Title: Must Get Out
Rating: PG-13 for language and themes
Characters: Ellie, Spinner, Paige, Ashley, Marco…(pretty much everyone, eventually)
Pairings: Spinner/Ellie, Manny/JT, not sure about any other pairings
Summary: Slight AU. She thinks he's an immature, self-centered pig. He thinks she's a weirdo, gothic freak. What happens when they start to care? Ellie/Spinner shipper fic.
Disclaimer: None of these characters belong to me. Don't sue.
A/N: *Dodges tomatoes thrown by angry readers * I know, I know. I'm really sorry. It's been quite a long time since I've updated, and I apologize. I've been kind of busy, but that's no excuse. But good news, I have a Degrassi website in the works. I'm a nerd, I know. But I'll be sure to post something about it on my Author's Page once I get it up. Anywho, lets get this chapter rolling. Onward!
[ Ashley, 1-23-03 ]
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Chapter 6: You Watch The Traffic Clear
The second Ellie woke up, she knew it was the start to a really bad day. It seemed she had unwillingly pressed the snooze button four times instead of her usual two. And because of this little mishap, it was obvious she was going to be late for school.
"Damn it!" Ellie exclaimed, now fully awake. She hopped out of bed and ran straight for the bathroom. She was in and out of the shower in a record time of three minutes and twenty-two seconds. She threw on some clothes, ran a brush through her hair, and flew down the stairs. She grabbed her bag, and headed for her car.
She backed out of her driveway, nearly running over her mailbox, and raced down the street. Before she knew it, she was in front of Lain's house, watching Lain stare at the sky and make weird facial expressions.
"What're you doing? Get in the car!" Ellie yelled out the window, unlocking the car door so Lain could get in. Lain jumped at the sound of Ellie's voice and did as she was told.
"Sorry, I was counting my teeth," Lain said as if it were normal to do so. Ellie rolled her eyes.
"Oh really?" she asked, clearly amused. "How many were there?"
"I don't know," Lain said irritably, shooting Ellie a glare. "Somebody interrupted me and I lost count."
"Well sorry," she replied, obviously not sorry at all, "I don't want to be late on the second day of school. But it seems it's inevitable." She glanced over at the clock, seeing it was already 7:40. "Oh yeah, we're definitely going to be late."
"Oh well. What's living life if you aren't late to school at least once?" Lain asked with a smile.
"A good life with a clean record and no detentions, that's what," Ellie retorted, stepping on the brake briefly for the stop sign. She waited less than a second before speeding forward. Ellie shot Lain a disgusted look as she sneezed four times in a row.
"Uh oh, snot emergency," Lain said, her hand flying over her nose. "Got any tissues in this dump?"
"Yeah, in the glove compartment," she said, ignoring the 'dump' comment. Lain grabbed a tissue and wiped her nose.
"Why do they call it a glove compartment?" Lain asked in wonderment. "Sure you can put gloves in it, but is that really all you keep in there?"
"The more important question," Ellie said in a bored tone, "is who really cares?" But Lain was too busy staring at something on the ground to reply to the rhetorical question.
"Ellie! What are these?" she questioned angrily, grabbing the pack of cigarettes that fell out of the glove compartment. "I thought you quit!"
"I did," Ellie said unconvincingly. "Those are just for…my friend." Lain shot her an apprehensive look.
"Oh really? Which friend?"
"Um…my friend, Annie," saying the first name that came to her head. "Yeah, you don't know her."
"Oh I know her Elle, her and everyone else from the world of we don't exist!" Lain cried out sarcastically. Ellie sighed loudly.
"Listen, I know you hate it, and so does everybody else I know, but it's really none of your business," Ellie said, making sure not to make eye contact with her friend. Lain snorted.
"Well sorry if I want to make you taking ten minutes of your life off every time you smoke these my business," Lain said, uncharacteristically angry. "Sorry I even bothered to care."
"It's not like I smoke a pack a day or anything," Ellie replied, getting annoyed.
"Yeah, well, you won't be saying that when you're in the hospital bed in ten years," she shot back.
"You know what? How about you live your life, and I live mine?" Ellie said as calmly as she could.
"Fine."
"Fine."
And the two sat in silence. Tension was high and Ellie was beginning to feel guilty. The two rarely got in fights and Lain was almost never serious about anything. Ellie found herself annoyed with the silence, but couldn't think of anything to say.
"You know crotchety is a word?" Lain said, breaking the awkward silence. Ellie was silent for a moment before replying.
"Oh really?" she asked, glad that the argument was forgotten and things were back to normal.
"Yeah, and it doesn't have anything to do with crotches," she said in a miffed tone.
"Well that's a relief," Ellie said, flashing Lain a smile in which she returned.
