Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Life With Derek, Nor Any Of The Song Lyrics I May Use As Chapter Titles, Or As My Story Title.
I stopped writing this story years ago. But recently re-read it & wanted to begin where I left off. Then I could not log into my account lol! So here I am with a new account & starting over. :)
Characters may seem a little OOC to some. Hopefully you enjoy it. I enjoy writing it :
Chapter One
"This whole situation is incredibly typical…"
Casey McDonald threw her large messenger bag on her bedroom floor and sighed. On this particular day school had been a drain on her. Senior year, she had realized was difficult. More than any other preceding year.
She was trying so desperately to get her excellent grades up to superior status to ensure a first-rate college in her not-so-distant future.
She dragged her bag across her carpet and sat on her bed. Leafing through her folders she once again inwardly sighed.
"Homework, and more homework…," she said aloud.
Of course she was a perfectionist and loved her school work, she also wanted, only sometimes, a real life. One where instead of sitting home alone on a Friday night, she was out at a party with friends. She'd never even experienced that, and she was eighteen now, about to go to college.
Would it be the same thing all over again? Or could she just start over?
"Who am I kidding?," she thought, "I'll always be…uninteresting."
She really had no idea where these thoughts had been coming from, but in the past few weeks they had started and wouldn't slow down. She guessed it was the fear of leaving high school and starting something so new, so foreign.
Also, she hadn't been in a serious relationship for nearly a year, and had rarely dated in the meantime. She had put all her effort into school. Now it was catching up to her. Now it was wearing her down. She wanted a boy to go to movies with, parties on the weekend, and friends who double dated.
How was this all to much to ask for?
"Dinner!" Nora called from downstairs, interrupting Casey's thoughts. She hauled herself from the bed reluctantly and headed down to dinner.
"How exciting!" she mumbled, drearily.
And so very typical.
As Nora was placing the final settings on the table Casey walked in. She glanced around the table to find George, Edwin, Lizzie, and Marti already seated, except for Derek, she noted, who's probably out with his friends…of course, she thought.
"So how was everyone's day?" Nora questioned as she took her seat at the end of the table, smiling widely.
"Great!" George exclaimed, going on about a case he was working on.
Casey just looked down concentrating on her dinner intently. Just then Derek came bounding through the front door, making as much noise as possible. Causing everyone to shift their eyes in is direction.
"Smerek's here!," Marti exclaimed loudly, as he walked in and ruffled her hair lightly, smiling.
Derek pulled out his chair and sat down, " Sorry guys, busy with schoolwork at the library, and all. You know how it is… right Casey?" He smirked, looking at Casey. He knew full well it was insult and directed at her, uncalled for. But he couldn't resist taunting her a little for her grade-grubbing ways.
"Oh please, like you ever even open your textbooks. I'm actually surprised you even know how!" Casey muttered, never looking up from her plate, but knowing he was grating her nerves on purpose.
Edwin and Lizzie just exchanged glances. All the while shaking their heads. Another night, another pointless fight.
"At least I have a life outside of Math, English, and History, unlike some people," Derek said, trying to get Casey to look up at him. Finally she did, but with a blank expression, unreadable. She wasn't going to provoke him tonight.
Casey opened her mouth to speak, but was silenced.
"Stop it you two, enough. Just eat your dinner and don't argue…for one night." George said, sighing.
"Whatever," Derek said, looking away. "I'm going out tonight anyway…"
Casey rolled her blue eyes, 'Of course he is', she thought. 'And I'm stuck here again'.
"Oh where?" George questioned.
"Just to some party with Sam and the guys. Nothing interesting really," Derek answered.
Casey wondered if she would find it as uninteresting as Derek did, if she too had parties to attend every weekend. 'Doubtful,' she thought, 'And he doesn't even appreciate it.'
She began shifting her food around her plate, not really eating any of it. She finally pushed it away from her and looked toward her mom.
"Can I be excused?"
Nora looked concerned, "Sure honey, are you ok?"
"Yeah. Tired is all."
She half smiled and slid her chair away from the table. Never looking back.
Casey flopped on her bed, Staring upward at her ceiling. For some reason she just wanted to sleep.
"So another boring night at home, Case?" Derek said hovering in her doorway. Just what she needed, rude comments.
"Why don't you just leave me alone tonight?" She said not even looking in his direction.
"What kind of step-brother would I be if I did that? You're clearly just wallowing in self-pity…or maybe…you could just shut your door, if you want privacy, instead of leaving it wide open." he half smirked.
He knew she was getting beyond annoyed but didn't really care, after all that's what he wanted. But she wasn't responding outwardly.
They always did this, witty comments thrown back and forth. 'So why was this any different?,' He thought. She seemed kind of out of it and was showing amazing restraint.
"Unless you are here to tell me you have decided to move out and get as far away from me as possible, then I don't wanna hear it…" she said quietly turning over, away from him.
"O-okay," he was taken aback by this. Only mildly offensive comments from her, no chastising, no 'De-rek!.' Just her monotonous voice, not even somewhat bothered.
"No date for Klutzilla, then? No raging parties to attend this weekend?" He wanted an outburst, some emotion at all to emit from her. But still, he received nothing. He figured digging up that nickname would stir her emotions.
She continued staring at the wall beside her bed, "You have fun Derek…"
She wasn't in the mood to argue, especially with him.
He was at a loss for words. For once he had no comeback. He lifted himself from his position of leaning on her doorframe, and mumbled something she couldn't understand.
