Disclaimer: Don't own Degrassi. 'Nuff said.

Author's Note: … enjoy!

X

And I Must Scream
Ghost

X

"How do I look?"

Bianca finished pulling on her jeans and zipping them up before glancing over her shoulder to look at Clare. The younger girl stood in front of her full-length mirror, her hair straighter and wearing a jean jacket over a floral print dress. Bianca made a face. It might have worked if she was going out on a date or at school (before the uniforms, of course) but her attire wasn't exactly appropriate for clubbing. Not caring if she was only in a bra and jeans, Bianca made her way over to her suitcase and started to dig around in search for something Clare could wear. She finally managed to find a black one-shoulder top and a dark pink skirt, and tossed them over to Clare.

"Wear that." She said.

"But what about this?" Clare asked, motioning to what she was currently wearing.

"Fake only get you so far. You have to look the part." Bianca said simply. "Right now you look like a nun and no bouncer is going to believe you're nineteen."

Clare sighed, and reluctantly did as she was told, stripping out of her dress and replacing it with the clothes Bianca had given her. The top was fine — it covered her chest and that was all she had been concerned about — but the skirt was high-waisted and exposed a lot more thigh than she was used to. She bit her lip before walking over to her dresser to retrieve a pair of black tights. After getting them on, she grabbed her black kitten heels and slipped them on as well before returning to the mirror to examine her appearance.

"Here." Bianca called over to her from across the room, throwing her a studded belt.

Clare slid the belt around her waist before getting started on her makeup.

Meanwhile, Bianca threw on a navy top that fell off her shoulders slightly, and sat on the edge of Clare's bed to slip on her heels. After adding some jewellery to the mix, Bianca stood up and walked over to the mirror, where Clare was just finishing up. She helped the younger girl dramatize her eyes a bit, making them look brighter and more captivating, before getting started on her own.

Once they were finished getting ready, they grabbed their jackets and purses, and snuck out of the house.

.

.

.

They took the subway downtown and walked the rest of the way. Fortunately it wasn't a particularly long journey and before they knew it, they were already there. The club was packed by the time they arrived and Clare could hear the music coming from inside. The two girls stood in line for about fifteen minutes with Bianca tapping her foot impatiently and Clare observing her unfamiliar surroundings while trying to calm her nerves.

"What if we get caught?" She whispered frantically.

"We won't." Bianca assured her. "At least not if you don't give us away. Just relax and act natural."

Clare nodded, taking a deep breath.

At last, the line moved. As they neared closer and closer to he entrance, Bianca turned to face her.

"Remember what I told you — act like you're nineteen." She said.

"O-okay." Clare murmured, following her lead.

Bianca strut on in without a care in the world, like she belonged there. Her expression was calm and collected as she casually showed the bouncer her fake I.D. The bouncer spared it a glance before nodding and letting her pass. Clare scrambled to retrieve her own fake I.D before handing it to him. Her heart pounded rapidly against her chest as she waited for his response. Could he tell? What if she got caught? What would her mother say? Panic coursed through her veins as all sorts of horrible scenarios bombarded her mind, but just as she was about to take off running, the bouncer handed her I.D back and let her in.

It wasn't until she found Bianca that she let go of the breath she'd been holding.

Bianca chuckled.

"Chill. That was the hard part." She teased, nudging Clare playfully.

"I feel like I'm gonna be sick." Clare murmured.

Bianca rolled her eyes.

"Come on." She said, looping her arm through Clare's and leading her over to the bar. "Hey! I'll have one tequila shot and… what do you want?" She asked Clare.

"I-I don't know." Clare stammered.

Her knowledge of alcoholic beverages was limited to champagne at weddings and whatever she'd had at the Ravine.

"Here." Bianca's voice snapped Clare out of her reverie, and she looked to see the older girl handing her a glass of… something.

"What is it?" She asked.

"Rum and cranberry juice. Try it." Bianca urged.

Clare scrunched up her nose.

"I said I was never going to drink again…" She murmured.

"One drink isn't going to make you feel like shit. It'll be out of your system by tomorrow morning." Bianca said. "Besides, it'll loosen you up."

