A\N: I'm back with another chapter of Fatal Romance. Hope you guys all enjoyed the first chapter, and for those who did, I know you'll enjoy this one. And you guys are right, cancer is overused, which is probably the main reason why its not cancer in my story. You'll just have to be patient until you find out what it is. Enjoy, and my system is bold words for thoughts, no flashback this time!

The next several weeks whipped by with Derek and Casey getting along exceptionally well. NO abrasive insults were thrown Casey's way besides a few playful jabs and pokes at her reputation, to which Casey shot a witty comment back with just as much playfulness. The feuding, argumentative duo had developed a small friendship.

For Casey, things around the Venturi\Macdonald residence had never been quite as pleasant as they had started to be. No pranks were pulled on her at the most unexpected moments. No nasty glares were thrown in her direction, despite many confused ones from George and Nora for their lack of fighting and shocked looks and whispers between Lizzie and Edwin at their elder siblings' behavior. Casey felt quite happier now, knowing in school she would get a friendly greeting instead of the smug smirk and a muttered "klutzilla". Still, she couldn't help but feel slightly uneasy about Derek's motives. "What if this is all an act, leading up to a big prank on me?" she thought. Casey had opened herself up to Derek, and was now vulnerable to an attack by him. But every time he would flash her even the slightest smile, her uneasiness subsided and her suspicion of him faded.

Derek's demeanor however, did not seem as cheery as Casey. While his attitude changed and he was a lot more polite, he always seemed saddened and downcast when he thought he was alone. This disturbed Casey greatly, as Derek was not one to be so depressed for so long, but decided not to press the issue further. She didn't want to ruin the comfortable setting that had laid foundation in the Venturi\Macdonald household.

"Casey!" Derek shouted, snapping his fingers in front of her to regain her attention. Casey shook her head to read her mind of her current thoughts. Derek smirked slightly.

"I never thought I'd be the one trying to keep your attention on homework" he said, letting his smirk work into a smile.

Casey giggled at this, and returned to assisting Derek with English homework, a class they had together. She always thought homework didn't even cross Derek's mind; so naturally, she was appalled when Derek asked Casey for help on his. She continued to assist him and get her own work done on a daily basis.

"Hey Case" Casey looked up to see Derek's shimmering brown eyes staring at her while he wore a small smile. A chill ran down Casey's spine as Derek's eyes bore into her, and she was forced to meet his gaze.

"I don't think I ever thanked you for helping me out" he said politely, causing Casey's face to light up. It wasn't everyday her stepbrother was as nice as he was being now.

"And I still wont" he declared, as he got up to get himself a glass of milk. He looked back at Casey. The surprised and furious glares from her made him burst out laughing. He stilled loved getting a rise out of Casey every once in a while, even if they were friends.

"I'm just kidding Case. Thanks for helping me out" he said serenely. Casey gave him a warning look before smiling herself. Derek's heart rate sped up slightly when he saw Casey's smile. He diverted his gaze back to the milk jug he had taken out.

Casey waited a good ten minutes watching Derek fumble through cabinets and cupboards searching for something to eat. She was starting to get a little impatient.

"Derek, could you go any slower? We still have to study for that English test tomorrow" Casey whined. Derek shrugged.

"I thought we could just take a break. I mean we've been studying for… 2 hours now?!" his eyes went wide as he looked at the clock on the kitchen wall. That was longer than he wanted to study in his entire lifetime.

"I guess you're right, a small break wouldn't hurt" Casey said, reluctantly closing her books. She relaxed in her chair, until she realized it was way too quiet in the house. "Where did everybody go?" she asked.

"Lizzie had a big soccer game tonight, and everyone went with to watch" Derek said with a curious look. "How did I know that and you didn't?" he asked, pointing at Casey.

Casey shrugged "I figured Lizzie would ask me to come, but apparently she doesn't need me there" she said, looking downcast. She may have been spending more time with Derek, but that didn't mean she wanted to lose time with Lizzie also.

"And it looks like they left us without anything to eat" Derek said, letting out a sigh as he closed the refrigerator in defeat. He leaned back against the counter, thinking of a solution to his hunger problem. He turned to Casey, "You wanna go get something to eat through the drive thru?" he asked

Casey pondered his proposal before slowly nodding. Derek grabbed their coats, tossing Casey hers and putting his own on, before proceeding outside. Casey followed him until he stopped abruptly in front of his dad's car, causing Casey to run into him. She went to yell at him, but he cut her off.

"You know what? Why don't you drive?" Derek asked, tossing Casey the keys. Casey's eyes went wide yet again.

