A/N: To "Drop the World": I still have faith in EClare. They will get back together guys, trust me. I am positive, so don't worry. Clare was OOC and Eli...he needs to sort out his personal problems, imo.
The only thing keeping me sane is...just how epic and awesome it will be when EClare gets back together! All the drama that will happen for it to be reached and the fact that we will get a hawt make-up kiss excites me! So, you guys: Just look forward to Eli and Clare getting back together! Time can only tell. :D This is not what I predict what will happen in the future. This fan-fic was only made to release my heartbreak for the break-up. So it's a one-shot. It's done. Do not ask me to continue. This is complete. One chapter.
*I came up with this in history today, came home, and wrote non-stop.* I didn't like it too much personally, it sounded better in my head. The idea now seems too boring and dull. It's pretty long :P
One year, one month, two days, seventeen hours, and thirty-eight minutes later:
"Okay, okay. Just one more!" Mrs. Moreno begged.
Eli smirked at her plea, grabbed Imogen by the waist with a tender grasp, and had his infamous sly expression when the eighth photograph was shot.
"Mom." Imogen smoothed out her lavender dress and rolled her eyes impatiently. "We have to go. Now."
Eli sighed and turned to face her deep brown eyes, "It's okay, Imogen if you-"
"We should get going." She interrupted and grabbed him by the wrist.
If eye-rolls could kill, Imogen would have been massacred to a tenth-degree murder with the hidden impatience Eli was developing.
"Have fun kids!" Mrs. Moreno's voice chirped as soon as the door was shot.
Eli had borrowed Bullfrog's Mustang and escorted Imogen inside the car. Who kept glancing at herself in her pocket-mirror, making sure her hair, make-up, and jewelry were all in place. She looked beautiful enough in Eli's eyes, he just didn't understand why insecurities had to overcome her every once in a while.
The both of them were heading to prom. Senior Prom, to be exact. It was the night Degrassi's class of 2012 anticipated. Everyone, except Eli. Seeing that he wasn't too fond of dances-but this was the prom for crying out loud-as Imogen phrased. Also, the fact that Bullfrog and CeCe forcibly bought him his ticket, wanting their dear son to have at least one decent high school memory.
He looked at Imogen who he began dating at the end of his junior year. Four months after, the 22nd of April. Four lousy, horrendous, unbearable, crazy months. Four months after he found from a reliable source known as Adam, that Clare went to the Dot with Jake Martin repeatedly afterschool. To work on homework is what Adam would say. Homework my ass, Eli thought. Not to mention when he drove past the Edwards house one Sunday morning, and saw Clare with her mother and Jake going out somewhere. That really plummeted the pieces of his already broken heart to the pit of his stomach.
After going to a therapy session, to work out his "problems", Eli met Imogen at a group meeting, who was there meeting her own therapist. Eli still doesn't know what for she was in there for, but rumors at Degrassi said that his current girlfriend used to be a cutter, homeless, and a liar. Eli was never in favor of rumors, so he ignored them. And maybe it was the fact that she had her own share of problems, or that she was excited about his abnormal antics, or that she was a beautiful girl, maybe that was why Eli asked her on a date and asked her to be his girlfriend. Her dine-and-dash scheme really boiled Eli's blood, but she was both sweet and practically the only girl at Degrassi who actually fell for him, ever since Clare.
"Thank you for the corsage, Eli. It's really pretty, but it doesn't match my dress." Imogen pouted.
"I thought you said you were going to wear blue."
"I was, it's just that two other girls in my physics class were going to wear blue too. Imagine if I showed up wearing the same thing as them? How embarrassing." Imogen scoffed.
Eli's grip on his steering wheel tightened. "Talk about social suicide."
"Exactly." Imogen grinned, completely oblivious to her boyfriend's sarcasm, who just shook his head slightly at her.
"You look so good in that tux." Imogen purred and placed her hand on Eli's shoulder, he tensed at the contact and gulped, "I'm driving." Eli shrugged her hand off.
She pulled away from him and they stayed quiet for the rest of the ride.
.
.
