I do not own Life With Derek.
-9-
"Can you believe him?" Casey rants to Bianca.
"I assume you mean Derek," her roommate comments.
"Yes. Bianca, he accuse me not only of fooling around with his brother, but that I got pregnant and am not raising 'my' child properly, by not telling her 'the truth.' Alexi is his daughter and not mine. That pig," Casey collapses onto her bed in a mess of angry tears.
Bianca sits up. "Cay, you need to calm down."
"He's been back in my life just over a day, and I'm already relapsing back into the emotional teenybopper I was when I met him," Casey laments.
"Get a hold of yourself! You're Casey MacDonald, who just broke up with one of the most popular guys on campus!" Bianca yells.
"Thanks, Bianca," Casey smiles.
"No problemo," the platinum blonde smiles. "Get some rest. Deal with Derek in the morning."
"Alright," Casey protest slightly, "but…"
"No buts! I'm being the pushy one today. Goodnight." Bianca gets up and turns off the lights as she heads off for a late night coffee.
Casey rolls her eyes, remembering how Derek acted when Sam wanted to date her.
"Make me!" Derek's voice floats up to her room. Early, Casey had clearly been warned that Sam was not interested.
"'Make me?' So now, we're ten again?" Sam asks.
"I know you are, but what am I?" Derek taunts childishly.
"You are ten. What, are we gonna have to wrestle like we used to?"
As the world wrestle came from Sam's mouth, Casey stands, heading out of her room. What are they arguing about?
"Seriously, dude, just let me pass," Sam argues.
"Seriously, just tell me where you're going!" Derek says in a rough voice.
"Fine, I'm going to talk to Casey," Sam says.
At her name, Casey races from her room and stops just out of the boys' sight.
"Why?" Derek demands to know.
"Well," sarcasm comes into Sam's voice, "I've thought about what Marti said, and I'm going to ask Casey to marry me."
"Oh really?" Casey can hear the smirk on Derek's face. "Can I be the best man?"
"Wouldn't have it any other way," Sam growls. A hard slap makes Casey step from her hiding spot.
"Well, welcome to the family, bro," Derek returns the favor, hitting Sam.
Casey stands on the top step, thinking that, since they're friends, this fight won't go too far.
Sam's eyes narrow. "Thanks bro!"
After taking one more hit, Derek tackles Sam. This results in a loud crash.
"What's going on?" Nora's worried voice calls from the kitchen.
"Wrestling!" Derek answers, kneeing Sam in the gut.
"Not fair," Sam mutters.
As the two boys roll around on the floor, Casey takes the steps two at a time to get to them.
"What is going on?" she demands.
"Nothing," Derek answers, putting Sam in a headlock. "Leave."
"No, tell her, Derek," Sam says. "Tell her about your stupid male code." He pushes Derek off.
"Wait, that's why we're wrestling?" Derek asks, surprised.
"What male code?" Casey inquires before Sam could answer Derek's question.
"The one that says guys can't date their best friend's sisters."
Casey sighs.
"Yeah," Sam adds, "and step-sibs count."
"Dude, do not talk to girls about the male code," Derek instructs.
"You told him that?" Casey shrieks. She lunges at him, but Sam holds her back. "What is wrong with you? Would it have killed you just to butt out? Like me liking your best friends is so threatening to you."
Derek fiddles with his collar. "Don't blame me. Sam's the one who listened to me."
Realizing that he's right, Casey turns to look at Sam.
"You're right," she tells Derek.
She grabs Sam's arm and spins him around, throwing him on the stairs. "What is wrong with you? How could you listen to Derek?"
Sam stares at her, afraid. "I don't know. I'm an idiot."
"Yeah, you are. Which is why you both deserve each other," she smirks at Derek. "And, I don't want to be responsible for ruining ten years of friendship between two IDIOTS!" She stomps past Sam and heads up to her room.
Eventually, after her angry little rant, Sam comes and knocks on the frame of her door.
"What?" she asks.
"Look," he pauses, "I'm…I'm really sorry. I never should have listened to Derek; I should've listened to Edwin. Um, I'm shy…er, stupid. I don't know what I am, but I think you're a really cool person and you seem like a decent wrestler…and you—"
"You talk too much," Casey interrupts. She doesn't know what got into her. Sure, he was cute, but he wasn't nearly as amazing as D…. no! She wouldn't think of her annoying (and slightly cute) stepbrother. She leans into Sam, pressing her lips against his.
She holds onto his shirt, waiting until the boy reacts.
Lizzie, Edwin, and Marti start cheering and Sam pulls away slowly, in a daze.
Casey laughs.
After another quick kiss, Casey and Sam go downstairs to talk to Derek. All the while, Casey's mind is scheming.
Derek looks at them. "Okay, I can't stop you two from going out."
This would be the one thing Casey could do to get under Derek's skin. The whole 'male code' proved as much. The angry tic on the side of his neck pulsates, and Sam, his best friend doesn't even notice the sure sign of Derek's furiousness.
"But, one request. Please, no acting boyfriend-y/girlfriend-y in front of me. I'd rather not puke in public."
Suddenly, she feels a foot touch hers and teasingly withdraw. Sam smiles widely. An evil idea comes to Casey's mind, and she immediately dismisses it. Somehow, the idea niggles back to the forefront of her thoughts. Deciding to act, she slowly stretches out her leg, her foot connecting with Derek's.
"Agreed."
Sam says the same thing, but Casey barely notices.
He attempts to pull back his feet, but Casey persistently continues playing footsie with him.
"Oh, and speaking of puking," he pauses.
Casey avoids his eyes, instead choosing to stare at Sam.
Derek glares down at the table. "Can whoever's playing footsie with me please stop?"
