"This dance is so fun!" Emma screamed, shaking her arms and wiggling her head back and forth. She giggled and jumped up and down in the air. "Riley! Dance with me! You're not dancing!" She reached out and grabbed Riley's hand, trying to get her to move. Riley glanced around nervously, wondering if anyone had noticed Emma's sudden spastic/crazy act. It was impossible not to notice- Emma was making such a spectacle of herself. Riley felt momentarily bad for what she had done, but like most of her guilty feelings, they didn't last long. She gritted her teeth, resisting the urge to slap Emma in the face.

"No, you keep dancing. I'll just watch," she said, pulling her hand away from Emma's. Emma just smiled stupidly and went back to hopping around like a bunny. Riley scowled and glanced around again. She had slipped Emma the pill fifteen minutes ago, and it was working like a fucking charm, but Riley was beginning to get a little pissed off. She hated hyper people-all they did was talk and run around and get in your face. Still, Riley didn't regret what she'd done. After giving Emma a few glasses of vodka, she had slipped it in, and Emma hadn't even noticed. Riley spotted Sean heading across the room toward his girlfriend, a concerned frown on his face. Riley leapt into action. She reached out and grabbed Emma's arm, dragging her away. "Oh, my, God! Your hair…it's doing something weird!"

Emma's mouth fell open and she touched her head. "Really? Oh, my, God-what's it doing?"

"This really weird thing….look, I can't let anyone see you like this!" Riley said, pulling Emma out into the hallway. She shoved Emma into the nearby girl's bathroom, and slipped in beside her. Once they were inside, Emma leaned against the counter, looking ill. "Ugh. I don't feel well. What was in that vodka? Is my hair ok? What was in that vodka?"

Only a potentially dangerous drug that I knew nothing about and gave it to you so you'd make an idiot out of yourself and so you wouldn't sleep with Sean because I'm in love with him, she thought. She shrugged. "I don't know. It was just regular, I swear. Anyway, I was sort of thinking-"

Suddenly, Emma clutched her stomach and darted into a stall. Riley frowned. "Emma, you ok in there? she asked, unable to hide her smile. "Gee, I think you better go home," she said, trying to be concerned. There was dead silence. Riley frowned and knocked on the stall door. "Hey, you're not like, passed out in there, are you?" No reply.

Riley panicked. Oh, my, God, she thought frantically. What if she's dead in there? Riley was just about to go all Laura Croft and try to kick the door open when she heard a sad moan.

"I can't," Emma moaned miserably from the stall. Riley leaned against sink, sighing in relief. "Tonight was supposed to be…shit, I feel like crap."

"Listen, I'll take you home-" Riley began, but then stopped herself. It would look awful if Sean found out Riley had escorted Emma home- he'd know something was up for sure. She thought for a second. "Hold on. Don't move." She sprinted out of the bathroom and collided headfirst into someone. "Ow! Mother fucker! Why don't you fucking watch…oh, hi, Jay," she said sweetly, beaming up at him. "Guess what!"

"What?"

"I have a surprise for you!"

Jay smirked, looking interested. "Oh, yeah? What is it?"

"Yeah. It's a drunk girl sitting on a toilette in a bathroom stall."

Jay looked confused. "Wait- what?"

Riley smiled. "You get to do me a favor.

Jay rolled his eyes. "That's your surprise? That was disappointing."

Riley waved a hand. "Listen, you need to take Emma home. She's really fucked up, and well…I trust you." She put a flirtatious hand on his shoulder. Jay glanced at her hand. "Why doesn't Sean- her boyfriend- take her home?" he retorted.

"Well…they got in this awful fight and stuff….just take her home! You have a fucking car, so just drive her the whole five minutes it takes to get to her house, and stop being such a baby."

"Hey, hey- I don't let just anyone into my car. What's in it for me?"

God, Jay was such an asshole. He may be hot, but he was an asshole, and not even good looks and a cocky smile could hide that. Luckily, assholes were Riley's specialty. "I'll give you a blow job."

"Ok, so where is she? My cars parked out front."

"But only if she gets home safely," Riley pointed out, shaking her head.

"I'm going to a party at the ravine. Emma's house is a little out of the way."

"Fine. Take her with you or whatever, but just get her out of here, ok?" Riley snapped. Jay stared at her. She sighed angrily and reached into her purse. "Fine. Here's a fifty." Jay took it but kept staring. "Jesus Christ. Fine. And a pack of cigarettes, you fucking asshole." She tossed them at him. He nodded in satisfaction. "Alright. Have your little friend outside in three minutes." He turned and walked off. Riley hurried back into the bathroom. "Emma, guess what? I found you a ride home!" She said, panting slightly. "Don't thank me- I was happy to do it."

