Disclaimer= I do not own Degrassi.
A/N= This fic takes place towards the end of the episode "Beat It" Part 1, where Dave, Jenna, K.C. and Clare are at the carnival.
"The winner is #3!" K.C. won Clare a stuffed animal, to which she thanked him by kissing him on the cheek. Dave grew a little desperate.
"Hey, um, can I buy one of those? All I have is $3..."
"I'm sorry, you cannot do that."
"Are you going to have another race?"
"We are shutting down."
"Aw crap - -"
"Its okay Dave, you can make another game-winning shot."
"Yeah, you're right. You watch you two, I'm going to win a stuffed animal for my girlfriend!" Dave grabs Jenna and they head for the basketball stall. Jenna looks at Clare incredulously.
GIRL... FRIEND?!
Dave is flustered because he cannot make a single basket.
"Hey Dave, its okay if you do not win. I think its sweet that you would go out of your way to try and win me something. The thought counts the most."
"I got this baby girl, watch. Hey don't shut down yet, here's my last dollar."
"Thats it, no more after this."
Wow dude, you spent $15 just to try and win a stuffed animal for the girl you like? That means a lot and I hope that she appreciates it...
Dave let the game come to him. The hook shot went through the hoop. Dave got the stuffed animal, which was a black and pink gorilla, and handed it to Jenna.
"Aww thank you Dave, this gorilla is so cute!" Jenna gave him a hug. Dave was quite happy. A short while later, K.C. and Clare came soon after and invited them for milkshakes at The Dot. They get to The Dot and Dave is acting as if he was super swagged out. The group listened politely as Dave broke down the play by play.
"I let the game come to me and it worked. K.C., your advice was really helpful man, thanks."
"K.C. gave you the tip Dave?"
"Yea Jenna, he is like a teacher."
"Thats so cool K.C."
"Yeah, just trying to help."
"Anything else I can get you kiddies?"
"Just the check Holly to the J."
"Its Holly freaking J 9er, don't forget that." The group stretched their arms out.
"What a day. Can you take me home K.C.?"
"Sure thing Clare."
"Thank you, you are a sweetheart." The two say their goodbyes and they leave.
"Guess its just you and me Jenna."
"Yea... I think The Dot closes soon."
"Oh okay. Well thanks for hanging out with me today."
"Sure, thanks for the bear."
"Anything for you baby girl."
"Stop Dave, I need to talk to you about something."
"Why did you call me your girlfriend? I'm not your girlfriend. I only said yes to going with you to the fair because Clare was going to be there."
"So, you said yes out of pity?"
"Yes, I'm - -"
"So I spent damn near all of the money I had winning you a stuffed animal and this is the thanks I get?"
"I'm very sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings Dave..."
"Save it for someone who cares." Dave abruptly got up and left, leaving Jenna stuck with paying the bill.
Dave spent the next few days going AWOL. He pulled to the side by K.C. one morning, who seemed worried.
"Hey man, what happened after I left?"
"Jenna and I got to talking and well, I found out that she is fake."
"What do you mean?"
"She only went with me out of pity."
"I'm sorry dude, that sucks."
"Tell me about it." K.C. notices Jenna walking towards them.
"Dave, good luck." He scurries off and Dave is alone in the hallway with Jenna. But he too starts walking away.
"Dave wait a minute - -"
"I got to go Jen, leave me alone."
"But I want to talk - -"
"WHAT IS THERE TO TALK ABOUT? You hurt me, BAD. I thought you were different."
"I am different - -"
"You FAKE. Anyone that pretends to do something is fake to me. Got that, now leave me alone okay?" That little ether seemed to have melted Jenna's shoes to the ground. She tried unsuccessfully to call for him, but he had already turned the corner and was gone.
"I can't leave you alone..."
I won't.
School went back to some normalcy for Dave. The numbness he felt wore off and he was back to what he does: doing what it takes to get noticed. After practice one day, he and K.C. were at Connor's playing video games.
"Hey guys, isn't the Talent Show going down in a few weeks?"
"Yeah why?"
"We all should do something in it."
"No way Dave, I mean we all have something we are good at, but anyone in the Talent Show is just asking for humiliation. I don't want that."
"You Connor, what are you going to do?"
"Thats a big IF. If I do enter the Talent Show, I'll show the school how disgusting my yoyo skills are."
"O... kay you do that. K.C., don't be a loser, you got to be in it."
"What could I do though?" The light bulb flashed in Dave's head."
"Perform a haiku."
"Okay first, I don't have a creative bone in my body and second, poetry isn't my thing."
