SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Twilight Gleek: Thanks, here's more. Sorry this isn't soon enough.

Dark-Supernatural-Angel: Well, hopefully you'll like this chap even though it took so long to get up. Thanks, I'm glad you liked Derek being interested in the Civil War. No, Tyrone was not a werewolf. You'll see. Thanks. Sorry this took so long.

Lanakila91: Thank you. I'm glad you liked it. Thanks.

Mahjong90mulan: Thanks, I'm glad you like it so far. Sorry, no. I like it, but I suck at writing it and I'm more of a Sasey fan.

DISCLAIMER

Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. Vampire Diaries belongs to L.J. Smith and the CW. I only own the plot.

Whoa. There's no way. I've got to be seeing this wrong, Derek thought to himself. I need sleep. That's all, his thought continued. There was no way the girl in the drawing was actually Casey. Then, he pushed his book aside, changed into some sleepwear, and then got under his covers and fell asleep. Before he knew it, hard rock was waking him up and he quickly got dressed. Meanwhile, in her own room, Casey had also woken up and had gotten dressed. Then, she opened her refrigerator and frowned at the sparseness of bags. Oh, this isn't good, she thought. She was getting low on blood. She'd have to find a place to get some more. But how? It wasn't like she could just go to the local blood bank and steal some. She put some blood in a thermos and went downstairs and headed for the kitchen where Nora and George were busy preparing breakfast.

"Good morning, honey. I'll make you a cup of coffee," Nora greeted.

"Thank you," Casey said. George looked at them with some confusion, but said nothing. He had noticed Casey's coffee consumption, but figured she had gotten introduced to it through her father or a friend. Once the beverage was ready, Casey poured herself a cup and began drinking. She smiled as she heard the rest of the family walk in. Then, she got herself some cereal. Despite his best efforts, Derek couldn't help his continual glances at his stepsister. She really does look like that drawing, he thought. But it was impossible…right? It was just a coincidence. He sighed. He really had to stop thinking about this. He was Derek Venturi for crying out loud. He didn't care about school work or school projects and so what if a drawing in a textbook had some resemblance to his stepsister? It was probably just an ancestor or something. Besides, it had been late when he had seen the drawing, so it had most likely been his eyes playing tricks on him. Aaaaah! Stop thinking about this! Derek berated himself as he got his own breakfast. Edwin watched his older brother through narrowed eyes. Normally, the older boy would've ordered Edwin to get the cereal and pour it into a bowl for him. He's acting funny. What's he up to? he wondered. This had to be a trick of some sort. Get him to let his guard down and then pounce. Yeah, that was completely like Derek. Well, he wasn't going to fall for it. He was sick and tired of always being told what to do. With an inaudible sigh, he also got himself some breakfast, getting Lizzie a bowl as well. He'd have to keep his eye on his brother. He was probably up to something. After they had finished breakfast, Nora ushered the kids into the car and drove them to their schools. As she headed for class, Casey's mind wandered. How and where was she going to get more blood without being found out? Man, I've gotta figure out something soon. The last thing I need is to lose control and cause trouble for Nora and her family, she thought to herself. She reached her homeroom and sat down. Hearing approaching footsteps, she turned in her seat and watched as Sam and Emily walked in. She let her eyes linger on Sam. Man, he's so good-looking. Too bad he's human, she thought to herself. Getting too close to a human could be disastrous for her. She mentally shook her head to clear it and pulled out some of her assignments from the previous day and quickly did a last-minute check. Okay, yep. I have everything I need and all my work is right, she thought to herself. Then, she chuckled softly when she found herself imagining the teasing she would get from Damon at her obsessive behavior. Then, the teacher walked in, sat at her desk, and then subtly watched the students as she rummaged through her bag. As usual, some kids were reading, working on homework, or sitting quietly while others were talking with their friends noisily, throwing spitballs, and just generally making nuisances of themselves. Just once I wish that the whole class would sit quietly and get their work done, she thought to herself. She had woken up with a headache this morning and didn't need noise from the unruly kids in her class. Not soon enough for her, homeroom was done and they walked out. In Mr. Steiner's history class, Casey took out her paper, which consisted of her and Derek's research. I have to admit, Derek did pretty well. I think we just need a few more pieces of research and a couple of pictures and we'll be ready for our presentation, she thought to herself. With the information they had, they were sure to get at least a 'B'. She grinned in pleasure. Things were going to be pretty good this week. Meanwhile, Sam had realized that Derek had been strangely quiet.

"Yo, Derek. What's up with you, man?" Sam wondered.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Derek lied.

"You're not usually so quiet. Did you sleep okay?" Sam responded.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Derek lied again. Sam shot him a look, but decided to drop it for the time being. When Derek was ready to talk, he would. Satisfied that he had gotten his friend to leave him alone, Derek leaned back in his chair. Thank goodness, he thought. He wasn't sure if he could've explained thinking he had seen Casey's picture in their history book. Sam would've had him committed for sure. With a sigh, he absently grabbed his history book and started flipping through it. Then, his eyes widened.

