AN: I apologize for the hideous delay. I just finished my first year of college, which had kept me quite busy. But luckily all I'm doing this summer is selling amusement park tickets to fat pasty tourists, so I have plenty of time to write. So yes, here's chapter 10. And if my planning goes correctly, the hot sex scene that everyone's been waiting for is probably going to be chapter 12.

Disclaimer: I don't own Degrassi, PowerPoint, or the concept of taboo. I just find it really fascinating, and was bored. A slight AU, takes place after Whisper to a Scream, as though Paige never told Ms. Suave about Ellie. This does not take Lexicon of Love into consideration, ergo, no Palex.

Chapter 10

"…distinction that needs to be made is the difference between transvestites and transsexuals. Transvestites are people who dress in the clothing of the opposite sex, while transsexuals feel like they are a member of the opposite sex, trapped in the wrong gender's body."

Ellie took a breath and hit the mouse button, causing her last slide to appear on the projector screen. "In conclusion, drag queens and kings are viewed with a critical, judgmental eye in conventional society. By creating their own specific clubs, they ensure safety and acceptance in at least one place. Thanks."

She sat back down amongst unenthused applause: she was the second-to-last student to present, and the class had lost interest after the second speech. Ellie pulled a book out of her backpack and surreptitiously placed it under her desk – she had no intentions of listening to Paige's speech on cutting.

It had been an entire week since Paige has kissed her, and during the past seven days, the two girls had made eye contact twice, both times accidentally. Ellie refused to talk to Paige about the issue, convinced it had all been an elaborate prank. But even if Ellie hadn't been giving Paige the silent treatment, it wouldn't have made much of a difference. Paige was ignoring Ellie with matched vehemence, all the more convincing Ellie that the blonde had been joking about her feelings.

But if she hadn't been… Ellie had lain awake the past seven nights, replaying Monday night's events over and over in her mind, changing the ending so that, instead of slamming the door in Paige's face, she invited her up to her bedroom and… Ellie always blushed a little whenever she thought about sexual things, but her embarrassment couldn't keep her subconscious from exploring all the different things two girls could do together. Ellie had grown to hate her alarm clock, which always seemed to interrupt a sublime dream right before the best part.

Ellie hated Paige. Hated her, yet loved her and wanted to be with her in every way imaginable.

A movement to her left brought Ellie back to the present. Paige had moved to the front of the classroom and was looking at Mr. Simpson's computer, trying to locate her slideshow. Ellie watched as the blonde bit her lip, and imagined what those lips tasted like. Raspberry, she guessed.

Finding the file, Paige clicked a button and a picture of a man's naked torso, the shoulders covered in both scars and fresh cuts, appeared on the projector screen. A trail of blood ran down his arm.

A muffled noise of disgust rose from the back of the class. "Way to give a disclaimer, Paige!" someone called.

Paige ignored the disturbance and pressed the button again. The man's torso was replaced by a picture of a forearm, a swirling 'S' pattern engraved on the pale skin. There were more sounds of dissent in the classroom. A drawing of two cupped hands appeared. The hands were filled with blood, trailing from slits on both wrists. Terri raised her hand.

"Can I please be excused?" she asked, standing up.

"No," Paige said forcefully, "I'd rather no one left. This is important."

Terri sat down reluctantly, and Paige pressed the button again, revealing a title page filled with text, no pictures.

"I realize those pictures aren't easy to look at. But I feel like everyone needs to look at them. I think there's a lot of misconceptions and stigmas that surround cutting that are thought to be facts, when in actuality they couldn't be further from the truth. So my goal for this presentation is to dispel some of the myths surrounding self-injury."

Ellie's eyes traveled up from her book and focused on Paige. The blonde's eyes were looking every student in the face in turn, except for Ellie. Ellie closed her book.

Paige switched slides. "Most people assume that self-injury is a masochistic thing – that people who hurt themselves like the pain. But in actuality, that is seldom the case. Every person has a different explanation as to why they hurt themselves. Some of the most common reasons are that they are experiencing internal pain and express it through physical pain, they feel like their life is out of control and the pain is the one thing they can control, or that hurting themselves is more 'efficient,' so to speak, than crying."

'Or all of the above…' Ellie thought to herself. She listened attentively to the rest of Paige's report, gaining more respect for the cheerleader by the minute. By the time the bell rang ten minutes later, Ellie had all but forgiven Paige for what she had done to her. No one could bullshit a presentation that heartfelt, and Ellie took Paige's turnaround personally.

"Well," the blonde asked as she returned to her seat next to Ellie, "what did you think?"

Ellie smiled despite herself. "Thank you."

Paige returned the smile. "You're welcome."

They left the classroom together, walking side-by-side. Paige stopped suddenly and stepped out of the hallway traffic, snagging Ellie's sleeve with her pink nails. Ellie joined her by necessity. "What?"

"Ellie, I feel like I owe you even more of an apo-"

"It's all right, Paige. That was enough."

"No, it wasn't. I spent all of last week doing research, and I feel like crap for what I said. You deserve more than just an MI PowerPoint presentation."

"No, I really don't. It's oka-"

"Hun, this is me we're talking about. I do not apologize as a rule. Just let me do something for you. Please, this is important to me."

Ellie shifted her weight, looking around her. A few people were doing double-takes, wondering what the two opposites were talking about. "Okay," she conceded. "What do you want for your penance?"

"I want to talk to you, like, an actual conversation where one of us doesn't storm off. Meet me behind the school after last bell, okay?"

"What, don't want anyone to see you talking to me?" Ellie questioned, her eyebrow arched.

Paige closed her eyes in frustration. "Just, please. Meet me there."

Ellie looked the blonde up and down, trying to read her motive. She sighed. "I have to work at the station after school. I'll be done at 6. You can meet me there then." With that, Ellie walked away from Paige, physically suppressing the urge to go skipping down the halls in glee.