Hola mi amigos. I can't tell you guys enough how much I'm excited for this! I've even started thinking about the sequel and I have decided to post a new chapter ever Saturday!


Last time: "No need, I remember. But she asked me and she said she really wanted to try again with me. I think it's a good idea. Don't worry, I'll still see you guys at the dance and we can hang." Craig said before turning the corner to walk the rest of the way to his own house. I huffed out loud.

"So, you sure nothing happened between you and Craig?" Marco asked, noticing my bright red face and upset vibe. Something may have happened with Craig to me, but to him it was clearly nothing. I was nothing.


Ellie's Pov:

I stirred awake, blinking my eyes slowly. A feeling of dread immediately overtook me and I pulled the covers from my body, racing to the bathroom and knelt down to the toilet just before the contents from my stomach came up. I stayed there until everything was out. I took deep breaths as my body shook, trying to recover. I sighed and limped against my bathroom wall. I knew I was coming down with something. Great, it was all I needed on this day, the day of the dance. Wait, that's a brilliant idea. I sat up a smile forming on my face. Now I had a way of getting out of scowling at Manny and Craig on a dirty old dance floor with cheap cheesy decorations!

"It's perfect!" I said to myself before standing up and heading back to my bed for a few more hours of sleep.


I woke up again to the sun shining in my face. I rubbed my eyes and stood up to stretch. Making my way down stairs I noticed the unusual smell of breakfast food.

"Eleanor, you're finally up. I thought you'd sleep all day." My mother cooed. I sat down at the table not knowing whether I should eat. This was clearly a way of getting my to talk more than a few sentences a day to her, but I didn't know if I was ready to.

"What time is it?" I decided to hell with it and at least enjoy a homemade breakfast, since it rarely ever happened.

"It's 2:30." My eyes widened. Had I really been asleep that long?

"Oh. Well, I am sick so I guess that's why I slept in."

"You're sick?" I nodded.

"Yeah. I threw up this morning. So I'm not going to the dance."

"Oh well that's too bad." I shrugged, finishing my plate. Not for me. Saves me a lot of headache and heartache.

Craig's Pov:

I was laying on the couch in the garage just strumming my guitar when Joey walked in.

"Hey Craig, phone's for you. It's Marco." I thanked Joey and grabbed the phone.

"Hey Marco, what's up?"

"We got a problem Craig."

"Problem? What? Is everything ok?" I asked, getting a little worried.

"Yeah, yeah everything's fine. But Ellie just called me and said she's not going to the dance." I chuckled.

"Ha, funny. There's no way we're letting her get away with that one." I smirked. I would make Ellie go to that dance. No matter what, I was gonna get my dance with her. I was so sure I even told her that myself.

"No Craig, she said she's sick and I think she's serious. She said she was up puking this morning. I told her we'd stop by her place after the dance." I cringed, poor Ellie.

"Fine, fine. We can just stop there afterward, maybe bring her some soup?" I suggested.

"That sounds good. I'll see you later Craig."

"Yeah, see ya." I ended the call before sighing, disappointed. Then I furrowed my eyebrows. Why was I so disappointed in the first place? It was just Ellie. Why did I want so badly for her to go to the dance, I'm taking Manny anyway. I shrugged it off. No big deal. Ellie was sick and couldn't make it, so what? I'll see her after the dance anyway. Still, there was something bugging me that I just couldn't put my finger on.


Time passed and soon I was driving to Manny's house to pick her up.

"Craig!" She smiled happily when she opened her front door after I knocked. I looked her up and down, I couldn't deny her seductive looks.

"Hey, am I coming in or-"

"Oh no no, my parents don't need pictures or anything. Let's just head to the dance!" I held my arms out like a polite man would do and she gladly excepted it and we headed off to the dance.

Marco's Pov:

I took a sip of my punch, waiting for Craig to arrive. I didn't know how he planned the night to go, especially since I was sure Manny had different ideas of her own. I frowned slightly, wishing Ellie was here with me. Poor Ellie, I couldn't believe she was sick. It was odd, since in all the time I've known her she's never been sick. She always claimed she had a 'stomach of steel'. Guess it wasn't as strong as she thought. I then chuckled; she probably thought it was a blessing from some being up above that she didn't have to attend this dance.

I knew something went on with Craig and her, and I knew she would never admit it. But I watch her every time Craig comes around. I notice how she blushed and subtly ducks her head down. And Craig, always secretly steeling glances at her, scanning her entire body with his eyes. I may not have known exactly what happened with them, but I was sure as hell gonna find out.

"Marco." I heard Craig call out. I turned and smiled, greeting him and Manny.

"Hey guys, punch is over there and so are some desserts." I pointed to the refreshment table. They both nodded.

"We'll get some later. Let's go dance Craig." Manny began dragging him away. He turned to me with an apologetic look on his face. I shook my head.

"It's fine. We'll catch up later." Was all I could say before he disappeared into the crowd. I suddenly felt a bump beside me. I turned to see an unfamiliar face.

"Hey." I greeted nicely.

"Uh hi. I'm new to this school this year. I'm Bradly. I hope this doesn't sound intrusive, but some uh, people informed me that you're gay." I nodded, furrowing my brow.

"Yeah, I am. Is that a problem?"

"No, no! I was just going to say. I am to, I'm gay. And I-I thought maybe we could just dance a little and-"

"That sounds great." I smiled at his adorable nervousness.

"I'm Marco, by the way."

"Well it's nice to meet you Marco." He smiled. With that I grabbed his hand and pulled him to the dance floor.

Craig's Pov:

A few hours passed of dancing and chatting with Manny, when I decided I needed some space.

"Hey, I'm gonna go get us some drinks."

