New story. I wanted to do something that mostly focuses on Holly J and Declan but with someone in between that tries to help but struggles. There's some Anya and Sav thrown in for subplots. Let me know what you think. Also, could someone PLEASE explain the appeal to so many Clare and Eli stories? I like him okay but I don't see the crazy appeal.

Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue.

"This week we'll be discussing various Shakespeare plays," Ms. Kwan reported as she made her way through her English class on a Monday morning. "The six rows will pair up according to the person next to you and I will assign each group a play."

Holly J looked to her left and found Kiran Buckley, a pretty but standoffish girl, to be her partner. "How many times can we possibly analyze Macbeth, right?"

"Are you psychic?" Kiran wondered.

"Uh, no," Holly J replied in confusion.

"Then how do you know we're getting Macbeth?" Kiran asked. "We might get Hamlet or Much Ado About Nothing; that's my personal favorite."

"Right," Holly J muttered. "So, we've never spoken much and we've been in school together for two years now."

"Well, you're Miss Degrassi and I personally can't wait to get out of here," Kiran shrugged. "I do admire you though."

"You do?" Holly J murmured. "Why?"

Kiran sat back in her seat, looking as bohemian as ever. "You're a good leader. When bad things happen, you fix them. Of course, you sometimes cause them but that's neither here nor there."

"Thanks?" Holly J accepted. "But I don't really lead anymore."

"True," Kiran nodded. "Your 'boyfriend' does that now."

Holly J raised an eyebrow. "Why do you say that so hesitantly?"

"Well, it's not like you're serious about Sav," Kiran stated knowingly.

"Excuse me?" Holly J scoffed. "You don't know anything about that."

Kiran smirked. "Sorry if that upset you but come on, Sinclair. You two are only staying together at this point because you fucked up and got us into this uniforms-and-metal detectors mess. You will never feel for him the way you felt for Richie Rich and he won't look at you like he looked at Pom-Pom McPherson."

At this point, Holly J was fuming but Ms. Kwan appeared.

"Ladies, I'd like you to work with Much Ado About Nothing," she told the two of them. "For today, I want you to look at the relationship between Beatrice and Benedick."

"Ms. Kwan, I'm not feeling well," Holly J lied. "May I go to the nurse?"

"Let her go," Kiran advised. "I can work on this by myself. I wouldn't want her getting me sick, as well."

Holly J left the classroom and slowly walked towards the main office. She barely knew Kiran Buckley and yet the cynical hippie dared to tell her about her relationships? As far as Holly J knew, Kiran considered herself about high school and wasn't sure the brunette had a single friend at Degrassi.

"Hey," Anya said, breaking Holly J's thoughts. "Where are you going?"

"Nurse," Holly J answered. "My English partner was giving me a migraine."

Anya frowned. "Who was it?"

"Kiran Buckley," Holly J replied. "She was butting her nose into places it didn't need to be."

"Kiran?" Anya repeated. "The bohemian girl who sits alone at lunch and reads The New Yorker? She doesn't seem like the nosy type."

"Trust me, she is," Holly J confirmed. "Have you seen Fiona at all today? She missed French."

Anya shrugged. "She's not in biology right now either. I don't know."

Before Holly J could say anything else, she looked towards the front doors and saw Fiona walking inside, followed closely by her brother.

"Uh-oh," Anya murmured.

"Holly J, Anya," Declan said quietly as the Coyne twins approached them. "It's nice to see you."

"Declan!" Anya cried, trying to diffuse the situation. "What are you doing here?"

"Our mom can't be back and forth so much anymore so she asked me to return to Toronto to keep an eye on Fiona," he explained solemnly.

"You could've told me," Holly J snapped.

Declan looked at her. "Like you told me about Sav?"

Anya let out an uncomfortable laugh. "And that's my cue. You guys better hurry because if you get caught, that's a warning."

Fiona took her brother's hand. "Come on, Declan; you have to meet with Mr. Simpson anyways."

Holly J watched them disappear down the hallway and into the main office. She knew if she went to the nurse's office, she would hear Declan talking to Simpson, so she chose the lesser of two evils and walked back to Ms. Kwan's class.

"That was quick," Kiran mused as she looked up from their assignment.

"I was stopped along the way and had no desire to keep going," Holly J explained. "I just found out Declan is returning to Degrassi."

Kiran laughed once. "No shit? Wow. Maybe I'm psychic."

"It's not funny," Holly J grumbled. "This is going to screw everything up."

"Or set it right," Kiran whispered.

"What?" Holly J demanded.

"Maybe Declan being back will be a good thing," Kiran suggested. "He's obviously the guy you're supposed to be with."