The stall door burst open and Emma bounced out. "No! I'm fine now, seriously. Now I feel like dancing and getting dirty!"

Emma began grinding with Riley. After a moment, Riley shoved her off. "Emma, please. Focus. Are you ready to go?

"Not even close! I don't want to go home!" Emma giggled, grabbed Riley's hand, and began to lead her out of the bathroom. Riley spun Emma back around.

"No, wait! You didn't hear me right. I got you a ride to the big after party at the ravine. Everyone's going, because this dance sucks ass. So let's go."

Emma looked confused. "After party? I never heard about an after- party. Oh, well, Sean will take me!"

"He left already," Riley lied quickly. "He told me to tell you he'd meet you there, and he was taking this really pretty brunette with him…." Emma's mouth fell open. "I'm sure it was nothing, but I got us a ride, so don't worry about it! We can go over there and yell at Sean together. So let's go!" Riley said, tugging on Emma's hand.

Emma flipped her hair. "Well, who cares about Sean? Ok, let's go!" The two girls left the bathroom and Riley ushered Emma out into the school's large parking lot. As promised, Jay was sitting in his car at the curb. Riley opened the door for Emma, and after a second of hesitation, Emma got in. Jay scowled. "I'm sorry; I thought I said three minutes. Or did I say a half-and-hour? I honestly can't remember."

"Shut up," Riley snapped, opening the back-seat door. Then, she closed it quickly. "Oops! I forgot. I told Liberty I'd help with clean-up! Sorry. Have fun without me!" She stepped away from the curb and gave a little wave.

"Wait, Riley-" Emma said desperately out the window, but Riley just blew her a kiss. "Ok, buh-bye!" Then Jay sped off. Riley watched the car disappear out of sight, silently congratulating herself on a job well-done. Duping Emma was so pathetically easy, Riley could list it as a hobby on her job resumes. She turned and walked back into the school, glad she finally had Sean all to herself.

"Craig!" Manny called, and Craig turned around. He'd just gotten to the dance ten minutes ago, after spending a half-hour deciding whether or not to even go. But he knew he'd made the right decision, since Manny was hurrying over to him, wearing this stringy, black, thingy that made her look so perfect. Craig smiled. "Craig, you're so late! I've had to dance with oodles of hot boys to keep myself entertained, you know," she teased, wrapping her arms around his waist. Craig smirked.

"That's cool, because I was just fooling around with these two hot chicks I found on a street corner. Hope you don't mind."

"Craig, you're so stupid- "she began, but then she stopped suddenly, stepping back to get a good look at his face. "Oh, God- Craig, what happened?"

Craig stepped away and smiled sheepishly. "I ran into this….lamp."

"Did this lamp get back up and beat the shit out of you?" Manny asked, shaking her head. "Please. A lamp?"

Craig agreed it was lame, but he just shrugged. "It was a really big lamp."

"Craig, if something was going on, you'd tell me, right?

No.

"Uh, sure."

"Then tell me what happened," Manny pleaded. "Was it a fight?"

"No, Manny," Craig said, sighing. "Can we just drop this? It's kind of ruining the mood of the evening."

"It was your Dad, wasn't it?"

Craig whirled around. Why did she always do this? Demand to know his business, stick her nose in everything. It was beginning to really piss him off. "You don't know anything about my Dad. I said, drop it, Manny."

"Why won't you talk to me? You never want to talk to me," Manny said quietly, looking like she was about to cry. "All you want to do is have sex and play your guitar and play PlayStation with Spin and Jimmy. We never talk about our feelings."

"Ok, we don't play PlayStation, we play X-Box. There's a huge difference. And we do talk about our feelings!" Craig cried. "We always talk about feelings. All you do is talk about your fucking feelings. Maybe I don't care anymore. Maybe, you should go tell someone else all your "feelings"!"

Manny stared at him in horror. He'd never, never, talked to her that way before. He'd never yelled at her, cussed at her, treated her like this. And in front of the whole school! Ok, so no one was really paying any attention to them, but still! "Did you just…did you just break up with me?" she choked out, praying to God he hadn't. Craig couldn't leave her, not now. Not when she could feel herself drowning and falling apart. Didn't he know anything? Didn't he see how much she needed him? But then Manny realized that he really didn't know, because she'd never clued him in. She'd hid it from him, and now he was about to leave her.