"Okay guys! Prom will be held at the Pierson Hotel in the city, we shall arrive there shortly. Now I know all of you plan to be in senior board next year. Good times ahead for you all, and not to mention, a big win for colleges out there. They love to see students participating in extracurricular activities. Budgets were pretty short this year, so we will have you all pitch in and do your part." Ms. Oh announced in the bus.
Alli nudged Clare happily, seeing that they would be at the senior prom. Not to have fun, but to serve all the seniors food, punch, be in charge of cleaning afterwards, and so on.
It was also an excuse for Alli to wear a fancy dress and Clare to gain extracurricular activities for her university applications in the future. Adam just signed up because his mother forced him to.
"When she's not looking, save me some cookies from the buffet." Adam chuckled from behind their seats.
"We might get pick-up duty." Clare retaliated.
Adam and Clare still managed to be friends, considering they had a few classes together.
"Students, I will pass out some name tags with your tasks on them, no complaints. If by any means you are caught not wearing your tag or are dancing or fooling around with other seniors, you will be removed from senior board for next year, immediately. No excuses, you all need to be responsible." Ms. Oh explained and passed out the name tags one by one.
"Score! I get to serve the food at the buffet!" Adam squealed.
"I have to..." Alli scanned her nametag, "serve the formal drinks?"
"Oh. Hey, I got that too." Clare replied.
"Great, serving punch, that's a downgrade from serving food." Alli groaned.
"We aren't supposed to have fun anyways." Clare reasoned.
"You could have gone with Jake, he's a senior." Alli said.
Adam looked at Clare uneasily, "Jake asked Katie. He likes her, and she likes him. I'm happy for both." Clare replied nonchalantly.
"Wait, I thought you were dating that guy?" Adam interrupted.
Clare's eyes bulged out, "No, no, no. Our parents wanted us to, and his dad kept pressuring him. So we went on one date to shut them up. We never felt anything for each other, besides he used to push me in the mud when we were ten." Clare laughed.
"What do you mean when you were ten? And I thought...all those times you went to the Dot with him and-"
"To work on homework; we went to church too, sometimes on Sundays with my mom. We just decided to give our parents a bit of satisfaction, and decided to go to the movies but said that it didn't work out, since my and his family got along when we were younger, then he moved away and came back in town after Spring break. Don't get me wrong, Jake is a nice guy. But he's not my type."
"You mean condescending douche bag?"
"He may be a bit cocky, but he's sweet once you get to know him."
"I'll say. Drew and him should get together for a tea party. He's at the prom right now with Bianca, maybe they can hit it off there." Adam snorted.
Suddenly, Adam got a beeping sound from the inside of his pockets and checked his new text message.
Just got here at prom with Imogen. What are you doing?
Adam looked back at Clare who was chatting away with Alli in her seat.
I think I'll see you there.
.
.
"Hannah told me Imogen was going to wear blue to the prom. I guess Eli will be wearing a blue tie." Alli chuckled.
Clare sighed and felt like she was going to throw up at just hearing her name and Eli's in the same sentence. "Really? Good for them."
"Are we still touchy on the Eli subject? Too soon?" Alli paused, at herself mentioning Eli for the first time in a while.
"Perhaps." Clare breathed, "At least he moved on, and he's happy. She seems nice." Clare had to swallow the lump in her throat being able to say that.
"She's a bitch." Alli groaned. "Such a melodramatic one too. I once had her in my math class, she wouldn't ever stop talking, always showing off her new clothes or bragging about her 'traveling' to Italy each summer. She's a liar, I ran into her at the mall during the first week of vacation. She also tries to get along with the power squad. Jenna once told me she kissed up to Marisol just to get in, but was spreading awful rumors behind her back at the same time. Hypocrite." Alli huffed.
"Well, if Eli's dating her, it must be for something. Right? I mean, I was a hypocrite too...and a liar."
"No you weren't. You didn't break a promise, something was going on with him and you couldn't handle it. You were fifteen, Clare."
"And I'm sixteen now, not a big difference. I should have never left him at the hospital like that. I shouldn't have gone to the dance, I just wanted to...escape." The light in Clare's eyes dimmed and her frown grew gradually.
