Time After Time - Degrassi, PG-13

Spoilers for season 8 up to 804 and the "Curse of Degrassi" special (sort of). Written for aphrodite_mine.

Jane didn't flinch at Holly J.'s offensive comment. She wasn't one to succumb to stereotypes, and besides, she was happy with Spinner—he was a great guy who really cared about her. He protected her. He came to her defense when things got rough. She wasn't here to start any sort of social movement, really—she just wanted to play football, and she knew all along that she was as good as the guys. She could play as hard and dirty as the rest of them. Harder, even. Dirtier.

During games, Jane scanned the crowd for Spinner's eyes, his encouraging smile. She just needed a glimpse of him, and then she could regain focus, running even faster than before, holding the ball tighter, throwing it harder. When she was really in the zone, nothing could disrupt her concentration. The Power Squad might be jumping and screaming only a few feet away, reciting whatever ridiculous rhymes they had written out the night before, but Jane hardly noticed.

It wasn't Spinner's fault when he was out of town and missed that one game, which just happened to the one where Jane scored the winning touchdown. She had no eyes or smile to find in the crowd, so she sought Mia's instead. It would have been impossible to miss how brightly her former best friend was beaming. And hey, "former best" didn't even really apply anymore. They were friendly again. Sort of. Which is why Jane thought nothing of it—really—when Mia enveloped her in a hug and shouted in her ear, over the chaos of the crowd, "We should do something tonight to celebrate." Because Mia was right; they should.

So they had a celebratory dinner and dessert and Jane figured it was only polite to invite Mia back to her house to watch a movie, "Like old times." Mia enthusiastically agreed and, fifteen minutes later, Jane was browsing her DVD collection for the perfect flick and Mia was sitting cross-legged on her bed, examining the dozens of photos on her wall and reminiscing. Jane sat beside her when she decided on the movie and pressed play, but somehow the night turned out to be more like old times than they had originally planned—or at least, more like that one time in grade eight when they got drunk and made out on a dare.

It was, however, a welcome diversion from old times for Mia. She was used to partaking in sinful acts in Jane's bed, but previously could only imagine that she was kissing Jane instead of Jane's brother. And now she actually was. Jane, who was so used to playing rough—tighter, faster, harder—found that Mia's embrace calmed her down. She wanted to go slowly. Gently. She wanted to appreciate every minute.

But, like old times, Mia wasn't the type to wait around, and Jane was too stubborn to admit when something was right. Or in this case, someone—and about her. (A budding lesbian indeed.) She pulled away and told Mia to leave, and that she was sorry, but this meant nothing. Because she was in love with Spinner, she said, and although she knew how stupid those words sounded, and although Jane could tell that Mia knew she was lying, the truth would have been impossible to admit.

"You're not so different from the guys after all," Mia told her, and Jane didn't dare to look up as she walked out the door. And in the tradition of reliving the past, Mia didn't feel too bad about participating in some potentially destructive behavior, which apparently involved a wild party with alcohol and loud music and grinding up on an equally intoxicated Holly J., and it certainly was not like old times at all.

"This," Holly J. said right afterwards, "never happened."

"What? You don't want people to know you finally swiped your V-card? But Holly J., I thought that's what you wanted." Mia was surprised by how cruel she could still be to this girl she hated so much, even when they most certainly had just had sex.

"Be glad there's no chance you'll get pregnant this time, Mama Mia," Holly J. sneered, pulling her shirt over her head and gathering her things. "And if anyone finds out about this, I'll make your life hell." Her clothes were back on and she was on her way downstairs to join the party again before Mia could form a response.

Within minutes, though, Holly J. realized that the party was absolutely the last place on earth that she wanted to be right now, so she went home to her own bedroom and sat on her own virginal bed, reaching under her pillow for that infamous list, the one with every guy's name crossed out because none of them were good enough. Was that it?, she wondered. Was it because they were guys?

Back at school on Monday, she surprised herself by being nicer to everyone, especially Mia. Maybe it was the fear that her secret would come out. But Mia actually kept her end of the bargain. And life returned to normal—kind of. Except this reformed, nicer Holly J. actually felt sympathetic when she walked into the girl's locker room during lunch to take a shower and found Jane sitting alone on the bench, sobbing.

Holly J. hadn't meant to ask what was wrong, but she did, and found out that Jane had been dumped by Spinner because he found out that she cheated on him. Holly J. certainly never intended to sit beside her and rub her back and say, "It's going to be okay," but she did. And she definitely never expected that Jane would respond by pressing her lips to hers, but she did, and Holly J. kissed her back, surprised by how rough and urgent the other girl felt against her. They were already breathing hard when they pulled away a few moments later.

"I think I just hit a new low," Jane said, making a face.

Suddenly insulted, Holly J. warned, "You better not tell anyone about this."

Jane rolled her eyes. "Trust me, I don't want anyone to know either."

Her words stung briefly, but later, Holly J. couldn't help smiling as she walked through the halls—locking eyes with Jane and Mia, all three newly aware of the connection they shared. She wondered if it would really be so bad if people found out, and if it made any difference. She wondered if she might be budding too. Maybe they all were.