Chapter 5
A/n: I have no idea what Paige's bedroom looks like so I made it up. Oh, and this is a bit of a cliff hanger! Please review!!!
Tonight was the night, she thought, as she peered at her reflection in the mirror. Her dark hair was shiny, and flowing around her face. Her makeup sparkled. Her clothes were simple yet perfect. So why wasn't she smiling?
She knew the answer was Craig. Even if she got her way tonight and he confessed his undying devotion to her, Manny would not be happy. She did want Craig's heart from lies. She only wanted Craig to be her boyfriend if it was right. And when lies were involved, it wasn't right.
Manny had grown up a lot since her first date with Craig Manning. The thought of it made her wince. She had acted so immature. It was no wonder he had dumped her. Of course, he could have been kinder about it, she thought. But none of that mattered anymore. She was in high school now, with a better head on her shoulders. She had started volunteering at the local hospital over the summer, and had even had a serious talk with her parents about her love life. Somehow, she was able to convince them that as long as they met the boy first, she would be allowed to date. The old, childish Manny would never have been able to plead her case so well to her Father. Now, she had to do one more mature thing, no matter how hard it seemed. She had to tell Craig the truth.
Manny could hear her parents talking to Jimmy down stairs. They were the only people who knew the truth about their relationship. She could never bring herself to call Jimmy anything more then a friend around her parents. She refused to lie to them. One day, she hoped she would be able to introduce Craig to them as her fist boyfriend. If he doesn't hate me forever after all of my lies, she thought as she descended the stairs to greet Jimmy.
Manny tried to quickly hurry Jimmy out of her house. She had to have enough time to talk to him about what she was planning to do. She had to convince him to tell Ashley the truth as well as Craig. She knew that if Jimmy refused to admit their lie to Ashley, then she would be left with a hard choice. She would either have to piss Jimmy off by telling Craig the truth anyway, or go against her own judgment and keep the lie going. She hoped she wouldn't have t make a choice.
Jimmy and Manny made their way out of the Santos house. As they began to walk towards Paige's house, Manny took a deep breath.
"I have to talk to you." Manny said quietly.
"Yeah. Sure." Jimmy was lost in thought. He had been daydreaming about that night since the moment he had hatched his get-Ashley-back plan.
"I think we need to tell Craig and Ashley the truth."
"What?" Jimmy seemed shocked. They were so close to finally winning Craig and Ashley back.
Manny sat down on a cement step in front of her. She would talk all night if she needed to. She wouldn't give up. She had to convince Jimmy that she was right.
"Look, I know you really care about Ashley. And I really like Craig. That's why I think it's so important for us to be honest with them. How can we expect to have a good relationship with them if it's built on lies?"
"I understand what you mean. But I think it's too late. If we tell them now, they'll probably never want to see our faces again. I don't want that to happen." Jimmy sat beside Manny on the steps. He was torn. All he wanted was to get back together with Ashley. He had never meant for all of the dishonesty to happen. He just hadn't been thinking straight.
Manny nodded. She knew that Jimmy could be right. Once she told Craig the truth, he might never speak to her again. But then again, if she never told him the truth, and they managed to rekindle their romance, how could she live with herself? Every time she kissed Craig, she would know that it was tainted with her lies. She had to do the right thing, and just hope for the best.
"All we can do is be honest. That way we can be happy with ourselves. And if Ashley and Craig really want to be with us, then maybe they'll forgive us, respect our honesty, and take us back. If not, then we only have ourselves to blame." Manny looked at Jimmy for his reply. She prayed that her words had convinced him.
"I guess your right," he mumbled "We were so stupid to think this was a good idea!"
"We were just lonely and upset."
Jimmy stood up and held out his hand to help Manny up.
"Let's go do this thing before I lose my nerve." He said.
Manny tangled her hand in Jimmy's.
"No matter what happens-we'll always be friends, right?"
"Of course, How could I ever forget my one and only fake girlfriend?" Jimmy returned her smile.
They walked the rest of the way in silence. Both Jimmy and Manny were in deep in thought. Manny couldn't believe that she had ever thought lying was the right way to win Craig's affection. She remembered how hurt she had been by his dating Ashley, and knew that if she had just given herself and Craig some time- maybe they would have found their way back to each other without any deceit. The same was true with Ashley and Jimmy. But they had been impatient. They had wanted to heal their broken hearts quickly and had made a giant mistake in doing so. Now all they could was admit everything and plead for forgiveness.
