Disclaimer: I don't own Degrassi. Rub it in why don't you.

The burnt orange civic pulled into the driveway of my house. The door flew open and Manny ran out holding Jack. She says something that I can't hear and starts jumping up and down and screaming incoherently. Jack looks like he's about to be sick. He turns his head and pukes. Manny squeals and almost drops him.

"Manny" I yelled and opened the door taking poor baby Jack from her arms "are you trying to kill him?"

"No I wouldn't have dropped him" Manny defended herself.

"What were you yelling about?"

"Oh yeah the world as we know it is coming to an end."

"Why Craig and Ellie are getting married."

"THEY ARE! I wonder if she's pregnant."

"I hear he's pretty good at getting girls pregnant" Jay piped in. I looked at him shocked.

"Have you taught him the rules yet" Manny asked.

"I'm sorry rules" Jay said worriedly.

"These stupid rules we came up with when we were like 8 because Manny's crush kept saying I was nerd and she started agreeing with everything he said so we made a rule boyfriends/crushes can't say anything bad about one of us or he's no longer a boyfriend/crush the rule has never been enforced since."

"It hasn't needed to we've always had decent boyfriends."

"I believe we decided it went the other way in grade five if one rule has to be enforced shouldn't both of them be."

"Fine no rules but next time he says anything like that I will personally hire someone to kick his ass" she stomped back into the house.

"Nice ducks" Jay yelled commenting on her pajama bottoms.

"You're not even going to try and be civil are you?"

"You over estimate your power over me."

"Oh do I" I smiled remembering last night.

He nodded "I'll see you tomorrow."

I floated into the house on cloud nine.

"I'll see you tomorrow" Manny repeated what he said "not much of a boyfriend is he? He didn't even kiss you."

"Uh huh" I walked downstairs letting Jack down and ignoring her. She followed me and sat next to where I was lying on the bed.

"What happened?"

"You have to swear not to say a word to anyone."

"I swear."

"He said he loved me."

"When?"

"Last night."

"What did you say?"

"Nothing."

"Maybe that's why he's mad."

"He doesn't know I heard him."

"This I have to hear."

"Well last night he was watching me..."

"Creepy."

"He thought I was sleeping..."

"Cute."

"So he just looked at me for awhile and then whispered I love you."

"Aw that's so sweet" Manny cooed.

"Where is everyone?"

"Oh that reminds me the world as we know it is coming to an end."

"What happened exactly?"

"We're moving to Florida."

"What? Why?"

"Who knows? I actually got the choice of either going back with my parents or going with you I told my parents and do you know what they did?"

I shook my head.

"They handed me adoption papers."

"What?"

"Yeah I know long story short we've got the same parents and we're going to live in Mickey Mouse world."

"Just as everything was going good."

"Now do you believe that the world as we know it is coming to an end?"

I nodded "when do we leave?"

"Here's the worst part next week."

"NEXT WEEK?"

"They wanted to move before we got too far into school."

"I have to go" I ran upstairs and out the door.

I saw the car way in the distance. I started running after it. I tore a page from a notepad I kept in my jacket pocket. I crumpled it up and threw it at the car. Luckily it hit it. The car came to a screeching halt. I ran up to it and tapped on his window. Sometime between the time I left and now I had started crying. He rolled down the window.

"What's wrong?"

"Florida."

"What?"

"Mickey Mouse."

"Emma I know the mouse is weird but it's nothing to cry over."

"Next week."

"You're going on vacation why are you crying."

"Permanent."

"Permanent you mean you're moving to Florida."

I nodded. He opened the door and I walked around to the other side and got in. He looked a me for a minute then turned around and drove back to my house. My parents were back. When I got out of the car mom came running towards me.

"Did you have fun in Toronto?"

"Yeah too bad you had to ruin it" I ran into the house and downstairs into my room.

----------------------------

Jay's POV

"What happened" Mrs. Simpson asked.

I shrugged.

"You decided that we were all going to Florida" Manny walked out. She was now in jeans and a T-shirt instead of the duck pajamas.

