Sean walked Ellie to her locker and waved goodbye as he walked to his own locker. He dropped his bag to the ground while he turned his combination. Sean got out the books he needed, and slammed the locker's door shut.
*I should go find Ellie.* He started to walk back the way he came, when he saw someone standing by the water fountain.
It was Towerz. He slowly started walking towards Sean with an evil glare in his eye, "Jay says you won't be around much anymore."
Sean kept a stern expression on his face, "What of it?"
"I was thinking about pounding you into the ground," Towerz began.
"But then you realized you'd have to get off your lazy ass," Sean interrupted.
He was silenced by a threatening glare from Towerz, "But, if you're not going to be pestering me anymore, then I guess I can let this one go."
Sean nodded his head, and thought it best to keep quiet. Towerz turned and started to walk away, then stopped and called over his shoulder, "But Cameron, if you ever touch my crap again, I swear to God I'll hunt you *and* your girlfriend down."
Sean waited till Towerz was out of sight to let out a breath he didn't even know he had been holding. *Okay, well, there goes one of my problems.*
Ellie slammed her locker shut, "Hey El."
She watched as Ashley slowly approached her with a fake smile plastered on, "Ash, what's the matter?"
Ashley attempted to laugh, "Nothing."
"Ash, I know a fake smile when I see one," Ellie looked concerned.
"Well, you're not the only one going to the dance alone," Ashley admitted,
Ellie felt her heart drop. Her eyebrows came together, "What? I thought you were going with Craig?"
Ashley nodded, "I did to. But I should've known better. Craig and I will never work out," Ashley looked down at her feet, then back at Ellie, "But we could go alone together."
Ellie felt like the worst person in the world. *I can't do this to her. She's there for me when I need her . . .* Ellie bit her lower lip, "Actually . . . Sean asked me this morning . . ."
"Ellie! That's great!" Ashley interrupted her.
"But I could just tell him . . . " Ellie began.
"No, no, no. I'll be fine! This is great Ellie!" Ashley's smile was painted on again.
Ellie watched as he friend backed away, the entire time promising her she was fine. Ellie rolled her eyes as Ashley disappeared around the corner. *I am a horrible person. I just blew off my best friend for a guy.*
Ellie was still watching the corner when she felt a pair of arms snake around her waist. She couldn't help but smile as Sean rested his head on her shoulder.
"Hey," he said, "Class is about to start, do you want me to walk you?"
Ellie nodded her head as Sean let go of her. He stood beside her, and grabbed her hand as they began to walk down the hall.
"Hey Manny!" J.T. greeted as he leaned against the lockers, "What are you doing?"
She was sitting on the floor leaning back against the lockers. J.T. slid down next to her when she didn't answer, "Manny? Class is about to start."
The bell rung soon as he finished his sentence. She had her head in her hands, and he couldn't see her expression, "Manny, we need to get to class."
"J.T., just leave me alone," she finally replied.
J.T. laughed, "I would, but then I wouldn't be me. Remember? I'm that annoying kid always following you around."
"What? No laugh? Well, now you're starting to make me uncomfortable," the tardy bell rang, "Manny, we really need to get to class, or at least out of the hallway."
He waited for her to say something, but when she didn't answer, he grew impatient, "Okay, if you're not gonna move, I'll move you."
And with that, he grabbed the little ball she was rolled up into, and picked her up. Manny almost screamed as she was lifted in the air. She kept her face hidden from him on his shoulder. *How could J.T. pick me up? He can barely hold a baseball!* Manny relaxed as she felt herself being carried away.
*What am I doing?* J.T. thought to himself. *She still isn't gonna want to talk to me. I should've just left her alone. Too late now.*
He felt something wet seeping through his shirt. He turned his head to see Manny's face buried in his shoulder. *Is she crying?*
J.T. knocked on the girls' bathroom door. He didn't hear any movement, so he carefully pushed the door open.
He set her down on top of the counter. She kept her face down, "Manny? What's wrong?"
Manny sniffled, "I screwed everything up. He's right. Everybody will find out, and then they'll make fun of me."
J.T. wasn't sure what she was talking about, but immediately defended her, "Nobody could ever make fun of you, Manny."
Manny looked up at J.T. for the first time that day, "I just wanted him to like me. To appreciate me the way he did Ashley."
Slowly the pieces started to come together, "Is this about Craig? Manny, did he do something to you?"
He was already planning ways to kill Craig. J.T. was relieved when Manny shook her head, "I did this to myself. I should've known better."
He waited for her to elaborate, and when she didn't, he asked, "Manny? Are you the reason Craig and Ashley broke up?"