"Whoa," he said softly. It's the same picture from last night, he thought. His eyes narrowed as he stared at the sketch intensely. Cassandra Salvatore, 1864 the words said. "I'm losing it," he mumbled.

"Derek, you okay, man?" Sam asked, hearing the mutter.

"I'm not sure," Derek replied. Sam looked at him in confusion. What's going on with him? He's been acting weird since homeroom, he thought to himself. However, he had no chance to ask as Mr. Steiner came in and immediately started the class. As the first pair of partners started giving their presentation, Derek found his mind wandering. Obviously the photo wasn't Casey, but why would one of her ancestors be in their history books? Surely her family tree wasn't that exciting. But then again, what do you really know about her? another part of him pointed out. He sighed. This is too weird, he thought to himself. He probably just had to ask Nora about it. I'll do it when I get home. This is driving me crazy, he thought to himself. He had to put a stop to this before he drove himself nuts. Before he knew it the bell had rung and he headed for his next class while Casey headed for hers. In her class, Casey took notes, trying to pay attention as she thought about ways to get more blood. Man, this stinks. If Stefan and Damon were here, I wouldn't have this problem, she thought. But unfortunately, they weren't. Which was the whole problem. Man! I hate hunters! I hate being away from my brothers! She thought to herself, letting out a sigh. She missed them so much. Playing human was hard when she was alone. But she couldn't complain. Nora was awesome and Zack had assured them all she could be trusted. And they all trusted Zack…even Damon. And he hardly trusted anybody. The teacher asked her a question, which she answered correctly, not even missing a beat as she took notes. When it was finally time for lunch, she headed into the cafeteria and got a burrito and hot chocolate. While coffee was better for warming a vampire to the touch, hot chocolate often worked in a pinch. Then, she headed over to a table where Emily was sitting with Sam. They finished their laughter as she sat down.

"So, what's so funny?" Casey wondered.

"Oh, I was just telling him a joke my little brother Dimi told me this morning," Emily answered.

"I like jokes," Casey responded.

"Okay, this dog walks into a bar and says to the bartender, 'I'd like a drink'," Emily began. Casey laughed.

"Oh, wait! I know this one," she stated. "It ends with 'I'm looking for the man-'"

"'Who shot my Paw'," Emily and Sam finished with her.

"That's a cute one," Casey commented. Then, "How's your history report coming?"

"Pretty good, we decided to do research on the age bracket of the soldiers on both sides," Sam answered.

"Wow. That's probably tough to narrow down," Casey said.

"Yeah, but I like a challenge," Sam responded.

"That's a good thing," Casey chuckled.

"So, what's it like being paired up with Derek?" Emily wondered.

"Honestly, not as bad as I thought it'd be. He did some really good research and even added some real insightful thoughts," Casey admitted.

"And that surprises you?" Sam asked, trying to keep the defensiveness out of his voice. He's not stupid, he thought to himself.

"After he tried to get me to do all the work, yes,' Casey replied. Okay, that's fair, Sam silently allowed. Derek's attempt to pass all the work of the project onto Casey wasn't exactly a score in his favor. Just then, the object of the conversation came up to their table.

"'Sup?" he asked casually, sitting down. Casey rolled her eyes, but greeted him civilly. As they ate lunch, Derek kept glancing at Casey discreetly. She does look an awful lot like that drawing. I wonder how it's possible. An ancestor maybe? he theorized. It was certainly possible and it was the only thing that made any sense. After all, how else would he explain his stepsister looking like someone in a history book? Then, he shook away his thoughts and continued eating. Why was he obsessing over this? This is ridiculous! I'm going to make myself crazy! He thought to himself. When lunch was finally over, they all went to their separate classes. For Derek, the day seemed to drag on until it was finally three o'clock. When the school day finally ended, Derek, Casey, and Emily went to the MacDonald/Venturi residence. Casey and Emily went to the kitchen while Derek went to the living room to watch t.v. Soon, the sounds of a show were blaring through the walls. Ow! Vampire ears! Casey thought.

"Oh, for heaven's sake," she muttered. "Der-ek! Turn it down!" The only response was for the noise to get louder. With a frustrated growl, Casey stood up.

"Casey, we can just to your room," Emily told her. The last thing we need is a fight between them, she thought to herself.

"Fine," Casey sighed. Sometimes I could kill him, she thought. However, without another word, they gathered up their books and went downstairs. Then, they went over their notes, discussing some of the main points.

"You know, I'm surprised you were freaking out. You know this stuff backwards and forwards," Emily commented after a while.

"Well, the test is after the final round of presentations and I really want to get a good grade," Casey replied.

"Okay," Emily said. She needs to relax. She's got this covered, she thought. Then, she noticed a drawing of a redheaded man in a uniform. "Oh, hey. Check this out," she said, pointing to it. Casey leaned over to look at the drawing, but another one caught her eye. Oh, dear, she thought. On the page next to the sketch that Emily had pointed out, was a drawing of her.

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