604
The Career Fair had come to Degrassi and the gym was cluttered with students looking around at displays of different potential careers set up all around. Some students just looked at it as an opportunity to skip class, but others actually tried to find something they were interested in. Danny and Derek were looking at a Professional Athlete Display.
"Think about it man, we can make make 80,000 a year just for playing basketball," Danny said excitedly as he read the Salary.
"Good luck, you couldn't even make the team last year," Derek joked. "And did you read the rest? You have to go to college which involves work."
"Yeah right, those college players just get paid to go school," Danny said.
Derek's eyes wandered as he noticed Peter going over to talk to Holly J.
"Derek?" Danny asked confusedly before turning around and grinning. "Looks like you better make a move before Peter has another hottie to add to his collection."
Derek laughed, shaking his head, knowing Peter would never cheat on Emma. But an idea suddenly came to him.
"You're into photography?" Peter asked surprised as he reached Holly J.
"How did you guess?" Holly J asked with a laugh. "Where's Emma?"
"If you can find her in this crowd of people, let me know," Peter said. "Photography's always kind of been my calling. My dad's been throwing money at me since I was a kid, and I never had anything to spend it on so I learned about cameras."
"Oh," Holly J smiled flirtatiously. "Maybe you can take my picture?"
Peter was unsure of what to say. Derek suddenly popped in between the two, surprising them. Peter tried to look unsuspicious, but Derek didn't seem to notice anything away.
"Peter, what's up?" Derek said, giving Peter a high five.
"Hey dude," Peter nodded back.
"So, Holly J," Derek said, turning towards her. "That test in Kwan's class on was such a waste of time, right?"
"That's an understatement," Holly J said, giving Derek a confident grin. "I've read Of Mice and Men so many times. All the symbolism questions were so easy. Another boring, simple test from Kwan."
"Yeah, that's what I'm saying," Derek said. His grin sunk, as he clearly did awful on the test.
"I'm gonna go check out the Lawfirm display," Holly J smiled, walking away and leaving the two on their own. Peter's eyes slowly shifted from Holly J to Derek, who stood sulking in defeat.
"What was that about?" Peter asked with a chuckle.
"Oh, that?" Derek asked, trying to pick himself up. "No biggie. Is she seeing anyone?"
"Not at the moment. I can see where this is going," Peter said with a laugh.
"Can't you put in a good word for me bro?" Derek asked. "I know you and Emma are really good friends with her"
"I can try, but Holly J doesn't just go for anyone. You have to actually have some intelligence." Peter laughed.
"You're saying I don't?" Derek asked, offended. He really wasn't going to give up on this.
"I'm just saying," Peter started to say. "Don't get your hopes up too much. She seems kind of selective. But I'll do my best."
Derek started to calm down a bit, and smiled. "Thanks man."
"Anytime," Peter smiled. But something seemed to be bothering him a little bit inside. He looked over at Holly J again in wonder.
Opening Theme
In Grade 12 Economics, students were sitting through yet another boring lecture from the infamous Mr. Perino. Some students doodled in their notebooks to keep busy, but Liberty was eyeing JT. After all the drama they had went through last year, she hoped that maybe sometime they could reconnect and have the wonderful partnership that they once had.
"Alright, I'm going to split you into groups of 3 for the next project," Mr. Perino said. "You have to act as a family unit for a weekend and figure out what your expenses would be. And I also want an oral report on the average persons spending habits and how we can work to improve them. You can decide your partners and get started."
Liberty quickly approached JT and Toby, who were already eyeing out a possible third member for their group.
"You guys wanna work together?" Liberty hopefully asked.
"Thank you, now I won't have to worry about me being the only one doing all the work while JT sits around," Toby said.
"Well it's your guys' lucky day," Liberty said, looking to JT. "Because I'm going to make sure this is perfect."
"Oh, joy" JT said, trying his hardest to smile.
"It's gonna be just like old times, the three of us hanging out together" Liberty said.
"Yep, it's gonna be a blast," JT said looking to Toby with false happiness who sighed. JT had always been so moody lately. Liberty couldn't be happier. A week-long excuse to see JT. Maybe it could be the start of something more.
