"I was just a child but you seemed like so much more.
The way you would approach me and drift across the floor
I'd see you in the hall and you'd kiss me with a smile.
I never understood it was I even worth your while?
The other kids at school they would hate me and they'd spit.
Cuz I was just a no one to them I wasn't shit.
But you would always hold me and stand there by my side...
"...I'll forever love you even in your doom
We'll always be together cuz we're both under the moon."
ICP- Under The Moon
Manny knocked softly on the door of Sean's house. She bit her fingernails nervously as she waited for someone to answer. When no answer came, she tried to peer through the dusty windows to see if anyone was coming, but she could see nothing through the grime. Sighing she knocked again. 'I know you're here, Sean,' she thought to herself. She looked impatiently around at his yard, hoping he would emerge from the side of the house and greet her, but no one came and the yard remained empty. Manny wiped her forehead with the back of her hand as sweat trickled down her face. The sun beat hot and heavy against her uncovered head and Manny hopped from one foot to another, shifting her weight as her legs grew tired, wishing she was at home in her air conditioned room.
"C'mon Sean, please open the door," Manny said to herself, knocking again. She bit her bottom lip in defeat, realizing no one was home. Her shoulders sagging, she turned to walk through his trash filled yard back to her home. She'd try again tomorrow. Just as she reached the gate at the front of his yard she heard the door to Sean's house open behind her.
"Manny?" Sean asked, surprised to see her there, though he knew he should've expected it. Manny turned around to face him, offering him a small smile, though she did not receive one in return.
"Hi, Sean!" she said a little too cheerily. Sean only looked at her as if she were some strange foreigner whose language he did not understand. Manny took a deep breath and continued, "I, um, came to see if you were okay." Sean walked closer to her, stopping about three feet away. His face was expressionless, and his eyes empty. Manny had never seen Sean this way before and she shivered a little. Still, she had to be there for him. He cared about Emma almost as much as she did. He knew how she felt more than anybody else. She needed him and she knew he needed her, too. She tried again to talk to him, hoping he'd respond.
"I heard about what happened at school," she said, keeping her eyes level with his, even though he appeared to be staring right through her. "I was worried about you." At hearing this Sean made a noise that sounded almost like a chuckle. 'What's wrong with him?' Manny thought to herself. "I just want to help you, Sean. You can talk to me."
"YOU want to help ME?!" Sean said forcefully. He looked at Manny with great disgust. Manny took a step back, afraid of him. She hadn't expected him to be like this. Maybe she'd come to talk to him too soon. Or did she come too late? Manny wasn't sure.
"Y-yea, I wanna help you," Manny stuttered, her chin trembling with fear. "I thought we were friends."
"FRIENDS!" Sean screamed in disbelief. Manny took another step back, her eyes filling with tears. Why was Sean acting this way?
"S-Sean, calm down," Manny said, holding her hands out in front of her as if to ward him away.
"You were never my friend!" Sean said, walking towards Manny as she continued to back away. "Not ever! You only put up with me, because she did! If it weren't for her, I wouldn't even exist to you!" Manny knew the "her" he was referring to was Emma. Taking deep breaths and trying hard not to cry, Manny continued to stare at Sean horrified, and at a loss for words. Sean's face was red and contorted due to anger. Still, he kept walking towards her. Manny felt her back bump against something hard. She glanced quickly behind her and realized that Sean had cornered her at his gate. She felt herself about to panic. Sean was delirious and Manny was afraid he'd hurt her.
"S-Sean, please, I'm sorry," Manny said, her voice cracking. "You d-did exist to me. I swear. Please don't be mad at me." Sean stared hard at Manny breathing heavily. His eyes seemed to lighten a little and Manny thought she was starting to get through to him. She put her hand cautiously on his shoulder and relaxed a little when he didn't pull away. "I'm sorry," she said again.
"Leave," Sean said, his voice low. Manny thought she'd misunderstood him and asked, "What?" "LEAVE!" Sean shouted, grabbing Manny's hand and pushing her away. "Leave now!"
Manny began to tremble and tears slid down her cheeks. "B-but Sean, I just want to help you. I know how you feel. I can relate to-"
"Bullshit!" Sean said, cutting Manny off mid-sentence. "You don't know how I feel! You know nothing!" Sean was shaking with anger now. His skin was a deep red and his fists were clenched at his sides.
