Chapter Seven: Unanswered

Penny woke up at the first sign of dawn the next morning wrapped beneath Tori's covers next to Tori's drooling mouth. She didn't bother to shower, just threw on some clothing and tied her hair into a messy bun. Tori asked - begged for Penny to stay long enough for them to whip up some breakfast but, Penny didn't want to risk having another run in with ither of the Jay Hogart's or even Tori's mom. She caught the 81 to her street.

Bursting through her unlocked front door, passed Cody who seemed to be comfortable in his butt imprint on the couch in front of the television. In front of the open refridgerator staring inside at it's emptiness. He slammed it sending it shaking.

"Hey Penny." He turned around and after sighing greeted his daughter. "Do you think you could pick up some things at the grocery store? We're all out."

"Sure." She just mumbled and wandered to check for herself just to see if they had anything. "I had a great night, thanks." She mumbled under her breath but, still behind her, Sean heard.

"Did you have fun with your friends?" He asked, taking a seat at the kitchen table and flipping through the mail.

"Yeah, I did." She shut the door and went to sit across from him.

"Who'd you go out with?" Sean knew that Penelope had friends but, she usually volunteered to spend all her free time at the shop working the front desk, he never really saw any of them or heard her talk about them.

"Tori." She searched his face for a reaction. He put down the bill he was reading over and looked at her with perplexed eyes.

"Tori Hogart?" He checked.

"Yeah."

"You haven't talked to her in years."

"Yeah, who's fault is that?" She jumped right into it. She knew her father was under mountains of stress these days with work, raising three teenagers (Ecspecially, Zac) and with the divorce but, she refused to just lock this one at the bottom of her.

"I don't know." Sean shrugged his shoulders and began to glance over the bill again.

"She told me, Dad. She told me about why you and the Hogarts had that falling out." Sean didn't even give his daughter the satisfcation of his attention, he continued to read with no idea how'd he'd get his way out of this one. He was under the impression they had kicked and buried this horse years ago. "You told me that you guys got in an argument over the proper way to change spark plugs and he quit. That is so far from the truth isn't it?" She wanted to yell and get up so quickly that the table would knock over but, she couldn't. The mouse inside her could only sound strern and angry. "And I don't understand for a second how you could fire him? He was your friend and he needed you then."

"You were just a toddler, Penny." Sean tossed the paper down and turned to stare his daughter. "You don't know."

"You'd be surprised what I know, Dad. I'm here way more than you. I know where Zac is right now, do you? I know how Cody is doing in school and how he likes his peanut butter sandwiches. I know who's deposited money and who still has outstanding IOU's at the shop. I know why you're really mad at mom. I know what our electric bill and our water bill have been the last four months, do you? I also know how to cook, do you?" The mouse was turning into more of a ioness and she could barely keep still. Sean's face was heating up and he was shaking, he was trying so hard to keep under control. His whole face looked ready to just burst in front of her. "And on top of that, I know that you fired Jay because he asked you for help paying his bills and you said no and when you say him borrowing money from the till at the shop, you fired him!" She picked up her backpack and left the kitchen and headed for the stairs to jump in the building.

Sean got up from his chair harshly and watched his daughter dash.

"Penelope Joy, you get ass back here!" Sean called as she fled up the stairs.

"I have to shower!" She yelled back down.

"I need you to go to the shop."

"I've got an auditon today."

That being said, he heard the bathroom door loudly shut.

Sean nailed his fist against their kitchen wall and let out an annoyed grunt.

"Bet you didn't know that." Cody turned his eyes away from the television screen and teased.

Waking up the next morning for Sydney was like waking up to death. Her whole stomach was twisted inside of her and ready to regurgitate what was left inside from the night before. Her gums tasted of stale beer, ash and vomit and traces of all three resided around her mouth. She felt like two giant Ewoks were nesseled on her head by how hard it was pounding. She slowly rose out of her bed and looked herself over in her head. She thought that she looked like a mess but, it hurt too much to think. She couldn't figure out for the life of her how she got into hr pajamas but, she didn't question it.

"Just be gentle, okay?" Sitting at the Mason kitchen table which was known for the amazing meals that were presented on it or for it's size. Jimmy watched his oldest and best friend pull together a fantastic breakfast and coached him. Gavin hadn't recieved a wink of sleep. He was too busy pondering how he'd deal with Sydney today and why she was behaving how she was.

