To Charlottetown
Chapter 4: Toronto I
Summer break has finally come, and Nora and George are excited about their well-planned road trip to Charlottetown, P.E.I. Who could have predicted how many adventures could spurt from one trip, and what they would bring? Dasey.
A/N: Wooh! I'm back with another update! In this chapter they're in Ontario's capital, and my hometown, where I am currently living.
Tomorrow (or today, as it's 2 in the morning) I've got no school, so there may be another update tomorrow/today. However, the day after, Friday, I'll be busy with a school trip, and this weekend I'll be in London, Ontario (Heheh, me and the LwD characters are switching places.). SO, why I've told you this long story? There probably won't be another update until Monday or Tuesday.
Sorry for the long rant. Let the story commence!
Warning: Total cliché moment coming up in the first bit.
"Sh! You're going to wake them! I said shh Edwin!"
"He he he, they're never going to believe this."
"And that's why we're taking a photo with George's digital camera."
Casey tried lifting her head, but grogginess was still very much evident, and made her head feel like it was weighed down with lead.
"Hurry! She's waking up!" Casey's head slumped down back into its original position, but now that she was waking up, she became aware of more things.
Like how her comfortable pillow was… meaty? And… fleshy?
Her eyes peeled open slowly, just as a blinding flash lit her vision. She moaned at the pain it caused on her eyes, and immediately shut her eyelids closed again.
Suddenly, she became aware of two more things that made her blood run cold. One: The people who had been talking, Lizzie and Edwin, were now giggling about a couple, or something. Casey couldn't really concentrate on their conversation, when she was concentrating on a much scarier factor.
The fact that someone's breathing was gusting across her face.
If Edwin and Lizzie were up… Oh God no.
The pieces began to assemble, and Casey felt her stomach twist in horrible realization. No, no, she couldn't be… with Derek? And Lizzie and Edwin caught it in a photograph!
Casey took one more moment to appreciate her comfortable position, before she ripped her eyes open, pushed as hard as she could at Derek and rolled over as far as she could, getting her legs tangled with the sheets in the process.
Casey's body rolled off the edge of the bed, ripping the sheets out of the bed and causing her to land painfully on her butt. She let out a small yelp, before she peered at Lizzie and Edwin, shooting daggers with her eyes.
"Delete. The. Picture. Now," she demanded. Lizzie and Edwin both shared a look before they laughed and waved the camera victoriously.
"No way! This is pure gold, I tell you!" Edwin laughed. Casey lunged forward at surprising speed, reaching out to grab onto the camera. Edwin, though, darted out of the way by hopping on the unused bed and swinging it over his head with a mocking smile.
"Give it!" Casey yelled, jumping up on the bed and grabbing Edwin's collar.
"Don't hurt me! Lizzie!" he called, tossing the camera to Lizzie's awaiting hands. She grabbed it and ran off to the washroom, locking herself in there until Casey had enough time to calm down.
But Casey was absolutely furious, with just a hint of curiosity. She wasn't even sure how she and Derek had been touching, she just knew they were, and she wanted to see how it looked.
"What's going on?" Derek's muffled reply came as he sat up. Casey peered over at him, narrowing her eyes. She so desperately wanted to put the blame on him, but seeing his frazzled and dishevelled hair, with his tired, clueless eyes, Casey unrightfully deemed him innocent, at least for the moment.
"Edwin and Lizzie took a picture of us…" Casey's voice trailed off, realizing that telling Derek how they had been sleeping… well, it would most likely leave room for one of his snide remarks, like, 'No girl can resist Derek Venturi,' or something like that.
"And?" Derek asked, shooting her a confused look.
"And we were in a very compromising position."
"Compromising, meaning…" his voice trailed off as he waited for her to elaborate.
"You two looked like you just slept together!" Edwin hollered, sighing heavily.
"What?" Casey and Derek both screeched. They shot uncomfortable gazes at each other for a moment, before Derek slipped out of the bed and approached Edwin carefully.
"You're going to delete that picture, right?" He grabbed Edwin's shirt in a threatening manner, but Casey's maternal – or sisterly—instincts stepped in and she pushed Derek's hand away from Edwin.
"Don't hurt him. It's just a stupid picture, and they can't keep the camera forever," Casey shot Edwin a dirty look, but Derek released his grip on Edwin and turned on Casey.
"And you let this happen!" he seethed.
"Um, no I didn't you freak. I was still asleep when the flash went off, so don't even try putting the blame on me." Derek let out a deep breath, when all three of them heard the bathroom door unlock and slowly open.
"Are they done being mad?" Lizzie asked.
Casey laughed mockingly as her sister stepped out of the bathroom, while Derek just smirked dangerously.