"Ready?" Manny asked as they arrived at Paige's front door.
Jimmy smiled hesitantly. "Not really, but I know it's what we have to do."
Manny nodded in agreement.
"Ready or not." She said as she reached up and rang Paige's doorbell.
"Hey." They heard a boy call from behind them. Manny spun around to see Craig standing a few feet behind them. He was alone.
"Where's Ash?" Jimmy asked worried.
"I think she's probably here already. She was coming with Terri."
Manny was confused. Why wouldn't Craig escort his own girlfriend to the party? Before she could ask any questions, Paige opened the door.
"Come on in. Everyone is already here." She said, leading them into a crowded living room where the most popular students from Degrassi where dancing, talking, eating, and laughing.
Manny looked around the room. Ashley was sitting with Terri on a near by couch. When Craig entered the room, she smiled and waved, but made no move to come over to him.
"What's going on with Craig and Ashley?" Manny whispered to Jimmy.
"I don't know, but they don't seem to be as close as they use to be." Jimmy observed.
Manny saw Emma sitting beside Sean. I didn't even know she was coming, Manny thought. Their friendship had suffered in the past two weeks. Manny hated lying to her best friend, and as a result she had tried to avoid her altogether.
"I think I better go talk to Emma."
"I'm going to be a man and ask Ash to go for a walk. Hopefully, the next time you see me- I'll be Ash's boyfriend again."
Manny watched as Jimmy approached Ashley. She was smiling as they talked and she seemed to nod in agreement to Jimmy's offer of a walk. The two made their way through the crowd and out Paige's front door.
"Good luck Jimmy," Manny whispered under her breath and made her way towards Emma.
"Manny! Oh my gosh! When did you get here?" Emma asked surprised.
"I came with Jimmy a few minuets ago. What are you doing here?" It was sad that neither best friend knew of the other's weekend plans.
"Well, when Paige asked Craig to the party he asked if Sean cold come too. She said yes and then Sean asked if I could come along. I guess she really wanted Craig here because she agreed to it all. But to tell you the truth, I'm not having a very good time." Emma explained.
" I'm not surprised that Paige agreed to let you come. I think she is looking forward to a big showdown between Craig, Jimmy, Ashley and I. But it's not going to happen."
"Why would it happen? You like Jimmy, and Ashley likes Craig, right?" Emma asked.
Manny began to get nervous. If she was this worried about telling Emma the truth, how would she ever tell Craig? She decided to just bite the bullet and confess.
"I'm super sorry Emma."
"For what?"
"I haven't been honest with you lately. I don't like Jimmy and we are not dating."
Emma looked stunned. "What do you mean? You've been so busy with Jimmy lately that we've barely spoken to each other. Now you're telling me he's not your boyfriend? What's going on?" Emma had a thousand questions for her best friend.
"We made it all up- Jimmy and I did. We were dumb. We thought that if we pretended to go out, it would make Craig and Ashley jealous. Then they would realize that they really liked us, and we could get back together with them. But it was the wrong thing to do. We see that now. And I want to fix it. I want to apologize to you and to promise to never ever lie to you again." Manny's face was filled with sorrow.
"This is all so weird. I can't believe it.." Emma trailed off. Her mind was still trying to comprehend the news.
"I know. I'm sorry. Can you ever forgive me?" Manny pleaded.
Emma nodded.
"Yes. I forgive you. We still need to talk about this though. You should have told me how hurt you were by Craig's new relationship before you did something so outrageous."
"I know. It's just that you were so happy with Sean and I didn't want to bother you with my stupid love life- or lack of love life."
Emma's face got stern.
"Even if I'm Sean's girlfriend, I'm still your best friend, ok? Now, promise me that you'll never hide anything from me again."
"I promise!" Manny exclaimed without hesitation.
"Ok. Then we're good again." Emma said as she pulled Manny into a tight hug.
"I'm so relieved. Now, I just hope Craig will be as forgiving."
Manny's gaze rested on Craig who was standing in a corner staring at her.
"You better go talk to him," Emma commanded, "and you better call me later!"
