A/n: I am so sorry that it took so long to update this. I have been really
busy, and have had a major case of writer's block. I hope you guys like
this chapter, and please review b/c they make me so very happy. Oh, and
Craig's kind of pissy in this chapter but he's just confused, sad, and
annoyed at Jimmy and Ashley's happiness.
P.S.: This is the last chapter! I hope you guys liked my story. I am working on a new one-so please be on the look out for it! Thanks so much to all of my reviewers! You guys are awesome.
This Year's Girl Chapter 6
Craig was doing his best to ignore Manny Santos and forget about the events of Friday night. He had decided-somewhere between Saturday night and Sunday morning-that his best course of action was to simply forget about the pretty ninth grader and move on. There had to be someone else out there for him- someone who wouldn't lie to him. Manny Santos played mind games, and Craig was in no mood to play along.
But his plan was failing miserably. Every where he turned, Manny was there. She was talking to Emma, or eating lunch with J.T. He couldn't escape her, and to make matters worse-he kind-of liked seeing her. Despite his best efforts, he still thought she was gorgeous, and he just had to steal glimpses of her across the cafeteria, or in the hallways. He was going crazy.
"So, what's up with you?" Ashley asked him, sliding beside him in the cafeteria on Thursday morning.
"Nothing. Why? I'm great. Don't I look great?" Craig responded.
"Actually-you look like shit." Jimmy bluntly interrupted, pulling a seat up on the other side of Craig.
"Wonderful. Degrassi's favorite couple is here to save poor love struck Craig again, huh? Well, you can forget it." Craig started to rise from the table but Ashley gently grabbed his arm.
"Please-just listen to us. This is the last time-I swear."
Craig sighed heavily and slumped back into his cold, plastic chair. He had been listening to Jimmy and Ashley's advice all week. Somehow, after the truth finally came out, they had all become friends. Craig and Ashley were still close, and now that she was dating Jimmy again-they had been forced together into some kind of bizarre group.
"I'm going to tell you about why Manny and I did what we did."
"And then I'm going to tell you about why I forgave Jimmy, and why you should forgive Manny. And after you've really listened-we'll never bring it up again." Ashley explained.
"Fine. Ok. Whatever." Craig was restless. He hated being forced to listen to their happy story. It only reminded him of how unhappy he felt.
"You have to understand something-Manny and I were heartbroken, and you don't think straight when your heart is broke. We just wanted to stop hurting," Jimmy started, "We thought it wasn't really that bad of a thing to do because we weren't forcing you to break up. We were just hoping that once you saw Manny and I dating -that you and Ash would want to break up."
"Yeah, you guys were totally blameless." Craig interrupted.
"Look, I didn't say that. We realized we messed up, and that's why we told you guys the truth. We didn't have to, you know. You would have never figured it out." Jimmy retorted.
"Hey," Ashley objected "I would have figured it out.eventually."
Jimmy leaned across the table and wrapped Ashley's hand in his.
"I love you babe, but you would have never guesses what we were up to."
"Can we just hurry this little love fest along? I think I'm going to be sick." Craig broke in, already disgusted with himself for staying and listening to Jimmy's little speech.
"Sorry. I think I should tell you about why I decided to take Jimmy back."
"Great. I'm all ears." Craig sarcastically remarked.
"Well, while you and Manny were still at Paige's, Jimmy and I went for a walk. At first I thought he had heard that we had broken up, and he was going to confuse his undying devotion to me. But then he started telling me about the plan. And I couldn't believe it. He had lied to me, and to the whole school. But then I thought about-I mean really thought about. How hurt must he have been to be willing to lie to everyone to try and get me back? I can't even imagine how heart broken you would have to be to do that. "
"I think you should substitute heart broken for evil-but continue." Craig was getting good at making snide comments to the couple sitting around him. It was easier then actually listening to them.
"Anyway, and then I thought about all of the mistakes I had made. I had hurt Jimmy by kissing Sean , yet he had been willing to forgive me and move on. Just like you had hurt Manny by being so blunt about your dislike of her last year. Yet she still liked you. And the most important part is that- in the end-they were honest. Do you have nay idea how many people would have just continued the lie and have been happy to have gotten what they wanted? But not Manny, she insisted that you know the truth. A girl like that-who loves you enough to tell you the truth -even though you might hate her-is worth giving a second chance to." Ashley finished and looked to Craig for a reply but he only shrugged-confused about what he should do.
"Man, I am so thankful that Ash forgave me. When she hugged me and told me she loved me and forgave me-- I felt like the happiest man alive. I walked her home on Friday with the biggest grin on my face, and it hasn't left yet." Jimmy pointed at his wide smile.
"And I haven't been happier in a long time. I realized how important Jimmy is to me, and I am never going to let him out of my life again."
"And I am never ever going to lie to anyone again."
Jimmy and Ashley stood up.
"That's it?" Craig asked.
Ashley nodded "That's it. That's our story. Now it's all up to you." The couple turned and retreated out of the cafeteria leaving Craig alone with his thoughts.