"Gentle?" Gavin called while flipping french toast on a skillet. "Jimmy, She came home toasted out of litte tree!" He exclaimed. Sydney could hear as soon as she reached the last step. She stood against the living room wall to listen in. "And I don't think this was the first time. This was just the first time I saw her."

"Look, yeah, you should be upset but, if you shout right in her face, she isn't going to learn any lesson."

Sydney took that line as her cue to enter.

"Morning Dad." She coughed out and then while wiping the sleep from her eyes, she waved at Jimmy. "Hi Uncle Jimmy." She smiled and sat next to him. Gavin decorated the plate of french toast and peameal bacon and then slid it in front of Jimmy.

"Thank you." Jimmy said while picking up his cutlery.

"Can I get you anything, Syd?" Gavin smiled down at her with a grin fit for a King. Sydney wasn't up to eat anything but, she was too worried about how her dad was going to dig into her. "Borbon, scotch, brandy," He listed, out of the corner of his eye he noticed Jimmy with his mouth full giving him the eye. "Perhaps, vodka on the rocks? I could whip you up a quick margarita, if you're feeling festive."

"Dad, I know -"

Gavin didn't let her get it out.

"No, you don't, Sydney. You don't have the slightest clue what it feels like to have no idea where your daughter is or what's happening to her. You don't know the feeling that I felt when I saw you crawl into this house completely loaded and then start puking. You can't even imagine to know what that's like, not even until you have kids."

"I'm sorry that I put you through that." Intimidated, she mumbled.

"And what are you even doing drinking? You're not stupid, Sydney, I raised you well enough to know the dangers of drinking."

"You mean you never drank at fifteen or sixteen?"

"Of course, I did but, that doesn't make it acceptable. You know better."

Jimmy pushed his plate closer to Sydney to take a bite if she wanted but, she didn't even look at it.

"And who are you drinking with? It can't be Colleen or Giselle 'cause they were where they were supposed to be last night, the spa which you very rudely left. You better call Mrs. Michaelchuck-Bicknell and apologize today." Sydney knew she could do that. "Who is it?"

"Just a friend."

"Who?" Gavin pressed on, turning off the stove next to him and holding onto it with one hand to keep himself from losing all control.

"You don't know him." She just mumbled.

"Him?" Gavin arched his brows up and was now even more alert.

"Uh oh." Jimmy's eyes shifted between the little girl next to him and her dad behind him.

"You were out getting drunk with a boy?"

"Dad." Sydney knew where this would go.

"What if he had slipped something in your drink, Sydney? Jesus!" Gavin exclaimed. "You know what, you're grounded."

Sydney hadn't been grounded since she was in kindergarten.

"Gentle." Jimmy warned.

"You will go to school everyday, on Mondays at lunch hour you'll have to report to Miss Nelson, no excuses. You will come home, if you don't have to work, you'll be at dance, if you don't have dance, you're here doing homework." This was harsh ecspecially for Gavin.

"Dad -" Sydney's hung over and mascara smudged eyes buldged from her face.

"No, I'm making sure you never drink again." He stared right down at her, clutching onto the back of a chair. He carried on with his rules. "If I'm not here, you will be at Jimmy and Ashley's, am I clear?"

"For how long?" She couldn't believe it.

"Until I decide I can trust you again."

"This is unfair." Sydney crossed her arms over her chest.

"No, you know what's unfair. It's unfair that I had to see you come home shitfaced and puking all over the place. It's unfair that I'm late for work right now because you pulled a stunt like that. Now, go upstairs."

Reluctantly and staring her dad down the whole time, Sydney stood up and headed to the break between the kitchen and the living room.

"I wish you died instead of Mom." She turned around to burn him with and then carried on up to her room. Jimmy watched Gavin's face crumble and shake.

"Yeah, me too!" Just to get the last word in, Gavin shouted so loud, Jimmy actually felt the house move. As soon as Gavin knew she was in her room, he sighed and taking a seat, he buried his face in hands.

"Very gentle." Jimmy commented, biting into a slab of peameal bacon.

Parting his fingers, Gavin looked at his friend and then wiped his hand off his face.

"I keep trying to wake up." Gavin yawned. "I want this to be a dream."

"She got drunk, Spin." Jimmy couldn't break the habit of calling Gavin by his high school nickname. "She's a teenager, it happens."

