There are times in a person's life where you feel absolutely frozen. The causes of this chilled feeling are as various as the amount of languages that run rampant through this world. In this particular instance, shock had frozen Emma entirely as if she were some dead fish thrown into a freezer. Her visitor was someone she would never have expected in the longest time. It was mostly due to their strained relationship, or lack there of. They rarely interacted with one another. When they did, it was mostly to exchange numerous acidic insults and to throw daggers at the other with their eyes. However, there was none of this right now. Only awkward silence flowed between the two, like currents of weak electricity.

"What are you doing here," Emma asked in a weak voice, not up to arguing at this very moment. She wasn't really for anything at this moment. Opinions on environmental hazards weren't the top priority for her. In fact, she had no priorities right now. Nothing was of any importance. All she did nowadays was cradle herself and watch each day slowly creep by. All she did was go through the motions of everyday life and never experience anything out of the normal. She craved for excitement, any sign that she was a living and breathing human, and not some wind up robot toy. There was no obvious reminder that she was alive. She didn't feel it. Every emotion she had possessed strangled itself around the others as they fell to the ground silently screaming. Emma never heard their pleas but felt the impact of their death. Now, there was nothing to fill the void they left behind. The void seemed to expand with each passing day, which made the void harder to fill. It was an endless cycle that Emma tried to stop, but her feeble attempts were never enough to stop it.

"Wow, hon, you…really let yourself go," Paige replied while glancing at Emma as a whole. Her eyes took in each detail that was Emma and slowly analyzed her with each movement of her eyes. Emma's off kilter appearance struck many cords with Paige. On one hand, she felt slightly sympathetic. On another hand, she felt incredibly shocked. She had never expected Emma to be in this kind of a situation. But on a third mutant hand, she felt like the bigger person. She felt so much superior that this wasn't happening to her. She loved the idea of being able to spread her wings and be free, while Emma was caged up like a little heroin induced canary.

Emma scoffed, "Why are you here, Paige?! To tell me how shitty I look! I already know about that, hon." Paige was absolutely flabbergasted. The canary was currently flying manically around the cage and rattling it while trying to escape. "You better tell me why, or I can have your ass kicked out of here so damn fast. You don't want to mess with me, Paige. I'm so serious. You really don't want to mess with me."

Paige's eyes shifted around nervously. Gone were the days of perky environmentalist Emma. This new Emma was someone that Paige seriously didn't want to deal with. It would've been easier if that perky environmentalist Emma was still there, and that whole heroin addiction was just a little side note. Hell, it would've been easier if she didn't even have to be at this god forsaken place. She questioned why she had been appointed the messenger. It was probably due to her volunteering for the position.

"Emma, calm down," Paige started hesitantly. "Can we sit down somewhere? I'll tell you why I'm here when we sit down. Just please, hon, calm down." Paige looked down at Emma, who seemed to be ready to give into Paige's demands. They weren't very horrid demands, but giving to Paige wasn't something Emma would do. Emma was a brick wall, who wouldn't give into anyone now. Nowadays, all she wanted to do was being by herself and fuel her fire of emptiness. Every day, she added more and more wood than the day before.

Emma gave a vague nod as she led Paige over towards the visiting area. Only a few other people were littered around the small white room. The room was completely immaculate and completely white. The walls were white, the floor was white, and the furniture was white. It was just one big blur of white with a few talking bodies scattered about, adding a flesh toned hue to certain spots of the room. Emma's spotless tennis shoes seemed to blend into the floor as Paige's black platform sandals contrasted against the floor. Emma contrasted Paige. Emma was sloppily put together as if she were just scribbled onto a paper with no thought. Paige was a beautiful well thought out portrait. Everything complimented one another and blurred together as one compliment for Paige. Maybe it was along the lines of her being beautiful, smart, or having some tremendous accomplishment. On the other hand, Emma was the polar opposite. She was her own insult. She was her own worst enemy. If it wasn't for her careless turns on the road, she wouldn't have driven here.

The two blondes sat down at a white table, with a purple vase and a single white daisy placed in the vase. Emma ran a hand through her limp and straight hair while Paige took off her rose colored sunglasses and laid them on the table. The sunlight coming from a nearby window swept through the glasses and created two circles with a square quality to them on the pallid table.