"Do you...still love him?" Alli gripped Clare's shoulder.
Clare felt her heart soar and her mind beginning to feel numb, but just as she was about to answer-
"Okay, we're here! Everybody, off the bus. We meet back here a bit after midnight. Remember the rules and if you see any funny businesses going on, inform me or the chaperones about it." Ms. Oh exclaimed.
"We have to get going, Alli." Clare ignored her previous question and marched off the bus following the others.
Alli stayed behind. Her best friend was still in love with that gothic/emo boy. Maybe he was that special to Clare, she wondered. "Hey? Is Clare alright?" Adam spoke from behind.
Alli looked at him thoroughly and let out a complicated sigh, "Adam, Does Eli love that one girl?" Alli questioned.
Adam quirked an eyebrow, "Imogen?"
"Yeah, they've been going out for a year now, right?"
Adam looked at her knowingly, "Is Clare still in lo-"
"I don't know. Just answer the question." Alli demanded.
"Uh...maybe? He talks about her sometimes, he rarely complains about her. She hangs out with me and Eli most of the time. She's alright, and is kind of' nice to me." Adam shrugged.
Alli blinked her eyes, and began drifting off into pure thought-
"Guys! Off the bus, now." Ms. Oh looked over at both Adam and Alli, who got out of their seats immediately.
.
.
"Wow. Isn't this amazing, Eli?" Imogen grabbed Eli's shoulder, seeing that he wasn't paying attention to her, she repeated herself again, "I said, isn't this amazing, Eli?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah. Looks great." Eli looked around.
There were colorful streamers complimenting the area. Lights were twinkling at each corner of every wall, tables were set at the far end with a modern, yet formal appearance. The center of the room was vacant, being highlighted with lights for the dancing. A stage was set up in the farther center, with a DJ and a band side by side. Another cliché high school scenery, Eli thought.
"Let's go grab a table." Imogen giggled and leaned in to give a peck on the cheek to Eli, who only smiled at her in return.
"Eli, Imogen! You guys look fabulous." Marisol spoke, who was holding onto her date's arm.
"Marisol! You look great. Love your dress!" Imogen cooed.
Eli rolled his eyes for the umpteenth time, knowing that he went dress shopping (involuntarily) with Imogen two weeks ago, and saw that Marisol was wearing the same dress Imogen described to be, "The ugliest fabric and color ever to be combined and thought of." Eli now pitied both the designer and Marisol.
"Hey, come sit with us you guys, we have two extra seats! Katie and Jake will arrive any minute now."
Eli paused. Jake? As in Jake Martin? Clare's boyfriend?
"Thanks." Imogen smiled and sat down.
Must be some other Jake, Eli thought. He tapped his fingers against the table's cloth and just sat down, hearing the conversation between Marisol and Imogen.
"Hey man. Prom, huh?" Marisol's date began to speak with Eli.
"Yeah. Seems like it will be a good one." Eli lied, trying to keep the conversation alive.
"Right? The dance floor looks sick, and both the DJ and band seem to be awfully dope!" He grinned.
Eli weirdly arched an eyebrow at the guy, but nonetheless nodded and extended his hand to greet the guy."Eli."
"Derek." He handed his hand back to him.
"You go to Degrassi? I've never seen you around." Eli asked.
"No, I go to Bardell. I just asked Marisol here, because her best friend is dating a buddy of mine. Oh- there he is right now." Derek raised his head behind the direction of Eli.
"Katie! You look stunning!" Marisol squealed and ran over to Katie.
Eli and Imogen turned around. Eli was fully shocked when he saw Katie linking arms with Jake Martin. Wasn't he dating Clare? At first Eli thought he might be cheating on her, but realized that if that was the situation, he would have been more secretive about it.
"Hi Imogen, Eli!" Katie smiled at them.
"Hey." Jake simply spoke. Asshole.
"Hey." Eli replied to him as well.
This was going to be a long night.
.
.
"Give me a drink." A lanky boy ordered with a girl hanging onto his right arm.
"It wouldn't hurt these people if they said please and thank-you once in a while." Alli whispered against Clare, as she grabbed the ladle and poured a good amount of punch into a clear plastic cup.
