Authors Note: Warning, this chapter contains, smut, nudity and frank discussions about sex. Tread lightly. Keep in mind, these characters are now over 20 years old they are independent and in their careers so they're essentially adults. It's expected that they likely have sex lives or a sex life to speak of so yeah there's that. I also find it interesting that this fanfiction takes place in a series of a day so far. I think that's pretty freakin' awesome if you ask me.

Just wanted to let you know for when someone under twelve stumbled into this fanfiction aloof. :) If you are twelve, skip over the chapter. I doubt anyone under-twelve is reading though considering these characters are way before your time and you have no idea who they are and that might be a crying shame. I suggest watching seasons 1-7.

- Brimi

Chapter 15

And It's Beginning to Snow

Spinner Mason was lying awake in Darcy's father's condo in bed. It was around this time of night he would usually be lying beside a dumpster with a 40 oz. bottle of malt liquor not comfortable or warm in a pair of pajamas sold in some expensive department store in a nice warm bed as opposed to a stack of newspapers. He observed new snow falling from outside through the window and smiled. It was officially December, now with a blanket of a snow abound. Spinner thanked his lucky stars that he wasn't out there alone and Darcy gave him a place to stay, with his own room with a window with a view. Darcy tapped on the door, causing Spinner to turn his attention to the beautiful girl standing before him in a night shirt. She peeked her head in, the hall light was still on, "Spinner, it's snowing." Just there she looked adorable to him. He couldn't lie and say he didn't have an attraction or even a lingering feeling for her but he kept that on the back burning assuming for sure she was with a gu

"I know." He said turning on his side to face her as she made her way inside flicking the switch for the light, he closed his eyes for a second and then reopened them to get used to the brightness in the room he had sat in the dark for quite a few hours unable to sleep, "I can't sleep."

"Neither can I. I hate being home alone in a new place." Darcy said flatly, he can tell she had been in and out of sleep with a heavy heart.

"Would you want to watch a movie or something so one of us goes to sleep?"

Darcy nodded happily in agreement before answering with any encouragement to stay up late, "Sure, I'd really like that. I have plenty of movies."

"Do you have White Christmas?" Spinner asked with sentiment, "It's alright if you don't, I just thought it was festively fitting."

"I do." A smile played on her lips, "You're in luck, it's only my dad's favorite Christmas movie."

Spinner removed the blankets from his body and got out of bed. Darcy admired him in her dad's Nautica pajama's with little sailboats on the pants and a matching navy blue shirt, "Should I make popcorn?"

"Yeah, we have that in the kitchen." Darcy answered as she led him there to find the snacks. The two had nowhere they needed to go in particular and would normally just try their hand at sleep but it was snowing and it was Spinner's first night off the streets and it was a call for celebration. When Darcy opened the cabinet there were a few bottles of wine, but that wasn't the right cabinet and she promptly shut it apologizing, "I'm sorry."

Spinner beamed shrugging, "It's okay."

Darcy finally opened the right cabinet and took out the Orville. "Now this is what I'm talking about."

She threw the bag in the microwave and looked on the box for the timing. She threw out the empty cardboard box promptly after as she leaned against the stove eyeing Spinner, "Did you really marry Emma Nelson from high school?"

Spinner sighed sadly crossing his arms to keep warm, it tended to get drafty in the condo being as it was so close to a beach, the very same beach where he did marry Emma. "What's it to you?"

Darcy shook her head, "But nothing, you told me about an ex-wife at The Dot."

"Is that why you've had trouble sleeping, my romantic past?"

Darcy snickered pointing her finger and turning around deliberately to look at the microwave, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"If this is going to be an issue I'll take my night post at the dumpster by The Dot thank-you."

"No, this is different. No need for you to do that." Darcy said turning around, facing him as the microwave went off signifying that the food was finished. Darcy on her tip toes opened up the high up microwave and retrieved the hot bag. She opened it up careful not to burn herself, but she did anyhow from some leftover butter. "Ow!" She exclaimed throwing it mindlessly on the counter, Spinner walked up to her, closer to survey the damage. Quickly, he threw her hand over the sink and turning on the cool water from the faucet.

