Chapter 3! Yay! I love everyone who reviews, so please keep it up :D
I own one Jake Skellington hoodie and the entire Planet of the Apes saga on DVD. I regretfully inform you however that I don't own Degrassi.
After Hazel and Paige finished their conversation, they headed back to the gymnasium. She said she had to go find her missing husband and child, but she'd definitely come find Paige again later. The blond smiled and nodded, rather grateful that she now could check out the rest of the reunion. Visit with more than one person.
Paige went back to the table that Mr. Simpson still sat behind. A girl who had been on the Spirit Squad called her name and the two briefly hugged and promised to chat later. She went through the double doors with her date and Paige caught a quick glimpse of the gym. It was then that she noticed her boyfriend was nowhere to be seen.
Walking up to Mr. S, Paige opened her mouth to question her old teacher about Tomas's whereabouts.
"He's inside," Snake said before she could ask. "Marco and Dylan checked in about ten minutes ago and dragged him with them." He smiled. "I'm so glad those two are still together. It warms my heart that ten years later, some can still remain in the love that blossomed when they were only kids."
Paige returned his grin. "Well, you and your wife are a testimony to that, too, right?" She stopped herself, feeling striken. "Uh, you and Spike are still-"
"Definitely," Mr. Simpson chuckled. "Spike and I sit in our rockers by the fire, telling tales the horrific 80's where hair was big and you had to walk to school uphill both ways. But you know, everyone around here thought it would be you and Gavin who'd stay together forever."
Paige rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "High school was long enough for us to be together, let alone eternity."
Mr. S. nodded. "Understandable. Well, I'm sure your current beau is waiting for you so I won't keep you any longer. Better hurry before someone tells him a horrific tale of your youth."
Giving him a final smile, Paige moved past Mr. S. and for the first time since her graduation, into the Degrassi gymnasium.
The large room was a alive with the buzz of people. Blue and gold streamers hung from the high ceiling, and a banner of the same colors read in bold letters "Welcome Class of '06!'. Immediately, Paige sought out Marco and Dylan, her eyes catching Tomas' figure. She smiled when she spotted a certain red head chatting with the trio near the raised bleachers.
As Paige waded through the crowd, she was bombarded with hugs and smiles of recognition. She did her best to deflect their attention, and continued over to her brother, boyfriend, and two oldest friends.
"Ellie!" Paige exclaimed, giving the redhead a giant bear hug from behind. Ellie was caught off guard, but try as she might, couldn't break free of the embrace.
"Aw, come on, it hasn't been that long," she grumbled lightheartedly as Paige let go. The two women smiled and faced each other, the blond taking her hand.
"Regardless, hun. God, isn't so weird being back here?" Paige looked back at Marco. He and Dylan both looked dashing in this years most stylish Ralph Laurin suits, Marco in black, her brother opting for a subtle charcoal grey. The Italian smiled.
"Yeah, it really is. It brings back so many memories." Marco grinned at the three of them.
"Remember making out in the boiler room all those times?" Dylan said, smirking. His once shoulder-length blond hair that always got him grief from the eldest Michalchuk male was now cropped short. He nudged his husband lovingly.
"Of course I do," Marco replied, a mischievous twinkle in his eye. "And if there's a spare moment anytime this weekend, I propose we visit our old hideaway, for nostalgia's sake."
"Nostalgia's sake, or your sake?" The two grown men practically giggled.
Paige and Ellie rolled their eyes simultaneously and looked at each other. Ellie was wearing a beautiful form fitting dress and black pumps that made her look amazing. She had matured so much since high school Paige thought she looked out of place back in Degrassi. She was no longer the lonely, troubled girl with a complicated home life that struggled to achieve even the tiniest reward. She wasn't the Goth Girl. She was Ellie Nash, successful, poised, elegant head writer for the Toronto Star. She'd come so far, further than Paige, the blond had to admit.
Tomas shuffled awkwardly, looking absently around, a cup of red punch in his hand. Paige stepped over to him and kissed him on the cheek.
"Hey hun, sorry I took so long." She said apologetically. He shrugged and smiled.
"No worries. Dylan and Marco rescued me from following your teacher aimlessly like a lost puppy. It's really good to see Ellie again, too." The two had previously met at the Michalchuk/DelRossi wedding.
Marco leaned over to her. "Have you seen Alex yet?" He asked in an excited tone. "I'd had no idea she was all...famous now. For something besides a form of illegal activity. I nearly stroked out. We were only able to chat for a few seconds, but she's obviously doing well with herself. Her girlfriend, Aryn, is pretty nice too. Our little Alex seems to have finally gotten everything together."
To Paige, the notion of Alex having everything together once seemed unfathomable. Her last real memories of her were that of the homeless ex-stripper lounging on the sofa. Damn, how things had changed for the raven haired woman.
