And The Winner Is...
by TheBucketWoman
Disclaimer: Y'all know I don't have any claim on LWD...would that ice cream thing have flown if I did? Also there are movie and TV references that I'm sure you'll be shocked to know that I don't own either.
Chapter Eight
Part One: Lizzie
Edwin was hogging the couch again, and Lizzie was not planning to let him hog the remote, too. They'd sat through High School Musical twice with Marti before she'd gone upstairs to crash, and as hot as Lizzie thought Zac Efron was, she wanted to see something else.
"Okay," Edwin said. "Rock paper scissors on three—one, two, three."
Lizzie had rock; Edwin had scissors.
"Best two out of three?" Edwin said.
"Not happening," Lizzie said. She took the remote and hit the viewing guide. Edwin usually flipped through channels lingering just long enough for Lizzie to get interested in something, then changing the channel. She preferred to make an informed decision.
"Do ya have to scroll down so fast?" Edwin said.
"Yes," Lizzie said. "As a matter of fact, I do." She knew there would be no more arguments if for no other reason than because she could pin him. She really appreciated the few opportunities she had to watch whatever she wanted. She landed on a Degrassi rerun. Craig and his band. Even Edwin couldn't complain.
She heard the station wagon pull up. Damn, she thought. Well, it was fun while it lasted.
"Switch the batteries," Edwin said.
"Huh?"
"Take em out, put em back the wrong way," Edwin said. "It'll take Derek a while to figure it out and we'll at least get to finish the show."
"He falls for that?"
"Every time," Edwin said.
"Bet you he won't."
"He will,"Edwin said.
"He'll make you get up and change the channel," Lizzie said.
"I'll just pretend I can't read his handwriting," Edwin said. "Not that that's much of a stretch."
"Five bucks," Lizzie said.
"You're on," Edwin said.
The door opened and George came in with Derek and Casey.
"Whatcha watching?" George said as he sat down on the couch. He pretended that he was about to sit on Edwin if he didn't move. Worked like a charm when George did it, but Lizzie sat on him all the time, so she couldn't pull that trick.
"What took so long?" Edwin said.
"Errands," George said. "What smells so good?"
"Nora's doing a lemon chicken thing," Edwin said.
"Ooh" Casey said. "Is this the one with the Battle of the Bands? Craig is so hot." Derek shot her a look.
"What?" Casey said. "Like you don't like the girl who plays Paige."
"What's in the bag?" Edwin asked. Derek gestured at the bag he held like "What...this?" Then he pulled out the box with the camera.
"Oh my God," Edwin said. He didn't look at the swimsuit issue the way he looked at that box. "Who's gonna teach ya how to use it?"
Derek stuck his tongue out.
"Do you think I can borrow the old one once in a while, since you have this sparkly new one?" Edwin asked. Lizzie knew that the old one really wasn't that old and Edwin was pretty in love with it.
"Um, Derek," George said. "Maybe Edwin can have the old one?" Derek was entranced by something on the back of the box. It took him a second to realize someone was talking to him. He looked up, eyebrows raised.
"I said, maybe Edwin can have the old camera?" George repeated, grinning. Derek nodded.
"Are you serious?" Edwin said. Derek didn't answer; the writing pad remained in his back pocket.
Lizzie didn't like the look in Edwin's eyes. A plan was hatching. Edwin got up and hugged Derek, who for his part, moved the camera box away long enough for Edwin to finish the hug, but never took his eyes off of it. Then Edwin ran upstairs.
"Looks like I've created two monsters for the price of one," George said. "My work here is done; now I must go bug your mother while she is cooking." He got up from the couch and winked at both girls.
Derek went upstairs slowly, in a total daze.
"Boys," Casey said. "But at least the couch is clear."
"Thank God for small favors," Lizzie said.
"What's wrong with the remote?" Casey muttered, shaking it.
Part Two: Nora
"Georgie, if you're gonna eat all of my lemon slices the least you can do is slice some more!" Nora said.
"What lemon slices?" George said, with his mouth full. "I only took one," George said. He put his arms around her waist from behind while she flipped the chicken in a frying pan.
"So?" Nora said. "How'd it go?"
"I'd say Derek is officially cheered up," George said. "Even after he quit his job."
"I hate that he had to do that," Nora said. Derek had been so sweet with his little uniform and nametag.
"Me too," George said. "And he took the news of the speech therapy pretty well, but I can only imagine how much he'll hate it when he actually has to go."
"Well, you said that it was going to be an eventful summer," Nora said.
"Who knew?" George said. Nora heard paper rustling behind her as George took one hand off her waist. "Wanna see something else?" he said.
She took the last of the chicken out of the pan, poured some wine, lemon juice and shallots into the pan and stirred it up. "See what?"
He showed her a folded piece of note paper with Thanks, Dad written on it in a very shaky hand.
"I think I shall frame it," George said. "Don't you usually use more lemon?"
"Yeah, but you know, the acid of that...with Derek," she said. "He really likes this chicken, but I don't want it to hurt him. Less wine, too."
"Didn't even think of that," George said.
"I thought of it ten minutes ago,"Nora said. She put the chicken back into the pan and stirred it up. "Would you call them in?" she said.
Part Three: Casey
After dinner, Casey sprawled across Derek's bed with a groan.
"I cannot believe how much I just ate," Casey said. Derek smirked.
"I can't believe how much you just ate," she said. "Even for you." He took a bow before sitting at his desk.
