Degrassi- Moving Forward (3/?)
Title: Moving Forward
Rating: G
Word Count: 2,196
Pairing/Characters: Ellie, Manny (eventual Ellie/Manny), Emma, Marco
Summary: After Craig left town, Ellie and Manny both try to move on with their lives, and they're good at it. But neither can really move forward and find what they're looking for.
Disclaimer: I own nothing mmk?
Spoilers: Everything up until Rock This Town. Specifically the Manny/Ellie/Craig Triangle. Oh, and I've taken some liberties with this fic, Damien does not seem to exist, for example.
Other: This fic requires dialog, and I cannot write dialog to save my life, so hopefully it's okay.
Previous Chapters: Chapter one | Chapter two
Running her finger over the black printed letters, Manny squeals with delight as she reads the article. She brushes her dark bangs to the side of her forehead, a smile spreading wider and wider on her lips, "You quoted me!"
Ellie is situated across from the ecstatic girl at The Dot, she just smirks slightly and takes a sip of her soda. The two girls have met two times in the last three weeks just to talk and share a plate of cheesy fries. Being friends with one another seems natural and they both have halted their inhibitions, and erased their previous judgments about each other. The transition has been easier than either girl had thought it would be.
"It was no big deal, journalists quote people all the time." The older girl chuckles a bit, amused by the energy and joy radiating from Manny.
"But they don't quote me all the time."
Giggling, the redhead pops a fry into her mouth, shaking her head and rolling her eyes. She feels truly happy, more so than she has in a long time. Ellie has been laughing more than she could ever remember lately too, which she thinks must be a good thing.
---
As she walks through the hallway full of mingling students with her best friend, the brunette tucks her arm neatly around Emma's elbow.
"You seem happy." The blond looks questioningly at her friend, waiting for a sufficient response. The last person to place a grin on Manny's face that was this blinding had crushed her, done crack and left. Needless to say, Emma is worried who the new boy currently occupying Manny's thoughts is.
"I am." The dark-haired girl states matter-of-factly as the two turn the corner. She's practically jumping out of her skin; spirit squad cannot come soon enough. Manny knows she needs some outlet to place all her energy in. And she is sure she would do something stupid without cheerleading.
Emma lets herself be pulled along and smiles at her friend. She's happy Manny's happy, but if this keeps up, she won't have an arm much longer.
"I just love spending time with Ellie. It's weird that two months ago I wanted to beat her and now I just like talking with her."
"Oh, so this is because of her?" Emma quirks her eyebrow a little and takes her arm back, rubbing the inside of her elbow a bit. Amusement is evident on the girl's face.
Abruptly, Manny stops at Emma's locker, turning gracefully and placing her hands on her hips, "you're not jealous are you?"
"no, of course not."
"good."
The blonde opens her locker, grabbing a book and a folder before softly shutting the metal door. Shooting her best friend a knowing look, Emma rolls her eyes. If she didn't know any better, she would think the dark-haired girl had an ego. But Emma is sure that she does not.
"so," Manny glances quickly at the ground before looking Emma in the eyes as they resume walking. Hope floods her visage as she asks, "you want to hang out at Ellie's tonight?"
Emma grabs the brunette's elbow suddenly, jerking her and making her loose her balance for a second.
"what?" Innocence flashes through Manny's dark brown eyes as her best friend attempts to stare her down. She is well aware of what Emma is going to tell her, and she's really hoping that she can avoid a speech.
"Uh, you need to study for the big history test tomorrow, Manny."
"please?"
"We can't, no, wait, you can't."
"come on, it'll be fun!"
"nope."
"Please Emma?" Manny pouts and begs with her eyes. She really wants to go, but she isn't sure that she possesses enough strength to face Ellie and all of the people that would take the redhead's side over hers, if they had to choose. Sean is a toss up though, and Manny thinks he would pick her, if only because she will have less people. The dark-haired girl needs her best friend's support and she is willing to do almost anything to get Emma to agree to go.
