Disclaimer:
Disclaimer:
I obviously do not own life with Derek. I am also obviously not Mrs. M. Seater, but like a thousand other girls on here, I can dream! I just happen to be the one that came up with the username. And I gotta say... it's pretty awesome to get emails calling you "Mrs. M. Seater" hahahaha love it. OK on to the story... enjoy, and please review!
P.S.And on the off chance Mike actually reads this...I'm coming to T.O. this fall. We should... hang... hahaha kidding, no worries, I'm really not the stalker type. Promise. :)
CHAPTER ONE: A Means to An End
A warm summer evening swept across the streets of downtown Toronto. Even stars could be seen shining through the bright metropolis' sky. Casey Mcdonald peered through the glass doors of the Princess of Wales Theatre. Smiling to herself as a people sauntered past, dressed to the nines for a night on the town. Truth was, she loved people watching. She loved to imagine what they would do when they went home, who they went home to. What their families were like and things they might be talking about on the way back from the play. Glancing behind her, she saw her mother talking to a woman they had sat next to during the production of "Avenue Q". Casey had just turned 18 and her mother Nora celebrated by taking her to the slightly more... risqué musical. She pondered silently whether or not she enjoyed it as much as everyone said she would. Her best friend Emily had turned 18 a few months before and raved about it after getting a pair of tickets for an early graduation present. "It's like Sesame Street, meets Rent, meets Mad TV." she recalled Emily ferverently gushing about the play. For the life of her, Casey thought that's what they should put on the posters to advertise for the musical. She giggled to herself and said "Oh Em, your such a nut ball...".Unfortunately for her, a handsome guy around her age had been watching her from the concession stand nearby. At her giggle, their eyes met for just a moment when the seemingly befuddled fellow broke the gaze and walked away thinking perhaps Case was a little off her rocker, talking to herself in the middle of the theatre lobby. Her lips pursed and her brow furrowed, obviously annoyed that she'd missed a golden opportunity. She still hadn't secured a date to her graduation. It had already been a few months since her and Max split, and Casey was beginning to feel more and more desperate. This was definitely not the high point to her day. Mid sigh, Nora tapped her on the shoulder. "Ready to go Case?" "You bet mom!" She said still jived from the night out they had had.
It was a few blocks walk to the nearest subway terminal that would take them part of the way home. They talked about the songs, favorite points in the play, the exceedingly long line for the bathroom at intermission, and then finally the bizarre service they'd received at the Chill Grill. A new place that had opened on Queen Street. But that's another story. On the subway ride back Casey wished there had been a bit more choreography to the show, after all, her real passion was for the dance, not so much the singing, but found herself humming the tunes anyways. It really was a special night, with more meaning then she might have imagined. The subway stations always reminded her of the smell of a kitty litter box way overdue for a change. On its best day it reminded her of Edwin's crusty shirt mixed with Derek's sweaty gym socks. Wrapped up in thoughts of rotten fish and ammonia she tried to hide her disdain for the less desirable part of their trip by preoccupying herself with watching the tall buildings go by every so often. No matter what anyone said, she liked it here. Filled with life, light, music and culture. Even if it did smell really REALLY bad.
The shuffling of a paper bag broke the spell. Casey turned around to see her mother digging deep into an "Avenue Q" gift bag. "I forgot to tell you, I got you a couple souvenirs!" Nora said. "Souvenirs? Oh mom, you already paid for the tickets and the trip here and..." before Casey could finish her mother added "No...No... I felt tonight should be really special and I just wanted us to have something to remember it by. Besides, it's your birthday and since we didn't have a big party for you this year, it's only right that you get a little something extra.".
Casey knew her mother was trying to be nice. But nothing would make up for the fact that just 3 months prior, Derek had turned 18 and was basically allowed to turn their home into what seemed like a frat house for almost 24 hours. It went bad when some wayward guests decided to take a dip in the NEIGHBORS pool at 4 am. Needless to say it had made that already strained relationship reach boiling point. There was no chance of a repeat performance at the Venturi-McDonald house, no matter how tame Casey had promised that it would stay. It was just so ridiculously unfair. He always got what he wanted and always managed to ruin everything for her. Still, for the sake of a great memory, of a night on the town she kept up a smiling face. Just itching inside as her mom passed her a gorgeous signed copy of the program from the whole cast, and a copy of the Broadway cd, complete with lyrics to follow along. With a small squeal of glee, she hugged her mom tightly. "Thank you so much mom! It was a great night."
Morning came all too soon for Casey, though it was a Sunday, there was still so much left to do. Since Friday and Saturday were pretty much write offs due to the trip to Toronto from their cozy London home, she had to cram all the studying for exams, homework and of course last minute accessory shopping for her prom outfit into one day. It led Casey to curse the stupid rule that stores wouldn't open until 12pm on Sundays. Being a naturally early riser she decided to have a quick shower, a small breakfast and get to her homework by 9am. 9:30 came and she already felt as if she'd been studying forever. She needed some motivation, or at very least something to drown out the incessant noises coming from the level below her. She could very clearly hear the theme to Sesame Street, and someone singing along with it. "Marti" she grumbled. Her tiny step sister was cute, but definitely inherited the Venturi lack of respect for anyone else in the household. Inspired by the small coincidence, she decided to play her avenue q cd. Catchy tunes, and since it was a musical, there was always a chance it would drive Derek crazy. Perfect. She grinned mischievously.
The songs played on her boom box. Not overly loudly in order to concentrate, but loud enough to drown out the multitude of noises coming from outside her room. She hummed along without thinking about it, finished her pre calculus homework. Smack dab in the middle of drawing her parabola she sang out loud "what do you do with a BA in English... what is my life going to be..."
"You're probably going to wind up singing on a street corner with that voice. yeesh." Surprised by the disturbance Casey looked up from her books long enough to see her eldest stepbrother leaning against the doorframe arms folded against his chest. "Der-ek! Get out! Can't you see I'm trying to study?"What a jerk she thought, she'd sang for his band not long ago to very decent reviews. And now he had the audacity to complain about her singing. In her own room no less!
Not even giving her the satisfaction of an answer to the question, he swaggered over to her boom box, pressing skip every couple of seconds. "Sucks... sucks worse...omg Casey how can you listen to this garbage anyways?" Slamming her books down on the bed she walked towards him her fists clenched. "It's not garbage! It's a musical. You know, the arts? Something you wouldn't have a clue about I'm sure." she retorted. Derek opened the top of the player to read the bright orange and black label. "Avenue Q?" he said half puzzled half disgusted. "Where'd you get this junk anyways?" She contorted her face and slammed the top back down, barely missing his fingers. "Not that it's any of your business, but mom got it for me as part of my birthday present. Now would you get OUT?" "Casey Casey Casey, take it easy. It makes sense now. Nora buys you some trinkets so you don't have to feel bad that they just don't want to spend real cash on you for a real party. I understand completely." he smirked. Casey's eyes clearly burning with anger, she stood face to ...well neck. But eye to eye in her mind. Just a couple of inches separating them and she growled. "GET OUT!" Derek could feel her breath on his chin. He kept her gaze just a little longer then normal, smiled, then took his cue and left the room closing the door all too calmly behind him.
Grumbling, Casey pressed play mindlessly on the machine, sat down on her bed and lifted her book before the first words rang out... "The more you ruv someone the more you want to kill dem". Caught very much off guard, she stared bewilderedly at the boom box...