"Ah, home sweet home," Lain said when Ellie made it to the parking lot. "And only fifteen minutes late!" While Lain was stepping out of the car, Ellie casually leaned over and grabbed the cigarettes that Lain had put back on the floor during their argument. After making sure Lain wasn't looking, she stuffed them inside of her bag and exited the car.
"Only fifteen minutes?" Ellie asked, arching an eyebrow. "We'll be lucky if homeroom isn't over yet."
"Homeroom, shomeroom," Lain said nonchalantly, dismissing it with the wave of her hand. "Elle, don't you get it? We're badasses." Ellie didn't even try to stop her eyes from rolling.
"I'll tell you what. You can stand here all day being a badass," she slung her bag over her shoulder and flashed Lain a smirk, "but I think I'm just gonna go to homeroom." Lain shook her head.
"Sellout." Ellie snorted and Lain laughed.
"You know," Ellie started as they walked up the stairs to the school, "I still resent that you signed up for the chess club homeroom."
"Hey, me and my chess buddies got to stick together!" Lain told her, making a fist and hitting it against her chest twice.
"Yeah, but you left me with Paige and Spinner. The…demonic duo." Lain smirked.
"Yeah, I'm sure you're all torn up," she said sarcastically, shaking her head. While Ellie stared at her from the top of the steps, Lain entered the school, not bothering to hold the door for her friend. Once Ellie realized Lain was ahead of her, she grabbed the door, swung it open, and ran after her.
"And what's that supposed to mean?" she asked, finally catching up with Lain.
"Oh I think you know what it means, you strumpet, you," Lain replied, suggestively waggling her eyebrows. Ellie gave her a confused look.
"Strumpet? What? Lain, what the hell?"
"Au revoir, Mademoiselle," Lain said with a wave. She laughed abruptly. "Get it? Mademoiselle. I call you Elle and I said Mademoiselle." Ellie rolled her eyes.
"Funny," she said sarcastically. "Now what'd you mean?" Lain just waved again.
"Sayonara, Ellie-Chan," she said before walking into Room 111, the chess homeroom. Ellie sighed and continued on her way to homeroom. She had two minutes before the bell to first period rung, so she began to speed walk. When she finally made it inside Room 340, she was out of breath and her fellow classmates were all staring at her as if she had grown two heads. When Ellie finally caught her breath, she headed over to Ms. Keating, who was reading a magazine on time travel. When Ms. Keating noticed Ellie out of the corner of her eye, she put down her magazine and lifted her eyebrows.
"Sorry I'm late. My alarm clock, um, malfunctioned," Ellie explained awkwardly. She knew it was a long shot, but it was worth a try. "It's from…Argentina. And," she laughed nervously, "You know how reliable those Argentineans can be." Ms. Keating continued to stare at her before shaking her head.
"Well alright," she grabbed the attendance sheet and made a mark next to Ellie's name, "but next time you're late, try to be more respective of those from other parts of the world. I mean, what have they ever done to you?" Ms. Keating sighed and continued reading her magazine. Ellie decided it was best to just say nothing and took a seat at the first empty desk she spotted.
'Well, I guess there is an upside to having a kook as a homeroom teacher,' she mused. While she was staring at the clock, counting down the seconds before the bell rang, she sensed someone sit next to her.
"Geeze, Nash. It's only the second day of school and you've already been late twice," a familiar voice teased. "You know, the whole rebellious thing is kind of sexy."
'Christ in heaven, I can't catch a break,' she thought to herself, sighing loudly in frustration.
"Hey Mason," Ellie said in a mock cheerful voice, "why don't you try jumping off a very tall building?"
"After you, darling," Spinner replied with a smirk. It was then that the bell rang. And as Spinner left without another word, Ellie realized that he had won this little quarrel.
'You won for now, Mason, but the war is far from over,' she thought with satisfaction. She then frowned as she came to another realization. 'God help me, I sound like Lain.' Forcing thoughts of Spinner to the back of her mind, she grabbed her schedule out of her bag and headed out the door. 'Hmm, Government, Room 313. Right around the corner, for once I won't be late.'
"Hey, Elle! Wait up!" she heard a voice call from behind her. She turned around and spotted Joe Kim, her friend of one year. Joe was a tall, lanky, Japanese-American jazz lover who'd moved to Canada not two years ago. She'd met him through Lain and they became fast friends. They both shared the same sense of humor and he was a pro at the saxophone, both of which were pluses in Ellie's book.
"Hey Joe, how've you been? I didn't see you at all this summer!" Joe smiled sheepishly.
"Sorry about that," he apologized, "me and my brother went back to LA."
"Really? Craig went to the States this summer, too. Did you have a good time?" Ellie asked, still walking towards Room 313 with Joe right beside her.
"It was okay," he shrugged. "It was kind of awkward when I visited my old friends, but it was good to be back, nonetheless. So, where are you going?"