Peter was getting ready to leave school and go over to Emma's when he saw Derek in the hallway trying to help Holly J hang up a poster. It resulted in arguing, as Holly J became frustrated with Derek trying to put it up for her, when wanted it to be done her way.
Peter laughed as they finally got the poster up when Derek decided to back off. They went separate ways, with Derek coming Peter's way. But Holly J turned around, looking in Peter's eye for moment.
"You still trying to go after her?" Peter asked when Derek reached him.
"Yes, and I'm obviously failing so you guys need to help me," Derek said. "Please Peter, you have to do a brother a favor, I'll do anything!"
"Alright, calm down, I'm going to Emma's now," Peter said with a laugh. "I'll see what we can do."
"Alright, just let me know," Derek said. "You're the man, Pete!"
"I know," Peter said with a grin.
JT and Toby were waiting outside for Liberty to go start working on their project, and were obviously less excited about it than she was.
"Why did we have to let her in our group?" JT asked.
"I was hoping to work with someone who could add some input this time," Toby argued.
"Input? I've added plenty of input," JT said, trying to think back to projects they had done in the past. "Well maybe I haven't, but I think Liberty has ulterior motives."
"What are you talking about?" Toby asked with a laugh.
"I think she wants to get back together with me," JT said, looking down.
"So?" Toby asked. "You guys used to be great together."
"Yeah, I know," JT said. "I used to think so too. But now, after the baby I just can't think of her the same way for some reason."
"Then tell her," Toby suggested.
"Tell me what?" Liberty asked, suddenly coming out of nowhere.
Toby and JT looked at each other, trying to figure out what to say.
"That… We need to get this show on the road before we turn fifty," JT said as they hurried off.
Peter and Emma were in the middle of a hot and heavy make out session on the couch at Emma's house. Peter brushed her hair behind her shoulder as he kissed her neck and began reaching down towards her belt.
"Emma!" They heard 3-year-old Jack cry from the other room. They separated, Peter looking frustrated.
"We better stop," Emma said, looking apologetically. "We're back on babysitting duty."
"It's fine," Peter said as he got up slowly and the two straightened up a bit. In reality, he wished they could have continued. But he doubt it would have gone much farther anyway. Emma always had strict rules regarding that subject.
As they watched Jack play with his toys, Peter remembered what Derek had said and thought about bringing it up to Emma.
"Um, hey, Derek really likes Holly J," Peter said. "Do you think there's any chance she would be into him?"
"Derek?" Emma asked with a slight laugh, remembering the horrific date had with Derek last year. "I don't think she's into the whole basketball player thing."
"Well do you think you can at least try to talk her into going on one date with him?" Peter asked. "How about a double date with you and I to relieve some of the pressure?"
Emma thought about it for a second. "I can talk to her about it. Derek's a nice guy right?"
"Underneath it all, he isn't that bad" Peter said, wondering if he had made the right decision.
JT, Toby, and Liberty sat in the Dot, working on their project. Toby and Liberty were writing down information while JT seemed to be very bored and irritated. Toby got up to use the bathroom. Liberty decided to embrace every moment of alone time with JT she could get.
"I'm so glad we're getting to do this," Liberty said, smiling ear to ear.
JT looked up uncomfortably. "Yeah… me too."
"After everything that happened, I'm so glad we can just sit down and have fun like we used to," Liberty said.
"You bet," JT nodded with a smile. But deep down, he felt really strange and awkward.
"I was kind of hoping one day we could pick up where we left off before the pregnancy," Liberty said, placing her hand on JT's. JT quickly pulled it away.
"Liberty, cool down a bit," JT said as he got up and quickly walked toward the bathroom as Toby was coming back. Liberty looked down, feeling completely lost.
"What did I miss?" Toby asked, noticing Liberty was acting strange.
"You don't wanna know," Liberty said.
Peter sat in the Lab after school the next day, editing some of his pictures on the computer. He looked at a picture of him and Emma and smiled. They had a perfect relationship. It should be everything he ever wanted. But why did he feel it was slightly lacking something?
Holly J had just come out of a student council meeting and noticed him through the window. She decided to go in to talk to him. Peter greeted her with a smile as she entered the room.
