Suckerlove
Rated T for language and sexuality, some drug references.
Notes: Starts at the end of "Lost in Love." The story actually happens within the canon all the way through "Danger Zone," and from there becomes AU. Since all of my other projects right now are dark and depressing and epic, I felt like working on something simpler and more lighthearted. Be warned of fluff. Enjoy! Please review!
-o-o-o-o-o-
Jay Hogart adjusted the backwards black cap on his head as he slunk against the wall of the gym, staring out at the sea of smiling teenage faces and hideous red decorations. Why the fuck did Degrassi have so many dances, anyway? And more importantly, why was he getting suckered into being at them? Hell, he wasn't even supposed to be on school property. But there he was, folding his arms as he watched Spinner and Jane make out, and everyone around them twirl in nauseatingly cozy embraces.
He glanced over at his fellow wallflower, a short blonde in a pink dress, the girl who had orchestrated this elaborate romantic moment to save Spinner and Jane's love. He smirked. "You are quite the schemer, Holly J. I'm impressed."
Holly J sighed heavily. Normally she would have made a sly quip or basked in elaborate self-congratulations, but in that moment, it didn't even seem worth it. Watching Spinner and Jane mad her stomach hurt with jealousy.
"Nah," she responded. She stared across the room of naïve lovers, paired like animals about to board the arc. "Just a hopeless romantic."
For one fleeting moment, Jay felt a wave of heartbreak. It was hard for him to get worked up over feelings, since he usually had none, but something about all the glitter and bad pop music made him think of Manny. He remembered the last Degrassi dance he'd crashed, dressed dramatically incognito to try win Manny back, again. She had had a way of making him do ridiculous things. Things that weren't anything like the old Jay Hogart.
"Ah, me too," he said with a morose smile. He reached into his wallet and showed Holly J the picture of Manny he kept with him. It was wrinkled and starting to discolor from being touched too often. "I wish she really was here."
Holly J smirked at the photo. She had never really been a fan of Manny; she wasn't a fan of anyone she had to compete with, so their brief days of being on the spirit squad together had always been tense. But it was almost cute how mushy Jay got over her. Almost.
"Uh-huh," Holly J said slowly. "So you just uh… you just carry that around with you there, champ? Like a total lovesick creepo?"
Jay blushed. "What? I mean… well, you know, she gave it to me and all. I guess I just never thought to take it out."
"I never knew you were such a sap, Jay. This is totally ammunition for me to tease you mercilessly, you realize this, right?" She yanked the picture from his hands. "Jay and Manny, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S—"
Jay dove for her, reaching over her and grabbing the picture out of her hands.
"Oh, wow," said Holly J, covering her nose as Jay put the picture back in his wallet and moved a step away from her. "Good thing Manny isn't here. I'm going to recommend that you at least shower before trying to win back your sweetheart. You smell like a McDonald's dumpster."
"What? Come on, it's not that bad."
"Sure it isn't."
Jay huffed, and Holly J smirked triumphantly. The girl never flinched when it came to dishing out insults, and that never failed to impress Jay. She looked like any average nitwit girl, tonight especially because of her frills and sparkles, but that was how she got you. Trust her sweet side for a moment and BAM: the Holly J verbal bitch slap.
When Jay had first stumbled across Holly J a few weeks prior, he hadn't been at all prepared for such a match. She was shallow and loud, and he often found himself compelled to throw things at her. He'd enjoyed her misery, watching her struggle to carry plates and being yelled at by customers. Who doesn't like to see the head cheerleader flip burgers? It's a moment of poetic justice for the little guy everywhere.
But Holly J had proved to be more of a fireball than her tiny frame suggested. She met every challenge and shitty shift with sass and a calm brow; she met every teasing line from Jay with a neatly cut rebuttal. And so over a short period of time, Jay had come to realize a fascinating truth… Holly J wasn't scared of him. He respected that.
"Well look, come on, Stinko," she said suddenly, grabbing hold of his hand. "This is my sister's dress and it's too smokin' to not have people look at it. Sinclairs don't do well as wall decorations."
"Huh?" Jay asked, startled. He didn't like the menacing glint he saw in Holly J's eye.
She started yanking him confidently towards the dance floor. "You heard me, big boy."
"Ah, no, see, I don't do dancing. I'm not even supposed to be here; we'll both be escorted off the premises."
"You say that like it's a bad thing. Besides, no one here will even remember or care who you are. You're like, ancient."
"You're like, a huge bitch."
"Thanks. I try to live up to my reputation."
With a decisive twirl, Holly J swung herself into position in Jay's arms, forcing him to move to the beat. Reluctant as he was, Holly J couldn't help but notice that he did take quickly to the music.
The pair was strikingly mismatched as they swayed back and forth to bad pop music. Jay's dirty, dark cotton-clad body towered over the manicured and sprite-like figure of Holly J. Holly J tried to ignore the smelly sweat from Jay's neck that was getting on her hands, while Jay tried to ignore the face that the glitter from Holly J's dress was getting all over his sweater.
Holly J sighed as her gaze landed on Blue, who stared back at her with sad eyes. She looked down, blushing and smirking slightly.
