Degrassi - Moving Forward (7/?)
Title: Moving Forward
Rating: G
Word Count: 2,596
Pairing/Characters: Manny, Ellie,(eventual Manny/Ellie), Jesse, Emma
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. And, I was too lazy to read over this when I was done writing it/typing it, so hopefully it makes sense and there aren't too many typos.
Previous Chapters: Chapter one | Chapter two | Chapter three | Chapter four | Chapter five | Chapter six
The older boy paces apprehensively, distraught, his emotions evident on his face. Running a hand through his thick brunette locks, Jesse sighs for the hundredth time in five minutes. His heart seems to have stopped beating, constricted with fear of her answer. Would she lie? He thinks it’s a possibility; Ellie has not been completely honest with her boyfriend in weeks. The lies frighten Jesse, almost as much as the truth.
Ellie bit her lip, leaning against the arm of the couch for support. His question rang in her head like a telephone call from a telemarketer. Unwanted, but unwilling to stop calling, to stop from being asked. Do you want to be with me? Do you really?
Closing her heavy eyelids the redhead breaths deeply, unable to look at her boyfriend, “No.” She opens her eyes slowly, painstakingly.
He nods slightly, “I thought so.”
The red-haired girl runs a hand through her hair and a strange sense of calm and relief washes over her. She never wanted to hurt Jesse, but she always hated lying. And lying to him the past few weeks had made Ellie feel like a different person, a lesser person, someone who took advantage of others. “So…”
Silence lingers in the air as Ellie’s sense of relief transform into guilt.
“Can I ask her something?” Jesse looks at his now ex-girlfriend carefully, sitting down across from her.
“Uh, sure.” The redhead’s tongue feels thick in her mouth and she can’t look at the brunette boy sitting in front of her.
“When did it start?” Jesse is beginning to feel much better, free.
Confusion quickly takes occupancy on Ellie’s features as she finally looks at the older man, “What?”
Shaking his head once again, Jesse struggles in finding a way to pose his question with tact. As a reporter, he is usually great at asking questions, this is much harder somehow. “When you started wanting to spend time with Manny instead of me?”
Ellie feels her heart rate increase involuntarily at the mention of the dark-haired girl she has grown close to, but vomit also burns in her throat.
The silence in the room appears to increase as Jesse stares at the redhead and she avoids looking at him altogether. Thinking, Ellie realizes her answer in much simpler than she had anticipated. “I don’t know.”
“Oh.”
Finally building up the courage to lock eyes with Jesse, the red-haired girl smiles a little, very softly, “A couple of weeks ago, I guess.”
Nodding in some form of understanding, the brunette boy whispers, “I should have seen this coming before that. Things have been off since…” He lets his voice trial off, knowing the younger girl comprehends.
“So…” Ellie bites her lip gently, brushing some hair off her forehead.
“Bye Ellie.” Jesse mumbles, heading out the door.
When she hears the gentle thud of the door closing, the red-haired girl closes her eyes, sitting down on the couch, breathing deeply. “Bye Jesse.”
---
Opening the door cautiously, Manny slips into Ellie’s entryway. She closes the door quietly and calls pout the redhead’s name.
“I’m in the kitchen!” Ellie’s voice floats hollowly to the younger girl’s ears. For the most part the red-haired girl sounds fine, but Manny knows better.
When the brunette enters into the kitchen, she sets the plastic bag on the table, revealing two small cartons of ice cream. Manny smiles weakly at her friend, taking a seat next to her at the table.
“You didn’t have to do that.”
“I know, but I wanted to.”
Ellie returns the dark-haired girl’s smile, grabbing a carton of ice cream and removing the lid. “But I’m glad you did.”
Standing up, Manny opens the silverware drawer, grabbing two spoons, giving one to the redhead, “I’m sorry about Jesse.” The younger girl sits down, opening her own carton of ice cream.
“Don’t be, I’m not too upset.” Ellie places a large scoop of ice ream in her mouth, relishing the cold feeling that envelops her. “I saw it coming.”
“Well, even if you’re fine, wallowing nights are always fun.” The brunette tilts her head to the side, grinning.
