"We really can't keep doing this," Manny said, closing her bedroom door. She kept her back to Craig so that he wouldn't see the serious look on her face, but she wished he would take a hint. She was sick of sneaking around and being the chick on the side. It happened before and things didn't work out, so why were they "back together."
Why was it that every time Manny gazed into his eyes she seemed hypnotized? She felt so good giving him something that he couldn't get from Ashley or anyone else. She couldn't stand within five feet of him without doing something stupid to capture his attention. She was hoping that Ashley would catch Craig and Manny in the act because then hopefully she would break up with him and they could be together. Knowing how much Craig loved Ashley though, she knew that he would just try to win her back. That should be reason enough for Manny to leave him alone, but some things she just couldn't give up on.
Craig laid back on her bed and brought his hands behind his head. "You said you wanted to talk?" he asked her.
"Yeah," Manny replied uneasily. She turned to face him and then walked over to her bed and sat down. "My parents are going to come back soon so we need to hurry up."
Craig propped his head with his elbow. "This isn't about . . . " he looked at her stomach.
Manny shook her head. "I'm on the pill now remember, so we don't have to worry about that."
"Right," Craig said nodding. "So, what's this about?"
"It's about us Craig," Manny replied almost angrily. "If you want Ashley then how come you keep coming back to me?"
Craig was silent for a moment. He really didn't know why. There were some days when he could go without Manny, but on other days he couldn't get her out of his mind. Sometimes when he was with her, he thought about Ashley, but other times when he was with his girlfriend he thought about her. He knew that he cared about Manny because he wouldn't just sneak around with anyone. He wouldn't do this with Emma or even Paige if he had been given the chance. There was something about Manny that nobody else had, something that was so irresistible to him.
"See, you don't even know why," Manny said when he didn't answer. "How come you do this to me all of the time? You know I can't resist you. Every time you call me I come running. How could you not care?"
"I do care," Craig finally said. "You know I care Manny."
"No, I don't know," Manny told him quickly. "I'm always second best to you, and I always will be."
She laid down and rested her head on Craig's chest for comfort. Although she was upset with him it was hard for her to show it. She hated it when Craig was upset, especially at her. He would ignore all of her phone calls and never look in her direction at school. She didn't mind when he was mad at Ashley or somebody else, because he would always come to her.
"I'm sorry for making you feel that way," Craig said, tenderly rubbing his fingers through her hair. "You don't deserve it."
Manny let out a soft moan. "You have magic fingers, Craig," she told him. "Ever since you've started massaging my head like this, my hair has been growing so much. Ashley doesn't know how much she's missing."
"Let's not think about her right now," Craig said. He would think about her later. He realized he still hadn't told Manny that he and Ashley were going out later on. He also hadn't told her that he and Ashley had gone all of the way. He didn't know how he was going to tell her and he knew she was going to be mad, but if he was still fooling around with her, she deserved to know.
"You're right, let's not," Manny agreed. She buried her head in Craig's chest for a second and then she lifted it and looked back at him. "You seem a little out of it. Is there something you want to tell me?"
Craig thought for a moment. It would be best if he just let it all out. Hopefully she wouldn't be mad at him for long. Knowing Manny, she probably wouldn't, but he didn't want to hurt her. Still, it would be horrible if she found out from somebody else.
He decided to just blurt it out. The faster the words were out of his mouth, the better things would be. "Ashley and I . . . had sex."
For a minute Manny froze. Her whole body tensed up and it was almost hard for her to breathe. It was so hot and she had a strong urge to hop in a pool and cool down. She couldn't believe what he had just told her. "What?" she asked quietly.
"It was about a month ago," he explained. "We really love each other Manny."
She didn't say anything at first. She was still processing everything in her mind. Finally she gave into her rage and she jumped up. "Get out Craig," she said angrily. He didn't move. Even though she was angry, he didn't know if she was serious or not. "Get out," she repeated.
"Manny, wait–"
"Get out!" she yelled. "Get out of my room right now!"
"Manny–"
"No!" she exclaimed. She shook her head with pity. "You are so pathetic Craig. How could you do this, and not just to me, but to your 'Princess Ashley?' You claim you love her, but you won't leave me alone. You're a selfish bastard."
