Title: Must Get Out
Rating: PG-13 for language and themes
Characters: Ellie, Spinner, Paige, Ashley, Marco…(pretty much everyone, eventually)
Pairings: Spinner/Ellie, not sure about any other pairings
Summary: Slight AU. She thinks he's an immature, self-centered pig. He thinks she's a weirdo, gothic freak. What happens when they start to care? Ellie/Spinner shipper fic.
Disclaimer: None of these characters belong to me. Don't sue.
A/N: Hey there. 'Tis my first Degrassi fanfiction, so forgive me if it seems a bit odd. This story is slightly AU because some of the characters that are normally friends aren't for the purpose of the plotline. There might be some OOC moments since I've only been watching Degrassi for a few weeks, but I'll try my best to keep everyone in character. And don't worry, no foreign exchange students, no girl with family problems, and definitely no made up Goth chick. In other words, this is not a Mary Sue. On and another thing, in this story, Spinner, Ellie, etc. are in 12th grade. Well, that's enough author note for one chapter. [Ashley, 5-9-03]
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Prologue
As far as the Degrassi Community School students were concerned, grade 12 was separated into two separate groups. On one hand, you had the "popular people". The jocks, the preps, and the trendsetters. On the other hand, you had the so-called "rebels". The loners, the Goths, and the ones that were generally more open minded.
Mr. Raditch and the rest of the Degrassi staff had tried time and time again to dismiss labels at their precious school, but they existed nonetheless. Your label decided what group you were in. And once you were labeled and put in that group, there was barely any chance of turning back.
As to be expected, the two groups didn't get along peacefully. Nobody bothered to keep track of the frequent fights between the groups. The people in your group were your family. Anyone else not in your group was your enemy. You stayed within your group, you defended your group, and most importantly, you were expected never to befriend someone in the opposite group under any and all circumstances. Those were the rules, and no one could be bothered to try and change them.
However, there is always that saying that opposites attract. And love is often fueled by hate, but as if finding love through hate isn't hard enough, there is always the task of getting people around you to accept it. Surely it seems like a lot of work for two people alone. Which brings up the question, is it worth it for someone you love to hate?
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Chapter One: Senior Year…What A Drag"Hey, watch where you're going!" Spinner Mason growled at the red headed girl he just ran into. The girl glared at him.
"You're the one who ran into me, you brain dead pig," she shot back at him with just as much venom.
"Listen Nash, I don't have time for your shit, so why don't you do us both a favor and get out of my way," he said, lightly pushing her aside and continuing down the hallway.
"Jerk," Ellie mumbled under her breath. She turned back to her locker where she had been trying to remember its combination before she had been so rudely interrupted.
'Let's see, 24…32…6,' she tried, but to no avail. She closed her eyes and started banging her head repeatedly against the stubborn locker.
'First day being a big bad senior…funny how a stupid jock and a locker can just ruin it all,' she thought with a mental laugh.
"Hey El, you shouldn't do that. Your brain might end up being as damaged as Mason's or Brooks'," a tall girl with short brown hair joked. Ellie looked up at the girl and cracked a smile.
"God forbid," she said with a laugh. "So Ash, first day as a senior. Pretty cool, huh?"
"It would've been if I hadn't run into Paige," Ashley said with a scowl. "Running into Paige is one thing, running into Paige this early in the morning is another story."
"I know what you mean. Spinner ran into me while I was trying to open my locker. He blamed the whole thing on me and stormed off. And just my luck, I get to seem him again in less than 10 minutes," Ellie closed her eyes in frustration. "Not to mention Paige, too."
"Four whole years with Spinner and Paige in the same homeroom. That's gotta suck," Ashley said giving her a sympathetic smile.
"Yeah, just my luck they decide to put the homerooms in alphabetical order," she said frowning. But her frown quickly turned into a smile as she waved to someone across the hall. A good-looking boy with dark hair and a 100-watt smile walked over to the two girls.
"Hey Marco," Ashley greeted her friend.
"Hey guys, how was your summer?" he asked with a smile.
"Marco-less. We barely saw you all summer. Where were you?" Ellie questioned him.
"It's kind of a long story," Marco said, still smiling but suddenly becoming very interested in his shoes.
"Well, give us the 6 minute version," Ashley said anxiously waiting to hear what had kept her friend so busy over the summer.
"Well, I went to visit my Grandma down in B.C. and I was only supposed to stay for a week. But," he blushed, "I met someone and ended up staying the rest of the summer." Ellie and Ashley gaped at him.
"Oh my God! You met someone?"
"What's his name? What's he like?"
