Title: Head Held High
Category: Degrassi: TNG
Rating: T
Genre: Romance
Pairing: Jay/Emma
Prompt: #03 - Change
Word Count: 2,153
Summary: Today, everyone would know.

Head Held High
1/1

Today, everything would change. Today, everyone would know. Sean. Manny. The entire school. Snake. Today, she was going to hold her head high and walk into the school. She'd ignore the looks, the whispers, the way they all seemed to be staring at her as if they knew her, knew what she'd done and who with. Because it was different now; drastically and entirely different. She wasn't the same Emma Nelson she'd been before the whole Rick shooting and she didn't want to go back. There was a middle ground between that Emma and the Emma that had gone to the ravine. A mature and lasting Emma, one who had learned and grown and became a changed person.

A person who just so happened to gain something from the ravine escapades. And no, she wasn't referring to the gonorrhea incident, although she hoped never to repeat it. Instead, she gained a friend, a confidant, and a lover. Some would think after what had happened, she'd turn her back on the boy who gave her a social disease and probably did more damage than fixing, but here she was, holding Jay Hogart's hand and about to walk into Degrassi and show them all that she didn't care. She didn't care what they thought or saw or felt over this new revelation.

"You ready for this, GP?" he asked her, lifting a brow.

She sighed, looking over at him with a half-frown. "Would it hurt you to call me Emma?"

He leaned closed, tipping his head to the side and smirking. "That's reserved for more... intimate situations."

She couldn't help it, she smiled. "You're an idiot."

He grinned. "I'm your idiot."

"Unfortunately," she replied playfully.

He wrapped his arm around her and she leaned into his touch, feeling his kiss against her hair.

Not so long ago, it would've been Sean doing this; Sean who held her and kissed her and joked with her. But Sean was back with Ellie, returned and not so accepting after he found out just what happened between his best friend and his first love. And having been shut out by him and most of their friends and the school, they turned to each other once more. At first, it had just been friendship, the last thing she wanted was to fool around with him again and find she had something that was incurable. But Jay had sworn off women for awhile, not that they were exactly flocking to him after the gonorrhea incident. Well, Amy didn't really count, anyway. And the friendship grew as they became more familiar with each other; that spark that drew them together in the first place becoming a long lasting fire that couldn't be ignored. Which is why she was here, back at this place, in the arms of Jay Hogart and about to let it be known that she was his and he was hers and everyone else could all go screw themselves if they had a problem with it.

"You're sure about this?" he asked her again.

She squeezed his waist with her arms. "I'm the most stubborn girl you know," she reminded. "So you can either run off to your car, tail between your legs, and hear later how I shouted it to the whole school without you there, or we can do this more subtly." She turned, nudging his chin up with her nose before burying her face in his neck and kissing him right where she knew always made him moan.

"Mmm," he said, chuckling. "I like subtle."

She laughed, nipping his neck playfully before drawing away. "All right, let's go." She took a deep breath and reached for the front door of Degrassi, her arm around his waist comfortably while his looped over her shoulders, one of his hands massaging her neck like he often did. The calloused feel of his thumb stroking up and down the back of her neck was relaxing and she found herself leaning into him and his touch even more, forgetting for a moment what they were doing.

As she focused her eyes on their surroundings, it became clear that the halls were filled with onlookers, all turning to stare and gawk and point at them before whispering to each other in a frenzy. She kept her smile in place, her chin held high, and her arm around him. "How much do you think they'd give us for our own reality show?" he wondered, amused.

She snorted, shaking her head. "Not enough."

"Hey, we're already under the microscope, might as well make it worth it."

She smirked. "Am I not enough incentive, Hogart?" she teased, moving to stand in front of him her hands holding the front of his shirt and dragging him closer as she walked backwards.

His mouth quirked at one corner. "Plenty... But imagine what we could do with all that money?" His brows lifted. "I could get a bigger bed!"

She laughed, slowing her steps so the front of her pressed up against him. "I kinda like how small it is now. You're my own personal body pillow."

"Are you calling me fat?" he asked, mock-frowning. "Cause I'm hard all over, GP. You should know that." He licked his lips before leaning his forehead down to press against hers.

He ran his hands down her back and she shivered at the touch, staring up into his eyes. "Make it up to you later," she promised. "Right now we have class."

He pursed his lips. "Class? That's so... studious." His thumbs stroked back and forth across her shoulder blades. "I propose skipping."

"I propose..." She drew back, stole his hat and put it on her head. "Going to class for once, Hogart."

He laughed as she turned around to walk away, her hips swaying. She grinned as he caught up, arm falling around her waist. "No promises, Nelson."

"Yeah? You're not getting your hat back until you finish a whole day!" She lifted her brows for emphasis. "And I happen to know this is your favorite hat."

"I've got others," he said, staring at her with thinned eyes.

"Not like this one." She shook her head.

He sighed. "A whole day..." He shook his head. "I dunno, Em. That sounds like I might actually get something done."