"Manny, listen. You know I love Ashley and you know I'm still with her."
"I didn't think you would sleep with her! Do you hate me so much that out of the blue you would tell me that? Why don't you just leave me alone?"
"Because I can't," Craig yelled back at her. He stood up from the bed and walked over to her. "You know I care about you."
"It doesn't matter," Manny told him. "I've been fooling myself all along, saying that eventually you'll love me. You just love yourself."
Craig didn't reply. He looked at Manny in her eyes. Behind all of that anger was a young girl who was hurt and vulnerable. Craig was killing her, letting her think that they might have a chance together. He really did care about her. He cared about her a lot.
"Just please answer one question for me," Manny asked him. Without waiting for an answer she asked him the question. "If you already slept with Ashley then how come you still hooked up with me?"
"I don't know."
"Am I just some slut to you? Someone you can come to for a good time?"
"I don't know."
"You don't know anything," Manny yelled. She stared at him angrily. "Just get out Craig. Please just leave or I'll . . . get my brother to slash your tires or something."
"Manny, can I just say something to you?" he asked her.
"What?" Manny asked him. She couldn't look into his eyes because she knew she would no longer be mad at him. He deserved to suffer for playing her like a fool again. Why did he always have to remind her that he loved Ashley? Of course she knew that he did. She would call when he was with Manny and he'd forget that Manny was there. Sometimes when they would be at Craig's place Ashley would tell Craig that she was on his way and he'd kick Manny out. She had to let him go, and to do that she'd have to avoid gazing into his eyes.
He reached out to hold Manny's hand, but she quickly pulled away. "You know that I love Ashley and that we are still together. You know that I would give up anything to be with her. You also know that I care about you Manny. I care about you a lot. I do love you, but I'm not in love with you."
"I know that," Manny said to him. "That's why this . . . us and our relationship . . . are over. Whatever you want to call it is over. I can't do this anymore. I'm sick of it. I'm not your mistress Craig."
Craig's cell phone in his pocket rung and he pulled it out to check the caller id.
"It's her, isn't it?" Manny asked him. He didn't say anything. "Aren't you going to answer it?"
"It isn't important right now."
"Don't give me that bull. If you aren't going to answer it then I will and you'll really have something to explain."
Craig looked at Manny as he answered the phone. He was hoping that Manny wasn't going to say anything, so he wanted to get off of the phone soon.
"Hey Craig," Ashley's cheerful voice greeted him.
"Hey . . . Ash."
"So, are we still on for tonight?" Ashley asked him.
"Listen, about tonight . . . can we do it another time? I really have something to do later on."
He looked at Manny who had laid down on the bed and turned on her side. He wasn't going to leave her while she was like this. He didn't think that she would do something stupid, but he didn't know women or how emotional they could get and he didn't want to give her a chance.
"Oh," Ashley said quietly. "Okay. Is something wrong Craig?"
"No, everything's okay. Listen Ash, this isn't a good time right now."
"Craig, something sounds wrong. Do you want me to come by or something?"
"No. I really have to get going, Ashley."
"Well . . . okay Craig. I love you."
Craig hung up the phone without a reply and then he looked at Manny. She was probably trying to pretend she had fallen asleep so that he would leave, but he wasn't going to do that. There was something he wanted to tell her, but he didn't know what to say.
He moved over and sat on the edge of her bed. She still didn't say anything to him and that made him wonder if she really was asleep. He decided that he was just going to go home. He wasn't going to call Ashley back and tell her to come over, and he wasn't going to call Manny over either. He needed some time to settle things in his mind. Obviously he was confused about if he wanted to be with her or Ashley.
Really, in his mind he was telling himself that Ashley was the one he wanted. She had taken him back after all of the mistakes he made. When they were together it was like one romantic song after another. She was able to tell what he was thinking and how he was feeling without even looking at him. Just on the phone she knew something was wrong. She had comforted him in the best way during his tougher times and when he needed her the most, after his father died. He could imagine her as his wife.
