Having to grow up was something that Emily was never very fond of. She liked the idea of jumping from one guy to another after a week, sometimes less. She loved to toot her own horn, because she knew she was amazing. And she was good at letting other people know that she was amazing, too. She felt different about Jesse though. She thought she could be herself around him. For once, she wasn't being told that she had to grow up, and she could just be whoever the hell she felt like.

After getting emancipated when she was 16, she knew the only person she could truly count on was herself. She was right, for the most part. She hadn't been able to get far. Her parents only lived one school district over. She was still able to get out, though and in doing so, she managed to rent out a tiny dorm-room-esc apartment on the fifth floor of the complex. Emily got a job at the local Winn Dixie to cover board expenses and paid for school through fundraising and scholarships. That was something that hardly anybody knew about her. She was a genius when it came to Calculus and everything above. She loved the sciences and excelled in Human Studies.

There were always the times when Emily needed that little bit of extra money, though, and there lies the problem. She would solicit herself on the streets in order to make enough money to put herself through Show Choir and Band Classes. She had yet to announce any of this to Jesse, but she had a feeling that none of her past was going to perturb him from the future.

A hand waved in front of her face, bringing her out of her thoughts, as her focus connected with Jesse's worried look, "Are you okay?" he asked, in a voice that seemed forced. Any conversation that wasn't about him, wasn't worth having in his opinion, and Emily knew that when she signed on, and just mustered through it as she nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine." she whispered, her accent growing a bit stronger. It typically only came out when she was angry or flustered, and at that moment she was a little bit of both. Of course, he wasn't intuitive enough to realize that, "I was just thinking about the moves. They're just a little harder here then they were at St. Mary's."

Jesse snorts, "Of course the steps are harder. The harder the routine, the better we look. Also, I thought you should know, I've been working to get you a feature in the arrangement." He was staring at her in a very serious way.

"Well, Jesse, that's thoughtful."

"I know it." he said, leaning over from his place on the couch to press his lips to hers.

She couldn't believe she had stooped so low. She knew that he was only into her for her body and honestly, she didn't find him appealing in the least, but if that was what she had to do to get herself recognized, and get a scholarship to get the hell out of this town as soon as possible, then through hell and high water, by God she was going to get it done. And so, that is why, she was in his apartment, on his couch, in a building that his parent's owned. That was why she was constantly throwing herself at Jesse. That was why she was letting him use her for his own needs. That is why she had to be strong. For Emily, it was survival in the fittest. So she had to outrun the rest.

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"I can't believe you talked me into doing this." Mattheus groaned in humiliation as he blew the feather out of his face for the umpteenth time. Yes, Ellis Wylie had convinced both he and Hannah to join the marching band.

"If we can't show ourselves in the Show Choir, why give up performing?" she urged. It was no mystery that Mattheus had a huge crush on Ellis. Therefore, he was quick to hop-to, when she suggested joining the school's band. Apparently, she had a niche for playing the clarinet, and Hannah had a couple years of experience on piano, which she easily transferred to vibraphone and marimba, but him? Mattheus' voice was his instrument. He never took the time to learn anything, but when Ellis sat him in the band room to decide what instrument he was going to play, he was at a loss. Clarinets and saxophones dragged the ground because of his height. His arms were too short for trombone and too weak for trumpet. There was no way he had the ability to carry a tuba or baritone on his shoulder, which left him with one option. Mattheus was stuck marching piccolo. As if it were hard enough for him to walk the campus before, it was doubly hard when the jocks learned that he was the only male flute player on the line.

"Come on! It'll be fun!" Hannah called, from her place in front of the field commander podium.

"Keep your toes up, Kid!" Ellis called from behind, straightening his shako a bit.

"Now presenting, the Carmel Marching Pride, with their show, "Riverdance". Drum Majors, Corrine and Tom Hoesies; is your band ready?" the Sophomore/Senior brother/sister duo gave the salute, and then upon hearing the words, "You may take the field for Class C competition." Mattheus mustered all of the pride and courage he could, and left the safety of the overpass, where they had resided for the past fifteen minutes, and went to the field. Once he had taken his position on the field, he proceeded to give the best performance possible after only knowing how to play his instrument for a total of 15 days. He knew all eyes were on him. He was in fact, the short one in the middle.

Not even twenty-four hours after their first show, rumors were swarming the school, that the new Brazilian midget was gay.

A/N: So, it has been a while since I've updated, but I hope this did it for you all. I realized that I had only put Jesse and Emily in one chapter way back when, in what I believe was chapter 2, so I decided to expand on that a little bit. Since we all know Jesse isn't a good guy, I decided to use him to be a little bit more messed up then he was in the show. In my story he isn't just stupid, but sadistic AND stupid, so I'm hoping to be able to expand on that a bit in the upcoming chapters.

I'd like to thank CHELSEA75 for letting me know that one of my upcoming love triangles is worth reading. Thanks to I WRITE SINS NOT TRAGIDIES for letting me know that my snappy little Rachel one-liners are at least somewhat entertaining. Thanks to ALICIA and HERMIONELUV for throwing some more relationships out there for me to try on for size. Thanks to LILMISSSUNSHINE for telling me how to be able to make the chapters longer and more interesting. I took her advice and hope you all aprove.

Also, I've decided to write a spin-off for the fanfiction. The only thing is, you have to tell your friends about this story and get others to review, because I'm going to write a new chapter to the spin-off for every 25 reviews I get, so tell your friends, and check in lots!

Much Love,

~Mags