Disclaimer: Don't own Life With Derek. 'Nuff said.

Author's Note: I'm so sorry that it took this long to update, but preparations for university have been keeping me preoccupied. However, here's the new chapter. I hope you like it.

On a side note, I'd like to wish Aud11 a happy belated birthday. Here's a gift to you!

X

Wagering Love
Friends Know Best

X

"So… what was that about? Exactly?"

A defeated sigh left Lizzie's lips as soon as she heard Rebecca. Initially, her plan had been to avoid any and all questions regarding Edwin's interruption and her own "out-of-the-norm" behaviour, but given the intense quizzical stares she was currently receiving from both of her friends, she knew she wouldn't be able to evade the interrogation waiting for her. But the McDonald girl remained mute as she neared the table, her face masked with composed indifference that didn't waver even under her friends' scrutinizing gazes. Yes, it seemed that years of living with Derek Venturi proved to be quite useful.

It wasn't until she seated herself comfortably that she spoke at last.

"Nothing important." Short and simple, and hopefully they'd take it and drop the subject.

Apparently, however, that was too much to ask for. Her friends, ever observant (not to mention nosy) when it came to the lives of Thompson High's student body (although she could hardly say the same about academia) knew she was lying through her teeth and weren't about to accept her answer, or lack thereof. Okay, so perhaps Derek and only Derek could make anyone believe what he wanted. Bummer.

"Is that so?" Charlotte pressed.

Lizzie nodded stiffly, and the blonde's eyebrows disappeared into her hairline as she ran her tongue over her teeth and pinned her with a look that clearly read, "Tell-me-the-truth-or-our-friendship-is-over". The aura of doom emanating from her didn't help either, and amidst the girls' staring contest, Rebecca's chair could be heard scraping across the floor as the redhead attempted to distance herself from the pair -- Charlotte, specifically. Unable to withstand the latter's menacing glare any longer, Lizzie dropped her casual façade by slouching forward.

"I… kind of made a bet with Edwin." She said.

Charlotte arched a brow. "About what? To see how many times he creeps up on you?"

"Ha ha." Lizzie deadpanned. "You're hilarious."

"I try."

"Yeah, well, don't quit your day job."

"Now who's the comedian?"

"Guys!" Rebecca squeezed in desperately, only to be "Shh!"-ed by the librarian. Lowering her voice, she murmured, "Can we please get back to the original topic? Lunch is almost over and I want to know what happened!"

"Right." Charlotte agreed, turning to Lizzie. "So what was the bet about?"

"Is about." The brunette corrected. "Unfortunately, it's still going on and…" she nibbled on her bottom lip nervously, mentally scolding herself for not only agreeing to Edwin's stupid proposition in the first place, but for what she was about to do -- or rather, say. "Remember yesterday, at lunch?"

"Tch. How could we forget? Classic Lizzie McDonald: Breaker of Hearts everywhere."

Déjà vu. A term often used when one experiences familiarity in a situation, as if said situation has already occurred before.

In Lizzie's case, Charlotte's statement had already been said, only by Edwin and worded a bit differently. It was getting annoying.

"Anyway, Edwin witnessed the whole thing and decided to tease me about it after school. When I told him why I rejected Nick, and everyone else who's ever asked me out, he challenged me and told me that he could make me fall in love with him by the end of the month. So that's what he's been trying to do all day."

There was a brief pause before Charlotte, torn between looking amused and horrified, said, "Fall for him?" and then snorted. "He's out of his mind. No self-respecting girl, much less a girl with your status, would ever fall for someone like him. His brother, without a doubt, but definitely not him." She sighed melodramatically and combed her fingers through her hair. "The boy is clearly delusional."

Lizzie narrowed her eyes. Charlotte didn't know what she was talking about; she didn't know Edwin like Lizzie did. Sure, he was a huge dork; sure, he could be really gross every now and then; and sure, in times like these, he really peeved her off to the point where she wanted nothing more than to claw his eyes out… but despite all this, he had his good qualities too.

He was incredibly smart, for one -- the IQ test they'd taken online a few years back during a particularly boring summer had revealed that -- and he never hesitated to express his emotions. Derek might have been the "hot" brother that could make girls swoon with just a simple smirk, but Edwin was the "sensitive" brother, and girls generally seemed to like that trait in guys. He wasn't bad looking, either -- not that Lizzie wanted to think of Edwin as even remotely attractive. The point was… Charlotte had no right to pass judgment on him, even though Lizzie, herself, had done so countless times before. But she was his step-sister. She was allowed to.