"I….I don't know. Yeah, I mean, no. I mean….maybe we need time apart?"

Manny felt the floor spinning under her feet. The walls were shifting. She felt like she couldn't even breathe. This wasn't happening. This wasn't happening. Craig had not just dumped her. Manny felt tears coming up in the back of her throat, and she shoved past Craig and stumbled off the dance floor. She could hear Craig calling after her, but she kept going. People gave her weird looks, but she ignored them as she hurried out of the gymnasium. She walked down the dark, deserted hallway, the beats of the music pounding faintly against the walls. She wasn't sure where she was going, but she hoped she'd find a black hole where she could just shrivel up and die in.

"Hey, wait," she heard someone say and she turned around. A guy was leaning against the wall next to the water fountain, holding a cigarette, and Manny assumed he must be a senior. A senior who'd been held back a few times, considering the sexy stubble on his chin and that worldly look in his eyes. "You look upset, girlie."

She hated when people referred to her as "girlie". She sniffed and wiped away a tear. "You can't smoke in here. School rule. Raditch will kill you."

The guy smirked. "Then I better put this out," he said. But instead, he just took another hit and stared at her.

"Do you go here?" Manny asked. He smirked.

"Nah. Are you crying?"

"Yeah," Manny said, staring at the floor. "Bad night."

"I've had those. You know, I think I might have something that can make you feel better," he said, pushing himself off the wall. He reached into his pocket and produced a small, clear baggie. "It'll take away all your problems, just like that. Wipe away all of those tears, I swear."

"Ecstasy," Manny said slowly, wrapping her arms around her waist and staring at the pill. The guy smirked and nodded. "Well, you know your shit, don't you? You want it or not? I'll cut you a nice deal, since you look like your having a rough night."

"I'm not interested," Manny said, but she didn't move. "Besides, taking Ecstasy in hardly worth it at a school dance, don't you think?"

"Feisty. Well, I think you are interested. You keep eyeing it like you think it's gonna jump up and attack you."

Manny took a deep breath. Oh, fuck it, she thought, reaching into her purse and pulling out her wallet. She couldn't believe she was spending two weeks of baby-sitting money on a dinky little pill that probably wouldn't get her high at all. She took out a few bills and handed them to him. "That's all I have." He accepted the money and counted it, then nodded. He handed it to her, and Manny slipped it back into her purse. "Have fun."

Manny nodded. "Well, you want to have fun with me?" she asked him in bored tone, just for the hell of it. She really wasn't interested in him, but she couldn't face going back into the dance alone, and having to watch Craig have a great time without her. The guy smiled and shook his head.

"Nope. You're cute and all, but I got a girlfriend. And I'm a gentleman, so I'm going to have to pass." He finished off his cigarette and tossed it into the water fountain. He then nodded at her, gave a little bow, and turned and walked off, whistling to himself. Manny watched him go, feeling like a fugly ogre that no one wanted. Rejected twice in one night wasn't Manny's style at all. She sighed and leaned against the wall, feeling like shit. Craig had been an insensitive asshole, but he had been her insensitive asshole. No pill or drug could take away the pain and hurt of being dumped by the only person who had ever cared about her

But it could take her mind off it for awhile.

Riley fluffed her hair with her fingertips and tossed her head, hoping it gave her golden locks more volume. She could see Sean standing with Craig, still desperately trying to locate Emma. What a moron, she thought, watching him crane his neck as he surveyed the room. Emma was long gone by now. Riley smiled and began walking toward him, when suddenly someone stepped directly in her path. "Hey, do you mind? I'm trying to….Oh, hello, Mr. Raditch."

"Riley," Raditch said suspiciously, giving her the once over. Like he expected her to have riffles attached to her dress. "Everything's going well, I hope."

What did he mean by that? Riley honestly never had a clue what he was talking about. "It's a lovely evening, isn't it Mr. Raditch?"

"I hope your behaving yourself, Riley," Raditch said, crossing his arms over his chest as he stared at her. "We don't want any incidents like we had last year, now do we?"

Riley thought back to the previous year, when she had seen her current squeeze, Bryan, making out with the foreign exchange student, Olga. Riley had gotten so pissed that she had pulled the fire alarm, and the whole dance had to be evacuated until the fire trucks came. Riley had felt like she was totally justified, though. Olga had had a mustache and smelled like old onions, for god's sake! Mr. Raditch had made her do ten hours of community service and write an apology to the students for disrupting the dance, which she'd had to read on the morning announcements. "Oh, I don't really recall what happened last year. I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Riley," Mr. Raditch said, shaking his head. "Don't make me call your parents."

