SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS
Dark-Supernatural-Angel: Thank you. Aw, never fear. That's not the last you'll see of Stefan and Damon in this reality. Hope you enjoy this chap as well. Sorry this isn't soon enough.
DISCLAIMER
Rewrite of "Two-Timing Derek". Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. The Vampire Diaries belongs to L.J. Smith and the CW. I only own characters you don't recognize and the plot. I forgot to mention it in "Dating Game" but Ralph doesn't know Casey's a vampire because he and Emily went home before George and Nora had their talk. And I'm still looking for someone to do a trailer for this story, if anyone's interested. Special thanks to Dark-Supernatural-Angel for their advice and help on these next chaps.
Derek, Kendra, Sam, Casey, Ralph, and Emily walked down the steps of the school entrance. Derek and Kendra held hands while Casey had her arm wrapped around Sam's waist. Kendra leaned into Derek, who glanced at her.
"You okay?" he asked.
"I've had this weird feeling all day that someone's been watching us," she complained.
"Yeah, I felt it too," Casey added.
"Did you see anyone?" Sam asked and his girlfriend shook her head.
"Well, I'm sure it's nothing," Derek said, squeezing Kendra's shoulders. She smiled and leaned into him again. Emily glanced at Ralph.
"Looks like we're the odd ones out," Ralph commented.
"Yeah," Emily agreed with a soft, sad smile. Sure, it was nice to have Derek as a friend, but sometimes she wished she could have Derekā¦like Kendra had him. Oh come on, Emily. Get it together. Three years ago, you didn't even have his friendship, she reminded herself. Then, they all went their separate ways and went to their own houses. Once home, Derek plopped himself in front of the television and turned it on as Casey sat on the couch and started a reading assignment. Minutes later, George and Nora came walking in with Lizzie, Edwin, and Marti at their heels. Seeing the scene, George shook his head. He'd never understand how Casey could concentrate with background noise. However, the teens seemed to have a routine and a way to get things done. Lizzie, Edwin, and Marti went upstairs as George went to his bedroom to look over some papers, while Nora spread out some design sheets on the coffee table. Seeing this, Derek instantly went to turn the television off.
"You're fine. It's at a reasonable volume," Nora assured.
"You sure?" Derek asked.
"Yes," Nora responded and then turned to her work. Derek settled back in his chair as eerie music began to play.
"Man lives in the sunlit world of what he believes to be reality," a narrator said. Casey looked up.
"Ooooh! Tales From The Darkside! We used to love this show when it first came out," she said. Nora glanced up at the screen and smiled. She had memories of this show as well. "Oh! Mookie And Pookie! This was the sweetest episode!" Casey continued, putting her textbook aside as Nora did the same thing with her designs. Derek turned the volume up slightly and soon the trio was engrossed in the show. Half an hour later, the episode ended and Nora and Casey returned to their work as Derek lowered the volume. It turned out that it was a marathon and once in a while, Nora and Casey would stop their work to watch an episode before resuming what they were doing. Presently, Lizzie, Edwin, and Marti came down.
"What are you watching?" Lizzie wondered.
"Tales From The Darkside, the episode Grandma's Last Wish," Derek replied.
"Is it a new show?" Edwin asked.
"No, it first came on the air in the early eighties," Casey replied.
"Oh, wow," Lizzie said as she and Edwin made themselves comfortable. Meanwhile, at her own house, Emily was doing her homework. At least, she was trying to. Her mind kept drifting to Derek. I'm glad he's found someone who can make him happy, but sometimes I wish that someone could be me, she thought. While Emily was in her room, Kendra was in the room Rose had set up for her. Man, I can't believe my parents did this! she thought to herself. Almost as if Rose had heard the thought, the older woman opened the door.
"How are you holding up?" she asked.
"Lousy," came the response. "When Mom called me up, I figured, you know-she and Dad had come to their senses-but to completely cut me out and then say that I wasn't their daughter-" her voice trailed off.
"I am sorry. I know you were hoping to reconcile with them," Rose apologized.
"At least your friend Katherine was able to get guardianship papers for us," Kendra said with a sigh.
"Yes. You can always count on her," Rose stated with a nod. Leave it to Katerina to have her hands in everything even when she's hiding, she thought to herself. "Now then, I'll leave to your schoolwork and after words, we'll work on the banishing spell that's been giving you trouble," she continued and the younger girl grumbled good-naturedly. Meanwhile, Sam was in his room, sitting on his bed, mulling over what Kendra and Casey had told them. Who would be watching us? And why? Is it a vampire thing again? he wondered nervously. And if so, would he be able to protect Casey? He sighed. Who was he kidding? Casey could protect herself. With a small grin, he reached down to where his backpack was, got out his schoolbooks, and started doing his homework. When he was done several hours later, he went to bed. Early the next morning, the MacDonald/Venturi residence got up, got dressed, and then went to the ice-skating rink, where walked up to the line to get skates.
"Are you sure you'll be skate to skate? I mean, you'll have to go pretty slow to keep up appearances, won't you?" Derek asked in a whisper
"Yes, it's more fun when I can blur, but I'll be fine, Derek," Casey answered in the same tone.
