DISCLAIMER

LWD belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. Tristan DuGray and Chilton belong to Amy Sherman-Palladino. I only own the plot. I made up the private school rules of dating. I use a variation of a line from the Saved By The Bell episode The Wicked Stepbrother Pt 1. Reference to The Wedding.

"Tristan!" Casey laughed, standing up. The two approached each other and embraced. "This is so weird! I just had a dream about our last joint fieldtrip," she told him.

"Oh, you mean the one where we---" Tristan began.

"Yeah," Casey confirmed. They laughed as the other students came in.

"Hey, who's the guy with Casey?" Sam whispered to Derek, who shrugged.

"So Casey, boring the new kid already?" he sneered. Then, "Hey, man. I'm Derek Venturi." Tristan merely raised his eyebrows at the offered hand. Then, he turned to Casey.

"Stepbrother?" he queried.

"Stepbrother," she confirmed.

"My condolences, Mary," he told her as they sat down.

"Oh, thanks, James," Casey said.

"James? I thought his name was Tristan. And why did he call you 'Mary'?" Emily questioned.

"It's a private school thing, Em," Casey answered. Then, "How did you know?"

"Ah, Victoria came back raving about some hot guy she met at her mom's wedding and when I pressed for details, she told me it was your stepbrother," Tristan replied.

"She still hung up on you?"

"Unfortunately." Casey laughed as Tristan rolled his eyes. All further conversation stopped when the teacher came in.

"Class, I've just been informed that we have a new student, Tristan DuGray. Tristan, would you please stand up and tell us a little bit about yourself?" the teacher requested. Tristan stood up.

"My name's Tristan DuGray and if I knew I'd eventually be reunited with my Mary, I would've gotten myself kicked out of Chilton a whole lot sooner," he stated. Then, he sat down.

"You got kicked out of Chilton? How do you---no wait. I don't wanna know," she stated. Tristan laughed. Then, they all turned to face the teacher. As the class went on, Tristan couldn't stop himself from staring at Casey. Man, she's as beautiful as ever, he thought longingly. But maybe she already had a guy here. After all, she had been in public school for the last four years. No one would expect her to play by private school rules. Casey bit her lip and forced herself to stare at the teacher, even though she knew Tristan was ogling her. Wow. I can't believe he'd still be into me, she thought with some excitement. It was perfectly acceptable by private school rules for a James to move on to a different Mary if the one targeted didn't show interest or was no longer there. She absentmindedly began twirling a lock of hair as she took notes. Tristan tried to hold back his groan. So not fair! Hearing the slight sound, Derek looked at the new boy in confusion. Why was he getting hot and bothered by Casey of all people? However, class was over before he could wonder about it. The rest of the morning was pretty much the same: Whenever they were in the vicinity of each other, Tristan and Casey would steal glances at each other, but not say anything. Finally, it was lunch time. Casey went to the lunch line to get her food.

"So, what's the deal between them?" Ralph wondered as he, Sam, and Derek also got in line.

"I think they went to the same private school or something," Derek answered.

"Dude, wasn't Fletcher an all-girls school?" Sam questioned. Ralph and Derek stared at him.

"You know the name of her old school?" the latter questioned.

"You know, if you'd take time to actually listen to a girl, you wouldn't have to be scrambling around on Monday to get a date for Friday," came the retort.

"Whatever. Look, I know I don't usually do this, but I'm going to give him a second chance to actually be somebody in this school," Derek commented.

"Dude, he's a friend of Casey's. If she's had a chance to tell him anything about you, he's gonna hate you on principle," Sam reminded him.

"Chills, once he realizes I'm saving him from geekdom, he'll be ecstatic to have me as a friend," Derek claimed, waving off his friend's protests. He cut in line until he was right behind them.

"Don't look now, but we got a stalker," Tristan murmured in Casey's ear. She looked over her shoulder.

"Well, I'd say ignore him, but it doesn't make him go away," she answered. He chuckled.

"Look, uh, Tristan, right? I think we got off on the wrong foot," Derek said.

"No, I think our first impressions of each other were just fine," Tristan responded. "I'm Casey's friend and you're her jerk of a stepbrother," he continued.

"Look man, I'm trying to get you in off the ground floor. I'm known as the top dog here," Derek stated, trying to keep his temper.

"You?" Tristan questioned. He laughed. "At our schools, you'd be considered puppy chow," he told him. Casey laughed. They got their lunches and went to sit a table, where they were soon joined by Emily.

"Hey, guys," she greeted.

"Oh, that reminds me, I haven't gotten a chance to introduce you guys. Emily, this is Tristan DuGray, Tristan, this is my best friend here Emily Davis," Casey introduced them.

"Nice to meet you," Emily said.

"Likewise," agreed Tristan.

"So, your schools were close to each other?" Emily questioned.

"Yeah. Chilton was the brother school to Fletcher," Casey replied. At their own table, Sam, Ralph, and Derek watched as the trio talked.

"Who does this guy think he is? Doesn't he care that I can make or break his standing here?" Derek fumed.

"I'm thinking 'no'," Sam replied. His eyes locked on Casey who threw her head back in laughter at something Tristan said. He sighed. Sometimes he missed having Casey as a girlfriend. But hey, at least they were still friends. Finally, the bell rang and they all went back to class. The rest of the day was the same until they all went home.

"Mom, we're home!" Casey announced.

"You don't have to shout, Spacey," Derek sneered.

"Oh, bite me," Casey shot back. Everyone stared at the un-Casey-like answer.

"How was your day?" Nora asked, changing the subject.

"Great. Except for the new boy in school," Derek answered.

"Oh, you're just mad 'cause he saw how transparent you are," Casey said.

"So, who was this new boy that can get on Derek's nerves so fast?" Lizzie wondered.

"I'll tell you guys at dinner. Right now, I've got homework," Casey replied.

"Keener."

"Puppy chow." Casey ran up the stairs, book bag in hand. A couple of hours later, they all sat down for dinner.

"So, Casey, you and Derek mentioned a new boy at school?" Nora queried.

"New boy? There was a new boy? How come I didn't know about this?" George questioned.

"Georgie, weren't you listening when they came home?" Nora chided lightly.

"Oh, right," George recalled with an embarrassed laugh. "So, what's his name?" he queried.

"Oh, it doesn't matter. He just turned out to be one of Spacey's old friends who wouldn't know cool if it slapped him in the face," Derek said derisively. "So, at lunch, Sam was saying---"

"Oh, Casey. Someone we knew is going to Sir Sparrow?" Nora questioned as Derek continued to talk to his father.

"Yeah. He's a real James," Casey answered. At this, Nora and Lizzie froze and looked at her.

"A James? A James is at your school?" Lizzie asked with excitement.

"The new boy's name was James?" Edwin queried. Marti and George looked equally confused.

"No, it was---" Derek began.

"Tristan," Casey interrupted. Nora and Lizzie smiled. The Venturis looked at Casey who was also beaming, then at each other. What was going on?