She turned around and looked at him, biting her lip as she turned her attention to her newly burnt hand, "It'll be okay. I used to burn my hand on that stupid Panini maker at The Dot all the time."

Darcy made a painful face as he rubbed her hand cleaning the burn, it stung a bit from the running water, but after the wincing was over she pulled her hand away, "Should I bandage it?"

"I would just so you don't touch it again."

Darcy reached in the smaller cabinet and pulled out the Neosporin and Band-aids. She let him do the work, with a q-tip and soon she was good as new, "Thanks Spinner, I could really get used to you being around."

"You're welcome, Darc." Spinner said smiling, she couldn't help but see his clean-shaven face. He looked better put together, a lot like the Spinner she used to date all those years ago in high school. Tomorrow she was planning on taking him to get his haircut, but at the same time she thought that might not be the best idea with the weather outside during the night, the roads will look like a disaster. The snow was a surprise to say the least. For awhile it was just plain cold, as expected bu this December had a treat, snow. Meaning lots of things would be closed tomorrow which is just what makes her feel lazy, unproductive and enveloped in her bed watching chick-flicks.

The two of them relegated themselves to the living room, Darcy messed with the DVD player and put in the movie for them both, she sat him down on the couch and they split the popcorn between them, serving as some sort of partition as they both watched the television the room was dark aside from the illuminations permeating from the television. They both smiled watching the movie, while the movie was on Spinner would look longingly at Darcy, and she at him. As time wore on it became increasingly hard for him to keep himself from wanting to touch her, feel her or kiss her. She leaned closer, squashing the popcorn underneath her, as they forgot about the bag that consisted of mostly kernels and hard pieces and not the good and fluffy stuff. She rested her head on his chest as she watched the movie, he traced his fingers through her long hair. Twirling smaller pieces within his fingers that soothed her. They had done this when they dated and watched movies together. She turned her attention to Spinner, "Spinner, do you have . . regrets?"

"What?" Spinner asked, "A-about how things wound up with us?"

Darcy says nodding, "I don't know if I could live here with you, knowing that and not being able to do anything about it, say anything about it -"

"Hold on a minute, what are you actually saying here?" Spinner asked her.

"I'm not that girl I used to be, in high school. Not anymore. Lots of things happened since I left for Kenya and what I want to say is that, I'm open-minded. My dad isn't home and quite frankly if there's any boy I would be interested in doing this with - I would do this with you. Spinner, do you want to, have sex with me? I haven't done it in the longest and -"

He didn't say anything, just noted that she wants this as he just pounced at the opportunity while it still hung like fresh laundry. She slowly kissed him back, as he quickly and carefully laid her onto the couch, stripping her of all her clothes which was just a baggy old tee shirt that said Friendship Club on it with Brush Script and big lettering. She did the same with his nautical themed pajamas. He grabbed the back of her head, as he pulled her even closer to him once he was at the bare minimum.

As Darcy slowly and in exaggerating movements pulled away this time, breathing heavily her heart rate spiking, she bit her lip seductively, "Go in my purse, there's a condom in there."

Spinner animatedly, flipped over the back of the couch, as he searched for her bag. He found it difficult considering the rather large hobo bag had made up, tissues, and stockpiled with enough gum to freshen a whole armies breath, he celebrated when he did eventually find one. He examined it to make sure it wasn't punctured or torn from the outer packaging and raced back to her, "Your dad is going to kill us for this."

"The beauty of it," she said opening it and passing it to Spinner while smiling lending him a nugget of knowledge, "is he doesn't have to know everything about our sex life."

"So there's an us."

"If you want there to be." Darcy said undoing her bra slowly for more effect, she turned around the clasp as she struggled from behind, showing him an eyeful of her boobs. She bashfully turned her head, As Spinner put on the condom, his shirt was off, this is how it was supposed to be when they were young all those years ago. She snapped her fingers making him move, she said sweetly but still demanding, "I want to be on top."

