Disclaimer: If I owned Life With Derek, please explain to me why Derek and Casey are not together? Oh, yeah, because I do not own it:D

Chapter One

Casey MacDonald was seldom late to school. Make that almost never. But of course her step-brother Derek had to ruin another aspect of her life, her near perfect attendance. By the time her alarm went off with that annoying buzzing sound, it was half past eight. She had already missed homeroom and a good chunk of first period. If she got ready now she would only be a little late to Ms. Panik's second period chemistry class. Ms. Panik would have her head but Derek was in that class, so maybe she could explain.

Or just fume at him and throw spitballs at the back of his neck all period.

Casey groaned as she shut off her alarm and started to the bathroom. Well, she thought, at least I don't have to deal with Derek pounding on the door while I'm taking a shower.

By the time she walked to school, of course she had long since missed the bus, she was five minutes late to chemistry. when she opened the door to room 107, everyone was at their lab stations. Ms. Panik eyed her, obviously quite perturbed with her tardiness. The woman tapped her foot on the floor in annoyance.

"Listen Ms Pa-" Casey started, with no avail.

"Casey MacDonald, how nice of you to finally join us today." The teacher said with an obvious pound of sarcasm.

"I'm sorry I was la-"

"I don't need to hear your excuses Miss MacDonald, unless of course it was your non-existent cat that passed away this time."

At that the class tried to hold back some snickering which, for a few people including Derek, didn't go so well.

"Now," Ms. Panik continued. "Go to you lab bench and have Emily explain the experiment for today since you were too busy to come to class on time this morning."

Casey started to her bench, glaring at Derek the entire way.

When she sat down Emily, of course, asked her what had happened.

"C'mon Case, you're never late. What gives?"

"Derek. No, actually, Derek takes. He takes everything, like my near perfect attendance and my teachers approval!" Casey fumed.

"Ms. Panik is a witch anyway, if you were only five seconds late, she would have said the same thing. Why were you late?" Emily asked, while pouring an unknown blue liquid into the large test tube.

"Derek, I told you. He changed the time my alarm was supposed to go off and I ended up waking up at 8:30. Completely missing my first period English exam!"

"I'm sure Mr. Reed will let you take it after school."

"Em, that's not the point! Derek ruins everything!"

"I'm sure he didn't realize you had a test, it was probably just a…" Emily trailed off when she saw the glare in her best friend's eyes.

"Look, I know you are all Derek-centric, but can you for once be on my side?"

"I am Casey! It's just…you know…" Again she trailed off, turning her gaze from Casey to Derek in an instant. She lingered on the way he was cracking jokes about Ms. Panik's unusual hair color being similar to the colors in the test tube before him.

Casey turned to look at what Emily was all googly eyed for, but all she saw was her jerky step-brother trying to impress Amber Gardens with his color matching skills.

"what does he see in her? She's so filled with air. Nothing in her brain. Hollow as a tube." Emily stated.

"Em, it really isn't what he sees in her, more like what he sees on her, you know, a few inches below her neck." Casey said with complete disgust as Derek gave the hair twirling volleyball star his number.

"I know but she completely fa-"

Emily's rant was interrupted by a shriek from the other side of the room.

Lily Farmer and her lab partner Reggie Green had mixed the wrong chemicals together, causing their experiment to turn purple and bubble over, staining Lily's whiter than white sweater.

Ms. Panik rushed ove to the group, putting the class on hold as she rushed them to the nurse to get the chemicals off them, before they broke out in rashes.

This gave Casey the perfect chance to talk to Derek about her alarm.

"Derek." She said when she reached his table.

"Casey. Now that we have stated each other's name correctly, what do you want?" He said in a cocky manner.

"What happened with my alarm this morning?"

"It went off?"

"Yeah. At eight-thirty!"

"I knew something was different this morning!"

"Why didn't George and my mom wake me up?!"

"I told them you were getting a ride to school. Plus, they went to pick up your cousin Vicky this morning. She staying for April break, remember? I cannot wait for that vacation."

"Ugh! Derek, one day I will-"

"You will what? Trip and make me laugh myself to death?"

After that comment Ms. Panik came back into the room and the bell rang to tell the students to go to their third period classes. Casey just gave Derek the evil eye and he flashed his genuine Venturi smirk.

I cannot stand him, Casey thought before heading out the door and off to Geometry.