"Its okay man, I'll ghostwrite it."
"You would do that?"
"I gots this! You do the haiku, and I'm going to freestyle."
"Is your freestyle going to be about Jenna," Connor interjected?
"Maybe. Why do you ask man?"
"She and Clare are eavesdropping on us right now."
"Oh crap! We are through here. I'll get to work on that haiku and my rap."
The few weeks go by fast. The auditorium is at capacity and the lineup is stacked with a wide variety of acts. The first few acts were predictable: magic show and theater skits. A few more acts go on and K.C. is called up next. He doesn't seem too nervous. He grabs the microphone:
"Thank you all for coming. I'd like to dedicate this haiku to someone that is special to me." The light shined down on Clare, who was sitting in the front row with Alli and Jenna.
Indescribable
feelings for my baby girl
... my one and only.
"Thank you for your time. Oh, and I love you Clare Edwards." K.C. received a bunch of applause and awws from the women.
"Nice dude, that was awesome."
"Your turn now Dave."
"Oh I gots this." Dave is anxious. He was engrossed writing his freestyle for a few hours each day leading up to this moment. Hopefully the knot in his throat subsides when he gets called up.
-
"Okay everybody, we have one more talent that will perform for you all. He claims to be a great act, a freestyle rapper to be specific. Without further or do, here is the freestyle rapper formally known as Dave!" Dave walks out and sweat drips to the applause surrounding him.
"Good evening everybody, I'm Dave. You know what they say... the best is saved for last."
"I'd like to dedicate this to someone that I care about, someone that I think is 100% true and most importantly, someone I do not want to lose..."
[ Let me get a beat... ]
one two three
in it went
the crowd goes wild
everyone praising me
you jump up with joy
that smile is permanently etched in me
blonde and blue-eyed
freeze a walkway with that grin
picture perfect from what I see
and I liked what I seen
I just want to know
what will it take
for me to get with you
because I may not be top notch
I may not be a rock star
but I am geeked up
I'll connect the dots
whack-a-mole boy
I'll hit all the right spots
I'm Willie Speare and Marky Mark
sans the quill and books
what I'm saying is real
genuine honesty from the bottom of my heart
cannot be more clearer than this
because I'm in the spotlight
cannot be more realer than this
because I'm in the spotlight
what better way
to say what I need to say
than to be up against the ropes
to confess what my heart say
crossing my fingers for an opportunity
a "yes" on that magic 8 ball
a glimmer of hope
I couldn't be more sure
because when I know
baby I know
I don't need ten minutes
I won't even take three
to let you know in front of the whole world (looks directly at Jenna)
you are the one for me...
"THANK YOU VERY MUCH AND HAVE A GOOD NIGHT!"
Dave walked into Degrassi the following Monday a known man. Dudes were dapping in bloc because of his freestyle rap. His cousin wrote an article about for the anti-grapevine. His rap went viral. Dave expected plenty of kudos for his rap. He did not expect what was currently going on. He was heading to the cafeteria when K.C. ran up to him.
"Dave, you killed it at the talent show. Where did you pull that rap from man?"
"Its quite simple actually. I wanted to cook up long lines to sound impressive, but thats not me. I figure short and simple would work better. The crowd seemed to love it."
"When you jogged off the stage they were screaming for an encore."
"Were they really? My mind was on other things... and other people."
"Okay... they have carrot cake and burritos for lunch."
"Awesome, our grub on we shall get." Dave spent the entire day in classes and continually getting flooded with praise for his rap. He wanted to escape for a bit so he headed towards the basketball court. The lights were dim. Dave found a basketball and sat at his usual spot on the bench. The way the past few days went, he felt as though he was getting the treatment a star player receives. The gym wasn't quiet for long.
"... AND DAVE HAS ENTERED THE GAME!"
"Jenna? What is this?"
"Dave has the ball, he has a clear path to the basket. There are 10 seconds left." The voices that Dave heard starting the countdown were of K.C. and Clare. Connor was the lone person in the stands, yelling for Dave to dribble and shoot. The countdown was continuing and he dribbled and juked through phantom defenders. The setting was quite familiar.
"3, 2, 1..." Dave let the ball go out of his hands and it went through the basket for a score. The crowd goes wild. The lights were all around Dave, but no one lifted him up.
"Dave made the winning shot... for the third time."
"The third time? What were the other two?"
"You made the winning shot from several weeks ago. You just repeated that same winning shot AND..." Jenna stepped from the shadows and walked towards Dave, who was smiling from ear to ear.
"You made a more clutch shot than those two combined." They embraced and touched foreheads.
"You won my heart."