Disclaimer: Don’t own Life With Derek. Or White Oaks Mall. That’s an actual mall, you know, but I certainly don’t own it. Or Tim Hortons. ‘Nuff said.

Author’s Note: You all probably hate me right now, and it’s completely understandable. I’ve neglected this fic and I apologize; it was my intention to work on it a bit during the summer, but I was trying to finish up some others before the end of the break and well… I never got to work on it. Now, I’m juggling school AND my fanfics, and… needless to say, it’s taking up a lot of my time. HOWEVER, I finally managed to make room for THIS, so without further ado… here’s chapter 7.

X

Action and Reaction
Family Fun Time (III)

X

“This is your idea of fun? The mall?”

That was the first thing that left Derek’s lips as they arrived at Casey’s chosen destination, and after pulling into the parking lot, he turned the engine off and stared disbelievingly at the enormous (okay, so maybe he was exaggerating a little) building before them. So far, he wasn’t exactly having fun. For some reason, he’d been under the false impression that spending more quality time with Casey would actually be fun, and was only now remembering that Casey’s idea of fun and his idea of fun were completely different, and mentally berated himself for allowing his love-struck mind to forget that.

Although, he mused, on occasion, she had her moments - like when she was trying to be rebellious to get back at him or prove a point. Those rare times were always genuinely fun - for him, at least. Mostly because he thoroughly enjoyed corrupting her.

Unfortunately for him, no such luck on that particular day, much to his immense disappointment.

Despite the fact that the movie theatre had been easy to get to, the journey to White Oaks Mall was no walk in the park. It was always jam-packed, and it took about fifteen minutes to find an empty parking space. Needless to say, it had been rather irritating.

“I happen to like the mall, thank you very much.” Casey’s voice brought Derek’s attention back to her, but when he glanced over at her, he found her narrowing her eyes at him in a dangerous manner.

He forced a sheepish grin.

“But malls can be fun too!” He quickly amended, letting out a breath of relief when Casey’s face lit up.

The two hurriedly unbuckled their seatbelts and slipped out of the car before making their way inside.

X

Thirty minutes later, Derek found himself sitting on a beanbag chair just outside the change rooms in some retail store that he hadn’t bothered to remember the name of - but apparently it was one of Casey’s favorite stores, so he made a quick mental note to remember to look at the name before they left. As he sat there, he couldn’t help but start to drum his fingers against his knee impatiently; Casey had disappeared behind the change room door ten minutes before and he was starting to feel antsy, especially considering that the guy working the register was clearly checking him out. At least, it felt like he was.

Eventually, he just couldn’t take it anymore. Standing up, he made his way over to the door that he knew Casey was behind, and knocked twice.

“Hey, Casey? I’m gonna go get something to drink. Do you want anything?” He asked.

There was a momentary pause, followed by a loud thump and a string of profanities that nearly rendered Derek completely speechless. Nearly.

“Umm…” Came Casey’s muffled reply, after a few more seconds. “Sure.”

“What do you want?”

“Uhh… water?”

“What if they don’t have water?” He teased.

“Derek.” Was the stern reply - or rather, warning.

He held up his hands in defense, even though he knew she couldn’t see him.

“Relax. I’m only joking.” He assured her. “Water it is. I’ll be back in five - or ten, depending if there’s a lineup. See ya.”

With that said, he turned and left the store, and for the next five or so minutes, he wandered aimlessly through the mall until he reached the food court. Once there, he ventured over to Tim Hortons and stood in line for what seemed like centuries (all the while, cursing it for being so damn popular amongst Canadian citizens) until finally, he reached the counter and the girl working there (who reminded him of an older Marti) asked for his order.

“Uh… a plain bagel, toasted with butter; a bottle of peach juice and a bottle of water.” He answered.

The girl smiled and nodded, punching in the order before telling him the total, but by then, Derek had already slapped a ten on the counter and told her to keep the change. After all, he was in a good mood that day… for the most part. Besides, how could he NOT? The girl at the register looked exactly like a teenage version of his little sister. To NOT do so would be almost blasphemous.

Soon, he found himself just outside the retail store, and after quickly stuffing the rest of his bagel in his mouth, he tossed the wrapper and napkins into the nearest garbage can before entering.

Only to stop dead in his tracks upon spotting an interesting sight. There, standing a few feet away from him, was Casey. But she wasn’t alone. She was talking to someone - laughing with someone, and not just any someone. A guy - the same guy from the register.

Clenching his fists tightly, Derek could feel his jealousy flaring up instantly, and walked stiffly over to the pair, draping a possessive (or protective, he’d tell anyone who asked) arm over Casey’s shoulders and pulling her close, sneering at the guy she was currently conversing with.

