A/N: Yay, something Degrassi! It's not very original – the plot's been done a hundred times before, but what can I say? Originality has failed me. It's not very detailed; some things are left to your imagination. I forced myself to write something Degrassi, and here is the result. Reviews are always appreciated. And sorry in advanced if it seems OOC.
Don't answer it, Alex.
Her phone sits idly on the coffee table, as the caller ID flashes the name of someone she was in no mood to deal with.
Answer it and you'll kick yourself later. Don't let him control you.
She sits on the couch, her hands folded together over her lap casually, her eyes locked on her phone.
Don't. Answer. It.
"Hello?"
Damn it.
"Talk to me, Alex. I'm not playing these games with you anymore."
"Don't even get me started on this right now. You're just going to regret it later."
"I thought you were done with those empty threats."
"What the hell do you want?"
"I'm on my way over."
"You aren't coming anywhere near my house."
"And why not?"
"Because you are the last person on earth I want to see right now."
"That's harsh."
"Screw you."
"See you in five."
Click.
She snaps her phone shut and sinks back into the beaten up couch. She rubs her tired face with her hands and sighs. He always made her feel so powerless. He was like a fucking dictator sometimes, and she wasn't used to be a pushover; she wasn't used to not having control.
True to his word, though, there was a knock at the door only minutes later. Slowly and reluctantly, she opened the door, but he pushed it open with force and the next thing she knew his hands were around her waist and she was being pressed against the nearest wall, his lips falling almost forcefully onto hers.
"Craig – " she began, trying to push him away, but failed hopelessly as he kissed her again.
"Don't talk," he says as she he pulls away, though not taking his hands away from her waist.
"I have to talk. You aren't going to – "
"Listen to me."
So she did.
"Ashley is gone, Alex, okay? I fixed everything – "
"Really?" she says coldly, shoving him away from her. "How so, Craig? Please tell me what the hell you've done to fix this."
"Look, I know I screwed up. Trust me," he laughs bitterly, "I've screwed up more times than you'll ever know, Alex. But it's okay, now. You just have to believe me."
"I know you're pretty good at lying to people, Craig. This isn't the first time there's been another girl. I'm smarter than you think, I hope you know."
"I know!" he says. And he means it, too. "I know. God, I know! That's why – "
"Why you thought you could screw me over? You were lying to me flat out until I caught you. With Ashley-fucking-Kerwin. You think she'd have learned her lesson after Manny Santos – "
"Don't bring her into this. This isn't about her."
"Really? Because I think it is."
"Alex –"
"It's about the past – you and her- and your inability to commit to one person, Craig. I've been screwed over, too. God, do you not remember Jay?"
This comment makes him stop suddenly and as his eyes bore into hers, he says slowly, "I'm not like Jay."
She snorts. "Really, 'cause you had me confused there for a second."
"Ashley and I were just – "
"Just what? Please enlighten me."
"You make this so hard," he sighs in frustration and turns away from her.
"No, you just get yourself into screwy situations. Is finding one girl and sticking with her really that hard or can your brain just not function unless you have more than one chick hanging onto your every word?" she snaps and he faces her again.
"I don't want Ashley," he says weakly, though desperately trying to keep his voice steady.
"Didn't look that way to me when I walked in on your little love fest."
"Alex," he says, taking a step closer to her. "You need to listen to me."
"No," she screams. Screams. "No, damn it! You'll listen to me. I'm not your little puppet. You can't control me. You can't always expect me to be here when you need me. I'm not going to stand by and let you tell me all of these lies…lies – "
"There haven't been any lies, Alex!"
"Bullshit!" she exclaims. "You and Ashley? That was one big lie in itself, Craig!"
"I meant about how I feel about you. None of that was ever a lie."
"But you have no problem going at it with Ashley behind my back?"
"It doesn't matter now, Alex. She's gone, okay? She's out of the picture. It's just you and I now."
She stares at him, willing the angry tears that have formed in her eyes to disappear. "Right. It's just you and I until I become the next Ashley. Until whatever's left our relationship deteriorates like yours and hers did and you find some other bitch who'll fall for you again, right? And all I'll be good for is a – "
"Stop it. Just stop."
Rage flashes through her eyes. "Why should I stop? You don't stop screwing every girl you've ever been with over."
"It's going to be different this time," he insists, and she can tell he's said this line so many times before; just by the way it falls off his tongue.
"I don't like this," she says finally, sitting down on the couch. "I don't like this at all, Craig."
He sits down next to her and buries his head in his hands.
"I don't either, trust me," he says with a tired laugh.
"What do we do? Where is it we go from here?" she asks sullenly, dreading the answer.
"I don't know. I don't know anything, Alex."
"Maybe you should leave. Just…go."
"I'm not leaving," he says firmly and pulls her close to her, so tightly her bones might be crushing.
They sit there, in silence, him holding her like she's his lifeline and she sitting there almost emotionlessly, her eyes focused on the coffee table, unblinking.
"I don't want to love you, Craig," she says finally and her words pierce the air.
"And I don't want to love Ashley," he says, almost automatically, and let's go of her.
His words numb her somehow, and she doesn't cry, doesn't fight him, but just sits there, her eyes still on the coffee table.
And then she looks up at him and nods.
He looks back at her, so intently, as if trying to read into her soul, and just smiles. It's not a cheerful smile. It's strained almost.
But that's all their relationship was.
Almost.