He immediately regretted what he said as he watched another tear fall down her face. She nodded silently, and J.T. had to take a step back. *She has changed. Not just in her appearance either. The Manny I knew a couple years ago would never be capable of something like this.*
He managed to keep his thoughts to himself as he patted her shoulder, "Everything's okay now. I think Craig and Ashley might be getting back together. I heard they were going to the dance together tomorrow."
Manny looked at him in complete horror, "Manny? What is it?"
"The dance is tomorrow?" J.T. nodded.
He had planned on asking her, but it never seemed to be the right time. He thought about asking her right then, but before he could, she said, "I'm going to ruin it for them again."
"What do you mean?" Manny just shrugged, "Why would you want to do that, Manny? I thought you were just crying because of last time. Why would you do it again?"
"J.T., I'm pregnant," Manny confessed. She wasn't certain what made her do it, but she had to tell him.
For the second time that day, he had to take a step back, "What?"
Manny nodded her head slowly, as she looked back toward the ground, "Craig said he was going to go with me to the doctor tomorrow. But I can't let him. He and Ashley should be together."
"Why are you going to the doctor?"
Manny took a while before she answered, "I'm getting an abortion."
"Oh," J.T. said simply.
They sat in silence, both of them thinking of what to do next. J.T. finally spoke up, "I could go with you."
Manny looked up at him. He had his hands in his pockets, and was staring at the ground, "J.T. you don't have to. You probably have a date for the dance."
He shook his head, "Actually, I was planning on asking you."
"Well, if you want," Manny shrugged, "That would be really nice."
J.T. looked up and smiled at her.
"I'll tell Craig at lunch," smiled as he helped her off the counter, "Now we should probably get to class."
Sean walked through the cafeteria. *I haven't been here for a while.* Sean had been spending most of his lunches with Jay and the guys. He looked around trying to find a place to sit, when Craig waved him over.
"Hey," Craig greeted.
Sean nodded to him as he sat down. They ate in silence, until Sean saw the empty look on Craig's face. He couldn't help but notice that Craig seemed a little distracted, "What's going on?"
"Huh?" Craig answered, "Oh, nothing."
Sean raised his eyebrows as he took a bite out of his vegetarian burger. He attempted to make small talk "I asked Ellie to the dance. She said yes. I think I've finally found somebody who understands me. Not like Jay and the guys either. I think she actually knows me better than I do," Sean smiled and shrugged, "I dunno if that's even possible. Considering we haven't known each other very long . . ." Craig was smiling, then his face fell. He wasn't looking at Sean anymore. Sean realized Craig was looking over his shoulder. He turned, and followed Craig's gaze to Manny, who was waving at him.
Sean shook his head as he looked back at Craig, "What is she doing?"
"Umm. . .yeah. Sean, I gotta go. I'll talk to you later," Craig grabbed his book bag and the remains of his lunch as he took off after Manny.
*What the heck is going on with them?* Sean returned to his lunch. A few seconds later, somebody sat down across from him.
He looked up, and saw Marco. The scowl on his face was worse than the one that usually there when he saw Sean, "Hey, Marco."
"Is it true?" Marco asked.
Sean set the burger down as he raised his eyebrows, "Is what true?"
Marco let out a frustrated sigh, "Come on Sean! It's been around the entire school. Now just tell me the truth. Is it true?"
"What are you talking about?" Sean asked. Marco didn't answer. He just continued to stare at him.
"Fine," Marco finally gave in, "But I swear to God if I find out you took advantage Ellie . . ."
He left before Sean could say anything. *Did he just threaten me?* Sean couldn't help but laugh at the thought of Marco trying to fight him. Then suddenly everything Marco had said became clear. *Take advantage of Ellie? Everyone in school thinks I slept with Ellie?*
Somebody plopped down next to him, "Hey."
He smiled as he heard Ellie's voice, "What're you doing?"
"Eating lunch," Ellie answered obviously as she took a bite out of the salad she had.
"Salad? That's not real food. That's rabbit food," Sean joked.
"Well, I like it," Ellie informed him, "Besides, I'm a vegetarian and they're out of vegetarian burgers."
Sean smiled as he handed what was left of his burger to Ellie.
"No. I'm a vegetarian. I don't eat meat," Ellie thought he hadn't understood.
"I know what that means," Sean laughed, "I don't eat meat either. It's vegetarian."
Ellie smiled as she accepted the burger, "How has your day gone so far?"
That's when he remembered. *She must not have heard the rumor yet. Should I tell her?*
Ellie waited for him to answer. *He's sitting there with a blank expression* Ellie waved her hand to get his attention, "Sean? How is your day? It's not that hard."
