Disclaimer: The Life With Derek characters are not mine.
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"Shit," Casey MacDonald cursed, as she felt several fat raindrops graze her cheek. "It's raining – great. What else could go wrong?" She fumbled with her pink sweater and, with her free hand, managed to get the hood over her long hair. Her other free hand clutched a pair of pink ice skates, a gift from her younger sister Liz.
Casey hadn't skated in years. The last time, she realized, as the rain began to pour, being the day of Mom and Dad's divorce. She tightened the drawstrings on her hoodie and quickened her pace. Neither her mother nor her sister knew that she was gone, yet Casey didn't care. A couple of hours ago, her mother had dropped a Nagasaki-sized bomb on her life.
It turned out, Nora, her dorky but well-intentioned mom, was getting married. Married! Casey couldn't believe it. Not just the marriage part, per se - her mother Nora had always been an attractive lady, with her sleek bob and large eyes. No, that wasn't even the worst part. It turned out that the entire MacDonald family would also have to move in with George, Nora's fiancé. Move! From the house they had grown up in, from the school they had built their reputations in, and from the friends they had spent their entire lives with. It's so unfair! Casey thought, feeling fresh tears push against her eyelids. Why don't George's kids have to move? I'm sure they're much younger than Liz and I. Her tears were flowing freely now, mixing with the raindrops.
The skating rink came into view, and Casey ran towards it, trudging her sneakers carelessly through any puddle she encountered. She was excited for a nice long day of skating and letting her mind wander – away from George, from her mom, from everything.
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Casey's excitement was short-lived. She, dripping wet, pressed her nose against the glass of the skating rink, watching several burly boys in helmets whiz past. Rink Closed to Public, a nearby sign read. John Sparrow Thompson hockey team practice 12:00-2:00.
Casey pried her face off the cold glass and took a seat at the snack bar. This just isn't my day, she thought, self-piteously. The world just doesn't want me to be happy! Deep down, Casey knew she was being a bit magnanimous – the world most likely had better things to do than pick on her. But still, she reasoned. Sometimes it sure felt that way.
As she sat and moped, a small fire began building in the pit of her stomach. You know what? Casey thought, impulsively. Who am I to just sit here, feeling sorry for myself? Really – if I want to skate, who's going to stop me? She suddenly felt quite empowered, in manner of female Gandhi figure.
Thus, she, with a look of determination plastered upon her face, laced up her skates and made her way to the entrance of the rink. So far, nobody had noticed her.
Click.
The door was locked. Darn. She rammed her shoulder against it, but it still wouldn't budge. Finally, with a smirk, Casey heaved herself onto the top of the door and then swung her legs over the side. She felt her feet touch ice, and she immediately took off, performing pirouettes and leaps. Casey had always found skating to be easy – simply dancing on ice.
Needless to say, she had the attention of all the boys now. They stopped skating and looked over, amused. Some even offered her a couple wolf-whistles. Two guys, however, looked angry.
A short, burly guy and another taller, thinner one, skated over to Casey and skidded to a stop.
"Uh, excuse me, miss," the short one squeaked. "The rink is closed to the public."
"Yeah, can't you read?" the other sneered, pointing at the sign.
Casey only smiled back innocently. "I want to skate," she replied simply.
"Yeah, well, I want a million dollars, but we can't all get what we want, can we?" the tall one smirked.
Casey's mouth dropped, about to retort.
"Now, now, Derek," his friend cut in. "Let's be nice." He turned back to Casey. "Please, miss. Don't make this difficult-"
"What he means is," Derek interrupted, "Get the hell off our rink before this gets ugly. Although, that being said, it already is – since you're here."
Casey's eyes began to water in indignation. She was right before – it wasn't her day indeed. The waterworks began to turn on. "I just wanted to skate!" she cried loudly, before turning on her toe pick and speed skating off the rink. She heard open laughter behind her, but she ignored it. She had had quite enough.
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Derek Venturi felt Ryan's gaze burn into the back of his head. "What are you looking at me like that for?" he muttered, picking up his hockey stick.
Ryan glared. "Look what you did." He gestured at the crazy ice skater, who was exiting the rink in tears. "Now she's going to report us. Do you really want us to get kicked off the rink again?"
"What?" Derek scoffed. "She's not going to report us. She's clearly out of her mind! 'I just want to skate! I just want to skate!' She's insane."
Ryan folded his arms, frowning. "Go apologize before she reports us, Derek. Or else I'll bench you for the first game."
Derek's jaw dropped. He knew better to pick a fight with the captain. Damn. He angrily threw his helmet onto the ice and skated towards the exit. Practice resumed without him.
Fortunately, Derek spotted Insane Woman at the lockers, forlornly unlacing her skates. He made his way over to her.
He sighed. "Hey."
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(A/N) How was it? I hope you liked it! Don't worry, the story picks up from here. (: Until then, please feel more than free to leave a review or comment! (: They definitely motivate me. Thanks for reading, and I'll update soon!