DEGRASSI: AFTERMATH - S04E06 - TROUBLE PART 3

Disclaimer: I don´t own Degrassi or the characters from it.

1. Ext. Mansion. Evening.

The party is still going on inside the house. Miles and Frankie are talking to Esme and Hunter out by the pool. Esme and Hunter are holding hands and look like a natural couple as they´re standing there. Frankie is still trying to wrap her head around it.

Frankie:

How long have you two been ... I can´t even say it.

Esme:

Next Wednesday, it´ll be three months since our first date. Well, it wasn´t really a date.

Hunter:

I go out to a club with a friend of mine from college, only to get ditched an hour after we get there. I´m almost on my way out and guess who I run in to?

Esme:

We started talking, then dancing and from there on it went.

Hunter:

It wasn´t easy at first, with me being away all the time, but those days are over. For now, at least.

Miles:

What does that mean?

Hunter:

I´m close to landing a job in Washington and when I do, I´m moving in with my girl here.

They look at each other all "Lubby Dubby".

Miles:

After three months? I´m sorry, but it sounds a bit crazy to me.

Frankie:

I´m hoping this is a case of both of your mental problems re-emerging, either that or a dream. Has it completely escaped your mind, what she did?

Hunter:

All that was ages ago.

Esme:

I feel guilty thinking back on it, but I can´t change it now.

Hunter:

I know it´s soon, but I´ve never felt like this way about anyone before.

Esme:

It´s love. There´s no two ways about it.

They kiss (with a lot of tongue). Frankie looks slightly disgusted. Miles is just uncomfortable.

Frankie:

That´s a sight, that´s sure to keep me up tonight!

Hunter:

Sorry. We´re still in that "can´t keep our hands off each other" fase.

Frankie:

If the sight of that kiss won´t, knowing that will! Thanks a lot!

Esme:

I know, it will take a while for you to accept it, Frankie.

Hunter:

How about you, MIles?

Miles:

You seem to make each other happy.

Frankie:

She could have killed you!

Miles:

I can´t let her take the blame for my addiction or how that all played out. Right now, I´m looking at something, I wish I´d seen a lot sooner. My little brother smiling and in love.

Hunter:

Thanks, it means a lot. We were wondering, if you´d come out to dinner with us tomorrow night?

Esme:

Your parents don´t know yet.

Miles:

Hence the neutral grounds, so dad won´t start yelling. Smart move.

Hunter:

I also think, that if you were there, it might go down easier.

Miles is thinking hard about it.

Frankie:

If it can get you and dad talking again, I´ll go too.

She looks him pleadingly in the eyes.

Miles:

Alright.

Hunter and Esme are pleased.

OPENING CREDITS

2. Ext. Spinner´s House/Garden. Day.

Zig And Manny sit by a large table, watching Zoe and Maya trying to carry another one out. The tricky bit is getting it through the last door, where you have to get it out at a certain angle. They keep trying, but the way they´re doing it will never work and it´s like watching dumb and dumber at work. Zig and Manny are both amused by it.

Zoe:

Put it down.

She looks at Zig.

Zoe:

How did you get this monstrocity out?

Zig:

I could tell you, but then you wouldn´t be showing me that, what was it you said? "Women don´t need men for anything anymore".

Manny:

That was what you said.

Maya:

Please, Zoe. I can´t feel my arms anymore!

Zoe:

We´ll grab a drink and try again.

Maya and Zoe leave them.

Manny:

How long are you letting them stew?

Zig:

As long as I still think it´s funny. How far along are you?

Manny:

Four months. Do you have kids?

Zig:

Not yet. My romantic life hasn´t been much of a success lately.

Manny:

It´ll come. Me and my man needed eight years as friends, until we got back together last year.

Zig:

Were you still sure he was the one, through all that time?

Manny:

I wouldn´t admit it to myself, mostly because I never thought we´d end up where we are now, but I think I was. I think he was too about me.

Zoe and Maya come back for another try. Zig can´t stop looking at Maya.

3. Int. Cafeteria. Day.

Chrissy, Lisa and Julie are sitting together at lunch.

Lisa:

Are you ready for surprise birthday present number six?

Chrissy:

How many do you have?

Lisa:

That´s another surprise!

Chrissy:

Lay it on me.

