Derek and Danielle

Chapter Eleven

Disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

As well, this work of fiction depicts sexual activities between teenagers, siblings and otherwise. As such it may be illegal to view this story where you live, and you should cease reading at this point if that is the case.

Lunch time was interesting, in the Chinese-curse sense.

Derek, figuring he'd run into Sara, had decided not to pack a lunch that morning since he didn't know if she brought her own or bought the school's. Purely by chance, when Derek entered the cafeteria and got in the line-up, he ended up with Danielle in front of him and Sara behind him.

Sara'd tapped him on the shoulder, prompting him to grin as he realized who it was. She was wearing her gym T-shirt and shorts which flattered her legs, he thought. He tried avoiding looking at Danielle too obviously.

"Hey, Sara! How're you?"

She reached out to hug him, and as the young couple embraced, Sara said into Derek's ear, "Fine! Mind if I sit with you today, by the way? I'm gonna get lunch."

Reluctantly, Derek released Sara, but was able to hold hands with her as they decided to share a lunch tray. Derek sneaked a glance at Danielle; the only clue he had to her feelings was that her back and shoulders seemed a little bit stiff, as though she didn't want to see the two of them together.

Unfortunately for her, Sara grinned and said, "Hey, Danielle! I didn't even realize you were in front of us."

Danielle seemed just a bit reluctant to turn around, but she had a dazzling smile on her face when she did. "Oh, hi, you two. Sara, you're going out with my doofus of a brother, huh?" Only long experience with Danielle fibbing to their parents told Derek her smile wasn't quite real.

Sara giggled and put her arm around Derek, prompting him to do the same for her. He planted a quick kiss on her forehead and bantered back to Danielle, "Seems the doofus is my sister here, for calling me one."

Danielle rolled her eyes, then turned to select her drink and quickly order the cafeteria's version of an individual pepperoni pizza. Derek decided on the same thing. Sara decided on a salad and water.

After they paid for their food, Derek turned back to spot Rick already seated at one of the tables. He caught Rick's eye, then nodded over at Sara. His friend nodded back and grinned. Derek followed Sara and Danielle to a vacant table and sat down, Danielle across from him and Sara to his right.

Derek was about to drink his soda when Sara's hand on his leg interrupted him. Swallowing nervously, he looked around, hoping nobody would see it and start teasing him. "Derek? Could I ask you for some help on the history assignment from Mr. Alcott?" She kissed his cheek briefly.

Derek nodded. "Sure."

Sara scooted a little closer to him, and Derek prayed his boner wasn't going to tent his pants. Thankfully, she took her hand off his thigh and opened up her salad. Because Sara was busy unwrapping her plastic fork, she didn't see what Derek saw: Danielle's jaw was set in disapproval and she had a hurt look in her eyes.

Oh, god, Derek thought. Please, Danielle, don't—

Danielle caught Derek looking, and hurriedly began eating her pizza. Uneasily, he began eating as well, wondering if maybe Rick might like girls just enough to date Danielle. Given Derek's and Rick's own sexual escapades, he wondered if he was going to create some kind of monster love polygon.

When lunch ended, Danielle nodded at her brother and Sara, and took off. Sara seemed a little mystified, but seemed to put it out of her mind as she pecked Derek on the cheek. "See you later, maybe?"

Derek wanted to, but he wasn't sure if he'd need to do damage control with Danielle. He temporized, saying, "Why don't I call you when I get home? Maybe we can do homework together for a while after dinner."

Sara smiled and teased, "Do homework, huh?" She poked Derek's stomach playfully, provoking a smile from him. "Sure, call me. Mom'll probably be happy to have you under her watchful eye."

Derek reached out for her hand and squeezed gently as he replied, "Ok, I'll do that. Anyway, we should take off for classes – I know you've got, like, home ec or something."

The teenagers took off for their respective classes. Derek knew Danielle had managed to get her schedule arranged to match Sara's rather than his, so their afternoon periods wouldn't overlap.

As he bumped into Rick outside Spanish class, he remembered track tryouts. Rick snapped his fingers. "Oh, yeah!" He continued, "Tomorrow, after classes. We'll take 'em by storm, buddy." He quickly bumped fists with Derek, then the boys sat down to begin learning how to conjugate common Spanish verbs.

Derek and Rick were at his locker, the latter already having packed up his homework in his backpack. Rick, leaning against a nearby locker, bumped Derek's shoulder and said, "Hey. What're you doing today?"

Derek shrugged. "Probably just gonna go home, then maybe see Sara after. Why?"

"Cool, I guess. We should get some running practice in again, huh?"

Derek nodded. "How 'bout just before bedtime? That way it doesn't matter if I meet Sara or not."

With that, Derek finished packing away his books, shut and locked up his locker, then headed out of the school with Rick.

"Say, Der, you talk to Evan lately?"

"Yeah, actually. It sucks that he had to go to the other high school instead of this one," complained Derek.