And therein lied the difference.

She was about to jump to Edwin's defense when Rebecca shattered the tense silence that had swept over the trio.

"Umm… isn't that illegal or something?" Creases formed on her forehead as her brows drew together. "I mean… aren't you related?"

Lizzie blinked, perplexed. "What?"

"Well…" Rebecca went on, "say you do end up falling for him -"

"Heaven forbid." Charlotte muttered, rolling her eyes.

"- it's not like you guys could like… progress from there or anything."

Lizzie could only gape, unable to come up with a coherent response. It was as if her brain had temporarily shut down. Fortunately, Charlotte's seemed to be working just fine.

"Well, 'technically' they're not actually related, remember? He's her step-brother."

"It's still weird…" Rebecca murmured, and the blonde nodded in agreement before swivelling around to face the neglected friend they were gossiping about.

"Liz, what the hell possessed you to concede to something so stupid? Now I'm gonna have to go buy brain soap just so I can wash out the images of you and Edweirdo swapping spit. Do you have any idea how traumatizing this is going to be for me?" She whined.

"You make it sound like I'm gonna lose!" Lizzie hissed accusingly. "Besides, it's not like I had much of a choice. He hacked into Pummelman's computer, saw my crappy marks and agreed to help me if I won."

"And what if he wins? What does he get?" Charlotte asked.

"The satisfaction of finally beating me." Lizzie replied. "That's what he said, anyway."

Charlotte and Rebecca traded disbelieving glances. The McDonald girl frowned at this.

"What?"

The redhead bit her lip.

"Are you sure that's all he wants?" She asked cautiously.

"… what?"

"She means…" Charlotte started, before trailing off and shaking her head. "What are the conditions of the bet?"

"He does everything he can to make me fall for him while I do everything I can not too." Lizzie said. "Why?"

Charlotte made a face. "Hmm… Becca, how much do you want to bet that Venturi just wants to pop her cherry?"

Say what?

Lizzie gawked at her blonde friend, on the verge of foaming at the mouth while her left eye twitched uncontrollably. She couldn't believe her ears. Just the thought of her and Edwin doing that -- of all things! -- was enough to make the color drain from her face and the bile rise in her throat. Neither of her "friends" appeared to notice, though, and continued on with their conversation.

"I think a better question would be… could he? I mean, think about it… it's not like he's even been with a girl for more than a couple weeks, and I highly doubt that Michelle or Helen or Molly would've sunk so low. He's probably never even made it to second base, much less -"

Lizzie finally snapped out of her reverie.

"Okay, enough!" She hissed. "Here's a thought… let's not talk about Edwin's sex life."

Charlotte smirked. "Or lack of."

Lizzie glared at her before throwing her arms up in frustration and standing.

"That's it. I give up. I knew it was a bad idea to tell you guys. I'm outta here."

With that said, she turned and marched out of the library, ignoring her friends' pleas and protests as she did so.

X

Nora McDonald-Venturi nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard the front door slam shut, hard enough to make the windows to rattle. She was in the middle of cooking dinner, and almost dropped the tray of baked potatoes she was holding. Poking her head out into the hallway, she saw her youngest daughter angrily kicking off her shoes and throwing her backpack onto the floor. She was obviously upset about something.

After placing the tray on the counter, she made her way out to greet her.

"Lizard, what's wrong?"

Lizzie jumped.

"Mom! What are you doing home so early?"

"Cooking." Nora replied. "We're having company over tonight." She paused. "Where's Edwin?"

Before Lizzie could answer her, the door swung open once again and the teen in question stumbled in, looking worse for wear with twigs in his hair and his clothes covered in dirt.

Nora had half a mind to ask if he was being bullied at school again, but kept her mouth closed, watching instead as her step-son pointed an accusing finger at her daughter.

"Lizzie! What the hell! Why'd you push me?" He cried.

Lizzie stared blankly at him.

"You invaded my bubble. Again."

And with that, she whipped around and made her way upstairs. Edwin, meanwhile, turned his gaze on his step-mother for some kind of help, but Nora merely shrugged and headed back into the kitchen to finish making dinner.

"Sorry, Ed. Girls don't like their bubbles invaded. Maybe you should listen to her next time."

X

This is the part where I usually say something, like bitch about how much I hate the chapter. Don't get me wrong… I do… but I'm too tired to go into detail at the moment.

I hope you enjoyed.

Before I go, though… who caught the Lemony Snicket reference? If you did… here, have a cookie.

Please REVIEW.

-Lady Azura-