Disclaimer: I don't own LWD... or Troyer Potato Chips... I do own anyone I feel like making up though...
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xXx Chapter Two xXx
Derek lay in his bed, a sleeping Casey beside him. The clock changed to read 6:45 am, and he sighed deeply. Today was his birthday, the 'happiest day of his life',and he should have been happy, but he wasn't. All today meant was he still had one month to wait to finally have his birthday wish. To be able to hold Casey like he was right now at this very moment, and never have to let her go. The more he thought of it, the more the voice in the back of his head kept saying "Tell Dad, he'll understand.", but he knew that wasn't true. If anything it would make his father freak out all the more. The party would be cancelled, he, be sent off to live with his mother, Abbey, whom he hated, and he would never see Casey again.
The alarm on his clock went off, signaling it was 7:00 am. Casey awoke with a stir, and Derek just laughed at her. She turned over to wrap her arms around him, and a knock came at the door. They both lay there, frozen, having no idea what to do.
"Who is it?" Derek called, hoping it wasn't one of their parents.
"Its Ed." Came the familiar voice. "And Lizzie!" from another person.
Derek looked at Casey, and sighed. They were both fully dressed, sex wasn't the only thing they did at night. Generally they laid in bed and talked for hours, just kissing on occasion. They felt comfortable with each other, and enjoyed the chance to just be in each others arms without worrying someone would notice.
"Come in." Casey spoke up, sitting up in Dereks bed and pulling her hair back up.
"Is it safe?" Edwin asked as he open the door slowly, hoping not to see too much of something that could potentially scar him for life.
"Its all good Ed. Now get in here before Dad or Nora comes up stairs." Derek growled at his younger brother.
The two younger teens walked into the room. Younger may not be the word, they were both now 15, seeing as their birthdays both landed in June, and they would be sophomores this year.
Lizzie had grown considerably, she stood around 5'6 1/2, long and lean from soccer, and her reddish blonde hair was halfway down her back. She was pretty, looking like a mix of Casey and Nora, and her freckles had disappeared for the most part, the rest hidden by cover up. Soccer was still her life, but she was rather smart and took many honors classes as a freshman. She also earned a starting position on the girls varsity soccer team at the high school, and played for the junior varsity girls hockey team. She was slightly more girly then before, wearing the slightest bit of make up and dressing more like a 15-year-old girl.
Edwin too had grown quite a bit in three years. He now was 6'0, the same height as his older brother. He dropped the idea of following in Dereks footsteps as a 'dude' when he started freshman year, allowing his ability to excel in math and science take over. Yet that didn't mean he wasn't a lady killer. He dated, of course, but his relationships were always longer and more stable then Dereks at that age. He also found a great niche at the high school, academic decathlon, which may seem dorky, but when you help win the schools first state title, come in 2nd in the country and place 8th on the world level, people respect you.
"Hey guys, what's up?" Casey said as she climbed out of Dereks bed. She sat on the edge of the bed, allowing Derek to come over and lay his head on her shoulder, arms wrapped around her waist.
"We were just down stairs. We over heard Dad talking to Nora..." Edwin started. "They were wondering who Derek's date for his party was going to be, seeing he hasn't really dated since Maggie, and we know they didn't even date." Lizzie finished.
That was true, Derek hadn't really dated, other then when he pretended to date his friend Maggie. And when asked, the answer was always the same, "There no one interesting anymore, no one left who I haven't dated, or tried to date." Casey hadn't dated either, not since she broke up with Max the beginning of her sophomore year. The break up had nothing to do with her and Derek being together, but it had to do with them finally getting together.
"Oh shit!" Derek cursed, pulling away from Casey. He hadn't thought of it at all. Everyone at school knew they were together, so all the girls had backed off, no one dared mess with him when he was dating Casey.
He could always ask a friend, over the years he had grown rather close to this particular girl named Maggie Wolcott, the same one he pretend dated. They were lab partners in Chemistry as sophomores, and she was new to London. Actually, she was new to Canada completely. She grew up in the States, Pennsylvania to be exact. She was the first girl, besides Casey that is, who didn't completely gush over Derek, and he liked that about her. They became rather close friends, most figured they were dating with all the talking they did, but in reality she was someone he could talk to who would not judge him. She was the one who told him if he loved Casey to go for it, because life without love wasn't life at all.
Casey seemed to be thinking the same thing, and turned to Derek. "Ask Maggie! She'll do it, and she never has had and never will have feeling for you!"
Which was true, Maggie's boyfriend was named Cameryn, and he lived back in the states. He had been up to visit plenty of times, including Junior Prom in May. He actually helped Derek and Casey get to go together, by posing as Caseys date while Maggie posed as Dereks. As soon as they left the house they switched to the appropriate dates, and had a blast together. Cameryn was great, and was completely enthralled by the fact that Casey and Derek were some sort of star crossed lovers.
