Chapter 19-The only one I love

"Manny, why didn't you call me?" Craig said, keeping his eyes towards the road. Manny sighed and looked at him.

"Because I didn't want to. I wanted to hang out with Jimmy." Manny said as she rolled her eyes. Craig sighed heavily, and turned a corner to the street that Manny, Jimmy and Alex live.

"Look, Alex is already worried about Jimmy with the surgery; don't make her think that you want him." Craig said. As the car pulled into the driveway, Manny looked at him in disbelief.

"I can't believe you would say that. You of all people should know that I'm not that kind of person anymore." Manny shook her head in disappointment, and got out of the car. She walked up the sidewalk to the door, opened it, and saw Marco, Alex, and Paige sitting on the sofa. They looked back at her, and she smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry for not calling…I had gotten sleepy, and the hospital was locked in at 11 p.m." Manny said truthfully, as Marco got off the couch and hugged her tightly.

"We were so worried! Don't ever do that again." Marco said as he let go of her. She smiled as she plopped on the sofa in between Alex and Paige.

"So, how was my man?" Alex asked as Manny had a look of panic on her face for a spilt second, but then had a look of calm and collected.

"He was great! He's coming home today, and Craig has to pick him up at 7." Manny said, looking at Craig, who was rolling his eyes.

"Wow, I can't believe that he can walk again!" Paige said, and everyone nodded in agreement.

"Me neither. It's like everyone is turning their lives around, and for the good of it too." Marco said. He squeezed in between Paige and Manny, and he wrapped an arm around Manny's waist.

"Well, Hazel and Ellie are at the store to get some things for a surprise party for Jimmy." Paige said as she searched for her cell phone. "I need to see when they will be back…" Hazel and Ellie came in as if on cue, with bags of party items, food, and drinks.

"Hey guys, we have everything!" Hazel said as she walked into the kitchen to prepare the stuff, and Ellie followed.

"Oh, that's nice. I have to get ready, it's almost 7!" Manny said, and she and Paige ran to her room, shutting the door behind them.

"Hey man, look put this on." Craig held up a black pinstripe dress shirt, some black denim jeans, some black timberlands, with matching cufflinks that had Jimmy's initials on it, and a black Yankees hat.

"Hey…where are we going where I have to dress up? Cause you look nice." Craig was wearing a light blue dress shirt with matching cufflinks, some khaki pants, and some black dress shoes.

"Thanks, it's a surprise. Just go in the bathroom and put this on." Craig said, and Jimmy got up, took the items, and walked to the bathroom with a small limp. Craig went outside of the room, took out his cell phone, and dialed a number.

"Manny, he's getting dressed right now." Craig said in a low voice.

"Okay, I'll let everyone know. Make sure to put the blind fold on him." Manny said, and she hung up the phone. She wore a black dress that hung off the left shoulder and has a vertical hem, and some matching stiletto heels. She had a necklace around her neck that had a teardrop pearl on it, with matching earrings. She had her hair in small curly spirals. She walked hastily into the living room, up the stairs, and onto the patio deck. Everyone was dressed up, but still working hard to make sure everything was just right.

Alex had blown everyone away with what she was wearing. She wore a white dress that had strapped around her neck, and showed off her back. She wore some open toed white summer heels, and had her hair up in a clip. She had on chandelier earrings, with a matching necklace.

Paige had on a Marylyn Monroe style dress that was black with pink polka dots, and some pink high heels. She had a pink pearl necklace with matching earrings.

Hazel had on a strapless lavender dress that had layered hems, and some lavender heels. She wore a matching scarf around her neck, and a diamond bracelet.

Marco had on a white dress shirt with black cufflinks, some black dress pants, and some white dress shoes.

Ellie had on a black dress with spaghetti straps, and some black heels. She wore a necklace with a silver moon on it, and a bracelet with some moons on it.

"Okay guys, Jimmy and Craig are on the way! Everyone looks fabulous, and it looks like we're ready to party!" Manny said as some of her friends from dance class, and the DJ came in. Paige had her mouth open a bit, and smiled at Manny. She walked over and leaned in her ear.

"Girl, you brought more guys! I owe you 20 bucks." Paige said playfully, and Manny giggled a bit.

"Yep, this is gonna be THE party. Kids back at degrassi are gonna be sooo jealous of you." Manny said as her cell phone beeped. She got her phone out and saw that she got a text message from Craig.

"Manny, we're coming down the street. Turn lights off!" Manny franticly looked up and yelled, "Turn the lights off, Craig and Jimmy are coming!"

Everyone turned the lights off, and got into their positions.

"Why are we going up here to the deck?" Jimmy asked suspiciously, with the blindfold around his eyes. They were walking up the stairs, and Craig was guiding him. "And what's that smell?"

"Don't worry about it…and the smell is your neighbors next door. They're having a fish fry." Craig said. They walked up to the door, and walked onto the deck. Craig took the blindfold from Jimmy's eyes.

"SURPRISE! WELCOME BACK!" Everyone yelled. Jimmy gave a toothy smile, and his eyes widened with surprise.

He looked around and saw food on tables, the DJ doing his thing in the corner, and the overlooking view of the beach, which the sun was setting on. His eyes then set on Alex.

"Wow…I didn't know you guys were going to do this for me!" He said happily, as he walked up to Alex and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Thank you everyone, you guys are the best."

After about an hour of dancing to Black Eyed Peas, Rihanna, Green Day, Lifehouse, Fall out Boy, The Click Five, and 50 Cent, the DJ leaned into the microphone.

"Okay, we're gonna slow it down a bit, and I'm dedicating this to the couple of the night, Jimmy and Alex." The DJ said, and 'Stickwitu' by the Pussycat Dolls came on. Manny started dancing with Marco, Craig with Ellie, and Paige and Hazel with two of Manny's friends. Jimmy wrapped his arms around Alex and they swayed to the music.

"You know what?" Alex asked as Jimmy looked deeply into her eyes.

"What is it?" He asked as he dipped her slowly, and she laughed as he brought her back up.

"For some reason, I knew you were the one when you took me in." Alex said, and he smiled at her.

"Me too…I love you, girl." Jimmy said as the kept swaying to the music. "And you're the only one I love."

"I know. And so are you." Alex said, and they both laughed.

"Oh my god, this night was a complete success." Manny said as she danced with Marco. He had been confused all day. Through last night until right now, all he could think about was Manny. Moreover, he seemed happy to be dancing with her.

"But…I'm supposed to be gay…" He thought as Manny smiled at him. He smiled back and kissed her softly on the lips. She widened her eyes a bit, but she kissed him back.

"Um, well…I like you, I guess." Marco said nervously, and laughed a bit.

"Wow, I think I like you too." Manny said, and she put her head on his shoulder.

"This is perfect." Ellie said as she swayed with Craig. They locked eyes and smiled each other.

"I know. Jimmy looks happy, Alex looks happy, Manny looks happy…" Craig trailed off, and Ellie giggled a bit.

"I know, this night could be perfect…" Ellie said, and she kissed Craig softly. Paige was watching from the corner and she was dancing with one of Manny's guy friends, and she looked as if she was about to cry.