Strawberries & Champagne

Prologue

Chapter 1

It was the fabulous, first day of Summer vacation. No school. No homework. No studying. Nothing but free time. There was a nice cool breeze, on that Saturday morning. The sun was brightly shining, and the birds were singing their hearts out, people were out for walks, little girls selling lemonade but enough with the exaggeration.

Casey McDonald came walking down her stairs slowly heading to the kitchen to get some breakfast. It was 10am in the morning and Derek and herself were the only ones home. Nora & George went to a wedding for a friend of theirs and Edwin, Lizzie and Marti all tagged along. Casey would have gone, and dreaded that she couldn't, because she has twisted her ankle during the middle of a Jazz class only a few days previous. It was getting better, but it still was bruised and achy if she stood on it too long.

Derek hadn't gone to the wedding because he had rather stay home playing Guitar Hero III all day, which he was currently doing.

"It wouldn't have killed you to go and support the couple on their special day." said Casey coolly as Derek rocked out on his knees to the current song.

"Uh, yes it would have and I don't do mushy." he said as he powered up.

"Well you could at least be doing something meaningful, instead of fake playing a plastic guitar, that has buttons."

"Well, you could at least shut up." Casey took offence to his comment.

"Go...get a life!" she said at a loss for a snarky insult.

"Ha! Yeah, I have one and I'd rather be Playing Guitar hero, thanks."

"Your useless." she said sitting down on the couch playing with a hair scrunchy ignoring the TV.

"I don't see the point in going to celebrate a couple who's going to be together for one year, start fighting on accusations over who's cheating on who, end up going to relationship therapy, then deciding on getting a divorce three weeks later."

Casey's furious face turned to a softer one.

"Derek, just because that's happened to our parents doesn't mean that its going to happen to everybody."

Derek paused his song mid length & turned his gaze to her.

"Look at us, Case. The Venturi-McDonald's are screwed." she didn't say anything and was irritated now. "I watched a movie last year in English and I remember somebody saying Kids who've grown up in a divorced parental relationship are most likely to end up in a strained or divorced relationship opposed to a happy marriage."

"Was that an exact quote?" she asked.

"Either way."

"Derek, you could at least have hope that, that won't happen to you. If you really feel that way, you could set a good example and work on improving your relationship." He made a sarcastic snort.

"Yeah, okay." he said cockily laughing as he continued playing his game. She glared at him then walked away with fury.

XOXO

9:27 pm Later that Night

"We're home." said Nora as the family came walking through the front door.

"Oh how was it?" asked Casey who was sitting on the couch as Derek was still playing Guitar Hero.

"Lizzie caught the bouquet." said Nora excited she took of her coat then help Marti.

"Awe, way to go Liz!" said Casey closing her book and putting it on her lap.

"Thanks. How's your foot?" she asked.

"Oh, it feels better. I can actually walk on it without it throbbing in crucial pain.

"That's good." piped George.

"Well, Derek you should have come to that wedding. It was babe city." said Edwin. "I uh, even got a little souvenir of myself." he twisted the garter on his index finger.

"Right on, Ed!" said Derek giving him a high five.

"Yeah, Casey there were many cute boys too!" said Marti yawning.

"Oh, nice to know Marti but remember Max is still my boyfriend." she said. Marti sighed.

"Yeah, but I don't like Max."

"That makes two of us, Smarti." said Derek.

Casey glared at him and turned her attention back to Marti.

"Why not Marti?"

"He smells weird."

Derek laughed.

"Derek have you really been playing Guitar Hero all day?" asked George sternly.

"…no?"

"How can one person play guitar hero all day without at least screaming in pain from dried out eyes?"

"Easy if you play it enough."

"Derek game off by 10:30pm."

"Ugh! Fine."

"So Lizzie, Edwin I want you guys in your rooms. Bed by 10:30pm." said Nora.

"But Derek and Casey get to stay up." wined Edwin.

"Yeah!" backed up Lizzie.

"Guys, Derek is 17 and Casey will be in 5 months. Your both 12."

"In 1 month and 2 and a half weeks Edwin will be 13 and then 1 week and 3 days later I will be too."

"How about you stop arguing with me and go up to your rooms like I commanded."

"Fine!" they both wined walking upstairs.

"Lizzie, I'll put your flowers in water." said Nora taking them from Lizzie. "Marti, you too, off to bed."

"Alright." she yawned out. "Night everyone. Night Smerek." she said running over to hug him.

"Awe, night Smarti. Don't let the bed bugs bite." he said.

"I already put them in Casey's bed."

"What? Ewe."

Derek started laughing.

XOXO

Derek went off to take a bathroom break and left Casey sitting their on the couch alone. She finished her book. What else was there to do?

She eyed Guitar Hero then looked away. She looked at it again then looked away. She eyed it one more time before looking up the stairs to see if Derek was coming back soon. She got up and grabbed the guitar and proceeded.

"What do you think your doing?" asked Derek coming down the stairs a few minutes later.

She ignored him.

He looked at the screen and saw her missing like every note on level easy.

"Case, do you even know how to play this?"

"No, not exactly, but its worth a try." she said hitting one random note.

"Oh, Oh, Oh!" he said smugly. "I thought you were too good for Guitar Hero."

"I never said I was too good for it. I Just said that you shouldn't waste all day playing it."

He watched her play for a few seconds.

"Okay first of all your playing all wrong." he paused her game. "If your going to make a fool out of yourself playing this game, at least do it with a little class."

"Pshh, class you? I'm sure." she said smugly.

"Try hitting the whammy button when actually hitting a note. It will bump up your points."

He un-paused the game.

"For example…" he said as he started playing for her. He hit all the notes that were coming his way and then hit the whammy when it said to. "I know, I'm the King of Guitar Hero. No need to thank me." he said.

"Great, but King…you didn't show me anything that could actually benefit me playing."

He sat on the couch and restarted the song. He pointed out this and that and when to do certain things. He taught her how to keep her fingers in the right locations without cheating. Overall, Casey would never admit it, but Derek was a pretty good teacher when it came to things he actually had an interest in.

She was almost through with a song that had almost every note a perfect, but then-"

"GUITAR HERO OFF!" Nora yelled from the basement.

"Noooo!" Casey yelled as she missed all the notes but then held on for the last and final one. "I almost had it. It was almost perfect." she said.

Derek switched the game off.

"Relax, if anyone should be pissed, it's me. You deleted my high score."

"Sorry. It wasn't intentional or anything."

"Whatever."

"So I'll see you tomorrow." she said getting of the couch and heading for the stairs.

"Case!"

She turned around.

"Same time tomorrow?"

She nodded.

A/N-I had this saved on my computer and I just thought I would post it, since I cannot remember at all when I actually found the time to type something. Haha. More chapters will be up soon. As most of you know, I'm a hopeless Dasey romantic, so only love can ensue out of every dasey I write. REVIEW!!