Disclaimer: Same old, same old. I don't own any of the characters.

a/n: Thank you to everyone who's still reading along and taking the time to leave reviews. And an extra special thanks to those who sent some pretty amazing e-mails. You guys all rock!

- x –

Out of all his classes, English was the one that inspired the most daydreaming for Sean. They were always talking about fictional characters and made-up lives, and sometimes, he couldn't help thinking of his own life that way, like it was just story that someone had made up, going over all the scenes like they were from a play or something.

He slumped forward over his book, and rested his head on his hand. His entire relationship with Emma was the perfect example – with all its highs and lows, all its twists and turns, it could have been a freaking movie of the week.

He looked over at her now, but she was reading her book. She twirled a strand of her hair around her finger absently as she did, and Sean couldn't stop watching. Chris, who sat next to her, couldn't seem to either, so naturally, Sean felt the uncontrollable urge to punch him right in the face and force him to look forward.

No one else could look at Emma the way that he did. No one understood her like he did.

... It was just one kiss, one stupid, meaningless kiss. That's what he told himself anyway. It didn't matter that he was acting like some stupid, lovesick girl, replaying the moment over and over again, unable to forget the way that Emma had felt, tasted, the way she smelled.

They'd kissed hundreds of time before that Saturday afternoon in her bed, maybe even thousands, but for some reason, that one kiss stood out in his mind, almost like it was a moment when everything in his life changed, though he still didn't know how exactly.

He'd been back to see her several times since that afternoon, but he'd been a good boy, keeping his distance, keeping his hands and his tongue to himself. Ellie, Ellie, Ellie, he repeated inside his head whenever the urge to grab Emma got to be too much.

Right now, Sean was supposed to be doing independent reading like the rest of the class, but there was no way that he could concentrate. Because every so often, Emma could look back over her shoulder at him, smiling faintly, and he'd feel this charge go through him. He couldn't read his book because he didn't want to risk missing one of those looks. He'd smile back, certain that everyone else was too caught up in Wuthering Heights to notice what was going on around them.

Sean was daydreaming again, imagining what it would be like to kiss Emma again, the way he wanted to, when suddenly, Raditch appeared in the doorway, looking serious and pissed off. He waited on the doorstep until Ms. Kwan finally noticed him, and walked over.

Fucking great, Sean thought. What have Jay and the guys done now? And how am I going to convince Raditch that I had nothing to do with it?

Whenever anything questionable happened at Degrassi, Raditch was convinced that Sean had a hand in it. Sean was sick of being treated like some kind of criminal, like he was just one bad move away from serving a life sentence.

Let me catch a break here, Sean pleaded silently. Please let Raditch be here for someone else. Anyone else.

Sean watched as Raditch stepped in the classroom, radiating authority.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, Ms. Kwan," he said, in low, careful voice.

Sean could see Raditch scanning the classroom, his eyes passing over each student in appraisal. Sean almost wanted to get up and do a victory dance when Raditch passed over him. Yes, Sean thought. Maybe this isn't going to be such a crappy day after all.

But then he realized who Raditch had settled his gaze on ...

In a horrible moment, Sean realized who Raditch was here for, and when he realized that, he saw that the look on Raditch's face was not of anger, but of sadness and pity. The whole thing came together for Sean in an instant, and he felt sick to his stomach.

"Emma? May I see you for a minute outside?" Raditch asked. He spoke so quietly and carefully, the way you would to a child who doesn't understand big words.

With her back to him, Sean couldn't see Emma's face, but he could tell from the shaky way that she rose from her desk that she had realized what was going on as well. JT and Toby exchanged concerned looks, but didn't move. Chris reached over and patted Emma's arm, whispering something that Sean couldn't hear.

He even saw Manny watching her with a sympathetic look on her face, though she tried to hide it behind her copy of Wuthering Height.

As Emma walked toward the door, whispers began all over the classroom. Everyone had realized what was going on, and though Sean couldn't hear entire sentences, certain words jumped out at him.

Simpson. Cancer. Dying. Dead.

"Everyone quiet down," Ms. Kwan said. Her voice also seemed full of pain and sympathy. "Back to your books."

Sean looked down at the words on the page before him. He knew it was a sad story, with people dying and being left behind and hurting each other even though they were in love, but he couldn't seem to make sense of any of it. There were less than ten minutes left in the period, but he didn't know if he could wait that long to get to Emma.

He looked up at the clock, watching the second hand slowly make its circle, and tried to will time to move more quickly.

- x –

The hallway was crowded with people between periods, gossiping and laughing, as Craig leaned back against his locker and sighed.

He'd failed that pre-Calculus exam. He was sure of it. He'd felt like he was trying to decipher a foreign language, and still hadn't figured out how to ask where the damn bathroom was yet.

Jimmy, Marco, and Spinner appeared beside him, looking as dazed as he did.

"So I'm not the only who got their ass kicked by that test?" he asked.

The guys shook their heads, looking almost hung over.

"Count me in too," a soft voice called over the noise of the hallway. A few lockers away, Ellie stood, putting away her Math books. She smiled at him, like they were survivors of the same natural disaster.

"I think that should qualify as cruel and unusual punishment," Spinner said. "I mean, we're not freaking rocket scientists. How are we supposed to know what—"

Suddenly, a blonde streak bolted toward them, and they all turned their heads.

Paige stopped short beside Spinner, practically knocking him over.

"Did you guys hear?" she demanded, out of breath. "Do you guys know?"