"Wow, I never would've expected Emma Nelson to be in a drug rehab clinic," Paige stated condescendingly while glancing at Emma with a look that screamed superiority complex to anyone who possessed the ability of hearing. Emma rolled her eyes and looked away from Paige's eyes which were piercing her and leaving behind little football shaped wounds. "I mean, I expected you in jail for like protesting about some new environmental law. Yet again, I never would've expected who your little Canadian drug lord was." Paige stopped short at the mention of that. She bit her lip as if to stop the words from flowing from her mouth. She dammed up the river as the words became squished against the concrete. There was no filter but an awkward silence.

Emma groaned, "Paige, shut the hell up. I'm still convinced you're here to try to be your incredibly annoying self. You're just completely pathetic."

It was obvious that Paige was slightly offended by the harshness of Emma's words. They burned her foundation covered skin and caused her to react. However, when this would be a well put together reaction. Paige had to prove the fact of her being superior to Emma by being mature about the whole matter at hand.

"Listen, hon, I don't deserve your bullshit right now," Paige snapped while narrowing her eyes at Emma. "I'm not the one who made your choices for you. I didn't push you to become some poor heroin junkie. You've fallen apart Emma, and you have to put yourself together. The talk about you in Degrassi makes you out to be some heartless bitch that doesn't need anyone. I hate to say that they're completely true, hon."

Emma met Paige's glare with an even more menacing glare while she drummed her fingers against the table. Paige had nerve, too much nerve. Emma had to push Paige off of her pedestal. She couldn't deal with Paige and her superiority complex right now. She couldn't deal with anything right about now without the help from her angel. It had been forty days. They had been the most hellacious forty days of the eighteen years that she lived on this wretched planet.

"Oh, are you still upset about the whole Spinner thing," Emma asked with a touch of rage to her voice. "You know what? You can have him! I don't give a shit anymore! I really don't, considering he doesn't care about me! You can have that bastard because I want someone else to experience the amount of pain and anguish I was subjected to while being involved with him."

Paige's voice turned soft, "I can't."

"Why not," Emma smirked. "He's doping up some other unlucky bitch? Let me guess, it's Manny. How fantastic. After putting Craig through hell, it's time that the tables were turned. Manny doesn't know what she's in for." She let out a chuckle. "I love it."

The dam was soon broken as water surged through. Little bits of concrete were thrown from the original dam site as a nearby town was flooded. Local towns stared on as they hoped that the water wouldn't reach them. It was an all out catastrophe that was unpreventable.

"Emma, listen to me! He's not with Manny. He's not with anybody. You want to know why," Paige fumed as she could felt herself becoming flushed as she took a deep breath and continued on. "He had an overdose, Emma! He had an overdose. He was found in Craig's bathroom during band rehearsal. They don't know if it was intentional or not. And they also don't know whether or not he's going to make it!" Paige let a tear trickle down her cheek as the sounds of Emma Nelson's shock filled the air. The room was absolutely silent with the exception of Paige slightly sobbing. "You stole him away from me, but I still care about him. I don't necessarily love him, but I care about him. I care about the fact that one of my best friends might be dying." Paige stared at Emma's deadpanned face as her eyes urged Emma to say something. "Aren't you going to say anything?!"

There were no words. Emma stayed completely silent while trying to cradle herself. Unfortunately, she fell out of her own arms and tumbled down to the floor. The one person that she had perceived to actually understand her and cradled her in a heroin bassinet had been locked out of the room where the bassinet was. Now, he might not find the key. No one would be able to feed her the nourishment she needed once the bassinet had broken. Down came Emma and all, as she was left to her own devices and to fend for herself. The task seemed almost too horrific for Emma to have to deal with. Instead of being cradled in his arms, she now had to be cradled in the arms of denial. His face was initially friendly but had harshness to it once you got to stare at it for a while. However, it was a source of synthetic comfort that she couldn't help but cling onto.

The silence was shattered by Emma chuckling while she shook her head. Paige shot her an appalled look and still waited for Emma to utter a single word.

