Chapter Five:

Something About The Manning Twins

The morning brought nothing refreshing to Sydney. Things only seemed to be worse. Her head was heavy with the aching that she could only describe as "tragically painful" but even that hurt to think about. Her whole body ached with each spin the room took. She looked down and noticed her jeans were twisted on her hips and her shirt was rippled from sleeping in it. She sat up like a rocket only to lay back down in complete pain. She'd heard of hang overs before but, never actually experienced one.

She took each pace one pace at a time. The steps were like an adventure down a rocky mountain. The feeling of moving, the noise of moving, nothing felt humane. The closer she got to the kitchen the more her head hurt from the noise of her dad clanging dishes and the sound of food sizzling in a pan.

"Good morning." His smile reached ear to ear and even someone entirely blind could see. It looked like it took some work to make. He had a spatula up in one hand and an empty plate in the other. She visably clenched at the sound of his salutation. "Are you sick?" She didn't look like herself. Nobody looked very becoming in the morning but, she usually didn't have make-up smeared all over her face and yesterday's clothes on. She only nodded with no energy to speak. "Well, how about some scrambled eggs and french toast to make you feel better?"

Usually, that would come across as incrediably appetizing to Sydney Mason but, she wanted to hurl just by smelling the food. Also, she had read in one of Colleen's gossip magazines that eating eggs when you're hung over is a recipe for disaster. Still, she couldn't tell her dad about what happened last night and she didn't have the heart to shoot down his positive mood by refusing breakfast. This was the type of thing she'd confide in her mother and if her mom was around, it would've never happened. Gavin slid the plate right in front of her and instructed her to dig in, in his new chipper voice.

"Thanks." She groaned while cautiously picking up her fork to do just that.

Standing by her locker in sweats and a tee shirt, Sydney had tried her best to get through her shower and make herself look healthy at school but, she only felt worse. A finger tapped her shoulder furiously and made her moan.

"What?" She turned around to notice it was Spencer. They had spoken once before but, it was still a strange sight.

"Hi, Uh, Sydney, i'm Spencer."

"I know who you are." She squinted to keep the light from making her head ache any worse.

"Alright, do you know where Tori is? Tori Hogart?" He pressed on like an eager beaver.

Sydney couldn't figure out why he'd ask her. She'd never really associated with Tori much, not since junior high. Their dads didn't really like each other and Tori's friendship wasn't worth all that much to Sydney.

"Uh, I don't know, I saw her at her locker a few minutes ago." She shrugged.

"Thanks." he smiled briefly and slipped away.

"What a strange boy." The snicker of Colleen Bicknell sliding up beside her said. Sydney didn't say a word. "You know, even when I'm hung over, I try to look ready for my public." She looked Sydney up and down. Sydney couldn't figure out how Colleen knew. "Want to come with me to the washroom? I'll try and fix you up." Colleen strung her manicured hands through Sydney's flat blonde locks.

"Okay." Sydney grabbed her text book for her next class and then closed her locker. The two girls passed through the halls with ease. Secretly, all the faces and movement made Sydney want to lean over and hurl. Right as the two girls reached the girl's room, Jayson and one of the guys from the party last night dodged in front of them.

"You look rough." Jayson cackled.

"Gee, I love when boys tell me that." She groaned and rolled her eyes. Even sarcasm was painful.

Colleen was muddled by Sydney actually standing to talk to such a degenerate. She had no use for The Hogarts and anyone they knew.

"Whatever. The hang over will wear off." He shook her to jokingly make it feel worse than it already did. "There's another party tonight, you better come."

"You know, you were suspended, you better leave before I call Principal Denver." Colleen tilted her head down and squinted sadistically in his general direction.

Putting his hands up, he backed off.

"Since you said please, princess." He wandered away from the girls. "See you tonight, Cindy." He called at Sydney.

Colleen grabbed Sydney by the wrist and pulled her into the girls room.

"Are you going to tell me what you were doing hanging out with Hogart last night or are you saving that topic for girls night tonight?"

Sydney had forgotten about their spa date that she had reluctantly agreed to take part in.

"We just happened to be in the same place."

"Don't joke, Syd. What's going on with you? You've been like a zombie since your mom died?"

Sydney couldn't believe how Colleen could just say things like that. She said them the way she asked for no cream in her coffee or how she explained James Franco's washboard abs. She just said it all very simply.

"I'm just adjusting." She shrugged, taking a look at her discumbobluated self in the mirror.

"Well, let's adjust your attire, okay?" Colleen hated sweat pants. "Here." She took a hair elastic from her wrist and began to pull Sydney's blonde locks into one french braid. "Go into my make up bag in my purse and get rid of that black from under your eyes. The goth look is gone, sexy is back." She winked in the mirror. Sydney did as she said without a word.

"Hey, do you know a guy named Austin Walters?"