"Government, you?"
"Same," he said and they walked the rest of the way together. When they got to the classroom, they joined the rest of the class in just standing around and talking. When the bell rang and the teacher walked in, the class quieted down.
"Good morning class, my name is Mr. Keller," the man said kindly, writing his name on the front board. Mr. Keller was a buff looking African American, with a tough exterior, but a kindness in his eyes. His hair was neatly cut and he was dressed nicely, tie and all. "Welcome to Government class. I see I have some of my soccer players in the class. Novac and Murray," the two boys' heads shot up, "you two are the unluckiest ones in the class. For every bad grade you get, that's five more laps around the field." Novac and Murray laughed with their coach, knowing that the man was joking. Mr. Keller continued.
"I know most of you think that this class is a waste of time, and I know I probably can't do anything to change your mind. But here's how I see it, how many of you have heard your parents talking about politics?" Almost every hand was raised. "How many of you hear about politics on the news?" Almost every hand was raised. "How many of you know exactly what they're talking about?" Only a few hands were raised. "When you grow up, people are going to assume you know all about Canada's legal practices and how the government works. And once you turn eighteen, you are going to be able to vote in federal elections and referendums. So unless you want to come off as a real idiot and live your life smiling and nodding without any clue what people are talking about, I think it'd be in your best interest to take this class seriously." And with that, the teacher began taking attendance and reading off the seating chart.
"He seems pretty cool," Joe whispered to Ellie. "Kind of an oddball, though."
"Hey, compared to the rest of my teachers, he's as normal as you can get," she told him, remembering Ms. Casper and Mrs. P. Once everyone was seated in their assigned seat, Mr. Keller went up to the chalkboard without a word and wrote 'What do you think making the right decision means?'
"Please copy the question on a piece of loose leaf and write your answer in three paragraphs, five sentences each." The class groaned, but did as they were told. Ellie started digging through her bag for her notebook when she felt the plastic of the pack of cigarettes she had stuffed in there before. The minute she laid eyes on the carton, she had a craving. A craving she knew wasn't going to go away.
'Damn it,' she thought as she tried to think of a plan. 'Ah, I got it.' She walked up to Mr. Keller's desk and cleared her throat to get his attention.
"Sorry to bother you, but I left my notebook in my locker," she said as sweetly as she could. "Can I have a pass to go get it?"
"Sure," he replied, grabbing a green slip out of his desk. "Who should I write this out for?"
"Ellie Nash." He took a second to fill out the pass.
"Here you go," he handed it to her.
"Thanks," she said and headed towards the door.
"Don't take too long, Ellie Nash," he told her right as she got to the door. She turned around and nodded before rushing out of the classroom. When she made it outside, she went to the side of the building and grabbed her lighter and a cigarette out of her bag. She put the cigarette in her mouth and tried to light it up, but it seemed as if her lighter was out of gas.
"You have got to be shitting me," she said to herself, trying to light the cigarette once again, but the cigarette remained unlit. And then, out of nowhere, a flame came up and lit the cigarette. She inhaled the sweet toxins and closed her eyes in satisfaction. She had no idea who had provided the flame, but at the moment, she couldn't have cared less. Well, that was, until the person spoke.
"You're welcome," the all but unfamiliar voice from beside her said. Ellie was snapped out of her reverie and cursed her luck.
"Are you stalking me or something? And for your information, it's illegal," she turned to Spinner and shot him an incriminating glare. Spinner rolled his eyes.
"You wish," he said with a smirk. He took a drag of his own cigarette and casually blew the smoke out of his mouth. "I didn't know you smoked."
"You don't know a lot of things about me," she said, leaning against the brick wall.
"That's not true, I know a lot of things about you," he turned to face her. "I know your birthday is May 27. And I know your address is 9716 Maple Tree Court." Ellie's eyes widened.
"You really are stalking me," she said in disbelief. Spinner started to laugh.
"Not quite," he took grabbed something out of his pocket and handed it to her. "You dropped this in homeroom." She took the card from him and looked at it. Her Student ID.
"Christ, you scared the shit out of me," she said, sighing in relief. She put the card in her bag and flicked off the ashes at the end of her cigarette.
"You really shouldn't smoke," Spinner said ironically, inhaling his cigarette again. "It's bad for you."
"Says the man who smokes himself," Ellie rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, well I tried quitting," he told her. "But nobody likes quitters." Ellie laughed.
"Well it's not like I haven't tried quitting, either. I tried the patch, that god awful nicotine gum," she said with a snort. "Guess I'm just a natural born smoker." Spinner laughed.
"Welcome to the club," he said, flashing her a smile. She was about to return the smile when she remembered that she hated him. He took one last drag before putting out the cigarette with his shoe. He lifted his head to face her. "You'd better get to class. Teacher might suspect something." Ellie rolled her eyes once more.