"You read my mind babe. Did they mention anything about Caseys date?" Derek said, looking at his younger brother, who shook his head "no" vigorously.
"Maybe I should ask someone, just to play it safe. But who?" Casey said, leaning back on her hands for support.
"Well, I'm going to call Mags, ask her if she'll be my 'date', and see if she has any ideas. Casey, you should go shower, Nora will be expecting downstairs soon. Edwin, Lizzie, kept Dad and Nora busy. I don't want them to know that I don't even have a date yet." Derek said, getting up from his bed, pushing the two youngest out of his room.
He helped Casey up and gave her a quick kiss before she left the room. Walking over to his desk, he sat down and pulled out his cell phone from the top drawer. Pressing the number three button on his phone, he called Maggie. Yes, she was number three on his speed dial, his dad was number two, behind Casey at number one. The house was number four, followed by Sam at five and Nora at six.
"Hey Derek! Happy birthday!" Came a bubbly voice through his phone. Maggie was ALWAYS happy, even at 7:25 in the morning. Knowing her she had been up for 2 hours, at least, even though it was summer holidays, and was ready for the day.
"Hey Mags, thanks. I have a question..." Derek said before she cut him off.
"You want my to pose as your date tonight at your party because you and Casey still haven't told your parents? I was expecting it, but not so late hun, it is your birthday for gosh sakes." Maggie said laughing. "Yeah, I'll do it. Everyone knows you and Case cant go together, and me being the best friend, besides Sam that is, its sort of my job, don't yah think?"
"Yeah. Sorry I cut it so close, I forgot all about it until today. Honestly. But the other problem is, Casey doesn't have a date, and we were wondering if you knew anyone." Derek said, slightly in awe of Maggies talent of knowing everything.
"Normally I would allow her to borrow Cameryn, but he wont be up until sometime this afternoon. Your party starts at 7, and I don't know if he'll be ready by then. He should be here about 5ish, but he'll want to shower and all before your party. Does she mind if he comes late?" Maggie asked.
"I don't think so. At least he'll be here, and Nora and Dad love him, so that's good." Derek replied. The truth be told, his father and step mom loved both Cameryn and Maggie. They thought that Derek and Maggie had dated for a while, but broke up because they were better off as friends. It would be easy enough to explain that they agreed to go to his party as friends.
"Okay hun. Well, I need to call Cameryn and give him the game plan. What time do you want me over, I can help out around the house, give you love birds some alone time before the party, you know, that type of stuff." Maggie replied, talking in her usual fast manner.
"Um, how about 4. Just bring your stuff and you can get ready with Casey. We all can hang before hand, run some errands for Nora if needed, the usual."
"Okay hun, I'll see you at 4. I'll call if theres any problems with the game plan, okay? I love you Derek, happy birthday!" Maggie said as she was ready to hang up the phone, waiting for Dereks reply.
"Yeah, I love you too Maggie. I'll see you at 4." Derek said as he hung up the phone. Little did he notice that his father was in the room.
"Maggie? Maggie Wolcott, I thought you two broke up?" George asked his startled son. He was leaning in the doorway, smiling at his newly eighteen year old son.
"Yeah, that was Maggie. And yes, were broken up, I just asked her to be my date for my party a few days ago, and she called to let me know she would love to." Derek said, rather hastily.
"Then what was that 'I love you too',at the end of the conversation?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at Derek.
"Dad, its Maggie. We dated for over a year, she's one of my best friends. Yeah, I love her, but not like the way I love Ca...other girls, you know?" Derek said, catching himself before he blew it.
"If you say so Derek. Casey's done with the shower by the way. She said you can have it now." George said as he left the room. He, luckily, hadn't noticed Derek almost say he loved Casey.
Derek stood up from his desk, grabbed some clothes for the day, but not for the party. He walked into the bathroom, and hoped into the shower. After a really quick shower, he got out and changed, drying his hair before adding a bit of straightening gel in it. He walked out of the room, and noticed Caseys door open. Knocking this time, he heard her say "Come in" before he entered.
"So, Maggie said she'll go with me. Cameryn's coming up too, I guess she's probably going back down to the states for a bit, she sounded like she was packing. She said she was going to call Cameryn and let him know what was going on, and that he was your date for the night." Derek said, sitting down on Caseys bed. Casey was sitting at her vanity with her curling iron, curling her hair slightly for the party.
"Sounds good to me. When's she coming over? I would really love her to help me pick out something to wear." Casey said, trying to not burn her hand...again.