"Imagine that." She rolled her eyes.

"I could always just steal my hat back." He nodded.

She stopped at her locked, scoffing as she turned the com. "You could, but where's the fun in that?" She glanced at her schedule and then searched her locker for her books. She did her best to ignore the way the whispers seemed to buzz all around, focusing instead on his arms wrapped around her and his front pressed to her back. He rested his chin on her shoulder, like he often did when they were cuddled up on her bed, watching a movie.

"So I go to all my classes, I get my hat or I continue to happily skip and see you walking around looking sexy in my hat... This is a hard one... I'm gonna have to think it over."

She laughed, turning in his arms and wrapping hers around his neck. "What you choose to do with your hat after you get it back is entirely up to you... So you could go to class and make me happy, doing yourself a favor in the process, get your hat back and then put it right where I have it now."

He reached up, turning it so it was crooked, like how he always wore it. "My overachieving girlfriend... Already trying to make me into a good boy," he murmured lowly.

She bit her lip, staring into his dark eyes. "This good girl loves her bad boy... She just wants him around a little longer... More time for making the masses gossip about us."

He smirked, leaning closer so their noses brushed. "Let's give 'em somethin' to talk about." He caught her lips and her eyes fell closed at the instant, fiery connection. She felt her back hit the metal lockers but could care less. She felt one of his hands at the back of her neck, fingers massaging, calloused from work and rubbing just right. His other was sliding up the back of her shirt, stroking the small of her back just the way he knew she liked, making her body arch against him as she moaned quietly. Her arm slid around his waist and up his back, hand splaying out across his black t-shirt before clutching it tightly in her grip. God, does he ever know how to kiss... His tongue tangled with hers, slowly, teasing her with its slow strokes across the roof of her mouth. She shivered, inhaling through her nose to get the familiar scent of cigarettes (she really had to talk him out of that habit), motor oil, and something that just spoke volumes of Jay to her that she could never put into words. All she knew was that it smelled delicious. Her free hand buried in his hair, running through and tightening at the back.

"Break it up! Break it up!" she heard vaguely.

And slowly, they parted, their lips swollen and their breathing heavy.

"Any more PDA like that and you two will be spending some quality time in detention," someone told them firmly.

She nodded jerkily, never tearing her eyes away from Jay's. Must've been a teacher, she assumed, smiling up at the smirking boy in front of her.

The bell rang, forcing them out of their moment and she sighed, turning for her books. "So? You going to class or...?" She turned around to her locker, grabbing her binder and a pen before searching for her textbook. She felt him playing with her hair hanging down her back; it was an absent action of his that he often did when he was distracted.

"Yeah, I'll see if they have any wisdom to pass on today... Gets too boring though, you know where to find me."

She half smiled. "Civic."

"Passenger seat is always calling your name."

She turned around, smiling up at him. "Yeah and where do you wanna drive today?"

"Anywhere..." He shrugged. "Who cares, right?"

She remembered the countless days spent just driving. No where in particular; they had a tank full of gas, the radio blaring and a whole lot of time on their hands. In that car, she was away from the looks her parents kept giving her, disappointment ringing clear in their eyes. She was far away from Manny's disapproval, Sean's disgust, and the school's assumptions. It was just her, Jay, and a map of possibilities in front of her, just how she liked it. But now they were free, to be seen anywhere they wanted, without fear of prosecution or being caught. Still... those days were something she planned never to give up.

"Try and stick around," she said hopefully. "After school, I've got nothing but time and I'm feeling like a nice long drive."

He nodded, half-smiling. "Sounds good to me." He leaned closer, kissing her briefly. "Better get to class," he whispered. "Wouldn't want to taint that good girl image of yours."

She grinned, closing her locker behind her and nipping his lip playfully. "You know you love tainting it."

He smirked, eyes darkening once more and she knew that if she didn't leave soon, those eyes of his were going to have her running straight for the Civic and they'd be off in their own world, driving nowhere before finally pulling over to give the backseat a nice long heady story. If only that car could talk...

She ran her palm down his cheek before taking a step away. "Be good," she told him.

"Be bad," he replied before turning and walking away, tossing a smirk over his shoulder.

He'd skip. She knew he would. She'd try again tomorrow to convince him a whole day of school wouldn't kill him, but she'd long ago accepted that Jay was just Jay and she liked him that way. He'd do what he wanted, what he felt like, and as long as those wants and feelings still included her, she was happy. Turning on her heel, she made her way to class. No doubt there was going to be a whole lot of questioning glances turned her way and all she'd do was ignore them and continue on in her studies. She wasn't going to let them drag her down. If they didn't like Jay, that was their problem. She was tired of stigmas and all the weight people put into their assumptions of people. She was with Jay, she loved him, and that was all there was to it.

She'd come a long way; hopefully changed for the good. If no one else liked this her, she did and so did Jay. That was all that mattered.