"Really?" Casey asked, excitement flooding over her. Derek nodded, sending Casey into a high pitch squeal, immediately climbing into the driver's seat.

Half an hour later, Derek entered back into the house frazzled, Casey following behind with a smile. "That was fun!" she shouted.

"Yeah, it was great fun when you almost rear-ended the guy in front of us in the drive thru!" Derek said sarcastically, plopping himself in his recliner to eat his meal.

"He shouldn't have been just sitting there" Casey simply stated, sitting down on the sofa.

"He was placing his order!" Derek shouted in frustration. Casey giggled at this, and Derek turned on the TV to the hockey game.

Casey didn't argue Derek's choice, instead watching the game also while she ate. Derek wondered why Casey didn't fight him on it, but chose to ignore it so he could enjoy the game.

"Who do you want to win?" Casey asked suddenly, finding she knew nothing about the game that Derek was obsessed with.

"Toronto" he replied, his eyes glued to the TV as he took a bite of his sandwich.
When he did glance over at Casey, he saw she was looking at him with confusion. "They're the guys in blue" Derek pointed out. Casey nodded in understanding.

Derek continued to watch the game for a few more minutes, before his curiosity got to him. "Why are you letting me watch the game?" Derek asked.

"You were nice enough to let me drive so I might as well do something nice for you, right?" Casey paused, "And maybe we can continue this cycle?" Casey asked feebly, thinking she was pushing her luck.

Derek sat in thought for a moment before he smirked, "Don't get too used to it. It was a one time thing."

Casey crossed her arms and pouted. They both watched the game in a comfortable silence until the rest of the family came in through the front door.

"How'd the game go?" Casey asked.

"We lost in overtime" Lizzie whined, tossing herself on the couch next to her sister. "I can't believe the first game we had a chance of winning this year and we blew it!"

"Really, ya think the kids on your team would be smarter than to kick the ball into their own goal!" Edwin said humorously, taking a seat beside Lizzie. Marti came bouncing in, right into Derek's lap.

"Lizzie's games are funny because her teammates keep tripping!" Marti proclaimed proudly, earning a scowl from Lizzie and a laugh from everybody else.

"Casey, do you mind taking the kids upstairs for now? We have to talk to Derek" Nora asked, a note of concern in her voice.

Casey nodded, picking up Marti off Derek's lap and leading Lizzie and Edwin upstairs. Halfway to her room, Marti spoke up.

"Casey, why is Smerek sad lately?" Marti asked, looking to her older stepsister for an answer.

"I wish I knew Marti" Casey said as she opened Marti's door for her to enter.

"You should be around him more" Marti suggested, running into her room and jumping onto her bed.

"Why do you say that?" Casey asked, walking over to Marti with curiosity.

"Because Smerek said he likes when you're around and he smiles more when you're here!" Marti said with a smile on her face.

Casey covered her mouth with her hand, but quickly recovered, tucking Marti into bed, planting a kiss on her forehead before preceding downstairs to eavesdrop.

The living room was deserted when Casey came back down, but she saw the door to the kitchen slightly ajar and the light was on (A\N: Let's all pretend there is a door into the kitchen!!!). She peered in through the opening and saw her parents talking quietly to Derek while he kept his gaze down on the table. Casey tried listening to the rest of the conversation.

"What about hockey?" Derek asked quietly, never lifting his gaze from the table.

"Well…" George hesitated, "He doesn't think that would be the best idea" he finished, a look of uncertainty on his face as he said it. Derek shrugged.

"Well, doesn't matter anyway. I'm gonna keep playing it whether he wants me to or not" Derek said defiantly, frustration clear in his tone.

"But Derek-" Nora intervened, but Derek cut her off.

"It's my life Nora. I'll do what I want with it!" Derek yelled, his anger rising every minute. To Casey's surprise, her mother merely nodded while George looked at Derek with understanding. At this, Derek stood up to leave, causing Casey to jump and quickly sneak back upstairs into the bathroom. She pretended to finish brushing her teeth until Derek walked by. He stopped when he spotted Casey and caught her gaze. He was still flustered from the conversation downstairs, but his eyes softened when he saw the concern on Casey's face. He managed a smirk, before he softly said "Goodnight Casey". He silently slid into his room and shut the door. Casey slid down the wall and sighed. Everything had been so confusing lately. Something weird was happening with Derek and started to get Casey worried. What were mom and George talking to Derek about that made him so upset? But most of all, why am I getting nervous now every time I'm around Derek?

To Be Continued…

A\N: Sorry for the small delay, I was trying to wait until the e-mail alerts were caught back up. Thanks for reading and it would be great if you would review also. Thanks!