I love all of my reviewers! So many positive, encouraging notes! Anyway, I've been gone for awhile.I'm sorry it took so long to update. I only have a computer at my dad's, and I was spending a lot of time with my mom. Anyway, I have every chapter pretty much planned until the end. This chapter helps build the relationship between Jay and Emma, I think. Now I'm back...with a new chapter!

Also, I need to apologize for any spelling errors. My WordPerfect is dead, and I didn't want to make everyone wait super long for a new chapter. Sorry. I hope it will revive itself for the next chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything!...relating to Degrassi.

It was two o'clock in the morning by the time I arrived at home. Still ridiculously dressed in the big purple gown, I tried my best to squeeze threw my bedroom window. The situation was probably hilarious to witness; unless you were my parents waiting on the other side. Noticing them sitting on my bed with a cup of coffee each and stern looks, I quickly tumbled out, into the laundry sink. I sighed heavily, lifting myself out, and looking towards my parents. "Where were you?" Snake asked quickly.

I frowned, "Out."

"With who?" He questioned, even though he already knew the answer.

"Jay," I replied flatly. I didn't think they had any right at all to question my company. "We just went to the beach, it isn't a big deal. It's not even a school night!" I exclaimed, trying to defend myself against the lecture I knew was just around the corner.

Mom smiled slightly, it was clearly one of her forced, polite grins. "Em," she began quietly, "We're just concerned."

"I'm fine."

"We haven't talked in a while..."

"You haven't been around enough for us to do that, have you?" I retorted, not willing be a silent partner in this ambush.

"No," she stated simply. "No, we haven't; but, that is going to change. We'll be here a lot more now, for you, Emma."

"I don't want you to be around more!" I exclaimed. Truthfully, I wasn't sure what was making me so mad. My parents were doing all they could, but maybe it was too late. I didn't need them now, I had too much on my mind; and, I had other people to confide in. "I'll be fine."

"Emma," Archie sighed while mom started to cry. "Jay Hoggart is not someone you want to make friends with."

I smirked, in a very Jay-like way, "Too late. Now, if you don't mind, I want to be alone."

"Emma, you're not yourself lately. You're cold, distant, you're clearly moody..."

This time, rather than losing my cool, I plastered on a fake smile. "I'm sorry about earlier. I've just been really stressed lately..."

"Is there anything we can do?" Mom offered.

I shook my head, thinking in my mind that I should get some sort of award for the show I was putting on for them. "I just need some space. Now that the play is done I should be okay."

Mom smiled, pulling me into a hug. I hugged her back, looking over her shoulder at Archie; he didn't look so convinced by my act. I averted his eyes as he and mom left the room.

I sighed heavily, plopping onto my bed. Emma Nelson, what is so special about you that all these people actually care about you? If they knew the real you, the one who didn't feel anything for them, they wouldn't be so sympathetic. They would hate you. They should hate you.

BREAK-BREAK-BREAK (Ruler tool is broken.)

I woke up the next morning sweating, and it took me a minute or so to realize why I was so warm; I was still in the gown. I closed my eyes tightly, remembering everything that had happened the previous night. I sighed, rolling out of bed. I quickly tore off the dress and threw on a pair of old plaid pyjama pants and a grey wife beater. Rather than staying in my room for the day like I would much rather have done, I shuffled up the stairs, coming face to face with the smiling faces of my parents.

"Emma!" My mom exclaimed, enthusiastically. "Snake made you your favourite breakfast. Blueberry pancakes."

I grimaced just thinking about the calories those suckers contained.

"Something wrong?" Snake asked, "I can make you something else if you want."

Smiling, I lied, "No, I've been craving these forever!"

We sat around the table, being the typical, all-Canadian family. When mom and Snake did their best to keep up conversation with me, I obliged by randomly nodding or smiling in agreement. Truthfully, the only thing going through my mind was the calorie count. I was starting to worry about the potential weight gain created by this breakfast alone; and, about all the hard work and discipline that had been sacrificed just to get my parents off my back.