Lisa pulls out a Snickers bar and puts it on the table. Chrissy is delighted.

Chrissy:

You know all my weaknesses!

She splits it in three, giving a piece to each of them. Julie is looking a little down as she munches.

Lisa:

Do you want me to talk to him for you?

Julie:

He´s the one, who has to apologize to me.

We cut to Jack, sitting with Allison, Suey and Simon. He´s looking just as down as Julie is.

Suey:

Julie´s a cool girl. I´m sure if you apologize to her, it´ll be fine.

Simon:

We had our arguments too, back when I was with her, but we always made up afterwards.

Jack:

She totally freaked over nothing.

Allison:

I hate to say it, but that´s what you get for dating a "Girly Girl".

Jack:

I don´t know what´s been going on with her lately. All summer she was this great girl, who was carefree and cool about everything.

Simon:

You´re not thinking about breaking up with her, are you?

Jack:

If she keeps acting like she did yesterday, she won´t be giving me much choice. For all I know, she could be sitting there thinking about breaking up with me.

Jack and Julie make eye contact across the room, but she quickly breaks it, disappointing him.

4. Int. Frankie´s Fashions. Day.

Frankie and Amy are playing cards to pass the time, when Miles comes in.

Miles:

It´s nice to see that you´re staying productive.

Frankie:

Miles!

She gives him a big hug. He shakes hands with Amy.

Amy:

I´m Amy.

Miles:

I´m Miles, Frankie´s brother.

Amy:

As much as she´s talked about you, I feel like I know you already.

Miles:

Not about everything, I hope.

Frankie:

Mostly the parts, where you come off good.

Miles:

Do you have time for a cup of coffee?

Amy:

Go ahead. I´ll manage.

Frankie:

You´re the best. We´ll finish the game when I come back, so no peeking!

Amy smiles to herself as Miles and Frankie leave the store, then sneaks a peek at Frankie´s cards.

5. Int. Cafe. Day.

The siblings are sitting at a table, both with a cup of coffee in front of them.

Miles:

You and Amy seem to be getting along.

Frankie:

I met her through Maya and Lola, right before I opened the store. She´s the best hire, I could have made.

Miles:

Do you hang out after work?

Frankie:

We cook together and hang out sometimes.

Miles:

So you also found a friend?

Frankie:

You could say that. I spend a lot more time with her, than with anyone else.

Miles:

Three months ago you were all excited about getting back together with Jonah. What happened there?

Frankie:

Everything was just wrong about it. His girlfriend dumped him, when she found out about us. It brought back all these memories from High School of him and Grace and how much all that hurt. We talked about it and decided it was better to stay friends.

Miles:

You´ll find the one someday. It happened for Hunter.

Frankie:

I still haven´t wrapped my head around it. How do you feel about seeing dad again?

Miles:

I´ll be fine. It´s time we put the past to rest.

They take a sip of coffee. Miles lets out a satisfied "Mmm" afterwards.

6. Int. Spinner´s House. Day.

Zig and Tristan have just hung up a banner that reads "HAPPY BIRTHDAY". Emma is trying to see if it´s straight.

Emma:

Looks good, boys. You can take five.

She leaves them and they slouch down in two chairs.

Zig:

She´s a tough boss.

Tristan:

If you´d told me I´d be crashing a 14th birthday party at my age, I wouldn´t have believed you.

Zig:

She said it was fine as long as we worked for it.

Tristan:

What´s the deal with you and Maya?

Zig:

We´re becoming friends again.

Tristan:

You talk like you´ve never spent a day apart, not to mention how you can´t keep your eyes off each other.

Zig:

It´s the sight of my fat ass, she can´t stop looking at.

Tristan laughs.

Zig:

It´s like the carcrash, you can´t look away from.

Tristan:

Trust me, I´ve seen a lot worse.

Zig:

I became lazy and this is the prize. Her boyfriend is an alright guy and they seem to like each other. There´s no need to rock that boat.

Tristan:

At the expense of your own happpiness?

Zig:

If that´s what it takes. There´s still plenty of fish in the sea, right?

Tristan:

None you have the history with, you have with her.

Zig:

I´m not sure our history would work in our favor. Sure, we loved each other like crazy, but we hurt each other almost as much when things went bad.

Tristan:

I remember a time when I was afraid to talk to you, because I thought it was dangerous just to be around you.

