A/N: First of all, thanks so much for the reviews! They mean a lot to me. And ah, oh my gosh. I've been having a hard time making it an okay chapter. This one is really heavy with emotions, but the next one would hopefully be lighter. Please keep the reviews coming!

Again, I've tweeked some of the tweets to fit the story. It's a tad different from the original in terms of the series of events but it's still the same plot. Had a bit of a hard time filling up Derek's tweets because DerekVenturi deleted his first account (and the tweets :[ ), so I had to get clues and ideas from LifeWithCasey's tweets. I still love you DerekVenturi, don't worry. Also, the way the tweets are written might be a bit confusing, since I simplified it. If you see them posting something in the third person or something factual, or yeah, then it wasn't exactly meant to be directed at the person. It's just a tweet. Eg. Casey's "It's way past 10 pm" - It's not exactly for Derek, she's just blogging it (If you get confused, let me know).

Disclaimer: I don't own Life With Derek. Unless I earn a few billion dollars and buy it or something. Anyone wanna pitch in? Tweets owned by LifeWithCasey. Derek's tweets owned by me, inspired by him and LifeWithCasey. I don't own Twitter.

Chapter 3: Tension and Tweets

Derek could've sworn he assumed every single sleeping position known to mankind already, and yet his eyelids just wouldn't succumb to gravitational force. You know, the one that usually kept him on his recliner every night or during the weekends. Tonight, of all nights, it chose to fail on him. Rolling on his side, he went on a mental ranting and blamed the laws of Physics and the confusing ways of Biology. Tonight, when all he wanted to do was drift off to dreamland and forget about that boring date. Tonight, when all he ever wanted to do was sleep soundly so he could wake up at noon and go about with his daily routine of hitting on random girls on Twitter.

"This is agony!" He faintly complained under his breath, then sat up and scratched his head. He wondered what could be keeping his body awake and stubbornly refusing to go into a deep slumber at four in the morning. Am I hungry? No. Did I forget to watch TV all day? Hah, no, like I would. Out of any more ideas, he let his head rest on the headboard.

Moments later, he found himself in front of Casey's door. Why he was there, he had no idea, but if his feet brought him to that place, there must be a very good reason or he might choose to cut his legs off. So far, none of his body parts were responding properly to his command. It was like they all went on strike. He turned the knob as quietly as he could, peered inside and saw a sleeping Casey. Confirming that his moves didn't wake her up, he tiptoed his way towards the bed, stopping just before his knees touched her blanket. He bent down a bit and waved his hand in her face to check if she was really sound asleep. He stared at her intently - strands of hair were resting on her cheeks, her breathing steady and rhythmic. For a moment, he actually felt his fingers inching near her face, aiming to brush the strands off, but he quickly withdrew. Oh, ew! Whoa, whoa. What was that about? His eyes shot wide open, nostrils flaring, as he held his breath for what seemed to be the longest minute. Confounded at his abrupt, seemingly involuntary movements, he took a few steps backward and breathed out heavily.

For a second, he wanted to leave the room and withdrew to the comfort of his personal lair. However, this physical vs. psychological battle going on was preventing him from even reaching the door knob. Clearly, it was driving him insane. He curled his fingers into a ball and put the knuckles of his right hand in his mouth, biting it hard and trying not to scream in frustration and irritation. What the hell is wrong with you, Derek? Get out of there before you get in trouble!

Scanning the room, not knowing exactly what he wanted to do, his eyes found the planner laying on top of the side table. Instinctively, he grabbed it, sat on the floor, and checked the contents. It still had the important dates from their very last term at SJST, a few summer hangout plans with Emily, Jesse's phone number in New York. Jesse's phone number in New York? I thought she turned down that offer already. Didn't she? He tore that page, crumpled it, and put it in his pocket. Chuckling at his antic, he skipped a few pages to the current date.

"Looks like someone needs a little makeover for later. That can be arranged," Derek whispered to himself, a small smirk forming on the corner of his mouth.

"DER-EK!" screamed a fuming Casey as the latest mischief got revealed to her early in the morning. Fanning herself with her hands was not helping her calm down at all. Where's a paper bag when you need it? She was not amused and she was definitely ready to lash everything out once she got her long, french-tipped nails near Derek's sorry face.

Casey's scream worked like an alarm clock for everyone, including Derek. Especially Derek, who knew that if he wouldn't increase his defenses, i.e. lock his door, he would probably not live to see who would win the Stanley Cup this year. And he liked to see who would win the most coveted trophy in the history of hockey. NHL, hello? He was in the middle of thinking how The Cup would look fanfreakingtastic in his room when he heard loud footsteps approaching his door. In an instant, he threw himself out of bed and locked it so she couldn't enter.

"Derek! You open this door, right now!" Casey pounded loudly after realizing he barred her out. No response, but she could hear him laughing. She came back to her room and stared at her face once again. It was full of marker drawings. Permanent marker. Her eyelids were covered in black ink; a line continued to her forehead where the words 'supposed to be blue eyeshadow' were written. Whiskers were drawn on her cheeks and fangs on her chin. The words 'I just lost my Edward' were also scribbled on her lower left jaw. Way to mock my love for the Twilight series! It looked like it was getting more and more ugly every time she checked it out. Frustrated, she rushed to the bathroom to find a way to remove it.

