Note: This is just a short prologue. The next chapters will be longer. Also, I am going to make this season 7 compliant to a point. Obviously, I am making my own assumptions about what will happen.

Sympathy For the Devil

Prologue: Homecoming

"In other entertainment news, a spokesperson for Manny Santos—star of the breakout hit Roommates—has officially announced that the star's engagement to musician Craig Manning. The couple was allegedly spotted having a heated argument at posh L.A. night club, PURE…."

The screen went blank as Manny turned off the TV. She didn't want to hear any more about her life from tabloid television. Her breakup with Craig was only the latest in a long list of messy public dramas. It was somehow ten times more painful watching her life fall apart on camera. Strangers were weighing in on her choices. She'd never forget the first time she'd received hate mail. The kind of scrutiny that had been so hard to take in high school was nothing in comparison to this.

Manny slid on her favorite sweatshirt and boxers and collapsed on her bed. "Another glamorous night in Hollywood," she murmured to herself.

Being lonely was her worst enemy these days. Over the years since graduation, she'd pulled away from most of her friends. Her life as an actress didn't give her a lot of freedom to go back home for visits. Even her relationship with Emma had suffered. These days, the two spoke on the phone about once a month. Though she'd never say it, she missed Degrassi. She'd never made any friends as true as the ones she'd had back then. L.A. was full of fake people and Manny had been burned enough times not to put too much into friendships. But she'd had Craig, and that was almost enough. Too bad Craig turned out to be the worst kind of social climber. She should have seen the writing on the wall when news of their engagement was conveniently leaked four days before his CD came out. Manny wanted nothing more than to have a girls night with Emma and Darcy there to help her forget all about it. Instead, she just curled up under her fluffy comforter and went to sleep.

In the morning, Manny cancelled her private yoga lesson. She wasn't feeling very zen. She poured herself a big bowl of sugary cereal and turned on cartoons. Her cell phone began chirping not long after the Ninja Turtles.

"Manny, sweetie, why haven't you returned my calls?" her manager, Rich asked without any pleasantries.

"Sorry. I just kind of wanted to be alone," she answered blandly.

"Well, it's like I said. This doesn't have to be a bad thing. The press is really sympathetic, and it could boost publicity for the season premiere of Roommates. You have to use this to your advantage," Rich told her. She could practically see that calculating look on his face, but that was exactly what she paid him for.

"I guess so."

"Listen, Manny, you need to lay low for a while. Let Craig take the heat for being a party boy. The Paris Hilton image is starting to wear thin and that isn't how you want to be seen. You've got six weeks off from filming. Why don't you take a vacation?" he suggested.

"A vacation," Manny echoed. "Right. Sounds great. Can't get any cooler than moping on a beach."

"Go where you want. Just stay out of the spot light."

"Fine. I'll hop a plane in a day or two."

"That's my girl," Rich said. "Catch you in a few days."

Manny hung up the phone feeling discouraged. She was an object of public pity. Just great!

On her laptop, Manny started to look up tropical destinations for her hiatus. She began looking at exotic beaches and exclusive villas. From Tahiti to Jamaica, nothing appealed to her. After moving on to Europe with similar results, Manny knew exactly where she wanted to go.

She picked up her phone and dialed Emma's number.

"Manny! It's been forever." Emma's familiar tones brought a wave of relief over Manny.

"Hey," Manny said lamely.

"I heard about you and Craig. I'm really sorry things didn't work out. Is there anything I can do?"

"Yes. No," Manny mumbled. "Yes."

Emma laughed. "You've got it all figured out."

"Can I come stay with you?" Manny blurted out. "I mean, would it be okay if I came up for a few weeks. I really need to get out of L.A."

"Manny, you know you are always welcome here. I just finished making plans to spend a month in South America helping build housing. I'm really sorry."

Manny sighed. "I guess I really can't expect you not to have a life."

"We can't all be TV stars. But just because I'm not going to be here doesn't mean that you can't come. I know it isn't the Ritz or anything, but you can stay at my place if you need to hide out for a while. You can babysit Marvin for me," Emma said.

Manny giggled as she pictured Emma's miniature dachshund. "Can't leave Marvin lonely," she quipped. "Are you sure you don't mind me freeloading?"

"Who says you're freeloading? You owe me an expensive dinner when I get back."

The friends made plans for Manny to fly up in three days and chatted for about an hour. Sometimes, it was hard for Manny to believe that they were really adults now with real lives. Emma's work as a lawyer kept her just as busy as Manny's career did. Between days in court and her evenings with Sean, Emma had a lot to report. Manny only wished that her own life story of late didn't include being dumped with half the paparazzi watching. After she hung up, Manny felt better than she had since this whole thing had started.

Feeling nostalgic, Manny pulled out her yearbook. She let her fingers roam through the pages idly. There were so many smiling faces from her past that she had almost forgotten about. How long had it been since she'd thought of Liberty? Or Jimmy? She wondered if Danny and Derek were still joined at the hip at university. Whatever happened to Spinner? Did anyone still live near Degrassi? Well, she thought as she closed the book, I guess I'm going to find out.