"I thought she'd be happy" Ms. Simpson blinked "I thought she'd like a fresh start I was only trying to fix everything."

"Did you notice how she hasn't stopped smiling since school started?" Manny asked "Did you realize that she was suddenly getting rides to school everyday? Did you notice that she's been singing in the shower again? She only sings when she's happy I know you know that. Did you even think about it when she was suddenly going off to Toronto for the weekend? No you didn't. You were so busy trying to make her feel better you didn't realize someone had beaten you to it."

"But I thought this would be a chance to start over and meet new people" Mr. Simpson said.

"Maybe she doesn't want to meet new people maybe she wants to be around the people she's known forever" I said quietly.

"And who are you to even speculate about what she wants" Simpson asked.

"Don't snap at him just because you screwed up" Manny stood next to me "I'm going to go check on Emma you want to come?"

I nodded and followed her as her parents stood there completely lost.

Manny led me down to the basement where Emma was sitting on the edge of her bed staring at the floor.

"Hey Em are you ok?"

"I'm fine Manny" Emma wiped a tear from her face.

"You should've been there they tried to justify the move."

"Oh really what did they say?"

"It was for your happiness apparently they hadn't noticed you were already happy."

"I know I'm being a brat and I should just go with an open mind I mean it's sunny and warm but I just can't seem to find any reason why I should be happy about the move."

"I agree."

"I'm going to go" I mouthed and walked quietly out of the room.

I drove to my house in complete silence. That was weird for me I never drove in silence unless someone was in the car with me. Alex was sitting at the end of my driveway off to the side. I stopped right next to her and rolled down the window.

"You ok?"

"Yeah" she nodded "no actually I'm not I need your help."

"What kind of help?"

"The 50 bucks kind of help."

"Why?"

"I borrowed something from this guy and now he wants money."

"What did you borrow?"

"No nothing like that I just took some money from this diner I was working at and now they're pissed and I'm fired."

"Lexi I can't."

"Please Jay if I don't give it back within the next two days they're pressing charges."

"It's 50 bucks what's the worst they can do community service."

"I'm not worried about them."

"I'm not going to bail you out anymore Lex."

"Please just one more time then you'll never see me again your mother can rest easy knowing I won't be back."

"You saw my mom."

"Yeah surprisingly she was very polite."

"My mom polite to you she must've had a good day."

"Where were you by the way?"

"Toronto."

"I thought you only went twice a year."

"I was going to go to a concert with Jesse but he bailed."

"Who'd you go with?"

"Emma."

"Nelson!"

"I nodded.

"Cause girl why'd you go with her?"

"Her name is Emma and I wanted to go with her."

"You're going out with cause girl!"

"Her name is Emma."

"Why would you go out with cause girl?"

"Why would you go out with a girl?"

"Ouch."

"Look I can't give you the money get it from someone else."

"Who? The monopoly man"

"I can't give it to you that's it sorry but Jay's piggy bank is permanently closed."

"To everyone or just me?"

"I suggest you start looking for another way to get money."

"Are you ok?"

"Yea why"

"I don't know you just seem a little down is everything ok."

"Fine."

"No it's not what's wrong."

"Emma's moving."

"Where?"

"Florida."

"When?"

"Next week."

"I'm sorry."

"No you're not a minute ago you were practically gagging at the thought of us going out."

"A minute ago I hadn't realized how much you cared about her."

"Yea well you should get going you don't want to run out of time to get money."

"Yea bye Jay" she walked away quickly as I pulled the rest of the way into the driveway and walked into the house. Downstairs there was the kitchen living room family room dining room a den and a breakfast nook. Upstairs there were three bedrooms. My mom was sitting in the family room watching reruns still in her nurses' uniform.

"Hey mom" I sat down next to her.

"Oh hey Jay Alex was here earlier."

"Yea I saw her."

"Oh ok did you have fun?"

"As much fun as I could possibly have spending the weekend with James."

"I hear you have a new girlfriend."

