A/N: Trigger warning for Katie's eating disorder. Also as a fair warning, Adam will be identifying as "Gracie" for now only because he hasn't discovered himself yet. Feel free to skip any sections where "Gracie" appears.
A few months later
"Okay, Andrew, it's your first day at your new school and I want you to make a good first impression on your teachers. No slacking off in classes, you got that?" His mother warned him.
"Yes, mom," Drew Torres replied, but not really caring. He unbuckled himself and got out of his mom's minivan. "See you later, guys," he said to his mom and his sister, Gracie, waving them goodbye as his mom drove off.
Today was his first day at his new school, and he wasn't excited to go considering that it was the site of a shooting a few months ago. But his mom, Audra, insisted that he go here instead of Northern Tech. And whatever Audra Torres said was the law in that house.
He stepped inside the school, which was a little more livelier than expected for a place that had a shooting inside of it recently. Students were chatting loudly with each other at their lockers and running around in the halls. Some kid skated past him on a skateboard as he looked for the room on his piece of paper.
He spotted a cute girl applying lip gloss to her lips at her locker. He walked over to her.
"Hey, you know where this classroom is at?" He asked her while showing her the paper.
She looked down at it and nodded. "Yeah follow me," she answered while closing her locker. They began walking together.
Drew looked at her. With her brown skin, shiny black hair, and dark eyes, she was really pretty. While he wouldn't have cared about girls last year, this year he paid more attention to which girls his age were attractive or not.
"I'm Drew," he introduced while giving her a charming smile. His mom said once that his smile could make someone do almost anything for him.
"Marisol," she introduced back, with a soft smile of her own. It was pretty cute.
"You're popular around here?" He questioned, wanting to get to know Marisol better. He also needed a quick way to get high on the food chain.
"You can say that. I'm captain of the junior cheerleading team here," she explained.
"Awesome. I'm hoping to join the basketball team at Degrassi. Maybe you can cheer for me someday," he flirted. She probably looked great in a cheerleading uniform.
She giggled at that. "Maybe I can."
People were staring at him more than ever, and he knew the reasons why.
One, he was one of the kids that got shot by Rick and that's something that was always going to define him no matter what. Walking around school these days made it feel like the bullet wound was still open.
Two, he got a new look.
Eli looked in the mirror in his locker. The vast majority of the boys in his grade did not give a single crap about how they looked unless it was to impress a girl, but he felt the need to make sure he looked alright for the day.
His hair was dyed a darker color than before, and it was now straightened, falling down around his neck in shaggy strands. He had asked to get a new hairstyle over the weekend, and Bullfrog and Cece allowed it with no argument. They were already pretty relaxed parents, but after the shooting, they pretty much allowed him to do whatever he wanted. He could tell that they didn't want to overwhelm him like Mo's parents were doing with his diabetes.
After brushing his hair to make sure it wasn't out of place, he went inside his homeroom class. There he saw Marisol and Katie talk to some new guy. Even though for a while after the shooting, she wasn't wearing anything special, recently she had gone back to wearing stylish outfits. She was wearing a purple, long-sleeved sweater dress with black leggings underneath and had purple butterfly clips in her hair.
Their relationship had changed.
Marisol was much more nicer to him now, but at the same time she also avoided him at times when she could. It confused him. "She probably feels some sort of survivor's guilt, sweetie," was what Cece told him when he complained about it one day but it still made him uncomfortable. Sure, they didn't talk much before the shooting, but they playfully teased each other. Now that dynamic was gone and he didn't like it.
He also didn't like the way she was talking to this new guy. She was smiling and giggling at him that she never did with him, and he wondered what made the other guy so special. He looked dumb if he was being honest.
When the bell rang, and Simpson came in, he made the new kid introduce himself.
"Hey everyone, I'm Drew," he said with a big smile that made him look even more stupid in Eli's eyes. He probably thought it made him look charming.
Drew went back to his seat, but not before sharing a look with Marisol, who clearly liked the attention he was giving her.
Eli scowled at the sight.
Never did Katie think about boys in a remotely positive manner until she met Drew.
Katie couldn't stop staring at him in their classes together throughout the day. She couldn't help it. With his sparkling blue eyes, dazzling smile, and charming dimples, he was a sight for sore eyes.
As they stood in the lunch line together, she felt her skin grow more and more hot in his presence. Her stomach even tightened. Even as she sat at her table with Marisol, it didn't let up.
While her and Marisol started eating their lunches, Drew approached them with a tray of food. "Hey ladies can I sit here?" He asked with a smile directed at them both.
"Yeah sure," Katie answered while trying to hide the blush on her cheeks. When he sat down next to her, she felt her heart race.
"So I know what Marisol does here but what kind of activities do you do, Katie?" He questioned.
"Soccer and karate," she answered before biting into her apple. She decided that since she already had a breakfast sandwich this morning, that she didn't need to eat a lot of lunch except for an apple and a bottle of water.
