Maybe you'll find, some memories of mine
in a moment you bring to thought
Then you will see, what your memories have meant to me
In a childhood memory of me you lost
Linda Winchell / ?

Arlena Barbero was a dreamer!

She lived for every moment, but found herself wanting nothing more then to leave it whenever the sugar ending she'd intended never worked out in her favour. It was a cursory weirdness. Which was the catalyst to an even weirder infatuation with video taping and documentation.

It started in the Second Grade. Video Cameras. The intrigued importance of memories and not letting them go. That all came from Mariana Barbero Montoya. A mother, a believer of all things family and close knit ness. Of quartz stones, of throwing small  street festivals every summer even though they lived in a somewhat residential neighbourhood in the middle of Toronto. A movie junkie, A firm hand with no tolerance who disciplined to the appropriate extent.

She wanted her daughter to see the world through rose coloured lenses just as she did. And capture moments, real and raw, for her to appreciate them even more.

That was where the problem started.

Dreaming was good. Dreaming was better then having to sit behind a shut door and try and blot out the mournful cries of a mother first discovering she was sick. Really sick. Of watching her pretend like her world wasn't in jeopardy as a form of self denial. Dreaming came in handy when the doctor kept flip flopping between his prognosis on whether or not they could save her till the spread had rendered her partially immobile.

A brain tumour, he said.

I'll fight this, she sternly declared.

And hell, she did. All tooth and grit, with clenched fists and a lapse of determination even though her body was shutting down. She'd still do the school run, work her job even with concerned eyes...and the stacking health problems. And for a moment, Arlee saw her mother on the up and thanked her lucky stars ( and whoever was up there ) that wistful thinking was helping her. And possibly, live.

She filmed her, as well as all the 'adventures' she went on with her three nearest and dearest best friends Emma, Manny, and JT——and for once, rose coloured lenses and dreaming were actually working out in her favour like her mother said they would.

Then March 26th came around. And rose turned into a blurred disyphoria. And laughter turned into weeping, flowers and a sorrowful lines of handshakes.

4 years went, and 4 years dissolved into memories. But not the kind her mother had told her to hold onto. 4 years later...and Father was now a workaholic who used his job to hide from the three living and breathing reminders that still remained of the love of his life. He didn't hate them. He hated that he couldn't do enough to save them from being motherless. And the unnecessary guilt turned him into a hollow shell of his former self.

At least Arlee had her aunt Araceli. A wild card and
her mother's polar opposite who still, for better or for worse, held the same morals that her mother once had. And her Abuelita, a firm hand who was also a TV junket and a wisdom compass.

She also still had JT Yorke. Funny, Annoying to no end, a radiant fireball of energy and pot belly laughter. There was also Emma Nelson and Manuela Santos. They'd been in her life from the moment her mother had stuck her in the first Kindergarten they could afford.

4 friends, tied together....Forever?

She couldn't really say. But she was for sure going to need them for the new challenge she was about to face in her life. 

Junior freaking High.

Her only concepts of what it entailed were through glossed over depictions on television. The cheerleader and the jock, the 'nerd' who got shoved for actually caring about his academics. A strict teacher, A principal who didn't really care about his job. Fights. Drama that only ensued in the worst chaos known to man. A collective group of individual tables at lunch organised by social status. The reigning queen bee of one discoloured hallway.

And from the stories she'd heard so far, Degrassi Community School wasn't really any different. Then again, her older brother Federico wasn't really the most reliable source for anything but purposefully painting oblique pictures. Her aunt had gone to Degrassi once upon a time though, and in her perspective, everything was normal there. That it stood by its school mantra through and through.

And she believed her, to some degree. It didn't look like a bad school from the outside. 2 years in there were surely not going to be anything but another regular, mundane school year. A blink and you'll miss it thing. And for one thing, it was going to go even smoother with her three best friends by her side. Regardless of the happenstances that may be waiting around the corner.

Whatever it takes, right?

𓇻

Federico Barbero lived in nothing but a dream world.

