LWD

I do not own Life With Derek

A/N - I know it's been too long since the last chapter, but I've been so busy lately. I did a lot of internet based research for certain facts, so if I'm wrong, please let me know so that I could correct it.. :)

And I hope this story is not dragging too much :s It's nearly done.(and please review :)

Chapter 14--

Sam raised his glass of coke as he faced his friends who sat around the table at Smelly Nelli's. "To us!"

"To school!" Emily cheered, repeating his action.

"To the future!" Casey said, raising her own glass.

"To hockey!" Derek grinned as he was playfully smacked by his girlfriend.

"And to fries!" Everyone turned to Ralph, confused. "What? These fries are whack man." He said gleefully as he picked several off the plate and stuffed it in his mouth.

Casey tried to keep the look of disgust off her face. "So, anyway. Can you believe that graduation is tomorrow?"

"I know!" Emily cried out. "And I still haven't decided what to wear yet."

Sam turned to Emily. "Um.. aren't we all wearing the gowns?"

"Yes, but we need to wear something under the gowns." Emily replied.

"But, it doesn't matter what you wear, since it wont be seen." Sam was confused as to why this was even an issue.

"Actually, you can get glimpses of it. So, I must wear something to compliment the gown."

"Dude!" Derek interrupted Sam from asking another question. "Can we not talk about gowns please?"

"Yeah man." Ralph said with his mouth still stuffed with fries. "Gowns are such a chick thing. I wonder why they want us to dress like girls." He said thoughtfully.

Casey shook her head. "It's not a chick thing Ralph. I mean, girl thing."

Emily took a sip of her drink. "So, are we doing anything tomorrow? To celebrate graduation?"

Sam, Derek and Ralph grinned at each other, leaving Emily and Casey to look at them, confused.

"What?" Casey asked cautiously. The three of them looked devilishly happy, which was never a good sign.

"It's nothing." Derek shrugged nonchalantly. He knew she wouldn't drop it, and he was right.

"Seriously, tell me." She tugged at his sleeve.

Derek rolled his eyes. "It's just something that the hockey team decided to give the school as a parting gift."

Emily looked between the three boys, and her eyes widened in realization. "The senior prank?"

Casey looked at them confused. "I thought the senior prank was already done."

"You mean all the books being stolen from school last Friday?" Ralph questioned, as he continued to gulp down the fries.

"Yeah, that."

"A decoy." Sam said coolly as he took a sip of his drink.

"The real prank is on tomorrow, after graduation." Derek smirked as he leaned back in his chair. "That way, they cant threaten to take away our diplomas since we will

already have them." The three boys grinned even widely.

Casey turned to Derek with a stern expression on her face. "I hope you're not planning on disrupting the whole of graduation for some stupid prank."

"Case, relax." He shook her gently. "It will be after graduation."

"So then, what's the prank?" Emily asked, excitedly.

"Sorry, cant say. It's a surprise." Derek said cockily.

Emily rolled her eyes. "Oh please, as if you cant tell us. We're not snitches."

"You aren't, but she is." Derek said pointing to Casey.

Her mouth fell open in shock. "I am not a snitch." She observed the knowing glances they all threw each other. "I'm not!"

Sam cleared his throat. "Actually, you're a do-good-er. And sometimes, that's the same thing."

"It's not the same thing." Casey retaliated, heatedly.

"Well.." Emily cringed as her best friend glared at her. "You do kind of find it difficult to keep a secret if it's something bad."

"I can keep a secret." Casey said irritated.

Derek sighed. "No, you cant. If they suspect us, you'll cave. You always do." He interrupted his girlfriend as she turned to argue with him. "And don't bother denying it. We all know it's true." Casey huffed, crossed her arms angrily and leaned back in her chair, causing him to roll his eyes at her predictability. "How about we change the topic of conversation huh?"

"Good idea, D." Sam looked straight at his best friend meaningfully. "So, what is everyone doing for the summer break before college?" Emily and Casey seemed to notice his change in demeanor, while Ralph obliviously consumed more fries. "D? What you up to?"

Derek let out an unintentional bout of nervous laughter. "Nothing. Planning to just hang around, play some hockey." He glared at Sam. "What about you?"

Sam shrugged. "Nothing. Going to just hang around, play some hockey."

