Encore

"So I can get that angle by adding the other two and subtracting from 180?" Emma asked tapping the pencil against the paper strewn with numbers and strange figures meant to resemble triangles.

Sean nodded, "told you it wasn't that hard."

"When did you get good at geometry?"

"When did stop hating me?"

Emma blushed; since Ellie left she noticed that Sean seemed more withdrawn than ever. He was quiet and focused on school, and barely talked to anyone, even Jay and the gang. She was lucky she was able to steal him for a few moments everyday to help her with her geometry homework. Sean took a long sip of water from his water bottle, and toyed with a rubber band around his wrist. She watched as he twirled it around his wrist, becoming lost in its motion. Looking over she noticed that he'd lost weight. He seemed thinner, like he hadn't been eating that much, with all the water he'd be consuming nothing really stayed in his system.

"You okay?" she asked.

Sean snapped out of his daydream with the rubber band and smiled, "yea I'm fine."

"What's with the rubber band?" Emma asked as she closed up her notebook.

"Ellie used to wear them…"

"You miss her?"

"I guess, but I don't think she misses me."

Emma stared at Sean, "why do you think that?" Sure, some part of her was still mad about the lap top incident, but she noticed the transformation he seemed to evolve through when it came to being with Ellie. Emma had heard about the break, it seemed to spread around Degrassi like wildfire, some said they'd broken up because Sean beat her, or that Sean proposed to Ellie and she turned him down saying that she'd been having an affair with his brother. And Sean kept his head up and ignored them, saying the same thing to anyone who asked, "We're on a break, to figure ourselves out" And then in a matter of a few days she was ripped straight from him and sent away. She couldn't help but feel heartbroken for him, because he refused to show it.

"She seems like she's having more fun with her new crazy friends"

"Well for the first time maybe she's surrounded by people who understand her, and don't think she's crazy" Emma responded.

"I understood her."

"sometimes people need more than one person to support them Sean," Emma stood up and swung her bag over her shoulder, "I'm going to the Dot later with Manny, JT, and Toby if you want to come, maybe get your mind off things, because something is obviously bugging you."

Sean fumed inside, "nothing is bugging me," he said trying to keep his cool.

"Whatever, the offer still stands," and with her final words Emma walked out of the library and towards her locker.

"Hanging out with Cause Girl now are we?" Jay asked stepping out from behind a book shelf.

Sean laughed and packed up his books, "helping her with her homework."

"She asked you out, dude, she's got the hots for you again."

Sean rolled his eyes, "Emma and I are not getting back together." The statement itself seemed to sound right to Sean, but Jay knew better, he almost wished the two would hook back up and get it over with; there was no point in watching Sean mope around because he missed Ellie. Sean needed a female companion to release his sensitive side upon, and Amy; Jay gagged at the thought, Amy definitely was not the person to help him get out of this disgusting self pity of a rut. It was getting to the point where Jay was about to unleash his disgusted side upon Amy and tell her to back off.

"So are you going to meet her at the Dot?" Jay asked as they walked out of the library.

"Meet who at the Dot?" Amy asked slinking up behind them and locking arms with Sean, who instinctively pulled away from her grasp.

"Do you take stalking classes?" Jay asked annoyed.

Amy rolled her eyes and turned her attention to Sean, "meet who at the Dot?"

"Emma…"

"Why would you meet that little Eco-Slut?"

"…to help her with her geometry homework? And don't call her that, she hasn't gone down on enough guys to be considered even a regular slut like you Am…" Sean answered.

Amy sneered, "Whatever."

"Look, I'll catch you guys later; I'm meeting up with Track at the bike shop to get parts for Lucille."

"So he's finally named her then?" Jay asked.

Sean laughed, "Yea, I still think he coulda came up with something better than…Lucille."

"Catch ya later, man" Jay said initiating a ridiculous handshake that just about no one could imitate, beside the two boys.

-X-

"You gunna help me with Lucille?" Tracker asked walking into the small house and watched as his little brother collapsed on the couch effortlessly and turned on the television. "Yo! Little brother…"

Sean looked up, "huh?"

"I asked if you wanted to help me with Lucille," Tracker asked his eyes bearing concern for the change his little brother had gone through since the night at the hospital.

"Nah, I think you can handle it."

Tracker walked over to the television set and turned it off and stood in front of the screen, and waited for his little brother to react.

"Dude…"

"Get up, go out, I'm sick you sitting on your ass." Tracker was verbally pushing his little brother out the door.