Rick frowned. "He doing OK over there?"

Derek waved it off. "Yeah, yeah. He's not having problems or anything. He wants to try and get together sometime, shoot the shit, you know."

"Cool," said Rick. Then he laughed. "Man! He's gonna be one of our competitors if he makes the team over there, huh?"

Derek grinned. "One of us better win, then."

Rick grinned as well, and put his hand on Derek's shoulder. Suddenly, a bit nervously (Derek thought) Rick looked up and down the tree-lined street and ran his hand down to the small of Derek's back. Surprised, Derek jerked back. "Dude!"

Rick swallowed as his face turned ashen. "Shit, I…" He shook his head, obviously disgusted with himself. "Fuck it. Never mind, I wasn't thinking."

Awkwardly, the two boys kept walking in silence for some time afterwards, rounding a corner that connected two streets in the subdivision they were walking through. When Derek's heartbeat slowed a bit, he asked, "What… what was that, anyway? You testing me, or something?"

Rick couldn't look Derek in the eye. "I shouldn't've done that. Look, I was being a dumbass. I was kinda like, 'well, if he's into Sara, is he still gonna be into me?'"

"Hey, look." Derek tried to find the words as he accompanied Rick down a narrow passageway that connected two of the subdivisions near the school. He noted that it was fenced down its entire length, and privacy was further ensured by the row of dense tall bushes lining the pathway. He doubted anyone could get a good look unless they were especially walking down that same pathway.

Derek let his backpack slide off his shoulder and dropped it on the pavement. He reached for Rick's upper arm, gently grasping it as he tried to reassure his friend. "It was just… like, so sudden. And sorta in public, too. I mean, what if someone saw us and it got back to Sara? She'd blab it all over school. You know how girls are," pointed out Derek.

Rick groaned. "Geez, I really wasn't thinking. Look, I don't blame you if you think I'm like, a total pervert now."

"Come on, man, no way!" exclaimed Derek. "Look, if it helps, if you'd done that down here I'd have been a bit nervous, but not as much, you know?"

Truth be told, Derek wasn't sure what he felt. He knew he liked Rick as more than just a friend, but in the mix was this crazy thing he had with Danielle, and of course the relationship with Sara. He felt a bit of an impulse to let Rick know he appreciated his friend's overture of closeness, even if it had been badly timed.

He put his arm around Rick's shoulders and said, "See? We're still all right."

Rick hesitantly put his arm around Derek's shoulders and half-smiled. "All right, then. Uh, thanks for not totally freaking out and everything."

Derek suddenly realized how close their bodies were; he could almost feel Rick's leg near his own. He looked around nervously, his mouth suddenly going completely dry as he let his hand fall – fall gently down to Rick's ass.

He quickly groped his friend's butt and was rewarded with a combination of a shocked look and a pleased smile. "I think that shows we can still … do stuff, if we both want," pointed out Derek.

Rick's jaw muscles tensed as he tried to form the words. "Jesus," was all he could say. He tentatively let his hand fall, waiting for Derek to nod before taking a healthy grab of Derek's own gluteus maximus.

Rick said, "This is crazy, but can I please kiss you before…?"

Derek knew they'd be splitting up soon to go to their separate houses. He looked around again, saw nobody entering the passageway from either side; he briefly saw a car pass by the opening, but ignored it. He leaned in for a bit to capture Rick's lips with his own, slipping in a little tongue before withdrawing.

Derek smirked at the tent in Rick's pants. "Better?"

Rick chuckled. "You asshole." He tried to adjust his pants, which made the tenting a bit less visible. "Christ, why'd I have to get a big dick?"

Derek picked up his backpack and began walking, prompting Rick to continue with him. He said, "Hey. Outta curiosity, you ever measure?"

"Huh, I never did. Why, did you?"

Derek nodded. "Eight inches, just about. And remember, we're practically the same size."

Rick's jaw dropped. "That big? God, no wonder this thing's impossible sometimes." A grin stole across his face. "But we're pretty well-hung, I guess."

Derek laughed. "Try not to scare anyone with it, huh? I remember when you accidentally smacked my face with that damn firehose of yours."

"Well, who knows who'll see it next? Damn, now I'm gonna have to rub one out as soon as I get home."

"Poor baby," mocked Derek.

Rick's response was to begin chasing Derek, laughingly threatening to tickle him to submission. Derek, for his part, retorted that he'd have to get caught first.

Rick took his leave of Derek at Derek's place, leaving Derek alone to face Danielle. He took a deep breath, then went inside the front door. "Danielle!?" he half-yelled.

A muffled, "Up here," brought Derek up to Danielle's room. He saw that she was lying on her bed, her head propped up on her hand with a magazine in front of her. She wasn't crying, but Derek could see that she wasn't feeling too animated, since she was aimlessly flipping through the magazine before she registered his presence and tossed it to the floor. She was already in her nightgown, having apparently decided to prepare for an early nap.