"Probably." Clare only sighed, completely indifferent to Alli and everyone else around her.
Alli arched an eyebrow at her, and turned back to the thirsty teenagers. Clare organized the cups and soda cans behind the table, continuously smoothing out her turquoise dress after doing so.
"Two drinks please!" A familiar voice hiccupped.
Alli turned around and became tense, "Crap." She muttered once she saw Marisol, and both Eli and Imogen heading their way.
"Cl-Clare! We need more napkins! Pronto, go!" Alli pushed Clare away. "Wh-" Clare began to question, "Andale!" Alli scolded her and moved her away.
"Two drinks." Marisol ordered once again, "Make that four!" Imogen giggled from behind, burying her face into Eli's neck.
Eli swallowed a lump in his throat, after he saw Alli.
"Alli? What are you doing here, at senior prom?...Serving punch?" Imogen asked once she looked at her more attentively.
"It's for senior board, next year." Alli only gritted her teeth, and handed each person their drinks. Eli took his uneasily from her and received a glare from the dark-skinned girl.
"You girls look great." Alli mentioned in order to break the ice.
"Thanks." Marisol smiled, and walked away with her date. Imogen began to follow their lead, while Eli stood there for a while, as if he was expecting something, or rather someone.
"Need anything?" Alli asked, pulling him out of his own train of thoughts. "I...no, thanks." Eli only managed to reply, then walked away.
Alli already figured out the chance of her best friend, Clare, still loving the boy, so she decided to not press the subject by letting her see Eli at the prom with his date.
.
.
As Clare carried a box full of napkins from the kitchen in the hotel, she entered the prom room and saw Adam from far away chatting with others while serving food along with Dave and other people. Clare was almost near the punch table, when she bumped into two people.
"Sorry!" She yelped, and lowered the box away from her face and saw that it was both Jake and Katie.
"Easy there." Jake chuckled.
"Jake, Katie? You guys look great." Clare smiled at them.
"Thanks, Clare. What are you doing at the prom? Did you come here with someone?" Katie asked, gripping onto Jake's arm.
"Who? Me? Of course not. I am here for the senior board/leadership volunteering." Clare replied, her eyes fixated on the large box she held, which was hurting her arms.
Jake took notice and let go of Katie, in order to help Clare. "Here, let me help." Jake muttered.
Katie suddenly felt an urge to go use the bathroom, "I'll be back. Keep my date company." Katie laughed and walked away from the both.
"So, napkins?" Jake grinned, eyeing the box.
"I'm serving the 'formal drinks'." Clare laughed, along with Jake.
A short silence followed, and both glanced around the scenery, "You look...wow, I mean stunning tonight, Clare. Is that the dress your mom bought you a month ago?" Jake rubbed the back of his head nervously, finally saying something.
"No. That one was yellow. This is a new one." Clare mumbled, tearing her gaze away from him. "Katie looks beautiful tonight." She said abruptly.
"She does. But...so do you." Jake flirted, and Clare felt uncomfortable. Did he not say he didn't have feelings for me?
"Well...Alli is probably waiting for me. Have fun with your date." Clare grabbed the box away from Jake's arms and walked away.
When she reached the punch table and saw Alli scowling at two people off in the distance, Clare followed her gaze and felt her heart sink to the dance floor, if it possibly could. She had seen this view before, but out of all times it was in the top three of hurting her, the most. Eli and Imogen. Dancing to the beat of the music, smiling into each other's eyes, holding one another with a firm grip, a smirk on his lips, and a giggle from her mouth. Clare shook her head away wondrously. She felt her throat tighten and her stomach churning. Her palms grew numb, and her feet felt like they were going to lose balance. She felt like she couldn't breathe, as if she were suffocating when she saw crowds of people surrounding her.
"Hey! Excuse me, we need a drink, please!" A tough-looking teenager slammed his fist on the table.
"Uh, I um...of course, I'm terribly sorry." Clare regained her breath and brushed away the thought of how handsome Eli looked tonight. How his hair seemed softer, and the fact that he may have grown a couple of inches, or the elegant suit that made it seem like he did.
