Summary: With their high school days behind them, Derek and Casey are off to start their lives without their crazy family. Better yet, Nora and George had set them up with a wonderful apartment in Toronto! When Casey's previous living arrangements fall through, the reluctant step-siblings will have to cope with sharing a home again. Rated M for language and mature content in later chapters. R&R!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

"Let's make this complicated
Thinking is overrated
We're busting out
Of this shitty little town

Green grass and colored lenses
Tear down these picket fences
Burn in our beds
While the city lies sleeping"

~ "Nothingtown" - The Offspring

Chapter Two
Grey Goose & Mini Skirts

Nora settled into bed, a deep sigh drifting from her lips. She stared straight ahead of her, a small water stain on the cieling from the time that Edwin and Lizzie dropped an entire bucket of hot water on the kitchen floor, then decided to leave it without telling. The mother of two, soon to be three, smiled fondly at the memory. It was hectic, but it was something she cherished.

Dinner hadn't gone as terribly as she had expected. After she broke the news, everything that went perfectly silent, something very rare in the McDonald-Ventiru household. Marti was the first to react, with a very unexpected (but fully appreciated), "Will the baby be a cat, too?" Then everything just . . . fell into place. Casey asked the expected questions ("How far along are you?", "How long have you known?", "Are you aware of the risks?", "Are you feeling okay?", "Oh, we should have parked closer!"), Lizzie and Edwin were curious as to what it would be (both agreed that another brother would be best, to even out the teams), all while Derek shook his head and congratulated them with a short laugh.

Nora frowned. She didn't even want to think about what Derek had really been thinking. One thing was for sure . . . Derek didn't have the same news, which came as a huge relief. Though George stood by the statement that "he probably still has one or two floating around somewhere", Nora found herself quite pleased with how the evening progressed.

She had been home from the restaurant for about three hours now, and was finally settling down for the night. It was still early, the blinking numbers on her alarm clock reading 11:32, but the pregnancy and age was truly wearing her down. She could hear George upstairs in the kitchen, cleaning up the last of the dishes from breakfast that had been forgotten with the usual morning rush.

Though worry and ridiculous thoughts plagued Nora's mind with the realization of sending her children to the city on their own, she couldn't fight the peace that blanketed her. Things were good. Life was good. All was right.

With these reassuring thoughts on her mind, Nora drifted off to sleep with a smile.

"KEG STAND! KEG STAND! KEG STAND!"

Casey leaned back on Sam's couch, letting herself sink into the cushions. Emily was next to her, sipping at her beer and watching the party with wide eyes.

"Amazing how they do that, isn't it?" Casey said calmly, smiling as another drunken hockey player was lowered by his peers, handed a beer, and staggered away with a triumphant yell.

"Not really. They just get lifted up into a handstand and are held there while they chug cheap beer upside down," Emily said, though her eyes didn't shift away from the latest teen up at bat.

"It looks easy, to be honest. I mean, just a regular handstand would work," Casey rambled, only to be cut off by a sharp glare and a smirk from Emily.

"Casey, really? We just graduated, we're at the party of the year, and you're more concerned about the physics of a keg stand than the actual celebration?" She laughed, shaking her head as she raised the bottle to her lips. She downed the rest of her drink, lowered the bottle, and made a face. "Ugh. I hate the taste of that stuff . . ."

"Which is exactly why I don't drink," Casey scoffed, waving her bottle of water. "And yes, Em . . . I am enjoying the party, I'm really glad Sam invited us . . . but that doesn't mean that I have to make myself into a drunken idiot to do it!"

"Fine, do whatever. I'm going to go check out the hockey players. I'm sure at least one of them knows where Derek is!" Emily said. She pulled herself to her feet, fluffed her hair, and flashed Casey a smile. She then walked away, dropping her empty bottle into a box with a loud clank, and left Casey all by herself.

"Great. My best friend would rather get wasted, and I can't even leave because I'm her's and Derek's designated driver!" Casey groaned. She propped her elbow on the armrest of the couch and rested her head on her fist, scowling at nothing in particular.

". . . and that's when I saw her walk away from Max. She's been drinking like crazy since," Sam said, nodding towards the corner of the room, where a very red-eyed, very partially dressed, and very drunk Kendra stood. He drank, smirked at Derek, and looked back to Kendra. "So, you think they broke up?"

