Chapter 3: Blossoming Love

It seemed as if luck was back on Adam's side again, and this time he would make sure of it that it would last longer than just a few days. What he had was more than just a mild crush; it was true fairytale love in the making. His heart had now belonged to the new girl of Degrassi, Beth Simmons, and the best part of all is that she too felt the same way about him. Beth was a girl who was almost perfect in every way. She had the perfect body, the perfect voice, and the perfect smile. Beth had moved from America, and she needed someone to give her a tour of the school. Adam gladly volunteered to show her around, and just the when the day came to a close Adam asked her if she wanted to hang out some more. She happily answered yes, with a little kiss on the cheek added in. Now that's what I call a lucky day. In just a short time Adam had made a very good impression towards the new girl, and he was justly rewarded with a kiss which represented her growing affection towards him. After that they went their separate ways, and right as Adam got home he immediately started texting his two best friends, Eli and Clare.

Adam texted, I just scored a lunch date with Beth for tomorrow. Come meet her she is awesome!"

When he finished texting he placed his phone on his desk, and then ran towards his bed. He jumped and turned around so that when he landed on his bed he was laying on his back. He folded his arms back behind his head with a smile as big as can be. It seemed like two days ago he was staring at his ceiling just like what he was doing now, thinking of how fast he lost his first love. Now he was thinking of how fast he found new love in just one day. While he was deep in thought he heard his mom calling for him.

"Adam!" yelled his mother. "Come downstairs, it's time for dinner."

"Be there in a minute mom," yelled Adam.

"Well hurry up, I'm made beef stew tonight."

"Mom's beef stew. Yuck!"

Adam bounced off his bed, and headed towards his door. Just as he started walking towards he heard some crunching sound from below. He stopped right in his tracks, and looked down at the ground to see what the sound was. He then noticed something squashed underneath his left foot. He lifted his foot, and saw that it was a photo that was all crumpled up and stuck on his shoe. He gently took the photo off his shoe, and tried to straighten it out. When he finished straightening the crushed photo, he turned it around to see the picture. Adam looked at it and immediately lost his smile when he saw that it was a picture of Fiona and him holding each other. He could tell that he took the photo because one of his arms stretched beyond the photo. He looked at it closely, and he remembered when he took the photo. It happened in the hallway one time, when he and Fiona were dating. Those were the good old days, but that love was done before it could truly begin. Now Adam wanted Beth more than anyone. So Adam crumpled up the photo into a small ball, and threw it in the small trash can that was next to his bass guitar.

"Out with the old," said Adam with a smile, "and in with the new."

Adam then started walking again. He opened his door, and continued walking to eat his least favorite meal.

The Next Day….

Adam woke up from his bed with a good feeling about the day, and he rushed himself getting ready so that he can get to school. He was in so much of a rush that he didn't even stop to have a descent breakfast. He ran downstairs with his clothes and backpack ready, and he went straight into the kitchen. His brother, Drew, was sitting there eating his bowl of Coco Puffs.

As Adam quickly walked past him Drew looked up at him and said, "Whoa, whoa where's the fire? School doesn't start for another half an hour."

"I know," said Adam as he stopped at the fridge to take out an apple, "but it's always good to get there early. You never know what might be waiting there."

Immediately Drew got up, and blocked the door just as Adam was about to open it.

"Okay, what's her name and is she pretty?"

"What are you talking about?"

Drew smiled before saying, "Don't play dumb with me. We may be step-brothers but we do share something in common."

"Oh really," said Adam sarcastically, "and what would that be exactly?"

"We both have the same look on our face when one of us gets lucky with a girl. Course most of the time it's me, no offense. But now you have that look. So spill. Who is she?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" said Adam with a sneaky smile on his face. He enjoys keeping secrets from Drew because he knew how much he desperately wanted to know. So he thought it would be kind of fun to mess with him.

"Aww come on Adam. I want to know. Who's the lucky girl?"

Adam swiftly made his way past Drew, and through the door. Drew tried to grab him, but Adam moved faster. As Adam was walking down Drew stood in the doorway with a look of defeat on his face.

