To The End

He calls the mansion not a house, but a tomb.

He's always choking from the stench and the fume.

Eli looked up at Degrassi High School with a wary expression; this was the last place that he wanted to be. Nothing would make his emotions change after Julia, and he knew that no one would understand him here. Hell, no one even understood him at his old school—they all knew what had happened to Julia, but no one dared to talk to him about it.

He was known as being the "bully" for a few months after Julia's death, which is the reason why he was expelled. Now this was his last resort before being sent into home schooling, which would obviously fail him.

Most of the students looked at him in a surprised manner, seeing that the only color he wore was black. No one at Degrassi even dared to wear black—the school was too "cheery".

But all of that was going to change. Eli wasn't one to "fit in" in his lifetime. He hated the newest trends, and loved the fifties and sixties. Hence, the '59 Cadillac Hearse he nicely displayed in the parking lot.

Not caring where he was going, he bumped into someone as the bell rung. Eli immediately expected a sarcastic remark to come out of his smart-ass mind, but when he saw the girl he couldn't think. Before him stood a short, auburn curled girl who looked slightly disturbed. And she hadn't even looked at him yet.

"Sorry." Eli stated, kneeling down to pick up the loose papers that had fallen from her hands. As he looked up to give them to her, she was merely gone. He was looking before no one, and couldn't see the girl in sight.

It annoyed him—he was doing a good deed for once, and before he knows it she disappears before he can feel relieved for bumping into her.

Knowing that he probably is looking like an idiot, he stands, shoving the papers into his coat pocket before taking out his schedule. He walked idly to his next class, a haze set unto him.

He walked in late, but it didn't really matter since he was confused as hell. Whatever the teacher was saying didn't transfer to Eli's brain—he blinked several times.

"Sorry," he dully said, looking for the only open seat. Unfortunately, there were two. "Where's my seat?" He asked, and the teacher looked annoyed at him as she pointed with a stern finger to the correct seat.

A boy across from him gave him a welcoming smile, but Eli thought he seemed to girly to become his friend—he only hung out with bad kids.

As the teacher was about to start, the door opens and closes once again and the teacher's distressed face turns into sympathy.

"Clare, you're late." She softly said, leaning on the podium. Eli looked over to see who Clare was, and was stunned to see that it was the girl that he had bumped into in the halls. Clare gave him a glare before looking up at the teacher.

"Sorry, Mrs. Dawes." She coldly said, sitting down in her seat. Eli looked over at Clare who was sitting next to him, seeing that she was sitting as far as possible from him. Eli frowned.

"Clare," Mrs. Dawes said, going up to the two. Eli swallowed. "This is your new partner. Eli, this is Clare—our best student in the class." Eli looked over to Clare, hoping that she would give him a welcoming smile, but instead she nodded, looking away.

"Nice to meet you," Eli grumbled under his breath, hoping that Clare wouldn't hear.

But of course Clare heard. "Whatever." She replied, taking out her binder. Whenever she moved, the smell of her perfume would draft towards Eli, who acceptingly took it in. He had never smelled such a sweet and soft smell before, one that smelled of delicacy. Eli looked at her, watching her unpack.

Clare scoffed. "Want a picture? It'll last longer." Eli smirked for once, seeing that he wasn't the only one that had dry sarcasm.

Eli shrugged. "Sure," he stated, earning a raised eyebrow. "Bring it in tomorrow."

Clare laughed. "Nah—you're not one worthy of it."

Eli's eyes widened in amusement. "Witty, aren't we?"

"You wish," Clare muttered, and Eli laughed.

Mrs. Dawes looked right at Eli as he laughed, making the whole room silent. "Something you'd like to share?" She asked after a moment of silence.

Eli looked over at Clare before shaking his head. "No, Mrs. Dawes—just asking a question." He expected Clare to smile, anything, but a frown seemed to be permanently attached to her face.

After class, Eli remembered that he still had some of Clare's papers in his coat pocket.

"Clare," He said, and Clare annoyingly looked at him. "I have some papers from before—you dropped them."

He put them in front of Clare, thinking that she would take them. But instead, she didn't. She stared in fear at the papers before running out of the room.

Eli, confused as he was, wasn't sure whether or not to keep the papers or to leave them there. But maybe later on she'd want them. Putting them back into his pocket, he left with a smirk.

Something was in these papers that scared Clare, which were in the hands of Elijah Goldsworthy.

I hope everyone had a good Christmas this year; I surely know that I did.

And I'm thinking that with 5 reviews, we'll have the next chapter up ;)

Preview of chapter two:

But today, she was going to show him the true Clare Edwards. The one that not many people had seen in a long time.

^^Who is the real Clare Edwards?