"Karate, really? That's badass. You must be a black belt or something," he assumed.
"I'm only a green belt with stripes," she corrected, "But I'm definitely on my way to becoming a black belt soon. My karate instructor considers me a prodigy."
"That's awesome!" He congratulated her. Her face reddened even further and she had to look down on her tray to hide it.
"I want to be on the basketball team at this school. I'm pretty into sports and I think it's really cool you're into sports as well," he added.
"I do gymnastics in addition to cheerleading," Marisol cut in out of nowhere.
When Drew turned his attention to Marisol instead of her, Katie's smile fell and she stiffened.
"What's that like?" He asked Marisol, and they soon got into a conversation where it felt like she wasn't even there. It made her very uncomfortable.
For the first time in all the years they have been friends, Katie actually felt jealous of Marisol.
Mo looked down at his lunch, which was a chicken egg salad and apple slices, and tried not to cringe at the sight of it. His mother prepared it for him, and included fat-free milk with the lunch. She really meant well but he didn't want to eat any of this crap.
He looked on in envy as both Imogen and Eli were eating pizza and fries with iced tea. It was unfair that they got to eat normally while he had to restrict himself. While he could still have some foods in moderation, most of the time his diet consisted of the low-fat or sugar-free version of everything. The worst was being forced to drink unsweetened tea now if he wanted iced tea.
He numbly played around with his food while Eli and Imogen talked about the new kid, Drew Torres.
"He's so stupid. He literally couldn't answer any of the math questions right," Eli said with a weird snarl in his voice. "I don't know why all of the girls in class are obsessed with him."
"He is dumb," Imogen agreed, "And boring. Which are two things you are not."
At this point it was pretty obvious that Imogen liked Eli. It was also pretty obvious that Eli liked Marisol for whatever reason to the point of taking a bullet for her. Mo was shocked Marisol wasn't all over Eli for that, but maybe it was for the best. Imogen got feral every time she interacted with Eli these days, anyway.
In a way, he was jealous that Eli was getting attention from cute girls, but at the same time if the situation got worse he was not going to want to be in Eli's position.
There was this weird emo kid glaring at him in all of his classes, and Drew was very confused as to what his problem was.
Drew got his workbooks needed to do his homework for tonight and headed to Marisol's locker, where she was standing at and talking to Katie.
"Hey girls," he greeted them both.
"Hey Drew," they both greeted at the same time, though Katie came off as much shyer in tone.
"You wanna hang out sometime after we're done doing homework?" He offered them, hoping they'll take it.
"I'm sorry, I have cheer practice," Marisol declined sorrowfully.
"And I have soccer," Katie added.
"Hmm, that's okay. Maybe next time," he assured them, giving them both a wink before walking away.
He didn't know which girl he liked better at the moment, because they were both very cute, but he was certain that one of them will be his girlfriend by the end of the year.
Outside the school, his mom was waiting for him in her car. When he got in, he was immediately bombarded with questions.
"How was school?" She asked.
"Great, I already made friends with two girls named Katie and Marisol," he answered with a smirk.
"Andrew, remember that you're here for school, not girls," she warned him.
Drew was tempted to roll his eyes, but resisted. "I know, Mom. But they're both really nice, Katie even helped me with math today in class. She's a honor student."
"Oh," she replied, relaxing at that, "Well, at least you're making friends with smart girls. What about sports?"
"I'll be trying out for the basketball team soon. In gym class, the teacher already said I'm in amazing shape so I'm practically a shoo-in for the team," he replied confidently.
"Well I know you're going to make it," she said with a smile.
She drove up to Gracie's school, where she was waiting for them outside with some other kids. When she got in the car, their mom had some questions for her as well, such as how her first day of school was and did she make any friends. His sister answered them all politely, though there was a certain flatness to her tone.
"Did you make any new girlfriends?" His mom asked, and in the rear view mirror, Drew could see Gracie shift uncomfortably at the question.
"No Mom," she answered quickly.
"I was hoping you can soon. Hanging around more girls will help you blossom more," she pointed out.
"I don't need to blossom. I'm fine just the way I am," Gracie affirmed, and Drew held in a sigh as he could see where this conversation was heading. His mother and his sister had this argument every week.
"Well right now, you're acting too much like a boy Gracie, and it's worrying me," his mother replied. "You're even starting to dress like one."
Today, instead of wearing the girly sweater, earrings, and jeans their mom picked out for her to wear on her first day of school, Gracie was instead wearing a hoodie, a beanie, and some jeans that suspiciously looked like ones he used to wear before he outgrew them.
"What's wrong with that? It's not like I'm hurting anyone," Gracie argued.
"Except me, who's missing clothes these days," he accused dryly.
"Oh please, you can't even fit them anymore," she replied, confirming his suspicions.
"Gracie, I want you to at least try to be more feminine. You're going to be in high school before you know it, and running around and dressing like a boy isn't mature. You're a beautiful young lady and I don't know why you're trying to hide that," their mother said.