"Ellie," Sean started, "There's a rumor going around school that we slept together."
Ellie finished chewing the food in her mouth, "Did you start it?"
"No!" Sean immediately denied it.
Ellie looked over his face, "Okay."
"What?" He was surprised about her nonchalant attitude.
"I said okay," Ellie repeated, "I mean, as long as you didn't start it, why should I care?"
*Wow. She is so different from most girls. If this had happened when I was going out with Emma, she would've found out who started the rumor, and then yelled at me for not stopping it.*
Sean smiled, "What're doing after school?"
"Well, first I have detention,"she glared at Sean, "But then I have to go to my co-op."
Suddenly, she remembered the assignment Caitlin had given her. *I'm not going to do it. There's no reason to tell Sean about it. I don't wanna get him worked up for nothing.*
Yet, she felt she had to tell him the truth. She didn't want to keep things from him anymore. She opened her mouth to explain, but Sean cut her off, "Marco's pissed. He heard the rumor. I think he believes I took advantage of you or something."
Ellie smirked, "Marco's a good friend. He watches out for me, even when I think he's busy doing other things."
Sean thought about how Ellie had gone out with Marco, well, supposedly. He couldn't help but ask, "Did you know Marco was gay when you two were dating?"
Ellie nodded. Sean was somewhat shocked by this discovery, "Didn't it hurt knowing he wouldn't ever like you in that way?"
Ellie shrugged, "It's not that he *wouldn't*, it's more like he couldn't. But yeah, it did hurt."
"Then why do it?"
"Because he was my friend, and he needed me," Ellie answered simply.
Sean stared in amazement at her, "Would you do that for me?"
"Yeah," Ellie smiled, "If you ever come out of the closet, I'll pretend to be your girlfriend."
Sean couldn't help but laugh, "No. I mean, if I needed you, would you be there?"
"Of course," Ellie stared him in the eyes. *He really does have attachment problems, doesn't he?*
The rang, signaling the end of lunch, "Walk you to class?"
Ellie accepted his offer as they stood up and walked out of the cafeteria.
A/N: Hi everybody! I just wanted to give a quick thanks to: EgyptianPrincess, justanotherdream, PsYcHoJo, chocl8chps, JaslovesSean, musikchik, and Mrs. Sean Cameron. You guys rock! Unfortunately, Pentagame tryouts start this week, so I won't be updating for a while.
Thanks to everybody who's reading this story!
~*~Sammi~*~
*I should go find Ellie.* He started to walk back the way he came, when he saw someone standing by the water fountain.
It was Towerz. He slowly started walking towards Sean with an evil glare in his eye, "Jay says you won't be around much anymore."
Sean kept a stern expression on his face, "What of it?"
"I was thinking about pounding you into the ground," Towerz began.
"But then you realized you'd have to get off your lazy ass," Sean interrupted.
He was silenced by a threatening glare from Towerz, "But, if you're not going to be pestering me anymore, then I guess I can let this one go."
Sean nodded his head, and thought it best to keep quiet. Towerz turned and started to walk away, then stopped and called over his shoulder, "But Cameron, if you ever touch my crap again, I swear to God I'll hunt you *and* your girlfriend down."
Sean waited till Towerz was out of sight to let out a breath he didn't even know he had been holding. *Okay, well, there goes one of my problems.*
Ellie slammed her locker shut, "Hey El."
She watched as Ashley slowly approached her with a fake smile plastered on, "Ash, what's the matter?"
Ashley attempted to laugh, "Nothing."
"Ash, I know a fake smile when I see one," Ellie looked concerned.
"Well, you're not the only one going to the dance alone," Ashley admitted,
Ellie felt her heart drop. Her eyebrows came together, "What? I thought you were going with Craig?"
Ashley nodded, "I did to. But I should've known better. Craig and I will never work out," Ashley looked down at her feet, then back at Ellie, "But we could go alone together."
Ellie felt like the worst person in the world. *I can't do this to her. She's there for me when I need her . . .* Ellie bit her lower lip, "Actually . . . Sean asked me this morning . . ."
"Ellie! That's great!" Ashley interrupted her.
"But I could just tell him . . . " Ellie began.
"No, no, no. I'll be fine! This is great Ellie!" Ashley's smile was painted on again.
Ellie watched as he friend backed away, the entire time promising her she was fine. Ellie rolled her eyes as Ashley disappeared around the corner. *I am a horrible person. I just blew off my best friend for a guy.*
Ellie was still watching the corner when she felt a pair of arms snake around her waist. She couldn't help but smile as Sean rested his head on her shoulder.
"Hey," he said, "Class is about to start, do you want me to walk you?"
