SHOUT OUT/ANSWERS

Mimibear: I don't know 'bout jealous, but from what I've seen in the show, he's never done well with change. Sorry this isn't soon enough.

Vampiredoll88: Thanks. Sorry this isn't soon enough.

DISCLAIMER

Belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. I only own the plot.

CHAPTER SIX: COLD SHOULDER

By the end of the school day, Derek had made numerous attempts to get Casey to talk to him. However, they all proved futile.

"Casey, come on. Please talk to me?" Derek pleaded; as they came they came through the door.

"So Nicky, what type of homework music should I put on?" Casey asked, ignoring Derek.

"Like I give a rip?" Nick retorted as they headed upstairs.

"Oh, you're no help," Casey griped. He laughed. Lizzie ran towards them and tackled Nick, who went crashing down.

"Geez! We got another football player here," he groaned, turning around.

"Play soccer with me? Please, please, please, please? Lizzie begged.

"Sure thing, Kiddo," he agreed. Lizzie helped Nick up and then dragged him to the backyard. Casey shook her head and continued up the stairs to her room. Once there, she shut the door and began her homework. She got halfway through her English assignment when the door opened and Derek walked right in without an invitation. Normally, this would've resulted in an exclamation of annoyance, but Casey merely took note of who had intruded into her room, and then went back to her assignment.

"So, what have you started working on first and how far along are you?" Derek queried, making himself comfortable on the edge of her bed. Casey said nothing.

"So, aren't you going to talk to me? At least chew me out for barging in on you?" Derek wondered after awhile. Again, there was no response. Casey merely finished one assignment and started on another. "Case, come on. Please talk to me. We---we gotta work this out. I mean, come on---we're family." This earned him a scoff. "Casey?" Finally, she banged her textbook shut and glared at him. Finally! We're getting somewhere, he thought in relief. "Look, Casey, I was jerk. I'll admit that. But, come on. You know me. I have a horrible habit of sticking my foot in my mouth," he reminded her. There was a wry chuckle. Other than that, there was no response. "Well, uh, you know, I---"

"Smerek!" Marti interrupted. Derek sighed in frustration. He loved Marti to death, but sometimes she just had the worst timing. Casey simply gestured to the door. With another sigh, Derek left the room and Casey continued her homework. Meanwhile, in the backyard, Lizzie and Nick were in the middle of an intense soccer game.

"Wow. You're a natural at this sport," Nick complimented.

"Derek, helped…with a lot of prodding," Lizzie responded.

"I see," Nick stated.

"Hey, if I remember correctly, you used to play football," Lizzie commented.

"Yeah. Uh---I did," Nick answered, tensing as he kicked the ball back to her.

"So, what happened? Why'd you quit?" Lizzie questioned, receiving and returning the ball. Nick froze.

"Uh, well---" he stammered. What do I tell her? he wondered.

"Nick, what happened?" Lizzie asked again. Nick was changing out of his uniform and back into his regular clothes when the locker room door opened. Nick turned to see his coach.

"Nick?" Lizzie prompted.

"Oh, I just decided to live up to my nickname of the Evil Twin. And in the process, I lost something very important to me," Nick replied. "Don't ever make that mistake, Lizzie. Never," he cautioned.

"Okay," she said in some confusion. He kicked the ball to the girl and the game continued. Finally, they were called in for dinner. The two walked into kitchen where Edwin, Derek, Marti, Casey, and their parents were waiting. Lizzie took a spot next to Edwin and Nick sat next Casey. For the most part, dinner was pleasant. However, George noticed that every time Derek tried to talk to Casey, he was ignored.

"Okay, this is enough," George sighed. "Casey, will you please just talk to Derek? I mean, after your outburst last night---"

"Don't you dare turn this around on me, George," Casey interrupted. "Derek dug his own grave with me and now he has to face the consequences," she continued.

"Stay respectful," Nick murmured in her ear.

"How long are you going to shut Derek out?" George pressed.

"I dropped my father when he gave up on Nicky. I can easily drop a stepbrother," Casey answered. "I'm sorry, Mom, but I've lost my appetite again," she continued. She stood up and headed for her room.

"Wow. Uh---Case," Nick said, hurrying after her.

"I can't believe she would say something like that," George commented in surprise. Nora sighed.

"George, did you really have to push her like that?" she queried.

"Nora, I know Derek can sometimes get on Casey's nerves, but he is her brother. She should be the bigger person here," came the response.

"Kids, could you excuse us, please?" Nora requested.

"Sure. Come on," Lizzie said. She, Edwin, Derek, and Marti left the table.

"George, you have to understand: Casey is very protective of Nick. When Dennis disowned Nick, Casey returned the favor. Why do you think she never talks about him? As far as Casey's concerned, Dennis is dead," Nora whispered.

"But she just can't treat Derek this way. I won't allow it. Mostly because it's not like her to hold a grudge," George responded.

"Well, then, he's going to have to do some serious groveling or begging in order to get him to change her mind," Nora told him. Meanwhile, Derek, Lizzie, Edwin, and Marti listened at the door.

"What are they saying?" Derek wondered.

"I don't know. I can't hear," Edwin replied. Derek pushed his brother out of the way and put an ear to the door in an attempt to hear better. In Casey and Nick's room, Casey angrily pounded a pillow.

"You know, at this rate, you're gonna be a skinny pencil," Nick quipped. Casey threw her pillow at him. "You all right?" he continued.

"Why are you asking me that? I should be asking you. Ever since you got here, they've been attacking you," she pointed out, continuing the raid of their room.

"Hey, it's okay. I can manage. Goodness knows I heard worse when I was locked up," he told her.

"But this is supposed to be a clean slate for you," she reminded him. He blew out a breath. He didn't want to admit it, but it hurt that he wasn't getting a break. He just wanted to start over fresh, but Derek seemed to be adamant in making sure that didn't happen. But why? Why did the kid have it in for him so bad? At first, Nick had been willing to believe he was just looking out for his younger siblings, but now he wasn't so sure. The guy seemed to hate him for no reason. Nick's eyes clouded as he watched Casey continued to tear apart the room.