3. "All She Wants To Do Is Dance"

The episode opens with Jenna at Ben's house.

"I didn't expect to see you here," Ben replied as soon as he opened his door.

"Nicki told me the truth," Jenna revealed sternly. "But the reality is, it doesn't matter what happened with Nicki Ben. In fact, what happened that night, in my house, was a godsend. It was a sign from above, if there is anything 'above.' Either way, something showed me that what we had, might not be meant to be. I lost…No, I willingly, gave up the best person in my life for you. But I guess karma does come back around, because Logan is here for me, and you're not."

"Can't we talk things over Jenna?" Ben desperately pleaded. "I shouldn't be held liable for something I had no control over."

"What happened with Nicki you aren't liable for," Jenna looked Ben straight in the eyes. "But what happened with Logan you are, as am I. But at least I made an attempt to bridge the gap with him."

"You bridged the gap for different reasons than I would have," Ben stated. "A lot different and you know it."

"All the same, I don't think we should talk anymore. For now at least. While I'm deciding."

"Why?"

"Because as each petal falls, my feelings for you seem to fade."

"Jenna what are you talking about?" Ben yelled, exasperated. "I just want to get back together with you."

"Well Ben, I don't know if I want to get back together with you," Jenna left him to think about what she just said, as the credits roll.

Jason and Bliss give each other massive hickeys that look like huge birthmarks, causing almost everyone at school to razz them about it.

(Jason appears at the end of the hallway, trying to cuff his collar as far as it would go. Still, the hickey was visible. He groaned inwardly as he spotted Mike, Jeff and Jeremy staring at him, their jaws hitting the ground)

"Hey Mike," Jason tried to pretend it wasn't noticeable. "Why you hanging around these guys?"

"I…uh…oh…neck…" Mike stammered, nearly speechless. "See you later."

(Mike runs away)

"Did you get molested or something?" Jeff slyly posed.

"No, I did not get molested," Jason bellowed.

"Situate a 'Blisstering' tea bag on your neck," Jeremy suggested. "That'll get rid of the inflammation at least."

"I'm not going to get t-bagged Jeremy," Jason scowled.

"It already looks like you have," Logan chuckled from behind him. "Oh Jeremy, I just got it! Blistering tea bag. That's funny."

"Slow much?" Jeff grimaced.

"Shut up Jeff," Logan snapped back. "You've always got to ruin a moment, don't you?"

(Jason quickly walks further down the hallway, trying to escape)

"The more you practice, the bigger the love bite, eh Jason?" Ana teased, playfully slapping the back of his head. "Mine were never that life-sized!"

"Hey!" Jason exclaimed. "That was unnecessary!"

(Jason groaned again. No one was having it worse than him)

"No one is having a worse day than me," Bliss thought, as she walked down the hallway.

(Bliss is supposed to be meeting Jason, but couldn't find him, so she decided to walk through the hallways alone)

(Bliss regrets her decision, as people are pointing and laughing at the huge hickey on her neck)

"Wow Bliss, I can see someone had fun last night!" Pipa scoffed. "You should use a green neutralizing concealer for it, because that ain't going away anytime soon!"

(Bliss nodded quickly, not sure if Pipa was kidding)

"I would try applying a thin layer of um, skin-toned make-up concealer, over the one Pipa is talking about," Amanda tried to stifle her giggles. "Use a concealer brush and then mix some…yellow concealer as well! I heard you could also use toothpaste!"

"Yeah, then cover it in foundation," Alessandra grinned, catching onto the joke. "Use a sponge and pat it down onto the mark. Remember to pat! Don't rub. Your neck has had enough of the rubbing and sucking for awhile!"

"No amount of make-up will cover that big clunker," Kristi joined the conversation, looked Bliss up and down, and laughed. "Ice that bitch! Replace your entire wardrobe with turtlenecks. That's the best advice anyone can give."

(The girls burst out laughing, as Bliss' face turns a deeper, darker shade of red. She relaxes visibly, however, as the hallways are about to merge, and Jason is walking toward her)

"Jason!" Bliss slipped her hand into her boyfriend's. "Oh thank god! Finally someone who won't comment on or make fun of my hickey."

