Degrassi: The Next Generation
Checkered Lives and Destinies

Book One
"From the Heavens"

Warning : The disclaimers and rating information given beneath this statement shall appear in their entirety exclusively on the first chapter. Please carefully read such statements before proceeding. Subsequent chapters may feature "summarized" versions of these disclaimers and rating information, but their presence in such chapters is not guaranteed.

Disclaimer
Content contained herein which is claimed under copyright law by one or more individuals or legal entities (such content herein referred to as "Protected Content," and such parties herein referred to as "Third Parties") other than the original author of this document (the "Author") are the exclusive property of such Third Parties, insofar as such Protected Content is not subject to joint ownership. Author does not claim affiliation with Third Parties, nor ownership of Protected Content.

Content contained herein which is not considered Protected Content, and which is the original work of the Author (herein referred to as "Original Content") is the sole and exclusive property of the Author, and one who uses this document (such an entity is herein referred to as "User") agrees (a) not to use such Original Content without the express written permission of Author, (b) not to copy or redistribute this document, including Original Content unless otherwise provided herein, and (c) that the Original Content is authentic and that similarities relating to person, location or events of Original Content to actual persons, locations or events is coincidental.

Rating Information
This document contains content which could be construed as not suitable for less mature audiences. Such content includes, but is not limited to, coarse language, scenarios involving or based on relationships of an intimate or romantic nature, and other variations of mature content. If you are not permitted to view or read such content in your jurisdiction, then do not read further. If you are offended by such content, or have a good faith belief that such content may offend you, then do not read further. If you thirteen years of age or younger, it is recommended that you acquire parent or guardian consent before reading further. Due to the foregoing cautions and notices, this document has been rated PG-13: Parental Guidance Strongly Recommended.

Summary
Marco and Dylan are nearing their six month anniversary, but is Marco's boyfriend really as happy as he seems? High school life is starting to get to Paige, and Ellie is struggling to hold on to a fading relationship with Sean as he appears for a surprise visit. Join the students in their struggles to survive the social trials of high school, as another round of turmoil begins at Degrassi.

Author's Notes
I'd like to offer a few quick notes to the readers. Firstly, Marco and Dylan are one of my favourite couples, as are Ellie and Sean, so don't be surprised if the other characters seem to have less of the spotlight. Also, this is my first fan fiction. Please be kind when you review; oh, and do review! The more reviews I receive, the more I should be motivated to work, and the faster I'll update. I apologize for the short length of the first chapter; rest assured, future installations shall be longer than this. With that said and out of the way, sit back and enjoy the story.

Chapter One
Relief and Anguish

"Spin, what if he doesn't want to see me anymore? I mean, there's bound to be tons of hot guys at that university; and can you honestly expect him to pass them all up for me?" Marco and Spinner were walking to school and, for the fourth time that morning, Marco had begun a ritualistic freak-out regarding his boyfriend's entry into the world of university. Gavin, or "Spinner," was quite frankly growing tired of his friend's constant insecurity regarding ... well, the same sex.

"Ow!" shrieked Marco, nearly jumping into a lightpost, as Spinner smacked him in the back of the head. "Dude, will you please shut up about him? I'm not going to say this again, so listen carefully, alright? I don't know how it works between you two guys, but it does; he cares about you, you care about him. 'Nough said, so shut up about it." Spinner turned around and started walking back down the road, toward their school. Marco looked at him for a moment, then jogged to catch up.

"Thanks, Spinner, that was sweet — "

"Dude, just shut up!" Spinner's face flushed with a look of mock digust and then gave Marco a friendly shove — they both started to laugh. On the outside, Marco seemed satisfied with Spinner's less-than-eloquent words of support; on the inside, however, his stomach was in knots. He couldn't help but be worried about their relationship, even if he did have complete trust in Dylan.

• • •

As soon as Marco and Spinner walked into the school, they walked in separate directions; Spinner, to his own locker, and Marco to that of Ellie Nash. The two had been friends for a very long time and, although it had been difficult for them to recover after Marco coming out to her, it seemed that things were finally getting back to normal between them — minus the fake relationship, at least.

"Hey, Ellie," Marco greeted her. She had her locker open, re-organizing her binders.

"Hi, Marco! Where have you been? Nobody was answering your phone!" She looked at her locker, then at Marco, then back at her locker, before stuffing the binders back in, completely undoing the fruits of her organizational labour. She stepped toward Marco, and hugged him. After a moment, she pulled back, and wrinkled her nose; "Marco, you have to lay off on the scented shampoo..."

