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Chapter I
She woke up naked beside him, never dreaming that this would be the day that everything went to hell. She should have known, she later told herself, that their comparative bliss could only last for so long. They'd been sleeping in the same bed since the first night she'd stayed with him. He'd given her the bed, but when the tears overcame her, he slipped into the room and held her close. It hadn't taken them much longer to leave their clothing behind entirely.
She flipped over to face him, and he woke up, tickled by her red hair against his cheek. He reached out to her and her hand met his, and at that moment, her pain had never seemed so far away. Before she'd met him, she could have stayed in bed all day. Now she was awake before the alarm went off.
They shared breakfast and kisses. Both were proficient cooks, but they rarely bothered beyond emptying a can. For Ellie, cooking reminded her too much of being the caretaker--of how her mother had expected dinner on the table for long before Ellie had been ready to reliniquish her childhood. Sean, on the other hand, simply didn't care if he had canned peas or caviar. Food was food--the quicker, the better.
When they got to school, they were surprised to see the television personnel. They'd never much cared about extra-curriculars, and had been unaware of the pending trivia game show starring their fellow students. Sean supposed his ex-girlfriend was on the team--she had a certain way of getting involved in everything and anything that would be remotely beneficial to her resume. Sean supposed she didn't do it for that reason, but all the same, it was a little hard on the head to see her everywhere. However he may feel about Emma, he still harbored a certain sense of guilt of his behaviour the year before.
Ellie had a meeting with Sauve first period. While things hadn't been sunshine and butterflies since she'd left, she'd learned to laugh again. Today she'd brought a photo of Bueller, joking that he was what happened when the badboy and the goth made love. Sauve hadn't been particularly amused--hadn't been amused ever since Ellie had stopped cutting because Sean asked her to. Hadn't been amused to hear that they were sleeping together, making love each night. She pretended, anyway, inserting a few notes of caution when she could, and praying after Ellie had left. You weren't supposed to get attached to the people you dealt with--they were business, after all--but the rules weren't easy to follow.
They daydreamed through their classes, thinking only of each other and counting the minutes until school was over. They were perhaps too in love, and they both had a very faint feeling that it was so, but no one can quite shun overwhelming happiness. Sean knew cars inside and out, anyway, so paying attention wasn't strictly required, and Ellie had always been smart. Before Degrassi, they'd offered to move her ahead a grade, but deathly shy at the time, she had declined. She was still the same shy girl inside--she merely disguised it behind eyeliner, and quick remarks. Sean knew her best--few others had ever been allowed so deep inside her.
They had different lunch hours that day--most days, in fact. Sean took two grade eleven courses--ones he'd managed to skip ahead in, or perhaps skip forward to where he would have been under different circumstances--but normally, he had lunch with the other grade tens. She sat instead with Ashley, trying to pay attention while her friend discussed the in's and out's of why Downtown Sasquatch was going to be famous. It was obvious to everyone but Ashley that she'd never really stopped loving Craig.
Ellie had heard about Rick, of course. She was also well aware of just what had happened that morning, and who had arranged things to be as they were. None of the parties responsible had actually said it, but their smirks weren't a product of acing an English test, or being on the honor roll. She never really knew just how their actions would change her life--all of their lives.