A/N: Sorry for the bit of a delay, but I don't want to rush my chapters anymore, plus I wanted to know that I still had people interested (or new people!). Come on, come all! Ahem.

Disclaimer: The usual stuff. I don't own Life with Derek (why must I continuously rip a chunk of my heart out?).

I kissed Casey goodbye on the cheek and headed up the stairs to my own dorm room. I had been excited before knowing how close we would be that I could go down and bug her as often as I wanted… but now that things had changed, I was even more excited to be close to her. In fact, it didn't seem close enough.

Throwing my pillow on the end of the unmade bed, I threw myself onto the mattress and rolled over onto my back so I could stare at the ceiling. I couldn't remember being this happy with a girl. Even Kendra hadn't ever made me feel this way; she'd been really high maintenance and exhausting… I could feel a goofy smile forming on my face as I thought more about Casey. I quickly turned it into a frown and opened my eyes… only to find my new roommate staring at me from the bathroom we shared with the room next door. "What?" I asked. He shrugged one shoulder.

"You've got it bad, man." He said as my frown deepened.

"What are you talking about?" he rolled his eyes and flopped down on his own bed across the room.

"You've got it bad for a girl, that girl you came with, I'm assuming but then again, you never know." He shook his head. "My brother told me not to go into college in a relationship. It seems great at first, you don't have to worry about hooking up and all that, but then… you meet new people, she meets new people and maybe you decide these other girls are more interesting, right? But now you're stuck in a relationship with some girl and it always takes a while to break up with someone. So, either you do something stupid and end up pissing off a girl from back home, assuming you rat yourself out or you get caught. Or, you finally break up with the girl but you don't want to ruin your reputation and so you wait to go out with the other girl and by that time she's probably already interested in someone else because no one really knows what they want in college." I gave Vance my trademark smirk. I'd already had a reputation in high school of going from one girl to another; it had never bothered me and that school was certainly smaller then a college campus. "News travels fast here, man." I shook my head.

"Casey is different than just some girl." I told him. "I dated almost every girl in high school… but her. I've wanted her for months and we took a road trip here and it brought us together…" I started to realize how sappy I sounded and it showed on his face. "Plus, she's got a great body."

"Well yeah." I tried not to let it show that I was upset he'd been looking.

"My point is, she isn't just a high school sweetheart." But then again, I wondered what I was to her because she hadn't realized her feelings until these past months… and I'd been accustomed to them for quite a while now. Maybe she would be the one to meet someone else and realize she didn't want to be with me.

"My brother also mentioned that maybe I would be into whatever girl I was in a relationship, but then she would meet someone else and it would pretty much be the same story, except I'm the one with the broken heart. I'm just trying to help you out. A lot of people say you shouldn't go into college already in a relationship. I mean, I guess it's better because you aren't trying the whole long distance thing, but still." He shrugged and I shrugged.

"We'll see." I muttered, now picturing Casey in the arms of someone else. This didn't sit well with me. "I'm gonna go grab something to eat." I muttered as I rolled out of bed. Really I was going to go see Casey again, but I didn't want him knowing that.

"Uh-huh." He didn't seem to believe me and I didn't bother trying to correct him; a lie works better if you don't get so defensive about it.

Casey was, of course, unpacking. Her roommate hadn't shown up yet so the door was open as were the blinds to her window looking out to the walkway in front of their rooms. I leaned casually on the doorway, my arms folded as I watched her work. She was dancing, organizing her desk. When she turned to pick something up, she jumped seeing me in the doorway. "Der-ek!" she shouted and I couldn't help but laugh. Some things would never change.

She smiled, though, so I knew she wasn't really mad. Her smile quickly turned into a frown. "Hey, what's wrong? I was going to let you know I was here…" I trailed off as she shook her head and jerked a thumb to the wall that she shared to the guys suite next door. "What?"

"That guy from the tire shop, the one who let me borrow his phone? Joe." I raised a brow. Why was she bringing him up? I vaguely remember her saying that he was going to St. Mary's which is just down the freeway. Was what Vance talked about happening already? Casey lowered her voice. "He transferred and he's living right there, Derek?" and I could tell the frown wasn't for me but there was something about him that she didn't like.

"He transferred? Casey, is he stalking you?" she shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't think so, he said he didn't think he'd end up right next door to me, but just the fact that he transferred. That's a little weird, no?" I didn't give her an answer, turning from her doorway to walk over to the suite that Joe lived in. I could hear her calling after me to leave it alone, but I wanted to set something straight now. It wasn't about jealousy or fear that I was going to lose her; I had promised Nora that I would look out for her, and some freak was following her around the country.

The great thing about dorms is the name tags the RMs put on the doors so I knew exactly which door in the suite was his and I pounded on it, loudly. Blondie came to the door, leaning on it casually. I could see his eyes appraising me trying to discern (great word, isn't it? I learned it from Casey) whether or not I was a threat. He didn't appear to recognize me. "Joe." I greeted, venom in my voice.

"Have we met?"

"Yeah, a couple of days ago, actually… you were hitting on my girlfriend, Casey." Recognition lit his eyes as I continued to glare at him.

"That's right. You were at the tire shop with her. The guy who left her alone in a city like Detroit." I flinched inwardly at the jab. I hadn't thought about how dangerous Detroit had been when I let Casey go off on her own. She was stubborn, though and nothing I could do or say would have stopped her from going. She could take care of herself, still I wish I had gone with her. Still, I didn't let him shake my Venturi confidence.

"She's not interested. Leave her alone." He leaned in close.

"She might think she's into you now, but that will soon change." I shrugged a shoulder, appearing not to care—or so I hoped.

"It doesn't matter if she's no longer interested in me. She'll never be interested in you and whether or not we're dating, I'll be looking out for her. So, leave her alone or you and I are going to have some issues." He didn't look scared but he didn't look quite as cocky as he had before.

"We'll see about that." He snapped before slamming the door in my face.

I growled in frustration but then headed back to Casey's room. She was back to organizing things but she didn't look happy. "You didn't have to do that Derek." I opened my mouth to ask why she was defending him, but she cut me off. "You could get yourself in serious trouble doing things like that. I've already talked to Sal," our RM "about the situation and he's working on going through administrative to figure it out. He or I might have to move to another dorm, but I'd prefer the separation." I closed my mouth feeling only slightly foolish.

"I just wanted him to know that he couldn't mess with you. I promised to look out for you."

"And I you." And I couldn't help a genuine smile forming on my lips as I realized that she'd been not only concerned about my academic future but my safety as well.

"Aw, Case. I can take him." Well, I certainly hope that I can.