Disclaimer: I don't own, repeat do not own, any of the characters on Once & Again.

Spoilers: None

Rating: R for drug use

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A/N: If you send me feedback please title the e-mail feedback or something like that, otherwise I might delete it.

***

Car, Nightime

Katie stared out of the window thinking about Jessie for the ten billionth time in the past two hours they'd been in the car. Sarah had fallen asleep against her and now she was off in her own little world. The Singer family plus one was on the way back from their week long vacation at the beach. Katie rested her head on a hand as she stared out into the dark night. Sighing she leaned back on the chair, leaning her head back and closing her eyes to try and get some sleep.

Mrs. Singer turned and looked back at her daughter. She smiled. Katie had been acting a lot better since Sarah had started hanging out. But there was still an edge to her daughter. Something was still wrong. In the middle of the night last night Mrs. Singer had awoken to hear her daughter crying. She knew she couldn't do anything, she'd tried countless times and Katie was still not responding to her. But maybe with time Sarah would completely heal whatever had happened to her once vibrant daughter.

Mr. Singer watched the road intently. But he didn't miss his wife turning around in her chair to view there sleeping daughter. He yawned and blinked a few times to help stay awake. He'd noticed the change in Katie and didn't like them. His once larger than life daughter had, practically overnight, turned into a more depressed attempt at her former self. She hadn't been eating a lot either, but she'd been eating enough. Sighing he once more turned his full attention, mind and all, back to the long road ahead of them.

***

Manning Manor, Next Day

Knock! Knock!

"Jess could you get that," called out Lily already knowing who it was that was at the door, she'd called Katie earlier and explained that she was worried about Jess, Katie had said she would come over soon.

"Why can't you get it," shouted Jessie through the wall to Lily, frustrated obviously.

"Because I'm making lunch so just get up and get it," said Lily, she was pmsing and really didn't want to deal with her step-daughter.

"Fine," grumbled Jessie as she got up and walked to the door.

When she opened it her suprise was visible on her face. Jessie was pale, she'd started to skip meals and was hanging out more and more around Eli and Eli's room. Grace knew what was happening. She'd even tried to have an intervention but Jessie just wasn't having it. All the Sammlers and Mannings hoped, for their sakes and Jessie's that Katie would be able to help.

"Jessie we need to talk," said Katie, stepping into the house knowing if she didn't that Jessie would close the door on her.

"Ok," said Jessie defeatedly, she wasn't high right now and she really didn't have much willpower nowadays.

Jessie turned and walked up to her room. Katie followed behind her finally allowing her mouth to gape as it had been wanting to since Jessie had opened the door. What had happened to her now ex-girlfriend? Could things have changed that much? Finally they were in the safety of Jessie's room and Katie closed the door behind herself.

"Jess what's wrong," she asked concerned.

"Nothing, I don't know what you're talking about," replied Jessie, not making eye contact with her former girlfriend.

"Please, you've always been a horrible liar."

"Well at least I don't go off and tell everyone about my sex life," she retorted, this took Katie aback.

"Jessie I never..."

"Now who is lying, Sarah told me, ok? She told me that you told her we'd had sex. Everybody at school knew Katie! My nickname was Sammler the Slut," said Jessie angrily as she stood up, her eyes burning holes into Katie's.

"Jessie I never told Sarah anything! I never told anyone...I don't know how they know but I never told, I swear it. If I'd have known or if you'd have told me I would've stopped this Jessie, but please believe me when I say I never ever told anyone!"

Jessie looked at her, there was a tense silence, she couldn't handle this, she'd pictured it but Katie had never been this believable.

"Jess please let me help you," said Katie quietly.

"Help me what," Jessie snapped.

"Come on Jess, everyone in your family knows you're doing drugs, I know to, you don't exactly hide it well, and I want to help you get over this problem," said Katie not trying to be harsh but trying to get her point across.

"If I do drugs it's my buisness Katie."

"No, it's my buisness too, it's your familys too, because we love you, because we'd do anything for you Jess, and all of us just want to see you happy."

"Get out Katie, you don't break the person you loves heart. You think I'm the only one that knows stuff. How about you and Sarah? You make such a cute couple," Katie stood there shocked as Jessie continued, "what? Did you think that nobody knew? Sarah told Alexa, meaning everybody found out pretty quick."

A thick silence covered the room. Katie was taking it all in. Sarah had ruined she and Jessie. Then she'd come after Katie. Katie was completely disgusted but Jessie took the other girls silence as an admittance of the truth. Her truth.

"Look Katie, just leave," she said.

Katie couldn't handle this all at the same time. She was still reeling from learning about Sarah's treachery. She left the house quickly and quietly. Her mind was spinning. How could all of this have happened so quickly? Why hadn't she seen it? Katie got into her car and started it up. Jessie watched from her window as Katie's car zoomed away.

***

First Day Back To School

Jessie walked through the halls of the school, trying unsucessfully to find her new classes. Sighing she raked a hand through her blonde hair and came to a stop in front of another classroom. There was Katie. She was sitting in front of Sarah. Sarah looked thoroughly pissed as she tried in vain to talk to Katie. Jessie smiled lightly before remembering things and she turned and walked off in the direction of her class. She pushed through the mob of students milling about the hallways.

