Author's Note: This is one of my favorite chapters. I stayed up writing until 6am this morning and got a shower and went to bed by 7am (crazy, I know, but when the writing bug bites...) it was in the shower that this idea came to me and I wanted to badly to put it to paper but I knew I needed to get some rest. I've been looking forward to getting to this chapter and here it finally is! Please review and let me know what you think! Feedback is always very valued and appreciated :)

Chapter Eight

Derek didn't know why Gavin looked so surprised when he was the one to answer the door at seven o'clock. What did the guy expect? Casey to appear with a freaking red carpet lain out? Derek almost laughed at the shocked look on Gavin's face.

"Derek," Gavin cleared his throat and tried to regain his composure, "I didn't know you'd be here."

"I live here," Derek said plainly, blocking the doorframe by propping his arm up, "What's up, Gavie?"

"Um…just here to pick up Casey for our…uh…date. Is she um…available?"

"I don't know. Casey usually spends this time unwinding from her day. She'll lock herself up in her room for a long, long time and no one knows what she does in…"

"Here I am!" Casey bounced down the stairs, "Derek, thank you for entertaining my date with your lovely fictional tales. Derek is quite the story teller, aren't you, Der?" Casey gave Derek a saccharine smile that Derek exaggerated even more so when he returned it to her, "Gavin, are you ready to go?"

"If you are," Gavin smiled, "You look great, Casey."

"You look great, Casey," Derek mimicked, rolling his eyes.

"Derek, behave," Casey shot him a look.

"Me?" Derek looked offended, "Never!"

"Come on, Gavin. Let's go," Casey stepped to the side trying to pass by Derek but he side-stepped, blocking her exit, "Der-ek! Move!"

"I'm sorry Gavin. You see, the evil step brother is not willing to let the Princess go out with the knight in shining armor unless he must complete the quest."

"Derek, you're being a moron," Casey shoved a curl behind her ear in frustration, "Please move so Gavin and I can go on our date."

"Derek, don't you think you're being a tad ridiculous?" Gavin raised an eyebrow.

"You can't have the Princess until you pass the quests. Everyone who's ever played a video game knows this."

"Derek, stop it," Casey hissed, glaring daggers at her stepbrother, "Just let me go."

"Fine," Derek smirked, "If fancy pants over here," he eyes Gavin's perfectly ironed khakis, "can provide the correct passcode, he is free to take the Princess away from the clutches of her evil step brother for the night."

"Derek, this is stupid," Casey rolled her eyes, completely fed up with his antics. She was mortified by his behavior and she could tell that Gavin was just as annoyed. He was standing there awkwardly and she hoped he wasn't regretting his decision to ask her out.

"Derek, if you don't let me pass by here this instant I am going to go get George!"

"Passcode," Derek raised his eyebrow at Gavin.

"That does it!" Casey stormed off to find George, leaving Derek grinning obnoxiously at Gavin. A few minutes later, she returned with George who was not looking very impressed by the scene waiting for him at the front door.

"Derek, this is inexcusable," George shook his head, "I don't know where you got off thinking you could act like this, but we are all fed up. Now move and let Casey get by so she can go and try to have a lovely time on her date and put all of this behind her."

"Dad, he didn't give the passcode."

"Now, Derek or I will come over there and move you myself!"

Derek grunted and moved aside so Casey could get by. She shoved past him and headed down the walk with Gavin. Derek could hear her apologize profusely for the way he was acting. He smugly folded his arms over his chest, maybe now they will have a horrible night and Gavin will regret asking her out and Casey will be all remorseful and anxious and freak him out even more. Venturi, you genius.

"Derek, sit down!" George ordered. Derek rolled his eyes and sat down in his chair knowing that this would not be good.

"I have had it with you!" George folded his arms across his chest, then unfolded them and began to pace around the living room, "I don't know where you suddenly got the notion that you can just act like a jackass and there not be consequences for your behavior. I know I've been lenient on you but you're a good kid, Derek. Or at least I always believed so. You could be obnoxious but I never really disciplined you because I saw that deep down you were good. You had a good head on your shoulders and you cared about people. You did that yourself without any intervening from me so I just decided to let you grow up into your own person. I let you get away with a lot, Derek. I've let so much slide with you these past few years but not anymore. There's going to be some changes, mister!"

"Dad…"

"I am not done speaking to you!"

"Sounds more like you're speaking at me!"

George paused in his tracks and turned to glare at his son, "What did you just say to me?"

