Disclaimer: Life with Derek is copyright Shaftesbury, Disney Channel, Family Channel, and Nickelodeon. This story was created for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement intended. It will be removed immediately and without question upon request.

Tantalizing
Chapter 1: New Home

She knew that life was going to be very different for her and her family the moment they stepped foot onto the grassy lawn of their new home. Sure it was a nice little house in a nice little neighborhood in a nice little town, but it wasn't home. Home was where Toronto was, where all her family was, where all her friends was, and most importantly of all, where her heart was.

"The truck should be here soon," she heard her mother tell her as she tugged the strap of her bag onto her shoulder. She nodded in response and waited for her mother to fish out the house keys to unlock the front door of their new home.

She spared a quick look around her surroundings since she had only been here a grand total of three times. All times she barely got a good look around, but now that she was supposed to be living here, she took the opportunity to burn everything into her memory. Tall trees surrounded most of the homes, casting dark shadows over the houses and driveways, even when the sun was at its highest and brightest. Luckily their home was one of the few spared from the monstrous plants. She could spot out a few cars here and there littering the street, though she couldn't help but notice that most people seemed to keep their cars in their garages or driveways. Was auto-theft common in this area? She made a mental note to herself to remind her mom to park in the garage.

She caught a flutter of movement out of the corner of her eye and turned to face her new neighbor's house. The curtains swished shut and she was left staring at the dull water-stained window of (she squinted to see the name on the mailbox) the Venturis. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. Was everyone in this town this creepy and secretive? She hadn't realized how long she had been staring until her little sister was beckoning her inside the house. She shook her head to clear her thoughts and turned on her heel, ready to put away what little belongings they had brought with them inside their little Honda.

He released his hold on the curtain and smirked to himself at the sight of the new girl next door. It had been a while since they'd last had a neighbor. Ever since old man Jenkins decided to leave the town, the house had been empty for a little over half a year. Then over the course of the last two months this woman, which he presumed to be their new neighbor, had been checking out the house and had come back to fix it up to her own liking. He noticed that she came with her children on several occasions, though they had never noticed him watching outside his window. That suited him just fine.

The new girl he had been watching earlier seemed to have been around his age and he'd have no doubt that she'd soon be enrolling in his school. It was the only high school in the area aside from that private co-ed school on the other side of town. Judging from her looks, she had most likely attended a private school from where she last lived. He didn't know why, but the moment he set eyes on her, he had been intrigued.

With a smirk on his face, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. It'd be a pity if she were to attend any school but his.

She wiped the small beads of sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand and plopped onto her bed tiredly. She hadn't realized that she had that much stuff until she was forced to find space to place all her belongs. She closed her eyes tiredly, relishing the peace and quiet after a long day's work. Luckily it was Friday and she wouldn't start school until Monday, even though the term had technically started two months ago. It didn't matter to her; she'd catch up and then end up ahead of schedule, which she ended up being most of the time.

When she opened her eyes again, her gaze drifted over to the small framed pictures of her friends and family back in Toronto. She smiled at the picture at the far left, the one of her and her boyfriend, Jacob Summers. He promised that he'd visit her next week once her family was settled in, and because he couldn't get out of the family reunion he was forced to attend this weekend. She'd just seen him earlier that day and yet she already missed him dearly.

She picked up her cell phone lying on her nightstand and called, a smile creeping on her lips when his smooth voice answered.

She was a bit tired after talking to Jacob for most of last night, so she slept in. When she awoke, she wasn't surprised to see her little sister sitting in front of the television munching away on a bowl of cereal.

"Hey, Liz," she greeted through a small yawn.

The little girl tore her gaze from the television and returned the greeting, before taking notice of her sister's wrinkled clothes and messy hair. "Now that's something you don't see everyday," she commented amusedly.

She raised an eyebrow in confusion before looking down at her pink bunny pajamas and running a hand through her tangled tresses. She flushed red and quickly adjusted her clothes and hair. "Where's Mom?" she asked once she deemed herself presentable enough.

"She's at her new workplace. She said something about setting things up and making sure that her new employees are doing the job right and that she won't be home for dinner," supplied Lizzie, returning her attention to the TV.