"Hey. You okay? I tried to keep you from seeing them, but I guess you're used to that view, right?" Alli ruffled her curls.
"Right." Clare spoke, and blinked away the possible tears.
.
.
Imogen's lips traveled up to Eli's and sucked on them with a forceful urge. Her arms snaked Eli's neck as they danced to the music, her feeling elated, and him feeling unsatisfied.
"Eli? Marisol said there are a bunch of people who got a hotel room. They are going to crash the place. Sounds like fun, let's go later." She murmured as she swayed her hips to the music.
Eli stared at her with a weird expression, "Crashing a public place? We are about to graduate. Isn't that a bit juvenile, and a bit too trivial?" His voice questioned, waiting for her to agree.
Imogen furrowed her eyebrows at his seemingly arrogant response, "No, it's fun. And it's the end of the year. Apparently you don't understand that." Imogen pulled away from Eli and glared at him, with both of her arms crossed.
Eli sighed and stopped his dancing, "Imogen, as your boyfriend, I'm supposed to look out for you. You know how these things get." Eli reasoned.
She rolled her eyes briefly in response, "Eli. You are my boyfriend, and that is why we are supposed to have fun together. You can't be serious, I already told others we were going, what will they say?" She whined.
"Seriously? This is about what other people think about you? Imogen, you are acting like a twelve-year old." Eli was growing tense.
"Well, it beats acting like a buzz kill." She snorted.
Eli calmed down a bit, "Just listen to me, these things get out of control. I don't want you or myself to get involved into stuff we could regret. We're almost graduating. Don't blow it because you see something fun, we can go anywhere you want to go later, if you like." Eli said and cupped her cheek, obviously caring about her.
Imogen swatted his hand away and groaned in frustration, "You can't tell me what to do. Either we are going or...or, we're over." Imogen tapped her foot impatiently.
Imogen always used her dramatic antics to manipulate others, and most of the time it had worked. But Eli, was growing sick of it for a while now.
Eli scoffed at her and remained quiet. "You can go then. I can't stop you."
"I will go with someone else then, how about that?" Imogen snarled, upset that he wasn't giving in for once.
"Go, see if he cares more about fun than I do about you." Eli paused.
"We're done." She replied shakily, realizing things weren't going her way.
Imogen then stared at him with icy eyes and huffed in frustration, Eli saw hurt in her, and felt bad for what had happened. After all, he had cared for her. They were happy, sometimes. But maybe that was because he decided to not go into detail about Julia or his hoarding. It was difficult hiding all of that from her, but he thought it would help his second relationship if she didn't know about his past. It was wrong of him to hide something so big from someone who was labeled as something of his, but the complete connection or devoted love didn't seem like a possibility from the day he met her. Only with Julia and Clare.
Clare. What he would do erase all those hard feelings he held for her after the accident. He hated having to face her at school and feel that she was unaffected with everything that had occurred. It was as if he only loved her and she didn't feel the same. After therapy, and support from both Adam and his parents, he was sure he could move on, but Clare always found a way to be on his mind.
It was hell.
"Look, I'm sorry." Eli apologized. "But maybe it is for the best if we are over."
"You're telling me." Imogen rubbed a tear away and headed towards Marisol. Who turned around and hugged her immediately.
Eli shrugged and searched for Adam, who texted that he would be at the prom serving food.
.
.
"Torres if I see one more appetizer in your mouth, we're both dead." Dave lectured at Adam.
"Relax. Some of these people aren't even eating them." Adam laughed at him.
"By the way, where's Drew?" Dave asked.
"Beats me, probably hooking up with Bianca in that hotel suite he booked behind my mom's back." Adam shrugged carelessly.
"Okay, too much information...I'm going to use the facilities, keep feeding these people. Ms. Oh will be watching." Dave patted Adam and sneaked away.
"Adam!" Adam turned his head around to the front of the table and saw Eli standing there.
"Whoa. Look at you." Adam wolf-whistled. "Elijah Goldsworthy in a snazzy tux, I think I'm in love." He laughed, but once he saw Eli wasn't up for a joke, he calmed down.