"Sorry," he replied, running his olive-coloured hands through his black hair. "Anyway, I wasn't at home, I was at Spinner's."

"Oh, really...?" Ellie rose her eyebrows suspiciously, and gave Marco and evil look.

Realizing that she was thinking, Marco's face turned pale; "Ew! Ellie, no! He's ... Spinner."

Ellie started laughing maniacally, even harder as Marco's face drew a picture of pure disgust. "Come on, he is so not my type. Besides, I have Dylan," he said triumphantly. Ellie turned from her locker, facing Marco, and put a hand on her hip, very matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, but it's understandable. I mean, maybe you wanted comfort?" A playful evil glint could be seen shining in her eyes. "You know; Dylan is all the way at university; you were lonely." She smiled a playful, sinister grin; however, it soon faded when she saw Marco's reaction to her joke. He averted his eyes, and leaned against a locker beside hers.

"Oh, Marco... I didn't mean to — "

"No, it's okay," he said quickly. "It's just, you know..." They stood there for a moment, quietly, when the first bell began to ring. Ellie's expression had changed to one of concern. She hadn't meant to say anything to upset him; she knew he was still insecure about his relationship with Dylan, and about the whole "gay" thing in general.

"Come on, let's go," she said. She closed her locker, with one binder in hand, and nudged him forward to start moving. Marco looked over at her, and the look she gave him seemed to speak so much; he knew instantly that she was sorry about her joke, and that she expected some elaboration in the developments between him and his boyfriend before the end of the day.

Across the hall, unbeknownst to both of them, a student stood with a group of his friends.

"Man — what a queer."

• • •

When he finally arived at his locker, Spinner saw his girlfriend waiting for him.

"You are so late, you know that? We agreed on eight o'clock." She had one hand on her hip, and one running through her blonde hair. She spoke in her trademark tone of voice, which anyone in Degrassi would have recognized as that of Paige Michalchuk. The way her eyes bore into his seemed to demand some sort of explanation for his "infraction."

Spinner rolled his eyes, and started spinning the lock on his locker. "I would've been here sooner, but Marco's being all weird about your brother right now, and I had to talk some sense into the guy." It seemed that over the weekend, he had somehow forgotten the combination to his lock. "Damnit," he said under his breath, as he hit the locker door with his hand. The thud of fist against metal reverberated throughout the hallway, and caused every conversation to stop for just a moment. Paige took a step toward him, and pulled Spinner into a hug.

"Hun, what's the matter?" She pulled back just a bit, then turned up her head for a short kiss. Paige always knew how to calm her boyfriend down; it was almost an intricate art. Spinner looked into her eyes for a few moments, and pulled her back into his arms. Their embrace in the hallway elicited a few odd looks from students and teachers alike, but neither Paige nor Spinner seemed to notice. "Come on, talk to me," she said.

"I dunno. It's just—" He paused to think for a moment before continuing; "Marco's always so insecure. I mean, your brother's a nice guy, I know he's not going to go cheating on Marco or anything. And, I just think that... no, never mind, I don't know." He shook his head, and stepped away from Paige, starting a second attempt to open his locker. Paige smiled, walked up to him and put a hand on his back. "I think it's cute that you care about your friend like that," she said, grinning her trademark smile. "Anyway, I have to go to class. Talk to you later, hun."

He turned toward her and pecked her on the cheek before saying a good "Later, Honeybee."

• • •

"So how are you holding up with Sean gone?" asked Marco, while setting down a tray of spaghetti and garlic toast. Ellie looked up at him, smiled, then looked back down toward her lunch—if that's what the cafeteria decided to call it, at least.

"Well, it's been... weird. It's the first time we've been apart for so long. And the weird thing is, we didn't officially break up, you know?" She pushed her fork through a pile of mashed potatoes, andgrimaced. "How can they call this stuff food?" she commented, laughing.

"I have no idea; you should've taken the spaghetti, it's actually not bad. It's not as good as mine though." As he lifted his fork, he looked over at Ellie, who was looking at his shirt and laughing uncontrollably. He looked down, and saw a huge red stain of spaghetti sauce against the white of his teeshirt. "Aw, crap; this is new!" Marco stood up and turned around to start for the washroom, when he bumped into Craig.

"Hey Marco, what's up?" Marco looked down at his shirt again, then back at Craig.

"Sorry Craig, I have to go. I have major damage control to do here." Marco stepped around him and rushed toward the cafeteria's exit. Craig looked to Ellie, who shrugged her shoulders; they both started to laugh, and Craig set down his tray.