SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Rose Lily Potter: Thank you. Again, thank you. If you're referring to Nick and Carly, they're siblings, so no, they won't get together. I apologize if I made it seem like they were more than siblings. That was not my intent; I was just trying to show how close they are.

Crimson and Chrome 42 (Ch 7): Thanks, here's more.

Victorias Twisted Angel (Ch 7): Thanks, hope this is soon enough.

Anonymous (Ch 7): Glad you think so, thanks, and I hope this is soon enough.

Animefreakkk (Ch 7: Yes, he is. Here you go.

Vampiredoll88 (Ch 7): You'll find out…eventually. Hope this is soon enough.

Daseyfan (Ch 7): Thanks, you'll find out eventually. We'll see. Hope this is soon enough.

DISCLAIMER

Belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. I only own the plot and things you don't recognize. Remember that any time Nick and Casey do their "Thick as thieves" routine or even mention it, Nick uses his left hand and Casey uses her right hand. Bold/italics are daydreams.

The alarm blared and Nick moaned. He rubbed his eyes.

"Five more minutes," he muttered.

"Come on, Nicky. Get up," he heard his twin say. He moaned again.

"Warm. Staying in here," he said. He heard a door opening and closing and snuggled back into the covers. The door opened again and then Nick felt ice-cold water on his head.

"Aaaa-aaaah! Mean!" he complained. Casey just laughed as he got up and got dressed. Then, he headed downstairs.

"What happened to you?" Lizzie questioned, seeing his drenched head.

"Casey's mean," Nick responded. Casey just snickered. They ate breakfast, finished getting their things together, and then went to the car, where they drove off. Casey and Nick walked down the halls together as the other students did the same.

"HEADS UP!" someone suddenly called out. Nick turned around and quickly caught the incoming football. Then, he expertly threw it back in the direction it had come from. Then, he and Casey continued on their way. In class, they sat down and got their belongings out.

"Hey, uh, listen man, sorry 'bout the football," Max apologized.

"Hey, no problem, man," Nick responded.

"You know, you have a really good arm, and we have a spot open," Max said.

"What about a second or third stringer?" Nick wondered.

"There's really no one that's good enough to be moved up to first string," Max answered. "Well, how 'bout it? Will you try out?" he continued.

"Oh, I don't know. Uh---" Nick started to say.

"Go for it, Nicky. Take football back. Make it yours again," Casey interrupted encouragingly.

"Case---" Nick began.

"You loved football until that jerk ruined it for you. This is your chance to get it back," Casey interrupted again. Nick laughed and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Well, with encouragement like that…" he began.

"Great!" Casey beamed. Nick laughed again as Max stared at them in confusion. What had that been all about? As the class started, Nick let his mind wander. What would it be like to be on a football team again? Would it be just like he remembered? Could things finally be looking up? A smack on his shoulder brought him out of his reverie. Nick threw Casey a sheepish look and then refocused his attention on the teacher. At the end of the class, they all stood up and headed out.

"You can borrow my notes tonight," Casey told him.

"Yeah. Whatever," Nick replied. She shook her head. Then, they went to separate classes. In his class, Nick tapped his pencil on the desk. Wonder what it'd be like---playing again, he thought to himself. His mind drifted off. Nick expertly caught the ball and ran towards the end zone. In the stands, the crowd cheered and clapped. Two different players tried to tackle him, but the boy swiftly moved out of reach. He reached the end zone before time ran out and the crowd cheered.

"Mr. MacDonald?" Nick looked up in surprise.

"Sorry," he apologized. The teacher just looked at him briefly and then moved on. Wow. That was close, he thought to himself. The last thing he needed was to get in trouble for not paying attention in class. This was supposed to be a new start for him. He couldn't be making the same mistakes as last time. When the class ended, Nick quickly grabbed his things and headed out.

"Hey, ET!" he heard a voice call and turned around.

"Hey, GT," he greeted.

"So, have you thought about it?"

"I'm really out of practice. What if I'm not as good anymore? I mean, the yard wasn't exactly the best place for football."

"Just do your best, ET. The rest will come together." Nick smiled at Casey and lightly punched her on the shoulder. She let out an exclamation of surprise and smacked him in the chest. They laughed and continued on their way. Together, they walked into the second class they shared: Mrs. Persinger's English class. As they sat down, one of their classmates, Kendra Chambers, leaned over to Amy Rollins, Max's girlfriend.

"I still can't believe they're twins," Kendra said.

"Oh, I know. They're so different," Amy agreed. Another girl leaned in towards them.

"Yeah. Nick's cool and Casey's a geek," she sneered. Amy and Kendra glared and turned away from her. From her seat, Casey tensed and Nick placed his intertwined second and third fingers on the desk.

"Thick as thieves," he promised. She grinned.

"Thanks, ET," she stated. Then, the teacher came in and they quickly turned their attention to him. Nick sighed as he took notes.

"Mr. MacDonald, am I boring you?" the teacher questioned.