Craig had been waiting for forty-five minutes outside of school with out any luck. He was finally ready to move past Friday night, Ash's words had somehow gotten to him, yet Manny was no where to be found.
"Maybe it just wasn't meant to be," he mumbled, taking one last look at the school doors, before turning and starting to walk home. What I had I been thinking? He wondered. What did I want to happen? Did I think she would come running out, smiling, and everything would be ok?
"Craig?" The voice was unmistakable.
Craig spun around to see the girl occupying his thoughts looking at him.
"Hey."
"I thought that was you. I came out of school and called your name but you didn't hear me. I thought maybe you were ignoring me still"
"I was..um.thinking."
"Oh. What are you still doing here? I had to stay after for Spirit Squad sign ups." Manny explained
"I forgot you did that." Craig said. Was he really standing here having a civilized conversation with Manny Santos after so many days of brushing her off? He had refused to even say hello to her all week, yet she never gave up trying.
"Yep. Me, Paige, and Hazel." Manny fell into step beside Craig and they began making their way towards their houses.
"That's cool. Sean always wants to me to try out for basketball but I'm not really a sports guy."
"I know." Manny said smiling at him, "I'm not really a big cheerleader type but I like gymnastics and dancing"
Craig smiled back at her.
"Really? I didn't know that. So you can do back flips and all that?"
"I can do all of that stuff."
Craig couldn't believe how easy it was to talk to Manny. Hadn't it just been a year ago when they had struggled to make conversation beyond the fluffy fluff collection? So much had changed.
"Look, I was thinking that maybe you would want to hang out tomorrow. We could get something to eat or whatever you want." The words had just popped out of Craig's mouth with out any thought.
"Craig-are you sure? I mean, what about."
"Let's forget about it," Craig interrupted "I want us to move on. But I don't want to rush in to this. I want to be your friend first. I want to get to know everything about you."
Manny tried not to look disappointed. She wanted to be so much more then a friend with Craig, but it was a start.
"Ok. I can do that." She answered.
Craig smiled wide. He hadn't felt so happy in a long time. This just felt right. "Great, then we're on for tomorrow?" He asked.
"Definitely"
The End
Ok-that's it! It's finished. But I am thinking of doing a short sequel. What do you think? I was thinking something like this: It's been almost 2 months of Manny and Craig being "just friends", and Sean and Emma are sick of Craig and Manny hiding their crush on each other. When Emma's mom and Mr. Simpson go out of town, she decides to throw a make out party. Too bad- only Craig and Manny are invited! Let me know if you would read that or not. It will be total S/E and M/C fluff.
P.S.: This is the last chapter! I hope you guys liked my story. I am working on a new one-so please be on the look out for it! Thanks so much to all of my reviewers! You guys are awesome.
This Year's Girl Chapter 6
Craig was doing his best to ignore Manny Santos and forget about the events of Friday night. He had decided-somewhere between Saturday night and Sunday morning-that his best course of action was to simply forget about the pretty ninth grader and move on. There had to be someone else out there for him- someone who wouldn't lie to him. Manny Santos played mind games, and Craig was in no mood to play along.
But his plan was failing miserably. Every where he turned, Manny was there. She was talking to Emma, or eating lunch with J.T. He couldn't escape her, and to make matters worse-he kind-of liked seeing her. Despite his best efforts, he still thought she was gorgeous, and he just had to steal glimpses of her across the cafeteria, or in the hallways. He was going crazy.
"So, what's up with you?" Ashley asked him, sliding beside him in the cafeteria on Thursday morning.
"Nothing. Why? I'm great. Don't I look great?" Craig responded.
"Actually-you look like shit." Jimmy bluntly interrupted, pulling a seat up on the other side of Craig.
"Wonderful. Degrassi's favorite couple is here to save poor love struck Craig again, huh? Well, you can forget it." Craig started to rise from the table but Ashley gently grabbed his arm.
"Please-just listen to us. This is the last time-I swear."
Craig sighed heavily and slumped back into his cold, plastic chair. He had been listening to Jimmy and Ashley's advice all week. Somehow, after the truth finally came out, they had all become friends. Craig and Ashley were still close, and now that she was dating Jimmy again-they had been forced together into some kind of bizarre group.
"I'm going to tell you about why Manny and I did what we did."
"And then I'm going to tell you about why I forgave Jimmy, and why you should forgive Manny. And after you've really listened-we'll never bring it up again." Ashley explained.
"Fine. Ok. Whatever." Craig was restless. He hated being forced to listen to their happy story. It only reminded him of how unhappy he felt.
"You have to understand something-Manny and I were heartbroken, and you don't think straight when your heart is broke. We just wanted to stop hurting," Jimmy started, "We thought it wasn't really that bad of a thing to do because we weren't forcing you to break up. We were just hoping that once you saw Manny and I dating -that you and Ash would want to break up."
"Yeah, you guys were totally blameless." Craig interrupted.
