That same day after school, Jay still could not take his mind off of Emma. He decided he had no other choice but to go to Emma's best friend for help. Jay found Manny leaving school for the day by herself. As she rounded the empty corner just past the schoolyard, he called out to her.
"Hey Slu- I mean, Manny! Can I talk to you?"
Manny did not even bother to stop while giving him her response. "I'd rather you not."
Jay tried to keep in stride with her. "Please, it's about Emma."
Manny stayed her course while growing increasingly annoyed. "What did you do to her this time?"
"I didn't do anything," Jay defended. "It's Peter."
Manny finally stopped to hear what had to say. "What about him?"
"I'm worried that he's abusing her."
Manny scoffed as she assumed this was just one of Jay's latest schemes and that he was just wasting her time. "Where did you get an idea like that?"
Jay began quietly. "She basically told me so…" With more conviction, he continued. "And, the evidence has been all over her for months! I can't believe I didn't figure it out sooner! Have you seen her face today?"
Manny furrowed her brow. "She told me that was because of her-"
"Dresser? Yeah, I know. And, the baggie clothes she's been wearing are what? The latest fashion statement?"
Manny finally realized just how lame all of that sounded. "I'll kill him." She darted back toward the school.
Jay grabbed her. "Whoa, easy there, Rocky. As much as I would love to help you with that, we can't go after him, not yet."
Manny threw Jay's arms off of her. "Why not?!"
"Because, Emma asked me not to and she would never forgive me if I went against her like that."
"You don't have to do anything. I can take on Peter all by myself."
"No," Jay insisted again. "She has to want to leave him, for herself. It will be better for her in the end if she's the one who ends the relationship. Just hold off for a little bit, okay?"
"Why did you even tell me this, if you won't let me do anything about it?" Manny put her hands on her hips in frustration.
"Because, there's strength in numbers, right?"
Manny was unsure of where he was going with this. "Ye-ah…"
"Well, right now, Emma thinks that there is no problem, but if we both work on her, maybe she'll realize the truth quicker."
"And, since when do you care so much about Emma?"
Jay became a bit defensive and started to squirm around a little. "It's just…ever since she started tutoring me, we…" He caught himself smiling as he thought of Emma and then pulled himself back together. "We're just friends."
"Riiight, just like Paige and your ex were just friends when they danced at that Kevin Smith movie premiere party?" Manny teased.
Jay cringed at the memory of that night. "That's completely different!"
"No, I don't think it is." Manny smirked. "I think you like her."
"What?" Jay panted. "Come on."
Manny saw right through his weak attempt at avoidance. "Yeah, you do, don't you? You want to be more than just friends with her."
Jay didn't know what to say.
"I don't hear you denying it!" Manny pushed.
"Okay! Yes, I care about her!" Jay finally relented. "Are you happy now?! And, that jerk does not deserve her! I may not be the ideal guy for her, but I would never hurt her like that. I just need you to help me get her away from him!"
Manny laughed in victory. "Okay, okay! I'll talk to her!"
"But, make it seem like you figured it out on your own. I could already feel her pulling away from me when I talked to her this morning. If she knew, I talked to you-"
"Then why did you come to me?"
"I told you, I just figured that if she heard it from you too, she might start to pull herself out of the trance he has her in. Plus, you guys have history. I thought that she might take to your concern better than mine."
"Okay then, don't worry. I'll talk to her…and I won't mention you."
Manny finally made it the rest of the way to Emma's/her place after deciding with Jay that they would both work on Emma some more in the coming days.