With a sigh of exasperation and annoyance, Emma states, "Fine, but we're leaving early."
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" The brunette wraps her arms around the blonde in a tight embrace.
---
The group sits around the wooden table eating salty popcorn and occasionally watching the movie, which mostly served as background noise.
“So, Manny, any new guys in your life?” Marco smirks at the girl. He has already gone over the road to Emma and Sean’s blissful reunion; it only seems natural that he inquires about the brunette’s love life next. However, he knows it was a mistake almost instantly.
Manny’s look of contentment leaves her face and she begins to fidget with her fingers. “Uh, no, not really.” She manages to choke out a lame response before excusing herself and practically sprinting out of the room.
“I thought gay guys were supposed to be sensitive.” Ellie raises her eyebrows, smacking her best friend in the arm before pushing herself off the couch and following after Manny.
“Funny how last time Craig chased after Manny because of Ellie isn’t it?” Dylan shakes his head a little, putting his arm around his boyfriend in comfort.
Emma tries to get up, but is held down by Sean. She turns her head to look at him, “Don’t you think I should go help?”
“I think Ellie can handle her.”
---
Knocking softly on the wall, Ellie steps hesitantly into the room, watching the disheveled girl who is sitting in an oversized armchair. Manny isn’t crying, which surprises the redhead. The younger girl looks lost, confused, and sad. Manny runs a hand through her perfectly straightened hair and rubs at her dry eyes. Ellie cannot help but think Manny seems lonely.
The red-haired girl whispers quietly, “Hi.”
Manny slowly brings her eyes to the soulful, anxious brown ones staring at her. The brunette does not like being seen so vulnerable. Everyday she tries desperately to be strong, confident, happy; sometimes it is difficult to be happy all of the time.
“Are you okay?”
Breathing out, Manny responds honestly, keeping her eyes locked with Ellie’s, “I don’t know.” She gulps down nervously.
“That’s okay,” Ellie smiles a little and moves closer to the younger girl. “Sometimes it’s okay to be unsure.”
“How would you know? You’re always so confident and happy.”
The red-haired girl chuckles a little cynically at that statement. The world has dealt her more than what she deserves in the heartache department. Life is never simple or easy, she was forced to learn that the hard way.
“Manny,” Ellie sits herself down next to the brunette, not daring to look away, “My life isn’t perfect. Far from it. This is going to sound corny and cliché, but you’ll get through whatever it is that you’re feeling and having trouble with, and it will only make you stronger.”
A smile appears on Manny’s lips, it’s miniature, but genuine. “I heard you used to cut yourself.”
The older girl falters at the openness of the acknowledgment and the care that fills Manny’s voice. “I did, but I stopped. A long time ago.”
The dark-haired girl nods and scratches at her face again, “I’m glad you stopped.”
“Me too.”
Both girls look at one another for a while, letting the moment sink in, trying to embed every emotion and look into their memories.
Finally, Ellie stands up and reaches a hand out, grinning. “Lets get back in there.”
“Okay.” Manny takes the redhead’s hand and lifts herself off the chair.
They begin to walk back, but Manny stops them and offers the older girl a hug, smelling the fruity scent of Ellie’s shampoo, breathing deeply. “Okay, I’m ready.” She smiles at the red-haired girl. This friendship is going to be good for her, Manny can feel it.
---
The warm water cascades over Ellie’s pale arms, filling the sink with water as Marco places dishes into it. She agreed to wash after all the guests had left. Her best friend would dry, if he could keep from taking over her position. They had not had a chance to talk in a while due to Marco’s crazy study schedule over the last few weeks, and the redhead misses him.
“Now remember, if you can’t get a sticky spot off, let the disk soak for a while, don’t just scrub harder.” The boy reminds Ellie matter-of-factly, grabbing a clean dish towel.