"I am so going to kill you! Get out of your room, now!" Resuming her plan to pound angrily at the door until the villain in her not-so-much-of-a-fairytale life comes out of his hiding, she scanned the hallway for a tool, honestly hoping that a crowbar of some sort would magically appear so she could use it to wreck his door. Alas, all she could find was a pen and it wouldn't be of much use against solid wood. Feeling a little more defeated and seeing that the bane of her existence would not get out of his room any minute, she started for the bathroom once again. She scrubbed her face hard with soap and rinsed it with water. Useless, her face only turned red. "Ugh!"

Derek unlocked his door and checked to see if Casey was still around. Just as he had popped his head on the doorway, Casey emerged from the bathroom and saw him. She immediately launched herself at him but was too slow to grab his hair so she was greeted, again, by the door that said "Keep Out" in bold capitals, taunting and mocking her existence.

| LifeWithCasey: DEREK! I cannot believe you would do such a barbaric thing!

| DerekVenturi: Why so upset, C? Didn't like your makeover courtesy of Maestro Dereko? No offense, but it was very hard to improve your features. You should try face transplant.

| LifeWithCasey: I am not finding this amusing at all! Not one bit! I have a date tonight and now I can't go if I don't get this marker off! WHY DID YOU USE PERMANENT?

| DerekVenturi:What are you complaining about? I did you a favour. If you are not happy with my services, then speak to my manager. Oh wait, I don't have one. Guess you'll have to deal with it.

| LifeWithCasey: This is the lowest of low. I cannot even fathom the fact that you drew on my face. I can't even get it off! I've tried EVERYTHING.

| DerekVenturi: Here's a simple solution, cancel your date. Now, get off my sight. Your online whining is flooding up my timeline.

"Idiot!" Her final plan to talk to Derek worked, but she was getting more and more annoyed by the second due to his illogical answers and incapacity to engage in a normal debate and use normal human reasoning. Oh wait, this is Derek, there is nothing normal about this "monster!" She finished her thought verbally. Furious, she rushed to her dresser and tried to cover the black marks and the redness of her face with foundation and concealer.

| LifeWithCasey: So, it's mostly faded off, and the make-up helps a bit, but I'm still angry. And there is NO way I'm going to cancel my date because of you!

| DerekVenturi: Stop putting the blame on me. If you had locked your door last night then I wouldn't have been able to go in. And if you only woke up before I used marker on your face, then all this blabbing wouldn't even be happening right now. Technically, this is your fault!

| LifeWithCasey: If YOU weren't such a jerk, maybe I wouldn't be in this situation! This is your fault, and this time I am NOT going to forgive you! Happy?

| DerekVenturi: What on earth is your problem? So what if I drew on your face? It's not like I haven't done something worse than that. Take your issues outside! Geesh, at this rate, you will have no followers by tomorrow.

| LifeWithCasey: What is YOUR problem? It's not just the drawing on the face. It's everything you do to torture me! What have I ever done to you? I don't know why you hate me.

| DerekVenturi: Why are we even talking about this? I told you, if you have a problem with your face, then cancel your date. How hard is it to do that?

| LifeWithCasey: I am not canceling my date and that is final!

Casey slammed her hand on her desk furiously. She couldn't believe how inconsiderate and evil her stepbrother could be. Getting a little teary-eyed from all the raw emotions she was currently experiencing, she waited for a reply. Nothing. She refreshed her timeline a few times, nothing. Confused and curious as to what he was doing, she decided to confront him. While she about to move from her chair, a reply notification popped out.

| DerekVenturi: Fine. Whatever, go on your stupid date. I don't really care.

"Hey, D," Edwin greeted Derek as they crossed paths near the foot of the stairs. "Going somewhere?"

"Need air."

"Uh, we have plenty of.." Edwin's words got cut off mid-sentence when his older brother slammed the front door behind him "..air in the house."

Upstairs, Casey was feeling very distraught and somehow puzzled at Derek's sudden exit. Since her door was open the whole time, she caught a glimpse of Derek rushing down the stairs, a loud slam following moments after. She hadn't left her chair since she read his reply and was still taking the time to process the events in her brain. Nothing made any sense. Wasn't I supposed to be the one who's angry? Arguing with herself while reading his last tweet, she closed her eyes and hoped that when she opened them again, things would go away.

"What's wrong with Derek?" Lizzie walked in her room a few minutes after Derek's weird walk-out. She turned her chair to face her.

"I.." Trying to find a logical answer in her mind to the question posed, she found none. "I don't know."

"Well, he looked really mad," Edwin, hearing their conversation, managed to say a few words before going up to his attic room.

"Is that.. marker on your.."

"Not now, Lizzie."

"Okay, well, I'll be in my room if you need me."

| LifeWithCasey: Suddenly I don't feel well at all. Maybe... maybe I'm staying home tonight after all.

