[Outside...]

(Marco and Dylan are sitting on a bench and kissing...)

Marco-  This feels so right.

Dylan-  It does.

Marco-  I'm so glad we're together.  (They kiss again.)  I'm so glad everything's out.

Dylan-  You included.  (They laugh.  Dylan goes into kiss him again, but Marco pulls away.)  What?

Marco-  Nothing.  Sorry.  (We see that Marco was looking at Ellie, who is in the distance, staring at them.)

 

[Credits.]

 

[At school...]

(Paige is standing at her locker when Ellie walks over.  Ellie starts to say something, but nothing comes out.  Paige looks at her...)

Paige-  Okay.  You're weird.  (Ellie doesn't respond.)  What do you want?

Ellie-  Are Dylan and Marco back together?

Paige-  I would have thought you would have known better than me.

Ellie-  Just answer my question.

Paige-  Yeah.  (pauses.)  Are you and Marco fighting or something?

Ellie-  He's just busy with his college stuff, and I'm busy with stuff.

Paige-  Okay.  Cause, you two were like inseparable.

Ellie-  Nothing happened.

Paige-  You told him you had feelings for him, didn't you?

Ellie-  What?

Paige-  When you told me I wasn't completely wrong about everything, I wasn't completely wrong about Marco.

Ellie-  Paige...

Paige-  Oh.  That explains so much.

Ellie-  What does that explain?

Paige-  Dylan told Marco he loved him in front of Marco's dad.

Ellie-  Marco's dad found out about...(Paige nods.)

Paige-  And he was freaking out so bad.  Talking about how he didn't know if he was gay or something.

Ellie-  He did?

Paige-  I thought it was so weird that he came to me instead of you, but oh this explains so much.

Ellie-  Paige, you're reading way more into this than is there.

Paige-  Really?

Ellie-  Yeah.  Me and Marco are friends.  Our friendship is like rock solid.  He's just been busy with everything.  That's all.  (Ellie walks away.)

Paige-  Whatever you say.

 

[In the cafeteria...]

(Jimmy is sitting down when someone walks by and knocks over his books.  Emma walks over and picks them up...)

Emma-  Here.

Jimmy-  Thanks.

Emma-  Some people are so rude.

Jimmy-  It happens.

Emma-  It doesn't excuse it.

Jimmy-  What are you going to do?

Emma-  Something.

Jimmy-  You really are a pistol aren't you?  (Emma smiles.  Jimmy laughs a little.)

Emma-  I'll take that as my cue to exit stage right.

Jimmy-  What's your hurry?  Sit down.  Stay awhile.  I could use some company.

Emma-  Aren't you Mr. Popular?

Jimmy-  Mr. Popular could always use more friends.  (Paige and Hazel walk towards Jimmy.)

Emma-  I better not.  (She walks away.)

 

[Meanwhile...]

(Marco is sitting down outside, when Paige walks over to him...)

Paige-  Is something going on with you and Ellie?

Marco-  Ellie?  No.  No.  Nothing.

Paige-  Why doesn't she know that you and my brother are back together?

Marco-  I haven't had time to talk to her lately.

Paige-  Really?

Marco-  Yeah.  School.  Your brother.  Plus, she's got other friends that she needs to be spending time with.

Paige-  There's more to this.

Marco-  Paige, I swear, me and Ellie, nothing's going on.

Paige-  Fine.  (She walks away.  Marco looks around and sees that Ellie is sitting on a bench, looking at him.  He gets up and walks over to her.)

Marco-  Hey.  (Ellie doesn't respond.)  How are you?

Ellie-  I called you.

Marco-  Yeah, about that...

Ellie-  I called you, and I called you.  I must have left like eighteen messages.

Marco-  I'm sorry.  I just, I didn't know what to say.

Ellie-  How about that I'm your fag hag and that you're back with your ex-boyfriend after you slept with me?

Marco-  You know then.

Ellie-  Yeah I know.  And I can't believe you.

Marco-  You're mad.

Ellie-  I'm beyond mad.  I'm furious.  Marco, how could you do that?

Marco-  I don't know what I was thinking.

Ellie-  What's that supposed to mean?  That you're willing to mess around with my emotions just because you don't know what you were thinking?

Marco-  I was upset.  That whole event is just a fog now.

