Yeesh, I know it's been forever, and I keep saying I'll update soon, but this writer's block is a pain in my butt!

Hope y'all enjoy this one and leave me reviews, let me know how I'm doing!:)

Casey smiled sadly at nothing in her parent's back yard. She was sitting alone on the back patio, trying to clear her head. It wasn't really an occasion to be sad, really. It was all just very bitter sweet to her and she didn't want to kill the mood of the party, because it really was a time for everyone to be happy.

Derek just graduated college.
And she was so happy for him, because she never thought he'd see this day (not that she didn't really help him).

That wasn't the reason she was sad at all. Well partly, but that was the part that she was mostly just happy for him.

The bitter part of this sweetness was that she hadn't graduated. Because she'd taken her first year off to dance in New York. Though she'd never trade that year in for a thing, she did sort of regret not going straight to college.

Another hard part of it all was she knew she was going to miss him. Derek, that is.
Her year in New York was hard enough as it was. She was used to coming home to him and asking for his harsh advice (although she often acted like she didn't need it). It was just a comfort to her.
And once she made it to Queens, they fell right back into their usual routine of banter and pranks. It was perfect, really.

And now he was going to be gone. She hadn't realized how much she relied on him for her sanity, though she'd never admit that out loud. And with that thought, she sighed again, and rested her chin on her knees, hugging them to her chest as if she was trying to hold herself together.

"Do you have to make everything about you?" Derek was suddenly just there beside her. She didn't even hear him open the door.

"It is my main mission in life." She cracked a smile up at him, and pat the spot next to her. He took it, and nudged his shoulder against hers.

"So what are you doing out here? Party is actually pretty cool, considering you helped plan it." he shrugged, taking a drink of his beer.

"Just needed some fresh air." she gazed back at their yard.

Derek studied her for a while, and he knew exactly what was eating her. They'd both avoided the conversation. The actuality of them permanently being apart for the rest of their lives was here and neither one was prepared. Change was hard on Casey, and though he'd never say it out loud, it was sort of hard on him, too.
When she'd left him to go dance for a year, he felt as if she had taken part of him with her. It took him a few months to find his own groove on campus, but even then he wasn't giving his full 100%. So when she'd come back, he almost mauled her, but kept it to a casual 'Well you didn't get any uglier.' Because that was their dynamic, and even after he'd said that, she still cracked a smile at him and blushed, not forgetting to shove him lightly.

And now, he was done. There was nothing left, and he actually had jobs lined up to choose from. It was his turn to leave her behind, but he didn't know if he had it in him to do it.

"You have the rest of your life for fresh air, Princess. Come back to the party." He was a lot closer now. His chin was resting one her shoulder as he leaned over her, his arm behind her for support.

"I just need a few more minutes." She whispered.

Derek sighed heavily, and backed away from her, standing straight up. "You know..." He paced for a little bit beside her. "We're adults, Case."

"Well one of us is, anyways." she teased him.

"No, I'm serious. We're adults. Why is this so hard to talk about?" He grabbed for her hand so she could stand up, too.

"Talk about what, Der?" she asked softly, tilting her chin down.

"You know what I mean, don't play dumb. You're smarter than this." he grabbed her shoulders and shook her lightly. "I'm going to miss you, too." he nodded at her sadly.

Casey let the tears she'd been holding back all night slide down her cheeks, and she covered her face. "De-rek! Don't make me cry."

"It's okay to cry, Case. We've been inseparable for like seven years, other than that one that you left, but really...we're all we know. This," He gestured between them, "is all I know."

She nodded with a sniffle. "I just don't know what to do without you. It's very...unsettling how I just...rely on you for everything. How I need you there for every decision I make." she shook her head, and backed away from him, turning around because she hated him seeing her so weak.

Derek didn't let her put a wall up. He walked up behind her and placed an arm around her waist with a palm resting against her belly, resting his chin in the crook of her neck.
"Don't hide from me, Casey. Everything you're feeling, I guarantee I'm feeling the same exact thing." and he felt her relax against him with a sigh. His hand rubbed up and down her belly.

"You're so drunk..." she chuckled. They both were, really, but Derek was the one that got handsy when he wasn't in good form.

"Am not." she could feel his smirk against her neck and his hand pull her tighter against him.

"De-rek!" she giggled, pulling away from his arms, managing it but he still ended up grabbing for her hand and holding onto it.

"Case. I have something to tell you." He nodded, and looked back through the window of the house, wincing. "But it can't be here. No...They'll hear us." he looked around, and his gaze stopped somewhere. "The Davis' treehouse. C'mon."

Before she could even try to object, he was yanking her across to Emily's back yard to the small treehouse back there.

"But Der-" He shushed her and pushed her by her ass so she could hurry up climbing up the latter of the small wooden home. She grumbled and climbed faster. "We're not both going to fit comfortably!" she whisper-yelled at him as he rushed up as well as he could in the dark and slightly buzzed.

"Shut up and scootch!" he told her with the same tone of voice. It was a tight squeeze, but they both barely fit with their backs on either side of the treehouse, sitting Indian style and facing one another.

"What are we doing up here?" she whined. "The Davis' already hate you for ruining their poor garden year after year. You don't need to add to it!"

"I got a job." Derek avoided everything she just said, because really he didn't care what the Davis' thought of him.

"You what?"

"I got a job. Accepted one of the offers, actually."

"You going to elaborate, or-"

"You're the first person I'm telling." He sighed heavily. "Dad told me not to make any decisions without him looking over contracts, but I knew right when I'd gone in for my interview that this was the one for me."

"Derek...that's great." Casey hesitated, but she leaned over and wrapped her arms around him. She didn't want him to see the disappointment on her face. She knew the place he most wanted to work was in the states. He'd ranted about it for the last few weeks that that was where he knew he'd accept the offer.
She squeezed her eyes tightly and sighed against his neck.