Jay caught a glimpse of Holly J's soft smile, and cocked a curious eyebrow. He looked over and saw Blue, who was blatantly staring at them with a dramatically jealous gaze. "And who might that strapping lad be, Miss Holly J?"
"Who?" she answered dumbly. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Jay gasped, pretending to be affronted. "Holly J, are you… are you using me to make someone else jealous? I'm stung. Really."
Holly J rolled her eyes. "Trust me, no one in their right mind would be jealous of you."
"Hey, you don't really want to say that about the only guy in this high school freakfest of a party who's willing to dance with you, do you?"
"You weren't exactly willing…"
"Ah, so you're insulting the only guy who could be coerced into dancing with you? That guy over there must really be getting to you, because you are seriously off on your megabitch insults this evening."
"He's just a guy from my art class, alright? I like him, but I keep messing up, so it's never going to happen, etcetera, etcetera, drop it."
Menacing glee lit up Jay's face. "Oh, this is too golden. Holly J has a weakness, folks, and its name is Gay-Looking Pretty Boy."
Holly J tried not to let anything show on her face. "Wow, has anyone ever told you you're not funny?"
"Holly J and Gayfer, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S--"
"No I mean, like, not even a little bit funny. I kind of start nodding off every time you speak."
"-I-N-G. First comes love…"
"You're like this lame, howling dog or something. Someone should really just put you down. It's the only humane thing to do."
"Then comes… ow! Damn, woman." Jay brought a hand to his head to rub the sting that was left by a smack from Holly J. "Well what's the deal, then? He's trying to make you put out more than you've got in stock?"
Holly J stared at Jay incredulously. "Um, wow… well, let's just ignore for a second how slimey and inappropriate you are. But no, actually. I kind of threw myself at him, and he kind of turned me down flat-out."
Jay noticed the flush of color that touched Holly J's cheeks, and he held back his urge to be a completely insensitive asshole. It wasn't easy to admit rejection. Especially not for someone as stubborn and arrogant as Holly J. Rather than snap back with a taunt, Jay chose the rarer road of kindness. He tried for empathy.
"Well hey, squirt, don't beat yourself up over it," he said carefully. "Nobody gets their way all the time. Not even you."
Holly J rolled her eyes. "Thanks for that, I'll add that nugget to my book of knowledge."
Jay smirked at the frustration in her face. Holly J was genuinely upset about something and was actually letting it show. Who knew?
"I'm serious, kid," he continued. "I'm just saying you gotta walk before you get laid is all." He momentarily removed one of the hands that was wrapped around Holly J's hips and motioned towards his own body dramatically. "For example, I know this stud of a man dancing in front of you might seem like a flawless specimen, but even I have some poor marks on my dating record. Like my first girlfriend Tanya now has three kids, no teeth, and works the Boogie Burger drive-in."
"Charming."
Jay nodded with a sigh. "She never seemed too bright. She had a great pair of…" His voice drifted for a moment as he took notice of the soft, smooth cleavage shining up at him from Holly J's chest. He shook his gaze and pushed forward. "Eyes, though. Great eyes. And then another one of my girlfriends turned out to be a lesbian. And I mean, you know of course how well things went with Manny." Jay paused for a moment. "Shit, actually, this is kind of depressing to think about. None of my dating experiences have been too rock solid, come to think of it."
"I hear that spreading VD through anonymous van-sex can have that effect," Holly J remarked with a snort.
At least bringing up his own humiliating misfortunes had cheered her up, thought Jay. He laughed. "Chrissakes, are people still talking about that? I never thought you'd be one to spread around years-old gossip, Holly J."
Holly J smirked icily. "Some stories are too classic to let go of."
"I'm flattered."
"You would be."
The slow, cheesy song came to an end, and as an upbeat hip hop song overtook it, Jay and Holly J found themselves standing still in the middle of a crowded, pulsing dancefloor. Awkwardly, they separated their arms from one another's torsos.
"Well, uh, it was great being humiliated by you and all, but I think it's time for me to get the hell out of here," said Jay, scratching the back of his head.
Holly J nodded. "Sure you don't want to find an underage girl and coerce her into performing oral sex for bracelets?"
Jay's face remained completely nonchalant as he continued the banter. "Nah, I think I'll just go home and beat it to pictures of Miley Cyrus instead."
"That's disgusting."
"So's your face."
"Weak."
"I know you are, but what am I?"
Holly J sighed and folded her arms. "Alright then, you can move along now. It's been fun hanging out in the lowest bracket of IQ, but I kind of want to get back to using multi-syllabic words."
Jay grinned and started to leave.
"Wait," said Holly J. Jay turned around. "Thanks for dancing with me. And for trying to cheer me up."
Jay shrugged. "Thanks for fixing everything for Spin. Don't tell him or anything, but I kinda like the guy. In fact, I don't totally hate you either, kid. I'll tell you what. You keep keeping me in check, and my wealth of dating knowledge is yours for the probing."
Holly J rolled her eyes as she gently waved goodbye to Jay's skulking figure. When he'd left, she found herself standing alone again, in the middle of all this romance, and she sighed. Slowly, she glanced over her shoulder and noticed that Blue was still staring, obviously a little jealous of Jay.
She smirked. Maybe Jay wasn't totally useless, after all.