Manny stared up at the chipping paint on the living room ceiling. She could no longer hear Emma's sobbing over the sound of metal against metal that was drifting in through the opened front door. Sean had retreated to the garage in an attempt to take out his frustration on the beat up old car he and his dad had been bonding over. From the sound of it Manny couldn't help but think there'd be nothing left when he finished.

With a sigh Manny pushed herself up on her elbows, turning her attention towards the door. She had to do something, anything to fix this mess she'd created. She had to make Sean understand, the sooner the better. With that in mind she stood and headed towards Sean's sanctuary.

She watched from the doorway as Sean leaned under the hood, twisting and turning things she couldn't have named even if she'd wanted to. His hands moved quickly, rhythmically, almost hypnotically only stopping occasionally to wipe grease onto the stained coveralls protecting his clothing.

"Watcha doin?" Manny asked, stepping further into the garage. She leaned over the side of the car, glancing over the mess of wires and gadgets Sean was fidgeting with. She had no idea what they did or how they worked together to make the car go and frankly she didn't really care.

Sean never took his attention away from his work as he nonchalantly replied, "Overhauling the engine. It's the only way this piece of crap will ever make it onto the road."

"Is it yours?" Manny asked, trying to ease into the conversation. She didn't really want to make Sean any angrier.

Sean's hands stilled under the hood of the car as he turned his attention towards Manny, he wasn't in the mood to play twenty questions. In fact he wasn't in the mood for talking period.

"What do you want, Manny?" he asked in irritation as he grabbed a clean rag and started to clean his hands.

"Um..." Manny started, swallowing the lump in her throat. "I kind of wanted to apologize about last night. It shouldn't have come out like that. I'm sorry."

"You're right, it shouldn't have." Sean replied, clenching his jaw against the anger surging through him. "But don't be sorry. If you hadn't told me I'm not entirely sure anyone else would have."

Manny shook her head no in response, "Emma would have told you, Sean. Eventually."

"That's not good enough." Sean interjected his voice raising a few octaves. "She should have told me months ago. I had every right to know."

"No you didn't." Manny shot back defensively. "YOU left. What Emma, or Jay, or anyone else for that matter did after you were gone really isn't any of your business. He was the closest thing she had to you, Sean. I didn't understand it at first but getting close to Jay was her way of not having to completely say goodbye to you."

He knew she was right, that it all made sense but he didn't have to like it and he sure as hell didn't have to admit it.

"It doesn't make it okay." Sean spit out before picking up his wrench and adding, "Now if you don't mind I've got work to do."

Manny made her way out of the garage. Sean was stubborn but deep down inside she knew he'd let it go eventually. Eventually he'd be able to understand, to look past it and realize that despite her imperfections he still loved Emma. She just hoped he wouldn't wait until it was too late. If anyone deserved to be happy it was those two.

"How are you feeling?" A voice asked, pulling Manny away from her best friend's drama. She looked up to see Tyler walking towards her, a smile lighting up his tan face.

She couldn't help but smile. He'd been the one bright point in the whole stupid weekend. With a sigh she replied, "Like I've been hit by a bus."

His smile grew as he chuckled slightly, "A hangover will do that to you."

"I wish that was it." Manny continued. "A hangover I could handle. Feeling like I've completely destroyed my best friend's life, not so easy to live with."

"Don't be so hard on yourself." Tyler offered, stopping once he'd reached Manny. "I'm sure it's not that bad."

Manny snorted, "It is, believe me. Emma's upset, Sean's angry, Alex bailed, and Jay…well he's M.I.A."

A loud clanging came from the direction of the garage followed by a line of curses punctuating Sean's anger. Manny tore her eyes away from the commotion to look back up at Tyler.

"See? Angry." Manny added.

Tyler snickered as he turned back to Manny and suggested, "Why don't we get out of here for a little while? Maybe grab some lunch."

Manny's smile grew at the offer. She desperately needed to get away from the drama for a little while, collect her thoughts. The fact that it was a cute boy offering didn't hurt any.

"I'd love to." Manny replied.