She groans a little, “I know Marco; I’m not going to break another plate.”
“Good, because you would have to pay to replace it.” He smiles, turning off the faucet, “So, what’s the deal with you and Manny?”
Ellie shrugs, dunking a plate into the soapy water, “We’re friends, I guess.”
Marco scoffs a little, “Friends? Puh-lease Eleanor. When you two came back from calming her down, and I’m sorry about that by the way, you kept shooting her the googley eyes.”
“What!?” The dish bangs against the bottom of the sink and Ellie cringes, reaching down and bringing it out of the suds, “It’s fine, don’t worry.”
“Good.” Taking the plate from his best friend, the dark-haired boy grabs the plate, rinses it and begins to dry the dish, “Now, about Manny, don’t you try to change the subject, tell me about this.”
“Marco, we’re just friends, I’m not gay.”
Shaking his head in response he puts the plate in the cabinet and waits for Ellie to add more to her rebuttal.
“I don’t like girls, and if I haven’t yet, I don’t think that it’s going to happen. Plus, I’m with Jesse, so…”
“So what?” Marco sighs, “So you don’t like girls, it doesn’t mean you can’t like this one girl.”
“Can we just drop the subject for now? I’m too tired to argue with you.” Ellie closes her eyes and takes a deep breathe, she really feels exhausted. College is hard, harder than she had imagined it would be.
“Fine, for now.”
“Thank you.” The redhead opens her eyelids and focuses her attention on the pot currently submerged in the water.
Opening a cabinet, Marco pulls out the bottle of Advil, taking the last pill with a chug of iced tea. “Do you need me to get more Advil for you tonight? Just in case?”
Ellie shakes her head no, red hair hitting her face, “Tomorrow’s fine, I haven’t had a headache for a couple of weeks.”
“Really?” The boy cannot hide his surprise. He raises his eyebrows and smiles at the girl. He hated seeing her in so much pain.
“Weird, I know.” The red-haired girl smirks at this, having the pounding pain suddenly disappear is a blessing.
---
“So, do you think we should talk about him?” Ellie looks down at her plate, she is unbelievably anxious. So many things depend on how this conversation plays out, and she needs it to go well. If there was an option to never face the subject of Craig, she would choose it in an instant. To the redhead’s dismay, that isn't a choice.
Manny twirls a strand of hair around her finger, knowing they should discuss him now. It was as good a time as any, and the longer they waited the harder it would get. But the subject made her nervous and immensely uncomfortable. And the brunette was positive the older girl felt the same way about it. “Sure.” She croaks out.
“Okay, so…”
“So…” The younger girl did not want to begin, but as she looks at the top of Ellie’s head, she realizes that she has to. Especially since the red-haired girl has yet to stop drilling a hole into her own lap with her stare. “I loved him, I don’t anymore though.” She offers up the painful truth and pulls lightly on her pinkie.
Ellie struggles to find her voice, and when she does it comes out soft, a whisper, “I loved him too.” Eventually, the girl looks up and locks eyes with the brunette. She notices that there is no emotion swimming in the deep brown pools. Worry springs up in the older girl’s body and she subconsciously tenses up, leaning as far back in the booth as possible.
“You loved him?”
“Uh, um, yeah.” Her words seem to be held in the air, floating around both girls, making the discussion more uncomfortable than Ellie imagined it would be. “But I don’t anymore.”
“But you did.”
Silence.
“I can’t believe this.” Manny’s voice is hallow and she feels her chest contracting. “I knew you...but I didn’t think…”
“Oh.” Ellie can no longer look at the dark-haired girl and replaces her eyes on her lap. “I’m sorry.”
“I can’t be here right now. I can’t, I can’t be friends with you, not now.” Manny grabs her jacket and leaves The Dot as quickly as possible. She realizes it is stupid and that she should have known anyway. She should not be reacting this way, but she can’t help how she feels. It hurts. And the brunette figures the saying is correct, Ignorance is bliss.