Some might say, being on top of the massicst socialist food chain that was Junior High was a good thing. And in some retrospect, those people might've had a point.

He had friends. Jimmy Brooks and Spinner Mason. One friendship stemming from a shared love a popular sport, that then grew into spending the night at his place even past the hour due to his parents always being out on business. And another rooting from the already shared bond his mother had shared with his mother right before it all went wrong. Friends since Elementary, still standing together in somewhat solidarity once the wave of social pressures and indescribable hormonal changes hit.

He had hobbies. Well, two, but they still constituted as such. Starter for his local basketball team, defensive line beside Jimmy for his school one. Star goalie for the Degrassi Panthers soccer team as well. Notoriety. And his current new formed hobby? Pretending that the inept botherances in his life weren't worming away at him and taking chunks at his self-confidence in himself. That having to be on the outside in your own friendship wasn't as aggravating and frustrating as it was. Because it stung deep.

There was a reason why the saying 'every trio always has a straggler' existed.

He used to have his father. Being the only boy in a family littered with girls meant that he stuck to his dad like glue sometimes. Not being surrounded by strong, independent woman was a bad thing. He just got him. And they were mirrors of each other, right down  to the T his mother would say. Fuelled by competition and a need for approval. Sportaholics. Aspirations as deep as the depths of the ocean. An eye for an eye.

Then death marred their relationship. Sweet Mariana Barbero. Her life coming to a tragic end from a brain tumour in the span of only 6 months. Everything after that went sideways for awhile. But for him and his Dad, there once closeness was now filled with high expectations, unbridled anger and avoidance. And he got used to it, because he still had his school dreamscape to fall back on.

So far, Degrassi had been sublime. Notoriety. Friends. Glitz. And from where he was standing, it was always going to remain that way.

The Inner Workings of Arlee Barbero ✮ / SIDE A
1. seven—taylor swift / 2. glue song—beebadoobee/
3. stella brown— jelani aryeh / 4. ant pile—dominic fike / 5. turn off the lights —nelly furtado / 6. sounds of the underground — girls aloud / 7. buttons —steve lacy / 8. ribs —lorde / 9. the scientist—coldplay / 10. candy grapes — fousheé & steve lacy / 11. nice boys — temporex / 12. dreams — fleetwood mac / 13. mirage — orion sun / 14. c u girl — steve lacy / 15. beautiful — christina aguilera /
16. down to earth — umi / 17. young — vacations

Fede's  ( Occasionally ) Feel Good Hits / SIDE B

1. riot ! — earl sweatshirt / 2. keep ya head up — tupac / 3. 90 proof — smino, j.cole / 4. bound — the ponderosa twins plus one / 5. action figures fighting — hotel ugly / 6. the middle — jimmy eat world / 7. year 3000 — busted / 8. feel good inc. — gorillaz / 9. ms jackson — outlast / 10. alright — kendrick lamar / 11. when we were kids — young friend / 12.
nikes on my feet

∅ ┊ started : 26-06-23

∅ ┊finished : ?

Paige Hurd / Arlena 'Arlee' Estefani Barbero
1989, July 28th. VHS and Lover of Satirical Scary Movies. Drumkits. Bubblegum. Memories = Happiness. Jalao. Would Rather Daydream then live in Reality.

Tahj Mowry / Federico Juan-David Barbero
1988, January 12th. Professional Pretender. Teeth Rotting Candy. The 'Athlete'...or more so, The 'Wingman'.

Miriam McDonald,     Emma Nelson
Cassie Steele,    Manuela 'Manny' Santos
Ryan Cooley,   James Tiberius 'JT' Yorke
Jake Goldsbie,   Toby Issacs
Sarah Barrable-Tishauer, Liberty Van Zandt
Daniel Clark, Sean Cameron

Aubrey Drake Graham, Jimmy Brooks
Shane Kippel, Gavin 'Spinner' Mason
Lauren Collins, Paige Michalchck
Christina Schmidt,   Terri McGregor
Melissa McIntyre,   Ashley Kerwin
Andrea Lewis,   Hazel Aden
Jake Epstien,  Craig Manning
Stacey Farber,  Ellie Nash
Adamo Ruggerio,   Marco Del Rossi