Ellie-  So, having sex with me is just a fog?  (Starts to tear up.)  I'm not worth remembering?

Marco-  You're twisting my words Ellie.

Ellie-  I'm twisting your words?  You're twisting me.  My emotions.  My heart.  My life.  I told you I loved you and you used me, for whatever reason.

Marco-  I'm sorry Ellie.  I'm so sorry.  I was so upset, and that's not an excuse, but I would never do anything to purposely hurt you.

Ellie-  Then why didn't you call me back?  (Marco doesn't respond.)  That's what I thought.  (She picks up her book bag and walks off as tears fall down her face.  Marco sits on the bench and looks upset.)

 

[At the Ddot...]

(Emma is sitting at a table when Jimmy comes over...)

Jimmy-  What was with that little freak out earlier?

Emma-  Freak out?  I didn't freak out.

Jimmy-  Running off at the sight of Paige and Hazel?

Emma-  That's not a freak out.  That's just...Okay, maybe freak out was the right word.

Jimmy-  What was that all about?

Emma-  I'm not exactly looked at with respect anymore.

Jimmy-  Who cares about respect?

Emma-  I used to.  Then I freaked out when everyone started staring at me and looking at me with pity.

Jimmy-  Pity?  It's not that bad.

Emma-  What do you mean it's not that bad?

Jimmy-  Look at me.  All day, the only looks I get are pity looks.  Everyone looks at me like I'm some freak or something.  (He sees Spinner behind Emma and glares at him.)  All because of some stupid idiot and his stupid friend.

Emma-  How do you deal with it?

Jimmy-  I don't go to parties with Amy and OD on pain pills.

Emma-  That was unnecessarily harsh.

Jimmy-  It was meant to be funny.

Emma-  It wasn't.

Jimmy-  Sorry.

Emma-  It's okay.  I better go.  (She walks away.) 

 

[At Ellie's house...]

(Ellie is sitting in her room and she is playing with a rubber band on her wrist.  She is still crying.  Her phone rings.  She looks at it and sees that it's Marco.  She turns it off.  She starts crying even harder.)

 

[Meanwhile...]

(Marco is standing outside, and has his phone up to his ear...)

Ellie's Voicemail-  Hey.  You've reached Ellie.  Leave me a message.

Marco-  El, it's me.  Call me back.  I want to talk.  (He hangs up.  Dylan walks over to him.)

Dylan-  She'll come around.

Marco-  I don't know what I was thinking.

Dylan-  What exactly happened between you two?

Marco-  I know you're my boyfriend, and I love you, but I don't feel comfortable talking to you about it.

Dylan-  Why?

Marco-  It's embarrassing.

Dylan-  As embarrassing as our first date?

Marco-  Way worse.

Dylan-  What happened?

Marco-  Before we got back together, I sort of had a sexual crisis.

Dylan-  Sexual crisis?

Marco-  Yeah.

Dylan-  What does that mean?

Marco-  My dad made me question who I was.  I did something I shouldn't have.

Dylan-  What?

Marco-  Something I regret.

Dylan-  What?

Marco-  I really don't feel like talking about it.

Dylan-  Why not?

Marco-  I had sex with Ellie.  I had big hetero sex with Ellie and then didn't talk to her for like two months afterwards.

Dylan-  You had sex with her?

Marco-  It was before we got back together.

Dylan-  How was it?

Marco-  What?

Dylan-  Was it weird?

Marco-  Yeah, it was weird.  It was surreal. (He laughs.)  I didn't know what I was doing.  I had to do stuff.  (Dylan laughs.)  Don't laugh.

Dylan-  You did.

Marco-  I know.  I'm a bad friend.

Dylan-  You're entitled to a mistake or two.

Marco-  A mistake this big?

Dylan-  I made a huge mistake and you forgave me.  (Marco doesn't respond.)  It's going to take time.  She'll understand.  She knows you.  She knows that you would never hurt her.

Marco-  You're right.  (He kisses him.)

 

[The next day at school...]

(Emma is walking down the hall when Mr. Simpson walks over to her...)

Mr. Simpson-  Em.  I talked to your mom, and your therapist wants to move your appointment to Thursday.

Emma-  I told you.  I don't need a therapist.

Mr. Simpson-  Well, you're not exactly handling everything great.

