Closer
Chapter Two
Time and Distance

Trying to contain her excitement, Casey parked her car close to the house. She hoped someone at home was willing enough to help her bring all her stuff in. It was rather cold. She beeped, signaling her arrival, and not a minute later, she spotted George waving happily at her from the doorway. He was wearing his jacket and made his way to the car. She fastened her own coat and stepped out of the car to hug him. They exchanged niceties. She felt her heart constrict at the affection seeping in his voice.

He helped her get a few boxes in when Edwin came out to help as well. George hugged her again and excused himself to go get Nora from work. When he drove away, she finally got a proper look at Edwin. Looking abnormally taller than she last saw him in summer, she beamed up at him.

“Oh my God, Edwin!” she cried. “I saw you like four months ago. How does that happen?” She gestured wildly to his length.

The idiot just shrugged coolly.

“So you’re moving back in with us?” he said, trying to sound casual.

“I’m not gonna take your room,” Casey stated, laughing.

“Then where are you going to stay then?” he inquired conspicuously as he grabbed a box and waited for her to grab one too. He didn’t even bother denying the fact that it was his more worrying concern.

“I think I’ll camp out in Derek‘s room until I find my own place,” she said. She hadn’t told Derek yet, but really, where else was she supposed to stay?

“You do know he usually stays with us during most of the holidays?”

“Yes, then I’ll camp out in the attic like I usually do when everyone is here. Jeez Edwin, way to ruin a welcoming,” she joked. She didn’t understand where he was coming from with this. She often visited during her days off from school and never had a problem. She wondered if he really did mind her moving back in.

“I understand how it throws things off and everything, but it shouldn’t be for long…” she babbled starting to rethink her spontaneous decision.

“No, no,” Edwin insisted as they entered the house and dropped the boxes. They moved back outside with Edwin persisting.

“It’s just so sudden, you know. Not because you’re moving back in, but because you suddenly decided to move back home. I know you weren’t very happy in Montreal… but now you’re missing a whole semester… did something happen?”

She didn’t think she’d be called on it so soon, but Edwin was always clever.

“I guess you could say something happened… but that’s not really why I’m moving back… what happened, well, it was just the straw that broke the camel’s back, you know?,” she answered honestly.

“What happened?” Edwin said softly, probably sensing it was a sensitive subject.

“You know, I don’t really wanna talk about it now… I’m fine, though,” Casey said sincerely. Edwin accepted her reluctant answer without another word. They finished unloading the car as he started asking her about trivial things.

“So what’s new with you?” Casey asked as she shrugged her coat and scarf off. “Lizzie tells me you have a new girlfriend.” She laughed when Edwin actually blushed. They were in the kitchen by then.

“I’m gonna kick her,” he muttered.

“It was all in good intention. She wasn’t making fun, don’t worry,” Casey reassured, even if it was a lie.

“So you know we met at a science convention?” Edwin groaned, rubbing his palms over his face as he slouched back on the kitchen stool. She was distinctly reminded of Derek. He used to always do the same gesture when he was exasperated or embarrassed.

“You cannot tell Derek,” Edwin suddenly said, pointing an accusatory finger at her.

“I won’t,” she said, trying not to laugh at his obvious fear.

“He will make fun of me for the rest of my life. Do you understand?” he said, jumping out his seat, almost in hysterics.

“Relax, Ed. I’m not gonna tell Derek. I promise,” she said sincerely. “Plus, I think it’s cute.”

“You would,” he muttered.

“Hey! I was on your side! I said I wasn’t going to tell Derek,” she scoffed. “Be nice.”

“Tell Derek what?” Lizzie said as she hugged Casey tightly from behind. Lizzie looked up at Edwin and broke into laughter. “About Edwin’s girlfriend, right! I told you it was hilarious.”

Edwin rounded on Casey. “You said she wasn’t making fun of me! You lied,” he said dramatically.

“I can’t believe you believed her,” Lizzie snorted. Casey looked sheepish, but merely shrugged.

“How do I know you’re not lying about your promise?” Edwin continued, ignoring Lizzie’s comment.

“Come on, Edwin, it’s me. I won’t tell him if you don’t want me to, alright?” Casey said in amusement.

“He doesn’t need to know anyway, right?” Casey added. “Maybe in a few years when he’s slightly more mature…”

“Exactly,” Edwin sighed in relief. He turned back to Lizzie. “Now that’s a good stepsister,” he said, gesturing toward Casey. Lizzie just huffed in response.

“Cool down, loverboy. I’m happy for you, alright? Kay is a nice girl and no, she doesn’t look nerdy at all. Didn’t I tell you this, Casey?”

“She did,” Casey confirmed. Lizzie had indeed made fun of the situation, but she had still seemed genuinely happy for Edwin and thought rather highly of his new girlfriend.

“Fine,” he relented, falling back on the chair.

“Casey!” Lizzie cried in excitement, eager to change the subject. “You’ve come back home! I’m so happy. And no, you’re not taking my room.”

