A/N: I took Jay off the story description. He will make a brief appearance later in the story, but he won't play as major a role as I'd initially thought. :)

Emma couldn't take her eyes off the screen. It was like a car wreck. Horrific, and yet she couldn't seem to look away. Her chest heaved as tears blurred the screen. It was Manny alright, in the infamous video that Peter swore he'd gotten rid of.

How many others have there been?

She looked at the dates on the files and felt the knife twist even further. Some were dated as recently as two weeks ago.

I remember that night… I was stuck home babysitting. Peter said he was having a 'guys night in'; poker and watching the game with his friends.

The shock and dismay Emma felt soon began to transform itself into a burning intensifying anger. She opened each file, gasping at each in turn as she recognized the girls in them; most of them from Degrassi; in various provocative poses, usually visibly intoxicated. She squeezed her eyes shut and wished the images before her were all simply a bad dream.

As if on cue, the door to Peter's room creaked open. Startled, Emma whirled to face the intruder. She wasn't completely surprised to see Peter standing there. The greeting died on his lips as he glanced at the screen and his eyes widened.

"Emma! What the hell are you doing!" he rushed over to the computer and forced his way in front of the computer, punching the power button on the monitor.

Emma stood on shaky legs. Her eyes were wild and her face was streaked with tears. Giving him a hard shove with both hands, she got her bearings, reached back, and slapped him soundly across the face "You bastard". Without another word, she grabbed her purse and her jump drive and fled the apartment. As soon as the elevator doors closed, she leaned against the wall and drew in deep hitching breaths. She couldn't seem to stop the tears.

How could he do this to me? If I weren't such a fat cow, I'd have been enough for him.

She flagged down a cab and instructed it to take her back to her neighbourhood; No way do I want a busload full of people to see me like this. Instead of going home, she indicated an address several blocks away, and she continued to walk aimlessly down the familiar streets. She wasn't ready to go home yet and have her mother and Manny ask a million questions.

The cool night air electrified Sean's skin as he cruised along the street with his windows down. His stereo was cranked so high pedestrians glanced over as he sat at a red light. His encounter with Emma's boyfriend had left him riled up and he felt like he could run a thousand miles. For the life of him, he couldn't understand what she saw in the Preppy. To put it bluntly, he was a dick. Emma deserves more than that. Any girl does, but especially Emma.

The car beside him revved its engine loudly; a challenge, but Sean just shook his head. That shit could get me in trouble I do not need. The light turned green and the racer squealed off, leaving rubber on the asphalt. Sean watched as the car had to swerve around a slower car in front of it. The guy nearly clipped the curb as he overcorrected. Sean just shook his head. If you can't handle it, you shouldn't be driving it.

He was about to turn onto his street when out of the corner of his eye he saw a familiar figure in the glow of the streetlight. It was Emma, her blond hair disheveled and hanging in her face as she stared at the sidewalk as she walked. Her arms were crossed over her chest in a self-protective embrace, and as he watched she ran a trembling hand absently through her hair. Sean pulled the car over to the curb and turned the music down.

"Emma?" he got no response.

"EMMA!" he said more forcefully, giving the horn a brief honk.

She glanced over at him. Sean noticed she'd been crying and felt a clenching in his gut. He leapt out of the car and ran over to her, putting a concerned hand on her shoulder.

"Em, what's wrong? Are you hurt?" his voice was an octave higher than usual.

"Does emotionally destroyed count?" she said with a scoff.

"You have to tell me what happened. Come on, I'm getting you out of here. You can't just wander around this area at night by yourself." He took her elbow and led her to his car. Opening the passenger door, he eased her into the seat and closed the door.

It still hadn't quite registered with Emma that it was Sean that had found her, or that she was sitting in his car. She leaned back against the seat and closed her eyes. Without knowing she needed to, she drifted off to sleep immediately.

Sean completed the brief drive to his apartment and started over at Emma's sleeping form. His mind was racing. Christ, what the hell happened to her? Great – what am I supposed to do now? She's sound asleep. Left with few other alternatives, he walked around to the passenger side and lifted Emma out, still sleeping. He nearly gasped at how little she weighed. Again he could feel her ribs and spine protruding and closed his eyes to steel himself from waking her up just to scold her. Due to her feather light frame, he was easily able to carry her up the two flights of stairs to his apartment.

Once inside, Sean gently laid Emma on the futon. He brushed a stray piece of hair out of her face and asked the sleeping girl "What happened to you tonight, Em? Who hurt you?"

At his words, Emma's eyes fluttered open and she stared at him. She sat up groggily, confused at her surroundings. "Sean? Where – where did you bring me?"

"My place. Home Sweet Home." He gave her a small smile.

"Why?" she asked.

"Well, it was closer than your house, and besides, I wouldn't have known how to explain to your mother what the heck you were doing in my arms, and why you had cried yourself to exhaustion."

Emma nodded. That made sense.

"Come on Em. Spill. What happened? You can tell me. We're friends, right?"

Friends. Right. She took a deep breath. "I…. I was over at Peter's… he said I could use his computer…"…. Emma watched Sean's reaction carefully as she poured out the whole story. When she was finished, Sean was pacing around the tiny room. His jaw was tightly clenched, his fists balled.

"I'm going to kill him." He said it so calmly it was chilling.

He probably would have left the apartment to do just that, had he not looked over at Emma and seen she was crying again. Her face crumpled, and she choked out words that would haunt Sean forever and break his heart all in one simple sentence:

"Why wasn't I enough?"

Sean swore an oath and rushed over to sit beside her. He gathered her in his arms and held her against his shoulder as sobs wracked her thin body. Sean rubbed her back absently, staring straight ahead, his mouth set in a firm line. He wished he'd never met Peter Stone, and he was going to make sure the feeling was mutual.