Amanda Stepto, Christine 'Spike' Nelson
Stefan Brogren,  Archie 'Snake' Simpson
Stacie Mistysn,   Caitlin Ryan
Pat Mastroianni,   Joey Jeremiah
Alex Steele,   Angela Jeremiah

Damon Wayans,  Ignacio Barbero
As Described,  Mariana Barbero Montoya †
     Zoë Saldana,  Araceli Montoya
  Celia Cruz,     Pilar Montoya
Parker McKenna Posey,   Talita Barbero
Mentioned Characters/ Rest of Degrassi Cast,   OC's / Respective Characters

꩜ | ⚠️ A Lotta Everything Happens in This Show. And Alas, it won't be any different in this story either. Some Warnings from ( Season 1-7) include: Underage Drinking,  Drug Use/ Drug Abuse, Teen Pregnancy, Parental Conflict, Raw Depictions of Mental Health,  ED's, Rape, Gun Violence, General Violence and Death.

꩜ | © All Degrassi Characters/ Plots belong to the creators of the show. Arlee, Federico or any other OC within this story's plots/ characterisation/ stories/ belong to me. Ask for permission before you translate/ use any format from this book <3 if you don't I'll run you over with my Barbie car and block you too ( In that order )

꩜ | 📖 AAAH !!! This has literally been 1 whole year in the making. I first came up with the concept of this fanfic in July of 2022. I started making the graphics in September but couldn't proceed with actually writing because of poopy school. Now I'm officially a High School graduate ( yikes) and am waiting for the thrilling 'joy' to start University, I decided there wouldn't be a better time to start my Degrassi fic then now. Been a lover of this show for about 6 and a half years now, and a Ashley Kerwin hater for just as long ( sorry not sorry 😒)

This story will be told from two points of view, but in a third person perspective if that makes any sense ?? so like...it'll be Arlee/Federico and Fede/Arlee. However, if the plot line is mainly centered around the 'Younger Group' ( ie. Manny, Emma, JT—-) then the chptr will focus solely on Arlee. And the same with the other Grade ( ie. Jimmy, Spinner, Paige—)
will focus more on Federico.

Of course this will make chapters longer, and some of the storylines will get intertwined...BUT if all else fails I'll put an icon to make it more understandable.

This story, like most of my fics that are centered around tv shows, won't be 100% canonical to the original material. meaning that some plot-lines/ character relationships will be altered. Not scrubbed out of existence or overshadowed by my oc characters, but changed to fit the narrative more.

and finallyy, i will try hardest to update the best I can when I can. but since I want to take the approach of pre-writing everything before I put out chapters, the updates might be scarce. but please please please don't let my procrastination deter you away from reading ! it'll be worth the wait <3 also try not to ghost read 🤭 ur comments are my fuel and they light up my motivation to continue. and I always love interacting with people in the comments of my stories. so, uh, make sure to vote + comment and all the fun stuff 😌

꩜ | 🤍 DTS : -MANNYSANTOS  bechloe_staubrey seancameronism cherrytea- -girlsrot  sIutera  sybilish -SHAWNHUNT3R < + everyone who is still into the masterpiece that walked so shows like euphoria could run >

꩜ | ⚠️ Another 'disclaimer' ( idk if you could call it that ?) but I just wanted to mention something. Arlee and her family are Afro-Dominican and speak Spanish, as well as English. I'm African, raised in the UK, but my knowledge of Spanish only stretches to the lessons I was taught by my crappy Spanish teacher. So most of the Spanish that I'll write in this story will be straight from Google University, as well as Google Translate. I'll put the translations in the comments, but you're more then welcome to correct me if you're fluent/ have Spanish as your first language. Google Translate doesn't always get it right all the time.

And now, I present, 'Young'. An amalgimation of all things 2000's, teen hormones, with a hell load of drama. Enjoy 😍

Young. Season 1-7. Degrassi: The Next Generation.
2023