With the breakfast stomached, I quickly excused myself from the table. I ran down to my room and stood on the scale: 109 pounds. I was still way to fat, and that meal alone had definitely set me back. I started to panic. Why had I given into them? I should have just made an excuse as to why I couldn't eat. I should have picked a fight to distract them. Oh well, it was too late. I closed my eyes tightly, and tried to relax my mind which was going a mile a minute. I quickly threw off my pyjamas and threw on my spandex work out shorts and white lycra tank top; I needed to burn calories, quick.

So, I jogged up the stairs and out the front door. Once outside I went full throttle, not bothering to pace myself; so, when I hit the four kilometre mark I shouldn't have been surprised by the shortness of breath and pain I was experiencing in my chest. I rested by hands on my knees as I stood trying to catch my breath; I still hadn't worked out enough. I tried to push myself even harder, but I hit the wall. Collapsing onto the plush terrain off to the side of the road, I was surprised to hear the familiar sound of a sixteen speaker system. I lifted my body up with my two elbows and squinted, through the sunlight, into the open window of the orange Civic. "Hey...Jay," I panted, trying my best to control my more than jagged breathing.

"Greenpeace, hey. Do you always find it wise to take a tortruous run the morning after an emotionally draining experience?" He smirked, opening the door to the passenger side.

"Thanks," I replied, smiling slightly.

"No problem. Here," he said, tossing me a bottle of water. "I went to your house and your mom said she saw you leave for a run."

"So you brought me water?" I asked, smirking. "That was very sweet of you, Jason"

"Haha. I just thought I'd save you from dehydration. I saw Alex dehydrate once, it was disgusting," he replied, obviously trying to play it off that he was always doing people favours.

"So, why were you at my house?"

"Well," he began somewhat hesitantly as we began driving. "I just wanted to see how you were." I opened my mouth to speak, but he beat me to it, "Don't read into this, Greenpeace. I just wanted make sure you hadn't went completely bonkers."

I smiled, "You care about me."

He grinned in disbelief and shook his head, "I'm not completely heartless."

"Visit the Emerald City lately?"

He laughed, "Looks like someone's got their humour back."

Frowning, I looked out the passenger window. "Only when I'm with you." Realizing what I had just said, we both took the silent route.

We drove for about thirty minutes until we came to an old abandoned parking lot. "Where are we?" I asked, looking around for a clue.

"There used to be a mattress factory here," he said, pointing towards a demolished old building. "Now, there is only this old parking lot."

I nodded, "Okay." I racked my brain trying my hardest to find a reason for us being here.

"My dad taught me how to drive here when I was eleven," he stated, looking around as if in a state of remembrance. "When's your birthday?"

"Why?"

"Well, at sixteen you get your G1." (For you Americans, the G1 is basically your beginners. It allows you to drive with an experienced driver.)

"I'm fifteen," I replied. "I have an August birthday."

He nodded, "Get out."

I looked at him shocked, "What?" In my mind, I thought he had planned to leave me here in the middle of nowhere.

"Don't look so worried," he laughed, getting out of the car himself.

I got out walking to the front of the car where he met me, "What are we doing?"

"Get in the driver's seat," he insisted. I, however, just stood there. "Come on, it'll be fun. I bet your parents haven't taken you out yet, right?"

I reluctantly nodded my head, and walked over to the driver's door. Sliding into the seat, I let out a long gust of air that I hadn't even realized I'd been holding in. "What do I do?"

He laughed good naturadly, "First, put on the seatbelt. Then, take it out of park." I reached over my shoulder to where the grey seatbelt sat, buckling up, I then looked to the shifter. I saw the 'P', and assumed that it was indeed the park. He saw my doubt, and responded, "Press the button on the end, and then bring it up to drive. It's an automatic, don't worry." I brought it up to drive, and felt the car was ready to go. I took a big gulp of air, and placed my hands on the steering wheel, at ten and two. "Give it a little gas." Unaware of how much a little was, I pressed my foot down hard, which jerked us forward quickly. I started to tear up, it was a lot harder than it looked. "Don't quit on me know," Jay stated. "Try putting your foot down lighter, make it more gradual." I nodded, putting my foot back slower.