"For what?!" she demanded. "Having a conversation with my school principal?"

"No, for being a smartass."

"This is verbal abuse. I hope you're aware of that."

"Riley, I just had a great idea," Mr. Raditch said, eyeing her. "We desperately need someone else to work the refreshments. Why don't you take a seat over there and help out your school?"

"Mr. Raditch!"

"There's a fold out chair right over there. Consider this an extended punishment for the incident you can't seem to remember from last year," he said smugly, patting her on the arm. Then he gave her a little push toward the snack table, and watched as she stomped over. She threw herself into the hard chair next to Ashley Kerwin, who was pouring fruit punch into a cup. "Hi. Welcome to the land of boring nothingness," she said flatly. Riley slumped down in her seat. "Give me that!" She reached over, snatched the cup from Ashley, and took a long sip. "Ugh. This punch tastes like shit."

"What do you want me to do about it?" Ash asked, rolling her eyes. "I just signed up to help with the snacks, not listen to people's complaints."

"You actually signed up to do this? What's wrong with you?' Riley asked, shaking her head. Ash made a face and went back to pouring punch. They just sat in silence for a few minutes.

"This is retarded," Riley finally said, sitting up. Just then, she spotted Sean and Craig walking toward them. She grabbed the ladle from Ashley, who said something nasty, and poured a glass of punch. She smiled sweetly at Sean. "Here you go! Drink up!"

Sean rolled his eyes and stared at the punch. "You didn't like, put something in this, did you?" Craig snickered, and Ash giggled. Riley frowned and sighed.

"Sean, give me some credit here," she said, although she wished she had thought of that idea earlier. It had worked with Emma.Sean smirked and took a small sip. Craig stuffed his hands in his pockets nervously and glanced at Ashley, who was pretending to be busy smashing a cookie into pieces on the table. He cleared his throat. "Hey, Ash, want to dance…maybe?"

"No. I'd rather set myself on fire, but thanks."

Riley chuckled. Craig looked at the floor, his face red with embarrassment. "Ouch. You know there's something wrong when girls start threatening to find painful ways of mutating themselves as opposed to actually dancing with you!" Riley said with a smirk. Craig just mumbled something and hurried off. Sean set down his cup and frowned at her.

"Real charming, Riley."

"He's a big boy, Sean. But you can run after him and hold him while he cries, if you want. Indulge in all your home-erotic fantasies."

"Look, have you seen Emma?"

"Nope. Sorry," she said, a little too quickly. Sean narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"Riley, where is Emma?"

"Do I look like your girlfriend's fucking baby-sitter?" Riley snapped. "How the hell should I know? My guess- she's avoiding you."

Sean stared at her for long moment, and then he shook his head, muttered something that was probably quite rude, and walked off angrily. Riley watched him go, thinking she'd feel some satisfaction in that fact that Sean had no idea where Emma was, but she didn't. Sean seemed so worried about Emma, and it bothered Riley. Making people miserable didn't make her feel as good as it used to.

"Hey, why are you always so mean to Sean?" Ashley asked. Riley shrugged.

"You wouldn't understand. Why are you such a heartless bitch to Craig?" she retorted. "I mean, he's pretty nice. And hot, in that skinny, musician kind of way."

"Don't you remember last year? The whole cheating-on-me-with-Manny thing?" Ash asked.

"Oh, right. And you slapped him in front of the whole school at the Christmas show?" Riley said, laughing. "That was priceless. The look on his face….But come on- he cheated on you? So what? Don't you like, ever hook up from time to time?"

"No," Ash said, shaking her head. "He cheated on me. And he's dating Manny now. And I am-was- dating Damon…Aren't you like Manny's best friend? You should know this."

"So?"

"So, he's dating someone. And he cheated on me. Didn't I just say this? Why would I hook up with him?"

"Wait," Riley said slowly. "So, you're telling me that when you break up with someone, and they start dating someone else, you don't still get together?" She looked baffled. "Aren't ex-boyfriends just kind of like, fair game? I screw my ex-boyfriend's all the time. And so what it a guy cheats on you? Cheating is just part of relationships."

Ash snorted. "Wow. No offense, but you are a slut. And you have a seriously warped idea of relationships."

"Well, when you see your Dad going around and sleeping with random woman all the time, that's just what you learn," Riley said a bit bitterly, thinking of her father's many affairs- usually with friend's or client's wives. "Anyway, let's get this party started," she said, hoping to change the subject. She pulled out her vodka bottle, and, when no one was looking, dumped it into the punch. Ash watched in amazement. "Hey! You can't do that!"