Ellie nodded her head as Sean let go of her. He stood beside her, and grabbed her hand as they began to walk down the hall.
"Hey Manny!" J.T. greeted as he leaned against the lockers, "What are you doing?"
She was sitting on the floor leaning back against the lockers. J.T. slid down next to her when she didn't answer, "Manny? Class is about to start."
The bell rung soon as he finished his sentence. She had her head in her hands, and he couldn't see her expression, "Manny, we need to get to class."
"J.T., just leave me alone," she finally replied.
J.T. laughed, "I would, but then I wouldn't be me. Remember? I'm that annoying kid always following you around."
"What? No laugh? Well, now you're starting to make me uncomfortable," the tardy bell rang, "Manny, we really need to get to class, or at least out of the hallway."
He waited for her to say something, but when she didn't answer, he grew impatient, "Okay, if you're not gonna move, I'll move you."
And with that, he grabbed the little ball she was rolled up into, and picked her up. Manny almost screamed as she was lifted in the air. She kept her face hidden from him on his shoulder. *How could J.T. pick me up? He can barely hold a baseball!* Manny relaxed as she felt herself being carried away.
*What am I doing?* J.T. thought to himself. *She still isn't gonna want to talk to me. I should've just left her alone. Too late now.*
He felt something wet seeping through his shirt. He turned his head to see Manny's face buried in his shoulder. *Is she crying?*
J.T. knocked on the girls' bathroom door. He didn't hear any movement, so he carefully pushed the door open.
He set her down on top of the counter. She kept her face down, "Manny? What's wrong?"
Manny sniffled, "I screwed everything up. He's right. Everybody will find out, and then they'll make fun of me."
J.T. wasn't sure what she was talking about, but immediately defended her, "Nobody could ever make fun of you, Manny."
Manny looked up at J.T. for the first time that day, "I just wanted him to like me. To appreciate me the way he did Ashley."
Slowly the pieces started to come together, "Is this about Craig? Manny, did he do something to you?"
He was already planning ways to kill Craig. J.T. was relieved when Manny shook her head, "I did this to myself. I should've known better."
He waited for her to elaborate, and when she didn't, he asked, "Manny? Are you the reason Craig and Ashley broke up?"
He immediately regretted what he said as he watched another tear fall down her face. She nodded silently, and J.T. had to take a step back. *She has changed. Not just in her appearance either. The Manny I knew a couple years ago would never be capable of something like this.*
He managed to keep his thoughts to himself as he patted her shoulder, "Everything's okay now. I think Craig and Ashley might be getting back together. I heard they were going to the dance together tomorrow."
Manny looked at him in complete horror, "Manny? What is it?"
"The dance is tomorrow?" J.T. nodded.
He had planned on asking her, but it never seemed to be the right time. He thought about asking her right then, but before he could, she said, "I'm going to ruin it for them again."
"What do you mean?" Manny just shrugged, "Why would you want to do that, Manny? I thought you were just crying because of last time. Why would you do it again?"
"J.T., I'm pregnant," Manny confessed. She wasn't certain what made her do it, but she had to tell him.
For the second time that day, he had to take a step back, "What?"
Manny nodded her head slowly, as she looked back toward the ground, "Craig said he was going to go with me to the doctor tomorrow. But I can't let him. He and Ashley should be together."
"Why are you going to the doctor?"
Manny took a while before she answered, "I'm getting an abortion."
"Oh," J.T. said simply.
They sat in silence, both of them thinking of what to do next. J.T. finally spoke up, "I could go with you."
Manny looked up at him. He had his hands in his pockets, and was staring at the ground, "J.T. you don't have to. You probably have a date for the dance."
He shook his head, "Actually, I was planning on asking you."
"Well, if you want," Manny shrugged, "That would be really nice."
J.T. looked up and smiled at her.
"I'll tell Craig at lunch," smiled as he helped her off the counter, "Now we should probably get to class."
Sean walked through the cafeteria. *I haven't been here for a while.* Sean had been spending most of his lunches with Jay and the guys. He looked around trying to find a place to sit, when Craig waved him over.
"Hey," Craig greeted.
Sean nodded to him as he sat down. They ate in silence, until Sean saw the empty look on Craig's face. He couldn't help but notice that Craig seemed a little distracted, "What's going on?"
"Huh?" Craig answered, "Oh, nothing."
Sean raised his eyebrows as he took a bite out of his vegetarian burger. He attempted to make small talk "I asked Ellie to the dance. She said yes. I think I've finally found somebody who understands me. Not like Jay and the guys either. I think she actually knows me better than I do," Sean smiled and shrugged, "I dunno if that's even possible. Considering we haven't known each other very long . . ." Craig was smiling, then his face fell. He wasn't looking at Sean anymore. Sean realized Craig was looking over his shoulder. He turned, and followed Craig's gaze to Manny, who was waving at him.