"Have you ever done that before?" Spinner asked cluelessly and puzzled at the notion, stars in his wide eyes surprised that she would want to do anything sexual with him. He thought he had blown it all to pieces, sky-high and here she was all these years later propositioning him. Hell even then it was hard for her to resist her temptations.

She breathlessly spoke, as she whispered into the crook of his neck as she planted kisses in a lively attempt to lighten the mood and get him in the mood, as if he wasn't already, "My first time, I was uh unconscious and the second time he was on top so then my other relationship was all missionary all the time and - " Spinner planned to speak after thinking to argue, just relented, lying down where Darcy kneeled beside the couch in front of him, pulling down his boxers to get an eyeful of his junk, her eyes widened as she looked up at him, sliding her finger down his thighs, "But wait."

Darcy with her other hand moved her long hair to the side as she proceeded to go down on him, Spinner was sort of stunned silent as he sat on the couch as she sucked down on his member. "Merry Christmas." He whispered in ultimate arousal, forgetting all about the movie and watching Darcy's head bob up and down on him. He had never expected this from her all his years of knowing her. She was always this untouchable and pristine girl with a reputation to be a major prude but not here, not tonight. She licked the shaft as she watched him, growing more intimate by the second.

She whispered as she lifted up her body taking a short hiatus, looking up at him, "Do you like this?"

Spinner nodded, "Oh yeah." He touched the top of her head, taking her hair into his hands in a ponytail above her head guiding her to the places he wanted to be touched and the places he wanted to feel. , As she put her head down back down again he let out and escaped a quiet dull groan of pleasure. Spinner bit his lip in delight as she hung his head back finally letting go of her long mane, but just as if he was about to lose all control. She pulled off, climbed on him like he was a tree, her slender knees resting on his thighs as she poured her love and pleasure into a romantic kiss for him. Seductively she pushed him back on the couch shaking nervously like a leaf, a bit nervous but lusting with anticipation as she was seen using his shoulders softly and painlessly to adjust herself in lotus position, she moaned as he entered her but it dissipated as she bounced along on her knees, on the couch up and down motion taking all of him in her, as she leaned in and kissed Spinner once more, he kissed her back, his hands on her breasts, caressing and massaging them as she kissed him not stopping for several minutes.

He pulled away for a second, pushing her hair out of her face, he was sweating, hot she let out a moan as she picked up the pace. He impulsively flipped her over the couch and laid on top of her using his arm as an arc so that he could find his bearing, she enveloped her arms around him as they continued canoodling throughout the night. Her legs were carelessly tossed in the air, her feet pointed harder than the feet of a well-trained ballerina as he pounded himself into her not a second to waste, not a minute to spare, not a stone to be untouched. While they took a short break from kissing, he whispered, "Darce, I love you."

She whispered to him, glistening with sweat as she breathed hard and heavy layering his lips and trailing down his neck with kisses, "I love you too, God, keep going."

Spinner sort of cramped up in his side, it was clear it had been awhile but from the looks of it he seemed to know exactly what he was doing. She wrapped her arms tightly around him. The tighter she held him the more inclined he felt that she too loved him. All he could care about in that moment and in that time was her. He loved her then and he loved her now and anything before and after this was just a continuation of a love story that never quite ended.

Neither of them have ever had it quite this good in such a long time from any of their past lovers. Darcy rolled her eyes back as she bit her lip as he reentered this time quickly, after they re-positioned themselves. She was tight around him as he leaned down and kissed her once again and she collapsed into him scratching his back raking her fingers down through his bare back feeling the beads of sweat on him. He went down toward her breast lying his head on them, or rather his chin as he kissed her breast, breathing hard warming her at the same time. Finally they finished, Spinner exited her and leaned in once more for a kiss. She took her tee-shirt from the floor and wiped her face feeling the sweat that dripped from Spinner's long curly locks as he was on top of her. She beamed with delight and complete ecstasy as she fell off the couch as she attempted to lie down causing Spinner to catch her just as she had feared falling on the cold mahogany floor. She flew her arms around him and kissed him once more, "Spinner, that was well worth the wait."

