Thanks for the free haircut, man."

Derek found a friend outside of hockey that, unlike Casey, knew his way around a pair of scissors.

"Sure. I'm still getting those hockey tickets, right?" So much for a free haircut.

Greg didn't play hockey, but he was a big fan. Derek was happy to give him a couple of tickets to the game.

"Yeah, you'll get those tickets." Derek took a look in the mirror, happy with his new haircut. His hair was cut short, with only a few waves sitting against the crease of his forehead.

"Awesome. So what are your plans today?"

"I'm meeting my roommate for lunch." Aka Casey.

Both Casey and Derek missed family dinners, so sharing a lunch or dinner with each other on occasion happened naturally.

"Have fun."

Casey was precisely on time as usual, checking her watch as she waited for her stepbrother to arrive at the diner.

"Hey."

"Derek, you're late, again!"

Casey looked up, having to do a double take when she noticed his new haircut. She could finally see his eyes away from that bushy haircut he had grown over the last few weeks.

She didn't comment on it, as the flattery would get to his head, but she really liked the new look. More than she wanted to let on.

"Sorry. Beauty takes time, Case, not that you would know."

"Well, use your so-called beauty to beckon the waitress over here."

"You want a lettuce wrap with a diet soda, right? Who am I kidding? You always order the same thing."

Even if she was predictable, it was odd that Derek took the time to memorize her order, down to the drink.

"Yeah, that's exactly what I want. So, uhm, how was your day?"

They had gotten accustomed to eating together every once in a while, but sharing parts of their day was still a bit awkward. By awkward, Derek usually shuts down and responds with grunts over his food. She didn't take it personally, as it's the same response George would've gotten at the dinner table.

Considering they didn't order yet, Derek had to actually focus on Casey this time, whether he wanted to or not.

"It was good. I, uh, got a haircut."

Small talk. That's progress.

She wanted to teasingly praise him like a mom praises their child, but she thought better of it. He was already closed off as it was.

"I see that," she nodded, watching the ice in her glass of water sink to the bottom. It was a great place to look instead of looking at Derek's hair and wondering why she felt the sudden need to run her hands through.

"It's not just any haircut; it's my lucky haircut. Before the first game of every season, I cut my hair in order to win."

"That's ridiculous, Derek."

"I am very superstitious! There's proof that cutting my locks has worked every single time. It's not so ridiculous, now is it?"

"Oh, it's still ridiculous, but if it makes you feel better, go for it," she shrugged.

"It's too bad Dad and Nora won't be able to make it, with Marti's dance recital and Lizzie's soccer game. Not to mention Simon taking up all of their attention," he sighed.

"Simon is a baby, Derek. You can't blame him for our family missing your hockey game," Casey replied.

"You're right. You see, if this whole marriage thing never happened -"

"Der-ek!" Casey shouted, kicking her stepbrother under the table. He was lucky there wasn't bread on the table because it would've been on his shirt.

"What? Someone has to take the blame."

A few seconds went by until Casey spoke again, breaking the silence.

"How much do tickets cost?"

"What?" Derek looked up, confused and unsure if he heard his stepsister correctly.

"For your hockey game. How much do tickets cost?"

"Casey, you hate hockey."

"Oh, I know," she said.

"So you won't be needing a ticket," he replied.

"No one from our family will be there. Do you want me to come?"

"You don't have to," he said.

"I'll come if you want me to," she added.

"Do you want to come?" He asked.

"Do you want me to come?" She tossed back, glaring at Derek.

"It doesn't matter to me," he shrugged.

"Okay, fine, I won't."

A few more seconds passed by, and Derek spoke again.

"I have a free ticket," he cleared his throat.

"Great! Oh, you might want to make that two tickets. Max has plans to visit, and -"

"Max Miller? You're not seriously seeing that guy again, are you?"

She wasn't. Not yet, anyway. They were just catching up and seeing where things would go. Max and Casey were high school sweehearts turned sour, but maybe in a different setting, they could find some sort of new stability.

"What does it matter to you?" She asked.

