A/N: I've been re-watching Degrassi lately and I really loved Angie and Craig's sibling relationship. It saddened me when their sibling relationship wasn't mentioned as much in later seasons, so this is my AU, OOC interpretation. I'm a little nervous about how this turned out, so I hope you enjoy it!
Angie Jeremiah turned fourteen today; fear bloomed at the pit of her stomach because she knew that meant sooner rather than later, she'd be starting high school. The thought of getting older and having added responsibilities thrust upon Angie's shoulders made her want to crawl under her covers and cry until everything went her way. But she knew that crying, sniveling and whining wouldn't change the fact that she needed to attend high school.
Angie knew herself well enough that she desperately had to have another perspective. She couldn't help her curiosity. After all, high school was a huge milestone and a pretty big deal, if Angie has anything to say about it all. She'd talk to her dad, but even the very idea of talking to Dad about high school sends chills (and not the good kind) down her spine. He'd probably half-rant at her in the protective way dads did in order to inform their kids about stuff like school and what to expect. Worse yet, she'd probably be preached at and be constantly reminded that every decision matters, and that all of her actions had consequences plus all of that kind of stuff. Angie understood why her Dad would want to gently remind her of these things, because they're all things she needs to know. But she didn't want to be considered a fuck-up before she even had a reason to even fuck up in the first place. Dad needed to stop assuming the worst, because she's heard worse things about Craig that she would never do.
Craig.
That's it! Angie exclaimed to herself. She could talk to Craig, but she wasn't sure how. The day he officially moved out was the last day they really kept in contact. Sure, he visited if he felt generous on holidays and birthdays; sure, he left messages on the answering machine every so often, and sure, he sent an email like, twice. So what that Angie's sibling bond with Craig had been strained recently? They were still related by blood and lived in the same house. They still loved each other, even if that love wasn't always necessarily given as often as she'd like.
But how would she contact him? Calling was out of the question, because Craig seemed to have a new number every time he called home. Angie wasn't even sure which number she could call. She didn't like sending emails, as they didn't seem personal enough. Come to think of it, she wasn't even sure of Craig's personal email. Angie didn't want to bother him with emails to his professional email. Besides, as irrational as this may have sounded in her mind, what if Craig didn't have time to access to a computer or a smartphone or something that could respond to an email?
Angie wasn't really even sure what her best bet would be to contact him. She was almost positive he got so many letters from fans that it wasn't even worth sending him a letter, and postcards didn't seem personal enough. So she was left to her thoughts about starting school yet again. Angie wasn't sure why she was so nervous about school anyway, because it wasn't like she was a nervous person. In fact, Angie was quite the opposite, as she was always very extroverted and confident in almost everything she did; Angie remained s fairly comfortable with the idea of aging, yet her fear seemed to hit her all at once.
Angie inhaled and exhaled because breathing was comforting process once she thought about it further. Maybe, Angie thought, I just need to relax a little bit. She stretched her arms over her head to relax even further. Maybe this fear is all in my head. Coming to this mindset feels abrupt and unexpected, but Angie's sure that she would have come to this conclusion sooner or later. It's for the best that she came to this decision sooner, anyway.
"Hey, Ange!" Dad calls out from the top of the stairs, unexpectedly bringing Angie out of her reverie. She looks at him, and they exchange smiles.
"Yeah, Dad?" She replies.
"We should probably get going, the back-to-school-sales won't last forever," Dad exclaimed, sounding a little too excited at the idea of sales. Angie's smile grew from tiny to enormous in the matter of a few seconds.
I'll make you proud in high school, Craig, Angie thought, a odd sense of serenity washing over her. Maybe just thinking about making Craig proud would be the best motivation for doing well in high school…