"Adam! Come on. I'm dying to know."

"Don't worry Drew, you'll find out soon."

"You suck."

"Don't be such a baby."

Later that morning, Adam and Drew got onto the bus and headed straight towards Degrassi. The whole way there Drew kept bugging Adam, asking him who this girl was. But Adam wouldn't budge even a little. He was having too much fun keeping him guessing. When they finally got there Adam saw both Eli and Clare sitting on the steps just talking with each other and giggling. He got off the bus, and Drew finally gave up. He walked away, and headed inside the building while Adam went to his friends.

"Hey guys, what's up?" asked Adam with a smile on his face.

"You look awfully giddy today," said Clare.

"Why wouldn't he," said Eli, "he's got a girl of his own again. And this one's a real hottie."

Clare looked at him wide eyed for a second, pretending to be insulted, and Eli noticed this.

"But of course not as much of a hottie as you are."

"That's what I thought."

Clare put her hand on Eli's head and ruffled his hair till it was mess. She and Adam both laughed as Eli tried to straighten his hair again. Then Clare turned her attention back on Adam again.

"Anyway, so when do we get to meet this fantastic girl of yours?"

"Well we agreed to meet at lunch today, and she said she would love to meet you guys there."

Eli then patted Adam on the back before speaking.

"Well consider us there dude. We're really glad that you found someone else. And who knows, maybe this girl might actually be sober."

And with that Adam became silent, and Clare lightly hit Eli's shoulder.

"I'm sorry. That was the wrong thing to say."

"Hey it's no problem. And honestly, I hope so too."

Before either of them could say anything, they heard the sound of wheels screeching to a stop. When they turned they saw that it was a big, fancy limo pulling up in front of the school. When it stopped, one of the side doors opened and the person that came out was none other than spoiled little Fiona Coyne, otherwise known as Adam's ex-girlfriend. She shut the door, and as the limo drove off she started walking towards the front entrance. She looked over towards the gang, and the moment that she did Adam turned his head down towards the ground. Fiona then let out a big huff, and started walking quicker up the steps and through the front doors. When she was finally gone, Adam looked back up again relieved that she was gone.

Eli finally broke the silence, "Don't worry soldier. The dragon lady's gone."

"This sucks so much," said Adam, "every time she's near me I feel so uncomfortable. When she gives me that angry stare it's like she's ready to launch a spear at my heart."

Clare put a hand on his shoulder, "Forget about her Adam. She was the past, and you need to focus on the present. For example, if we don't get to class in the next five minutes we're all at risk of getting detention."

"Right, let's head out."

So all three of them got up, and headed into the school. Luckily for them they all got in their Media Immersions class right as the bell started ringing. Adam was relieved to not get a detention, and he was even happier when he saw a certain someone sitting at the seat right across from him. There with her beautiful slender body, short dark brown hair, and perfectly white smile was Beth who was just as happy to see Adam as he was to see her. Adam sat down, and for a moment they both just stared at each other with happy eyes and wide smiles.

"Morning handsome," said Beth.

"Morning gorgeous," said Adam. "So are we still on for lunch?"

"You bet! Will your friends be there? I'd like to meet them in person."

"Yeah they'll be there. And I promise you'll love them."

"Not as much as I'm starting to love a certain someone right now."

"And who would that be exactly?" asked Adam pretending like he didn't already know.

"Sorry hotshot, a girl doesn't reveal her secrets."

Both Adam and Beth giggled as they stared at each other with lustful eyes.

Adam was on cloud nine now that he was in a sweet budding relationship with the nicest girl on the planet. Suddenly, another voice broke his train of thought.

"Well Mr. Torres if you and Ms. Simmons are done flirting with one another can you both return to class and please pay attention."

"Sorry Ms. Oh," said both Adam and Beth simultaneously.

