Jay sat in the library the next morning. He had gotten there much earlier than any of the other students. It was getting hard for him to think of anything that didn't involve Emma. The chick seemed to be making him crazy nowadays. As he sifted through the stacks of books in front of him, he knew none of them were even remotely interesting. But he had to find something to do to keep his mind off the blonde.

The door of the library creaked open, and Jay looked up, startled. He smiled as he saw it was the blonde herself. She was apparently sneaking in to put up more flyers.

"Hey. Miss me?"He said in a half-whisper. Emma jumped at the sound of his voice, and he nearly laughed. It appeared she wasn't expecting anyone around either.

"What are you doing here?" she asked in a low voice.

"Nothin', really. Need any help?" He asked, getting up and walking toward her slowly. He wasn't surprised when he saw her back up against the wall.

"No. I don't." she said in a voice that sounded more shaky than she would've liked. Jay shook his head and backed her up against the wall again, stealing the papers from her fingers.

"Just let me help you. You'll never get the school covered before people get here. C'mon." He put an arm around her shoulder and started walking her out the door.

They walked in silence for a while, Jay could feel her grow more relaxed as they walked. She seemed to be contemplating something. Something that didn't involve Jay. Jay let it be. She didn't have to be thinking about him all the time. He knew she had issues, too. Some were known all over school, but some he doubted would ever be told. The thing with Sean was stupid, he knew. He wouldn't be giving her any apologies from him.

Cameron can sing his own damn serenade. I ain't no Cyrano. He thought as he guided Emma around the school. She was still thinking of something else, completely ignoring his presence.

"Hey, Nelson, what's on your mind?" He questioned, moving his arm enough to take her hand in his. His soft question just barely reached her ears.

"Huh? Oh, nothing." Jay was fairly certain 'nothing' meant 'nothing I'm going to tell you, so there.' He scoffed at the thought. Emma turned to face him, an annoyed look gracing her face like a thin cloud before the sun.

"What's so funny?" She questioned.

"You don't trust me at all, do you?" He said with a laugh.

"That's an understatement." She laughed.

Both laughed for a while, until finally, Emma stopped laughing. Jay could see her eyes cloud over with doubt as she began to think again. Finally, he was too curious. He stopped her and grabbed her other hand.

"If you're going to look like that this entire walk, at least tell me what's makin' you look that way." Emma looked up at him searching his eyes and praying he wouldn't tell if she told.

"I... I think we should go this way now." Emma said quickly, pointing down the hallway. She couldn't tell him, he'd laugh if he knew she was worried about Chris and Hazel. Jay raised an eyebrow at this, but followed.

As they walked along the hallways, Jay began to think of what he could do to help. Obviously, since she wouldn't tell him what was bothering her, he couldn't help her with that. But he could at least help her with the flyers. He tried to think of a way to get them around so everyone would see them.

Then, he got an idea.

"C'mon!" He half-whispered, grabbing Emma's arm and pulling her toward the stairs. She followed him down the hallway, up the stairs, everywhere until he finally got them to the place he was looking for.

The ladder to the roof.

Emma looked at him warily. Then smiled faintly, and started climbing.

(())

On the roof, Emma felt like she was on top of the world. She could see everything, hear everyone... She felt like she really was alive. It was like nothing, and everything. And when Jay came to stand beside her, she felt like she was flying and falling. And she never, ever wanted the feeling to stop. Because if it stopped, it meant they weren't together, on the roof of a school, with flyers in their hands. If it stopped, it meant the world had stopped turning, or maybe it had started up again, she didn't know. All she knew was that Jay was beside her. And they were on the roof of a school. With flyers in their hands.

She looked up at Jay and smiled. He looked down at her and smiled back.

So this is what understanding felt like?

She turned to look down. They were right above the stairs. The students milling around the courtyard didn't notice them at all. They were each living their own lives and dreaming their own dreams. Emma could see Manny, walking into school in a new outfit. And JT and Toby, sitting by the stairs chatting. Liberty was walking into school and flipping through a book at the same time. Spinner and Paige were snuggled on a bench and Jimmy was chatting with Hazel off to the side. Jay could see Sean and the rest of his gang waiting for him by his civic.

All in all, everyone was living. From the roof, Emma and Jay could see each life being lived and each dream being dreamed. They felt something unique and wonderful melt through them as they watched it all. And they felt like their own lives, for a moment, meant nothing.

Finally, Jay turned to look at her and smirked.

"You ready?" He asked, putting an arm around her shoulders.

"Definitely." was all she could reply.

Jay stepped toward the edge, and threw the flyers in his hand down onto the stairs.

Everyone looked up as the papers fell. It was amazing. All eyes were on the roof, yet they remained unseen. Emma grinned and threw her papers as well. The papers fell slowly, lazily, flying with every breeze. People were running up to grab one. Everyone was moving toward the stairs, looking toward the roof, but they could not be seen.

Then she felt arms around her waist. Jay was quickly dragging her toward the door. She giggled and ran with him, but when they got there, the door was opening.

"C'mon!" Jay whispered, grabbing her arm and pulling her back behind a higher section of the roof. Mr. Raditch, the principal, stepped onto the roof.

"Alright, now. Who's up here littering my steps with paper?!" He growled. Jay and Emma crouched further behind the section. Jay wrapped his arms around Emma's waist and pulled her closer. So that she would not be seen, of course.

"Come out, now! Or detention!" Mr Raditch moved toward their section and back to the corner behind where they were sitting. Jay knew this was their chance. He grabbed Emma's arm and they ran toward the ladder.

Mr. Raditch didn't even see them go.

Jay jumped down the ladder and helped Emma down with him. They ran down the dark, normally unused hallways and finally stopped when they reached the hallway of the library. They ducked through the library door quickly, and shut it behind them.

Jay looked at Emma.

Emma looked at Jay.

They both started laughing like maniacs.

They gave each other a high-five as they continued to laugh, and sat down slowly. Jay couldn't believe he had just pulled one over on Raditch with Goody-Two-Shoes as his partner in crime. Emma couldn't believe she had just pulled off the coolest protest she'd ever done with Mr. Convict by her side. Neither one of them could believe just how good it had felt.

As the first bell rang, Emma grabbed her books and looked up at Jay. He was looking back at her with a half-smile on his face. She smiled back, ignoring the butterflies in her stomach.

Walking out the door, she decided that this was the beginning of an interesting friendship.

But was the fact that the entire time on the roof she'd wanted to kiss him going to be a problem?