"Just did. And it's just a little vodka. Never killed anyone."

"Alcoholism kills plenty of people each year. It's a disease-"

"Please. Spare me. Look, if we're stuck together, we might as well try to make it more enjoyable. So shut up and stop talking."

Sean jogged down the front steps of the school, ruffling through his pockets for his car keys. He finally found them and pulled them out, twirling them around his finger. He was beyond pissed- where the fuck was Emma? He had searched the dance, walked around the whole damn school, asked everyone, and no one had seen her in the last half hour. Wasn't tonight supposed to be their night? Maybe Emma chickened out and walked home or something. It was a little out of character for Emma to just ditch him, but things had been weird between them lately, so who knew?

Sean still suspected Riley was up to something- she always was. He didn't think she had lured Emma into a closet and had tied her up or anything, but Sean could just kind of…sense when Riley was up to no good. Maybe Riley had blabbed about the country club and their "almost" hook-up, and Emma was pissed at him. Sean sighed. Fuck. Why was Riley continually trying to fuck him over? Didn't she have anything better to do with her time? Sean decided to drop by Emma's, and if she wasn't there, he was just going to go home and sleep.

Sean walked toward his car, and he passed the bus stop that was right across from the school. He stopped when he realized Ellie Nash, of all the people on Earth, was sitting in it, hunched up in one corner. She looked up at him, and he realized she had been crying. Her mascara was running all over her face and her nose was red and she looked awful.

"Hey, Ellie." No reply. "Ok, I know you don't want to talk to me…"

"Gee, what was your first clue?" Ellie snapped, shaking her head. She sniffed and ran her hand over her face. "Just go away, Cameron."

"What are you doing out here?" he asked, ignoring her last comment. "Shouldn't you be in the dance?"

"Dances are for assholes like you," she said tiredly, leaning her head against the glass and closing her eyes. "My boyfriend dragged me here."

"You…you have a boyfriend?" He didn't mean to sound so surprised. Ellie opened one eye and glared at him.

"Yeah. Is that so hard to believe?" she asked, pulling her knees to her chest and wrapping her scrawny arms around them. "He's great and I love him and we're going to get married."

"Oh." Sean looked at her some more. "You're drunk, aren't you?"

"Fuck you, Cameron."

"No, you are!" He knew Ellie when she was drunk- they'd spent many nights together, getting drunk and passing out all the time. That was what Sean used to do, before he got back together with Emma. His days revolved around getting drunk and stealing shit and getting with as many girls as he could. Basically just fucking everything up and doing nothing of any importance. And Ellie had been a part of that. He didn't really blame Ellie for his downfall, but she sure had contributed. They wouldn't sleep or eat or do anything. They'd just drink and smoke. Then they'd stop for awhile, but they never stayed sober for long. And apparently, Ellie was still having trouble with that.

There was a long awkward silence, and for a second, Sean thought Ellie might have passed out. He decided to drop the drinking subject. "So…" He scuffled his boots against the pavement. "Things…are going good?"

"No."

Hmm. Sean wasn't sure what that meant. There had been a time when talking to Ellie was easy- she was so open and, if she liked you, she was actually a really warm person. But now…she was just….cold. Sean wondered what had changed, what had gone wrong. "How are things with the…you know." Damn! He hadn't meant to say it, but it had just poured out. Ellie opened one eye again. Silently, she pulled up one sleeve of her black shirt, revealing an arm littered with nasty gashes and scabs. Some of them looked fresh, too, although Sean couldn't tell. She didn't have to say anything more- her arm said everything. She was still cutting.

Sean cleared his throat. "Still?"

"I told you, things aren't going so great," she muttered, unable to look him in the eyes. "But now that I'm back and with Brice and everything, I'm going to get things together."

"Ellie, you don't need to cut. There are other ways-"

"What do you know?" she snapped, finally opening her eyes and sitting up. "You have bad habits, Sean. More than I do. People say, oh, you don't have to cut. You just have to find other ways to deal with life. And then I drink a little to just relax, and people get even more in my face! What the hell am I supposed to do? I'm always going to be a cutter, ok? It's a part of me, and it's not going away. I said, I'm dealing with it. So back off."

"I'm sorry," Sean said, stuffing his hands in his pockets. He really was. "I'm just trying to help."

"How can you say that? After what you did to me?"