"No." Sydney stared back at Colleen in the mirror while dabbing a cotton pad beneath her eyes.

"His dad, Dean, works at the bank right by your street."

"Okay." This all meant nothing to Sydney.

"Anyways, I'm completely over you-know-who and I don't know why but Austin is looking really appealing these days. Plus, he just dumped that hippo, Kayli Sinclair." Colleen would neve rbe mistaken for anyone but Paige's offspring. "I'm totally going for it." She tightened the hair elastic once more around the braid. "There, now just brush your teeth and nobody will know you're Hogart's hoe."

"I am not!" Sydney shot but Colleen didn't buy it. She just put everything back in her bag and trotted away.

"Is it just me or do you feel safer without our brother's poluting the Degrassi hallways?" Tori appraoched Penny with a large lip gloss smile.

"Hey Tori." She grinned right back. "Yeah, I agree." Things did feel less chaotic without Jayson, Cody or Zac at school. "So, did you talk to anybody about the spark plug situation?"

"Yeah, Julio said he could come over around noon. I thought we could go over on our lunch break."

"Sweet." Tori nodded. "So, I was thinking about how to kick off our reunion."

Penny was all ears. When the two girls used to hang out, Tori always knew the best and most creative ways to have fun and cut loose.

"Japanese Karaoke bar?" She questioned with perked up eyes.

"Are you kidding? That was strictly a grade eight thing." She slapped her hand through out the air. "It's a surprise. I have a whole weekend planned."

Before Penny could question anymore or Tori could explain anything else the bell sounded.

"I've got Phys Ed but, I'll see you tonight." Tori, who was usually as positive as a Michael Moore movie was all smiles. Everybody around took notice and were just as confused by it as Penny.

Stepping out of the girls change room, Tori was fully dressed in her gym class uniform but before she could fully walk out to the gymnasium she was cornered by none other than Spencer Del Rossi.

"Hey." He took in a deep breath and almost caused himself to hiccup. Tori just glanced over him and walked into the gymnasium. "I'm Spencer, uh, we kissed?"

"It wasn't all that memorable, I wouldn't go spreading it around." Tori was a sweetheart when she wanted to be but, she could pull out her inner Alex Nunez in the blink of an eye.

"Oh, uh, sorry." Spencer froze up right away. He couldn't think of anything to say. "I've never kissed a girl before." He just blurted out. The few kids around them who were hanging out in the gym began to sort of snicker.

Tori turned around, her pin straight her sashaying around.

"Del Rossi, here's a tip, when people already suspect you're a queer, you shouldn't go around saying you've never kissed girls before." She rolled her eyes and snapped a hair elastic off her wrist to pull her hair into a pony tail for class. Spencer caught the first glance of a scar around her wrist that looked a lot like a burn. He right away assumed it was from her parents.

"I know you hate your parents!" Once again, another stupid line impulsivly came out of his mouth. She turned around and just dodged her eyes into his. A few stray strands that she had dyed fell into her face since shed' spun around so quickly.

"I just mean," He stepped closer and brought his voice down to a hush. "The scars and all."

She snorted and before crossing her arms, she pushed him by the shoulders.

"Get lost, fag." She said while walking away from him.

"You enjoying your pedi?" Paige asked the three blonde girls sitting beside her in a row.

One by one they all answered agreeingly however, Sydney just muttered hers under her breath.

"So, mom, how was your day at work?" Giselle shifted foreword to face her mom, her long goddess like blonde locks cascading down.

"Productive." Paige smacked the gum between her lips. "You know the Cameron kids, I think Penny is in your grade, girls, and both their oldets son is still trying for his Senior diploma."

"He's never in class." Colleen pointed out, snottily.

"That doesn't surprise me, their father is Sean Cameron. Anyways, this is one bitter divorce. The majority are but there was not a moment of silence in my office today. One of them always picking on the other, I really thought Sean was going to rip my University diploma off the wall and smash it right on his wife's head."

"Their kids are lunatics, anyways." Colleen mindlessly flipped through a Teen Vogue.

"It's surprisng that they don't get along with those Hogart losers." Giselle followed her sister's lead.

"Hey!" Sydney almost yelled. "They're not that bad." She mumbled, the Bicknell girls eyes down on them could be very intimidating.

"Whatever." Colleen finally looked up from the magazine. "Mom, I need your advice, which color for my fingers?" Paige leaned in to get a closer look. "Should I go with Maroon Blues, very sexy or Heavenly Hush, it's a little more girly."

"Are you trying to impress a boy?" Giselle inquired.

"What do you think?" Colleen looked down at her sister like she was mental. "His names Austin Walters, he just broke up with this hoebag, and he's so fresh and cute. He looks like he just graced the cover of Forbes and Cosmo at the same time. What do you think, Mom?!"

