Title: Mr. Sensitive
Summary: Derek returns from a weeklong women appreciation retreat –Casey's idea- a changed man. At first everyone loves the new Derek, but eventually even Casey gets tired of Mr. Sensitive. Can she snap her stepbrother back into his old ways, or is 'Dereka' here to stay. .Dasey.
Author: Silverflare07
Dedication: To Warlordess because she has to put up with me going on about Dasey and force shields and sock puppets that say Hola Georgie and she does it oh so gracefully. And because it's her birthday and since I can't buy her PKMN I'm writing about LWD.
Author's Notes: I originally got the idea from watching an episode of Family Guy, and if you've ever seen it you'll recognize the idea a bit. I promise that aside from the retreat and the new Derek nothing else is going to be taken from that episode. There will be no Derek trying to breast feed anything or worrying about being 'late'.
Extra Stuff: Fair warning to everyone...after the first chapter Derek is going to be extremely OoC. This is totally intentional and has to be in order for the story to make sense. His OoCness is going to affect everyone a little but especially Casey; she'll get pretty OoC too. Not as badly as Derek though, I can promise that. So if you don't like OoCness in characters I suggest you turn back now, because you will not like this fic. If you don't mind then enjoy. I hope this fic makes you laugh when you read as much as it made me laugh while I was writing it.
Stuff You Need To Know:
"Speech"
Thoughts
Casey walked down the stairs to find Derek reclining on the couch watching TV with Edwin. He looked up as she descended the final steps and smiled at her. "Ready to go?"
Casey nodded, grabbing her purse and coat. "Yes. And, um...why is Edwin in your chair?"
Derek shrugged. "It's not my chair. It belongs to this family so Edwin has just as much a right to sit in it as I do."
Edwin looked up and caught Casey's shocked expression. "Yeah, that's pretty much how I responded too."
Casey shook her head. This new Derek was really going to take some getting used to. "Well...let's get going."
"Alright." He stood up and grabbed his leather jacket. "Come on, I'll drive."
Casey nodded, still slightly dumbstruck. "Okay. Thanks."
They climbed into Derek's car; George and Nora had gotten him his own car for his 18th birthday. She watched as he started the car and cringed as some of his loud music began to pour through the speakers.
"Sorry." Derek said as he turned down the volume. "Do you want to go get one of your CDs?" He motioned to her car with his free hand.
Casey shook her head, smiling slightly. "Nah. It's fine, just don't turn it up so loud please."
Derek grinned and pressed a button besides the clock. Instantly the rock music changed to the Postal Service's 'Such Great Heights'.
"How about we listen to the radio? Deal?"
Casey nodded. "Deal."
The drive to the mall was a silent one. Derek would occasionally ask questions but after Casey's 7th monosyllabic answer he gave up. She wasn't sure why she was so unwilling to open up to Derek. Maybe it was just that she still wasn't completely convinced that the new Derek wasn't just an act. She would need some hardcore evidence before she dared give him the buddy-buddy friendship he had been talking about at breakfast. They pulled into the parking lot and Derek parked the car.
"We're here." He announced.
Casey stepped out of the car and waited for Derek to join her before they made their way to the entrance. The mall wasn't overly crowded like it tended to become during Spring Break. It seemed that most of the teenagers in the area were out enjoying the sun on this day.
"Come on!" Derek threw a friendly arm around her shoulder, one of the first 'old Derek' habits she'd seen him display since he'd returned home. "Is there anything you specifically wanted to do?"
Casey nodded. "I've been meaning to get a few new outfits and I really wanted to try that new smoothie place in the mall."
"Okay." He stopped in front of a store. "How about this place?"
Casey looked up. They were standing in front of Rainbow, one of her favorite stores. "Yeah! This place is great!" She smiled happily before slipping out from his grasp and rushing inside.
Derek joined her a few seconds later and watched patiently as she looked at various articles of clothing. She put most of them back on the racks, but she did keep a few pairs of jeans and some shirts with her. She had just inspected, and returned, her eighth pair of jeans when Derek's voice caught her attention from the other side of the small store.
"What about this?"
She turned to face her stepbrother and was surprised to see him holding a navy blue summer dress. It was made to look like a Chinese styled dress, with a red strip across the middle, like a belt, and a red collar. There were cherry blossom markings starting at the left side of the belt and going up over the shoulder. She walked over to him and took the dress from his hands. She checked the size and was pleased to see that he had managed to grab her's. "Thanks Derek, I think I'll try this on." She added it to her slowly growing pile. She turned back to face her stepbrother. "I'm going to go try this stuff on now, okay?"