They turned their heads back to Ms. Oh as she was talking to the class. During most of her lecture they would occasionally turn their heads to look at each other. Whenever they could their smiles were not as big as they usually were because they didn't want to risk getting caught. But still every time they looked at each other it was like they were talking to each other with neither of them saying a word. They felt connected in some way. This connection meant something to Adam. To him, it meant that this time he had finally found the right girl for him. Not only is she beautiful, but she's also funny, smart, and a very spirited person. However, he was worried that if she ever found about his deep, dark secret she would never speak to him again. And that was the saddest part of this whole relationship. He was so in love with her that if she broke up with him because she found out about him he would be utterly devastated. At least when he was in a relationship with Fiona she still stayed with him. However, she could only be with him if she could get her hands on a glass of chardonnay. Still, Adam kept his mind on happy thoughts and realized that he doesn't actually have to tell her anything about his issue. It's his business, so it should stay his business. When he came to that conclusion he was back on the happy track, and was counting the minutes they had left until lunch time.

After a long and boring speech from Ms. Oh the bell finally rang and the students got up to go to their next class. For Adam, Beth, Clare, and Eli it was lunch time for them. Adam was filled with excitement to introduce the love of his life to his friends. He just knew that they would like her. She's just so perfect, it's like she's a dodo bird. Girls like her are like totally extinct. So they all headed into the lunchroom, and Eli and Clare sat themselves down at a table with Adam and Beth following from behind holding hands. They were true love birds in the making. When they finally got to the table Eli and Clare were sitting at Adam looked at them before speaking.

"Guys this is Beth Simmons. Beth these are friends Eli and Clare."

Beth shook hands with each of them while saying, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Same here," said Eli as he shook her hand.

"Okay I just want to say this," said Clare, "You're the first girl I've seen that actually makes that ugly uniform look nice on someone."

"Thank you."

Beth blushed a little from the comment.

"Hey," said Adam, "Don't you be flirting up with my girl now."

All four of them laughed at the joke, and Adam pulled up a chair for Beth to sit in. As soon as she was seated Adam pulled himself up a chair, and sat down too.

"So," said Beth trying to start a conversation, "I here you two are quite the pair."

"Funny," said Eli as he draped his arm around Clare, "cause we heard the same thing about you guys."

Beth blushed even more, and Adam happily smiled.

"Well what can I say he made one hell of a first impression. And he sure knows how to treat a lady right."

Adam smirked a little at the irony of her compliment since he used to be a lady. Still, he did not let that bring him down. So he started back up the conversation.

"So do you have any hobbies or special activities?"

"Well I'm still doing piano, but I'm trying to do something different you know. Something bigger, and more worthwhile."

"Like what exactly?"

"Well I was thinking about doing some volunteer work at the animal shelter. Mainly finding homes for abandoned or abused animals. Did you know that over hundreds of pets are both abused or neglected by their owners almost every day? It's so wrong. I mean how is it that someone can be so mean to their pet and still live with themselves. It makes me so angry. I mean I have the sweetest golden retriever at home, and just thinking about hurting her just makes me feel sick inside."

"Wow," said Adam who was just smiling at her abundance of care and love. "It's like God just decided to send an angel down to Earth to fix all the screwed up things in the world. Seriously, if more people had just an ounce of your kindness and care for sweet and innocent animals the world might start to be a better place."

"Well that's just me. A pure heart of gold. I mean I'm not trying to sound conceited or anything but-"

"You are not conceited. It's called being a good person. They're very rare these days."

"Gee thanks."

Adam and Beth stared at each other again, and were so trapped in their thoughts they could barely hear what Eli was whispering to Clare.

"Wow is that what we're like every day?"

Clare looked at him with a smile, and then leaned in to give him a sweet and luscious kiss.

"And I'm thankful for every moment of it."

Eli was so moved by what she said that he leaned in to kiss her this time. For the next ten minutes they all just talked and talked while drowning out the rest of the world. Beth told them a little about herself like where she came from, and what her parents do for a living. They were all having such a great time talking that they were bummed when the bell rang, which signaled the end of lunch period. They all grabbed their books, and started walking out of the lunchroom. When Eli and Clare got out first, Beth quickly grabbed Adam's arm and pulled him away from the doors. She pulled him to a different table that was next to a window. The sun was shining its beautiful rays of sunshine through the glass and onto the seats which is why when they sat down it felt nice and warm.