"Paige, c'mon, where's the just kidding," Emma asked urgently. "I'm one of the victims to your practical jokes. But unlike JT, I saw it coming! You're losing your touch, Paige. You're such a horrible liar." The denial intoxicated Emma as she let out insane chuckles that alarmed Paige. This was so out of character of Emma. This wasn't Emma Nelson. It was just some girl who looked like her and had her name. What a small world, Paige hoped. She didn't want to be there to pick up the pieces of Emma. She didn't want to be a part of this situation. She wanted to detach herself from the body of where she was a band aid. If she were the band aid, she wouldn't hear the screams of the person, for she was a simple inanimate object with no senses.

"Hon, do I look like I'm kidding," Paige asked harshly as she chomped down on each one of her words and spit them in Emma's face. "Why would I make something up? I didn't believe it at first either, but..." She trailed off as she felt her throat close up and suffocate the meanings from her words. However after a moment, the grasp around the words was lifted and they moved freely once again.

"Don't joke around with me, Paige," Emma threatened. "You don't want to joke around with me. I'm a heroin addict, the most screwed up drug addict, that's what they tell you in Health class. If you joke around with me, I will tear you to pieces. I have been cooped up in this hell hole for forty days. I haven't eaten in two. I am confused beyond reason and have been broken into pieces. I will kill you, Paige, unless you come out and tell me that you're joking around. Once you stop hiding behind your Chanel make-up and lies, I'll be alright. I know you're joking around."

"I'm not joking, Emma," Paige insisted. Her pleas were maimed by Emma's denial. Denial always had the upper hand in a situation similar or identical to this one. "And why would I be joking?"

"Because Spinner isn't in Degrassi, Sherlock," Emma stated as a matter of fact. "I asked Craig where Spinner was when I was in the hospital for god knows what reason. Spinner is in Winnipeg. His dad lives there. Goes to show how much you know about the guy. If you were good friends, then you obviously weren't good enough to know where his hide outs are. You're so brilliant, Paige. You really are."

Paige could feel herself crashing into pieces of individual emotions. Each piece was a certain shape and could fit with other similar shapes. She picked up one of the pieces and held it to herself, feeling the emotion radiate into her body.

"Emma, what the fuck is your problem," Paige shrieked. "Are you on something right now? You don't get it! You just don't! Do you need me to repeat it? Do you?! I don't want to repeat it. I don't want it to be real, but it is real! It's real…" She trailed off gazing out towards the window, begging it to take her to an alternate reality. One where she didn't even care, or better yet know about Spinner and Emma's presence. There was so much desire that Paige had towards that particular cause. It burned inside her. It burned her. Her swishy blonde hair streamed down her face as she buried her head in her hands and stared up at the ceiling.

Emma never thought of Paige as a type who would be a good actress. She was too dramatic for her own good and everything was so exaggerated. It always felt so plastic. Paige felt plastic. She was a walking doll that was put on display in someone's glass case. There were points where she would escape from her glass encased prison. After she was caught by her decrepit owner who also owned half a dozen cats, she would be stuffed back into her prison.

She felt her eyes glaze over as she looked at Paige, who was still looking at the ceiling wistfully. Perhaps the ceiling was supposed to perform a ballet produced by the Russian Ballet company. Or perhaps, Paige was being horribly avoidant of the situation at hand. It was quite odd, considering that Paige seemed to be one who would dive head first into the pool. However, she was swiping her foot hesitantly over the cold waters. Emma stared at Paige while she felt those emotions becoming resurrected. The malevolent emotions were the only ones that were lucky enough to be resurrected. They overwhelmed Emma as she felt her pulse quicken. Her heartbeat boomed loudly with the sounds of Paige sighing sadly. They were in symphony with each other in the orchestra of all things melancholy.

"Why couldn't you have been joking," Emma sobbed. The void was now slowly being filled. However, the void wasn't half full, but half empty. Her sobs filled the void of awkwardness though. "Oh god, he could be dead right now. He's such an idiot! If I wasn't here, then he'd be alright. He needs me. But no, they said I had a problem and threw me in this hell hole. No, I'm not the one with the problem. He has the problem. And now he's completely screwed himself up. I'm making no sense and I can hardly breathe right now!" She let out a shaky sigh before burying her head into her hands and sobbing.