He walked away, reluctantly, and headed downstairs. The little bickering always broke up his days from being so mind-numbing. It made him feel like a breathing being, not the vapor he felt like he had become. But she had no idea.
"What the hell is her problem?" he thought. Grabbing his jacket from the coat hanger and turning the doorknob. In the three years they lived together as a blended 'family' he'd never known her to back down from an argument, even one as trivial as this.
She heard the front door slam from upstairs. And she closed her eyes. He was right, even if he hadn't exactly said it. She was a loser at home with no date, no parties, no…nothing. She was socially useless.
She reached for her school bag and pulled out her reading assignment for English. In no time she was drifting off to sleep with the book still grasped in her left hand.
"Man, what is wrong with you?" Sam said grabbing Derek by the shoulders and shaking him roughly.
The party had been going for a couple of hours now. But nothing seemed to interest Derek enough for him to care. He had wandered around for a while, talked to a few people, and had a pair of drinks, but he was clearly bored out of his mind. Not even his gaggle of female admirers were of notice to him.
The only people who really spoke to him only did it to get some attention. Maybe someone would see them talking to the best hockey player in school and it would make them seem somehow dateable? What kind of life is that?
And the girls, same fixation. Just to be accepted and well-liked. Hook up with the hockey star, and you're the next craze in high school! 'They should make banners,' he thought.
This whole thing was getting so old. And not so much fun anymore.
It had lost it's appeal months ago.
"Nothing. Tired," Derek said, dully.
"Well, get over it! We're Seniors! We're at a party with a shit ton of hot girls, just waiting for someone like us, and you are just standing over her in the corner with this dumbass look on your face like you don't even wanna be here! It's been like this the last few weeks with you. What the hell?" Sam practically shouted at Derek.
Derek shrugged, "So what Sam? This is every weekend. It's the same girls, the same people we see everyday at school…and the same ending. You know, the one where the party is broken up by the police, or a complaining neighbor. Or even better…both!" He sarcastically replied.
"I'm just bored with it, that's all," Derek said, echoing his previous thoughts. " There's absolutely nothing new here. Nothing!"
"You're Derek Venturi. Every girl here, any girl, would hook up with you…in a second," Sam motioned around the room. "What is your problem? If I was you…"
Derek immediately cracked, tired of hearing Sam's grating voice, "Look, if you were me, you'd be sick of it too. It's not worth it, and I'm starting to realize most of my so-called friends are using me. You need to realize that too."
Sam's features darkened. "Go away if you're going to be such a downer on everything. What's happened to you lately?"
"You need to wake up Sam, everyone here has an agenda, and it's only to get more popularity. Who cares anymore?"
Sam replied by taking another drink from his bottle, and turning his head in the direction of the nearest female.
"Well, whatever dude. I'm going to enjoy myself. Go home and cry yourself to sleep or… something," Sam said and walked away toward a blonde girl with a cheap light beer glued to her hand.
She was instantly all over Sam. Of course, he was on the hockey team too and friends with Derek, the most popular guy at school. And any girl looking to up her reputation, even a little, would be receptive to his attention. 'Was he as blind as he was brainless?,' Derek thought.
Derek had the sudden urge to calmly walk over and punch Sam in his condescending face. But instead just searched for the exit, and grabbed his keys from his pocket in his leather jacket.
He looked around one last time before walking out across the lawn, littered with cans, and miscellaneous trash, out toward his car.
"Find your own way home, Sam." He mumbled before starting the ignition and heading away from the party. And to his own house.
The sound of the front door slamming shut awoke Casey from her dreams abruptly. She shot straight up, dropping her book, that had been secure in her hand, on the floor with a thud.
"What?" She said aloud, glancing over at her bedside clock. It was flashing red numbers reading only 11:30pm. "That cannot be Derek home…before curfew."
She stood up and peeked out her door just in time to see Derek's fuming expression as he turned into his room in a huff.
Disregarding this, she shut her door and crawled back into bed. She could hear rustling and various jarring noises from across the hall. 'How inconsiderate can he be, making as much noise as possible…some people actually want to sleep,' she thought.
"He's such an inconsiderate jerk."
Derek had closed his door swiftly and stood in the middle of the chaos he called his bedroom. Not knowing why but he suddenly felt the need to rearrange his room, entirely. And hard labor, such as moving furniture, was definitely not his favorite past time. But he wanted something to do, anything to release the anger. This would do for now.
He furiously pushed his desk away from the wall and began moving his bed in it's place.
He threw away all the pieces of trash littered around his room. All the empty cans of soda, half-eaten food…gone. Then he threw all his clothes in his closet in a massive pile. But much shuffling and reorganizing only seemed to jumble it up to a shoddier condition.
There was still much to be done to make it clean. To make it useful again.
"Who am I kidding…I can't even do this right," he said, looking around at the enormous mess he had brought about.
He ran his hands through his light brown hair and rested them atop his head. Surveying the damage of his room now, he felt exhausted. All this confusion, from his friends and his entire life he had created his entire high school career, was causing him to fall apart. He didn't know how to deal, but how could he change it?
He just wanted to feel less inadequate in his mind. Sure, outwardly he was arrogant, and egotistical. But Derek believed he was only really fantastic at hockey. And that comforted him, knowing he was the best. The ultimate. Out of all the boring day-to-day there was always hockey.
Even if his life was becoming a wreck, there was still hockey. An maybe a little arguing with Casey, he inwardly laughed. That was always fun.
Derek yawned, closing his eyes as his head hit the pillow.
"Well, Monday morning can't get here soon enough…," he groaned.
