Chapter One: Painful Smiles

2 AM and she calls me 'cause I'm still awake
Can you help me unravel my latest mistake?
I don't love him
Winter just wasn't my season

"Hello?" he answered his phone right when she was about to hang up.

"I can't believe you're leaving tomorrow. Can't you find some way to get out of it?" she begged.

"It's too late Ellie. There's nothing I can do."

"What if you told him you were gay? There's no way he'd let you go," Ellie told her best friend.

"I can't break his heart like that. Especially not since…" she could tell he was trying not to cry.

"I know. I'm sorry I even suggested it. You want me to come over?"

"Yeah El, that would be great," Marco told her.

"Okay, I'll be over in a few minutes," Ellie said and hung up the phone.

Over Christmas break of grade eleven, Marco's mom lost her battle with cancer. Ever since, his dad had grown more distant. When Marco got into a fight with him one day in June, his dad decided to send him away.

Marco walked up to his dad and snatched the bottle of vodka out of his hand.

"What's wrong with you?" his dad growled, trying to take it back.

"Nothing's wrong with me. You're the one with the problem!" Marco yelled back.

"I'm warning you Marco. You better not talk to me like that. I'm your father, not one of your pathetic little friends!" Mr. Del Rossi yelled. Marco couldn't hold his composure any longer. He started to cry.

"Mom wouldn't have wanted it to be this way. She'd want us to be happy." Marco felt a sharp sting on his cheek as his father slapped him across the face.

"I said don't talk to me like that! That's it Marco, you're done," he said.

"Dad, you're drunk. Please stop. What do you mean I'm done?" Marco asked, confused.

"You're leaving. This will be your new home for the next year." He threw a pamphlet at his son. Marco just barely caught it. "I don't care where you go after that."

Marco now held the pamphlet in his hands, staring at it. The title was huge across the top, in bold, maroon letters: The Michael Gaelan Academy of Connecticut. An all boy's boarding school. How ironic.

'Cause you can't jump the track, we're like cars on a cable
And life's like an hourglass, glued to the table
No one can find the rewind button, boys
So cradle your head in your hands
And breathe... just breathe
Oh breathe, just breathe.

A few minutes later, Ellie popped her head into Marco's bedroom window. She climbed into the room and joined Marco on his bed. They curled up together like they always had, arms and legs entangled as one. Marco brushed some of Ellie's hair out of her eyes and kissed her forehead. She entwined her fingers with his and grasped his hand to her chest. Looking over at him, he forced a smile, trying to pretend that everything would be alright. She forced a smile back, knowing that the days to come would only bring her heartache. He was leaving her.

They lay there in silence, enjoying each other's company. It was something only the two of them could achieve together. They fell asleep that way, feeling each other's pain and sorrow with each rise and fall of their chests.

But, my God, it's so beautiful when the boy smiles.

A/N: So this is my new Marco story…I hope you like it. I decided to post it now since I just finished writing chapter eight and it was eight pages long...the most I've ever written for a chapter. Please review to every chapter that you read. Sorry it's so short, but it's just an intro to the story. I'm going to try to make the regular chapters long. I will try to update once a week. Okay, I'm doing something new for flashbacks if you haven't already noticed...they're between the little line breaksand they're not only italic but also bolded…I don't think I'll have very many anyway. The rest of the story will be in first person...whoever's POV it is; their name will be bolded at the top. Anywho, the song is "Breathe (2 AM)" by Anna Nalick and she owns it. The summary is from the song "Gethsemane" by Rise Against and they own it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Degrassi or any of its characters. However, I do own the boys at Marco's new school…they will be introduced next chapter. R&R!