"What the hell is wrong with me," Emma screeched while she swiped her hand across the table. The purple vase was pushed aside. It then started to fall. It slowly and gracefully fell before shattering. Little fragments of lavender flooded the floor as the daisy stood beside itself.

"Emma, please, calm down," Paige pleaded sternly. "I'm already an emotional wreck as is. I don't need someone else to be an emotional wreck along with me. I'm…I need a smoke. I need a freaking cigarette to calm my nerves. I also need you to come with me."

Emma looked up through confused tear filled eyes, "Come with you to where?"

"Back to the…hospital," Paige stated with a slight sniff. "That's where I came from. Craig told me to come visit you here. I also volunteered considering I knew where this place is, I pass it everyday on the way to work. Please, Emma, come with me. I honestly don't care about how you get out of here. Just get out. You've been cooped up here for so long; you need a breath of fresh air. Wait…how long are you going to be here for?"

"Six months," Emma croaked. "I'm enrolled in the six month program that involves group therapy and other shit."

"Sounds fun," Paige rolled her eyes. "But at least you're getting help for your problem."

"Paige, I don't have a problem! I don't even know why I'm even here! Mostly because those idiots like to think I have a problem," Emma snapped furiously. "But I can get out of here for a few hours. I wasn't thrown in here by a court hearing or whatever, so I'm free to come and go."

Paige raised an eyebrow, "How come you never tried to get out of here before? If you really hate the place, then why are you here? Especially since you're so convinced that you were unjustly tossed in here."

The possibility of escaping crossed Emma's mind a numerous amount of times. But what was the point of escaping if there was no place to go? She would have been running around in circles. There would have been no place to go, no destination to reach. There would only be swirling out of control and dizziness and confusion. The confusion wasn't the ideal feeling that Emma wanted to go for. She wanted to be free. She wanted to be free of all of the barriers that had been put around her. All she did was want. Reality seemed to be just a foot note.

"No place to go," Emma remarked.

"Now you have a place to go," Paige stated. "Now, I know you don't particularly care for me. But believe me, the feeling is mutual. But listen to me when I say to take advantage of this situation. And plus, with the gossip I've been hearing about you and Spin, you need to tie up some loose ends."

Emma scoffed, "It's all about gossip with you, Paige. I bet all of this dirt about me isn't even true."

"Oh yeah," Paige stated as the two blondes walked over towards the reception area. "Prove it to me. Once you tell me every excruciating detail that regards you and Spin, then I'll tell you whether or not the dirt is true. Until then…well, you know hon."

After Emma signed a release form that indicated she'd only be out of there for a few hours, the two bickering women walked out of the doors and into the fresh sunlight. Emma breathed in fresh air; something she hadn't done since she had come to this place. The sunlight provided warmth to Emma's tired body as it gave Paige's bleached highlights a shimmering quality to them. They walked out into the parking lot, towards a rather extravagant looking car.

"Do you just want to know so you can spread more dirt around about me," Emma asked harshly while pouring sulfuric acid on each one of her words.

Paige's voice turned soft, "Actually, hon, I kind of want to know for the sake of knowing. I don't care about that dirt that Hazel is spreading around. I really don't. I want to know what the hell went on between you two. I mean, you and Spinner hooking up was, like, a sign of the apocalypse. Well, the sign of the apocalypse for me, anyway."

"I never would've expected it either," Emma replied in all honesty. Paige unlocked the passenger side of the car before clomping over to the driver's side of the car. "Why am I even talking about this with you of all people? Why?"

Paige rolled her eyes, "I honestly don't know." She fished a cigarette out of its box while searching through her purse for a lighter. She came upon a hot pink lighter and cried a rather jubilant, "Found you!" The flame created by the lighter pressed against the end of cigarette, creating a smoky smell that filled the air. Emma let out a hacking cough before opening the window and letting the warm summer air seep into the car. Paige sent a slight glare in Emma's direction after she had opened the window.

"Do you mind? The air conditioning doesn't work if you have the windows open," Paige informed her snootily. "It kind of defeats the purpose, y'know?"

