Sorry, I know it's been a while since I've posted. I've been working on some other things, plus trying to wrap up stuff for this semester at school. Backlash from the party is in full force and Holly J goes after Kiran in the one way she knows will hurt- her academic future. As always, let me know what you think. I appreciate it greatly.

Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue.


"You're about to walk into a land mine," Fiona mused as she, Kiran, and Declan emerged from their chauffeured car on Monday morning. "Ready for it?"

"Quite," Kiran confirmed, adjusting her navy blue cardigan. "This prison needs a little shaking up."

Declan frowned. "It could get ugly."

"Will I need my boxing gloves?" Kiran joked as they made their way through the metal detectors. "I left them in my other sweater."

"I wouldn't be so cavalier about this," Fiona warned. "I was on her bad side once upon a time and ended up locked in a supply closet at TVM while Holly J made her journalistic debut. I then let her get to me so much that I kissed my own brother. She can be cold-hearted. It's why I knew I had to befriend here if I wanted to survive around here."

Kiran rolled her eyes. "If you guys warn me one more time, I'm not talking to either of you again."

Declan and Fiona stood back while Kiran walked down the hallway with her head held high.

"Likelihood that she'll make it out of here unscathed today?" Fiona asked.

"None," Declan answered. "Holly J is going to be firing at her on all cylinders."

Holly J was waiting for Kiran when the brunette made her way to their first period English class.

"Morning, HJ," Kiran greeted her. "How was your Sunday?"

"Enlightening," Holly J admitted, taking her seat. "I finally realized that since Sav won't return my calls or texts, I no longer have any reason to hold back from retaliating against you at full force."

"Excellent," Kiran beamed. "It's about time we give Degrassi a good showdown."

Holly J faced off with the brunette. "This isn't a joke, Kiran. I have every intention of taking you down."

"Down?" Kiran repeated. "And where is it you think you can take me down to, HJ? Social homicide is only really effective when the victim has a place in the high school hierarchy. I don't."

"Oh, don't worry," Holly J smirked as Ms. Kwan began class. "I'm prepared."

At lunch that afternoon, Anya was eating at a picnic table outside while she studied for her biology exam when Sav sat down across from her.

"Can I join you?" he asked softly.

"Sure," she agreed, pushing her books aside. "How are you? I know Saturday was rough."

He scoffed lightly. "Well, I lost my girlfriend so I'm not entirely sure 'rough' is strong enough but we'll go with it. And you know, I was so angry at Kiran at the time but in retrospect, what did she really do? Holly J is the one who had feelings for Declan; Kiran just proved it." He chuckled. "Maybe she really was doing a social service to us all."

"So now what?" Anya wondered.

"Now I focus on student council and my grades and getting away from this school," he answered. "You?"

Anya frowned, knowing Sav had missed the part about her and Declan putting Kiran up to the whole thing and knew that if they were ever going to work things out, she had to be honest. "Sav, Kiran wasn't interested in breaking you two up until Declan—"

"Yeah, Declan," Sav interrupted. "I knew he had something to do with it."

"Well, not just Declan," she mumbled. "I might've had something to do with it, too."

Sav stared at her. "What?"

"I was just angry that you and Holly J were practically flaunting your relationship right in front of me so when Declan brought up the idea of getting Kiran to intervene, I jumped at it," she explained. "I'm really sorry, Sav, but you two aren't right together and you know it. I know you want to believe that you like this casual thing you had going on but it's not you. If it were, we wouldn't have dated for as long as we did."

"Anya, how could you do that?" he demanded angrily. "It wasn't your place to get involved. We broke up because you couldn't deal with me lying to my parents anymore."

Anya scoffed. "What did you expect, Sav? I've been in love with you for two years now and you were still ashamed to tell your parents about me. Isn't that a little ridiculous?"

He stood up and began to pace. "Yes, but you know why I do it! Lying was the only way we were going to be allowed to be together and that was all I cared about!"

"I'm sorry!" she cried, standing to face him. "I was desperate, Sav. I miss you."

Before he knew what he was doing, Sav kissed her. Anya threw her arms around his neck and pressed her body against his.

"No, this is crazy!" he cried, pulling away. "I just broke up with Holly J."

"That doesn't matter," she shook her head. "Sav, you and I are meant to be together so who you date and when you break up with them isn't important."

Sav sighed. "I don't want to upset her."

"Holly J is already upset," Anya declared. "But it's not you and I that are in trouble. You might not blame Kiran for all of this, but Holly J most definitely does."

As Kiran made her way towards the cafeteria for her lunch period, she was stopped in the hallway by Wesley.

"I just wanted to thank you for inviting me yesterday," he told her. "And I'm really sorry."

"Sorry for what?" Kiran wanted to know.

He looked down at his feet. "I'm just sorry." Before she could respond, he scurried away.

"What an odd boy," she mused as she pulled back the door.

"Hi, Kiran," Chantay said as she got in line behind her. "Some hostess you were, tossing everyone out on Saturday."