"Well his name is Adam and he's…great," Marco concluded with a dreamy smile. It was obvious that Marco was very different from his friends. At first sight, most people would label Marco as a trendy prep who hung out with the "popular people". In fact, he did for most of his high school life, though he never held a grudge against anyone on the "rebel" side or treated anyone with disrespect. That's just how he was. But in the beginning of Grade 11, he admitted to his so-called friends that he was gay and they abandoned him. He thanked his lucky stars that Ellie, Ashley, and the rest of his real friends accepted him for who he was rather than look past him because of his sexual preference.
"Explain," Ashley laughed.
"Adam is just…Adam. He has light brown hair, blue eyes, and a body to die for," Marco gushed. Both Ellie and Ashley giggled uncharacteristically. "He's nice, funny, and did I mention he had a body to die for? As soon as we met, we clicked. He just so perfect."
"Wow, sounds like you really like this guy," Ellie observed. "What are you going to do about the whole B.C. thing?"
"Well, we talked about it and decided that it would be best for the both of us to just remain friends. That is, until next summer," he smirked. "Sure we'll still be friends. Friends with benefits, of course." Ellie and Ashley laughed. It was that minute that the bell rang. Ellie sighed.
"Well, I'm off to what some people like to call homeroom, and what I like to call hell." Marco and Ashley chuckled.
"You'll survive, you have for four years. But if you don't, I got first dibs on your CDs," Ashley joked. Ellie laughed and bid farewell to her friends. She slowly trudged up the stairs, dreading the moment she would have to step foot into Room 340. When that moment finally arrived, she exhaled slowly.
'I'll be fine. Homeroom's only 20 minutes long. That's not too long,' she thought with a small smile. Just then, Paige Michalchuk shoved Ellie out of her way and entered the dreaded Room 340. 'Only 20 minutes…20 minutes…,' Ellie repeated in her head in an attempt to calm herself. Ellie walked into the classroom and took a seat in the back, the farthest from Paige. She opened up one of her notebooks and started doodling. She was interrupted when she heard an annoyingly high-pitched laugh from across the room where Paige and her gang were pointing and laughing at her. Ellie rolled her eyes, repeated her mantra, and continued with her drawings. She was just putting the finishing touches on her piece entitled "Paige Gets Run Over By A Truck", when she heard a familiar voice calling her name. She looked over to the direction it came from and smiled.
"Hey Craig, how was your summer?" Ellie asked the curly haired boy as he took a seat next to her.
"Great! Me, Joey, and Angela went to the States to go sight seeing. You should see some of the shots I got. They're amazing," the aspiring photographer told her with a smile.
"Wow, that sounds awesome."
"Yeah, the only down side is that the phone won't stop ringing back at home. I swear, Joey must've met a girl in every state. Every five minutes someone is calling to ask why he hasn't called them back." Ellie laughed.
The class quieted down as soon as the teacher walked in. The teacher was a woman that looked about in her mid-twenties. She wore her long brown her in a messy bun and wore a pair of casual black pants and a white blouse. She looked like belonged in a Gap commercial rather than in a classroom.
She walked over to her desk without acknowledging the class and started unpacking her briefcase. She apparently noticed the silence of the class, because she looked up and looked around to see the whole class staring at her. She smacked herself on the forehead and walked up to the front of the classroom.
"Oh man, I'm sorry you guys. I'm such a retard," she cleared her throat. "Good morning class. My name is Ms. Keating and I will be your homeroom teacher for the rest of the year…was that okay?" she questioned the class while everyone continued to stare at her with blank looks on their faces. "Hey, I know it's my first day, but I can't be that bad! But if I am, tell me. I won't be offended, but if I trip you, it was an accident," she joked. No one laughed.
"*Cough*Lame*cough*," someone in the back said. The class laughed.
"Hm…tough crowd. Any who, since I have no idea who you all are, let's take roll." And with that, she proceeded to call out everyone's name, every once in a while making a corny joke nobody laughed at.
"What a fucking looney," Ellie heard Paige tell one of her friends. And for once, she agreed with her. As usual, the TV flickered on and Liberty Van Zandt's face appeared on the screen with the morning announcements. And as usual, no one paid any attention.
'Well, I guess this isn't as bad as I thought it would be. At least Paige and Spinner aren't being that annoying,' she thought as another high pitched laugh came from the other side of the room. She turned her head to her right to see Paige sitting on Spinner's lap, obviously having the time of her life. 'Eh…karma is the devil.' Just then, the bell rang, signaling the students to go to first period. 'Ah, saved by the bell.'
She took out her schedule to find that she had psychology first. She started walking her way to Room 232 when she got the strangest feeling that she was being followed. She turned around to see Spinner Mason right on her tail.
"What are you looking at?" he snapped at her.
"Are you following me?" she questioned right back at him.
"Please, get over yourself. I'm walking to class if that's okay with you," he said sarcastically. She rolled her eyes and continued walking. She walked a few more feet and sure enough, Spinner was still behind her.
