((JJ)) highway to hell

"I would think that a young man of your...potential, as they call it, would learn to stop such foolishness! You're a disgrace! Naming you valedictorian. I don't know what Darcy was thinking"

JJ crossed his arms. "Maybe that I have the highest GPA in the school and that's how it works, Bozo the clown" he retorted with a scoff. He wasn't afraid of Snyder. He had been, back when he was in ninth grade. But not anymore. He was in 12th, almost eighteen years old. He was a man. He wasn't afraid of him. He was like a fucking chihuahua. He wanted to turn the hose on him. He was counting down the days until he was out of here. He would be graduating soon, and there wasn't at hing Snyder could do about it.

"Excuse me? I don't like your tone, young man! You just earned yourself three weeks of detention!" and with that, he straightened up, taking his finger out of JJ's face, walking away. He watched him go and smirked. "And there goes the mayor of Munchkinland" he muttered. Like he cared. He had detention for the rest of the year already, and then he would be graduated. So, the threat of detention really didn't phase him. But, hey, he was out of class now, and planned to stay out. After all, he hadn't been told to go back to class. So, instead, looked around, thinking of what he could do. When he spotted Megan sitting on the floor, he grinned.

"Megan! Hey!" he walked over, sitting beside her. "You know, I didn't know they changed your class to the hallway floor. This is cozy" he said with a nod, looking at her with a grin. Hey, he was in a good mood! Snyder got him out of class, Megan was back. Yeah, it was a good day.

JJ nodded. He understood, honestly. Hell, he knew who had hurt her. He wasn't too sure what to do with the information. He had asked his mother, what if he knew who it was? She had given him a stern look, and said that it was a serious accusation and that he needed to think carefully before making it. After what happened to Shayne, she had thought it was him. She had arrived at the school, a terrified look in her eyes, begging him to claim innocence. He knew she was right to ask, after everything that had happened that year between Matt, between Marissa. And he was glad when she believed him that he hadn't done it.

"Yeah. Class is overrated. It only leads to things like graduation," he teased. He didn't know why he ever made her tell him. What had he expected to do? Holding a fist, he held it to his mouth "we're sitting here with the beautiful Megan Del Rossi in Degrassi's hallways. So, tell us, Megan, how's life treating you since the last time we spoke?" he held his fist to her mouth. Hy, it was better than saying what's up!

JJ frowned, listening to her. How as he supposed to react to something like that? He had no idea what she expected of him. He was JJ Yorke; he wasn’t exactly the most adept at having serious conversations. Unless, of course you were a certain fifteen year old girl that he was crazy about. He was willing to talk about anything with Marissa. But Megan...his relationship with Megan was very volatile. When he wasn’t shoving books out of her hands, she was beating him. The two didn’t exactly get along. He wasn’t even sure why he was sitting her, acting like a reporter with her. Maybe it was just the mood he was in. Nodding slowly, he acted like he was zipping his lips shut. “Mum’s the word….actually, if you’re pregnant, it really is,” he joked. It was probably a bad joke, considering what she just told him. But, JJ couldn’t help it. It just sort of slipped out. He knew he needed to say something other than that, though. With a sigh, he stared at his shoes before deciding how he was going to approach it.

"Oh. Yeah. Them pregnancy scares. I know how that can be. Between you and me? I might have a bun in the oven myself. But I just can't bring myself to buy a test and find out for sure!" He bit his lip, mirroring the look on her face as he looked up at her meekly. “But…maybe you can help me. I mean, if I don’t have to take it alone, I think I could do it. What do you say? For me, Megan. I need to know if I’m going to be a mommy!” Hey, at least he wasn’t forcing her to take it. He thought this was better. And he was willing to take the pregnancy test, too. Why not? He’d never done it before. It could be fun. JJ was up for fun. Especially after the dance, and after Charlie left. Fun was one thing he had not had any of. JJ used to be Mr. Fun. Now, he was all work and no play, and it made JJ a dull, dull boy. He wanted to play. Even if it was just with a pregnancy test.

"Great! You're a lifesaver, Megan! I don't know what I'm gonna do if I'm pregnant. My mom will kill me" he shook his head and stood, reaching down and simply picking the girl up. It was surprisingly easy for him. He supposed that all of the bench pressing he had been doing since the dance was paying off. He hadn't even tried to gain strength, he was just trying to relieve stress. A lot had happened since spring fling week. Before that, even. Charlie left, taking the baby with her. Marissa went missing. God, that was scary. And JJ just didn't know what to do anymore. He hated this, all of it. He felt guilty, like this was all his fault. Wasn't it, though? He was the school bully. He was the most feared--and he was the one who caused the most pain. Like what he did to Marissa. But, he refused to think about that right now. With Megan in tow, he nodded to her crutches. "Grab em," he told her, since he couldn't balance her and the crutches at the same time.