"Who died?" Adam bent over to him.
"I broke up with Imogen. Well, the both of us did." Eli muttered.
"Ouch. At prom?" Adam asked, and Eli nodded.
"It's for the best. It was going to happen before graduation either way. I just feel like I've been forcing myself to love her since day one." Eli sighed and glanced around.
Meanwhile, several students came for more food, and Eli waited patiently after Adam was done serving them all. "Okay? So, you didn't love her? Help me out here." Adam nodded at him to continue their conversation.
"She was great and nice. I just...it wasn't there for me, you know?" Eli paused, "Not like it was with Clare. But who cares, she's got that Jake Martin guy who's here on a date with Katie Matlin."
Adam choked on the finger sandwich he chewed, "Clare was never with that guy." Eli stopped and jerked his head up quickly to Adam, "What do you mean, you would always tell me how she and him had their dates...he was over her house for crying out loud."
Adam swallowed the food, "I did say that, but I never confirmed that they were an item. Clare's family is good friends with his. Her parents and his dad wanted them to date, so they went on one lousy trip to the movies together. Clare and him never felt anything for each other." Adam looked away immediately after explaining.
"Wait a second, why didn't you tell me this before?" Eli's voice was obviously irritated.
"Because I just found out today. She told me in the bus." Adam pointed in the direction of Clare.
Eli turned his head around and saw Clare with Alli serving drinks to other people. She looked too beautiful to be real.
He felt his heart burst into flames. And stared at her with romantic intensity. "Don't trust your heart right now dude, you just broke it off with Imogen. Clare's not a rebound." Adam glared at him.
"She's not...I know, I just...never mind." Eli sighed and turned back to Adam.
.
.
"Okay, spill." Ali dropped the ladle on the bowl, noticing that teenagers started dancing and stopped coming for the drinks. She grew bothered just looking at Clare silently mope the entire time.
"What do you mean?" Clare asked.
"Don't play dumb with me. Tell me. It's about Eli and Imogen isn't it?" Alli placed her hands on her hips.
"Does it really matter?" Clare sighed, but continued nonetheless when she saw Alli's stare tighten at her. "It's just that...not a day goes by without me regretting leaving him at the hospital. I feel so horrible that we could never talk or look at each other same way. And when we did...I was either too quiet or he was too angry at me. I guess that's what I deserve. He's happy now and that makes me feel a lot better." Clare sighed.
Alli's face softened, "What about you? You deserve a happy ending too."
"I had mines set up, but I blew it. I wanted to be there for him, after everything we've been through. But the moment I realized I couldn't fix everything, I felt so useless." Clare had a tear roll down her cheek, "I didn't know what to do. And it scared me, how he wanted us to be together all the time...we were too different, and I was starting to realize that bit by bit; and then he became so unpredictable, I felt like it was all going to blow up in my face. I didn't want to be heartbroken, but it still happened either way. I am so stupid." Clare looked up, trying to prevent more tears from streaming down her rosy cheeks.
"No you're not. I never knew he meant this much to you...but we'll get through this. You have me." Alli sighed and hugged Clare with all her force.
Clare whispered against Alli's shoulder, "Maybe I should just-"
"Alli, Clare, back to work, no room here for girl gossip." Ms. Oh snapped her fingers at them, obviously not noticing that Clare had been crying.
"Sure thing, sorry." Both pulled away from each other and replied.
.
.
Adam kept talking as Eli pretended to listen, but his eyes were glued onto Clare Edwards. With each glance, his palms shook with anticipation and doubt.
"Hey. Why are you still here?" Adam asked.
"I don't know." Eli replied.
"Maybe you should look for Imogen, check if she is okay." Adam looked at him.
Eli shook his head, "I doubt she wants to see me now. I saw her leave with Marisol and others a while ago. I texted them to keep an eye out for her."
"That's good." Adam nodded, "But why do you keep looking at Clare? You have that scheming look on your face, something is going on through that head of yours..."
Eli looked up at him and glanced back at Clare, "You're right. I should probably let you get back to serving these people, I don't want you to get in trouble. " Eli answered with his mind somewhere else.
