That is exactly the way I hoped they were thinking when I watched that scene! I think you did a great job at getting inside their heads and bringing everything they'd repressed out in this way.

Thank you so much! It means a lot to me to hear you say that. I have to admit, I watched that last scene more times that I can count!

I love that there is all this potential for the two of them in college together.

You know, I watched "Rude Awakenings" for the first time last night and loved how as soon as Derek and Casey broke away from their families (plural because it was yet another example of the family being split down the McDonald/Venturi divide) and it was just the two of them, they found the solution to their problems. It's like a foreshadow about what college was going to be like.

I loved Casey's reaction to the breakup between Emily and Derek and that she is using Truman until college (plus doesn't care that he might be doing the same).

Thanks, I didn't think about Casey using Truman until I was writing it. But it seemed to work really well (and it couldn't happen to a nicer piece of slime). And once I dealt with Truman, I realized I had to deal with Derek/Emily.

And you had the little hint at the end that they stay together!

It was sappy, but I really couldn't help myself. I wanted to establish that this was the start of something long term.