"Well, at least it's over," Jason remarked, gripping Bliss' hand tight.

(Jason smiles at Bliss, and they walk up the stairs together)

"See," Jason beamed. "That wasn't so bad, was it?"

(After no one says a peep to them walking up the stairs, the duo sees trouble ahead as soon as they get to the top)

"Jason!" Warner rushed over, panicking. "Buddy! Gees, what the heck happened to you? Oh god, you don't have that disease, do you? Poop that looks bad! I mean, it looks like…messed-up poop, on your neck! Have you been to the doctor?"

"No Warner I have not," Jason gave him a fed up look.

"It looks infectious!" Warner continued to ramble. "You should really see a physician for that. I'll go see what a nurse says! Move people! Guy of a friend with a poop-looking neck coming through!"

(Jason's mouth drops open, as Warner rushes away. Jason hears a whistle, and turns to his right, to find: Danny)

"You should have come to me Bliss," Danny smoothly whispered with a smirk. "Mine would have been bigger. But mine's always bigger and longer. The 'Danny Mouth-Machine' would have given you a real man's hickey."

(Danny winks at Bliss, while a couple of other boys whistle)

"What were you saying about it being over?" Bliss glared, before storming off.

"Never again," Jason looked up at the sky, before chasing after his girl.

Hayley reaches out to a new transfer student named Lauren who constantly is coming to school beaten up and bruised.

"Please Lauren, just tell me why you always come to school looking like you've just fought a 15-round boxing fight," Hayley beseeched. "I can help you, and I promise I won't tell anyone else about what you tell me, except maybe the police."

"You really wanna know the truth?" Lauren wondered.

"Yes, I do."

"My father beats me."

"You need to go to the police and report your dad then!" Hayley pretended to know what to do in this situation. "You can't let him get away with this any longer."

"I can't," Lauren shook her head in disagreement quickly. "I don't have the willpower to stand up to him alone."

"You won't have to," Hayley vowed. "I'll go to the police station with you, I promise. Right after school today, OK?"

"OK," Lauren paused. "But there's probably something else you need to know, and if I tell you, you can't under any circumstances tell anyone else, not even the police, about it. I don't want to become a 'media circus freak' or anything like that."

"But if it will help incriminate…" Hayley began.

"I don't care Hayley, OK?" Lauren cried, cutting her off. "What I'm about to tell you can't leave this little exchange, you got it? Otherwise this conversation is terminated effective immediately!"

"Fine. If you still think you can nail your father for this without what you're about to tell me, then by all means."

"Well, there is a reason why I get pounded," Lauren claimed.

"I'd hope so, otherwise your father goes from being a child abuser to a full-fledged psycho."

"Well anyway, whenever I don't 'comply' with my dad's advances, he wails on me."

"Terrible analogy," Hayley realized what she just said to Lauren before and closed her eyes, ashamed. "With you nailing your dad that is. I'm sorry."

"It happens," Lauren shrugged her shoulders. "You didn't know."

"Doesn't your mom say anything about this or is she just plain ignorant?" Hayley's eyes were wide open in surprise.

"No, she's just plain dead," Lauren winced. "She died five years ago from breast cancer. My dad has never been the same since."

"You're telling me. I know that doesn't justify him doing what he does, but it at least makes a little sense now."

"How?" Lauren speculated.

"Well, my hypothesis is that he tries to have sex with you because he sees your mother in you and 'imagines' it's her," Hayley explained.

"Why does he beat on me though? He never laid a finger on my mom to my knowledge, and I know she would have said something to me about it or I at least would have seen her bruises."

"I'm no psychologist, but he probably does it because you're, 'ruining his moment,'" Hayley contemplated. "That, or he's taking out his anger over his wife's death on you. Either way, it's still unethical."

"So now you know why I was so hesitant about reporting him for this?" Lauren cautiously inquired.

"Yeah, I definitely do now," Hayley nodded. "Wow, this matter is so much more complicated, in-depth and complex than I ever thought. Here I believed it was just your typical 'Parent beats on kid case.' Sorry, bad time for jokes."

"It's OK," Lauren assured. "At least you're able to keep a sense of humor through all of this."