. . .

It was late now, Jay went ahead and knocked on the bedroom door but got no answer, he retraced his thoughts to earlier in the evening and decided that it wasn't good to go in and sleep in the bedroom with Manny. He noticed that the door was shut so she must be fast asleep and he had no intentions of waking her if she were asleep and not to mention he wasn't her favorite person on the planet.

For several hours leading up, Jay and Alex caught each other up, Alex spilled all her secrets of how she got by and Jay assured her hundreds of times that she will never have to worry ever again. He took some spare blankets from the hall closet turning on the hall light. He got Alex and himself a pillow and blankets for them to share the couch with. Sean's room was off-limits, he said himself before they left the club that night so Alex and Jay took the free couches. Jay gave Alex the couch-bed as opposed to just the regular couch. There was a spare sheet already on the couch but he gave Alex her pillow and a blanket and Jay reclined the edge of the seat from the other side for himself. She beamed at him as she got settled and situated.

"Again Jay, I can't even thank you enough." Alex says as she lays back onto the pillow, "This feels great."

"Couch bed, nice, right?"

"Mhm." She manages content as she stretches out getting comfortable, beaming at her friend, "Perfect."

"So I take it you're ready for bed?" Jay asked as she got comfortable in his spot with a blanket covering himself. He like Alex was wearing a hoodie and mismatched sweat-pants. He had found them in the laundry basket in the closet, clean just not yet put away in the bedroom. He took the remote control and turned off the lights so that Alex could get some sleep as he picked up one of those Teen Trash magazines that Manny was the cover model of. She was wearing black and one of those gray, pink and black tweed newsboy caps with captions like We Get Details from our Cover girl MANUELLA SANTOS.

He decides to check out her interview, that mentions how much she loves her at home boyfriend saying things like, "It's really cool, we go out with our friends, or we stay in and cuddle but whatever we do we do it and get through it together. He's extremely supporting of me going out to LA to achieve my dreams and I dare not step in the way of his." The photo shoot in the issue was modest and mostly white and gray backgrounds wearing the latest fashions popular with young girls.

He snickered at that remark considering they are no longer together or they were, honestly that stuff was all up in the air. He decided to chuck the magazine on the side table but he missed and it fell on the floor, her face haunted him for the remaining of the evening that he remained awake. Her smiling face in a pose. Looking like a million bucks torturing him, forcing him to believe that she was better off dating some big star and he finding some local girl or doomed to be single forever, a townie.

Alex turned on her side facing Jay, "I'm not used to sleeping early."

"It's like three, Lex."

"I know I just, you know. What can you say, I'm a nightowl."

"I guess some things never change." Jay said matter of factly yawning tiredly. He hadn't gotten the best sleep between his long-winded work schedule, "If you wake up before noon which I don't expect you can come down to the garage and help me out if you don't mind."

"I think I'll like that. Who doesn't like getting their hands dirty? Reminds me of my shop days."

"Same here, only you'll get a cut of the pay which would be good considering you don't have any. Maybe I can finagle something with Tony and put you on. A nice job, get you some money get you your own bed."

"That would be nice." Alex said sighing, facing Jay listening to him talk about their future, like they had a these days are pretty rough, ever-changing and sweeping with the wind. It's Christmas, everyone is sort of stingy it's possible Tony could say no, after all he begrudgingly hired Sean back full-time and Alex might be a little overkill but it wouldn't hurt to ask, if only Tony knew the work Alex was capable of. Jay knows she's good at what she does. She knows cars. Before Chad was under unemployment when she was a little girl he took her down to his garage and taught her pretty much everything she claims to know today. She can pull open your trunk and find out what's wrong in an instant, just by looking down under the hood. When she puts her hands in, not delicate girl hands but strong hands, almost like a guy, bruised up fat fingers, from all the years of pent-up nerves and aggressiveness, girl fights and cracking her knuckles by habit. Her nails never long and painted, just simply chipped nail-polish for Alex, black and bit the finger. In fact, she sometimes bites the skin around the cuticle adding extra weak spots but she's been doing that stuff for years. Always nervous, always on the defense and always painfully unsure about everything in her life being never permanent.

