Disclaimer: I feel that it's pretty obvious that I don't own anything. Isn't it, though? If you don't count all the unfamiliar characters, I don't own anything. All the characters you recognize belong to Disney. The rest of them belong to me…but I will lend them to anyone who asks nicely.

Chapter 2: Love in the Air

That afternoon, the group finally returned to the Venturi/MacDonald house. Derek, as captain of the hockey team, had taken the liberty of arguing with Max, the captain of the football team, the entire time they were out to lunch. Derek got out of the car and ran ahead of them to open the door. Max had insisted on walking Casey to the door.

Casey chose to ignore the fact that Max didn't open the door for her or defend her, when Derek was insulting her during the ride. Instead, Casey got out of the sports car and Max joined her on the walk up the driveway as Derek managed to get the door open and ran inside.

"So, that math test was tricky." Casey admitted in attempt to start a conversation. "Yeah." Max simply replied, putting his hands in his pockets and not even glancing at Casey, who thought it was a rude way to treat his own girlfriend.

Then, she realized she didn't really know much about him. He'd never really told her anything personal. "So, are you a vegetarian?" she asked him politely. She most definitely was and she hoped Max was, too. "No." Max answered with a shrug, "Why would I want to live off plants?"

"What?" Casey asked, rage and hurt filling her insides. By now, they'd gotten to the stairs and the two were looking at each other as they stopped in front of the open door. "I said, no." Max repeated calmly, "I don't thrive off plants like all those girly people, who are too weak to eat a chicken."

"Is this a joke?" Casey screamed in frustration as she backed inside the house. "No." Max replied with a hint of dry sarcasm, "I'm sorry, I didn't know that bothered you." "Well, there's a lot you don't know." Casey told him, "We're through!"

With that, she slammed the door in Max's face before he could object. He looked at the door in confusion before walking away and returning to his car. Casey heaved a shaky sigh before walking over to the couch and plopped herself down onto it.

She'd thought that Max was…different. She'd thought he wasn't like Derek or any of the other guys she knew. Sam was better than Max, Casey remembered, but there was no way she and Sam would be more than just friends. Casey picked up a pillow from the couch and screamed into it in frustration.

A week later, a lot had changed. Max got a new girlfriend, Kendra, Casey joined the Handy Helper group and, when Derek found out, he went nuts. I'll tell you now, that he would do anything in attempt to stop them from breaking up for good.

Well, his intents weren't all for their own good, it was for his own personal achievement. Derek's only hope was for Max to end up marrying Casey and get her out of the house, so he could once again dominate. That made it even worse when he laid eyes on Kendra, himself. It was love at first sight.

At school, Derek casually walked up to Max. "So, Max, what's Kendra like?" he asked casually. Max looked at him for a minute. The two jocks didn't usually talk. It wasn't like they were friends or anything. "Oh, she's beautiful." Max finally responded, "Is there a problem?"

No." Derek laughed slightly before flipping out, "Just that you broke up with Casey! You made the biggest mistake of your life, breaking up with Casey!" "But I like Kendra." Max interjected, "Plus, Casey and I weren't meant for each other anyway."

"Don't say that." Derek told him. "Why not?" Max asked in confusion. "I don't know. Just don't say that." Derek continued to explain, "Kendra is nice and all, but Casey and you are like pieces of a puzzle. With out each other, you have no life."

Max looked at him quizzically for a few seconds before it hit him. "You want me to break up with Kendra?" he asked in a threatening tone. "Well…yeah." Derek admitted before adding, "And get back together with Casey." Max eyed him suspiciously. Derek sighed and rolled his eyes in frustration. He had to come up with something and fast. How could he make sure Max dumped Kendra? Then, it clicked.

"Listen, we guys are jocks. Cool and high ranked on the social scale." Derek started to put on the charm he used when he wanted something, "We date the girls we choose and some of them don't last long. You've been dating Kendra for about a week. To us that's equal to about a month in guy time."

"Guy time?" Max asked and raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Yeah, something about guy psychology." Derek quickly explained. "Psychology?" Max questioned with a laugh. It wasn't everyday that Derek talked about anything of relevance to science.

"I do listen in science class…sometimes." Derek told him, "But that's not important. You were dating Casey for about a month before both of you broke up. To us guys that's about a year in…" "Guy time." Max finished for him.

"Now, you're catching on." Derek smiled at him in satisfaction, "That means…Casey is still special to you because she was the first girl to last that long with you." "So?" Max asked him, "We've broken up. That's the end of it." Derek sighed.

"No, it's not over. You two broke up because Casey's a spaz and got upset because you said only girls live off plants." Derek pointed out how pathetic it actually was, "Now…if I were you, I'd talk to her, but first I'd dump my current girlfriend…just so she doesn't feel uncomfortable."

"And what's in it for you?" Max asked knowingly. Derek wasn't the kind of guy who does good deeds because it was the right thing to do. "What?" Derek asked feeling insulted, "Just because I decide to do something mice for once, all of a sudden you think I want something?"

"Yes." Max stated firmly, lookin Derek in the eyes. "Look, the sooner Casey gets out of my house the better and the more often she's gone I'm happy." Derek explained, "Plus, I heard that Casey wants to get back together with you anyway. "Really?" Max asked hopefully.

"Yeah." Derek lied, even though he didn't know for sure what Casey was really planning, "I think you two are meant for each other. So, take the ride and follow my advice." "Okay." Max agreed, "I'll break up with Kendra and talk with Casey." He turned around and walked off to find Kendra. Derek smiled and muttered, "Phase one complete."

When Max finally found Kendra, by her locker, he walked up to her. "Hey." He said and she turned around. "Oh, hey." She cooed happily, since she knew there were always people watching when she talked to him. "Listen, Kendra, this isn't working out." Max stated unaware that Derek was waiting for him a few feet away.

"What?" Kendra asked him in shock, "Are you breaking-up with me?" "Yes." Max admitted kindly as Derek walked up to them. Kendra grabbed Derek by the arm and turned around. "Come on, Derek." She said, almost about to cry, "We have to go to science class." As she marched away with him, he called back to Max, "Talk to Casey." Max just nodded, heaved a long drawn out sigh, and turned around to go to his next class.

(A/N) I'm back! How's chapter 2? I hope you like the sort-of non-existent form of a cliffy. I mean, it was meant as one, but somehow I doubt that it is. (Big sigh) I guess I'll have to try harder next time to keep you interested in this fic. I need feedback. What do you think will happen? R&R!