Chapter Twelve: Heart- Shaped Box

A/N: Hey, everyone. Sorry that I haven't updated in so long. I hope everyone finds that Chapter Twelve: Heart- Shaped Box was worth the wait!

Disclaimer: I don't own Degrassi. Does anyone know who actually does?

Marco burst into Emma's room, panting and out of breath. He glanced around the normally clean room, now filled with large cardboard boxes. He spotted Emma in the corner, packing up her closet.

"Emma!" he cried, rushing over by her side. "Is it true? Are you really moving in with Sean?"

Emma smiled. Marco was always in need for the latest gossip. "Yes, it's true. Sean and I are moving in together." Marco instantly pulled her into a hug and kissed both her cheeks. "Bellissima, that's wonderful! I'm so happy for you! Oh, look at you, you're positively glowing!" Marco gushed.

Emma couldn't help but laugh. "Marco, out of all my friends who have congratulated me, you are by far the most enthusiastic. In fact, you're almost happier than I am." Marco raised an eyebrow. "Almost?" he asked. "Almost," she said with a sly grin.

"When are you moving in?" he asked. "Tomorrow," she told me. "I'll help you move in!" he cried excitedly. Emma shook her head. "That's okay. I've already got everyone else helping." Marco stomped his foot stubbornly. "And you're going to leave me out? No way! I'm helping. And I'll call Dylan. He can help too." "Thanks, but you don't need to do all that..." Emma said. "Nonsense!" exclaimed Marco. "And after you're settled in, we can have a house warming party!" Emma smiled. Marco was such a good friend. "Thanks. That's really sweet of you." Marco grinned. "Hey, what are friends for?"

xXx

Emma looked around Sean's apartment –no, it was their apartment now- and felt a tinge of satisfaction. There was a pile of empty boxes in the corner and she still had to put her clothes in the closet, but they were pretty much done. She was now officially living with her boyfriend.

Sean walked over to Emma and took her hands in his. "So," he asked simply. "What now?"

xXx

Sean walked into the bathroom. Emma was still sleeping. She had worked so hard with all the moving in stuff that was going on, so he decided to let her sleep. Besides, after he was done washing up, he could watch her sleep. As corny and stupid as that was, he liked watching Em as she slept. She looked all serene and peaceful. Sort of like Sleeping Beauty or whatever.

He reached over for a face towel. But there was something wrong. He shook his head. "Emma," he said quietly. He grabbed the towel and stormed into his room.

Emma was still curled up in bed. "Em. Up. Now." Emma muttered some gibberish and pressed her face into the pillow. "Emma, I mean it," he said, shaking up awake. Emma slapped his hand away. "Emma, get up right now." Emma sat up. "What?" she snapped. Sean tossed the towel onto the bed. He crossed his arms. "What is that?" Emma looked at him in disbelief. "What does it look like, stupid? It's a towel. I cannot believe you woke me up at six in the morning on a Saturday to discuss a towel." "I know it's a towel!" said Sean irritably. "But it's purple." Emma shook her head, her blond bed-head locks shaking. "It's lavender," she told him. "Why is there a lavender towel in our bathroom?" he asked. "I put it there," she said simply. "No, duh. But why?" "I like lavender. Now go away. We'll talk about this in four or five hours," she said as she buried her head back into the pillow.

Sean knew it was no use. "Lavender," he muttered to himself as if it was some kind of a swear word, and walked back into the bathroom, ready to destroy anything lavender.

xXx

It had been four days since what Emma's friends like to refer to as the Lavender Incident. The towels were now gone (Emma went for ivory towels instead. Sean reluctantly agreed, thinking that at least she didn't want pink), and Sean and Emma still had the occasionally laugh about their first fight in the apartment. Emma was sitting at the kitchen table finishing up her homework when Sean poked his head into the room.

"Remind me, Emma," he began casually. "Do we have kids?" Emma looked up from the polynomials, surprised. "Well, no. We don't."

"Then what," he asked through clenched teeth, "is this?" He walked into the room. Attached to his hand was a small arm. Attached to that arm was a little girl with two blond braids sprouting from her head. "Hi Emma!" the girl said in a high-pitched voice, waving furiously. Then suddenly, out of nowhere, two other little girls identical to the one Sean was holding onto burst into the room. "Hi Emma! Hi Emma!" they said in unison.

Sean dropped the little girl's arm in shock. "Oh, my God! They're multiplying!" he cried. The three identical girls began jumping up and down. "Hi Emma! Hi Emma! Hi Emma!" they squealed excitedly.

Emma dropped her pencil. "Lucy? Lisa? Leah? What are you three doing here?" Sean looked at her in shock. "You know these...these...things?" he asked. "They're not things, they're identical triplets. They're also my nine-year-old cousins, who live in Connecticut. What are you three doing here?" she said, turning to the girls.

One of them –Lucy- stepped forward. "Mommy said that you moved in with your boyfriend. So we decided to be like you. Except we don't have boyfriends. So we're moving in with you! Isn't that cool?" She turned to Sean. "Are you Emma's boyfriend?" Sean was speechless for a second. "Yeah, I am," he said. "Wow! You're pretty, just like Emma!" cried Lucy happily. "Pretty?" said Sean in disgust. "Um, girls, Sean and I need to have a grown-up talk. We'll be right back." "Okay!" said the triplets cheerfully.

Emma pulled Sean into another room. "I'll call their mother, she must be sick with worry. They'll just have to stay here for a few days. Okay?"

Sean shook his head. "Not okay."

"They have nowhere else to go!"

"Emma, they called me pretty!"

"It was a compliment!"

"They have to go. Why can't they go live with your mom?"

"She can't handle Jack, a recovering Snake, and three nine-year-olds!"

"Neither can I! Those girls are like the Energizer Bunny times three!"

"Why do you have to be so selfish?"

"What about you? Why do you have to be so nice all the time? What, do you have some sort of hero complex?"

Emma's face twisted. "That's not fair."

"Get over it. I'm sick and tired of you thinking about everyone in the world except for you and me. What, don't I matter? Don't my feelings matter? How would you like it if I acted like this towards you? Admit it, Emma, you don't really love me. The only people you really love are your parents and the orphans in Africa. Why am I even wasting my time? I should have just gone out with Alex. At least with her I can actually tell she cares."

Emma was reduced to tears. "Fine," she sobbed. "I'll move out. Tomorrow. You'll never have to see me again."

She ran out of the room, still in tears. Sean stood shell-shocked, wondering if it was really over. How could he fix this?

You can't, something told him. You can't take back what you've done.

A/N: Review, please.