Derek sighed, "I said it sounds more like you're speaking at me."

His dad inhaled and Derek could see he was trying to calm down before speaking to him again, "I've had it, Derek. We've all had it. I don't know what is going on and I won't know until you talk to me about it. We've always talked, Der. I just don't understand why these past few months have been so weird with you. You aren't a jerk, Derek and I am sick of you acting like it. Now then, talk to me. Tell me what is going on. If it's a problem, I can my hardest to help you fix it. But I can't help you unless you talk to me."

"I can handle it on my own."

"Obviously you can't because you're taking everyone down with you. What's going on, Derek?"

Derek ran a hand through his hair just as George did the same thing, "I guess I am just stressed," Derek admitted, "The championship game…the scouts…all of it."

"Derek, that's what's been bothering you?" Derek nodded and George sighed, sitting down on the edge of the coffee table across from Derek, "You don't need to stress about that. I know you will because you're driven, but to stress this much isn't healthy, Der. You are a great hockey player. Everyone thinks so. There's a reason Coach appointed you team captain when you were a sophomore."

"A lot of good that got me," Derek adverted his glance.

"Hey," George titled his head so Derek was facing him, "What those seniors did to you…"

"Maybe they had a right," Derek shrugged, "I mean, I was in Grade Nine at the banquet when Coach announced it right before the school year ended. I was going to be the youngest team captain. That spot is only reserved for Grade Twelve players. Now that I'm in Grade Eleven I can kind of get it. I wouldn't be too happy if some dumb kid got the spot I'd wanted for years."

"What they did to you was inexcusable, Derek. You were just a kid…still are," George sighed, "Derek, Coach Samuels wanted you to be his team captain because he saw something in you that he didn't see in anyone else. You do know that, right? He saw that drive and passion you have. I think those scouts will see the same."

"It's my only shot, Dad," Derek sighed, "It's all I've got."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean impressing the scouts is the only way I'd ever be able to get into Queens. I need to get into Queens, Dad. I need to be a Knight."

"Derek, I can't promise you that you will but if you work hard…"

"Don't you get it? Casey has her grades and Sam has his extracurriculars and me? I've got nothing. Nothing but hockey anyway. And I'm fine with that, for the most part. But if I screw up, I'd lose my only chance at going to college."

"So that's what this is about. You think hockey is the only chance you have for getting into a good college?"

Derek nodded, "It's all I have, Dad. It's everything."

At the mall, Casey and Gavin poked in and out of a few stores before making their way to the food court. Casey had apologized for Derek's behavior the whole car ride until Gavin finally told her that it was fine and just to drop it. Casey didn't expect him to snap at her like that, but maybe she was getting a bit annoying with all the apologizing. She just felt bad. The way Derek had acted mortified her. How dare he do something like that! And what was up with that whole princess and the evil stepbrother thing? Casey might have actually found it charming, but it was Derek so she didn't.

After getting their meals at a Japanese Grill, Casey and Gavin took their plates and paper cups over to one of the tables next to a fountain in the middle of the food court. They quietly picked at their food until Casey finally asked –

"So you won the championship?"

"Yeah," Gavin grinned, suddenly coming to life at the mention of hockey, "It was huge. We were down and I scored the winning goal and it was just the best feeling in the world. I felt like I was on the top of the world, Casey. It's um…it's what made Coach Samuels request me."

"What?" Casey's brows drew together in confusion, "I thought you moved here because your dad got transferred."

"Well…I am not really supposed to say this," Gavin lowered his voice, "but Coach Samuels contacted me not too long ago. He told me had a situation and wanted me to transfer to Thompson."

Casey was almost afraid to ask, "What kind of situation?"

"Well, Coach knew Derek was kind of falling behind. He's becoming unstable, Casey. Coach Samuels just wanted to make sure he had all of his bases covered."

"Gavin, what are you talking about?" Casey shoved her plate away, suddenly losing her appetite.

"Well, we both know Derek's been out of control lately, Casey. Coach told me that his current team captain was having some issues with fighting and bad attitude."

"Gavin," Casey kept her voice as level as she could, though it was evident she was straining to, "What. Are you. Talking about?"

"Basically it's like this, if that stepbrother of yours doesn't clean up his act, you're looking at the new team captain," Casey nearly choked on her own salvia when he said it, "Don't look so surprised. Coach just needs to do what is right for the team. I don't mean to brag, but my name is kind of big among the high school hockey coaches. It didn't take much for me to transfer. My parents will make whatever sacrifice needed to boost my hockey career."

