Author's Note: I meant to say -- how about the new episodes? Talk about making me feel for Darcy; ugh, almost makes me want to cry. :(

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Bells For Her
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"And it's bad news.
Baby, I'm bad news."
-- Rilo Kiley, "Portions for Foxes"

Ten.
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Girls rushed towards the large gymnasium, some covering their heads with their hands, others hiding under make-shift umbrellas of towels. Darcy was one of these girls, holding a towel over her as if she were the Wicked Witch of the West about to melt with a little water, while Manny walked beside her leisurely, not minding the bit of rain.

"So what are we doing today?" She asked.

"Probably basketball inside," Darcy answered. "It doesn't rain a lot at Echo Ridge, but when it does we always do the same boring things."

Manny smirked as they entered the brightly lit gym. It looked like any school gym would, with yellowish brown wooden floors, marked with red and blue painted circles. It was larger than you'd expect, and there was a cart of basketballs against the wall when they entered, next to a bucket of what looked like jump ropes.

Jaime was alone today, standing near the door with a smile and her hands on her hips. The girls all entered, shaking water from themselves, and stood in a half-circle around her, waiting further instruction. Finally, after what seemed like forever, the young counselor seemed to feel like all the girls that were coming had arrived, and she cleared her throat.

"Wet enough for you gals out there?" She asked, apparently thinking that was a funny thing to say.

A few girls offered some forced chuckles to humor her, and she beamed.

"Now, as much as I know you girls would rather curl up in your beds," Jaime said, "That's not what Echo Ridge is about -- it's about having fun and being active."

Manny threw Darcy a look, raising her eyebrows. Having fun and being active? Her parents seemed to think it was the equivalent of a prison or something.

"Which is why," Jaime continued, "You will be playing either basketball or jump rope." She gave a slight laugh, "I'll even make a few exceptions to some of you if you can suggest something else that sounds reasonable. Not sitting in a corner and talking, mind you --" She gave a trio of whispering girls one of those looks as she said this, "-- but something that involves movement."

Minutes later, Darcy and Manny had claimed a basketball for themselves and were nearing one of the corners of the gym, while other girls rushed to Jaime with ideas that they hoped were reasonable. Darcy and Manny stopped a few feet away from each other, and Darcy bounced the ball to Manny.

"I had a weird dream last night," she said.

Manny smirked, catching the ball only to bounce it back. "About what?" She asked.

"You going to my school," Darcy said, and Manny couldn't be sure but she thought she saw a faint blushing to the taller girl's cheeks.

"What's so weird about that?" Manny asked when Darcy had passed the ball back to her.

"I didn't even know you were there for like a week," Darcy said, shrugging. "And I literally ran into you in the hallway."

"Then what?" Manny asked, more of a conversation-piece than anything.

"We were both like, 'Oh my God, it's you' and all that stuff," Darcy said, catching the ball and stopping briefly to smooth her hair away from her face. She gave Manny a little smile, "You know how us girls can be."

Manny laughed, nodding. "Yeah," she said.

"Anyway," Darcy continued, "That's when it got crazy -- you ended up showing one of my teachers that you were way smarter than anyone else in the room -- anyone else in the whole school, actually -- and they gave up their job so you could teach."

Manny burst out laughing and Darcy grinned. "Wow," the shorter girl said, "That is weird. That would never happen in a million years. The teaching part at least -- it'd be cool if we somehow ended up going to the same school though."

If I could get over you, that is, Manny thought wryly. Darcy nodded, and the two continued their little elementary game of passing the ball back and fourth.

And suddenly, Chante was standing beside them. She was alone, which was weird, as she was usually flagged by two girls -- her cronies who seemed to think her lesbian jokes were hilarious. Manny grabbed the ball as Darcy bounced it to her, but stopped and glanced at the third girl. Darcy put her hands on her hips, jutting her chin out some, and it took every ounce of power in her to keep Manny from laughing. There goes Wonder Woman.

Chante shifted slightly, awkwardly looking between the two before she gestured to the ball. "Mind if I play with you?" She asked in a small voice.

Darcy glanced at Manny before smiling and shaking her head. Manny would've rather heard Chante apologize like she should have, but she guessed that was apology enough. And just like that, things were okay between the three of them, as they resumed their game.

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Darcy finished making her bed and glanced to the desk where Manny was sitting working on something. The taller girl sat down on her bed and grabbed her hairbrush from her bag and sighing. As she started to brush her hair, she watched Manny's back.

"You know," Darcy said, "I don't really know anything about you."

Manny glanced briefly over her shoulder. "Why would you want to?" She asked.

"Because we're friends, duh," Darcy said, smiling slightly. It faded as she then added, "All I know is...you know. Why your parents sent you here."

Manny's shoulders moved with the obvious breath she took, and she turned in her chair. "It's not like there's anything interesting there," she said. "My best friend is named Emma, we've known each other forever practically. We have one of those weird friendships where we fight all the time, but we're always there for each other in the end."

Darcy nodded, laying back in her bed some and giving Manny what she hoped was an encouraging look. She suddenly was struck with the urge to learn everything about Manny, from her favorite color to the animal she liked least, and everything in between.

"I like dancing," Manny said, almost randomly, "And I was thinking of trying out for the cheerleading squad at my school this year."

Darcy suddenly imagined Manny wearing the uniform that Degrassi's Spirit Squad wore -- she was on the team herself, and it was easy to picture Manny cheering beside her. "I'm a cheerleader," she said. "I knew there was a reason we bonded."

