Title: The Soundtrack of My Summer
Spoilers from: Season 4, with my own little twist on the crummy relationships that LWD gave us.
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: At last, we have Derek's POV!! Thanks for all the reviews, guys! I hope to get a lot of response to this chapter, because it's really when everything takes off. Hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: Even though I put Mexico City, Boys Like Girls, and Life with Derek on my Christmas list, I didn't get them. What a pity. What did I do wrong this year, Santa?
Chapter 5- Thunder
(Derek's POV)
Casey McDonald, my step-sister, is such a loser. Seriously, what kind of girl tells you she hates you, only to ask for a favor from you twelve hours later? Not to mention she woke me up in the middle of the night, crying. Crying.
That was probably why I did it, why I picked her up. I, Derek Venturi, can't stand it when girls cry. Yes, I do have a heart, and hearing Casey McDonald crying over the phone nearly broke it.
Why does she have to get involved with such idiot guys? I hate to admit it, but Sam was the only boyfriend that ever treated her right. God, I can't believe I said that.
But it's true. Sam was the only boyfriend Casey ever had that wasn't a complete baboon, and even he couldn't handle her quirks. From crying to laughing to full-out screaming, Casey McDonald was a tough girl to put up with.
I'm sure Max the wax-figure could attest to that. The moment Casey started turning away from her popularity and losing her confidence, he was gone. Why she would ever do that I have no idea, but I have to admit, I like the old Casey better.
Which is why it pissed me off when Casey started dating that Truman guy, and started becoming that completely different person once again. Seriously, take it from someone who knows. When a guy looks at you like you're a trophy instead of a person and breaks your heart not once but twice, he's not a good dude. Which I, being the gracious step-brother that I am, warned her about all along, but would she listen to me? No, she had to go through him cheating on her twice before she ever got a clue.
Although Casey didn't tell me that she was crying because of a guy, I could tell that was the reason. I've lived with Casey McDonald long enough to know her boy problem tears from her I-forgot-about-a-project-deadline-for-the-first-time-in-my-life-and-now-I'm-going-to-fail tears.
This guy, whoever he was, better not have laid a hand on her.
"There's some tissues in the glove compartment," I finally told her as she sniffed once more. The one thing worse than over-the-phone Casey crying? In-the-car Casey crying.
"Thanks," she smiled softly, and for a moment the tears stopped coming. For a moment.
"So what were you doing all afternoon?" I asked, not that I was concerned or anything. Derek Venturi deserves to know these things, after all.
"None of your business." Uptight, defensive Casey has returned.
"Who is he?" I asked at last, and Casey looked at me as if I was some sort of stalker.
"You've been spying on me!?" she asked, outraged, and I rolled my eyes.
"No, Case, I haven't. I think I've been around you long enough to tell when you're upset about a guy, you know."
"Oh. I never knew you were so observant," she mumbled, and I raised an eyebrow.
"So who is he?" I asked again, pushing the subject.
"A guy I met on the beach," she sighed, wiping her eyes again with the tissue. "Named Julio."
I snorted. Seriously, Case, you can't do better than that?
"That desperate for another boyfriend, huh?"
"I am not desperate!" she declared, her anger reaching her eyes. "And I wish you would stop interrogating me and let me cry in peace."
"No, no more crying," I sighed, snatching the tissue and throwing it out of the window. "Was he really that big of a deal to you, Case?"
And it was then that I noticed something different in Casey's eyes. The depression over Truman and maybe this Julio guy was there, but beneath that there was something else. Fear.
I yanked the steering wheel, swerving the car over to the side of the road. Casey looked bewildered, confused, and still scared.
"What did he do to you, Case?" I asked.
"Who?"
"Julio," I spat, gripping the steering wheel harder. Don't lose it, Venturi.
"Oh! Nothing, really. Just hit on me a couple of times, but I turned him down."
I looked into her eyes and noticed she was telling the truth. If that wasn't it, what could it be?