Derek had yet to take the camera out of the box. He had slid out the packet with the directions and registration information from it and was currently reading through both. He wheeled the desk chair over to the side of the bed and put his pad and pen on the bed for easy access.
Casey had never seen him be so methodical. She watched in fascination as he grabbed an almost untouched pad of post its from the desk and used them to mark pages and make notes. He caught her watching him and crossed his eyes at her.
"You're so cute," she said. He looked scandalized. "I mean it. Do you read anything else that thoroughly?"
Harry Potter, he wrote. Once I wrestle it away from Dad.
"Crap," Casey said. "We're going to have a real problem when the next one comes out." Derek nodded.
"So you haven't told me yet," Casey said. "What's your first movie about?"
Derek thought for a second, then wrote: It's about a neurotic actress getting ready for an audition.
"Really?" Casey asked. "Who you gonna get to be in it?"
Duh, Casey, he wrote. How many of crazy actresses do you know?
"The entire drama club at school?" Casey said.
I wanna film you getting ready for the audition at the end of the week, he wrote.
"Oh I'm not doing that anymore," Casey said.
Derek threw his hands up in exasperation. Why not? He wrote.
"Just doesn't seem like a good time," Casey said. "Figured that in your present state the last thing you'd want is to listen to a bunch of loud singing."
I'm fine with it, he wrote. Bring on the loud singing. I will be very bored this week and filming you doing that will give me something to do. Even if you won't take your clothes off. Besides, you've been wanting to do a play for months. You were all pissed when they pushed back the date.
"Okay, so I was excited about it, but you know how I get," Casey said.
Never stopped you before, Derek wrote. And it'll be entertaining.
"Your own personal A Star is Born?" Casey said. He shrugged. She should've known he wouldn't get that reference. She couldn't think of anything more recent.
"Phantom of the Opera?" she tried. He cocked an eyebrow at her. "Okay, maybe not," she said.
So will you do it or what? He wrote.
"Yeah, okay. I will," Casey said. "Who knew you'd be all into this?"
I'd watch you do anything, he wrote.
"Right answer," Casey said. She sat up and scrambled across the bed to where he was and planted one on him. He was a little caught off guard by that so the chair moved back a few inches and almost tipped him out of it before he regained control of it.
"Sorry," Casey said.
Derek got up from the chair and sat on the bed next to her. He put a hand into her hair, pulling the ponytail holder out of it and letting it fall down. He twined both hands into it and pulled her head closer to his for the kiss. Nobody else was allowed anywhere near her hair. Just like nobody else got to touch that spot at the nape of Derek's neck. She loved to do that and watch him try to be cool while he broke out in goosebumps. She planned to spend the whole summer eating ice pops and then making out with him to double his shivers.
"Wait a minute," Casey said, pulling away slightly. "Is this anything like the casting couch?" He rolled his eyes. She laughed.
This is a bed, he wrote. And you already have the lead. Perfectly ethical unless you're using your director for more perks.
"What perks?" Casey said.
Derek shrugged. Then he pointed to himself.
"A perk is an air conditioned trailer, or M&Ms with certain colors picked out. Neurotic actress that I am, I'm thinking I want bottled water from a spring someplace expensive," Casey said. " Make-out privileges with the director who has, by the way, proven himself to be easy, don't count as perks."
This is an indie, he wrote. You should sacrifice for your art.
"Sacrifice what," Casey said. "Make-out time? Don't think so." She pinned him down and kissed him again.
Part Four: Edwin
Lizzie came into Edwin's room with a look of ultimate disgust after she was done taking out the garbage.
"They're at it again," she said.
Edwin was going through the instruction booklet for Derek's old camera to refresh his memory. It was dog eared and underlined so it wasn't hard to find information he wanted. He'd just plugged the battery charger in and put one of the spare batteries in it while he fiddled with the camera itself. He picked it up and brought Lizzie into focus and followed her as she moved across the room to the little window seat.
"Quit it," she said, covering her face. She was cute when she was camera shy. The sun was setting and he got a little of it through that window. It caught her hair and put part of her face (and in this case, her hands) in shadow. He had the coolest shot ever and had no intention of giving it up.
"Not happening," Edwin said. "Now do something."
"Like what?" Lizzie said.
"I dunno," Edwin said. "Tell me about what Derek and Casey were doing."
"Ew!" Lizzie said. "Nobody wants to hear about that."
"I do," Marti said from the doorway. Edwin swung the camera to her. She really did have a talent for popping up at the right moment.
"Were they kissing?" Marti said, walking into the room.
"Go over to the bed," Edwin said, so he could get both of them in the shot.
"'Course they were kissing," Lizzie said. "It's what they do. When they're not wrestling."
Marti giggled. "What's your movie about?" she asked.
"I don't know yet. Thought I'd remind myself how to focus the thing and keep the shot steady before I actually plan something. Don't want to make anyone dizzy."
"Well, I think that it should be about the incredible true adventures of Marti Venturi," Marti said. "It'll make millions."
"Marti Venturi, Before They Were Stars," Lizzie said.
"What do you mean, before," Marti said. Edwin got a close up of her walking one of his old action figures across his headboard. She made him do a flip and land on the bed.
"What are you doing, Marti," Lizzie said. Edwin shifted the camera back to her, finally getting a clear shot in close up. She seemed to have more or less forgotten that the camera was there. She'd finally relaxed and smiled at Marti. He kept the camera on her until the battery light started to flash.