A/N: I was torn between writing a fluffy chapter or an angsty one. Ms. Edwards needs a break sometime.

And the risk that might break you
Is the one that would save

I hesitate at her front door, my shallow breathing on the run here causing mists of vapor in the air that disappear in seconds. Calming down my breathing, I reach out a tentative enclosed fist and knock on the door twice before stepping back and looking down at the 'welcome' mat smudged by misplaced snow and dirt. I suddenly become too aware that my jeans are tattered at the hem, my hair is windswept, and my longsleeve sweater has thread sticking out of my left wrist. Before I can pull the strand away, the door opens and I'm met face to face with Manny. Her cheeks are flushed, and the turtleneck she's wearing accents her body perfectly. Wait, why am I noticing th-

"You look great." My thoughts screech to a halt at her compliment, and I smile nervously as I let her lead me inside. The warm waft of homemade cookies fills the air, and I breathe in deeply at the amazing smell. I hear a chuckle beside me, and Manny looks at me with an amused grin. "Compliments to the chef, yours truly," she smirks proudly, crossing her arms over her chest as I follow her into the small yet cozy space of the kitchen.

A pan of cookies are rested on the counter, and I reach out to touch it before a strong hand shoots out to grab my wrist. I let out a strangled yelp; it's my 'damaged' wrist, and immediately Manny rushes over to me and apologizes. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I just didn't want you to get burned because I just took them out and-" I'm not really listening. I'm okay, and I bite down on my lip to stop myself from laughing because Manny truly looks remorseful. I hold up a hand and wave it in front of her face, showing her that no harm was done and that I'm no worse for the wear. She looks slightly embarassed for a second but quickly recovers, shaking her head and gesturing me to follow her into her bedroom.

I've never been to her house before so I make it a point to observe and remember everything while I can. Passing through the hall, my head turns as I see various pictures of a young Manny across the walls. I want to ask why pictures of her from preteen on are missing, only seeing pictures of her as a young child, but somehow it doesn't seem my place to ask. I smile at her youthful face, a particular picture embedded in my mind as Manny leads be forward. It's of her, obviously, probably not a day older than five; a snapshot of a boy giving her an ice cream cone while her face looks anything but pleased, more repulsed than anything. It's too cute, I think, making a mental note to ask her about it sometime later.

Reaching her bed, I lean against the doorframe as I watch her busy herself setting up what she tells me will be a 'movie marathon' of sorts. DVDs messily pile up a corner of the room, a soft lamp giving the room a warm glow as the curtains of her window are draped shut. It's simple but homely, and I see a collage of pictures up on one side of her wall. I move closer, scanning my eyes over pictures of her and the rest of the squad, some of Spinner, many with Emma throughout the years, and some even with baby Jack. And then it happens. My eyes fall over a picture of the two of us.

It's the picture Peter took of us last semester before everything went wrong and the photos were placed online out of my own foolish judgement. My shirt is revealing skin along my shoulder, suggestively leaning into Manny in a pose. To anyone else they'd see girls pretending to be something they're not. I see a joke, the good time we had that afternoon. It goes unnoticed by others, I'm sure, but I even in the still photo I catch the glint in Manny's eyes whenever she's amused or laugh. And then I see me.

I see me posing and enjoying myself, feeling solitary and more alien than ever before. I almost reach out to touch the picture, but don't allow myself to. That girl in the photo shares my eyes, my hair, my body, my smile. The girl in the photo is bright, alive, happy, and free. She goes by the name of Darcy Edwards. I don't see myself in the photo anymore; I see a stranger. And honestly, that scares the living hell out of me.

"We were on our own happy sort of high that day," a voice says to my left, and I turn to see Manny tilting her head at, her eyes glittering with unasked questions. "The first movie is already in, I didn't think you'd be in the mood for anything horror-esque, so I've got a few feel good flicks I like to watch when I'm down." I watch, mesmerized as she falls onto the soft comforters of her bed and snuggles into a nearby pillow while grabbing the remote. Automatically I begin to look around for a chair or cushion, before sweet laughter graces my ears. "You're really something else, Darce." She smiles at me before offering tentatively,"There's space here, you know."

I duck my head in embarassment while moving to rest my body on her bed beside her, slowly letting my weary self relax on the comfortable sheets. I hear familiar music and voices appear as the beginning of the DVD plays, and I close my eyes with a small smirk. "You've watched it before, haven't you?" She's looking at me and I know she knows. I nod into a pillow, assuring myself that all was okay and it was okay for myself to be at ease. "Two lovers who had so much against them, still together until the very end. Classic tale, don't you think?" I murmur an agreement, finding sleep overcoming me with the welcoming light of the lamp and the just right softness of the bed. The voices fade in and out and all I distinctly hear is hers.

I don't really realize what I'm doing until I'm nestled into Manny's shoulder, my head buried in the crook of her neck. She doesn't stiffen but only cautiously drapes an arm around me to bring me closer. I let her know it's okay without telling her, and she knows because she's not cautious anymore. The comfort I get from her is different, but it's welcomed and I'm not sure why. I watch the movie for a while with her, before my eyes lazily droop shut and all I recognize is the warmth of the body beside me.

"Wherever she is, that's where my home is."

A/N: In my own defense I've never watched The Notebook and stole anything related off Wikipedia. That being said, I should be sleeping but had to get this out... so wake me up with reviews?