Chapter Two: And I Walked Alone

"Did you think you'd get away with it! Huh?" Scott yelled, furiously looking at Jennifer with more distaste and hate than she could bare. "Answer me!" He started to shake her.

"Scott, dude back off. She made a mistake. That's not a reason to put your hands on her." Augie stood up, pulling his friend off Jennifer.

"No. It's okay." Jenni sighed. "He deserves an answer … and I'll give you one, but I need to talk to you. Alone." Jennifer avoided eye contact with everyone in the room except Shelby, wishing that Shelby would just die off and let Jenni be with Scott.

"I don't want to go anywhere with you." Scott pulled away as Jennifer tried to touch his arm.

"Fine. But you brought it on yourself. After all these years, you're still the same asshole that doesn't give a damn about anyone else but himself. Thanks." Jennifer brushed past him, running off. Hearing footsteps behind her, she thought it was Scott changing his mind for some reason, but it was Rose.

"And here comes Judas." She declared as Rose shook her head.

"Don't you get it? This thing is about more than what you and I want. I'm about to be a mother. And it's such a beautiful thing." Rose smiled warmly, both excited and nervous at the same time. "I can't believe it … and I know I can't do it without Augie's help."

"As if I haven't heard already." Jennifer rolled her eyes. "It still sounds like this is all about you."

"Do you honestly believe that?" Rose wondered in disbelief as Jennifer nodded her head. "You are so selfish and deserve everything that happened to you back there." Rose stalked off, walking back in the direction where the other "Cliffhangers" were.

Craig

I've got to find her and tell her how I feel, how much I love her, Craig thought to himself, but he knew that he couldn't. Somehow he had wound up at Ashley's doorstep with flowers, in an attempt to beg for her forgiveness.

"I'll get it!" He heard her voice through the front doors as her seemingly okay tone of voice changed to pure hatred.

"I thought I told you to never speak to me again."

"Ashley. Wait." I stuck my foot in the door and handed her the flowers, which she threw down. "Okay." I sighed. "I'm sorry I made this mistake. It wasn't worth it, but you know how Manny is."

"You should've never been around her Craig. You know you have a history." Ashley looked away as I looked down. This was exactly what I did not want to do, but I couldn't have everyone in the school hate me. If Manny was here, the blame would be placed on her but I didn't want to be outcast.

"She's out of the picture for good Ashley. She's gone to some school in the mountains. And I want to be with you." I reached for her hand as Ashley pulled away.

"You know you're really into yourself. Just because you apologize doesn't mean I have to accept. I don't." Ashley sniffed. "Please, just stop talking to me. Please." She closed the door slowly in my face with the flowers being smeared to the front steps, some half-caught up in the doorway.

Manny

"Everyone this is Manuela Santos, our newest Cliffhanger." Peter introduced her, normally letting the kids get adjusted first but she had come during a time when everyone needed to be in the same place.

Moments earlier, there was a huge altercation between Shelby, Scott, Jennifer, and Augie. Everyone seemed exhausted by it and by the end, Jennifer looked as though she was begging to go home.

"Say hello to Manuela." Sophie chimed in, wondering why Peter had stopped his introduction all-of-a-sudden.

The worn-out group of Cliffhangers muttered their greetings as Jennifer sat deflated, as if the world had been pulled out from underneath her.

"I'm Scott." A curly haired blonde guy introduced himself, showing me the first sense of kindness since I'd entered this place.

"Hi." She whispered softly, thinking of how Craig's hair was so much darker than Scott's and how much she wished that he could come here and save her.

"Manny, we're going to start off with a group. We'll start with Jennifer. She'll say 'I feel…' and then give a reason why, and call on someone else. You'll get the hang out it." Sophie reassured me with a smile as I tried to think of a plan to get to a phone. The idiots had taken my cell phone and even my I-pod, as if I was going to concoct a weird plan to attack someone or hurt myself. Sighing, I looked at the first girl. Latina, no doubt.

"I feel … confused. Everything was going so great and now everything is wrong." Jennifer paused. "Maybe I should've said betrayed. I feel betrayed."

"Why do you feel betrayed?" Peter chimed in as Jennifer shrugged. "I'll let you get away with that one today, but no more of it."

"Yeah. She won't be here." Scott scoffed angrily.

"We'll move onto you. Scott."

"I feel angry."

"Because?" Peter pushed.