Then, in true Derek Venturi fashion, he didn’t even think twice before interrupting.

“So… what’re we laughing about?” He asked. “Certainly not me, I hope.”

Casey made an annoyed sound in the back of her throat, shrugging his arm off her shoulders before moving to stand between him and the other guy.

“Contrary to what you seem to believe, Derek, the world doesn’t always revolve around you.” She told him. “And it just so happens that Caleb and I were merely discussing whether or not Lady Macbeth truly is the tragic hero in Macbeth.” There was a brief pause before she added, “Not that you’d know what that even is.”

Caleb?

Great. Just great.

Not only was Casey on a first-name basis with this guy, but they were talking about Shakespeare.

Shakespeare!

How the hell was he supposed to compete with that?

“So, Case, who’s your friend? He’s gorgeous.” Caleb’s voice snapped Derek out of his reverie and caused him to glance over, only to find the guy eyeing him up and down.

Apparently he wasn’t.

“He’s not my friend.” Casey assured Caleb. “He’s my step-brother, Derek.”

“Ah.” Caleb replied simply, as if something in his memory had just clicked. He met Derek’s gaze and smirked playfully. “So you’re the infamous step-brother Casey here is always talking about.”

Derek raised a curious eyebrow.

“Casey talks about me?”

Caleb’s smirk grew.

“All the time.” He answered.

“Caleb!” Casey squeaked, flushing with embarrassment. “I do not always talk about him!”

“No… I suppose not.” Caleb agreed softly. “Just most of the time.”

“What does she say?” Derek asked, his interest growing.

“Derek!”

Caleb just smiled.

“I’m afraid I’ve been sworn to secrecy.” He said.

“Really?” Derek replied, and when Caleb nodded, he sighed. “Well… that’s too bad. No matter… I’m sure I’ll find out eventually.”

“Der-ek! You’re going against the truce!”

That made Derek stop.

‘Right.’ He remembered. ‘The truce.’

“Sorry.” He apologized, flashing Casey a genuine smile. “Old habits die hard, I guess. I keep forgetting. Here’s your water, by the way.” He quickly handed her the bottle he’d been holding for the past ten or so minutes.

“Thanks…” Casey answered slowly, taking the bottle.

An awkward silence dawned on them, but it didn’t last long before Caleb broke it.

“Well, this conversation has certainly sparked my interest.” He announced, smiling dreamily at the two step-siblings. “I’m curious about this ‘truce’ you guys speak of. Care to share?”

Casey opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off by Derek.

“Fuck!”

“Der-” Casey started to reprimand him, but Derek quickly covered her mouth with his hand and before she could even comprehend what was going on, she found herself being pulled towards the change rooms with Caleb in tow.

Once inside an empty room, Derek removed his hand and took a step back, fully prepared to face the wrath of his step-sister. However, just as she whipped around to face him, her face red and her eyes flashing dangerously, he brought his index finger to his lips to silence her, and then moved towards the door and opened it about an inch.

Only to quickly shut it and curse again.

“Derek!” Casey hissed. “What’s the meaning of all this? What’s going on?”

“Maybe he’s horny and wants to experiment.” Caleb snickered, his green eyes twinkling mischievously as he did so. “I’m all for a threesome, if that’s the case.”

When both step-siblings just proceeded to glare at him, he backed off.

Derek glanced back at Casey.

“It’s our parents.” He told her. “They’re here. They’re in the store!”

“What?” She hissed, eyes widening. “What do you mean they’re here?”

“I mean exactly that!” Derek whispered frantically.

It was then that Casey started to hyperventilate, all the while trying to come up with a logical escape plan and muttering how she ‘knew’ that ditching the movie was a bad idea.

“What do we do? What do we do? What do we do?” She kept murmuring as she paced back and forth.

“What are they even doing here?” Derek wondered, squinting as he peered at their parents through the crack in the door. “Shopping for early Hanukkah presents?”

“Derek, we’re not Jewish.”

“No, but Edwin thinks we secretly are.”

“That… doesn’t even make sense.”

“Tell me about it.” Derek muttered, rolling his eyes.

Casey sighed loudly in exasperation.

“Ugh!” She threw her hands up in frustration. “What are we going to do?”

“I don’t know!” Derek replied. “Wait until they leave?”

“We don’t have time to do that, Derek!” Casey snapped, glaring venomously at him. “We don’t know how long they’ll be in here for, and in case you forgot? Our siblings are still at the movie theatre!” She took a deep breath and crossed her arms, and Derek quickly noted how doing so seemed to accentuate the size of her chest. “What we need is a plan. And a good one, at that.”