"Is everything alright, Derek?"
"I wanted to ask you the same question," I answered, staring her down. "What are you afraid of?"
Casey's breath caught in her throat, and she broke eye contact. I wasn't sure why, but then again, Casey McDonald wasn't exactly the easiest person in the world to figure out.
"How did you know I was scared?" she whispered quietly.
"Again, I've lived with you for a long time, Case. I know these things. I can see them in your eyes."
Casey's gaze flittered back and forth, and I could tell she was distracted. Her hands were shaking, and not from the cold. This was summer, for God's sake. It was about 70 degrees out.
"Julio told me a story," she announced, and I eased up a little. "A ghost story. About our cottage. My room, specifically."
"Go on," I urged, feeling every nerve in my body relaxing. There wasn't anything seriously wrong. This was just Casey being Casey.
"A girl used to stay there, only when her boyfriend broke up with her, she hung herself. Apparently, now she watches over that room and haunts any guy that stays in it."
"Well you're not a guy, last time I've checked," I smirked.
"Yes, Derek, but I'm not finished. This girl also haunts other girls that let their boyfriends use them, cheat on them. Ring a bell?"
"Truman," I declared. "Case, you don't honestly believe in that junk, do you?"
"Of course not," she laughed uneasily. "Actually, yes, yes I do."
"Casey McDonald, you are such a wimp," I snickered, starting up the car. Honestly, a ghost? Was she really that ridiculous?
"Derek, I'm not going back to that room!" she screamed, grabbing my arm.
"Case, if you don't let go of me, I'm going to get in an accident," I spoke, and she released it, but not without leaving tiny puncture marks in my skin from her nails. Great. Thanks a lot, Case.
"I'm not going back there," she repeated, and I rolled my eyes. Oh yes, yes you are.
As I pulled into the drive of our cottage, I noticed that the lights were all still off. Good, I hadn't awoken anyone else in the family. Not that I cared about things like that, of course.
"Night Case," I spoke, waving my hand as I began to enter my room and go back to sleep.
Surprisingly, she didn't try to stop me. She just followed me.
"I'm not sleeping there tonight," she told me, but I continued to ignore her and flung myself onto the bed with a sigh. Casey McDonald was wearing me out.
"Then go sleep with Lizzie," I told her, pulling the covers up over my head in an attempt to drown her out. It didn't work.
"Lizzie's already sharing a room with Marti! There's no room," I heard her answer.
"Then go tell Nora and she'll switch the sleeping arrangements," I spoke through a yawn.
"I'm not going to wake my Mom up at 1:00 in the morning!" she declared, and I rolled my eyes again.
"You mean like you did to me?"
"Yeah!" she answered, and I snorted. Jeez, thanks Case. "Then go kick Edwin out of his room."
"Are you kidding me? Edwin's the gassiest human alive! I can't imagine what that room smells like!"
"Then sleep on the floor somewhere," I shrugged, finally beginning to drift off.
Quiet.
I couldn't believe it. She had gone away! She had left me alone!
It was then that I heard the bed creak, and felt it shift under the weight of another person. Casey.
Er, maybe not.
"What do you think you're doing?!" I asked, flinging my eyes open.
There she was, trying her best to sneak under the covers without me noticing. Fat chance, Case.
"I need somewhere to sleep," she told me, and I grimaced.
"You're not staying here."
"Yes, I am."
"No, you're not!"
"Yes, I am!"
"Jeez, Case," I groaned. "Why can't you go bug someone else?"
Bad move. A single tear trickled down her face, and I groaned. Way to go, Venturi.
"Fine. But only for tonight, got it?"
"Yes, sir!" she saluted, and I rolled my eyes. This was going to be a long night.
Suddenly, I heard the crack of thunder and the snap of a tree branch outside my window. There was a storm, and a big one at that.
"Derek!" Casey squeaked, and I smacked my head with my hand for giving in.