Rating: G
Word Count: 2,196
Pairing/Characters: Ellie, Manny (eventual Ellie/Manny), Emma, Marco
Summary: After Craig left town, Ellie and Manny both try to move on with their lives, and they're good at it. But neither can really move forward and find what they're looking for.
Disclaimer: I own nothing mmk?
Spoilers: Everything up until Rock This Town. Specifically the Manny/Ellie/Craig Triangle. Oh, and I've taken some liberties with this fic, Damien does not seem to exist, for example.
Other: This fic requires dialog, and I cannot write dialog to save my life, so hopefully it's okay.
Previous Chapters: Chapter one | Chapter two
Running her finger over the black printed letters, Manny squeals with delight as she reads the article. She brushes her dark bangs to the side of her forehead, a smile spreading wider and wider on her lips, "You quoted me!"
Ellie is situated across from the ecstatic girl at The Dot, she just smirks slightly and takes a sip of her soda. The two girls have met two times in the last three weeks just to talk and share a plate of cheesy fries. Being friends with one another seems natural and they both have halted their inhibitions, and erased their previous judgments about each other. The transition has been easier than either girl had thought it would be.
"It was no big deal, journalists quote people all the time." The older girl chuckles a bit, amused by the energy and joy radiating from Manny.
"But they don't quote me all the time."
Giggling, the redhead pops a fry into her mouth, shaking her head and rolling her eyes. She feels truly happy, more so than she has in a long time. Ellie has been laughing more than she could ever remember lately too, which she thinks must be a good thing.
---
As she walks through the hallway full of mingling students with her best friend, the brunette tucks her arm neatly around Emma's elbow.
"You seem happy." The blond looks questioningly at her friend, waiting for a sufficient response. The last person to place a grin on Manny's face that was this blinding had crushed her, done crack and left. Needless to say, Emma is worried who the new boy currently occupying Manny's thoughts is.
"I am." The dark-haired girl states matter-of-factly as the two turn the corner. She's practically jumping out of her skin; spirit squad cannot come soon enough. Manny knows she needs some outlet to place all her energy in. And she is sure she would do something stupid without cheerleading.
Emma lets herself be pulled along and smiles at her friend. She's happy Manny's happy, but if this keeps up, she won't have an arm much longer.
"I just love spending time with Ellie. It's weird that two months ago I wanted to beat her and now I just like talking with her."
"Oh, so this is because of her?" Emma quirks her eyebrow a little and takes her arm back, rubbing the inside of her elbow a bit. Amusement is evident on the girl's face.
Abruptly, Manny stops at Emma's locker, turning gracefully and placing her hands on her hips, "you're not jealous are you?"
"no, of course not."
"good."
The blonde opens her locker, grabbing a book and a folder before softly shutting the metal door. Shooting her best friend a knowing look, Emma rolls her eyes. If she didn't know any better, she would think the dark-haired girl had an ego. But Emma is sure that she does not.
"so," Manny glances quickly at the ground before looking Emma in the eyes as they resume walking. Hope floods her visage as she asks, "you want to hang out at Ellie's tonight?"
Emma grabs the brunette's elbow suddenly, jerking her and making her loose her balance for a second.
"what?" Innocence flashes through Manny's dark brown eyes as her best friend attempts to stare her down. She is well aware of what Emma is going to tell her, and she's really hoping that she can avoid a speech.
"Uh, you need to study for the big history test tomorrow, Manny."
"please?"
"We can't, no, wait, you can't."
"come on, it'll be fun!"
"nope."
"Please Emma?" Manny pouts and begs with her eyes. She really wants to go, but she isn't sure that she possesses enough strength to face Ellie and all of the people that would take the redhead's side over hers, if they had to choose. Sean is a toss up though, and Manny thinks he would pick her, if only because she will have less people. The dark-haired girl needs her best friend's support and she is willing to do almost anything to get Emma to agree to go.