Sean shook his head as he looked back at Craig, "What is she doing?"
"Umm. . .yeah. Sean, I gotta go. I'll talk to you later," Craig grabbed his book bag and the remains of his lunch as he took off after Manny.
*What the heck is going on with them?* Sean returned to his lunch. A few seconds later, somebody sat down across from him.
He looked up, and saw Marco. The scowl on his face was worse than the one that usually there when he saw Sean, "Hey, Marco."
"Is it true?" Marco asked.
Sean set the burger down as he raised his eyebrows, "Is what true?"
Marco let out a frustrated sigh, "Come on Sean! It's been around the entire school. Now just tell me the truth. Is it true?"
"What are you talking about?" Sean asked. Marco didn't answer. He just continued to stare at him.
"Fine," Marco finally gave in, "But I swear to God if I find out you took advantage Ellie . . ."
He left before Sean could say anything. *Did he just threaten me?* Sean couldn't help but laugh at the thought of Marco trying to fight him. Then suddenly everything Marco had said became clear. *Take advantage of Ellie? Everyone in school thinks I slept with Ellie?*
Somebody plopped down next to him, "Hey."
He smiled as he heard Ellie's voice, "What're you doing?"
"Eating lunch," Ellie answered obviously as she took a bite out of the salad she had.
"Salad? That's not real food. That's rabbit food," Sean joked.
"Well, I like it," Ellie informed him, "Besides, I'm a vegetarian and they're out of vegetarian burgers."
Sean smiled as he handed what was left of his burger to Ellie.
"No. I'm a vegetarian. I don't eat meat," Ellie thought he hadn't understood.
"I know what that means," Sean laughed, "I don't eat meat either. It's vegetarian."
Ellie smiled as she accepted the burger, "How has your day gone so far?"
That's when he remembered. *She must not have heard the rumor yet. Should I tell her?*
Ellie waited for him to answer. *He's sitting there with a blank expression* Ellie waved her hand to get his attention, "Sean? How is your day? It's not that hard."
"Ellie," Sean started, "There's a rumor going around school that we slept together."
Ellie finished chewing the food in her mouth, "Did you start it?"
"No!" Sean immediately denied it.
Ellie looked over his face, "Okay."
"What?" He was surprised about her nonchalant attitude.
"I said okay," Ellie repeated, "I mean, as long as you didn't start it, why should I care?"
*Wow. She is so different from most girls. If this had happened when I was going out with Emma, she would've found out who started the rumor, and then yelled at me for not stopping it.*
Sean smiled, "What're doing after school?"
"Well, first I have detention,"she glared at Sean, "But then I have to go to my co-op."
Suddenly, she remembered the assignment Caitlin had given her. *I'm not going to do it. There's no reason to tell Sean about it. I don't wanna get him worked up for nothing.*
Yet, she felt she had to tell him the truth. She didn't want to keep things from him anymore. She opened her mouth to explain, but Sean cut her off, "Marco's pissed. He heard the rumor. I think he believes I took advantage of you or something."
Ellie smirked, "Marco's a good friend. He watches out for me, even when I think he's busy doing other things."
Sean thought about how Ellie had gone out with Marco, well, supposedly. He couldn't help but ask, "Did you know Marco was gay when you two were dating?"
Ellie nodded. Sean was somewhat shocked by this discovery, "Didn't it hurt knowing he wouldn't ever like you in that way?"
Ellie shrugged, "It's not that he *wouldn't*, it's more like he couldn't. But yeah, it did hurt."
"Then why do it?"
"Because he was my friend, and he needed me," Ellie answered simply.
Sean stared in amazement at her, "Would you do that for me?"
"Yeah," Ellie smiled, "If you ever come out of the closet, I'll pretend to be your girlfriend."
Sean couldn't help but laugh, "No. I mean, if I needed you, would you be there?"
"Of course," Ellie stared him in the eyes. *He really does have attachment problems, doesn't he?*
The rang, signaling the end of lunch, "Walk you to class?"
Ellie accepted his offer as they stood up and walked out of the cafeteria.
A/N: Hi everybody! I just wanted to give a quick thanks to: EgyptianPrincess, justanotherdream, PsYcHoJo, chocl8chps, JaslovesSean, musikchik, and Mrs. Sean Cameron. You guys rock! Unfortunately, Pentagame tryouts start this week, so I won't be updating for a while.
Thanks to everybody who's reading this story!
~*~Sammi~*~