"Adam I just wanted to talk to you for a second."

"Oh," said Adam with a worried tone, "what about exactly?"

Beth smiled and started to gently stroke her finger through his hair as she continued talking.

"Relax Casanova, it's nothing bad. I just need to tell you something that I wanted to tell since the first day I met you."

"Really? Well, umm, go ahead spill it."

"Well you see, umm, I wanted to tell you that I, uhh, well the truth is that I, I, umm, that I-"

Before she attempted to utter another word she swiftly leaned in, and kissed him on the lips. For the next few seconds they were lip locked, and both of them loved every second of it. She lifted her lips of his and then looked at him with lovestruck eyes.

"I love you. I love you so much, and it's so unbelievable because I've only known you for a day and a half. But for some reason ever since I met you I felt this connection between us. I-It's hard to describe it in simple words. I just have this feeling in me that's saying that you and I are meant to be with one another. Do you understand what I'm trying to say here?"

For a moment Adam just stared at her without so much as saying a word. Beth was worried for a second that she might have creeped him out a little.

"Say something Adam. Say anything that shows me that I haven't completely weirded you out."

And just like that Adam leaned in, and started kissing her. Beth grabbed onto his head as they really started kissing. At first it was just lips to lips. Then it upgraded to light tongue touching. And then finally their tongues began intertwining with each other. There was enough heat between them to fog up the glass window they were sitting next too. When they finished they took a moment to catch their breath, both of them were speechless.

"Well that definitely works as an answer."

Adam smiled widely, as did Beth before speaking again.

"So does that mean your okay with this?"

"Are you kidding? I'm more than okay with this. I'm absolutely ecstatic by this! And what you said before I feel the same way. You see ever since I first met you deep down I felt this feeling that was afraid to have at first. Because I thought that if I felt that way again I might just get my heart stomped and have that feeling crushed too. And honestly I could not handle that again if it did. But now I'm not worried. Now I don't even care because I know now that I am truly in love with you and everything about you. And the best part of it all is that you totally feel the same way about me. This is great!"

Beth smiled so wide, and there were hints of tears in her eyes.

"I know right."

The both leaned in and hugged each other so tightly as if they might disappear if they let go. They were both at a point of extreme happiness right now that nothing could ruin it.

However, little did they know that from a distance there was someone watching them. This person was standing behind a large support pole in the lunchroom. This person was watching them silently as they embraced each other. This very same person was steaming with growing jealousy over the fact that Adam could find new love in less than a week. The person watching them from a distance was none other than Fiona. She had been standing the entire time just listening in on their conversation. Apparently, she had been peacefully eating her lunch and when the bell rang she was about to leave. She then saw from across the lunch room Beth dragging Adam to the seat by the window. At first she didn't care, but something inside of her wouldn't let her leave until she knew what exactly they were doing. So now she was watching as Adam and Beth pronounced their love for each other. And with that Fiona gripped the support pole so tightly due to her anger and jealousy growing inside of her. She couldn't take it anymore, and began walking away towards the back entrance so that she could sneak quietly without walking in Adam and Beth's view. As she left she stomped, and a single tear came crawling down her face. When she realized this she quickly wiped it off and stormed off towards the front entrance of the school.

Back to where Adam and Beth were, they finally let go of each other but their eyes were completely locked to one another.

"So," said Beth, "do you think we can make up some dumb excuse for being late for class that the teacher might actually believe?"

"Probably not. But it's worth a shot."

They grabbed their stuff, stood up, and began walking towards the entrance to the hallways. The whole time they walked down that aisle of lockers their hands were together. It was as if they were handcuffed to each other. Adam was so happy because for once things were actually starting to go well again, and his broken heart began healing. And so they continued onwards on their way to class with the feeling of love and joy filling them up.

Well what do you think? Will Adam and Beth's relationship stay strong? Or will secrets from both sides tear them apart? And what of Fiona? Will her growing jealousy lead her to do the unspeakable? Find out in the next few chapters as FADAM comes to a close, and ABETH starts fresh.