Chapter Thirteen: Don't Want to Try
"You look content. Did the little princess suck your--"
"Hey, not so loud. She has a rep to protect." Jay placed a hand over Alex's mouth.
"Don't ever touch me like that again."
"What happened to that thing … what's it called GRATITUDE?"
"Actually, after all the shit you put me through, you owe me asshole." Alex shrugged it off, bumping into Ellie and Gianni. "Hey." She squeaked out, staring at the guy who had once replaced Jay in her life.
"Will you just explain it to me?" Gianni wondered, not even noticing Alex.
"No. I did you wanted. The end." Ellie rushed off as Alex stood watching.
"Broke your heart? I'm sorry." Alex shrugged, giving Gianni fake sympathy.
"Look Nunez, I already explained what we were to me, a nice piece of ass, that's it." Gianni shrugged as Manny appeared taking her arm in his.
"Tough luck huh?" Jay came from the background, rubbing it in Alex's face. Stupid! Why did she set herself up for failure like that. She knew … she knew that she was Degrassi's most unwanted girl.
"Where have you been?" Scott wondered on cue, saving Alex from her humiliation. "Come on." Taking charge, he grabbed Alex's hand as she looked back at Jay smugly. What could she say? Suddenly, she existed again.
"I swear Gianni. This day has been like the worst for me ever. Everyone is staring. I thought they'd be into knowing about the band and everything but everyone just seems so angry. I don't get it." Manny sighed, waving at Emma who scowled in response. "There is some seriously freaky shi--"
"Could it be this?" Gianni snatched up a newspaper from Toby with the headline being about Manny and Craig's romance. "Wow. National news." He smiled stupidly.
"Jackass, don't you get it? This is why everyone hates me … they think I cheated on Kiowi." Manny swallowed deeply. This was definitely NOT good.
"Did you?"
"Gianni." Manny pushed him playfully. "What do you think?"
"You've been holding out on me. I knew I was rubbing off on you." Gianni hugged Manny tightly, kissing her on the forehead. "Does that make my little baby feel better?"
"Shut up Gianni. This thing with Craig is old news. It's over." Manny held the books closer to her chest. "Besides, I'm just glad that didn't find about last night."
"Last night … so the plot thickens." He joked. "I knew you were a closet—"
"Slut!" Kiowi yelled, throwing down the paper. "Now I know why you were acting like that … Craig? They were right about you."
"Kiowi … get over it. You said you didn't want to be with me anymore. Why do you care?" Manny took a stance, crumbling inside but trying to put on a façade of fierceness.
"I was willing to give you everything." He threw down their promise ring.
"You kept it?" Manny sudden began to feel extremely guilty. "I thought…"
"I loved you Manny."
"I'm so sorry Kiowi. I-I …" She reached out to touch him, but he moved away like she was fire.
"Get your skanky hands away from me."
"That was original." Gianni piped up, trying to make Manny feel better. "You want me to beat his ass?"
"No. I can do that without you." She rested her head on his shoulder. "Should I even care?"
"That's not the question. Do you care?" He asked as Manny spent the whole day being harassed—because she had cheated on the so-called cutest, most popular guy in school … and she was trying to make herself care … about Kiowi, but all she could think about was one person…
"You totally saved my ass back there golden boy." Alex joked turning around to see Jay's shocked face. "I owe you." She wrapped her hands around his waist, expecting him to turn her away, but he didn't. It was so ... natural and such a ... distraction from her mom and Jay.
"You don't owe me anything." Scott assured her, handing her a joint.
"In school? You're bold."
"I want to get out of here." He admitted, looking sad.
"What's up with you?" Alex wondered, leaning against the wall with him. She needed to her someone else's issues to make her life seem a little better.
"I'm not about to get all sentimental on you. Let's just do this and … I'll take you home after school sometime." Scott smiled at Alex, getting more and more into her. She was unlike any other girl he'd met, which was cool, real cool.
'Skank! Slut! Whore!' were the words that Manny heard for the entire day, whenever Gianni wasn't around of course. He had done this share of fighting for the day. Ms. H tried to put her "no tolerance" policy into affect. But, by the next day, kids found more subtle ways to destroy her.
"I hate it here." Manny sighed, re-thinking the outfit she wore. A mini-skirt. Why had she done that? So many guys had grabbed her ass today not to mention that her locker was destroyed … soda all over her books. "Maybe I should become a nun."
"You think that will stop the name calling? Catholic school? Like you would fit in there Manny." Gianni shot back.
"You don't get it. It's different when you're a girl. It's not like a sleep around a lot, I don't. I'm just not in a relationship right now and sometimes you just want to … you know. Or sometimes it just happens and there's nothing you can--"
"You don't have to explain it to me." Gianni responded, his gaze following Ellie.
"What's so great about her? Didn't she steal other people's boyfriend's too?"
"Yeah, but she didn't get caught."
"I have to find a way to make this stop. I mean, even Emma is looking down on me."
"Uh-huh. Do what you have to do. I'll see you later." Gianni gave Manny's hand a squeeze before she was left to brave the halls of Degrassi alone. This time, she had a plan, a really good one.
"You're not new to this." Alex noted, looking at how Scott took the drag with ease. "You never told me why you're at Degrassi. It's obviously not to become valedictorian." She joked referencing how many classes that had skipped together lately.
"I don't want to talk about it."
"What did you impregnate some girl or do a big drug bust? You ran away because some girl broke your little heart?" Alex pinched his cheeks as Scott pushed her away.
"Don't SAY that!"
"Don't ever put your hands on me again." Alex shoved him harshly into the brick wall, holding up a threatening fist.