"Not to my kid, not Sydney. I let her try wine at the resturant once and she spat it all over a braised lamb shank. She hates alchol and she never even goes to the parties that Colleen invites her, too. She hates them." Jimmy was silent and just heard Gavin out. "The worst part is, I know that if it was me who'd died instead of Val, this wouldn't of happened."

"Hey!" Jimmy jumped in. "This would still be happening no matter who died. Even if Val was still alive, She'd do this and if not drink, something else. She's a teenager they make mistakes, they screw up. You did when you were her age. Least she didn't get anybody shot."

Gavin gave Jimmy a blank stare.

"Not that I know of." Gavin sadly said.

"Spinner, thanks for the breakfast. I should head out." Stretching his arms, Jimmy wheeled out and towards the back door.

"Thanks for coming, man." Spin waved him off, not even getting up from his seat.

"She's just confused right now. She lost her mom. Try and talk to her when you're both calm." Jimmy left with those words of advice and wheeled away.

Sitting in the Manning's garage, Tori excitedly giggled while tapping her hands on the knees of her jeans.

"This is where they sit and they jam and they create. I can't believe we're here." Though her parents were two of the biggest hardasses, Tori could still be a complete girl. A blank pale shade, Penny sat next to her friend and tried strumming on the guitar she hadn't played in ages.

"I don't know how you talked me into this."

"Oh please, you're thrilled." Tori slapped her hand back against Penelope's arm. "You're in the Manning twins garage. You couldn't be happier."

"I can think of things I'd rather do." Penny muttered. "I can't even remember any of the chords."

"We all ready?" Vin slapped his fist against his open palm and asked both girls as he walked in the garage from his house.

"Oh yeah." Tori said staring directly at him.

"I guess." Penny shrugged her shoulders still staring at her acoustic guitar.

"Let me help you tune it." Vin outstrecthed his hand and Penelope hesitantly handed him the instrument. He sat down on a stool he had set up and began to adjust the guitar. Silently (as always) Hartley wandered in, Ellie and Craig behind them.

"We're here to see your big debut!" Ellie called while she wandered over to the girls.

"There's no reason to be so excited, Mrs. Manning." Nervously, Penny let out a little giggle.

"Please, I haven't seen you preform since you were small."

"Another sundress story?" Tori questioned excited.

"You betcha." Craig winked playfully at the girls.

"Cody would sit by the coffee table and pretend it was a piano and you'd lie yourself over it and sing that song from that Peanuts musical."

Both Tori and Vin looked at Penelope and waited for her to say something. She just buried her blushing fave in her hands.

"We've embarressed her again." Craig rubbed his wife's back.

"I remember that." Penny finally looked up, her brown hair swooping behind her. "Suppertime by Lucy and Schroder."

"Hopefully you can bring that magic back." Vin handed her her guitar and vacated the stool for her to sit at. She poistioned on it comfortably and he took her seat on the sheet covered couch next to Tori while his parents stood behind them. Hartley was sitting behind Penelope, sitting on the steps that led to their door.

"Where's Johnny Santos?" Vin checked his watch, the kid was supposed to be there to play bass for them ten minutes ago.

"I gave him a call." Tori shrugged her shoulders.

"Hopefully, they're not coming." Ellie inaudiably mumbled.

"Sorry, Penelope, go ahead." Vin applaudd her in.

"It's just Penny." She reminded everybody. "What do you want me to play?" She asked.

"Whatever you want." Vin shrugged.

"What do you know?" Tori helped her best friend out.

"I don't know a lot of radio songs. I just used to write stuff." She shrugged, feeling more and more nervous. She was speaking in a whisper tone.

"Even better." Vin seemed to be an all aroud excited guy. It made Tori and Penny both wonder how Hartley got to be so quiet. They'd hard him sing in front of crowds but never had a conversation with the boy.

"Okay, well," She thought back to one she could still vaguely remember to play. "Here it goes."

She pressed one finger down by a fret and swallowing the lump in her throat, she just went for it. Ignoring all the eyes on her. She just opened her mouth and hoped it would sound as sweet as it had to her months ago.