With a sigh of exasperation and annoyance, Emma states, "Fine, but we're leaving early."
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" The brunette wraps her arms around the blonde in a tight embrace.
---
The group sits around the wooden table eating salty popcorn and occasionally watching the movie, which mostly served as background noise.
“So, Manny, any new guys in your life?” Marco smirks at the girl. He has already gone over the road to Emma and Sean’s blissful reunion; it only seems natural that he inquires about the brunette’s love life next. However, he knows it was a mistake almost instantly.
Manny’s look of contentment leaves her face and she begins to fidget with her fingers. “Uh, no, not really.” She manages to choke out a lame response before excusing herself and practically sprinting out of the room.
“I thought gay guys were supposed to be sensitive.” Ellie raises her eyebrows, smacking her best friend in the arm before pushing herself off the couch and following after Manny.
“Funny how last time Craig chased after Manny because of Ellie isn’t it?” Dylan shakes his head a little, putting his arm around his boyfriend in comfort.
Emma tries to get up, but is held down by Sean. She turns her head to look at him, “Don’t you think I should go help?”
“I think Ellie can handle her.”
---
Knocking softly on the wall, Ellie steps hesitantly into the room, watching the disheveled girl who is sitting in an oversized armchair. Manny isn’t crying, which surprises the redhead. The younger girl looks lost, confused, and sad. Manny runs a hand through her perfectly straightened hair and rubs at her dry eyes. Ellie cannot help but think Manny seems lonely.
The red-haired girl whispers quietly, “Hi.”
Manny slowly brings her eyes to the soulful, anxious brown ones staring at her. The brunette does not like being seen so vulnerable. Everyday she tries desperately to be strong, confident, happy; sometimes it is difficult to be happy all of the time.
“Are you okay?”
Breathing out, Manny responds honestly, keeping her eyes locked with Ellie’s, “I don’t know.” She gulps down nervously.
“That’s okay,” Ellie smiles a little and moves closer to the younger girl. “Sometimes it’s okay to be unsure.”
“How would you know? You’re always so confident and happy.”
The red-haired girl chuckles a little cynically at that statement. The world has dealt her more than what she deserves in the heartache department. Life is never simple or easy, she was forced to learn that the hard way.
“Manny,” Ellie sits herself down next to the brunette, not daring to look away, “My life isn’t perfect. Far from it. This is going to sound corny and cliché, but you’ll get through whatever it is that you’re feeling and having trouble with, and it will only make you stronger.”
A smile appears on Manny’s lips, it’s miniature, but genuine. “I heard you used to cut yourself.”
The older girl falters at the openness of the acknowledgment and the care that fills Manny’s voice. “I did, but I stopped. A long time ago.”
The dark-haired girl nods and scratches at her face again, “I’m glad you stopped.”
“Me too.”
Both girls look at one another for a while, letting the moment sink in, trying to embed every emotion and look into their memories.
Finally, Ellie stands up and reaches a hand out, grinning. “Lets get back in there.”
“Okay.” Manny takes the redhead’s hand and lifts herself off the chair.
They begin to walk back, but Manny stops them and offers the older girl a hug, smelling the fruity scent of Ellie’s shampoo, breathing deeply. “Okay, I’m ready.” She smiles at the red-haired girl. This friendship is going to be good for her, Manny can feel it.
---
The warm water cascades over Ellie’s pale arms, filling the sink with water as Marco places dishes into it. She agreed to wash after all the guests had left. Her best friend would dry, if he could keep from taking over her position. They had not had a chance to talk in a while due to Marco’s crazy study schedule over the last few weeks, and the redhead misses him.
“Now remember, if you can’t get a sticky spot off, let the disk soak for a while, don’t just scrub harder.” The boy reminds Ellie matter-of-factly, grabbing a clean dish towel.
She groans a little, “I know Marco; I’m not going to break another plate.”