"Trust me, your relationships don't matter to me, but I thought you were smarter than that. You know more than I do how that relationship ended last time. You developed some weird allergy towards him because he tried to make you into something you're not - pretty, popular..."

Gee, Derek was so thoughtful.

In his defense, he didn't mean to insult her. But as usual, when he got riled up, he said the wrong things. Clearly, Derek was aggravated. Casey had more boyfriends and more dates than he had girls, and it was irritating him to his core. That's the only reason he was jealous. He swears.

"Stop it. I'm not changing for anyone ever again. This time, it would be different."

Derek rolled his eyes.

"Even if it would be different, you'll break up like all the times before."

"No!"

"Oh, really? Well, here, take these two tickets. Enjoy a great night out with Max watching a sport neither of you like until one of you gets sick of the other and breaks it off yet again."

Derek slapped the two tickets onto the counter and walked out without eating, leaving Casey there alone before they had a chance to order.

Once out of the diner, Derek rested his back against the side of the door, closing his eyes.

Casey should be there to cheer him on, not flirt with Max! Just the thought of him being there made Derek's skin crawl.

Turns out, Max decided to miss the hockey game but promised to make it to the after-party. Casey wasn't at all surprised by this because Derek and Max had always been rivals; going to different colleges didn't change things.

Derek was a bundle of nerves for his first college game, so much so that he puked a couple of times, as he often did before a competition.

The anxiety that plagued his stomach finally settled when he was on the ice. He looked towards the bleachers and was relieved to find Casey sitting alone in the stands, and for whatever reason, the mere sight of her helped build his confidence back up.

Casey wasn't sure if Derek noticed her there, so she refrained from waving for now.

"Who are you here for?" A sweet girl next to Casey asked.

"Derek," Casey smiled proudly.

"Derek Venturi? He was really good in high school, or so my boyfriend told me. I'm honored to be sitting by his girl."

"Uh, yeah." Casey could've set the record straight and introduced herself properly. She had no problem correcting others' mistakes, so why didn't she this time?

In high school, Casey was forcefully labeled Derek's annoying stepsister, but here, she could be just about anyone. If a few people thought she was cool enough to date Derek or cool in general, she wasn't going to try and change their minds. It was, in a way, better than being labeled an annoying, klutzy stepsibling.

Casey filmed the beginning of the game to send to George since he couldn't be there. It was important Derek knew he had his family's support, even if they couldn't make it to the game.

Overall, it was a good game. Casey McDonald may not have understood the game of hockey, but she absolutely knew when a victory was had. Derek's team won, and Casey was truly happy for him.

Casey couldn't wait to see him after the game to give him a big hug, one, of course, he didn't return.

"Congrats!" Casey cheered.

"Thanks. I told you it's all in the haircut. Where's your buddy, Max? Was hockey too compelling for his football brain to handle?" Derek asked, still panting from the game.

"He's coming to the after-party," she explained, running a hand through her glossy brown hair.

Derek tried to process what she said, but the way she played with her hair distracted him.

"I think we're going to that WingsMore place downtown." Derek waved a few of his teammates off, motioning he would be there in one minute.

"Okay, save us a seat," she said, watching as Derek turned around to leave.

"I won't."

"So, Max. Couldn't bear to watch a real man's sport, could ya?" Derek smirked, his entire mouth plastered in barbecue sauce.

Casey kicked him under the table, and instead of dodging her like he usually does, he caught her foot with his calves, keeping her from making any more moves. She pursed her lips in the way Derek secretly enjoyed, before turning sweetly to Max.

"Ignore him. That new haircut is getting to his head. How was your trip?" She asked.

"I was driving to see you, so it wasn't so bad," Max grinned.

Derek snorted, wiping his face with a wetnap.

"You must've been hit too many times by a football if you think seeing Casey was worth the drive," Derek snickered at his own lame joke.

"Der-ek!" Casey attempted to use her free foot to kick him again, but Derek was too fast, catching both her feet.

"Max, could you tell your girlfriend to stop playing footsie with me under the table?"

She was not playing footsie with Derek. That is disgusting.

"Max, could you please tell my annoying brother to let me go?!"

"Step-brother," Derek corrected.

"Same difference!"