"So, Derek, huh?" Holly J asked with a look of rejection already on her face.
Peter laughed. "Give it a shot. He's a really cool guy."
"Sure doesn't seem like it when he's always trying to flirt with me," Holly J said.
"Yeah, he gets kind of nervous around the girl he likes," Peter shrugged.
"He has the strangest way of showing it," Holly J said. "He needs to be more confident like you."
Peter didn't say anything as he looked back at his pictures. Best not tempt his needs.
"So what are you working on?" Holly J asked curiously.
"I'm just kind of messing around," Peter said. "Emma was supposed to help me out with this project for Photography, but she has to babysit. She hasn't had as much free time ever since Mr. Simpson started teaching Night School."
"So I guess that means you're free later?" Holly J asked suggestively.
Peter looked at her and didn't know what to do. "I thought Emma was your friend. Why are you trying to do this?"
"We both want this," Holly J, looking into his eyes. "Why deny it?"
Peter couldn't fight his temptations and slowly neared closer, leading to a much wanted kiss. They separated quickly after hearing a scream, standing up and noticing Mr. Simpson at the back of the room. They saw that he had spilled coffee on himself and were unsure if he had seen them kiss.
"Sorry to startle you guys," Mr. Simpson put on a smile. "Just a little spill."
It took Peter and Holly J a second to calm down since they obviously weren't expecting Emma's step-dad to be in the room with them.
"No worries" Peter smiled back. "You alright?"
"Yeah, I'll make it," Mr. Simpson said. "See you at the house sometime Peter."
Peter nodded with a faint grin as he and Holly J looked at each other.
"So you wanna hang out?" Holly J asked.
"Okay," Peter said as they quickly exited the Computer Lab, leaving behind a confused Mr. Simpson.
Liberty sat on Manny's bed, as Manny was looking at outfits in front of the mirror. If anyone knew guy it advice, it would be Manny.
"So what kind of outfit do you think they'll like at the audition?" Manny said, throwing another outfit in disgust. "My agent said the character is a girl whose ignorant and ditzy."
"Just be yourself," said Liberty, not really thinking. Manny looked at her offended and she realized what she said. "I'm sorry Manny, I really need to talk to you about something."
"Oh yeah, what happened with JT?" Manny asked, giving her attention to Liberty.
"I blew it, it's like there's a completely different vibe between us now," Liberty said. "And there's nothing I can do to even get him to look at me."
"Are you sure it's you who even has to do anything?" Manny asked.
"Well… yes, because…" Liberty looked down sadly. "When he talks about other girls, I wanna scream. I just miss being with him so much."
"Well you can't force him to do anything, you have to let him realize his feelings on his own," said Manny. "I'm sure he misses you too, he just doesn't realize it. Give him time."
Liberty frowned. She had to act now, before it was too late. Time was not an option. She thought to herself, what was a way she could lure JT in? This whole time throughout the group project they hadn't really had any alone time together. Maybe she could do something to fix that…
"Why is your sister so obsessed with me?" JT asked to Danny as they were hanging out at the mall.
"Trust me, I've been waiting for that answer for a long time," Danny laughed. "But you're right, it is getting kind of annoying. She talks about you all the time, somehow the conversation always goes back to you."
"I'm flattered to know that," JT said sarcastically.
"We're not gonna walk around here all night complaining are we?" Danny asked.
"You have a better alternative?" JT wanted to know.
"You wanna hit the skate park?" Danny asked hopefully.
JT sighed. "You go ahead, I'm just gonna hang out here for a little while."
Danny and JT parted ways and JT started walking a different directions. He stopped in his tracks as he noticed Peter and Holly J making out beside an escalator. He curiously inched his way forward, trying to figure out what this was about.
"So is it safe to say you're up for giving this a shot?" Holly J asked.
Peter looked down. "What about Emma? And Derek?"
"Are they really important?" Holly J asked with a laugh.
"Pete!" JT said, causing Peter and Holly J to jump. "Didn't know you guys were here, that's crazy."