Smiling back at the younger girl, Ellie jabs her silver spoon into the ice cream container once again, “They’re also fattening.”
“We can work out tomorrow then.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Both girls stand up, holding their cartons of ice cream firmly in their hands as they head towards the living room. “It was the weirdest thing.”
“What?” Manny plops down on the couch cushion, feeling the soft fabric brush against her bare arm.
Ellie places her ice cream on the wooden coffee table, spoon firmly embedded into the cold substance. The older girl kneels in front of the video cabinet, lazily running a finger over the movie’s spines. “Jesse asked at you.”
“Really?” Kicking off her shoes, the brunette tucks her legs beneath herself.
“Yep, he asked when I started wanting to hand out with you instead of him.”
“Mmm?” Manny hums in questioning due to the lump of ice cream that is slowly melting on her tongue.
“The Notebook?” Ellie holds up the DVD, shrugging. She never was the type to wallow; picking out movies other people who enjoy isn’t her forte anyway.
“It’s funny. I never thought of you as the really romantic type.”
“Hey! I’m offended by that.”
The younger girl giggles a little as Ellie shuffles over to the DVD player, still on her knees, and pops her selection in. “I told him that I wasn’t sure.”
Manny hums in understanding, brushing a stray lock of hair behind her ear. She’s aware of the fact that Ellie will finish her recounting of the break-up when she is ready, no need to push her.
Ellie takes a seat beside the brunette, picking up her own container of cookie dough ice cream, gulping down big spoonful. As she presses play on the plastic remote, the older girl speaks again. “The question affected me more than anything else.
“I see.”
“I don’t know why, maybe because I wasn’t expecting it.”
Manny turns her attention to Noah and Allie for a brief moment before looking at her friend, studying her profile meticulously. Breathing slowly, the dark-haired girl speaks softly, “Did you use me as a way to get away from Jesse?” She’s trying very hard to hide her insecurities, but she wants to know, she feels that she deserves it.
Stunned by the younger girl’s inquiry, Ellie snaps her head from the television set to the brunette. “Not consciously.”
“But on some level?”
The redhead studies Manny’s deep brown eyes, noticing the worry and hurt that seem to be covering them like a dark fog, and she misses their sparkle. “Manny, I love spending time with you, Jesse or no Jesse.”
Relief washes over the dark-haired girl’s face and she smiles uneasily. “Good.”
Reaching out, the red-haired girl embraces Manny, holding her tightly, hoping that the younger girl believer her. When she pulls away, Ellie knows that Manny trusts her; a knot untangles itself in the pit of her stomach.
“Now watch the movie and wallow with me, I’m suppose to be cheering you up, not the other way around.” Manny lightly smacks the redhead’s arm, turning her attention to the screen.
---
Manny pulls the blanket tighter around her body, stretching her legs a little, careful not to disturb the girl who is sleeping peacefully on the other side of the couch.
The younger girl can’t quite place her finger on it, but she’s slightly afraid to let herself fall asleep. Not with Ellie breathing slowly and steadily, only inches away. The dark-haired girl never thought twice about drifting off at Emma’s, or even with Liberty.
Sighing, she lets her eyes linger on the redhead’s sleeping form, and a small smile graces Manny’s lips. Ellie looks so clam, content. The older girl’s hands are tucked carefully under her head, and the brunette giggles in a whisper, knowing Ellie’s hands will be fuzzy when she wakes in the morning.
The red-haired girl’s legs are curled tightly to herself partly to give the dark-haired girl room to sleep. Manny think it may also be a habit, a subconscious term of self-protection.
When Ellie shivers lightly, Manny get up, taking another blanket out of the basket and draping it over her friend. When she sits back on her side of the couch, Manny allows herself to think. Biting her lip lightly, she lets ideas enter her mind that she’s sure she had been fighting off for a while now.
---
“Can you believe that? Two points off because of a silly typo. The difference between an ‘A’ and a ‘B’” Emma sighs exhaustedly, shaking her head in disbelief.