00

It was an average day, dull in every way
Until, until the sun broke through.
It wasn't in the sky, no
The light came from her eyes
She turned, turned the grey sky blue.
On that cold September morning
I saw her in the rain.
To me she was the moon and stars the world
She was

Just Jane.
But she's everything to me, she is just Jane.
And she's all I'll ever need.
She gives more than she takes
And she takes my breath away.
Yeah in the words I should always be just Jane
But because of her, my world has changed
Oh yeah

The lyrics to an old familiar song stopped Sean in mid twist of the wrench. Blonde curls held back with springs of Babies Breath, porcelain skin glowing in the afternoon sunlight, soft lips that tasted like berry punch and white frosting, the smell of honey and the feel of sweaty palms as they swayed to the same beat.

Before Sean had time to stop himself he sent the wrench flying across the room. It collided with the eighties style boom box sitting on a shelf on the other side of the garage cutting the song short. He tried breathing out his anger through his nose as he closed his eyes to the memory but he could still see her, still smell her, still taste her.

"Uh…it's a slow song and you're not dancing."

"No one really caught my interest."

"Oh...How about now?"

"I'd love to."

Sean took a deep breath as the memory came to an end behind his closed eyelids and his breathing began to return to normal. It had been that girl in her purple bridesmaid dress and really bad perm that he'd put up on a pedestal. It had been that girl that he'd painted as perfect. He knew it wasn't fair, not to her, not to him, not to anyone but in his eyes that's the girl she'd always be. Emma Nelson, environmentalist, a babysitter, a nurse. He'd told her once in anger making it sound negative and hateful but it had been the Cause Girl part of her that he'd fallen in love with. It was the fact that she cared that had made him care.

He shook the thoughts from his head as he slipped out of the grease-stained coveralls and made his way towards the trailer. He needed a long hot shower or possibly a cold one he wasn't sure.

Sean eased the front door open, hoping not to draw any attention to himself. There was no sign of Emma or Manny as he headed down the hallway towards his bedroom. The sight of Emma lying on the bottom bunk, her face stained with tears caused him to stop in his tracks. He took a deep breath before moving further into the room only stopping again at the sound of the floorboards creaking under his feet.

"No," she whimpered as fresh tears made their way down her cheek.

It was then that Sean noticed her body was trembling. Her fingers gripped the blankets in a clenched fist. A line of sweat had popped out along her forehead, matting her hair to her skin. It only took his brain a second before he was back in that hallway, standing in front of Emma with a gun pointed at them. He knew what the nightmares felt like, how the memories ate at you like a flesh eating virus. He knew without hesitation that at that very moment Rick was haunting Emma's dreams. The white knight in him wanted to save her, wanted to wake her up and rescue her from the demons but his anger kept him glued to his spot. All he could do was watch as her head moved from side to side and she mumbled his name.

Sean back peddled quickly not even bothering to grab fresh clothes. Suddenly the trailer was smaller then it had ever been before. He felt like the walls were closing in on him as he backed down the hallway and slammed his way out the front door.

00

Jay slid his sunglasses from the top of his head to rest on the bridge of his nose. He leaned back against the windshield ignoring the heat that was seeping through his jeans from the hood of the car. His skin itched from the onset of a sunburn and sweat had already begun to stain the armpits of his t-shirt.

Eventually he'd have to go back to Sean's, he knew that. But he was putting it off as long as he could, hoping it would give Alex enough time to calm down. Maybe for once he'd get lucky and she'd hear him out.

He swiped the back of his hand across his forehead before reaching for the bottle of water sitting beside him. He thought about dumping the cool liquid over his head but pressed the bottle to his lips instead. The temperature had steadily risen leaving a muggy haze over the beach. Jay desperately wanted something a lot stronger than water but knew the two hour drive would be long enough without being under the influence.

"Hey," A soft voice said, drawing Jay's attention away from the oppressing heat.

Jay looked at the girl from overtop his sunglasses. She was cute, petite, blonde, everything Jay would have found attractive if his mind wasn't elsewhere. He really wasn't in the mood for a conversation especially one with a complete stranger.

"Yeah?" Jay asked in annoyance.

The girl inched forward completely ignoring Jay's tone, "You're friends with Sean, right? You were at the bonfire last night?"

"And?" Jay replied sitting up and turning to face the girl. She was either stupid or completely clueless.

The girl cocked her eyebrow as she finally caught on to Jay's bad mood. A seductive smile formed on the girl's lips as she locked her green eyes on to Jay's blue ones.