"I better go," Holly said, quickly going away, her face turning red with embarrassment. Oh no. How much had JT seen? JT chuckled at how obvious they were being
"Dude, you scared the shit out me!" Peter said pushing JT.
"Whoa, calm down bro," JT laughed. "I can't be THAT scary."
"You'd be surprised," Peter shook his head. "So what are you doing here?"
"We're not going to talk about why I just witnessed?" JT said with a mischievous grin.
Peter froze up. He and JT were friends, but JT and Emma had been friends since childhood. "You saw that?"
"It was pretty hard to miss," JT said. "Relax man, I'm not going to tell anyone."
"Thanks," Peter said, bumping fists with JT as he tried to collect his thoughts. "I don't know what to do… I mean I love Emma. But sometimes, it just doesn't feel like enough. And Holly J… something about her just intrigues me."
"What does intrigue mean?" JT asked confusedly.
"I don't know, that's not the point," Peter said. "What should I do?"
"Well honestly, if you want some guy advice straight from the heart," JT said. "If was in a situation like yours and I had two beautiful girls. I wouldn't do anything."
Peter grimaced. That wasn't the kind of advice he needed. It was what he wanted to do, but he couldn't hurt Emma like that after all they had been through together. He would have to sleep on it.
Toby frantically typed through his laptop in the zen garden, as JT sat next to him, his arms rested on his knees. Liberty quietly watched down the hall.
"JT, I don't get how you blab on and on to me that you have to get a good grade in Perino's class and then you delete all the stats I had stored in here!" Toby angrily preached.
"Tobes, I'm telling you the truth!" JT said. "I never deleted those from your computer, why would I want to ruin my own project?"
"I don't know, I don't know why you do half the things you do, but you do them!" declared Toby as he angrily shut his computer.
"Well, sorry mom, I'll try to be on my best behavior," said JT. Toby had had enough at that point and left the Zen Garden.
Liberty smiled. Her plan had worked. She had secretly taken Toby's laptop while he had given it to JT to borrow and deleted Toby's work. And of course, Toby's natural reaction was to flip out on JT. And without his best bud, JT was bound to be searching for a shoulder to lean on. She walked into the Zen Garden once Toby was out of sight.
"What's up with him?" Liberty asked, taking a seat next to JT.
"His stupid computer makes a mistake and he just decides to be throw a bitch fit," JT laughed. "He thinks I deleted our project."
"I'm sorry" said Liberty.
"He'll come around," JT smiled. "We always have our little bromance breakups. I'm more worried about the project. We still have to work on it and I still have to get a good grade in Perino's class."
"That makes two of us," Liberty smiled. "You wanna come over later and work on it?"
JT thought about it. Was Liberty trying to bait him into something? "Sure" he finally came to a conclusion.
Peter stood in the hallway, looking down at Emma. She didn't notice him as she was putting books in her locker. Peter took a deep breath as he decided he might as well try to get this over with…. But before he got there, Derek walked over to her happily. Peter stopped for a moment confused.
"She said yes!" Derek said excitedly giving Emma a hug.
"Alright, I need to breathe," Emma said, trying to escape out of Derek's arms.
"What's going on?" Peter asked with a laugh as he walked over.
"I hope you're ready for tonight brother! You, Emma, Holly J, and I are all going on a double date to the Dot!" Derek exclaimed.
Peter stood in surprise, his mouth slightly hanging open. "Really?"
"Yeah, I couldn't have done it without Emma," Derek said. "She gave me some pointers so I didn't completely crash and burn again."
"Wow," Peter said. "Congrats dude."
Peter gave Derek a high five as he continued down the hall celebrating. Peter smiled at Emma.
"Playing matchmaker, huh?" Peter asked, curious to how this got set up.
"Well Derek wouldn't stop bothering me about what the best way to approach Holly J was, so I finally told him to just ask her out directly," said Emma. "And I had to talk Holly J into this a little bit on the phone last night."
"And she was cool with it?" Peter asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, yeah," Emma said. "Why?"
"No reason," Peter said. "I just… never thought she would give a guy like Derek a chance."
"I was surprised too, but I think they might go good together," Emma said as Peter put his arm around her and they began walking. But he couldn't stop thinking about Holly J. He had to end this right now one with one of them before it got too far. But right now, it seemed as if Holly J might have ended it for him.