“It’s not that bad Em,” Manny laughs lightly at her best friend, “you still have an ‘A’ in the class.”
“But it’s idiotic!”
“Fine, it is. Are you happy now?” The brunette takes a sip of her soda, tapping her foot gently against the tile that covers Degrassi’s cafeteria floor.”
Thinking for a moment, the blonde finally responds, “No, but I guess I’ll have to get over it anyway.”
“Good.” Manny looks down at her fingers and begins fiddling with them, nerves bubbling up in her stomach. “Emma, I have to talk to you about something.”
“Thank god.” Emma rolls her eyes, resting her chin in her palm. “You’ve been tapping your foot all period; I was wondering if you’d ever actually get to what you wanted to talk about.”
Taking a deep breath, the dark-haired girl looks anxiously around the cafeteria, “Um, never mind.” She shakes her head a little in the negative.
“You can tell me anything.”
Manny bites her lip a little, too hard and she feels the pain radiate through her body. Every movement and nerve in her seems to be more alert than normal. The brunette wipes her sweaty palms on her jeans, taking a deep breath. “Promise not to freak out.”
“Promise.” The blonde tilts her head, concerned.
“I think I like Ellie.”
Her best friend stares at the dark-haired girl for a moment, mouth opened slightly, then, she giggles softly, a smile slowly spreading over her face.
“What’s so funny?” Manny’s heartbeat is wild and she really feels like smacking the bubbly girl.
Letting her laughter die down, Emma takes a deep breath, allowing air to fill her lungs. “I know.”
“You know?”
“Sean and I figured it out a while ago, I just didn’t expect you to come out of denial for a while longer.”
“Oh.” The brunette tucks some hair behind her and wipes her wet palms on her legs once more. Suddenly, a worried look takes dominance over the relief that was evident on the girl’s visage just a second earlier.
“Don’t worry,” Emma shakes her head in affirmation as she speaks, “You’re not that obvious, I just know you better than anyone else.”
Manny lets out a relieved sigh escape. “Good.” She takes a bite of her sandwich, looking her best friend in the eye. “So, you’re not going to throw one of your trademark Emma Nelson fits?”
“No. I love you Manny. And it’s not like you’re doing anything wrong. I mean, you’re not going to try and steal her from Jesse,” A pause, “are you?”
“They broke up.”
“Oh.” Emma raises her eyebrows, sitting up straighter on the bench.
“I didn’t do anything!” The dark-haired girl rolls her eyes indignantly, shaking her head disbelievingly at her best friend.
---
Walking slowly into the newspaper room, Ellie speaks softly. “Hey.”
Jesse looks up from his desk, surprised at his visitor. He mumbles a greeting before looking down at the article he had been proof-reading.
“Can we talk?”
“Sure.” The older boy motions to a chair in front of his desk, nervously running a hand through his brown hair.
The red-haired girl takes a seat, looking down at her hands before meeting eyes with her ex-boyfriend. “This was what I was worried about.”
“Awkward isn’t it?”
“Yeah.” Ellie breaths out shakily, crossing her legs.
Nodding, Jesse frowns as he speaks. “You’re still a great writer Ellie, I don’t want you to leave the core because of me, us.”
“I don’t want to leave either.” Ellie states clearly, overcoming the lump that has taken residence in her throat.
“Good.”
A long, uncomfortable silence fills the space between the two, causing the younger girl to smile while raising her eyebrows.
“So…” Jesse stretches out the syllable, attempting to fill the quiet with something, anything.
“I really don’t want it to be like this Jesse.” The red-haired girl sighs, running a finger lightly under her left eye, feeling the small bag there.
“I don’t know if we have a choice.” The brunette shrugs, defeated.
Ellie shakes her head, groaning in frustration. “We do though, at least a little.”
Shuffling through the papers on his desk, her ex-boyfriend denies a chance to respond, frowning at the way the conversation is going.
“Let’s be friends.” The younger girl nods decidedly, uncrossing her legs and sitting more forward in her chair.
“I don’t think it’s that easy.”
“Try?” She hears the vulnerability in her voice and she briefly wants to hate herself for it. “We’ll have to see each other anyway, let’s just power through the awkwardness.”