"I'm sorry, ok?" he replied, shaking his head. What else could he say? He couldn't turn back fucking time, although he wished he could. He would have done a lot of things differently.

"It's just a bit late for that, don't you think?"

"You never gave me a chance to apologize!" Sean yelled, throwing up his hands in frustration. "You just left! You left, and you didn't tell anyone where you were going, and-"

"I don't need this," she mumbled, standing up and snatching up her signature black leather bag. She constantly carried it around with her. Sean caught a peek of some sort of bottle nestled in it, and he figured it was probably whatever she'd been drinking. "I really don't need this. I'm going back inside." She brushed past him, staring at the ground. Sean whirled around.

"You know what, Ellie? I made some mistakes, but so did you!" he called after her. "So don't act like I'm the only one that fucked up here!"

Ellie didn't bother to reply. She just kept walking.

Emma couldn't even think straight. She felt a little dizzy and a little nauseous, but besides that, she was feeling good. Really, really, good. She was calm and relaxed and just happy to be alive. She looked out the window of Jay's car and saw the starts twinkling brightly in the sky, and she laughed. It was all so beautiful and perfect. Emma had never appreciated life, and the world, as much as she did just then. She sat back in her seat and sighed happily.

A few seconds later Jay stopped the car, and Emma smiled at him. "Hi, Jay!"

"Uh, hi. Are you ok?"

Emma smiled and reached out and touched a strand of his soft, brown hair. "Never better. Why do you ask?"

Jay just shrugged and unbuckled his seatbelt. "Never mind, forget it."

"Where are we?" Emma demanded, glancing out the window.

"The ravine," Jay said, opening the door and climbing out.

Emma clapped her hand together. "Yeah! So fun." She fumbled to open her door, and when she finally did, she jumped out and immediately tripped. "Oops!"

Jay leaned against the car and stared at her in the light of the bonfire. "You know what? Maybe I should just take you home."

Emma shook her head. "No way! This is a party! And I feel like dancing." She began dancing to the loud rock music that was playing on a stereo near the fire. "Come on. Let's go over to the fire." Emma danced over to the group of people scattered around the bonfire, and Jay hesitantly followed behind. "Wow! I love this song! Jay, don't you?"

"Yeah, it's ok," he said, scratching the back of his head. He watched as Emma climbed onto one of the picnic tables and began dancing. Everyone turned and watched her, and people began cheering for her. Jay grabbed a beer and sat down on another bench, watching as Emma entertained the crowd. "Hey, is that Emma Nelson? The girl that like, is always trying to save trees and birds or whatever?" a girl sitting nearby asked.

Jay took a sip from the can and nodded. "Yep. That's her."

"I didn't know she was such a partier!"

Jay frowned. "Yeah. Me neither." He really wasn't sure what was up with Emma, but he had to hand it to her- she could dance. And she looked really great up there, with the firelight highlighting her golden hair. Jay hadn't really noticed Emma before- she was just kind of there. Sean's girlfriend, that was it. Occasionally, she'd annoy the hell out of him and yell at him for littering or some equally stupid shit like that, but they'd never really become friends. They just made fun of each other most of the time. Jay had kind of always taken Emma for the conservative Say-No-To-Parties/Drugs kind of girl, but maybe he'd been completely off base. Maybe she was really some crazy wild child that was yet to be discovered.

When the song finished, Emma hopped off the table and ran over to him. "Jay, there you are. Did you see me dancing? I'm so thirsty. Can I have sip?" Jay hesitantly handed her his beer, and she chugged. Jay watched in disbelief as she drowned the whole thing. She handed him back the can, empty. Jay tossed it aside. "You call that a sip?" he asked, shaking his head.

Emma smiled and grabbed his hand. "You're so incredibly cute. Take off that stupid hat." She yanked his baseball cap off his head and waved it in the air. "Much better."

'Hey. That's my favorite hat."

"You have hat hair," she teased, plopping down on his lap and ruffling his hair. "There. All better."

Jay shifted uncomfortably. Normally, he'd be all for girls cuddling up in his lap and flirting intensely with him, but this was Emma. She wasn't just one of the slutty girls that hung around the ravin­e, the really easy ones who drank too much and fell all over themselves and went down on guys they didn't even know. Emma had class, and Jay respected that. But here she was, wiggling all over his lap and whispering in his ear, and what the fuck was Jay supposed to do? Shove her off him? "I'm gonna kiss you!" Emma suddenly said, smiling at him. Jay smirked.

"And what would Cameron say about that?"