“Obviously,” Casey said sardonically.

“If we don’t stake it now, we’ll be overpowered,” Marty said matter-of-factly as she entered the kitchen. She wrapped her arms tightly around Casey’s waist. “And you can’t have my room either.”

Casey shook her head good-naturedly. “If Derek kills me, then I’m blaming all of you.”

“Pff, like he could ever,” Lizzie muttered under her breath.

She narrowed her eyes. “What is that supposed to mean?”

Lizzie looked up at her with wide-eyes, but quickly recovered. “Derek is no match for you. You’ll eat him right up.” Casey wasn’t convinced but her response got lost when Edwin huffed.

“Please, Derek can trounce your sister in a second. Let there be no doubt,” he declared importantly, raising a finger for emphasis.

“You know… I was thinking,” Casey said as she sighed melodramatically. “I haven’t spoken to Derek in such a long time… I’m sure he’d like to know what’s going on with his family.” She sent a pointed look to Edwin who quickly understood.

“You’re by far the best. No questions asked,” he acquiesced.

“That’s sad, Edwin. Even I wouldn’t have said that,” Lizzie said as she laughed at Edwin.

“She’s got incriminating material against me,” he cried out sheepishly.

“So do I!” Lizzie responded in earnest.

“Yes, but I’ve got material against you too… so we’re on equal grounds.” This seemed to shut Lizzie up. She rolled her eyes but didn’t continue the conversation.

“What’s her name again?” Casey said. She knew that this wasn’t Edwin’s first girlfriend, but she never seemed to be around when he was in a relationship, even if she did spend a good part of her holidays at home.

“Kayla,” Edwin said fondly.

Casey was gushing at his a love-struck expression when she noticed for the first time that Nora and George had been standing near the kitchen doorway.

As she greeted her mother with unrestrained enthusiasm, she couldn’t help but feel that someone was missing.

0

Her bed was shaking. She twisted when she realized it wasn’t the stale the mattress she had gotten used to in Montreal, but a soft plushy one similar to Derek’s bed back home. She sighed contently when she remembered that she was home. That she was on Derek’s bed. If only Derek knew how many times she had slept on this very bed, he probably would kill her.

The bed continued shaking violently and she practically felt the intruding light on her eyelids. She groaned, hoping no one was trying to wake her up, but the culprit persisted.

“I wanna sleep,” she mumbled, burrowing further into the bed.

“And here I thought you were a morning person,” she heard someone say, someone who distinctly sounded like Derek. But in her sleep-induced state, she dismissed it.

“You better wake up soon, sunshine, or I’ll have to resort to more dire measures. It is my bed, after all,” he continued.

“Not right now,” she muttered, slowly opening her eyes. He gasped in mock-offense, bringing a hand to his chest.

“Getting braver every year, McDonald.”

She rubbed her eyes tiredly and moved to lean on her elbows.

“I can take you, Venturi.”

“Oh, I’m sure. Now get up. We’re meeting Sam and Tiffany for breakfast in 20,” Derek laughed as he moved off the bed and dropped his duffel bag beside the rest of his bags. She hadn’t even heard him come in.

“What times is it?” Casey said as she fell back on the bed.

“Almost eight.”

“Who are you and what have you done with Derek?” Casey said incredulously as she sat up and shot him a surprised look.

“Sam wanted to leave early, so I thought what the hell,” Derek explained nonchalantly. “Now shut up and get ready.” He exited the room, chuckling at her offended expression.

She huffed but complied. She quickly found a change of clothes and ran to the bathroom. She knew Derek would kill her if she washed her hair, so she settled for a rapid body shower and saved the rest for later.

After twenty-five minutes, she was finally ready. She would have probably taken more time to fix her hair if Derek hadn’t pulled her out the bathroom.

“You look fine, Case.” Since everyone was still fast asleep, he slowly trudged down the stairs with Casey close at his heel, trying to make as little noise as possible. When they at last got into the car, he spoke up.

“We’re gonna have to work something out regarding your current living arrangement.” He sent her a boyish smile, one that had been rarely addressed to her back in their school days, but was rather common in her last visits.

“Yeah, well. It’s your room or the attic… and if I could keep out of there as long as I can, I will,” Casey said with determination, earning herself another deep chuckle from Derek.

“Alright, calm down there, Gonzales. I kinda like my bed, how about we make a deal?” he suggested easily. “While I’m here, I’ll take it for a week and a half, and you could take it for the rest.”

Casey narrowed her eyes in suspicion. “And how long will you be staying?”

His expression turned mischievous. “A week and a half.”

“You’re such an ass,” Casey mumbled, determinedly trying to keep her lips from quirking upwards.

“Perhaps,” Derek said in all seriousness. “But an ass you love.” She really couldn’t help her smile at that point.

“Actually, I’m staying for two weeks,” he revealed cheekily, laughing when she shook her head in incredulity.

