I really hope this doesn't end up all dramatic and cheesy. It seems rather different from my last chapter fic, though because of a change in perspective, inspiration or style, I couldn't say. Hopefully it will pick up a bit as I continue.

Note: I'm not really sure why I wrote the first chapter in first person, because I don't really like it as much, but the rest of the fic will be in third person. If you think it's annoying to switch, let me know and I'll change the first chapter.

Disclaimer: Why yes, I am delusional. You too? Just checking.

Derek trudged through the vacant corridors of the high school, wandering aimlessly. It wasn't the first time, though he tried to keep it from becoming habitual. There was something almost brainless about the empty building, and he found it was a nice place to go when he wanted to avoid something.

He didn't miss the irony of the place: he used to do everything in his power to evade the cold brick structure, and now here he was, breaking and entering. It just seemed disconnected from the rest of the world, totally separate from his adult life. He didn't feel the pressure he felt everywhere else; any vague traces he might have felt here had disappeared with graduation.

Rounding the corner, he seated himself on the dirty staircase and let his mind drift. Why had he acted like such a girl? It wasn't that big a deal. Nothing to get bent out of shape over. It was probably just stress affecting him, he decided; stress, and the mention of that idea that had bothered him for years.

He had always known what family was: the preteen he loved to hassle, a little girl he would do anything for, the man he had no problem challenging but ultimately respected; even his mother, the woman he only knew on the surface, when he was being generous. When everything changed, it hadn't bothered him much. So there were three strangers living in his house; that didn't mean they were welcome—it didn't make them family. But then, eventually, they were. Lizzie was the sister he could look out for without doting on, Nora was a mom who could actually help out without becoming too sentimental, and Casey . . . Casey didn't fit. She messed up his system, and it bothered him. Sure, it had been fun for a while, but eventually he came to realize she wouldn't ever fit. She didn't grow into the family like Lizzie and Nora had. She wasn't a sister he could begrudgingly admit he cared for or a sibling he always clashed with. She was just . . . there, messing things up, throwing him off balance. And she weaseled her way in anyway, screwing with his universe.

With an aggravated sigh, he heaved himself to his feet. His thought path was going nowhere he wanted it to. Lifting his arm to glance at his watch, he reluctantly fished the keys from his pocket. Yet another joyous side effect of his idiotic reaction; Kendra would be a nightmare.

He took his time climbing the stairs to his apartment, well aware that his fiancée would be waiting. With a mental groan he turned the key and let himself in.

"And just where have you been?" a flirtatiously admonitory voice greeted as Derek walked through the door. He started, surprised by the brunette waiting on the couch, but collected himself before it could show in his countenance. "We thought you had gotten cold feet and run to the arms of an ex-lover," Jenny continued with an ironic smile, standing and leaning against the arm of his old chair. She crossed her arms expectantly but made sure to keep her voice low enough that her words would remain indistinct to anyone outside of the room. Derek noted the tactic, but said nothing. That meant Kendra was there as well; her cousin undoubtedly knew that Derek's fiancée would not take the jab lightheartedly. Derek's eyebrows rose at her casually flirtatious demeanor, showing his intrigue.

"Is that Derek?" came a frazzled voice from the kitchen moments before Kendra appeared in the doorway. "Derry!" she announced, relieved, as she moved quickly across the room. Grasping the side of his face in one hand, she looked up at him worriedly. "Are you alright? What happened?" Her voice taking an almost panicked note, she wondered, "You aren't having second thoughts, are you?"

A half-annoyed smile twitched the corners of Derek's mouth as he tried not to roll his eyes. "Yes, nothing, no," he answered in quick sequence, and Kendra relaxed. Then she straightened again, dropping her hand from his face and watching him sternly.

"Derek, that was incredibly rude to our guests, not to mention Mom and Dad. Do you have any idea how worried I was?" He attempted an apologetic face, but she merely raised her eyebrows and crossed her arms. "And just what was that all about, Derek? You freaked out for no reason and ditched me at our engagement party! How do you think that looks?"

"It was almost over anyway," he defended half-heartedly, giving her her freak-out. "I'm doubt anyone even noticed." Or cared, he added mentally.

Tilting her head sideways, Kendra gave him a skeptical look. "Derry," she began, face shifting to the mock understanding of a psychiatrist who wanted answers. Derek's expression became defensive. He could handle Kendra's anxiousness and displeasure—he was fairly used to them, sad to say—, but if she started prying there might be a problem.

"Everything's fine," he interjected, frustration breeding a note of finality in his tone. He didn't want to dwell on it. He knew she didn't believe him, but at his tone she quickly dropped the topic.

"So," she said instead, after heaving a sigh and stepping away to grab her purse from the floor. Rooting through it, she pulled out a haphazard day-planner, flipping through and ignoring bits of paper sticking out as she searched through the back. "I've found the number of several wedding planners. They're supposed to be the best." She glanced up, watching for his reaction. "But Jenny thinks I should forget the planner," she added, motioning to her cousin, who had made herself comfortable on the couch. Derek quickly mimicked her, collapsing into his chair. "What do you think?" Kendra continued, watching him with an expectant smile.

"Kendra, you know I don't care. Isn't the planning left up to you girls?" he asked, rolling his eyes.

"Derek," Kendra said, quirking her mouth in mock admonishment. "This is our wedding. It's a big deal. So at least pretend to care." Straightening again, she smiled brightly. "So, yes or no?"

Derek let his head fall back against the chair. And here's where it starts, he thought with a groan.