Derek shrugged. "Probably not. Chances are that Max's socks don't match her dress, and she threw a tantrum," he said nonchalantly.

Sam snorted, shaking his head as a chuckle escaped.

"Don't laugh at that, dude. I'm serious," Derek said, though he couldn't help but let that trademark smirk of his shine. "I just really hope she doesn't think that she can come over here and-"

"Oh, hey Derek!" Kendra giggled from behind him. Derek's face went pale, his eyes wide as he was cut off mid-sentence by his ex-girlfriend. Sam burst into laughter, earning a glare from the other blonde.

"Hi . . . Kendra," Derek said slowly, turning to face her with a crooked grin. "What brings you here?"

"I graduated too, silly. I'm here to celebrate with everyone else. Except Max of course, but that's a different story."

"Oh . . . so, you don't want to talk about it? Great, because Sam wants to show me-" He turned around, only to find that Sam had relocated, and was now in the group of chanting keg-standers. "How lousy of a friend he is . . ." Derek finished, his face falling into a frown.

"No, of course I don't want to talk about how big of an idiot Max is!" Kendra said, though from the way she scowled, it was very obvious that talking about it was exactly what she wanted to do. And now, with Sam across the room, Derek had no escape.

"Oh. Okay. Um, what do you want to do then?" He said, looking away to drink.

"I'd like to fuck you."

Beer sprayed the air in front of Derek as he spit out the drink, eyes wide. He took a moment to fix himself, then turned to Kendra, the picture of cool and calm composure "Okay, Kendra . . . you're drunk, and you're still technically with Max, so, I don't think that would be such a good idea," he said, trying to get the idea out of her head. There was no way he would go back with Kendra. Plus, as much as Derek loved those particular "activities", he would never take advantage of a girl, especially a drunk, revenge-seeking girl such as the one he was facing right then.

"But Der-bear," Kendra whined, thrusting her lower lip out in a pout that Derek always found annoying. "I miss you, and Max is used to virgins like Casey who don't know what to do with a boy, so he's really boring!"

Derek snorted, finding this rather amusing. "Didn't you leave me because I was boring?" he sneered.

Kendra rolled her eyes. "No, you left me, because I wasn't 'fun' anymore."

"Ah. Right. I forgot about that . . ."

"So, what d'you say? There's a guest bedroom downstairs with our name on it," she giggled, tracing his chest with her fingertip. She bunched the front of his shirt together and pulled him towards her, biting down on her lip. "How about it? For old time's sake?"

Derek laughed. He moved Kendra's hand from his chest and gently pushed her back from him. "No thanks, babe. I'm still recovering from the last slut that put me down." He winked, turned, and left her shocked.

"What did you do to her?!"

Derek turned to see a pissed off Casey glaring at him, arms crossed against her chest. "What are you talking about?" he asked, though he knew exactly why she looked so mad.

"Kendra! I saw you talking to her, and as soon as you walked away she started crying!"

Derek shrugged. "She's being dramatic. But I can't really tell you that, with you girls sticking together and all . . ."

Casey's eyes narrowed viciously. "And it's boys like you that are the sole reason that girls need to stick together! Poor Kendra's been in pieces since you talked to her!"

Her step-brother's lips curled up at the corners into his famous smirk. "Doesn't look like it to me. She seems to be enjoying herself," he said. When Casey tilted her head to one side in confusion, he put one hand on the top of her head and turned it so she was staring directly at Kendra, who was draped over Max and smothering him with kisses.

"Oh . . . oh, well . . . I guess she must . . . Oh." Casey stammered, her cheeks flaring red with embarassment. "It's just that she was so upset . . . but now she's . . ." She sighed, defeated. "Fine. But you still made her cry."

Derek rolled his eyes. They were silent for a moment, Derek more concerned with drinking than the fact that his step-sister was watching the keg-stand intently. He finished his beer and set the bottle down, then turned to Casey. Her eyes were lost in the crowd, so he followed her gaze, only to have his face break into a mischevious grin. "I'd say it's still half-full. Wanna give it a go?" he teased, raising an eyebrow at his step-sister.

Casey whipped around to stare at him in disbelief. "Are you kidding me? I'm the designated driver! I can't do that if I'm going to drive you and Emily home!"

