All it takes is one summer to change everything, but in the face of irony, one summer was all Casey McDonald needed to bring her back to reality.
Casey wasn't the type of girl to have a summer fling, so when Jesse, the cute dancer she meets at her grandmother's lodge, suggested exchanging phone numbers at the end of her vacation, she happily obliged. The proposal of getting to know her dance partner for more than just a couple of weeks was a deal too good to pass up.
Jesse had a discernible love for dancing professionally, but what else did he like to do? What was his favorite color, his favorite dish, his favorite sport? Did he even like sports? These were all questions that plagued an inquisitive Casey, and in time, she hoped to get the answers.
Unfortunately, after multiple sent text messages following vacation, there was no reply from her former dance partner. Casey's dreams of running off into a transformative future with Jesse were over as the end of summer slapped her in the face with a bitter wake-up call.
As much as Casey hated to admit it, she should have heeded her stepbrother's warnings. Derek cautioned Casey that Jesse would ditch her the second she left the lodge, and she would be left ugly crying until school started. His prediction was undoubtedly cruel, but he turned out to be right. No matter his superb intuition, Casey would never give Derek the satisfaction of knowing she was shunned via text.
For the short remainder of summer, Casey forced herself to contain her emotions around Derek and her family, but inside the comfort of her bedroom, she cried a lot over an undeserving Jesse. No matter how much she occupied herself with getting ready for college, her mind wandered over the ridiculous notion that she would be single and alone for the rest of her life.
Derek, unbeknownst to Casey, could hear her muffled cries through the wall, courtesy of what he could only assume was a summer fling gone wrong. He spent the rest of his break with headphones on to distract himself from his stepsister's overly dramatic, so-called breakup. Jesse wasn't losing a minute of sleep over Casey, and yet, here she was, crying a room over and making Derek's life absolutely miserable. Derek wanted to spend all of his free time before school alternating between eating and playing video games, living the good life, and yet, how could he truly reset and relax in such a doom-filled atmosphere?
Thoughts of consoling his stepsister came to mind in order to end the river of tears flowing into his bedroom, but Derek knew he couldn't handle such a sensitive topic without wanting to bash his head into the wall.
Given his reluctance to console Casey, Derek thought about calling Jesse and giving him a piece of his mind in order to have peace of mind, but he fought against that ridiculous urge. Casey's relationships were none of his business or concern.
Eventually, Casey's puffy eyes returned to their normal shade of blue, but by this time, Derek's relaxing break was officially ruined. The real world was kicking into full gear, as summer came to an end.
On the upside to having summer completely over with, the next step in his life would begin far away from the noise of his family, specifically Casey. Living in an all-boys' dorm had its perks, after all.
Derek Venturi would never have to see his overly emotional stepsister again.
And Casey McDonald would never have to see her annoying stepbrother again.
Well...
That's easier said than done.
The problem set to ruin both their lives arises on the day prior to leaving for college.
George Venturi, a well-known hazard to the roads, borrowed Derek's car on his commute to work and, regrettably, wrecked it within a mile from his house. With George's poor driving record, he really needed his own bumper sticker that read: stay twenty feet away from this vehicle.
With college rapidly approaching, there wasn't much time for a solution to George's mishap. For the foreseeable future, Derek would have to use Casey as his main form of transportation until his vehicle could be taken care of. Luckily, most of everything was within walking distance of Queen's University, but he would still need Casey to drive him to and from home on holidays.
Casey's new car, the Princess, did its job by bringing the two safely to Queen's. Casey was so happy to be rid of Derek until the holidays that she didn't even mind that his muddy shoes had been on her dash or that he blared his rock music the whole way there. The college experience was calling her name louder than any song or any stepbrother could ever annoy her.
Once at school, the two stepsiblings immediately parted ways as if they were complete strangers. They didn't wave goodbye, and they most certainly didn't embrace.
There was a point after their high school graduation that Derek teased her, saying they would be "best buds" in college, but his abrupt exit from her car proved that to be a lie, thank God. Zero interaction was the best way to go.