With Maggie being Derek's best girl friend, Casey had grown rather close to her too. She and Emily were still friends, but they had grown slightly apart during the past two years. Not because they hated each other or anything, mainly due to Emily's switching schools. She had found out about a school for the visual arts, and had gotten in during the beginning of sophomore year. She really enjoyed getting to paint all the time, and loved having friends who enjoyed the same things. The two still went to movies, talked on the phone and hung out, but Casey needed a friend at school, and that's were Maggie came in.
"About four. Is Em coming over early?" Derek asked, leaning towards her desk, trying to catch her face in the mirror.
"No. She had a weekend showing in Toronto, but she's leaving early to be here for awhile, then she's heading back. Somehow they managed to get her hair straight yesterday before the show began, she sent me a picture over my cell. It looks great." Casey said, sucking the tip of her finger, seeing that she had burned it slightly. Derek noticed this and laughed.
"Well I need to go get some breakfast. And coffee, that sound really good right now. I'll tell Nora your still getting ready." Derek said as he exited the room. He headed down the stairs, smelling the faint scent of bacon. Heading toward the kitchen, Marti ran and tackled him.
"Smerek! Happy birthday!" said his 9 year old sister. She too had grown, and was out of her "I'm a cat" phase. She was in 4th grade, and she was somewhat of a flirt, well as big of a flirt you can be at her age.
"Hey Smarti! Thank you!" He said picking her up and throwing her over his shoulder. He walked into the kitchen, sitting Marti down as he got a look from Nora. Grabbing a plate, he pilled on eggs, bacon and French toast, all his favorites.
"So I heard Maggie is coming as your date tonight." Nora said as she was washing some dishes. She gave Derek a smile, and turned back to what she was doing.
"Yeah. No big deal, were just friends. Her friend Cameryn is coming though, I guess he's going to be Caseys date. He a pretty cool guy I guess, at least for someone who likes Casey." Derek snorted. Lizzie and Edwin were sitting at the table too, trying not to laugh at Derek.
As they sat and eat their breakfast, Casey came downstairs and started gushing about Cameryn. It was rather entertaining, because she looked like she was trying way too hard. As she talked about the boy, Derek got a text from Maggie. It read "Cam is a go. I'll be over earlier though, about 2, Casey called and asked. Luvs Mags!"
Derek quietly handed Casey the phone, letting her read the text. It was about 10 o'clock now, and they were done with breakfast long ago. They just sat around the island, talking about the party. A DJ was coming, and Nora asked the two if they would mind making the food run around 4, which was great because Maggie would already be here and she drove an SUV, so they had more room.
The next few hours were filled by cleaning, and random calls asking about the time and place. Derek no longer was much of a partier, and Casey never was. Since they had been together, Derek had slowed down on his party habits, only going out occasionally after big hockey games, and never getting drunk anymore. It wasn't that he wanted people to think he was whipped, even if he was ever so slightly, he just knew if he was going to do anything like that he might as well kiss Casey goodbye. She appreciated it, but let him know it was okay to spend time with is friends at parties, just letting him know she didn't want to deal with him drunk.
Around 2 pm Maggie showed up, with a couple of bags. Two of them were clothes, bringing multiple outfits to pick from, one was her gift for Derek, and the others had some 'American' food in it. Okay, so London was only across Lake Erie from where Maggie used to live, but their were a few things she could get over there that she could get here. The main one being Troyers Potato chips, which she slowly got both Casey and Derek addicted to.
"Hey Maggie!" Nora said as she scooped the tiny girl up in a hug. Maggie was pretty tiny, only about 5'2 or 5'3. She had very long, dark brown hair, with random colored highlights thrown in, and huge green brown eyes. Her nose was pierced and she had multiple holes in her ears (5 in both sides), even a few tattoos, and her styled was mainly vintage looking pieces, with wild prints and a lot of loud jewelry. She was completely different then any girl Derek had ever dated, even though she looked like many of them with her body type.
"Hi Nora! Hi George!" She said giving her a hug. As she pulled away she gave George a quick hug too, before she was bombarded with Marti. "Hello Marti." Maggie said as the small girl jumped on her. Sitting her down she went over and gave Derek a quick hug and a small peck on the cheek, then she hugged Casey.
"How have you been Maggie? What all have you been up to? Its been a while since you have been here." George said as he sat on the couch, Nora sitting next to him. They really did love Maggie, and were very upset when they heard about the 'break up.' But they were seemingly pleased that she still was one of Derek's best friends.
"Oh, this and that. I'm getting ready to head back down to Pennsylvania for a bit before school starts back up. I was supposed to be gone four days ago, but I couldn't miss Dereks eighteenth birthday party. I will be back for Casey's party though, that should be memorable." She said, her eyes glinting at the last part. Derek shot her a 'shut up' look.
"Oh, yes. I forgot you grew up in Pennsylvania. Where are you from again?" Nora said. She hadn't noticed Dereks look.