Correction. This was going to be a very, very long night.
"Derek!" she squeaked again, and I turned to face her.
"What!?"
"I'm afraid of thunder storms," she admitted, and I threw my hands in the air.
"I give up! First, you ask me to pick you up from the beach, and I do that! Then, you make me let you stay in my room for the night, and I agree to that, too! But I will not put up with you screaming and crying all night!"
"You're right, I'm a loser."
"Yeah, you are!"
Through the darkness, a flash of lightning illuminated the room, but the only thing I could see was Casey's defeated expression on her face. Her eyes were swollen and red from crying, and she was biting her lip to keep from continuing with her tears.
Casey McDonald managed to pull at my heartstrings yet again. What was wrong with me?
"Why do you do this to me, Case?" I asked, sighing. "Fine, you can scream and cry all you want, just do it quietly, okay?"
"You don't have to let me stay here," she whispered, and I rolled my eyes.
"Don't even bother, Case. You wouldn't leave, even if I begged you to."
"No, I probably wouldn't."
Just then, lightning struck a tree near the window, and it fell to the ground with a deafening crack. Casey jumped and latched painfully onto my arm.
"Derek!" she squeaked, and I grabbed the pillow that she had accidentally knocked onto the floor.
"Here, take this and put it over your head."
"Are you trying to suffocate me?!" she asked, and I couldn't help but laugh.
"No, Case. It will block out the noise. Just trust me, okay?"
And she actually did. The pillow managed to muffle the noise long enough for her to get to sleep, although now I was having trouble doing the same.
Those ghost stories couldn't be true, could they? There couldn't be a ghost lurking in the room next door, absolutely not. Could there?
I decided that I didn't want to find out. From now on, no one would enter that room. That room, which Casey and I had fought over ferociously just the other night, would remain empty.
Good. Now that that was resolved, maybe I could finally get some sleep.
I must have been cursed or something, because at that moment, Casey started talking in her sleep.
Great! Just another way for Casey McDonald to keep me up!
"Leave me alone, Truman!" she moaned, and I rolled my eyes. Of course, she was dreaming about Truman.
Why couldn't that girl ever let go?
"You're such a jerk! Get away from me!"
I snickered. This might actually be entertaining. And informative, nonetheless. Perhaps I could find some dirt on Casey that could be used against her later.
"Julio, you're creeping me out," she whispered, and I covered my mouth so as not to wake her up from my laughter. "Stop following me! Stop it!"
Then, Casey's dream must have changed, because she started talking about failing a test. Rolling my eyes, I shoved my face into my pillow and tried to ignore her.
It was working. I actually started to fall back asleep when one word echoed in the room and brought me back to reality.
"Derek!"
Glancing at Casey, I noticed that she was moving her hands around in the air, feeling for something in her sleep.
"Give it back, Derek! Derek!"
Grinning, I decided to play along.
"I don't think so," I whispered, hoping it would reach her in her unconscious frame of mind. It did.
"Fine! Two can play that game!" she declared, and I smirked.
What was I keeping from her in her dream? Whatever it was, I was doing a good job.
"See? Now I have your leather jacket," she teased, and I narrowed my eyes.
Even in her sleep, Casey was vicious.
"Give it back," I ordered, feeling a bit concerned for the safety of my leather jacket. Sure, sure, it was just a dream, but it felt real to me.
"Not until you tell me that you love me."
I froze. Did Casey really just say what I think she just said? If so, then there was no way-
"I love you," I whispered before I could stop myself. What was I doing!? I didn't love Casey!
Her mouth twisted upward into a smile, and as I looked at her face, I sighed in relief that she was still sleeping and hadn't heard the ridiculous three words I had just uttered.
"I'm exhausted, that's all. I need sleep," I sighed, shaking my head.
So what if I had told Casey I loved her? It had been a joke! She wouldn't remember any of this in the morning... right?
Pulling the covers over my head, I prayed to God that she wouldn't.