Disclaimer -- I don't own any of these characters.

a/n -- As always, thank you to everyone who's R/R-ed the first few chapters.

- x -

After school, the hallways always seemed to become deserted right away, like Degrassi was some kind of prison and everyone couldn't wait to escape. It gave Craig the creeps, the way the place became a ghost town so quickly, so he usually either followed the crowd, hightailing it for home, or found Spinner, Jimmy or Marco, who he never felt lonely with.

Now as Craig stalked the halls, he hoped that he wouldn't run into anyone that he knew. Well, except for one particular person actually.

Since the beginning of the week, he'd planned to 'accidentally' run into Ellie, and coerce her into conversation, hopefully of the pleasant variety. All weekend, Craig had tried to come up with a concrete plan to win over Ellie, and thus, by extension, temper Ash and the other girls' burning hatred of him. It wasn't going to be an easy task, though – Ellie was so cold to him that he was surprised that he wasn't frostbitten by now. All the nasty glares, the snide remarks, the outright hostility and anger – that was a lot to overcome.

But, finally, it had come to him. He just needed to find some common ground with Ellie, something that they could bond over, that he could use to make her see that he wasn't a total asshole. Then luckily, another stroke of genius hit Craig – music could do it. They certainly had that in common these days, and it couldn't be too difficult to find a way to work that angle.

Really, how hard could it be? He ate, breathed, and dreamed music. Even Ellie Nash couldn't deny that.

But Craig had been looking for a chance to talk to her since Monday, and it hadn't happened yet. Again, today, he'd looked all over school without finding Ellie. She wasn't in the gym, practicing again, like he'd hoped but maybe that was too much to ask for.

He was just about to give up and head home when he passed the MI room, and spotted Ellie's red hair through the window. Her back was to him, so she didn't see him, and she appeared engrossed in whatever she was doing on the computer anyway. Craig got closer and saw that she was looking at a website about songwriting.

This was even better than finding her practicing gym, he thought. The perfect way to talk to her had presented itself, and Craig almost couldn't believe his good luck. Maybe things were starting to go his way…

He took a deep breath, and prepared to go inside and talk to her, when Sean wandered into the MI room, and sat on the desk next beside Ellie. Craig couldn't see her expression, but Sean smiled, and she reached out to touch his knee. She must have said something funny because Sean laughed then, and shook his head.

Craig watched, almost mesmerized, like he was watching a particularly interesting movie. But he felt something strange, an emotion that he couldn't quite name. It made him uncomfortable and uneasy, so he tried to push it out of his mind and ignore it.

Sean was talking now, in his reserved, tough guy way, and Ellie nodded once, almost reluctantly. Sean sighed, but leaned in to kiss her, just a quick peck but Craig turned away anyway. When he looked back, Sean was on his way out the side door, and Ellie had turned her head to watch him. Craig could only see the side of her face, her profile, but she looked disappointed. The corner of her mouth seemed to have fallen, and he knew that if he were looking at her straight on, she'd be almost pouting.

All of a sudden, he realized that he thought Ellie would look really cute like that, that he wished he could see her like that now.

Where the hell did that come from, he wondered. It felt absolutely bizarre.

For a moment, Craig thought about going inside and talking to her, but something about the look on Ellie's face and the feeling he had in the pit of his stomach made him turn and leave.

When he got outside, he saw Sean sitting on a bench near the bus stop, lost in thought. He looked as troubled as Ellie had, and Craig found himself wondering what it meant, and why he was so interested.

This was all about what happened with Ashley, he reminded himself. Nothing more.

- x –

"And I told him that I was down for Friday night, but if you wanna do something else, that's cool. I mean, I wanna go, but only if it's cool with you."

Chris continued talking, but Emma only seemed to hear every fourth word. She must have been nodding at all the appropriate times because Chris acted as if everything were perfectly normal.

And Emma supposed that it was normal, if normal meant barely being able to stand the sound of your own boyfriend's voice.

"So how does it sound, Em?" Chris asked when they reached his locker.

She had no idea what he was talking about, and he was looking at her with his warm brown eyes, so patient and understanding, and it made her feel like such a jerk. I just can't help it, she thought to herself. There is something seriously wrong with me.

I know what it's like to want to feel something, anything, just so you know that your life isn't over. I get all that.

"I'm sorry, Chris. You lost me for a second."

"Friday night. The party at Tony's place. You up for it?"

It was strange, but crowded places, like the cafeteria during lunch, the hallway between classes, and parties in particular, made her feel incredibly lonely these days. All the noise – wild laughter, silly gossip, loud music – made her feel so separate from everyone else. She just wasn't like the rest of them anymore, and she couldn't stand being reminded of that.

"I'd really like to," she lied. "But with everything going on at home, I can't really guarantee that I'll be free Friday night."

Emma didn't feel all that guilty since that was mostly the truth. She never knew these days when her mother would need her to watch Jack, to run errands, to sit with her in a hospital waiting room, listening to doctors explain test results.

When she saw Chris' eyes darken and his smile fade, though, guilt did hit her full force. She watched as he nodded quickly, almost like he felt guilty himself.

"Oh, sorry, baby. That was really dumb of me." He put his arm around Emma, and squeezed her to him. "Let's just stay in… rent a movie or something. Okay?"

She nodded, appreciating Chris' understanding even if she didn't really feel like renting a movie or going to a party or doing anything Friday night besides lying on her bed and staring at the ceiling. Now she looked down at the floor, at the dirty brown tiles in the hallway, and tried to count them all to distract herself.

I know what it's like to want to feel something, anything, just so you know that your life isn't over. I get all that.

