Author's Note!: Haha, i know i usually put, "A/N:" but i just felt like typing out the whole thing this time. haha. I am such a weirdo. ANYWAYS. When i first thought of this, i thought it was going to be a one-shot, however, when i started writing it, i just ended up realizing it is just too long for one. SO it shall be a MINI-Chapter fic. I say MINI because it will probably only be three chapters long, if that. haha, Um. I love the idea of this story and I happy to be able to write it. I just hope I do it justice. I literally dreamed this up. It was kind of weird actually. I was like waking UP from a night of sleep and i woke up thinking of a part of this story, that hasn't been written yet and it just seemed like an amazing idea. Alright so on to the story.

I do not own Life with Derek. Of course.

Read and Review if you would like :)

There she was, standing in her room, staring at the packed boxes with a hint of sorrow. The rest of what she was feeling was wonder; wonder of what her future had in store for her.

"I'm finally leaving." She admitted out loud to herself.

"And thank God for that!" a voice called from her doorway. She instinctively rolled her eyes before turning to take in the body that now was standing just an inch into her room. She furrowed her eyebrows in an annoyed manner.

"What are you so chipper about? We're going to the same university." She reminded him and the smirk that he had been broadcasting quickly faded.

"Well it's not like we'll be in any of the same classes." Derek replied.

"That's right, because I actually have a brain, unlike you." Casey teased.

"I was going to say because we have different majors but yeah, whatever." Derek shifted uncomfortably in his spot.

"That's all? No arguments? I just insulted you and all you have to say is 'whatever'?" Casey instigated.

"Unlike you,Princess, I've matured enough to know we shouldn't have these little fights anymore." Derek said; a smirk plastered across his face again.

Casey furrowed her eyebrows once again, this time though, it was in amusement, and her eyes went wide in mock disbelief. She let out a hearty laugh and Derek glared at her, not amused.

"What… may I ask, is so funny?" Derek asked through gritted teeth. Casey was making it hard for him to be nice.

"You? Mature? Ha!" She said walking towards him and playfully hitting his chest before walking past him. Before she was out of earshot she added, "Good one!"

LATER. LATER. LATER. LATER. LATER.

It was the last dinner that the McDonald-Venturi family would share with Derek and Casey. Tomorrow they would both leave for University, and by chance of course, they got into the same one. Derek had gotten a hockey scholarship and Casey had an academic one.

Casey hadn't dated anyone since she broke up with Max. At first it was because she was still trying to find herself, but then she noticed that guys weren't even making an effort any more. She used to get love letters all the time from secret admirers, or not-so-secret ones. Those letters had ceased to exist for some time now. This left Casey slightly lonely but she was strong and independent. She didn't need a guy to make her happy. But it couldn't hurt, right?

Anyway, back to the dinner. It was emotional to say the last. The girls were crying, and the men were grieving in their own way: Silence. They barely said anything to each other all night. They were men of course, and men don't talk about their feelings. The bottling of his emotions was really taking its toll on Derek. He had an extreme headache and he felt as if someone was crushing his stomach in their hands. What he wouldn't give to be a girl at this point. (A/N: HAHA)

The thought that tomorrow he would be waking up somewhere other than his own bedroom frightened him. Also, he was definitely going to miss his family.

"So, how has everyone's day?" George asked calmly. The women has finished their gabbing and crying festival now.

"Pretty eventful, George. I said some goodbyes to people I won't see when I go away tomorrow." Casey started and her eyes began to tear up. It took everything Derek had not to roll his eyes. The truth was that he was really trying to mature. Well, change rather. He still felt the need to bug Casey but he didn't want to continue his famous antics anymore. Little did he know that Casey lived for the fights between the two of them.

Don't get me wrong, they weren't friends or anything. Derek was just trying to be more civil towards Casey. He convinced himself it was because he was going to college soon and needed to focus. But he knew all too well that there was another reason.

They finished their dinner with a few side conversations mostly from the women of the house.

"Derek, can you help Casey do the dishes tonight?" Nora asked politely.

"No thanks, Nora. I'd rather not." Derek declined.

"Derek, that wasn't a request, it was an order. Dishes. Now!" George reinforced.

"But dad!" Derek whined like a five year old; Casey rolled her eyes.