"You can't trust anyone." The 'group' continued on this way as I started to learn more and more about these kids through their answers, feeling completely out of the loop because all answers were pretty much directed to Jennifer.

"Manny, are you ready?" Sophie wondered as I nodded, biting my lip and trying to figure out which guy would be the one to make me forget about Craig.

"I feel … really mixed up. There seems like there is so much going on here that I'm not apart of and I'd rather be home with my friends." I admitted, giving them the saddest look I could decipher. It was about time that I was the victim and not the criminal.

Jennifer

"Jenni, can you stay afterwards?" I nodded watching all of the other Cliffhangers walk by and give me dirty looks, except Rose. She looked concerned. Now she cared.

"Yeah. What's going on?" I wondered, acting completely normal.

"There have been some accusations against you that you switched your files with someone else's." He began.

"And? You're calling me here about accusations?" I shrugged. "I'm just the most hated girl at Horizon right now and people are just making up stuff. God, this is worse than high school." I rolled my eyes, denying everything.

I didn't want to go home. Not yet. And as of right now, it was all he said, she said.

"I want you to know that this is a serious accusation and we will be checking up on it."

"By all means. It's your job." I held back a smirk, reluctantly walking over towards the other Cliffhangers, who evidently didn't want me around, so I decided to talk to the new girl. "Hey. I'm Jenni."

"Manny." She looked back at the other kids, amazed by the scenery.

"After a couple of weeks here, you'll be dying to get out more than you are now." I explained. "Why are you here?"

"Because I didn't have a choice." She answered as I laughed.

"Let me warn you now. This place is a real drag and no one here knows how to have fun. They won't even give us cigarettes." I continued, changing my entire demeanor. Maybe she would be the one person here who didn't hate me. I just had to get to her before everyone else told her the real truth.

"Really? I'm more pissed off that they took my cell phone."

"Got a boyfriend back home?" I pried.

"No. It's nothing like that at all."

"I know what you mean." I looked back at Scott who was talking normally with Shelby. I still couldn't figure them out—why they worked and we didn't.

"You're with Scott? Now he's a hottie." Manny smiled as we giggled together.

"Try an asshole. I'm thinking about moving on to someone else … maybe him." I pointed to Trey who ran past us, giving us both a look over.

"So they allow relationships here?" Manny wondered playing with her hair.

"Unofficially. No kissing and stuff in public." I responded as she looked at me stunned. "I know it sucks."

"What about outside visitors?"

Ashley

I went to school the next day, the day after Craig had come to house with flowers, deciding that the whole goth thing is where I needed to be. It scared away people, hopefully the right people.

"Hey Ash." Ellie gave me a hug. "Nice outfit." She complemented my all black ensemble consisting of fishnets, ankle boots, a mini and long-sleeved off the shoulder top.

"Yeah. I'm going for the whole 'I don't care' look. Is it working?" I wondered as people continued to give me pity looks and stare.

"No one gets over someone in a couple of days Ash. Give it time." I walked with Ellie to Degrassi's newspaper room, doing whatever I could to avoid his pale confused face and disheveled hair.

"So Ashley, are you ready for your interview about your band's new sound?" Liberty wondered, coming towards me with a tape recorder and a notepad.

"No. I'm not doing it. I'm out of the band." I turned to walk away as Ellie stopped me.

"Don't listen to her. She doesn't mean it."

"Yes I do! I'm through with it. I don't want to talk about it, or think about it. I'm done with Craig, this band, and … music!"

Scott

"I can't believe you're letting her off the hook Peter. She doesn't belong here! She lied to get here!" I screamed, pacing around his office angrily.

"If this is true and I mean if, then Jenni does belong here. Anyone who would do something like that clearly has an abnormal obsession and does belong here."

"Peter, I can't believe you're taking her side!" I kicked a chair over in a fit of rage. "She's lying to everyone and she's ruining everything. I want her gone."

"Scott, I do not tolerate that tone. Calm down." Peter demanded as I resumed pacing.

"So, that's it? We're done?"

"We're done." Peter nodded as I slammed the door in response, ready to give Jenni a piece of my mind.

"Oh, Scott you and Jennifer will be showing Manny around." Sophie called out to me. She had to be kidding. How was I going to spend all that time with Jennifer, in so close a proximity without freaking out.

(A/N: I updated, but I'm at a loss for how to continue this. I need some ideas. What events do you want to see? Who do you want to hear more about? –NL)