Emily looked between the two boys. "Are we missing something?"

"Nope." The two best friends said simultaneously, their glances fixed defensively on each other.

Casey turned to her boyfriend. "What's going on?"

Derek shrugged. "It's nothing, Case."

"Derek!"

"I'll fill you in later." He whispered in her ear. Casey raised her eyebrow at him, but said nothing. Feeling his phone vibrate in his pocket, Derek checked the message. "Sammy, the boys need us. Ralph, you wanna come?"

"Yeah, as long as I can take the fries with me." He said enthusiastically.

Derek let out a light chuckle. "Be my guest."

"Why cant we come?" Casey asked suspiciously.

"Because, this is a prank by the hockey team. And last time I checked, Ralph can blend in with us, while you two cant." Casey frowned. "See you at home?" She nodded her head as the three boys stood up and proceeded to put on their jackets.

The two girls watched the boys as they hurriedly said their goodbyes and rushed out to the prince. "So.." Emily said as she grabbed her own jacket. "The mall?"

Casey grinned. "You read my mind."

--

"Um.. George?" Casey called out as she entered the kitchen. "What's with all the food?"

"Huh?" George turned around from where he was pulling out plates from the cabinet.

"The food? Outside? On the table?"

"The food?" He looked at her, confused, until recognition dawned on his face. "Oh, that. I just think it's time to celebrate."

"To celebrate what?"

George grinned. "You'll find out soon enough." And with that parting statement, he grabbed the plates and headed to the dining room table.

Casey stood still for a few seconds as she contemplated the various reasons that could be cause to celebrate. But since the choices were numerous, she gave up on the guessing game and followed her step-father, just in time to see Derek walk into the house, and hang up his jacket with a greeting.

"Woah! Dad! What's all this?" Derek exclaimed gleefully as he took his place at the table.

"Yes, Georgie. Are you going to tell us what this is about?" Nora questioned as she sat down next to Derek.

"Yes, George." Casey too took her place. "Are you going to tell us?"

"All in good time." George grinned at their curiosity. He loved holding their attention.

Lizzie sat down in her chair and looked at the food suspiciously. "Is this a bribe?"

"I don't think so." Edwin shook his head. "Dad, did you finally follow through with your threat and sell us as slave children?" He narrowed his eyes. "This is our last meal, isn't it?"

George chuckled. He was in too good a mood to let his son's comments get to him. "Not today, Edwin."

"Hey!" Marti pouted. "This is all what Smerek likes."

This statement caused the rest of the family members, save George to raise their eyebrows in curiosity. Derek laughed lightly. "Finally admitting that you're gonna miss me, huh Dad?"

Casey looked at George, who was still the only person standing. "This is for Derek?" Part of her thought it unfair, since he wasn't the only recipient of a scholarship.

"Yes, it is." George's grin widened.

Nora's eyes narrowed when she realized how insensitive her husband was being. "And when are we celebrating Casey's scholarship?"

George looked at her, confused. "Scholarship? This isn't for the scholarship."

"It's not?" Derek questioned.

"No." George watched the confused faces of his family members. "I got an interesting call this afternoon."

Derek felt a panic rise within him. "Dad, whatever they said, don't believe them. They can't prove that I did it."

George's eyes narrowed. "Did what?"

Noticing that all eyes were on him, Derek gave a sheepish smile. "Nothing. Please continue."

George watched his son for any signs of guilt, before deciding that his news couldn't wait any longer. "Anyway, this caller said something very interesting." Derek moved lower in his seat, convinced that they had traced the prank to him. But George didn't notice since he concentrated on the rest of his audience. "Turns out that we might have a professional hockey player sitting at this very table." Derek's head snapped up as he realized what his father was talking about. He wanted to stop him, but his throat was inexplicably dry. He avoided the curious glances of his family, especially Casey, who seemed to be looking at him questioningly.

"What are you talking about George?" Nora asked.

"Derek? You want to tell them?" George observed his son's silence, and mistook it for encouragement to continue. "Imagine my surprise when I received a call from none other than the scout for the Oilers, informing me of their interest in my son. Who, it turns out, will be leaving us in three days to spend the summer training for a spot in the reserves." George looked down at his son with pride. "What I'm wondering is, when were you planning on telling us?"

