A/N: I totally forgot to say in the last chapter. But I do not own Life With Derek or anything related to the show. Please Read and Review!

In a few days time, I was standing in front of the house of my teenage years. I wasn't expecting any fancy greeting; it was a week day so the kids would be at school.

I rang the bell. Footsteps could be heard approaching the door from the inside. I clenched my duffle bag handle, ready to throw my arms around my mom. The door opened and standing there was Derek; like nine years ago when we first moved in together; His arm casually leaning against the door and the other at his hip. He matured physically, but still very much looked the same as the old Derek, same deep brown eyes and light brown hair.

"Derek?" I gasped. What in the world was he doing here?

"Hi." He wasn't smiling.

We stood there like that for a moment before I pulled out of my stupor and walked in with my duffle bag. "Hi," I placed it at the bottom of the staircase and looked around. The place still looked the same. "Where is everyone?"

He closed the door while answering. "Nora went to pick up Marti and my dad's at work," he looked pointedly at the couch. "Sit down." So I sat, and he took up a spot in the arm chair, like old days when we would fight over the remote.

"What are you doing here Derek?" I asked, still bewildered by his presence.

"I should be asking you that." He looked at the bag by the stairs. "Break up with your fiancé?"

"No. I-" I cut myself off and stared at him. "You know," I said quietly.

He looked at me and for a second there was something there that I couldn't read. His infamous smirk crossed his face. "I know everything about you Case."

"Then you should know why I'm here." I quickly bantered.

"Same old temper I see," his smirk growing even larger.

"You didn't answer my question." I said, not taking the bait.

"Nora said that she wanted to give me some leftovers or something…and to stay for dinner of course."

I couldn't help myself, I had to ask. "Why? Your girlfriend not feeding you?" I smirked, but inside butterflies was building up. I wanted to know, no, I needed to know. He stared at me, almost drowning me in his brown depths.

"There's no one Case."

In the two seconds that followed, I'm pretty sure my heart stopped beating. Derek was alone. He didn't have anyone. I continued losing myself in his unreadable eyes. I didn't really know why I cared; it shouldn't have mattered to me.

"Casey!" Lizzie screamed as she pounced through the door. I stopped staring at Derek enough to collect myself.

"Lizzie!" I stood up and pulled her into a hug. How I missed my little sister. She pulled away from the hug and gave me a huge grin.

"We have so much to catch up on. I have a new boyfriend-"

"Yeah, Idiot Isaac," grumbled a voice I haven't heard in a while. Bu there was a difference in the voice, it was much deeper. I turned to the door to see Edwin sling his jacket on the coat rack.

"Edwin, hi," I moved towards him and gave him a hug.

"Good to see you Casey."

I said the first thing that came to my mind. "You grew." Edwin now stood half a foot taller than I did.

"Of course I did. You didn't expect me to stay the shrimpy like kid forever did you?"

I smiled. "So what's this about Isaac?"

Lizzie sighed from the couch. "Edwin hates Isaac. Probably because he's a better hockey player."

I turned back to Edwin. "You play hockey?"

He nodded and looked over my shoulder. "Hey Derek."

I almost forgot about him, almost.

"Casey, honey."

The door again. "Mom! Marti!"

"Hi Casey. I missed you." Marti said as she engulfed me in a hug.

"I missed you too Marti." I was close to tears; I didn't realize how much I missed my family.

I felt a tap on my shoulder and I pulled away from Marti's hug. "My turn."

"Mom," I said again as I latched myself on to her.

She laughed. "We all missed you too honey. Gosh, you're so skinny. Have you been eating?"

I smiled at her concern. "Of course mom."

She frowned. "Well clearly you haven't been eating enough. Don't worry, I'm cooking tonight, not George, so you'll be able to eat plenty."

"Where is George?"

Lizzie jumped in. "George is still at the law firm. Mom, can I invite Isaac over?"

"No! I mean…uh, Casey just got home. Let's catch up over dinner." Edwin stuttered out.

"That sounds like a good idea Edwin. Lizzie, Isaac can come over tomorrow," mom said as she walked towards the kitchen.

Edwin frowned while Lizzie jumped for joy. "Yay, I'll tell him right now."

"You can't. I…I have to call Joey about…my calculus homework."

Lizzie stared at him. "You don't have calc homework."

"How do you know that?"

She continued staring at him until she rolled her eyes at his silence. "I'm in your math class."

"Oh right. I meant I have to talk to Crissy about history." Edwin said grabbing the phone and ran up the stairs.

Lizzie chased after him. "You don't even take history."

I laughed, sitting down on the couch again. It was hard to believe that they were in their last year of high school. Marti laughed with me.

"He likes her you know." She smiled mischievously.

"What? Ed-he likes Lizzie? As in like-like?" I couldn't say anything.

Marti stopped smiling. "There's nothing wrong with that. He's liked her since forever. Besides, they aren't really related. If dad and Nora," she crossed her fingers, "got divorced, they would be like two strangers."

I smiled nervously and could feel myself blanching but Marti failed to notice.

"Even now, if they got together, it would still be cool. And-"

"Smarti, stop." I looked up and glanced at Derek, apparently he was affected just as much as I was by what Mart was talking about, it was hitting a little close to home. But there was seriously nothing between Derek and I. Nothing.

Marti smirked, so much of her older brother in her. "Okay, no need to freak," she got up from her seat beside me. "Anyway, I gotta go online. Billie's online waiting for me. I still can't understand why she chooses to crush on Dimi. He's had a crush on me for years, what makes her think that he would return her feelings?" Marti questioned as she walked upstairs.

I smiled. "Dimi has a crush on you?" I asked but Marti failed to hear.

Derek smiled too. "Reminds you of his older sister eh?"

"Oh my gosh, Emily! Does she still live next door?"

Derek shook his head. "She moved in with Trevor about six months ago."

"Trevor? But wasn't Emily dating Sheldon?" I was completely baffled by how much has changed in the years that I left.

"Seems like you know less of your best friend than I do."

"Derek, don't rub it in. I know I've been gone way too long," I sighed, pushing back my hair.

At that moment, Derek reached over and touched a strand of my hair. We again locked eyes.

"You've gone blond," he whispered as he twirled the strand with his fingers.

The fact that Derek was playing with my hair was too close for comfort, I looked away. "Dylan loves it." I whispered back.

He let go immediately. For what seemed like hours but was really a minute, I could feel Derek's eyes burning at me. At last he got up, but he was still glaring at me. "I hate it."

A/N: Thanks for reading guys. Hope you liked it.