"It's gotta be real, when you say there's no other way." Not half bad, she thought to herself. "Then to drive out of the blue, with nothing but goodbye to say." She took a breath and was surprised at how comfortable she felt and how decent it was soudning. No cracks, no squels, no pitch problems, just a three flats so far. "You've never been a soul of few words." She sang out. It didn't take Ellie long to figure out it was a song Penelope had written about her parents. "All the reasons you could never explain, You're just making bad choices, you're not making mistakes, Guilt gets you nowhere, so in that darkness you'll stay, Because everything you don't say." Vin was listening intently to Penelope technique and wasn't paying attention to the emotion that she was conveying like quiet Hartley. Even Tori, who wasn't know to be sennestive, was feeling it.

However, over the melodic sound of the guitar and Penelope's soft folky voice was the noise of a car being put in park. One door slammed after the other and Ellie watched in horror as Manny Santos, looking great if not greater than she did in high school, and her son walk up her driveway. Craig had to double check that his jaw hadn't hit the floor. Penny had stopped immeaditaly and was just happy she'd made it.

"You must be Johnny." Vin jumped onto his feet and shook his hand. "Hi Miss Santos." He shook Manny's hand.

"You look just like your father." Manny exclaimed with a smile that could kill. That comment did it for Ellie.

"Hello Manny." Ellie faked a smile and shook her hand.

"Ellie!" Manny wrapped her ina large hug. "How are you? I can't believe it's taken so long for all of us to get together." She said while unwrapping Ellie. Ellie swallowed largely in fear while Manny reached up and she and Craig embraced.

"You look great." Manny told him.

"Yeah, uh," Craig scanned her over with his eyes. Even dressed in a winter coat and scarf, she looked stellar. "You, too."

"Hi Miss Santos." Tori wandered over and shook Manny's hand.

"Where are my manners?" Ellie chuckled, uncomfortably. "This is the Hogart's girl, Tori."

"As in Jay and Alex's?"

Manny was shocked that the Hogart's had managed to raise such a good looking girl with enough common sense to introduce herself.

"And this," Ellie walked Penelope foreward knowing she was shy. She was still holding the guitar by it's neck. "This is Sean Cameron's daughter."

"Oh, Penelope!" Manny hadn't seen her since her mom's baby shower. "You've grown up so-"

"Do you have a sundress story?" Tori inquired with a clap of her hands.

"Of course." Manny giggled.

"You know, Johnny, I'm dying to hear you play bass." Penny shifted the attention away from her.

As soon as Johnny was all set up, Ellie excused herself into her kitchen. Manny just sat on the couch next to Tori and Vin and bobbed her head to her son's jamming. She was glowing with pride. Craig wasn't sure what to do. He wanted to listen to Johnny play, he wanted to catch up with Manny but, he also wanted to check up on his worrisome wife. Hartley excused himself after her.

"Mom." He cautiously said while walking up behind her. She was folding laundry at the kitchen table.

"Hartley, you should be listening to the auditon." She turned behind her and grinned up at her son. He could tell it was entirely fake.

"What's the deal with you and Miss Santos?"

Ellie sighed not sure what she could tell Hartley. He was eighteen, so he was old enough but, he was her son.

"We just have a history." She nodded. "Actually, your dad and her do." Ellie admitted.

"Hartley, can I talk to your mom for a second?" Craig spoke from the edge of the kitchen. Ellie dragged her hand down Hartley's sleeve as he walked by to leave his parents alone. "Ellie, what's going on?" Craig sat across from her and started to fold a towel.

"Just seeing Manny, it brings up some memories and stuff." Ellie admitted, feeling really silly.

"Come on, Elle, that was high school. We're all adults now." Craig couldn't understand it even though, secretly he wasn't feeling all theat at ease, either.

"That doesn't mean it didn't happen."

"I know, Ellie, I think about it all the time."

"You do?" That was news to Ellie.

"Yeah, but, you should come out and talk to them. Her son's good."

"I don't want him playing with Vin and Hartley." Ellie put down the shirt she was in the middle of folding.

"What? Why not?"

"I just - I don't want to have to be around Manny if I don't have to be, you know."

"Ellie, that's crazy and not to mention selfish on your behalf."

"No, I think it's a fair thing to say. Okay, Manny doesn't seem to have changed -"

"You haven't talked to her!" Craig raised his voice.

"Maybe not but, I have every right to be suspious, don't I?" Craig didn't answer her. "Don't I?" She pressed on. Craig just kept folding laundry, his eyes fanned down and sort of shy. "Craig, tell me, I don't have to worry."

