Title: The Soundtrack of My Summer
Spoilers from: All of Season 4, which is going by really quickly! They'd better have Dasey in the movie, whenever that comes out!
Summary: It's the summer before Derek and Casey are about to go off to college, so the family decides to spend it in Mexico City. While there, Casey and Derek end up sharing a room, Casey gets a stalker, and Derek figures out just who Casey sees in her dreams.
A/N: Thanks again for all the reviews! The more the merrier! And for those of you who want Derek's POV, don't worry! That's coming up real soon... .in about two chapters! I'm planning on ten in all.
Disclaimer: I do not own Mexico City, Boys Like Girls, Snickers, or Life with Derek. If I did, I wouldn't need to be writing about what I want to happen on the show, because it would BE HAPPENING!
Chapter 3- Five Minutes to Midnight
(Casey's POV)
"And not only did you not want to sit with us, but you forced Derek and I together in the very opposite end of the plane! I mean come on, Mom! Out of all the selfish, inconsiderate-"
"Here we are!" Jean-Philippe, their cab driver announced, cutting off my angry rant. It was almost midnight, and even a person as dense as Derek could tell that Jean-Philippe was exhausted. I wouldn't be surprised if it was because of me. "Your cottage awaits."
As my mother gave our driver a gracious smile and leaped out of the backseat as fast as she could, I couldn't help but think back to our flight. Had it really been so bad that I needed to treat my mother like a verbal punching bag?
In actuality, the flight hadn't been bad at all. Sure, I had been scared to death, but after the first few minutes, I actually got over my fear of flying. With Derek's help, of course.
Speaking of Derek, as I looked in his direction, towards the second cab that had taken the Venturis from the airport, I noticed that Derek seemed completely himself again. And by himself, I mean arrogant, rude, and overly obnoxious towards yours truly.
"Why hello there, Space Case," he grinned, coming up beside me. "Have you looked in the mirror lately?"
"What are you talking about, Derek?"
"You've got some chocolate on your face."
Silently cursing the Snickers bar that I had been eating, I proceeded to rub its chocolaty remains off my face, only to realize that there hadn't been any at all. Derek had lied, which wasn't a shock to me. The real surprise was that I had fallen for his claim to have spotted something on my face in the pitch black darkness of night. I suppose I was as out of it as Jean-Philippe. At the same time, Derek waltzed past me into the small cottage, laughing hysterically.
"So much for being a changed man," I sighed, following him into the cottage.
This Mexican residence was one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen... its position was right on the water of a gorgeous Mexican beach. Its rooms were relatively large and spacious, compared to the tiny boxes that the Venturis called rooms back at home. There were flowers and Spanish greetings everywhere, with miniature piñatas and Mexican hats filling the décor.
"There are five rooms," my mother announced. "And seven of us."
"No problem. You and I will share," George grinned, pecking my mother on the cheek. Derek looked at away, disgusted. Talk about immature.
"That still leaves five of us and four other rooms," I announced as Derek began to count on his fingers with extreme difficulty. "Two other people are going to have to share."
"I vote Edwin and Derek," Lizzie grinned, and I nodded.
"No way! I'm not sharing a room with Edwierdo," Derek argued.
"And if you put me in a room with Derek, there's a 50/50 chance that I won't make it out alive," Edwin spoke.
"Well I'm not sharing with anyone," I spoke up. I shared one with Liz for what felt like forever, and after finally winning and getting my own room a couple of years ago, there was no way I was giving it up for the summer. "When I go off to college, I'm going to have to share a room there. I'd really like to have a little 'me' time before then."
"Diddo," Derek declared, and I glared at him.
"Fine. Lizzie, would you mind sharing with Marti?"
"But Mom!" Lizzie frowned, but my mom simply held up a hand.
"Someone has to, and I highly doubt the king and queen of the castle are going to give in."
To me, it awfully sounded like my mom was poking fun at me. Hey, I can be a bit self-absorbed sometimes, but I'm not nearly as bad as Derek!