Zig:

You were probably right.

Tristan:

It seems to me that you´ve turned in to a pretty decent guy, Zig Novak.

Zig:

Since were being honest, I thought you were more than a little annoying at times.

Tristan:

I can´t say I blame you. I could be quite the drama queen, when it hit me.

Zig:

You´ve turned in to a pretty decent guy too, Tristan Milligan.

Emma comes over to them.

Emma:

Break´s over boys. We have a car that needs unloading.

They get up and look demonstratively tired.

7. Int. Hallway. Day.

Suey is holding her phone up to her ear.

Suey:

The eagle is approaching the nest. ETA 1 minute and counting.

We cut to Lisa, who´s receiving the call.

Lisa:

The raven is only half a minute away. We´ll see if we can stall the situation.

She puts her phone away and steps out in front of Chrissy and Julie.

Julie:

Is your grandmother okay?

Lisa:

Yeah, it wasn´t anything serious.

Julie hurries up the hallway, Lisa tries to step in front of her.

Julie:

Why are you being all weird?

Lisa:

I just want to know what your hurry is. Don´t you want to admire this beautiful building as you´re leaving it?

Julie:

No. I´d rather if I didn´t have to see Jack right now. It´s enough that I have to see him tonight at the par ...

Lisa:

... ade. If don´t know if you´ve heard, Chrissy, but there´s a special parade tonight.

Chrissy:

They decided out of nowhere to hold a parade, huh? You´re not trying to cover up a certain surprise party, are you?

Lisa:

You knew?

Chrissy:

I only found out this morning. I suspected it when I heard my dad was on the phone with my mom last night. I made James tell me the truth.

Lisa:

It won´t be the same now.

Chrissy:

It´l be even better.

Julie:

I guess were all out of surprises now.

Chrissy:

You can still give me one more. One that´s better than the other ones combined.

She nods in the direction of Jack, who´s walking with Suey, Allison and Simon.

Julie:

How do I even start it?

Chrissy:

You´ll think of something. Anyway, I can´t have you ruining by birthday party by being miss Mopey Face all night.

Lisa:

We´ll be there to back you up, if you need it.

The girls hurry to catch up with them.

8. Ext. Degrassi. Day.

Chrissy and Lisa are waiting for Julie and Jack to finish talking.

Lisa:

It´s a good thing, the party doesn´t start until six.

Chrissy:

It must be some tough negotiations.

Lisa:

You don´t think they´ve left, do you? Maybe I wasn´t clear, when I said we´d wait for her.

Chrissy:

We can have a quick look.

Lisa:

They won´t notice it, if we´re quiet.

They sneak around the building to find Jack and Julie making out. Julie notices them and stops kissing him.

Julie:

Jack, stop!

Jack:

Are you sure you want me to?

Julie:

We have an audience.

They get a bit embarrassed.

Jack:

I should get home. We´ll talk later.

Jack nods to Chrissy and Lisa on his way.

Julie:

We lost track of time again. I´m sorry.

Lisa:

Did you talk it out?

Julie:

Not really. It ended up being a whole lot of kissing in stead

Chrissy:

As long as you´re happy.

9. Ext. Restaurant. Evening.

Miles and Frankie have just arrived. Miles sees his parents get out of a car and looks a little anxious.

Frankie:

Everything okay?

Miles:

I´m glad you´re here with me.

Miles and his dad make eye contact. Miles Senior smiles and looks happy to see him. They come towards them.

Frankie:

Hey.

Diana:

I can hardly believe that we´re all together.

Miles Senior sticks out his hand. Miles shakes it, making both his parents happy.

Miles Senior:

It´s wonderful to see you again.

Miles:

Same here, dad. How are you?

Miles Senior:

Great. You?

Miles:

I´m getting by. Paris is an amazing city. It´s become my home.

Miles Senior:

It looks like living there has done you good.

Diana:

How are you, Frankie?

Frankie:

I´m good. It´s been great having Miles back.

Diana:

Hunter said he had big news. Do you know what it is?

Miles:

We should let him tell them.

Frankie:

Let´s just say, you won´t see this one coming.

MIles Senior:

Sounds intriguing. What do you say, we go inside?

Miles:

Lead the way, dad.

10. Int. Restaurant. Day.

Hunter and Esme are waiting for the others to arrive, when the waiter leads them in.