Paige's face must've turned all thirteen shades of red and matched her toe nails. Austin Walters, as in Dean Walter's oldest and only offspring? The idea of them being anywhere near her family or her made her want to pull the lungs out of her chest just to stop from hyperventaliating.

"No!" She just snapped. "I refuse to let you see him."

"What?!" Colleen whined. "Mom, you don't even know him. This is so typical of you."

"Trust me, Collie, he's bad news." Paige tried to sell her point like the lawyer she was.

"No, he's rich, dresses like he's as queer as the Del Rossi family and he's hot! Mom!!!"

Between the melodrama and concentrated pedicures none of the Bicknell ladies noticed Sydney slip out of the Salon.

Just as the sun was begining to sink low, Sydney was wandering up the hill that led to the snow covered ravine. As soon as she entered the same area she was in the night prior she saw Jayson setting a keg down by the vans. She was confused and angry and still very much grieving. She couldn't figure out herself and want to be able to talk to her mom. She had no intention of ever feeling the same way she did that morning but she liked the careless fun she had the night before. Without a thought, she strolled up to Jayson and his group of friends.

"You're early." He scoffed, looking her over. She was more done up than the night before. "And no burger?"

"I just wanted to make sure we'd get a van." She smirked and grabbed him by the wrist this time. His whole group hollered and he taken quite far back. She slid open a van door and went to step in when he pulled her back.

"What are you doing, Syd?"

"I thought these were shag vans." She giggled like the rest of the girls she knew would do in front of guys they wanted to impress.

"You want to do this shit?" He asked, playing with the beak of his ball cap.

She bit her lipstick smuthered lips and pulled her jacket open to reveal a low cut revealing top. Jayson wasn't even going to try and steer his vision elsewhere.

"Do you want to?" She questioned, rhetorically as they both climbed into the van.

Penny ripped through her room stuffing pajamas and various items into a napsack. Tori had sprawled herself over her friend's bag, Penny's room hadn't changed since they had last hung out years ago. The walls were covered in different photos, sketches, flower petals, quotes, lyrics, and anything that a thumbtack would hold up. You could barely tell the walls were a a creamy shade of mocha. Her single bed still had the same quilt made of her baby clothes and the only change was her sheets.

In the middle of her tangent, Tori interrupted herself.

"Ah!? Where did the California Raisins go?" She sounded sincerly appauled.

Penny just chuckled while slipping her hair behind her ears.

"I was doing the laundry and I just put them in my dad's room."

"Your dad? A fourty some old man is sleeping on the California Raisins?"

"He's a beach boy at heart." She shrugged. "So, carry on with your story, I'm intrested."

"Right." She bounced onto the edge of the bed. "So, he just follows me into my gym class, which is all female, and he starts blurting out the stupidest stuff like about how I hate my parents and he's never kissed a girl."

"Both of those aren't news to anybody."

"I know, but, man." Tori was exasperated and displayed it with a deep sigh. "He's been following me like a puppy all day."

Penny kept snickering.

"What?" Tori eyed her, wildly. "Penny, what is so funny?"

Penny stopped her laughter long enough to say:"You must be a damn good kisser."

"Penny!" She threw one of Penny's stuffed animals at her. "This is bad! I can't stand this kid."

"Be nice to him. He doesn't have it easy at school."

"Easy for you to say, you didn't kiss bolgna breath."

"You made that choice on your own." She swung her napsack over her shoulders. "Alright, i'm ready."

"Finally."

The two girls giggled all the way down the stairs where Cody was walking around half naked while getting his uniform on for the garage.

"Whoa, have you grown up, Cody Cameron?" Tori smacked her lips together without taking her stare off him.

"Cody, Put some clothes on!" Quickly, Penny picked up a crumpled tee shirt from the couch and threw it at him.

"I haven't seen you around here, Tori, not since, like, elementary school."

"And I didn't see you around school today." Tori fired back, playfully.

Cody just laughed.

"You can blame your dick of a brother for that one."

"Okay, Cody, stop flirting, Tori is taken by Spencer Del Rossi -"

"Hey!" Tori slapped her friend in the ribs.

"And you should be at work by, I don't know, an hour ago! Let's go, Tori." Penelope dragged her friend out by linking their arms together.

"I'm not seeing Del Rossi!" Tori waved goodbye to Cody, leaving him alone in his house laughing.

Paige folded her newly painted hands on her hips and waited for somebody to answer the door at Gavin Mason's house. Tapping her foot on his icy door step, she waited.

"Spinner!" She cried as he opened the door. "Hey, did Sydney come home?"

"I thought she was with you, your girl's night." He frowned his brows down close to his eyes and looked both perplexed and concerned at the same time.

"Oh, hot damn." Paige muttered staring at her heels. "She just sort of took off, I have no idea where she went. I'm so sorry, Spinner."