"Well, Chantay, I didn't really want you there in the first place so consider yourself lucky you were there at all," Kiran replied without looking over. "Fiona invited you because she's nicer than I am."

Chantay scoffed. "Whatever. All I know is that I'm on Holly J's side for this epic war that's about to begin."

"You'll retreat to any side that you think has power," Kiran stated. "And I'm glad you aren't siding with me because I wouldn't want your support anyhow."

"She's going to have Fiona and Declan, too," Chantay declared. "Declan loves her and she's Fiona's best friend so you know they have to stand behind her if they want to be on her good side."

Kiran rolled her eyes. "Oh, go blog about it, why don't you?"

"I hope Holly J annihilates you," Chantay grumbled as she stepped out of line.

All through lunch, Kiran expected Holly J to show up and start in on her attack but the redhead never appeared. And by the time she reached her last period history class, she hadn't heard a single whisper of what to expect.

"It's like she's gone underground," she whispered to Declan as Mr. Perino went on about World War II. "I haven't seen or heard from her since English this morning."

"Maybe she's thought better of it," he suggested over his shoulder.

"Yeah, right," Kiran scoffed. "HJ has wanted nothing more than to ruin me since the day I was assigned to be her partner on the Shakespeare project."

Declan shrugged. "Then I don't know. Has Fiona said anything?"

"Not a word," Kiran denied.

"Maybe she's having a hard time finding something to use against you," he murmured.

Kiran considered this. "I suppose, but she'd resort to something else if that were the case." She thought about what Chantay has said at lunch. "What would you do if Sinclair came to you and said she'd never forgive you if you sided with me on this?"

"I don't know," he admitted honestly. "I guess I just hope it doesn't come to that."

Before Kiran could respond, the television in the corner of the ceiling turned on and a video began playing. It only took about two seconds for Kiran to recognize that it was footage she'd put together to use against Mr. Simpson. But she hadn't finished it yet because she'd been so wrapped up in the love triangle. And it wasn't exactly as she'd edited it. Her video had been of Simpson doing embarrassing things in his office but the TV showed clips of students breaking all the rules he'd set, though their faces had been blurred out to keep them from getting into trouble.

"Who says Simpson's rules are working?" a disguised voiceover said. "If anything, he's just given the students of Degrassi more reason to rebel."

Across the school, in his office, Mr. Simpson watched in horror as an unknown couple made their way into the boiler room without ever detaching their lips from one another. He stood up and stormed down to the AV room and shut off the main power line to all television sets in the school before picking up the telephone to make an announcement.

"Students of Degrassi, for those of you who find this video entertaining, I assure you that I am less than amused," he stated sternly. "Anyone with any information regarding the person behind the film is urged to see me in my office; you will remain anonymous. And please, let me assure you of this—I will catch whoever did this and you will be punished accordingly." He hung up and sat down at one of the computers before dropping his head into his hands.

"Wow," Declan breathed as Mr. Perino tried to regain control of the class. "You released it?"

"Of course not," she denied. "That must be what Wesley was talking about before lunch but there's no way he had the balls to do this."

Declan turned to look at her. "You don't think it was Holly J, do you?"

"She might hate me but I doubt she'd do something like this," Kiran frowned, though she couldn't entirely shake the thought. "Even she knows school is the only thing I really care about."

"And maybe that's her plan to take you down," he replied quietly. "If school is all you've got going for you, it's her best chance at beating you."

"No," Kiran shook her head. "No, she wouldn't involve Mr. Simpson."

The intercom in the classroom came on then.

"Mr. Perino, can you send Kiran Buckley to the office, please?" Miss Reynolds, the secretary, requested.

Mr. Perino eyed Kiran. "What for, Susan?"

"Mr. Simpson needs to see her in regards to the video that was just played," Miss Reynolds reported.

Kiran stood up slowly and made her way out of the classroom. As she walked down the hallway, she felt as though the walls were closing in on her. She'd never planned for the entire school to see the video. She'd only planned to show Mr. Simpson to force him into loosening up on the rules.

"Going somewhere?"

The coolness of the voice behind Kiran sent shivers down her spine. She turned to face Holly J. "As a matter of fact, I'm going to see Mr. Simpson. You wouldn't know anything about it, would you?"

"No, not at all," Holly J denied teasingly. "Good luck in there. I hear he's on a witch hunt for whoever made that video."

Kiran gritted her teeth. "I'm sure he is. And I wonder how he knows I was involved. The only people I ever mentioned it to were you and Declan and he never moved from his seat in class to release it."

"I don't like what you're implying," Holly J grinned lightly. "It isn't me you should be concerned with, Kiran; I'm not the one with the power to punish you for this."

"You don't scare me," Kiran mused as she walked away.

"Go straight in, Miss Buckley," Miss Reynolds commanded when Kiran reached the office.

Kiran took a deep breath and pushed open the door to Mr. Simpson's office. "You wanted to see me, sir?"

"Sit down, Kiran," he demanded angrily, turning his computer—which had the video pulled up on it—to her, "and tell me the meaning of this."