"Look, I didn't say that. We realized we messed up, and that's why we told you guys the truth. We didn't have to, you know. You would have never figured it out." Jimmy retorted.
"Hey," Ashley objected "I would have figured it out.eventually."
Jimmy leaned across the table and wrapped Ashley's hand in his.
"I love you babe, but you would have never guesses what we were up to."
"Can we just hurry this little love fest along? I think I'm going to be sick." Craig broke in, already disgusted with himself for staying and listening to Jimmy's little speech.
"Sorry. I think I should tell you about why I decided to take Jimmy back."
"Great. I'm all ears." Craig sarcastically remarked.
"Well, while you and Manny were still at Paige's, Jimmy and I went for a walk. At first I thought he had heard that we had broken up, and he was going to confuse his undying devotion to me. But then he started telling me about the plan. And I couldn't believe it. He had lied to me, and to the whole school. But then I thought about-I mean really thought about. How hurt must he have been to be willing to lie to everyone to try and get me back? I can't even imagine how heart broken you would have to be to do that. "
"I think you should substitute heart broken for evil-but continue." Craig was getting good at making snide comments to the couple sitting around him. It was easier then actually listening to them.
"Anyway, and then I thought about all of the mistakes I had made. I had hurt Jimmy by kissing Sean , yet he had been willing to forgive me and move on. Just like you had hurt Manny by being so blunt about your dislike of her last year. Yet she still liked you. And the most important part is that- in the end-they were honest. Do you have nay idea how many people would have just continued the lie and have been happy to have gotten what they wanted? But not Manny, she insisted that you know the truth. A girl like that-who loves you enough to tell you the truth -even though you might hate her-is worth giving a second chance to." Ashley finished and looked to Craig for a reply but he only shrugged-confused about what he should do.
"Man, I am so thankful that Ash forgave me. When she hugged me and told me she loved me and forgave me-- I felt like the happiest man alive. I walked her home on Friday with the biggest grin on my face, and it hasn't left yet." Jimmy pointed at his wide smile.
"And I haven't been happier in a long time. I realized how important Jimmy is to me, and I am never going to let him out of my life again."
"And I am never ever going to lie to anyone again."
Jimmy and Ashley stood up.
"That's it?" Craig asked.
Ashley nodded "That's it. That's our story. Now it's all up to you." The couple turned and retreated out of the cafeteria leaving Craig alone with his thoughts.
Craig had been waiting for forty-five minutes outside of school with out any luck. He was finally ready to move past Friday night, Ash's words had somehow gotten to him, yet Manny was no where to be found.
"Maybe it just wasn't meant to be," he mumbled, taking one last look at the school doors, before turning and starting to walk home. What I had I been thinking? He wondered. What did I want to happen? Did I think she would come running out, smiling, and everything would be ok?
"Craig?" The voice was unmistakable.
Craig spun around to see the girl occupying his thoughts looking at him.
"Hey."
"I thought that was you. I came out of school and called your name but you didn't hear me. I thought maybe you were ignoring me still"
"I was..um.thinking."
"Oh. What are you still doing here? I had to stay after for Spirit Squad sign ups." Manny explained
"I forgot you did that." Craig said. Was he really standing here having a civilized conversation with Manny Santos after so many days of brushing her off? He had refused to even say hello to her all week, yet she never gave up trying.
"Yep. Me, Paige, and Hazel." Manny fell into step beside Craig and they began making their way towards their houses.
"That's cool. Sean always wants to me to try out for basketball but I'm not really a sports guy."
"I know." Manny said smiling at him, "I'm not really a big cheerleader type but I like gymnastics and dancing"
Craig smiled back at her.
"Really? I didn't know that. So you can do back flips and all that?"
"I can do all of that stuff."
Craig couldn't believe how easy it was to talk to Manny. Hadn't it just been a year ago when they had struggled to make conversation beyond the fluffy fluff collection? So much had changed.
"Look, I was thinking that maybe you would want to hang out tomorrow. We could get something to eat or whatever you want." The words had just popped out of Craig's mouth with out any thought.
"Craig-are you sure? I mean, what about."
"Let's forget about it," Craig interrupted "I want us to move on. But I don't want to rush in to this. I want to be your friend first. I want to get to know everything about you."
Manny tried not to look disappointed. She wanted to be so much more then a friend with Craig, but it was a start.
"Ok. I can do that." She answered.
Craig smiled wide. He hadn't felt so happy in a long time. This just felt right. "Great, then we're on for tomorrow?" He asked.
"Definitely"
The End
Ok-that's it! It's finished. But I am thinking of doing a short sequel. What do you think? I was thinking something like this: It's been almost 2 months of Manny and Craig being "just friends", and Sean and Emma are sick of Craig and Manny hiding their crush on each other. When Emma's mom and Mr. Simpson go out of town, she decides to throw a make out party. Too bad- only Craig and Manny are invited! Let me know if you would read that or not. It will be total S/E and M/C fluff.