"I'm so nervous," Derek said as he checked himself over in the mirror at Danny and Liberty's house. They were his best friends and the ones he felt he had to go to before a date.
"You shouldn't be," Liberty gave him a confident grin. "Just be yourself. And as much as I still feel repulsed that you're going on a date with Holly J, I guess there could be worse girls."
"Oh yeah there could be," Derek said, breathing heavily. "I hope I don't screw this up."
"You won't dude. Just relax," Danny said giving him a pat on the back. "Have fun."
Derek nodded nervously as the doorbell rang. "That must be Peter. Wish me luck guys."
"Go get her!" Danny said as he walked him to the door.
"You look great Derek, don't get discouraged," Liberty gave her final advice as Danny let Derek out. Liberty began rushing up the stairs.
"Where are you going in such a hurry?" Danny asked.
"To get ready. JT's coming over later," Liberty said.
"Really? How'd you get him to agree to that?" Danny asked, bewildered.
"Shut up, Daniel," Liberty shook her head as she continued upstairs, excited for JT to get there and see what she had in store.
Peter and Derek sat at the Dot, waiting for Emma and Holly J to get there. Despite having a lot on his mind, Peter seemed very chill and confident as usual, but Derek was the exact opposite.
"Hey man in case I go into cardiac arrest tonight, thanks again for helping me out," said Derek. "It means a lot man."
"That's what friends are for," Peter grinned, feeling bad inside. "And it'll go fine man, don't panic."
Emma and Holly J entered. Holly J tried her hardest not to look at Peter even though it seemed inevitable. Derek quickly got up and pulled out Holly J's chair.
"I can get it," Holly J said politely, yet firmly.
"Okay," Derek's voice squeaked as he sat down. "You… look really beautiful tonight."
"Thanks," Holly J flatly said.
"You guys ready to order?" Emma asked, trying to break some of the ice.
"Not yet," Peter, said, his eyes meeting Holly J's. They almost had a look of need for each other. This night definitely didn't feel right.
Danny opened the door to his house to see JT.
"Well, well, well," Danny smirked. "I didn't think you'd ever come to around to dating my sister again."
"We're not dating, strictly homework," JT assured his friend.
"That's not how she made it sound," Danny said as his friend came in.
"Well she needs to stop fantasizing," JT said. "Where is she anyway?"
"She told me to tell you to just go up to her room," Danny said. "Good luck bro."
"I'm gonna need it," JT said as he started climbing the stairs to get to Liberty's room. The faster he could get this over with, the better. He turned the hallway and stopped at Liberty's door, putting his hand around the handle. It felt all too familiar. He sighed. He had to make the best of this.
He slowly turned the knob and walked in and was absolutely appalled at what he saw. Liberty was laying on her bed in nothing but her underwear in a seductive pose, her hair down.
"Do you want me?" Liberty asked in the sluttiest voice she could conjure. JT couldn't take seeing this side of her as he tried to comprehend what was happening.
"Liberty, what are you doing?" JT asked.
"Waiting for you," Liberty responded.
JT took in a deep breath. "Liberty, listen, I'll always care about you and love you as a friend, but after everything that's happened… I just don't think I can ever see you as more than that again."
Liberty's entire mindset changed and tears started flowing out of her eyes. This was her final resort. She thought, if anything, she could use sex to get JT to get interested in her again. But not even that appealed to him.
"I thought you would want this," Liberty said, sobbing.
"Liberty," JT said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "This isn't you and you know it. Now you need to stop. I think we can work on the project some other time."
Liberty put her head down on her hands, sobbing. Not sure if he should console her any further, JT slowly got up and left, leaving Liberty feeling rejected and alone.
Back at the Dot, the date was failing to live up to Derek's expectations. He already was having trouble talking, and when he talked he felt himself saying the stupidest things. Holly J didn't seem interested, Emma seemed sorry for Derek, and Peter seemed off in his own world.
"Here's your drink," Spinner said as he came to the table with Holly J's refill. Derek tried to help him hand it to Holly J, which resulted in the drink spilling all over Holly J's blouse.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, here, let me help" Derek said, grabbing handfuls of napkins.