“Where are we going, anyway?” she asked after slapping him good-naturedly on the shoulder.

“Smelly-Nelly’s,” he said proudly. “I haven’t been there in such a long time. I mean, do you really think I would have foregone sleep for just any breakfast restaurant?”

“No,” she admitted, amused by his exuberance. They arrived not long after that. She was excited to see Tiffany whom Casey immediately grew a liking to when she met her last summer. Tiffany was Sam’s sweet and incredibly friendly girlfriend. She had a bit of an eccentric side, but it made her all the more endearing.

Derek and Casey spotted them quickly when they entered the place. Casey greeted her old friends happily.

“You dyed your hair,” Tiffany declared excitedly.

“I did,” Casey said, caught a bit off guard. She had dyed it, but only a slight shade lighter. She didn’t think anyone would notice. Both guys frowned and exchanged confused looks.

“It’s lighter,” Tiffany continued offhandedly.

“How do you know these things?” Derek inquired curiously, taking the seat beside Sam in the booth. Casey slid in beside Tiffany.

“I don’t know,” she laughed. “I notice colors, that’s all. I do paint. And every shade counts.” She beamed up at them, clearly happy with her response. Her and Sam shared a secret look before he rounded on them.

“You guys are late.”

Derek gestured wildly towards Casey. “All her fault. Missus had to fix her hair.”

“You gave me twenty minutes to get ready!” she griped defensively.

“More than enough if you ask me,” he said stubbornly.

“Alright, alright, forget I said anything.” Sam held up his hands in surrender. “Let’s order. I’m famished.”

As they ate their food, Casey quickly learned that Tiffany had been accepted to a summer art program where she got to travel all over Europe. Tiffany spent almost half an hour animatedly going over all the places she’d be visiting. Her vibrant speech never ceased to captivate Casey, as well as everyone else around her.

Casey chanced a glance at Sam and smiled at his completely smitten expression. That was the second time in the span of 24 hours that she witnessed such an intense expression of love. Noel was the only one to ever look at her that way. Even Adam, who she dated for nine months back in Montreal, never graced her with a similar look.

Caught up in her thoughts, she didn’t notice Derek looking at her fixedly, his face crinkling in mild snootiness. “Case?”

She looked up at him and finally jolted out of her daze when Derek’s eyebrows rose in amusement. “You were gone there for a moment, Spacey.”

Casey shrugged. “Just remembered something from Montreal,” she said, hoping they’d it leave at that.

“Oh yeeeaaah. Derek said you were moving back,” Sam said. “Montreal didn’t do you good?”

“Wasn’t my place,” she admitted a bit reluctantly. She didn’t want to get into it that much.

“Do they party hard?” Tiffany said, making Casey choke on her juice. “That’s what I heard. Montrealers are apparently crazy partiers. Guaranteed to give you a good time.” Tiffany tapped Casey on the back.

Derek regarded her contemplatively.

“I guess,” she managed to say as her coughs subsided. It was ironic how the catalyst behind her decision to move back came from a rather crazy party, or more like a stupid mistake at a crazy party.

Fortunately, they started inquiring her about her classes and decidedly safer topics. Tiffany and Sam bid them farewell a little while after.

“Aren’t you glad you got out of bed now?” Derek teased as he opened the door to the driver’s seat.

She rolled her eyes. “Only because I got to see Sam and Tiffany.”

“Now that’s plain lying,” Derek said, feigning offense. “You’re in total denial. Admit you just wanted to spend time with me.”

“And stroke your ever so big ego? I think I’ll stick to total denial, thank you very much,” she countered, sarcasm dripping in her voice at her last remark.

The rest of the ride was spent with Derek trying to convince Casey that she had been in denial all her life. Apparently, she was unable to admit that she was never ‘cool’, if she were to use Derek’s words.

As they entered the house, Derek made a beeline to the couch and fell back on it.

“You could sleep on your bed, Derek. I’m not going back to sleep,” Casey told him. He nodded and made his way upstairs. She sighed contently, falling back on the couch and watched the twinkling Christmas tree. Derek had grown these past years. She remembered their senior year when Derek had suddenly stopped talking to her. And for two whole months, she simply couldn’t figure out why. It was the strangest thing.

Merely two weeks before they graduated, the silence had become deafening, at least for her anyway. Still to this day, it was somewhat of a mystery. All he had told her was that he was tired of fighting. It made sense, though. Whenever they talked, they argued. It was understandable, then, that ceasing all communication between them would stop the fighting too.

But it was hard. Because however bad their fights might have been, there was always an undercurrent of affection. The fact that they weren’t ready to admit it then didn’t mean it wasn’t there. It wasn’t until her first trip back home from Montreal that they sealed some kind of friendship. From then on, they’ve talked, really talked, more than they ever had before.

She didn’t know if it was the result of some big revelation, or the deep-seated effect of time and distance. It had somehow made them closer.