Gracie didn't say anything after that, but Drew did notice that she balled up her fists tightly.
Cheer practice was going as normal, except for Imogen sneaking in dirty looks at her every now and then.
"Alright, everyone! Take a break and get some water!" The coach commanded after they practiced their pyramid routine for the day. Marisol was carried down from the top of the pyramid, and quickly jogged to the water fountain outside the gym. She wasn't even worn out yet.
While drinking from the faucet, she thought of the new guy, Drew Torres. He was soooo cute and he had a smile that made her melt every time he flashed it at her. If he got on the basketball team and they started going out, they would be the most popular couple in their grade.
But he wasn't Eli.
After the shooting, she did her best to keep Eli at a respectable distance because she felt bad for getting him shot, but she did miss their previous banter, and she never stopped thinking about their kiss even though it's been months.
She would watch him when he wasn't looking, and she would go over all of his cute features in her mind. He had a smirk that made her stomach flutter, and green eyes that were prettier than the jade earrings her mother wore. He was wearing a lot more black now, along with grey, and his hair was now a darker color, but in some way it made him more intriguing now.
She wanted to ask him out. She wanted to tell him that it didn't matter what other kids would say because it truthfully didn't. She was at the top of the food chain in their grade and she was intimidating enough that no girls would dare say something.
However, she was pretty sure Eli hated her now, and she didn't blame him. It was her fault that Rick shot him and she would never forget that. Imogen certainly made sure she didn't away. The other girl hated her guts.
They were civil at practice, but barely. Their interactions were pretty cold. She was honestly scared that Imogen was going to drop her one day.
When the coach rang for everyone to get back so they could practice their dance routine, she jogged back and took her place in front of everyone. She choreographed her movements the best out of everyone.
She looked back at Imogen, who looked back at her with hate in her eyes. She quickly looked away. Even sharing a look with the other girl made her uncomfortable.
When practice was over, she left the gym as fast as possible to wait for Katie to leave soccer practice. A few minutes later, and her friend walked up bouncing a soccer ball in her hand. Her mother was picking them up.
"How was cheer practice?" Her bestie asked. Sweat was all over her from her forehead, to her arms, to her legs. Marisol hated sweat because it was gross, but Katie seemed to live for it. To Katie, it was a sign that she successfully pushed her body to its absolute limits.
"Imogen wants to kill me," Marisol answered bluntly.
"Over something that wasn't even your fault? That's ridiculous," Katie replied with a frown.
"But it was my fault. If I didn't taunt Rick, he wouldn't have tried to kill me, and Eli wouldn't have took the bullet for me," she pointed out sadly.
"Rick was an abusive loser who was bound to go off at any minute, and took the easy way out by shooting people instead of fighting with his fists. You and Eli were just his victims, along with that junior that's in a wheelchair now. Don't let Imogen or anyone tell you otherwise," Katie reasoned while squeezing her shoulder.
"But I just wish I could take that moment back, Katie, I see it every time I close my eyes," she replied. Even with the night medicine her psychiatrist prescribed her to help her sleep better, she still had nightmares of that horrific moment. Sometimes Rick shot her in those nightmares instead of Eli, and she actually died.
"Have you told your therapist that?" Katie questioned in concern.
"Not yet," she answered. "I don't know if it can be helped."
"Well maybe you need distraction other than cheer, something else to take your mind off of constantly thinking about Rick," Katie replied just as her mother arrived.
"I can think of a few ideas," Marisol said.
One of them was a boy with pretty blue eyes, a wide smile, and who she didn't get shot.
For dinner, her mother had cooked spaghetti with a choice of meatballs or meat sauce, and a side of garlic bread.
Katie's stomach growled as she looked at the food on the table, and she was even tempted to put a lot of spaghetti in her bowl, but she knew she couldn't eat much. It wouldn't be healthy.
She plopped a tiny scoop with meatballs on her plate and fixed herself a small cup of water.
"Is that all you're eating, Katie?" Her mother asked in disbelief as Maya, her little sister, put a big pile of spaghetti with meat sauce on her plate.
"Yeah, I'm not really that hungry," she explained as she played around with her food.
Her parents exchanged concerned looks with each other.
"Katie, we've been noticing that you haven't been eating much lately and that you're skinnier than normal," her mother said.
"I'm just watching my calorie count, is it not what everyone should do if they want to be healthy?" She asked.
"Yes, but not to the point of starving yourself. That's not healthy," her father answered. "You need to keep a healthy amount of carbs and protein in your diet, and we're concerned you're not getting it. Put a little more food on your plate, please."
Katie frowned as she put more food on her plate. Her parents watched her as she ate her dinner, and the feeling of being full wasn't one she experienced in a long time.
By the time she was finished, she felt sick in her stomach. She got up and went to bed early.
It took all in her to not run to the bathroom and throw up.