He then walked away from his best friend, letting him continue serving the food to other hungry teenagers.
Eli gaped at Clare from far away, it was now or never when he could only find the time to talk to her. Not in school, where she purposely avoids him, not anywhere else, because now...now just felt right.
.
.
"One drink, please." A longed voice asked.
Clare turned around and saw Alli with her mouth hung open, Clare tilted her head to the front and felt her heart stop. Eli.
Clare looked at Alli bashfully and nodded at Eli, her hands traveled to the end of the table to grab a cup. But for some reason, this moment felt like an eternity, seconds felt like hours.
"Here you go." Clare cleared her throat and shakily handed the drink to Eli. His hand reached to get a hold of the cup, but his fingers somehow managed to brush past Clare's palm.
Their eyes met at the electricity that each other's touch sparked. Their minds became foggy and the room started spinning. Eli had missed the moments of looking directly into those pretty eyes. And Clare had never seen such a beautiful shade of green for a while, one year was too much for her irises and pupils to finally bore into and only into Elijah's Goldsworthy's eyes.
Alli saw the scene unfold, and from far away she waved her hands in the air, letting Adam take notice what was happening. Adam's eyes bulged for a second but gradually found comfort, and a smile began to tug on his lips. Clare and Eli realized they were in the same position for a while now, and let go.
"So...why are you here?" Eli broke the silence, obviously knowing the answer.
"Senior board." Clare only blurted out, her heart was racing with great anticipation.
"Oh." Eli nodded awkwardly, taking a sip.
"Yeah." Clare sighed and the both stayed silent again, until Clare had a voice in her head urging her to say something, "Where's Imogen?" Stupid, stupid question! Clare regretted asking.
"We broke up." Eli yelped, shortly noticing what he had said. He didn't even know why he said it. Clare traveled her gaze back into his eyes and stared into them once again, she swore she saw Eli and Imogen smiling and laughing an hour ago, she wanted to know what had happened, but it didn't matter anymore.
"Can we...talk?" Eli asked abruptly, his fingers kept squeezing the cup anxiously, waiting for her to reply.
Clare looked back at Alli and at the back of the room, glancing at Ms. Oh and Ms. Dawes along with other teachers, who were chaperones. "I can't." Clare squeaked.
That's when Alli looked into both Eli's and Clare's hurt expression. "Go." Alli told Clare, "I'll cover for you, just be discreet." Alli smiled at Clare and looked at Eli with a sincere look.
Clare felt her mouth tremble, wanting to speak, but only stepped aside from the table and followed Eli in a secluded part of the area.
With the music going on and couples, friends, and others dancing, Eli and Clare were oblivious to everyone else who were happy with what they were doing.
"You wanted to talk?" Clare mumbled.
"Yeah." Eli replied. "So, how have you been?"
Clare smiled a little, "Okay." She dearly wanted to scream at him: "Eli! I am still in love with you, I missed you too much, please take me back. I will never leave you again, I promise, this time I swear."
Eli smirked and dug his hands into the pockets of his pant, "Okay? Not fantastic?"
"No. Not since...ayearago." Clare whispered, hoping he didn't hear her.
But he did, so he gulped and took a step closer to her, "Ah."
"How have you been, this past year? How are CeCe and Bullfrog?" Clare mentioned, believing he didn't hear her say that last part.
"I've been great. I've been going to therapy. CeCe and Bullfrog are fine too; they have been helping me a lot. My hoarding is slowly recovering, I...yeah, I've been pretty fantastic." He lied in some parts.
"After a break-up with Imogen?" Clare blurted unconsciously.
"I guess so. It happens. People always leave." That struck a chord in Clare and she felt like crying right then and there.
"I'm sorry." Clare said and Eli looked at her in confusion, "For a year ago, I'm sorry. I didn't handle things like I should have...I wanted to be there for you, but it was too much for me to take in...I'm sorry." She averted her gaze to the floor.
"Why didn't you apologize to me right after, then?" His voice snapped. Clare shook a little at his tone.
"I couldn't look at you. When I saw you at school with those crutches and that cast...I just couldn't." Her eyes began to swell with tears.
