Summary: Edwin's still feeling down about being dumped by Michelle, so Lizzie decides to help him cope. (Lizwin!)

Disclaimer: Don't own Life With Derek. Or Sports Illustrated. 'Nuff said.

Author's Note: In light of the mass amounts of Lizwin in 'Happy New School Year', I decided to write this.

Enjoy!

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Get Over It
By: Lady Azura

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"I hate my life!"

At the sound of her step-brother's voice, Lizzie McDonald stopped what she was doing and glanced over her shoulder just in time to see said step-brother march into her room, his face twisted into a permanent scowl, and plop down on her bed.

Sighing, Lizzie placed her pen down and swiveled around in her desk chair to face him.

"Michelle still keeping you down?" She asked, even though she already knew the answer.

Edwin Venturi groaned loudly in dismay and fell back with his arms spread out.

"It's bad enough that she dumped me for the stupid gletcher-archer to begin with, but now he has to go to our school, too? As if I wasn't suffering enough…" He muttered -- mostly to himself -- before sitting up abruptly and eyeing Lizzie suspiciously. "Wait. How did you know?"

His step-sister promptly rolled her eyes.

"Please. It's all you ever talk about these days."

"Oh. Right." He flopped back again.

Lizzie sighed in exasperation as she watched him writhe and moan like he was in actual pain. ("Pain of the heart." He'd told her a week ago, after she'd questioned him about it. "My heart's been shattered into a million little pieces… I don't think I'll ever love again. Now please… leave me be. Let me wallow in peace.") He'd been doing that since the day school started -- after catching his ex and her new beau, Brent Bishop AKA the 'Gletcher-Archer', locked at the lips in the cafeteria, and to be quite frank, Lizzie was growing rather irritated. She'd had enough of Edwin's wallowing and moping and reciting quotes from Shakespeare to last her a lifetime. Two, in fact!

"Edwin, it's been three weeks." She told him, her voice stiff. "Honestly, you're worse than Casey. Just get over it already."

The dark-haired Venturi went still for a minute, then sat up, gaping at her in sheer disbelief.

"Get over it?" He repeated, as if it were the most absurd thing he'd ever heard. "Get over it? I'm sorry, Lizzie, but do you have any idea what it's like to be in love, only to have your heart ripped out of your chest and stomped on? DO YOU? No, of course you don't. You're just a kid… you don't even know what 'love' is."

Lizzie shot him an incredulous look.

"You're only eight months older than me!"

"That's besides the point!" Edwin snapped, holding up his hand to silence her. She narrowed her eyes dangerously, but he didn't seem to notice as he continued his speech. "The point is… I'M the older and more experienced -" Lizzie snorted at this. "- one. I'M the one who foolishly fell in love and got his heart broken, and I'M the one who has to suffer as a result!" He paused to take a deep breath, staring idly at his reflection in Lizzie's vanity mirror. "You know, sometimes the pain is just too much. Every time I see them together, all I can think about is what used to be and what could've been had she never gone to camp over the summer. But now… it's too late." He sighed in defeat before glancing over at his step-sister, who was staring blankly at him. "Hey, if I asked you to kill me -"

"Oh, for the love of…" Lizzie threw her hands up in frustration and glared hard at the idiot she was forced to call 'step-brother'. "Could you be ANY more dramatic?"

"I'm not dramatic!" Edwin cried defensively, jumping to his feet. "I'm a man in pain! You should be taking pity on my broken soul, not insulting me!"

"A pain in the ass is more like it." Lizzie retorted. "And for the record? I have been taking pity on your 'broken' soul -- for the past THREE weeks! And do you know what I think?" She didn't even wait for him to open his mouth before she answered for him. "I think it's time to move on."

"But - but I'm horribly distraught!"

"No, you're horribly dramatic and I'm sick of your moping." Lizzie huffed, crossing her arms. "But don't worry. Even though it goes against my better judgment… I'm willing to help you."

"I don't need your -" Edwin stopped when his step-sister shot him a warning look. He swallowed nervously. "O-okay. Help's good. What'd you have in mind?"

"It's simple, really." Lizzie replied. "Hook up with another girl."

Edwin gaped at her.

"THAT'S your idea of 'simple'?" He cried, and when Lizzie nodded, he began to wave his arms around frantically. "How am I supposed to do THAT? You won't even tell me which one of your friends likes me!"

"That's because I was kind of hoping that you'd have figured it out by now." His step-sister countered, standing up. "It's pretty obvious, when you think about it."

Edwin furrowed his brow.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

Lizzie laughed, but it didn't sound like her normal laugh. It sounded forced and bitter… resentful, even, but before Edwin could voice his concern, she cut him off.