Derek rolled his eyes once again. "Seriously, Casey. You've been drinking water since we got here, and I'm sure that a minute with your feet in the air won't get you trashed." He let her consider this, that blank look coming to her face as she rolled the idea over in her head. Just when the flash of doubt came to her eyes, Derek cut off her train of thought. "Besides, Emily will probably want to stay for another few hours, so you'll definitely be sober enough to drive."

Casey frowned at him, but he did have a point. She sighed, defeated. "Fine. Show me the line."

Casey couldn't believe what she was about to do. This was the kind of thing that girls who were used to partying did. But she hardly drank, let alone did something so barbaric . . . so crazy . . . so reckless . . .

She was lifted, letting out only a quick squeak before she started to drink. Cold hands were clamped on her ankles, and her shirt had fallen to reveal her belly. She wanted desperately to jump down and ignore that it had ever happened, but the cheering and very quick buzz, and of course the two hockey players holding her in place, had her left absolutely motionless.

Seconds proceeded into minutes before Casey's ankles were finally released. She held herself on the keg for a short moment before she pushed herself off and landed on her feet. She staggered, her head already spinning, but regained her balance.

Derek was there to greet her, laughing lightly to himself. "See? You didn't melt."

"Oh shush, you. I still can't believe you talked me into that," Casey said, though her words came out as a rush.

"It didn't take much convincing, and you know it."

Casey rolled her eyes. "It doesn't matter. I'm not drinking any more tonight."

Derek smirked. "Are you sure about that? Em's in the kitchen with doing shots, and she's begging for you to join her."

"You should be happy you got my to drink beer, Derek. There is no way that I'll let any vodka touch my lips!"

Derek raised an eyebrow, that smirk and his eyes burning into her face.

Casey stepped back, crossed her arms against her chest, and tried to look away. Derek was staring her down, and she refused to break. She stared right back, hard. "Derek, I'm not drinking anymore, and that's final."

"How many d'you think she's had?"

"Two minutes on the keg, and I've counted five shots. Oh, make that six."

"Damn, dude. She's plastered."

"Damn right. Seven."

"Aren't you going to do anything? She's your sister, dude."

"Step-sister. And no, I'm not. This is entertaining."

"What's she been drinking anyway?"

"Vodka and tequila, and that looks like a Holy Water that she's got there now."

"Wait . . . how the hell are people getting Holy Water?"

"Ralph's been mixing drinks in the kitchen since eleven, dude."

Sam exhaled loudly. He pinched the bridge of his nose, looking annoyed through his glassy eyes. "Great. I don't even want to think about how I'll explain all of the missing liquor to mom . . ."

Derek shrugged, laughed, and pushed his best friend towards the kitchen. "Go take it away before they start taking it straight from the bottles."

At that moment, Emily raced past, peeled into the bathroom, and slammed the door. There was only the click over the pulsing music, and then the faint sound of Emily throwing up.

"Too late," Kendra giggled as she walked past, held up on one side by Max. She held a bottle of Grey Goose in her free hand, and looked far more drunk than she had been only an hour earlier. "Oh, and Sammy? D'you mind if Max and I get a room?" She hiccuped, laughed, and drank more. Max was just staring very obviously at her cleavage, a dopey smile on his face.

Sam's hand connected with his face, a groan coming from beneath it. "Get out, both of you. For the love of God . . . Derek, call them a cab or something. I need to get this place under control, or I'll be grounded until I graduate college!" With that, he stormed into the kitchen.

Derek shook his head, laughing. "Hold on, you kids. I'll call for the cab now."

"Want to make a reservation at a hotel, too? We need somewhere to go," Kendra slurred. "Because my . . . My Maxy, wants to go . . . and I want to go . . . and we're, we're going to do it . . . until I pass out."

"You have fun with that," Derek muttered after he shut his phone. "Go wait on the porch. The taxi'll be here in five."

"Five what?" Max asked.

Derek shook his head. "Use protection."

The couple staggered out, supporting eachother as they swayed and laughed, falling about until they tumbled out the door. Derek turned away from them and walked to the couch. He sat down, put his feet up, and turned on the TV. He watched mindlessly for a few minutes, not really caring about what was on, and just savoured the feeling. He wasn't exactly wasted or anything, but he was pleasantly drunk. Fortunately, he had enough sense and experience to not overdo it and become a moron with his drinks like the others at that party.

Derek was snapped out of his pleasant state of nothingness by the arrival of a very amused looking Sam.

"What's so funny?" Derek asked, a little disappointed that he had missed out on something.