"I cared about her too, Sean!" Manny yelled back at him, fed up with the way he was treating her. Couldn't he see that he wasn't the only one suffering from the effects of Emma's suicide? He was being so selfish and all Manny wanted to do was help. "You aren't the only one in pain! I miss her, too! But pushing everyone away won't solve anything! You'll only hurt more!"
Sean seemed surprised at Manny's outburst and stood staring at her with his mouth slightly open. All too quickly, though, he resumed his previous state of rage. "I said LEAVE!" Sean yelled, grabbing Manny by the shoulders. He shook her as he yelled, "You know NOTHING! Leave me alone! Alright? You understand that? Leave me the fuck alone!" He released Manny, who was now sobbing uncontrollably. She stared at him, crying, for a moment as if unsure of what to do. Then, she turned and ran away from him. She ran all the way home, never once looking back. She had an odd feeling in the pit of her stomach, kind of like the feeling she'd had when Emma had died, though she couldn't really identify what it was until she got home. It was the feeling of loss.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Manny lay crying in her bed that evening. She kept reliving the scene with her and Sean. She had never seen him so angry before. The way he had screamed at her gave her goosebumps. Manny could still feel his hands on her arms, gripping them painfully. She knew she'd have bruises to remind her of what happened for a while, not that she would easily forget. But what made things worse was that some of the things Sean had said had stuck. Was she ever really his friend? What if he and Emma had never dated? Would she have even acknowledged his existence?
Manny stared hard at the picture of Emma and her on her desk. It was the one at the ice cream shop, Manny's favorite. Manny's eyes rested upon Emma's smiling face. Instead of feeling the usual feelings of sadness, curiosity, and loss- the feelings she felt everytime she thought of Emma- Manny felt anger. She was ANGRY at Emma. Her nostrils flared and she grabbed the picture and held it clenched tightly in her grasp. A tear dripped from her cheek onto the frame as she stared down hard at the picture.
"Why did you do it, Emma?" She asked the photo angrily. She had half- expected the picture of Emma to answer back, to give her an acceptable reason as to why Emma took her own life. But the picture remained silent. "WHY?! Huh, why did you do it Emma? Why did you hurt everyone like this? Why did you leave me? Huh? WHY?" Manny screamed at the picture. She threw the photo at the wall hard and heard the glass break satisfyingly on impact. Manny shook with sobs, as she rocked herself back and forth on her bed. Her tears flowed endlessly, dropping to the floor and forming small puddles that would eventually surrender to being wiped up by napkins.
'This is probably how Sean feels,' Manny thought suddenly. With dawning comprehension she understood Sean's rage completely. He wanted answers that no one could give him. Unanswered questions lead to holes in your soul's core; Holes that would never be filled. That lead to sadness and sadness lead to.... anger. 'He just wanted answers.... Answers I, nor anyone can give him, because I don't have them myself.' Manny lay down on her bed and curled herself into a ball. For a second she wondered how it would feel to die. She could do it the same way Emma had. She'd just take a few pills and fall asleep and never wake up again. It would be easy. Her mom had tons of medication pills due to her mom's bipolar disorder. Manny could just steal a few of those and.....
Manny sat up in shock, breathing hard. Had she really just had those thoughts? Was she actually considering committing suicide? Manny clamped her hands over her ears and hummed to herself trying to drown out the thoughts that had invaded her mind. She wasn't going to commit suicide! She was stupid for even considering it! Manny hummed louder, squeezing her eyes shut. She wished she could escape from everything.... Emma, Sean, Craig, her parents, the pain, everything. She got so lost in her thoughts that she didn't hear someone knock on the door, nor did she hear them enter, as she had failed to lock it earlier when she had come running in from Sean's house.
"Manny?" a startled, familiar voice said. At first Manny thought she'd just imagined the voice and ignored it. Getting the sensation that someone was watching her, though, she looked up to see Sean staring at her, concerned. Manny froze, staring at him. He looked back at her, his mouth opening and closing, obviously having trouble finding words to speak. Finally, Manny found her voice.