“Brilliant deduction, Space-Case.” Derek deadpanned, lifting his gaze. “Any ideas you’d like to share?”

She shook her head, and fell back against the wall behind her. “None. You?”

“Kind of.” He said.

“Kind of?” She repeated.

He nodded, and Casey eyed him curiously.

“What do you have in mind?” She asked.

“I’m thinking… a distraction of some kind.” Derek answered simply. “Something to keep them occupied long enough so we can make our escape without being detected.”

“Yeah, but what?”

Derek didn’t say anything at first; he was far too deep in thought. Then, suddenly, a light bulb went off in his head and he peered over at Caleb, who appeared lost in thought. His lips curled into a devious smile. “It’s not what we’ll use… it’s who.”

“Who?”

“Caleb.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

Casey glanced over at Caleb, who glanced back at her, and sent him a pleading look.

“Would you?”

Caleb smiled.

“Of course.” He said. “Anything for a friend.” He glanced over at Derek and quickly corrected himself. “Sorry. I meant friends.”

Derek smirked.

“I know what you meant.” He assured him. “So… here’s what I was thinking…” He waited until he had both Caleb and Casey’s undivided attention before continuing. “Basically, Caleb can do his employee thing. Engage them in conversation, suggest random stuff, offer insight on the latest fashion… that sort of stuff. Then, when he’s got their complete attention, we’ll make a run for it. How’s that sound?”

“Great!” Caleb replied cheerfully. “I’ll go do it now!”

“Good,” said Derek, “‘cause the sooner we get out, the better.”

Caleb nodded in understanding before opening the door and slipping out. He left it open a smidge so that Derek and Casey could see what he was doing, and the two waited anxiously as they watched him strike up a conversation with Nora. Then George got involved, and pretty soon their parents were so engrossed in the conversation that an explosion could’ve gone off and neither would probably notice.

That’s when Derek and Casey made a break for it.

Quickly and stealthily, they crept and darted through and around the store, occasionally hiding behind manikins and clothing racks when it seemed like they were about to be spotted. Fortunately, it wasn’t long before they made it all the way out, and after giving Caleb the thumbs up, the two bolted out of the mall.

By the time they reached Derek’s car, they were completely out of breath.

“That was… a close one.” Casey panted, yanking open the door and slipping inside before pulling on her seatbelt.

“Yeah. No kidding.” Derek agreed. “But it was fun, right?”

Casey just glared at him, causing him to roll his eyes.

“Yeah, I know.” He said. “Next time we make plans with the fam, we’ll stick with the fam. Gotcha.”

With that, he started the car.

X

Needless to say, when they arrived back at the theatre, they were rather surprised to find Edwin sitting on the curb.

“Edwin, what are you doing here?” Casey asked as they approached him.

The dark-haired teen looked up and raised a suspicious eyebrow, smirking.

“I could ask you two the same thing.” He said, then added, “Our movie was gay, so I left about halfway through. It should be letting out in a few minutes, though.”

Casey nodded, buying into his story, and said no more before wandering into the building to wait for Lizzie and Marti.

Derek, on the other hand, knew that his brother was lying, and Edwin knew that he knew that he was lying, so once Casey was out of earshot, he went on.

“Lizzie’s pissed off at me.” He said. “She’s onto you and your plan to ‘woo’ Casey or whatever. Well, not really, but she’s suspicious of it and confronted me earlier, but when I wouldn’t tell her anything… she bitched at me for a bit until Marti came and interrupted, and then refused to sit anywhere near me during the movie… so I left.”

“I appreciate your loyalty, Ed.” Derek told him. “And don’t worry… Lizzie’ll get over it eventually.”

“Hopefully.”

“She will.” Derek assured him. “Just keep your mouth shut for a few more months. Once Casey and I are together, I couldn’t care less if you tell her, but until then… say nothing. Got it?”

“Got it.”

“Good.”

X

And that ends the “Family Fun Time” saga. Now it’ll be easier to move on with the plot. Hurray!

I hope you enjoyed.

On a side note, I hope you liked Caleb. He wasn’t in the original draft I’d written up, but somehow he snuck into this and I just adore him to bits. And for the record… he’s gay. He’s not a threat to the Dasey -- in fact, I may even have him play an integral role in the fic. Or not. I guess it all depends on whether or not you’d like him to reappear?

It’s all up to you guys.

Please REVIEW and tell me what you think! Reviews make me update faster, you know. Well… as quickly as I possibly can.

And now… I retire for the night.

-Lady Azura-