"Give me the camera, Lizzie, and you won't get hurt," Derek said, smiling as his eyes held a murderous gleam.
"Don't threaten my sister!" Casey snapped, turning and shoving Derek in the chest.
"Yeah!" Lizzie beamed, stepping up next to her older sibling.
"And don't try and get on my good side!" Casey retorted, turning on Lizzie.
"Yeah!" Derek huffed, putting his hands on his hips.
"Now, Lizzie, give me the camera." Casey's voice was dangerously low, but Lizzie just darted away from Casey and made a mad dash for the front door, successfully unlocking it. Derek, however, reached out and grabbed Lizzie's wrist before she could open it.
Even Casey, from where she stood, could see the gentleness in his grasp, yet she knew she couldn't let him get away being pushy and controlling with her sister.
She shoved at him as he tried to grab the camera, but as far as Casey knew, her actions went unnoticed.
Edwin leapt forward and tried getting Derek's grip off of Lizzie, but Derek in turn grabbed at Edwin's sleeve and held him at arms length, causing Edwin to start twisting and hollering for him to 'let go'.
Casey huffed when she still went annoyed as she observed the yelling and squealing of her two stepbrothers and her sister, before finally deciding on an action that would get attention back to her.
She backed herself up, then leapt out and grabbed Derek's shoulders, straddling him from behind piggy-back style.
He gasped out as Casey reached over his shoulder, for the camera, and in a matter of seconds all four teenagers were squabbling and yelling, shifting around the room in a mass of tangled limbs. They were totally oblivious to the front door opening until George's voice rang through the room.
"What's going on?" Immediately Derek released both Lizzie and Edwin as Casey froze on his back. When George's eyes settled on her, she slowly slid off and stepped away from Derek.
George restlessly ran a hand through his hair, taking in a deep breath.
"Do we really need to go over this again, Derek and Casey? No more fights! I thought I could trust all of you in a hotel room, but you go and get Lizzie and Edwin involved in your fight!"
"No, it was them –," Derek started, but George held up a hand and Derek bit down on his lip to stop his sentence.
"I don't want to hear it. Get dressed. We're leaving." George turned on his heel, took a step, than spun back around, holding one finger out threateningly. "And if we ever check into a motel or hotel on our trip again and this," he gestured wildly to the messy room, "is the outcome? We're turning around and heading to Windsor. To visit Grandma Patricia."
"Not Grandma Patricia!" Derek and Edwin gasped, pure fear clear in their expressions. Casey and Lizzie shared a look, but ended up shrugging as George stormed away, slamming the door shut as he did so.
Lizzie sighed heavily as she shoved the camera into Casey's palm, before turning to collect some articles of clothing to get changed.
As Edwin and Derek dispersed around the room, Casey peered down at the picture, and unintentionally a smirk appeared on her lips that she had to fight to wipe off.
Derek's right arm was stretched out just beneath the line of pillows, and that had been the fleshy, meaty thing Casey's head had been resting on. Her face was tucked into his shoulder, while his other arm lay lazily on her waist, bent at the elbow so it followed along the line of her side and his hand lay gently on her bicep. His face was tucked against hers and his expression was one of blissful slumber. Though their chests were a good four inches away from each other, as Casey's eyes travelled down their lined-up bodies, she saw that their legs were tangled and entwined with one another.
A shiver ran up her spine as her eyes finally set on her position. The arm she was laying on was tucked under her body, but her other arm was gripped onto Derek's left bicep.
She hurriedly turned off the camera, well aware of the fact that she didn't delete the picture. After all, it was a memory, wasn't it? Some day she'd look back on the photo and laugh.
Hopefully.
Nora and George were ignoring Casey and Derek, that much she could tell. She knew this since she and Derek first stepped into the minivan (Casey still in Edwin's old spot) and asked how they had slept. All they got in a reply was a happy laugh from Marti and ten-minute long rant about all she had done during the night, including sneaking out of bed to make a mess of shampoo in the washroom.
Casey sighed and leaned her head against the glass of the window. It was a cloudy and grey day, and Casey decided then that it had been a horrible choice to wear a jean skirt with a red tee shirt. It was freezing out!
"So, we're planning on stopping in Toronto for some shopping." Silence filled the minivan after Nora said this, before Lizzie chirped up.
"Why?" she asked, her voice full of ridicule.
"Well, what's the point of going to your province's capital without buying souvenirs?"
"This is great, Mom! I can by a whole new wardrobe! Isn't that great, don't you think? Mom?" Casey asked hopefully. She was Nora's eyes flash to meet her daughters, but she hurriedly looked away and gave a limp shrug.
