Author's Notes: wow, I didn't mean for it to be this long between updates.

School was kicking my butt (still is, kind of), plus I started to kind of doubt myself when it came to this story. Not to sound like "woe, pity me", but I haven't written a multi-chapter story (well, fan fic) in a while, and all the ones I started before this never really got finished. And I wanted this one to be special, y'know?

I'll try to more consciously update this story—maybe every other week? How's that?

In the meantime: recommended listening for this chapter is "Summerfling" by k.d. lang. As always, Degrassi and the characters of aren't mine. Enjoy.

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The thing I remember the most about the summer between grade nine and grade ten is Craig. After the Luau Dance, we exchanged phone numbers and promised to keep in touch during the summer. I honestly hadn't expected much from it—maybe a call or two in June, and then I wouldn't hear anything from him again until we saw each other in school again in September. After breaking up with Jimmy and all of the drama of the previous school year, I had come to not have many expectations about guys, especially not any of the still somewhat new kid.

So of course I was surprised when he called me the first weekend after the end of school, just to see how I was doing. I was even more surprised when he suggested that we "hang out together and do something. If, well, you're up for that."

I'd laughed. "What do you have in mind?"

We found ourselves at the movie theater in the mall, standing side by side as we surveyed the list of the current releases. He was nervously fidgeting as we waited in line, and I was going through my purse, trying to find money to pay for my ticket. It wasn't a date if he didn't offer to pay—at least, that's what Paige said. She might've been quoting something from an old magazine or something; but she'd said that.

I dropped the money after I put my wallet back. I went to pick it up at the same time as Craig, and he accidentally banged his head against mine. "Ow!" I flinched and let go of the bills again. I started to go for it again, only to have Craig shake his head at me. "Never mind. I've got it." When he handed the money to me, he just smiled and lightly put his hand on my head. "You all right?"

I nodded. "I don't think I suffered from any brain damage. At least, nothing significant."

We sat through the movie—one of those summer blockbusters that features plenty of car chases and explosions. When in doubt, blow things up, I guess. And amazingly, after all that, nothing else happened that closely resembled a scene from a romantic comedy, except for maybe the awkward walk to my door after we left the mall.

"So..." Craig began, sticking his hands into his pockets.

"So..." I echoed. I hoped that Toby wouldn't come to the door and start turning the lights on and off or anything else embarrassing. But then, the one time that he had done that had happened months before, when I'd still been seeing Jimmy. Had it really been that long?

"So." He looked around nervously. "Did you have a good time?"

"Yeah," I answered, almost anticipating the porch lights flickering. "Yeah, I did."

He moved a little closer to me and stage whispered, "The movie kind of sucked, didn't it?"

I bit my lip to keep from giggling. "I think kind of is an understatement."

He was smiling too. "Okay. You want to choose one for next time? I mean, if you want to go out again?"

Next time? I was actually a little startled. Maybe it was because I'd spent the past year being considered an outcast. People tend not to ask for dates with the girl who took drugs at her own house party and talked trash about the beloved cheerleader; especially not if that girl changes her look and starts wearing black, Goth-style clothes all the time. After a year of people ignoring me or wanting me to be like I was then, Craig wanted to take a chance on me now.

"That sounds good," I said before turning to put my key in the lock. "I'll call you."

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We didn't go out to another movie. Instead, I invited Craig over to watch movies on a night when everyone else had gone out. We laughed our way through Tremors and this semi-obscure Steven Spielberg move called 1941. By the time he was getting ready to leave, I had all but gotten a cramp in my side from cracking up, not just at the movies, but at Craig's silly commentary through both of them. I led him to the door, still giggling. "That was fun," I said, trying to control myself.

"Definitely. We should do this again," he said, leaning halfway out the door.

My eyes met his, and I felt shy for a moment. "I'll see you later?"

He gently kissed me, then, catching me completely off-guard. When he stopped, he stared at me for a moment, like he was trying to gauge my reaction. "Later's good."

I grinned. "Later's good. 'Bye."

That night—that kiss, even—started the rest of the summer for me.

It's not like I spent every waking hour with Craig. I spent plenty of time with Ellie and even Paige. But Craig was always there in one way or another. He called me practically every night, just to ask how I was. Sometimes we would have the strangest conversations… well, they would've been strange to anyone else who might have overheard them, but to us, at that moment, everything made perfect sense. I told him about my dad, and finding out that he was gay. He told me about his mom, how she'd been sick...

I don't know how we managed to get so close in two and a half months. Looking back, we weren't that close. I might be trying to rationalize everything by saying that, or that I'm telling myself it wasn't that important. It was. It is. We confided in each other, trusted each other, and expected that it would mean something.

Maybe I just thought I'd mean something to him.

The week before school, we went back to the mall—not to go to a movie, but just to hang out, buy clothes, whatever. We took pictures in one of the photo booths, and for the longest time I kept them stuck in the corner of my bulletin board. In the first frame, we're just looking at each other. In the second, we're both laughing—at what, I can't remember. In the third, we both have bunny ears on each other, still laughing at the camera and something else. The last one was my favorite. My head was on Craig's shoulder, and he kissed my forehead. The only thing I remember about that part is that he squeezed my hand and as the flash went off, he whispered, "This is going to be the best year ever."

Or so we (or maybe just I) thought.