Derek

Derek Suárez is a character and one of the love interests in Our Life: Beginnings & Always. He first appeared in Step 2 and eventually returned in Step 4 after his absence in Step 3.
== Appearance ==
Derek has light brown spiky hair, green eyes, and 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 in the middle. He also wears a black undershirt, light blue pants, and black wristbands on both of his wrists. He is described as being short for his age during Step 2. If taken to the "Soiree", Derek wears a white button down with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, a dark purple bow with yellow polka-dots, and khakis with a brown belt.
In Step 4, Derek sports an ashy red sleeveless hoodie and black shorts with orange stripes on the sides. Should he and the main character decide to go to the business meeting, he will wear a green shirt with off-white palm tree leaves pattern and yellow pants. In the Wedding DLC, he wears black pants and a dress shirt. By default, he will go with the color green for his shirt, but depending on the theme of the wedding, he can wear blue, orange, pink, purple, red, and yellow. He finishes this outfit with a black tie and a black belt.
In Step 2 of Derek's DLC, he wears a varied shade of teal swim trunks with silver stripes that go horizontally all around when at the pool, and in Step 4, he instead wears some longer skin-tight black trunks with green stripes along the sides at the water park.
For pajamas, Derek wears a black and white pajama set. His shirt is a long-sleeved black shirt with a white collar and stripes that go down his sleeves in Step 2. His pants are the same: black with white stripes down the sides. In Step 4, he wears a pewter blue shirt and shorts with square patterns.
== 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 main character 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 main character 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 about the things he wants to do, especially 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 main character's moms in preparing for everybody's meal, which they politely declined. He also offers his help to the main character in "Summerwork" regarding their assignment and tells the main character that he can lend them money if they forgot to bring some in "Mall." Derek is responsible, sometimes to a fault. He often feels the need to look out for his brothers, especially Nicolas, sometimes at the expense of his own enjoyment, as seen in "Boardwalk," when he decided to take care of his sleeping brother when he saw that his parents were having fun with bumper cars and he didn't want to bother them.
Despite being praised for his manners and even being teased by the main character 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 about ride-on machines. If the main character tells him that these are things kids would enjoy, he will either defend them or try to convince the main character to at least try them.
Some of Derek's insecurities show up during his DLC moments. There are times when he asks if the main character is having fun with him. He also thinks of himself as annoying. However, he becomes more open about these insecurities during the Step 4 of his DLC. Eventually, he becomes more comfortable confiding in the main character.
== Background ==
Derek is Mexican. However, he was born in California.https://gb-patch.tumblr.com/post/620116125234102272/is-derek-mexican-i-ask-bc-im-mexican-and-itd-be He visits Sunset Bird every now and then to hang out with Cove and the main character, 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 main character during the game. Derek's father is his main source of transportation when going to Sunset Bird. Cliff is his business partner, and he entrusts Derek to his care. Derek's mother interacts with the main character through the telephone. He has two little brothers, Jorge and Nicolas. In "Wave," he mentions to the main character 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 main character 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.
== Relationships ==
=== Main Character ===
Derek considers the main character to be one of his good friends during Step 2. Unlike Baxter, the main character has to at least be friends with Derek. He is always trying to help the main character, like offering to lend them money if they forget some in "Mall" or listening to the main character 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." Derek feels comfortable enough to communicate his problems to the main character.
He also develops a crush on them, which can be shut down if the main character 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 main character that if they were 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 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 the cheerfulness shown by his younger self when talking to them. He also affectionately calls them pal, gal, or guy, depending on their pronouns. It has been shown that he is ready to go above and beyond for the main character when he accompanies them to their house to comfort Elizabeth in "Siblings" and when he prioritizes their hangout in the waterpark despite showing interest in the business meeting that his father requested for him to go to in the Step 4 of his DLC.
=== 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 for Cove when Jeremy insults the latter, telling him not to mind it. Both of them also hang out in "Mall," along with the main character 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 of 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 main character, 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 main character'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 main character tells Derek that they like Cove and they are at least crushing on him on the interest level scale at the start of Step 2, he will say that he knew they would be interested in Cove. Otherwise, he would think that they were joking.
It is not made explicit whether or not they still talk to each other during the events of Step 3. However, even if the main character doesn't maintain contact with them, Cove will have invited Derek to Sunset Bird in Step 4.
=== Lee ===
As the main character's friend, Derek develops a friendship with their cousin and friend, Lee. He hangs out with her along with the main character and Cove during "Mall." Though both are not as close to each other as they are with the main character, they still consider one another as friends and would chat when Cove and the main character are not talking to them. It is unclear whether or not they still talk to each other during the events of Steps 3 and 4.
=== Jeremy ===
When Derek first saw Jeremy, he told Cove and the main character 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 main character 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. However, if the main character chooses to regularly communicate with Jeremy, Derek becomes intrigued by the prospect that they managed to befriend Jeremy and becomes interested whenever they give him updates about "mean kid."
=== 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 main character. 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's relationship with Derek depends on the player's decision to keep 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.
== Gallery ==
Derek_04.png|Derek's first appearance in Step 2
Derek_03.png|Derek with a version of Cove in Step 2
Derek_05.png|Derek sharing his worries with the main character
Derek_07.png|Derek calling the main character in Step 3
Derek_01.png|Derek DLC Sneak Peek https://gb-patch.tumblr.com/post/635431353886834688/it-wont-be-finished-for-quite-a-while-but-heres
Derek_02.jpg|Step 2 Derek with a Step 4 Derek Sneak Peek https://gb-patch.tumblr.com/post/189065515151/with-the-whirlwind-end-of-the-kickstarter-done
Derek_06.png|Early sketch for Derek's first cg https://gb-patch.tumblr.com/post/189596426271/weve-gotten-a-new-artist-on-the-our-life-team-j
== Trivia ==
* Derek's birthday is his DLC's release date, September 29. It was confirmed in the November 2022 Q&A on Patreon.
** As Derek was 13 when Step 2 took place in Summer 2011, it can be surmised Derek was born on September 29, 1997.
* His middle name is Rio, named after his dad's old nickname. https://gb-patch.tumblr.com/post/703112899711926272/sorry-if-this-has-been-asked-before-i-havent
* Derek is pansexual. https://gb-patch.tumblr.com/post/188498588366/if-all-the-characters-were-designed-with-a
* 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.' https://gb-patch.tumblr.com/post/616672893676421120/does-derek-romatically-perfer-partners-who-are
* His Step 2 voice actor is Obsidian Wolf. https://gb-patch.tumblr.com/post/630545011645333504/our-life-cast-list-update
== References ==
Category:Characters in Our Life: Beginnings & AlwaysCategory:Love Interests