Clare sighed and nodded, and while Bianca did a tequila shot, Clare brought the glass to her lips and drank. It wasn't as bad as she had anticipated, but it did leave something of a bitter aftertaste in her mouth. Once she was done, she placed her glass aside and watched Bianca do another shot.

"Alright… alright…" Bianca said, setting the shot glass down as soon as she was done.

She turned to Clare, who looked at her curiously, and grinned.

"And now… we have fun." She declared with a grin, taking Clare by the wrists and leading her onto the crowded dance floor.

"Uhh, Bianca… I'm not really the dancing type -" Clare started to protest, but Bianca cut her off.

"Just do what I do." The older girl told her as she began to move her body to the beat of the music.

Clare tried desperately to mimic her, but it was almost impossible. The only kind of dancing she'd ever done was slow dancing with KC and making a fool out of herself with Alli. Bianca was a dancer in every sense of the word. She was a natural. Every twirl, every jerk, every tilt and every thrust was timed perfectly. Clare couldn't help but envy Bianca a little, wishing she could be just as mesmerizing and alluring as her.

Bianca seemed to notice her struggling to keep up, and rolled her eyes before placing her hands on Clare's hips. Clare furrowed her brow and looked at her in confusion, but Bianca ignored her and instead, moved Clare along with her. Eventually she managed to fall into a rhythm with Bianca, able to match her. Once she had the hang of it, Bianca let go momentarily and spun on her heel, dropping to her knees only to slither back up.

Whirling around, strands of her wild hair clung to her flushed face and she smirked at Clare, who smiled in return. The alcohol was finally kicking in and she was feeling a lot more relaxed. If she looked like an idiot to everyone else on the dance floor, she didn't care, and Bianca didn't seem to either.

A click drew Clare out of her stupor. Bianca smirked, holding up her phone before standing beside her and holding it in front of them.

"Smile for the camera, Edwards." She said, before snapping another photo.

This time, Clare was prepared.

After taking a few more pictures, first with Bianca's phone and then with Clare's, they put their phones away.

"Having fun?" Bianca asked, manoeuvring so that she was standing behind Clare, her hands back on her hips.

"Yeah." Clare replied, wiping her forehead.

The music changed, and the two started to dance once more. Clare watched the bodies around them meld together, the smell of sweat and booze wafting through the air. As Bianca's hips swayed rhythmically, Clare's followed suit. She pressed her back up against Bianca's chest, losing herself in the hypnotic beat that echoed off the walls. Bianca's hands slid from her hips to around her waist and back down, her manicured nails grazing the skin of her thighs. Clare's eyes drooped shut and she tilted her head back so that it was resting against Bianca's shoulder. The older girl's hot breath fanned over her ear and suddenly she was being whirled around. Their eyes locked and Bianca pulled her closer, their hips grinding together and causing Clare's whole body to tingle with anticipation.

Bianca's dark gaze flickered to her plump lips and Clare instinctively licked them, her heart speeding up. Leaning in, their lips were just about to touch when Bianca happened to glance over Clare's shoulder — and promptly froze.

There, standing on the other side of the room, was the man who raped her.

"Oh my God." She breathed, shoving Clare back and shattering the spell that had momentarily fallen on them.

"Bianca, what -" Clare started.

"It's him!" Bianca hissed, the color having completely drained from her face.

"Who?" Clare asked.

Bianca stared at her fearfully, terrified to look back in case he was looking.

"Him." She stressed.

Realization dawned on Clare and she slowly peered over her shoulder to see a blond man with scraggly hair and grungy looking clothes scouting the girls in the room. She glanced back at Bianca, who looked like she had just seen a ghost. Her face was alarmingly pale and she looked like she was going to be sick.

"We need to go. Now." Bianca said, before grabbing Clare's wrist tightly and dragging her out of the club.

Once they were outside, Bianca disappeared into the nearest alley. As Clare followed closely behind, she could hear retching sounds emitting from behind a dumpster. She stood off to the side, giving Bianca some space. When the noises finally stopped Clare took a cautious step forward and peered around the dumpster to see Bianca sitting on the pavement with her knees drawn to her chest and her face hidden between them.