"Sorry … does someone hit you at home or something?" Scott asked as Alex ripped the joint from his hands.
"I'm not at liberty to say something until you share."
"I will when--"
"Scottie! Scottie." A brown-haired woman ran up to the two as Scott looked down at his cell phone clock.
"Shit. It's after two-thirty." He muttered, the mood suddenly becoming very heavy.
"What's up with you? You know that?" Alex smirked. This woman was at least in her mid-thirties yet trying to pretend like she was a teenager. Plastic surgery on her lips, her cheeks, her eyes … and evidently her breasts too.
"Look, just go Alex. I'll talk to you later." Scott gave Alex a small push, tipping her balance.
"What the he--"
"Scottie." The woman moved closer, giving him a no-so-innocent hug. "I heard you've been skipping class."
"Who are you?" Alex stepped in curiously.
"Elaine, just go." Scott begged, suddenly looking powerless, both still ignoring Alex.
"Come on Scottie. You know what your punishment is going to be. You've been a bad, bad boy." She pouted, desperately trying and failing to be sexy.
"Scott?"
"Alex and I are working on a school project. We were just doing some research for it." He lied.
"Research? Outside?" She scoffed, amused.
"Sociology. You know society and how it affects us or some shit." She looked at Elaine like she was stupid. Alex already knew her kind."You're in the back with me." Alex demanded looked at Scott, her hand brushing his lightly.
"I'm not a chauffeur. Scott's in the front. We still have some business to talk." Elaine smiled. The entire ride to the Barringer house was quiet and uneasy. Alex watched intensely as Elaine ran her hand up and down Scott's leg as he eased away from her. Weird, very weird.
"Kiowi, I need to talk to you." Manny demanded after pushing through a crowd of hormone-driven boys. "Now and alone."
"Talk to me? Talk to me?" He scoffed. "I've said all I have to say to you, skank." He turned his back to Manny.
"I promise it'll be worth your while." Manny handed him the promise ring he threw to the floor days earlier. "Just listen to me." She took his hand as Kiowi followed her.
"You want to get back together after all of this?"
"I want my life back Kiowi. I thought you would understand. Don't you get it?" She asked with a sigh. "I'll do whatever okay? Just call off the dogs." Manny kissed him suddenly as Kiowi's group of friends followed him looking to him for how to react.
"Privacy please?" Kiowi wondered, thinking of his own plan to get Manny back. "Meet me tomorrow at my place for dinner. We'll talk."
"You were holding out on me." Alex accused as they reached Scott's house. "This is like one of the biggest houses in Toronto and you … you made me think something was wrong with you. I bet it was funny. Did you get your laugh?"
"Would you be quiet for a second Alex? I'm trying to figure a way out of this one." Scott explained.
"Whatever you're talking about, I can't play along anymore. I'll be downstairs and then I'm gone." Alex threatened as Scott shrugged. She couldn't protect him from Elaine.
"So your girlfriend's gone?" Elaine smiled. "You know I always knew deep down you had a thing for brunettes." She pushed Scott towards the Jacuzzi. "You know the drill."
Pulling off her sheer overcoat, Elaine revealed a teeny bikini that would be able to seduce any man, over forty.
"Please Elaine." Scott begged, upset that his high was gone. It was always a lot harder to keep it whenever she came around. "My dad might come back." He suggested as Elaine began kissing him anyway.
"You know I'll tell him about your drug problem if you don't," She threatened, doing everything himself as Scott tried to pretend he was somewhere else, somewhere happy. Did that even exist anymore? Shelby we gone.
As Alex came out of the bathroom, she decided to look around a little before Jay showed up to pick her up. This would throw him off the edge. Laughing her herself, she heard a load moan. Following the sound, she came upon a really large background with a Jacuzzi … with Elaine and Scott in it. Alex watched in horror as Scott stood almost motionless as Elaine forced herself onto him.
"What are you doing!" She banged on the glass door as Elaine backed away in fear, slapping Scott and pretending like he had initiated something. It was obvious that something was wrong.
"What are you still doing here? Stealing something. I'm calling the cops." Elaine rushed out of the Jacuzzi, amazingly unfazed by what Alex had just witnessed.
"Scott, are you okay?" She ran to her friend who looked like he wasn't even there. "Scott, answer me!" Alex screamed as he slowly stood out of the water and walked away without saying a word. "What's wrong with you?" Alex rushed in front of him, holding onto his shoulders. "Talk to me."
"Back off!" Scott yelled, throwing Alex aside as she fell backwards landing her on butt.
"That is the last time!" She choked out, her words getting caught partially in her throat and running out the house. She was just going to have to ignore whatever puppy love she was starting to feel.Already, Alex was becoming her mother.
"This is the only way I'll call them off." Kiowi promised. "You have to do it."
"I'm not having sex with some random guy on your team. I can't do it." Manny shook her head firmly.
"How is he any different from the others?" Her ex-boyfriend shot back.
"You're not mad about the others, just Craig. Say his name and move on. I met him before you." She rolled her eyes.
"If you aren't gonna do it, then leave." Kiowi opened the door as the freshman guy looked back at Manny sadly. How did someone as nice as him get caught up in stuff like this? "What are you waiting for?" Kiowi urged.
"I don't know." Manny sighed, closing the door behind her and removing her jacket. "No one will know about it?"
"It's just between us." Kiowi nodded hugging Manny and throwing a thumbs up to the young guy behind them. This was easy.
(A/N: I had no idea what to do so I wrote random stuff. What do you think Manny will do? I think they'll be 1-3 more chapters so tune in next week … if I don't have writers block and I won't be updating the first week of May! Review. –NL)