"It's Gavin now!" He corrected her in a yell, without closing the door or inviting her inside, he wandered back inside his house and picked up his phone. Paige let herself in and shut the door behind her.

"I'm so sorry, Gavin. I don't know why she even left, we were having a good time."

"Hey Mom?" Gavin asked over the phone, one hand on his pelvis. "Has Sydney called you?" He waited, Paige stared at him from across the room completely worrisome. "Alright, uh, just let me know, okay?" Time felt like it was moving so slow but everythign around her was spinning. "I can't talk right now, Mom, okay? Yes, okay, goodbye." He hung up the phone and dialed another number.

"Gavin I-"

He just put his finger up for her to be quiet.

"Hey Emma?" He asked. "Yeah, It's Spin- Gavin. I was looking for Sydney and I know that you had talked to her for me, she didn't come by your place, did she?" He waited, impaitently. "Thanks, I apperciate that. Yes, have a good night, too." He hung up the phone once again.

Her hands on her face, Paige was ready to weep.

"Is she with Emma?"

"No." Gavin shook his head and ran both his hands through his hair. "I don't know where she could be."

"Doesn't she take dance still?"

"She hasn't gone in weeks." He smeared his hand over his face.

"The graveyard?"

"She won't go." He shook his head.

"The resturant?" Paige tried.

"Paige! If I had any idea where she was, I'd be there. If I knew what was wrong with her, none of this would've happened. Jesus! This was what Val was for. Val knew how to talk to her, she always knew where she was or would be, I am no good at this."

"Hey!" Paige wandered closer. "That is not true. I see how you are with Sydney, she is lucky to have you. You're incrediable to her. I wish my husband treated Collie and Giselle the way you do your daughter. She's just hurting right now and she doesn't know how to act."

Gavin pulled out his kitchen chair and took a seat. Seconds later, he stared up at his ex-girlfriend, waiting for her to take a seat, too.

"Teenage girls are complicated." He simply stated.

"I know that first hand." Paige nodded. "You know, Collie, she's set her eyes on Austin Walters." Gavin's eyes beamed open and shot right into her face. "Yep, I know. I don't know what I'm going to do, either."

"So, we both need something stronger than coffee, then." Was all Gavin could say.

"What are we doing at Spinner's Bar and Grill?" Penny glanced around the happening resturant. The place was a buzz in their community. "This is our fun evening? A romantic dinner for two."

"No way!" Tori wandered over to the host standing at a sleek black podium. "Two for Tori Hogart." She grinned.

"Right this way, Miss." The girl took both Penny and Tori in right away and sat them close to the stage in the back of the resturant.

"Good service." Tori crossed her legs and smiled. She flipped through the drink specials on their tables.

"Okay, tell me your big plan now." Penny slipped her coat off and removed her winter tuk.

"To celebrate day one of the Penelope Joy Cameron/Torrence Alexandra Hogart's revival tour we're going to party here at the hottest resturant in our neighborhood." She giggled wildly. Her hoop earrings swinging from side to side. "We are going sip back Shirley Temple's, throw our hands in the air like we just don't care and flirt with the Manning brothers." She slid her hungry eyes to the stage where two twin boys, a few years older then them, were setting up amps and chairs to sit on.

"Seriously? They're so..." Penny was in awe, the closest she'd been to boys this hot was a television screen. "Beautiful." She sighed, dreamily.

"I know but I call dibs on Vin, okay? He's the drummer."

"Their twins, Tori, they are mirror images of one another."

"No, Vin's chin is much more chiseled than Hartley's. Besides, drummers are way wilder."

"Well, I'm fine with Hartley. You'll just have to make sure I know whose who, later on."

Both girls laughed as the waiters brought them waters to start.

"Penelope Cameron, is that you?" A red head girl behind her spoke up. Penny shifted in her seat with the straw from her water still between her lips. She looked the woman over but couldn't figure out who it was. She was a thin woman who had obviously managed to stay in perfect shape through out her life and wore dark black eye liner, that's what made Penny remember instantly.

"Oh man, Ellie!" She jumped from her chair nearly knocking the table over. She put her drink and straw down and wrapped Miss Nash, well, Mrs. Manning in a large bear hug.

"I haven't seen you in forever. We need to catch up." Ellie held Penny out to get a look at her. Penny made a mental note to give herself a pat on the back for wearing conservative clothes instead of the fishnet stockings and mini skirt Tori was trying to push.

"Why don't you sit with us? We're going to be watching your sons, anyways." Penny offered, wildly excited.

"That'd be great, you don't mind?" Ellie slanted her sights over at Tori.

"No, that's cool." She agreed.

"Great, let me go get Craig." Ellie dashed off to find her husband.

"You know their parents?!" Tori wandered over and wrapped Penelope in a large hug. "We're both scoring us Manning Brothers tonight!" She almost screeched.

Read and Review. Chapter six is on it's way.