Emma-  I'm not going to do drugs anymore.  I'm not going to give blow jobs.  I learned my lesson.

Mr. Simpson-  I know.  But, it would just make us feel better at night if you would talk to someone about what's going on.

Emma-  But...

Mr. Simpson-  Don't argue Emma.  We just want you to get help.  And it's a part of your rehab.

Emma-  I know.  I know.  (Mr. Simpson walks away.  Emma looks sad.)

 

[Later...]

(Ellie is standing at her locker.  Marco walks over to her...)

Marco-  I'm an insensitive jerk who deserves to be shoved off the face of the earth.

Ellie-  Yeah.  Your point?

Marco-  El, I'm sorry.  For everything.

Ellie-  So?  (She starts to tear up.)  You're sorry.  Big deal.

Marco-  Ellie, I don't expect you to forgive me.  I just want you to know that you're my best friend, and I didn't mean to damage our friendship that bad.

Ellie-  Too late.

Marco-  I know.  I know.  And I know these are just words, but I mean them.  And I feel awful.  I can't stand thinking that I've lost you as a friend.

Ellie-  Seems like you did fine without me for the past two months.

Marco-  Don't be like that El.  You know I care about you.  And, at least I'm trying.  I know I messed up.  I just don't know how to fix it.  (Ellie walks away.)  Alright then.

 

[In the girl's washroom...]

(Ellie walks in with tears rolling down her face.  She walks to the mirror.  Alex walks in and sees her...)

Alex-  What's wrong with you?

Ellie-  Marco.

Alex-  What's wrong with your gay man?  Is he broken?

Ellie-  He...I...We...

Alex-  What?

Ellie-  It's not the same between us.  Something happened, and now it's never going to be the same again.

Alex-  Did he give you bad fashion advice?

Ellie-  That's not funny.

Alex-  Wow.  What did he do?  (Ellie shakes her head.)  Okay.  Thanks for sharing.  Do you mind if I go use the toilet now since you're not really in the talking mood?  (Ellie shrugs her shoulders.)  Oh, do you have a tampon I could borrow?  (Ellie shakes her head.)

Ellie-  What day is it?

Alex-  Tuesday.

Ellie-  Date?

Alex-  12th.  (Ellie pulls a calendar out of her bag.  She starts to look through it.  Alex walks to a stall.  Ellie starts flipping back and forth between two pages.  Alex walks back out.)  Period math?

Ellie-  It's been thirty-eight days.

Alex-  Getting busy?

Ellie-  Haven't had sex in two months.  Besides, he used a condom.

Alex-  Who?

Ellie-  No one special.

Alex-  Stress maybe?

Ellie-  Probably.  I'm probably just running late.  I'll get it in a day or two.

Alex-  Okay.

Ellie-  Okay.  (They leave the washroom.  Paige walks out of the stall.)

 

[In class...]

(Ellie is sitting when Paige sits down next to her...)

Paige-  Who's the guy?

Ellie-  What?

Paige-  You heard me.

Ellie-  What guy?

Paige-  The one you, you know.

Ellie-  No I don't.

Paige-  Ellie Nash, I'm surprised at you.  Sleeping with some guy and then lying about it.

Ellie-  What?

Paige-  Who was it?

Ellie-  What makes you think...

Paige-  I heard you in the washroom.  Give me details.

Ellie-  Just because you got dumped, doesn't give you the right to go and invade other people's personal lives.

Paige-  I'm not invading your personal life.  I heard you say it.

Ellie-  Well, you heard wrong.  (She moves seats.)

 

[Later...]

(Emma is walking down the hall.  She sees some people looking at her and pointing.  She walks past them quickly.  She walks outside and sits down next to Manny on a bench...)

Emma-  Everyone's staring at me.

Manny-  Know the feeling.

Emma-  They're all talking about me.

Manny-  Yeah.  Know that feeling too.

Emma-  I hate this.  Big deal, I made a mistake.  Why can't they talk about something else?

Manny-  Because people feed on gossip.  It's like water.  You can't live without it.

Emma-  It was like three, four months ago though.

Manny-  It took everyone like over  a year to get over the Craig thing.

Emma-  That's different.