Manny smiled, but suddenly turned back to the desk, shrugging. "I'm not that important," she said randomly, "Why don't you tell me about you?"

"Because you aren't finished telling me about you," Darcy said playfully.

"There's not much to tell," Manny said with a sigh, standing up. "Seriously, Darce -- what do you want to know?"

"Your last boyfriend," Darcy said, "What was he like?"

"Craig?" Manny asked. "Well, he was Craig -- he was tall, good-looking, a musician. He could make any girl melt."

Darcy nodded as the smaller girl neared the bed. Manny sat down beside her and shrugged her shoulders once more.

"I thought I loved him, I guess," she said. "I mean -- that's why we...you know. A lot of people call me the school slut now...but he was the only one."

Darcy reacted without thinking, reaching out to grab Manny's hand. This seemed to comfort the other girl just slightly, and she continued talking.

"I guess I may have earned such a reputation by the way I dress," she said before she gave a little laugh, "I just like to look good, you know."

"I heard this line somewhere," Darcy said, searching her brain as she tried to remember, "I think it's perfect for you -- 'the only people who don't like you are either jealous or plain stupid,' or something like that."

Darcy really didn't know what she was trying to say, she realized as the words escaped her mouth that she had completely ruined the line she'd been trying to recite -- she just wanted to make Manny feel better. It was obvious that she didn't really like the person she was, and that was uncalled for. Darcy knew that Manny was a good person, despite the mistakes she'd made.

Manny laughed, "Thanks," she said. "I doubt it though. There'd have to be a lot of stupid people out there, seeing as I don't think there's anything to be jealous of."

The signal for lights out suddenly sounded, interrupting their conversation. Manny gave the softest of sighs, and started to stand up, gaze lowered. Feeling as if she were all of a sudden possessed by something else, Darcy quickly grabbed her hand again. She couldn't stop the words that tumbled out of her mouth next.

"Sleep with me tonight," she said, somewhat stiffly.

Manny raised a brow at her, hints of a smile appearing on her face. "Really?" She asked.

Darcy nodded, still feeling as if someone else was controlling her body. "Yeah," she said. "It feels better to have someone else in my bed with me."

A wide smile broke onto Manny's face, and she started to lay down in the bed. Darcy attempted to return the smile, reaching over to click off the light as she laid back as well. The two ended up lying on their sides, facing each other like the time before, and the moonlight that shone through the window beside the bed gave off enough illumination for them to see each other's faces. Manny was still smiling, only now it was small.

"I'm sorry," she said softly. "I know how uncomfortable this is for you."

"Don't apologize, it's not you," Darcy said with a small sigh and half-smile. "I'm just...feeling so many things right now."

Manny didn't ask this time as she took Darcy's hand in her own, linking their fingers together. Heat shot up Darcy's arm, and butterflies exploded in her stomach -- as per usual whenever Manny touched her. Her heart even quickened slightly at the feeling of the smaller girl's warm fingers twisted in hers.

"I know," Manny said in a voice that could be considered soothing. "And I'm sorry for that too."

Darcy took a deep breath as they watched each other, and she nodded, not knowing what to say.

"I'm kind of confused too," Manny said. "Sometimes I'm so sure that I like you, but sometimes I think it's just because...well...maybe Chante was right when she said I was desperate."

"No," Darcy said a little more sharply then she'd meant. "You're not desperate, you're not like that."

Manny smiled again. "Thanks," she said, seemingly a little sheepish now.

Darcy nodded once more, before shrugging the shoulder she wasn't laying on. "Do you feel like your arm is on fire when you touch me?" She asked, before turning a brilliant shade of scarlet. What was wrong with her?

Manny smiled, able to see her embarrassment apparently, and she nodded. "All the time," she said.

"My mother used to tell me that that's how I'd know I'd found my soul mate," Darcy said in a voice that was suddenly a whisper. "Of course, she probably didn't expect it to happen with a girl."

"Do you believe in soul mates?" Manny asked, a hint of skepticism in her tone.

"I don't know," Darcy admitted. "I didn't believe in homosexuality until I read that book."

There was a small silence in which Manny lowered her eyes -- it looked as if she'd closed them. For a split second, Darcy thought the other girl had fallen asleep. Suddenly, she'd squeezed Darcy's hand though, and looked back up at her.

"Darcy," she said in a low tone, "I know you said we should just be friends -- and I've been trying. But there's something I've been wanting to do for a while, just to see if...you know...it feels right."

Darcy's throat closed up and her heart quickened even more, fluttering and pounding crazily against her chest. It was so loud in her ears that she could barely hear Manny's question.

"Would you mind if I kissed you?" She asked. "It's okay if you don't want me to..."

Darcy swallowed, finding trouble in this simple motion, but instead of answering, she took the biggest leap of her life, and leaned towards Manny. The other girl tensed up, as if she hadn't expected an affirmative answer from Darcy, and in what felt like a mini-eternity, their lips touched.

Her breath caught in her throat as Manny's lips shaped hers almost perfectly, and her whole body seemed to catch flame instead of just the hand holding Manny's. As if two completely different people had taken over their bodies, the girls deepened the kiss, taking it from a simple peck to something more. Their mouths moved against one another's, and instinct took over.

A surge of excitement flooded Darcy's body as their tongues met, and even though somewhere in the back of her head, something told her it was wrong, she couldn't help but enjoy herself. And even though she knew she'd feel bad the next day, ashamed even, she couldn't stop herself -- not even to save her soul.