The Suffering

Disclaimer: My birthday is coming up… someone should buy the rights to Degrassi for me. Hmm… or maybe not… I haven't actually watched the show in a while. Anyway, this chapter's title is a song by Snow Patrol.

A/N: Oh yeahhhh, I'm back to frequently updating this story! Hopefully… well, anyways, I'm a little disappointed. As of the time I started writing this chapter, I have over 8,000 hits on my story, and about 200 for the last chapter. Yet I only got 3 reviews for the last chapter. That's just a little disappointing for me, because I know you guys are reading this story, and plenty of people are adding it to their favorites… It's great that you guys like it, but would it kill you to review it? More reviews might just inspire me to update quicker! Oh, and just a heads up- this chapter isn't about Paige and Alex's conversation. Originally, it was going to be there, but then the chapter would have been too long, so I saved their conversation for next chapter. So review and you'll get it faster!

Chapter VIII: Run

October 20, 2007

Toronto General Hospital

Marco and Jay were sitting outside of Alex's hospital room in silence. Jay would clear his throat every now and then, and Marco would shoot a nervous glance at the closed door. Marco jumped up and started pacing back and forth. Jay smirked and tried to suppress a laugh. He could feel Marco's eyes on him, and he laughed. He couldn't help himself; he just found it too hilarious that Marco was expecting them to just waltz outside all happy in less than five minutes.

"What's so funny?" The exasperation in Marco's voice was obvious.

"You," Jay smirked. "You know how stubborn they both are. They're prolly both in that room in some weird moody silence waiting for the other to come out and say something. Alex isn't gonna say shit, she's gonna wait for Paige. And you know she's too chicken shit-"

"Ok, Jay, I get you. Why do you always have to go after Paige like she's the villain?"

"Because she is, what part of that don't you see? Alex has always been a wreck… always. When we were dating, she would always go all weird and quiet when Paige was around or when someone would bring her up. I didn't think shit of it at the time, but it must have been killing Lexi on the inside. Especially after that one time at the movies… jeez, Lexi was so out of it for about a week. I didn't think I would ever get any action after that."

"What one time at the movies? What are you talking about?" Marco tried hard to look dumb, even though he already had a feeling he knew what Jay was taking about.

The movie theater was packed, which wasn't really a surprise for a Friday night. There were plenty of dating couples and groups of friends cluttering up the lines for tickets and snacks. The boy at the ticket counter, who was in grade twelve, rolled his eyes at some of the younger kids from his school that were in the line. He took notice of a boy on the freshman soccer team and made a face. That kid was loud, obnoxious, smelled bad and thought he was the shit all because his girlfriend was captain of the freshman spirit squad. The ticket counter boy rolled his eyes and his attention shifted to a boy in a Toronto Maple Leafs cap and his girlfriend. The wearer was none other than Jay Hogart- the boy who lived two doors down from him in one of the shadier parts of Toronto and always knew where to get the best weed. He was surprised that Jay was actually going to pay to get into a movie, but he wasn't surprised by the fact that the dark haired girl on his arm wasn't the same girl he had just been sitting on his porch with the other day.

Pretty soon, obnoxious soccer star and his crew were at the front of the line. In his usual overly loud voice, obnoxious soccer star asked and paid for the tickets before making a big deal about wanting snacks. Jay and his latest girlfriend came up a few minutes later. There was an exchange of words between Jay and the boy behind the counter. It was a subtle exchange, two movie tickets for a small plastic bag. No one had really even noticed what happened, not even Jay's clueless girlfriend.

Alex mumbled something about being hungry and Jay led her towards the snack line. Suddenly, Alex stopped moving and had a look of disgust and fear on her face. Up at the snack counter were none other than Paige and Spinner. They were busy trying to devour each others' face while some of their other friends bought the food. Jay looked at Alex and raised his eyebrow. He knew that Paige and Alex were friends… or maybe they were former friends. He didn't really remember, but he noticed how disturbed Alex looked by it. He cleared his throat loudly.

"I thought we were going to see a horror movie, not a porno in the lobby. But then again, I suppose this is horrifying enough." Jay smirked.

Paige and Spinner broke apart quickly. Paige's face was quickly turning red. Spinner put a protective arm around her and looked towards the speaker of that last comment. Paige looked up as well and saw Alex. Her expression softened for about a millisecond before it turned into a cold glare. Alex couldn't bring herself to look at Paige. She stared at the ground and clung to Jay tighter.

"Maybe you shouldn't be looking," Spinner retorted. It was a dumb comment, but he tried to puff out his chest and look tough. "Besides, I enjoyed it."

"I'm sure you're just jealous that you guys don't have these types of make out sessions. Maybe you don't have them because… I don't know, she might be a lesbian." Paige made sure she looked Alex dead in the eye when she said this.

"Jay," Alex's voice was barely above a whisper. "Just take me home."

"Oh, yeah, I heard all about Paige outing Alex at the movie theater that day… from both of them, as a matter of fact." Marco walked over to a chair and sat back down.

"Yeah, but, no one even thought anything of it. I know I didn't. I just thought it was weird of Alex to get so bothered by something someone said…" His voice trailed off. Jay suddenly realized how clueless he had been.

Marco seemed to notice the realization dawning on Jay. "Well, someone was quick and alert even back then."

