Disclaimer and junk: DEGRASSI THROWBACK FIC. This is a reboot of Invincible, the Degrassi fic I wrote and posted in 2011, I no longe have access to the account it's posted under but if you'd like to read, my old pen name is Wasting Words. This takes place in a weird gray area beyond season 5/6, cause old school Degrassi is the best Degrassi. Spinner/OC. Please keep in mind, this is early DTNG so any events I write about past JT's death is PURELY coincidental.

"Mama, I awake!" A tiny voice spoke, stirring her from her slumber. She mumbled, feeling blindly for the alarm clock.

"Mama! It's time to get up, stop sleeping! Mamaaaaaa." The entirely too awake at an ungodly hour little boy called again, reaching out a chubby toddler finger to poke his mother in the nose.

Startled, she jolted upright, wiping the sleep out of her eyes, "Alright, dude, I'm up. I'm up..." she muttered.

4:30 am.

4:30 am in Canada. It only took 5 hours and 16 minutes to flee from her old town in Michigan to Toronto. She pressed her lips against the two year olds forehead before retrieving his breakfast of string cheese, mandarin oranges and chocolate milk from the mini fridge the motel offered. The picky eating stage was real.

She turned the outdated tv to some kids show on public access and motioned for her child to sit in front of the table and eat.

"Ready for a fresh start, B? This glorious, luxurious, shit hole of a motel is our home now." She said, stealing an orange slice from the plastic cup.

"YEAH!"

"That's my boy! Eat up, dude, after Mom gets ready its time to brush teef." She high-fived her son and walked to the bathroom, a whole three steps away from the living area, to get ready for the day.

She studied herself in the mirror as she brushed her teeth. Midnight blue hair tumbled to her rib cage, a wonderful contrast to her pale skin, and deep green eyes—the only thing Bentley had inherited from her—were lined with thick lashes. She thanked the universe every day her son was blessed with his fathers Greek heritage; olive skin, even in the dead of winter, and rich chestnut hair. Lucky boy.

She pulled her hair into a fishtail braid, tugging at them to shape them into a heart, concealed the dark circles under her eyes, and swiped a few coats of mascara on her lashes. Ah, the simplicity of motherhood, the joys of never having time to make yourself look good but making damn sure your kid was the best dressed in daycare. "Get in here and brush your teeth, dude!"

"Mama, I'm Batman and Batman doesn't need to brush his teeth." Toddler sass never gets old.

"Even super hero's need to brush their teeth, dude." She sighed, crouching down to toddler height to brush the boys teeth. Not before picking bits of string cheese out of his hair and off his face, of course. She pulled a long sleeved thermal over his head, layering a hoodie that read 'Straight Outta Time Out' over it. She rubbed some moose in her hands and tousled his hair into the most adorable toddler faux hawk you'd ever laid eyes on, and instructed him to put his favorite Spider-Man shoes on.

Teeth brushed, check. Bentley dressed, check. Herself? Not so much. She quickly dressed herself in flared jeans, an olive green tank top and a charcoal grey zip up hoodie.

...

"C'mon you beautiful, burgundy beast, start." she whispered, encouraging her the engine of her Jeep to turn over. She was thankful she came towards winters end and she wouldn't have to Jedi mind trick her Jeep into working every day. The engine roared to life on the third crank. She rubbed her hand over the leather steering wheel in praise.

Coffee. She needed coffee, since wine was frowned upon at 6 in the morning. It was the second best mom fuel, after all. School didn't start until 7:45, she had some time to find a Starbucks before finding B's daycare and her new school.

She roamed the empty roads until a diner caught her eye, The Dot. Not Starbucks but it would suffice.

The bell overhead chimed as she entered the establishment. Only two people stood behind the counter, but that seemed like an appropriate amount of staffing for such early hours. She balanced Bentley on her hip and walked towards the register.

"Large coffee, black, like my soul." She muttered, fumbling to pull her wallet out of her purse one handed.

Her order earned a chuckle from the boy behind the counter, "Sorry but Death Wish Coffee is about two streets down." She dismissed his comment as he poured her coffee, slapping a lid on the cardboard cup. "3.50."

She pulled out a small stack of cash, spreading it out and realizing she'd never taken the time to research Canadian currency.

He plucked a $5 from her hands, "New to Canada, eh?"

"It's not my fault your money looks like Monopoly money." She huffed, grabbing the coffee with haste.

He shot a glance at his coworker, pointing to her as walked out the door, "I don't think there's coffee black enough for that one."

...

She arrived at the steps of Degrassi, toddler and coffee in tow. Unable to find the daycare and already late, she had no choice but to take him with. First impression? Nailed it.

She walked up the steps, into the building and to her first class. She crouched in front of Bentley, looking him in the eyes, "Mom needs you to be on your best behavior, okay? Use your inside voice and be verrrrry still, can you do that for me?" She was asking far too much of a two year old.

"Yeah, mom, I'll whisper LIKE THIS."

She sighed, "Whispering skills on point, dude. If you behave, I'll take you to get a slushee after school okay?" She straightened herself up, placing one hand on the doorknob, grabbing Bentley's hand with the other.

All eyes turned to her, as she expected, as she entered the classroom.

"Hi, um, sorry. I literally moved here six hours ago, I couldn't find the daycare and was running late as it was."