Sean breathed in slowly, and pushed himself off the couch and stalked out the door. Tracker didn't like forcing his brother to do something he obviously didn't' want to do, but sometimes it was needed. He hated watching Sean waste away slowly on the couch, suffering from an all too obvious broken heart. Whether Ellie was coming back or not, Sean had to move on. The way he sat around barely moving, barely eating was starting to take toll on his usually buff and well taken care of body. Sean's clothes had become more loose and baggy than before, and it was beyond the stage of being fashionable. Tracker walked to the window and watched as Sean shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his jeans and angrily kicked the metal trashcan at the corner. Tracker walked outside and took to caring for his precious Lucille.

Sean kicked everything he could without getting arrested for destruction of private or public property. He felt out of control when it came to his anger as of lately. Out of breath from being so angry with everyone and just about everything he sat down on a bench along Main Street. His arms draped across the back of the bench. He closed his eyes. He heard an all too familiar giggle, "Ellie?"

Sean looked to his right and noticed Ellie nestled under his arm. She poked at his stomach and gently pecked his cheek. Sean smiled.

"Are we hanging out with Jay and Alex tonight?" she asked.

"Probably, maybe down at the Ravine, or at the movies, Alex got us free tickets."

Ellie smiled, "good, I missed spending time with you." Ellie hugged him close and Sean smiled.

"Hey Els?" Sean asked.

Ellie looked up, "yea?"

"Does this mean the breaks over?"

"Sean…"

"Sean…hey, you in there?" JT asked poking the ex-wrestler in the shoulder. Sean opened his eyes. "Emma didn't think you were coming, actually none of us did," JT said. Sean looked around; he was sitting on a bench outside the Dot. He mentally cursed himself for deciding to sit down outside the Dot.

"Yea well...I had nothing better to do." Sean answered and followed JT inside. The small ground of high school students had taken over a booth in the back corner.

"Look who I found outside," JT announced. Emma looked up surprised to see her ex-boyfriend standing in front of her.

"I thought you weren't coming" Emma mentioned.

Sean shrugged and slipped into the booth.

"So I was in Kwan's class today and Spinner had to have farted like forty times, I'm starting to think he should quit Downtown Sasquatch and join up with me and do a touring act,…"JT rambled.

"what are you gunna call it? Losers Squared?" Sean muttered.

Emma elbowed him in the stomach, "rude much…?"

"Actually I was thinking of calling it JT and human nuclear bomb?"

"that's stupid JT" Manny said.

"I'm sorry ladies, I'm losing my comedic touch, I'm sorry."

"You were never funny to begin with…" Sean muttered.

"Look man, I'm sorry you're all mopey cause your girlfriend lost her marbles…"

"man, don't talk about Ellie like she's some crazy freak" Sean reached across the table and grabbed JT's collar.

"Sean let him go." Emma fought, pulling Sean back across the table.

"JT that wasn't cool, " Manny argued on Sean's behalf.

"No, but it had to be said," he retorted and turned to Sean, "you've been a pain in the ass to be around, you don't talk to anyone, even your own so-called friends, you barely eat, it looks like you barely sleep, and I'm surprised you even show up at school, something isn't right with you Sean, and you need to get yourself fixed."

Sean sat silent. He looked livid, but inside it finally all sunk in, he realized that the moment JT took the time to tell him everything that others were afraid to say he was falling apart. The only one who hadn't said anything was Toby. And it was to him, that Sean turned. Both wrestlers at one time, and both part of a Saturday detention that neither mentioned had created a deep seeded bond. One look at Toby and then at Emma and Sean stood up, "I've got to go."

With that Sean walked out of the Dot, having not spent more than a few minutes with his class mates. Emma stood to leave, but was stopped by Toby.

"Let me talk to him" Toby asked, and pushed his way politely out of the booth, leaving a confused Emma, Manny, and JT behind.

-X-

Toby followed Sean down the block around a few corners, with every step he thought about calling out to the obviously depressed young man, but opted against it. It was just outside of DCS that he found Sean sitting silently on a picnic bench. Toby took a seat next to him, and muttered a "hey."

Sean looked up and over, "what are you doing here Tobes?"

" checking up on you?"

"I don't need checking up on" Sean answered and stared at his dirty fingernails.

"just like I didn't need checking up on when I was taking laxatives to lose weight?"

"that's different man, you could have killed yourself."

Toby shook his head, "this isn't different." Sean looked over at the be speckled boy and blinked a few times before realizing that his eyes were starting to hurt from the tears he refused to let fall. Toby continued, "whether you'd like to see what this is doing to you or not, people have noticed. You aren't yourself Sean, you're lost. I can see it, they can see it, and the only one who can't see it is you."