"How's this?" I asked, at we did about ten kilometres around the lot.

"Good," he replied, smiling.

We drove around for awhile more, until I was able to do about fifty, and loving it. We stopped and got out of the car, walking over to a soft patch of grass near the woods. Sitting down, I turned to look at Jay, "How was I?"

He grinned, "You were good. Who knows, you may someday beat me in a drag race."

"Uh huh," I replied laughing. "Thanks."

"For what?"

I sighed, "For taking my mind off everything."

Nodding, he replied, "Ditto."

"Who would have ever thought the two of us would become friends," I stated, laughing at the thought of super environmentalist, Emma hanging out with resident bad boy, Jay.

"We're friends?"

I paused, looking at him like he was insane. "Duh!" I playfully pushed him. He responded by tackling me to the ground. We play fought for awhile, which ended with me on the ground being tickled. "Stop!" I gasped. "I give up!" He stopped, and looked at me. We were in a fairly compromising position, with him straddling me from above. I smirked, he smiled.

He leaned forward, pressing his lips against mine. It wasn't a forceful, heavy kiss; it was a light, sweet kiss. I sat shocked, when he pulled away; I had never experienced a kiss with him like that before. It was so innocent, so real. I was speechless.

He looked shocked himself, turning away from me. I smiled, getting up and moving closer to him. "My my, what would Degrassi say?"

Laughing, he put his arm around my shoulders. "I'm never against shaking things up at Degrassi."

"True, very true. So, what's the deal, Hoggart?"

"What do you mean?" He asked, looking at me confused.

"Who's the real Jay?"

He smirked, "I'm like an onion."

I laughed, "Good answer...Shrek."

"I'm serious," he replied. "I mean, at first people just see me as some criminal, or something. Most people think I'm this big loser, right? Well, then when you get over that layer, you get this. I guess."

"You know, this could be your first layer."

"What about you?" He asked, looking at me seriously.

"What about me?"

"Who is the real Emma Nelson?"

"You're looking at her," I replied. "There isn't much to know."

"I beg to differ."

"Beg away, but what you see is what you get."

"No," he stated simply. "You have even more layers than I do. You have this good girl, lost girl thing going on in the eyes of almost everyone. They see you as some sort of princess."

I shook my head, "That isn't true."

"It is," he replied. "Sure, you've hit a rough patch, and they all see that; but, they still see you as this innocent, fragile thing."

"What do you see?" I asked him. "What do you see in me?"

"Well, you're complicated," he responded seriously, removing his arm. "Sometimes you're this outgoing, vivacious girl, who jokes around a lot. Then," he paused, looking straight into my eyes, "you're also this girl who's completely broken down. You try and seem all put together, but you're falling apart at the seams."

I started to tear up, and he looked away. "Em, I know what's going on."

"What do you mean?" I asked, knowing exactly what he meant.

"What did you eat today?"

"Pancakes," I replied. I didn't even have to lie.

"And then you ran yourself into exhaustion," he stated flatly.

I turned away, "This is ridiculous," I sighed, getting up to leave.

"Emma, you need help."

"What do you know about me Jay!" I yelled, looking at him angrily. Our conversation had taken a complete 180 degree turn. "Do you really know anything about me!" I yelled out at him, "My favourite band? What's my middle name? What movie makes me cry every time I see it?"

He stood up, putting his hands in the air as a sign of defence. "You're right, I barely know anything about you; but, I do know you need help."

My head started spinning, what did he know? I stormed away, willing to walk all the way home if I had to. He didn't know anything about me. There was nothing wrong with me. I wasn't sick; I was stressed and health conscious! I couldn't help if we lived in a fast food nation!

"Katie died!" He blurted out, I whipped around, staring at him in confusion. He looked defeated, "My sister," he stated simply.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, barely able to get the words out.

"I was twelve, she was seventeen. I wasn't always a badass you know."

"I don't see how any of this relates to me."

He sighed, rubbing his face, "She was an anorexic. She died, because she wouldn't eat. No matter how much I wanted her to, no matter how many times I begged her, she wouldn't."