The hallways were bustling with the sounds of students returning to school. Everything seemed to be brand new. The once dull red lockers had been repainted and were now shining, everybody had different clothes. New styles, different hair, braces maybe, or perhaps contacts that changed their eyes. Everything had changed over summer.

Jessie had on lowrider jeans that hugged her hips intimatly and a loose baby blue halter top with small yellow decorations along the edges underneath her long, tight, grey coat. Jessie's hair was in golden spiral curls that framed her face making her look angelic, forming almost an aureole of light around her face. Katie had on some jean cut off shorts that revealed her long tan legs, she was one of the lucky people who got a tan that lasted throughout the year till the next summer, she had on a halter top that was decorated like an old American flag. Her hair was up in a perfectly messy bun.

Smiling sincerely for the first time in awhile, Jessie brushed a stray curl back behind her ear as she felt some eyes look at her. She walked to her new locker and twisted in the combination. The students at Upton Sinclair were given locker numbers, schedules, and there new sleek black planners via mail over summer. They'd been warned that they would be sharing lockers but nobody seemed to know who they were sharing with so it was left up to fate to put the right people together.

***

Two Periods Later

Katie walked into her English Lit. class. She took a seat towards the back and leaned back in the chair sighing. She'd cut Sarah off over summer. Katie hadn't been able to talk to Sarah or even look at her, much to Sarah's puzzlement. Katie knew she'd have to talk to the girl eventually, but not yet she thought sighing. That's when she walked in.

Jessie had skipped tenth due to her amazing grades. She was reluctant at first, knowing she might have some classes with a certain Katie Singer but then she'd decided oh well, Katie could feel awkward, not her and she'd accepted the offer. Jessie had been drug free for the past month. Ever since the day Katie and she had talked. It had been hard, but she'd slowly realized she was slipping away and she blamed Katie. She decided not to let Katie do this to her, not some stupid heart-breaker, she thought so she'd stopped. It'd taken all her remaining willpower but she'd done it.

She still wasn't eating a lot and she still wasn't talking a lot but Jessie was doing better. Now she walked into her new Enlgish Lit. class. Her eyes flickered over the crowd of students, all taking seats in the back, then her eyes met Katie's. They held each others gazes for awhile before looking away. Jessie took her seat, front row center, and opened a dark green notebook to the first crisp, clean sheet of notebook paper. She noticed that on each of the desks there were numbers, and hers suddenly became very, very, interesting.

The teacher was one Mr. Wallace. He was semi-new and had only come to Upton Sinclair last year. Mr. Wallace was one of the more handsome teachers. He had deep, alluring, almond eyes and dark brown hair that he gelled down. Many of the girls around school had talked about them when he had first arrived but the talk died down as each of them realized they couldn't land the cute teacher, though many of them tried. Neither Jessie nor Katie gave him a second look.

"Hello class, my name is Willaim Wallace and you get the profound pleasure of calling me, Mr. Wallace. Now welcome to your new Lit. class. In a few seconds I will be handing out your first assingment but first I'm going to explain it for the few of you that tend to loose your assignments," he said sarcastically, anyone who lost an assignment just didn't want to do it, Katie scratched that excuse off her mental checklist, "for those of you with animals who just love the taste of schoolwork I seriously suggest you keep your pet or pets at bay," check off the classical, 'My dog ate my homework,' excuse, though Katie hardly used that one anymore, "and any serious illnesses in the family should not, I repeat not interfere with schoolwork," wow, thought Katie, this guy was good.

"Ok now, finally, the assignment. As I'm sure you've each noticed there are numbers on your desks. Now I'm going to pass out a card and a list of names, your card is the number of someone elses desk and the list a name of your classmates. You will do each others biographies and turn them in to me in three weeks. The biography will be 15 pages long and I want it to be detailed people. This will be a class project, but if you can't help yourself and feel giddy at the thought of spending time out of school doing schoolwork go for it," finnished Mr. Wallace before passing out the cards and names.

Jessie looked down at the list:

Jessie Sammler 15

Kathryn Singer 16

Sarah Grasser 17

Elizabeth Jacobs 18

Jason Sharp 19

Guy McPherson 20

Clint Douglas 21

Whitney Marcus 22

the list continued on, there were all in all about thirty names. But Jessie's intelligent blue eyes stayed on one, Kathryn Singer. Next to the names was the seat number. Jessie didn't even glance at those until after she'd flipped over her card, she got number 17, then her eyes looked at the list. Right next to Sarah Grasser was the number 17. Jessie just stared at it dumbfounded for awhile before finally resigning herself to being pissed.

Meanwhile, a couple rows back and towards the corner Katie looked at her own card. Number 15. Then she looked back to the list. She knew plenty of the people in this class who would just write an autobiography for her to turn in as long as she would acknowledge their prescence in the social sphere. Sighing, her mossy green eyes scanned the list. Jessie Sammler. Oh God.