Hey guys. Chapter three is finally up!

Disclamer: I don't own Life With Derek, which should probably be considered a good thing.

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The pool had been closed for three days. Painting job. Casey had to go all weekend just itching to get in the water. It hadn't become a Friday routine any more - she was at the pool at least four or five days a week now. As soon as she got word that it was running again, she jogged the half mile to the YMCA, eager to practice her strokes. The janitor smiled knowingly upon seeing her and silently opened the door to the pool, then turned to continue his rounds. Casey took a moment and stared at the familiar area, then flicked the lights, bathing the giant room in flourescence. She set her backpack down and zipped it open, grabbing the towel in the front pocket. She padded over to the side of the pool and took a deep breath.

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"Lizzie, do me a favor and go get Casey," Nora said to Lizzie who was seated at the table trying to do her math homework. Lizzie sighed and ran to the bottom of the stairs. "CASEY! GET DOWN HERE!" Lizzie yelled at the top of her lungs. Nora cringed.

"What happened to my quiet little girl?" she asked rhetorically.

"I was never quiet," Lizzie replied with a laugh, and picked up her pencil, going back to long division. They waited for awhile, but Casey never came down.

"I need her to babysit!" Nora complained. Lizzie thought for a moment.

"Maybe she's at the pool," she commented.

"She spends too much time there," Nora replied, more to herself than Lizzie.

"Go tell Derek to pick her up," Nora said. Lizzie sighed and ran upstairs, wondering when she'd get her homework done.

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Casey stepped up to the diving board and tipped her face up a little. She decided to do nothing special, no dives or anything, just a simple jump. She backed up a few steps and ran.

Her feet left the board and she went up, up, up. For a split second, at the top of her arc, she felt like she was actually flying. Like the feeling you get on a swing, when you're at your highest. She opened her eyes for a quick fraction of a second and saw the blur of colors in front of her as she went sailing through the air. Then her feet made contact with the water. As soon as her head left the surface, she found herself unconciously curling herself inward. When she her feet hit the concrete twelve feet under, she pushed up with all her might and went shooting through the water. She spread herself out, holding her arms high above her head. She was like a bird hatching from an egg, or a butterfly bursting free from a cocoon. She felt amazingly free, and for the first time in a long, long while...happy.

Casey's graceful form suddenly burst through the liquid surface. A million glittering drops flew in all directions, and they caught in the brilliant light radiating down from the ceiling. Casey took a gasping breath, than swam rapidly over to the side of the pool. She pulled herself up and sat on the diving block, needing to reflect for a second. She was unaware of the person watching at the doorway. She absentmindedly ran her fingers through her dark hair and bit her lip. For the first time since she began swimming that day, she was thinking almost clearly. Casey curls her knees together and wraps her arms around herself, kind of like giving herself a hug. She feels...strangely...content. Casey had almost forgotten what that felt like. I guess that's what it's like to be depressed.

While Casey is thinking rationally and clearly, Derek's head is reeling. He's seeing a video in his mind - it's on a loop. He keeps seeing her as she flies in midair, the loud splash sound that erupted as she hit the glittering water. He never thought that the girl whom he loved to hate could ever look that beautiful...

He walked down the dark, empty hallway that led to the pool, inwardly complaining that his video game had been interrupted just so he could pick up Princess Casey from her precious swimming session. As he approached the window he saw her standing on the diving board out of the corner of his eye, but he was too distracted with thoughts to really care. But when he finally reached the door and put his hand on the knob...he found he couldn't move. Or take his eyes off her...

Out of the three people occupying the building at that moment, one girl, one boy, one janitor, they all feel different. One is feeling clean, free, and content for the first time in a while. One is hypnotized, melancholy, and confused for the first time in a while. But I guess that's just love.

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OK, there's the ending. I was swimming the other day so I got the idea for it just as I was doing what Casey was - the whole jumping up from the bottom. I love that feeling, don't you? Anyway, I don't really like the last paragraph, but whatever. :) I live on reviews - please don't starve me. :)