"Ok. Hurry back." She purred as I quickly walked to the refreshments.

"Hey Craig, finally getting away from Manny for a bit?" I smirked at Marco, his knows me too well.

"I just needed a breath. She's not bad, she can just be a bit overwhelming sometimes." Marco nodded in agreement.

"So, I saw you on the dance floor with a new fella. Wanna explain?" Marco blushed.

"Oh, that's Bradly. He's new this year and apparently someone told him about me and he decided he'd check me out." He chuckled.

"Nice." I congratulated him. I noticed he looked a little questioning.

"What's going on up there?" I knocked on his head. He chuckled.

"Just wish El was here. She wouldn't ever admit, but I think she'd have a good time. I mean, we don't even have that many dances left."

"Don't worry Marco, we'll get her to go to the next one for sure."

"I just don't get it. She never gets sick. She's never been sick all the years we've known her. Maybe she was lying. Maybe she really just didn't want to come."

"Well either way, we'll stop by her house after the party and see what's up." He nodded and I grabbed two cups, filling them up.


"Hey man, it's been a long night. I think I'm ready to go." Marco came up to me an hour later. The dance was dying down and would end in about half an hour anyway.

"Yeah me too." I agreed. Manny stepped out of the bathroom walking toward us.

"Hey Manny I think it's time we about go."

"Agreed. I'm getting pretty tired." She smiled lazily. After Marco said his goodbye to Bradly the three of us climbed in my car. I stopped at Manny's first walking her up to the door.

"I had a really nice time tonight." I said. And it was true. The night had been overall good. She smiled softly.

"Me too. Thank you for taking me." Before I could reply she brought her lips to mine. It felt strange kissing her again, almost foreign. It just didn't feel….right. However, I still kissed her back, pushing away the feeling. After a minute I pulled away.

"I'll see you Monday." She smiled and I nodded. I went back to the car and started it up, heading to Ellie's.

Ellie's Pov:

My eyes drooped as I looked at the time. It was only 10:30, why was I so tired? Oh yeah, I've been puking my guts out all day. I sighed deeply. My mother had gone to bed hours ago and I was trying to entertain myself with tv, waiting for Craig and Marco to stop by. I was just beginning to dose off when I heard a knock at the front door. I sat up from the couch and opened it. There stood two guys with goofy grins on their faces and a can.

"What is that?" I asked backing from the door so they could come in.

"We brought you some soup for your upset stomach." Marco explained in an accusing voice.

"What?! I am really sick, I swear." He smiled.

"Ok, I believe you. I'll even make it for you." He brought the soup over to the stove. I turned my attention to Craig and raised an eyebrow as he walked over to the stereo. He turned it on and turned the volume down so that we could hear it, but it wouldn't disturb my mother upstairs. He put in a cd and slow soothing music came started playing.

"And what do you think you're doing?" I asked, entertained. He turned back to me giving me that smirk. You know, the smirk that makes me weak in the knees but also makes me want to slap him.

"I told you I'd dance with you tonight. Now come on." I groaned as he pulled me to the middle of the room. Marco chuckled shaking his head. Our house was pretty open, with the living room and kitchen being one big room, so there was no hiding from him and his knowing smile.

"Craig, I don't feel like dancing." I groaned again.

"Doesn't matter. You will dance." He commanded. I glared at him. Usually I would fight him, I mean who does he think he is, telling me what I will do. But honestly, I couldn't fight it. I mean, it was Craig after all. I sighed in defeat. He wrapped his arms around my waist as I snaked my arms around his neck. I laid my head on his shoulder as we slowly swayed to the music. Why were we doing this? We were acting….like a couple, when we clearly weren't. I soon realized we hadn't been this close since….that night. Craig hadn't been to my house since that night too. I took a deep breath as the flashback started flowing in.

"You ok there?" He asked.

"You ok there?" Craig asked smirking. I smirked back and took his shirt off. I licked my lips at his abbs.

"I am now." He chuckled and grabbed my legs, picking me up. I wrapped my arms around his neck for support as he gently laid me down on my bed.

"Yeah, I am now." I reassured without realizing what I had just said. I did a second later, and so did he. He looked down at me, mouth slightly open and I know he was thinking about the same thing I was. I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing would come out.

"Soup's done." Marco broke our awkward silence. Again, I was silently thanking Marco.

"Great. And thanks guys, for bringing it." Marco nodded and Craig seemed to recover from our moment quickly.

"No problem El." Criag murmured. He acted as nothing had happened. As if we weren't just reliving our sexual experience.

"Look, you guys are awesome and everything, but I'm really tired." They nodded, understanding.

"Goodnight El, I'll talk to you later." Marco replied, opening the door.

"Bye Ellie, see you Monday." Craig turned to follow Marco out the door. He turned back to me once more.

"You should give yourself more credit. You're not that bad of a dancer." He added before leaving, closing the door behind him. I smiled sadly staring at the closed door. I finished my soup before heading up to my room. I got my pajamas on and crawled in my bed. The same bed Craig and I had sex in a little over a month ago. I gasped out loud as tears clouded my vision. I tried so hard to just forget about it. To sweep it under the rug and pretend it never happened, but I couldn't anymore. I had to admit to myself that I had in fact had sex with Craig, my best friend, my group companion, the boy I loved. And yet, that still hadn't changed anything between us. I was still just his old reliable friend, and as I cried more, I feared that's all I'd ever be.


That was longer than I had planned, but I can't help it! I love writing about them, haha! But cranny, ugh. I hated writing that part. These stories are so important to me because even years after their original storyline ended; this is what is keeping crellie alive. Thanks for reading:{)

Much Love,

Making it Shine