“Good, because you would have to pay to replace it.” He smiles, turning off the faucet, “So, what’s the deal with you and Manny?”
Ellie shrugs, dunking a plate into the soapy water, “We’re friends, I guess.”
Marco scoffs a little, “Friends? Puh-lease Eleanor. When you two came back from calming her down, and I’m sorry about that by the way, you kept shooting her the googley eyes.”
“What!?” The dish bangs against the bottom of the sink and Ellie cringes, reaching down and bringing it out of the suds, “It’s fine, don’t worry.”
“Good.” Taking the plate from his best friend, the dark-haired boy grabs the plate, rinses it and begins to dry the dish, “Now, about Manny, don’t you try to change the subject, tell me about this.”
“Marco, we’re just friends, I’m not gay.”
Shaking his head in response he puts the plate in the cabinet and waits for Ellie to add more to her rebuttal.
“I don’t like girls, and if I haven’t yet, I don’t think that it’s going to happen. Plus, I’m with Jesse, so…”
“So what?” Marco sighs, “So you don’t like girls, it doesn’t mean you can’t like this one girl.”
“Can we just drop the subject for now? I’m too tired to argue with you.” Ellie closes her eyes and takes a deep breathe, she really feels exhausted. College is hard, harder than she had imagined it would be.
“Fine, for now.”
“Thank you.” The redhead opens her eyelids and focuses her attention on the pot currently submerged in the water.
Opening a cabinet, Marco pulls out the bottle of Advil, taking the last pill with a chug of iced tea. “Do you need me to get more Advil for you tonight? Just in case?”
Ellie shakes her head no, red hair hitting her face, “Tomorrow’s fine, I haven’t had a headache for a couple of weeks.”
“Really?” The boy cannot hide his surprise. He raises his eyebrows and smiles at the girl. He hated seeing her in so much pain.
“Weird, I know.” The red-haired girl smirks at this, having the pounding pain suddenly disappear is a blessing.
---
“So, do you think we should talk about him?” Ellie looks down at her plate, she is unbelievably anxious. So many things depend on how this conversation plays out, and she needs it to go well. If there was an option to never face the subject of Craig, she would choose it in an instant. To the redhead’s dismay, that isn't a choice.
Manny twirls a strand of hair around her finger, knowing they should discuss him now. It was as good a time as any, and the longer they waited the harder it would get. But the subject made her nervous and immensely uncomfortable. And the brunette was positive the older girl felt the same way about it. “Sure.” She croaks out.
“Okay, so…”
“So…” The younger girl did not want to begin, but as she looks at the top of Ellie’s head, she realizes that she has to. Especially since the red-haired girl has yet to stop drilling a hole into her own lap with her stare. “I loved him, I don’t anymore though.” She offers up the painful truth and pulls lightly on her pinkie.
Ellie struggles to find her voice, and when she does it comes out soft, a whisper, “I loved him too.” Eventually, the girl looks up and locks eyes with the brunette. She notices that there is no emotion swimming in the deep brown pools. Worry springs up in the older girl’s body and she subconsciously tenses up, leaning as far back in the booth as possible.
“You loved him?”
“Uh, um, yeah.” Her words seem to be held in the air, floating around both girls, making the discussion more uncomfortable than Ellie imagined it would be. “But I don’t anymore.”
“But you did.”
Silence.
“I can’t believe this.” Manny’s voice is hallow and she feels her chest contracting. “I knew you...but I didn’t think…”
“Oh.” Ellie can no longer look at the dark-haired girl and replaces her eyes on her lap. “I’m sorry.”
“I can’t be here right now. I can’t, I can’t be friends with you, not now.” Manny grabs her jacket and leaves The Dot as quickly as possible. She realizes it is stupid and that she should have known anyway. She should not be reacting this way, but she can’t help how she feels. It hurts. And the brunette figures the saying is correct, Ignorance is bliss.