Jesse looks at her, not convinced it will as easy as she seems to think. He notices the anxiousness floating around her eyes and nod apprehensively, “Okay, I’ll try.”
“Thank you.” Ellie sighs happily, finally allowing a grin to appear on her mouth. “I guess I’ll see you later.”
“Okay.” They both stand up, Jesse coming out from behind his desk to offer the red-haired girl a hug.
“Bye.” Ellie nods joyfully as she leaves the room. Everything feels better already.
---
Sipping her soda in little burst, watching the liquid fly up her straw, Manny listens intently to what Ellie is telling her. She worries about looking at her friend too much, trying not to show her discomfort. Suddenly, she notices that the red-haired girl has stopped talking abruptly. Lifting her head, she frowns. “What is it?”
“I was just wondering if you were actually listening, seeing as you eyeballs are glued to the table.” Ellie smirks sarcastically; however, her eyes are smiling genuinely
“Sorry.” Manny mumbles, pulling delicately on her fingers.
“What’s up?” The older girl seems unable to stop herself from asking the question, it’s simple enough, but makes the brunette’s insides churn.
“Nothing, not really.”
Ellie looks unconvinced as she grabs a fry, popping it into her mouth in a swift motion. She stars at the dark-haired girl, hard, like she’s trying to figure out what to do next. She seems to decide to take a different approach. “Manny, do you realize how important you are to me?”
Taking a deep breathe, the brunette nods shakily, taking another sip of her soda. The caring tone in the redhead’s voice makes he smile a little, as she closes her eyes briefly, trying to let the sound permanently find a place in her memory.
“Well, you are. It’s strange, but you’ve become one of my best friends over the last couple of weeks, and I don’t know what I would do without you.”
“I know what you mean.”
“Okay.” Ellie gently kicks the younger girls’ shin under the table, looking in the brunette’s eyes, still seeing something in them that she cannot quite decipher. “Are you going to tell me what you’re thinking about?”
“Later.” Manny nods, not sure herself when later will be late enough.
Rating: G
Word Count: 2,596
Pairing/Characters: Manny, Ellie,(eventual Manny/Ellie), Jesse, Emma
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. And, I was too lazy to read over this when I was done writing it/typing it, so hopefully it makes sense and there aren't too many typos.
Previous Chapters: Chapter one | Chapter two | Chapter three | Chapter four | Chapter five | Chapter six
The older boy paces apprehensively, distraught, his emotions evident on his face. Running a hand through his thick brunette locks, Jesse sighs for the hundredth time in five minutes. His heart seems to have stopped beating, constricted with fear of her answer. Would she lie? He thinks it’s a possibility; Ellie has not been completely honest with her boyfriend in weeks. The lies frighten Jesse, almost as much as the truth.
Ellie bit her lip, leaning against the arm of the couch for support. His question rang in her head like a telephone call from a telemarketer. Unwanted, but unwilling to stop calling, to stop from being asked. Do you want to be with me? Do you really?
Closing her heavy eyelids the redhead breaths deeply, unable to look at her boyfriend, “No.” She opens her eyes slowly, painstakingly.
He nods slightly, “I thought so.”
The red-haired girl runs a hand through her hair and a strange sense of calm and relief washes over her. She never wanted to hurt Jesse, but she always hated lying. And lying to him the past few weeks had made Ellie feel like a different person, a lesser person, someone who took advantage of others. “So…”
Silence lingers in the air as Ellie’s sense of relief transform into guilt.
“Can I ask her something?” Jesse looks at his now ex-girlfriend carefully, sitting down across from her.
“Uh, sure.” The redhead’s tongue feels thick in her mouth and she can’t look at the brunette boy sitting in front of her.
“When did it start?” Jesse is beginning to feel much better, free.
Confusion quickly takes occupancy on Ellie’s features as she finally looks at the older man, “What?”
Shaking his head once again, Jesse struggles in finding a way to pose his question with tact. As a reporter, he is usually great at asking questions, this is much harder somehow. “When you started wanting to spend time with Manny instead of me?”