Manny-  How?  (Emma doesn't say anything.)  You're a topic of conversation.  Everyone's got an opinion about what you did.  They're going to keep talking about you until something new comes along that's better than what you did.

Emma-  That's so depressing.

Manny-  Yeah.  Life's depressing.

Emma-  What's with you?  You're sounding unusually depressed.

Manny-  Just stuff.

Emma-  Peter?

Manny-  Yeah.

Emma-  You two okay?

Manny-  We broke up.

Emma-  Really?  You two seemed so happy together.

Manny-  Things change.

Emma-  But...

Manny-  Can we not talk about this anymore?

Emma-  Sure.  (Darcy walks over to Emma.)

Darcy-  Hey Manny.  Heard about you and Peter.  So sorry.

Manny-  I bet you are.

Darcy-  You could do so much better.  Oh.  Hey Emma.  Do you have any aspirin?  Wait, is that against your rehab thing cause you Odd on some kiddie pills?  (She giggles.)

Emma-  That's really funny Darcy.

Darcy-  See you at practice Manny.  (She walks away.)

Manny-  She's such a whore.

Emma-  Yep.

 

[After school...]

(Ellie is sitting on the curb when Marco sits down next to her...)

Marco-  I know you don't want to talk to me.

Ellie-  I don't think that you do, otherwise you would respect my wishes and not sit down next to me.

Marco-  I want to talk to you.

Ellie-  That's funny.  I wanted to talk to you after you banged me.  But, nope.  Didn't get what I wanted.  (She stands up.  Marco stands up too.)

Marco-  I'm not giving you up without a fight.

Ellie-  A fight?  You want a fight?  Fine.  Let's fight.  You used me!  (She starts to tear up.)  You used me.  (Softly.)  You took my heart and you tore it into two.  If it were the other way around, I would never do that.

Marco-  I know.  And you're right.  But try to look at it from where I'm coming from.  My dad told me I wasn't a man.

Ellie-  You aren't!

Marco-  What?

Ellie-  A man would have stood up and told me what happened.  Not you.  You just came in and decided to just use me.  (Shouting.)  What happened to us being truthful?  What happened to no more secrets?

Marco-  (Starts to tear up.)  I wasn't keeping a secret from you.

Ellie-  Then what were you doing?

Marco-  Seeing if I was lying to myself.  (Softly.)  I'm sorry I hurt you.  I'm sorry that I screwed up so bad.  But, you're just as bad.

Ellie-  Me?

Marco-  Yeah.  You could've said no.  I didn't force you to do anything.  I was just coming over to make-out with you.  You took it a step further.  Not me.

Ellie-  You could've told me that you're dad found out you were gay.

Marco-  And you could've figured out something was wrong when I came over.

Ellie-  Don't pin this on me.  I didn't do anything.

Marco-  You did do something.  (Pauses.)  And you and I both know that's not what a friend would've done.

Ellie-  What's that?

Marco-  You ignored what I was going through and made this only about you.  You know there are two sides to every story.  I owned up to mine.  When are you going to do the same?  (He leaves.)

 

[The next day...]

(Emma is sitting in an office with a therapist...)

Emma-  I don't think that I have a problem anymore.

Therapist-  Why do you say that?

Emma-  Because I learned my lesson.  I didn't do the drugs to get high, if that's what you're thinking.

Therapist-  Then why did you do them?

Emma-  I was depressed, and I'd thought they help with my mood.

Therapist-  Did they?

Emma-  At first.  But after awhile, I needed more.  I knew what I was doing was bad, but I didn't want to stop because I didn't want to start feeling depressed again.

Therapist-  Are you depressed anymore?

Emma-  Not depressed.  Just, annoyed.

Therapist-  Annoyed?

Emma-  At how everyone stares at me in the hallway.  Whispering, talking.

Therapist-  What do you think they're whisper and talking about?

Emma-  What I did.  They point at me and tell there friends that I'm the girl who almost got shot.  I'm the girl who overdosed at some pharming party.  I'm the girl who just got out of rehab.  They just look at me and judge me.

Therapist-  Why do you think they're judging you?

Emma-  Who wouldn't?  I would if it were someone else.

Therapist-  Why?

Emma-  Because I think what I did was stupid and anyone who's stupid enough to try it deserves to be judged.

Therapist-  Do you feel that way about yourself?  Do you think you're stupid?

