Disclaimer: I don't own Degrassi or Radiohead. This should be clear as I am writing this here. Kinda obvious.

A/N: This is my favorite Radiohead song. I think I might have listened to it thousands of times over the years, never growing tired of it. It's simply the best song ever. I can only hope you find this song and story as enjoyable as I do. This is taken during the episode, "Venus Pt. 1, one of my favorite episodes, if not for all the Crellie cuddling. I also tweaked a few things, to make it more fitting. Yes, I am a fangirl, but only for them. As always, read, review and enjoy!


"There There"; Hail to the Thief

Storming from the Dot in a huff, he pounded down the pavement, reeling at the scene he had just left. How could have been so blind? How didn't he see this coming? His throat constricted from the built up rage he held for months now, knowing the truth, but struggling to contain it in his safe denial box where he could hide, not having to admit the worst. It wasn't that him and Ashley were breaking up, he had expected for a while, not hearing much from her outside of Ellie's emails. Ellie... out of the all people, the one person he trusted above all over the past summer, lied to his face. He felt sick, wanting to disturb the quiet homes that surrounded him with a fit of anger, anything to distract him from the fact that he felt betrayed, not only by Ellie, but everyone else.

He leaned against a lone building, trying to gain his bearings when he saw a rather drunk person walking aimlessly toward him. He watched, seeing how weak he was, how defenseless, how small he must have felt and saw himself in him. Was he much different from this guy, alone, helpless, disturbed? He wanted to lash out on him, maybe make himself feel more human, more strong than this weakling for from sobriety. "Can you even walk straight?"

In pitch dark i go walking in your landscape.
Broken branches trip me as i speak.

The guy turned to him, cracking a smile. "No way, man. Just got pissed. Crazy night, eh?"

Craig spat on the ground, not looking at him. "Yeah, crazy."

"What's eating you?" The man stood next to him, leaning closer to Craig for his liking. "I got some to spare if you want to party."

Craig pushed him away. "Get away, loser." He chuckled as the man toppled over, falling on the ground and rolled in the nearby grass. "Get up!" He chuckled again, watching the drunkard lay helplessly, rolling from side to side. "Come on! Get up!"

"Stop!" Craig turned around, seeing Marco running toward him. "Stop it, Craig!"

"Oh, it's you." He turned away from the man on the ground, walking further away from Marco when he felt Marco pull on his arm. "What?!"

"Hey! Nobody liked knowing Ashley was going to dump you, alright? It's not like we asked to know first." He crossed his arms, blocking the chilly, late evening wind. "She was just nervous."

"Nervous, right. Nervous to freak me out and send me off my pills again, right?" He shrugged Marco off, turning away again. "Just leave me alone."

Marco sighed, turning down the street. Craig watched him as he walked away, tempted to apologize, but he felt he had every right to be upset. The humiliation seemed to saturate every bit of his skin, but nothing seemed to mask the pain of betrayal he felt when he imagined Ellie's face in the restaurant.

Just because you feel it doesn't mean it's there.
Just because you feel it doesn't mean it's there.


Ellie helped Hazel and Paige clear the presents from the table. Paige picked up her gift. "I'll just give him his gift tomorrow at school." She shook it. "I got him a shirt. A decent one from all the heinous monstrosities he considers clothing." She smirked, hoping to get a rise from anyone. "Yeah, not such a fun party."

Ellie shrugged. "I tried to do him something nice. I mean, Ashley--"

"Left him high and dry." Hazel smiled. "It's not your fault, Ellie. You tried."

Spinner came up behind Ellie, wiping down the tabletop. "Hey, um, sorry for letting the cat out of the bag."

Ellie grimaced. "Yeah, bad timing." She chuckled. "It's okay. It was gonna come out anyway and I kinda expected this reaction. Just... thought I would postpone it until after the party."

"Yeah, well. I am sorry." He offered Ellie another smile. "It looked like you guys were having fun while it lasted."

"Yeah, we did. No thanks to you, again. It wouldn't have been as good if we didn't get the prime real estate." She patted him on the shoulder. "See you around." She waved, walking out and finding a spot on the grass across the street. She was hoping to catch a glimpse of Craig, but saw Marco heading in her direction. "How is he?"

"Well he's bashing on the poor, defenseless drunk kid, but he'll be fine." He took a seat next to her, shrugging.

"I feel so terrible." She fidgeted with fingers, making knots.