Ellie feels her heart rate increase involuntarily at the mention of the dark-haired girl she has grown close to, but vomit also burns in her throat.
The silence in the room appears to increase as Jesse stares at the redhead and she avoids looking at him altogether. Thinking, Ellie realizes her answer in much simpler than she had anticipated. “I don’t know.”
“Oh.”
Finally building up the courage to lock eyes with Jesse, the red-haired girl smiles a little, very softly, “A couple of weeks ago, I guess.”
Nodding in some form of understanding, the brunette boy whispers, “I should have seen this coming before that. Things have been off since…” He lets his voice trial off, knowing the younger girl comprehends.
“So…” Ellie bites her lip gently, brushing some hair off her forehead.
“Bye Ellie.” Jesse mumbles, heading out the door.
When she hears the gentle thud of the door closing, the red-haired girl closes her eyes, sitting down on the couch, breathing deeply. “Bye Jesse.”
---
Opening the door cautiously, Manny slips into Ellie’s entryway. She closes the door quietly and calls pout the redhead’s name.
“I’m in the kitchen!” Ellie’s voice floats hollowly to the younger girl’s ears. For the most part the red-haired girl sounds fine, but Manny knows better.
When the brunette enters into the kitchen, she sets the plastic bag on the table, revealing two small cartons of ice cream. Manny smiles weakly at her friend, taking a seat next to her at the table.
“You didn’t have to do that.”
“I know, but I wanted to.”
Ellie returns the dark-haired girl’s smile, grabbing a carton of ice cream and removing the lid. “But I’m glad you did.”
Standing up, Manny opens the silverware drawer, grabbing two spoons, giving one to the redhead, “I’m sorry about Jesse.” The younger girl sits down, opening her own carton of ice cream.
“Don’t be, I’m not too upset.” Ellie places a large scoop of ice ream in her mouth, relishing the cold feeling that envelops her. “I saw it coming.”
“Well, even if you’re fine, wallowing nights are always fun.” The brunette tilts her head to the side, grinning.
Smiling back at the younger girl, Ellie jabs her silver spoon into the ice cream container once again, “They’re also fattening.”
“We can work out tomorrow then.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Both girls stand up, holding their cartons of ice cream firmly in their hands as they head towards the living room. “It was the weirdest thing.”
“What?” Manny plops down on the couch cushion, feeling the soft fabric brush against her bare arm.
Ellie places her ice cream on the wooden coffee table, spoon firmly embedded into the cold substance. The older girl kneels in front of the video cabinet, lazily running a finger over the movie’s spines. “Jesse asked at you.”
“Really?” Kicking off her shoes, the brunette tucks her legs beneath herself.
“Yep, he asked when I started wanting to hand out with you instead of him.”
“Mmm?” Manny hums in questioning due to the lump of ice cream that is slowly melting on her tongue.
“The Notebook?” Ellie holds up the DVD, shrugging. She never was the type to wallow; picking out movies other people who enjoy isn’t her forte anyway.
“It’s funny. I never thought of you as the really romantic type.”
“Hey! I’m offended by that.”
The younger girl giggles a little as Ellie shuffles over to the DVD player, still on her knees, and pops her selection in. “I told him that I wasn’t sure.”
Manny hums in understanding, brushing a stray lock of hair behind her ear. She’s aware of the fact that Ellie will finish her recounting of the break-up when she is ready, no need to push her.
Ellie takes a seat beside the brunette, picking up her own container of cookie dough ice cream, gulping down big spoonful. As she presses play on the plastic remote, the older girl speaks again. “The question affected me more than anything else.
“I see.”
“I don’t know why, maybe because I wasn’t expecting it.”
Manny turns her attention to Noah and Allie for a brief moment before looking at her friend, studying her profile meticulously. Breathing slowly, the dark-haired girl speaks softly, “Did you use me as a way to get away from Jesse?” She’s trying very hard to hide her insecurities, but she wants to know, she feels that she deserves it.
Stunned by the younger girl’s inquiry, Ellie snaps her head from the television set to the brunette. “Not consciously.”