"Toby you don't get it."

"What don't I get?" Toby answered, "You think it's easy being me? All I've got going for me has been my brains and my friends." Sean rubbed his temples as his head sunk between his legs, opting to not give Toby his full attention, "You have plenty of people looking out for you, and you're choosing not to help yourself."

" I don't need help."

"Sean…look at yourself, You must have lost fifteen pounds in the last two weeks. You barely even talk to Jay, no one sees you outside of school, this isn't healthy."

"I know!" Sean shouted, snapping his head up. " It was only supposed to be a break, I didn't mean for her to go and do that…"

" No one did, but you're not responsible for her Sean…she's getting help, and moving on, it's time for you to do the same."

"How am I supposed to do that?"

Toby shrugged, not completely sure of how Sean could accomplish such a task. "You could start by coming back to the Dot with me and laughing at JT's jokes because they aren't funny."

Sean stared at Toby as if he were crazy, and then slid off the picnic table and dusted off his jeans. "Might as well, I have nothing better to do, all my homework's done."

" you did you're homework?" Toby asked, surprised. Sean punch Toby in the arm. Toby cringed and rubbed his arm gently trying to get rid of the stinging pain, " that hurt you know."

" Suck it up Isaacs," Sean responded and threw a friendly arm around the younger boy.

-X-

"A man goes into a restaurant and is seated. All the waitresses are gorgeous. A particularly voluptuous waitress wearing a very short skirt comes to his table and asks, 'What would you like, sir?' and he looks at the menu and then scans her beautiful frame top to bottom, then answers, 'A quickie.' Then the waitress turns and walks away in disgust. After she regains her composure she returns and asks again, 'What would you like, sir?' Again the man thoroughly checks her out and again answers, 'A quickie, please.' This time her anger takes over, she reaches over and slaps him across the face with a resounding 'SMACK!' and storms away. A man sitting at the next table leans over and whispers, "Um, Pal, I think it's pronounced 'quiche'." JT finished his joke triumphantly, and waited for laughter.

Nothing.

"Come on guys, quickie…quiche?" JT said begging for at least a chuckle, "It's a classic."

"Yea, classically terrible," Sean said laughing, and at his comment the table erupted in laughter. JT looked disappointed.

"I think it's about time I headed home," JT mentioned, "thank you ladies and gentlemen, I'll be here all week," and bowed as he slipped out of the booth and paid his tab at the register before leaving. Manny followed suit as did Toby. Finally it was down to Emma and Sean.

"It's getting dark, and I promised my mom I'd be home around dinner time to baby-sit Jack," Emma said getting up and walking over to the register.

"I'll walk you." Sean offered, " you shouldn't be walking alone after dark anyways."

"Always the gentleman, huh, Cameron?" Emma said handing the cashier her receipt and cash.

"You know me…" Sean said as Emma waited for her change.

Emma blushed and walked out the door as Sean held it open for her. The walk was completely silent for both parties. It'd been a very long time since Sean had walked Emma to her front door, and it had been a long time since Sean had even thought about walking her home. Emma stopped in front of her house and smiled, "thanks" she said softly.

"Don't mention it." Sean answered, feeling quite good with himself.

Emma smiled, " I'll see you tomorrow Sean."

"Bye"

Sean watched Emma walk into her house and didn't move until he knew she was safe. He started off towards his home and for the first time since Ellie went away, he smiled, a real smile.

A/N: Meh, not really sure what I think about this chapter. I just wanted to get something up for you guys because I've been a real asshole with the updating. But believe me if I had the time, I'd write. I just haven't had any time. You should see how marked up my calendar is for this week, not to mention the disgusting amounts of stress I'm under. I really tried to establish a Sean/Toby friendship, because we know they all bonded that Saturday, but you never really see much of Toby and Sean afterwards. So I figured I'd give it ago. We get a bit of Tracker in there, and slight SEmma going on, I'm not sure if they'll really hook up or not, just like I'm not sure if Orion/Ellie is going anywhere...but we never know, we do need some conflict.

If ya'll have any ideas of what I can do for my Mark/Ash spin-off, which I hope to get going on soon. I have an idea, but I dunno if I should follow through with it, it's kinda hush hush right now.

And to britneyh8r about Chapter 4, sorry about the grammar mistakes, I was in a rush to get it up. And the Silent Bob reference was just a joke about how Towerz never talks, period, and then I realized he hangs out with Jay, so I was like...laughing to myself. I dunno. Hope this chapter is up to your standards...if not, let me know and how I can fix future ones...