Disclaimer: I don't own Degrassi.

The Second Chance

Imogen Moreno sat outside at the picnic tables reading her book Ms. Dawes had assigned for the senior year reading project, her notebook open to a page filled with scribbles on the symbolisms and main points of The Awakening. She picked up her ham sandwich and took a bite as she added another point to her ever growing list.

It was a nice spring day. The air was fresh, the flowers blooming scented the air, and she was thankfully under a shady tree.

She was so engrossed with her work that she didn't notice someone disturb her area by sitting directly across from her until a ticket was dropped on to her page. The action was so sudden it caused her to jump and smack her knee against the table in surprise.

"Ow," she moaned in pain, dropping her hold on the book to see it slam shut without her hand holding it down and the ticket falling through the crack in the table and fluttered to the ground. "Dammit," she cried out, trying frantically to stop her book from inevitably closing shut. She angrily looked up to berate the person for causing her a mini heart attack and making her lose her place only to come face-to-face with Jake Martin. "What the hell are you playing at; you scared me half to death!"

"Somebody's a bit jumpy today," he said his usual smug smirk still in place as he quirked an eyebrow and then he glanced down at the table to her notebook. "Jesus Christ, Moreno, did you even put the book down since our last meeting?"

Imogen gave him a scowl, trying in vain to find her spot with one hand as the other rubbed her knee to ease the pain the wood had caused. "Shut up, you stupid jerk, someone has to take this project seriously since it is worth forty percent of our overall grade," she snapped, repeating what she always said to him whenever he brought up their English project. As if he never contributed to it, which was mostly true. He'd done the oral reports and done a bit of research, but overall Imogen had done the bulk of the work. And she never let him forget it.

"Yeah, yeah, it's nothing you haven't said to me before," he said rolling his eyes and waving a hand at her comment, bored with hearing her lecture.

"Too bad it's never stuck in that overly thick skull of yours," Imogen said, bending over to reach under the table for the fallen ticket and snatched it up from the grass. She righted herself on the bench and began to read it over, a disbelieving frown blooming on her lips. "An art showing of all of Irene Fields' work at the art gallery?" She read with disbelief, looking up at him with an inquisitive face. "Jake what's this about? I mean you hate things like this."

"Well the so-called "stupid jerk" got enough money on his last job to afford enough for two tickets to somebody's favorite photojournalists showing this Friday. It's an apology for bailing on you the last time I promised you a date," Jake said, his smirk in place and arms crossed over his toned chest in a nonchalant manner, but his eyes betrayed him with their hopeful spark.

Imogen let out a stunned gasped, "No way! Jake, these have been sold out for months! How on earth did you get these?"

"My dad or Helen knew a guy who was happy to give up the tickets. Something about a divorce and a cheating wife and he didn't want her to have the tickets," Jake said with an uncaring shrug of the shoulders. "So are you in?"

Imogen gave a coy smile, fanning herself with the ticket. "Jake Martin, are you asking me out on another date?"

"It all depends," he said, reaching across the table to snatch the ticket from her hand.

"Depends on what?" Imogen asked skeptically, raising a wary eyebrow and crossing her.

"Are you agreeing to go with me?"

Imogen pretended to ponder it over, making a big to do of tapping her chin and even flipping through her day planner. "Well I am so busy Friday with band practice and of course there's Fiona and Bianca's sleepover to consider…" She said with a sigh, tapping on Friday, the page covered with a long list of plans she had made.

She could see Jake's face twisting into disbelief and she suppressed a smirk. "I guess I can find a way to squeeze you in somewhere." And with that she snatched her ticket back from Jake's hand with a laugh and gathered up her stuff.

"So I'll pick you up at six," Jake asked to her as she made her way on to the sidewalk.

"Don't bail on me again," she said warningly, narrowing her eyes, "or I won't be as forgiving as the last time."

"I'll keep that in mind," Jake said with a nod, "but you did agree that my no-show wasn't really my fault. I mean how on earth was I supposed to know that my dad would need me to work a job with him the exact moment I went to leave to get you."

"I still think you made that up, you know. It's a way to convenient story, even for a complete kiss ass like you," she said with a smirk.

Jake's jaw dropped and he stood up and moved to stand in the street with her. "I am not a kiss ass, Moreno, and I kind of resent that, I was helping my dad with work."

"Well if the shoe fits." Imogen said with a shrug.

Jake's jaw clenched in annoyance and he scoffed, "I think I want my ticket back, Moreno," he said, holding his hand out for the ticket.

"Sorry, Jake Martin, no can do, but I will see you Friday at six pm on the dot, or else." She said pointedly, as she placed the ticket into her bag and turning on her heel and making her way across the street and back into the school leaving Jake behind to look after her with a look of disbelief and annoyance.

Damn that Imogen Moreno. He thought angrily a scowl on his face. She always knew how to one up him. But he couldn't help the smile that bloomed across his face. He had gotten one thing out of their encounter, she had finally agreed to go on a date with him again, and this time his father would be up in the cabin with Helen and no one would be around to screw up his chances of getting the car, or needing him for some stupid reason. He'd finally get his date with the girl with the weird pigtails and cat ears.

With that happy thought the bell rang and he made his way with the throngs of students up the steps into the school having another reason to be excited for the upcoming Friday.