Manny agreed and walked over to Craig. She could feel her body shaking with each step. You got yourself into this Manny, she thought, now it's time to get your self out of it.
"Hey. I was hoping you'd come over and say hi." Craig seemed nervous too. He was sort-of half smiling and looking at his feet.
"I was wondering if maybe we could go somewhere and talk?" Manny asked.
Craig's smile brightened.
"Of course! Let's try to find an empty room." He grabbed her hand loosely and guided her out of the crowded living room and up the stair case. He tried a doorknob and opened it to reveal a bedroom bathed in pink and purple colors.
"This must be Paige's room." Manny said as she wondered around, picking up a picture of Paige and Hazel smiling in a picture frame.
"Who else would have so many pictures of Paige?" Craig laughed pointing to a collage of snapshots featuring Paige in different poses.
Manny laughed too and tried to relax. She sat down on the bed and looked over at Craig. He was so handsome, and funny. She could easily remember why she had tried to win back his heart. She just wished she had picked a better way to do it.
"I really need to tell you something." Manny started but was interrupted as Craig took a seat beside her on the bed.
"I'm so glad to hear that, because I have to tell you something too. Ashley and I broke up."
"When? Why? I mean, was it because Jimmy and I are dating?"
"We broke up today. And it's not because of you and Jimmy. Well, it is and it isn't. It's weird because I thought that Ashley was the perfect girl for me, you know? And then I got her, and things were never really right. I liked her and all. I thought she was cute, sweet, nice, and totally perfect in most ways. But the spark wasn't there. I could feel that she still wanted to be with Jimmy sometimes. I just never wanted to admit it. And deep down, I knew that I didn't want to be with her either. We were just really good friends trying to pretend that we were more. I thought that with time, our relationship would grow and we would be able to fall in love with each other, but I was wrong. We both agreed that we should break up, and just be friends. Our hearts belong to different people." Craig looked shyly over at Manny for her reply.
"So my dating Jimmy had nothing to do with it?"
"Your dating Jimmy reminded me of my true feelings. It showed me that I could be more than just friends with a girl I am dating. It showed me that I could be passionate about her. That she could drive me crazy with just one look. It reminded me of all the feelings that I thought I had for Ashley but never truly did. And most importantly it reminded me of what a jerk I was to you last year. I never gave you a chance. I never really got to know you. I just gave up on us, and moved on to Ashley because it was easier to do." Craig took a hold of Manny's hand.
"I'm a lot different then I was then. I've finally grown up. The fluffy fluff collection no longer interests me." Manny said laughing at the memory.
"I'd like to have the chance to learn what does interest you." Craig's eyes were piercing. She felt like he was peering into her soul. She knew she had to speak up now.
"And because I have grown up, I have to do the mature thing tonight. I have to tell you the truth. I was never really dating Jimmy. We kind-of made it up. We were just upset and confused and really really dumb. We didn't want to go back to school alone and broken hearted. We decided that if we pretended to date each other, maybe you and Ashley would get jealous and realize who you had true feelings for. We just thought that if you saw us together, you'd finally see how wrong you were for each other." Manny had rushed through the explanation. She was afraid to stop speaking-afraid to hear Craig's reaction.
Craig was sitting completely still. Finally, he spoke.
" I can't believe you would lie to me."
" I know. I was wrong, and I'm sorry. But you said that you didn't break up because of my relationship with Jimmy. You said you broke up with Ashley because it wasn't the right relationship for you. All I'm asking is that you try to understand how truly awful I feel, and maybe give us a chance at having a good relationship." Manny felt close to tears.
"You're right. I would have eventually ended things with Ashley anyway. But I can't start a new relationship with a liar." Craig bitterly announced and stood up from the bed.
"Please Craig! I told you the truth because I care about you and because I'm not a little girl anymore. I want to be with you. I want you to see the person underneath the childish facade you saw last year. I want you to finally give me a second chance!" Manny tried to grab Craig's hand, but he pulled it away.
"If the new mature Manny is a liar, then I'd rather she be immature again." Craig took one last look at Manny and disappeared out Paige's bedroom door.
Chapter 6: Craig's P.O.V. after the party. Will he forgive Manny? And what happened between Ash and Jimmy? Please review! I love reviews!
