Toby's turn with massive Islands in the Stream spoilers. As always, check out the 80's song at the beginning. Your kiss is on my list – perfect!

Not that I'm begging, but I would appreciate any and all comments . . . they can only help me improve.

As always I don't own Degrassi.

Emma Nelson. She was perfect, in that attainable, girl-next-door kind of way. I remember the first day I saw her, the weekend before starting Grade 7 at a new school. Nothing made sense, with my dad moving in with his girlfriend and her daughter, perfect princess Ashley. Granted, I hadn't many friends at my old school, but I had started the programmers club and I wanted to see it through. Well, I wanted to see it have more than four members at least. Instead, it was down to three.

I saw Emma first, so tall I thought that she was off to the high school at first. Her friend was cute too, but in that cuddly way really little girls are. If you saw Manuela Santos then and now . . . wow. And there was this lucky guy with two girls all to himself. Imagine my surprise when I found out it was JT, my friend from summer camp.

But Emma was totally in love with this on-line guy, Jordan. When Jordan turned out to be a thirty something year old pervert who wanted to make a porn film with Emma as the star, who hacked into her e-mail account and told her mom and Mr. Simpson to save the day? Me, that's who.

When the scare wore off, I was on cloud nine. Emma would see me the next day and rush to thank me and our embrace would turn into something more. A romance legend would be born.

That legendary romance happened the next day alright. When Mr. Simpson asked Sean Cameron to have a seat next to Emma Nelson, well, it's the stuff dreams were made of, or so I've been told. No matter how often I helped her research sea turtles or danced as a panther or held her as she cried, it always came back to Sean Hope Cameron.

I found happiness for a while with Kendra, who was awesome, don't get me wrong. We could talk about anime for hours or play an amazing game of chess. And I even stood up to her brother once, for about ten seconds before I freaked out. But she wasn't Emma.

This year would be the year. Emma was single, I was single, Sean was living with Ellie. It was perfect. I mean, JT and Manny finally went out, if that wasn't a sign, I don't know what would be.

The first few weeks I barely saw Emma outside of class, let alone spoke to her. She had gotten into some fight with Manny and Liberty; I'm not sure what about. JT was having troubles of his own and so I was preoccupied trying to help him as best I could. Plus, Em had gotten popular all of a sudden and I remembered all too well JT's talk about how I was his friend and Paige was his friend but Paige and I would never be friends. No need to repeat that speech with the love of my Grade 10 life.

But just as suddenly it ended. Emma's new found popularity disappeared and JT and Manny broke up. JT was all moody and didn't talk to anyone for a while. So Emma and I talked. A lot.

I didn't even try to find a trivia partner ahead of time. I knew Emma was looking forward to working with me as much as I was working with her. So when she told me she was working with Heather Sinclair of all people . . .

Rick turned to me and, with Mr. Simpson's intervention, we struck up a friendship. People have said some awful things about him and I know that what happened to Terri was horrible, but people change. I mean, look at JT. Look at Manny. Look at Emma. Look at Sean.

So I decided to give him a chance. Lord knows I could use a friend right now and he had Heather ahead of Emma on his list, which was a good thing as far as I was concerned. Although his list wasn't very practical. Seriously, Ms. Hot Sauce?

The bet seemed so ridiculous at the time, this morning. I had just complemented Emma and been very neatly shot down, even mocked by JT. And here Rick was proposing that we should race to kiss a girl on the list. The idea of either of us getting a kiss from Emma in our lifetimes let alone by the end of the day . . . It was so stupid, so juvenile, so perfect. Narrowing it down to Emma made survival sense, sure, as Jimmy or Sean could beat me within an inch of my life without breaking a sweat. But it was also the perfect plan. I could let Emma know how I felt without risking anything, after all it was only a dare, right?

As the clock inched toward the end of the day I had one last chance and I took it, although not without a lot of waffling before hand.

"Uh, standing up for Rick like you did...I've decided to follow your lead," I started.

"What do you want Toby?" I could tell she was annoyed, but I couldn't stop now, class was almost over and with it my golden opportunity.

"We've got this game going, it's kind of scavenger hunt-ish." I dropped my voice to a whisper. "If I get a kiss I win!" I chanced. If only I could have seen the future I wouldn't have asked Emma to kiss me. Okay, I would have still asked her to kiss me, but I would have controlled my celebration better, so that she didn't immediately turn and kiss Rick, too. I had lost the contest, but more importantly, the whole point was to get Emma to kiss me!

So when Rick suggested a new challenge the next day, I was all too ready. For some reason, my competitiveness came out, in a bad way, like when I tried wrestling. I would beat Rick. It was personal, now.

The next morning began with me as a passive observer. I watched in horror as Jay slammed Rick into the lockers as if it was nothing.