Emma growled, "Do you think I'll be able to breathe without the windows being opened?"

"Fine, fine," Paige commented as she held the cigarette between her lips and backed out of the parking space she had crammed the red jeep into. Soon, they were sailing out of the parking lot and onto the open road. The warm summer air caressed Emma's face as she could feel herself sailing off into the horizon. She felt so absolutely free, with the exception that Paige's cigarette smoke was interrupting the process of breathing in fresh arid air.

Emma looked longingly out the window and seemed to be getting lost in her dream world without a map. She looked up and into the horizon as the sun practically burned her retinas. She looked away and down at her white tennis shoe covered feet. Her eyes started to fill with tears.

The older blonde caught the tears trickling down Emma's cheek out of the corner of her eye. "Are you okay, hon?"

"Where is our supply, Spinner," Emma shouted at the burly blonde in front of her. She sat on her bed in her bedroom while Spinner paced around. "You said you were going to bring our supply with you while my mom went out and got Chinese food!" She stood up in front of Spinner and sent a glare in his direction while her ceiling light beat down on them.

Spinner looked at her tentatively, "My dealer got arrested last week." Rage filled his eyes as he groaned. "We're both screwed! Shit, I only have a needle full! And we all know how you won't even think about sharing the same needle."

"Give me the damn needle," Emma shrieked while shaking Spinner like he was some rag doll. "Give me the needle! I need some! Give it to me now!"

Spinner pushed her away from him, "Calm the hell down! I need some too! You're so fucking selfish! Let me have some too!"

"Don't touch me," Emma screamed before digging her nails into Spinner's cheek flesh. Red crimson fluid streamed down from three extensive cuts on his face. His eyes shot flames at her before he pushed away with one hand while covering his cuts with the other. Emma toppled over while Spinner's hand became covered in blood. She managed to pick herself up before trying to pin Spinner down in an attempt to find the sacred baggie, which she believed to be in one of his pockets.

Emma spotted a Ziploc full of various cosmetics in Paige's handbag and looked down at her legs. She didn't realize that she hadn't answered Paige's question about her being alright. Of course, the answer was "no". Every since the summer between grade nine and ten, the answer had always been "no". She had found solace in someone who she had thought to be her savior, but it was the exact opposite. It created confusion in Emma which created anger and pain. There only seemed to be one way to conceal that anger and pain, which just made the pain even worse. Then the breaking point came, where she had to just release all of her bottled up anger. She had released her anger on a number of people. The list seemed to grow daily.

"Hon, you never answered my question," Paige informed a crying Emma. "But I'll take that as 'no'." The sounds of soft rock filtered through the car and some of the sound waves permeated out into the outside world.  Paige started to softly serenade herself with the lyrics of Natalie Imbruglia. "There's nothing where he used to lie, my inspiration has run dry…that's what's going on. Nothing's right, I'm torn. I'm all out of faith…"

"Stop singing," Emma commanded in a shaky tear filled voice. "If you stop singing, I'll tell you every little detail."

Paige shot Emma a curious look, "Do you suddenly trust me or something?" She took another puff of her cigarette, letting the smoke engulf her young and tired face.

"No," Emma stated plainly. "I really don't trust you, Paige. I really don't. But you're here, and I happen to feel like getting this all off of my chest. Hey…do you mind subjecting me to second hand smoke?" She attempted to steal the cigarette out of Paige's slender fingers.

"I'm trying to drive," Paige snapped at Emma. "But I assure you cigarettes aren't as bad as heroin, so I'd quit my complaining if I were you."

"Screw off," Emma muttered before slinking into her seat. "Fine, I'm not even going to tell you now. You obviously don't deserve to know what exactly went on."

Paige smirked behind a depressed mask, "We have an hour drive to endure. So, I think we'd both rather your story telling as opposed to arguing."

"Well," Emma started gathering her thoughts and wiping away fresh tears. "Where do you want me to begin? The party?"

"Everyone knows what happened at that party," Paige snarled. "How about starting with the Monday afterward?"

"That sounds like a plan," Emma rolled her eyes. "Fine, here we go…"