In only two short weeks Derek's house was going to be invaded, by girls. Just the thought of it made Derek shiver in the summer heat. This had called for an emergency meeting of the boys at our old fort. We hadn't used the fort in a few years except for big emergency's so when I called Ralph and Sam they knew it was serious. Now Derek was riding his bike, he could only focus on the sound of the rhythmic pedalling. His brain just wasn't comprehending the fact that his Dad was actually going to marry Nora. There was nothing wrong with Nora exactly, it was more the fact that Nora had two daughters. Well it wasn't even the youngest Lizzie, she could be converted to the Venturi way, she was still young. It was the other goody goody, Casey.

Egh, there was the shiver again. How was I meant to be myself around little miss perfect. With her perfect grades, clothes, hair and perfect body. It was hard enough being a teenage boy, but now this. Bringing a hot girl into the house, George and Nora were just asking for trouble. He had already decided he would try and hate Casey as much as possible so he could never be attracted to her.

As Derek pulled his bike to a stop, he glanced up to see Sam and Ralph's worried faces. Derek hopped off the bike and motioned for the two boys to follow him into the fort. No words would be said till all 3 of them entered the fort, it was an old tradition and they weren't going to break it now.

The second all 3 of the boys sat down Ralph asked "So Derek, what's up man?" Sam elbowed Ralph in the ribs and told him to shut up. Derek looked at his two best friends and wondered if they would understand or tell him to get over it, it didn't matter now anyway because he had already called this meeting.

He took a big breath and said "Well my Dad is getting married again, and that's not all. The lady he is getting married to has two kids, both girls. And the worst thing about it is that the eldest is hot. How am I meant to walk around the house if a hot teenage girl is watching me?"

Ralph instantly started to laugh so Derek kicked him right in the shin. Sam on the other hand gave it a moment of thought before saying " D-man I think your freaked a little too much, you have dated so many girls, you know how to ignore them or give someone special attention. Just treat her like an older Marti"

Derek's eyes widened at the thought of this, ever since he had met Casey he had had fantasies about touching her lips and looking into her eyes but to replace Casey with Marti was just wrong. How could he tell these guys when he had seen Casey something had changed inside of him, when she had smiled at him his hands had gone clammy and begun to shake. How could he say that the he, the Great Derek Venturi might just possibly have met the girl of his dreams. He shook his head violently and said "I can't do that, Marti is my little sister, Casey is our age".

Suddenly light seemed to flicker in Sam's eyes and he exclaimed " I've got it, all you have to do is just distract yourself with other girls, so your thoughts are never on C, Casey. Was that her name?"

"Yeah that's her name, and that might work. Ralph had finally stopped laughing and was looking up at the sky. At the mention of his name he looked down and said "How hot, exactly Derek. Are we talking Lindsay Lohan or Babe Raider hot?"

Derek pictured her in his mind before answering "Hotter than both". He went back to picturing her and wondered why after only meeting her once he could remember every last detail about her.

Sam who had been wondering about what the new members of the family would mean to the current living arrangements asked "Where are they going to sleep?"

Ralph, who today was being ever so helpful, piped up "Yeah Derek, where is she going to sleep, maybe in your room?

Derek slapped his palm into his forehead and tried to get the image of him and Casey curled up on his bed out of his brain. "You know what guys, I think this meeting is over. It's made me worry more about it then before" he said.

As the three boys left the fort Sam whispered into Derek's ear "Do you like her as a person, or just by looks?" Derek considered the answer for a long while before deciding against telling the truth. It would be torture if Casey found out he liked her. That's to say if he wasn't already in love with her.

So instead he just answered "I'm a shallow man, what can I say?" Sam laughed and the three boys decided to go out for pizza. Derek knew that things wouldn't get any easier with Casey actually living in the house with him. He was going to need his boys for moral support.

As all three boys rode away from the fort one thought was still lingering on Derek's mind.

Why did it have to be her?