"Dude, you've got to go get Casey."

"Look dude, I told you. She's fine."

"Her skirt is missing."

Derek immediately jumped to his feet, eyes wide and shock etched into his features. "Her WHAT?"

Casey was sitting on Sam's kitchen counter, wearing only her dark blue shirt and black panties. One of the out of town boys at the party was sitting next to her, one arm around her waist. From the way that Casey's blue eyes fogged over and the reek of alcohol on her breath, it was pretty obvious that she was beyond drunk. For lack of better terms, she was fucking trashed.

"So, you live right here in London?" the stranger asked.

"Yeah! I graduated today! Isn't that great?" Casey exclaimed.

"Congratulations. Going to any post-grad in September?"

Casey nodded as she drank from the glass that Ralph had handed her. "Mmhm. I'm going to live in Toronto with my dad tomorrow."

"Seriously? What school?"

"U of T, baby!"

"Oh, you're kidding!" the boy smiled broadly. "That's where I go!"

Casey smiled broadly. "No freaking way! That's awesome!"

"It's a great school, but I think it just got a little better." The boy winked, causing Casey to laugh again.

"I'm sorry, but I don't remember your name. And, you're not in my class. I think I would recognize someone as cute as you at the ceremony today."

"Oh yeah. Sorry about that, but I don't recall catching your name either, beautiful."

"Casey McDonald," she replied, holding out her hand.

"Tyson Shanker." He took her hand and shook it. Casey held on before he had the chance to release though. Taking the brief moment, Tyson leaned in and kissed her. Soft, sweet, and mixed with the taste of liquor and the promise for more.

"Back the hell off, dude," Derek snapped. Casey and Tyson broke apart, Tyson looking a little surprised, but Casey only appeared dazed.

"Oh, hi Derek! This is Tyson. He's from Toronto!"

"I don't care if he's from Jupiter. Casey, you're drunk. I'm getting you out of here," Casey opened her mouth to protest, only to be cut off by a very stern, "Now."

Casey pouted, but jumped down from the counter. She turned, causing Derek to get a good view of her lack of pants, and promptly look away. "It was nice meeting you, Tyson," she said cheerfully.

"Who is this guy? Your boyfriend?" Tyson asked, a coy smile coming to his lips.

"My step-brother, actually. I guess this means I have to go, though. I had fun."

"Hey Casey?"

"Yeah?"

Tyson handed her his phone. "Can I get your number?"

Derek rolled his eyes, but waited, silently scanning the kitchen for any sight of Casey's black mini skirt.

Casey punched in her number and handed the phone back. "Maybe we can meet up when I'm in Toronto," she suggested.

Tyson nodded. "I'd like that."

"Are you ready?" Derek interrupted, turning around again. He glared at Tyson, but made sure to keep his eyes off of Casey.

Casey nodded. "Yeah, I guess. But I can't seem to find my skirt . . ."

"Right here," Tyson said. He picked it out of the sink and tossed it to Derek. He smirked.

"Oh, thanks!" Casey said. She took the skirt from Derek and quickly put it back on. "There. All ready! Where's Emily?"

"In the car, waiting. C'mon, Case . . ."

"Fine, fine. You're so pushy tonight."

"Maybe if you weren't taking your clothes off, I would let you stay."

"Hey Casey!" Tyson called out. The step-siblings turned around one last time, Casey with a smile, and Derek with a glare. Tyson sized up the prior, and chuckled. "Nice ass."

Derek tightened his grip on Casey's arm. He dragged her most of the way to the car, since it turned out she could hardly walk. He all but threw her into the passenger seat, slammed the door the moment she was inside, and made his way to his spot.

Everything was silent most of the way home, except for the gags from Emily every now and then, and Casey's random outbursts of giggles and pointless remarks.

Derek dropped Emily off in her driveway, then backed out and whipped into his own. He backed into the garage, shifted The Prince to park, and killed the motor. Neither of the step-siblings moved, Derek due to anger, and Casey due to lack of coordination.

"Casey?"

"Yeah, Derek?"

"When we get to Toronto, I don't want to have to do that again."

Without a further word, he left the car and ascended into the house, leaving Casey with nothing but the darkness and her own thoughts.

A/N: Short chapter. Really late update. Kinda shitty. I feel bad! Sorry for the wait, guys! Next update will be later this week, so don't worry. This story is far from dead. R&R!

~ Taylor