Craig stood up straighter, and moved in closer to the guys, so he could hear better. Paige tended to be something of a drama queen, but there was a panicked look in her eyes that Craig had never seen before. Ellie came over too, and the six of them formed a tight little cluster in the middle of the busy hallway.

"I was just talking to JT," Paige said. Her words were almost slurred, because she was speaking so fast. "Raditch just came into Kwan's class to get Emma. You know what that must mean right?"

Paige had lowered her voice, and it sounded like it was painful for her to speak, like the words actually hurt.

Jimmy nodded. "Simpson must be in pretty bad shape."

"I mean, yeah, right?" Paige said. "They wouldn't come and drag poor Emma out of class like that if it wasn't totally horrible, right?"

All of them stood there, almost speechless, unable to really process it all. Craig looked over at Ellie, who was staring down at the floor. He knew that she'd also had some kind of trouble at home, some tough times, and he could tell that she felt for Emma, for what she must be going through.

Craig sympathized with Emma too. They hadn't been that tight since everything had gone down with he and Manny, but they had once been pretty good friends. He knew what it felt like to lose a parent. To lose both of them actually. He could understand what she was going through better than anyone.

"I should go talk to Emma. See if she's all right," Craig said absently.

The others all looked at him. He focused on Ellie, who nodded at him, looking like she thought he was pretty brave for even thinking of doing it.

"I bet Chris is with her," Paige said. "I mean, if I was in her place, I know I'd want my honeybee with me." She stepped in Spinner's arms, wrapping herself around him.

Suddenly, there was a commotion in the hallway behind them. The group of kids gathered there was pushed forward, and one was slammed against the wall.

"Outta my way," someone announced, in a dark threatening voice.

As the crowd parted, Sean barreled through, looking almost deranged. He was clearly determined, but there was something wild in his eyes too, like he might take someone's head off in they got in his way.

Craig looked over at Ellie, who had noticed Sean as well, and looked troubled.

"Sean. Sean!" she called as he charged past them, but Sean didn't seem to hear. He stomped down the hallway, and disappeared into another crowd.

The group all looked at her sympathetically, embarrassed for her almost. Craig had always thought that underneath the tough-guy routine, Sean was a pretty decent guy, but lately, he couldn't stand the way that Sean was treating Ellie. What kind of idiot is he, Craig thought. To treat a girl like Ellie like she barely existed, that was fucked up.

"He's probably in a rush to get somewhere and didn't notice you there, hun," Paige whispered to Ellie, trying to console her. "Spin once walked right past me at one of Heather Sinclaire's parties just because there was a big bowl of onion dip on the table. Guys can pretty be dense sometimes."

Ellie nodded, but didn't seem convinced.

"Anyway," Paige said emphatically, trying to get the conversation back on track. "We really should do something for Emma and her family. I mean, I'm sure they can use some support at a time like this."

Everyone nodded.

"Let's meet up at lunch to talk about it," Spinner suggested.

Craig watched as the rest of the gang started to move on to their next classes. He stood there, almost paralyzed, feeling terrible for Emma, feeling bad for Ellie, and wondering why he was so screwed up that he couldn't do anything to help either of them.

He shook his head sadly, and headed for the MI room.

- x –

When he got to Raditch's office, Emma was already gone. The door to the principal's office was open, and he could see Raditch inside, speaking in quiet tones to Coach Armstrong.

Sean looked around the hallway surrounding Raditch's office, but Emma wasn't there either. He spotted Chris, standing with JT and Toby, and Sean could tell that he didn't know where Emma was either.

Sean had to find her. He didn't care what it took.

He stepped outside, into warm bright sunshine and cool breezes. Emma wasn't on the steps of school either. He thought that she might be here, waiting for her mother to pick her up or something. No luck. It was almost like she'd disappeared off the face of the earth.

He'd try her house, Sean thought. Maybe she'd be there...

But then he heard it, the low, breathless sound of some sobbing, and he bolted down the stair. On the low wall beside the school's entrance, Emma sat, crying desperately. She'd practically wrapped herself in the branches of a nearby bush, so she wouldn't be seen.

"Emma," he said softly.

She looked up at him, her eyes puffy and red, her cheeks wet with tears, and nodded miserably. When she stood and wildly flung herself into his arms, she almost knocked Sean over.

"Tell me," he whispered.

"He's in ICU," she choked out, between gulps. "They're afraid that if he slips into a coma, which could happen at any minute, that he won't wake up again. The chemo's not working anymore, they say. The cancer's not going away."

There was no one around, so he hugged her exactly the way he wanted to, like she was the only person that mattered in the world. She held onto him like she felt the same way.

"Want me to take you to the hospital?"

She shook her head furiously.

"My mom says there's no point in me coming." She laughed bitterly. "She says it's better for me if I stay here and distract myself with school. She didn't even come down here to tell me, Sean! I had to talk to her on the phone in Raditch's office, with him standing there, handing me tissues, looking at me like I'm the saddest girl in the world."

Sean nodded sympathetically.

"Want me to walk you home then?"

"I can't go back there right now. It'll seem so empty."

"I'll take you to class then. Maybe it is good if you –"

"I can't go back in there!" Emma moaned. "God, I can't stand all those people staring at me, feeling sorry for me. Asking me if I'm okay..."

He rubbed her back, understanding exactly how she felt. But Sean didn't know what she wanted. He didn't know what to do to help her.

"What then, Em?"

She pulled back, looking at him intensely.

"Take me somewhere. Somewhere I can pretend that all of this doesn't exist."

Sean nodded, and took her hand.

"Come with me."

- x -