"You can't think of any girl who'd want to be your girlfriend? Not even one?"

Edwin shook his head. He really couldn't. Most of the girls at their school made it known that they thought he was creepy and weird, and often steered clear from him. With the exception of a few, of course, like Molly Moscovitz and Michelle, and he grimaced as he recalled how both of those relationships had ended over the phone. He contemplated for a few more minutes and continued to draw blanks until the sound of Lizzie's feet padding across the floor jarred him from his stupor and he saw her standing by the door.

"I'm going to go brush my teeth." She announced, her eyes never once meeting his. Just as she was about to leave, however, she paused to crane her neck and look at him from over her shoulder, and said, "By the way… it doesn't necessarily have to be someone from school. It can be someone from home, too."

Then she was gone, and all Edwin could do was stand there, brows knitted together in concentration as her words echoed over and over again in his mind.

'What does that even mean?' He thought.

Suddenly, something clicked, and pieces of the puzzle started to come together and everything started to make sense.

Why Lizzie seemed so pleased when she'd found out that Michelle had dumped him; how eager she'd been to help him get over the blonde; her new look (he could vaguely recall a distant memory long ago in which he'd told her that guys like Scott and himself preferred 'girly girls' as opposed to 'tomboys'); the way she'd been acting lately (sparing glances at him at every given opportunity, listening to him vent about Michelle instead of kicking him out of her room for being too annoying, blushing whenever their hands accidentally touched)… it all made perfect sense.

Lizzie was the friend that liked him.

How could he have been so oblivious?

Instead of mentally berating himself, however, Edwin made a mad dash out the door and to the bathroom, and as walked quickly through the upstairs hallway (because Nora would kill him if he was caught running), he could hear Lizzie's voice in the back of his head.

"Girls like a guy with confidence." She'd said to him after he told her about what'd happened with Michelle.

Did she mean herself, too? He wondered.

As he neared turned the corner, he realized he'd soon find out.

When he finally reached the bathroom, he found Lizzie kneeling on the floor, half of her body hidden under the sink cupboard as she rummaged around for… something. He wasn't sure what, exactly. All he knew for sure was that she wasn't at all aware of his presence (or the fact that he was checking out her backside) until he closed the bathroom door and locked it. He watched as his step-sister pulled her upper half out from under the sink -- accidentally smacking her head in the process and uttering a string of profanities that would impress even the most vulgar guy, such as his friend Teddy -- and stood up on wobbly legs, a tube of toothpaste in hand.

"Edwin!" She exclaimed when she saw him standing there. "What are you -"

"It's you." He said, cutting her off. "You're the one that likes me."

Lizzie's expression became serious.

"I am." She answered, not even bothering to try and deny it.

Edwin folded his arms across his chest and stared hard at her.

"So… why didn't you just tell me?" He asked.

Lizzie snorted.

"Because," she said simply. "You're my step-brother. I'm not supposed to like you like that. It's weird."

"So?" Edwin countered.

"So… I wasn't even sure if you'd feel the same way. I'm still not sure. Do you? Is that why you're here?"

Edwin shrugged.

"I don't know." He said. "But I'm willing to try to find out… if you come a little closer, that is. If you get my drift." He smirked suggestively. "Or are you too -"

"Finish that sentence and die." Lizzie threatened, before taking a few steps forward.

Edwin did the same, and pretty soon a small gap -- not even two inches in distance -- was all that separated them. Placing his hands -- which were trembling nervously -- on her hips, he watched in fascination as an array of emotions swept across her face.

Fear, anxiety, uncertainty, determination, hope, admiration, doubt… nearly every emotion imaginable.

"Are you scared?" He dared to ask.

Lizzie shook her head.

"No."

"Nervous?"

"A-a little." Her voice was shaky.

"…"

"Okay, a lot."

"Why?"

"I dunno."

Silence.

"Is this your first time kissing someone?"

More silence.

"Yes."

Another long pause; Edwin's grip on his step-sister's hips tightened some.

"Can I kiss you?"

Lizzie tried to answer, but her voice got caught in her throat and all she could do was nod.

Edwin licked his lips.

"Do you want me to kiss you?" He asked.

He wanted to know.

He had to know.

A momentary silence dawned on them. A momentary silence that felt more like an eternity, in Edwin's opinion, as he waited anxiously for his step-sister's response.

Finally, she answered, her voice just barely above a whisper.

"Yes."

That's all Edwin needed to hear before his lips met hers.

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FIN

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I liked it up until the part where she spotted him in the bathroom. After that… not so much, but THAT I blame on the fact that it's midnight and I really SHOULD be going to bed because I have school tomorrow… but whatever.

Hopefully you guys enjoyed.

Please REVIEW and tell me what you think!

-Lady Azura-