"That's the thing though, this shouldn't be a laughing matter Lauren, and I'm so sorry for being insensitive to you here. There's no calling for it."

"Well, you wanna make it up to me?"

"Yeah, of course. What can I do?"

"Come pick me up. Tonight, 8 p.m. sharp."

"Please, don't be tardy," Lauren took out a piece of paper, wrote her address down and gave it to Hayley. "My dad usually gets home from work around 8:10ish."

"You got it," Hayley seemed like she firmly understood the instructions. "Wait, why not just have me pick you up sooner then?"

"Because I don't have a cellphone, and my dad calls every half hour to check up on me to see if I'm home. He's very protective and obsessive over me."

"Big surprise there," Hayley sneered.

"Yeah, so if I don't pick up each time, he'll know something's up and call the cops."

"So what? What is he going to do? Tell them he rapes and beats his daughter so she ran away? Let him!"

"No, you don't understand," Lauren impatiently clarified. "He's got connections. He'll make it seem like a kidnapping or something."

"Connections?"

"He's got people working for him that keep a close eye on me at all times," Lauren answered. "I've got someone following me from outside of school or wherever I go. Then on top of that, someone watches me from outside my house at almost all times. My only freedom is in school for eight hours or so a day, and from 7:45 to 8:15 p.m., when my father gives his people the 'signal' to go home for the night. So please, be there at 8, don't be late, don't be early and don't ask any more questions OK? Please Hayley: I'm begging you to do this my way."

"8 p.m. I'll be there," Hayley confirmed. "Just one more thing though. If he calls you every half hour, won't he know you're gone when you don't answer when I come get you?"

"It takes him anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes to drive home, depending on the traffic," Lauren elucidated. "So he usually doesn't call me for that last half hour between 7:45 and 8:15."

"You're gonna take a chance on 'usually' in a situation like this?"

"I really don't have a choice," Lauren countered. "It's the only real opening we've got. Are you in or are you out?"

"I'm in."

Ben turns Nicki into Ash Port High School's principal, Mr. Stan Lambeau, for drugging him at Jenna's party.

"Your punishment is as follows Ms. Oswald: two weeks out-of-school suspension, a fine of 500 dollars, 60 hours of community service and finally, you must attend a seminar about drugs and write a 10-page paper on it," Mr. Lambeau commanded. "I'll expect that paper on my desk and proof of the fulfillment of your community service hours, as well as a check written out to the school or cash for that fine, the day you return from your suspension."

"Don't you think that's a little too harsh of a punishment for me Mr. Lambeau?" Nicki tried to play innocent.

"I'm trying to make an example out of you Ms. Oswald, and that's exactly what I believe this 'sentence' that you will carry out will do!" Mr. Lambeau raised his voice. "You're just lucky you're not going to jail over this, because if I wanted to push that button, like our liaison officer wanted me to do, I easily could have. Now pack up your stuff and head home Nicki. Your suspension begins now. Busy two weeks ahead of you. Oh, and if you try to get cute and just go to the mall or something instead, don't worry: I already spoke with your mother. She's expecting you within the hour."

Hayley endures an end result that she never anticipated involving her reaching out to Lauren, as when she goes over to Lauren's house to drive her to the police station, she knocks on the door, only for it to burst wide-open, revealing everything and everyone inside the house to be vanished and completely gone.

Logan tries to win Jenna's heart by taking her to his aunt's beach house for a special evening between the two of them, while also hoping to figure out why Jenna is even considering getting back together with Ben.

"You'll never understand my relationship with Ben because it is so different and confusing Logan," Jenna softly spoke. "I dated Ben long enough for me to still have strong feelings for him, but that doesn't change my feelings that I have had for you since middle school. My life is changing and I have to figure out a bunch of things, but I can't let deciding between Ben and you ruin my day or my life. I don't know what to think or do, except for one thing."

"What's that?"

"All I want to do right now, is dance."

Logan and Jenna do just that, sharing a romantic dance under-the-stars to Train's "When I Look To The Sky," as the screen fades to black.

Featured Music:

"When I Look to the Sky" By Train (Coda)

Author Notes:

-All 17 main characters appear in this episode.