Casey rolled her eyes and settled against the cushions, closing her eyes.
"Can someone turn the heater up? I'm freezing!" Derek complained. Casey opened one eye to take in his outfit. He wore a green, white and black striped shirt with jeans. How could he be cold? He wasn't the one wearing a stupid skirt.
No one gave a verbal answer, but George did start blasting the heater.
The rest of the car ride droned on in silence. Every few moments Casey or Derek would try to strike up a conversation with their parents, only to get the cold shoulder. They resorted to ignoring each other, in turn, and ended up staring out the windows dumbly until they arrived in Toronto's downtown district.
George pulled into a parking lot, killed the engine and turn to face his children.
"We'll travel as a group, but on foot, because driving downtown in Toronto? No, it's quicker by foot. We'll go to as many stores as we can, but don't spend all your cash. We're also planning on stopping in Quebec City and Montreal, and you'll want to buy souvenirs there too. So… yeah, let's go," George finished.
The Venturis and McDonalds stumbled out into the grey light of an overcast, downtown Toronto day, stretched, then headed off down the sidewalk, with Nora and George walking in front, Marti followed religiously behind, then Edwin and Lizzie, and lastly Derek and Casey.
"This is ridiculous," Casey spat finally as she followed after Lizzie.
"What is?"
"Mom and George! Them ignoring us! They're acting like children!" Casey complained. Derek didn't reply, and they walked in comfortable silence as they twisted down streets, stopping in a store occasionally.
"And I mean, so what, we got into a fight," Casey continued, frowning, "It's what we do."
"Yeah," Derek murmured, taking in a deep breath of air. Casey threw her hands up in the air for emphasis.
"If they have such a problem with us fighting, maybe they should, oh, I don't know, not force us into a confined space for days on end?"
"Wow Case, watch that mouth of yours," Derek whispered in her ear. She paused to stare at him.
"Watch my mouth?! Aren't you at all upset over this?" she asked, looking desperately up at her stepbrother. He shrugged and she rolled her eyes, continuing down the street. They were lagging behind, but she could still see Lizzie and Edwin up ahead.
"Free hugs?" a young man asked, popping into Casey's peripheral view. She gasped and jumped back at his sudden nearness.
"What did you say?" she asked dumbly. The man, who couldn't be older then a college student, smirked and held his arms out wide.
"Free hugs."
"Why would she want to hug you?" Derek spat, eyeing the guy up and down. "you're probably some homeless pervert who –,"
"Derek!" Casey chastised, smacking his arm before turning back to the college student.
"I'd love a free hug. They say being hugged makes your day that much better, and trust me, I need it," Casey said with a laugh. The guy nodded his head and pulled Casey against his chest.
"Alright Case, let go of the hobo," Derek snapped, tugging at her fingers gently.
"You're boyfriends really uh… controlling," the man whispered in Casey's ears. She was nodding her head before she even realized what he had referred to Derek as. Though it wasn't as bad as being deemed parents by an undereducated foreigner, it still made her stomach convulse nervously.
"He's not my… ah, forget it. Thanks for the hug," Casey said, beaming happily at the man. "But, you know, I think Derek would just love a hug," Casey said, placing a firm hand on his arm.
Derek's eyes widened and he began shaking his head over and over again as the guy slowly approached him.
"Dude, don't touch me—!" Derek's sentence broke off when the man flung himself at Derek. Casey watched as he stood there for a second, before pushing the man off roughly.
"Get off me, sheesh. I don't let just anyone touch me," he snapped, before stalking off into the crowd.
Casey smiled after him, gave the man a 'thanks' before racing after Derek.
"What is your problem? The guy was giving free hugs, because –,"
"I don't hug dudes, Casey!" Derek complained, throwing his arms up as his eyes scanned the crowd.
"What is your problem?"
"Uh, Casey, wait a second…"
"No, I'll tell you what it is. Your problem is you don't have the ability to—,"
"Casey!" Derek yelled, grabbing her shoulders and spinning her so she faced him.
"What, Derek?" she snapped, rolling her eyes.
"I'll tell you what our problem is, okay?" Derek laughed. Casey noticed how his face took on a nervous tone. "We're, um, kind of lost."
"Lost? Just follow Edwin and Lizzie…" her voice trailed off when she realized her siblings were no where to be seen.
Her eyes grew wide and she sucked in a deep breath.
"Shit."
Author's Notes
The beginning was good and detailed, then I lazed off and the ending was crappy. This is probably the most looked-forward to part of this story (to me. Because, currently, this is the only 'adventure' that I have in mind. I'm sure something much better and romantic will happen in Quebec City… my favourite Canadian city of all.)
Anyways…
Review. Review. Review. Review.