"I thought you decided to be more mature, Derek." She narrowed her eyes at him. Seeing her give him the death glare that he had grown oh-so fond of brought him right back to where he didn't want to go anymore.

"Shut up, Klutzilla. Nobody asked you." He retaliated.

"Oooh, good comeback. So original." Casey said sarcastically. He rolled his eyes at her now.

"Now who's being immature." He teased. He was getting sick of this fast. He tries to be nice to Casey and she still treats him like dirt.

"Hey, it's not my fault that you are losing your touch, Venturi." Casey said relentlessly. She loved getting him riled up mostly because she knew she was the only one that was able to do it.

George and Nora looked at each other in annoyance. "Some things just never change." Nora said shaking her head.

"I am not losing my touch. I chose to stop being immature; and what do you do? Bring me back to the way I was. You can't just accept that maybe I don't want to fight anymore?" Derek snapped. He didn't know what he was saying until he actually got it all out. Shit! What did I just say?! Derek panicked in his head, but on the outside was just waiting for an answer from Casey. She was silent and looked like she was puzzled beyond belief. She got up quickly and made her way to the kitchen to start on the dishes leaving Derek to hang his head in his hands at the table.

He was completely unaware of the people staring at him and he just didn't care right now. He was wondering if maybe the order to do the dishes still stood even though going in there would make him feel so uneasy. I guess the rest of the family doesn't know how I would feel going in there now… he thought, they are going to make me do it anyways…UGH! He groaned out loud as he ran his hands through his hair violently. The family still staring at him, he got up and slammed the chair into the table before walking into the kitchen.

Nora and George looked at each other in confusion this time. George shrugged, clueless as usual, and Nora shook her head and gathered up the plates that were still on the table to bring them to the two troubled teens in the kitchen.

"What's going on, you two?" Nora asked sweetly, seeing a very silent Derek and Casey washing and drying the dishes that had been used to make dinner. She set the dirty dishes she had in her hands in the sink and let Casey work her magic. The kids didn't reply but that didn't sway Nora, she wanted answers. "I'm not leaving until someone gives me an answer." She persisted.

Casey and Derek didn't even know what was going on, especially Casey. Derek knew something: He was in love with Casey and that is why he didn't want to fight with her anymore. He wanted her to see a different side of himself that she didn't know existed. The sweet side that treated his significant others with respect, most of the time. They were going away tomorrow and he knew that they could have a new, fresh start, and without their 'family' they could actually have a relationship. None of the other McDonald's or Venturi's needed to know.

Casey had no idea that it was his plan; in fact she didn't know he had a plan. She though he was just trying to annoy her again, and that the mature thing was just an act. She figured that when they got to school he'd find more ways to play tricks on her and annoy her. In a weird way, she was almost looking forward to that, but no. Of course Derek always had to ruin a good thing, and change his dastardly ways. Isn't this what I always wanted? Derek to mature? Casey thought as she was washing the dishes her mom had placed in the sink, trying to avoid any conversation she was throwing at her; then why am I fighting it? She had NO idea.

Nora was still there, and now she was getting antsy. "Derek. Casey. What is going on?! I know there was a reason for that outburst, so what is it?" She tried not to sound annoyed.

"Nora, just leave well enough alone." Derek requested.

"Well enough? How is it 'well enough'? There is something wrong with you two, now tell me what it is so I can help." Nora demanded; Casey was growing tired of her mom trying to get things out of her that she herself didn't know the answer to so she just decided to reason with her.

"Look, mom. I know you want to help. But Derek and I are both just upset that we are leaving tomorrow. You know we deal with things a little differently. Just let us deal with it ourselves, please?" Casey looked straight into her mother's eyes. She believed what she had told her mom, every word of it. Casey was upset that she was leaving tomorrow, and she knew Derek was too, but he was a guy and she knew he wouldn't tell anyone how he really felt; even if he was maturing. Yeah right, she thought.

Nora accepted this as a valid answer and smiled sweetly at her daughter before glancing at Derek who was drying his last dish solemnly. She made her way over to him and took him by the shoulders turning him around. Looking at him for a few seconds she pulled him into a hug.

"Derek, as I have said before, I have grown to love you. You know that don't you?" Nora asked pulling back from the hug and trying to gain eye contact but failing. Finally he looked up at her with a small smile on his face.