"What are you doing here?" she asked him, her voice harsh. Sean flinched at Manny's anger, but answered with a soft, calm voice, "I wanted to talk to you." Manny only glared at him, unsure of what to say. Here was her chance to get back at him; to yell at him and tell him to leave so that he could feel as rotten as she had. But for some reason she kept her mouth shut. Maybe she should hear what he had to say. Letting herself calm down visibly, she looked at Sean expectantly.
"Um," he said at a loss for words, taken aback by her sudden calm. He stuffed his hands in his pockets, suddenly finding them a heavy nuisance; useless things that just stuck out from the bottom of his arms, having no real value whatsoever. "I-I'm sorry," he continued as she cocked an eyebrow at him. Why was she making this so difficult? 'Well, I wasn't very helpful either when she tried to talk to me,' Sean thought to himself. 'I deserve this.'
"Manny, you were only trying to be there for me," he said, finding his voice. "I don't know why I treated you the way I did. You didn't deserve that. It's just that...." His voice trailed off. It was so hard to put his feelings into words and Sean knew that if he tried to he would cry and he was more than tired of crying.
"What is it, Sean?" Manny said, her brow furrowed with concern and curiosity. When Sean continued to hesitate Manny said, "Sean, you can talk to me. I'll listen. I may even be able to help you.... If you let me." Her last few words were spoken with a hint of accusation, which Sean caught onto. He walked over to Manny's bed and sat beside her. He sat with his elbows on his knees and his head hanging down for a while. When he looked up at Manny, there were tears in his eyes.
"Why did she do it, Manny?" Sean asked, looking at her hopefully, desperate for an answer. A tear rolled down his cheek as Manny shook her head sadly. She couldn't give him an answer, because if she did, she'd only be lying to him. Sean nodded sadly. "It was my fault, wasn't it, Manny? Wasn't it? If I had only been better.... If I hadn't been so much of a screw-up this never would've happened. I messed her life up! Don't shake your head, it's true!" Manny was shaking her head profusely. Fresh tears snaked their way down her cheeks and landed on her thick quilt where they were quickly absorbed. Manny wrapped her arms around Sean's shoulders and pulled him into a hug, one in which he quickly consented to. He cried into Manny's shoulder, as she whispered, "Not your fault, not your fault, not your fault," over and over again, hoping to console him. This continued for a while until Sean finally calmed down and his crying ceased to muffled sniffs every now and then. He made no attempt to break away from Manny, nor did she even consider releasing him. Manny stroked his back and rocked him. She remembered that Sean had never really had a mother figure in his life and wondered if she was the first one to ever hold him like this. After a while, Sean slowly pulled away from her, smiling a bit.
"Thank you," Sean said, his voice sounding strange as it broke the silence that had permeated the house moments before. Manny smiled softly in return. Sean glanced at the clock on Manny's wall. He'd been there for over two hours, though it felt like much less than that. "I guess I'd better go," Sean said, half wishing Manny would tell him to stay longer, but she only nodded her agreement. Sean slowly rose from Manny's bed and Manny followed him. They walked downstairs to the door, where Sean paused and turned to Manny.
"Manny, forget everything I said earlier at my house," he said, his voice heavy with shame. "I didn't mean it. And I, um, just want you to know that you mean a lot to me. And if I lost you, too, I, um, don't really know what I would do. Please don't do anything, like what Emma did. Promise me you won't."
"I promise," Manny said smiling sincerely at him. He smiled back.
"Is it cool if I come over tomorrow?" he asked. Manny nodded. He smiled at her, gave her a hug, and left. Manny locked the door behind him before going back upstairs to her room. She flopped down on her bed lazily, not bothering to change into her sleeping clothes. It had been a long day and she was too tired. She pulled her quilt over her, turned off her bedside lamp, and almost instantly she was asleep.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Manny was confused. She was in some sort of field. At the edge of the field was a big waterfall. She was about to call out for help when she felt someone tug her arm.
"C'mon, Manny," Emma said, smiling at her best friend. She tried to pull Manny towards the waterfall. "I wanna jump off the cliff into the water. Come with me! C'mon!" Emma laughed happily as Manny followed her. They walked over to the edge of the field to the fall. Manny studied the waterfall, looking over the cliff at where the water hit the awaiting water at the bottom. But to Manny's shock, there was no water at the end of the waterfall. There was only rock. And Emma was going to jump!
