Lizzie went to bed still thinking about the kiss from Derek. Sure it was only a kiss on the cheek, but it was still a kiss. Derek had been so kind and helpful to Lizzie in her time of need. Lizzie couldn't believe it, but she was actually falling for her older stepbrother.
That morning, Lizzie woke up a little later than usual. She took a quick shower and then proceeded to the kitchen. George, Nora, Casey, Edwin, and Marti were at the table eating their breakfast. Derek, as usual was the last to get up. Lizzie opened the refrigerator and took out several eggs and ham (or bacon in Canada).
"Hey Lizzie, why aren't you eating cereal like normal?" asked Nora.
"Oh I'm in the mood for some eggs and bacon", answered Lizzie.
"And you're going to eat all that?" asked George.
"No, of course not. I'm making it for Derek too", said Lizzie.
"Why?" asked Casey.
"Because, I want to make it up to him for being there for me the past couple days", said Lizzie.
"Morning people" said Derek who was still groggy.
"Morning Derek, it's your lucky day. Your stepsister made you breakfast", said George.
"I'm not eating it then. It probably tofu or salad or something else not edible by humans" said Derek.
"Let me rephrase that for you. Lizzie made you breakfast", said George.
"Oh that's a relief, I thought you were referring to Space Case", said Derek.
"Bon appétit Derek", said Lizzie as she placed the food in front of him.
"Thanks Lizard", said Derek.
"So Derek, do you have anything planned for today?" asked Lizzie.
"Not really", said Derek.
"Really, the great Derek Venturi doesn't have any plans. No hot blonde to take out or anything?" asked Casey.
"No Space Case", said Derek.
"So Derek, I was thinking about going to the ice rink. Want to join me?" asked Lizzie.
"Sounds good. Let me get changed and we'll head over in 10 minutes", said Derek.
Derek and Lizzie arrived at the rink. They brought their own skates and Derek packed his hockey gear. The rink wouldn't open for a couple of hours, but Derek was a close friend with the owner so they had private access. Lizzie put on some padding and a goalie mask and set up a net.
"Come on Derek, try to score a goal" said Lizzie as she went in front of the net.
"Lizard, I'm not going to shoot pucks at you", said Derek who was uncomfortable with idea of shooting at his stepsister.
"Come on I scored like 50 goals on you on the soccer field. I bet you can't even score one in your own game", taunted Lizzie.
"Fine, but we're stopping after the first goal", said Derek.
"Then we'll be here all day", teased Lizzie.
Derek set the puck down several meters from Lizzie and got set to shoot. He really didn't want to blast the puck, but at the same time wanted to score to end it. He then moved in and shot a slap shot towards the top-right corner of the net. He put some zip on it, but nowhere near what he could have.
Lizzie saw Derek shoot and moved her glove towards the top-right corner of the net. She caught it easily.
"Come on Venturi, I know you can shoot harder than that. Casey could shoot harder than that!" yelled Lizzie as she passed the puck back to Derek.
"Fine then I will. Nobody compares me to Casey!" yelled Derek back.
Derek then went through the same routine as he did just a few seconds ago. He shot the puck again with more force than the last time. But he still held back. Lizzie once again caught it easily.
"You must have faced some drunk goalies or something. That shot had no chance of scoring!" teased Lizzie. "Try again Venturi".
This time Derek thought he could catch his stepsister by surprise by charging in and scoring with a backhand shot. Everything went as planned as he skated towards the net and swung towards his left. He swiftly backhanded the puck. Lizzie, however, blocked the shot.
Derek had one more trick up his sleeve. This time he moved in on the net, but instead of shooting the puck, he left it a few feet from the net and pushed Lizzie out of the way, knocking her down. She didn't hit the ice hard at all but she slid a couple feet away from the net. He then got the puck and shot it in before Lizzie could get up.
"Hey no fair, that's cheating!" said Lizzie.
"Lizard, you didn't say that I had to play fair. You just said I had to get the puck in the net", said Derek.
"Yeah I guess you're right. I'm starting to sound like Casey aren't I?" asked Lizzie.
"No, you aren't that bad", said Derek. "I'll put the net back while you go and change out of that goalie uniform. Sound good?"
"Yeah, but can we skate before we leave?" asked Lizzie.
"Of course Lizard, but first we have to clean up", said Derek.
"I thought that's was your job to put the net away", said Lizzie a little confused.