"Yeah, Nora. I know." He answered quietly before she pulled him into another hug. He had a look of discomfort on his face, but that was just a façade. He did love Nora, maybe not as a mother but more as a confidant. Someone he could trust and confide in, it just so happened she was married to his dad. "I love you too, Nora." He said and Nora snapped back staring at him in disbelief, her eyes began to water and she had another one of her sweet smiles plastered on her face.

"Oh, Derek. You have no idea how great it feels to hear you say that." She hugged him one more time, before excusing herself back into the dining room to tell her husband what his son had just said. Derek was just standing there looking at the floor, smirking. He had completely forgotten the other person in the room until she spoke.

"Did you mean that, Derek?" She asked him. He looked up at her in shock, then ran a nervous hand to the back of his head to rub it.

"Uh… yeah." Derek admitted, "I mean, she's not my mom. But ya know… I love her like… uh… a friend and stuff." Derek wanted to make it known to Casey that he didn't see Nora as a mother because then what he felt for Casey would just seem a little wrong. But still so right, Derek thought.

"You really are maturing. And to think I thought it was all another prank, or some way to win a girl's heart, like you did with Kendra." Casey smiled a genuine smile at him and he looked away.

"Yeah, well. You know… whatever." He was at a loss for words, this conversation was a little too heavy for a newly maturing Derek. "The dishes are done. I'm gonna go upstairs and… finish the little packing that I still have to do." He changed the subject and didn't waste any time before retreating to his bedroom. Casey stood there in the kitchen with her thoughts.

Is this really all over? The fights with Derek? Getting him all riled up? Do I really have to stop? She asked herself, she didn't want it to be true. The fights had become so routine for her, stopping them would be like not taking a shower anymore or something, okay maybe not that extreme, but still. Can I even do that? She wondered. It was almost as if somewhere in the years she'd been living with Derek, they had switched roles and now she was the immature one and he just wanted it all to end. How did this happen? Casey added in her mind. She realized it had been about twenty minutes since Derek had gone upstairs and she had seen Nora and George go down to their bedroom in that time period. She finally decided to go up to her bedroom and have that one last night sleeping in her bedroom at the McDonald-Venturi household.

SLEEP IS GOOD. SLEEP IS GOOD. SLEEP IS GOOD. SLEEP IS GOOD.

Casey woke up to a weird, nauseous feeling in her stomach. Almost like motion sickness; then she realized there was someone making her bed move up and down. She opened her eyes slightly, making her squint. Marti was jumping on her bed trying to wake her up. When Marti saw that Casey was awakening she ceased her jumping while in mid air, folding her legs Indian style so that when she landed on the bed she was sitting down. Casey sat up slowly and yawned, stretching a little.

"What time is it, Marti?" Casey asked a little groggily.

"8:42 AM. Nora told me to come and wake you and Smerek up for breakfast. So come on!" She said pulling the sheets off of Casey.

"Alright, Smarti, that's enough, leave Casey alone. I'm sure she doesn't need your help to get dressed." Derek told Marti from Casey's doorway. Casey was startled by his presence but she wasn't sure why. She smiled up at him without realizing it, and he smiled back, no, not smirked, smiled. Marti did what Derek told her and they were stuck staring at each other for a minute or two before Casey realized she should probably change.

"Well like you said, I don't need help getting dressed." Casey teased getting up and walking to her dresser to pick out her clothes; Derek's eyes darted around as if looking for an escape.

"Right. Um… I'll be downstairs." He said nervously and rushed down said stairs. Casey walked over to close the door and then walked back to her dresser to get changed. Once she was done she went downstairs to greet the rest of the family.

"Good morning, la familia." Casey said with a big smile on her face as she sat down at the kitchen island.

"La what?" Derek asked blankly.

"It means family, Derek." She said with a tone of arrogance, which she undoubtedly inherited from living with Derek himself.

"Ohhhh, yeah. I knew that." He lied, hoping people would believe him even though he knew they wouldn't. Casey rolled her eyes and let out a soft chuckle.

"So, we are going to leave at noon, and we'll probably be at campus from three to four PM. So make sure you don't have anything else to pack and then you can just hang out until noon." Nora explained to her daughter and step-son. They nodded in agreement while taking bites out of the pancakes that were made for them.

"These pancakes are gross!" Marti yelled and the family held back their laughter, all except Nora of course.

"Marti, that isn't nice. My mom worked hard on these, just so you could eat them." Casey explained and before she knew it someone else spoke up.