"Emma, don't!" Manny called to her, but Emma ignored her. Suddenly, Sean appeared standing next to the waterfall. "Sean!" Manny called, running over to him. "Emma's gonna jump! We have to stop her! What if she gets hurt? What if she dies? We can stop her, can't we?" Manny went on, rambling out of fear. Sean held up his hand to silence her.
"I'm sorry, Manny," he said sadly. "You're asking me questions I can't answer." And with that, he disappeared. Staring dumbly at where Sean had previously stood, Manny trembled. She had to stop Emma. She had to! Turning back to Emma, she saw her friend by the edge of the waterfall preparing to jump. Manny tried to run to her, but a strong wind suddenly blew and she couldn't move.
"Emma, stop!" Manny screamed, hoping her voice would be heard over the wind. But Emma only turned to look at Manny and smile.
"I'll miss you, Manny," Emma said, sounding like she did on the phone the day she committed suicide.
"Emma, why are you doing this?" Manny called to her, tears streaming down her face. "Why?!" Emma didn't hear her though. Emma took a deep breath and jumped over the edge.
"Emma, WHY?!" Manny called after her. But it was too late. Emma was gone.~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Manny awoke from her dream, crying and sweating. She looked around and found herself in her room, no field, no waterfall, and no Emma in sight. Clutching her pillow tightly, Manny took deep breaths in and out, wanting to go back to sleep; wanting to relive the dream, but stop Emma from jumping. Try as hard as she might, though, Manny didn't sleep the rest of the night.
A/N: Finally another chapter!!!! Yay! Lolz! Hopefully I'll get the next one up sooner than I did this one. The next one will be one where Liberty visits Emma's mom, Spike. Yup, another tear-jerker. Also, I'm having second thoughts on my ending to this story. I'm not sure if I wanna use it. If you all have any suggestions for an ending e-mail me at FirmBelieverInUnderagedDrinking@eminem.com. For the ones of you who already did, thanks and I'm really considering what you said. Well, hope you enjoyed this chappy! Bye till next time! Luv ya! Kris.
P.S. I'm also thinking about rewriting this story in script form and entering it in that Degrassi theater place on the the-n.com. What do you think? REVIEW!
The way you would approach me and drift across the floor
I'd see you in the hall and you'd kiss me with a smile.
I never understood it was I even worth your while?
The other kids at school they would hate me and they'd spit.
Cuz I was just a no one to them I wasn't shit.
But you would always hold me and stand there by my side...
"...I'll forever love you even in your doom
We'll always be together cuz we're both under the moon."
ICP- Under The Moon
Manny knocked softly on the door of Sean's house. She bit her fingernails nervously as she waited for someone to answer. When no answer came, she tried to peer through the dusty windows to see if anyone was coming, but she could see nothing through the grime. Sighing she knocked again. 'I know you're here, Sean,' she thought to herself. She looked impatiently around at his yard, hoping he would emerge from the side of the house and greet her, but no one came and the yard remained empty. Manny wiped her forehead with the back of her hand as sweat trickled down her face. The sun beat hot and heavy against her uncovered head and Manny hopped from one foot to another, shifting her weight as her legs grew tired, wishing she was at home in her air conditioned room.
"C'mon Sean, please open the door," Manny said to herself, knocking again. She bit her bottom lip in defeat, realizing no one was home. Her shoulders sagging, she turned to walk through his trash filled yard back to her home. She'd try again tomorrow. Just as she reached the gate at the front of his yard she heard the door to Sean's house open behind her.
"Manny?" Sean asked, surprised to see her there, though he knew he should've expected it. Manny turned around to face him, offering him a small smile, though she did not receive one in return.
"Hi, Sean!" she said a little too cheerily. Sean only looked at her as if she were some strange foreigner whose language he did not understand. Manny took a deep breath and continued, "I, um, came to see if you were okay." Sean walked closer to her, stopping about three feet away. His face was expressionless, and his eyes empty. Manny had never seen Sean this way before and she shivered a little. Still, she had to be there for him. He cared about Emma almost as much as she did. He knew how she felt more than anybody else. She needed him and she knew he needed her, too. She tried again to talk to him, hoping he'd respond.