"It'll be fun, Liz," I encouraged her, although I knew deep down that it most certainly would not be.
"Okay," my little sister sighed, and I breathed my own sigh of relief. Thank God. I got my own room.
And Derek got his way, yet again.
"So that leaves Casey, Derek, and Edwin with their own rooms," Nora confirmed. "Go ahead and pick which ones you want."
The next five minutes were complete chaos, with Lizzie and Marti taking the first room they could find to prevent an uproar, Edwin taking the one next door, and Derek and I battling for the last two, one of which was clearly better than the other.
"I call the room with the bathroom!" I shouted, slamming my suitcase down on the bed at the same time as Derek.
"No, I do!"
"Derek, you don't need your own personal bathroom. You're a guy!"
"So?"
"So, you need, what, ten minutes to get ready? I need at least an hour, and there's no way I'm getting that hour unless I have my own bathroom!"
"Case, no matter how much time you spend looking at yourself in the mirror, that face isn't going to magically become pretty."
"You're a jerk!"
"Princess!"
"Chauvinist!"
"Klutz!"
"Guys!" my mother scolded, entering the room. "What could you possibly be fighting about now? We haven't been here more than ten minutes!"
"Derek says he needs the room with the private bathroom but everyone knows that girls spend way more time in there than boys!"
"That is true," my mom admitted, looking at Derek. "Derek, can't you take the other room?"
"No way! This room has a bigger mirror, and everyone knows that I like to look at myself."
"Although we have no idea why," I chided, receiving a glare from my mom.
"You know what? I give up! Derek, Casey, if the two of you can't figure out who gets the room in the next five minutes, I'm sending you both on the flight back to Canada!"
That woke us up real fast. As my mom turned on her heel and left for her and George's room, I turned to Derek with a determined expression.
"I've got it! Thumb war!"
"Say what?" Derek asked.
"A thumb war! That's how we choose who gets the room!"
"Case, aren't thumb wars a little second grade?"
"Is someone chicken?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.
"Not in the least," Derek grinned, grabbing my hand. "In fact, I say we make this competition a little more interesting."
"Do you ever get tired of betting?" I asked him, rolling my eyes.
"Not when I win," he smirked. "Which I always do."
"What are the stakes?" I asked, knowing that I could beat him. I had played this game every single day in second grade. Literally. By the end of the year, my thumb was unstoppable.
"Loser has to do whatever the winner asks, for the rest of the summer."
"Deal," I agreed, knowing that this was my chance to drive Derek insane. Having my step-brother as my own personal slave was practically too good to be true.
"One, two, three, four, I declare a thumb war," Derek announced, and I jumped into action.
Surprisingly, Derek was a much better competitor than I had thought. After two minutes of ruthless thumb warring, however, I had him pinned down.
"One, two, three four, I just won a thumb war!" I declared triumphantly, and Derek released my hand as though he had been burned.
"No way. I challenge you to a rematch."
"Dream on, Venturi. I won, fair and square. I get the room, and you."
Cursing, Derek stomped out of the room and slammed the door. He marched back in two seconds later, scooped up his suitcase, and slammed it again. What a sore loser.
It was now 11:55, five minutes to midnight, and I wasn't tired at all.
In fact, to reward myself for beating Derek, I decided to make a victory call to my boyfriend. It didn't matter what time it was in Canada. He would want to hear about this.
Unfortunately, it wasn't Truman who answered the phone. After about six rings, I heard someone pick up, followed by a woman's voice.
"Hello?"
Too stunned to speak, I stuttered before asking, "Is Truman there?"
"He's in the bathroom. Who is this?"
"Who's this?" I asked, unsure whether or not I should reveal my identity just yet.
"This is Truman's girlfriend Carmen. Do you want me to give Truman a message?"
"Yeah, I do," I spoke, surprised that I could even find my voice. "Could you tell him that his other girlfriend, Casey, is never speaking to him again?"
After slamming the phone down and crying my eyes out for the next hour, I finally was able to get some sleep. But not before one lonely, miserable thought crossed my mind.
Derek had been right.