Emma shrugged and bit her lip. "I dunno. I bet he wouldn't even mind, since your like, his best friend."

Yeah, right. Like Sean wouldn't beat the fuck out of Jay if he knew he was messing with his girlfriend. But then again, Jay knew all about Sean's cheating habits, and Emma obviously had no idea. Poor girl. She really didn't get it. Jay felt sort of guilty, never saying anything. And if Sean was always cheating on Emma, what would it be so horribly wrong if Emma just kissed Jay? She obviously wanted to. "Nah. I bet you don't even know how to kiss."

"I do, too!" Emma said. She leaned in and kissed him slowly. Just as Jay was getting into it, she leaned back. "See?"

"Well, I guess you proved me wrong, then," Jay said, smiling slowly. Emma tossed her hair over her shoulder and leaned in to give Jay another long, slow kiss….

"And now we'll be announcing the Queen and King of the Autumn Bash," Mrs. Kwan announced into the microphone, and the crowd cheered. "As you may know, the Queen and King will be riding in the Halloween Parade at the end of the month, and will be working together on Degrassi's annual Halloween carnival. So without further ado, here's Mr. Raditch…"

"Ok, we are so getting this," Paige whispered to Spin, squeezing his hand. "At least we better be. I swear to God, if that fat-cow Heather Sinclair wins, I will personally run onstage and rip that crown of her little head."

Spin smirked. "Ok, honey-bee, calm down. Of course you're getting it. Everyone loves you." Which wasn't exactly true, but Spin knew it would make his girlfriend feel better. You either loved or hated Paige. You either liked her sassy out-spoken attitude, her tell-it-like-it- is approach….or you wanted to punch her in the face.

"I know," Paige said with a wistful sigh. She looked down at her new pair of faded low-rise jeans and her shimmering pink silk halter top. "It's a good thing I wore my new outfit. Do you think their will be any reporters?" she asked, glancing around the room.

"The King and Queen of Degrassi's Autumn Bash isn't exactly front-page news," Spin pointed out.

"Spin, don't speak of such things. Of course it is."

"Ok…whatever. But even if you don't win, sweetie, you'll still be a queen to me-"Spin began romantically, but Paige jabbed him in the ribs as she stared at the stage.

"Ssh! Their announcing it. Oh, my, God- is there anything in my teeth?"

"No."

"Good."

"And the King and Queen are…" Mr. Raditch said, making a huge production of carefully unfolding the envelope. He smiled. "Our own head cheerleader, Paige Michealchuck…"

"Yes!" Paige whispered, smirking.

"And Degrassi's most valuable player and resident basketball star, Jimmy Brooks!"

"What!?" Paige whispered, horrified. She glanced across the room where Jimmy and Hazel were standing. Hazel was kissing and jumping all over Jimmy, but he was just smiling softly, staring at Paige. She swallowed hard. He probably figured this was some immaculate sign from God that they should be together. Hell…maybe it was.

"Alright!" Spin said. "You two deserve it." Paige just stood frozen in spot. "Go on. Get your crown, Queen Paige." He nudged her toward the stage, but Paige shook her head.

"I changed my mind. I don't want it."

"Paige? Are you out there?" Mr. Raditch asked, peering into the crowd. Jimmy was climbing onstage. "Come on up!"

"Oh, shit," Paige mumbled, trooping over to the stage and plastering a big grin on her face. A nerdy freshman placed a shining gold crown on her equally shining gold locks, and told her she looked hot tonight. Paige stepped next to Jimmy, listening as people cheered for her.

"See," Jimmy whispered. "Everyone at Degrassi thinks we make a good couple."

"Yeah, well…I demand a recount," she hissed. "Just because we happen to be standing up here together doesn't mean anything. I told you, I'm with Spin. You're the one that said you didn't want to be friends anymore."

Jimmy just stared sadly at her, while Paige forced herself to smile and stared into the crowd. She could see Spin and Hazel standing next to each other, clapping and yelling louder than anyone else. They really had no idea-completely clueless.

"I love you, Paige," Jimmy whispered.

Paige swallowed hard and told herself to just keep smiling. And to not say "I love you," back.

Riley flipped over her cell phone and held it up to her ear. "Yeah, Bernard? Get over here, right now. I know it's your night off. Do you think I care? It's an emergency, Bernard….Jesus Christ, Bernard! My father pays you to chauffer me around. Get your fat ass at the school, right now, ok? I'll be waiting outside." With that, she flipped the phone closed.