"I heard about what happened at school," she said, keeping her eyes level with his, even though he appeared to be staring right through her. "I was worried about you." At hearing this Sean made a noise that sounded almost like a chuckle. 'What's wrong with him?' Manny thought to herself. "I just want to help you, Sean. You can talk to me."
"YOU want to help ME?!" Sean said forcefully. He looked at Manny with great disgust. Manny took a step back, afraid of him. She hadn't expected him to be like this. Maybe she'd come to talk to him too soon. Or did she come too late? Manny wasn't sure.
"Y-yea, I wanna help you," Manny stuttered, her chin trembling with fear. "I thought we were friends."
"FRIENDS!" Sean screamed in disbelief. Manny took another step back, her eyes filling with tears. Why was Sean acting this way?
"S-Sean, calm down," Manny said, holding her hands out in front of her as if to ward him away.
"You were never my friend!" Sean said, walking towards Manny as she continued to back away. "Not ever! You only put up with me, because she did! If it weren't for her, I wouldn't even exist to you!" Manny knew the "her" he was referring to was Emma. Taking deep breaths and trying hard not to cry, Manny continued to stare at Sean horrified, and at a loss for words. Sean's face was red and contorted due to anger. Still, he kept walking towards her. Manny felt her back bump against something hard. She glanced quickly behind her and realized that Sean had cornered her at his gate. She felt herself about to panic. Sean was delirious and Manny was afraid he'd hurt her.
"S-Sean, please, I'm sorry," Manny said, her voice cracking. "You d-did exist to me. I swear. Please don't be mad at me." Sean stared hard at Manny breathing heavily. His eyes seemed to lighten a little and Manny thought she was starting to get through to him. She put her hand cautiously on his shoulder and relaxed a little when he didn't pull away. "I'm sorry," she said again.
"Leave," Sean said, his voice low. Manny thought she'd misunderstood him and asked, "What?" "LEAVE!" Sean shouted, grabbing Manny's hand and pushing her away. "Leave now!"
Manny began to tremble and tears slid down her cheeks. "B-but Sean, I just want to help you. I know how you feel. I can relate to-"
"Bullshit!" Sean said, cutting Manny off mid-sentence. "You don't know how I feel! You know nothing!" Sean was shaking with anger now. His skin was a deep red and his fists were clenched at his sides.
"I cared about her too, Sean!" Manny yelled back at him, fed up with the way he was treating her. Couldn't he see that he wasn't the only one suffering from the effects of Emma's suicide? He was being so selfish and all Manny wanted to do was help. "You aren't the only one in pain! I miss her, too! But pushing everyone away won't solve anything! You'll only hurt more!"
Sean seemed surprised at Manny's outburst and stood staring at her with his mouth slightly open. All too quickly, though, he resumed his previous state of rage. "I said LEAVE!" Sean yelled, grabbing Manny by the shoulders. He shook her as he yelled, "You know NOTHING! Leave me alone! Alright? You understand that? Leave me the fuck alone!" He released Manny, who was now sobbing uncontrollably. She stared at him, crying, for a moment as if unsure of what to do. Then, she turned and ran away from him. She ran all the way home, never once looking back. She had an odd feeling in the pit of her stomach, kind of like the feeling she'd had when Emma had died, though she couldn't really identify what it was until she got home. It was the feeling of loss.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Manny lay crying in her bed that evening. She kept reliving the scene with her and Sean. She had never seen him so angry before. The way he had screamed at her gave her goosebumps. Manny could still feel his hands on her arms, gripping them painfully. She knew she'd have bruises to remind her of what happened for a while, not that she would easily forget. But what made things worse was that some of the things Sean had said had stuck. Was she ever really his friend? What if he and Emma had never dated? Would she have even acknowledged his existence?
Manny stared hard at the picture of Emma and her on her desk. It was the one at the ice cream shop, Manny's favorite. Manny's eyes rested upon Emma's smiling face. Instead of feeling the usual feelings of sadness, curiosity, and loss- the feelings she felt everytime she thought of Emma- Manny felt anger. She was ANGRY at Emma. Her nostrils flared and she grabbed the picture and held it clenched tightly in her grasp. A tear dripped from her cheek onto the frame as she stared down hard at the picture.