"You okay?" I asked offering Rick a hand. I mean, yeah, bullying at Degrassi was nothing new, but it had never seemed so . . . I don't know, commonplace as it did with Rick.

He brushed it off as easily as he brushed off his clothes. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Why wouldn't I be? So uh yesterday's challenge was far too easy. We're gonna have to go for quantity not quality today."

"Okay," I replied, unsure. I was still upset that Emma kissed Rick with so little effort yesterday, but I was determined to win now.

Rick continued, unaware of my hesitation. "Alright so new day, new challenge. Whoever gets the most girls to kiss them before the end of the day wins. Loser buys the dice. I've uh made up some charts and stuff. You know. Age, location..."

I interrupted, "Sure that's a good idea?" I felt a little bad about my plan. I mean charts? Rick didn't stand a chance. Strategy was what was needed and if Rooks and Knights had taught me anything, it was strategy. Well, that and the knowledge that girls don't really dig chess champions.

"Sure you're not a big wuss?" Rick taunted. Any pity I felt for Rick went out the window. It was on!

"Okay, but you're gonna have to be good!" I warned him. I noticed Manny walking towards us and had a flash of genius, which, I have to admit, is a common occurrence with me.

I slammed my arm into the locker, as Manny came into view. "Ahh oohh! Ow!" I moaned loudly.

As predicted, Manny stopped. "Toby what's wrong?"

"I banged my arm! It hurts!" I whined using puppy dog eyes.

"Aw poor baby! Is there anything that I can do to help?" She asked, concerned.

I lifted my elbow towards her and she kissed it quickly. This would be a breeze. 'Eat your heart out, JT,' I thought.

Throughout the day, I came up with plan after plan, from volunteering to fill in for the CPR dummy I had stolen to my fundraiser for sick kitties. Is there even a charity for sick cats? I'd worry about the morality aspect after I won. I walked towards the door intent on some well-earned bragging, but my smile faded as I saw Rick ripping up his list. I felt more than a bit guilty. After all, it wasn't his fault I had reacted poorly to Emma's kiss. In fact, with everything that he had to go through, like Jay this morning, I should be more supportive. I had my share of bullied moments, but it was nothing in comparison to what Rick dealt with every single day.

As lunch started, I grabbed a girl from Grade Nine that Manny had introduced me to at the spirit squad. "Hey, it's Darcy, right?" I asked stopping her as she started up the stairs.

"You're, Tony, Mandy's friend, right?" She asked.

"It's Toby, and Manny, actually, but yeah," I corrected her.

She blushed. "Sorry, I'm not good with names. Which is especially hard when you're the new kid."

"Don't even worry about. Look I have a favor to ask," I explained to her about Rick and my, umm, contest and the results up till this point.

"This friend of yours...he's really losing that bad?" Darcy looked incredulous. I wasn't sure, but I think her shock had more to do with me getting 11 kisses by lunch time than Rick not getting any.

"I thought he was gonna cry." Okay, not entirely true, but why start with the truth now? "Oh! Here he comes." I indicated with a nod where Rick was looking at a bulletin board on the staircase.

"Poor guy!" Darcy said in the voice that girls reserve for cute babies and puppies.

"Yeah, yeah. Poor guy," I said. I almost had her, but she hadn't agreed yet.

"He's the one they keep pushing into lockers. Why does everyone around here hate him so much?" Darcy asked.

'Umm, quick, change the subject, Toby,' I thought wildly. I didn't think Darcy would be too keen to kiss a guy who put his only girlfriend in the hospital.

"So will uh $5 change your mind?" I asked, thinking quickly.

"Yeah," she said her eyes lighting up. Awww, grade 9, back when things were so simple.

I ignored the voice telling me that had been only last year and walked over to the pay phone, pretending to make a phone call, but really eavesdropping. I didn't want Rick to realize it was an organized pity party. That would defeat the point.

"Where'd you get your glasses?" Darcy started. Seriously, is that best you could come up with? I sighed. Well, no one said that the girl was particularly bright.

"Um the optometrist..." Rick sounded confused, which was understandable.

"I like 'em!" Well, what she lacked in brains, she was making up for in enthusiasm.

"Um . . . my friend and me...we have this game going." Yes! Rick was going for it.

"Anything I can do to help you win?" Darcy asked. As if she didn't know.

"A kiss. It doesn't have to be on the lips, it doesn't even have to be on the-" Rick stopped talking which I could only assume meant success. After waiting a few moments, so as not to arouse suspicion, I ended my phone "conversation" and approached Rick to go to lunch.

To keep the ruse up I didn't mention the kiss contest until the next morning, when I took the opportunity to brag a little. I mean, I had helped him save face; now I could afford to rub my victory in a little bit.

"My eleven kisses to your one! You know I attribute my success to my silky chic," I remarked confidently as Rick handed me the dice.

"You are the victor; I accept that. But none of your kisses are even close to the one I got," he said with a dreamy look in his eyes.

"And you still won't tell me who!" I exclaimed with a smile. Like I didn't know.

"Let's say in this case it's about quality, not quantity. This has given me all the confidence I need," he remarked starting to walk off.

"To what?" I asked. He sounded a bit ominous and for the first time in a while I was reminded of Rick's not-so-innocent past.

I never got an answer however, as Jay Hobart approached and Rick scurried off. I flashed back to my first run-in with Jay when he stole my admittedly dorky looking school pictures. Sean had stood up to Jay then, but nowadays he was more likely to be helping Jay than standing up to him.

Jay stopped in front of my locker and lounged, one hand above his arm, like in an ad campaign or something. I tensed. Jay didn't just chat with nerds. He stole their lunch money and stuff.

So I was unprepared for his words. "Survival instinct has the oldest and strongest member of the pack protecting the young and the weak," he lectured seemingly innocent.

My survival instinct was sending off huge alarm bells in my head. 'Run, Toby, run,' it was screaming. Instead, I tried reason. Stupid, stupid me. "I'm weak. I'm practically feeble."

Jay grabbed me roughly, "Yeah well, word's out that a 9er's getting stalked by a certain psycho."

How did he know? Rick hadn't even told me, so I'm pretty sure he wasn't bragging. And Darcy didn't even know Jay. I mean, Jayson Hobart left an impression. I'm sure his name she'd remember. Not to mention he never went out on a limb to protect anyone. I'm not even sure he'd stick up for his girlfriend if it was a choice between saving his own skin and hers.

"Look. Rick's my friend! I was just trying to save him from humiliation." And then suddenly I was inside my own locker and Jay had closed the door.

"Jay, Come on man! Let me out! Come on!" I pleaded, banging against the door. So much for a neat and orderly locker, right?

"Well, too bad he's not here to save you now!" Jay taunted. Okay, I wasn't the most insightful person around, but there was no way that this was just about Darcy from Grade 9. Right now, though I had bigger problems. I pounded on the door again and again. Before I gave up all hope and rested my forehead against the door. Well, someone should find me before I starved. And it was a well known fact that the human body loses two to three quarts of water a day, which means at my body wait I could last approximately. . .

Finally, I heard a voice I recognized cutting through my thoughts. "He's not here either," Emma remarked from somewhere near by. She was looking for me!

I pounded on my locker harder than ever. "EMMA! LET ME OUT!"

"Toby?" her voice sounded incredulous. "What are you doing inside your locker?"

"Can we focus on getting me out and talk about the why later?" I asked exasperated.

I swear I could hear her rolling her eyes through the locker door. "You better be nice to me," she threatened with a laugh. "What's your combination, Tobes?"

I did so love when she used a special nickname for me. sigh Oh, right. "Umm . . . it's 16, 24, 8!"

"16 . . . 24 . . ." I heard the dial turning. "Will you promise to be nice to me?" Emma taunted.

"EMMA!" I shouted.

"Fine, fine," she grumbled finally opening the locker with a click. I fell onto the ground at her feet, gasping. Okay, so maybe my plan to impress Emma this year was not exactly working out as planned.

"Toby, what happened?" Emma asked helping me up.

"Jay happened," I muttered. Emma froze at the name. "Em, are you all right?" She nodded, but I knew her so well, she couldn't even lie with her gestures. "If he's been harassing you at all, I . . . well, I'll . . . well, I can't do much, but you know I'd do anything I can to stop him."

Emma gave me a wry smile. "I appreciate the offer, Toby." Her voice then got soft. "No, Jay didn't do anything to me that I didn't deserve."

Which means he had done something! "Emma, I swear, if Jay hurt you, talk to Sean. I know he thinks he's too cool for school or whatever, but I know he still cares for you," I started. The last thing I wanted to do was push Emma and Sean together, but I cared about Emma so much that I didn't want her to get hurt more than I wanted her with me. Physically I would never measure up to Sean Cameron or Jay Hobart and I knew it. "He would do anything. . ."

But Emma stopped me, waving my worries away with a dismissive hand gesture. "Can we not talk about Sean?" I winced at the hurt in her voice and remembered that sometimes physical pain is a rather minor thing.

"Sorry," I said, really meaning it.

"Look, you stay away from Jay, okay? He might not be the devil incarnate, but he does have some anger issues," she said.

"You don't say?" I remarked dryly. Obviously there was something Emma wasn't telling me. "I agree if you agree to do the same," I said holding my pinky out to her.

Taking my pinky with her own, Emma finally gave me a smile. "Deal," she said shaking pinkies.

I didn't know what had happened with Emma and Jay, but I would do whatever I could to keep them apart. Even if I got stuffed in a locker everyday from here on out. I would do my best to protect Emma. Although, as it turns out, I was protecting her from the wrong guy.