Derek

"I hope we'll always be friends. No matter what. Even if we don't see each other for a long time, or if we get really busy"

- Derek to the main character

Derek is a character and one of the love interests in Our Life: Beginnings & Always. He first appeared in Step 2 and eventually returns in Step 4 after his absence in Step 3.

Appearance
Derek has light brown spiky hair, green eyes, and a tan skin. He wears a loose purple jersey shirt with a yellow collar, two yellow lines enveloping the tips of each sleeve and the number 87 on the middle. He also wears a black undershirt, light blue pants and black wristbands on both of his wrists. He is described to be short for his age during Step 2.

Personality
Derek is a chipper individual who greets people with a bright smile or an excited wave. He is talkative, always leading the conversation or participating in it. The protagonist notes that it is unusual for him to be quiet. He is eager to make friends and is always full of energy as shown when he tells Cove and the protagonist about Jeremy's presence in Sunset Bird in hopes of making a new friend. He makes an effort to remain friendly even if other people are antagonistic like Jeremy was towards him and his friends.

He is passionate towards the things he wants to do; especially with sports. In "Summerwork", he has a dilemma choosing between football and soccer. Both are viable options for him but he wants to dedicate his time to improving his skills in one of the two.

One thing noted by the characters around him, especially by the adults, is his politeness. Unlike Cove, people around him praise him for his manners. He also tries to offer his help whenever he can. By the end of Step 2, he offered his assistance to the protagonist's moms in preparing for everybody's meal to which they politely declined. He also offers his help to the protagonist in "Summerwork" regarding their assignment and tells the protagonist that he can lend them money if they forgot to bring some in "Mall".

Despite being praised for his manners and even being teased by the protagonist as practically being an adult, he still has interests that the main character can describe as childish. During Step 2, he still enjoys watching movies about dinosaurs and gets excited with ride-on machines. If the protagonist tells him that these are things kids would enjoy, he would either defend them or try to convince the main character to at least try them.

Background
Derek is Mexican. He is born in California. He visits Sunset Bird every now and then to hang out with Cove and the protagonist but eventually becomes too busy during the transition between the end of Step 2 and the start of Step 4. During the in-between phase, Derek is said to have attended a training camp.

There are a few instances when Derek's family is either mentioned or interacts with the protagonist during the game. Derek's father is his main source of transportation when going to Sunset Bird. Cliff is his business partner and entrusts Derek in his care. Derek's mother interacts with the protagonist through telephone. Not much is revealed about her relationship with Derek and is only mostly there in the story so far to receive the main character's calls for Derek. He has little brothers. In "Wave", he mentions to the protagonist that he lets them win sometimes whenever they play video games, hinting that he cares for them. However, he calls them "little punks" if the protagonist is still in contact with him by the end of Step 3. It is also implied in "Summerwork" that he struggles to do his homework with them around.

Main Character
Derek considers the protagonist as one of his good friends regardless if they like him or not during Step 2. He is always trying to help the protagonist, like offering to lend them money if they forget some in "Mall" or listening to the protagonist if they need to rant in "Wave". In return, the player can lend him an ear by hearing out his worries by the end of Step 2 or helping him decide between football and soccer in "Summerwork".

He also develops a crush towards them which can be shut down if the protagonist has a crush on Cove and tells Derek about this, if they are not interested in guys, if they decide not to answer his question regarding their interest in guys, or if they tell him they do not want to talk about it. Otherwise, he would try to offer a pact to the protagonist that if they are still both single after ten years, they would marry each other. The player can choose to accept this pact or not. If asked if he likes the main character, he will admit it but then proceed to tell them that they can think about it when they are older before asking them again about the pact. Later on, they can flirt with him instead of joking around if they like him.

It is up to the player if they want the main character and Derek to still talk to each other by Step 3. He retains his cheerfulness from his younger self when talking to them.

Cove
Cove is one of Derek's close friends during Step 2. They had the chance to interact due to both of their fathers being business partners. Derek shows support towards Cove when Jeremy insults the latter; telling him not to mind it. Both of them also hang out in "Mall" along with the protagonist and Lee.

Despite being friends, their interests do not necessarily align all the time like when Cove said that he liked the scuba diving part in their parents' business among other things while Derek preferred the business part itself. They still highly respect each other, though, with Derek always being friendly towards Cove and offering him high-fives.

If Cove has a crush on the protagonist, Derek supports their relationship and is amused by their occasional gestures like hugs, etc. He tries to give a sympathetic smile when Cove gets flustered by the protagonist's request during "Mall", though he himself makes unintentional playful remarks like commenting on how Cove is always in the main character's house. If the protagonist tells Derek that they like Cove and they are at least crushing on him in the interest level at the start of Step 2, he will say that he knew they would be interested in Cove. Otherwise, he would think that they are joking.

It is unclear whether or not they still talk to each other during the events of Step 3.

Lee
As the protagonist's friend, Derek develops a friendship with their cousin and friend, Lee. He hangs out with her along with the protagonist and Cove during "Mall". Though both are not as close to each other as they are with the protagonist, they still consider one another as friends and would chat when Cove and the protagonist are not talking to them.

It is unclear whether or not they still talk to each other during the events of Step 3.

Jeremy
When Derek first saw Jeremy, he told Cove and the protagonist about the new addition to Sunset Bird in hopes of making another friend. However, when they finally meet the new guy, he turns out to be aggressive and irritable towards them. Even though Derek tried to be friendly with him despite his unwelcoming demeanor, Jeremy will continuously voice out his complaints and then proceed to insult them. Eventually, his patience runs out and he will stop trying to make friends with the angry boy. He does, however, stop the protagonist from trying to harm him. Later on, Derek comments about how it was a shame that Jeremy turned out to be the way he was and was disappointed that they were not able to make new friends.

Cliff
Cliff is the business partner of Derek's father. His father leaves him in Cliff's care whenever he hangs out with Cove and the protagonist. Derek always shows him a polite side whenever he visits as a guest. He even calls Cove's father "Sir" to which Cliff responds with an awkward chuckle. Apart from that, they do not have much interaction since the majority of Derek's appearances in Step 2 is spent hanging out with his friends.

Terry & Miranda
Terry and Miranda relationship with Derek depends on the player's decision on keeping in touch with him during Step 3. If they still find time to talk with Derek, Terry and Miranda will also be friends with Derek. If they eventually stop interacting after Step 2, Terry and Miranda will meet Derek for the first time during Step 4.

Trivia

 * Derek is pansexual.
 * Although he does not necessarily prefer people who are taller than him, it would feel nice for him to have someone with the same height as a partner or if he was taller than them. However, he thinks it is cool when tall people do tall people things.
 * His Step 2 voice actor is Obsidian Wolf.