“But on some level?”
The redhead studies Manny’s deep brown eyes, noticing the worry and hurt that seem to be covering them like a dark fog, and she misses their sparkle. “Manny, I love spending time with you, Jesse or no Jesse.”
Relief washes over the dark-haired girl’s face and she smiles uneasily. “Good.”
Reaching out, the red-haired girl embraces Manny, holding her tightly, hoping that the younger girl believer her. When she pulls away, Ellie knows that Manny trusts her; a knot untangles itself in the pit of her stomach.
“Now watch the movie and wallow with me, I’m suppose to be cheering you up, not the other way around.” Manny lightly smacks the redhead’s arm, turning her attention to the screen.
---
Manny pulls the blanket tighter around her body, stretching her legs a little, careful not to disturb the girl who is sleeping peacefully on the other side of the couch.
The younger girl can’t quite place her finger on it, but she’s slightly afraid to let herself fall asleep. Not with Ellie breathing slowly and steadily, only inches away. The dark-haired girl never thought twice about drifting off at Emma’s, or even with Liberty.
Sighing, she lets her eyes linger on the redhead’s sleeping form, and a small smile graces Manny’s lips. Ellie looks so clam, content. The older girl’s hands are tucked carefully under her head, and the brunette giggles in a whisper, knowing Ellie’s hands will be fuzzy when she wakes in the morning.
The red-haired girl’s legs are curled tightly to herself partly to give the dark-haired girl room to sleep. Manny think it may also be a habit, a subconscious term of self-protection.
When Ellie shivers lightly, Manny get up, taking another blanket out of the basket and draping it over her friend. When she sits back on her side of the couch, Manny allows herself to think. Biting her lip lightly, she lets ideas enter her mind that she’s sure she had been fighting off for a while now.
---
“Can you believe that? Two points off because of a silly typo. The difference between an ‘A’ and a ‘B’” Emma sighs exhaustedly, shaking her head in disbelief.
“It’s not that bad Em,” Manny laughs lightly at her best friend, “you still have an ‘A’ in the class.”
“But it’s idiotic!”
“Fine, it is. Are you happy now?” The brunette takes a sip of her soda, tapping her foot gently against the tile that covers Degrassi’s cafeteria floor.”
Thinking for a moment, the blonde finally responds, “No, but I guess I’ll have to get over it anyway.”
“Good.” Manny looks down at her fingers and begins fiddling with them, nerves bubbling up in her stomach. “Emma, I have to talk to you about something.”
“Thank god.” Emma rolls her eyes, resting her chin in her palm. “You’ve been tapping your foot all period; I was wondering if you’d ever actually get to what you wanted to talk about.”
Taking a deep breath, the dark-haired girl looks anxiously around the cafeteria, “Um, never mind.” She shakes her head a little in the negative.
“You can tell me anything.”
Manny bites her lip a little, too hard and she feels the pain radiate through her body. Every movement and nerve in her seems to be more alert than normal. The brunette wipes her sweaty palms on her jeans, taking a deep breath. “Promise not to freak out.”
“Promise.” The blonde tilts her head, concerned.
“I think I like Ellie.”
Her best friend stares at the dark-haired girl for a moment, mouth opened slightly, then, she giggles softly, a smile slowly spreading over her face.
“What’s so funny?” Manny’s heartbeat is wild and she really feels like smacking the bubbly girl.
Letting her laughter die down, Emma takes a deep breath, allowing air to fill her lungs. “I know.”
“You know?”
“Sean and I figured it out a while ago, I just didn’t expect you to come out of denial for a while longer.”
“Oh.” The brunette tucks some hair behind her and wipes her wet palms on her legs once more. Suddenly, a worried look takes dominance over the relief that was evident on the girl’s visage just a second earlier.
“Don’t worry,” Emma shakes her head in affirmation as she speaks, “You’re not that obvious, I just know you better than anyone else.”
Manny lets out a relieved sigh escape. “Good.” She takes a bite of her sandwich, looking her best friend in the eye. “So, you’re not going to throw one of your trademark Emma Nelson fits?”