"Okay," he replied. Soon it was their turn to buy their skates.
"Hi, Derek," a classmate of theirs, Vanessa Coolridge, greeted shyly. Then, she winced internally. Idiot! He's not going to know who you are! she berated herself. And why should he? He was the king of the school, while she, with her wire-framed glasses, mousy brown hair, and plain t-shirts and slacks, was a mere nerd at that school. In fact, if it wasn't for her recent discovery of her heritage, she would've resigned herself to her fate. Still, you couldn't be forward with a guy like Derek.
"Hey, Vanessa," Derek acknowledged. As George paid for the skates, they all missed Vanessa's eyes widening in shock. He knows my name! I don't believe this! she thought. Maybe there was hope after all. However, she kept this hope to herself as she watched the family go out on the ice. What would it be like to have Derek as a boyfriend? Vanessa was sitting on one of the school stairwells studying for a test, when someone took the textbook away from her.
"Hey!" she exclaimed, looking up. Then, "Oh, Derek," she said softly.
"Will you relax, baby? I told you before, you're going to ace this test," Derek scolded, pulling her up. Then, he drew her close to him and-
"Miss?" Vanessa shook her head and saw a man at the counter.
"Sorry," she apologized. She took the payment for the skates and refocused her attention on her work. When it was time for her break, she glanced at Derek who was laughing as he spun his younger sister, Marti, around. Aw, she's so good with her, she thought to herself. Her stomach grumbled, reminding her that she had only had a small breakfast that morning and she went to the concession stand. An exclamation of surprise caused her to turn around. Her mouth dropped. Kendra Collins was hugging Derek! I would've thought that they had broken up by now. Neither of them do long-term relationships, Vanessa thought. Ignoring her need for food, she walked closer to them so that she was in hearing distance.
"I didn't know you were coming here," she heard Derek say. His girlfriend doesn't even let him know her plans? How inconsiderate, Vanessa thought.
"Well, it was real last minute. Rose thought it'd be good for me to blow off some steam," Kendra replied. Vanessa's brows furrowed. Who was Rose? Another relative?
"What happened?" Derek asked in concern. Kendra hesitated.
"Could we not talk about it here? It's not exactly a private place," she reminded.
"Of course," he agreed. "But we will talk?" She nodded. Vanessa let out a huff. What was Kendra thinking? She had a very attentive boyfriend who wanted to hear about her problems and she just blew him off? What was wrong with her? With a roll of her eyes, she went to get her food, all the while keeping an eye on the couple. On the rink, Casey looked up. Someone was watching them. But who? Discreetly, she looked around, trying to see if she could catch the scent. However, it was to no avail. There were too many scents for her to accurately pinpoint who was watching them. Kendra shivered.
"Are you okay?" Derek asked softly.
"I've got that weird feeling again. Like someone's watching us," Kendra replied. Derek pulled her close.
"Don't worry. I won't let anyone near you," he promised. Marti whimpered and clung to Edwin.
"What's wrong, Marti?" Edwin asked.
"We're being watched. I don't like it," Marti complained. Hearing the girl, Casey frowned. This wasn't the first time Marti had displayed extraordinary senses about something. The first time had been when she met Scott, and there had been a few instances after that when she had complained about someone or something going on and she had been right every time. I wonder if there was someone on George's side of the family with some psychic abilities, she thought. Intuition like that didn't just spring up out of nowhere. Well, there's no danger right now. I'd know, she thought to herself. Still, it wouldn't hurt to keep her eyes and ears open. Noting the worried look, Nora glanced at Casey, who shook her head and then mouthed the word 'Later'. The woman nodded. She trusted the girl. Besides, this probably wasn't the right place to discuss anything important. Hours later, the family went home, with Kendra calling Rose for permission to go with her boyfriend.
"Casey, I saw your face. You were looking for someone or something at some point this morning. What happened?" Nora asked.
"Someone was watching us, but I couldn't pinpoint who," Casey replied.
"What?" Nora asked in concern.
"You don't think it's like, someone after you, do you?" Derek asked.
"No, if it was a hunter, they would've struck by now," Casey replied
"But then, who could it be?" Kendra wondered.
"I don't know. But I will find them," Casey promised. Meanwhile, in her own house, Rose was chanting in an ancient language. Kendra had told her about her feeling that someone was watching her and she wanted to know who would be after the girl. She threw some powder into a bowl and sparks flew. To her surprise, she was instantly given the image of a young girl with wire-framed glasses, mousy brown hair, wearing a white t-shirt and tan slacks in front of what appeared to be several photos. The girl chanted something unintelligible and Rose saw her dip a potion into a cup. Rose narrowed her eyes, muttered something, and the image moved closer. Then, her eyes widened. In each and every one of the photos, was Derek. Hurriedly, the vampire pulled out of the vision.
"Well, this can't be good," she muttered to herself. Unaware of her brief audience, Vanessa smiled as she finished the spell. Soon, Derek Venturi would be all hers.
