Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, they belong to Degrassi etc… etc… etc…
The Right Choice
Chapter Eight/8: Under The Moonlight
"Well, here we are." Manny said to Emma as they stood in front of the Degrassi Community School building. "I dunno if I should be excited or completely scared."
"Scared," Emma replied, almost unconscious of what she had just said, "No wait! Excited! Yeah, excited… right?"
"I dunno, but whatever it is, we're gonna find out now." Manny said as they walked up the steps into the school.
When they walked in, JT came up to them, almost instantly. "Hey Manny." JT said looking mesmerized.
"Hey." She responded.
Emma cut in, "Hey JT it's nice to see you to." she said sarcastically.
"Oh yeah yeah, hi." He said not taking his eyes off Manny.
"Ok well why don't I leave you two alone. I gotta find Chris." Emma said as she walked away.
"So do you wanna dance?" JT asked.
"Yeah sure I'd love to." Manny said as she discreetly looked around for Craig. 'STOP!' she told herself 'Don't look for that jerk!'
"Go." Paige said as she nudged Ash in the arm, "Say hi or something."
"No… ok fine." Ashley said eyeing Craig. She slowly walked up to him not knowing what to do, "Hey Craig."
Craig's head shot up. She had caught him off guard, "Oh hi Ash!" he said trying to sound enthusiastic, but the truth was, he just wanted to go home. This was never gonna work, and he wasn't in the mood for fun. Not while he knew that Manny hated his guts. He stood up "Do you wanna dance or something?"
"Yeah sure." Ash replied feeling awkward.
The two couples danced for a while in silence. Suddenly a slow dance came on.
JT nervously stood in front of Manny. What do I do? he thought to himself. Do I just grab her? Do I wait for her to touch me? Before he had time to decide Manny put her arms around his shoulders. Guess that answers my question. he thought as he put his arms around her too.
Ash and Craig hesitated. Then they came closer and they put their arms around each other for the slow dance. Why did this feel so weird? they both thought.
Manny didn't need to search anymore… she found him. He was dancing with Ashley, and looking all weird and uncomfortable, mind you. Ha! That's what he got for doing this to her! Now he had to stand there and be awkward! Manny felt a singe of satisfaction at this thought. She looked away from him. She couldn't look at him, it was eating her up inside. But she couldn't just not look at him knowing that he was dancing just some feet away with another girl, that was eating her up too!
A thousand thoughts were running through Craig's head. When was this dance over? God he just wanted to get home. How long was this stupid slow dance? He felt like he had been dancing for ages! Why was everything so uncomfortable? And where the heck was Manny?! He was racking his brain trying to find her. He knew she was here, she had to be, and he knew she was here with JT! He looked at Ash but quickly turned away. She looked just as uncomfortable as he did. This was so stupid, he thought. But just as he looked up again there she was! Dancing a little too close too JT! Craig felt flames inside of him. He wanted to be the one she was dancing that close to!
Manny looked at JT. Why did this feel so wrong? Wasn't she supposed to be having a great time? And why the heck did her feet hurt so damn much? She glanced over at Craig once more. Suddenly she stopped dancing, "I-I-I, I gotta go. I'm so sorry." she said and ran out of the school. She hastily ran down the step and planted herself on the bottom one. She then, slipped off her heels. Man, did her feet hurt! It was her stupid shoes! "Dumb shoes." she mumbled as she set them aside.
Goodness if he had to dance for one more second, Craig thought he would explode! He looked over in Manny's direction only to find she wasn't there. All he saw was JT standing there alone looking dumbfounded. Where is she? he thought. Then he took a long hard look at Ash. Suddenly he stopped and said "This is so stupid!" and left the gym as well. He stepped outside of the school, but was startled by a small figure sitting at the bottom step. He walked a few feet forward and squinted, "Manny?" Craig whispered to himself. He then began walking down the steps slowly and quietly, he didn't want to disturb her. He silently made it down to the bottom step and sat down a safe distance from her.
Manny looked up from her thoughts only to find Craig sitting beside her. She looked down at her shoes, "Oh great… you." she said wearily.
"Yeah… me." he said softly.
"Well what do you want?" she asked.
He hesitated, "You…" he said smiling.
You? What kind of answer is that? Who did this guy think he was? Manny thought as she studied him. Wow, he was beautiful. The way the moonlight was reflecting on his face, defining every last detail of it. She'd forgotten just how gorgeous he really was… well, almost…
Author's Note: Review… please…
