crash and burn (cyn!)

[Deleted]

"There she is. You know, I heard that she refused to take no for an answer. She totally went down on him."

Jamie froze in her tracks. She looked around, trying to place the female voice whispering. They were talking about her. Jamie could feel her throat getting tight. She had never been the target of gossip before. Usually, she minded her own business and people leaved her alone. But not anymore. Not since the night after the dance. And the worst part was, it was all true.

Jamie had loved Jimmy for a while now. She didn't know how to explain it. The sixteen year old knew this was not supposed to happen. He was so much older than her, and he was her teacher. Not to mention, he was her sister's ex. But she had strong feelings for him. And that night, she thought he felt the same.

Jamie had been in the park when Jimmy found her. Shaken and upset, Jamie had been able to express how she felt. After all, she had been in the locker room that night. She heard everything. Even though she hadn't seen it, she could imagine what it looked like. The screams, the begging, it was horrible to listen to.

Jimmy had listened to her, and he had comforted her. He had pulled her in his arms, consoling her. And when she looked up in his eyes, she couldn't resist the urge. She had leaned in and kissed him.

He never had to kiss her back. She never expected him to kiss her back. But he had, and the two had shared a passionate moment, which in turn was moved back home, and they spent a passionate night together.

This is it, she had thought. He actually loves me back. Jamie had been too happy for words. She thought that she could switch schools so she would no longer be a student, and that the two could be happy together. She had never been more wrong.

It didn't take but a few days for the article to appear in the mail, with a letter threatening to expose the affair to the school board. Still, she thought that they could get through this together. Love that strong, that right, could definitely stand the pressure that came with this test. But Jimmy didn't think so.

He had left. He had packed up his bags, taken Rockie and Stephan, and left. He had made it very clear that she had no place with him anymore. And the last thing he said to her before he left was how much of a mistake she had been.

Jamie had been shattered. The only consolation that she had was that nobody at school knew about it. After all, he had never actually been exposed. And she never thought that the article would actually appear in the grapevine, since Jimmy had heeded the warning and left.

As far as she had heard, Mr. Maxwell had no idea that the article had been published. Jamie took a little bit of comfort in that. But as she read it, tears stung her eyes. She had never meant for any of this to happen. Now more than ever, she wished Jimmy had said no. Or better yet, she wished she had never kissed him to begin with. And to make matters worse, she was wearing her military school uniform. She had been hoping to go back to the way life was before. Instead, the uniform made her more visible, made it more obvious that it was her the article was talking about.

Because now, she was being stared at and whispered about. Jamie looked around. All she wanted was to be out of the hallway. Pushing past a couple of people, Jamie ran up the stairs and entered the first room she spotted, which was the zen garden. She sat on the bench, burying her face in her hands. She wanted to drop off the face of the planet. Right now.

[nicholas]

As far as Nicholas was concerned, he couldn't have cared less about the newest rumor going around Degrassi. He was above it, completely. Besides, what was the big deal about it? Some girl slept with a teacher and the teacher freaked and left. It sounded just about right. Now, he didn't think expulsion was the right route and he didn't necessarily feel bad for Mr. Brooks. So, he decided that he couldn't keep it in his pants with a student and that was somehow her fault? If a man didn't want something, they could say no. Nikki saw that several times. Now, he also knew how to seduce a man out of his paycheck, but that was a talent he hadn't been utilizing as of late. And it didn't mean that if the person truly wanted that they couldn't put their hands up and say no. Just in the last several months, Nicholas had been with a lot of guys and plenty that were old enough to be his dad and some just significantly older. He had gone that route for money and for drugs; a way of preserving a high end lifestyle. There were low-end hookers and then there were people like Nicholas who catered to a specific and picky clientele. But, that stage in his life was supposed to be over now. Besides, he was sick. It was hard enough to think about sex, knowing what it had done to him.

As he stepped into the zen garden to be alone, he noted the girl in question there. As he saw her, he frowned and walked over. "You know, if you allow them to get to you, it'll only make it worse." He commented. Because that would just add fuel to their fire. It gave them more amusement at her suffering, because come on, people loved that. Especially in high school. It was all about humiliating one person and then picking at the carcass like vultures. Now, Nikki didn't mind a good scandal now and then and he honestly didn't like most of the students there. He had a sense of pride, but he wasn't inhuman. And to take everything they said to heart would only lead to it breaking as far as he was concerned.

[Deleted]

Jamie looked up at him, tears in her eyes. She didn't even know him. At least, she didn't think she did. Jamie didn't really know a whole lot of people. She could probably count the ones she did know well on one hand (outside of family, of course). Oceana, Brandon, Aidan, Shayne. Yup, definitely one hand. But, that didn't matter. He was being nice to her. It took her by surprise, definitely. Jamie thought that everyone who read that article would hate her and say things. But not him. The look on his face--was he actually sympathetic? Oh, Jamie could only hope.

She opened her mouth to speak, but couldn't. Instead, she stood and wrapped her arms around his neck, crying into his chest. Sure, she didn't know him. But she didn't really care. She needed someone right now, even if it was a random kid that she didn't even share classes with. Though, this was how she got in trouble in the first place. All Jamie could see when she closed her eyes was the look on Jimmy's face as he left. "Oi was one mistake," she muttered, not even realizing she said I instead of it. But, that was how she felt. Because that was what he had said to her. You were the biggest mistake I ever made". And he walked away, not even taking the time to notice how it made her feel. If she ever saw him again, Jamie decided she was going to slap him or something. He didn't deserve to get away with it. But then again, did that mean that the article was right? If he shouldn't get away with it, then why should she?