It didn't matter what Craig said because now Ellie was fearful.

Luckily to snap her out of it, their phone began to ring on the table.

"Hello?" She answered. Craig tried to figure everything out in his head. "Marco, hey." She smiled at the sound of her best friend's voice. "Oh, I'll be over right away. Don't worry." She stood up in the chair and started to look for her purse and winter coat. Craig watched her race around the main floor of their home. "Alright, bye." She hung up and put the phone down on the ledge.

"I have to go to Marco's. He's upset." She threw her coat on and didn't bother to button it up. "Something about Spencer being distant or something." She pulled her keys from the her purse and pulled it over her shoulder. "Can I take the van?"

"Yeah, sure." Craig agreed and once Ellie had left, he went back outside to help his boys and see Manny.

Laying on her stomach on her dirty sheets, Sydney mindlessly flipped through a year-old Cosmo Girl magazine. She'd been grounded for three hours and was bored out of her face. Her dad had called her down for lunch an hour ago but, she ignored. As far as she knew he was at work now. Saving her from her bored state, her cell phone began to sing the theme to Rocky. She smiled as happy as a clam when she realized it was Jayson Hogart's number calling her.

"Hey you." She said flirtaiously turning over on her backside.

"I just talked to my sister," Jayson wasted no time and got right back into the meat of things. "There's some sort of party going on at The Fyxx."

"Off Bishop Grandin?" Sydney questioned.

"Yeah, you want to come?" He asked, she could tell he was chewing on something while talking to her. She hadn't a clue it was a girl massaging his neck with her tongue and mouth.

"Sure, when?"

"Eightish?"

"Oh damn, I'm grounded." Sydney frowned while biting her index finger nail.

"Poor baby. You don't want to get a spanking." He made fun of her.

"It's fine, it's fine. Pick me up?"

"Yeah, sure." He hung up then and left a smiling girl on the other end. She closed her cellphone and quickly started to bounce on her bed. Her head only inches from the ceiling. She didn't know it yet but, she was slipping into a crush on Degrassi's badass, on a guy Colleen would shoot her in the foot for even thinking twice about. She right away decided the best way onto how to sneak out of her place.

Penny took off her winter cap and left it and her guitar casde behind the desk of the autobody shop. She was late for work but, she'd been jamming with the Manning boys. Vin had asked her to come to The Fyxx where they were playing that night to play that one song with them. He and Hartley had even figured out some good percussion that went with it and some melodic chords for Vin to harmonize with. They were still debating on whether letting Johnny come. Vin really wanted to but, Hartley had overheard the discussion between his parents and didn't want to make things harder for his mom. She wandered through the oily cold room and found her dad in his office typing on his calculator and then on the keyboard of one of the shop computers.

"Hi Dad." She was unusually chipper. She stood in the doorway and waited for his answer. When she didn't even recieve a look back from him, she closed the door and took a seat on the other side of the desk. "Are you still mad about this morning?" He just kept working away. "I'm not going to apologize for what I said but I am sorry if I hurt you because that wasn't the intention." Sean didn't say a word. "You do know the silent treatment was invented by a children, right?" She questioned feeling a little annoying.

"I'm working, Penelope." He spoke to her without looking at her with ice in his voice and like she was an iritating child.

She just played with the loose yarn on her mittens.

"I'll make this fast." She said back in her soft voice. "I'm performing tonight at The Fyxx, it's just one song but, still. I'm really excited and I want you to come."

"I've got to work tonight." He didn't pay any attention to her.

"I thought maybe you could pull yourself away for a five minutes. The Fyxx isn't that far."

"I don't know." He grunted, staring a the computer screen. In defeat, she got up from the chair and headed back to the door.

"If the real reason you don't want to come is because you don't want to see mom, don't worry, she can't make it." Penny opened the door slightly, just enough to let the noise outside enter his office. "I'm on at eight thirty." She dropped the clue, just in case.

Thanks for all the awesome comments, please continue to review, there's nothing I like more than reviews.

Next chapter, Emma's certainly going to be in it for all you Emma fans and their will be more of your favorite Orignal Degrassi:TNG characters.

Also, here's a little something for you guys to do interactivly, what do you want to see happen between Craig and Ellie and that whole plot? Let me know.

Unanswered - Stacey Mitchell