"I'm sorry, Case. But I have to agree with Smarti-pants on this one. These aren't very good. The pancakes you make are way better." Derek admitted stabbing the pancake on his plate with his fork and looking at it as if it were mutated.

"Derek, as flattered as I am, that isn't fair to my mom. She just wanted to make a nice breakfast for us before we left." Casey told him.

"Alright, enough. I know my cooking isn't the best, but at least I tried. I'm sorry I can't live up to your taste bud's expectations." Nora admitted, she most mostly joking, and knew not to take the insults to heart.

"I'm sorry Nora, I didn't mean to make fun of your bad cooking." Marti apologized, sort of.

"Thank you, Marti… I think. It's alright." Nora consoled before looking at the other 'trouble-maker', Derek as if waiting for his apology.

"Sorry, Nora." Derek said hardly meaning it.

"Thank you, Derek. You really are growing up." Nora said happily.

"Finally." Casey said under her breath and Derek heard her, seeing as he was sitting right next to her. He snapped his head quickly to look at her, and she looked away as if nothing had happened, and started to whistle to distract him. As if that sort of thing works.

"I heard that." He said angrily, "Nicely played, McDonald." He congratulated, his face become more calm and inviting. She looked back to him and smiled but this time he was showing off his famous smirk.

"Thanks, I guess." She said and they shared in another staring contest for a few seconds. They broke when George finally came up the stairs from the basement.

"Nice of you to join us, Dad." Edwin said to his father as he grabbed a plate and helped himself to some of the food.

"Good morning Ed; and everyone else." George offered and everyone made some sort of effort to greet him.

"Georgie, make sure we have everything ready by noon, alright honey? This is very important." She warned him.

"It shall be done, Nora. Don't worry, I have everything under control." George smiled widely.

CUE LIFE WITH DEREK NOISES THAT MAKE IT SEEM LIKE EVERYTHING WON'T BE ALRIGHT WHILE CLOSING UP ON EVERYONE'S HESITANT FACES, MAKING IT SEEM EVEN MORE LIKE IT WON'T BE ALRIGHT. :)

"What?" George asked everyone, seeing the look on their faces. "You guys don't think I'm together do you? Well I have news for you! I am so together!" He yelled trying to sound hip.

The family all raised their eyebrows in unison.

"Listen, Georgie. We know you are… 'together'. It's just that sometimes… you are a little, forgetful." Nora explained.

"I am not! Name a time when I was forgetful!" George argued and then thought for a second as Nora opened her mouth to speak, he interrupted her, "Never mind, I take it back. So I'm a little forgetful… I will not forget this. I know how important it is for you two to get to the school. Don't worry about it." He continued and everyone kept silent, still not believing it a little, "I'm serious." He said in a more serious tone and everyone felt a little more at ease.

After the family was done, it was Lizzie and Edwin's turn to do the dishes which left Casey and Derek to go upstairs and make sure that there was nothing else that she had to pack. Casey packed the rest of her clothes that were still in her dresser just in case she needed any before she left. She figured it was close enough to the time she was leaving that she wouldn't be needing new clothes. Derek was packing some of his wall hangings that he had left because he just liked them too much to take them down until the last minute. Finally he stuffed the last few things into a box and sealed it. He walked over to his bed and opened a different box that he hadn't sealed yet.

The box was marked, 'IMPORTANT: DO NOT FORGET!' and Derek laughed at himself for writing it. He didn't want to forget any of the boxes, of course. But this one in particular needed to be remembered. He reached inside and pulled out a smaller box that took up most of the space inside of the packing box. He opened it up and stared inside at the contents. Papers, and lots of them. They were so important to him, but he had to give them up soon. Derek opened one of the papers and read what was on it, he was having a good laugh at it before someone interrupted his fun.

"Derek." Casey called from his doorway. Derek heard this and quickly hid the box, he knew Casey saw it but he also knew she wouldn't ask about it.

"Huh?" He asked a little nervously.

"Do you want to go somewhere with me? It's kind of important." Casey asked and it sure seemed urgent by the way she was pleading with him with her eyes.

"Sure." He said shrugging and putting the smaller box into the box it was originally in. He closed it, but didn't tape it up like the other boxes, not yet, he thought before he walked over to Casey and they went down the stairs together.