Hi everyone! I thought I'd write another fic, and I'm currently obsessing over LWD, so here you go! It takes place about two or three years in the future, so Derek and Casey have changed a little. Derek is more mature now, but still the same old Derek in a way. SO, I'm sorry if it's a little OC. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Life With Derek, or UCLA, or anything except the plot.

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Casey looked around at her soon-to-be-empty room. Just looking at the few boxes and bags that remained gave her chills. She rubbed her arms, in an attempt to get rid of the goose bumps. She looked out her door, to see how Derek was with his room. She needed his help to bring the boxes out to the moving truck.

And as if he knew she needed his help, Derek walked into her room. "Okay, all my stuff is in the truck. Is this all you have left?" Derek pointed to the four or five boxes remaining and started to lift one of them. Ever since getting accepted to college on a hockey scholarship, Derek had been acting very strangely. He was no longer loud and obnoxious; he was quieter and actually helpful, but at the same time, he was still Derek.

"Yeah, this is it. Can you believe we're going to college tomorrow?" Casey laughed a little at the thought.

"I can believe we're going to college. What I can't believe is that we're going to the same college." Derek exhaled as he lifted two boxes at once and hobbled down the stairs. It was extremely unbelievable, that Derek, the slacker, and Casey, the workaholic, were both accepted to UCLA. Casey, of course, was accepted for her excellent grades and perfect record. Casey stared at the spot where Derek was just standing, shook her head with a smile, then picked up one of the lighter boxes.

Casey slowly made her way down the stairs, trying not to trip or fall. The box was probably the lightest weighing box out of all of them, and yet, her arms got weaker when she was halfway down the steps. The box started slipping, and naturally, Casey tried to stop it. This caused Casey to trip over her own two feet, making the medium sized cardboard box to fly down the rest of the steps, spilling its contents across the living room.

Casey stood up and looked at the now broken box. She sighed, and looked to see if anyone saw what happened. No one in the kitchen or the living room, she thought. She looked at the front door, which was held open the whole morning by a chair so Derek and Casey could easily get in and out, only to see Derek himself standing there. He looked as if he was trying to contain his laughter. Casey ignored him and rolled her eyes. She walked over to her things and started picking them up.

Derek bent down to pick up a picture frame that fell by the door. It was a picture of Casey with her dad. She looked a lot like him. She looked so happy, free, almost. Derek traced his finger over Casey when Casey grabbed the picture frame away from him.

"What are you doing?" Casey held the picture close to her body.

"What does it look like?" Derek said plainly. "I was going to help you clean up, but it looks like you don't want my help." Casey rolled her eyes once more and continued to pick up various items from her old house. She had kept them all in her closet for times when she needed a reminder of what her old life was like. She pushed the memories away and put everything back in the box. Derek went upstairs to get more boxes.

A half hour later, both Casey and Derek's boxes were packed into the truck that would take them all the way to UCLA. Their belongings would be waiting for them when they arrived. Casey and Derek's entire family was gathered around them, waiting to say goodbye. Casey got emotional and started crying. She hugged Lizzie, Marti, Edwin, George and finally Nora.

"Casey, I know you want to be independent and away from home, but I want you to know that you'll always have a home with us." Nora spoke softly.

"Thanks, mom. That means a lot." Casey managed to say, in between sobs. Then she lightened up and turned to Lizzie, Edwin and Marti. "And don't worry. I'll send gifts from California!" Casey smiled and turned to Derek, so he could say goodbye.

"See ya, Ed. Good luck with the ladies!" Derek high-fived him, then picked Marti up and spun her around. "Bye, Smarti! Have fun at school, okay?" Derek muffled her hair and smiled. Marti yelled an, 'Okay, Smerek' and ran into the house. Even though Marti was a few years older now and a bit more mature, Derek continued their tradition of calling each other 'Smarti' and 'Smerek'. It was funnier that way. Derek said goodbye to everyone else, hugged his dad, and then opened the driver's door. Casey hugged Nora once more, then got in the passenger's side.

Derek and Casey had gotten their parents to buy them a car over the summer. Casey picked the color and the interior, and Derek picked the actual car. It didn't take much convincing to get George and Nora to buy it for them. Their parents were so pleased that Casey and Derek were both attending a wonderful college, and surprised that Derek even got into college, that when Casey and Derek politely explained why a car would be helpful, they agreed.

Once Casey shut her door and they both said their goodbyes, Derek backed out of the shared driveway and drove off, headed for their road trip. They were going to go the long way, stopping in New York, Pennsylvania, Washington D.C., Florida, Arizona, and ending in Los Angeles. They could complete the entire trip in about a month, which was perfect, since school started in five weeks.

Casey sat next to Derek, holding a box of tissues and a worn out looking teddy bear. "And I remember my very first day of high school. I was so excited, not nervous at all!" Casey reminisced to Derek. Derek just kept his eyes on the road, nodding and rolling his eyes. "Do you remember the day I moved in to your house? I was a wreck. I was in the car ride over crying the entire time. Sort of like now!" Casey squeaked the last part out and blew her nose. "This is all like a dream, you know? A few years ago, I would have never imagined that you would be driving both of us to college. In California!" Casey threw her hands in the air for dramatic effect.

"Believe me, Case. I never would have imagined driving both of us to college, or anywhere for that matter." Casey smiled smugly, shook her head and looked out the window. This was the start of an adventure.