Authors Note: I do not own Degrassi or gain anything from writing this. Just the enjoyment of getting to write the characters I've loved for years. I will be updating this fairly regularly. This is going to follow Ellie graduating and moving on with her life. Craig will come into it fairly quickly though. R&R guys. Thanks for reading!
Ellie had never been one for gooey sentiment. It just wasn't who she was. She tried not to overthink things too much. Her past had taught her that overthinking any situation was far too risky. It always got her hurt. Always. But here she was, overthinking everything once again. Ellie was due to graduate in three days. Three days and her whole life was going to be drastically different. She was going to miss university. Sure it wasn't perfect. But she had worked her way up to editor at the core. She had a great group of friends (well okay she had Marco but to her that counted as a great group of friends), and she knew what she was doing when she was in school. She knew how to be a student.
She was luckier than most of her journalism classmates who were about to face the reality of limited employment. She had great options unlike most. Her past experience interning for Caitlin Ryan in high school gave her a few good networking opportunities not to mention she had been editor for two years now and knew quite a few higher ups around Toronto from the experience. But her options were exactly what had her so confused now. She had been offered three jobs: a job writing for the entertainment section in the Toronto Sun, a job working for Clash magazine covering emerging artists around the UK, and a job working for the Arts & Entertainment section of the L.A. Times.
She knew that Clash wasn't really an option. It was an ocean away and with her dad still struggling with PTSD, being across the globe wasn't something she felt comfortable with. Everyone kept telling her to take the job at the Toronto Sun and stay put. But it wasn't the better of the two jobs. Sure taking the job in Toronto would be easy but it didn't pay nearly as well as working for the L.A. Times plus L.A. had a much better entertainment industry and she could certainly work her way much further up the chain of command there. It wasn't that far of a plane ride either when push came to shove. But there was one big issue that still clouded her decision: Craig Manning.
Craig was still in L.A. He was thriving there in fact. She and Craig had kept contact since she was there last. He had remained sober and had a blossoming music career that was successful enough for him to pay the bills but still offered him the opportunity to avoid being around the toxic influences that sent him towards cocaine in the first place. He and Yvette had broken up a few months after she last visited L.A. He was single and free. And she was still desperately in love with him.
She worried that she was making her decision for the wrong reason. Her and Craig had been doing this 'will they-won't they' game for five years and by now she realized it was all a mess and would never happen. But there was still a part of her that had hope. A small convoluted part of her that just couldn't give up on the fucked-up amazing guy he used to be when she first fell for him. She worried that she would choose L.A. for the wrong reasons and choose it not because the job was better but because it would give her one last shot at getting Craig. She didn't want to make a decision that would put her heart in harm's reach once again. But she was tempted.
Ellie figured that the only person that could give her an unbiased opinion on what she should do would be Marco. Marco Del Rossi, her best friend since 10th grade. Her first kiss, her first heartbreak, and the best friend she ever had. He would tell her what to do, even if he didn't like the advice he was giving. Ellie pulled her phone out of her pocket and texted Marco to see if he was free. Ellie waited about twenty minutes, busily packing up her Core office into a small box. Marco replied that he could meet her at the Dot in twenty minutes. She packed the last of her things and grabbed the box off her desk. She turned around to take one last look and stared at the box in her hand, in disbelief that four years of work could fit in one small box. She sighed and whispered 'Goodbye' under her breath and turned off the lights. She closed the door and quickly walked to the Dot.
By the time she got to the Dot, Marco was there chatting with Spinner at the counter. Ellie smiled at them both and placed the box on the ground and then took a seat next to Marco. "So what's up El? Existential crisis?" Marco said with his signature sigh. "Ah, you know me too well…" Ellie said sarcastically "Spin, can I get a ham and cheese panini and a mocha latte?" she asked Spinner. Spinner nodded and walked away to go make her order. Marco stared at her expectantly "Well? What is it El?" he asked impatiently.
"I'm having some trouble making a decision about this whole job situation…" Ellie trailed off. Marco looked at her confused and said "Wait, I thought you had already turned down the Clash job? What's the confusion here? Are you contemplating unemployment or something? I can already tell you that's a bad idea" Ellie looked away and bit her lip nervously "So um okay… I might have not mentioned all the job offers I got" she said looking at him seriously. "Mkay… so you turned down the Clash right?" Marco clarified. Ellie nodded her head. "So what other job could possibly rival working for the Sun?" Marco asked her.
"Just so you know, I didn't go to them! They came to me. Caitlin put in some calls… she figured she kinda owed me after the whole Jesse thing." Ellie said quickly, afraid Marco would think she was actively chasing Craig to L.A. "Out with it Nash!" Marco said exasperated. Spinner came over with her latte and a cappuccino for Marco and placed Ellie's sandwich on the counter. He quickly went to go take the order of some Degrassi students that had just walked in the door. "I got an offer from the L.A. Times" Ellie blurted out. Marco sat there, looking at her stunned.
"L.A? Really? So is the debate really about the job El or is this about Craig, again?" Marco said frustrated that Ellie hadn't told him about this prior to now. "It's not about Craig. At least, I don't think it is. Honestly, I can't even be sure. It's the better job for sure. The money is better, the prospects of moving up are greater, the music scene is much more up and coming. If Craig didn't live there, I wouldn't even be debating it. But he does. And I am debating it. Because we both know how this goes." Ellie said as she took a big swig of her latte.
Marco took a sip of his cappuccino and was quiet for a moment. "El… I don't want to tell you not to take the dream job. I can't tell you not to take the dream job. But at the same time, I want to shake you and tell you that there is nothing worse that you could do for yourself. I love Craig, I do. But you and him are like fire and gasoline, separately you are fabulous, but together you go down in a flaming burst of destruction." he told her kindly. "I want you to be happy, you know that. And I want you to follow your joy because you have earned that more so than most people I've ever seen. But don't go for him. If you go, go for you. And only you."
Ellie nodded and put her head on Marco's shoulder. "I'm fucking terrified you know. Of moving on. Of all of this. Of not being with you" Ellie said sadly. "Hey! You will always be with me. This…" he said motioning between the two of them "This is for life. You can't get rid of me now." Marco said sadly as he placed his head atop hers.
The next three days went by in a blur. Before Ellie knew it, it was graduation day. The day went by in flash. She could hardly remember the speeches or the special keynote speaker but she remembered every detail of watching Marco cross the stage. She remembered every part of that feeling of walking across the stage herself and staring out at the people she loved. She knew as she was walking across the stage that she hadn't put in all that work for nothing. She knew that she owed it to herself to put this stage of her life to rest and move forward. She knew what she had to do. She had to follow the dream. She had to move forward. She had to go to L.A.