Disclaimer: I don't own Life With Derek. Although it would be absolutely amazing if I did.

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Life was so easy before the dreaded move into an insta-family of seven. Now, Derek needs a reason to be closer to his step-sister. He never thought the day would come.

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The warning bell was fast approaching, and Casey needed to run in order to get the first Media Arts class of the semester. This class was a filler class for her, as English Literature was full for the semester. Filming was not her specialty, writing was. But she might as well get a credit out of the way instead of waiting three months for next semester, right?

Casey ran into the large classroom just as the bell rang, and she sighed in relief. She looked around the crowded classroom, and saw that there was one vacant seat. Unfortunately, this seat was right next to Derek Venturi.

Maybe I'll just stand. She thought, frowning. She looked around the room one last time, searching for some other seat that she had missed before. There was nothing, and no one seemed too inclined to move over for her. Casey glanced at the seat next to her step-brother, which was still empty. He didn't seem to be saving it for anyone. Derek had his iPod on, and hadn't seemed to notice her coming over to where he was sitting.

'Do you mind if I sit here?' she asked, politely. She hadn't seen him for three years, ever since he had moved out of the McDonald/Venturi residence after a big fight between him and George.

He looked up from his glowing iPod screen, and stared at her in surprise.

'Casey! Wh-what are you doing in this class?' he sputtered nervously. He hadn't expected to see her.

'I'm taking this class.' She informed him. 'Until English Literature has space in the classes. There's something like two hundred people in the class or some other crazy number of people.'

Derek nodded, while putting his iPod into his bag. 'So what have you been doing for the last three years?'

'You, know. School, work, trying to pay the rent. I changed my major.'

'Really? To what?' he asked, looking interested.

'Writing.' She said, proudly. 'I realized that I wasn't cut out to be a doctor.'

'You were always a good writer.' Derek said, before realizing what he had said.

'Thanks. That means a lot.' Casey said, blushing slightly.

'Want to sit down?' Derek asked, gesturing to the seat next to him.

'Thanks.' She said happily, as she took up the empty space.

Right then, the professor walked into the classroom. He looked very official, sporting a navy blue sports jacket and a button-down shirt. He had glasses and graying hair. Casey looked down at her jeans and gray t-shirt, and wondered if she was supposed to dress up a bit more. She noticed a couple of students looking down at their wardrobe and wondering the same thing. She would have to ask former students about the dress code around this guy.

'Good morning students. This semester we will embark on a journey behind the eye of the camera lens. You will learn how to capture the beauty of everyday life, everyday people, and everyday surroundings.'

Derek and Casey smirked at each other, listening to how absolutely ridiculous this all sounded to the students.

'For each student that brought a video camera, congratulations on being so well-prepared. People sans camera, I have some that you can borrow for the term. I realize that I didn't send out a list of things you needed, but all you need it a camera and creativity.'

Casey felt slightly guilty. She didn't own a video camera, she had never needed one. Derek was always the one filming things, she was always writing them down. It was just the way she was.

'For your first assignment, you will choose partners.'

Casey couldn't believe the speed of this class. They were ten minutes into their first lesson, and they were already being assigned projects. She looked over at Derek, and he looked back, nodding. Now they were partners. This eliminated any awkward conversations with people that she didn't know, which was always the toughest part of any class.

The teacher left a minute or so to talk to the new partners of the class.

'So, you're still into filming stuff?' Casey asked, casting a look over to the camera bag that was on the desk in front of Derek.

'Yeah. That's what I want to major in. Filming.' He said, nodding.

'That's so cool! As you can probably already tell, I know nothing about filming. You're now officially my mentor, in case you didn't already know.' Casey said, joking.

'Great.' He said, grimacing. He was really glad to be talking to Casey again. Derek hadn't thought that he would be seeing any of the McDonald family for a long time, if ever. He hadn't called anyone over the three years of his absence, and neither had anyone else. He hadn't thought that anyone would want to talk to him.

'For this assignment, you will be documenting the lives of your partners. In turn, your partner will do the same thing. In a month, you will show your edited movie of your partner to the class. If you have any questions, don't be afraid to ask.' The professor said, breaking Derek's train of thought.

'So, when do you want to start documenting my life?' Casey asked, looking over at him. This project doesn't sound too bad. It'll be a chance to get to know Derek again. She thought, smiling at this thought. Back when they had both lived with their parents and siblings, they had fought almost everyday. Although right before he had left, they had actually been getting along, which was rare. They both had enjoyed getting on each other's nerves.

'Um, anytime. Besides school, I don't have a life.' Derek joked. Both of them knew that that statement was completely untrue. He had hockey, parties, dates with random girls, and his current passion behind the camera.

'How about dinner tonight?' Casey asked.

'I-uh-sure.' Derek said, caught off guard.

'How about the diner on the other side of campus?' she asked, throwing out ideas.

'Sounds perfect.'

'Class is over for today. See you all on Wednesday.' The professor said, dismissing the class.

Casey gathered up her bag, turned to face Derek. 'See you tonight.'

She walked out of the door, and he watched her go. Something felt right about dinner tonight. He sighed in relief as he gathered up his things.

He waved after her, and walked out of the classroom