Mrs. Kwan held up a hand, silencing her quickly. Her irritable gaze travelled to the two year old clutching his mother's hand. Late to class? Strike one. Middle of the school year? Strike two. Teen mom with child on her person? Strike three. "Name, please?"

"Jaycee."

Her cheap black heels clicked against the tiled floor as she walked to her desk to grab the attendance sheet. "Osbourne, Jaycee Rae. Great, please take a seat next to Liberty and keep the distractions to a minimum."

"I can find the daycare and come back."

"No, a mid semester transfer looks bad enough on your record, you don't need to add any truancies to that list. Please take your seat, I assume this will only be a one time thing." It's not like she could deny the girl an education. Though she didn't agree with her life choices, she could respect Jaycee for trying to continue her education. 30% of teen moms drop out of high school, after all. Not to mention Hatzilkaos would have her fired so fast it would make her head spin.

Jaycee lifted two fingers to her forehead and saluted in promise. She could feel judgmental eyes burn into the back of her head as she found her seat.

Cue the mean whispers.

Bringing your child to school? Now THAT'S the ultimate fashion accessory.

I bet she doesn't even know who the father is.

Whore.

Jaycee bit down on her lip, controlling the urge to silence the awful words with her middle finger. They couldn't have the decency to wait until her son wasn't with her? Or at least come up with something original if they were going to insult her? Still, though, she was glad the cat was out of the bag sooner rather than later. Keep the insults coming, ladies and gents, she'll be here all year.

The mocha skinned girl wore a scowl big enough for the whole class to see. People talked about her, too. About her pregnancy, about her choice to give her son what she couldn't, and even worse, about JT.

How can you give your baby up after nine months? So heartless. She shouldn't have gotten pregnant if she didn't want to keep it. She should have tried harder.

Liberty's stomach churned at the flashbacks. It really seemed like there was no pleasing people when it came to parenting. She watched as Jaycee got settled, pulling out a notebook and pencil, as well as a coloring book and crayons for the toddler. "Don't let them bother you. They're just petty girls looking for any shred of drama to enrich their pathetically boring lives. I'm Liberty, by the way. I'm a mother, too."

The word felt sour coming off her lips. She was a mother, by definition. She grew a child for nine months, felt the sensation of baby kicks and hiccups, she lived through the incurable morning sickness all hours of the day, the constant need to pee, and had the stretch marks to prove it. She was a mother, a mother without her child.

"It's nothing I haven't heard before. They'll tire themselves out eventually."

"How old is he?" She watched the two year old in fascination, only in her mind, he was hers. A perfect mix of her and JT.

"This is Bentley, he's two." She smiled, ruffling the boys hair. When you're a mom, you have what's comparable to a Spider sense—only for other mothers. But Jaycee felt there was more to her story than she let on. Mom friends are few and far in between, and although friendship wasn't at the top of her priority list, she'd do her best not to push Liberty away.

Kwan's droning was all but unheard as Spinner swaggered in, his backpack hanging off one broad shoulder.

"Nice for you to join us, Gavin. I'd like to think you were taking class more seriously after how hard you worked to get back in."

"Christ," Jaycee muttered, identifying him as the overly chatty boy from this mornings coffee run.

"Sorry, Mrs. K, I took an extra shifts at work before school. Won't happen again, I swear." He said as he took the seat behind Liberty and Jaycee. How else are social pariahs supposed to spend their time? Mrs. Kwan gave him a doubtful look before returning to the stack of papers she was grading.

Jaycee hid behind her hair, hoping he wouldn't recognize her. She wasn't much for friends, for people in general, really, but to her disappointment he tapped her on the shoulder.

"Miss Coffee as black as my soul," he started, leaning his cheek on his fist, "How was that coffee, was it black enough for the hole where you heart should be?" He cracked himself up. "I'm Spinner, we didn't get a chance to exchange pleasantries this morning."

"Yeah, I'm not really in the market for a male anything so beyond this class, you don't exist." Jaycee scoffed, returning her attention to the task at hand.

However, Spinner wasn't so easily deterred, though he knew that's what she was trying to accomplish. In fact, her indifference to him was exactly what he needed this year. To him, she was a challenge— a way to distract him in the lowest time of his life. Besides, he was Spinner Mason. From Paige, to Manny, to Darcy, he was always able to snag the hottest girls in Degrassi with his never ending charisma. "Is that your son?" It was a fair question, for all he knew it was her brother and she was running him to daycare before school.

"No, I saw him in the parking lot this morning and thought, hey why not steal a two year old today?" Maybe he was a genuinely nice a guy who deserved a chance. And maybe, for once, she could be a decent person and indulge him in a friendship he was clearly seeking. But she wouldn't. She was a mom 100% of the time, every action in her life needed to benefit her son. Spinner was not beneficial either of them.

Liberty shushed him, to which responded with a goofy grin. "Spin's harmless, nice enough...but annoying."

Jaycee nodded, giving Liberty a look. "I got that."

She exhaled heavily, mentally preparing herself to deal with his bullshit first thing in the morning, every morning, until summer.

A knock came from the doorway, where a leggy blonde in a gray pantsuit lingered, "Sorry to interrupt your class, Mrs. Kwan, but I need to see Jaycee in my office for a moment."

She'd never been so happy to be called to the principals office.