"No, sorry. I just have a lot on my mind," he replied. Casey glanced at Nick who smiled softly. She returned the gesture. At the next break, Nick headed out.

"Now, where is it?" he wondered.

"Hey, you lookin' for something?" a voice asked. Nick turned to see Max.

"Yeah, the football coach's office," he answered.

"Come on. I'll show you," the boy offered. With that, he led him to the coach's office. Max knocked on the door and it was opened.

"Hey, Max. What can I do for you?" the coach, Greg Walters questioned.

"This is the kid I was telling you about---Nick. He has one heck of an arm," Max replied.

"Well, he'll have to try out like anybody else," Coach Walters said.

"Of course, Sir. Thank you for this chance," Nick answered.

"No problem. Now you two better get to class," Coach Walters told him.

"Yes, Sir," they chorused, and did as they were told. At the end of the school day, Nick headed out to the football field with some other boys. Meanwhile, Casey looked around for Nick.

"Hey, you lookin' for Nick?" Max asked her.

"Yeah. Do you know where he is?" Casey responded.

"Football tryouts out on the field," Max answered.

"He's really doing it?" Casey questioned excitedly.

"Uh…yeah," Max replied in confusion. What's with her? he wondered. Why was she so excited about her twin playing football?

"Well, come on!" Casey cried grabbing Max's wrist and taking off. With a surprised yelp, he stumbled along with the girl. When they got there, Casey immediately hurried to the front of the bleachers in order to see clearly. Just like when he had been on Langley's football team, Nick was executing plays expertly.

"Come on, Nick!" Casey called, clapping encouragingly. Hearing her, Nick acknowledged her with a raised fist. At the end of practice, the boys trying out stood in front of Coach Walters.

"You all did great. The result of the tryout will be posted in a couple of days," he said. They all nodded. Then, as the others boys left, "Mr. MacDonald, may I talk to you?" Nick stiffened and glanced at Casey, who, noticing the rigidness of her twin, immediately left the bleachers and joined him.

"I'm right here, ET," she assured, placing her hand on his wrist.

"Relax. You're not in trouble," the man stated. "Although, I am curious about something," he continued.

"What?"

"When Max came to me stating that you'd be a good recruit for tryouts, I took a look at your transcripts and noticed that you were playing for Langley Academy until you were cut."

"So?" Casey rubbed his wrist comfortingly.

"I'm just curious as to why you were cut." Nick blew out a breath and rubbed his hands on his jeans. Nick was in the locker room changing out of his uniform when the door opened. He turned around and saw his coach.

"What's up, Coach?" he questioned.

"You were looking really good out there today," the coach commented.

"Nick?" Coach Walters questioned.

"My old coach and I had a disagreement," Nick said.

"What about?" Coach Walters asked. Nick hesitated. The coach put a hand on Nick's shoulder and the boy looked at him in surprise.

"It's okay, ET," Casey reassured.

"Let's just leave it at that," Nick stated.

"All right," Coach Walters agreed. Before he could say anymore, they heard footsteps.

"Oh, shoot! We forgot to tell Mom and George!" Nick realized.

"Whoops," Casey said. They turned to see their parents coming up.

"What's going on?" George asked.

"I'm so sorry. I totally forgot to tell you I'd be staying late for football tryouts," Nick apologized.

"Well, I'd yell at you, but even Derek forgot to tell me about his first hockey tryouts," George commented. Nick laughed in relief.

"Come on, let's go," George said. They headed for their cars and then home. Once there, Casey sat Nick down.

"So, how'd it feel playing again?" she wondered.

"It felt good. I mean, even if I don't make the team---it was nice, just to---play, you know?" he said.

"Casey, can I talk to you…please?" Derek questioned. Casey sighed and shook her head.

"Case, it's okay," Nick told her. She looked at him. "Go ahead. Hear him out," he continued.

"Fine," she sighed. Seizing his chance, Derek grabbed Casey's wrist and pulled her upstairs to his room.

"Look, I know I messed up. I shouldn't have said what I said about your brother, and I'm sorry. I guess I just got really worried about Edwin and Marti when I heard that he had been in prison and I just went crazy," he said hurriedly.

"I guess I can understand that," she allowed. He grinned. She was talking to him again!

"You said earlier that the reason he had gone to prison was because he was protecting you. What happened?" Derek wondered. Casey sighed. "Case?" Derek prompted.

"This guy came onto me---really strong. I pushed him away and ran, bumped into Nick, he figured out what had happened, and went after him. He wasn't supposed to be getting into fights, which meant he had violated his probation, and he ended up in prison," Casey told him.

"What do you mean he 'came onto you'?"

"What do you think, Derek?"

"Were you hurt?" She shook her head.

"Nothing happened. But Nick was mad."

"Listen, I---I am sorry for what I did and said. Can we please be friends again?"

"I accept your apology, but I really doubt that we can go back to being friends." Casey walked out the room, leaving a speechless Derek behind.