The food court suddenly felt very hot and Casey struggled to remember how to breathe. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Surely there must have been some sort of mistake.

"Coach…he wouldn't do that," Casey protested, "He and Derek might get on each other's nerves a lot, but they're very close. He fought to make Derek team captain when he was a sophomore. He…he even made the announcement in front of everyone at the sports banquet when Derek was in Grade Nine," Casey felt very flushed and she struggled to speak, "He…he has a lot of respect for Derek."

"Casey, Derek is unstable. You've seen it. I am sure with you living together you've seen more incidents than Coach Samuels has. Coach is just doing what is best for the team. If that means finding someone more stable and responsible to be team captain, so be it."

Casey pushed her chair back and stood from the table. She almost lost her footing and had to grab on to the table to balance herself. Gavin looked confused.

"What are you doing?" He demanded.

"I-I have to go."

"Why?" Gavin's brows furrowed, "Look, Case don't pretend that…"

"Don't," Casey held up a hand, "Ever call me that."

Gavin looked hurt and confused, "Casey, Coach is just doing what is best for the team."

"Derek is what is best for the team!"

"Casey, we both know…"

"No," Casey grabbed her purse, "You don't know, Gavin. You have no clue. You just got here. If you think you know Derek Venturi at all, you are dead wrong."

"Casey, he's just a loser. Coach is realizing this and wants to make sure he has all his bases covered and has a replacement lined up. Derek is a loser, Casey. I heard him in the locker room – he's a C/D student and he has no ambition…"

"You really don't know anything at all, do you?" Casey shook her head in disbelief, "Derek has more ambition than you even know. I…I have to go, Gavin. Thank you for the dinner. It was nice of you."

"Where do you think you're going?" Gavin asked, "We have a date."

"No, no we don't," Casey ripped the necklace from her neck and tossed it at him, "Take your hockey ring, Gavin. Those things make me sick anyway," Casey shuddered. She hadn't known Derek when he had been attacked by the senior players, but she had heard about it from Edwin not long after they had moved in. Every time she saw the scar on his forehead, it made her shiver.

"Casey, come on. We don't have to let this get in between us. It's Derek!"

"Exactly," Casey turned on her heel, "It's Derek."

She had no idea what she was going to do, but she knew she had to get away from Gavin. She couldn't stand to look at him without wanting to throw up. After ducking into the women's restroom, she sunk down on one of the couches and put her head in her hands. She knew she needed to get a ride and dug her cellphone from her purse. As soon as she clicked it awake, a text message appeared on her screen.

"I'm sorry. Can we talk tonight after your date? I'll provide milk and Oreos."

A sad smile crossed her face and Casey had to blink back tears. How could they do this to Derek? It made her sick. She knew she needed to talk to Coach as soon as possible, but for now, she just needed a ride home. She clicked Derek's name above the text and held her phone to her ear.

"Hey," he sounded surprised to hear from her.

"Derek…"

"What is it?" His voice went from surprise to concern in less than a second, "What's wrong, Case?"

"I…I need a ride home."

There only sound on the other end was an intake of breath. Casey sighed and asked, "Are you still there?"

"I'm going to kill him."

"Derek…no. Just…come get me."

There was another brief pause and finally, "Okay. Where should I get you?"

"Just outside the main entrance," Casey blinked to keep the tears from falling. She hoped Derek couldn't hear the choked back sob in her throat, but he had. He always did.

"Are you crying?"

"No…no! Everything is…fine."

"Liar. We'll talk about that later. I'll be there in ten minutes, alright?"

"Alright."

Casey hung up and made her way over to the sink. She splashed some cold water on her face and stared at herself in the mirror. How could I be such a fool? How could I ever have thought that Gavin was a nice guy? He's a jerk, a jerk like all the rest.

After a few moments of trying to compose herself, Casey headed outside to wait for Derek. Luckily, she didn't see Gavin anywhere. She leaned against a large potted plant, and waited for The Prince to pull up. A few moments later, it did. She hurried over and slipped inside to the passenger seat.

"Case…"

"Just drive."

Derek pursed his lips. There was so much he wanted to ask her, but didn't. He glanced over at the girl next to him, staring into her lap in an attempt to hide her tears from him. "Okay, Case," he said, pulling The Prince out of the parking lot and away from the mall.