"We're off to see the Wizard!" he teased her with a chuckle. "I'm kinda glad I don't have my cycle today." and he was. Because, he wouldn't want her on it. "I have mom's car. So, you still don't have to walk." and with that, he headed out the side door. He knew Snyder would be pissed. But he really, really didn't care. He had no respect for the bald, short man anyway. Once he reached the car, he unlocked it, and only then did he set Megan down. "We gotta talk anyway," he announced as he went around to the driver's seat. He had a lot to say to the girl.

Last summer, the two had been on talking terms. Especially around July, a bunch of crazy stuff had happened. So what changed? Well, school started back up. When he was in school, JJ wasn't the guy that Megan knew...that Marissa and later Charlie came to know. He was a whole different person. He was a bully. He was the kind of guy you didn't want to run into. He cared about his reputation when he was in school, because he had to protect it. But days like this, when he was alone with someone like Megan, his guard tended to be let down a little bit. He cared less about his reputation and more about people. Especially after the dance. He had been thinking about people quite a bit. And thinking about people led him to think about Megan once or twice.

He got in the car, starting it up before seatbelting. He heard her question and sighed. "Mom has preggo tests at home. We can just head there," he said, backing out of the space. Only once he was on the street did he answer her. "I'm gonna deny I ever said this if you tell a soul...but I owe you an apology. And sort of a fucked-up thanks" hey, if he was gonna do this, he was gonna do it his way. JJ was very crass, very rough about the way he worded things. Very seldom did he ever actually say something that sounded sweet. There might be sweet intentions, but usually they were hidden pretty well.

JJ sighed. His mother had warned him of this. She had sat him down, to help him prepare for the effects of the Sniper. She told him that some kids might blame themselves, or feel like they deserved it. He asked her who would be dumb enough to think that. And her answer was--anyone. She informed him of some pretty bad shit that happened when she was in school, and how she blamed herself afterwards. Thought she had deserved to die. That shut him up, and made him stop and think. And obviously, she was right. Because, Megan was proving that. "bullshit," he countered it, not about to beat around the bush. "It didn't happen cause you deserved it. It happened because Jack is a psycho" he shook his head. "And he'll get caught. Even if we can't tell. He'll get caught." He firmly believed that. Especially after the argument his mom made. Jack was a teenager (well, she didn't name him, because she didn't know it was him) and Garrett and Simpson were adults. Genetically, they were smarter than him. And it wouldn't be long before they caught up with him.

"Hey, you beat my ass. I deserved it. It's kind of what I want to thank you for." It sounded weird, and probably masochistic. But he meant it. "You put my ass in line. Put the fear of God in me. And maybe it was something I need every now and again. But, don't tell my mom I said that." He looked at her before looking ahead and pulling to a stoplight. "The apology is about the award ceremony thing." It was definitely not anything he was proud of. And honestly, he didn't know why she didn't go after him a second time. He probably deserved it more than he had the first time. She could have died, had Charlie walked away when he tried to get her to. And it would have been all his fault. It wouldn't leave his mind.

JJ sighed. He wasn't gonna get into all that, because then he'd have to find out who the boyfriend was and shoot him or something. And then he'd be arrested, and his mom would be pissed. And one thing you did not want--you did not want to piss off JJ's mom. So, he ignored the comment about her dad's boyfriend (wasn't her dad married? He was pretty sure she had two dads before). And the thing about her dad--was she expecting him to say something? Some reassurance, maybe? But, didn't she know who she was talking to. This was JJ Yorke. Reassurance was one thing he was not good at doing. Scratching his head, he turned on his signal and turned left, looking at her once more.

"I dunno if it was your fault with your dad or not," he said with a shrug, since he didn't even know what he did. "But I can say one thing. I watched you two together. You're a good girlfriend. You know I wouldn't say it if it wasn't true. I'm not real big in the compliment department." he shook his head. "So I can tell you, you didn't do anything. Even if you did, it wouldn't deserve being murdered, you know?" he pulled to a stop sign and turned right. Hopefully, she would take what he said at face value and accept it. When she talked about him and Matt, he nodded. "I know. Why are you explaining this shit to me? I said thanks." She didn't owe him anything. "Now I know where to go if I ever need beat again," he said, half jokingly. Because really, he'd rather let Marissa do it. "It don't matter. I shouldn't have tried to get Chuck to leave you. I was an ass. And I suck for it." And that was as formal of an apology as she was going to get it. With a chuckle, he added "we all are. Every last one of us in this fucking city are messed up."