DISCLAIMER: I don't own Degrassi.

Ellie checked the temperture on the stove and dipped her finger in the nearly boiling water. It didn't burn too badly since her reflexes were so quick. She was listening intently to Craig sitting on her sofa, strumming the making's of a song on a guitar.

"That sounded just like the one you played before it." Alex spat, leaning foreword in the chair she had dubbed hers weeks ago.

"It was in a completely different key, not to mention there was no middle eighth." Craig explained to her in the simpliest terms.

"I liked it." Ellie piped up from the kitchen. "Can I get anybody anything while I'm up?" She asked, peering in her next to empty fridge. Dylan had his protein formulas and bars thrown through out it and Marco always had left overs from his trips to his mom's house but that was basically all it contained.

"Actually, yeah." Craig nodded, still fingering the strings. "Could you get your dad on the phone and tell him to call off this draft?" He turned himself around, so he could stare at Ellie. She just bent a smile over her face and wandered over next to him.

"I second that!" Marco squeaked.

"He's not in charge of that. What are you so worried about?" She asked, innocently. "Yes, I hated seeing my dad go away to battle when I was younger and I can't stand the thought of both of you both leaving but, serving in the war is looked at one of the noblest, selfless and bravest things you can do."

"Who looks at it that way, Elle?" Marco's big puppy Italian eyes shot into hers. "I'd like to have a talk with them."

"It's just," Craig took a deep breath and put the guitar down while talking. "The whole music scene's really taking off for me right now. I'm going places, I've got huge venues lined up. This war couldn't be coming at a worse time."

"You're so right." Alex sighed and chimed in before anybody else could. "Ellie, call your dad up and tell him to postpone the war, Craig has huge venues lined up." Alex quickly fixed her face to it's normal snarly look. Ellie just laughed in agreement.

"Sure, I sound like a child but, I have wanted this for fifteen years, Alex. What have you wanted for fifteen years?" Alex didn't say a word. "That's right, nothing!" He said like he had defeated.

"You're right, Craig, there isn't anything I want that badly because fifteen years ago I was three and if I still wanted to marry the Blue Power Ranger, I would've figured something went terribly wrong in my life."

As if on cue, to save her from the arguement she was preparing to have with Craig, her phone began to beep in her sweatshirt pouch. She fished it out and balanced it between her shoulder and her ear.

"Yep?" She answered.

"Way to be, Craig." Ellie nudged him, getting up to get check the Kraft Dinner she was preparing.

"I'm sorry, Elle, I'm just passionate about this. I don't want to go off to war."

"I got to run." She clicked her phone off and sounded more annoyed than before.

"Everything okay?" Ellie checked with her friend while stirring around the little noodles.

"Uh - Yeah, I have to go Jay sitting." She rolled her eyes. "I'll see you."

"Bye, Alex!" Marco waved, followed by Craig, who'd returned to fiddling around on his acoustic guitar. Alex let herself and fled to the bus stop.

Sitting on the beat up couch in his new apartment flipping through the television stations, Sean stared at the blue light reflecting from the TV screen that shone around him giving him a UFO-like glow. He could sense Emma's tension without even looking at her, touching her or listening to her. Hudled up next to him on the couch, she was knitting a mile a minute. He figured she had made enough clothing to fill Cher's tour wardrobe.

"How can you just sit here and watch TV?" She finally exclaimed. She couldn't hold it any longer.

Sean turned his head around and tried to read the expression on her face that was pretty clear.

"I asked if you wanted to go to the driving range, you said no."

"Sean, you are most likely going to be sent off to Iraq to fight -"

"You don't know that." He cut her off.

"There's a good chance and you're sitting here, watching infomericals," She fanned her arms around like it was nothing. "like it's just an ordinary day."

"I just don't think it's anything to get worked up over."

"How do you figure that?" She held one arm over her pelvis.

"If I have to go, I'll go. If I don't, I won't." His philosphy made perfect sense to him. Before Emma could fight him on it, there was a knock at their door followed by large calls and noises of crashing. Emma's eyes averted to the door and Sean rushed over to open it revealing Alex hunched over with a shit-faced Jay hanging off her arms.