Casey let herself fall face down on her bed after closing the door and posting that tweet. She wasn't really concerned anymore that her face still had marks on it, but she was becoming more worried about Derek. By the looks of his temper, he was about to kick anyone who would get in his way.. What if he gets into an accident? He's such a reckless driver. What if he.. She grabbed her cellphone from her desk and dialed his number. No, it'll look like I'm really worried and there might not even be a reason to worry about. She tossed the phone on her bed and took the closest book she could reach and began reading instead. Although a few sentences into the first chapter, she tossed the book, grabbed her phone once more and dialed Sam's number. Telling herself it wasn't a good idea too, she placed the phone on her side table and made herself comfortable in her bed. A good short nap might just be the solution she was looking for.

| LifeWithCasey: Frozen yogurt, listening to Swan Lake, watching Titanic... Nothing helps. I still feel terrible.

| LifeWithCasey: It's way past 10 in the evening.

Casey never had that nap. Her eyes couldn't even stay closed for three minutes. It was fairly late in the evening and the family, minus Derek, had already had their dinner. She and the other siblings had been interrogated by Nora and George (and Marti) about his whereabouts, but none of them could give an answer. She was about to make herself go through another round of Casey, this your fault mental castigation when she saw a tweet from someone she had been wanting to see all day. Only, because of this guilt trip!

| DerekVenturi: Home! Another awesome gaming session with the dudes, with extra butt-kicking brought to them by yours truly. ;) Is my beloved stepsister home from the suckiest date of them all?

| LifeWithCasey: So, apparently the argument earlier never seemed to happen since someone's not acknowledging it. Well... neither did my date.

| DerekVenturi: Well, that sucks then. Better luck next time.

| LifeWithCasey: Jeez, Derek. And to think I was actually going to apologize...

| DerekVenturi: Apologize for what? I don't even know what you're talking about. There's nothing to apologize for. In fact, what are we doing again?

| LifeWithCasey: Typical Derek. Let's run away from our problems rather than face them, shall we? Well if you're not willing to face the facts, neither am I.

| DerekVenturi: Suit yourself.

Derek wasn't in the mood to talk or argue. As a matter of fact, he wasn't even in the mood for anything other than getting himself comfortably plopped down on his bed. As far as he was concerned, the fight never happened – he didn't draw on Casey's face, she didn't freak at him for ruining her date day, and he didn't angrily rush out of the house. It was just a normal, summer babe-watching day at the mall and an action-filled videogaming night with Sam and Ralph. If he could also forget there was a Casey in this house, he'd forget about that too. Unfortunately, this Casey person was talking to him at that moment. He didn't want to deal with this now, or ever, if possible.

| LifeWithCasey: So I spend my entire day stuffing my face with frozen yogurt and freaking out, and it all results to this. What a waste of yogurt...

| DerekVenturi: Too bad I don't care.

| LifeWithCasey: Like I'm supposed to believe you don't care at all? That's quite difficult considering you stormed out of the house for 'no reason.'

| DerekVenturi: I don't care about you and your stupid date. All I care about is my room and the flooding you'll cause when you cry an ocean after you get dumped.

| LifeWithCasey: You can keep denying it all you want, but the more you fight, the more it seems like you're just trying to cover up something.

| DerekVenturi: What, you think I was trying to sabotage your date? Hah, get real.

| LifeWithCasey: I'm not sure what I was worrying about today. Oh, I know. Someone who wasn't worth worrying about. Glad you're home safe, jerk.

| DerekVenturi: Did I ask you to worry about me? Why are you trying to make this a big deal? Mind your own business and I'll mind my own.

| LifeWithCasey: Is it so wrong to worry when someone who rarely ever gives up throws in the towel just like that and then storms out of the house?

He didn't reply anymore. Tears started flowing out of Casey's eyes from the lack of concern Derek was showing. Why was he acting like this? Weren't they supposed to be getting along already, after years of living in the same house? Or at least have some sort of civility between them; anything that would put a plug into this quarreling issue. Something, something that would make this life with him a little more bearable. And to think that she had actually convinced herself that Derek wasn't such a bad guy and that somehow he did care for her in.. a brotherly way.

| LifeWithCasey: Going to bed and trying not to think about feelings. Because I actually have them. And they really got abused today.

A few minutes had passed since that last tweet from Casey showed up on the timeline. He saw it, Derek saw that tweet. But he couldn't bring himself to answer. What was he going to say? He didn't have any proper explanation to what he did earlier that day. What was the big deal anyway? Wasn't it just a normal Derek-Casey day - filled with snaps and retorts? What else was there to say? He focused his eyes steadily on the ceiling while lying on his bed. This was supposed to be a very comfortable thing to do, but no matter how much he tried to ignore everything, the more it got ingrained in his mind. It was just like the night before, only twice the heaviness in his lungs. He could also hear Casey's soft sobbing through the vent that was installed in between their rooms. There was a part of him that wanted to do something about it. But unlike last night, he couldn't find the strength to get out of bed. Finally, gravitational force.

| DerekVenturi: I'm sorry.

He finally tweeted. Too late, she had already signed out.

A/N: Ahh, duh-rama. LOL. Next one would be lighter, I hope! R&R.