Derek stayed silent as he looked at the one person who seemed to be avoiding his eyes. Casey cleared her throat. "May I be excused?"

Nora looked at her daughter sympathetically. "Sure, honey." It was obvious to nearly everyone that Casey did not know anything about this news.

Derek stood up just as Casey reached the top of the stairs. "Yeah.. I need to.. yeah.." He mumbled and fled after her.

George looked curiously at the remaining members around the table. "Did I miss something?" Which earned him disapproving looks.

--

"Now is not the time, Derek." Casey snapped half-heartedly as she heard her bedroom door open.

"I was going to tell you." Derek mumbled.

Casey turned to him angrily. "When? After you leave?"

"I'll be gone only for a few weeks."

Her eyes narrowed. "How long have you known?"

Derek nervously shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "I've known for a few days now."

She crossed her arms over her chest. "Define few days."

He sighed. "Since the day after our last hockey game."

"And you didn't feel the need to tell me?" She asked incredulously.

"I didn't know that I would get into the training camp. It was just a possibility until two days ago."

"And you didn't feel the need to even mention the 'possibility'?"

"If I did, you would have been paranoid and not enjoyed the past couple of days."

Casey scoffed. "That's not a good excuse."

"But it's a valid one." He said.

She shook her head. "I'm just confused. Where are you going? When are you coming back? What are you going for?"

Derek let out a sigh as he sat down on her bed. "I got a call after the game from a person called Jonah Writman, he's a scout for the Oilers. He saw me play, and he said that they might be interested in recruiting me. There is a training camp for eight weeks which I have to go through, and if they want me, he said we could talk contracts." Casey stayed silent. "Two days ago, he called and said that I was shortlisted for the camp. It's rigorous training, and I have to leave in three days."

"Where?" She whispered.

"Edmonton."

"For eight weeks?"

He nodded his assent.

"That's not so bad." She said thoughtfully. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Derek's eyes fell from her gaze as he looked at the floor with intense interest. "If I make it, I'll have to move there."

Casey felt her breath hitch. "Oh."

"I haven't decided whether to take up the offer. That was probably why Writman called Dad. He must have wanted to know if I'm coming or not."

Casey looked up at him, surprised. "Why wouldn't you take the offer?"

He shrugged. "I don't know."

"You have to take the offer." Casey said as she sat down next to him. "It's your dream."

"But, what if I don't make it?" He asked softly.

"You will make it. I don't think any of us doubt that."

"I'm not exactly the best hockey player, Case."

"I didn't know your ego had deflated." Casey giggled when he rolled his eyes. "But you're talented and determined. You want this, right? Mr. Four time MVP?" She teased.

Derek let out a chuckle. "Yeah, I do."

"Then go for it. Get the spot."

"And what if I get the spot?" He looked at her meaningfully.

"We'll think of something."

"Great! Bring thinking into this."

"All the greatest decisions are brought about by thinking." She argued.

"No wonder they're so lame." Derek mumbled, and earned a playful slap by Casey.

"I'm still mad at you, you know."

"You'll forgive me." He said cockily.

"Don't bet on it."

"Casey, Casey, Casey. Don't bet against me. I always win." He chuckled when she rolled her eyes at him, and kissed her softly.

--

"Wow! You two are really going all out on the eye sex." Emily whispered, which caused Casey to blush and immediately break eye contact with Derek. They had just braved countless blinding flashes, as photographs of their graduation were taken again and again. The parents were currently having their own meeting consisting of conversations under the topic of 'my kid versus your kid', while their children used the time to say their goodbyes.

"We're not having eye sex." Casey protested.

Emily rolled her eyes. "Sure. And staring at him like you want to rip his clothes off is not eye sex at all."

"Em! We're not like that."

Emily grabbed her friend's hand in mock sympathy. "Case, you two are seriously frustrated. Do something about it."

Casey felt her face redden further. "And what do you suggest? For me to sleep with him?"

"That's a start." Emily let out a laugh when her friend scowled.

"There's still a little problem with that theory, remember?

"Just tell him already. He'll understand."

"I lied to him. He won't understand that."

"He might."

"You don't know that."

