Part Five: Aftermath

"What's up with you?" Manny asks. Emma looks away and shrugs.

"Nothing."

It's Monday morning. She hasn't seen Jay yet. She doesn't know what she's going to do when she does. She still feels giddy, nervous. She remembers when Manny first hooked up with Craig, she said, "It was the most amazing night of my life." She didn't get it then, that her friend had lost her virginity – well, she thought something might have happened with Sully, but found it unlikely, since Manny had been complaining about him at the time.

But now … she feels certain Manny will figure it out, her secret. She feels like she's walking around with the words "I had sex" tattooed on her forehead.

"Emma, come on. You've been really down since … you know." Manny lowers her eyes. "And then today, you come strolling into school, with like – a glow!"

Emma snorts. "I don't have a glow, Manny."

"You totally have a glow."

Just then, Jay walks by.

"Hi Jay," Emma says, her voice small and hopeful. He looks at her, his expression hard to read, and for one horrible split second, Emma thinks he's just going to breeze past her like she doesn't even exist. And then, a small, knowing smile, and he winks at her.

"Hey Greenpeace." And he strolls off. Emma's too busy watching him to take in Manny's reaction, until she turns to see her friend staring at her like she's gone insane. Maybe she has.

"Oh. My. God."

Emma makes her face completely blank. "What?"

She does her best to avoid Manny for the rest of the day, but it's not easy. It's also not easy during rehearsal, with Jay so close, to concentrate on the play. But at least Alex isn't there.

"She quit," Amy informs an exasperated JT. And he only gets more frustrated as Darcy proceeds to flub her lines yet again, even when Emma prompts her. JT takes her to task, and quite suddenly, they're short two actresses, not one.

"Great, JT! Now we have no leading lady!"

"But my little darling Libby-wibby, she was butchering your magnificent lines!"

"Do I honestly strike you as a baby talk sort of woman?"

"Why don't you just let Emma do it?"

Everyone turns and looks at Jay, who seems to just realize that he said that out loud. "What? Unlike Darcy, she actually knows the lines."

Emma marches up to JT. "Let me be your lighthouse, a canary to your coalmine. Let Dracula come to my breast and I will allow him sustenance." She pauses. "I auditioned for Mina, remember?" JT looks impressed, but Liberty doesn't.

"We need reliable, rock-solid."

"I do rock-solid pretty well."

"Last week, you were late for your cue. This weekend, you didn't even show up at Manny's," Liberty points out. "Everyone knows you're off, or whatever."

"I'm not off," Emma tells Liberty. "And I'm your Mina," she tells JT.

He smiles, and then looks over at his girlfriend. "She knows the lines."

"And the blocking," Emma adds.

Liberty sighs, looking resigned. "Fine. But you better not let us down."

Emma smiles. "I won't."

"JT, we still need a replacement for Alex."

"Maybe I can talk to Darcy …"

"Yeah, I'm sure she'd be thrilled to be downgraded from a leading lady to a bit part. Come on …"

JT and Liberty continue to bicker as Emma turns around, catching Jay's eye, and they share a knowing, unguarded look.

Rehearsal goes smoothly after that. She walks home with Manny afterwards.

"Congratulations, Em."

"Thanks," Emma says tightly. Several minutes of awkward silence follows. And then -

"Emma, I can't stand it any more! I'm trying not to be pushy, I'm trying to be a good friend, give you space, but – What the hell is going on with you and Jay? Did you hook up with him this weekend or what?"

Just then, Jay's car pulls up alongside them.

"Speak of the devil," Manny says, not looking pleased at all as Jay rolls down his window. But Emma grins.

"Ever wonder how he paid for that car? It's probably stolen," she mutters in Emma's ear, but her friend's not listening.

"Want a ride, Greenpeace?"

"Sure."

Ignoring Manny's protests, she climbs back into Jay's car, leaving her friend standing there on the sidewalk, her mouth agape.

They drive in silence for a while. "You know, I don't think Manny likes me very much."

"Manny doesn't know everything." They're almost to her house. Why does the drive have to be so short? "Jay, I … I had a really good time, the other night."

"Me too. I'm just glad you don't regret it."

"Why would I regret it?"

"I don't know. At lot of reasons. One of the main ones being that I'm not Sean."

"I'm over Sean," Emma says, but Jay gives her a disbelieving look. "What, you think you're my Sean substitute or something?" Jay looks away.

"Well you're not," Emma says, as they pull up to her house. "I like you. You. And what we did … it was pretty amazing. I mean, it didn't even hurt, not really."

Jay looks at her, his expression somewhere between confusion and amusement. "Does it usually hurt when you have sex?"

"Jay …"

It takes him a minute to get it. "Whoa. Wait. That was – I was – your first?" She nods, and he gasps. "I don't believe this! You mean you never – with Sean – or that Chris guy?" She shakes her head. "Jesus, Emma!"

"I told you, it's not a big deal."

"For most girls, losing their virginity is a very big deal!"

"Why are you freaking out?"

"If I'd known-"

"You would have what? Stopped? I didn't want you to!"

"But Emma, you're a girl. You're supposed to lose it to someone you really care about, who really cares about you!"

Emma's stiffens. "I thought I did."

Jay doesn't say anything. There's no way he can admit it to her. He can't possibly be falling for Greenpeace!

Her expression hardens. There are no tears this time, but he can see the pain in her eyes, and he doesn't like knowing he's the cause of it. What is he supposed to do?

"Stupid me, huh?"

"Emma …"

She gets out of his car. Jay Hogart, caring about her? About anyone? She should've listened to Manny. What had she been thinking?

Jay watches her go, wondering how the hell all this happened, and why he wants so much to go after her.