Then there was Manny. She was the first girl who he had developed a crush on at Degrassi. She was the girl who he lost his virginity to. She would've been the mother of his child. He knew that he and Manny had amazing chemistry. He loved talking to Manny and just being with her. She usually thought about Craig's feelings before she thought of her own. She was so fun and despite her mature looks she could be so childlike. She was so talented and she was just amazing. He was drawn to Manny and even when he had Ashley he couldn't leave her alone if he tried. Besides, he loved being with someone that everyone knew was hot.
He stood up and stretched. Manny's parents would be coming back soon anyway. Before he turned to leave and leaned over Manny and looked at her. He couldn't believe she had fallen asleep so quickly. He pushed her hair away from her face and then kissed her cheek. He looked at her once more before walking away. He reached for the doorknob when Manny let him know that she was still awake.
"Why did you do that?" she asked him.
He turned around and looked at her. She was lying on her back and staring at the ceiling.
"Why did I do what? Push your hair away? Kiss you?"
"Why did you break your plans with Ashley?"
He walked back over to her bed and sat down. "I don't know. I was going to stay here, but I thought you were asleep so I was just going to go home and think."
"What were you going to think about?" she asked him.
He shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I was going to think about us. You're right, we can't do this anymore. I need to make a decision."
"You're right. You do." Manny rolled over to look at Craig and she gave him a soft smile. "I can't believe you put Ashley off to think about me. Well, I know you'll be thinking about her too, but I'm just glad you aren't putting it off. It's making me feel important."
"You are important Manny," he said sincerely. "You deserve to be number one, and Ashley does too. I have to let one of you go so that you can find someone else."
They both didn't say anything for a moment. Craig had settled down on Manny's bed and once again he was combing through her hair with his fingers.
"What really made me mad that you slept with Ashley is that it's like she won," Manny told him quietly. "I know you aren't some trophy or anything, but she finally gave you something that I was giving you. She had given you everything. Then you surprised me because it's like if she won then I must really be doing something right for you to keep coming back."
They both paused. At that moment Craig knew who he was going to choose. He knew who was going to be the right person for him. Craig knew what he had been wanting to say for a long time now.
"Manny, it's because . . . I think I love you."
You think you love me. What is that supposed to mean?
"What?" she asked.
"I really love you Manny," Craig said, and then he smiled. "I do love you." He relaxed a little bit. "God, that felt so good. Now I want to keep saying it again."
"You love me?" Manny asked. She was in shock. This has definitely been some day. First she had been planning to talk to Craig, then she had got mad at him, and then they had even "broken up." Now he was telling her that he loved her. "Do you mean . . . like you're supposed to love someone? Not just as a friend right?"
"I love you Manny," he repeated.
Manny smiled. "Craig, that is the best thing you could've ever said. I love you too."
"Not only do I love you, but I want to give our relationship another shot. I want us to be together."
"What are you going to tell Ashley?" Manny asked him.
There was the rain on their short-lived parade. Once again Craig was going to be made out as the bad guy. Everyone was going to hate him, and they probably was going to call Manny a boyfriend-thief and all of those other things. He didn't care though because he knew they were going to get through it. He cared about Ashley, and he cared enough to stop hurting her. "I'll tell her the truth. She'll get over it."
"Let's not talk about her any more Craig. How about we go back to your place and celebrate?"
"It sounds good to me."
Author's Note: I really hope you liked the story because I was sort of debating about whether I should post it or not. I thought it was pretty good, but I kept reading it over and over to make sure it was okay. I'm still not so sure about it, but I decided to let you all decide. BTW, I was on the The-N website and said how I was a Cranny fan and stuff and she tried to check me about the information I provided because I said that Craig and Manny sort of went together during Holiday and she said no and that their relationship was based on sex, but it really doesn't matter to me. I mean come on, Manny slept with him that time when Ashley changed her mind about it before Holiday, and he still was messing around with her episodes after that. If he loved Ashley so much would he have done that? All I'm going to ask people is why would they want Ashley to go with a cheater and especially if he might cheat on her again and if they ask why I'd want him to go with Manny I'll just say because I know she'll cheat right back on him.