"Why did you do it, Emma?" She asked the photo angrily. She had half- expected the picture of Emma to answer back, to give her an acceptable reason as to why Emma took her own life. But the picture remained silent. "WHY?! Huh, why did you do it Emma? Why did you hurt everyone like this? Why did you leave me? Huh? WHY?" Manny screamed at the picture. She threw the photo at the wall hard and heard the glass break satisfyingly on impact. Manny shook with sobs, as she rocked herself back and forth on her bed. Her tears flowed endlessly, dropping to the floor and forming small puddles that would eventually surrender to being wiped up by napkins.
'This is probably how Sean feels,' Manny thought suddenly. With dawning comprehension she understood Sean's rage completely. He wanted answers that no one could give him. Unanswered questions lead to holes in your soul's core; Holes that would never be filled. That lead to sadness and sadness lead to.... anger. 'He just wanted answers.... Answers I, nor anyone can give him, because I don't have them myself.' Manny lay down on her bed and curled herself into a ball. For a second she wondered how it would feel to die. She could do it the same way Emma had. She'd just take a few pills and fall asleep and never wake up again. It would be easy. Her mom had tons of medication pills due to her mom's bipolar disorder. Manny could just steal a few of those and.....
Manny sat up in shock, breathing hard. Had she really just had those thoughts? Was she actually considering committing suicide? Manny clamped her hands over her ears and hummed to herself trying to drown out the thoughts that had invaded her mind. She wasn't going to commit suicide! She was stupid for even considering it! Manny hummed louder, squeezing her eyes shut. She wished she could escape from everything.... Emma, Sean, Craig, her parents, the pain, everything. She got so lost in her thoughts that she didn't hear someone knock on the door, nor did she hear them enter, as she had failed to lock it earlier when she had come running in from Sean's house.
"Manny?" a startled, familiar voice said. At first Manny thought she'd just imagined the voice and ignored it. Getting the sensation that someone was watching her, though, she looked up to see Sean staring at her, concerned. Manny froze, staring at him. He looked back at her, his mouth opening and closing, obviously having trouble finding words to speak. Finally, Manny found her voice.
"What are you doing here?" she asked him, her voice harsh. Sean flinched at Manny's anger, but answered with a soft, calm voice, "I wanted to talk to you." Manny only glared at him, unsure of what to say. Here was her chance to get back at him; to yell at him and tell him to leave so that he could feel as rotten as she had. But for some reason she kept her mouth shut. Maybe she should hear what he had to say. Letting herself calm down visibly, she looked at Sean expectantly.
"Um," he said at a loss for words, taken aback by her sudden calm. He stuffed his hands in his pockets, suddenly finding them a heavy nuisance; useless things that just stuck out from the bottom of his arms, having no real value whatsoever. "I-I'm sorry," he continued as she cocked an eyebrow at him. Why was she making this so difficult? 'Well, I wasn't very helpful either when she tried to talk to me,' Sean thought to himself. 'I deserve this.'
"Manny, you were only trying to be there for me," he said, finding his voice. "I don't know why I treated you the way I did. You didn't deserve that. It's just that...." His voice trailed off. It was so hard to put his feelings into words and Sean knew that if he tried to he would cry and he was more than tired of crying.
"What is it, Sean?" Manny said, her brow furrowed with concern and curiosity. When Sean continued to hesitate Manny said, "Sean, you can talk to me. I'll listen. I may even be able to help you.... If you let me." Her last few words were spoken with a hint of accusation, which Sean caught onto. He walked over to Manny's bed and sat beside her. He sat with his elbows on his knees and his head hanging down for a while. When he looked up at Manny, there were tears in his eyes.
"Why did she do it, Manny?" Sean asked, looking at her hopefully, desperate for an answer. A tear rolled down his cheek as Manny shook her head sadly. She couldn't give him an answer, because if she did, she'd only be lying to him. Sean nodded sadly. "It was my fault, wasn't it, Manny? Wasn't it? If I had only been better.... If I hadn't been so much of a screw-up this never would've happened. I messed her life up! Don't shake your head, it's true!" Manny was shaking her head profusely. Fresh tears snaked their way down her cheeks and landed on her thick quilt where they were quickly absorbed. Manny wrapped her arms around Sean's shoulders and pulled him into a hug, one in which he quickly consented to. He cried into Manny's shoulder, as she whispered, "Not your fault, not your fault, not your fault," over and over again, hoping to console him. This continued for a while until Sean finally calmed down and his crying ceased to muffled sniffs every now and then. He made no attempt to break away from Manny, nor did she even consider releasing him. Manny stroked his back and rocked him. She remembered that Sean had never really had a mother figure in his life and wondered if she was the first one to ever hold him like this. After a while, Sean slowly pulled away from her, smiling a bit.