"Please tell me you're not going to Room 232," Ellie said desperately, closing her eyes in frustration for the second time that day.
"Yeah, so what if I am?" Spinner asked with a blank look.
"You idiot! That means that we are going to be in the same class," Ellie spat at him. Spinner continued to stare at her with a blank look, until after a few seconds when his eyes widened. He then shot her a glare.
"Well, just stay as far away from me as humanly possible!" he yelled angrily. She glared right back at him.
"Oh, so you actually think I want to be close to you?" Ellie laughed. Spinner scowled.
"Of course you do. Who could resist such a sexy thing like moi?" he asked while pointing to himself cockily.
"Uh, me," Ellie raised her hand to emphasize her point. Spinner looked like he was about to say something else when they both noticed Mr. Raditch walking towards them.
"Oh shit," they both said at the same time. They stared at each other in confusion while Mr. Raditch started yelling at them.
"Why are you two wandering around the hallways? The bell rang at least two minutes ago, why aren't you in class? I demand an explanation," the strict principal said while crossing his arms and giving them an incriminating stare.
"Uhh…Mas-I mean Gavin dropped his books and I was helping him pick them up," Ellie lied quickly.
"But I didn't drop my-," Spinner started, but Ellie cut him off with a jab to the ribs. Mr. Raditch raised a suspicious eyebrow.
"So you're telling me it took you two whole minutes to help Mr. Mason here pick up his books?" he questioned, obviously not believing the girl's story.
"Erm, yes sir. That's exactly what happened," Spinner said nervously after catching onto Ellie's plan.
"Are you two aware that skipping class is a Category 1 offense in the Student Handbook?"
"Oh yes, because I spend every moment of my free time catching up on all the offenses in the Student Handbook," Spinner said sarcastically while rolling his eyes.
'That kid does not know when to shut up,' Ellie groaned mentally as she watched the blood rush to Mr. Raditch's face in anger.
"Just for that Mr. Mason, you have earned Ms. Nash and yourself a Saturday of detention. I'm tired of you troublemakers thinking skipping class is okay, especially you seniors. The two of you better clean up your acts, especially you Mr. Mason, unless you want to spend the rest of your senior year in detention. Consider this a warning. Saturday, 8:00, I want the both of you in my office. But for now, get to class," he said sending them one last menacing glare before leaving the two seniors alone.
"Good going, dumbass. If you would've kept your big mouth shut, my Saturday would still be free," Ellie huffed at the boy. She started once again walking towards Room 232 hoping Spinner would keep his distance. Luck was definitely not on her side because Spinner caught up with her and started walking beside her.
"Hey, don't blame this whole thing on me. You were the one who started talking to me," Spinner accused.
"Yeah, whatever," she said walking into the classroom with Spinner right behind her. When the teacher noticed them, he frowned. He was a balding man with black-turning-white hair. He was also extremely tall, which made him very intimidating. And his piercing gray eyes and square glasses perched on the tip of his nose made him look even nastier. All in all, he could make a toddler cry with one look.
"Late on the first day I see? What are your names?" he sighed grabbing the attendance sheet.
"Ellie Nash."
"Spinner Mason."
"Spinner Mason? I have a Gavin Mason, but no Spinner," the teacher said sending Spinner a confused look.
"I am Gavin Mason, Mr…um, teacher. But you can call me Spinner."
"I can call you whatever I please, Mr. Gavin," the teacher said with a glare. "And the name's Mr. Blitchster. Get it right."
"Aye, aye captain," Spinner said sarcastically while the rest of the class laughed.
"You had better watch your mouth," the teacher threatened. Spinner rolled his eyes, but nodded anyways. "Well, I already assigned the rest of the class a partner whom they will pair up with for the rest of the year. Since there are two of you, you can be partners. There will be a lot of partner activities, so get used to each other."
"But, Mr. Blitchster! I can't be partners with him! He's an idiot and we don't get along. At all," Ellie protested.
"Hey!" Spinner said at the 'idiot' part of Ellie's outburst.
"Well, Ellie was it? Maybe next time you should think twice about coming late to my class, no?" he said with a smile that sent chills down her spine. "You have interrupted my class long enough. You two can take seats at that table in the back. I don't want to hear a word from either of you for the rest of the class." Ellie walked her way to the table in the back and plopped down on the chair, Spinner doing the same. She glared at the teacher that seemed intent on making her life a living hell.
'Senior Year…what a drag,' she thought to herself laying her head down on the desk.
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Well, there's chapter one. Not much happening yet, but don't worry, there is a plot! Well, review and tell me what you think. Suggestions and constructive criticism is most definitely welcome. Thanks!
[Ashley, 5-10-03]