She sighed, realizing what it meant—another night without her mother around. She opened the refrigerator and peered into the big ice box, looking for anything edible and wrinkled her nose at the choices: a bottle of milk and an apple. She wasn't sure how they had managed to even have those in the fridge and groaned. It looked like it was time to go to the market.

She walked into the living room and called out to her sister, "Are you up for a trip to the market?"

The little girl nodded her head and finished off the rest of her meal. "I'll watch TV until you're done getting ready."

It wasn't long before she was slipping into her old converse sneakers and grabbing the car keys. She wasn't quite sure where the markets in town were, but after a quick search on Google, she was set to go. With the folded map in hand and her little sister at her heels, she unlocked the car and was about to enter when a voice called out to her. She turned toward the sound of the voice and came face to face with a bubbly looking teen with frizzy hair. She blinked in confusion, unsure of what to say.

"Um, hi?"

The girl grinned and stuck out her hand. "So you must be my new neighbor! It's nice to meet you! I'm Emily Davis by the way."

She nodded her head, returning the smile as best as she could. "I'm Casey McDonald," she said, then gesturing toward her little sister to her left, "and this is my kid sister, Lizzie."

"It's nice to meet you, Lizze," said Emily with a smile and hand extended at the little girl.

Lizzie shook the girl's hand and said, "It's nice to meet you too."

"It's been a while since someone's lived here. Old man Jenkins moved out about half a year ago and it's been empty ever since, so it's nice to have some company back on the block," explained the town native.

Both McDonalds nodded their heads, listening as the frizzy hair teen rambled on.

Emily turned her attention back to the elder McDonald and asked, "So where are you two heading out to?"

She bit her lip, unsure of whether she was ready to disclose the information to this stranger they only met seconds before. Deciding that they had nothing to lose, she answered, "We're heading to the market."

"Oh, that's good. Do you need any help getting there? You don't look as if you know your way around here yet," said Emily, gesturing to the folded map in Casey's hand.

She flushed a little. "I guess we could use some help."

Emily beamed and then climbed into the car.

She heaved a sigh of relief by the time they finally arrived home, bags and bags of groceries in tow. Poor Lizzie was having trouble holding the two bags in her hands as she walked to the front door. Emily had offered to help carry the groceries into the house, much to Casey's relief. Emily was a sweet girl, but she had never encountered anyone so energetic and knowledgeable about all the happenings in school. It was a bit unsettling, but nice all the same. It was the only welcome she had received so far and she was grateful that she and her family would not go unnoticed in this strange new place.

"Are you sure that you can't go to Thompson with me?" asked Emily as she placed the last bag of groceries on the kitchen counter.

She nodded her head as she removed items from their bags and began placing them in the cabinets. "I'm afraid so. My mom enrolled me in Lexington a few weeks ago. I even have my schedule all set."

Emily pouted at the reply. "That's a shame. We'd have so much fun at school."

She let out a small laugh at the frizzy haired teen's comment. "I'm sure we would."

Emily opened her mouth to say something when she caught a flicker of movement out the corner of her eye. She glanced at the window and smiled sweetly.

Curious as to what her new friend was staring at, she looked in the same direction, which happened to be the kitchen window. Outside the window was a little girl with her face close to the glass, smiling (with a missing front tooth) and waving. She raised an eyebrow at Emily.

"That's Marti, the youngest of the Venturi kids. Their house is in between our houses," explained Emily as she waved back. "She's usually over at my house to play with my little brother, Dimi, but I guess she saw you guys move in yesterday and was curious."

"Does she always go to other people's houses and peek through their windows?" she wondered as she put a few vegetables in the refrigerator.

Emily shook her head. "Nah, she's not like that. I guess she must have been very curious and couldn't wait for her dad to bring her over to meet you guys." Suddenly her gaze shifted to Lizzie, who was putting away a few canned goods away. "The other two Venturi kids are Edwin who is about Lizzie's age and Derek, who's our age."

"I'll probably see Edwin at school then," mumbled Lizzie as she stuffed a few more things into the shelves.

"Wow, what a coincidence," Casey muttered sardonically.

The frizzy haired teen laughed a little at the sardonic comment. "Oh come on, don't be like that. You haven't even met them yet! Edwin and Marti are sweethearts!"

"What about Derek?" she asked, placing a few more boxes in the cabinets.

