A/N: Only a few chapters left! This one is going to be a doozy. Even though it's short.

…Right?

BY THE WAY: I'm going to be shaking up the Lizwin a bit. Just so you know.

Disclaimer: I don't own LWD.

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Blast From the Past
Chapter 35 – Back to Square One
By VirgoMaiden

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"Derek and Casey need our help."

Lizzie looked up from her position on the couch where she was watching a Christmas cartoon special. "I agree," she said. "This is getting ridiculous. They should have gotten together a long time ago."

"I don't think that Derek's really doing anything wrong," Edwin said, situating himself next to her. "But he's not making it easier for Casey to talk to him." He was, of course, referencing the time Derek had hidden in a closet when Casey had come downstairs that morning.

Lizzie was quiet for a moment before turning to me. "Edwin," she said, "how does Derek deal with rejection?"

He was quiet for a minute. "Not too well," he said.

"So do you really think that Derek would set himself up so that he could hear that he's lost to a guy that's pretty much perfect? A guy that reminds himself of… him?"

"Probably not."

"I mean, the guy probably thinks that he's just a stand-in for Drake, that Casey's only playing with him, you know?"

Lizzie groaned and slumped forward. "Casey's lack of effort to talk to him isn't helping anything either. Is she seriously wondering if she's playing with him herself?"

"She must be," Edwin said. The phone rang over his words.

"Would you get that, Ed?" Lizzie asked, leaning back into the couch. "I don't feel like getting up."

He rolled his eyes. "Sure," he snorted, standing up.

He picked it up.

"McDonald-Venturi house," he said into the speaker. "Edwin Venturi."

"Hey, Edwin."

Edwin's eyes widened. Mary. He knew he had forgotten something – ending his relationship with her. His heart began beating faster, a reminder that he had inherited the conscience that his older brother had not.

"Hey," he said, not looking over in Lizzie's direction, earning a quizzical look from her.

"I'm going to be stopping over tomorrow," Mary said, unaware of what was going on on the other end of the line. "We can exchange presents. That sound cool?"

"Yeah," Edwin said.

"Cool!" Mary chirped. "See you then."

"Yeah," he said. "I'll see you later."

"Bye – '' he didn't wait for her to finish, clicking the end button on the phone and setting it down on the receiver, not thinking about how she sounded a little…distant.

Lizzie had followed him into the kitchen and was now rinsing her cup into the sink. "Who was that?" she asked.

"Teddy," he said. "Asking if we wanted to hang out later," Edwin said, looking at her cheek instead of making eye contact – one of Derek's patented lying moves.

"Uh huh," she said.

The phone rang again, and she snatched it away from the charger before Edwin could.

"Hey, this is – oh, hi, Mary," Lizzie said. "Edwin? He's right here. Then I'll – oh, I see. Yeah, I can give him the message. What is it? Uh-huh. Well, Mary, I'll be sure to tell him. Merry Christmas, Mary!"

She slammed the phone down, and the glare she gave him made Edwin's heart beat faster than it already was.

"You didn't break up with her?" she hissed. "That was my one freaking condition, and you couldn't bring it upon yourself to do it?"

"Lizzie – " Edwin's try at getting into the conversation was poor, at best, although he should have known better.

"So, what, Edwin, was she some kind of insurance? You'd keep stringing her along if things with me didn't work out? If it wasn't supported? Dammit!" she pounded her fist on the counter. "You lying ass!" she shouted. "I never want to hear your pathetic pity stories again!"

She pushed past him and ran up the stairs. A second later, he heard her door slam.

He hung his head and pounded his fist on the counter.

Crap.

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A/N: Could you really blame her? She was going after Edwin blindly in the beginning of the story, so she might be feelng a bit betrayed by him. This had to happen sometime. And trust me, it's fixed in the next chapter.