-1Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with Train's song "Marry Me", Life with Derek, or Queen's University. Basically if you recognize it in my story, I don't own it. I only own the characters and plot I made up.

Also: Vacation with Derek happened but Casey didn't go to New York. She still went to Queen's but joined the Dance team on campus. No one edited this but me so any mistakes are my own. If they seem a little out of character, sorry, I tried. This might be total crap but here is the first part of story.

"See ya later!" Derek yelled over his shoulder to Casey as he opened the door to leave the apartment their parents were renting for them.

"Where are you heading off to, Derek?" Casey asked swinging her head around and hanging her arms over the couch looking up from her book reading to study for her test on Monday after a long dance practice.

"Ummm," Derek paused clearly not expecting her question, "no where important, just hanging out with a couple guys from the hockey team."

"Then why do you have a notebook with you"

"What's with the Spanish Inquisition? Just because I have a life and you the Queen of Keeners is studying on a Thursday night is no reason to nag me. God, I will be back later, Princess." Derek replied practically running out the door. Derek runs down the stairs thinking, damn, Iam glad I remembered to leave my guitar in the Prince.

Normally Casey would have smiled at the Monty Python reference from when they watched it after a classmate of Derek's recommended the Flying Circus during one of his Film Studies classes. When they both had been accepted to Queen's, they had gotten academic and sport scholarships that covered their tuition, fees and books but didn't cover their housing. George and Nora talked with Dennis and Abby and thought it best to pool money and get them an apartment right off campus. They were wary of getting a two bedroom one bathroom with an open air kitchen/dining area/living area setup together but since arriving at Queen's they were jolted by the newness of it all and were immediately swamped with the craziness of college life. Derek with his hockey games and practices and his Film Studies and photography classes. Casey with her nursing and English courses, dance team practices and performances. Somehow with the college life upon them it seemed less necessary to put up fronts and started to act like friends over the first few weeks of college. Oh they stilled fought like cats and dogs and Derek still loved to pull pranks on her but they never did so in an effort to hurt. It is just how they got the other one to listen. People at Queen's knew them as two people who were roommates and friends from high school. Never came up to tell other people they were step-siblings so they never did. It was easier that way.

Casey shakes her head thinking, I wonder where he was been going the last couple Thursday nights that he is so defensive about. Just as Casey was turning back to her book, she is startled by a loud BANG BANG knocking on the apartment door.

"Casey, come on. Open up girl we have arrived!"

Casey sets her book down and springs up off the couch running to the door opening it to reveal her friends Nicole and Whitney. Both girls were dressed for a night out and had their hands in the air.

Whitney took one look at Casey's appearance and shook her head and said "Girl, you go get changed. We are getting you out of this apartment. We are going to that new coffeehouse, Caffeinated. They are having an open mic night and karaoke night. I wanted to go last week but couldn't. Musicians are so hot."

Stepping with Whitney into the apartment, Nicole looks at her then Casey and says while putting her hands on her hips, "Of course she has to change and come with us but first I want to know if the guy we passed on the way up the stairs was the same Derek Venturi we have been hearing about. The new hockey star? I know you said you had an annoying roommate from back home but wow how did you hook that one? And that reminds me are you guys dating?"

"Way to bring to it up, but yeah I was wondering that too. So do you live with your boyfriend? I wish my parents would be that cool. Mine would freak if they knew about Andrew even staying the night the other night." Whitney added.

Totally confused now at how weird the night is going but totally glad she has found these two girls so early in her first semester Casey wrinkles her brow. "I am not sure what you guys are talking about. Derek and I are roommates and friends I guess. Why would you say we are more than that?"

Now is her friends turn to look confused. Nicole pipes up "well, didn't you get a call from him the other day with him freaking out because he was worried you wouldn't come to his game and needed to wear his old practice jersey?"

"Okay, I will give you that but he just needed someone in the stands cheering him on since he didn't have anyone else able to come and his sister Marti was his good luck charm in high school."

"Sure Sure, but what about that party we went to and you guys got into that fight and you left early with him? We thought for sure if you guys were only roommates before that you must have hooked up after that." Whitney chimed in.

Whitney's comment caused Casey to flashback to the last time Derek snapped at her.

Last week they ran into each other at a party that they went to separately not knowing each other would be there. Him with his hockey buddies and her with a couple girls she met from her nursing class and her dance auditions. The house was crowded with people with music blaring and booze everywhere. Casey was dancing with a frat guy when he started to get a little too liberal with his hands. Casey had started to get step away and say she was going to go get a drink with her friends when all of a sudden he was pulled away from her. "Hey keep your hands to yourself asshole!" Realizing she knew that voice she looked up surprised to see Derek looking ready for a fight. "Yo sorry dude. I didn't know she was taken." The guy slipped through the crowd backing up with his hands up. "Hey what's wrong with you Derek? Everyone is staring at us," Casey yelled at him. "They wouldn't be staring if you would act smart and what the hell are you doing at a frat party anyway? I am taking you home Casey," he yelled back. "Hey D, you guys alright? And hey you never said your girlfriend was gonna be here tonight or that you guys live together," Daniel, one of Derek's friends said coming up to them. "Well we are getting out of here. Sorry for flaking out on you but I gotta get my princess outta here before she gets into trouble," Derek said not answering the unspoken question and taking Casey arm and dragging her out of the house and to the Prince. Casey was so shocked she let him waving bye to her friends on their way out. Stopping by the Prince, Casey halts to a stop and looks up and starts to say "what is going on?" but didn't get the chance when Derek all of a sudden holds her face and kisses her hard once and says harshly "get in the car."

They ended up not talking all the way back. Derek was silent gripping the steering wheel hard because he was angry and Casey because she was tired all of a sudden and getting ready for the fight she thought was coming. Not at all the rest of the night had either as Derek had gone straight to his room slamming the door when they got back. Hearing Derek playing some music, Casey made herself a cup of tea and sat in front of the blank TV not sure what to do. Curious and a little hopeful as to what it could mean but not sure she got up and went to bed. Maybe he would explain why he was mad tomorrow. She had a long day and whatever his problem was he can either get over it or they can fight about it tomorrow. She shrugged it off though when she found makeup drawer filled with shaving cream and he went back to being his normal self the next day starting with yelling for her to get in the car or he was leaving her there and he wouldn't be responsible for her dying of a heart attack for missing class. "Anymore makeup and you will look like a clown. You don't need the stuff. Go without. You look fine. Let's GO."

Blinking back to the present, Casey says "well that might have looked that way and I can say I had thought that maybe now that we seemed to be becoming friends that, somebody we could possibly . . ."

"Get together? Hook up? Live happily ever after? Shake things up?" Nicole says smiling now.

Casey blushes beet red.

"Wow here we are thinking you already are. Sorry for bringing up. Maybe it will happen. We never see you two together but you guys are always texting each other and I swear I thought those movies nights you mentioned having here dates. Were they?" asks Whitney.

"I don't know" Casey says remembering that there had been cuddling involved and he had made her favorite popcorn and let her pick the movie.

"Okaaaay," Whitney drawls, " Let's go out, you can tell us all about it and we can check out that new place. So go change."

"Alright alright I am going I am going," Casey said laughing and heads to her room to change.

Climbing out of Nicole's car when she parks in Caffeinated's parking lot, Casey sees the Prince parked a rows down.