"Bianca…" She whispered, giving her friend a sympathetic look as she knelt down in front of her.

"It's not fair…" Bianca sobbed quietly, lifting her head.

Her eyes were bloodshot.

"He's everywhere. Every time I close my eyes, all I think about is him and what he did to me. And now this! I can't escape him, Clare!" She choked out. "This is such shit!"

"Oh, Bianca…" Clare murmured, leaning over and wrapping her arms around the older girl.

Bianca buried her face in the crook of Clare's neck, clinging to her desperately, her nails biting into Clare's back through her shirt. Clare ignored the pain however, stroking Bianca's hair gently as Bianca continued to cry.

Her sobs eventually dissolved into whimpers. Pulling back, Clare let Bianca recompose herself, wiping at her tear-streaked face and combing her fingers through her hair. Pursing her lips together, Clare slowly rose to her feet and offered Bianca a hand, which the older girl took, hoisting her up.

"Let's go home." Clare murmured, lacing her fingers through Bianca's and leading her out of the alley.

.

.

.

"And just where have you been?"

Shit.

Clare sighed, closing the door behind them as she helped Bianca through the foyer and into the house.

Her mother stood a few feet away, having clearly been waiting for her, and looked anything but happy.

"I'll be up in a minute." She told Bianca, who nodded weakly and headed upstairs.

Once she was out of earshot, Clare turned to face her mother, who had her arms folded across her chest and was waiting expectantly for an answer.

"We went out." She said simply.

"You went out." Helen repeated dryly. "In that? On a school night?"

"To be honest, I didn't think you'd notice." Clare retorted coolly, narrowing her eyes. "I mean, you've been so busy hanging out with Glen it was like I didn't even exist!"

"Don't take that tone with me, young lady! I am your mother!" Helen snapped.

Clare rolled her eyes.

Helen's jaw tightened.

"Just what has gotten into you lately?" She asked. "Is it that girl? It is, isn't it? She's obviously a bad influence on you."

Clare shot her a disbelieving look.

"No offence, Mom, but… you have no idea what you're talking about. In the last couple of weeks while you've been busy with Glen, Bianca's been the only one there for me. And she's going through a lot right now, so I'm not going to abandon her when she needs me most." He mind drifted back to Eli, and she could feel the guilt inside her bubbling to the surface as she added quietly, "Not again."

Helen eyed her daughter disapprovingly.

"We'll talk about this another time, when you're not so belligerent." She said. "Now go to bed. And stay there. And if I find out you've snuck out again…"

Clare tuned her out, nodding along until she finished, before turning around and heading up to her room, locking the door behind her just in case her mother decided to burst in.

Bianca was laying on her bed, curled up into a ball and staring into space.

Dropping her purse and kicking off her heels, Clare made her way over and climbed in beside her. Bianca rolled over to face her, looking exhausted and worn out.

"Have you ever wanted to just… die?" She murmured.

"Don't say things like that." Clare said softly.

"Why not?" Bianca demanded. "I mean, who the fuck would give a shit if I disappeared? No one. At least your sister had people who cared about her. Me? I've got nothing."

"That's not true." Clare insisted. "You have me."

"Yeah. Whatever." Bianca muttered.

Clare sighed, combing her fingers through her hair.

"I'm not going anywhere." She said. "You can try to push me away all you want, but I won't budge."

A small smile graced Bianca's lips.

"You would if I punched you in the face."

"Putting me in the hospital doesn't count."

Clare made herself more comfortable, scooting closer to Bianca.

"At the club…" she said after a moment's silence, "Before you saw… him… were you going to kiss me?"

Bianca stared blankly at her.

"I don't like girls."

"I didn't say you did."

Bianca let out a defeated sigh.

"Maybe."

Clare nodded slowly, laying her head on her pillow as she absorbed the confession. Bianca managed a small smirk, and wrapped her arms around Clare, hugging he close.

It wasn't long before they drifted off to sleep.

X

And that's the end of that chapter.

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