A/n: I have no idea what Paige's bedroom looks like so I made it up. Oh, and this is a bit of a cliff hanger! Please review!!!
Tonight was the night, she thought, as she peered at her reflection in the mirror. Her dark hair was shiny, and flowing around her face. Her makeup sparkled. Her clothes were simple yet perfect. So why wasn't she smiling?
She knew the answer was Craig. Even if she got her way tonight and he confessed his undying devotion to her, Manny would not be happy. She did want Craig's heart from lies. She only wanted Craig to be her boyfriend if it was right. And when lies were involved, it wasn't right.
Manny had grown up a lot since her first date with Craig Manning. The thought of it made her wince. She had acted so immature. It was no wonder he had dumped her. Of course, he could have been kinder about it, she thought. But none of that mattered anymore. She was in high school now, with a better head on her shoulders. She had started volunteering at the local hospital over the summer, and had even had a serious talk with her parents about her love life. Somehow, she was able to convince them that as long as they met the boy first, she would be allowed to date. The old, childish Manny would never have been able to plead her case so well to her Father. Now, she had to do one more mature thing, no matter how hard it seemed. She had to tell Craig the truth.
Manny could hear her parents talking to Jimmy down stairs. They were the only people who knew the truth about their relationship. She could never bring herself to call Jimmy anything more then a friend around her parents. She refused to lie to them. One day, she hoped she would be able to introduce Craig to them as her fist boyfriend. If he doesn't hate me forever after all of my lies, she thought as she descended the stairs to greet Jimmy.
Manny tried to quickly hurry Jimmy out of her house. She had to have enough time to talk to him about what she was planning to do. She had to convince him to tell Ashley the truth as well as Craig. She knew that if Jimmy refused to admit their lie to Ashley, then she would be left with a hard choice. She would either have to piss Jimmy off by telling Craig the truth anyway, or go against her own judgment and keep the lie going. She hoped she wouldn't have t make a choice.
Jimmy and Manny made their way out of the Santos house. As they began to walk towards Paige's house, Manny took a deep breath.
"I have to talk to you." Manny said quietly.
"Yeah. Sure." Jimmy was lost in thought. He had been daydreaming about that night since the moment he had hatched his get-Ashley-back plan.
"I think we need to tell Craig and Ashley the truth."
"What?" Jimmy seemed shocked. They were so close to finally winning Craig and Ashley back.
Manny sat down on a cement step in front of her. She would talk all night if she needed to. She wouldn't give up. She had to convince Jimmy that she was right.
"Look, I know you really care about Ashley. And I really like Craig. That's why I think it's so important for us to be honest with them. How can we expect to have a good relationship with them if it's built on lies?"
"I understand what you mean. But I think it's too late. If we tell them now, they'll probably never want to see our faces again. I don't want that to happen." Jimmy sat beside Manny on the steps. He was torn. All he wanted was to get back together with Ashley. He had never meant for all of the dishonesty to happen. He just hadn't been thinking straight.
Manny nodded. She knew that Jimmy could be right. Once she told Craig the truth, he might never speak to her again. But then again, if she never told him the truth, and they managed to rekindle their romance, how could she live with herself? Every time she kissed Craig, she would know that it was tainted with her lies. She had to do the right thing, and just hope for the best.
"All we can do is be honest. That way we can be happy with ourselves. And if Ashley and Craig really want to be with us, then maybe they'll forgive us, respect our honesty, and take us back. If not, then we only have ourselves to blame." Manny looked at Jimmy for his reply. She prayed that her words had convinced him.
"I guess your right," he mumbled "We were so stupid to think this was a good idea!"
"We were just lonely and upset."
Jimmy stood up and held out his hand to help Manny up.
"Let's go do this thing before I lose my nerve." He said.
Manny tangled her hand in Jimmy's.
"No matter what happens-we'll always be friends, right?"
"Of course, How could I ever forget my one and only fake girlfriend?" Jimmy returned her smile.
They walked the rest of the way in silence. Both Jimmy and Manny were in deep in thought. Manny couldn't believe that she had ever thought lying was the right way to win Craig's affection. She remembered how hurt she had been by his dating Ashley, and knew that if she had just given herself and Craig some time- maybe they would have found their way back to each other without any deceit. The same was true with Ashley and Jimmy. But they had been impatient. They had wanted to heal their broken hearts quickly and had made a giant mistake in doing so. Now all they could was admit everything and plead for forgiveness.