"So you said you heard about the incident from both of them, huh?" Jay said, trying to change the subject off of himself.

The phone rang inside the Del Rossi house. Marco was helping his mom wash and put away the dishes. Papa Del Rossi got up from the table, coffee cup still in hand, and answered the phone.

"Hello," He said in a cheerful tone. "Why yes, yes of course! Hold on a moment." He looked over at Marco. "Marco my son, it's for you. It's a girl." He gave his son a knowing wink and went back to the table.

"Hello," Marco took on the same cheerful tone as his dad. He figured it had to be Paige or Alex calling, since those were the only girls that would ever call him.

"Marco, I don't know what to do!" It was Alex on the other end, although she was barely audible through the tears.

"You don't know what to do about what? Talk to me, I'm listening." He headed for the couch and took a seat. This was going to take a while.

"I… I… me and Jay…" She let out a giant sob. "S-s-sorry, so like I was saying, Jay took me to go see a movie, right? Well, we went to get some popcorn, and guess whose sucking face in the snack line?"

"Oh, they weren't!" He was very sympathetic. "It's gonna be ok. Alex, the movie started at seven, and its seven thirty right now; why don't you go back inside the theater and watch the movie with Jay?"

"I made Jay take me home, Marco. Paige called me a lesbian in front of everyone."

"No," Marco threw his hand up to his cheek in a dramatic fashion. His dad walked past him on the couch and gave him a weird look. "She just walked up to you and said it?"

"No, see, when I saw them I just froze up. So Jay I guess looked to where I was looking, and he goes and makes some dumb ass comment about them, and then Spinner goes and says something back that's even dumber and then Paige…" Alex sobbed again. "She looks right me and she says, 'Maybe you guys could have these hot make out sessions too if your girlfriend wasn't a lesbian!' Marco, I hate her."

"Oh, Alex," he sighed. "It's going to be ok, I promise. What did Jay say after that?"

"Nothing, I made him take me home. He kept asking me if I was ok and everything. Marco, don't make that face. Jay really is a nice guy."

Marco smiled slightly. Alex knew him too well and knew he had made a face when she mentioned how nice Jay was being. "Yeah, he is to you…"

Marco and Alex continued talking for about another hour and a half before Marco's phone started to beep.

"Alex, hold on a sec, yeah? My other line is beeping." He switched over the phone. "Hello, Del Rossi residence,"

"Marco?" It was Paige. "Marco, I screwed up so badly… I can't believe I said that to her. It just kinda came out!"
"Can you hold on a second, thanks," Marco quickly switched the line over before Paige could protest. "Alex?"

"Yeah, I'm still here."

"I'm really sorry, but I gotta go. It's one of papa's friends on the other line. Call me tomorrow, we'll finish talking."

"Ok, I'll talk to you later. Thanks for everything."

"Anytime… bye…" Her line went dead, and he switched it back over. "Paige?"

"Marco, I called Alex a lesbian! I didn't even mean to, it just sort of slipped out. The look she had on her face… it killed me. Now I know things between us will never get fixed. That was my best friend and now she's gone forever."

Marco sighed heavily. As much as he loved Paige, he hated how she always tried to make herself the victim. "Paige, you're the one who wanted to stop being her friend in the first place. Alex probably doesn't want to talk to you anymore, so just respect her wishes and move on." He winced at the harshness in his voice. "I'm sorry…"

"No, don't apologize," he heard Paige sigh. "That's probably what I needed to hear. You know what, I don't care about Alex. So what if she likes me, she's no Spinner. If she never wants to talk to me again, I'll be happy to oblige."

Jay smirked. "So, Paige has always made herself out to be the victim?"

Marco laughed a little. "Yeah, I suppose she has. Come on though, she's not that bad. She kinda grows on you."

"She grows on you? Yeah, ok; you don't get how bad Lexi is. When I talked to her earlier at the ravine…" His voice cracked a little and he looked down.

"I know, I know," Marco sighed for what was probably the five hundredth time that day. "When I talked to her she was just so different. It's like Paige steps back into her life and the Alex I knew just died."

Jay nodded. "It's like freshman year all over again with Alex throwing on the tough exterior while she's really hurting, and Paige thinking she can say what everyone wants to hear and save the day."

"Paige is hurting, too, and you know it." Marco came to his friend's defense.

"Paige isn't hurting," Jay said firmly. "Alex is hurting. Paige is just…" He thought of some words. "Paige is just coming to terms with something she always knew, and apparently she's fine with it. And, Paige being Paige, she just thinks Alex will be fine with it, too."

"I guess I see what you're saying. Yeah… that's pretty much Paige in a nutshell. If its ok by her, it's gonna be ok by you."

They shared a laugh and sat there in a comfortable silence, wondering what was going on behind the closed door.

A/N: Ok, I won't even lie- I'm not impressed with this chapter. But only because like I said, I had to split it in half because it would have been way too long. But it was nice to see Marco and Jay talking, no? Well, review away! Tell me if you hated this chapter or not. Remember, the more reviews I get, the faster you guys get a real decent chapter with Alex and Paige talking and not insulting/calling each other out! Oh, and I was thinking... You know how I have the flashbacks in the story? What if I ended up writing a prequel to this story that was all about them during their freshman year and how Alex and Paige went through it without talking to each other? Let me know what you think!