As he spoke, Paige was glancing around. Still, there was no sign of Alex. She was starting to get frustrated, her eagerness to speak to her long-lost friend growing. Paige thought she recognized Amy, Alex's old friend, but couldn't tell for sure. She couldn't even remember if the shady girl had even graduated with their class. Had she been expelled? But Paige's eyes widened as she caught sight of the woman that had been accompanying Alex. What did Marco say her name was? Erin? She was chatting with the Amy look alike, smiling and talking animatedly with her hands.
Alex wasn't anywhere to be seen though. She seemed to have abandoned her date, and Paige had to stop herself from rolling her eyes since she herself had just left Tomas all by his lonesome for the better part of an hour.
Now Paige ended up spending the next hour and a half milling throughout the gymnasium, telling the same story of how she's been over and over again. She constantly had to introduce Tomas to people, most of whom she honestly didn't remember ever being friends with in high school but faked it anyway. She met Hazel's husband, and their adorable son, Mason.
And who had she been kidding, thinking no one would ask about the ancient history that was her Cali experience. Nearly everyone asked. Each time Paige got irked more and more, giving them the curt, chopped up version that she hardly had the energy to explain.
Okay, I've had enough of this, she thought begrudgingly. She'd just had to play nice with Heather freaking Sinclair, her once most sworn enemy. The woman had strode up to Paige and embraced her like they had been the best of friends. She found it disgusting, how fake everyone was acting. It was like actual high school all over again. And except for a possible fleeting glance out of the corner of her eye, Alex continued to elude her.
"I'm going to go the bathroom," Paige spoke loudly in her boyfriend's ear. He was having an in depth rugby conversation with a man who used to be the hooker for their high school team. Tomas nodded, barely glancing at her.
"'Kay, babe."
Rolling her eyes at their boy talk, Paige walked away from them, and exited through the gymnasium side door. Instead of headed towards the restrooms, however, she dipped hurriedly down the hallway, clutching her bag. She tried to remember where it was...
After a few minutes of searching, the blond found the familiar door that led out the back of the school. It was used by janitors and for deliveries, primarily. And the occasional student looking to cut class without risking going through the front or one of the main side exits. It led out to the back ally, and Paige was eager for the fresh air. That, and the hidden pack of cigarettes stashed within her purse. It was a disgusting habit, she knew, but after picking it up a few years ago when starting the magazine, she found the cancer sticks worked wonders for her nerves.
Shoving the door open, Paige hopped outside, squinting in the afternoon sun. To her left, she heard someone startle, but she had to wait for her eyes to adjust to see their identity.
"Paige?"
She blinked. Leaning lazily against the dirty brick wall was none other than Ms. Rock N' Roll herself. Alex held a half smoked cigarette in her right hand, both arms crossed loosely over her chest. Her sun glasses were pushed up on top of her head, and she was looking curiously at Paige.
"Alex?" Paige halted as the door swung shut behind her with a loud thump. Looking around, she saw Alex was alone in the laneway. No paparazzi, former classmates or date.
"Uh, yeah," The dark haired woman chuckled. "It's me. God, it's been a while, hasn't it?"
Before Paige knew what was happening, Alex had pushed herself off the wall and closed the distance between them with a hug. It was strange, Paige thought. She'd always been the hugger, not Alex. Regardless, she hugged her old friend back tightly. There didn't appear to be any of that awkwardness that had lingered between them the last time they'd met. Paige smiled. Enough time had finally passed. The scars had healed, and now they were able to be genuinely happy to see each other. The aura of their old friendship, the one that had been so amazing before romantic and sexual tension had gotten in the way, seemed to be drifting back. With that one reassuring hug.
They broke apart and Alex took a step back. She had a large smile on her face. "How you've been, Paigey?"
Paige laughed, not completely sure what was so funny. "Me? Excuse me, Miss Nunez, I think you have more explaining to do than me."
Alex smirked, putting her cigarette to her lips. "There's not much to explain," She said as she exhaled. "Me and the guys had been playing together for about 5 years and we'd gotten a pretty good local following on the underground hard rock scene. Then one day, we were playing a venue and this guy just comes up to us and says he likes our sound. It was John fucking Moyer. How insane is that?"
"I'm so happy for you Alex," Paige told her as she opened her purse and fished out her half empty pack of Marb Lights. Alex arched an eyebrow.
"Paige Michalchuk, are you actually smoking?" The dark haired woman wondered incredulously.
"Uh, no, I'm not. Does this thing look lit at all?" Paige replied, enjoying the opportunity to be snarky. She then whipped out a lighter and the tiny flame quickly lit the end. "Now, I'm smoking." She couldn't resist to stick her tongue out at her old friend.
Alex laughed, and Paige noticed a small glitter reflect within her mouth. Tongue piercing, huh? Why am I not surprised.
"I never thought I'd live to see the day when you would light up without being coerced into it," She mused.
"Well, things have changed, havn't they?" Paige replied.
Alex snorted. "Some things, yeah. But I like to think I'm the same old me. I'm still vastly immature and irresponsible, like in the old days."