Casey begins to say sorry, the word dying in her throat as Sam apologizes as well.
A small smile, not unlike Derek's smirk, comes to Casey's face, as she realizes that by ignoring Sam, she made him think that, instead of flirting with his girlfriend, he had been annoying Derek the whole time.
Casey says a curt goodnight to Derek and walks Sam to the door.
"That was…" she begins to say, feeling guilty for using the sweet boy.
"An amazing kiss," he finishes, kissing her cheek. "See you tomorrow, Casey."
Well, she thinks to herself, he is quite sweet.
Hope blossoms inside her. Sam would be the greatest distraction to get her mind away from her stepbrother. Maybe going out with Sam would quell this curious attraction to Derek. Not that she actually was attracted to him.
"Hey, Case," Derek stops her outside her room. "Do you really like him?"
Here it is, she thinks, the moment of truth. To lie, or not to lie. "Yeah, Derek. I do." I had to lie, she attempts to convince herself.
He nods slowly, the chocolate sparkling eyes she was so fond of without their usual shimmer. "Okay."
"Why?" the question tumbles past her lips without a second thought.
"He's my friend. And, as sappy as it seems, I care about his feelings. Casey, I know you're a… good person, but Sam dates for the long run."
"So do I!" Casey glares at him, insulted.
"Casey," Derek's voice is soft but strong. "Don't take advantage of him."
She looks her stepbrother in the eye, commanding his attention. She wouldn't do anything bad to Sam. Eventually, she convinces herself, she could come to love him. "I won't."
"I'll hold you to that," he smiles, bumping shoulders with her.
"Thank you."
"What?" his eyebrows wrinkle in confusion.
"For trusting me." Especially when I don't deserve it, Casey thinks.
He nods solemnly.
"Good night, Derek," Casey turns away.
"Night Case," he mumbles, walking to his room.
Casey shrugs and enters her room, planning to daydream about her new boyfriend. She lays down on her bed, opening her diary. She picks up a pencil and puts it to the paper, writing the date in a curly scrawl.
As she heads the paper, angry loud music throbs from the room next to hers.
"Derek! Turn it down!" she pounds the wall separating their bedroom. "Marti's in bed!"
"Fine!" he yells, shutting off the radio.
"Good!" she yells back.
"Smerek! Why are you yelling? Daddy said I should be asleep," Marti says, yelling herself.
Derek's door creaks open and Casey can hear his bare feet padding to Marti's room. "C'mon, Smarti. I'll tell you a story."
"Okay, Smerek," Marti's voice fades from Casey's mind.
Casey wakes with a start.
"Are you okay?" Bianca asks.
"What? Oh yeah, I'm alright," Casey nods. She had almost forgotten what had transpired when she and Sam first started going out. A wave of guilt hit her. She hadn't talked to Sam, or Emily, since Aidan was born.
"Well, Derek called."
"What?" Casey crinkles her nose.
"Your cell phone rang. I checked the call log afterwards. It was from theNeurologicalHospital."
"Why didn't you wake me up?" Casey asks, vaulting form the bed. "What if it was actually the hospital and he relapsed? Bianca, what if he died?"
"Cay, relax. It rang again, so I picked it up. Can you believe it? I talked to THE Derek Venturi!"
"Bianca, what did he say?"
"He said if you listened to his message, you'd understand."
"That's it? How unusually cryptic of him," Casey growls. She stands, dialing the password of her voicemail.
You have one unheard message. To hear your message, press one-one. For more options—
Casey hits the correct button tersely.
"Hey, Case. Now, stop freaking out. I'm fine. But, we are not," his voice floats over the line. "Take a deep breath and calm down, and listen.
"Casey, I mean really listen. I know, and I remember, I don't say this often. All that means is that, when I do say it, I do mean it. Casey MacDonald, I'm sorry. For saying Ed got you pregnant, for not listening to you… for everything. Sooo," he draws out the word.
After a deep breath, Derek continues. "Case, will you forgive me? I want to talk." A long pause settles. "Come see me. Please, Casey. Bye."
The phone clicks, leaving her flabbergasted.
"I hate it when he's like this," Casey mutters. In a moment of weakness, she saves the message and closes her phone.
"Like what?" Bianca asks inquisitively.
"Sweet and repentant."
"How can you hate a guy for that?" her roommate wonders aloud.
"It's not very Derek."
"Ah. So, are you gonna go?"
"Bianca, I don't know. Don't you remember how much his accusation hurt me?"
"Sure I do, but Cay, I also remember how worried you were when I told you theNeuroHospital called. Casey, just go talk to him. Hear him out and then you can decide whether or not to forgive him," Bianca urges.
Casey groans, standing up. "You're right. Do you think you'll let me in this early?"
"It's already7:30; I think you'll be fine."
"Okay," Casey says.
She changes and heads to the Neurological Hospital.
"I'm sorry. Visiting hours begin at9 o'clock," the tan Latino grad student says with a smirk, "Ms. Venturi."
"Okay, Andrew, right?" Casey raises an eyebrow menacingly "I'm only going to say this once. I don't need this crap from you, so stop giving it to me."
"Meow," Andrew mutters under his breath.
"Just bug off, alright?"
His eyes narrow. "The word's all over campus. You and your step-bro have something kinky goin' on."
"I can't imagine how such an outrageous lie managed to find its way to the population ofQueens," Casey says sarcastically, knowing that Andrew was probably the source of the rumor.
"Casey," Dr. Frasier enters the waiting room. "I thought I heard you. Derek's waiting. Go on up."
"Right, thank you," Casey struts away from the main desk, heading up to the fourth floor.
Hesitantly, she lingers in the elevator. Classical music plays overhead as the grad student gathers her nerve. She takes a fortifying breath and steps from the elevator.