After an hour of bickering, Max and Casey finally left the restaurant and walked back to her apartment together, enjoying the sudden chill of the night.

"It was good to see you again, Max. Thanks for coming."

"It was fun. Although, not much has changed."

"What do you mean?" She asked, tucking her hands into her pockets.

"You and Derek. The obsession you have with each other."

"Excuse me, what?" She grew wide-eyed, coming to a complete stop.

"You and Derek are obsessed with each other," Max repeated.

"Me and Derek hate each other."

"But not really. Case, you went to his hockey game, and you hate hockey."

"What was I supposed to do? Our family didn't show up for him; I had to!" Okay, so maybe she didn't hate Derek as much as she let on, but still!

"Listen, I've played football long enough to know when I'm watching a game unfolding. Derek is obsessed with ruining your life, and you're obsessed with calling him out on it. And then you forgive him, and the game starts all over again. It's like a love language between you two - some weird form of foreplay."

Sure, Derek and Casey fought a lot. Derek would do something really dumb but then he would do something really sweet to make her feel better - like the time he ruined Casey's sweet sixteen, but then threw her the best surprise birthday party ever while she was in the hospital.

But to categorize this as foreplay? Absolutely not!

"Max, I just told you we hate each other. Derek hates me." Casey clarified, feeling uneasy about this entire conversation. Max couldn't be any more wrong!

"Derek doesn't hate you; not in the way he hates me. It's makes sense, now, looking back. He was jealous."

"He's my brother."

"He's your step-brother, and he doesn't mind correcting you about it."

"I can't believe you're insinuating something like this. You don't know what you're talking about." Casey started to walk toward her door when Max caught up with her. She knew he wasn't rushing to open the door for her, as he wasn't the most chivalrous guy she's ever dated.

"Alright, maybe I don't. Maybe I made it all up because I'm a jealous guy by nature. I'm sorry, Case. I really had fun tonight, and I'm hoping we can get together again soon. Friends?"

Wait.. friends?

Ah, so she was being friendzoned. Max didn't want to date her again at all. Their break-up in high school really did him in.

"Friends. I'd like that. Goodbye, Max." If she couldn't be with Max, being his friend would suffice.

"Goodbye, Casey."

With a hug goodbye, Max Miller was gone.

Somehow, Derek had made it up the apartment before Casey, and with a hot date, mind you.

"Gabbi?" Casey made a friend in her literature class, and what do you know? Here she was, sitting with Derek's arm placed behind her on the couch!

Was there one, just one, friend of Casey's that Derek hasn't dated? He was despicable!

"Casey? Derek, is Casey your girlfriend?"

"No!" Derek and Casey shot each other a look of disgust.

"Derek is my stepbrother."

"Derek told me he was an only child."

Of course, he did.

"Did Derek also tell you this apartment is mine, and I asked him to be considerate about bringing girls over?" Casey asked, angrily throwing her jacket off and adjusting it until it perfectly hung on its hook on the coat rack.

"Girls, as in plural?" Gabbi looked at Derek, taking his hand off of her shoulder.

"No, Casey doesn't know what she's talking about. I'm a one-woman kind of guy," he stuttered.

So much for being an honest guy!

"One woman per week. Gabbi, I think it's best you go home and steer clear of this one."

"I'm way ahead of you. See you later, Casey." Gabbi was out of there in no time, without so much as a goodbye to Derek..

"Thanks, sis, for ruining my date."

Casey scoffed, taking a seat next to him on the couch, completely exhausted.

"Sis? I thought you were an only child."

"I wish I was; that way, you wouldn't be able to interfere with my dates."

"You ruined mine!" Derek didn't ask what she meant, but she wasn't about to tell him what Max told her on their walk. Derek being jealous of Max? Fat chance. His ego was way too big to be jealous of anyone.

"So how is my buddy, Max? Didn't give you an earth-shattering goodnight kiss, I take it?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but no. I've been friendzoned indefinitely."

"Maybe you need a haircut for some better luck with guys."

"Derek, don't you dare touch my hair." Casey scooted to the edge of the couch, putting distance between her and her stepbrother.

"Sleep with one eye open, Princess."