Riley continued to pace outside the school for a few minutes, biting her nails nervously. Her conscience was beginning to get to her, and she fucking hated it. She had called Emma's house a few minutes ago- her Mom had said Emma wasn't home yet. Riley couldn't believe she had entrusted Emma in the incompetent hands of Jay Hogart. What had she been thinking? For all Riley knew, they could be lying in some ditch somewhere or halfway to Florida by now!

Finally, Bernard pulled up in their limo, glaring angrily at her. Riley jumped in the backseat. "Oh, stop giving me that look. Just take me to the ravine near the lake." Bernard just grunted and pulled away from the school. "So, how's the wife and kids, Bern?" Riley asked from the back seat. Bernard just muttered something and rolled up the tinted window between them. Riley just frowned. Bernard was such an asshole.

Finally, they reached the ravine. "Stop here. Ok, just wait right here. I'll be back in a few." She got out of the limo and walked toward the bonfire in the distance. She didn't want anyone to see the limo and the fat little guy in the gay chauffer-hat. These weren't exactly the kids who appreciated good taste and wealth. They hung outat a ravine, for God's sake. That said enough, right there. But Riley wasn't planning on sticking around and making any new friends or anything- she just wanted to check on Emma, soothe her guilty conscience, and get the fuck out of there.

"Hey, you," Riley said, patting some guy on the back. "You seen Jay or Emma?"

"What are you going to give me if I tell you?" he teased, wiggling his eyebrows and smirking at her.

"Nothing. But if you don't tell me, I'll rip off your balls and shove them down your throat."

"Ok, take it easy. Last I saw them they went over to the van over there." He pointed in some general direction and shrugged. Riley sighed and stalked off. There was a small little area closer to the woods and far enough away from the bonfire that no one would bother you and Riley spotted a big, rusty van. She went over, and, just as she was about to pull open the door, it opened and Emma stumbled out, her hair a mess. Riley sighed. "Oh, my, God. Emma, I am so glad I found you-"

"I…I don't feel very well," she said, and she turned and staggered into the woods. Riley peered into the van and saw Jay, without his shirt on, putting on his belt. "What the fuck did you do?"

Jay shook his head. "Nothing…nothing happened," he mumbled, gathering up his shirt and jacket. Riley frowned.

"You asshole! I told you to fucking take her home, not take advantage of her in some crappy van!" she yelled.

"Hey, you told me to just take her with me, alright?" Jay said defensively, pulling on his shirt. "I offered to take her home. And she came onto me."

Riley scowled. "I should beat the shit out of you, you fucking-"But Jay jumped out of the van and started walking off. "Where the hell do you think you're going?" she screamed after him.

"Home!" he called back. "I can't deal with this."

Riley watched Jay go, her blood boiling. Then she remembered Emma, and turned and hurried into the dark woods. She didn't have to go too far before she found Emma, her head in her hands as she sat hunched over on a log. She was crying. "Emma....it's ok." She couldn't think of anything better to say.

"No, it's not!" Emma mumbled, sniffling. She looked up at Riley, tears shimmering in her eyes. "My first time was supposed to be with Sean…not…not…" she trailed off and started crying. Riley felt completely useless, just standing there. This was awkward, and it might require Riley to actually act like a friend. She hesitantly sat down and wrapped her arms around Emma.

"It wasn't supposed to be like this," Emma said. "I wasn't even thinking. I would have never…"

Riley swallowed hard. She was right- Emma never would have hooked up with her boyfriend's best friend in the back of a van. Unless, of course, she was on some drug or impairing influence. Like, say, a little white pill and some vodka….Riley bit her lip. She was a monster. She was surely going to go to hell for this one. But Riley had never intended for this to happen- not at all. She couldn't have even fathomed this. She held Emma for a little while, and then led her to the waiting limo.

But then, she realized something…this was exactly the kind of thing that would break Emma and Sean up, and send a vulnerable Sean running into Riley's arm. Wasn't this what Riley had wanted? To just destroy Sean and Emma's perfect little relationship? And it really wasn't her fault- she hadn't forced Emma into the van, she hadn't made Emma do anything. Secretly, Emma must have wanted Jay, or else she would have never gotten together with him, high or not. And if Sean ever found out, he would dump Emma in a second….

So really, her conscience should be clean. And she was going to get what she wanted. Sean Cameron.

Authors Note- I finally updated! I've been working on this for awhile, so hopefully the next update will be soon. I decided to take the Jay/Emma road because I like them as a couple and because of recent developments on the show...So please read and review, tell me what you think! And thanks for everyone who has reviewed so far...really appreciate it. Thanks!