"Oh, I'm from this really small town on the outskirts of Erie. Its called Harbor Creek. I love it there, the schools pretty big for the town being so small. I think its because the school district is so big. Who knows? Anyways, I brought something for the party. I hope you don't mind, because I don't at all. I'll be restocking when I'm back in Erie, so its no big deal." She said, handing Nora the bags of potato chips. All Nora could do was laugh. She knew that Maggie refused to eat any potato chip that was not Troyers, so she took the bags and thanked her.
"So Maggie, we should probably go upstairs and pick out what we are wearing. We don't need to change now, but we have some time before we have to head out." Casey said, heading for the stairs. Maggie followed, as did Derek. They reached Casey's room with only one interruption, Lizzie and Edwin stopping Maggie for hugs.
Maggie sat her bags down on Caseys bed and pulled her long hair up. Derek sat beside her and soon they were in a conversation on whether to look a little matchy for the party, seeing they were 'dates'. Casey just laughed at them and walked to her closet, pulling out random pieces of clothing, try to decide what looked good.
Eventually Derek walked over to Caseys closet, and was trying to help her find something. Maggie just sat and laughed at Derek's awful taste in clothes.
Derek and Casey were perfect for each other in Maggies mind. Casey mellowed him out, while Derek livened her up. She loved getting to be a part of their relationship, even if it was helping them hide it for the time being. She couldn't believe they still had a whole month ahead of them. She knew that their fighting was harder and harder to do, and was pretty sure that George and Nora suspected something. As much as she loved the two, she couldn't see them making it another month without having to admit to their parents. It was going to be hard enough tonight, trying to pretend they had no interest in each other. All she hoped for was that Dereks jealous tendencies didn't come out. He wanted Casey to look great, basically so he could flaunt it in front of his friends, even if they were not 'together' at the party, and for some reason Maggie hated that idea. She knew if one person made the wrong comment, they would have to face the wrath of Derek Venturi, and she was hoping with every fiber of herself that it didn't happen.
Being snapped out of her daze by being called over to the closet, she dismissed the thoughts of Derek actually fighting tonight. If it was anywhere else, with anyone else parents there, he wouldn't care, but she knew he didn't want to blow their cover. Remembering she had some extra cloths in her bag, she helped pick out an outfit for Casey, using some of Caseys pieces and some of her own.
"Your going to look great Casey!" She exclaimed.
Noticing the time, the three headed downstairs, grabbing the food list from Nora, and headed down town. The party was to start in 3 hours and counting. They all had a feeling thins was going to be quite a night. Maybe good, maybe bad, none of them could really tell what to expect. All they knew was if Derek and Casey could make it through tonight, then they were nearly home free. A month left, and as hard as it was going to be, they knew if they stood a chance, they had to make it through this. Derek silently thanked his lucky stars for a friend like Maggie, she had saved their butts so many times, it was unreal.
The three made it back home for the party, all they needed to do was change and get ready. Tonight was going to be the party of the year, they all knew it. Still hoping and praying nothing bad would happen, Maggie descended the stairs, with Casey behind her. She knew by the look on Dereks face it was not her he was looking at, but it did make it look as if he wasn't gaping at Casey.
"You look beautiful." Was the only thing to make it from Dereks mouth. Maggie gave him a very silent "Thank you," even though the comment was intended mainly towards Casey. If they were going to make his work, she had to play along.
"Both of you look lovely." Nora said, camara in her hand. She managed to get in a few pictures of the three, five or six of just Derek and Maggie, about the same of Derek and Casey and a few of just the two girls.
The party was about to begin, people were showing up and the DJ was already playing. Cameryn had shown up, hugging Maggie then Casey, and giving Derek the 'man hug' ordeal.
Standing back from the crowd of people Derek silently whispered "I love you" to Casey, and she whispered it back. Tonight sure was going to be interesting, and they all hoped that their would be no problems. "Just another month" was all either of them could think at the moment, "Just another month and we'll be together."
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A/N: I'm sooooooo sorry it took so long to update. I actually had most of this chapter done and HATED it, so I rewrote the WHOLE thing. I wrote it all in one sitting too, it only took about 2 or so hours...give or take. So now PLEASE REVIEW! I got ten from the last chapter, last I checked, and that was GREAT! I've never had so many reviews for one chapter, unless it was a oneshot, so I liked the feeling! KEEP IT UP!
BTW, Maggie is based on my best friend Alicia. She actually did grow up in Harbor Creek PA, and is adicted to Troyer Chips, as am I, but she moved to UC when we were freshman, and I love her. Shes so bubbly, so I knew she would be a great character for my story. Maggie even looks like Alicia, minus the tatoos and nose ring.
Bexx