"It's only about thirty minutes away from Kingston, and I figured I'd just stay at the apartment. I just needed to run that by you."

Casey backed away from him quickly, almost hitting her back against the wall of the treehouse, but stopping herself.

"Wait, what? Derek, I thought you were going to California...that's your dream job..." she shook her head at him.

"I found a better offer at a smaller production office." he shrugged. "You know I'm not that interested in the big movies."

"B-But you were ranting for weeks that this was what you were made for..." she shook her head, trying to make sense of what he was saying to her.

"No, Casey." he shook his head with a smile. "I found an even better offer close to home, and twice the pay and the right amount of opportunities that I need to start off with." he cupped her face in his hands, and wiped her tears with his thumbs.

"Why didn't you say anything sooner? This whole time, I thought you were leaving me-uh-Canada-us-the family, I mean..." she stammered.

"I didn't want to get my hopes up. California said yes right away, and I really was happy about that, but the one near home is what I'd been waiting for for weeks, and finally got the call today that I was what they were looking for. Plus, dad was way more comfortable with this place than me going to California."

Casey sighed a heavy sigh of relief, and couldn't contain the smile that spread over her face. "That's amazing, Der. I'm so happy for you. Happy that you're staying." she tried to hold in her happy sob, and she flung her arms around him again.

"You don't mind me staying with you, though, right? I mean, I can find another apartment, but I'd rather not go through the trouble." He murmured against her shoulder as she didn't let go of him yet.

"You're not sick of me at all, are you?" she laughed lightly, slowly backing away from him.

"Casey, if I was sick of you, I wouldn't have gone through all of this trouble just to get you alone in this treehouse."

"It really wasn't trouble, you kind of just dragged me over here against my will. I mean, we could get arrested. How do you always get me to do stupid-" her rant was cut short by Derek's lips against hers.

Instead of her pushing him away and slapping him right in the face (which was exactly what Derek had prepared for), she relaxed and dug her fingers into his hair, while her other hand clutched his shirt at his chest tight. Soon enough the sweet kisses became urgent, and their breathing became heavy as they quickly grabbed each other's bodies as fast as they can as if the other person was going to vanish right before them.

"I love you so much, Casey..." he rushed between kisses. "I've loved you since the wedding..."

Casey didn't flinch. "I've loved you since we tried to break up the wedding." a giggle escaped her lips, and Derek caught it with his lips desperately.

About an hour later, they both left the treehouse extremely satisfied. Casey of course felt slightly embarrassed, but satisfied nonetheless.

Derek held her hand as she took the last step off the latter, and he helped her straighten her dress up, also tucking loose strands of hair behind her ear. She looked up at him, and even in the moon light, he could see a blush spread throughout her cheeks.

"I can't believe we did that. I'm pretty sure Em's brother still plays in that thing." Casey shook her head, and looked back up at the treehouse, and she knew that every time she'd look at it she'd remember her's and Derek's silent passion that they shared in there. Well...as silent as they both could get.

"We were just breaking it in is all." He shrugged, leaning down to press another kiss to her lips.

"Did you mean everything you said up there. How you feel about me, you mean?" Casey asked uneasily as they made their way back to the spot on the back patio.

"Of course, Casey. Damn, you think I'd just say what I needed to so I could get laid?" He teased her. She cocked an eyebrow up at him and he grabbed his chest in mock pain. "I'm wounded!"

"Oh, shut it, Venturi." she shoved at his chest, and he caught her hand.

"Of course I meant it, Casey. I wouldn't say shit like that if I didn't mean it. I really do. Love you, I mean." he shrugged, putting his arms around her waist. she placed both palms to his chest and stared up at him.

"You promise you didn't take that job just to be closer to me, right? You took it because it was the right job...right?" she asked uneasily. She would hate herself forever if he'd just taken a second-rate job just so he could be near her. She wouldn't be able to handle it if Derek began to resent her.

"Spacey, I took that job because it was the better choice. The fact that it's near you is what made it even more appealing." he assured her.

"And if California had been the better choice?"

"I would've gone to California." he said automatically. "We would have been able to do the long distance thing, you know." he said confidently.

"You think so?" he nodded, and Casey smiled. "I mean, I could easily have just found some guy and married him if you'd gone to California. Had a few kids, gotten old with him..."

"You'd have cheated on him with me, though. You'd always have me around and our unresolved sexual tension. It would be just a matter of time. You'd be forced to see me every holiday, and it would drive you nuts that you couldn't have me, and of course I'd probably pin you in the laundry room..." he leaned his head near her ear, "and fuck your brains out..."

"Ugh...I hate when you're right. Eh, I guess it's better we started off this way, then. Save from all the trouble and guilt, I guess." she shrugged.

"Exactly, and we don't have to wait until Christmas to screw each other senseless. We could just do it whenever we want to now." He slung an arm around her shoulder as they both made their way inside the house.

"Shut up and let's get back to this party, Der." Casey scolded him, but couldn't help the smile that crept up on her lips because she was relieved that she didn't have to think of not being with Derek.

Honestly if he'd gone to California, she'd have ran straight for him once she graduated. She really couldn't stay away from him for long.

Yayy, cheesey ending, I know. Sorry.

Please review.

Feel free to message me if you have an idea you wouldn't mind me making into a one-shot. I'm into romance drama stuff.

idk, just let me know what's up!

I'm trying so hard on my other two stories I have on here. Give me time, I swear I'll update them eventually.

I actually know how I'm ending The Cure, I just need stuff to fill in the spaces in-between haha.

Anyway, take care and again please review! Hope you all had a safe spring break!