"Thanks Mom," she said sarcastically. Spinner laughed and started to walk away. She watched him head towards the back door before he paused and turned around.
"Hey Nash," he tossed something to her. And thanks to her cat like reflexes, she caught it without dropping her cigarette. Spinner smirked and shook his head before once again walking away. Ellie watched his retreating back until he was out of sight. She looked down at her hand to see what he had thrown at her.
That god awful nicotine gum.
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Hmm…I'm not really happy with this chapter, but it's okay. And some of you more observant readers might be thinking 'But in chapter two it said Ellie wasn't big on smoking or drinking.' When I wrote that, I meant she wasn't very big on smoking pot or doing any other drugs of the sort. I went back and fixed that to make it more clear.
Thanks:
X Confused Girl x: Sorry it took me forever to update. I'm a lazyass. Anywho, I'm glad you liked Lain. Thanks for reviewing ^-^
Trapped*In*A*BoxX: Well, it always makes me happy when I make someone's day. LOL! I'm glad you like Lain and Mrs. P. Thanks for reviewing!
Ellectra: Ah yes, Mrs. P is a spaz, but so is Spinner, so I guess they cancel each other out ^-^ Thanks for reviewing!
EvenAngelsFall22: Heh…most of the things that happen in this story have happened to either me or my friends and all of the original characters are based on people I know. Weird, I know. LOL! And I too would tour Spinner's body any day. But I guess we'll both have to get in line. LOL! Thanks for reviewing ^-^
JamiesAngel2008: I updated! It took me a while, but I updated nonetheless. Thanks for reviewing and I hope you enjoyed chapter 6.
Chocl8chps: I'm glad you like Mrs. P. And thanks for the advice on how to cure writer's block. I always listen to music when I'm writing. All of the chapter titles except one and two have been lines from songs I was listening to at the time. Thanks for the review ^-^
Just Another One in the Crowd: You had a teacher like Mrs. P? I feel your pain! LOL! And don't worry, there will be a lot more Ellie and Spinner interaction in the future. Thanks for reviewing!
Solus Nemo: LOL! I'm sure Mrs. P would have a lot to say about your name! Thanks for your kind words and I hope you enjoyed chapter 6.
Amethyst: LOL! I like Ellie's braids too! One of the reasons I love the Spinner/Ellie pairing is because it's so unusual and it's not done very often. I'm glad your enjoying the story, and thanks for the review!
LusciousCheese: I'm glad you like the pairing. And we should be seeing more JT/Manny in the future. And I'm glad you like the teachers. Just out of curiosity, which one is your favorite? I'd have to say mine is Mr. Keller because he is the exact replica of my Government teacher I had last year. Anywho, thanks for the review ^-^
PrincessPunky: Yes, Mrs. P is very scary. LOL! And I too hate how trashy she's acting. Thanks for the review and I hope you enjoyed chapter 6 ^-^
Emmy-bone-kat: I hope things between you and your friend are okay. A monkey on hallucinogens? That's an interesting image! LOL! Mrs. P's wardrobe? Think of Mimi from Drew Carey clashed with Amber from Clueless. LOL! Thanks for reviewing ^-^
The Inkblot Faery: I'm glad you like Lain. LOL, your right. Ellie is way too good for Spinner. But Spinner can be a sweet guy when he wants to, which is like never. LOL! Thanks for reviewing ^-^
Little Miss Lena: I'm glad you're enjoying the story, I'm having a lot of fun writing it. Thanks for the review, and I hope you liked chapter 6!
Crazy Canadian: The one thing I was worried about was the pace of the story. I wanted to take things slow, but I wasn't sure if readers would like that. So thanks for reassuring me ^-^ Thanks for reviewing!
Vipper902: Ellie is one of my favorite characters, too. I'm glad you're enjoying the story and I hope you liked chapter 6. Thanks for the review ^-^
Faker: I remind you of you? LOL! You must be pretty cool then! Just kiddin'! Anywho, I'm glad you gave the story a chance even though you weren't very gung-ho on the pairing. Thanks for reviewing!
Xtreme Nuisance: Aww…I can't believe you would be reading fanfiction when you are supposed to be doing your homework! LOL, just kidding! I do the same thing. LOL! Thanks for reviewing ^-^
Punkxrawker: Yeah, I like anything with Spinner in it to, LOL! Thanks for reviewing and I hope you enjoyed chapter 6!
Kryptonite: Rear in gear? LOL! Don't worry, Spinner should be coming to his senses sooner or later. Anywho, thanks fro reviewing ^-^
Ahh, my hands hurt. And I really wish the keys weren't so close together. LOL! Anywho, I have no idea when the next chapter will be out, but until then…farewell!
[Ashley, 1-25-04]