"And I thought if you're not doing anything we could go back to my place. You know, hang out?" She suggested, folding her arms across her chest and giving Jay a full view down her shirt.

He thought about it for a moment as he looked her over again. Flip flops revealing bright pink nail polish, short shorts showing off tan legs, a belly button ring peaking out from under the spaghetti strapped tank top. Any other day and he'd have jumped at the chance.

"I'll pass." Jay replied, sliding off the hood of his car and stepping around the girl.

"Are you serious?" She asked following Jay onto the beach. "I offer you a no strings attached booty call and you say no? Are you gay?"

Jay stopped turning to the girl who was mere inches away. He leaned down like he was going to kiss her. He rested his lips right beside her ear as he whispered, "No, just not interested."

With a smug smile he turned back around and headed off down the beach leaving the blonde to pout in privacy.

00

Alex made her way out of the crowded bus station slinging her bag over her shoulder. Her head was killing her from the brat in the back of the bus that had decided to scream the entire trip. She'd taken her last painkiller over an hour ago and it was already starting to wear off. She quickly made her way the few blocks to the diner her mother was working at. It was a greasy little joint in a bad part of town but it was the only thing a high school drop out raising a teenaged daughter could get. Half the time Alex hated her mom, the other half she felt sorry for her. It wasn't that Emily didn't try, she did. It was just sometimes she tried a little too hard. Sometimes Alex wanted a mother, not a best friend.

"You're mom's the coolest." Amy use to gush all the time. "I wish she were my mom."

"So do I." Alex had always thought.

It had its advantages. Alex had never had a curfew, she was allowed to have friends over whenever she wanted, she could openly talk to her mother about sex, and Jay had always been able to stay the night in her room. But sometimes she would have liked to have had a shoulder to cry on, a comforting word or hug, some parental guidance especially when it came to Jay.

After she'd found out about the Ravine, about Amy, she'd turned to her mother in hopes of some advice, some support but all she got was, "Don't fret babe there's plenty of fish in the sea."

Like the abusive asshole her mother had met at the strip club when she'd went out with friends, or the bus driver who had stolen their rainy day fund from the freezer, and lets not forget the mechanic who had promised to fix the car if he could crash on the couch. Needless to say the car still didn't run right. Sure there were plenty of fish in the sea but the good ones were already taken.

"There's my baby." Emily said as Alex walked into the diner and slumped down at the bar. "Don't look so glum. You and Jay will work things out."

Alex forced her self not to roll her eyes at her mother's optimism. It was obvious to Alex that her mother was completely stoned.

"Don't hold your breath." Alex replied dryly as her mother sat a slice of chocolate pie in front of her.

"What you need is a night on the town. Why don't you call up some of your girlfriends and go out. Have a little fun, Lexie. You're only young once." Emily suggested as she rang up a customer on the outdated cash register.

This time Alex didn't even bother holding back her eye roll, "News flash, ma. I don't have any girlfriends."

"And whose fault is that sourpuss?" Emily asked coming and sitting down beside Alex. The older woman picked up a fork and dug it into the untouched pie in front of her daughter. After taking a bite and savoring it she added, "You know I ran into Amy at the store this morning. She asked about you."

"About me or about my boyfriend?" Alex shot back picking up her own fork and finally digging into the pie in front of her.

Emily swallowed the bite she'd just taking before she set a hand on Alex's shoulder and explained, "Hoes before bros, Lexie baby."

She'd heard it before. Emily's aged old advice but it didn't make the betrayal sting any less her best friend and her boyfriend and now her boyfriend and her worst enemy. There was something almost fitting about being screwed by the people you loved and hated the most.

They didn't speak again until the pie was finished. Alex set her fork down and studied her mother who was in the process of finishing off a cigarette. She looked older than she really was from too many years of struggling to make it by. Her skin was taunt and yellowed from too many drugs and too much alcohol. It was a life Alex didn't want for herself, a life she'd do anything to escape.

"I better get back to work." Emily finally spoke stamping out her cigarette and giving Alex a quick kiss on the cheek. "I'll see you back at home."

Alex nodded, picking up her bag and laying a couple bills on the counter so the slice of pie wouldn't come out of her mother's paycheck. With a final fleeting look at her mother she picked up her bag and headed out of the diner. Her mother had been right about one thing. Alex desperately needed a little bit of fun.