"It's not your fault okay? Don't worry. I think he kinda saw it coming."

"Than why do I feel so awful?" She wanted this nagging feeling to stop, she hated to be the one to deliver the news, the one to have to tell him that the reunion he had talked about endlessly that summer wouldn't come to be. And the look on his face. She knew that was what angered her most, the pain she caused him.

Marco smirked. "Because you like him."

There's always a siren
Singing you to shipwreck.
(don't reach out, don't reach out)

Ellie straightened up. "Marco, he's my best friend's boyfriend."

"Yeah, but not anymore." He smiled wider this time, seeing through Ellie's multi-layered defenses.

Ellie sighed. "Well, you are so wrong." She bit back the lie, knowing that it was everything but the truth, but she didn't need to think about her endless daydreams that occurred. Kicking a pebble from under her shoe, she watched the light reflect off the streetlights, knowing she needed to head home soon, but her stomach plagued her previous indiscretion. "I feel like such a fraud."

"Would you stop beating yourself up? It'll blow over, okay. Just... he'll come around."

Ellie looked down the street. "Which way did he go?"

"He went that way, about three blocks." He pushed Ellie slightly, getting her off the curb. "See you later."

Steer away from these rocks
We'd be a walking disaster.
(don't reach out, don't reach out)


Ellie smirked, jogging slightly as she went looking for Craig. She stopped four blocks down when she noticed him on a park bench, a few blocks away from his house. Walking slowly, she cleared her throat. "Hey."

Craig looked up, scoffing. "I heard enough from you tonight. Just go away."

Ellie stood there, not knowing what to do. "Look, I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have tried to protect you, but--"

"You think I'd go off my meds or something, right? Crazy Craig, right?" He sighed, facing Ellie as she took a tentative seat next to him. "We hung out all summer. You and me. You know I'm better now and have been for a while." He turned away, looking at his sneakers. "I thought you out of all people might have been straight with me about all this."

Ellie felt a lump in her throat again. "I'm sorry. But... you didn't have to be such an ass about it." She crossed her arms, not looking at him as she shook with fury.

Craig turned her to face him. "Hey! I just got dumped, publicly, on my birthday, by email. I have every right to be an ass."

"To Ashley... not to me." She continued to shake, knowing she was in the right. "I might have been wrong not to tell you right away, but you didn't have to react that way."

"I was humiliated, alright?" He stood up, frustrated. "I'm supposed to be complete rational all the time now?"

Just because you feel it doesn't mean it's there.
(there's someone on your shoulder)

"No! I'm not saying that. Just..." She could still hear him say, "Screw you" in her head, making her feel ridiculous for being hyper-sensitive. "I didn't want to be the one to tell you. She was trying to find the right moment, the right time. It just sorta came out."

"And you told Spinner before me. Real nice, El." He shook his head. "Just leave me alone."

Ellie stood up, biting her lip. "I get it, okay? I'm a jerk for not telling you sooner. I shouldn't have told Spinner or anyone until I told you. Ashley told me this and I don't want the pressure. She shouldn't have told me, I wish she didn't." She pulled out a small box from her pocket, tossing it in his lap. "Happy Birthday." With that, she turned around, leaving Craig in the darkened park alone.

Just because you feel it doesn't mean it's there.
(there's someone on your shoulder)


Craig fiddled with the small box for several minutes, fearful to open it. It wasn't like it was going to explode or something, but he could feel the guilt for Ellie and the anger toward Ashley mound. Ripping off the wrapping, he open the box, seeing a silver pick. He turned it over, seeing his initials engraved. "Wow." He loved it immediately, holding it between his fingers. The sudden rush of guilt hit him like a ton of bricks, getting off his seat and jogging from the park.

There there..


Ellie rushed into her bedroom, falling on her bed. She punched her pillow a few times, wishing it was Ashley's face. The evening turned out to be a complete bust. She spent a week's allowance on all the decorations, even splurging on a cake for him and now she sat here on her bed, anger and open. She still couldn't believe Marco pegged her crush on Craig, even her dashed attempt of denial hadn't worked. She hated she felt the eager green monster, jumping around in her chest whenever he would mention Ashley and it would subside, doing cartwheels the few moments she would get a hug after group or make him laugh. She felt this jealously she never knew she could possess, making her feel even worse about that evening's events.

Why so green and lonely?

She changed into her pajamas, the strong urge to make a cup of tea before bed overcame her. Walking downstairs, she noticed her mother. "Hey."

