A/N: So… this is my first time venturi-ng (see what I did there?) into the world of LWD fanfiction…. *yikes!* I've just been reading so much of it lately that I wanted to try writing it… and, unfortunately, that means my most recent HP fanfic (The Detention) may not get as much attention as it deserves. On the upside, new material! Meaning new inspiration! And potentially some cross inspiration that will get me working on that one again (maybe, who knows)!

So, as a quick disclaimer: it's been about a year since I watched any of the show, and when I did I had watched it all at once. I'm currently living without 24-hour access to the internet, meaning I may not be able to do my usual amount of research and fact-checking, so excuse any mistakes! I'm trying! And once again, this will be primarily smut and fluff. Or smutt'n fluff, as I like to call it. Mostly fluff for a while, then quite a bit of smut. I'll keep it T for now, but the rating will likely go up. UNLIKE my other fics, I actually wrote out a plan of attack for this one, which I hope to follow, in order to give myself some sort of road map to work with so I'm not left without a clue where to go next.

And this has been a very long author's note for quite a short preview-type chapter.

Well, enjoy!


Chapter One: A Single Pillow… A Single Head

*ring ring*

Casey McDonald groaned.

*ring ring*

She rolled over in her standard-issue extra-long twin-sized dorm room bed. The one that had been carefully made with upgraded thread-count sheets since her first year at Queen's U.

*ring ring*

The call obviously wasn't from one of her contacts or she would've recognized a carefully-chosen ring tone. This was the standard ring of an unknown number.

*ring ring*

Christ, what time was it anyway?

As her cell rang again, she cracked an eye open to glance at her bedside alarm clock.

3:23 AM

Immediately, anxiety flooded her system. No one called past 10pm, they knew she'd be asleep (yes, even on a Saturday night… well, for the first month or two of term anyway), so whoever was calling now, from an unknown number…

*ring-*

"Hello?"

She winced at the rough sleepiness that was audible in her voice, and cleared her throat.

"About time, Princess, I was starting to think you wouldn't answer."

Casey frowned, the gears in her head starting to work – slowly. The voice was the same one that had delighted in making her life a living hell for the past…. Well, nearly five years, ever since their parents had gotten married: Derek Venturi.

She hadn't seen him face-to-face (for more than ten seconds around campus) since they'd returned to school for fall term four weeks ago and she'd been roped into helping move his things into his new shared apartment (a favor he did not return when her family helped move her into her new suite-style dorm). She'd been assuming he spent all his time playing hockey or going to parties or being a skirt-chasing cad (though she supposed he must spend some time studying, as he'd passed all of his classes last semester).

But four-plus years of living under the same roof (either year-round or on breaks from university) had made her familiar with Derek's voice, and something felt a bit off. The patronizing nicknames were still in place but he sounded… embarrassed? Maybe worried? Whatever it was, it was profoundly un-Derek.

"Are you okay?" It was the first thing that came to mind, even if she didn't like to admit that she was concerned for her stepbrother.

"Yeah…"

Casey paused, hearing the inevitable 'but' in his loaded pause. When he hesitated, she intoned a warning, "Der-ek," her voice still mumbly, losing some of her intended gravitas.

"Well… y'see Case…"

She could imagine him – in his beat-up leather jacket, still rambling around Kingston at 3AM, probably at some bar somewhere – turning to shield the phone from whatever group of friends he didn't want knowing he was talking to her.

"Is this some kind of joke?" Her voice was half cautious half warning. It seemed like the sort of thing he'd do, calling her at this time of night – morning – purely to ruin her sleep. Very Derek. Although, admittedly, it wasn't the night before a big test or social event that he could ruin, so maybe less Derek than she thought. (Then again, he'd been surprisingly civil since they'd started at Queen's last year - probably because they no longer lived under the same roof, since he always got worse when they visited home.) "Because if it is I'm just going to-"

"Don't hang up!"

His voice had regained that touch of sheepishness that she'd noticed before, and he seemed truly worried she'd end the call. So something must be up.

She didn't hang up. She didn't say anything either, her eyes closing with tiredness even as one eyebrow arched in an expectant challenge (despite him not being in the same room to see it).

"…I'm kind of in jail."

"WHAT?!"

That had woken her up right quick. She fumbled for her bedside lamp and turned it on, jumping out of bed to get dressed. As she slipped one arm out of her sleeping t-shirt, and awkwardly tried to lift her shirt over her head while one hand still held her phone to her ear, she was babbling, "Der-ek! What on earth happened?! Why?! Where?! When?!"

She paused her speaking, replacing the shirt with a long-sleeved one and perching her phone between shoulder and chin as she dropped her shorts and wriggled into a pair of jeans.

"Calm down, Case, it's nothing serious." (She thought she head him mutter 'yet,' but couldn't be quite sure.) "It's just a warning, I think. I just need someone to come bail me out."

She narrowed her eyes. While she was still freaking out (it was Casey: freaking out was her primary occupation), part of her felt a sick thrill that threatened to raise the edges of her lips in a smile. It was the part that knew he didn't want their parents to know. And if he didn't want their parents to know, then Casey officially had something to hold over him. And the part of her that recognized that fact, instead of worrying about her step brother surviving a night in jail, was having a grand old time. Unfortunately, given her primary occupation, that part couldn't enjoy itself until she got him back to his place safe and sound.

She pulled her arms out of their sleeves again as she fastened her bra, getting the details of where to go and what he needed her to bring from Derek, before straightening out her shirt again and slipping on boots, grabbing her coat. Before she crept through the lounge area of her suite, where she'd have to be quiet in order to not wake her roommate, Casey paused at her bedroom door.

"I'll be there in fifteen. …You owe me for this, Venturi."

"I'm well aware, McDonald."


A/N: Well, what do you think? Interesting premise, at least? Let me know with a review please!

I'll really pick up with plot in the next couple chapters. (The whole legal aspect will be woefully under-researched, which I apologize for.)

Also, in case you were wondering, the title (which was impossible to pick, btw) is from Death Cab for Cutie's 'Your New Twin Sized Bed' which popped into my head when I was writing the first few lines.