“No. I love you Manny. And it’s not like you’re doing anything wrong. I mean, you’re not going to try and steal her from Jesse,” A pause, “are you?”
“They broke up.”
“Oh.” Emma raises her eyebrows, sitting up straighter on the bench.
“I didn’t do anything!” The dark-haired girl rolls her eyes indignantly, shaking her head disbelievingly at her best friend.
---
Walking slowly into the newspaper room, Ellie speaks softly. “Hey.”
Jesse looks up from his desk, surprised at his visitor. He mumbles a greeting before looking down at the article he had been proof-reading.
“Can we talk?”
“Sure.” The older boy motions to a chair in front of his desk, nervously running a hand through his brown hair.
The red-haired girl takes a seat, looking down at her hands before meeting eyes with her ex-boyfriend. “This was what I was worried about.”
“Awkward isn’t it?”
“Yeah.” Ellie breaths out shakily, crossing her legs.
Nodding, Jesse frowns as he speaks. “You’re still a great writer Ellie, I don’t want you to leave the core because of me, us.”
“I don’t want to leave either.” Ellie states clearly, overcoming the lump that has taken residence in her throat.
“Good.”
A long, uncomfortable silence fills the space between the two, causing the younger girl to smile while raising her eyebrows.
“So…” Jesse stretches out the syllable, attempting to fill the quiet with something, anything.
“I really don’t want it to be like this Jesse.” The red-haired girl sighs, running a finger lightly under her left eye, feeling the small bag there.
“I don’t know if we have a choice.” The brunette shrugs, defeated.
Ellie shakes her head, groaning in frustration. “We do though, at least a little.”
Shuffling through the papers on his desk, her ex-boyfriend denies a chance to respond, frowning at the way the conversation is going.
“Let’s be friends.” The younger girl nods decidedly, uncrossing her legs and sitting more forward in her chair.
“I don’t think it’s that easy.”
“Try?” She hears the vulnerability in her voice and she briefly wants to hate herself for it. “We’ll have to see each other anyway, let’s just power through the awkwardness.”
Jesse looks at her, not convinced it will as easy as she seems to think. He notices the anxiousness floating around her eyes and nod apprehensively, “Okay, I’ll try.”
“Thank you.” Ellie sighs happily, finally allowing a grin to appear on her mouth. “I guess I’ll see you later.”
“Okay.” They both stand up, Jesse coming out from behind his desk to offer the red-haired girl a hug.
“Bye.” Ellie nods joyfully as she leaves the room. Everything feels better already.
---
Sipping her soda in little burst, watching the liquid fly up her straw, Manny listens intently to what Ellie is telling her. She worries about looking at her friend too much, trying not to show her discomfort. Suddenly, she notices that the red-haired girl has stopped talking abruptly. Lifting her head, she frowns. “What is it?”
“I was just wondering if you were actually listening, seeing as you eyeballs are glued to the table.” Ellie smirks sarcastically; however, her eyes are smiling genuinely
“Sorry.” Manny mumbles, pulling delicately on her fingers.
“What’s up?” The older girl seems unable to stop herself from asking the question, it’s simple enough, but makes the brunette’s insides churn.
“Nothing, not really.”
Ellie looks unconvinced as she grabs a fry, popping it into her mouth in a swift motion. She stars at the dark-haired girl, hard, like she’s trying to figure out what to do next. She seems to decide to take a different approach. “Manny, do you realize how important you are to me?”
Taking a deep breathe, the brunette nods shakily, taking another sip of her soda. The caring tone in the redhead’s voice makes he smile a little, as she closes her eyes briefly, trying to let the sound permanently find a place in her memory.
“Well, you are. It’s strange, but you’ve become one of my best friends over the last couple of weeks, and I don’t know what I would do without you.”
“I know what you mean.”
“Okay.” Ellie gently kicks the younger girls’ shin under the table, looking in the brunette’s eyes, still seeing something in them that she cannot quite decipher. “Are you going to tell me what you’re thinking about?”
“Later.” Manny nods, not sure herself when later will be late enough.