"Hi. How was the party?"

"It could have gone better." She didn't want to spare the details, preferring to pretend the whole fiasco never happened. "I'm just really tired." She walked over the her mother sitting at the table, kissing her on the forehead. "Goodnight."

"Night." Ellie walked back into her bedroom, sitting at her desk as she drummed with a few pens. She had gotten back into it after seeing This is Spinal Tap with Craig a few weeks ago, not having played in years. She tapped on her notebook, wondering if Craig would ever stop being mad at her. She knew he could hold grudges pretty well, even impressing her. She imagined him throwing away the pick she scrapped her last few dollars getting when she saw it in the local music shop yesterday after school. "Oh brother."


He checked his watch, seeing it was after ten o'clock and knew Ellie was already on her way to bed. He walked down her street, picking up some stones on the way as he neared her house. Getting under her window, he threw a few pebbles at it. After the fifth one, Ellie rushed to it, in her pajamas. She frowned down at him, reaching for the curtain when Craig signaled for her to come down stairs with their secret code. He could see her hesitate before leaving the window.

Heaven sent you to me.

Craig looked down, waiting for her to appear when she finally did. She stood in the doorway, her arms folded in a power stance. She looked pissed, even more so than earlier that evening. He still couldn't understand why she was so upset. He was the one that got dumped. He sighed as he walked up to the door. "Are you coming out?"

"Why should I? So you can bite my head off again?" She remained in the doorway. "It's late, Craig. I'll talk to you tomorrow at school. Goodnight." She tried to shut the door, when Craig opened the screen door, halting her.

"Wait. I have to talk to you now." He pulled out the box. "About this."

Ellie opened the door wider, walking outside. "Make it quick. My mom's still awake."

"Fine. I just wanted to say..." He lowered his voice. "Sorry."

"What? Didn't catch that?" Ellie smirked despite herself, watching him squirm.

"I'm sorry for overreacting, alright?" He pushed his hands in his pocket. "I don't even know why I have to apologize."

Ellie shrugged. "To clear the air, I guess." She was so exhausted by the whole ordeal, finding herself sitting on her stoop. Craig sat next to her, shaking his head. "What?"

"This isn't the worst birthday I ever had." He chuckled, seeing Ellie's reaction. "Oh yeah, my birthdays are always a barrel of laughs."

Ellie turned on her seat, facing him. "Okay, name another bad one."

Craig closed his eyes for a moment, feigning a thoughtful look. "Okay. Try it being forgotten completely." He saw Ellie twitch slightly. "Yeah, my thirteenth birthday. My Dad had three surgeries that day and didn't get home until 11:30 that night. Of course, I waited up because I knew he would have something cool to make it up, right? Well, he didn't. He didn't even know I was downstairs until he checked my bedroom. He asked me why was I up and I told him that he should know and why was he being weird." He paused, seeing Ellie bite her lip. "He didn't hit me or anything, but he looked sad. I think he honestly forgot. It wasn't that he forgot that hurt so bad, it's just..." He shook his head. "I don't know."

We are accidents
Waiting waiting to happen.

Ellie took his hand instinctively, giving it a squeeze. "It's just a birthday, right? Another day of the year. And you'll have another one next year, right?"

"Yeah. I guess." He pulled out the box again out of his pocket. "Thank you. It's awesome, El."

Ellie beamed inside, doing her best to disguise it. "You're welcome." She squeezed his hand again, feeling him squeeze back. They held hands for a while, not saying anything. Before long, she felt a yarn come up her throat, trying to stifle it. "Sorry."

"Yeah, it's late. You'd better get inside." He watched Ellie stand, seeing her stretch and a bare bit of skin peaking from underneath her tee shirt. Trying to compose himself, he cleared his throat. "So I'll see you tomorrow?"

Ellie nodded, moving away reluctantly toward the door. "Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow." She walked inside, turning as she watched Craig meander down the sidewalk. He paused, facing Ellie again as he waved her another signal to talk to him tomorrow at school. He cracked a smile, causing Ellie to laugh. Shutting the door, she leaned against it, thinking that not all mistakes are bad.

We are accidents
Waiting waiting to happen.


Goodness, I love this song. Can't even begin to tell you how much, just the message... so amazing. Please check out this song over on my profile page link, it's worth it. I'll have more chapters up sooner. Thanks for reading! -- MrsBigTuna