," Derek said. "You have seen me go on multiple dates but you have never seen me have multiple girlfriends."

Derek stood behind her and wrapped his arms tightly around her.

"Okay," Casey said. "Keep talking."

He rubbed his hands up and down her bare arms sending chills down her spine.

"Somehow, I knew this was going to come up." Derek said. "So I got this."

Casey turned around, still fully in his grasp, and faced him.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box.

"You know me, Case—every bad thing and every good thing." He fumbled with the box. "Hopefully by now the good outweighs the bad."

Casey nodded, feeling tears form in her eyes.

He opened the box. Inside was a plain, silver band.

"Try it on." Derek said. It fit perfectly on Casey's second finger. "There's an inscription."

Casey slipped the ring off and read the inscription.

Since Day One

"What does that mean?" Casey inquired.

"I have been in love you since day one." Derek said. "I was too stupid to actually admit it. Instead, I fought my best friend for you, threatened to kill or maim anyone else who came near you, and pretty much tortured you just so I could get a reaction from you."

She slipped the ring back over her finger, and Derek twisted it around until she could see the inscription on the top. Derek & Casey. Casey smiled at him.

"'Derek and Casey' has a nice ring to it, huh?" She said. They were still inches away from each other.

"The ring was your dad's wedding ring." Derek said. "Your mom gave it to me and I had it resized and inscribed."

Casey looked up him in surprise, "Derek…that is so sweet."

"I just wanted you to know how serious I am about us." He responded.

Casey pulled him into another kiss—her tongue searched his mouth longingly.

"I love you, Casey." Derek said after they pulled apart. "I always have."

"I love you too." She replied.

"We better get back inside before Emily sends out a search party." He said, nodding towards the gymnasium.

"Or your legion of bimbos." Casey joked.

"Trust me, you have your own legion. They've all just been threatened by me to leave you alone." He replied, taking her hand in his and walking across the lawn to the gym.

"I have a legion?" Casey said in mock-excitement. "Of male-bimbos?"

Derek laughed, "Welcome to the top, girl. You're with me now."

"Egotistical, much?" Casey chided.

Derek pushed the double doors open and held the door for Casey.

"Why not? I'm the captain of the team, I have a legion of bimbos, and now I have the best damn girl at J.S. Thompson High." He said, grabbing her hand again as they made their way through the crowd to find Emily and Trevor.

"There you are!" Emily hugged her friend. "I was about to send out a search party."

Casey and Derek exchanged glances and busted out laughing.

"What?" Emily said, puzzled. "Did I miss something?"

Which just made them laugh even more.

Derek wrapped his arms around Casey and said, "Follow my lead."

He led her out on the dance floor.

"I thought you couldn't dance?" Casey asked him.

"I had a good teacher." He replied as they danced to the catchy song. Derek mouthed the words to Casey.

…
You have stolen
You have stolen
You have stolen my heart
…

THE END!!!!!

Review and let me know what you guys think! I love you all!!

/A.N.2/ Sorry to get all mushy on you guys, but that's where this story has been heading all along. ;) So, here's your special treat! I've got to figure a way that FF net will let me put this…

www(dot)youtube(dot)com(forward slash) watch?v(equals)rEabCylOm0I

Just ya know, take out the parenthesis and put the actual dot lol.

I also have three (yes three) very different chapter fics on the way, so keep your eyes open for them soon!