Kendra had eventually decided against a planner, but that was all Derek knew about the day. He had tuned out the chatter fairly quickly, but his head still swam with numbers and colors as he collapsed on his bed after dinner and tried to drown the sea of details with some good loud music. Nothing like a nice guitar rift to get thoughts of wedding plans from his mind. It was supposed to take weeks for a man to go insane from locations and fabric swabs, but Kendra was obviously trying to set a record. Allowing his skull to hit the headboard with a thud, he grabbed the remote and flicked the stereo volume up. A faint sound from the front room caught his attention and he paused, finger hovering over the volume button, before the noise could be drowned out. Furrowing his brows, he heaved himself to his feet, tossed the remote on the bed and made his weary way back into the makeshift den. If Kendra came back to ask my opinion on something, I swear we're eloping, he grumbled internally. Someone had drawn the curtains, and he narrowed his eyes thoughtfully before flicking the light switch. The motion revealed someone sitting in his chair, legs crossed and looking contemplative. She looked quickly behind her at the light before returning to a study of her nails.

"Out," he ordered after regaining his wits; Jenny glanced behind her, annoyed, before glimpsing his gesture to the couch and moving with a surprised eyebrow.

"Trying to be mysterious?" he pondered wryly once she had settled, covering his confusion with sarcasm.

"Just comes naturally," she shot back with a coy smile.

"How did you get in?"

"Kendra's key. You really should be careful about where she leaves it. Never know what could happen," she added cheekily.

Derek crossed his arms, raising a brow as he moved around to watch her. "Are you actually flirting with me after a torturous day of talking about my upcoming nuptials your cousin?" he asked, slightly surprised in spite of himself.

She watched him suggestively for a moment more before breaking out in a smile. "Sorry, couldn't help myself."

"And it continues," Derek observed, seating himself before turning to Jenny again.

"Just comes naturally," she repeated, but her smile was more friendly than enticing. "But it's good to see you aren't easily manipulated."

"So you came here to seduce me?" Derek wondered, annoyed. He could be sleeping right now. Okay, probably not sleeping, but at least getting his mind off things. He did not want to spend the evening playing cat and mouse with his fiancée's possibly unstable cousin.

"Not specifically no," she responded, leaning against the back of the couch and kicking her feet up onto the arm. "But the opportunity presented itself and I thought; hey, why not?" Derek gave her an impatient stare, simultaneously irritated and intrigued. Jenny picked up on the look and dropped her amused expression. "I thought we should get to know each other. I mean, you definitely have the genetics in the bag, but I'm going to need some history."

"So you've taken up a role in the Inquisition?"

"Yes," she responded simply, watching him expectantly. He considered kicking her out, but decided it probably wasn't worth the effort. Somehow he knew she wouldn't go lightly.

After a few moments silence, he made an annoyed motion, as if wondering why she hadn't continued, before leaning his head back, bored already.

"So, when did you meet my cousin?" she started; she appeared perfectly casual, but Derek could tell she was preparing to mentally record his answers.

"We both know you've already gotten an extensive history from Kendra, so why are we bothering here?"

"People see things differently," she defended lightly, and Derek couldn't help but chuckle. In other words, she wanted a straighter story.

"Eh, you know. We met, we broke up, we got back together. Nothing mind boggling," he dismissed.

"And now you're engaged," she added, watching him inquisitively.

He glanced at her, slightly frustrated. "Apparently."

"So, you met in high school?" she asked, ignoring his indifference to the conversation.

"She was your first girlfriend, correct?" Jenny went on coolly. Derek had the feeling she was enjoying his irritation. It reminded him of Casey, in a way, but for some reason, she didn't get under his skin the same way. That's probably a good thing, he reminded himself. Bringing his thoughts back to the conversation at hand, he ignored her steady gaze.

"Yes," he said shortly, both uncomfortable with the questions and annoyed with himself for his comparison.

"Did you date anyone during your breakup?" Jenny wanted to know.

"What does it matter?" Derek asked, unwilling to dredge up the past. She was doing the typical overprotective inquisition, but Derek didn't feel like dealing with it at the moment.

"Is that a 'yes?'" Jenny wondered, and Derek sighed.

"I had a few girls in college," he replied briefly. That statement could be taken any number of ways, but she could interpret it however she liked.

"Any that meant anything?" she wondered, skipping over the ambiguousness completely. His mind started to drift, and he quickly checked it.

"Girlfriends?" he scoffed. "No." Her eyes narrowed slightly at the response, and she looked curious. Damn, she's perceptive, he complained to himself. He opened his mouth to change the subject, but some offbeat tune broke through her inquiry. Rolling her eyes and abandoning her concerted stance, she stood and dug through a bag entirely too large to be dubbed a purse and pulled out her phone. Glancing at the number, she gave a bemused sigh and flipped the phone open.

"Kendra. No, I didn't get lost. I'll be there soon, I promise. Yep. Au Revoir." She turned back to Derek, but he was way ahead of her.

"You know, this has been great and all," he began, grasping the opportunity. "But you should really get going." He stood to usher the frustrating brunette out of the door. "Wouldn't want to keep Kendra waiting," he added half-sarcastically as he pulled the door open and surreptitiously pushed her out. "Later," he dismissed, closing the door in Jenny's flabbergasted face. With a click of the deadbolt, he headed back to his room and collapsed on the bed. Why were all women insane?

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Still not sure how I feel about this story or about the characters (or the characterizations, for that matter). I do have some more ideas as to where it's going, though. Updates for this story obviously won't be like they were for my last chapter fic (hopefully the length won't be either), but I will try and update at least once a week. Anyway, let me know what you think.