"Oh, I'm sure," Paige chuckled. "I have no doubt in that, you troublemaker." Taking a drag from her cigarette, the blond moved over to a nearby set of tiny steps and sat down. Memories flashed through her mind of her times here in the laneway. Most of them included Alex. The ones that stood out to her, anyway.
"So, last time we saw each other, didn't you say you worked for some fashion thing?" Alex asked, leaning back against the wall like she had before, one knee bent. Now she was several feet away from where Paige sat, looking down at her. ''Are you still doing that?"
"Yes, I'm still doing that," Paige said. "I've done really well there, actually. It's called Shine, although I doubt you'll have heard of it."
Alex smiled sheepishly. "Ten years and you still know me way too well," she rolled her eyes. "Aryn will probably know it though. Jeez, she's almost as bad as you were with all the fashion crap. But she's more of a wannabe fashionista than a true NYC-Paris-Milan die hard."
Paige raised an eyebrow. Alex's tone had been rather harsh in regards to the woman she was sure Alex had came here with. "Aryn. Isn't that your girlfriend?"
Alex shrugged. "Sorta. Not really. We've had this casual thing going on for the last few months, but it's nothing serious. She's really cute, but a bit of a fame groupie. And I think she's under the impression that me bringing her here makes us exclusive and official, which I'm totally not interested in at the moment."
Paige's gut twitched oddly. She didn't know what it was. "Better be careful," She advised. "I know from experience how messy the whole cas thing can get."
"Yeah, I remember," Alex said softly, flicking away her dead cigarette butt and pulling out a new one. She motioned to Paige's, which the blond had unknowingly let simmer out. "Need a light?"
Paige nodded, and Alex crouched closer so the flame from her silver zippo could dance before the blackened tip of the blonds' cigarette.
She didn't know how long they lingered in the alley, talking and smoking cigarette after cigarette. Chatting about anything and everything. Paige told Alex all about Tomas, her job, her family, Marco, old friends and new friends. Alex didn't say much about Scarlett Haze's upcoming tour, or about the recording business, but she did talk about her band mates and how being a musician was the one thing she was born to do and do well.
"I'm so sick of everyone asking me about it. Everyday I have to deal with people prying in my personal life, which is so unrelated to my music." Alex admitted gruffly at one point. "It's why I came out here to hide. I'm not even sure why I came to this stupid thing. It's all ridiculous, how everyone pretends that they're happy to see the people that they probably hated in high school. So fake." Paige nodded, agreeing with her. She didn't mention Alex's fame (which was something her mind would automatically change it to infamy) again as they continued rambling on.
Paige was eerily aware of how easygoing they could still be together. It had been almost ten years, give or take the short cameos they'd had in each others lives. And their last encounters had been awkward and automatic, friendly only in a technical sense. Hazel, along with others whom she had been close with, should have been the ones Paige spent hours conversing with. But they weren't. No, in fact, seeing her once best friend and every other person (minus Marco and Ellie) she'd spent her high school career with had been less than enjoyable. Everything Paige said became stuffy and rehearsed after repeating it to dozens of people, who always seemed to ask about the messy, uncomfortable things.
Alex was different though. Paige wasn't sure if it was because of their history or just because that's who the dark haired woman was, but she was the only person at the reunion who could still gauge her perfectly after all their time apart. She was able to make Paige laugh like she had in the old days, with her absolutely ridiculous tales that she'd accumulated while touring.
It disturbed Paige a bit. Things shouldn't be so seamless, the blond noted. There should be awkward silences and gaps in conversation. But there wasn't. It was almost unnatural, how easy things were. Like the old days...
Paige was on probably her fourth cigarette when this last thought crossed her mind. It made her feel...itchy. She looked at her watch and stood up hastily.
"Crap, it's almost five. I've been out here for over an hour. Tomas must think I've fallen off the face of the earth." Paige said, her voice slightly raised in worry. Alex glanced at her own watch and shrugged.
"I think we're just late for that banquet thing," spoke Alex. "No big deal. Although who knows what kind of shit Aryn is getting herself into with my absence. Not the brightest, that girl."
"Yeah, well, Tomas is bright, and I know he's going to be pissed that I abandoned him at my own high school reunion, surrounded almost entirely by strangers." Paige turned away and yanked on the steel door handle. It barely budged, and she cursed with frustration.
"God, you're such a weakling." Alex chuckled, nudging Paige aside to tug the door open herself. Paige glared at her, and attempted to shove past Alex to get inside.
Alex put up a hand, stopping her. "Maybe you should let me go first. If people see we've been out here together, they might think we've been making out the whole time." She winked, pocketing her lighter for a final time and stepping back into the school. "You know how people at Degrassi love their gossip."
Paige stared after Alex, who walked inside and away without another glance. She wasn't surprised by the raven haired woman's words, not very much at least. But it was the way she said it, and the wink...what the hell was with that wink?! She shook her head and sighed. Goddamn that woman's sarcasm. Alex seemed to have really not changed.