"One more thing", said Derek.
After putting away the net, Derek met up with Lizzie in front of the storage closet. Derek came out of it riding the rink's zamboni. Lizzie hopped on and they proceeded to resurface the ice.
"They owner has me do it in exchange for private access to the rink. I don't mind though, it's fun. Want to drive Lizard?" asked Derek.
"Sure!" said Lizzie excitedly.
Lizzie took the wheel of the zamboni and drove it around the ice. She couldn't believe how fun it was. Lizzie couldn't help but constantly look back at her older stepbrother who was sitting next to her. She then started daydreaming about her and Derek holding hands as they were skating. She forgot she was driving the zamboni until she heard a big thud. She had crashed into the wall.
"Oh my god! Will the owner be made at us for this?" asked a startled Lizzie. She felt bad because she knew Derek would receive the blame.
"Don't worry Lizard. Part of the reason I used to clean the ice for him was because he kept crashing into the walls himself. See that huge black mark next to the McDonalds ad? The owner did that", said Derek.
"So you won't get in trouble?" asked Lizzie whose concern dropped a little.
"Not at all", said Derek reassuring her. "But for my safety, it's best if I take the wheel. You're driving reminds me of Dad's".
"Sorry about that", said Lizzie as she switched places with Derek.
After they put the zamboni away, the rink was just opening. Lizzie and Derek were about to go back onto the ice when Lizzie saw Jamie. Derek didn't recognize Jamie at first because they hadn't seen much of each other since the day Casey brought them to Smelly Nelly's. That was the time when Jamie first told Lizzie he liked her. However, when Derek did realize that it was Jamie, he immediately noticed that his hand was interlocked with a blonde girl's. A hot blonde girl.
"Hey Lizard, do you want to leave?" asked Derek.
"No", answered Lizzie. She grabbed Derek's hand and led him to the ice. She squeezed his hand as they went around the ice. Lizzie shot a dagger look at Jamie as they went by. Derek took notice immediately as he was a little confused. Why would Lizzie use her stepbrother to make Jamie jealous? But he decided to play along.
"I'm not sure whether you're plan is working Lizard", said Derek after a few laps around the rink.
"What plan?" asked Lizzie, trying to act dumb.
"Operation: make Jamie jealous perhaps", answered Derek.
"It is don't worry. Just keep skating", said Lizzie. Lizzie didn't want this moment to end. She first skated with Derek to upset Jamie, but after a while she forgot about her ex-boyfriend and was only concerned with Derek. She couldn't believe that they were actually holding hands right now. She knew Derek was just playing along with the make Jamie jealous plan, but she didn't care.
Then Emily and Casey came in.
"Hey look it's Emily and Klutzilla. Clear the rink, Klutzilla is about to strike! She'll lose her balance and knock down any body in her path!" said Derek his announcer's voice.
Casey looked up as she finished putting on her skates and spotted her sister and Derek. She was unsure why they were holding hands, but she figured that it wasn't good.
"DER-EEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKK!" Casey yelled as she stepped onto the ice. Or more accurately she slipped as she got onto the ice, immediately doing a face-plant. Casey was a graceful dancer, but she had never been on ice skates before. She was stumbling and falling as she tried to make her way to Derek and Lizzie. She eventually reached them or more accurately they reached her. She was on the ground when they approached her.
"Klutzilla on ice. I'd never thought I'd see the day!" said Derek.
"Just help me up Derek!" yelled Casey. Surprisingly, he did what she told him.
"What are you doing with my sister Derek!" asked Casey who wasn't sure whether she wanted to hear his answer.
"Making Jamie jealous", said Derek bluntly.
"What? Why would Jamie be jealous of you? Jamie knows that you're Lizzie's stepbrother. Lizzie what is really going on?" asked Casey.
"Actually Derek is right", said Lizzie sheepishly. "He's here with some blonde bombshell so we've been holding hands to make him jealous". Well it was partly true. Lizzie couldn't tell Casey the other part.
"Come on Lizard, I think Jamie has had enough. Lets go eat before Klutzilla strikes again. Later Em", said Derek as Emily was approaching them.
"Lizzie we're going to talk about this later", said Casey.
"Weird, she's not the stepsister I expected Derek to hook up with", said Emily forgetting Casey was right next to her. Casey just turned around and gave her a confused and worried look. She hoped that Emily was only joking, but in her heart of hearts, she knew that Emily wasn't.