Ready for a new chapter to begin, Casey rushed to her apartment building. Between her babysitting fund and the money her grandmother had given her, Casey saved enough to help pay for an apartment right next to the university. It was a single bedroom, one bathroom quaint apartment - perfect enough for her. If Derek had been careful with his money, he could have done the same, but instead, he likely wasted it on video games and collectible hockey cards, so he was stuck in the boys' dorm.
As she sat on her bare mattress surrounded by moving boxes, Casey felt a twinge of loneliness. Her mom and George were too busy with the children to be here, understandably so, and Derek was off doing God knows what with God knows who.
Wow. It's only been a minute, and she was already thinking about Derek? This cannot be happening! Annoyed with herself, Casey started to organize her drawers and hang some pictures on the wall to make it feel more homely. Seeing pictures of her family and friends pinned beside her bed only made her feel more alone.
She left home, for what? For this? An empty apartment with no one to talk to? What once was her dream started to become her nightmare. She had to get it together before she drove all the way back home and forgot all about school.
While Casey struggled to unpack, Derek was entering his dorm room. One side of the room was already plastered in posters and soccer memorabilia, so Derek was forced to take the other. He hated to admit it, but he wished Edwin would have come along to get a glimpse of what college is really like. He missed the chatter of his younger siblings begging for his attention and barging in whenever they wanted. In other words, he felt alone.
But... he wasn't alone; Casey was here. Ugh, he couldn't believe he was thinking about Casey already! The bane of his existence! The know-it-all, clean freak, diabolical Casey McDonald! Given his initial eagerness to get away from his stepsister, Casey was his link to home and his link to normalcy, so he told himself it was okay to miss her - as long as he didn't tell her that.
After having chatted with the landlord about how perfectly pristine the apartment was and then checking in with her mom, Casey continued to ready her apartment. She was in the middle of struggling with her purple fitted sheet when she felt the phone in her back pocket buzz.
She saw the name on the screen and did a double-take.
"Derek?" She answered, the fitted sheet popping up from both corners of the queen bed.
"So this is what it feels like to be the new kid, huh?"
"Why are you calling me?" Derek wasn't one for casual conversation, at least not with her, and he most definitely never called her on the phone unless the situation was dire.
"I don't have any toilet paper," he divulged.
Casey raised a brow. Who knew that lack of toilet paper was a dire situation?
"How is that my problem?" She asked, walking to her own bathroom to see if she had toilet paper.
"I need you to bring me to the store."
"Why can't you walk there? I'm busy."
"We've been here, what, half an hour? What could you possibly be doing? Oh, don't tell me; you're already studying."
"No, Derek, I'm fixing up my bedroom, which is what you should be doing," she sighed.
"I have a bed and a mattress. What else do I need?" Toilet paper, apparently.
"Ew, Derek! You cannot sleep on an empty mattress!"
"Then bring me to the store so I can grab what I need. I wouldn't want to have to call Nora and tell her we are already fighting because you don't want to help me get some toilet paper."
Casey was ready to argue, but it appeared she needed some toilet paper, as well. Plus, getting a lay of the local store early on could be beneficial.
"Ugh, fine! You better be ready when I get there."
Casey drove Derek to the store and offered to organize his bedroom essentials for him. She knew if she didn't make his side look presentable, he would never do it himself. Derek argued he might flunk out before the semester ends, but still, Casey couldn't bear to see the room in disarray. Plus, focusing on Derek's decorations was the distraction she needed.
Derek and Casey would never admit it unless waterboarded, but being with each other on the first day of college eased their loneliness.
They didn't realize it at the time, but their reliance on each other would lead to many more calls and encounters.
The first couple of months at college proved to be a difficult adjustment for both teenagers.
Despite managing to avoid each other in person, with the exception of their shared French elective, they were constantly calling one another on the phone. Derek would call Casey for help with his classes, and Casey would call Derek to unburden herself with whatever embarrassing thing she did that day. She was also his wake-up call in the morning when he overslept and wasn't in class.
Of course, their phone conversations often led to meaningless arguments, and one would hang up on the other. It was a tit for tat battle as usual, and it was in these calls that they realized that not even the distance of college could pull them away from each other.