AN: Still Wrath. Next sin coming soon (it's going to be sloth ^_^) I'm still not with the owning of LWD or Queen's (though I did some stalker-like research so this story would be accurate) Thank you especially to bsloths who poked me a little and reminded me of how much I love this fandom. Sorry it's been so long guys. Okay, enough about me! Chapter 2!!!

Casey knew she had overslept the moment she woke up and glanced at the second hotel alarm clock she had specifically requested from the front desk. It was unplugged, and Casey was pretty sure she knew who was responsible for that. Still half asleep, she rolled over, used to her wide double bed back in London, and landed on a bowl of water on the floor of the hotel room.

"Der-ek!" She shouted, springing to her feet and almost removing her now-wet pajama top before remembering that she had just shouted and her annoying bro-, that Derek, was about to come bursting into the room and she absolutely did not want him to see her in only her light white undershirt, because that would be Totally Inappropriate.

Except, he wouldn't have, because he didn't come in. She waited, tapping her bare foot impatiently. Another moment passed and, figuring he must be monopolizing the bathroom or still asleep, she decided to see what was keeping him.

It was apparent that something was wrong the moment she set foot in the bedroom of the suite. The bed was made, sort of. The blankets pulled roughly up to the pillows in a way that screamed 'slacker boy' and his suitcase was nowhere to be seen. Also, the bathroom door was wide open.

Attempting not to freak out, and failing, Casey walked into the little bathroom. This had to be one of his pranks; she would find him, hiding in the dark, in the shower, waiting to jump out and scare her and laugh, right? "Derek, I know you're in there." She said, flipping on the light but he didn't answer so she did the only logical thing she could think of and ran at the shower curtain yanking it quickly aside.

The shower was empty.

Several minutes and one slight panic attack later she found the note on the coffee table.

Spacy,

Gone to set up my dorm, here's cash for a cab, you can call me after you check out your room and maybe I'll let you into my car to get your crap.

PS How's your bladder?

D

Of course, she thought, the bowl of water. Had her hand been in it all night? Checking, Casey confirmed that her fingers were wrinkled and pruny. Leave it to Derek to come up with the most juvenile prank imaginable.

Casey quickly decided that she wasn't going to let him ruin her day. Today was her first day at college and she was going to meet her new roommate and they were going to get along famously and everything would be wonderful.

With that thought, she grabbed her toiletries and made her way to the shower.

Casey's one thought of comfort was that, providence willing, she wouldn't have to deal with him again for any extended period of time until Winter Break.

It took Casey very little time to dress and repack then check and double check the room (Derek had forgotten his sunglasses, she grabbed them from the bedside table absentmindedly placing them on her head,) and call for a taxi.

On the short ride to Morris Hall she practiced her introduction speech to her new roommate in the cab. Finally it pulled to a stop in front of a large grey building.

According to her letter from the Resident Life Office she was in room 367 which was, according to the Resident Life website a Co-Ed hall. At first she hadn't been thrilled that she would only be one floor away from an unimaginable number of college boys, however, after some thought and Truman deciding that long distance wouldn't work for him, she had decided that she didn't mind so much after all.

As she folded down the handle on her rolling suitcase and climbed the stairs to the third floor, Casey briefly wondered which hall Derek had been assigned to. She hoped one of the farthest from Morris. He had refused to say every time she had asked.

The third floor hall was empty and very utilitarian but Casey had no trouble finding the light wooden door to her room. Trying the handle she determined that it was closed but not locked so, after knocking lightly and getting no response, she opened it slowly.

The room looked dark through Derek's sunglasses but Casey could see that the left half of the room was already completely decorated. That's when she noticed the shape on the bed. Pulling Derek's sunglasses off her face and back onto her head, Casey was able to determine that the shape was, in fact, a boy on the left-hand bed.

And hanging on the wall over said bed was a very familiar sign. It said "Make Tracks Not Trash." Derek had had a similar sign hanging over his old desk in London. But now that sign was in a box in the basement of their parent's house and Derek's childhood room had been painted over yellow in anticipation of the baby. But this wasn't London. A poster over the bed read "Extreme" and had bikers doing wheelies. Casey quickly acknowledged the eeriness of the situation. Glancing behind her in alarm she registered the black and yellow "Keep Out" sign on the back of the door. Could Derek possibly have a girlfriend this soon? Was Casey's new roommate Derek's college girlfriend? What other possible explanation was there for all of Derek's things being in Casey's room?

Probably!Derek was curled up on his stomach and she couldn't see his face but the reddish highlights in his shaggy brown hair made her stomach flip in recognition. Resigned to wake him up and demand that he leave, Casey took a step toward the sleeping figure but then hesitated. Queen's was a large university, what if this wasn't Derek? It couldn't be Derek. No, no, it's not Derek, that's just my new roommate's boyfriend. Of course it's not Derek, Derek's butt doesn't looks like that. Oh God, I did not just check out my roommate's boyfriend's butt!

Deciding to attempt to quietly unpack around the boy until he woke up and she could determine who, exactly, he was, Casey couldn't help glancing over every few seconds at the boy on her roommate's bed, he looked so much like Derek, at least from behind. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore and made what she felt was a rational decision. She had to get her hands on his wallet. If she could just check his driver's license she would know for certain.

By now Casey had her side mostly unpacked so she slipped off her shoes and tiptoed over to the other bed. Because of the way the boy was sleeping, rolled over most of the way onto his stomach, she could see the bump of his wallet in his back pocket. Sneaking just as hard as she could, Casey attempted to remove the wallet from his jeans without waking him.

She failed miserably and found herself, a few seconds later draped across a now-awake Definitely!Derek. He was gripping her wrist to keep her in place. "Casey, Casey, Casey," he was grinning and looking so smug that she was tempted to check his teeth for canary feathers* but suddenly she was very aware of how close he was and needed to attempt to squirm out of his grams. "I leave you alone for four hours and you become a criminal? I'm so proud." Finally, after much squirming on her part and much smirking on his, he let her go and she clumsily got to her feet.

"Derek! What are you doing here? Oh, my poor roommate!" Casey dramatically buried her face in her palms and sat down heavily on her bed. "If only I'd been here sooner I could have warned her."

Casey's guilty groan was interrupted by an incredulous Derek."Casey, what are you talking about?"

"Isn't it obvious?" She gestured at him, sprawled and ruffled across the second bed. "You, you idiot, I would have told her to stay away from you. And now she has all your stuff in her room and, don't you think your moving a little fast?" Casey became lethally afraid as she noticed the smile beginning to spread across her stepbro—across Derek's face.

"There is no her." He said abruptly, as if it needed no other explanation.

"What are you talking about?" She was confused and this was getting old, quick.

"Let's see, Case, how best to put this. Okay, how about: Welcome to Queen's, roomie."

*The cat that ate the canary. Anyone?