I blinked quickly, staring at someone who know seemed like a completely different person to me. "I'm sorry to hear that," I replied simply. "But, I'm not anorexic. I'm just..."

"Health conscious?" He supplied. "Yeah, Katie was to."

"I'm just trying to lose weight," I deadpanned.

He sighed, walking over to me. "I know, but you're making yourself sick."

"Maybe I haven't been eating as much as I should, but I'm not anorexic," I stated icily.

"Then you'll start eating more?"

I grimaced, putting on a fake smile, "Yeah. I mean, you're making way too big of a deal out of this. Really, I'm fine."

He sighed, 'Fine. Come on, let's get you home. It's getting cold, and you're a little underdressed."

I nodded, following him back to the car.

It was a fairly silent ride, as neither one of us spoke for a good fifteen minutes. I was mad at him for acting like I was sick. He was the one person I could count on to treat me normal, and now that was changed. On the other hand, I was relieved. I was glad that someone actually payed enough attention to me to care. I was also confused. Did the kiss we share mean something special? Would our dynamic now change? I was awakened from my deep train of thought when I looked over at Jay. He looked like a completely different person. Then I thought about what he had said earlier, 'I wasn't always a badass you know. '

"Jay," I said quietly.

He turned to face me briefly, before averting his eyes back to the road. "Yeah?"

"Can you tell me about Katie?"

He sighed, running his right hand through his hair. "There really isn't much to say, Em."

I bit my lip, turning again towards the window. I didn't want to pry where I didn't belong; but, really, he had been the one to involve her in our friendship.

"She was my bestfriend," he finally stated, and I looked back over to him. "I mean, she was older than me, but she still treated me as an equal. When we were younger she would always bring me places with her."

"What happened?" I asked.

"When she entered highschool everything changed," he sighed heavily, as if the memory pained him. "She had less time for me. She started dating and all that, I guess."

I nodded, understanding how people often grew apart as they got older; I guess that was me and Manny. "You said she was an anorexic..."

"Yeah," he replied. "When she was fifteen she started working out like crazy. We all thought she was just trying to get in shape or something. I mean, she was never fat or anything. Then, she started skipping supper with the family, which wasn't normal for her." He stopped talking, and looked over at me. I stared straight back at him, emploring for him to continue. "Well, a year had passed and she was exercising even more; it was like an obsession or something. She started snapping at everyone too. Before it all she was the picture of sweetness, but she did a complete one-eighty. Then, my parents got concerned. She denied having a problem, and ended up just secluding herself. She, at this point, was probably ninety pounds; so, my parents brought her to the health centre. They diagnosed her as an anorexic, but it didn't help."

"Why not?"

"She wouldn't eat. No matter how hard everyone tried to tell her she was dying, she wouldn't listen. So, on her birthday, she died."

"How?"

"Heart failure," he replied simply.

"Oh, Jay," I replied sympathetically. "I'm sorry."

"Yeah," he sighed. "Everything changed after that. My parents couldn't handle it. So, my dad split; he calls at Christmas. I went from straight 'A', perfect son, to what you see before you."

"That's awful," I replied. "I know what it's like not to have a dad."

"You have Simpson," he said, looking confused.

I nodded, "Sure, but he's my step-dad. My real dad, well..."

"Deadbeat?" He asked.

"No," I replied, shaking my head. "No, he's in the hospital; the mental health clinic in Stouffville. He was on LSD, and fell, hit his head."

He sighed, "You know, there's a lot more to you than I could have ever imagined."

I smiled sadly, "Back at ya."

"We really are fuck ups," he stated.

"By circumstance," I replied back at him.

We drove for about five more minutes, until we arrived at my house. "So, I'll see you around?" I asked.

He nodded, leaned over and kissed me lightly on the top of my head. "You'll be fine."

I nodded, opening the door to get out. He waited until I got to the front door until he drove off, all sixteen speakers blaring. I entered the empty house, and heading straight for the computer. I came away knowning only one thing; I had to be careful around Jay. I went online and checked the calorie count of two blueberry pancakes, and wrote it down in an empty spiral ring notebook.

One thing was for sure, I had blown my diet today.