Mmkay, so this is my first try at a Life with Derek fic. I hope you enjoy it and please, please review!

Note: I don't know many of Derek or Casey's friends so I just used Sam and Emily and made the rest of them up.

Warning: this will be a Dasey, so if you don't like, don't read.

Disclaimer: I don't own Life with Derek.

On with the fic!

Summer Heat
Chapter 1: Vacations, Couples, and Jealousy

"Make sure you eat enough and it's healthy!" my mom called to us as we headed towards the door, bags in tow.

"Okay, mom," I answered, smiling sweetly.

"And make sure you get to bed by 10 each night."

"Yeah, okay, Nora," Derek said with a little too much attitude.

Mom didn't seem to notice, "Oh, and make sure you wear lots of sunscreen. Sun burn can cause skin cancer, you know."

"We'll be fine, mom. Stop worrying," I told her.

"I know you will be, it's just… It's your first big trip away and I'm a little nervous."

She came over and threw her arms around me, practically squeezing me to death.

"Okay, mom, okay."

She backed away, tears threatening to come to her eyes. Then she looked over at Derek.

"No, Nora," he pleaded.

She ignored his words, embracing him tightly.

"Bye guys," she said as we opened the door and walked out, "have fun!"

It was early July and the middle of summer vacation. Me, Derek, and a couple of our friends were heading to the beach for two weeks of fun in the sun.

Okay, confused? Why would Derek and I, opposites and mortal enemies, choose to spend two weeks on vacation together? Well, truth is, we didn't. Paul thought it up as a plan to get us to stop fighting. He ran it by our parents and they loved. Derek and I, however, did not. At first I was completely against it, but as time wore on the scheme kinda grew on me. I mean, two weeks away from my crazy life at home, just relaxing on the beach? It was perfect. A little annoyance from Derek wasn't going to be too hard to handle.

So, there we were, in Sam's car, driving to a condo we rented at the beach. I leaned back in my seat and closed my eyes, breathing in the clear summer air. This was gonna be great.

DDD

Okay, this was not going to be great.

Casey, me, and our friends had just gotten to the condo. You want to know how many rooms there are? Three. Three bedrooms with two beds each! You want to know how many people are here? Eight. Eight fucking people and six beds. That means two people without beds. And you want to know where I get to sleep? I, the great Derek, have to sleep in the living room with Ms. they're-guests-so-we-have-to-be-generous-and-give-them-the-beds Casey. Now who do you think claimed the couch for her pretty little self? That's right- Casey. I'm stuck sleeping on the floor.

"Be grateful I'm not making you sleep outside, Derek," Casey laughed, obviously finding amusement in my pouting.

"As if you could," I retorted huffily.

"Come on, it's not that bad. It's only for two weeks. And if you really hate it so much, you can sleep on the couch for the second week."

"Oh joy."

"God, Derek, I'm just trying to be considerate, okay? It's not like we have a choice whether or not we can be here," she said, annoyed with me.

"Yeah, well, we did have a choice whether or not to sleep in the living room," I complained.

"You're such a baby!" she yelled, then sighed, calming down, "We're going to the beach. Either you can sit here sulking or you can come with us and maybe have some fun."

I got up, still sullen.

"Fine."

CCC

I dragged Derek out of his pouting by suggesting a trip to the beach. Emily, Maureen, Sam, and Micah were coming with us. Kat and Chase decided they were going to stay in.

I went into the bathroom and slipped on my new bikini. It was light blue with brown polka-dots and was extremely cute, if I do say so myself. I threw on a pair of jean shorts and came out, ready to go. When we walked out onto the beach it was absolutely packed. There was barely room to step anywhere.

"Great idea, Case," Derek said sarcastically, "this is gonna be a blast."

"Derek, don't whine. It will be fun, you'll see," I replied, deciding not to let him bug me.

After about twenty minutes of searching, we finally found a spot just big enough for us to put down a blanket.

"Alright, who's up for a swim?" Sam asked, excited.

No one responded.

"Come on," he whined, "We're not just going to sit in the sun tanning all day, are we?"

Again, no response.

He groaned, "Great."

"It won't be forever," Emily laughed, "We'll swim sometime."

I laid down on my stomach, putting my cheek on my arm so I was looking to my left. I saw Emily lying down and Sam sitting next to her, rubbing sunscreen on her back. Confused, and kind of disgusted, I turned my head over to see Derek lying down on his back, a shirt covering his eyes. I elbowed him in the side.

"What?" he growled, glaring at me.

"When did that happen?" I asked, motioning towards Sam and Emily.

He looked over at them.

"I don't know. Why do you even care, didn't you two break up?"

I made a face, but I couldn't argue. We had broken up. But was it really okay for Emily to just get together with someone I had been dating for so long without even talking to me? It bothered me, but I tried to ignore it, keeping my head facing Derek instead.

When had Derek gotten so good looking? I thought, then immediately regretted it. Oh my god! No, no, no! Derek was not good looking at all! He was my step-brother for god's sake! Why had I thought that? Why?

I turned my head over, away from Derek, but then I saw Emily and Sam again. I turned back and found myself once again thinking about Derek. I couldn't look at either!

I pushed myself up and gathered my things.

"I'm going back inside."

"What?" Emily sat up, "But you've only been out here for five minutes!"

"I'm just a little thirsty, ok?"

"I've got a drink," Maureen said, holding up a bottle of water.

"Um, no thanks. I'm kind of in the mood for, um… juice or something," I stuttered lamely.

I turned and started walking away, towards the condo.

God, why did Emily have to get together with Sam? How rude could she get? And she didn't even realize it was so wrong.

But is it really that wrong? A voice in the back of my head asked me. Or are you just jealous?

I questioned that for about a second before I got angry again. Of course it's wrong. And it's Emily fault, so stop blaming it on me. I'm not jealous.

I'm not.