"Thank you," Sean said, his voice sounding strange as it broke the silence that had permeated the house moments before. Manny smiled softly in return. Sean glanced at the clock on Manny's wall. He'd been there for over two hours, though it felt like much less than that. "I guess I'd better go," Sean said, half wishing Manny would tell him to stay longer, but she only nodded her agreement. Sean slowly rose from Manny's bed and Manny followed him. They walked downstairs to the door, where Sean paused and turned to Manny.
"Manny, forget everything I said earlier at my house," he said, his voice heavy with shame. "I didn't mean it. And I, um, just want you to know that you mean a lot to me. And if I lost you, too, I, um, don't really know what I would do. Please don't do anything, like what Emma did. Promise me you won't."
"I promise," Manny said smiling sincerely at him. He smiled back.
"Is it cool if I come over tomorrow?" he asked. Manny nodded. He smiled at her, gave her a hug, and left. Manny locked the door behind him before going back upstairs to her room. She flopped down on her bed lazily, not bothering to change into her sleeping clothes. It had been a long day and she was too tired. She pulled her quilt over her, turned off her bedside lamp, and almost instantly she was asleep.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Manny was confused. She was in some sort of field. At the edge of the field was a big waterfall. She was about to call out for help when she felt someone tug her arm.
"C'mon, Manny," Emma said, smiling at her best friend. She tried to pull Manny towards the waterfall. "I wanna jump off the cliff into the water. Come with me! C'mon!" Emma laughed happily as Manny followed her. They walked over to the edge of the field to the fall. Manny studied the waterfall, looking over the cliff at where the water hit the awaiting water at the bottom. But to Manny's shock, there was no water at the end of the waterfall. There was only rock. And Emma was going to jump!
"Emma, don't!" Manny called to her, but Emma ignored her. Suddenly, Sean appeared standing next to the waterfall. "Sean!" Manny called, running over to him. "Emma's gonna jump! We have to stop her! What if she gets hurt? What if she dies? We can stop her, can't we?" Manny went on, rambling out of fear. Sean held up his hand to silence her.
"I'm sorry, Manny," he said sadly. "You're asking me questions I can't answer." And with that, he disappeared. Staring dumbly at where Sean had previously stood, Manny trembled. She had to stop Emma. She had to! Turning back to Emma, she saw her friend by the edge of the waterfall preparing to jump. Manny tried to run to her, but a strong wind suddenly blew and she couldn't move.
"Emma, stop!" Manny screamed, hoping her voice would be heard over the wind. But Emma only turned to look at Manny and smile.
"I'll miss you, Manny," Emma said, sounding like she did on the phone the day she committed suicide.
"Emma, why are you doing this?" Manny called to her, tears streaming down her face. "Why?!" Emma didn't hear her though. Emma took a deep breath and jumped over the edge.
"Emma, WHY?!" Manny called after her. But it was too late. Emma was gone.~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Manny awoke from her dream, crying and sweating. She looked around and found herself in her room, no field, no waterfall, and no Emma in sight. Clutching her pillow tightly, Manny took deep breaths in and out, wanting to go back to sleep; wanting to relive the dream, but stop Emma from jumping. Try as hard as she might, though, Manny didn't sleep the rest of the night.
A/N: Finally another chapter!!!! Yay! Lolz! Hopefully I'll get the next one up sooner than I did this one. The next one will be one where Liberty visits Emma's mom, Spike. Yup, another tear-jerker. Also, I'm having second thoughts on my ending to this story. I'm not sure if I wanna use it. If you all have any suggestions for an ending e-mail me at FirmBelieverInUnderagedDrinking@eminem.com. For the ones of you who already did, thanks and I'm really considering what you said. Well, hope you enjoyed this chappy! Bye till next time! Luv ya! Kris.
P.S. I'm also thinking about rewriting this story in script form and entering it in that Degrassi theater place on the the-n.com. What do you think? REVIEW!