Unpredictable Alex, her personality change like the wind just like a true Gemini.

"Jay why are you so nice to me?"

"Because you may not be my girl, but you'll always be my girl. I promised you, I'll always be there for you."

"I love you, Jay." Alex says, closing her eyes, lying her head on the pillow, crunching up her face, "Really though, Manny fucking Santos taking my place."

"I love her, what can I say?" Jay smiled at her, thinking to himself, "I also love my Lexxi too. In a different kind of way that I don't think could ever match."

"She'll come around, Jay. If she loves you like it seems it'll all work out just fine. She's not like us kids, don't make her into one of us. We were the bad kids. Look how we turned out."

Jay shrugged, seeing her point, "I suppose she'll come around but, I can't think on that because I'd be up all night."

"True." Alex muffled reply getting under the blankets eventually getting comfortable enough to fall asleep.

A few minutes went by in silence as he heard steady laboring breathing from Alex's end, he flipped off the light completely with the remote for the lights, and turned on the fan, he knew from experience that was the calm before Alex's snooze storm, she snores pretty loud to be blunt and sometimes she manages to wake him up throughout the night. She was asleep, he whispered as he shut his eyes too, "Goodnight, Lex."

She mumbled still with her eyes closed, cuddling the blankets higher, best her mouth so that all he saw were her closed eyes, "Jay, okay, good night."

. . .

At the hotel that over looked the city Manny turned on her side after a long yet not to mention completely impromptu and impulsive passionate love-making session with Craig, he was lying on his back catching up with his breath as he grabbed Manny closer to cuddle causing her to turn around, resting her head and her hands, fingertips as they traced his chest. He giggled happily with ticklish glee as she hummed a song that symbolized them together. It was the song they danced to at that 1980's themed dance she and Emma had crashed the first time Manny realized her feelings for Craig were mutual. Underneath the blankets she was wearing just her bra and she hadn't any panties on any more. Craig wasn't wearing anything. He knelt to kiss her on the nose, still feeling the love while Manny after the fanfare was finished, was feeling the residual lulls of after sex. She sat up with the sheet covering her as she looked to the bedside table for a cigarette. He sat up too, "Something wrong?"

"No." Manny lied to him, wiping her eye with her hand as she retrieved a cigarette with her teeth from the pack on the side of the bed. She found a match in the drawer and lit up a cigarette, "Fuck no smoking rooms."

Craig after Manny got her first drag, asked her softly, "Rebel Manny, could you spare one for me?"

Manny nudged the pack in his direction and he followed suit. As he took his first inhale, as she her exhale she looked at him once more, "You look good, Craig. I mean you look really good."

"You too, Manny. I saw you on the cover of quite a few magazines at the airport."

"When did you come in to town?" Manny asked him changing the subject, wanting to talk about anything except for her career that was sort of swiftly hanging in the balance, all while sucking in her cigarette before seconds later letting out a cloud of grey smoke in front of her.

"Tonight, basically. Earlier tonight, checked in here about eleven."

Manny's mind thought back to the dinner talk before the kiss she didn't accept completely without question, but tonight made her unpredictable with the liquor, the tensions with Jay and other extreme forces. "I thought you were still talking about getting back with Yvette."

"I had better plans, better plans with you." Craig answered, truthfully.

"I'm too in bliss to even question if that's the truth."

