My first LWD fic! Please be kind and, as always, review! (Flames and critism are more than welcome!)

Chapter 1

"Are you sure you want to do this, Casey?" Nora asked nervously. She watched as her

oldest daughter packed up her clothes, grim faced. "I mean, you're still a teenager."

"I'm seventeen, Mom." Casey said quietly. "I'm not a child anymore. Besides, if I stay here, things might get...awkward." She picked up another pile of neatly folded underclothes. "I'm almost done here. Why don't you go downstairs and make sure Lizzie has my other bags in my car?"

Nora walked hesitantly towards the door, then stopped and walked back to Casey and enfolded her in a hug. "I still love you, Casey." She whispered in her daughter's ear. "If you ever need anything at all, please, call me."

Casey's eyes filled, and she squeezed her mother tightly. "Thanks, Mom." She murmured. "I needed that." She pulled away and wiped at her teary eyes. "I'll be down shortly." She added stiffly. Nora forced a smile, nodded, and walked out, and Casey turned her attention to her almost-empty room. Her dresser was almost empty, except for the bottom drawer. Casey shut the door to her room, then knelt beside her dresser and opened the drawer slowly. In the very back, there was a small bag. And inside that bag was Casey's new favorite possession. Slowly, she opened the bag and pulled out an oversized jersey. It was Derek's, of course; she had stolen it from his room weeks ago. He never noticed, and she would never tell him. Casey laid it back in the small bag, folded it up, and carefully placed it in her last suitcase. Then, taking a deep steady breath, she zipped it shut, picked it up, and walked down the stairs.

Her entire family was waiting in the living room; only one person was absent, and that was because he was away at some hockey training camp. It was the only reason Casey had picked today, of all days, to leave.

"Are you sure you have to leave, Casey?" Marti asked. "I don't want you to."

"I have to, Marti." Casey whispered, and she bent over to hug her stepsister closely. "I'll miss you so much. But listen!" She pulled back enough to look Marti in the eyes. "I'll come back to visit you as much as I can. And as soon as I get set up, we can have a sleep over–just me and you and Lizzie. Would you like that?" Marti smiled and nodded, and Casey moved on to hug Edwin.

"I still think you should stay." He grumbled. "Who cares what stupid people have to say?"

"It's alright." Casey soothed. "Maybe I'll move back someday. You never know!" She didn't mention that she cared what 'stupid people' had to say, or that one of the stupid people was the one person she loved with all her heart. She reached out and hugged Lizzie, who simply squeezed Casey as hard as she could and sobbed nearly hysterically.

"Hey, take it easy!" She urged, patting Lizzie gently. "Careful, breakable cargo." Lizzie forced a grin and nodded.

"We'll come over to visit in the next week or so, Casey." George told her. His eyes were carefully averted from her pretty face, but at least he was talking to her now. Last week, after she told him the news, he had avoided her like the plague, his face angry. "And...make sure you let us know what's going on, okay?"

"I will. Promise." Casey agreed. She moved on to hug her mother. "You remember the story we agreed to tell Derek, right?" She asked softly.

"What story you agreed to tell me?" A new voice asked. The whole family turned to stare in horror at Derek, struggling with a duffle bag over each arm and a bag of hockey gear on his arm.

"Derek." Nora's voice was strained. "What are you doing here?"

"I live here." Derek replied practically as he dumped the bags on the couch. His eyes took in their expressions–George's anger glower, Nora's flushing face, Lizzie's red rimmed eyes, Edwin's wondering gaze, and Marti's sad countenance. Even Casey was acting weird; she turned slightly away and bit her lower lip, eyes filled with tears.

"What Nora meant is..." George finally offered. "What are you doing back so early? Camp wasn't supposed to let out for another week."

"Got kicked out for excessive fighting." Derek reported. "How weird is that? I mean, it's hockey. There's no such thing as 'excessive fighting'." He shrugged and sat down on the couch, still facing his family. "And whose's car is that outside?"

"Mine." Casey muttered.

"Hey, cool!" Derek stretched. "You can give me a ride to school now." He stopped and laughed. "Could I borrow it for a date this Saturday?"

An odd combination of looks crossed George's face before he spoke. "I don't think so."

Derek shrugged and stood up, then looked at the bags around Casey. "I didn't think you were going to camp this summer?"

"I'm not." Casey stammered. "I...I'm, um...I'm moving out."

"Aren't you kind of young to be moving out?" Derek demanded.

Nora hesitated. "We thought...this might make things easier on everyone." She explained. "Casey's going through some very difficult times right now, and she needs as much space as possible."

"Where's she going to live?" Derek pried. "In another city or what?"

"About five minutes away." Casey muttered. Her face was turning a curious shade of red, and she refused to have eye contact with him. "It's a little house."

"Why are you moving out?" Derek asked suddenly. "What aren't you guys telling me?"

"Sometimes..." George began, just as Nora forced a laugh and said something about it not mattering.

Marti looked up with confusion. "I thought it was because of the new baby!" She chirped.

"Nora's having a baby?" Derek demanded. "Why didn't anyone tell me? And that doesn't explain why Casey's leaving!"

"Um..." Edwin stalled uncertainly. Lizzie rolled her eyes and walked up the stairs wordlessly.

And Casey bent over to grab her bags, then looked up and made complete eye contact with Derek for the first time. "Mom's not having a baby." She said simply. "I am. I'm pregnant." Then, without a backward glance, Casey quietly marched out of the house, threw her suitcases in the backseat, and drove away. She could see Derek standing on the porch of the house, his eyes wide with sudden realization and fear.

But to Casey's credit, she didn't break down into tears or stop the car and run into his arms the way she wanted to. No; instead she waited until she was parked in front of her new house before she burst into tears, wrapping her arms around her belly and sobbing hysterically until she had no tears left. At last, she wiped her face, grabbed her bags, and fumbled out her new house key. She locked the door behind her, dropped her bags on the floor the way Derek had done so many times, and sat on the floor of the living room. She felt so tired...tired of feeling ashamed for falling for Derek, tired of hiding her growing baby bump, tired of feeling uncertain. Her eyes crashed shut, and Casey dozed in the front hall of her new home.