Eli stayed silent. "I've missed you Clare."
Clare brought her head back up, "What about Imogen? You probably love her and are feeling bad about the break-up and that is-"
Eli interrupted her, "Can you stop that! Stop thinking you know what I am like, what I feel. You can't assume I was ever a jerk, a psycho, a manipulator, a liar, or anything. You know me Clare, don't judge me with the problems I go through, judge me with the way you know I will react to them. I was and will always be this unexpected guy, I have my problems but I am getting help now. And this whole entire time, I felt this sort of hate for you." Clare looked at him, "But it was because you gave up on me, because I lost you. I hated not having you by my side. I thought I could get over you like you did with me, but I can't. I tried, but it's impossible. And I accept that. But you need to stop trying to have me figured out because...I need you." His voice whimpered.
Clare gasped and her arms felt like strings, "I never did get over you." She stepped up to him and gave a hug.
"Then why? Why didn't you tell me this sooner?" He breathed.
Clare pulled away momentarily, "I thought you hated me. And then you started dating Imogen, I thought you were finally happy." She looked at him.
"I'm not going to lie, I did like Imogen, a lot. But Clare, I never loved her. I wanted to move on because Jake and you-"
"Eli, Jake is just a childhood friend. I never liked him like that, he's more like a brother." Clare interrupted
They stayed silent for a moment, "Did we really just let a year go to waste?" Eli rubbed the back of his neck.
Clare stepped up to him and smiled, "We have the future ahead for us."
Eli looked at her and down to her lips, wanting to kiss her, "Some other time." Clare spoke, reading his mind.
She remembered that Imogen was a person with actual feelings and that she lost her boyfriend an hour ago. The K.C. and Jenna scenario reminded Clare that she didn't want Imogen to go through the same situation.
"You can't do this to Imogen." She held his hand.
Eli accepted her noble behavior, nodded, and turned to the dancing crowd, as the DJ was announcing something on the microphone, "Alright single peeps! Clear the dance floor, we need Degrassi couples to step up, dance with a friend if you like!"
"Dance with me." Eli looked at Clare who gave a questioning look, "It's the only way I can hold you with an excuse." He smirked.
Clare ignored the world, forgot about Ms. Oh and her stupid rules, and believed that one dance wouldn't hurt. She never had the chance to dance with Eli the last time by the way. Her hand grasped his and they walked to the center of the dance floor. Lights began to spotlight on the two.
"Alrighty then, you cool cats! This one's a slow one for those that are in looove!" The DJ announced.
Eli placed his arms around Clare's waist and Clare snaked her arms up to his neck. A familiar song began to play.
It's a beautiful night and I'm opened up
The look in your eyes says so much
Nothing can touch us out here
Eli looked into Clare's eyes as they swayed softly to their song. She smiled and a blush crept her cheeks. Eli grinned and finally felt like he was going to be just perfectly fine.
From the other side of the room, chaperones were scanning the area. Two specific women had their attention caught by both Eli and Clare.
"Is that Clare Edwards?" Ms. Oh looked from afar at her dancing with a senior, "Teenagers never listen; she is out of senior board, I am dissap-"
"Winnie, they're an exception." Ms. Dawes gripped onto Ms. Oh's shoulder and looked at her two former students together, an endearing smile slowly spread across Ms. Dawes's face. "They have been through a lot. Trust me."
Clare's pink lips murmured against Eli's soft cheek, "Eli?"
"Yeah?" He whispered, grazing her creamy shoulders.
She pulled away and paused, "I was wrong. We are meant to be together." She breathed happily.
"I told you so." Eli smiled, feeling his insides spark with fireworks.
I'd give you today but it's not mine yet
I'll ask you stay here with me 'till then
I think tonight, I love you.
A/N: Was it a fail? Please review and tell me what you think? :)
I spent four hours on this D: And I hate it. X(
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN LYRICS OF THE SONG: "TONIGHT, I LOVE YOU" BY THE LATENCY.
NOR DO I OWN DEGRASSI, Eli and Clare would have not broken up, gotten married, and have 9,137,821,792 babies by now. Just saying (: