Chapter two- Secrets and Lies

Manny slouched on the couch with her legs propped up on the table, blowing huge bubblegum bubbles and flipping through pages of magazines. "Emma, maybe you should lay off the junk food. I swear, I think you're turning into a chocolate chip cookie." Manny glanced around her magazine and saw a sulky Emma, her hair pulled up in a towel, her face full of green goop, empty containers of junk food surrounding her.

"Better a cookie than a bookworm." She laughed as Manny gave her a glare, and joined in on the giggles.

"This magazine is on crack!" She flipped it around in the air and reread it in the light, clearing her throat as she did so, 'You are a very ambitious person. If you want something, you get it, no matter what obstacles you have to go through. You're determined and a very strong person.' What the hell does that have to do with boyfriends?" Emma smirked and replied in a matter-of-factly tone,

"That explains a lot… Manny, look back. Remember Craig?" Manny just sat there and glared at her. "See, so that magazine isn't on crack. It's just psychic. It knows." She gave her a mysterious look, and then she broke into a series of laughter. "I'm kidding!" Manny stared at her like she was crazy, "But seriously, I think you and Craig… You had it all planned out. Me? I'm just… There." She sighed and then threw herself back in frustration, her face into a pillow. Manny closed the magazine in one hand and took a sip from her smoothie from her other, looking at Emma with worried eyes.

"Em, what's wrong?"

"Nothing! Why are you suddenly on my case?"

"I'm not, it's just… You're usually eating healthier than this. Remember your 10th birthday? You had a pool party, and everyone thought you peed in the pool, so you went inside and I followed you… Let's just say that our cake had handfuls missing… Literally." She giggled at the look on Emma's face, ready for an outburst of anger, but instead was met by a lonely reply.

"I can't believe you brought that up." She finally broke out into a smile. It was not a happy smile… It was… Depressing. She sighed. "Ever since the shooting, people talk about it like it's the big thing, now, it's the popular subject of every conversation. It's like everyone I pass by in the hallways, people tend to shut up like I'm something they're scared of. Guys don't want to be with me. But that's another story." She sighed as Manny watched her carefully. "It's.. lonely." She blinked back the tears in her eyes as she let it all out. Apparently it showed.

"Hun.. You need to stop sulking. Remember that little stunt Peter pulled? You would not let me stay home. I'm not going to let you stay home either! We're going out tonight. Screw them if they think you're weird? Screw guys if they don't like you? Screw everyone. Go crazy, who cares about everyone else. At least you're having a good time, right?" She thought for a moment and slapped down the magazine on the table. "We need to get you away from that food first of all." She hopped over to her and grabbed her wrist, pulling her up from the couch.

Emma sighed, "You know what? I think you're just jealous. You wanted attention, you got attention. You wanted a guy- You took my crush. You wanted everything I ever wanted.. And you took it all away from me. Now I'm having a hard time, and you're jealous. You think you can take my pain away, and then have your own fun with faking it. Know what? Back off, Manny. You're not taking anything from me anymore. I'm through."

Manny took a closer look at Emma to see if she was on something. "Wha… What? Babe, I think that junk food is getting to you.. Are you okay? I swear, it's nothing like that!" She put on her serious face and pinpointed Emma's eyes with her's. "Em, if anything, you know I would never do something like that to you."

"Look Manny, I've been there for you all the times that you've had trouble. Is it too much to ask to just leave me alone? I don't want your useless help. It's not worth shit."

"Okay Emma? You need to stop right there and shut the hell up. You have no idea what it's like to be me."

"Cut the crap, Manny, get out." She had a twinkle in her eye as she said that, and she soon regretted it as she saw the look in Manny's eyes.

"Fine. I'll talk to you later Emma, when you actually have some sense in your scrawny little mind." She got up and left the room, looking back only to give her a disgusted look. She couldn't believe her best friend was treating her this way. And for what? She couldn't understand anything.. It was all happening too fast. She slammed the door with a BANG! on her way out.

Emma rolled her eyes and raced to the top of the stairs, heading towards her room as she quickly got dressed. She had an idea.. If her best friend couldn't cheer her up, maybe she could take a chance…

She cleaned herself up, and curled her hair. They fell down in curls, tumbling down her shoulders as she ruffled them up. She put on a miniskirt, and a matching tank top. She wore a blazer over it and took a few minutes to slab on some makeup. When she was done, she sneakily crawled through the window and outside. She was headed to the ravine.

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What was her problem? All she wanted to do was get Emma out of that damn house and stop sulking. She might've been through hell, but she did too. And she got over it. Wait a minute… What was she so worked up about? There was absolutely nothing to do this pretty day, but no one was doing anything, not that she knew of. So she decided to turn the corner and walk over to Hazel's house, since she knew that Paige was meeting the squad there, when WHAM. "Agh!" And down she went.

"Manny?" Craig jumped back when he had realized that Manny had fell, then bent down and gave her a hand that she gradually took. What was she doing out here by herself?

"Hey.. Craig. Sorry, I just.."

"No it's fine, I was just on my way to Jimmy's, and I had.. A lot on my mind. It's my fault.. Sorry." He smiled sweetly and started walking again with Manny by his side. "What's on your mind? You look exhausted."

Manny strickened and looked up at him, wondering if he could see the pain that was going through her right now. She had just been kicked out by her best friend, and now she wasn't sure if she could ever come back. "It's nothing you would worry about…" She didn't want to drag Craig into this. It wasn't fair to bring more pain to other people's lives, just because your life was sucky.

Then she finally realized that she was going the wrong way. "Oh sorry for tagging along, I was on my way to Hazel's.. I'm meeting Paige and Darcy there. Squad meeting. You know how it is. Or maybe not," She giggled. Turning around, she waved good bye to Craig, and started the other way.

Craig paused and turned around after a few seconds to watch Manny walk away without the slightest idea where he had just came from. Phew… that was close. He knocked on Jimmy's door and waited for an answer.

"Craig?" A surprised Ellie answered the door with a confused expression on her face.

"Ellie?"