"And you should give him the benefit of doubt." Emily cocked her head to the side. "Speaking of which, lover boy's on his way." She teased.

"Hey!" Derek called out as he walked towards them, a huge grin on his face. "What did you girls think? Nice right?"

Casey put on her 'stern face' as she faced him. "Nice? Derek, there was nothing nice about the prank you pulled."

He pouted slightly. "Come on. It's a classic. And might I add that it hasn't been done to this high school for over ten years."

"It is a classic." Emily said, earning a glare from her best friend. "Come on Case, rearranging all the faculty's cars so that they spell out 'JSTH' is pretty impressive. And not to mention hard."

Derek threw her an appreciative glance. "See? Emily's got the school spirit."

Casey shook her head in exasperation. "How did you do it anyway?"

Derek grinned, happy to share some of his wisdom. "It's been a week long effort. We had to steal their keys, make copies and return it by the end of the day. No problem when you have nearly twenty people in on it."

Casey's jaw dropped. "That's stealing!"

"No." Derek said slowly. "It's called borrowing. We returned all the keys."

Her eyebrows shot up. "And the copies?"

Derek shrugged. "Will be in safe hands just in case we need it again."

"Derek!" Casey reprimanded.

"Case, relax. It's not like they can prove that any of us did it. And besides.." He smirked. "there is no threat of detention."

Casey rolled her eyes. "I'm just surprised that you didn't spell out a more raunchy word."

Derek chuckled. "We would have, but there weren't enough cars to spell any of them."

She shook her head. "You are so juvenile."

His smirk didn't die. "As if you don't like that about me."

"YO D!" They all turned to see the hockey team urging him to join them in taking more team pictures.

"Well, gotta go. Duty calls. See you at Ralph's?" He called out just before he jogged to his teammates.

"Will see you there." Casey replied, then turned to her best friend. "So, you ready for your first party as a high school graduate?"

Emily grinned. "You bet."

--

"The stupid lock is not opening." Casey growled in frustration as she jiggled the key violently. The fact that her feet could hardly keep her upright was not helping.

Derek chuckled from where he was leaning against the wall. "There's nothing wrong with the lock, you're just drunk."

"I'm not drunk." He threw her a skeptical look. "I'm just a little tipsy."

"I should have never let you drink so much." He said, amused. He grabbed the keys from her and easily opened the door.

Casey stared at the door for a few seconds before scowling at him. "You cheated."

Derek let out another chuckle. "I did? How?"

"I don't know." Casey took a step towards him and put her arms around his shoulders. "But I'm going to find out."

"Sounds promising." Derek whispered before capturing her mouth with his. He pulled back quickly, since he wasn't sure if the dizziness he was experiencing was due to kissing Casey, or mixing drinks, or both. "Let's get inside." He murmured against her mouth before leading her to the living room.

Casey turned around and kissed him softly. "I got a better idea. Let's go upstairs. To your room." She pulled him by his jacket and gave him a slightly longer kiss.

Derek grinned. "What the Princess wants, the Princess gets."

In one swift movement, he lifted her bridal style, causing Casey to giggle and clutch onto him. Luckily for Derek, his tolerance level was rather high when it came to alcohol, so he hardly tripped as he headed towards his room. He kicked open the door and dropped her on the bed, locking the door behind him. He proceeded to take off his jacket to toss it on the nearby chair, before he joined his girlfriend on his bed. "Now, where were we?"

Casey giggled, as she pulled him towards her. "I think, we were right here." The kiss they shared was slow and deep.

Derek wrapped his arms around her, and gently bit her throat, causing her to arch against him and let out a soft moan. Casey was vaguely aware that she was making out with him on his bed. She knew where this was leading, yet she felt helpless to stop it, especially when his hands traveled slowly under her skirt and up her inner thigh while he dropped tiny kisses around her neck. He skillfully discarded her top and bra, followed by her skirt. She pulled him closer to her, their limbs were a tangled mess, their kisses were becoming feverish. She wanted to feel his hard body against hers, and all she could think about was the unexplainable need to satisfy her carnal desire. A desire for everything he could physically offer her. Within moments, she had forgotten all her inhibitions. She wanted him. And she didn't care if it was the alcohol that encouraged her.

That feeling would be the last thing that Casey McDonald would remember the next morning.