Derek sat hesitantly on his sister's bed and reached out to touch her leg. She flinched away, and sat up, her legs crossed. Hurt, Derek said, "What? What's wrong?"

She spat, "You and Sara is what's wrong. God, I never realized how much it was gonna hurt until I saw you two together today, being all normal." It sounded like a four-letter word the way she said that last. She sighed. "I just—just can't take it right now. I've waited six months to get anywhere with you and now that I have my chance, you're off with my best friend."

Realization dawned on Derek as he blurted, "You're jealous."

Danielle laughed bitterly. "I can't believe it. Jealous of my friend and jealous of my brother." She shook her head and dropped her head into her hands. "I'm sick. I'm just a sick girl whose head isn't screwed on straight because I want my brother the way I'm not supposed to."

Derek's heart broke. He eased closer and said, "That's—that's not true, Danielle! I mean, doesn't that make me sick, too? Because sometimes I think about you when I know I should be thinking about Sara."

She looked up, tears threatening to fall from her eyes. "I don't think it's the same, Derek. You're not in my position, you know, where you've got nobody because the somebody you want isn't there or right for you."

Derek took a deep, calming breath. He had to get Danielle through this. "Okay, look. Remember we said 'no lies'? Ever?"

Danielle nodded.

"Okay. The honest total truth." He forced himself to relax. "I don't think I can make it last with Sara."

Danielle, shocked, blurted, "But why? She likes you! And you two…" Derek had the distinct impression she was forcing herself to say the next few words. "You two make a cute couple and everything!"

Derek hung his head. "Because I keep thinking about you, and about Rick. I kissed him today."

Danielle swallowed, hard. In a low voice, she said, "Derek, come here."

He nervously eased up to near her crossed legs.

"So you don't think you can be exclusive with her?" Danielle frowned.

Derek miserably shook his head.

"Look at me." Derek regarded Danielle steadily. "Have you two decided you're going to be totally, like, dating exclusively?"

"Not yet, no way," protested Derek.

Danielle's hand in her lap clenched into a fist. Nervously, Derek wondered what that was all about. Tiredly, Danielle propped her pillow up and leaned back against it as she unclenched her fist and absently rubbed the bedspread. "Then don't ever make her that promise. Because the moment you do, you'll prove yourself a liar the next time you 'practice' with me or you fool with Rick. What is it with him, anyway?"

Derek spread his hands. "It's like, I dunno, like scratching an itch. Like, if I just want to mindlessly jack off or something, that's what he likes doing."

Danielle seemed a bit miffed.

"Look, I'll stop doing whatever… whatever I do with him if you want," pleaded Derek.

Danielle snorted. "It's not me you have to worry about right now; it's her." She sighed. "Look, if you want the honest truth, right now?"

Derek nodded.

"I want you. Exclusively to the max, Derek. Just you and me. But you're not there yet, and I can't force you. But that doesn't mean I'm just gonna be all like a Vulcan and shit and hide the fact that it really sucks for me right now."

Stunned, Derek stared at Danielle. She was serious! He conceded to himself that she'd had a long time to think about what – and who – she wanted, but he still had to ask. "Um, haven't you thought about, you know, playing the field a bit?"

She said, "And who would I go out with? Your buddy Rick, who seems to me like he wants to get into your pants, not mine?"

Derek lamely said, "What about the other guys at school? I mean, I know some of them stare, but not all of them could be that dumb, could they?"

"I guess there could be a few who want more than just boobs and an ass," conceded Danielle. "But, Derek, there's just something about you in particular." She swallowed and choked out, "Shit, it's things like this. When I say them or really think them. I feel like I'm this, like, circus freak."

Derek reached out for his sister, who hurriedly sat beside him on the bed and wrapped her arms around him, holding on for all she was worth.

Gently, he said, "You're not, Danielle. At least not to me." He rubbed her back soothingly as she rested her head against his.

"'preciate it," she sniffled.

The siblings remained in their embrace for a while. Derek gently patted her head and brushed her hair back with his fingers before settling back into a routine of rubbing her back and shoulders.

Slowly, Danielle disengaged from the embrace, brushing her hair out of her face. "I never should have looked up all that stuff on incest."

Derek's stomach still did an unpleasant flop at the word, but he found it got a little easier the second time. "You and I had to know, Danielle. It's so unreal to think we could be thrown in jail for doing this."

Danielle spread her hands. "It's a social taboo and all that shit."

"You'd think you and me would have gotten the memo in our DNA, huh?" joked Derek.

"Guess not," she replied, her eyebrows raised.

The slamming of the back door startled the siblings, who looked at each other in momentarily frozen shock before they sprang into action. Danielle practically zoomed under her bedsheets as Derek wasted no time scrambling out of his sister's bedroom, grabbing up his backpack along the way. As he rested on his bed, nervously fumbling his laptop open, he wondered how many more close calls the two of them would face.

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