Derek nodded and took a seat on one of the chairs in front of the dressing rooms. "Have fun."
Casey nodded, smiling slightly as she walked in and locked the door. She donned a pair of jeans and studied herself in the mirror. Nodding in approval she was about to slip them off when there was a knock on her door.
"Casey?"
Casey stopped, the pants barely off her thighs. "Derek?"
"Aren't you gonna show me?"
"Show you?"
"You're outfit? So I can tell you what I think."
Casey's eyes narrowed. "Yeah, because I'm sure I'd love to know what you think."
"Aw, come on Casey! I won't be mean, I promise." Casey remained silent, trying to figure out if this was just a way for him to tease her. "You at least have to show me how the dress I picked out looks on you!"
Casey finally gave in. "Fine, just that one though!"
"Great!" Casey could actually hear the smile in his voice. "Try that one on next."
Casey nodded, pulling the pants all the way off. She shed her shirt as well and slipped the dress over her head. She took a look at herself in the mirror, making sure there was nothing obviously wrong with the outfit that he could tease her about. There was nothing that Casey could see. The dress actually looked nice on her, hugging her curves in a nice way. The colors even complimented her skin tone, making her very glad she wasn't pale.
"Alright," She announced, "I'm coming out."
She swung the door open to see Derek leaning against one of the support columns with mirrors on it to her right. She spun in a small circle, showing the dress off. "What do you think?" She asked, bracing herself for the sarcastic comment she was sure he wouldn't be able to resist giving her.
"That looks awesome on you!" He grinned at her. "I knew it would."
Casey took a step back in shock. "W-what?"
Derek looked at her oddly. "I said," He told her slowly, "That dress looks awesome on you."
"I know what you said," Casey finally remembered to not back away from Derek like he was crazy. "I just can't believe you said it."
"Why? It's not like I would lie to you just to make you upset." He shrugged. "That sort of thing would just be mean."
Casey wished she had a paper bag in case she started to hyperventilate. "Really?"
"Of course Casey." Derek pulled her into a one armed hug. "If you look pretty I'll tell you. I really like your hair by the way." He swatted playfully at the ponytail she had thrown her hair into.
Casey stepped back again, eyeing her stepbrother strangely. He had been so different since coming back. She hoped the change was permanent. "Thanks." She smiled. He had never been so sweet to her, and it was a pleasant change of pace.
He grinned back. "Anytime. Now come on, I know you brought more clothes than that in there with you."
Casey nodded and slipped back inside the dressing room. There was silence for a few minutes before, "Derek?"
"Yeah?"
"Would you like to see this outfit too?"
Casey shifted uncomfortably and switched her bags into her other hand. After Rainbow they had gone to F.Y.E where both teens had made a purchase. Then it was off to American Eagle where Derek had talked her into getting an adorable pair of clogs. Not that she had needed much convincing. From there it had been off to Bath and Body Works to get some more of her favorite scented bubble bath. It was nice to have all this stuff, but it wasn't so nice lugging it all around the mall.
"Here," Derek took two of her bags from her, leaving her with just the small ones from Bath and Body and F.Y.E.
She looked at her stepbrother in mild shock. This new Derek was still a little unnerving, but she was defiantly getting used to him. "Thanks Derek."
Before he could respond a cry caught their attention. "Derek! Casey!"
They turned to see Kendra walking towards them. "Hey guys! Doing a little last day of vacation shopping?"
Casey nodded. "Yeah. I needed a few new outfits and Derek offered to come along."
Derek nodded and held up the bags. "She shops as much as you do." He laughed lightly. "I can't believe she isn't broke all the time."
Casey shot him a mocking glare. "I don't shop like this all the time!"
Derek nodded. "Yeah, I'll give you that."
Kendra watched the exchange with interest. "Well...it looks like you two are getting along better."
Derek nodded again. "Yup. Casey and I are bonding!" He pulled her into a half hug.
Kendra raised an eyebrow as Casey simply giggled and rolled her eyes. "Well...I'll let you get back to you're, uh, bonding then. Have fun."
"Oh we will." He told her before dragging Casey in the direction of the food court.
Kendra could only watch in surprise as they walked away. It wasn't until they were well out of sight that she realized that Derek had never offered to carry any of bags for her.
There's chapter 3! I hope you guys liked it. The next chapter is the new Derek's first day of school! How will the student body of react to the new Derek Venturi? Or more importantly how will his hockey coach react when his star player wants to quit the team because it's too violent?
R&R! Come on, send me a smile!