"Hey, he needs a place to crash and he can't go to his place, I'd volunteer mine but, I've been locked out." She exclaimed her eyes dark and hollowed and her bones sore from carrying Jay up the six flights of stairs since the elevator took too long.

"WAR!" Jay shouted tilting his head from side to side. "What is it good for? Absoluetly nothing, uh! Say it again now." He sang aloud to the classic rock song that was only playing in his head at the moment.

"You know where to go."

This was routine for the three of them. Jay would get smashed, Alex would come to his rescue and Sean would let him stay over or Jay would pick Alex up trashed and they would sleep in his Honda. Emma just glared at them both and returned to knitting.

"Hey Emma Bo Bemma Bo Nanana Bo Emma." Jay winked in what looked like her direction to him, swinging one arm around to help balance him out.

"Sorry to interupt your date." Alex groaned. Sean quickly came to her rescue to try and help her out.

"Whatever." Emma muttered pretty much inaudiable but Alex heard.

"You don't go down on my boyfriend and we're even."

Emma still couldn't believe that Alex hadn't just buried that like it should've been a long time ago. Lucky for her, Sean didn't want to hear about it and told Alex to just leave it be. She rolled her eyes and went into Sean's bedroom to lie Jay down. Sean re-appeared on his couch in a matter of seconds.

"I feel so safe." Emma shook her head and snarled. "Knowing our country will be protected by the all mighty Dragonbreath Hogart." She allowed herself to chuckle. Sean didn't say a word. He knew his best friend was a screw up but, perhaps the war could be good for Jay. He really didn't want to get into another fight surrounding Jay though, so he remained silent.

"You know," Her voice shifted into a softer tone, the one Sean preferred. "Tommorrow might be our last night together." She put down her knitting and needles by her feet and snuggled her head against his arm. Sean hadn't even thought about that, he'd just got back and now he was being possibly being shipped away. Placing his hand over her arm, staring at the screen, he felt scared for th first time during all this chaos.

"Alright." Alex stood up straight and stared down at the burly boy laying mindlessly on Sean's dirty sheets. She couldn't believe that she still looked out for him and remained as his faithful friend to this day. A grin creeped up on her face as she watched him. "See ya." She went to leave the room when Jay began to moan all sorts of mumbo jumbo she couldn't understand. He scuffed his hand underneath his baseball cap and knocked it over his face making it even harder to understand him.

"You say something?" She questioned standing in the door frame, her silhouette draping over a bit of him.

'"I said I want to go fight." He slurred.

"Why?" It didn't sound logical to Alex but, it was very seldom that Jay was logical.

"I might be- luge - luge..." Jay searched for the word.

"Belong?" She helped him out.

"Yeah." He nodded and smiled like a crazy fool. "There I might belong." He continued to swagger and rock on the bed, from side to side and back again.

"You might belong in Iraq?" Alex tried to piece the puzzle together.

"No. Just war - I could do it. People always threaten to send me there."

"To Iraq?" She guessed.

"No!" He shouted. "To war, you moron." His blue eyew open wide and he began to chuckle at her.

"Yes, maybe, this will be good for you." She settled on saying. She just wanted to leave and figure out how to get into her apartment seeing as the lock wouldn't budge.

"I just wish - I just want -" He tried but he couldn't say what was ringing true in his head and had been since he had gotten to the bar.

"What Jay?" She was getting very iritatted and thumped her foot on the ground rapidly. "What do you wish and want, Jay? What?" She wnated him to just spit it out. Though she'd been drunk multiple times, she had no paitence.

"I would like it if you could come with me."

"To Iraq?" She questioned.

"Yeah. I'll miss ya." And with that, he turned completely on his stomach, his face stretched against the mattress.

It might've been said in a drunken slur and from her idiot of a friend and it might've been strange but it warmed Alex's insides and made her feel wanted for a brief moment. She closed the bedroom door and left Jay to sleep the alchol off.

"He's out. I'll see you later." She waved them goodbye and helped herself to the door.

"See you, Lex." Sean waved. Emma just watched the girl leave - they would never manage to be on decent terms it would seem.

It wasn't until she had made it out of Sean's apartment that Jay's comment filled her head with one her possibly greatest ideas - at least to her. It was dangerous but, she was ready.