"Ready?" Manny asked as they arrived at Paige's front door.
Jimmy smiled hesitantly. "Not really, but I know it's what we have to do."
Manny nodded in agreement.
"Ready or not." She said as she reached up and rang Paige's doorbell.
"Hey." They heard a boy call from behind them. Manny spun around to see Craig standing a few feet behind them. He was alone.
"Where's Ash?" Jimmy asked worried.
"I think she's probably here already. She was coming with Terri."
Manny was confused. Why wouldn't Craig escort his own girlfriend to the party? Before she could ask any questions, Paige opened the door.
"Come on in. Everyone is already here." She said, leading them into a crowded living room where the most popular students from Degrassi where dancing, talking, eating, and laughing.
Manny looked around the room. Ashley was sitting with Terri on a near by couch. When Craig entered the room, she smiled and waved, but made no move to come over to him.
"What's going on with Craig and Ashley?" Manny whispered to Jimmy.
"I don't know, but they don't seem to be as close as they use to be." Jimmy observed.
Manny saw Emma sitting beside Sean. I didn't even know she was coming, Manny thought. Their friendship had suffered in the past two weeks. Manny hated lying to her best friend, and as a result she had tried to avoid her altogether.
"I think I better go talk to Emma."
"I'm going to be a man and ask Ash to go for a walk. Hopefully, the next time you see me- I'll be Ash's boyfriend again."
Manny watched as Jimmy approached Ashley. She was smiling as they talked and she seemed to nod in agreement to Jimmy's offer of a walk. The two made their way through the crowd and out Paige's front door.
"Good luck Jimmy," Manny whispered under her breath and made her way towards Emma.
"Manny! Oh my gosh! When did you get here?" Emma asked surprised.
"I came with Jimmy a few minuets ago. What are you doing here?" It was sad that neither best friend knew of the other's weekend plans.
"Well, when Paige asked Craig to the party he asked if Sean cold come too. She said yes and then Sean asked if I could come along. I guess she really wanted Craig here because she agreed to it all. But to tell you the truth, I'm not having a very good time." Emma explained.
" I'm not surprised that Paige agreed to let you come. I think she is looking forward to a big showdown between Craig, Jimmy, Ashley and I. But it's not going to happen."
"Why would it happen? You like Jimmy, and Ashley likes Craig, right?" Emma asked.
Manny began to get nervous. If she was this worried about telling Emma the truth, how would she ever tell Craig? She decided to just bite the bullet and confess.
"I'm super sorry Emma."
"For what?"
"I haven't been honest with you lately. I don't like Jimmy and we are not dating."
Emma looked stunned. "What do you mean? You've been so busy with Jimmy lately that we've barely spoken to each other. Now you're telling me he's not your boyfriend? What's going on?" Emma had a thousand questions for her best friend.
"We made it all up- Jimmy and I did. We were dumb. We thought that if we pretended to go out, it would make Craig and Ashley jealous. Then they would realize that they really liked us, and we could get back together with them. But it was the wrong thing to do. We see that now. And I want to fix it. I want to apologize to you and to promise to never ever lie to you again." Manny's face was filled with sorrow.
"This is all so weird. I can't believe it.." Emma trailed off. Her mind was still trying to comprehend the news.
"I know. I'm sorry. Can you ever forgive me?" Manny pleaded.
Emma nodded.
"Yes. I forgive you. We still need to talk about this though. You should have told me how hurt you were by Craig's new relationship before you did something so outrageous."
"I know. It's just that you were so happy with Sean and I didn't want to bother you with my stupid love life- or lack of love life."
Emma's face got stern.
"Even if I'm Sean's girlfriend, I'm still your best friend, ok? Now, promise me that you'll never hide anything from me again."
"I promise!" Manny exclaimed without hesitation.
"Ok. Then we're good again." Emma said as she pulled Manny into a tight hug.
"I'm so relieved. Now, I just hope Craig will be as forgiving."
Manny's gaze rested on Craig who was standing in a corner staring at her.
"You better go talk to him," Emma commanded, "and you better call me later!"