"News travels entirely too fast in this family."

"So who is she I hear everyone loves her and James actually threw a ninety year old couple out for her she must be pretty great if they like her."

"Yeah she's great" I said sullenly.

"Then why so blue did she dump you already?"

"No she's moving next week."

"Where."

"Florida."

"Wow can't get much farther than that without leaving the continent."

I nodded.

------------------------------

Emma's POV

I sitting alone in my room. The lights were off and I was in a corner. Tears were streaming down my face too fast for me to even attempt to wipe them away. I had no right to cry they were only trying to help. I kept telling myself that but my thoughts always switched to the past couple of days. I hadn't had that much fun in so long. I looked at the clock. I had to go to school and put on a happy face in three hours. How did it get to be that late or early depending on how you looked at it? Manny went to sleep on the couch at 10. I don't think I slept at all. I finally went to bed. I don't remember falling asleep but Manny was downstairs getting ready for school when I woke up. I looked at the clock again. I didn't have time to shower. I grabbed a pair of sweat pants and an old T shirt and threw it on while I walked upstairs.

"Emma are you ok" mom asked.

"Fine" I sat down on the couch.

"Emma you'll be happy once we get there you can make some new friends."

"And if I don't want new friends."

"You'll be happy trust me" dad chimed in.

"I do trust you but I also know that no matter how happy I am in Florida I'd still be happier here."

"Why because of Jason?"

"Yea dad because of Jay he makes me happy do you know what that means."

"Emma he got you sick."

"He didn't purposely get me sick and he's not the only one who should be blamed for that."

"He took advantage of you when you were vulnerable."

"You make me sound like some damsel in distress."

"We're going."

"Yeah I got that next week see you then" I walked out of the house.

Jay was standing in front of his car at the curb. I looked back at my parents who were standing in the doorway. I walked to the car and got in as he held the door. He walked around the car to the other side saying something to them in the process.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing don't worry about it."

"Ok" I let it go not wanting to make trouble "how opposed are you to skipping."

He turned a corner that would lead us away from school.

"So how are you in 12th grade if you didn't go to school last year?"

"Believe it or not I had enough credits when I got expelled that I passed 11th grade."

"Where are we going?"

"Where do you want to go?"

"Anywhere but here."

"You really don't want to go to school so you can spend as much time with your friends as possible."

I thought about it for a minute.

He made a U turn when I didn't answer and we were at school in just enough time. I went to Simpson's class reluctantly leaving Jay.

"Emma I can't believe you're moving" Liberty whispered.

"You told them" I looked at Manny who nodded.

"What's going on with you and Jay" Toby asked.

"I'm not really sure anymore."

Jay sat our table at lunch. Manny looked at him and smiled then looked at me. She must've asked him to sit there. JT and Liberty were fighting about something. Toby was trying to make his pudding soft enough to eat. Manny was just staring at us. Sean walked over to the table and sat next to Manny.

"Hey you wanted to tell me something."

"I'm moving."

"What? When?"

"Next week."

"With Simpson."

She nodded.

"This sucks" I shook my head at the thought of leaving.

"This is crazy."

"Spike grew up here so did Snake why would they want to leave."

"Maybe they think they're doing what's best for you" Jay shrugged. Everyone stared at him.

"Now I have to know what you said to them."

"Nothing they just made sense."

"How can it make sense" Manny asked "they're removing us from what we know."

"But maybe that's not such a bad idea I mean you've lived here forever maybe you need to get a feel for what it's like to be somewhere else in a school that's not cursed and overly dramatic."

I walked away.

--------------------------------

Jay's POV

The bell rang and as I was about to get up to leave Manny told me to stay as everyone else left.

"Look I know you love Emma. Don't deny it. What I need to know is can you handle it."

I decided there's no point in lying to her to sound cool or keep up my image.

"If you mean can I handle not cheating on her while she's far away yea I can. If you mean can I handle her being so far away and not being able to see her everyday then I'm not quite sure."

She stood up.

"That's all I needed to know have fun in class."