When she received no response, she spared a glance over her shoulder at Emily. The girl was biting softly on her bottom lip, somewhat deep in thought. She was about to shrug the question off when Emily responded.

"Derek is… someone you probably don't want to get involved with," came the response, and at Casey's questioning look, Emily added, "He's one of the hottest guys in school, but… "

She shrugged, placing her hands on her hips. "Let me guess, bad boy and a player."

Emily appeared surprised at the correct assumption. "How'd you…"

She waved a hand indifferently. "I've dealt with guys like him back in Toronto. But thanks for the heads up. He's definitely someone I'll be avoiding."

Emily nodded her head in understanding. "I've had this huge crush on him since we were little and he still hasn't noticed me," she sighed. "I don't know whether that's a good thing or a bad thing."

"With what you just told me," she said as she watched Lizzie leave the room after shoving in the last of the groceries into the freezer, "I'd say it's a good thing. He'd probably break your heart and ruin your life."

Emily heaved a dramatic sigh and then rested her head on the kitchen table. "You're probably right." Then her head snapped up as she remembered something. "Oh, when's your mom coming home?"

She sent her new friend a confused look. "Not anytime soon. Why?"

The other girl frowned at the answer and replied, "Because my mom asked me to invite you guys over for dinner earlier. But since your mom isn't here… do you still want to come?"

She smiled at bit at the uncertainty and hint of fear in Emily's voice. "I'll have to check with Lizzie, but we'd love to."

A relieved smile broke out on the frizzy haired teen's face as she clapped both hands together. "Great! I'll go tell my mom; be right back, as soon as I bring Marti back home along the way."

Dinner at the Davis's wasn't that bad. Lizzie didn't hit it off with Dimi because of the age difference, but she was well-behaved and very polite, something she had expected of her little sister. They were mostly asked about their old life and they answered as best they could while also offering information about their hobbies and such. Before they knew what happened, they were invited for dinner again the following week.

She lied on her bed, replacing the phone back onto her nightstand with a satisfied sigh. She had just finished a two hour conversation with Jacob and was in a very good mood. She was just about to fall asleep when she heard the sounds of a car engine outside her window. Curious if it was her mom, she crossed the room and peeled back the curtains to peer out onto the driveway. There was nothing but the old Honda and no signs of her mom's car. Furrowing her brows in confusion, she glanced over at the Venturis' driveway and there she spotted the source of the noise.

An old, though not ridiculously old, car sat in the driveway, its headlights just recently dimmed and the engine turned off. Out stepped a teenage boy with shaggy brown hair. She raised an eyebrow at his black leather jacket and shook her head in disapproval. She could only assume that this was the Derek Venturi that Emily was talking about earlier. She didn't mean to stare and only realized that she was when he flicked his gaze over at her window. Surprised at being caught, she hurriedly stepped away from the window and dropped the curtain. She thought she saw a smirk on his face, but she wasn't sure. Right now she just hoped that she hadn't caught his attention, even though that was impossible with what she had just done.

She shook her head to clear her racing thoughts and crossed her rooms to the box holding all of her novels. She'll find time to place them in the bookshelf tomorrow. For now, she randomly picked up the first book of the pile and flipped open to the first page to read. She needed to read to clear her mind.

He smirked as he depressed the lock and shut the car door. He had seen her staring the moment he stepped out of the car and had even expected her reaction to his shifting his gaze over to her. He was pretty sure that Emily Davis, his other neighbor, had told the new girl all about him. It didn't matter. It only made matters more interesting.

It also didn't matter if she chose to avoid him. Casey McDonald, as he'd found out from his sources, would succumb to his charms. Everyone did and she would be no different. It would only be a matter of time.

He'd let her have her way for now, because on Monday, all that was going to change.

A/N: Hey! I originally didn't plan on posting this, but from the results of the poll in my profile encouraged me to do so, here it is. One-shots are more of my thing because it's easier to write and finish. I'm not too good on updating multi-chapter stories, so here's a fair warning to you lovely readers out there: Updates might/would not be often.

I'm not fishing for reviews, so even if I get a lot or none at all, it won't affect the update process because I need to find the time to work on a new chapter. Other than that, I hope you enjoy what I have so far and that you would stick with me to the end (if I ever get that far). C: