Title: It's Just A Little Game

Rating: PG. There's some very slight sexual content, but that's it.

Disclaimer: None of these characters are mine. I can't claim them. They are all property of the hard-working folks who are involved in the show Degrassi.

Feedback: Yes please. I always love feedback.

Summary: This is Crellie (Craig/Ellie) story…So, if you're not a fan of the pairing, please don't flame it because of that. If you don't like the pairing, then please simply don't read it. Thank you.

Author's Notes: Okay, I've had this idea for a Craig/Ellie story for a while now…and finally decided to type it up to see what came out. Anyway, it's slightly referencing the part in which Ellie and Craig went and played an arcade game together. I hope you enjoy it.


Ellie sighed as Ms. Kwan continued to talk. She wondered briefly why they had to take English class. They being all of the bored students who occupied the room with her, of course. They spoke English as a first language. They learned it when they had been little. Was it that incredibly important to continue learning every miniscule thing about it? She sighed. Okay, English didn't usually irritate her, neither did Ms. Kwan, usually. That was Spinner that had problems with her, not Ellie. It was a specific thing that was nagging at her mind today. Okay, that thing was actually a guy, and his name was Craig. She glanced over at him; he was overly relaxed in his seat, probably thinking of new lyrics. That's when Ellie let her own mind wander…

"Hey," A certain someone had been looking at Ellie for the past several minutes. There was a tune in his head, and he was trying to get it out. Lately, hanging out with Ellie seemed to help with this problem, and for that, he was glad. They were best friends, so having a best friend as your muse…That's okay. That doesn't mean that you like them that way, especially not when you already have a girlfriend named Manny and your name is Craig. It definitely doesn't matter that spending time with Manny doesn't help Craig work out lyrics, but spending time with Ellie does.

Ellie glanced up at him. She had been sleeping, and she tried to frantically wipe off any bit of drool that might have formed around her mouth, or fallen onto the arm that she had been resting on. She was suddenly glad that she sat in the back. "Hey Craig," she murmured before starting to pick up her stuff. "Stay awake during class today?" She looked at him, smirking. Ellie knew that he had been dazed through-out the whole class. Well, she was asleep, but that wasn't the point at the moment.

He laughed before defending himself. "It's not my fault that I don't want to listen to her review clauses for the third time this week. Plus, it seems like you don't want to either." She shrugged before smiling at him, and both of them packed their book bags with the homework they had for the weekend. Luckily, there was none, so the job got done quickly. Soon, the two fell into step, and somehow Craig ended up carrying Ellie's empty messenger bag. He had left his at school; it was empty, so he saw no reason to bring it home.

Manny was at practice with the rest of the Spirit Squad, so the two stuck together as usual after school. "What do you feel like doing?" Craig glanced over at the red-head as they walked towards the arcade.

"Well, seeing as where we're headed…How about some video games and food?" She said this nonchalantly, and it really was nonchalant because nothing was out of the ordinary for the two to be hanging out together. They were, after all, best friends.

"You pick the game, I'll get the food." Craig directed out the orders once they walked into the arcade. It wasn't that full, because not everyone had been able to make their way there yet. It was still early, but the place still had its lingering scent of pizza and teenagers, not always pleasant smelling.

"No way. I'll get the food. There's no way that you'll know what I want to eat." Ellie pointed this out, before she made a gesture towards the concession stand.

"There's no way that you'll pick a good game." Plus, Craig had the money in his wallet, and Ellie had tokens for the games still in her book bag.

"That's impossible. All of these are good games." Ellie arched one eyebrow perfectly and peered at Craig for a moment. The guy rolled his eyes, trying to be rational with the redhead.

"Well, all of this is good food." Well, most of the food, but Craig didn't want to mention this part.

"There's Whack-A-Ole." A little kid had struck the game too hard because he wasn't so little, and the 'M' in the game never appeared to be lit again. So, all of the brown creatures were now slower mentally and mechanically than before, and they had a name change.

"There's chilly cheese fried dumplings." They had tried those once. It was a very bad idea, especially when they had Spinner with them. He had his own part in making the arcade smell special that night.

"Point taken," both agreed at the same time and laughed. Great minds really do think alike. It was a ritual. They always picked out the exact same things. Ellie would pick a game, and Craig the food, and every time they would have the same type of argument, usually naming a different gross food or bad game each time.

So, Craig headed off towards the food stand, already knowing what he was going to buy today. Ellie, wandered towards the games with tokens ready in hand.

"Voila. I return with food." Craig walked over to the redheaded girl a few minutes later, carting a little basket of something.

"Mm," Ellie made a noise that seemed to form in the back of her throat, but no real words came out. She was focusing on keeping the little silver ball in the air, and hitting it off of the bonus racks within the game. The girl was actually doing really well score-wise. However, she was on her second to last ball.

"Mm?" Craig placed the food on the table next to them, after unsuccessfully waving it in front of Ellie's nose, trying to lead her away from the game.

"I'm winning," she explained simply, not taking her eyes off of the game yet.

"You can't lose during Pinball." Craig stated simply. "The score just keeps going up, but you can't lose."

"Sure," the ball bounced off of the side, scoring more points, "you," the ball now rolled into a little bonus hole, lighting up the game, "can." Craig leaned over Ellie's shoulder to watch. He was standing unbelievably close to her, and it made it hard to focus on the game. Suddenly, the little ball started to fall down towards the end of the board, where Ellie didn't want it to go. It went in, and the game told her to release the next ball by pressing the red button. "Like that. If somebody starts talking too much to the one winning the game, then the ball disappears down the little hole at the bottom. That's not a good thing." She glanced over her shoulder at Craig, who was still standing right behind her.

He shrugged. "Yeah? Well, I bet I can double your current score within the use of only one of your precious little silver balls." He nodded knowingly, and she rolled her eyes not believing him. "Really, I can." She rolled her eyes a second time. "It's just a little game." He stepped closer and wrapped his arms around either side of her, so that he could reach the proper buttons and levers. She closed her eyes momentarily, basking in the moment. However, she could hear the game beeping obnoxiously.

"Mmhm," another sound from the throat. She tried to make her words audible. "Just a little game?" She questioned, and neither one knew whether she was talking about pinball, or the mutual feeling that was coursing through each of their bodies. The feeling felt right.

"First, have a French fry." Craig reached his right arm out, and grabbed one of the French fries, dipping it in a little pile of something before bringing it towards Ellie's mouth.

"I like," she began her sentence, but Craig interrupted her.

"There's Ranch dressing on it already." She didn't seem to like ketchup on her French fries. At first, Craig thought that she was trying to turn her French fry into a salad, but later he realized that she just liked the taste of the two together. He couldn't understand it, but he remembered the details about her. As always.

"See, I told you that I could add one hundred points to your score." Craig stated as the last ball dropped into the little hole at the bottom of the screen. The neon lights lit up on the game, telling them that the game was over.

"You said that you could double it." Ellie chuckled as she pointed this out, and Craig didn't move his arms from the game.

"Same thing," Craig shrugged nonchalantly and couldn't help noticing that Ellie's hair smelled fresh and fruity. He leaned his face in towards hers a little.

"Is not," Ellie whispered as she felt Craig's breath on her cheek. She turned her head and let their lips meet in a kiss. Both of them shut their eyes as they met, and Craig's arms moved off of the game, and around her waist. The kiss lasted several moments, and Ellie raised her hands up around Craig's body, placing one on his back, and one around his neck, pulling him closer. Craig could taste the Ranch dressing, and he decided that maybe it didn't taste so bad after all.

"It's not just a little game anymore." Craig whispered quietly, before leaning in to kiss Ellie again. Ellie understood what he was talking about. Great minds think alike. Later, he would have to deal with Manny, and later they would have to figure out what his and Ellie's relationship was to become. That could wait. He was more focused on Ellie and the kissing part, as the lyrics to his new song began to suddenly fit together flawlessly in his mind.