Holly J made a face. "And how would you know that?"

"Everyone knows it," Kiran stressed. "Sav is a nice guy and he's probably one of the only boys in this school that I can talk to without wanting to barf but he's so wrong for you. He's a very laid-back, almost simple kind of guy and while that might be exciting for you now, it'll bore you in the long run. Declan is worldly and ambitious and can help you achieve your goals. I think he wants to do that."

"Do you know that he also tried to buy me?" Holly J snapped angrily. "He tried to give me money to solve the problems we were having because my family has financial issues." She rolled her eyes. "But you're a rich girl so I'm sure you think that's normal."

"I don't," Kiran denied, "but I can understand where he's coming from. I doubt he did that maliciously, Holly J. If you grow up with a lot of money, you're sort of raised to think that if you spend enough of it, problems are solved. If you were smart, you'd have talked it out instead of telling him to kick rocks."

"Why don't want just work separately and then combine notes at the end of class?" Holly J suggested coolly. "I'm tired of hearing your analysis of my life."

Kiran just shrugged, discreetly pulled out her ear buds, and turned her attention to the assignment.

"Ugh, I cannot stand her," Holly J grumbled when she reached the cafeteria for lunch. She watched as Kiran sat down at her usual table in the corner, pulled out the latest issue of Rolling Stone, and read while she ate her taco salad. "She's heinous."

"Who?" Chantay asked as they made their way to a table in the center of the room.

"Kiran Buckley," Holly J answered, ripping open her packet of dressing. "She doesn't speak to anyone and when she does open her mouth, it's all completely inappropriate."

Chantay glared at Kiran. "I've never liked her. In grade nine, she told me that The Anti-Grapevine was stupid."

"That's not really relevant right now," Holly J said. "She has no right to butt into my personal life."

"About what?" Chantay wanted to know.

"Sav," Holly J admitted. "And Declan, too."

"Ooh," Chantay murmured. "What was she saying about them?"

"Nothing important," Holly J muttered. She knew telling Chantay anything would end up on her blog. "Have you heard from Danny lately?"

"Of course," Chantay confirmed, going on with some story about Danny's roommate.

Holly J vaguely listened and watched Kiran again. All she did was read, listen to music, and mutter her sometimes witty cynicisms under her breath in class. Why would she start commenting on Holly J's relationships now?

Declan sat down in the back row of his last period history class and waited for Mr. Perino to begin taking roll.

"You're in my seat," Kiran stated as she stood over her.

"Sorry," he apologized, moving forward one desk. "I didn't know seats were assigned."

Kiran sat down. "They're not; I just like sitting here and I hate when people play musical chairs in class. Pick a seat and stick to it. I'll forgive you this time because you're starting a little late in the game this year." She flipped open her notebook. "So, what brings you back to Degrassi?"

"Fiona," he answered quietly. "Our mother was traveling back and forth quite a bit but our father needs her in New York more so my parents asked me if I'd return to keep an eye on her. We're trying to keep Fiona in a good place so I agreed."

"And it had nothing to do with the fact that Holly J dumped you and then turned around and started dating Sav so quickly?" she wondered.

"Miss Buckley, quiet," Mr. Perino demanded as he began his lecture on World War II.

Kiran leaned forward to whisper in Declan's ear. "If it's any consolation, they make a terrible couple."

"Oh, yeah?" Declan murmured. "Why is that?"

"Cause they're heinously wrong for each other," she replied as if it were the most obvious answer in the world.

Mr. Perino leaned against his desk. "And now, it's project time. I want everyone to pair up and wow me."

"Partner?" Declan suggested, turning to Kiran.

"You barely know me," she pointed out.

"You did the music for the musical last year," he reminded her. "I liked your work on that so you can't be that bad in school."

Kiran smirked. "I might surprise you."

Mr. Perino stood over Kiran's desk and handed her a packet. "Miss Buckley, your test from last week; well done."

Declan peered over and saw the red A at the top. "I'm not really surprised."

"Fine, you can be my partner," Kiran sighed. "But just know that I'm terribly OCD about schoolwork so I'll be pushy about it."

"It'll be a good distraction," he said.

"Well, unfortunately, I have to leave for a hair appointment now," Kiran declared, "but the office thinks it's for the dentist so let's keep this between us. Meet at that place people like around four?"

"The Dot?" he mumbled. "I don't know. Holly J works there."

"All for the better then," Kiran smiled, standing up. "You need to be in her face if you're going to get her back."

"Who says I want her back?" Declan scoffed.

Kiran reached the door and looked over her shoulder at him to smirk knowingly. "Don't you?"