"It's the truth when I say it like this, with you here. I can't lie to you. I also evidently can't just shut my feelings off." She just looked at him, inviting him to continue, all of what he said was completely plausible to occur. It's just she found trusting Craig to be near-impossible. "I went to your hotel, the one you typically stay at, I asked around, they said you went home in your suite and if you were you weren't exactly taking calls. When I visited your gate, you know the mansion that you live at the security guy said you went home, to Degrassi and so I got on the next flight to see you and sure enough here you are. I realized I couldn't live without you in my life anymore and if I just let you go, what if some other guy scooped you up? Then what? I'd be alone forever and I just couldn't let you go, I swear to you Manny, there is nobody else. It's you, it's always been you and I know it sounds completely recycled, misread, mismanaged and it's always been bad timing but I love you."

A smile played on her lips as she leaned in close and kissed him passionately while sitting up in bed, as she pulled away, she tugged at his lip between her teeth, smiling all the while in the kiss as she pulled away, letting go of his lower full lip. She looked out the bedroom window, illuminated by light with snow trickling down as she cuddled close to him, with her cigarette still between her fingers, she pulled it back to her lips, "I love you too Craig."

"Forever?" Craig asked hopeful.

Manny thought for a moment, but then reaffirmed his inquiry, "Yes, absolutely, forever. Forever and always."

"I guess this is where we come back to reality." Craig said less than enthused, a bit nervous as he reached for her hand with his spare hand, "What about Jay?"

"It's over." Manny said immediately.

"It's really over?"

"We had a huge fight. He broke up with me. Besides, he's already moving on to bigger and better things, Alex."

"Isn't Alex a lesbian?"

"So?" Manny beckoned in a retort.

"So, she isn't interested in men."

"Maybe, maybe not. I don't want to know. I just want you. I've always wanted you but, if things go bad . . I can't stay with you. I can't put myself there. I can't let myself get all fucked up all over again. It hurt, Craig."

"I wish I could take that away."

Manny smiled still sad about Jay, but happy about Craig. Never had she ever been romantically conflicted in this way before. She never thought it would be this hard to say goodbye, and leave the past behind her. The five years she had spent romantically involved with Jay he was a gentleman. However, her first attraction to him was based on his bad boy swagger. When he sort of lost that in favor of a more do-gooder do right her attraction to him waned. When she's with Craig however, her feelings remained the same as she did when she was fourteen. Still as much in love as before, carefully stepping into the unknown with him was one of the most ballsiest things she had ever done in her life.

Manny was always careful after Craig not to get hurt. It was incredibly hard because she is known to fall hard. It was easy for her to shed her skin for Jay but a tiger rarely changes its stripes when it comes to who or what they're accustomed to. When Manny finished her cigarette she tossed it into the spare cup on the bed side table, she passed the glass to Craig to put his butt in when he would soon finish. They spooned after ward lying down, the breath of the scent of the cigarettes swelled and fogged the room as they both faced the window observing the wintery mix as they sailed off to sleep. Craig blissfully unaware of Manny suppressing her tears and feelings of ultimate guilt at the never-ending reminders of her recent ex, Jay. She couldn't just leave Craig hanging, in bed right there. She couldn't interrupt Sean and Emma's slumber at her place. Manny had no other choice but to stay put. She closed her eyes as tears trickled down silently, down her face. She was sure that now, no matter what happens with Craig it was really over between her and Jay. She could feel her heart breaking open completely, leaking love juice everywhere while in the arms of another.

Craig jumped out of his bed, to retrieve his guitar, playing a random tune, to make he laugh, he removed his boxers and just wore his guitar around his unmentionables as he played an instrumental of I Wanna Grow Old With You by Adam Sandler.

"You always said you wanted a song about you."

Manny sat up clapping her hands swaying alone to the music, hiding her emotions, putting on a mask. She did love Craig, the feeling was mutual but she found herself selfish for loving Jay too. She wasn't planning on thinking on that much while she enjoyed her moments with Craig. In some perspective spending her life with Craig although dangerous and unpredictable there was this underlying comfort in knowing he wasn't far from her in LA but in her impulse she forgets that Jay had loved her unwavering for years before Craig finally came to his senses.