"I'll get ya another one," Spinner said, irritated.
"Don't bother," Holly J said, standing up. "I'm out of here. I should have followed my sisters advice about Degrassi guys. Complete tools."
She, left walking past Peter. She quickly grabbed his phone and gave him a wink, which Emma and Derek didn't notice. Derek began to feel crushed as he looked down. Emma was surprised Holly J had acted that away, although she knew it wasn't completely out of character.
"Derek, I'm so sorry," Emma said. "I had no idea she was gonna do that."
"No, it's not your fault," Derek said, trying to stay strong. "You win some, you lose some."
"You'll get a girl eventually," Peter said. "Do you want me to give you a ride home?"
Derek couldn't even think about the question. He felt so awful. For once, he wanted to get the pretty girl. Every basketball player gets the pretty girl! Why did he have so much trouble?
"No, I'm just gonna hang," Derek said.
"Okay," Emma said as she gave Derek a hug. "Try to forget about her, it wasn't meant to work out."
"Call later if you wanna talk man," Peter said.
Derek nodded as Emma and Peter began to head for the door. Minutes after they left, Liberty came in looking as miserable, if not more than Derek did. She noticed him sitting and looking sad and sat down next to him. He looked over at her, noticing she was struggling to hold in tears.
"Bad night?" He asked gloomily.
"I don't even want to talk about it," Liberty said. "Long story short, JT rejected me and I feel so terrible."
"The same thing happened to me," Derek said, resting his chin on his hand. "I just really wanted her to like me."
"I know the feeling," said Liberty. "What are the odds both of us would have such traumatic heartache tonight?"
"Well, considering it's us, the odds should be pretty high" Derek said. "At least we have each other."
Liberty looked at Derek. Even she always viewed him Danny's awkward friend, he was a nice and good hearted friend.
Peter and Emma were driving home, expressing their grief over what happened.
"I feel bad for Derek," Emma said. "But Holly J definitely wasn't the girl for him."
"Yeah, I guess it was bound to happen eventually," Peter said, thinking about what he was about to do after he dropped Emma off.
"But the look on his face when she just walked out like that," Emma said, looking sad as she remembered it.
"Alright, can we just not talk about it anymore?" Peter asked, his tone slightly changing.
Emma looked worriedly at Peter. "Are you okay? You've seemed kinda… lost in a trance lately."
Peter stopped the car in front of Emma's house. "What do you mean?"
"Just… nothing," Emma said. "I know I'm just overreacting. I just love you so much Peter and I don't want anything to happen after everything we've been through."
Peter grabbed her and kissed her. "I promise everything's okay. I love you too and that will always stay the same."
Emma kissed him again. "I'll see you tomorrow."
Emma got out of the car, and Peter started his car. The next task at hand was going to be interesting. But it had to be done. As he pulled up to the Dot, he wasn't surprised to see Holly J standing outside, with his phone. He parked his car and slowly got out, approaching her with a stern look.
"Forget something?" Holly J asked as she leaned in to kiss him.
"Stop" Peter said, moving away
"What?" Holly J asked, surprised.
"Holly J, you're beautiful, but… Emma means everything to me," Peter said. "We shouldn't be doing this."
"Well I guess you can't argue with how you feel," Holly J said as she sighed, starting to back away.
"If I wasn't with Emma than this wouldn't be a problem" Peter said. He was fighting himself as he seemed to be getting closer to Holly J.
"Well too bad for us," Holly J said, getting closer to him as well.
"Way too bad" Peter said as they finally kissed each other passionately, Holly J dropping Peter's phone on the sidewalk and causing it to crack a bit.
"So did you find what you were looking for?" Holly J asked when they pulled away.
Next Time on Degrassi…
Derek is depressed. Danny and Liberty suspect it's about Holly J, but does he have deeper scars hidden?
To help build a new football field, the School Board allows Degrassi to be leased for a night to people to hold an Atheist Convention, which Linus won't stand for. Spinner goes to protest as an excuse to reconnect with Darcy… if she wants to, that is.