Emma-  I used to think I was smart.  Now, I just don't know.

Therapist-  Just because you make a mistake doesn't mean you're stupid.  You went through a lot over the past year and a half.

Emma-  That doesn't excuse it.

Therapist-  Is there any reason you are so hard on yourself?

Emma-  I expect a lot out of me.  (They are silent for a moment.)  I don't need to be here.  I can handle myself.

Therapist-  What are you going to do the next time you feel like you're depressed?

Emma-  Excuse me?

Therapist-  How do you plan to deal with depression in the future?  You say you don't need my help, so I'm curious as to how you feel you can deal with it.  (Emma doesn't respond.)

 

[Back at school...]

(Ellie is sitting on a bench.  She's staring at her calendar.  Alex walks over to her...)

Alex-  Earth to Ellie?

Ellie-  Sorry.  Just sort of spacing out.

Alex-  Okay.  (She sits down next to her.)  I need advice.  How do you tell someone they're bad in bed?

Ellie-  What?

Alex-  Spinner finally sealed the deal, and now he wants to do it all the time, and he's just not any good.  I mean, do I just tell him?  Or do I--

Ellie-  (Interrupting.)  I thought you weren't that interested in him.

Alex-  I'm not.  But, I figure why not take advantage of the situation.  Besides, Jay's still on my case and I still want to get back at him for what he did--

Ellie-  (Interrupting.)  It's been forty days.

Alex-  What a weird way to interrupt the conversation.

Ellie-  Sorry.  Just pre-occupying me.

Alex-  Why?  Sometimes you're just late.

Ellie-  I know.  I just always think the worst.

Alex-  You think you're pregnant or something?

Ellie-  Maybe.  (Pauses.)  I don't know what to think.

Alex-  You got it after you had sex with the guy right?

Ellie-  Yeah.

Alex-  You're not pregnant then.  I wouldn't worry about it.  Sometimes you skip.  It happens.

Ellie-  I know.  It's just weird.

Alex-  Back to my problem.  He's a nice guy.  And it was his first time.  Granted, I'll give him a little bit of a learning curve, but... (Her voice trails off.  Ellie is staring off into space.)

 

[Meanwhile...]

(Emma is walking down the hall when Mr. Simpson approaches her...)

Mr. Simpson-  How did it go?

Emma-  That lady is a crackpot.

Mr. Simpson-  She's just trying to help.

Emma-  She didn't.  She made me feel worse.

Mr. Simpson-  That's the third therapist.  I understand wanting to be comfortable with who you are talking to, but how about trying to work with us.  There are only so many licensed therapists in the Toronto area.

Emma-  I know.  I don't like her though.  And I don't think I need one that bad.  I'm fine.  (She walks away.)

 

[Later...]

(Ellie is sitting on a bench when Dylan walks over...)

Dylan-  Hey.

Ellie-  Don't tell me Marco sent you.

Dylan-  No.  I was walking and I saw you.  Thought I'd stop by.  Say hello.

Ellie-  Hi.  (Dylan sits down next to her.)

Dylan-  Marco told me what happened.

Ellie-  Great.  Now everyone's going to find out.

Dylan-  What's that supposed to mean?

Ellie-  Paige.

Dylan-  I won't tell her.  (Pauses.)  I've never seen Marco so upset.

Ellie-  Did he tell you I told him I loved him?

Dylan-  No.  I think I would have remembered that.

Ellie-  I had no idea about you two, otherwise I wouldn't have said anything.  (Pauses.)  We had this pact to be honest.  And I realized how much I did care about him.  I realized that I loved him.  And I thought it'd be this great idea if I told him.  Be honest.  (Pauses.)  He freaked out.  Big mistake.  Then he came over and he started to do things.  And I didn't stop it.  I encouraged it.  I took it further.  (She starts to cry.)  Then he didn't call me for two months.  Didn't talk to me.  What was I supposed to think?  You know how crushing it is, to tell someone you love them, think they love you, just to find out they were using you?  You know what that feels like?  (She starts crying harder.)  I was stupid to think that he had feelings for me.  I was stupid to think that he came over because he had the same feelings as me.  I was stupid.  But, what he did...  (She cries harder.  Dylan starts to hug her.  Ellie pushes him away.  She starts crying harder.)