Manny agreed and walked over to Craig. She could feel her body shaking with each step. You got yourself into this Manny, she thought, now it's time to get your self out of it.
"Hey. I was hoping you'd come over and say hi." Craig seemed nervous too. He was sort-of half smiling and looking at his feet.
"I was wondering if maybe we could go somewhere and talk?" Manny asked.
Craig's smile brightened.
"Of course! Let's try to find an empty room." He grabbed her hand loosely and guided her out of the crowded living room and up the stair case. He tried a doorknob and opened it to reveal a bedroom bathed in pink and purple colors.
"This must be Paige's room." Manny said as she wondered around, picking up a picture of Paige and Hazel smiling in a picture frame.
"Who else would have so many pictures of Paige?" Craig laughed pointing to a collage of snapshots featuring Paige in different poses.
Manny laughed too and tried to relax. She sat down on the bed and looked over at Craig. He was so handsome, and funny. She could easily remember why she had tried to win back his heart. She just wished she had picked a better way to do it.
"I really need to tell you something." Manny started but was interrupted as Craig took a seat beside her on the bed.
"I'm so glad to hear that, because I have to tell you something too. Ashley and I broke up."
"When? Why? I mean, was it because Jimmy and I are dating?"
"We broke up today. And it's not because of you and Jimmy. Well, it is and it isn't. It's weird because I thought that Ashley was the perfect girl for me, you know? And then I got her, and things were never really right. I liked her and all. I thought she was cute, sweet, nice, and totally perfect in most ways. But the spark wasn't there. I could feel that she still wanted to be with Jimmy sometimes. I just never wanted to admit it. And deep down, I knew that I didn't want to be with her either. We were just really good friends trying to pretend that we were more. I thought that with time, our relationship would grow and we would be able to fall in love with each other, but I was wrong. We both agreed that we should break up, and just be friends. Our hearts belong to different people." Craig looked shyly over at Manny for her reply.
"So my dating Jimmy had nothing to do with it?"
"Your dating Jimmy reminded me of my true feelings. It showed me that I could be more than just friends with a girl I am dating. It showed me that I could be passionate about her. That she could drive me crazy with just one look. It reminded me of all the feelings that I thought I had for Ashley but never truly did. And most importantly it reminded me of what a jerk I was to you last year. I never gave you a chance. I never really got to know you. I just gave up on us, and moved on to Ashley because it was easier to do." Craig took a hold of Manny's hand.
"I'm a lot different then I was then. I've finally grown up. The fluffy fluff collection no longer interests me." Manny said laughing at the memory.
"I'd like to have the chance to learn what does interest you." Craig's eyes were piercing. She felt like he was peering into her soul. She knew she had to speak up now.
"And because I have grown up, I have to do the mature thing tonight. I have to tell you the truth. I was never really dating Jimmy. We kind-of made it up. We were just upset and confused and really really dumb. We didn't want to go back to school alone and broken hearted. We decided that if we pretended to date each other, maybe you and Ashley would get jealous and realize who you had true feelings for. We just thought that if you saw us together, you'd finally see how wrong you were for each other." Manny had rushed through the explanation. She was afraid to stop speaking-afraid to hear Craig's reaction.
Craig was sitting completely still. Finally, he spoke.
" I can't believe you would lie to me."
" I know. I was wrong, and I'm sorry. But you said that you didn't break up because of my relationship with Jimmy. You said you broke up with Ashley because it wasn't the right relationship for you. All I'm asking is that you try to understand how truly awful I feel, and maybe give us a chance at having a good relationship." Manny felt close to tears.
"You're right. I would have eventually ended things with Ashley anyway. But I can't start a new relationship with a liar." Craig bitterly announced and stood up from the bed.
"Please Craig! I told you the truth because I care about you and because I'm not a little girl anymore. I want to be with you. I want you to see the person underneath the childish facade you saw last year. I want you to finally give me a second chance!" Manny tried to grab Craig's hand, but he pulled it away.
"If the new mature Manny is a liar, then I'd rather she be immature again." Craig took one last look at Manny and disappeared out Paige's bedroom door.
Chapter 6: Craig's P.O.V. after the party. Will he forgive Manny? And what happened between Ash and Jimmy? Please review! I love reviews!