When she looked up, Chris was watching her closely, radiating concern. Emma tried to smile so he'd stop worrying, but he frowned anyway, and rubbed her arm.

"Everything all right, Em?" He leaned in closer to whisper to her. "I mean, besides the obvious."

She sighed, and played with the strap of her bag. When she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, there was only one thought on her mind. It had nothing to do with Snake or her mom or Jack; it didn't have anything to do with Chris either. Part of her wanted to flush it right out of her head, permanently, and the other part wanted to cling to it until everything else just faded away.

I know what it's like to want to feel something, anything, just so you know that your life isn't over. I get all that.

"I'm fine," she told Chris finally. "It's just been a really long day."

He smiled, believing her, and closed his locker.

"How about I walk you home?"

Emma shook her head. "Don't worry about it."

- x -

It was still bright and sunny when Ellie left school, so she decided to take the long way home, through the park, she'd have some time to clear her mind before she got to her house. When Sean had told her that he had a shop project that he needed to work on after school, she'd be kind of disappointed, but now it seemed like it might be a good thing. She needed time to think clearly, without any interruptions or distractions. Even if it was only for twenty minutes on the walk home.

There always seemed to be something on Ellie's mind these days.

If she wasn't worried about things at home, then she was worried about her work with Caitlin. If she wasn't worried about her work with Caitlin then she was worried about her grades. If she wasn't worried about her grades then she was worried about Ash or Marco or some other friend. And if she wasn't worried about Ash or Marco or some other friend, then she was worried about Sean. The list just kept on going in a giant circle.

As she walked past the park, Ellie could hear the happy, squealing laughter of little kids, playing on the swings and hanging from the monkey bars. If only you could stay that carefree, she thought, as she watched one little boy chasing after soap bubbles that his mother blew into the breeze. Everything had been so simple when she was five; when had it all changed?

When she turned the corner near the slides, Ellie heard a deep voice call out, "Ohhh, now you're gonna get it! You're gonna get it big time!" She stopped for a moment because she was certain that she knew the voice, though she couldn't quite place it. She turned to look near the water fountain, and saw a pretty little dark-haired girl screaming in delight as she was sprayed with the fine mist of a water gun. When Ellie looked closer, she realized that she knew the person on the other end of the gun.

There Craig Manning was, making goofy faces and noises as he chased after the little girl, who seemed like the happiest kid in the world. Ellie smiled despite herself as she watched them together. It was almost impossible to reconcile this Craig with the selfish, cowardly loser who'd used not one, but two girls, all in the name of his raging hormones.

Ellie knew that Craig had a little sister; Ash had spoken about her all the time. But somehow Ellie had never imagined that he could be like this with her, so sweet and silly, just like the perfect, doting big brother. The whole thing made Ellie feel weird, like she'd somehow gotten the picture wrong.

She'd been watching Craig and his sister so long that he eventually noticed her, standing there on the street corner like an idiot. He waved enthusiastically, and bent down near his sister to whisper in her ear. The little girl turned to look at Ellie, smiling and waving herself. Craig took her hand, and the two of them walked toward Ellie. Craig's sister practically skipped, dragging him along like he was one of her toys. Both of their shirts were soaked, and Craig's hair was plastered to his forehead.

"Hey Ellie," he said, when they reached her. "Here to go for a ride on the swings? I'll push you if you want."

Ellie rolled her eyes. "I'm not the one running around screaming like a little girl."

He grinned widely at her, then patted his sister on the head. "This is my sister Angie," he told her, beaming proudly. "Cutest six year old on the planet."

Ellie smiled as Angie twirled around on one leg like a ballerina.

"Hey, Angie. This is Ellie," Craig told her. He looked at Ellie strangely, like he was trying to decide on something. "She goes to school with me."

Angie stopped suddenly, and looked up at Ellie.

"Do you know Ashley?" she demanded. "And Emma? They're Craig's friends."

Ellie watched Craig's face, but he seem totally unfazed.

She nodded. "I do. Ash is my best friend."

"I like Ashley," Angie told her. "But she doesn't visit us anymore. Right, Craig?"

Craig had the good sense to look embarrassed – his cheeks got red, and he wouldn't look Ellie in the eye.

"Ah, she's busy, Angie," he said softly. "I told you."

Angie nodded, but she was looking at Ellie closely, tilting her head to check her out from different angles. She smiled, and reached out for one of Ellie's braids, twirling the end around her fingers.

"Your hair is so pretty," she told Ellie. "It's like a crayon."

Ellie smiled. "Thank you. Your hair's very pretty too."

When she looked up at Craig, he was watching the two of them with a dopey look on his face.

"So what are you guys up to?" Ellie asked.

"We're playing with my new water gun." Angie took the purple and pink plastic gun from Craig, and showed it to Ellie. "Want a turn?"

Ellie had hoped for a nice and quiet twenty minute walk home, and this promised to be anything but peaceful. Still, she put her bag down on the grass, took the gun from Angie. She started to pump it to get the water flowing again. Craig seemed to sense that danger lurked just around the corner for him, and he started to back away from Ellie, grinning stupidly.

"Hey, come on, Ellie," he said, as she held the gun up and aimed at his face. "You wouldn't shoot an unarmed man…"

She smiled. "Wanna bet?"

With great satisfaction, she shot the gun, hitting Craig right in the face. He turned and ran off toward the swings. Angie followed after him, laughing hysterically.

"You can run, Manning, but you can't hide!" Ellie yelled across the park.

As she ran after Craig and Angie, Ellie realized that this was the most fun that she'd had in weeks. Something about that seemed vaguely pathetic, but she couldn't worry about it now.

She had bigger concerns on her mind – like soaking Craig Manning from head to toe.