I own nothing (:

She was 21, beautiful, smart, together, confident, and living happily in her own apartment.

He was 22, an addict, a drop-out, falling apart, cocky, and moving back and fourth from friend's basements.

She hadn't seen him since she was 16 and their parents got a divorce.

He had nowhere else to go, and she was his last choice.

Will they learn to find happiness in this mess?

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"Derek, I haven't seen you in 5 years?" Casey said into her pink sidekick phone as she walked up the street and sipped her Starbucks iced coffee.

Her heels clapped the side walk and her hair flew back in the wind.

"Please, Case. Nobody is letting me stay with them." He begged as he leaned against a brick wall in a small, dirty alley.

"Here's a thought, Get a job and buy your own place." She rolled her eyes, he hasn't changed much.

"Please." He whispered.

She sighed and held her eyes closed, stopping in her tracks.

"Where are you?" She asked, starting to walk again.

"5th and Granded. Where are you?" He asked, hopping up onto his feet.

"Walking home from work. You know, its actually really rewarding, I don't have to beg anybody for anything." She said sarcastically.

Derek sighed and started to walk out of the alley.

"Turn around." She said blankly, shutting the phone.

He whipped around and saw her standing there.

She looked better then ever.

Her hair was longer and curlier. She had on a short pink skirt, matching her high heels and white half-jacket over a light pink tank top.

She looked him up and down.

He was waring baggy jeans and a white beater. His strawberry blond hair flipping up under a blue, Toronto Maple Leaves cap, and he had a big duffel bag hanging over his shoulder.

He was just as she pictured he would be at 22.

She rolled her eyes and walked past him. He smirked and followed behind her.

"Are we going to your apartment?" Derek asked, catching up to her.

"I guess so." She said, in an angry and annoyed tone.

He sighed. "I'm sorry, OK? I have nowhere else to go." He said.

"Yea, I know. You only told me 500 times." Casey said, sipping on her drink some more.

Derek reached into his pockets and pulled out a pack of cigarettes.

"You can afford to be addicted cigarettes, but not an apartment.. Hmmm." Casey said, looking down at them.

Derek smirked again and pulled one out. "Yep." He said, not caring.

He pulled it out of his mouth.

"Nope. Not if your staying with me." Casey said, smiling and taking the pack out of his hands.

"YO!" Derek tried to grab them but she held them behind her.

"Look, you can smoke them, but not in my apartment. Deal?" Casey said, slowly bringing them in front of her.

"Deal." He said, pulling them quickly out of her hand.

She nodded her head and they started to walk again.

"How can you smoke those things? Their so gross." Casey sneered, watching him light it up.

"Their also addicting. Like other stuff." Derek smirked.

Casey's face drooped and she stopped walking.

"Like what kind of stuff?" She folded her arms, she knew the answer, yet she was scared to hear it.

Derek reached into his back pocket and pulled out a small plastic baggy.

Casey squinted her eyes and looked inside of it.

There was a white powder. Her jaw dropped and she snatched it out of his hands.

"Hey!" He yelled, trying to fight for it harder then he fought for the cigarettes.

"I let you slide with the cigarettes, but not with this, Derek!" Casey yelled.

"Okay fine, I'll be done after that." He said, pointing to the bag.

"No, You'll be done now." Casey said, dropping the bag down the sewer.

Derek's face looked shocked. "Why would you do that!?" He yelled, looking down the sewer.

"You live under my roof, you live with my rules." Casey smiled and started to walk. She always wanted to say that.

He could tell it was going to be just like old times.

He ran up to her, gently bumping her arm. "You know, if you were anybody else, and not my 'ex-step sister' you probably would have died." Derek said, blankly and annoyed.

"Oh great, so your a murderer too." Casey rolled her eyes.

"No, I'm not. Its an expression." Derek shook his head and swung his bag over to his other shoulder.

"Hows Edwin and Marti?" Casey asked, trying to change the subject.

"I don't know. I haven't seen them in months." Derek said, starting to miss them all over again.

"Oh, a family man too." Casey said sarcastically, patting his shoulder.

"Look, you don't know the story." Derek shot out, mad and serious.

"Sor-ry." Casey said, pulling her hand back to herself.

"Hows Liz?" He asked, taking a long drag of his cigarette.

"Shes good." Casey smiled, thinking of how old she was getting.

"And Nora?" Derek pretended to care.

"Good. George?" She asked, looking up at him.

"I don't know about him either." Derek looked hurt as she mentioned him.

She just nodded her head.

It was a shame that their marriage ended the way it did.

As they looked at the city in front of them, all they could think about was that day.

There was screaming and crying. Fighting and insults. It was too much to handle. Derek and Casey had to take the kids to Emily's house, they were all in tears.

Nora caught George cheating on her with a woman from his job.

That was the day she packed up their things and left. Casey always admired her mother for being strong, but she also was shamed in her.

As she threw their clothes into their bags, she didn't once think of how this would affect the kids.

Lizzie wouldn't trust any male, no matter who he was, or how old he was.

Edwin refused to have any relationships.

Marti blamed her father for everything, she was so young, and didn't deserve to be put through those sort of things.

Derek turned to drugs to fix his problems. And you can see how far that got him.

Casey talked to Paul for almost 4 hours 3 days a week, yet she still was on medication for depression.

She was just proud of how good she was doing today.

"Its sucked that they got a divorce." Derek said, blowing out the smoke from his lungs.

Casey nodded her head. She hadn't talked to anybody about it in years, she was just shocked that the first person, in that long, to bring it up was Derek.

"I know it kinda felt like we had to take sides that day, but just so you know, I never blamed your mom." Derek said, surprised with himself for saying that.

Casey smiled.

"Thanks."