Diana:

That can´t be ...

Frankie:

It is.

Hunter and Esme stand up when they see them coming.

Hunter:

Mom, dad. This is the surprise, I was telling you about.

Esme:

It´s great to see you again, Mr and Mrs Hollingsworth.

Diana:

I don´t know what to say.

Frankie:

That was also my first reaction.

Hunter:

We know it might seem weird at first.

Miles Senior:

How do you feel about this, Miles?

Miles:

Good.

Diana:

You do?

Miles:

I came here tonight to leave the past and all the misery behind. We all deserve a second chance. If I´m willing to give it to her, you can too.

Frankie:

I´m not pretending that it isn´t weird to me, but it isn´t fair to hold the past agaist you either.

Esme:

Thanks, Frankie.

Hunter:

Yeah, thanks, Sis.

Frankie:

It´s nice to see you this happy. I don´t think I have since we were kids.

Hunter:

I guess that´s the effect she has on me.

Miles Senior and Diana look at each other.

Miles Senior:

I think this family has been through enough fighting.

Diana:

Me too.

Miles Senior:

Hunter and Esme, we wish you the best.

Diana:

Welcome to the family.

Everyone look pleased.

11. Montage - Music "Ode To My Family" by The Cranberries.

We see the Hollingsworth family as they get ready to order. Hunter is in such a great mood that it´s rubbing off on everybody.

Chrissy arrives for her "Surprise" party accompanied by Julie and Lisa. She does her best to appear surprised and hugs her parents. She sees that Jamie is there with Charlie and Taylor, which makes her happier than any gift could. She shows him that she´s wearing his locket in a necklace. She opens presents, some of them planned, others obviously quickly improvised.

The Hollingworths and Esme are enjoying the family reunion. Miles Senior is telling old stories, making Miles smile. Frankie is like the little kid of the famiily again and can´t hide how much she´s enjoying it.

At the birthday party, they have two grills going with Spinner and Lola manning them. We see Zoe, Tristan, Zig and Maya telling Jay, Sean, Eddy, Manny and Emma stories of their days together as teenagers. Jay and Zig are both enjoying seeing Maya so carefree and happy for once. Chrissy is enjoying her birthday to the fullest and gives Spinner a thumbs up for the food.

The Hollingsworth´s have reached dessert. Miles and his dad are now seated next to each other and drinking a Brandy together. Diana and Frankie have a rare mother/daughter talk and it´s obvious how much they´re loving it. Hunter and Esme look happy and relieved that it all went well.

At the birthday party, everyone is still having fun. Zig and Jay are basically acting like two big kids, to Adam, James and Maya´s great amusement. Chrissy is mostly loving that Jamie is there.

12. Ext. Spinner´s House. Evening.

Tristan, Maya and Lola are getting in to a car, that Jay is driving. Zoe and Zig are at the curb.

Lola:

We´ll meet you at Tarrello´s.

Zig and Zoe wave goodbye to them as they drive away.

Zig:

Who knew a kid´s birthday party could be that fun.

Zoe:

I saw you and Jay with the boys.

Zig:

Man, to be their age again!

Zoe:

They loved you. So does Maya. She can try to hide it all she wants, but she has an affection for you, that´s never gone away.

Zig:

We live far apart. There´s also the little detail called Jay.

Zoe:

What´s keeping you in Calgary?

Zig:

I´ve been asking myself that, since I got back here. When I left, it was largely because every else had moved away. Now they´re all back, I don´t know anymore.

Zoe:

We´d love to have you here. We´ve become a tight little group and there´s always room for another former Degrassian.

Zig:

You´re doing a good job selling it to me, I´ll give you that.

Eddy and Manny pull up to the curb.

Eddy:

Did anyone order a ride?

Zig and Zoe get in.

13. Int. Cab. Evening.

Miles and Frankie are once again on the backseat. She looks tired and rests her head on his shoulder.

Miles:

The world really does work in mysterious ways sometimes.

Frankie:

Who would have thought that Esme who be the thing, that brought our family back together.

Miles:

Maybe it´s all a dream.

Frankie:

It´s strange enough to be one, but I don´t think it is.

Miles:

Can we actually say that we come from a happy family now?

Frankie:

I guess so.

Miles lets it sink in.

CLOSING CREDITS